money. >> lulu, tuesday is valentine's day. >> that's why i'm wearing pink and red. >> i didn't get that. what's your best shot? >> you didn't get it? >> i didn't think that. >> first of all, happy valentine's day. secondly, i found this very depressing story about good-bye pies. pizza hut has started this valentine's day promotion in which if you want to say good-bye to the person that you don't want to spend valentine's day with, you send them a pizza pie and they give you a version of why you don't want to be with them anymore. and the reason they decided to do this is because actually 40% of people break up with their significant other before valentine's day. >> wow, a pizza pie as a good-bye. thank you all for being here on that really bad note. thank you for spending part of your day with us. we'll see you right back here next week.

hello, everyone. welcome to the "amanpour" hour. here is where we're headed this week. playing politics or playing with fire? the republican party tanks a border security deal that it had spent months demanding. >> that is the kind of chaos that donald trump instills. you have voter i.d. to buy a loaf of bread. >> what the polls aren't telling you about donald trump's re-election chances. also ahead -- the remarkable resilience of ukraine's war-weary children, still forced into subterranean schools. the islamic revolution came to iran 40 years ago this weekend. 20 years later, there was hope for reform.

>> democracy in iran is literally being born in these newspapers. >> the struggle continues today. finally, the edgy little play that could. kim's convenience comes full circle as it lights up london with its slice of asian life. welcome to the program, everyone. i'm christiane amanpour in london. the world is once again watching a congress in disarray, with literally life and death at stake on supporting ukraine's battle for democracy and independence. republicans from the house and the senate rejected a bipartisan deal to signaturely toughen u.s. immigration laws and send aid to ukraine and israel. many are doing so at the behest of former president donald trump, while the current president told them to get a grip and a backbone. >> every day between now and november the american people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is donald trump and his maga

republican friends. it's time for republicans in the congress to show a little courage, to show a little spine, to make it clear to the american people that you work for them. >> as allied leaders come to washington to appeal for common sense in congress, with poland's new prime minister donald tuss saying ronald reagan must be, quote, turning in his grave over all of this. what is the future of the grand old party and how will that impact america's priorities and security at home and abroad? will hurr, the former congressman from texas and a former cia operative, joins me now. welcome back to our program. i'm assuming you think as a republican that the congress should give the aid to ukraine to defend what everybody has said is not just democracy in ukraine, but around the world. >> i've been connected to national security for 22 years, christiane, and i've learned

something very simple. your friends should love you and your enemies should fear you. it is very clear, despite what nuts like tucker carlson may say, vladimir putin is an adversary, enemy, and he's focused on one thing. that is taking back ukraine and re-establishing the borders of the ussr. he's not going to stop at ukraine. the united states of america for less than 5% of our entire dod budget, we've been able to help an ally, ukraine, dismantle the russian military. the united states of america has been able to do that without having to send our sons and daughters and spouses to this conflict. so we should absolutely be supporting ukraine because this is a sign to the rest of the world that americans can support our friends. if we don't do this, our friends in europe are going to question our commitments and they're going to start -- instead of

standing with us against some of the authoritarian activities of the chinese government, they're going to start working with the chinese government. that's going to hurt america's position in the world. so absolutely we should be helping ukraine, and to me, the goal in ukraine is the removal of all russian troops, to include in crimea and the dombas. that should be our goal, that should be our effort and we should be standing with the ukrainian people. >> everybody watching abroad is just left wondering what on earth is going on. and i just want to quote something from donald trump. he said, this border bill would be a death wish for the republican party, but the "wall street journal" editorial even said, what, this is perhaps the best deal you're ever going to get right now and you've tanked it. we have a very conservative senator who you know very well, james lankford, speaking on the senate floor this week. let me just play it.

>> i had a popular commentator four weeks ago that i talked to that told me flat out, before they knew any of the contents of the bill, nothing was out at that point, that told me flat out, if you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this presidential year, i will do whatever i can to destroy you. >> he's basically saying it. here is a republican saying that he's being threatened with that and they don't want it solved. can you bring yourself to admit that, congressman? obviously you're a texan. >> i've admitted it before, right? donald trump has flat out said that he doesn't want this problem solved because he wants to use it as a political tool on the campaign. and when it comes to this specific legislation, when you look at the head of the border patrol union, when i look at these issues, i look at the people on the ground, how do they view it.

the head of the border patrol union who endorsed donald trump said that he was ultimately supportive of this bill because it helped get the tools to the men and women in border patrol. again, there were some flaws in the legislation, but ultimately not doing something because you want to have this as a political tool is a problem. and that is the kind of chaos that donald trump instills, that's the kind of chaos he follows, and he's pressuring members in congress to follow the same kind of chaos. we're going to probably lose the house because of this dysfunction. this is one reason why i'm supporting ambassador nikki haley to be the republican nominee, because she's focused on results and not politics. >> according to all the primaries and caucus so far, she doesn't have a chance in hell or a snowball's chance in hell. really, are you still, or you just don't want to vote for trump? >> christiane, we do not have coronations in the united states

of america. is the path forward hard? absolutely. that doesn't mean that we stop. ambassador haley raised more money in january than she had done in any of the previous quarters, so there's a pathway. she's won twice in her home state of south carolina, she knows how to do things when the deck is stacked against her. on super tuesday, there are a number of states that have open primaries. there's a pathway on how to do this and people are starting to recognize that there's only one woman standing in between a rematch from hell that nobody wants between two grumpy old men, the rematch from 2020. and republicans are realizing that nikki haley head-to-head with joe biden beats joe biden by double digits. >> okay, there's a lot to unpack, and i'm going to get to it. you mentioned nikki haley, grumpy old men. she has also questioned trump's competence and called him

confused, describes him as ranting and raving and warns that his mental stability is going to continue to decline. we wanted to put to you a mash-up and i'm going to ask you about that. >> nikki haley is in charge of security. we offered her 10,000 people. we are an institute and a powerful death penalty. >> you have voter i.d. to buy a loaf of bread, i.d. to buy a loaf of bread. we won world wars out of forts. >> i mean, look, yes, we chose those clips, but they're pretty incomprehensible. so the whole idea of biden being an old man is offset by trump being an old man. but i want to ask you about that and about self-inflicted wounds. and i wonder what you think as a devoted republican. the wish of one man is almost bigger than the wish of the health of the party. it could really damage the party. >> i agree long term, when you look at the last election, the

2022 election, everybody was predicting a red wave and we all know what ultimately happened. the reason the red wave didn't come forward is because of the drama of donald trump. i've made it very clear that donald trump is not running for president to make america great again. donald trump is running for president to stay out of prison. so if you have questions about joe biden's competency, then you should be having the same questions about donald trump's competency. we're living in a dangerous world, at a time when you have wars in the middle east, in europe, you have a growing conflict with china. these are the questions we should be having and debating and making sure that we're working with our allies to solve these problems, not dealing with the baggage from previous elections. >> congressman will hurd, thank you so much for joining us. >> always a pleasure. still to come, kim's convenience returns to the stage. the history-making play and netflix hit comes full circle.

first, resilience and sorrow. the children of ukraine adapting to life underground. >> for many children here in kharkiv, this is the reality of their school day. they go into the subway, because everywhere else in the city is simply unsafe.

welcome back. while republicans in congress risked bringing u.s. aid for ukraine to a grinding halt, putin is watching closely and waiting out this election, while his bombs and missiles keep falling on civilians. in the eastern city of kharkiv, there is a building boom now as ukraine's littlest citizens are being forced to live and learn underground, nearly two years into this war. our fred pleitgen went down to

meet them. >> reporter: extra special braids is what this 6-year-old wants for school, because simply going to school is special here in kharkiv. and it's dangerous. so dangerous they had to move classes underground. for many children, this is the reality of their school day. they go down into the subway because everywhere else in the city is simply unsafe. the city built classrooms here and call it the metro school. >> how are you this morning? >> i'm fine. how are you? >> reporter: here we won't hear anything, she says. hear what, i ask. the bangs, she says. bangs happen nearly every day here in kharkiv. russia's army shelling the city, killing and wounding hundreds since the beginning of the invasion. but down here kids can be kids. the classrooms are soundproof,

blocking out not just the noise of the subway that's still running, but also the thunder of the war that has already affected these youngsters so much. on my birthday, for some reason, a war broke out, she tells me. february 24th, 2022, all she wanted was to celebrate her 5th birthday. but vladimir putin's troops were already storming kharkiv. >> firing from russian territory toward the territory, i would say around kharkiv. >> reporter: reporting from the russian side of the border, i saw the invasion firsthand. on the receiving end, instead of the birthday party, almira and her friends had to go to the bomb shelter. i even started crying, she tells me. i thought it would be the end. they try not to talk too much about the war in the subway school, but the children coming back here now have been scarred for life, the teacher says. they had the look of adults who had already experienced

hardships, she says, experienced the hard days and months of this war. there are no regular functioning schools in kharkiv. it's either the subway or online classes. and the city doesn't believe that will change soon. they're building bunker schools because children here wouldn't even have enough time to get to an air raid shelter, the mayor tells me. the f-300 missiles reach kharkiv in about 35 to 40 seconds, he says. therefore, no air alarm can work and the only way out is to build such underground facilities, underground schools. back at the subway school, every day a minute of silence for those killed by vladimir putin's war against ukraine. but then the kids sing their national anthem, showing the russians and their leader that

no matter how many missiles they fire, ukraine is growing stronger, its future brighter every day. fred pleitgen, kharkiv, ukraine. >> they have a lot of heart. coming up on the program, democratic strategist simon rosenberg says don't believe the hype about that red wave in november. >> good luck trying to run on that platform in this country at this point.

i'm daniel lurie and i've spent my career fighting poverty, helping people right here in san francisco. i'm also a father raising two kids in the city. deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e.

welcome back to the program. now, if you look at the polls, america's political landscape appears to be a balancing act, right on the knife's edge. in some trump is more popular, in others biden is. in some democracy is top of mind, others say it isn't. my next guest is waving a red

flag. simon rosenberg is a veteran war room stat gist for democrats but tells me it's because from the economy to crime and now the border, the democratic party is much stronger than people think. welcome to the program. >> it's good to be here. >> i'm watching this and everybody overseas is watching this, and you can imagine america's allies for all sorts of policy reasons are very keen to know that president biden will be re-elected, for all sorts of rules of the international world order. what do you say to them when they look at polls, for instance? >> sure. i think, look, my basic take on the election is that joe biden is a good president, the country is better off, the democratic party is strong and been winning elections all across the country, and the republicans are fielding the most unfit candidate in our history. so i feel good about where things are. there has been a lot of overestimation of republican strength and underestimation of

democratic strength in recent elections. when i put all of this together, and i was very accurate about what happened in 2022, i would much rather it be us than then and i think it's far more likely that we win than republicans this year. >> tell us about 2022. >> sure. so here is the way to think about this. since trump became clearly maga in the 2017-2018 congress, republicans have struggled terribly in elections. we had a great election in 2018, we had a great election in 202, seated an incumbent president, which is hard to do in our system. something unusual has hpd. in our system, the party in power always loses seats when they have the presidency. they lose congressional seats, they lose senate seats, they lose state legislative chambers. in the last two years the exact opposite has happened. we had an extraordinary midterm where we gained a senate seat,

we gained governorships, we gained state legislative chambers across the country. then in 2023 we actually did better than in 2022, and we won in places like ohio and wisconsin that are difficult places for democrats to win. and so since dobbs, it's my view that something really broke inside the republican party in the spring of 2022, and that since dobbs happened, the decision to end roe v. wade, there's been a basic fundamental dynamic in our politics that's played out again and again in election after election, which is that democrats are over-performing expectations in polls and republicans are underperforming. you're even seeing that start to play out here in early 2024. >> one of the main things, you say trump is a less attractive character and candidate today than he was in 2016. now, one of those things that democrats feel is unattractive, but his supporters do not feel, is the 91 counts and the four indictments that he has levelled against him.

and now that the federal appeals court has denied his desire to be given presidential immunity, saying that he is not immune and that he can be prosecuted with all the rights of a defendant, that he's just citizen trump, do you think that will impact whoever needs to be impacted? obviously it's potentially maga voters that will come out for him as they have done in the past. >> i think that donald trump is a far weaker candidate today than he was in 2016 or 2020 for a whole host of reasons. his performance has diminished. importantly getting to what you were asking, and i'll do this quickly, there's going to be six things that voters know about him in this election they didn't know about him in 2020. one, that he raped a woman in a department store dressing room. that's been litigated and decided by a jury of his peers. he committed massive financial fraud, which is about to be finalized here. third, he led an insurrection

and he's promised to end american democracy for all time. fourth, that he stole america's secrets, lied about it to the fbi, and shared those secrets with other people. fifth, that his family has taken more money from foreign governments than any political family in american history. finally, he singularly was responsible for ending roe. we have six disqualifying events that have happened we're going to be able to use to push him further away from the electorate, which is why i'm optimistic we can win the election this year. >> with all the data you've just given us, would you explain then for people who are completely confused about the polls, why then do polls give him such a lead sometimes, a little bit of a lead, other times biden a little? it's really difficult to understand what the lay of the land is. >> i agree with that. and i don't envy anybody trying to figure out our crazy system from abroad. this is hard for those of us in

the system every day to make sense of. the way to think about it is the polling is showing today, to be fair, a close competitive election. trump is not definitively ahead. just in the last ten days there have been four major national polls showing biden actually gaining significantly, and three of them he's substantially ahead. so the way i view it is we're looking at a close competitive election today, which is not surprising, because one party is having a real primary, the other party, our party, isn't really having a real primary. it's not surprising that republican voters are showing up more in the polling, that there's more intensity for republicans in the polling, which is i think making the polling a little more republican than it will be in, let's say, three or four months, when democratic voters recognize it's going to be trump and biden and it's going to be time to engage. joe biden has a strong argument to make for re-election. the country is clearly better off than when he came into office and republicans have the most unfit disgraced person to run for president in our

history. i think we should be able to win this election. >> i want to ask you about the debacle in congress over the democrats agreeing to a very far-reaching immigration in order to have the aid to ukraine and israel unblocked. >> i think it's really important for political observers abroad to understand that the republicans are not necessarily operating in a place based on polling and strategy. their leader is an impulsive out of control diminished figure, and i think what you're seeing is that this is a sign of desperation for them. they know that he's damaged goods, they haven't been performing well in the elections. their party is broke and out of money. they're having enormous issues with the operations of the party. he's getting crushed in the courts right now. and so i think this is a sign of desperation because the biggest challenge the republicans have right now is that all their major talking points against joe biden, the economy was terrible, that's not true, inflation is too high, that's no longer true,

crime is rising, tahat's not true. the core of their indictments of biden have all evaporated because of biden's success as president. what they were left with was this border stuff. and now they've actually done something that i think is incredible, which is they're going to be campaigning on this idea that they want more immigrants to come into the country, the border being chaos, and they want putin to win in russia. good luck trying to run on that fl platform in this country. it's an absurdity. the area where they had an advantage, i think they're blowing it and giving us the ability to bludgeon them with not solving a problem that they have argued aggressively is a huge crisis. >> you said work has got to be done and biden has said work has got to be done. >> i will say i think the biden campaign is not as far along as many of us would like, and given the gravity of this election and given trump's capacity to create noise and distraction and dictate the daily discourse in

the united states, we're going to have to be very loud and aggressive. i worked in the clinton warroom in '92 and i was trained as a young information warrior as we call it in politics, and we're up against a very loud and noisy machine on the other side. and we've got to start getting loud and being aggressive. i think the biden campaign is slowly getting to the point where it needs to be. i don't think they're going to be fully up and running for another six to eight weeks, which in our system is a long time. i know in other countries the entire election is six to eight weeks. i think you're going to start to see by march the full general election campaign. >> really interesting perspective. simon rosenberg, democratic strategist, thank you so much. >> thank you. and, of course, all of this political maneuvering in the united states, causes palpitations amongst allies and others overseas. up next on the program, from my archive, on this weekend's 45th anniversary of iran's islamic

revolution, the people struggle for democracy and freedom continues to this day. then, my conversation with the cast of the hit comedy drama kim's convenience as it lands here in a london theatre. >> i think it navigates an edgy logic in a really smart way.

this week from my archive, a look at iran, the homeland i grew up in and then left after the 1979 islamic revolution, which took place 45 years ago this sunday, and the theocracy survived, despite decades of harsh american sanctions. at the turn of the millennium, i

reported amid the first ever period of reform. i met people hungry and hopeful for change as the country wrestled with the question, would it remain a strict theocracy or become a democracy. i was fascinated by the role iranian journalists had played in leading the reform movement. the busiest place in tehran each morning is the local newsstand. >> aren't you amazed about all of these newspapers? >> it's great. everybody can get a piece of the action. >> get a piece of the action. what is the action? >> the action is just reading and enjoy what's going on in society. >> right. >> and it was not possible before. >> it wasn't possible before? in fact, that's the point, ever since i've come here, people keep telling me they simply cannot believe what they're reading in the newspapers today.

there's literally an explosion. look at all of these papers that have emerged and it's a battleground, these are aligned with the hard-line conservatives, and these in the front support reforms. democracy in iran is literally being born in these newspapers. >> reporter: but, of course, democracy is coming at a very high price. this journalist has been arrested, imprisoned, even threatened for criticizing the hard-line conservatives. his opponents in the fight for freedom. >> one month ago they stop our newspaper. after that, we opened two newspapers. maybe if they stop our newspaper again, maybe in near future there will be four newspapers, i

think. >> when i asked the conservatives why they closed down the newspapers, they say that you lie, that you write falsehoods, basically that you're a bunch of criminals. do you think you're a criminal? >> no. i'm educated. >> reporter: even the most religious iranians feel the pressure mounting. this psychology student says the conservatives are misreading the karan. >> reporter: the karan gives us freedom of choice. if the conservatives want to disagree with the idea of personal freedom, then they are against the essence. but, unfortunately, the conservatives are doing this in order to maintain their own power. >> reporter: somebody in the west looking at you, obviously very religious, they might be

surprised to hear what you're saying about the freedoms and the reforms that you want. should they be surprised? >> translator: no, they shouldn't be surprised, the fact that i wear a hijab should not imply that they do not want freedom. >> reporter: but those reforms are running up against a wall of resistance, for men like this, a member of parliament and one of the hardest of all the hard-liners. >> i've been talking to many, many iranians since i've been here. i've talked to religious people, i've talked to more secular people, i've talked to young people, to old people, village people, city people. they say they want freedom of expression, freedom of political expression, they want political reform, and they say they've had enough of hard-line conservatives like yourself. >> translator: our people have

been free since the revolution. of course i believe that ms. amanpour has spoken to a limited number of people. >> sir, every time i ask a hard-liner, a conservative, the same question, they tell me that i'm asking and talking to the wrong people. 80% of the people of iran voted twice in presidential elections and in municipal elections for reform and for freedom. so are you saying that 80% of the people of iran don't know what they're talking about? >> translator: they voted because they hoped it could solve the economic problems, in other words, they didn't vote so that he would bring political changes. >> to me, you sound slightly out of touch. everybody we talk to says they want freedom. if they don't get their freedom, there's going to be an explosion in iran.

there's too much pressure building. do you accept that? >> for the record, back in 2000, he lost his seat in parliament and the young woman in the report won a seat as reformists swept the elections that year. meantime, successive hard-liners have been in power, and in 2022 the current president would not sit with me at the united nations in new york unless i wore a veil, as i sought to ask him about the freedom movement and amini who died in the custody of police. that was about freedom, including their choice to not wear the veil anymore. and the struggle continues. when we come back, in my letter from london, what the hit comedy drama "kim's convenience" can teach us about immigration and family life. >> it has a really identifiable

and accessible story of a generation gap.

two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

welcome back. in this week's letter from london, i paid a visit to "kim's convenience" the comedy with a korean canadian family that began on the fringes of toronto's theatre scene, an asian led show that later bloomed into a five season sitcom. now it's come to london performing to sell-out crowds and hoping to extend its run to

the world famous west end. and i got to sit down in the middle of their convenience store with show creator and cast members. welcome to the program. so you did the play in canada first on the fringe, and you two are not canadian. >> no. [ laughter ] >> what did you guys know about this story, or even about the korean immigrant experience before you took on these roles? >> i am korean american, so i come from -- so i was born in korea and moved to california with my parents, and so they've become sort of first generation immigrants, and i sort of became a janet for them because they had language barriers they were working through as they were starting their business. and even if they wanted to make an appointment for hospital, a doctor's visit, then they would

have to go through me. and so i very much understand sort of that immigrant korean life, kind of firsthand. the story is quite personal to me, actually. my parents also had a small family business that me and my brother were child laborers. >> whoa, whoa. [ laughter ] >> this is in the united states? >> yes, yes, yes. >> do you think canada was more receptive to some of the funny, but edgy jokes that you made? for instance, in the netflix series, the very first opening episode has a joke about a gay couple and the gay >> there is a lot of humor. some kind of walks that line of in my opinion it is being real. it is being real. i think that there is a tendency for like mainstream to see a

korean family or asian family and want toimbue them with the wholesome manners, the more than minority, you know. but from the inside, we're full of warts and faults and there is a lot of racism within cultures amongst asians even. >> and i don't know whether there was a sharp intake of breath at any of the performances when one of your scenes, when you are playing a guy coming in, you know, bomber jacket, want to buy something, and -- >> jean jacket. >> jean jacket. >> tell me why. >> because mr. kim has a theory. and if you come see the play, you will find out what -- >> you will have to say. >> it is not a bomber jacket. >> i'm very glad you corrected

me. steal no steal. so basically the grocery owner, nice guy, is basically saying to his daughter janet who is helping in the store, look at that, you know. here comes -- and he doesn't say black. she says because he's black. and steal no steal, he's asking her to judge whether your character is going to steal. that is edgy. did you feel that? >> yeah, i think tit navigates the warned and edgy logic. and i burst out laughing when i first read it. and there is a diverse audience that found that like a memorable highlight. >> and it has a really identifiable and accessible story of a generation gap. that is a -- that is universal, isn't it? >> absolutely. when i first wrote it, i knew second generation koreans like my sisters and cousins would

love it because i'm kind of making fun of it a little bit. and i knew parents would love it and asians would love it. but then it just kept like black families would come, asian families, southeast asian families would. and white families would be like that is my dad. you know, this is like a romanian family or jewish family and they would be like that is just like my mom and i had that exact conversation with her. but in a different language. in this play, mr. kim says the store, my story. right? so he identifies the store with himself. and because neither of his kids the way you've written them want to become store owners, want to take over from him, he is kind of worried about what will happen to him, what is his legacy, what does he have to show in the world. i don't know whether it is a spoi spoiler alert or what, but does the son come back and take over? >> i think it is a question for many immigrant parents who take

up and do well. they come to another country and they do well. they want better for their kids. but in this family, the kids don't live up to the expectation of their parents. and so it is, okay, what -- >> but they are good kids. >> they are good kids, but career-wise, they are a photographer and work at a car rain it rental shop, which is fine. >> and what is it like being a multigenerational actor? >> i studied acting. never studied writing. it was like a skrecret i did on the side that i didn't want to share anyone. ever since i wrote the play, i had two kids and i got old. and i always wanted my kids to call me appa. so answer they were born. and now i play appa.

>> thank you very much indeed. >> thank you. and it really hit a chord that slice of life. ask amanpour is next.

i'm daniel lurie and i've spent my career fighting poverty,

helping people right here in san francisco. i'm also a father raising two kids in the city. deeply concerned that city hall is allowing crime and lawlessness to spread. now we can do something about it by voting yes on prop e. a common sense solution that ensures we use community safety cameras to catch repeat offenders and hold them accountable. vote yes on e. welcome back. let's find out what is on your mind. >> i work at a marketing agency and we're already using ai. but i want to know how we can educate clients and other agencies on how ai isn't scary,

it is actually something that can be leveraged. >> okay. it is a good question. when i had mustafa on the program last we're, the ai pioneer, he told me it is all about productivity and choice and remembering that ai can make everybody smarter, but it is really as he said our slave. it is a tool. we are in control. and that is your challenge. and that is all we have time for. if you want to ask me a question, scan the qr code on your screen now or email ask amanpour at cnn.com and remember to tell us your name and where you are from. don't forget you can find all our shows online and all major platforms. thank you for watching. and i'll see you all again next week