>> welcome to "live from paris." trump says his indictment is marco my country and the u.s. is going to hell, he says. how ex-president trump this cashing in on the controversy over the hush money scandal. china's officials have already said a meeting between the

taiwanese leader and the most senior republican in congress amounts to a diplomatic insult. emmanuel macron is in china with a direct message -- emmanuel macron is in china with a direct message, saying supporting pressure means you are in conflict. this is "live from paris." thank you very much for being with us. donald trump says the united states is going to hell -- his words -- after his indictment on 34 charges of bookkeeping fraud. his appearance at the manhattan criminal court saw him make history for the wrong reasons. is the first former president to face criminal charges.

the charges revolve around $130,000 payment in hush money over an extramarital affair. >> greeted by supporters on his return to his florida home, donald trump painted himself as a victim as he laid into the judge hours after he was advised by him not to make statements which would cause civil unrest. >> i have a trump-hating judge with a trump-hating wife and family whose daughter worked for kamala harris and now receives money from the biden-harris campaign. >> trump has called on his supporters to protest on his behalf. some rallied outside the courthouse tuesday, but so did opponents, and the crowds were smaller than expected. a pole in the hours after trump's arrest found that overall, 56% of americans approve of the charges against him while 31% disapprove.

>> usually, rich, powerful men never have to go through the things ordinary people have to experience. >> they brought up this case to humiliate him, to stop him from running. this is a sheer political persecution. >> a hard held belief among trump supporters and republicans like ted cruz who have rallied to his side, calling the charges political, partisan, and an abuse of power. x this is not strictly a judicial proceeding. this is a political proceeding, and i think the president was very stoic in the face of it. >> donald trump said at a press conference, i could shoot somebody on 5th avenue, and they would still vote fore. in the short term, in the primary, it will help him in the long term in the general election, i think this is very bad for him.

>> when asked if president biden was watching his former and possibly future opponent's court appearance, the white house's response -- that this is not something that is a focus for him. >> let's get some broader analysis. a former state and federal prosecutor joins us, often someone we lean on for advice for legal issues here at france 24. always a pleasure to see you. are you disturbed donald trump has raised all this money off the back of this indictment? it is a phenomenal amount. i'm reading 10 million dollars at least. >> i'm not as disturbed by that as i am disturbed by the comments and statements he made last night after the proceeding in court. regarding the money he has raised, we will have to see how much of that is real, how much of that he is just saying he has raised because he is, obviously, prone to hyperbole to say the least. you have a clip there from mild

colleague. in the short run, it is probably not surprising that his base is mobilized, but in the long run, that race is very different than what is needed for him to return to power, so to speak, in a general election. they are two very different electorates that are informed and influenced by very different things with very different views, and that base is a minority of the electorate in the united states. >> the judge reportedly asking trump -- asking both sides not to make statements that would inflame. trump saying the u.s. is going to help -- going to hell. that seems to be an insult to the judge, at the very least. >> yes, it is. no sooner did he leave the court that he returned to his old ways. as adam schiff so eloquently put it in the first of the

impeachment trials against trump, youannot expect him to change. he will not. there is nothing that will change him. we have seen this time and time again. this is what he does, and it is extremely dangerous. one cannot overstate the risk of violence that society as a whole is subjected to from his remarks. we have seen it time and time again. even isolated, lone wolf-type actors to mass crowds and organize private militias that rally, as we saw, january 6. there is a lot of havoc that can be reached. the judge has power within his court room ultimately, he could take more extreme measures such as issue a gag order, and it might be headed that way if trump crosses certain lines. one could argue he has already crossed it, that he has even criminally incited people by some of his remarks outside of the courtroom. that is obviously not a position that the federal authorities have taken, for example, because

i have done nothing to crack down on this type of speech, but if done inside the courtroom, the judge can take action on it, so this is something that will have to be monitored. >> is there a sense that this is all playing somehow into the trump playbook? he is getting maximum coverage, he's on television all the time, and he is sounding o. to him, i suppose that adds up to winning. >> i don't know if it really adds up to winning in his mind, but it is better than the alternative for him, which is to take a pummeling without reacting, and he is desperate to return to power, and this is the only real path he has to achieve that because he is coming from a base, as i mentioned just a moment ago, of essentially a minority of the electorate that is going to support him, so he has to hyper energize them, including by possibly extrajudicial means, which makes it dangerous. one of the reasons he is so desperate to return to power is that is really the only way he

can avoid all the consequences seemingly of these various prosecutions that are arrayed against him. we only have this one in new york so far, so despite all the polemic and debate about that is the most important one, right now it is simply by virtue of being the only one that has been warmly brought, but if others are brought at the federal level or the georgia state level, trump is going to find himself facing real consequences, including real prisoner, and i think in his mind, the only way he can avoid that is by resuming the office of the presidency. >> as ever, thank you very much for joining us. state and federal prosecutor and very often our legal touchstone for matters related to politics. of course, watching for development, and we are getting more from our washington correspondent who is sending back to joining us coming up

shortly on the program. next, taiwan's president met with the leader of the u.s. house of representatives. this meeting seems to be pushing the u.s.-china relationship to the limit. china used the meeting as a diplomatic snub. beijing sees taiwan as a legal breakaway state. no less than the u.s. president himself committed to defend taiwan if china should launch an invasion. over the past year, china has carried out military drills around taiwan, raising fears of an assault. >> the friendship between the people of taiwan and america is a matter of profound importance to the free world, and it is critical to maintain economic freedom, peace, and regional stability. i believe our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my life. >> discussing with congressional

leaders this morning, i reiterated taiwan's commitment to defending the peaceful status quo. their unwavering support reassured the people of taiwan that we are not isolated and we are not alone. >> kevin mccarthy and the taiwanese leader meeting in los angeles. there has been a news conference held. tell us what you got from that. >> you heard about the unwavering support showing her and the taiwanese people that they are not isolated. she said she was grateful to have the united states on their side. she also reiterated commitment -- taiwan's commitment to the peaceful status quo. that is a very important line. we will get to that in a moment, but this was a pretty historic

meeting. the first time a speaker of the house of representatives and taiwanese president met on u.s. soil. the taiwanese president arrived at the reagan presidential library here in california to cheers and jeers. there was a large taiwanese diaspora in california. many of them made the trip down to southern california to meet her and expressed support, but there were also counter protesters. there was a smaller group of probation protesters carrying banners saying "one china: taiwan is a part of china." that same banner flying behind a plague moments before the taiwanese president arrived. it also included leaders that beng to thselect commiee on strategic competition between the.s. and chinese communist rty. that isomething that was created under kevin mccarthy's

leadership in january, and it was a very important meeting for both parties. kevin mccarthy -- it was a very important meeting for both leaders. kevin mccarthy, one of his key trademarks -- he actually penned an op-ed saying rising tensions between the u.s. and china was a sign of a new cold war, and was, tsai ing-wen wants to bring home support from the united states and its other allies. >> fair to say, isn't it, that china not pleased about this meeting. what can you tell us on that line? >> absolutely. as i was saying a moment ago in that statement, the taiwanese president saying her country had reiterated its commitment to the peaceful status quo. that is an important line because let's be honest -- none

of the parties involved here, taiwan, china, or the united states, have any interest in escalating this any further, if it's militarily or geopolitically. this meeting was held in taiwan. -- this meeting was not held in taiwan feeling that it's best not to ruffle beijing's feathers. kevin mccarthy wanted to travel to taiwan himself. clearly there was some pushback from taiwan to hold this somewhere else. california was chosen. more or less neutral ground, far from washington, d.c., but still, china has made its anchor -- has been very vocal about its anger ever since the past couple of weeks that we have heard the rumblings of this meeting potentially happening. it has made threats. it said that this could lead to

confrontation. the chinese consute here in los angeles said this meeting was absolutely not conducive to peace or to regional stability and security. no sign of any changes on the ground right now except for this morning, the taiwanese defense ministry did spot a group of chinese aircraft carriers sailing south of taiwan, but apparently they were on their way to the western pacific to carry out military drills there. >> thank you very much indeed for filling in the gaps. china angry at what is taking place, but say england -- tsai ing-wen seeing it as a ringing endorsement. and joe biden committed to defend taiwan back in december should china make their move on the territory. we, of course, watching ■all developments. emmanuel macron is in china to put himself between xi jinping

and vladimir putin. the french president has been speaking to members of the press shortly after arriving. he condemned the recent visit to moscow by china's president. he plans to say supporting russia is the same as being an accomplice in the war in ukraine . >> a potentialame changer -- that is france's view on china's role in the ukraine war. as he kick started at three-day state visit, the french president said beijing could hold the keys to ending the conflict. >> they were led by russia and ukraine has profoundly affected the international order as we have known it -- the war led by russia and ukraine. >> the countries are not quite on the same page. eu leaders have criticized china for friendly ties with russia's president putin and for strengthening support to moscow.

china claims it is seeking a peaceful end to the conflict, but western countries are dubious after xi jinping's visit to moscow and the announcement of a peace plan, seen by many as one-sided. >> we welcomed it, but do we agree on all of it? no. but it still proves a will to engage in a resolution of the conflict. if it is not a plan to peace, it is at least a willingness to show responsibility and build a path towards peace. >> president macron is being joined on the state is it by the head of the eu commission, ursula von der leyen. a show of european unity. >> we will bring you more on that visit emmanuel macron to china as it unfolds. the meeting with xi jinping scheduled for some time tomorrow. confrontation between israeli

police and palestinian worshipers broke out for a second time wednesday at a mosque in jerusalem. israeli police entered the compound and tried to evacuate worshipers using stun grenades and firing rubber bullets. witnesses say worshipers through objects at the police. there was no immediate comment. it all comes during the muslim holy month of ramadan and jewish passover sparking further fears of violence. we will bring you more as we get it. sad scenes. time for the business. brian quinn joins us. starting with that visit to china by emmanuel macron. trade ties are very much in the spotlight. >> indeed. macron has brought quite the entourage with him, 50 business leaders, including the heads of edf and airbus.

macron will be trying to even out france's deepening trade imbalance. last year, france imported 77 billion euros worth of goods from china while only exporting 24 billion euros worth. the visit comes as relations between beijing and the west are growing increasingly tense. the u.s. has been leaning on allies to cut china off from key exports like advanced microchip technology. urszula von der leyen last week called for eu oversight on european exports and investments in china. macron, though, reiterating that he does not want to decouple the european and chinese economies. >> and so in a way, we had to do risk our economy -- we had to derisk our economy and not be totally dependent. we should not dissociate and separate thinking that in the

long run, we have nothing to do together anymore. >> next, switzerland has ordered credit suisse to cut or cancel some 50 million to 60 million euros worth of bonuses. the order comes in the wake of the lender's emergency state-arranged takeover by rival ubs last month. wednesday, ubs held its first shareholder meeting since that merger in which it acquired credit suisse for around 3 billion euros, a fraction of its precrisis value. the takeover has angered credit suisse shareholders and swiss taxpayers for whom the rescue could end up costing around 260 billion euros. a swiss regulator says the nation would have faced a nationwide bankrupt -- bank run if credit suisse would have been allowed to go bankrupt. the euboea ceo says while the situation is not ideal, he expects it to pay off for investors. >> this acquisition preserves the financial center as a pillar

of swiss prosperity. it provides a stable and sustainable solution. credit suisse's clients will benefit from the additional value, services, and global reach the combination with ubs will bring and the other way around. and while we did not initiate these discussions, we believe the transaction is financially attractive for ubs shareholders. i'm convinced we made the right choice. >> pharmaceutical giant johnson and johnson is offering nearly $9 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits in the u.s. alleging its talcum powder cost cancer. if approved, the payout would be one of the largest liability settlements in u.s. history. >> as long as i can remember, johnson's baby powder made me feel soft, fresh, and loved. >> it has been a staple in bathrooms for decades since it

first went on sale in 1890 four. >> a softer, gentler way to get every bit of your drive. >> johnson's baby powder has also been the center of tens of thousands of lawsuits, alleging the talc-based powder causes cancer. now the company is offering to settle current and future claims in north america to the tune of $8.9 billion. if agreed by a bankruptcy court and plaintfs, the settlement would be paid out to tens of thousands of claimants over 25 years. johnson & johnson maintains this is not an admission of wrongdoing and that their talcum powder products are safe, but resolving the issue was in the best interest of the company and stakeholders. before the 1970's, talcum powder was often contaminated with asbestos, a carcinogen, but since then, all home products containing talcum powder are legally obled to be asbestos-free. studies have shown that traces sometimes remain, though. a reuters investigation in 2018

alleged that johnson & johnson for decades that asbestos lurked in its talc products. the global giant has denied the claims. johnson & johnson stopped selling its baby powder in the united states and canada in may 2020, and is descending global sales this year. it will sell a cornstarch-based baby powder instead. >> mounting support from plaintiffs to take that settlement, so good news for johnson & johnson on the market. shares are up 4%. >> story to watch. the applications are huge. thank you very much indeed for the business. great to see you. time to go truthing or faking. a series of viral videos apparently showing violent clashes between french police and firefighters during pension

reform protests. truth or take? >> that's right. following the massive strikes in france and the ones to come, including one tomorrow, we have seen many accounts showing these images online that allegedly show violent altercations between french firefighters and policemen during pension reform protests. for example, with this claim posted on march 26, where this user says french law enforcement officials versus firefighters, who wins? we have the same post by a known influencer, known for his pro-russian positions on social media, claiming french police have squared off against firefighters in open combat as the firefighters join french resistance fighters, referring to these pension reform protests. let's take a look at these video -- let's take a look at the video that is posted.

we do indeed see these very violent physical altercations between firefighters and policemen, almost like a war scene between both. this was a video posted by the first user that we saw to find the original video, the clue right here on the corner, this logo that says hz press. with an advanced search, we found the original post posted on january 20 8, 2020, so not march 2023. referring to this video, a video that belongs to the firefighter demonstrations that took place on january 29, 2020, as firefighters demanded better working conditions and recognition in france. >> still distressing to see the police and firefighters coming to blows, no matter what the

context, but it is faked in terms of what it is purporting to be. and not the only week you found, is it? >> -- not the only fake you found, is it? >> it is not. here is a viral video posted on march 28 where allegedly police was preventing firefighters from going home. the caption in the video in reads that firefighters just want to go home, but they won't let them pass. thank you, macron. as the video continues, you see more scenes of these violent, verbal clashes between firefighters and police, but once again, this video posted on tiktok on march 28, it is not recent. you can find this video on the youtube page of this local radio program here in france posted on october 16 2019, when thousands of firefighters protested in

france alongside nurses and emergency workers as they demanded once again better working conditions. demonstrations that ended in these violent clashes that we see right there. and one more example, this post with this photo or this user says firefighters demonstrate in front of the police, # pensionreformprotest. we see these firefighters standing in front of police as they seem to charge them. with a quick google search, we find the original video in this youtube post from february 2, 2020, where we see the same images right here, an and image this user claims belongs to the recent pension reform protests but actually belongs to these violent fire fighters protests. that took based in the year 2020 in france. >> how easy it is to twist and manipulate the facts and create

a different narrative. clearly the people doing this have massive agendas, it is fair to say. the firefighters did join in the pension reform protests, did they not? >> even though the images we just showed did not take place in the context of the pension reforms, this does not mean that the firefighters did not take part in these recent protests. we have images of local media reporting on these firefighters that joined the parisian demonstrations who were applauded by the crowd for joining in, and another report by al jazeera on the same group of firefighters that showed mass french protests over pension reforms, so they did join in. just altercations were not as violent as they were in the year 2019 and 2020. we have more of these examples. you can always visit our observers site at france24.com. >> thank you for truth or fake. and thank you to brian quinn for

the business. and thank you as always for watching. more to come "live from paris."

04/05/23 04/05/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> earlier this afternoon, donald trump was arraigned on a new york supreme court indictment returned by a new york grand jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. amy: 34 felonies. that is what donald trump is facing after being arraigned in a new york courtroom, becoming the first u.s. president ever to be crill