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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Trump Again Suggests He Would Try To Prosecute His Political Opponents If Reelected; Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) New Orleans Discuss His Take On Former President Trump Retribution If Elected; Judge Orders Steve Bannon To Report To Prison By July 1; Biden Joins World Leaders Saluting D-Day Heroes On 80th Anniversary; Biden Says He Won't Pardon Son If He's Convicted At Trial. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired June 06, 2024 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00]
CASEY JORDAN, CNN CRIMINOLOGIST: There could be murders out there outside of the Long Island or New York area, because we know he was an avid hunter that may never be attributed to him. I think 10 is a minimum. We may never know the answer to that, and they may never be charged, but I think that we are all thinking more expansively based on these new findings.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Wow. These details we learned, they are just horrific. But we certainly appreciate you, Casey Jordan, and your insights into this. Thank you so much.
JORDAN: Always great to be here.
KEILAR: And thank you so much for joining us. AC360 starts now.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, the former president weighs in again about whether he'll use the criminal justice system for political payback, and again, suggests he might.
Also tonight, why Steve Bannon, his former strategist, is heading to prison in his own call for Trump supporters to, quote, "savage our enemies."
Plus, remembering a time 80 years ago today when Americans defeated the enemies of freedom and humanity on the beaches of Normandy, then helped rebuild a continent.
We begin tonight, keeping them honest, with the ongoing question of whether the former president, if reelected, would use the criminal justice system against his political opponents. Ongoing, because he keeps hinting at it. Speaking this evening in Phoenix at an event put on by the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, he confined the bulk of his remarks, immigration and the economy, but also railed against his criminal prosecutions and finished with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm telling you, we are in more danger from the enemy from within. With these lunatics, these fascists, these communists and we're going to stop that also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, these are words he's used in the past for the people prosecuting him or overseeing his trials. And as retribution talk goes, what he said today was pretty mild by comparison with what he's been saying recently, like this moment on Newsmax when asked about payback against his opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a terrible, terrible path that they're leading us to and it's very possible that it's going to have to happen to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That was two days ago, generated enough headlines for Sean Hannity on Fox last night to try and do damage control.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: My question is a very serious one. You know, people are claiming you want retribution. People are claiming you want what has happened to you done to Democrats. Would you do that ever?
TRUMP: Look, what's happened to me has never happened in this country before and it has to stop because ...
HANNITY: Wait a minute, I want to hear that again, it has to stop?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That's a Fox News host all but throwing his body between his guest and what his guest was about to say, what his guest believes, evidently. Here's what came next as Hannity kept trying and failing to reel things in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would have every right to go after them and it's easy because it's Joe Biden and you see all the criminality, all of the money that's going into the family and him, all of this money from China, from Russia, from Ukraine.
HANNITY: Will you pledge to restore equal justice, equal application of our laws, end this practice of weaponization? Is that a promise you're going to make?
TRUMP: Well, you have to do it. But it's awful.
Look, I know you want me to say something so nice.
HANNITY: No, I don't want you to say. I'm asking.
TRUMP: But I don't want to look naive.
HANNITY: I don't want to ...
TRUMP: What they have done to the Republican Party, they want to arrest on no crime. They want to arrest the person that won the nomination in a landslide.
I will do everything in my power not to let - but there's tremendous criminality here. What they're doing to me, if it's going to continue, we're really not going to have much of a country left. It's really - it is weaponization. You call it lawfare. You call it - some people call it just warfare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So now it's not just the metaphorical lawfare, but warfare against him and by extension, his followers. Meantime, the current president is in France commemorating the sacrifices thousands made 80 years ago and the real warfare they faced as they began pushing Nazi invaders back, first in the beachheads at Normandy, then finally to the gates of Berlin.
Speaking today, he did not mention the former president by name, he - President Biden did, however, say this about the threat to Europe from Vladimir Putin, and he said the threat to freedom everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're living in a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than at any point since the end of World War II, since these beaches were stormed in 1944. Now we have to ask ourselves, will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing brutality of the iron fist? Will we stand for freedom? Will we defend democracy? Will we stand together?
My answer is yes and only can be yes.
Democracy is never guaranteed. Every generation must preserve it, defend it and fight for it. That's the test of the ages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Joining us now is Biden-Harris National Campaign co-chair and former New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu.
[20:05:06]
Mayor Landrieu, President Biden spoke about the threat of authoritarianism, preserving democracy without directly naming former President Trump today. Do you think Trump, if elected, would seek retribution, including going after President Biden?
MITCH LANDRIEU FORMER MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: Well, Anderson, first of all, thank you for having me on this incredibly special day. 20 years ago, I was standing in the very place where President Biden was watching President Bush, and then-French President Jacques Chirac go through the same exercise of remembering perhaps the greatest day in history.
And our president represented the United States of America on the world stage and reminded us once again that democracy is at risk, both home and abroad. And he was very forceful about it, and he was very clear. And he said many, many times that democracy is not free. You have to defend it. You have to fight for it.
And if we don't do that, then basically the burden falls and blood is spilled from our youngest men and women who defend us. And for anybody that has been over there or seen that or been to Omaha Beach and seen the height that those kids scale to preserve freedom, you just - your heart not only breaks, but you sit in awesome wonder.
And one of the things the President has been trying to say to us, this is now his seventh speech on the subject, he'll talk about this tomorrow there, is that you have to preserve it at home and you have to preserve it abroad. Now, we have a person running for president of the United States again, who is a twice impeached president, who is now a convicted felon, who has said that if he's president of the United States, he doesn't believe that he is conscripted by the very constitution that those young men and women died to preserve, and that he could put SEAL Team Six out to kill his political enemies.
He's - he has - you had Sean Hannity on before who was trying, begging him almost to say, Mr. President, please say that you're going to follow the law. You remember Sean Hannity actually did the interview not too long ago when he said he'd be a dictator for a day.
So this is what we know about Donald Trump and we keep trying to find a somewhat of a bright spot in the soul of this man, and he comes up dark every time. And we know that Donald Trump wakes up every day thinking about himself. Then he thinks about hurting the people that hurt him. Then he thinks about helping his rich friends. That's who we would elect if we put him back and we'll be in great danger.
COOPER: Do you think he would actually go after President Biden?
LANDRIEU: I have no doubt that he will. I don't think that there is a one iota he learned from Roy Cohn, if you hit him, he hits you back. The difference here is that Joe Biden doesn't have anything to do with any of these prosecutions relating to Donald Trump. The reason why this has never happened in history is because we've never had somebody so venal that has been so disrespectful of the rule of law and the constitution that wants to be president of the United States.
It is a - we are a nation of laws, not of men. Nobody is above the law in the United States of America, not even Donald Trump, although every day he wants to prove to us that he is. And if the constitution is going to hold, if due process is going to hold, if the rule of law is going to hold, it has to take its course.
But let me say this. Notwithstanding the fact that Donald Trump is in fact a convicted felon and has more to come, the only thing that actually works is the people of America making a decision on Election Day. None of these cases are going to stop Donald Trump from becoming president. And if the people of America believe in democracy, believe in freedom
and I believe that they do, Joe Biden has given them the opportunity to see it, to know it, to understand it and to once again save America at this very perilous time, because ...
COOPER: There ...
LANDRIEU: ... if we don't act, it could get really bad.
COOPER: There was this moment today when Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, shared an embrace with an American war veteran.
LANDRIEU: Exactly.
COOPER: I want to play that for our viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Ukrainian president is very busy fighting right now.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: No, no, no ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a savior of the people and you bring tears to my eyes.
ZELENSKYY: Oh, no, no, no. You save Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He took his hat off to him.
LANDRIEU: Can you imagine?
COOPER: Yes.
LANDRIEU: Can you imagine the humility of that American who stormed those beaches and just put his life at peril and saw 10,000 of his fellow folks die that were there on that beach, saying to this young man who has been ferociously fighting Putin, who, by the way, today started defending Donald Trump, and Trump said he'll end the war in Ukraine. Well, essentially, he'll give NATO away and he'll give Ukraine to Putin. That is no way for the America, who is a shining city on a hill that Reagan talked about on the shoulders of what FDR talked about. That is not the America that we need.
Donald Trump's an isolationist. Joe Biden understands America's place in the world and that if we're not there, the preservation of democracy and freedom, both abroad and at home, is going to be at risk.
COOPER: Biden ...
LANDRIEU: That's what's at stake in this election.
COOPER: Biden made a direct comparison between World War II today and the war in Ukraine, saying we know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago. They never fade. Do you think that's going to be a driving message in the Biden campaign in the coming months?
LANDRIEU: Well, I think democracy and freedom are a driving message.
[20:10:01]
And, again, America has always been that indispensable nation.
Today, Mitch McConnell actually parroted the President's talk because Mitch McConnell understands this as well and all do - some other mainstream Republicans. But you may recall that when the President was trying to get funding from Ukraine, the whole bunch of very, very conservative MAGA folks held up the funding for Ukraine. Donald Trump said he wants to decimate NATO. Those are the barriers between us and autocracy and Joe Biden is standing in the breach right now on behalf of the American people, reminding us of the irreplaceable place that America plays.
And, of course, you couldn't have anything more poignant than having these senior men, whose - this is probably their last commemoration, to be there to remember the greatest sacrifice that the people of America ever made to save freedom in the world.
COOPER: Yes. It was incredible to see them there. Mitch Landrieu, thank you.
A perspective now from two CNN political commentators on the left and right, respectively, Van Jones and David Urban.
David, I mean, do you agree with Trump leaving the door open to prosecuting political opponents? Do you think he'd do it?
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. Listen, first of all, just real quick second. Mitch Landrieu, great, great guy, but, man, I wish we had Daniel Dale on to fact check on all the stuff he's saying. The President's never said he's going to send SEAL Team Six after his political opponents. Never once ...
COOPER: Well, his lawyers were making a legal argument to the Supreme Court.
URBAN: ... that was - exactly, it was a legal argument. Donald Trump - so Donald Trump never said that. You've heard Donald Trump ...
COOPER: He did say he could shoot somebody on the street and his supporters (INAUDIBLE) ...
URBAN: Well, he did say that. Okay, he did say that, Anderson, right? But Mitch is just, you know, he's defending democracy and keeping democracy free and keeping it, you know, alive in America. There's a Quinnipiac poll that just had - that's just out that shows in the state of Georgia that the Georgians trust Donald Trump to preserve democracy more than they trust Joe Biden. So if the Democrats are going to run on abortion and democracy, that's
their big underpinning. You got to vote for Joe Biden because the boogeyman Donald Trump's going to steal democracy from you. Well, the voters aren't buying it, at least in the state of Georgia.
So I think, Anderson, what you see, Donald Trump's pissed because of what he just went through. I think it's a lot of hyperbole. And as soon as he gets elected and he becomes the 47th president of the United States, he'll be on to governing.
Governing is a full-time job. Won't have time to kind of pursue his grievances as he was talking about tonight. You saw him, he said, look, we're not going to go there.
COOPER: Van, do you believe that governing is a full-time job for the former president and that he won't pursue grievances?
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it wasn't the last time. He spent a lot of time tweeting and a lot of time golfing and a lot of time going after folks, including calling the President of Ukraine and trying to screw Joe Biden and got impeached for it. I mean, I don't - it's a - I think it's wishful thinking on the part of my good friend, but what a contrast today.
You have Joe Biden standing there in the great tradition of the American people defending freedom on the world stage. You saw Zelenskyy risking his life, his country standing up against fascism. And then you have - from Putin - and then you have Donald Trump just mad and pouting and upset with everybody and won't take off the table that he will go after his opponents.
And listen to what he said. What he said was, there is massive criminality here. That's what he accuses America's law enforcement of. He accuses American law enforcement, Department of Justice, American law enforcement prosecutors of being massive criminals. That should send a shiver down the spine of everybody because that's the kind of talk that an authoritarian rolls out when he wants to discredit law enforcement and bring in not law and order, but law and tyranny. That's really what he's laying the groundwork for rhetorically.
Listen to what he says and look at what he did last time.
URBAN: Yes, but ...
JONES: You should be nervous.
URBAN: Yes, but to be fair, Van, I do - I think he's talking about Biden's family and Hunter Biden and Jim Biden. I think the Biden family writ large, I think that's what he was referring to, not the Department of Justice in that clip.
COOPER: But I mean, he's called them Gestapo.
JONES: (INAUDIBLE) already ...
COOPER: He's called the Department of Justice, the FBI Gestapo. I mean, it's not as if there's not a long track record of him going after this. And maybe there's one particular thing.
URBAN: Well, yes. And Anderson, I think that, you know, again, if the FBI showed up in raid jackets at your house armed like they did at Mar-a-Lago to come after some documents and paper boxes, I mean, he's not a drug kingpin.
COOPER: I actually wouldn't have a problem. If the FBI showed up at my house, I would let them in. And by the way, if they're armed, they're supposed to be armed because I know what the law is.
URBAN: But no, no, no, Anderson, not like they - Anderson, you saw the video. Come on. America saw that. They know. It was ridiculous. It's ridiculous the way they showed up. What did they expect?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: And David he gave them - they gave him advance warning. They - I mean, it's - this was not a raid. I mean, come on, David, you know better than that.
URBAN: I sure I remember ...
COOPER: David, I mean, I remember when you were on the air ...
JONES: One of the great things ...
COOPER: ... never mind. Van, I mean, I want to play the former president who recently told Fox News about Hillary Clinton.
[20:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL CAIN, FOX NEWS: You famously said, regarding Hillary Clinton, "Lock her up." You declined to do that as president.
TRUMP: I beat her. It's easier when you win. And they always said "lock her up," and I felt - and I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing. And then this happened to me. And so I may feel differently about it. I can't tell you. I can - I'm not sure I can answer the question. Hillary Clinton - I didn't say "lock her up," but the people said "lock her up, lock her up." Okay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Of course, he did say lock her up multiple times, obviously. But to David's point, he didn't have Hillary or attempt to have Hillary Clinton prosecuted as president. Should people take comfort in that?
JONES: Well, I mean, I guess, but he also just took it back. Like it's not - he's saying like no backsies. I mean, now he's saying maybe that he should. And so people should feel maybe less comforted going forward. Look, one of the great things about David Urban and I know him very, very well, when you see him dealing with young people, and he deals with young people from the poorest backgrounds, he is about personal responsibility. And that's why he's respected by Republicans and Democrats. He cares about kids, he cares about values, and he doesn't care about color.
The problem is, now when you're talking about Donald Trump, his personal responsibility to give those documents back that he had when he was asked, you should hold the same standard you hold these kids to, David. He should have given those documents back, and he would never have gotten rated. I just want us to have one standard for everybody, rich, poor, big folks, little folks, black, white and that's how you've ordinarily been. Don't change it now for Donald Trump.
URBAN: No, no, Van, I don't - listen - and Anderson, I don't disagree. Look, Trump should turn the documents over. I don't disagree to that. I'm just - we were talking about whether there - why Trump feels the way he does about the FBI and I'm saying that he feels the way he does because of that raid.
I'm not saying he shouldn't have turned those documents over. Of course he should have. If the Department of Justice asked for documents and you have them in your possession, turn them over.
COOPER: Van Jones, David Urban, thank you.
JONES: And if you don't, you get rated.
COOPER: Coming up next, Steve Bannon's journey, which is about to include four months behind bars.
And later, David mentioned Georgia, what women voters there from across the political spectrum make of Donald Trump's felony conviction and Hunter Biden trial, and whether one or the other will affect their choice in November. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:21:10]
COOPER: Tonight, one of the former president's staunchest allies and loudest voices for political vengeance of all stripes is heading to prison. Steve Bannon, who spent months fighting jail time for defying the House January 6th Committee, was ordered to begin serving his time just three weeks from now. More from CNN's Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: There's not a prison built or a jail built that will ever shut me up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Steve Bannon already using the judge's ruling that he'd report to prison by July 1st for his four-month sentence as a rallying cry for the Trump base. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: This is about shutting down the MAGA movement, shutting down grassroots conservatives, shutting down President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): Making his long-held taste for vengeance ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: We're going medieval on these people. We're going to savage our enemies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): Even more apparent in his recent media interviews and on his far-right podcast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: ... Old Testament, let's go eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): After Trump's conviction in New York, Bannon said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should be jailed. He called on GOP prosecutors across the country to seize the day and bring cases against Democrats. And he demanded Republicans in Congress step up probes into the Justice Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: The subpoenas should fly today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): Before turning his podcast into a MAGA megaphone, Bannon served in the U.S. Navy and later went on to become an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. He transitioned into media, going on to lead the right-wing Breitbart News, and eventually becoming involved in Trump's 2016 campaign and serving as a White House advisor.
Even after he was fired, he remained devoted to Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: He is an instrument of divine providence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): And a master of misinformation.
Bannon spun boilerplate language about how the FBI was authorized to search Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 into a baseless claim that Trump's life may have been at risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: They wanted somebody to bleed out. They were looking to have a confrontation that would be an armed confrontation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): And he's still peddling lies about the 2020 election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: If you do not believe the 2020 election was stolen, you're not at the railhead of this movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY (voice over): Now he may find himself staying true to these words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: You have to be prepared to go to prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Sara, isn't he facing another trial on the phony "Build the Wall" charity that he was part of? I mean, that's the thing he'd been already pardoned by Trump for before.
MURRAY (on camera): Yes, that's right. I mean, this is in New York. He's facing state charges, essentially saying that he defrauded folks by raising money to build a wall on the southern border and then allegedly funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to himself and some of his colleagues. Again, that trial is set for later on this year. He's pleaded not guilty.
And as you pointed out, that same conduct was the subject of federal charges. But those federal charges ultimately didn't go anywhere because Donald Trump pardoned Steve Bannon before he left the White House.
COOPER: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much.
Joining us now CNN Senior Political Commentator and former January 6th Select Committee member, Adam Kinzinger.
Congressman, the former president called it an American tragedy that Steve Bannon has been ordered to report to prison. And in the same post on social media, he went on to take a shot at you and the January 6th Committee, writing, "The unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement has reached levels of illegality never thought possible before. INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE FOR ILLEGALLY DELETING AND DESTROYING ALL OF THEIR FINDINGS." What is he talking about there? ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Nobody knows. Look,
Donald Trump and the American public, go to - it's on GovInfo. We have all of our evidence there on GovInfo. It's published. Donald Trump has had access to all of this. He has access to defendants through the Smith investigation. Donald Trump can call any witness in, his lawyers can, and depose them and get every piece of information.
But facts don't matter to him. I mean, that's obvious. He just wants to create this narrative.
[20:25:01]
He complains about the so-called weaponization of the Justice Department, and then puts out whatever his fake tweet thing is called that basically is saying, we're going to weaponize the Justice Department.
I mean, this is authoritarianism to the 10th degree. He lies to people. He takes their money. Steve Bannon, you know, Donald Trump raised money. They take it from people. They have no regard for anything that is what makes America truly great and they are absolutely losing their mind. There's mass psychosis going on right now.
COOPER: I mean, it is remarkable to me that Steve Bannon, you know, was facing these charges of raising money from small dollar donors, you know, who thought they were giving to build a wall. And the allegation was that the money was going to pay living expenses and, you know, other sorts of expenses they were having.
He gets pardoned by then-President Trump. He's now facing state charges on it. Bannon said he's going to fight, you know, all the way to the Supreme Court and win. Do you think there's any chance of that happening on him going to prison?
KINZINGER: No, I mean, I don't think the Supreme Court's going to turn his prison sentence down. I mean, he - it's very cut and clear. Like, he violated a subpoena by Congress. We gave him many opportunities to come in and talk. Look at the number of people, Anderson, that came in, spoke to our committee, and just took the Fifth Amendment. Nothing happened to them because they complied with the subpoena. That's the requirement.
He could have come in, he could have pled the Fifth and this would all be over. But he wanted to try to look tough to the MAGA base. Even as he's going to prison, he wants to look tough to the MAGA base because he's going to come out of prison in November or whatever, and he's going to monetize this so he can again make money from people that are going to give him this because they think he's some great fighter.
He's a con artist, he's a scammer and we saw that even in MAGA fundraising between the election and between actual January 6th. Hundreds of millions of dollars was raised on this idea of stop the steal and none of that money went to try to stop any steal. It went into the lawyers and into the pockets of Donald Trump and this just continues. And so I've always called this like - this is abuse of the American
people, convincing them that their very existence in life is at stake so you can extract one more dollar from them every day. And until the American people stand up and reject this, it's going to continue.
COOPER: Was the January 6th Committee able to work around Bannon's testimony or were there areas of your investigation that you still would have liked to explore with his testimony?
KINZINGER: Oh, I'm sure there's a lot. We would have liked to explore if he would have come in and testified honestly and openly. I think we got quite a bit of evidence. We made quite a strong case, but you never know what we don't know that he could have brought to light. And I think a lot of that through the Smith investigation we'll be able to see, because DOJ has a lot more than Congress has to be able to compel witness testimonies. We didn't do - we didn't give people immunity, for instance, to come in and talk. The DOJ can do that.
So they're going to be able to triangulate against him and get the information that he has. I guess we don't know what we don't know because we didn't get a chance to talk to him.
COOPER: Congressman Kinzinger, thanks so much, appreciate it.
Up next, we remember the pivotal day 80 years ago that changed the course of history and the brave Americans, Brits and Canadians and other Allied forces who put their lives on the line to liberate Europe and save the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:32:20]
COOPER: It was an extraordinary scene in Normandy, France today, where exactly 80 years ago, more than 150, 000 allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Their sacrifice in that defining battle led to the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany and ultimately the end of World War II.
In addition to the veterans and their families on hand today, so were many world leaders, some of whom warned of increasing threats against Western democracies, most notably Russia's war in Ukraine.
We talked about some of President Biden's remarks earlier. He said democracy is more at risk than at any point since the end of World War II and warned against ignoring the war in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We will not walk away because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and will not end there. Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: As we showed you earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was also in attendance. He received a standing ovation, shared that emotional embrace with a war veteran.
CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour witnessed it all, joins me now.
Christiane, President Biden's speech focused on the dangers of isolationism, drew a direct line from D-Day to the war in Ukraine. He said, we know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago, they never fade. What do you take away from his remarks and from this incredible day?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, honestly, this was one of the most amazing D-Day celebrations that I've covered, and partly because that the veterans probably will not be here for very much longer.
And so when he spoke like that, he evoked, in fact, not just the current tone, particularly in the United States of isolationism with the Donald Trump wing of the Republican Party.
But he hearkened all the way back to Ronald Reagan in 1984, the 40th anniversary of D-Day, when he himself also said that the way to peace is not to retreat across the sea and to hunker down at home, isolation has never worked as a way to get peace.
So it was a really important moment and of course because we are in the first of these raging European wars on European soil since World War II and since that incredible D-Day of 80 years ago.
COOPER: And I know you were able to speak with one of the heroes, someone I know you spoke to five years ago at the 75th anniversary, who's started a new career as a TikTok star, which is amazing. What did he tell you?
AMANPOUR: Honestly, this is Jake Larson, 101 years old. We did see him here five years ago, and we made a date to meet again.
[20:35:00]
I kid you not, we have been in touch making sure and hoping that he would be here. And sure enough, he was, and he was just phenomenal. You know, he said a number of things, including that, you know, they were just so young. He and his friend faked their age a few years before the war. He was 15. They joined up for the National Guard pretending they were 18.
And then all of a sudden comes World War II, and they find themselves signing up for this. And this is what he told me about that particular moment 80 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: You were all kids.
JAKE LARSON, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: We were all kids, yes.
AMANPOUR: And did you know then what you were fighting for? LARSON: Oh, oh, definitely. That we knew. Every one of us.
AMANPOUR: Tell us.
LARSON: Every one of us was prepared to give our life to kick Hitler's ass out of Europe.
AMANPOUR: And you did.
LARSON: And we did. We lost quite a few of us. I lost friends. Everybody lost friends. But we can -- we were soldiers. We were prepared to give our life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Just so amazing. Everything he said there was just so sharp. He remembers it like yesterday. And he said, you know, we're not the heroes. The heroes are up there. The heroes are all these people who are lying below these white crosses and stars of David. And he says something so profound. He said, that they died so that I could live. I had a wife and I had children. I have grandchildren. I had a life.
And in that human way, he actually told the whole world what World War II and D Day was all about to give us all the life of freedom and democracy that we expect and that is at risk right now.
COOOPER: It is incredible to think that this whole generation, I mean, that there are very few left. I spoke to a Survivor of Auschwitz, who was 93 several weeks ago for another story. And, I mean, you know, the people from that time, they're -- they are -- it's a dwindling number.
AMANPOUR: It sure is. And we could tell that, you know, 101, 102, you know, late 90s, and they were really, really well respected. Frankly, this was all about them. And President Macron of France gave 11 U.S. D-Day veterans, the highest civilian honor that you can bestow.
President Biden met each and every one of them as well, pressing American medals into their palms. I could see. And all they said, thank you. Thank you for saving the world. And those few words just say it all. They did actually save the world. And that's why this one is just so incredibly poignant because so much is at stake, with Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and putting all of this, you know, in question again, history does not move in a straight line, and these heroes told us, you know, and made us understand that yes, we might be able to still have freedom and democracy, but only if we fight for it and only if we are prepared to die for that kind of ideal.
It's incredibly profound and it -- it's never -- that cliche has never meant more than it did this D-Day.
COOPER: Well, we're not for their sacrifices and the sacrifices of so many, none of us would live the lives that we are living today.
AMANPOUR: Yes.
COOPER: Christiane Amanpour, thank you so much.
AMANPOUR: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Well, in the years since World War II, many U.S. presidents have honored D-Day's heroes and remembered the crucial invasions. CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at how past presidents have commemorated this day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fighting scarred the beach, the graves marked the land, and ever since, American presidents have remembered D-Day. Ronald Reagan gave what many consider the greatest salute to the young troops already old at the 40th anniversary in 1984.
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
FOREMAN (voice-over): That theme was actually launched by the man who commanded the Allied assault, General Dwight Eisenhower, who returned to Normandy with CBS News for the 20th anniversary, by then a former president himself.
DWIGHT EISENHOWER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The thing that pulled us out was the bravery and the courage and the initiative of the American G.I. We thought we had made the best plan that would save the most lives and get the most benefit out of it. But those are the people that had to do the job.
FOREMAN (voice-over): President Bill Clinton emphasized the international nature of the Allied troops.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They had come to free a continent. The Americans, the British, the Canadians, the Poles, the French Resistance, the Norwegians, and others.
But let us never forget, when they were young, these men saved the world.
FOREMAN (voice-over): George H. W. Bush was a pilot in World War II, to date, the last president to serve in the military.
[20:40:00]
But his son, President George W. Bush, acknowledged the special place of Normandy vets.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Generations to come will know what happened here, but these men heard the guns. Today, we honor all the veterans of Normandy and all their comrades who never left.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And so it has gone. President Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: These men waged war so that we might know peace. They sacrificed so that we might be free. They fought in hopes of a day when we'd no longer need to fight.
FOREMAN (voice-over): President Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Their mission is the story of an epic battle and the ferocious, eternal struggle between good and evil.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And President Joe Biden.
BIDEN: Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America's worth it. The world is worth it. Then, now and always.
FOREMAN: Just before that perilous invasion, General Eisenhower sent a note to his troops saying the eyes of the world are upon you. And each June, that is still true. Even as the last survivors like the battle itself pass into history. Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Incredible day. Tom Foreman. Thank you. Next, our Randi Kaye talks with undecided women voters in Georgia, Republican, Democratic and independent. See what they think of the guilty verdict in the Trump hush money trial and the Hunter Biden trial will either affect their vote. It's all part of our continuing series The 53 Percent heading toward election day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:49]
COOPER: As we saw tonight in Phoenix, former President Trump keeps calling his criminal hush money trial rigged and claims there was no crime despite his conviction on 34 felony counts.
During the trial, his former attorney Michael Cohen testified about the first time he told Trump about the Stormy Daniels story. He said to me, this is Michael Cohen saying, he said to me, this is a disaster, a total disaster, women are going to hate me.
Well, that story, of course, never got out before the 2016 election due to the catch and kill deal with the publisher of the National Enquirer. Now after the verdict, the New York Times is reporting a small shift in polling toward Biden.
In April and May, their survey of nearly 2,000 registered voters showed Trump with a three-point lead. This week, they called back those voters and found they now support him by only one point.
It's important to note it's a small sampling and a lot can happen obviously between now and November.
Recently, our Randi Kaye sat down with undecided Republican, Democratic, and Independent women voters in Macon, Georgia to see what they think of Trump's conviction and Hunter Biden's gun trial whether either case could impact their ballot choice. It's part of our ongoing series, The 53 percent, which is the average proportion of women voters in presidential elections since 2000. Here's Randi's report. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peanut brusio (ph), please.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What was your reaction when you heard that Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts?
EMILY AMOS, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: I wasn't surprised.
ANDREA COOKE, UNDECIDED GEROGIA VOTER: See, I was very surprised because not, I don't think that any of us believe that he would be held responsible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was not surprised, but I am disappointed.
KAYE: Given that Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, do you think you could still vote for him?
KAY BELIVEAU, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: I'm disappointed, but when you weigh the two candidates, I'm not thrilled with either one of them, to tell you the truth. I'm really not. But I do like a lot of what Trump did during his presidency. So, I may be leaning in that direction. Yes.
AMOS: I agree with you on that when Trump was in office, my business, it was thriving. I'm talking about quadruple sales. I mean, the business really, really thrived when he was in office. And since Biden has been in office, I mean, I'm always one step from closing my doors. You know, I'm not concerned about whether he's a felon or not. You know, it's like, is he going to be good for me and my business?
BRITTANY DANIELS, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: It's really kind of crazy that we are at this point where we are considering voting for a failure.
KAYE: I know. You have thought.
DANIELS: Like, that kind of x'd him out for me. But I am still leaning towards maybe a third party.
KAYE: What is the moment that you all are waiting for to decide? I mean, when will you know when you see it? When will you feel it?
AMOS: I don't know. You really can't put a time on it. I mean, I think as you get closer, it's that gut feeling.
BELIVEAU: I can't put a timeframe on it. There are a lot of things that I worry about with Biden. Inflation bothers me. His cognitive ability bothers me. His foreign policy. So, I mean, to me, those are negatives when it comes to him. I just got to weigh it all. KAYE: You know, you're considering a third party.
DANIELS: I am. I think the debates are really going to help me with who I'm going to decide on.
KAYE: You have eight children. When you think about Donald Trump in office and character, does that weigh into your decision?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. I think that that's probably the biggest determining factor for me is when I teach my children to be kind.
BELIVEAU: I mean, I've got to say Trump can be abrasive, extremely abrasive. I know that. But yet, when it comes down to the bottom line of what he's -- he did for the country during his term, I still feel good about that.
KAYE: Trump and his allies have continued to call this verdict political persecution. They say that the whole thing, the whole trial was rigged.
AMOS: I don't feel like it was rigged. I, you know, at the end of the day, there's an old saying, you know, the chickens have to come home to roost.
KAYE: What about, you know, the two of you as Republicans? I mean, he was convicted in the same way. A jury convicts people around the country every day.
[20:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't think it was rigged. I think it was set up.
BELIVEAU: Well, the timing of it, to me, it's just, you know, I can't help but think. Isn't that sort of odd that they would do this right now?
DANIELS: Now is the perfect time because of the election coming up.
AMOS: I think she's right. She said the perfect time for who.
BELIVEAU: Yes.
KAYE: Let's just keep in mind that this is the same Department of Justice that is now prosecuting Hunter Biden. The Democratic president's son.
AMOS: If you have enough power, you can wield anything.
BELIVEAU: It would be foolish to think otherwise.
KAYE: Does the charges that Hunter Biden is facing and the troubles he's facing legally, does that give you pause when it comes to voting for Joe Biden?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
KAYE: I think about people like you who are, you know, independent or undecided or leaning. And just not sure. And then you have this guilty verdict.
AMOS: I don't think it's going to hurt him at all. This will push his supporters even further in his corner. Because Trump supporters are staunch supporters. They don't care what this man does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can see people who would be interested in a third party completely writing him off as a result of it.
DANIELS: A lot of Trump supporters, I think they are having to sit with themselves and really think, would I really want someone who's been on trial for this to represent me.
KAYE: Should he drop out as a convicted felon?
DANIELS: He should, but he's not going to.
AMOS: People make mistakes in their life and that thing doesn't define who they are as a complete individual. So should him being convicted make him drop out? I would say no.
KAYE: How many of you think Donald Trump should go to jail? Two. Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you look others who have been convicted of the same felony. Right. Very few, the low percentage, have actually served time.
BELIVEAU: I cannot feel good about saying yes or no. I wish he had shown remorse, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Randi, what did the group of women have to say about candidates' ages? One of them mentioned cognitive abilities, or perceived cognitive abilities.
KAYE: Yes. Right, Anderson. We got an earful about that. Really, everyone in our group would like to at least have the option voting for a younger candidate. They would like to see a fresh face come into this race. They all told me they think it's time for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden to step aside and let a new generation come in.
Someone with fresh ideas, someone who might be more in touch with where they believe they are in their lives and also the direction that this country is heading in.
In fact, one woman said that one of the Democrats that we spoke to said that she thinks when you talk about age for these candidates, it's really important to talk about the age of both of them because they're only about three and a half years apart.
So she thinks that it's certainly fair to discuss that when it comes to both of them, Anderson.
COOPER: Randi Kaye, thanks so much.
Still ahead, one of the two trials these women were talking about. Day four of the Hunter Biden trial as prosecutors near the end of their case, they put their key witness on the stand, the widow of his late brother Beau. Details of her testimony, next.
Plus, what President Biden had to say when asked if he would pardon his son.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:10]
COOPER: Tonight, in an interview with David Muir of ABC News, President Biden reiterated that he will not pardon his son if he's convicted in his federal gun trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?
BIDEN: Yes.
MUIR: And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?
BIDEN: Yes.
MUIR: You have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: This comes after another dramatic day in court for Hunter Biden, as prosecutors put his brother Beau's widow on the stance. CNN's Paula Reid has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, federal prosecutors put their star witness on the stand in the trial of Hunter Biden, the widow of his late brother, Beau, who would become Hunter's girlfriend.
Hallie Biden testified as federal prosecutors are close to finishing their case against the president's son in Wilmington, Delaware. She testified how she saw Hunter with crack rocks the size of ping pong balls, witnessed him smoking crack, and even went with him to buy drugs from dealers in Washington, DC.
And how she had conversations with him between 2017 and 2018 about his drug use, telling him this can't go on. We can't do this. His responses would vary, sometimes saying, leave me alone, I'm fine. Or, at other times, I'm an addict and I'll figure it out my way. She also testified how Hunter introduced her to crack in 2018. It was a terrible experience that I went through. I'm embarrassed and I'm ashamed and I regret that period of my life. But Hunter's defense argues there's no evidence he was actively using drugs when he bought the gun in October 2018 and allegedly lied on the federal background check form. Hallie testified that she found drugs and drug paraphernalia in Hunter's car days later.
I did find some remnants of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. She went on to testify about when she found the gun, saying, I was afraid to kind of touch it. I didn't know if it was loaded. The prosecution then produced video evidence of her tossing the gun into a grocery store dumpster. I was so flustered. I realize it was a stupid idea now.
The prosecution also introduced text messages between the two, including when Hallie asked where Hunter was the night after he bought the gun. He responded, I'm now off Maryland Ave, behind Blue Rock Stadium, waiting for a dealer named Mookie. But Hallie also testified during cross examination that sometimes Hunter would lie to her about his whereabouts.
REID: The last witness that the jury heard from today was an older gentleman who found the gun in that dumpster. Now he testified he was rummaging through the dumpster trying to find recyclable materials to sell to earn some money when he came across the firearm at the center of this case.
Prosecutors say they'll have two more witnesses and then it'll be the defense's turn to put on their case they say they have two or three witnesses, but they still haven't decided if Hunter Biden will take the stand. Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Paula Reid, thanks so much. A quick programming note. President Biden speaks tomorrow morning from Normandy. D-Day ceremony is continuing there. And the president expected to talk about threats to democracy. It should get underway, we're told, at about 10:00 Eastern Time, and you can see it right here.
Of course, the news continues tonight. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. See you tomorrow.
