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The Lead with Jake Tapper

VP Harris In Arizona To Push For Abortion Rights; Trump & Johnson Speak Amid GOP Dysfunction; VP Harris In Arizona To Push For Abortion Rights. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired April 12, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

At any moment we are expecting to hear from former President Donald Trump and the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. They're holding a news conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. They say they're going to discuss election security though skepticism is warranted given the last time these two teamed up on the issue of elections. They were trying to undermine the 2020 election. CNN's Kristen Holmes is following all of this for us in Palm Beach, Florida.

Kristen, Trump and Johnson set to begin speaking in moments. What are you expecting to hear?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I am told that they are likely to relitigate the 2020 election, which isn't surprising since both of them were part of the effort to overturn that election. But I'm also told that they are going to highlight this issue of non- citizens voting. Now to be very clear, there's already a federal ban in place that would stop non-citizens from voting in federal elections. However, there is some nuance here, there are some cities in some states that allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, like the school board election or certain mayoral elections, but it is not an issue in terms of widespread fraud.

However, I got some pushback earlier today from advisors to Donald Trump who said this is also a way to prevent that from happening and alluding to the immigration crisis at the border, talking about this influx of migrants at the border. This is a way for Donald Trump and speaker Johnson to talk about an issue that they both want to talk about and link it to immigration, which is an issue that Americans care deeply about, voters, particularly cares one of the top issues, and something that they believe will help them in November in the election cycle.

Now, again, there is no real evidence that we have seen that this is an issue, but they are saying that this will be a way to prevent that from happening in the November election. This is also a way as we know, for Speaker Johnson to get some support from the former president at a time where his speakership is really in peril. TAPPER: All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. We're going to monitor the live feed of those comments and bring you some highlights of what Trump and speaker Johnson have to say, and perhaps a fact check if one is warranted. Who knows?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Vice President Kamala Harris is in Tucson, Arizona right now getting ready to talk about abortion rights in Arizona. Her remarks come just three days after the Supreme Court of Arizona upheld a law from the 1860s, one that would ban abortion in every case, including rape, including incest, except when it's quote necessary to save a person's life. Arizona's legislature had a chance on Wednesday to repeal this 1864 law. But some state lawmakers say Republicans left the chamber after blocking the vote causing this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's go straight now to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez who's in Tucson, Arizona where vice president Harris will be speaking momentarily talking about this issue of abortion rights.

Priscilla, what are we expecting her to say?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the program is just getting underway here. We anticipate that the Vice President is going to directly tie these unpopular abortion bans, including the state supreme court ruling here to former President Donald Trump. I'm told by sources that this has been top of mind for the vice president and she wanted to hammer home this message here in Arizona, particularly that the former president poses a threat to health care and to personal freedoms.

Now we got a preview as to what Harris is expected to say. That includes, for example, quote, "The overturning of Roe was a seismic event. And this ban in Arizona is one of the biggest aftershocks yet." She's also expected to say that the second term -- a second Trump term looks like more bans, more suffering, less freedom."

Now, of course, take the Biden campaign sees abortion as a salient political issue going into November. And just this week, they announced a seven figure ad by to air more abortion related ads in this state on the heels of that state supreme court ruling. And the vice president has been uniquely positioned on this. Early on this year, her team positioned her to tackle this issue head on over the course of the year by going on her reproductive freedoms tour. And while this is on a stop on that toward this is a campaign event because to show that they are leaning into this issue.

And look, I talked to a Democratic strategist who said this court ruling essentially is another data point for this ongoing argument that Democrats are making that Republicans are the extreme ones, that they are the ones that pose a threat to personal freedoms and to healthcare. So that is the message that we anticipate the vice president is going to hammer home here in a state, of course, that is a battleground state. It's a critical one for this campaign, and one that President Biden only narrowly won in 2020. Jake.

TAPPER: Yes, by about 10,000 votes.

Priscilla, how confident is the Biden campaign in securing a win because of this issue in Arizona?

ALVAREZ: Well, Arizona is one of a new -- it doesn't say if it could have an abortion rights measure on the ballot. That makes a difference especially in helping with voter turnout. Of course, this has been an election year where there's voter apathy, where there's not so much enthusiasm for either one of the candidates. And so, this -- if this is to be on the ballot, it essentially helps them mobilize voters get them out and galvanize that momentum. And in the campaign believes to vote for President Biden and to protect, they say, abortion rights.

[17:05:30]

But again, Jake, of course, this is a critical state for them. It's one that they hope to get a win in November, but it won't be easy. And also, it's a state where immigration, as you heard from Kristen, is top of mind for voters. And they think that this may be a way in to get those voters to the polls.

TAPPER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez in Tucson, Arizona. Thanks so much.

Let's discuss all this with my political panel. David, what's your take on the Biden's campaign -- the Biden campaign, his decision to send the vice president into Arizona trying to galvanize voters just a couple of days after the Arizona Supreme Court brought back this or said that the 1864 law was the one that had to be the law of the land, almost a complete abortion ban?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I mean, jumping on it instantly converting this event to a campaign event where she can go directly at the president free and unencumbered by a sort of an official event as vice -- as -- with the Office of the Vice President. And Priscilla said she's uniquely positioned here. You know, I think we also have to remember, she's the first ever woman to serve in the role of vice president. And that makes a huge difference in talking on this issue, not that the president can't talk about it to you, saw on that ad that he talks straight to camera on it, but if you have the first ever female vice president in the United States as your running mate on the ticket, and this is an issue animating your party to show up, you put her everywhere and anywhere where it is a relevant issue as it is instantly in Arizona after that ruling.

TAPPER: Ashley, I'm sure you think it's wise for her to go. How much do you think this issue of abortion rights is going to be a factor in places where lack of access to what is stark such as Arizona?

ASHLEY ALLISON, FORMER NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR FOR BIDEN-HARRIS 2020: I think it'll be an issue where access is diminishing, but also where it's not because of what can happen in the future. If we do not -- if Joe Biden does not secure the White House, we are most likely looking at some form of a national abortion ban. So it won't matter what your access is, you will now then have to fall under the law of the land.

I do think it's smart that Kamala Harris is going out there and talking about this. She's been doing it since the fall of Roe. And a lot of the polls in 2022 said that this was not going to be an issue that really carried Democrats. And it absolutely was. We saw it again in 2023.

And I think what this issue does in states, if you're someone who's like, I don't know, I'm not really super excited about the ballot but this is an issue that resonates with you, it gets you to the polls. And once you're at the polls, the likelihood that if you're a Democratic voter that you'll go ahead and cast your vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It works to the Dems advantage for sure.

TAPPER: Shermichael, Arizona's Governor Democrat Katie Hobbs, she's gone after Republicans pretty hard for refusing in their -- her view, to clean up a mess they started by overturning Roe v. Wade. Here's what she had to say today on "The View." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D-AZ): I am pretty tired of cleaning up Donald Trump's messes in Arizona. This is really nothing but political opportunism coming from these folks who wanted this. This is what they wanted when they work to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Now that they see it as a political Albatross, they're all of a sudden trying to run away from it. They can't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We see the Senate candidate Kari Lake, Republican, big MAGA woman has now completely gone from almost 100 percent pro-life to 100 percent pro-choice --

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, I mean --

TAPPER: -- just in this.

SINGLETON: I'm not surprised with that, Jake. Yesterday evening, I did a focus group with some Republican voters in South Georgia, rural Georgia and some from the suburbs of Savannah, all evangelicals. Most of them were pro-choice or most of them were not pro-choice, there's only one pro-choice ---

TAPPER: Yes.

SINGLETON: -- individual. And when I asked him, what did you think about President Trump's remarks, this should be returned to the states? They all agreed with the caveat. They all agreed, but they said that voters should actually have the right to vote on the issue. And so, I said, so if the President were to moderate somewhat to appeal to a broader electorate, would you be OK with that, even though you don't agree?

They said yes. One guy run out of South Georgia town by -- about 5,000 people. He said, Shermichael, the folks in Atlanta view this differently than those of us in South Georgia.

TAPPER: Sure.

SINGLETON: He said, I don't want Atlanta dictating our values and we shouldn't dictate our values on Atlanta. It was a very surprising responses by many of those individuals. So I think Trump, Kari Lake and many other Republicans are realized that it's not just Democrats who are saying we don't want this. There's a lot of Republicans who are saying this is a step too far.

[17:10:01]

TAPPER: And Jamie, Trump is signaling that he wants the Republican legislature in Arizona to change this almost total abortion ban in Arizona. This is what he had to say on Truth Social earlier today, quote, "The Supreme Court in Arizona went too far on their abortion ruling, enacting and approving an inappropriate law from 1864. So now the governor and the Arizona legislature must use heart, common sense and act immediately to remedy what has happened."

He went on to accuse Democrats of being extremists on the matter, although obviously, this is a rather extreme law. I think we can all agree on that. This is a case of the dog catching the bus.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: You took my line.

TAPPER: Did I?

GANGEL: You did. The key part --

TAPPER: Two hearts that beat as one. You owe me, Jamie.

GANGEL: Always. The key words, too far.

TAPPER: Yes.

GANGEL: This is -- you know, Priscilla talked about it being a salient issue in the campaign. I would use another word, it's a winner. And the Democrats feel it is and they're all saying -- I mean, they don't want this kind of legislation, but they are in effect saying, thank you, Arizona, because it is, as you said, bringing this to light.

TAPPER: And, David, regardless of Trump's opinion about leaving states, you know, leaving this issue up to the states, there are states that are taking it exactly where they want it to go like Arizona. Florida has a six week ban. And then I want you to listen to what Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council had to say. And one of the reasons why he's significant is the Family Research Council is one of the groups behind Project 2025, which is a group of conservatives that are preparing for the next Trump term. So he's a very significant person in the conservative movement, but also in Trump's second term. And this is what Tony Perkins said on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: I applaud the president for all the work that he did, and has done as president. But that work is not over. And this is not simply a state issue. This is for every level of government to protect the unborn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So David, and then Shermichael, I mean, conservatives, people who want a 100 percent ban are not going to stop even if it's unpopular.

CHALIAN: They're not going to stop. They've been advocating -- since Dobbs was overturned, Donald Trump, of course, to try and push back on that in trying to make a broader appeal to a general election electorate said he would not sign a national ban, should it come to his desk? He's trying -- so, does that mean should we take Donald Trump at his word?

TAPPER: Right.

CHALIAN: Or if he is in office again next year, will groups like that succeed in convincing him to actually sign legislation that this week he said he would not? Clearly, Trump is trying to find a way to broaden his appeal on this issue, to muddy it up a little bit so that it's not such a clear loser for him. Kari Lake doing the same, but it goes at odds with these powerful voices inside the Republican coalition. I think --

TAPPER: Yes. Tony Perkins is a powerful guy inside the Trump movement.

SINGLETON: I think there's a bit of a disconnect. I read quotes from Mike Pence, Vander Plaat, the president of Susan B. Anthony, Pro-Life Americans to the focus group. And I asked them, what are your reactions to these? And they all said a lot of times, Shermichael, these folks are a bit out of touch with what we actually think.

There's one lady, Catherine (ph), now divorced, a mother of three, her oldest daughter is 18 years old. And she says, Shermichael, if something were to happen to my 18 year old daughter, yes, it's against my religious beliefs, but I would want the option to at least consider it. I mean, Jake, we're talking about pro-life people here.

TAPPER: But that's not pro-life, that's pro-choice. No, no --

SINGLETON: Well, I know, but --

TAPPER: I'm saying -- they're saying that they're against abortion --

SINGLETON: Correct.

TAPPER: -- but they want the options.

SINGLETON: But they want the option.

TAPPER: That's the definition of --

SINGLETON: But that's -- but the point that I'm making here --

TAPPER: Yes.

SINGLETON: -- Jake, is when you listen to some of these voices, I do believe that there is a bit of a disconnect. Are there some who are absolutely no compromise? I believe so. And there was two individuals --

TAPPER: Yes.

SINGLETON: -- a part of the folks who said, you know, I think the federal government should do something, but most of the country doesn't want that. So I want to respect that. I don't think these leaders, I don't think individuals like Mike Pence, I don't think even individually Lindsey Graham with the 15 weeks appear to be in touch with at least some of the folks that I've been talking with. And in about a week or two, I'm going to talk with Republicans in Arizona. And I'm willing to bet, I think the senses will sort of be the same.

ALLISON: What those folks were saying to Jake's point is a pro-choice agenda.

SINGLETON: Yes, yes.

ALLISON: It's about individuals having the right to choose what they do with their life.

TAPPER: Right.

ALLISON: And that is actually a principle that runs pretty close to the Republican ideology. Well, at least it used to. And so, it will hit the independents and moderates that are the swing voters in the states. It will definitely mobilize our base. And for the folks in your focus group, they probably were already going to vote for Donald Trump. It's not going to move them.

SINGLETON: Yes.

ALLISON: But I think it helps the Biden campaign.

TAPPER: Very interesting. Much tomorrow with the panel, we're going to dive more into this contrast happening right now out there in the real world in politics. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:44]

TAPPER: Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are now taking questions from reporters. Let's bring you a little of that.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- talking about it. And we're thinking about making it in the form of a loan instead of just a gift. We keep handing out gifts of billions and billions of dollars and we'll take a look at it. But much more importantly to me is the fact that Europe has to step up and they have to give money. We've -- they have to equalize.

If they don't equalize, I'm very upset about it because they're affected much more than we are. The Ukraine situation would have never happened if I was president, would have never ever happened. And everybody says that, including Democrats that had happened is such an outrage. People -- millions of people are dead right now. Both sides, millions of people are dead.

Cities are blown to ashes, you'll never rebuild those cities, that certainly not like they were so beautiful. And this is something should have never happened. October 7 should have never happened in Israel, should have never happened. What happened there was outrageous. Iran was broke when I was president. People weren't buying oil from Iran.

They weren't allowed to. If they were going to buy oil from Iran, then they weren't going to do any business in the U.S. And I said it to China, I said it to everybody, they weren't doing business, they were broke. They didn't have money for Hamas. They didn't have money for Hezbollah.

It would have never happened. October 7 would have never happened. It did happen. And now it's a disaster and it's only getting worse. So, it's very sad.

No, I said with the speaker, we've had a very good relationship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, while you were in office, you said that you would sign a federal abortion ban and Congress sent it to your desk. Why should Americans trust your word that you would not do it now if you were reelected?

TRUMP: Because we don't need it any longer because we broke Roe v. Wade, and we did something that nobody thought was possible. We gave it back to the states and the states are working very brilliantly, in some cases conservative, in some cases not conservative, but they're working and it's working the way it's supposed to. Every legal scholar, real legal scholar, wanted to have it go back to the states. Democrat, Republican, liberal conservative, and we're able to do that.

You know, what we did was give it back to the states and now the states are working their way through it. And you're going -- you're having some very, very beautiful harmony to be honest with you. You have -- well, you have some cases like Arizona that went back to like 1864 or something like that and a judge made a ruling but that's going to be changed by government. They got to be changing that. I disagree with that.

[17:20:17]

Excuse me, please. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A follow up. Over the last few decades, Mr. President, you have both considered yourself pro-choice and pro-life, which one is it?

TRUMP: But you know exactly which one it is. And when I was in New York, and when I was a Democrat, also, just like Ronald Reagan, you know, Ronald Reagan was a Democrat, we sort of followed a very similar path. But if you look at what we've done with Roe v Wade, we did something that everyone said couldn't be done. And we got it done. And I give great credit to the Supreme Court and the justices for having the courage to do it.

What they did is very simply give it back to the state. And I'll tell you, the Democrats are the radicals on this because they're willing to have abortions in the seventh, eighth, ninth month, they're even willing, and you can call it what you want. But you go back to the governor of Virginia, of the previous governor of Virginia, the Democrat governor of Virginia, we're talking about execution of a baby after birth. And you can say what you want, but that's extreme and that's radical. And nobody should have that and it has to be ended.

Please go ahead. Go ahead, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir. Mr. President, do you think a motion to vacate rule should be finally changed? Or do you think that it's just creating chaos right now?

TRUMP: Well, it's unfortunate that people bring it up because right now we have much bigger problems. The country is a -- we're a nation in decline. We're declining nation. We have tremendous inflation. The inflation is coming back at levels that nobody thought they really would have.

If you look at the categories of inflation, they have the worst categories. Many categories are not included. And if you included that your inflation number would be substantially higher than it is now. And it's already at records. So inflation is back and a lot of bad things are happening in our country.

But that's the least of it. You've got Russia could end up -- and you could end up in a world war between Russia, Ukraine and all of the chaos and that something should have never happened, it would have never happened. What's going on with Israel, October 7, and what's going on with Israel could end up in a world war.

We have a president that can't put two sentences together. We have a president that can't find the stairs off the stage. We have a president that that doesn't know what the hell he's doing. And we could end up in a world war. You know, we have just a little bit less than seven months now, months before November 5, but that's an eternity when people are incompetent.

Go ahead, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support House's FISA bill that was passed this morning? TRUMP: Which one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FISA bill. And did you talk to any --

TRUMP: Well, I'm not a big fan of FISA. I looked at it and I studied it and I've know it probably better than anybody. You know, they spied on my campaign, you do know that, right? And they did lots of other bad things.

I'm not a big fan of FISA. But I told everybody, I said, do what you want. They put a lot of checks and balances on. And I guess it's down to two years now so that it would come due in the early part of my administration on the basis that we live up to the polls, because all the polls we just had another one come out. We're leading by a lot, but it comes out quickly.

I said you do what you want. But I'm not a big fan of FISA. I think it's terrible.

Yes, Bob (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to testify in your trial in the north (ph)?

TRUMP: Yes, I would testify, absolutely. It's a scam. It's a scam. That's not a trail. That's not a trial, that's a scam.

If you read Jonathan Turley if you read, Andy McCarthy, if you read the legal -- they said there's not even a case there. That's election interference by the Biden administration. They actually took the top guy. One of their top guys put them into the DAs office to run it, and it's a shame.

What they have done is incredible, the selection interference, and it's got to stop. It's a third world country. This country has never done it. But you read Jonathan Turley, you read Andrew McCarthy, you read the legal scholars, every single one of them said that whole thing is a scam. It's not even a crime.

And what they're doing is a crime. They are criminals.

All right, Bob.

BOB (PH): Why do you believe it is important for you to testify, take the stand in this upcoming trial? And what are you watching as jury selection begins --

TRUMP: Yes.

BOB: -- in New York?

TRUMP: Well, you know, jury selection is largely luck. It depends who you get. It's very unfair that I'm having a trial there. It's very unfair that we have this judge who hates Trump and has tremendous conflict, as you know, tremendous conflict. Nobody can believe that this judge isn't recusing himself. The conflict is at a level that nobody's ever seen before. So I have that and I have venue. We have all these things that we've asked for. They don't give us anything. It's a witch hunt that takes place in New York and that is taking place. And it's very bad for New York and it's very bad, and it's very bad for the judicial system in New York.

I am testifying. I tell the truth. I mean all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there is no case, they have no case. And again you have to read the scholars.

[17:25:08]

Read all of the legal scholars, I haven't seen one legal scholar that said this is a case. And in fact, even you people said, oh, gee, that's too bad, this is the first one. All of them are scams. They're all about election interference.

We have a -- we have a president that doesn't know where he is, he can't speak, the whole world is collapsing, the world is on fire, they have no respect for our country anymore. And the only way he thinks he can win is by doing this, you know, trials of Trump.

We have Fani in Atlanta, who has been so discredited now, that was a setup with her boyfriend so they could take trips and take a lot of money out and that's something that should be dismissed. Not just the prosecutor dismissed, the case should be dismissed. Every single one of -- look at what happened with Biden, he gets off scot free with 50 years of documents and classified information, he gets off scot free, and I'm still fighting that trial. The whole thing is a disgrace and it's a disgrace to our nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) according to the U.S. and Israeli intelligence reports.

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How should the United States respond in the same question for you?

TRUMP: I don't want to say who I spoke to, but for the president of our country to actually put out a warning that he thinks that we're going to be attacked or they're going to be attacked, it's pretty pathetic. They wouldn't be attacking Israel if I were president, that I can tell you, and they never did. They wouldn't be attacking. Iran was in no position to attack. They had no money.

They were broke. But now they have $221 billion, and they have Iraq who has $300 billion. And Iraq has become a subsidiary of Iran. With all that we've done, with all of the fighting, all of the death, look at what happened, how incompetent the whole thing is. But I don't want to say who I spoke to, but I think it's a very, very dangerous spirit. This is a very dangerous period of time in our nation. And a big reason that it's dangerous that we have a president that's grossly incompetent. Thank you all very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speaker Johnson. Speaker Johnson, why did you come here today?

TAPPER: All right. You've been listening to former President Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson was also there taking questions at the news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. They were asked about the border. They were asked about abortion.

Trump is even asked about speaker Johnson's job security as he faces a threat from Trump ally, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wants to have him removed as speaker.

CNN's Tom Foreman is standing by to do some fact checking of what was said. But while he prepares that, let's bring back CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.

Kaitlan, obviously, he said a lot of harsh things, false things, things that are braggadocious, as you might say, what's your take on what we just heard?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a few things stood out to me, Jake, and one you didn't hear speaker Johnson actually take any questions there. He talked at the beginning about some legislation that he wants to stand up, that I should note, that has zero chance of getting passed through the Senate. But in essence of how this went for Speaker Johnson, I mean, you see why he got on a plane today in Washington and flew down to Mar-a-Lago because he just stood next to the presumptive Republican nominee and leader of his party as he stood by him and said he's doing a good job under tough circumstances and did not throw any support behind Marjorie Taylor Greene's efforts to potentially oust speaker Johnson from that job and the way that she has said she has no confidence in the way he's handling that job instead, former President Trump there speaking up for him and praising the job that he's doing.

But Jake, what broke through obviously from that is how Trump is feeling about what Monday is going to look like, when he becomes the first former president to face a criminal trial. And he did say he's willing to testify, we'll see how his legal team feels about that. He has had a lot of animosity toward past attorneys who encouraged him not to testify, the E. Jean Carroll trial. But what he said there, Jake, really underscores the significance of what Monday is going to look like. And the former president said, jury selection is largely luck, it depends on who you get.

And certainly those two sentences are true, Jake, among the things that he did say. And what that jury looks like is something that his team is hyper focused on right now. Because all it takes is one juror for this case to not go the way that the district attorney Alvin Bragg hopes it will go. And so clearly you can see just how focused he is on what Monday is going to look like.

Jake, the other thing that we've been talking about all week is abortion. And you heard the former president there asked about why we should believe now that he won't sign a federal abortion ban if he's in office. Again, he says it would not be necessary because Roe versus Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. And I think a statement that the Democrats will probably be using in there ads, he said we broke Roe versus Wade. Obviously taking credit for that giving credit to the Supreme Court and the three justices that he put on that court.

But when he was asked one point, Jake, if he was pro-choice or pro- life, he said, you know the answer to that. But he did not say, you know, what that answer is, and that just stands out to me. I mean, we remember Governor Ron DeSantis, that he doesn't think Trump is pro- life that he thinks he actually, you know, is someone who, you know, puts forward policies that aren't conservative, and isn't actually a believer in that underlying policy. He didn't actually answer that question, Jake.

TAPPER: Yes, I mean, I think that that gets into question about whether or not he actually personally cares about this issue, or if he's just doing so because Republicans do and that's a way to get elected. I remember in 2016, New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, asked Donald Trump if he had ever paid for an abortion. And he said such an interesting question, what's your next question?

We should note that he did this big press conference talking about elections and such with this trial coming on Monday. His legal team had tried to delay it with any number of motions. Every one of them was rejected. It looks as though jury selection is going to begin on Monday in the first time in the history of the United States of America that a president, a former president faces a criminal trial. You say he's made his peace with it. But one might suggest that this press conference, this event today was -- is rooted in that.

COLLINS: Yes, well, and that's what Monday is going to look like, Jake. I mean, this is him making clear, you heard him just reciting everything they are about the merits of this trial, which we've heard him say time and time again, and has been fact checked here on CNN time and time again. He doesn't agree with it, but it is going to be happening. And I should note, Jake, as this is happening, his legal team is arguing with the judge who is going to be overseeing that trial, about what Monday is going to look like and about the questions that they are going to ask the jurors.

I think you should expect that jury selection process to take a lot longer than it is normally going to because they want to question each individual juror. And you can see just the emphasis on the weight of that and what it even means for Trump that he is also thinking about what that jury is going to look like and how it could affect him here whether or not he's ultimately convicted in this trial and what that means for him.

And, you know, he tried to downplay the legal threat that it poses to him there. But still, he is going to be on trial. There are going to be a slew of witnesses getting on the stand and testifying. And this comes as his legal team is debating, you know, what that jury selection is going to look like what they're allowed to ask the jurors, whether they can ask them if they feel that they are biased, and cannot serve on a jury in a fair manner.

And so that is something that is happening right now, 5:30 p.m. on a Friday as this trial is set to kick off on Monday, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thanks. And we'll see you back tonight on CNN on The Source, which airs at 9 o'clock Eastern. Everyone tune in to that let's discuss this with our political panel. David, what comes to mind after watching that?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, no doubt he wanted to set the stage for Monday. And I think the scheduling of this press conference, it was impossible not to expect that he wanted to set the stage for Monday to some to some effect. And I thought it was interesting to hear him say, you know, jury selection. It's just luck. It's just luck. He kind of was tossing that out with his litany of complaints against the judge that we're used to.

But this notion that he's just putting his fate in the hands of luck, must be very discomforting for him. No doubt about that. On the abortion issue, I agree wholeheartedly with what Kaitlan pointed out, not only did he not answer the question, are you pro-life or pro- choice, he said nothing that would speak to a commitment to protecting life, talk about this issue in the way that many in his party have spent decades doing.

He in fact, doubled down on the overturning of Roe, on getting this back to the states. And a justice is going to provide this opening to Democrats to say, yes, back in the states. Let me show you what's happening in Iowa. Let me show you what's happening in Florida. Let me show you what's happening in Arizona. He is helping the Democrats make that argument by sticking to this line about we just wanted it to get back to the States. It was interesting to hear him stay in that space.

And then the repetition, which just we've heard him say it many times. But as he's getting asked these questions about Ukraine aid and the like, this line of the Ukraine -- Russia would never have attacked Ukraine if I was president. The attack on October 7th would never have happened if I was president. I don't know how you're supposed to deal with that. How you can -- it's such a absurd statement to make, because there is no way you can prove that in any way whatsoever.

He has no idea if those world events would have happened or not if he was president, but he uses this as a contrast with Biden to try and say Biden is overseeing a world on fire. And I think that is something that the Biden team is concerned about. This notion of chaos in the globe not necessarily due to Biden's actions but Trump clearly wants to feed into this uncertainty globally right now in the world and attach it to Biden. And you saw him do that repeatedly in this press conference.

[17:35:13]

TAPPER: Shermichael?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Look, I think there's a sense among a lot of Americans, including many Democrats, that the President isn't strong on the economy, that the President isn't strong on immigration.

TAPPER: President Biden.

SINGLETON: President Biden, that the President isn't strong on any of the international conflicts. I mean, we see that Iran may potentially attack Israel any day now. You have people wondering, what does that mean in terms of potential U.S. military involvement? And here's Trump providing this contrast of I am this strong individual. Now, before COVID, at least the first two years, we had none of these disasters. Life was great, as Trump would argue.

And many people believe that to be the case. I think it's why you see many Democrats looking for another option, instead of President Biden. I think it's why many Democrats are worried about RFK, about Cornell West, about Jill Stein, in many of those battleground states. Do they seed some of that very critical support to any one of those other candidates?

TAPPER: Now, what do you think is the best way for Biden to counteract the international charges here that we're discussing? The idea that this -- it's interesting, because one of the reasons that President Biden won and beat Donald Trump, which he did fair and square, was because there was this perception that Trump was chaos, that Trump represented chaos. And who knew what he was going to do when it came to North Korea. And who knew what we're going to do when it came to this world issue or whether he's going to pull out of NATO et cetera.

And there is chaos right now in the world, now how much you blame it on President Biden is up to you. But there is chaos in the world, and Trump is almost portraying himself as Mr. Stability.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I still wonder what Donald Trump would do about North Korea and I -- he has the question out right now, what would you do around Ukraine to protect a democracy and it is not that the United States will step in and do what is right here. And so I hear the point about pre COVID. I think there are a lot of people in this country, though pre COVID did not feel like things were great. Whether it started with the Muslim ban, or family separation, or you name it, calling African countries, derogatory names, a lot of folks felt the chaos pre COVID as well as during COVID.

I think Joe Biden has to continue to remind people to your original question about how do you draw this contrast? I think people have to continue to remind folks, what was your life like four years ago, and when I look at my Facebook posts that come up, they weren't fond memories, quite honestly, in a political realm like some there is this jaded perception that everything was great under Trump. And that just is not the case. People felt the chaos.

And if he comes back, we will fill it again. It's not to say that things around the globe are stable by any stretch of the imagination. But I do feel more comfortable with having Joe Biden having the nuclear codes than Donald Trump at this point.

TAPPER: There is this other perception out there rooted in some reality that there is chaos in the United States because of the border issue, because there has been such an influx of undocumented immigrants, who whatever you think of the political stunt, Governor Abbott and others have sent to cities, blue cities, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, and they are a drain on resources that American citizens need.

So there is it's not just chaos abroad, there is a perception and again, how much you blame on -- and on Biden is up to you. But there is a perception also of chaos at home.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: There is no question the whole immigration and border issue is a problem for Joe Biden, end of story. The most Never Trump Republicans I know, every day say to me, when is he going to do an executive order? He has to take stronger action. That said -- and that's why Donald Trump wanted this press conference today to underscore that.

But to me, this press conference was classic Trumpian press conference. He was on the attack. He attacks the judge. He attacks Joe Biden, and what are the words you hear over and over again for Joe Biden, incompetent, incompetent, incompetent on all these other issues, dangerous period of time, it wouldn't happen. But that's not the Donald Trump we all know from the last four years, certainly not the one from January 6th.

Just one point --

TAPPER: What do you mean it's not the Donald Trump right now?

GANGEL: Well, I think the chaos and dysfunction were two words we use during the Donald Trump presidency over and over again, this notion that he's going to pull it all together and be Mr. Stability. One word on the jury selection that you mentioned about his saying that it's, you know, up to luck just remember he lost the E. Jean Carroll case.

[17:40:04]

TAPPER: Yes.

GANGEL: That jury pool was a lot tougher jury pool to draw from there were there were more potential pro Trump jurors there. He has to have a reality check maybe that this is a case that doesn't rely on testimony going way back in time. Their papers here, it's black and white. And this is potentially a harsher jury pool.

TAPPER: So before the Q&A with reporters that we aired for you, Mr. Trump and Speaker Johnson talked about elections as Bill Johnson cited the motor voter laws which allow people to register to vote at the DMV while they're getting their driver's licenses. Johnson said people can check a box saying they're a citizen, but that states don't require that they have to prove their citizen. Johnson said he's going to introduce a bill to require citizenship in order to vote, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: We're going to announce to get a day here stand alongside President Trump that we will do everything within our power to ensure that we do have free and fair elections in this country. If we don't have that in a constitutional republic, we have nothing. It's the basis of who we are as a nation. And we owe that to the American people. And so what we're going to do is introduce legislation to require that every single person who registers the vote in a federal election must prove that they are an American citizen first, have to prove it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's bring in CNN Tom Foreman. Tom, help us put this into context.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The speaker is jumping on a bandwagon here with a very wobbly wheel. That's what we know. The simple truth is that they're talking about something that doesn't exist. We do not have a problem in this country, of people who are here illegally voting, not at any measurable level, if you want to register to vote, you have show a driver's license. You have to have a social security number.

They do check that information against other databases. And you have to affirm that you are a U.S. citizen under very stringent penalties if you're caught, including jail time, deportation, fines, maybe that's one of the reasons that even when the conservative Heritage Foundation looked at possible fraud cases, from '22 -- from 2002 to 2022, they looked at roughly more than a billion lawfully cast ballots, more than a billion. And they could only find 100 examples of non-citizens voting.

And usually when these are found, it's often a confusion because somebody went and did something else with the government and thought they were entitled to vote. So that's one of the reasons critics are long have said the Republicans here are talking about a solution to a non-existent problem. Again, Jake, to make it very clear, this country does not have a problem of election security in any measurable level, and certainly not based on people coming from other countries.

TAPPER: Right. It happens but very, very miniscule numbers, it's not a serious threat when it comes to election security. Again, it happens, but very seldom.

FOREMAN: It's vanishingly small.

TAPPER: Yes.

FOREMAN: I mean, it's so small, that it's just beyond compare, and the same with the claims about people coming from Venezuela and emptying the prisons. And Congo, as he used to say, oh, by the way, I want to point out the Trump has been making this claim about people coming in from other places to claim that the speaker jumped onto there, that people are coming in illegally and then voting. He's been making that claim way back. He said, that's why he why Hillary Clinton beat him with the popular vote. He said in 2020, that's why Joe Biden did well in Arizona, and there is zero, zero evidence of it.

TAPPER: Tom Foreman, thanks so much. Let's bring in CNN, Sara Murray. Sara, what did you make of Speaker Johnson's claims regarding proof of citizenship in voting?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, just to echo again, well, we've said it's already illegal if you are a non-citizen to vote in U.S. elections, there's a steep penalties. We also heard Speaker Johnson talk about states needing to look through their voter rolls. States are already required to maintain their voter rolls and to remove ineligible voters. So if they did come across someone who managed to register to vote as a non-citizen, again, states can run that against other databases they have access to if they find that. They do remove those people.

The other thing I thought was interesting that we heard from Mike Johnson today was he wasn't even coming out here saying that this is a widespread problem. He was floating this sort of conspiracy theory that migrants are coming into the country that they're going to welfare offices and that since they're going to these welfare offices, they're definitely going to register to vote when they're at these welfare offices. So he's sort of creating this problem out of thin air that again, the numbers don't show and saying this is why we need all of these additional steps.

TAPPER: All right, Sara Murray, thank you so much.

Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking now at Battleground Arizona. Let's listen to the Vice President.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon. Can we give it up for Yosamia (ph) please? You know it takes so much courage and we've seen this from women around the country to tell what is a private personal matter. And you do it for the sake of all of the people who must hear and must understand and to remind so many women that they're not alone. You're a great leader. Thank you Yosamia (ph).

[17:45:27]

Where is Mayor Romero? There she is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're an extraordinary leader. The mayor and her daughter met me on the tarmac as Doug and I got out of Air Force Two and I want to thank you for the warm welcome and for your courageous leadership as well. It's good to be here. It's good to be back. Thank you.

And it is good to be here with the next United States Senator from this state of Arizona, Ruben Gallego. And I have worked with Ruben. And I will tell you he is a tireless fighter for the people and families of Arizona and essential partner to President Biden and me. Representative, we have I wanted to be here today, I know that we are all praying for him. We -- I was asked -- his wife is here and I said to her, you know the thing I love about Raul, he is such a fighter and he's a street fighter, like he is a fighter. He is a fighter.

And so we know he's going to be OK. And we are thinking of him as he begins his treatment for cancer. I want to thank as well my dear friend and the president of Reproductive Freedom For All Mini Timmaraju, where she? Thank you Mini for your leadership. And a special thank you to all the organizers in Arizona who are collecting signatures to put the right to reproductive freedom on the ballot and in the state constitution.

And to the thousands of organizers from across our nation who are joining us virtually today. And I also want to thank the Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes. And all the other leaders of the Arizona State Legislature including, of course, Senator Eva Burch, who so bravely shared her story. Thank you for your incredible courage and determination.

Arizona, this fight is about freedom. This fight is about freedom. And the freedom that is fundamental to the promise of America. The promise of America is a promise of freedom. In America, freedom is not to be given. It is not to be bestowed. It is ours by right. And that includes the freedom to make decisions about one's own body and not have the government telling people what to do.

However, as we know, almost two years ago, the highest court in our land, the Court of Thurgood and RBG, took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America. AND now in states across our country extremists have proposed and passed laws that criminalize doctors and punish women. Laws that threaten doctors and nurses with prison time even for life simply for providing reproductive care.

And then just this week, here in Arizona, they have turned back the clock to the 1800s to take away a woman's most fundamental right, the right to make decisions about her own body. This decision by the Arizona state Supreme Court now means women here, the women here live under one of the most extreme abortion bans in our nation. No exception for rape or incest. Prison time for doctors and nurses and abortion made illegal before most women even know they're pregnant.

The overturning of Roe was without any question a seismic event. And this ban here in Arizona is one of the biggest aftershocks yet. And understand, this law was passed in the 1800s before Arizona was even a state, before women could even vote. What has happened here in Arizona is a new inflection point.

[17:50:10]

It has demonstrated once and for all, that overturning Roe was just the opening act, just the opening act of a larger strategy to take women's rights and freedoms part of a full on attack state by state on reproductive freedom. And we all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this.

During his campaign in 2016, Donald Trump said women should be punished for seeking an abortion. Don't forget that. He said women should be punished. As President Donald Trump handpicked, three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended, intended for them to overturn Roe and as he intended they did.

And now because of Donald Trump, more than 20 states in our nation have bans. Now, because of Donald Trump, one in three women of reproductive age in our country live in a state that has a Trump abortion ban. And let us understand the impact of these Trump abortion bans, the horrific reality that women face every single day now in our country. Because since Roe was overturned, we all know the stories and I'll tell you, I have met women who were refused care during a miscarriage.

I met a woman who went to the emergency room and was turned away repeatedly because the doctors were afraid they might be thrown in jail for helping her. And it was only when she developed sepsis that she received care.

I visited a clinic in Minnesota and met with courageous dedicated medical professionals who see clinics like theirs forced to close, denying women across our country access to essential and lifesaving care, breast cancer screenings, contraceptive care, paps. Donald Trump is the architect of this health care crisis. And that is not a fact by the way that he hides. In fact, he brags about it.

Just this week, he said that he is, quote, proudly, the person responsible for overturning Roe, proudly responsible for the pain and suffering of millions of women and families, proudly responsible that he took your freedoms. And just minutes ago, standing beside Speaker Johnson, Donald Trump just said the collection of state bans is, quote, working the way it is supposed to.

And as much harm as he has already caused, a second Trump term would be even worse. Donald Trump's friends in the United States Congress are trying to pass a national ban and understand, a national ban would outlaw abortion in every state, even states like New York and California. And now, Trump wants us to believe he will not sign a national ban, enough with the gaslighting, enough with the gaslighting.

We all know if Donald Trump gets the chance he will sign a national abortion ban. And how do we know? Just look at his record. Just look at the facts. You all know I'm a former prosecutor, just look at the facts. Congress tried to pass a national abortion ban in 2017. And the then President Trump endorsed it and promised to sign it if it got on his desk.

Well, the great Maya Angelou once said, when someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time Donald Trump has told us who he is. And notice that Team Trump have an additional plan to attack reproductive freedom, a plan that they intend to implement on day one even without Congress. They want to use another law from the 1800s. It's called the Comstock Act to ban medication across all 50 states, no matter if it's currently legal or not.

[17:55:21]

So here's what a second Trump term looks like. More bands, more suffering, and less freedom, just like he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 1800s. But we are not going to let that happen. Because here's the deal, this is 2024, not the 1800s. And we're not going back. We are not going back. Joe Biden and I trust women to know what is in their own best interest. And women trust all of us to fight, to protect their most fundamental freedoms.

So Arizona, this November, up and down the ballot, reproductive freedom is at stake. And you have the power to protect it with your vote. It is your power. It is your power that will put this right in the Arizona state constitution and elect the state legislature who will defend freedom, not trying to take it away. It is your power that will stand leaders like Ruben Gallego to the United States Senate and help secure a majority of members in the United States Congress who simply agree, who simply agree, this is all we want, simply agree that the government should not be making these personal decisions for other people.

And it is your power that will send Joe Biden and me back to the White House. And when Congress passes a law that restores --

TAPPER: All right, you've been listening to live remarks from Tucson, Arizona. Vice President Kamala Harris talking about abortion rights in that state, a place where the state Supreme Court just said that the 1864 ban on abortion in almost every single case has to be the law of the state of Arizona. Let's go straight to CNN's MJ Lee at the White House. MJ, the Vice President really going after former President Trump in the speech.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And listening to those remarks, Jake, you got a really good distillation of why the Biden campaign is going all in on the issue of abortion. You heard the vice president there saying government shouldn't be able to tell people what to do with their bodies. And she said that the Arizona Supreme Court ruling was one of the biggest aftershocks after Roe v. Wade was overturned. And then she asked the question and who is to blame for that, it is Donald Trump.

And in fact, she pointed to the fact that minutes before she took the stage they are in Arizona, Donald Trump down in Florida took credit for and boasted for what happened under his administration, and that he was basically responsible for Roe being overturned. And this has been sort of the Biden campaigns a broader strategy on this issue is to paint a picture of how families have been affected by this landmark ruling.

Obviously doctors and medical professionals fearing for, you know, being penalized for doing their jobs. And, you know, their message overall is basically this is what the world is going to continue to look like if the other guy comes back to the White House. That of course, is Donald Trump. And under the other party that of course, refers to Republicans. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, MJ Lee at the White House, thanks so much.

Let's bring back David Chalian. David, I suspect that we're going to hear a lot more of that from Vice President Harris from now until November. CHALIAN: Perhaps on a daily basis, Jake. I mean, three arguments were really clear there. It's Donald Trump's fault. That's clear, as MJ noted. Donald Trump is gaslighting you and lying to you, when he says that he won't sign the national abortion ban. She said enough of the gaslighting. And then she turns it and says she makes it a proactive argument to this Democratic group. We're going to prevent this from happening. He wants to take us back to the 1800s. This is 2024. So it gives that forward looking proactive not just negative on Trump but mobilize for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris around this. That's the argument.

[18:00:09]

TAPPER: All right, a preview of what the next seven months are going to be courtesy of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris just now on the show.

Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, Democratic Senator John Fetterman from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, that's Sunday morning at 9:00 and noon only here on CNN.

Our coverage continues now with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." I'll see you Sunday morning.