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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Harris Kicks Off Campaign In Battleground Wisconsin; Secret Service Director Resigns In Wake Of Trump Rally Shooting; Sources: Convicted Democratic Senator Menendez Resigning Effective August 20; Netanyahu In D.C. As Pressure Mounts From Hostage Families; Delta Still Canceling Flights As Other Airlines Return To Normal. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 23, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:07]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And then I don't know -- what is he going to do? Like pushes his nasal drop like it's hot, maybe?
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: What if he did do that? It would really add a little flair to the opening ceremonies.
KEILAR: I think so.
DEAN: But it is going to be so cool and see that smack dab in the middle of Paris with the Eiffel tower, it's going to be -- it's going to be great.
KEILAR: I love it.
All right. Can't wait to see Snoop Dogg and all the other folks.
THE LEAD --
DEAN: Look at that.
KEILAR: Oh, live pictures of Paris. So beautiful at this late evening, there.
DEAN: I know.
KEILAR: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, just wrapped up her very first rally.
THE LEAD starts now.
It has been a whirlwind 48 hours as more money and more delegates and more political attacks stack up for Vice President Kamala Harris. Ahead, there early signs of what Harris v. Trump 2024 matchup might look like. Plus, one day after that heated hearing and five partisan
condemnation, the U.S. Secret Service director resigned just as we learn more about how close the gunman came to killing former President Donald Trump. The chair of the House Committee now investigating the agency will be here.
And the special invite to Mar-a-Lago. Former President Trump announces Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, is headed his way with both Vice President Harris and the president pro tem of the Senate, Patty Murray, declining to preside over Netanyahu's speech to Congress.
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And we start today with our 2024 lead.
We've have some work to do, but we will win. That is the message today from Vice President Kamala Harris at her first campaign event as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Harris speaking in Milwaukee, in the critical battleground state of Wisconsin, where major Democratic elected officials, including the governor, have already endorsed her campaign only 48 hours into it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am so very honored. And I pledge to you, I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party so that we are ready to win in November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: The Democratic Party is continuing to coalesce around Harris. She scored two more big endorsements today from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of them from New York.
According to CNN's count Harris has also secured enough delegates endorsements to win the Democratic presidential nomination at the convention in August.
Now, Republicans are trying to paint Harris as an out-of-touch San Francisco progressive, a failed borders czar, a title she never actually had, as well as someone who concealed Joe Biden's health issues from the American people.
President Biden, for his part, returned to Washington this afternoon after his COVID, isolation in Delaware. The president announced he will address the nation tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern from the Oval Office on, quote, what lies ahead and how I will finish the job for the American people, unquote.
CNN's Eva McKend is on the campaign trail with Harris in Milwaukee.
And, Eva, Harris spent most of her first speech contrasting her record and her plans with those of Donald Trump. EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She did, Jake, but I
want to note that she started out praising President Biden very graciously, really applauding his legacy of accomplishment before she ultimately shifting into that the election argument. And it is clear that she wants to be the one that runs as the former prosecutor against convicted felon. She really spent the time outlining their different visions for America. She argued that her administration would be characterized by freedom, compassion and the rule of law versus a future Trump administration that would be defined as chaos fear, and hate.
And, of course, that word chaos stuck out to me because we have of course heard Nikki Haley say he that time and time again when she ran against the former president in the Republican primary.
But take a listen to how Vice President Harris is making this argument.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Do we want to live in a country of freedom compassion and rule of law or a country of chaos, fear and hate?
And in this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: It looks like we're having problems with Eva McKend's feed in Milwaukee, but our thanks to her for that report. It was 146 Eastern Time on Sunday afternoon when President Biden posted the announcement, the letter that he was not running for reelection. Within 24 hours, it seemed as though almost all of the Democratic Party had rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's presidential nominee.
[16:05:05]
CNN's Kayla Tausche reports now on how things came together, seemingly, so quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Vice President Kamala Harris, it's been a sprint, not a marathon. Her first appearance on the campaign trail as the presumptive nominee coming just hours after securing the backing of key party leaders.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: Vice President Harris has done a truly impressive job securing the majority of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party's nomination to be our next president of the United States.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Kamala Harris is a common sense leader, who knows how to deliver real results. TAUSCHE: Harris raking in more than $100 million mostly from new
donors, recruiting 58,000 new volunteers across the country and racking up critical endorsements from actor George Clooney after his call for Biden to step aside, to prominent voices across the party.
GOV. ROY COOPER (D), NORTH CAROLINA: I endorse Kamala Harris 100 percent for this job as president.
GOV. JOHN CARNEY (D), DELAWARE: I think we're going to see a whole different thing now. We've got a great person leading the way, our vice president.
REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D-CA): The reason nobody ran against her is because she's superb.
TAUSCHE: With the delegates onboard, the Democratic Party moving forward to make her official, in a process it pledges will be open and fair and conclude by August 7th. In Wilmington, Delaware, Harris helming a rebranding of Biden HQ.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, the name has changed the top of the ticket, but the mission hasn't changed at all. And by the way, I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be out there to campaign with her, with Kamala.
TAUSCHE: For now, Biden preparing for a final six months in office as Harris hits the campaign trail frail to finish the job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAUSCHE: President Biden now back at the White House where he'll work with advisers to craft his primetime address for tomorrow evening, where he'll describe his decision to wrap up his five decade political career in January and try to define his legacy -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Kayla Tausche, thank you so much.
Our panel is here to discuss.
Toluse, let me start with you. What did you make Vice President Harris's very first campaign speech as the presumptive presidential nominee?
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, for the first 48 hours of this campaign, it's been a campaign of superlatives, the fastest path to the nomination of any presidency -- in the presidential campaign in history, the largest amount of money raised in this event in Wisconsin, with their largest event of the year, the largest event for Biden or Harris.
And she made it a very short speech, but she made a pretty clear case of what she was going to be doing over the next six months, which is prosecuting the case against Donald Trump ahead of the election. She's hoping that she'll win that election and be able to be sworn in, in six months. But she made a very concise case about how she's a prosecutor, Trump
is a felon, and that's what were going to be hearing over the next several months that she can bring the case against Donald Trump in a way that was much more clear than what we saw from President Biden over the past several months who struggled to make a case against Donald Trump and people were worried about his age and his acuity. Those worries have gone by the wayside and now people are excited about Kamala Harris. She's going to have to keep that momentum over the next several months to make sure that people feel comfortable with her.
But so far, she has been running a pretty seamless campaign and she's in the driver's seat of the Democratic Party now.
TAPPER: Two days into it, seamless, yes, but a few more to go, but yeah, no, I agree.
Jamie, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who's rumored to be on the shortlist for VP, posted this video on X or Twitter today. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): My last flight in the Navy started at 250 miles in the space shuttle. A couple of days before undocking from the space station, and then flying Space Shuttle Endeavour back through the atmosphere. Mach 25, hitting the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Giant fireball all the way across the Pacific over California, over Texas, with a landing on Runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Just a curious time to be posting a video reminding everyone that you're a badass astronaut and Navy veteran. Just putting it out there.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So in fairness, that clip actually begins with a very self-deprecating story about his first day when everything went wrong. So just -- just saying that put no question. That's the right stuff.
I am hearing from -- look, he -- he's got it. He's the astronaut. He's the navy pilot. They're going to be the pictures in the flight jacket, the personal story, Gabby Giffords.
TAPPER: Yeah.
GANGEL: There is a lot up of lobbying going on for him and not unimportant. I'm told that Kamala Harris likes him. So I actually would say, look, they're vetting now and we don't know. But he's Arizona. He can help there. There's a Democratic governor to appoint his replacement. I would say he's on the short shortlist.
TAPPER: Short shortlist.
[16:10:00]
What are you hearing, Jeff, about the vetting process?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Without question, Senator Kelly is on the shortlist for all the reasons that Jamie mentioned. The vetting process is underway and it's going to be a truncated process. Her announcement for a running mate is likely to be in the next two weeks, perhaps even a little sooner that.
So this is not the three-month vetting process. So because of that sort of truncated timeframe, I'm told, that it's likely to be an elected official, someone who's already been vetted at least in some degree in a public campaign setting.
That leads you to one senator and a handful of governors, as we've been talking about, including North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. He's won six statewide races in North Carolina.
TAPPER: A state they would love to win.
ZELENY: Attorney general and governor. So that is not for nothing.
Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, he's won three times statewide as attorney general and again as governor. So those are very important.
But Tim Walz, also for Minnesota, has a story as well as a veteran teacher. And he also is seen as someone who could help geographically.
So I'm told what is going on right now is that normal vetting, the finances, the family, the voting records, et cetera. And also there will be some collection of data and polling to see which one of these can actually do well in their states. It's not a fait accompli that a governor can help someone win their state, but it could definitely help. So, a lot of information gathering at this point.
But for all other names being thrown out there and there are several others, of course, it is likely somewhere --
TAPPER: Andy Beshear in Kentucky.
ZELENY: Andy Beshear absolutely of Kentucky, you know? And you hear some other people not in the public eye. This is probably not the year for that because of the truncated period here.
So she's going to double down on someone who compliments her or not, but I think a governing pick here in this serious time and she has the benefit of knowing who Donald Trump's running mate is with J.D. Vance. They did not have that. So, perhaps someone to contrast him as well.
TAPPER: Yeah.
And, Toluse, CNN's Manu Raju questioned House Speaker Mike Johnson today about Republican Congressman Tim Burchett referring to Vice President Harris as a, quote, DEI hire. Take a listen to what the speaker had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This election, as I noted at the outset, is going to be about policies and not personalities. This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris and her ethnicity, or her gender, had nothing to do with this whatsoever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: No. That's not what Tim Burchett says. What do you say?
OLORUNNIPA: I'm sure Speaker Johnson would love for this to be about policy and not personalities. We have to remember who's at the top of the ticket on the Republican side, Donald Trump, who is always been about attacking people on personal matters, branding people with nicknames. He's already called it Kamala Harris, dumb as a rock and started to traffic in some of these tropes.
And so, even if Speaker Johnson would like for this to be about policy, I expect that in the short campaign, we're going to see a lot of these dog whistles. We're going to see a lot of ugly language and rhetoric. Kamala Harris team says they are ready for it, but it's an unchartered situation where the entire political apparatus is reorienting itself around a new candidate and candidate that's unlike any candidate, we've seen before. We've never seen woman of color at the top of the ticket, and that brings all kinds of things, including the kinds of rhetoric that we heard from the congressman.
TAPPER: Yeah. And, Jeff, today, Donald Trump said he wants to debate Vice President Harris but he already said that he is not going to participate in the ABC News debate, which was scheduled for September. So I don't understand what the situation he said. He didn't want to do ABC because they're biased, which is ridiculous thing to say, so it should be on Fox News. I mean, he had already agreed to debate --
ZELENY: Right.
TAPPER: -- President Trump -- I mean, President Biden. Why wouldn't he just do that debate with Vice President Harris?
ZELENY: We'll see. It's the classic debate over debates here. I mean, this is, we've seen it before, but he said he agreed to the ABC debate with Joe Biden, which is true. So it is sort of back to the drawing board in terms of negotiating a debate, but it clearly is a sign that they are not nearly as confident in challenging Vice President Harris as they may like to indicate.
And I think the rally speech in Milwaukee, not just that, this is something that complicates the case for them. This is going to be a test of and for the country, there's no doubt. But when she descended the stairs in Milwaukee and stood there for a picture with a young children, the young girls of the mayor of Milwaukee, those are images -- we are seeing here right now, policy aside, something that is going to look very different for the country, can see right here. This is something that is going to captivate voters more.
So back to the debate, we shall see. It's hard for me to imagine him not debating. TAPPER: Yeah.
ZELENY: But, you know, it's also -- she may have to agree to go on Fox for a debate. Is that going to be her bargain for sort of joining this party in progress? We will see.
My guess is she would do it. Talking about the prosecutor there -- prosecutors often appear in hostile courtrooms. So I think that there will be a debate regardless of where it is and we've got a preview there of what should we liken it.
[16:15:02]
TAPPER: All right. Jamie, Jeff, and Toluse, thanks all of you for being here.
Coming up next, the resignation of the director of the U.S. Secret Service, just as we learn more about why law enforcement failed to stop that gunman when he was trying to assassinate Donald Trump. The chairman leading a new committee investigation is going to join us next.
Plus, the meltdown at Delta. Why is this company of all the companies impacted still having so many problems after that big technical outage last week?
And this breaking news, protests right now inside a building on Capitol Hill with authorities detaining some of those demonstrators from the group, Jewish Voices for Peace. We are following this and more here on THE LEAD.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our politics lead, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned today, which should come as no surprise after her devastating refusal yesterday to answer a congressional committee's many questions about her agency's failures that led up to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump two Saturdays ago.
Today, a different committee, the Homeland Security Committee, heard from witnesses who were willing to answer questions and provided new information and the committee chairman, Republican Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee, is with us now.
[16:20:02]
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.
REP. MARK GREEN (R-TN): Yeah, thanks for having me.
TAPPER: Mr. Chairman, I should say.
First of all, what is your reaction to the resignation of Secret Service Director Cheatle?
GREEN: Yeah. I think it probably came a little too late, but I wish her the best in her future endeavors.
TAPPER: In preparation for today's hearing, you and other members of your committee visited the site of Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which is more than Secret Service Director Cheatle did.
What made the most vivid impression from actually being there on the ground?
GREEN: Yeah, I think when you stand in the spot where the president was and then take a look to your right and see that building that was uncovered, basically, they didn't have anybody on top of it and if you look at the footprint of that building, it's really several different buildings that were joined together with these hallways that are covered hallways.
So, it's all of these little nooks and crannies where someone -- the fact that nobody was covering that with eyes on 24/7 basically, during the event, it's shocking. It's really a revelation.
And the water tower that's there, and commands an incredible view would have been a perfect spot for a counter-sniper. And yet no one was there.
I think those things where the glaring things, but there were many others.
TAPPER: At today's hearing, the commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police revealed the two local officers from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit or ESU, left their positions, which had a view of the roof where the would-be assassin fired shots.
They left in order to search for a suspicious person who turned out to be that gunman. Let's roll that from the hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAN BISHOP (R-NC), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: To your knowledge, those ESU officers left that the location where they could look out the window to go in search of this person?
COL. CHRISTOPHER PARIS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE COMMISSIONER: That is my understanding.
BISHOP: Before -- so some time before the time he was -- between the time he was spotted on the ground and identified is someone suspicious until the shooting, they had left that post to go look for him. Is that what you're saying?
PARIS: My understanding is yes, along with other municipal officers that responded to that area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So that was news to us. What -- had you heard that before?
GREEN: No. I mean, I had not and the other thing that they said was that the actual prompting of that was Cooks -- the shooter actually using the rangefinder and he was actually taking range-finding -- you know, range distance measurements and, of course, had already been reported. I think it was 62 minutes before the shooting as being suspicious. They then see him using the rangefinder. They leave their position.
Now, the question is, did they alert anyone they were leaving who told them to leave. They go to look, of course, Cooks gets up on top of the building and begins firing, but -- yeah, I mean, there's some big problems there, but they actually when they -- what prompted them to leave was radioed through the Pennsylvania State Police to the Secret Service, about ten to 12 minutes before President Trump went on stage.
So were looking for a guy using a rangefinder. They get told by Pennsylvania State Police, and yet they still let the president get up on the podium. I mean, that's insanity.
TAPPER: Yeah, that doesn't -- that doesn't make a lot of sense.
Do you think that other people other than the Secret Service director should lose their jobs over these failures?
GREEN: I think what I'm most looking at right now is the person who was running that operations center during the event, okay? So he failed to make a decision there to stop the president.
I'm also looking at the pre-planning and the way that building was covered. There was another agent who went out and did the assessment and decided the assets that were necessary. Interestingly enough, they didn't have a drone. There were other assets missing. We're still trying to dig in to see if a K9 unit was used. So far, we're saying -- we're hearing there wasn't one.
So the people on the assessment team, we need to look at that leadership and we need to look at the folks the running the cell.
TAPPER: Also at today's hearing, we learned that the gunman apparently fired eight shots, eight shell casings were recovered.
What else did you learn today?
GREEN: Well, there's a big issue with command and control in these situations where you have multiple whole different agencies responsible. And this one had local sheriffs deputies. It had another counties ESU unit, which was sort of a SWAT team, basically taking people from various agencies to make a SWAT team. It had the state police and then, of course, it had Secret Service.
And then you've got EMS and others that are integrated. We have to find out why the communications failed in those multi-layered, you know, I spent time in special operations. Everybody can talk to everybody and why that isn't the case on this day guarding the president of the United States doesn't make any sense. We've got to get to the bottom of that.
TAPPER: All right. Congressman Mark Green, thank you so much.
GREEN: Thank you, Jake.
TAPPER: Good to see you, sir.
GREEN: Good to see you.
TAPPER: Sources tell CNN, these are the final days in office for Democratic Senator Bob Menendez when he plans to leave Capitol Hill after his criminal conviction.
Plus, what CNN is learning about potential plans to replace him.
[16:25:00]
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our politics lead, Senator Bob Menendez is resigning from the U.S. Senate after being convicted in a years-long bribery scheme. The New York Democratic -- the New Jersey Democrat announced today he is going to be gone next month.
Joining us now to discuss, David Chalian, who's CNN's political director.
But let's go to Capitol Hill first with CNN's Lauren Fox.
And, Lauren, this comes after the entire Democratic Party pressured Menendez to resign. What led to him ultimately stepping down because he sounded defiant initially?
[16:30:01]
LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, it wasn't just his Democratic colleagues asking him to step aside. It was also many of them threatening to expel him from the United States Senate if he did not make the decision on his own, Jake.
So I think that obviously had a major impact on Menendez's decision today. I just want to read part of his resignation letter from earlier today.
He said, quote: While I fully intend to appeal the jury's verdict all the way and including to the Supreme Court, I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work.
I do want to note that he is not leaving the Senate until August 20th. That obviously, about a month away at this point. Now, lawmakers will leave from Washington for their August recess starting next Thursday.
But, Jake, obviously that is raising some eyebrows given the fact that gives him a paycheck that taxpayers are funding at this point where he is ultimately going to step aside.
I asked some of his colleagues whether they had concerns about that. Sheldon Whitehouse said, given the fact they're going to be a way for August recess, he didn't want them make a fuss over it. Dick Durbin, the Senate Judiciary chairman and Democratic whip, said that he's pretty confident that at this point, Menendez won't be returning to Washington although he did note that he did not know that for a fact -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. And, David, it's obviously easier for Democrats to threaten to expel him knowing that the governor of New Jersey is a Democrat. So he will be replaced by a Democrat.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That does make it easier.
TAPPER: Well, who knows what they would be calling for if it were a Republican governor? But in any case, they have what they have. What is Governor Murphy's planning to fill that seat.
CHALIAN: Well, his plan is to fill it. We should state that he put out a statement today saying that the people of New Jersey need representation and he intends to fulfill that duty of his.
You know, his wife ran in initially in the Democratic primary.
TAPPER: Governor Murphy's --
CHALIAN: Governor Murphy's wife did, Tammy, the first lady of New Jersey, against the ultimate victor in that Democratic primary, Andy Kim, a congressman from the third congressional district, who is the Democratic nominee. That -- there's no love lost there between the Murphys and Andy Kim. So I would be surprised if he appointed Kim, whos running for the seat right now.
I think you should look elsewhere for an appointment. I don't know if elsewhere in the congressional delegation, but I don't believe hes going to appoint the first lady who dropped her bid for that Senate seat before voters voted in the primary.
TAPPER: So what's the thinking behind not giving it to Congressman Kim? I mean, that would be -- that would be politically, the most philanthropic gentlemanly thing to do, right? I mean, he's -- he's -- he's probably going to be the next senator from New Jersey, is a Democrat in a Democratic state. And why not give them a leg up and it sounds like he won't do it because he beat his wife in the primary.
CHALIAN: Well, I -- as I said, I don't think there's any love lost there, so that may be why he's not going to do it, although whoever he does appoint could indeed step down from that appointment in the aftermath of the November election, if Andy Kim wins in November, Jake, then he'd be able to be sworn in early and get some of the seniority privileges before the rest of the freshman class joins in January.
One thing to note, though, Bob Menendez hasn't yet said if he's going to drop his independent bid in running for this seat in November. He's resigning his seat. He still currently an independent candidate in this race. There's some concern that that could shave off some potential votes that would otherwise go to Andy Kim.
So we will obviously watch the state. As you noted, he is the Democratic candidate in a Democratic state but this is a race that well be watching all the way through.
TAPPER: And, Lauren, what about classified briefings? Menendez as the chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, and a member of the U.S. Senate, is he still going to be allowed in those hearings even though? So he has been convicted of a number of really horrible charges, including being a foreign agent, I believe. Is he still allowed to attend classified hearings?
FOX: Yeah, Jake. I actually pressed Senator Ben Cardin who is the current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about this very question.
And he said he didn't really believe that there would be any classified briefings given the fact that they are going to only be in session until next Thursday. But you can imagine, Jake, news happens, things happen, and that is a very evolving situation on Capitol Hill. If something breaks if there is some kind of security risks, senators are often come in to participate in these kinds of briefings.
This has been something that we've repeatedly been asking about, given the fact that as a number of the United States Senate, Bob Menendez does have clearance to be part of those briefings. Obviously, a bridge that lawmakers would have to cross if that were to come up.
TAPPER: All right. Lauren Fox and David Chalian, thanks to both you.
We're following breaking news from the halls of Capitol Hill. Demonstrators from an anti-war group, a group against Israel's war against Hamas and Gaza, handcuffed and detained. We're keeping tabs on this.
Also ahead, a former hostage once held by Hamas, her husband, remains a hostage. I don't think that that's what those people are protesting, though. She's in D.C. and she has a major demand of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is also in Washington.
[16:35:03]
She'll join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: We're back with breaking news. On Capitol Hill just moments ago, Capitol police were handcuffing and detaining members of a group that calls itself Jewish Voices for Peace. They're not particularly representative of Jews in the United States. They are opposed to the existence of Israel. They're protesting the war in Gaza.
The group says it's protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's upcoming speech to Congress. It is just his second day in the United States and the prime minister is already facing some intense pressure from Israeli families of hostages who are urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to the ceasefire deal, to what is shaping up to be a notable lack of prominent Democrats and attendance when Netanyahu addresses the Congress tomorrow, not to mention fierce dissent from a group of prominent senior Israeli figures who wrote a letter to Congress today warning that they see Netanyahu as a threat to both Israeli and American security.
[16:40:26]
Joining us now here in studio is Aviva Siegel. She was held hostage by the terrorist of Hamas for 51 days. Her husband, American citizen Keith Siegel, is still being held in hostage -- if you want hold up, there you go. Holding up the poster right there.
That's Keith Siegel, who is still being held hostage.
Thank you so much for being here.
AVIVA SIEGEL, FORMER HOSTAGE HELD BY HAMAS: Thank you for having me.
TAPPER: You called on Netanyahu to agree to the ceasefire deal, saying it's, quote, never been so close.
Why do you think the deal has not been agreed to yet?
SIEGEL: First of all, there's a deal on the table. And the only thing that I want to hear from Bibi Netanyahu is that Keith is coming home and 120 hostages are coming home. That's the only thing that I want to hear.
TAPPER: Yeah. And why do you think he hasn't said yes?
SIEGEL: I think that he wants the war to continue because he wants to win the war and it doesn't go together, but coming -- with getting Keith and the hostages out. He needs to stop the war and get kicked out.
What I went through with Keith in those 51 days was terrible and Keith is still day being tortured, threatened, he's starving. They used to starve us and even front of us. They didn't let us move. They didn't let us talk. They didn't get us anything.
We would taken underneath ground, 40 meters underneath ground, and just left there by the Hamas terrorists because there was no oxygen there.
And I what I was lying there, Salma husband nearly dead, and in my head I used to said all the time just died before Keith, please, because I did not want to see Keith dead.
And I want to thank Biden. I love him for all what he's doing -- he's given me the feeling that is doing everything we can and I want to ask him that if Bibi doesn't get Keith out, I want a beg Biden, please, get him out of there. He's 65, he's thrown on the floor like a rag, sometimes even without a mattress in conditions that aren't human, with people that aren't human.
What they did on the 7th wasn't human, and all the world heard it.
TAPPER: Yeah.
SIEGEL: They raped people, burned them alive, left babies without their parents in the crib for more than 17 hours, children were left without their appearance while the parents were dead in front of them, having in a cupboard. What happened was beyond.
And I want to tell everybody that we were the same people that did that. They're cruel. They were cruel to Keith. They broke his ribs and they wouldn't even let him lie down to relax his body.
TAPPER: You told CNN that you don't want to watch the latest hostage video showing Keith because you didn't want to see the sadness in his eyes.
How do you remain hopeful and aggressive in terms of trying to get him out?
SIEGEL: I love Keith so much.
TAPPER: Yeah.
SIEGEL: And I love everybody that's there. I was with some of them, they know what they're going through. I'm talking and screaming aloud for them. My strength is for them and I've been me, I haven't taken care of myself at all. It took me a month-and-a-half to eat a decent plate, like everybody else.
When I got out, I could not walk with that leaning on somebody. My body hasn't gotten back to my body weight, and all I'm doing is fighting and fighting and fighting with (INAUDIBLE) to bring Keith and to bring 120 hostages home.
TAPPER: Your daughters have appeared alongside you, calling on Netanyahu to get a deal. How are they? There's some pictures of you and your daughters. How are they doing? How is the rest of your family doing under these horrific circumstances?
SIEGEL: We finish. We hurt so badly. We upset, but we have to be strong. I've got grandchildren that they don't want me seen crying all the time.
So I'm strong for them and I'm trying to stay strong for my kids. And I love them for what they're doing for me and what they're doing for Keith, because they are amazing, they're chatting.
[16:45:01]
Just like me, my whole family has stopped working. Our new job is to fight for Kyiv and for the 120 hostages to come back.
TAPPER: What do you want the people watching now to know about Keith? SIEGEL: That he's the most sweetest gentle American, meanwhile that he's been living in Israel for years, but he's still American. He loves waffles, and pancakes, and when he talks, he talks like an American, he acts like an American.
He's very, very -- there for everybody. He sees the person in front of him first. He's a person -- he's a persons people.
Everybody loves him. He likes to talk, but everybody loves him.
When he was many, many years ago, there were people, Arabs from Gaza, that worked on the kibbutz, and he decided that he wanted them to talk to him. So he went and studied Arabic a little bit just to talk to them because he is a human person and he likes to communicate with people. And he's so good.
And in Gaza, he did everything, everything they told him. I did everything. I used to think to myself. Why are there so cruel to people that listen to them? Why?
But they took Keith's soul away from him and they took mine away from me and, you know, there's 20-years-old or 25-years-old treating Keith that 65-years-old? And people asked me if it were treated better because we're older people and the answer is no.
Keith is even treated worse than the girls, even the girls were touched whenever they -- whenever they felt like it, because they just did whatever they want to. And the girls were beaten into pieces. What I had to see that and keep quiet.
TAPPER: Aviva Siegel, we will keep covering the hostages and we are praying for Keith to come home as soon as possible. I hope Prime Minister Netanyahu hears you. I hope a deal, a peace deal comes through, a ceasefire deal comes through now, and I hope all the people in this country who don't understand how dark and twisted the terrorists of Hamas are. I hope they listened to your description of what happened.
SIEGEL: We need them, we need them back and I want to say thank you to everybody that's helping. There's so many people with us and we just need the world to understand that the leaders have been chosen to make this world a better world.
TAPPER: Yeah.
SIEGEL: And they need to wake up. And if Bibi Netanyahu won't wake up and understand that Keith is human and it is just a gentle person that needs to come back home, then we need Biden to tell him because I want to tell you that what happened to Trump, that people just can shoot --
TAPPER: Yeah.
SIEGEL: -- whoever they want to. They can touch girls whenever they want to. They can tell the girls to get into the shower and leave the door open and watch when nobody ever has seen the body.
TAPPER: Horrible, horrible.
Aviva Siegel, thank you so much. And we'll keep praying for Keith and for your family.
SIEGEL: Thank you so much.
TAPPER: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:52:20]
TAPPER: In our national lead, the global computer glitch that caused chaos and widespread disruptions to the airline industry last Friday impacted American Airlines, Spirit, Frontier, and United Airlines. But five days later, Delta Airlines is the only carrier still canceling flights.
Now, the Department of Transportation says it's going to investigate.
CNN's Isabel Rosales has this update for passengers awaiting for an end to their Delta travel nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DYLAN STEELE, FEDERAL WORKER: It's been an experience. It definitely has been an experience.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Delta Airlines still struggling five days after a massive CrowdStrike outage caused the airline systems to crash, leaving its customers stranded, while other airlines are back to normal.
STEELE: United Airlines seems to be back up and running.
ROSALES: Delta has canceled more than 6,000 flights since Friday, accounting for nearly 70 percent of all the flight cancellations in the U.S. on Tuesday.
Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Delta's headquarters and largest hub has been left in chaos. Rows and rows of bags lined the floors of the world's busiest airport.
Even celebrities like Charles Barkley are searching through it.
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: I'm looking around. It's going to be a minute because there's a lot of luggage here. I just flew in today, didn't have any issues. Well, I don't know that yet. I haven't found my golf club yet.
ROSALES: Frustration is everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not being picky. I'm just -- I will go anywhere in North Carolina but he booked us some tickets and before we got out of the airport, they had canceled them, five minutes later.
UNIDENTTIFIED FEMALE: This is out of control. It's not -- it's not okay.
ROSALES: Dozens of Delta employees from all different departments have jumped in to ease the pain for passengers.
BARKLEY: I fly Delta twice a week for 24 years. They're always been fantastic. I've never had issue, but in fairness though, they can't do anything about this.
ROSALES: But the Department of Transportation doesn't agree. Secretary Buttigieg today launching an investigation into Delta.
The airlines CEO, Ed Bastian, has apologized to passengers.
The airline responded in a statement saying in part: Delta is in receipt of the department's notice of investigation and is fully cooperating. We remain entirely focused on restoring our operation. Delta teams are working tirelessly to care for and make it right for customers impacted by delays and cancellations.
Such meltdowns are not new. Earlier this year, DOT reached a $140 million settlement with Southwest Airlines following an investigation into similar systems problems triggered by weather over the 2022 holiday. Like with that meltdown, Delta system that schedules crews for flights failed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They would cancel, delay, bump and then it would start all over again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:55:02]
ROSALES (on camera): And, Jake, this maze of luggage right here, this is the end result of all these delays and cancellation woes for Delta. Right now in the U.S., two out of every three flights happening right now, that are canceled rather, they are Delta flights or delta connected flights.
And, by the way, if you were curious, Charles Barkley, he did find his luggage. He was unscathed. He was one of the lucky ones here in Atlanta.
TAPPER: All right. Thank God. Thank God. I was worried about Sir Charles' clubs. I appreciate that update.
Isabel Rosales, thanks so much.
Vice President Kamala Harris has the money coming in, overwhelming Democratic support. But can she beat Donald Trump in November? The issues that will be the center of this new, revised, revamped 2024 race. One of her longtime advisors is going to join me.
Plus, I'll speak with a Democrat who did not think Biden was up for continuing the job as the top of the ticket.
And this major programming note, coming up Thursday, we will have an exclusive interview with former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. You can see that Thursday right here on THE LEAD.
We'll be right back.
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