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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Trump Falsely Suggests Harris "Happened To Turn Black"; Hamas Political Leader Assassinated While Visiting Iran; Trump Claims Harris Would Be "A Play Toy" To World Leaders; Answers To Questions About COVID-19; Beaver County Officials Dispute Testimony By Acting Secret Service Director. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 31, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
ILONA MAHER, TEAM USA RUGBY PLAYER: But just trying to stay grounded and I think it's -- what it means that I'm -- feel comfortable sharing myself and I hope that other people resonate with it.
I think it's kind of like if you can see it, you can believe it. I get to see it every day with my teammates around me and I, Tapper, Nicole and they helped me to see it .So, if I can just expect spread that to them, it's hard to be confident, it's hard to be that. But if you can see somebody else do it, maybe it'll help you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Inspiration abound, Boris and Brianna, here at these Olympic Games in Paris.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Go Team USA.
Coy, thank you so much for that.
And THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Donald Trump has minutes ago suggesting the Kamala Harris just recently happened to turn Black, which must have been big news to her classmates from Howard University.
THE LEAD starts right now.
The former president making other wild claims at a combative Q&A at the convention of Black journalists, a group with members with whom Trump has sparred and insulted in the past. Trump not only questioning the racial identity of Vice President Kamala Harris, but also so making questionable statements about her being a DEI hire.
Plus, two assassinations just hours apart. The political head of Hamas taken out on Iranian soil hours after a top Hezbollah commander was killed in Lebanon. Israel has acknowledged responsibility for one of those killings, but the Israeli prime minister is saying the country has delivered crushing blows to its enemies. How will all of this impact the hostage and ceasefire negotiations, not to mention wider tensions in the Middle East?
CNN's Clarissa Ward will join us live from Tel Aviv in moments.
And local Pennsylvania law enforcement at odds with U.S. Secret Service over what really happened at that rally where Donald Trump was shot. A district attorney and SWAT team commander speaking out to CNN in an interview you will see first here on THE LEAD in just minutes.
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
So many -- so many news headlines guaranteed from this one Q&A with former President Donald Trump today, just minutes ago at the National Association of Black Journalists or NABJ convention. It all began with ABC News' Rachel Scott asking the former president why Black voters should trust him given his past racist comments about various lawmakers and political rivals, and his past coziness with racist elements of the MAGA movement.
That's what she asked about. And here is part of Mr. Trump's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You don't even say hello, how are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country.
I was invited here and I was told my opponent whether it was Biden or Kamala, I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turned out my opponent isn't here. You invited me under false pretense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Mr. Trump went on to make several more references to his being, quote, rudely treated. In the midst of all this tension, Trump did give answers to other questions that elicited silence, alternatively with groans and, of course, sometimes there were cheers from the audience. Some of the highlights Mr. Trump claimed he did not know that Vice President Harris identified as Black until recently, as she, quote, happened to turn Black, unquote, he said.
Remember, Kamala Harris has always identified as a Black woman and went to a historically Black college, Howard University here in Washington, D.C. The White House this afternoon calling Trump's comments about her racial identity, quote, repulsive.
When Trump was asked if he would pardon the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and beat police officers, Mr. Trump said he would pardon those rioters if they're innocent. Trump also said he would consider stepping down if he is reelected, if his health is declining. He said everyone running should take a cognitive test and suggested that Kamala Harris might fail hers because she failed her very first bar exam. We're going to begin our coverage today with CNN's Kristen Holmes, who reports at Trump's comments at the NABJ are not the only controversial things he has said about Kamala Harris and just the last day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump attempting to reclaim the spotlight.
TRUMP: I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country.
HOLMES: Immediately attacking reporters asking questions at the National Association of Black Journalists Conference in Chicago.
TRUMP: I think it's a very rude introduction. I don't know exactly why you would do something like that.
HOLMES: Trump also falsely attacking Vice President Kamala Harris on her ethnicity.
TRUMP: Because she was Indian all the way and then, all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went -- she became a Black person.
[16:05:05]
MODERATOR: Just to be clear --
HOLMES: And claiming his presidency was a success for Black Americans.
TRUMP: I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That's my answer.
MODERATOR: Better than President Johnson who signed the Voting Rights Act?
HOLMES: His appearance at the event sparking controversy and leading to the co-chair of the conference to step down from her role. The organization's president issuing a statement defending the decision to invite Trump, writing, quote, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable.
Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign saying it was working with the group to arrange a session in September after the Democratic Convention.
TRUMP: If a crazy liberal like Kamala Harris gets in, the American dream is dead.
HOLMES: As Trump adjusts to running against a new rival, the former president lobbying personal attacks at Harris, suggesting the vice president would struggle to deal with foreign leaders.
TRUMP: I think they'll walk all over her. She'll be so easy for them. She'll be like a play toy. They look at her and they say, we can't believe we got so lucky.
HOLMES: The vice president challenging Trump directly, during a rally Tuesday in the battleground state of Georgia.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The momentum in this race is shifting and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it.
HOLMES: Calling out the former president for not committing to a debate.
HARRIS: I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face.
(CHEERING)
HOLMES: Harris coming closer to making a final decision on who will be her running mate, a campaign official telling CNN, the duo will kick off a tour of battleground states, beginning next Tuesday in Philadelphia. The pair will then travel to Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
The top contenders include Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: We've been friends for 20 years. She's an outstanding vice president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (on camera): And, Jake, as you said, there was a lot of news that was made in that 35 minute panel at NABJ. But one other notable moment was when Donald Trump was asked, amid criticism, if he thought that J.D. Vance, his vice presidential pick, would be ready on day one. Instead of just answering yes, he said instead that typically historically, vice presidents don't really matter that much, and that you're voting for the president, you're voting for him, Donald Trumps.
So clearly not a ringing endorsement as J.D. Vance has faced mounting criticism for past comments -- Jake.
TAPPER: Yeah. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.
Let's bring in CNN anchor Abby Philip and CNN anchor Sara Sidner Sara was in the room where Trump's Q&A, and Abby is going to go to the NABJ tomorrow.
Sara, let's go back to the how Trump's appearance started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: First of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner, first question. You don't even say, hello, how are you?
Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network.
And I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So, Sara, obviously, Rachel Scott was asking tough questions. Harris Faulkner from Fox was on that stage to asking friendlier questions. Was that hostile tone? The whole -- did it keep up the whole time?
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It did. It did keep up the whole time. I mean, what we saw was anytime that Rachel would ask a question, he would respond to her and say how nasty she was or how inappropriate a question was.
She was asking the first question that you heard her asked, there was a question that a lot of the people in the crowd and folks in the Black community here in Chicago and elsewhere, wanted the answer to, which was what? Whether or not Black Americans in particular should trust him considering some of the things he has said about Black Americans and some of the things he had said about, for example, Barack Obama trying to question whether or not he was a citizen of this country, which he was obviously a citizen of this country.
And then he went on to question whether or not Kamala Harris considered herself Black and that she just sort of taken on this new identity because he said that she had always considered herself Indian and somehow that changed, which is ally, that is not true.
And so this turned into something that just went off the rails from the very get-go, from the very start. And we saw this throughout time and time again. Every time we just got asked a question, his response was to attack her first and then to meander around the question of oftentimes.
[16:10:08]
There was this appointment in the room. People had wanted to hear what his policies were. We're hoping that maybe he would have a little bit more of a robust conversation when it comes to some of the issues that directly affect the Black community, and what they got instead was something -- something of a tug of war between him and questioners who he did not like the questions from.
So it was a very interesting conversation, only in that there was a response always from in the crowd. And this is by the way, a crowd of Black journalists, some of them aspiring, watching this, some of whom know the answers to the questions were not truthful. And so every now and then someone would try to call him out from the crowd, not just from the stands.
I don't think that this was a time when Donald Trump really garnered what he wanted to get out of this, which was to attract more black folks to his -- to his campaign, to vote for him. I don't think that's what happened today. TAPPER: Abby, as Sara just noted, Trump made this bizarre claim that
Kamala Harris, quote, happened to turn Black. She's obviously identified as Black.
Yes. Her mom is Indian and her father Jamaican, but she's obviously identified as Black for her -- her whole life. She went to Howard for God's sake. That's not really outreach to the Black community?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: I mean, it's really not. And I think that one of the things about this decision of Trumps to come to NABJ, it's based on this premise that he is making inroads with Black voters, particularly Black men. But when the rubber meets the road, I think that the Trump that was on display on that stage is really pretty consistent with what he has been saying all along.
And as Sara pointed out, going back to questioning whether Barack Obama was eligible to be president, you know, questioning his citizenship to now questioning Kamala Harris's race, that is consistent.
I'll also say, I mean, I think that when we described this as going off the rails, we should be clear, Trump was the one who seemed to lose control of the situation from the beginning. The questions were there and they were very clear.
I mean, he was asked about whether he would pardon January 6 rioters. He said that he would, including the ones who assaulted police officers. He was asked about a very high-profile case going on right now involving a Black woman who was killed by a police officer.
He didn't know about the case and he seemed to suggest that the officer involved might qualify for immunity.
So there were a lot of moments that I don't think were very beneficial to Donald Trump in this interview, but were nevertheless incredibly important to hear from his own mouth because he is not getting asked about these questions when he goes on the friendly interviews that he's been doing, quite a lot of over the last few weeks.
TAPPER: And, Abby, also, Donald Trump was asked about his vice presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio. The question specifically was, would J.D. Vance be ready to be president on day one? Let's roll that tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I've always had great respect for him and for the other candidates to, but I will say this -- and I think this is well- documented -- historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact. You have two or three days where there's a lot of commotion as to who like you're having it on the Democrat side, who it's going to be, and then that does down and it's all about the presidential pick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Not really the most confidence inducing defense of his running mate there.
PHILLIP: Yeah, I mean, certainly, not a ringing endorsement. I mean, Trump seemed to be really eager to move past this story line involving J.D. Vance and his comments about childless people, but that question about whether he's ready to serve as president, I think it's really critical because remember, up until now, the Trump campaign has been arguing that Vice President Harris is not ready to be president.
Trump then picks J.D. Vance, someone who has less experience than the sitting vice president. So, now, he's being faced with questions about whether his number two pick is ready to step in given his age and he's 78 years old. I think it's important that Trump didn't answer yes to that question.
TAPPER: CNN's Sara Sidner and Abby Phillip, thanks to both of you.
The Harris campaign is already seizing on Donald Trumps wild claims today.
Harris national campaign co-chair, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is also running for Senate in Delaware, joins us in minutes.
Plus, a pair of assassinations rocking the Middle East, one of them, the killing of the political head of the terrorist group Hamas, that could have a significant impact on ceasefire and hostage talks, of course.
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: Our world lead now in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as crushing blows to the enemies of Israel. Earlier today, Iran revealed that the political leader of the terrorist group Hamas, 63-year-old Ismail Haniyeh, had been assassinated while in Tehran, Iran, for the inauguration of the new president of Iran. The Iranians blame Israel and the Iranians are promising to respond.
Israel has been silent on whether that country is behind the attack. However, the IDF is claiming responsibility for Tuesday's strike in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed among others, Hezbollah military commander Fu'ad Shukr. Israel blamed Shukr for Saturday's rocket the attack that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights. Shukr was also wanted by the United States in connection with the 1983 marine barracks bombing in Beirut, an attack that killed 220 marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers, injuring more than 100 other people.
Prime Minister Netanyahu saying Israel is facing what he calls challenge joining days, but adding, quote, we are ready for any scenario. We are prepared, unquote.
CNN's Clarissa Ward just arrived in Tel Aviv.
Clarissa, thank you so much for joining us.
So you have spoken with relatives of some of the hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza what did they have to tell you about this assassination, whoever did it, of this Hamas leader and how it might impact efforts to get their loved ones home?
[16:20:03]
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, there's no question for these 115 hostages and the more than 2 million Gazan civilians trapped inside a hellscape, this is potentially a pivotal and potentially disastrous moment because those ceasefire negotiations, those hostage release talks are now absolutely in jeopardy.
And we had a chance to sit down with Yifat Zailar. She is the cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is the mother of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, who of course became very well known to the world because there are two beautiful little red-headed boys who have been held in captivity for 300 days tomorrow.
And while the hostage families have generally tried to not be overtly political or critical in their views. There is absolutely a sense of fear and frustration that is growing by the day. Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: Whatever your feelings are about Haniyeh, he was the interlocutor for Hamas in terms of these ceasefire talks.
YIFAT ZAILAR, COUSIN OF SHIRI BIBAS: It caught me by surprise, to be completely honest. I know it will have an effect on the talks that I don't know how.
WARD: Do you worry that it could jeopardize the talks?
ZAILAR: Of course. The talks and jeopardize the hostages as well. I'm very worried. My worst fear is to find out that 115 hostages are all dead because, you know, they decided to have nothing to gain out of them, and they're just -- okay, they just kill them all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: Yifat went on to say, Jake, that she is, quote, terrified, but also very frustrated. She said that she doesn't feel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are hearing the voices all of these hostage families. They plan to have another march tomorrow to mark 300 days.
It is the birthday of Ariel Bibas on Monday. And so, there will be yet another event, but definitely a sense that this has caught everyone by surprise, that this could potentially derail all of these efforts that they have been so invested in. And a real desire to see something substantive from this government to show that securing the release of these hostages really is a priority. TAPPER: So Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah, they're all promising to
respond to these attacks. The New York Times is reporting that Iran supreme leader issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is warning that Israel faces challenging days. What is the mood in Tel Aviv tonight?
WARD: Well, perhaps somewhat surprisingly Jake, it feels relatively calm. The government has told people to continue about there are normal lives and routines. It has urged people to be patient in the face of these threats that are coming. But when you talk to people who are perhaps more in the know, for example, I spoke to Reservist Brigadier General Assaf Orion, they are very much aware that there is going to be almost certainly a serious retaliation, particularly this -- Orion was focused on the threat from Hezbollah, the kinds of weapons that Hezbollah would potentially be using, very different types of weapons to the rockets that we've seen coming from Hamas, from the southern border.
These are more sophisticated. They have further range. They have greater degree of precision all of this being done and as the senses that no one wants an all-out war. And yet when you have so little margin for error so little margin for him miscalculation, there really is a deep-seated fear that this region right now is on a knife's edge, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Clarissa Ward in Tel Aviv -- thank you. Stay safe.
With us now is Karim Sadjadpour. He's a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Let's start with the obvious and most urgent question. Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, all promising to respond to these two assassinations. "The New York Times" reporting that Iran supreme leader issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly.
What might that mean?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: This was deeply humiliating for Iran, Jake, and that all like all dictatorships they want to appear all powerful and feared by other people, and the fact that Israel has continued to be able to assassinate Iranian officials inside Iran almost at will is deeply humiliating.
I think Iran's response, they have to fit it within the two parameters.
[16:25:02]
On one hand, they want to avenge this humiliation. They want to save face. At the same time, this is a regime which is committed to staying in power. Its committed to its stability. And so, historically, they've tried to respond with targeted assassinations. A red line was crossed last April with Iran launching direct strikes on Israel. And so, that is also a possibility.
TAPPER: So you raise an interesting point which is this idea that Israel has continually been able to carry out these attacks within Iran. Does that suggest a certain degree of cooperation by Iranians with the Israelis, a certain amount of subterfuge, individuals in the national security complex of Iran cooperating and secretly opposed to the rule of the mullahs?
SADJADPOUR: It does indeed suggest that, Jake. This is a regime which is deeply unpopular, including internally within government ranks and these kinds of operations could not happen without the cooperation of local Iranians, whether that's individual citizens or they're getting intelligence leak from people within the system.
And so this is a regime which can feel confident about its internal cohesion and it's ability to, for example, proceed forward with its nuclear program or missile programs and confidence without having that information leak to its adversaries.
TAPPER: The Iranian people deserve so much better.
Karim Sadjadpour, thank you so much for your insights as always.
The Harris campaign hitting back at the startling remarks Donald Trump has made today to convention of Black journalists where Trump claimed that Harris, quote, happened to turned Black recently. The national campaign co-chair for the Harris presidential campaign joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:55]
TAPPER: Keeping in our 2024 lead, just moments ago, former President Trump was taking questions at the convention for the National Association of Black Journalists or NABJ in Chicago.
Mr. Trump was asked if he believed Kamala Harris was only on the ticket because she's a Black woman. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly, very much. And she was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until the number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.
So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?
MODERATOR: She's always identified as a Black woman. She went to a historically Black college.
TRUMP: But you know what? I respect either one. I respect either one. But she obviously doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So as you heard, one of the reporters tried to fact check there, Kamala Harris has always identified as a Black woman, as her Howard University classmates can attest.
Democratic Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is running for the U.S. Senate to represent Delaware, and as a Harris presidential campaign co-chair joins us now.
Congresswoman, what is your reaction to what you just heard from Donald Trump.
REP. LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER (D-DE): Well, Jake, it's good to be on your show again, I think many of us are still trying to process what he just said.
I mean, first of all, the fact that he didn't know she was Black says something, and that he can't pronounce her name also says something. I think what it says and what was clearly on display was that he should not be back in the Oval Office. I mean, we had respected journalist asks serious questions and he really could not answer the questions.
And so, while we watch that interview, we think about the fact that all of these weird things that we're seeing on social media and on the news, just shows that Republicans and. President Trump are really scrambling. They're scrambling to figure out how to define her. They're also scrambling to figure out what their messages.
And so, for us as Democrats, we are so proud to have Vice President Kamala Harris leading the charge and really presenting two different visions. You know, she's saying we've got a choice between the vision of moving forward and towards the future, and going backwards with Donald Trump and Project 2025.
TAPPER: So, here's how former President Trump said world leaders would treat Vice President Kamala Harris should she become president in an interview that aired on Fox last night. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think they'll walk all over. She'll be so easy for them. She'll be like a play toy. They look at her and they say, we can't believe we got so lucky. They're going to walk all over. And I don't want to say as to why. But a lot of people understand it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: What's your reaction to that?
BLUNT ROCHESTER: Well, you know, as someone who's afraid to debate her, I don't think that anybody is going to walk all over her. I mean, Vice President Harris has shared with us the fact that she knows Donald Trump's type. I mean, she's prosecuted fraudsters, scammers. Someone today actually mentioned to me, reversed Robin Hoods. I mean, so she has been able to do that and she's been a strong
leader, both in implementing things like capping the cost of insulin right here at home, but also being able to go on a world stage and represent our country. And so, when he says things like that, I think about what the vice president said yesterday that if he feels that way, he should reconsider debating her and coming to the debate stage and say it to her face.
TAPPER: So top House Republicans caution their colleagues to keep their focus of their attacks on Vice President Harris, on policies, and not on her race and her gender. Apparently, Sebastian Gorka, one of Donald Trump's former White House aides, did not get that memo. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN GORKA, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: This disaster who's only qualification was having a vagina and the right skin color.
She's a DEI hire, right? She's a woman. She's colored. Therefore, she's got to be good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:35:00]
TAPPER: So just to make sure you understand what she said because I'm sure if maybe your ears might have been -- you -- maybe you don't even believe what he just said, but yes. Sebastian Gorka says -- he referred to Vice President Harris as disaster, whose only qualification is having a vagina and the right skin color. That was on GB News.
And then on Newsmax, he said she's a DEI hire, right? She's a woman. She's colored therefore, she's got to be good. What was your response when you heard that?
ROCHESTER: Well you know, as somebody who served on the vice presidential selection committee for Joe Biden I know that Kamala Harris compared to J.D. Vance because even Donald Trump couldn't say it, one of the Joe Biden's prerequisites was at the person be ready on day one.
Kamala Harris was ready on day one, and she's ready now.
I also think about the fact that as I listened to that, it reminds me of project 2025. I mean, the things that are in Project 2025 the things that these extreme Republicans are putting forward are things that really take us back to 1825 before women could vote, before -- you know, I mean, they want to take us back. And so, as we look towards the future I'm excited about what Kamala Harris will bring to this country.
And again, as somebody who was on the VP Selection Committee, I know what it takes to select a vice president, but I also know what it means to be ready on day one and Kamala Harris is more than ready on day one.
TAPPER: Would you advise her not -- I don't know how much you're playing a role in her -- her vice presidential pick, but what you would advise her to pick Governor Shapiro from the neighboring state of Pennsylvania?
ROCHESTER: You know, my -- and I can say this again with some authority, that when President Biden asked us to help out, there were certain things that we could do as a committee. You know, we could help on the interviews. We could help him on the vetting.
But one of the things that he said in addition to being ready on day one, was that the person had to be simpatico with him. In other words, they had to be able to mesh together, work together.
And so, I believe that Kamala's going to pick the person who is right for her and her leadership, but also will pick the person that's right for the American people. The great thing about being a Democrat right now is that everybody who is on the list is ready on day one, is qualified and could also be a great partner with her.
So we got the best of all worlds going on for the people.
TAPPER: Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Democrat of Delaware, also running for the Senate from Delaware -- thanks so much. Good to see you.
ROCHESTER: Thanks, Jake.
TAPPER: It has been more than two-and-a-half weeks since a gunman tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally. And now, local law enforcement officers who were on the ground that day in Butler, Pennsylvania are speaking to CNN about what they saw in those moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:14]
TAPPER: It is time for our health lead. And one of my favorite segments.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta here to answer your questions about what appears to be a summer surge of COVID-19 cases in this case this week. Every week, we do this. Sanjay comes, we talk about something. We let you guys ask questions and here come the questions the next day.
Sanjay, thanks for joining us, and our little experiment here.
Our first question is, it comes from Mike and the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is 64-years-old. He has asthma and he asks about this summer surge of COVID, quote, do I need a booster every six months or only once a year?
So, Sanjay, what would you say to Mike and please explain what's being -- what being up-to-date with our COVID vaccine means right now? DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So first of all, being up-to-date means you went back to 2021. You got that primary series of vaccines and then you've gotten boosters at the time that you are eligible for them. That's what -- that's what up-to-date means.
I think the best way to think about this is that what we're learning, is that whether you've been infected or you've had a vaccine, the immunity you get from that typically last around four to six months, sort of think of it that way.
That's why we see these summer surges. Its probably win the immunity starts to wane and we see that little uptick in the summer, not as big as in the winter, but you still see an uptick.
So, Mike, almost 65, also has asthma. I don't know what his current immunity is. Meaning, when did he last get a vaccine or has he been infected recently? But as a general rule, you want to get that dose. It's going to be eligible. You're going to be eligible for that in the fall, and probably another dose after that around four to six months later again, because your immunity starts to wane at that point.
That's sort of the general thinking on this.
TAPPER: Anissa (ph) from Irvine, California says she's three months pregnant and she just caught COVID from a co-worker. Anissa wants to know, will this affect my baby's health and development?
GUPTA: Well, statistically and hopefully, no, but this is -- this is something that certainly is a very good question. I think the headline is when you think about pregnancy and COVID, the people who are pregnant are more likely to have -- they're going to get sicker when they get COVID.
You're immunity is a little bit more suppressed when you're pregnant. That's why you're likely to get a little bit sicker. And there is an association with the impact on baby as well, higher likelihood of pre- term birth and low birth weights as well.
So there's something to keep in mind, what sort of influences that again, similar to the first question, what is your immunity like? Did you get the vaccines originally? Do you still have some immunity, when's the last time you get a vaccine? When's the last time you were infected?
This sounds like she may have gotten it from a co-worker, so rather recent infection. When you have this sort of immunity that can be protective, but obviously, as is the case with anybody who's pregnant, you can get symptoms that may be associated with the pregnancy itself.
[16:45:07]
But talk to your doctor, trying to figure out what is pregnancy associated symptoms versus from the COVID itself.
TAPPER: Lastly, Brianna from Texas says her cousin has COVID and was told people are only contagious for five days and she wants to know if that's true. She also says her cousin was told that people recovering from COVID can go back to work once they no longer have symptoms, as long as they wear a mask.
What -- what do you say? Is that accurate?
GUPTA: Yeah. She's generally got it right.
I think what that a little bit of the difference here is that COVID, unlike other, many other viruses, you can be contagious, even before you start to develop symptoms. Not much you can do about that because you don't know you have COVID, you don't have symptoms, but that's something to keep in mind -- meaning that you could be contagious longer than five days.
She is right that five days after your symptoms go away, you're still considered contagious, but you got to add in the time period where you're symptomatic as well. So when your symptoms are getting better, when you no longer have a fever off a fever reducing medicines, then you can come out of that self-imposed isolation. And the recommendation is to wear a mask for five days after that, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. "Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Call" -- thanks so much, Sanjay. Always good to see you.
The acting head of the U.S. Secret Service seemed to play some blame on local Pennsylvania law enforcement officers who were working at the Trump rally before the shooting. Now, those local officers are giving their side of the story to CNN. That story is next.
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TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, a, quote, failure on multiple levels. That's how acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe characterized the assassination attempt on Donald Trump yesterday during a Senate hearing. One major failure that Rowe highlighted was the lack of communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD ROWE JR., ACTING SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: It appears that that information was stuck or siloed in that state and local channel. It is troubling to me that we did not get that information as quickly as we should have. We didn't know that there was this incident going on.
Nothing about man on the roof, nothing about man with a gun. None of that information ever made it over our net.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: CNN's Danny Freeman is live for us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And, Danny, you've been speaking to local law enforcement officials. They are pushing back against the comments we just heard from the acting U.S. Secret Service director.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Jake, that's right. There's really no other way to put it. These local law enforcement leaders from Western Pennsylvania are for frustrated. They're angry and they're speaking out because they feel they need to defend their rank- and-file members from what they view as constant and continued attacks from the U.S. Secret Service.
Now, we spoke specifically with some Beaver County officials who led some of the SWAT and sniper teams who are on the site of that Donald Trump rally earlier this its month and they were particularly frustrated at the suggestion by the acting director of the Secret Service that all one of their snipers had to do was simply look to their left and they might have seen Crooks before this attack happened.
Take a listen to their response.
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FREEMAN: One of your snipers look left, was it that simple?
PATRICK YOUNG, BEAVER COUNTY CHIEF DETECTIVE & EMERGENCY SERVICE UNIT COMMANDER: It was absolutely not that simple. And the first thing that comes to mind is that we have not had any contact with Secret Service, actually, since the last election cycle, we -- post-incident or pre- incident, our snipers or our team has not had any contact.
For the acting director building to say that this is where our guys were and this is what they scene is a misrepresentation to the American people. We were never asked what we seen or where we were from Secret Service. I can tell you that the pictures presented is, again, a misrepresentation.
Where are people were, were the far right side of the AGR building. Their views in no way could have seen Crooks without pushing their heads outside the window and looking back. The videos and the exhibits presented to Congress are purely wrong as to what they actually seen.
FREEMAN: Former President Trump said that he plans to have a rally back in Butler County. Can you confidently say that something like this will not happen again, if that happens?
YOUNG: I cannot say that. At this point, me, along with the -- I'm sure -- the majority of the American people have many questions as to what and how the Secret Service does their job and I would've never said that before this week, really with testimony because the Secret Service is not acknowledged for every thing that they say that they did wrong there's a but, and that, but fall is usually assigning blame to the local law enforcement or state police.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: Now, I will say, Jake, these men emphasized that they will absolutely help out and do their jobs if asked to come back again. But they were frank and said that their confidence in this working partnership with the Secret Service is absolutely at this point fractured.
Now, I will note, Jake, a federal law enforcement source responding to this particular story said that they, meaning the Secret Service, were in touch with the Butler County SWAT emergency services unit who oversaw the Beaver folks that we spoke with. They said they have been in touch with those particular local law enforcement folks on the ground here.
But this federal enforcement -- law enforcement source did note that it was curious.
TAPPER: Danny Freeman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, thank you so much.
Donald Trump saying his opponent and Vice President Kamala Harris, quote, happened to turn Black, unquote, seemingly for political reasons, he was suggesting perhaps. Obviously, that's not true.
[16:55:00]
She's identified as black for her whole life. He said this to a room full of black journalists.
Two of the people in the room are going to join us live next.
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
This hour, never before seen evidence just released relating to their horrific terrorist attacks --
