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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Key Trade Deals Are Still Outstanding As Trump's Tariff Deadline Looms; Trump Revives Presidential Fitness Test; Trump Condemns Russia's Attacks On Ukraine As Disgusting; Russia's Summer Offensive Is Turning Into An Escalating Crisis for Ukraine; Kamala Harris To Release Book About 2024 Presidential Campaign; Officials In Epicenter Of TX Floods Missed Emergency Briefing; Mourners Gather For Funeral Of NYPD Officer Killed In Manhattan Mass Shooting. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 31, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right, thank you all very much for joining us. A spirited show. I'm sorry we can't let you all into our discussion of the various design aesthetics that might be options for the White House were having during the break.

If you did miss any of the show, you can always catch up by listening to The Arena's podcast. Just scan that QR code below on your screen. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow us on X and Instagram at TheArenaCNN. Thanks for all to all of you for joining us. Don't go anywhere else. Jake Tapper starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Trump set his own tariff deadline for midnight tonight, August 1st. Will he reach it? The Lead starts right now.

Tick tock. The President is pushing ahead with a slew of new tariffs, but will his biggest deals yet come down to the 11th hour? Did he just get the TACO label again with the tariff pause on a key U.S. ally, we're going to break it all down.

Plus, the case challenging if his tariffs are even legal. An attorney behind that case will be here. Also ahead, the right-wing bigot and conspiracy theorist who's all up in the West Wing, Laura Loomer. How she inexplicably seems to be able to wield influence in major Trump administration personnel decisions.

Plus, people thrown from their seats, bottles and trash tossed round. See what may have been the worst case of turbulence on a U.S. passenger plane in years.

Welcome to The Lead on Jake Tapper. It's trade deadline day and the Philadelphia Phillies picked up outfielder Harrison Bader and closer Joanne Duran from the Minnesota Twins. But I'm sorry, that's the Major League Baseball trade deadline, which is today, not President Trump's self-imposed trade deadline having to do with tariffs. Also today, or rather midnight tonight. We're now just seven hours

from Trump's trade deadline as countries are trying to make deals with the United States or face significantly higher tariffs.

Remember, President Trump in early April paused most of his so called reciprocal tariffs, but time as it does moves ever forward and has brought us to the precipice of this new deadline, August 1st development so far. Today, as the clock ticks toward midnight, Trump announced a 90 day pause on higher tariffs on Mexico.

So tariffs will remain at 25 percent for Mexico instead of going up to 30 percent as threatened. And while Trump this week did lockdown a majorly important trade agreement with the European Union, there are many other countries who as of now remain deal less.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Of the our 18 major trading partners, two-thirds of those trading partners have a deal. We've sent out 17 letters to countries around the world and the rest of those countries that either do not have a deal or have a letter, they will be hearing from this administration by the midnight deadline tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: One major trading partner without a deal as of now is Canada. Canada. Trump saying on Truth Social today that Canada's decision to recognize a Palestinian state, quote, will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them. Oh, Canada.

On the heels of this, the Dow, the S and P and NASDAQ all closed down in the last hour as Trump seeks to close more trade deals. Can all of his tariffs survive the legal system? That's another question because today a federal appeals court is hearing arguments in a major case arguing that Trump overstepped his legal authority, imposing many of his sweeping tariffs instead of Congress doing it.

The lawsuit is brought by small businesses and represented by some very big shot attorneys, according to including a former acting U.S. solicitor general who's going to join us in just a moment.

But let's bring in CNN's resident tariff expert, Mr. Phil Mattingly. Phil, walk us through what 11th hour trade deals could still happen before deadline hits.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: I think all eyes right now are on the Canada-U.S. relationship. Obviously, the president has made pretty clear that the optimism or any optimism for a potential agreement would seem to be minimal at this point in time.

But with that 35 percent rate staring Canada in the face, officials say that there have been conversations between the two countries. How that actually plays out in the 7ish we have until the deadline I think remains an open question. Also keeping an eye right now, obviously Mexico has been dealt with at

least given another 90 days with the tariffs that were already in place. China has another week before their delay needs to be extended. That extension is expected, but Trump hasn't actually weighed in yet.

One of the interesting elements here, Jake, is even for the major partners that have made deals and for the 150 plus other countries that are just waiting for some semblance of a sign about whether they're going to get 10 percent universal tariff that Trump initially announced it was never delayed or some other number how it actually gets implemented. You know, you heard the White House press secretary say we'll call them before midnight. We'll let them know.

The president actually has to sign something to put them into place at 12:01 am. I was talking to a major importer earlier said it's a really messy time right now because a lot of these countries don't know what their rate will be. Haven't been told anything from the administration.

[17:05:05]

The rush of last minute efforts to clinch deals with the president from delegations from other countries has actually made it a little bit of a more complicated process, given Trump a lot of leverage. But nobody's really sure how this is going to land by midnight.

TAPPER: Yes. The chaos, of course, is a feature not above.

MATTINGLY: Absolutely.

TAPPER: Phil, what have been some of the practical effects of tariffs on big companies that we've seen so far? Earlier this week we talked about Procter and Gamble raising prices, for example.

MATTINGLY: I think earnings season has been an enlightening moment for the actual impact that the tariffs can have on the corporate sector. I think from a price perspective, which is obviously what most in the audience would be most concerned about. We have seen, you know, the most vulnerable items that are the consumer facing, electronics being the key in particular, autos as well, areas where you're going to see price increases, you know, either already in place or you're starting to see them come over time.

One of the interesting elements, Jake is talking to a lot of executives, particularly those in the wholesale retail industry. They say some of our members from trade groups have said some of their companies have held off. Right. One, there's a lot of uncertainty. They didn't know where rates were actually going to land.

But two, nobody wanted to kind of be captured under the eye of Sauron, of the president or his True Social account and wanted to wait and see what was going to happen. At some point, many of these executives say prices are going to have to increase. It's just natural.

One thing to keep in mind, Fed Chairman Jay Powell yesterday said, we are still in the early stages of figuring out the actual effect here. The Trump administration believes that the exporters, the exporting countries will eat the majority of the tariffs. If they don't, then the companies will because of the value and leverage of the market. We're going to see how that plays out. There's no precedent for something like this and we haven't seen tariff rates, at least on net this high since the 1930s.

TAPPER: What's the term that I've seen bandied about this week re inflation? Is that what it's called? It has to do with the idea that inflation's going down, but now it might be going back up because of the tariffs.

MATTINGLY: It's been probably the biggest concern. It's also been one of the reasons you see Trump administration officials spiking the football right now of hey, you all said there was going to be major, major jump in inflation. You also, there's going to be a recession. We haven't seen that at all.

I think the concern right now is, you know, again, I go back to Jay Powell on the Fed yesterday and also what the board kind of laid out as their analysis of the situation. There is an argument to be made that there will be a one-time price increase and then it will filter out through the system.

There is also a concern, which is why the Fed has not raised rates, that this will be a far more durable increase in prices that may escalate over time.

The biggest question I think that I have at this point is when you look at supply chains and how they actually work, are companies moving their supply chains, are they relocating the supply chains, are they going to run into major hiccups with those supply chains in the weeks and months ahead? Then you're talking about something like what we saw in the wake of COVID maybe not to that scale.

TAPPER: Yes.

MATTINGLY: This is very, very complicated. And I just think it's important to underscore that while the Trump administration is absolutely correct, there is a resilience to the U.S. economy, a resilience to the U.S. consumer. Consumer sentiment has certainly rebounded. The markets remain at all-time highs or around them, at least before today. There are concerns that have not necessarily been understood yet.

TAPPER: And you know, also from when you sub for me, when we talk to the small business owners every day, a lot of these people have been trying to hold off and not raise prices or do layoffs. And they are now saying we have to do something in the next couple of months so we could see lots of changes. Philip, always good to have you on. Thank you so much.

Neal Katyal joins me now. He is the attorney for the small business plaintiffs in this lawsuit arguing that Trump cannot use emergency powers to impose all these sweeping tariffs. He's also the former acting U.S. Solicitor General for President Obama. Neal, good to see you again. So back in May, your clients won this case in the Court of

International Trade. Today, a panel of 11 appeals court judges in D.C. heard arguments. Some of them did seem skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments. Tell us what your argument is and what you thought the judges were, how they responded to your arguments.

NEAL KATYAL, ATTORNEY IN THR CASE CHALLENGING TRUMP'S TARIFFS: Yes, so I think this group of small businesses that I and the Liberty Justice Center represent are saying, look, these tariffs are not something that the president can impose by his own say, so they require Congress. That's where our constitution in Article 1, Section 8 locates that power for the most important of reasons, Jake, going all the way back to the Revolutionary War and the idea that kings and presidents are always tempted to use tariffs and taxation.

And here what Donald Trump has done is impose the largest tax increase on Americans since Bill Clinton in 1993, a tax increase of $1,300 per American family.

And what we said today is look, maybe that's a good idea, maybe it's a bad idea but that's something for Congress to decide and no president has ever asserted the raw power to do this on his own.

TAPPER: With respect, Neal, Congress doesn't seem to care, right? I mean Republicans control the House. The Republicans control the Senate. They seem perfectly willing just to hand over all their powers to President Trump on this issue and several others.

[17:10:00]

KATYAL: Yes, you know, that may be, but that's all the more reason why, if the President thinks this is so important and he needs it for leverage or negotiating authority and stuff like that, go to Congress and get it done. I mean, it's not like he's facing a Congress that's controlled by obstructionist Democrats or something. These are members of his own party, and yet he won't do it.

Now, he tried in the first time he was president to get such legislation, and it failed. And I think that tells you all you need to know, which is this legislation will fail. And so you had the Trump attorney today, Jake, in court saying, well, if Congress doesn't like these tariffs, they can pass a law to remove them, which is not the way our constitutional system works.

I mean, President Truman tried that with the seizure of the Steel Mills in 1952. He said to the Supreme Court, well, if Congress doesn't like it, they can pass a law. And the Supreme Court said, the Constitution requires Congress to act first, not the president.

TAPPER: So the Trump Justice Department argues there's no basis for the courts to review Trump's emergency declarations. How do you respond to that?

KATYAL: Yes, I mean, the very first line of my argument today, Jake, was the Trump administration's argument boils down to simply this. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, for however long as I want, and the courts have no business reviewing what I'm doing. And, you know, that might be the law of some other country. It's certainly not the law of the United States.

TAPPER: The Trump administration also argues that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision tamping down universal injunctions by lower court judges means that the tariffs should not be blocked nationwide, even if tariffs are declared illegal. So what happens if Trump continues to lose the case in court, but he tries to use that logic to continue the tariffs until the U.S. Supreme Court, I guess, weighs in?

KATYAL: Yes, that didn't really come up today. The Justice Department didn't push it, but I think for a good reason, because here, not just is this case brought by small businesses, who as I say, are really teetering on the edge because of these tariffs. But it was also brought by 12 different states.

And in that nationwide injunction ruling that the Supreme Court issued that you're referring to, they said when states bring cases, it may be different. And that makes sense. Like, you know, like, Oregon is one of the plaintiff states here. If they win their case, you get lower tariffs in Oregon, but not in Wyoming. Like, that just seems unworkable. And the Constitution itself has a uniformity requirement over tariffs.

TAPPER: All right. Neal Katyal, always good to see you, sir. Thanks so much for joining us.

Fresh out of the courtroom. Aside from tariffs, Trump has another self-imposed deadline, this one on Russia if Vladimir Putin doesn't make peace in the next eight days ahead, what the administration says may happen if that peace doesn't happen.

Plus, backed by probably unpopular demand, President Trump is reviving presidential fitness tests. Yes. Remember those annoying exercises mandated by the president from your early years in grade school? The star power that came to the White House today to help with this unveiling. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:17:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our Politics Lead. Moments ago at the White House, President Trump was joined by pro athletes to announce something that will affect kids across the country. He's bringing back the presidential Fitness test in schools. The test was started by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1966 and featured at the time challenges such as the one mile run, pull ups, the sit and reach, it was called.

President Obama ended the test back in 2013 to focus more on each student's individual fitness, competing against themselves, not their peers.

Let's bring in Jeff Zeleny. And Jeff, this is going to affect millions of kids in the U.S. probably be something of a trigger for some of their parents.

JEFF ZELENY, CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps so Jake. Certainly for people of our era, obviously well remember the chin ups and the pull ups and the running tests and the sit down and touch your toes test, which was never one of my favorites.

But look, the president said this was something that he believes revives a tradition and it inspires health among children and it, you know, inspires a different time. If you will again. It started in 1966. The reason President Obama sort of discontinued it, he in 2012 wanted to focus on individual health, individual student performance, rather than sort of comparing you to your peers. But the president wants to bring this back. He was surrounded by professional athletes there just a short time ago here in the West Wing of the White House.

So one of the many things that the president, I guess, is bringing back a bit of history, if you will.

TAPPER: And Jeff, I want to ask you about something else going on behind the scenes at the White House, and that's the influence of far- right activist and conspiracy theorist and bigot Laura Loomer. She just shared a post on X or Twitter linking to an article that said Laura Loomer claims two more Trump heads in 24 hours. She added, it's called getting vetting matters. Who are these Trump heads? What's going on here?

ZELENY: Jake, this is just the latest version of this. We've seen Laura Loomer do this several times with members of the National Security Council as well. But the latest examples that she's talking about, one is a West Point appointment to be basically lead the social sciences department there. Her name is Jen Easterly. She worked in the Biden administration as a cybersecurity expert. Also worked for Condoleezza Rice back in the Bush administration.

So someone who's a cybersecurity expert has worked across party lines but does not meet the qualifications that Laura Loomer deems acceptable. The other person is the vaccine chief at the FDA, Vinay Prasad has talked favorably about Bernie Sanders online and Laura Loomer called that out as well. Dr. Prasad has raised some serious questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.

So he was seen as someone in the mold of the Trump point of view, if you will. But Laura Loomer called out both of them, among others. So yet one more example of how the fringes of the party are having a big influence on who is shaping this government.

[17:20:01]

TAPPER: And Jeff, we also heard the White House announced major renovations of the building behind you coming up. Tell us more about that.

ZELENY: The president has taken great interest in renovating the White House. And the latest renovation is the East Wing. He's talking about constructing beginning In September, a 90,000 square foot ballroom. And we got the first to look at some of the renderings and I think we have some of those pictures to show.

It would dramatically add onto the east wing of the White House, which is traditionally where the first lady's wing of the White House is, her office is. But this right here would be a very large ballroom to seat some 650 people or so. The president said he believes it's necessary and appropriate.

And he said many presidents have long wanted it for big dinners and big events. He said he's long hated the idea of putting temporary structures on the South Lawn of the White House, which often happens at big state dinners. So he is proposing building this major addition here, he says, to the tune of $200 million for a price tag which he says both he and private donors will pay for.

But again, really putting his stamp and imprint on this historic building, not to mention his major renovations in the Rose Garden, essentially paving that over as well.

TAPPER: Yes, I thought were trying to reduce spending anyway. Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much. Appreciate it. CNN is live in Ukraine as Russia keeps up his relentless war, Putin's relentless war against that country. Will Putin make peace in the next eight days as Trump is demanding?

Plus, former Vice President Kamala Harris has decided to not run for California governor. That's shocking. The shocking reaction to that just moments ago from President Trump at the White House. What did he have to say? We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes, we're going to put sanctions. I don't know that sanctions bother him. You know, they know about sanctions. I know better than anybody about sanctions and tariffs and everything else. I don't know if that has any effect, but we're going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP

TAPPER: That was President Trump just moments ago with perhaps his strongest statement yet on slapping new economic punishments on Russia as he continues to grow more visibly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin because of Putin's refusal to end the brutal war against Ukraine. The president calling Russia's attacks, quote, disgusting.

Today, Russia's deadly attacks continued. Ukraine saying that Russia launched a targeted strike on a five story building today, killing at least one person. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in eastern Ukraine for us. And Nick, Russia claims that its forces captured a key town in that area. We should note that Zelenskyy's government denies that. But what can you tell us?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNNCHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Chasiv Yar not a place we've heard of much before, but on the front lines of Ukraine, utterly vital. It's the high ground essentially around a number of areas that are heavily contested by Russia, as you Ukrainian officials deny the fact that Russian forces have taken it.

And indeed there has been video circulating of the Russians raising a flag inside that area, which some analysts have said is essentially from outside of that particular town. But we have been here before where a Russian claim to capture somewhere is essentially very early. And in the days ahead, we will in fact indeed see that realized.

Chasiv Yar are important because of that high ground over the towns of Kostyantynivka where we have seen the Russians moving in a kind of pincer movement to encircle that further to its south in round Pokrovsk, after we've just been there two nights ago on the outskirts.

Clearly, Ukrainians, they're deeply concerned. Their supply lines to troops inside that vital town close to being endangered. That may involve their withdrawal imminently. That's a huge problem potentially too, and part of a pattern across the front line really, of Russia's incremental gains becoming now something more strategic as they slowly turn those minute advances into things that alter the landscape for Moscow.

Now, you mentioned too, overnight, some of the horrific attacks launched by Russia that has now left 14 dead in Ukraine, most of those from a strike on an apartment building, including a six-year-old boy who died in an ambulance taken away from the scene there. And you also mentioned to Kramatorsk, hit by a rare heavy daylight strike. That's a town out east that's exceptionally important to Moscow and potential next target that indeed, if they took Chasiv Yar, could be next in line.

What does this changed President Donald Trump deadline indeed mean? Well, clearly on the battlefield, very little. Russia's been making progress. It's long awaited. It's come at huge cost in the previous months and in the last hours since we've heard Trump's change in tone and accelerated timetable, nothing has really changed apart from the speed and pace of their advance.

His words about the aerial assaults being disgusting. Well, that may be heard in Moscow. It may well not change the threat to Ukrainians every night. Look where we are. Here in Eastern Ukraine, the air raid sirens are pretty constant. And is the forthcoming diplomacy, the possibility of Witkoff being in Moscow imminently going to change things? Well, we've seen six months of what most said at the start was Moscow playing along with Trump's desire for diplomacy and peace.

They may potentially offer something to Steve Witkoff to potentially delay those sanctions. The exact nature and character of which we don't really still know yet. But you've got to bear in mind, Jake, the front line is hugely in their favor right now, and they're moving forwards in a strategically advantageous way that I've not really seen, frankly, since the start of the war. Jake. [17:30:06]

TAPPER: Nick Paton Walsh in eastern Ukraine for us, thank you. Please stay safe.

Joining us now to discuss, Rahm Emanuel, the former U.S. ambassador to Japan, former chief of staff for President Obama, a CNN senior political and global affairs commentator. So, Ambassador Emanuel, what do you make of Trump's strategy of this new countdown to punishing economic sanctions that Trump says he doesn't even know will have an impact on Putin?

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, on their own, they may not have, but in conjunction with new weapons and an ability for Ukraine to fight the war and defend itself, that in combination could have an impact.

Look, I think there's a couple beyond that, Jake, that are important fact -- facts here. One is, I think, outside of the battlefield, Russia is tremendously weakened. They lost out in Syria, lost out in Iran. They have been lost Europe's market for themselves. Their intelligence community has been wrong about Ukraine, wrong about Iran and wrong about Syria.

They are not in a strong position, give you by way of one fact, their own chief economist or economic leader, their secretary of treasury equivalent for President Putin has stated that the economy is going into a major, major recession. So they're very vulnerable.

I think President Trump, if you want my view, came to the conclusion of the leverage he has very late to this conversation, better late than never, but very late. And I think I would apply pressure not only on the sanctions side, on the military side, and most importantly, on the time side, that President Putin does not think we're impatient. We will go the distance as long as it takes.

TAPPER: Let's switch to domestic politics. Former Democratic nominee for President Kamala Harris announced that she's not running for California. That was yesterday. And then today, she announced that she has a new book coming out in September. It's called 107 Days.

That's a nod to how many days she was the Democratic presidential nominee. She says it's going to give a behind-the-scenes look at the shortest presidential campaign in modern history. Here's just a snippet from her announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe there's value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what I know it will take to move forward. In writing this book, one truth kept coming back to me. Sometimes the fight takes a while.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: How candid do you think this book's going to be? I mean, do you think that she's going to be honest about President Biden's decline and what she witnessed? Do you think she's going to be honest about the moments that she saw like, for instance, when she was the nominee and President Biden would say something that actually was a huge distraction for her campaign, like when she called -- when he called Trump supporters garbage, et cetera?

EMANUEL: This is only a guess. I don't even call -- I wouldn't even call -- it an educated guess. My guess is she'll play a little more cat and mouse with it rather than kind of be totally honest. There's a sense of loyalty that exists, as you probably saw in the campaign, that had its own complexity for her candidacy in that effort.

I mean, my own take on this, separate. When she first announces and goes from seven down to plus three, she totally embraces being change and something new. Somewhere after the debate or on the view appearance, she decides to be continuity. It's all about democracy. And then she loses the change and becomes continuity. And you know what happens in the election and the result.

So my guess is there will be a revealing part. But again, it's not even an educated guess. She knows she would not have been vice president if Joe Biden hadn't given her the nod. So I don't think she'll turn her toe back on that. Hopefully it will be less about her. Hopefully it will be less about Joe Biden and more about the American people and more what she learned, saw in effort.

Anybody that's honest that when they campaign, they go in with some assumptions, some answers. But a very good candidate and person who is either president, governor, mayor, you learn by listening. You hear things that people have to say that adjust. I can tell you from my own experience, I used to do this Congress on your corner. My Elder Justice Act came from somebody I met at a grocery store.

So hopefully it won't be about her and hopefully it won't be about the campaign and it won't be about Joe Biden. It will be about American people, their struggles, their hopes, their dreams, and their disappointments. And if she does that, it will be a good book. If it's a -- if it's an inside look, it will be for junkies like you and I.

TAPPER: President Trump just weighed in on Vice President Harris not running for governor of California. Take a listen to what he just said at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, she can't speak. She can't talk. She can't do an interview. I thought it was a very strange campaign that we had. But, you know, I had two of them. I wouldn't call her a skilled politician. Would you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's your reaction to that?

EMANUEL: President Trump never misses an opportunity to be small and petty. Could have raised, could have kind of been presidential. Could have said, look, I wish her the best, could have been gracious. But between gracious, big, full-hearted, small, petty, vindictive, he chose the latter. It's to character. That's what I think.

[17:35:17]

TAPPER: Why do you think he does that?

EMANUEL: I -- I think, you know, it's part of the bully routine. He never gives nod -- he never misses an opportunity to hit you. Never misses an opportunity to be small. There's only a few times in character or I mean, when somebody is, because of maybe his own family's background, has got substance abuse or some vulnerability, does he show any graciousness.

Outside of that, it's one style, one kind of demeanor, one kind of tone, which is to be small, petty, vindictive, and to hurt you where you're most vulnerable. He does it when he's raising tariffs. And he does it with somebody that he beat, where he could have been, you know, these are hard jobs, campaigns are hard. And he could have been more gracious and bigger. And it would actually, would have caught people by surprise. But he chose the path that is most definitive of his character.

TAPPER: Do you think Kamala Harris running for president again would be good for the Democratic Party?

EMANUEL: Look, I think she's a way, all of us are, that are even thinking about it, a way off. I think there's an election in November in Virginia and New Jersey that will be very telling. There's an election in the midterm that will be telling not only about the country, but also telling about the rest of President Trump's tenure.

He's very scared, which is why he directed Texas to change the map mid-cycle, never been done before in that effort. So before you even get there, you got a lot of other elections to worry about. And my guess is that Kamala Harris's book is a part of that.

But again, I want to stress, if the book is about the challenges America faces, what she heard from people, and what it informed her, that will be an informative book and a little bit learning. If it's -- here's the campaign, here's the ad we ran, et cetera, I'll like it, you'll like it. But that's a smaller audience if it, you know, President Clinton always said this, and I think it's very, very important, which is, he's in New Hampshire, '92, kind of a worst dark low moment of the campaign.

And he said, the hits on me are nothing like the hits your kids are going to take if we don't turn this country around. And that's what made him the comeback hit. And so if you make it about the American people, keep your focus not where Washington is around Washington, but keep your focus on the kind of what's happening in people's lives, how they're meeting their challenges, how they worry about what's going on in their kids' life, what's going on in the neighborhood, the job, the education, their ability to retire, the ability to take a holiday, own a home, buy a home. Then you're going to be contributing to the betterment of their lives. Then that's the key focus. And if it's about that, I think it will be a very important book. But if it's for junkies and people that love and can't get enough politics 24/7, it will have that kind of audience.

TAPPER: We shall see. We shall see. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, always good to have you on, sir. Thank you so much.

EMANUEL: Thanks, Jake.

[17:38:09]

TAPPER: Coming up next, a high-ranking Texas official called out today over his slow response to that catastrophic flooding on July 4th. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Texas. The tough questions he also put to a public official. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Breaking news in our National Lead, flash flood warnings are in effect for Philadelphia and New York City through the next hour after heavy thunderstorms walloped parts of the east coast. High water stranded drivers in Queens, New York, and suspended some service on the Long Island Railroad. Cars were also submerged in floodwaters this afternoon in towns throughout northeast Maryland. Air transportation is also being affected with more than a thousand flight cancellations in the northeast. Thunderstorm warnings are in effect until 8:00 p.m. eastern.

Last week you might remember we reported first on The Lead that the Kerr County emergency operations official was asleep during those deadly July 4th flash floods. And today we're also learning that key county officials were also missing from an emergency briefing call ahead of the catastrophic incident.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Kerrville, Texas, where the Texas legislature just wrapped a hearing. They were trying to get answers from local officials. Shimon, what happened in the hearing today?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a really some fiery, but just this one stunning moment in particular, the lieutenant governor here of Texas really calling out a county leader, the county judge who has all the power in this count -- county for his absence on that day. And just to watch this unfold was quite something. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R-TX): Judge Kelly, I never saw you on day one. I came here from Austin. In this room, I talked to the sheriff multiple times, sheriff. I talked to the mayor multiple times. We had a meeting when we got here. Governor Youngkin was here. I was here. The mayor was here. Everyone was here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I wasn't. Then I wasn't.

PATRICK: And you were not. We didn't just lose people. We didn't know where people were. And you weren't here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And Jake, there have been a lot of questions about the leadership here on the local level, on the county level. Were the local folks prepared enough? Even the fact that the state officials were warning to watch out for this storm, it's very apparent here based on this hearing and based on what the lieutenant governor there said, the presence from the county leadership and the local leadership was absent.

TAPPER: And Shimon, you also spoke to the mayor, the Kerrville mayor. What did he have to say?

[17:45:01]

PROKUPECZ: So the Kerrville mayor, I've been trying to ask him for weeks now why he wasn't on any of the phone calls with emergency management. Did he get notified that there was this call? Well, today he finally admitted to me that he did receive an e-mail to get on the call, but he didn't see it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: One of the times that I had questioned you at the press conference, I had asked you if you were on any phone calls.

MAYOR JOE HERRING, KERRVILLE, TEXAS: Yes, I misunderstood. I thought you said, did someone call me?

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

HERRING: And I did not receive a telephone call. I did receive an invitation.

PROKUPECZ: OK.

HERRING: Which I've said, I wish I'd seen it, but I didn't see it.

PROKUPECZ: You didn't see the invitation. Your e-mails that were released --

HERRING: They were there. No.

PROKUPECZ: They were there. It was at 1:00 a.m. that you got an e- mail.

HERRING: At 1:00 a.m.?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. From the Texas Department of Emergency Management saying that there'd be a call at 10:00 a.m.

HERRING: OK. I didn't see those e-mails. I'm sorry.

PROKUPECZ: But like, I guess, had you seen that e-mail, you would have been on the call, right? I mean -- HERRING: I would have been on the call. I take responsibility for missing the e-mail. I do. I do. I wish I'd seen it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PROKUPECZ: And Jake, it's not just him that wasn't on the call. The county leaders weren't on the call. The sheriff wasn't on that call. The emergency operations coordinator who says he was sick on that day was not on the call. Meanwhile, I spoke to a neighboring county judge from Kendall County. He said they were all on the call.

His emergency operations coordinator was on that call and it helped them. It helped them prepare and it helped them realize that this storm could be much worse than what they were predicting. And as a result of that, the calls that they were on and then the information they were receiving, they prepared much differently than Kerr County did where there was absolutely no preparation.

And then in the middle of the night, when everything started hitting and the weather started getting really bad, it was already too late. But the rescues went on and it was a very difficult time and the rescue workers did it as well as possible despite the fact that so many of the officials were not there on that morning.

TAPPER: I don't -- I don't even understand. It's not even an abdication of leadership. It's just a complete absence. Like they -- they weren't on the call. Like it's literally your one job if you're the emergency response coordinator to be on an emergency call.

PROKUPECZ: No, you're absolutely right about that, Jake. And that's the thing. You know, in the beginning, we were asking them these questions. That first week, you remember those press conferences and how testy they were with us and how they didn't understand why we were asking these questions of accountability. Well, this is why.

Because you could sense that something wasn't making sense. Finally, today, we're getting those answers. But that's certainly, I don't think, Jake, this is over. I think there's going to have to be a lot more accountability.

TAPPER: I also remember that when those questions were being asked, the governor of Texas said that they were not the questions of, not the language of winners or some nonsense like that. Shimon Prokupecz in Texas, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

[17:48:02]

Coming up, the show of force in New York today to remember an NYPD officer killed this week when --when a gunman opened fire in a Manhattan office building. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Our Law and Justice Lead now. New surveillance video shows yesterday's arrest of the man accused of killing a couple who were on an Arkansas park trail with their kids. The suspect's name is Andrew James McGann. He was sitting there for a haircut when detectives came in and arrested him. He had recently been hired nearby as a teacher candidate, but had not started working at the school yet. The yearbook shows McGann when he taught fourth grade at an elementary school in Texas.

McGann's accused of killing Clinton and Cristen Brink on a state park walking trail on Saturday. The couple's two daughters, who were just seven and nine years old, were also on the hike. They witnessed everything. The family said, quote, Clinton and Cristen died heroes protecting their little girls, unquote.

Today, thousands lined the streets in the Bronx, New York, for the funeral for fallen NYPD officer, Didarul Islam. Islam was killed Monday when a lone gunman stormed a Manhattan office building, killing four people. CNN's Omar Jimenez filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It was a solemn day in the Bronx as fellow officers, friends and family gathered to honor fallen NYPD officer, Didarul Islam, who was killed Monday in midtown Manhattan. Inside a crowded mosque, New York's Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD leaders and Islam's family spoke in his memory.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK: I am responsible for the safety of New Yorkers. That is my obligation. And that is my most basic function. And for someone to drive across our country, carrying an automatic weapon and taking the lives of innocent people. You ask yourself over and over again, what more could we have done? How could we have responded better? And you have a tendency to blame yourself. And I just want to say sorry to this family.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Islam, an immigrant from Bangladesh, who had served just three and a half years on the force, was remembered for his dedication.

DEPUTY INSPECTOR MOHAMMED ASHRAF, COMMANDING OFFICER, 47TH PRECINCT: Your journey started across oceans, but your purpose brought you here to these streets, to this city, to this part of the Bronx, to this shield and the NYPD 47th Precinct. You made us all proud. You made a difference.

[17:55:01]

FAMITA BEGUM, SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF JAMILA AKAR, OFFICER ISLAM'S WIFE: Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice may have saved others in that lobby, people who are able to go home to their families that day.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Officer Islam was just a few weeks away from welcoming his third child.

OFFICER KAMRUL HASAN, BROTHER-IN-LAW AND FELLOW NYPD OFFICER: He's not only my brother-in-law, he was my protector. He was my best friend. Anything, everything, anybody need anything, he come to us. He was helping with the body. JIMENEZ (voice-over): Even neighbors who didn't know Officer Islam personally wanted to pay their respects.

GULAN KHAN, FROM SAME TOWN IN BANGLADESH AS OFFICER ISLAM: He's from the same town that I grew up in Bangladesh. So we have sympathy for his family. So we want to attend the funeral.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Islam was working as a paid detail, but his death is being treated as a line of duty death, and he'll be posthumously promoted to detective.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, The Bronx, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: And our thanks to Omar Jimenez for that report.

Moments ago, President Trump was pressed on his previous claim that Jeffrey Epstein stole young women from him who worked at Mar-a-Lago back -- way back when. What the President says now about that episode, that's next.

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