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Donald Trump Heckled And Booed At Libertarian Convention; Democratic Strategist James Carville Rips Into Party Over Messaging; 25 Million Americans Under Heat Warning, Temps Could Top 110 Degrees F; First Responder Drone Trailblazing New Way Of Law Enforcement Response; 12 Injured By Turbulence On Qatar Airways Flight; Russian Strike On Kharkiv Hardware Store Kills At Least 16. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired May 27, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, RFK Jr. and Donald Trump sort of trading attacks through social media over the weekend. And RFK Jr. also addressed the convention on Friday night and he is -- he was not attempting to be the Libertarian Party's nominee, but he has been aggressively courting their support as well.

And he has some people who have been interested in him in some of these states, and that is a concern to Trump, particularly in these swing states that are going to be decided by just tens of thousands of votes. And so, you are seeing a more aggressive posture by Trump towards RFK because they believe that while some of RFK support is going to come potentially from Biden, it could be coming from him as well.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Yes, concern from both the Biden camp and the Trump camp increasingly about the role of RFK Jr. in this election.

Steve Contorno, thank you. Rahel?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: All right, Bianna.

Let's discuss this further. Joining me now is Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton and Democratic strategist, Joe Trippi. Good to see you both.

Joe, let me start with you. We just heard from Steve Contorno in his reporting there that the disappearance by Trump signals the campaign's concern about third party candidates. He called it an intensifying urgency within the camp. What do you make of that?

JOE TRIPPI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, the Trump campaign I think really messed up by going out there. This was not -- he's the least libertarian candidate we've had since the party was formed in 1971. He got six write-in votes, five more write-in votes than porn star Stormy Daniels got, because she got one write-in vote. So this is like, it's not going to fly for him. What he is worried about, I agree, is RFK Jr., who now is relegated to being a spoiler. The reason is he's only on in eight states. He needed the libertarian nomination to be -- to get the access to 46, 47 states. They won't even be on 50 states this year, which means he won't be able to get 270 electoral votes and be a legitimate candidate for president.

He will be relegated to spoiler status given his failure. I think he got 19 votes at this thing. And the only win was Chase Oliver, who it's the first time I think that the nomination for the Libertarian Party has been spoken about on cable TV news, you know, in a -- since maybe 2016.

SOLOMON: Let me switch gears here, Shermichael, Republican Congressman Byron Donalds defending his appearance and Trump's rally in the Bronx after MSNBC host Joy Reid. She shared her thoughts. So I'm going to play for you what she said and then his response and we'll discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: That guy. The one, black guy, that Republicans love to roll out as fake proof that black people, the blacks are just MAGA. They're MAGA. It's a joke.

BYRON DONALDS (R), FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN: Just because I have a different viewpoint, different way of looking at the world, different politics, now all of a sudden I'm being used. You can make an argument that MSNBC is using her, but I'm going to move on. The rally in the Bronx was amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: OK. So let's put this in context. So in 2020 election results, according to CNN exit polls, Biden received 87 percent of the black vote, Trump 12 percent. Shermichael, your response to the exchange we just saw.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, look, I know Joy Reid personally, I know the congressman personally, so I want to try to be careful with this from, Rahel. But, you know, look, I don't think anyone can really deny the facts that from 2016 to 2020, you did see a 4 percent increase with black men for Donald Trump.

And many individuals, Republican strategists and even some Democratic strategists believe it's very well possible for the former president to at least get 14 percent to 15 percent potentially this November. Like I think African American people, just like any other demographic group in this country are not monolithic and people should have the ability to showcase their political leanings by their vote with whomever they ultimately decide to choose this November.

So, again, I get the point. But I think we should just be more open minded to how people of color think, broadly speaking.

SOLOMON: Well, speaking of the point, Joe, I want to show for you something that a Democratic strategist, James Carville, said coming after the Biden campaign saying, "We keep wondering why these young people are not coming home to the Democrats, why are blacks not coming home to the Democrats. Because Democrat messaging is full of blip (ph), that's why."

So Joe, does the party have a messaging problem when it comes to people of color, when it comes to young people this time around?

TRIPPI: Look, I think the contrast will become clearer as we get closer to the election. A lot of people aren't really paying a lot of attention right now. And I do think the Trump campaign has been reaching out and doing events and things that -- and making the case, trying to make the case.

[08:35:03]

But, eventually, it's going to get to -- how does he marry the white supremacists and the white Christian nationalists in his base with -- and his now basic agenda to put stop and frisk, make that a priority and a mandatory for federal funding and other things in government that are going to impact these, you know, these communities. How does he square that?

And that contrast will be very difficult for him to hold between now and November. And last time in 2020, we had a similar thing where a lot of Democratic base voters, there was softness there, but they all came back as that contrast between Trump and Biden became clear and more intense as you got closer to Election Day.

I don't -- I'm not saying that Biden will necessarily get back to that 87 or --

SOLOMON: Yes.

TRIPPI: -- to the peak number for him, but he's going to gain, I think. And that when we're in a dead heat right now begins with blacks, Latinos, young people, then this thing's over and Donald Trump's in big trouble. I think that's why you see him trying to do this outreach to the black community.

SOLOMON: Yes. Shermichael, I want you to comment on this, too, because to be fair, I mean, we are seeing Biden also tried to reach these same communities. You think about his commencement at Morehouse.

SINGLETON: Yes.

SOLOMON: You think about his ad spend on different, you know, different radio stations around the country. And yet it doesn't seem to be showing up, at least not yet in the polls. I mean, what isn't he getting do you think?

SINGLETON: Yes, I mean, look, I think a lot of young voters are incredibly concerned and frankly angry about what they're seeing in the Middle East and the treatment of the Palestinian people with the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

I think a lot of younger people are concerned about graduating college and not being able to afford rent because most departments in big cities at $3,000, $4,000 a month. Imagine paying that while also trying to pay back your student loans. I think a lot of young people are realizing that they're going to have to start families later on in life.

So there's a huge disconnect I believe, Rahel, with a lot of younger people entering into the workforce, millennials like myself, to the message coming from the Biden reelect campaign. And for voters of color, generally speaking, specifically men, I think a lot of them realize that despite the fact that the economy has improved somewhat, we still see that the wages have only increased 25 percent while inflation is around 31 percent, 32 percent.

So there is still a divide there. I think a lot of men feel that they have not heard the proper messaging from some of their concerns coming from Democrats as a lot of the messages appear to be targeted more towards women. And so there are some things that I think the president needs to focus on.

Now, I would agree with Joe. We're months away from November. There's still an opportunity for President Biden to change things and I do suspect that many of those voters will come around, but I think both candidates, the president and Donald Trump, have to make appeals to these very, very key constituencies, which I think ultimately will make a difference this November.

SOLOMON: Yes, every vote counts.

Shermichael Singleton, Joe Trippi --

SINGLETON: Yes.

SOLOMON: -- good to see you both. Thank you.

Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, if Memorial Day isn't enough of an unofficial start to the summer for you, the heat certainly will be. Today, millions of Americans are under heat alerts in places like Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The warm weather could create very dangerous situations across the country, with projected temperatures in some areas to top 110 degrees.

CNN's Rosa Flores is joining us live in Houston for more. I see some runners behind you trying to get in their run before that heat actually starts to impact so much of that city. We heard from Ed Lavandera earlier about the concerns. Tell us what we can expect to see today.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, when it comes to extreme heat, it can be a public health issue, especially when millions of Americans are impacted at one point in time. I want to start with the big picture here across the country. Take a look at this map of the heat risk across the United States, and you'll see that Americans are being impacted today from coast to coast. The colors on that map, you can see that they range from a light tan to a dark red, that shows the levels of heat risk. And again, you can see that Americans are impacted from coast to coast. Now, you were just talking about those dangerous storms over the weekend. If you look at these heat risk conditions and where the storms hit, there is an overlap.

So hundreds of thousands of people who were impacted by those storms are now without power and also could be in heat advisories, which, of course makes it very dangerous. Now, back to that map that shows the heat risk from coast to coast, here in the state of Texas, that's where you see the deep red portions, especially in south Texas. Some of those cities impacted are on the border with Mexico.

[08:40:16]

You can see that some of those cities, and we have multiple cities today either matching their record temperatures or exceeding record temperatures. Some of those, take a look, include Del Rio at 110, Laredo at 109, San Antonio 102, you keep going and you see Houston at 98.

And, Bianna, that number might not seem very high, and I love my dear Houston, but we are a bit of a swamp here. If you add the humidity, the heat index that's expected today during peak hours, could range from 108 to 113. So imagine that.

And excuse me for doing this, but it is really hot out here today. You can see some of the runners trying to run in early. That's what authorities recommend. Get your exercise in the morning because it's going to be very, very hot today.

GOLODRYGA: And drink a lot of water. I know that heat very well and my beloved Houston as well. Rosa Flores reporting to us, thank you. I believe Memorial Park, if I'm not mistaken. Thank you so much.

Rahel, over to you.

SOLOMON: All right, Bianna.

And this morning, a new technology is being used just outside of Seattle. That could change the way law enforcement responds to emergency calls.

CNN's Nick Watt got a first-hand look at the new invention.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Test flight in the wet woods outside Seattle. Brand new to the market, they call this one the responder.

Nearby, Redmond PD, among the first to deploy such drones on actual 911 calls.

SGT. STEVE LINCOLN, REDMOND, WASHINGTON POLICE: We can get from here to the other side of the city in just under two minutes. This is definitely the future of law enforcement.

BLAKE RESNICK, FOUNDER & CEO, BRINC DRONES: Suspicious person call, this drone gets their person isn't suspicious or isn't there. You just don't have to send officers anymore.

911 call comes in for a drug overdose, drone autonomously launches. Then when it arrives, it has a dropper. It would deliver Narcan.

WATT (voice-over): BRINC drones HQ in Seattle, a test flight for a specialized indoor version, Lemur 2.

RESNICK: Designed to get eyes and ears in dangerous places. So the drone can actually fly up to a window, shatter it out, make a hole for itself to enter a building. As our drone is flying around, it's actually drawing a floor plan of the structure that first responders might have to enter.

WATT (voice-over): The camera and the thermal imager can find victims, hostages.

RESNICK: So people just immediately pop out.

WATT (voice-over): And, of course, bad guys.

RESNICK: The drone has a cell phone number. We just called it. So now I can talk through the drone.

WATT: And now, you can try and talk me out of this terrible situation. I've got myself and other people in.

RESNICK: So that's really what it's designed to do.

WATT: How long is this company been around?

RESNICK: Three years.

WATT: And you are how old?

RESNICK: I'm 24. It's been a weird few years.

WATT (voice-over): That began in 2017 when he was 17 and saw in his hometown of Las Vegas, the worst mass shooting in modern American history. Sixty people slaughtered.

RESNICK: The October 1 shooting is what got me thinking about public safety technology.

WATT (voice-over): Will Huddler, who now works with Blake, was a SWAT team commander that night. His third day on the job, he had to send his team blind down a hotel corridor towards the gunman.

WILL HUDDLER, VP OF PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATIONS, BRINC DRONES: What we had in common is, that seminal event with the demo pilot and Blake, we're getting really, really confident on the demo. So I texted my crisis negotiation team leader to knock it out of the sky.

RESNICK: Someone grabbed a towel and slap my first prototype.

WATT (voice-over): So they come up with the solution.

WATT: The bad guys kicked it over. It slid on its back along the ground.

RESNICK: Yes.

WATT: Cue Dmitry. Nice.

This is going to save lives, right?

HUDDLER: It has. You picture of the faces that are on the wall, the memorial wall at these police departments, and you can name folks that would still be here if we had that tool.

WATT (voice-over): BRINC has made a pledge never to weaponize their drones. But --

WATT: Is it sort of big brothering (ph) that we've got these things flying over?

RESNICK: You know, it really depends how they're used. I think if these things are responding to 911 calls, people asking for help, they can provide aid or even stop crimes in progress, I don't think it is.

WATT (voice-over): Nick Watt, CNN, Seattle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: All right, thanks to Nick there.

Well, passengers and flight crew share hugs after a very rough flight where at least 12 people were hurt by severe turbulence. We have the details.

And fans of Bruce Springsteen disappointed as vocal issues forced the boss to take a break from his tour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:12]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. This morning, police are searching for suspects after former "General Hospital" actor Johnny Wactor was shot and killed. It happened while interrupting a catalytic converter theft in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend.

His mother told our affiliate that her son was leaving work early Saturday morning and thought that his car was being towed. When he approached the person to ask what was going on, the suspect looked up and opened fire. "General Hospital" co-star remembered him as a genuine, hardworking person with a huge heart.

Cruise ships set sail out of the port of Baltimore this weekend for the first time since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed. Royal Caribbean's vision of the sea set sail Saturday and Carnival Cruise Lines resumed operations out of the port on Sunday. The port is expected to be fully operational by the end of this week.

[08:50:02]

And legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen postponing shows in three European cities after experiencing vocal issues. According to a post on his official Instagram account, doctors advised him to hold off on performing for the next 10 days. The 74-year-old is now resting. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to resume touring on June 12th.

Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Wishing the boss a speedy recovery there. Meantime, to this story, there were some terrifying moments for passengers on board a Qatar Airlines flight Sunday. Authorities said the plane experienced extreme turbulence that injured 12 people. Eight of them were taken to a hospital after landing at Dublin Airport.

Now that incident happening just one week after more than 100 passengers were injured. And a man with a heart condition died after a Singapore Airlines flight ran into rough air.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla joins us live from Berlin with the latest. Sebastian, what are passengers saying about Sunday's incident?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Well, Bianna, it's incredibly rare to begin with that you have two incidents to do with turbulence within the space of a week, particularly in an industry that prides itself so much on its safety. The difference, obviously, between the Singapore Airlines flight and the Qatar Airways flight is that, obviously, the people were -- there were far fewer injuries with only 12 being injured and eight being hospitalized.

But the difference as well is that the Singapore Airlines flight had to be diverted to Bangkok. This one continued to Dublin, where it landed even ahead of time, five minutes ahead of time. But what we know about the incident was that it seemed to take place sometime during the meal service which is when a time where people may have undone their seatbelts, they've been going to the bathroom, walking around, stretching their legs.

But take a listen to what some of them had to say about what it was like when the moment that it hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILOMENA PRENDERGAST, QATAR AIRWAYS PASSENGER: We had our seatbelts on just from watching the episode that happened last week. It was just -- it was there in your mind. It was so scary at the time. You just don't know. Is this it or not? Like, but the staff were amazing like to actually get up and have to look after us and they're going around with bandages on their hands and bloodied faces like, and they have to serve us as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: And so, you know, these incidents are happening more and more frequently. And with climate change, Bianna, I think that we're going to see this a little bit more frequently. And also, I should say, anecdotally, I was on a flight yesterday. I had some far milder turbulence than what we're talking about here, but it has crept into the psyche now of travelers.

There was some screaming. Some people were genuinely worried about what was happening. So they -- the airlines themselves will have to start taking a think about how they combat this. I'm not sure there's a huge amount they could do except keep reassuring their passengers, turbulence is not dangerous. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: All right, Sebastian Shukla, thank you so much.

SOLOMON: All right, Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine, claiming even more lives as Putin seeks to tie up Ukrainian forces and tip the balance in his favor. One of the worst attacks over the weekend by Russia was on a busy hardware store in Kharkiv. At least 16 people were killed there, including a 12-year-old girl.

Let's go to CNN's Melissa Bell, who joins us now. Melissa, what more can you share with us about this brutal attack?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, this is a death toll that continues to rise because of the ferocity of the attack itself. But, of course, the fact that you're talking about a large hardware store in Kharkiv, where people were just middling around, going about their business, doing their shopping on Saturday.

And what the Ukrainians have done in response to Russian claims that the strike was targeting military areas is to release the videos, the CCTV footage from inside that hardware store to give an idea of what this obviously civilian structure went through as it was hit a brutal strike that has killed at least 16, we now know, including a 12-year- old girl.

But the fear is, Rahel, that that death toll will continue to rise. We've been hearing from Ukrainian officials about the hellish first few hours that followed the strike, trying to retrieve people from the rubble. And there remain people that have still not yet been found or identified.

Now, this strike came, of course, as Russia continues to try to press its what appears to be its advantage, not just on the front lines down in Donetsk, but of course, this new front line in Kharkiv region. We've been hearing from Moscow this afternoon they're claiming the gain of two new villages, one in the Donetsk region, but one in Kharkiv.

And it is here, of course, that Ukrainian forces are under extreme pressure, even as civilians are targeted, as we saw in that Saturday strike. More strikes on Sunday that targeted the areas of Kharkiv, but also Donetsk and further south in Kherson, as Russia tries to press its advantage. And this leading to President Zelenskyy in Madrid this hour, pleading once again for more military equipment. Spain has just pledged an extra billion euros in military support to Kyiv. President Zelenskyy calling on Western allies to do far more to help him shore up his defenses for help.

[08:55:11]

SOLOMON: Yes, it's a message he continues to reiterate. Melissa Bell, live for us in Paris. Melissa, thank you.

Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Joining us now, CNN Military Analyst and Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. General, always great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

If we can just go back to this horrific video that we have of the moment where a hardware store in Kharkiv is bombed by the Russians, you get a sense, again, that this is a civilian target and Ukrainians point out that there was no military target around this hardware store in the vicinity of it.

You couple that with the concerns about the shortage of manpower for Ukrainians right now that are finally, finally getting that military aid and weaponry that they've been waiting for for so long. How dangerous is the situation in the Kharkiv area right now?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, good morning, Bianna and Rahel. First of all, it's extremely dangerous. They're in an inflection point right now. It's, in my accounting, it's phase 7 of this campaign. Russia continues to strike civilian targets. This is not something that's changed over the last two plus years.

They -- the Russian government, under the direction of Mr. Putin, has conducted their way of war, which they've done in Syria, in Chechnya, and in so many other places, where it's striking civilians in an attempt to make them come under the thumb of Russia. That's why Mr. Zelenskyy has added another objective strategically to this war of seeing Mr. Putin before the Hague, which I think is appropriate.

But what you're talking about now from the Ukrainian side is, is they've passed the bill to mobilize more soldiers, up to 500,000, according to that bill. And also, as they're waiting for the supply chains to come back into effect that have been disrupted due to seven months of political wrangling, they're at a very difficult time as they try and spread their front line to protect against all Russian attacks, both through the air and on the ground.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, they've recently lowered the mobilization age from 27 now to 25. It's worth noting that the Russian glide bombs that were used to attack that hardware store were sent from an airfield, which is within striking range for the Ukrainians to attack if they have the opportunity. And if they have the green light specifically from the United States to use U.S. weapons to do so. It is currently U.S. policy not to use U.S. provided weapons to target inside Russia proper Crimea notwithstanding. There are many more people were in the New York Times had a piece just last week about debate within the Biden administration of those arguing that perhaps it's time to revisit and change that policy. Do you agree with that?

HERTLING: I do, Bianna. There's much discussion within the Biden administration about this. There are very complex reasons. We don't have enough time to discuss them. It's more than just a hesitation on the part of some in the Biden administration. There are very good political and military reasons for not doing this.

But I think based on just the dastardly deeds that Russia has conducted and targeting this civilian infrastructure, we're probably going to see a lowering of the standards for using that military equipment on specific Russian targeted. Now, you're going to have to be worried as soon as that happened, Russia is going to say, or Mr. Putin is going to say, see, we told you so.

This is the United States attacking inside of Russia with their proxy forces of Ukraine. That is going to be the argument for Putin's domestic argument audience, and it's going to be something that has to be overcome by the policy and a messaging campaign associated with it.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, which is why President Biden has long said he wants to avoid a World War III type of scenario. Many would agree with -- disagree with him though on that front in terms of how Vladimir Putin would react ultimately if the U.S. weapons were used inside of Russia.

Let me finally ask you specifically on this day as we honor our fallen military heroes. Aside from your annual tradition of watching "Saving Private Ryan," what else will you be reflecting upon today?

HERTLING: Well, you know, I wrote an article, Bianna, where I cited both segments of the film, "Saving Private Ryan." Not only the phrase of Captain Miller to Private Ryan of "earn this," but the ending scene of that movie where an old Private Ryan goes to the cemetery and tells his wife, tell me, I've been a good man. Tell me that, you know, I've led a good life.

That's what a lot of veterans who come home from the wars think about when they're remembering their fallen comrades. It's not only an earning that, but it's making it matter.