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Day 2 of RNC After Trump Makes First Appearance Since Rally Shooting; Interview with Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA): A Call of Party Unity; Nikki Haley Does Walk-Through on RNC Stage; Sen. Bob Menendez Convicted on All 16 Counts in Corruption Trial; Interview with Dr. Ben Carson (R) Former HUD Secretary: Reaching out to Black Voters, Immigrants and Younger Voters. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 16, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: I'm Boris Sanchez, live in Milwaukee at the site of this week's Republican National Convention. It's day two of the RNC, as Republicans rally in support of Donald Trump following an attempted assassination. The theme for night two of the RNC, crime and security, a theme that obviously takes on added meaning less than 72 hours after Trump was nearly killed.

Joining us now from the Republican National Convention is the Republican governor of Georgia. Governor, a pleasure to have you with us. One of the themes for tonight, the second night of the RNC, is going to be party unity.

You're going to have folks like former Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Ron DeSantis, folks that have disparaged President Trump during the primary process, go up there and essentially say that he deserves to be president once more. You personally have had a fraught relationship with former President Trump. He vowed at one point to end your political career.

I'm wondering if you've spoken to him recently.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): No, I haven't spoken to him recently, but listen, I do think people are unifying in the party. I think you'll see a lot of that tonight. I think you've seen a lot of that since Saturday. But I've told a lot of people, too, I've been seeing that really over the last several weeks or months and certainly since the debate in Atlanta.

I think everybody, the closer you get, the more, but really both parties normally unify. We're certainly seeing a big split on the Democratic side right now, but I think Republicans are unifying for one reason. We can't afford four more years of Joe Biden.

SANCHEZ: You did not vote for President Trump during the primary. I'm assuming that means you're going to vote for him in the general election.

KEMP: Well, I didn't vote against him either.

SANCHEZ: Fair point.

KEMP: I just didn't vote for anybody because the race is really over when it when it got to November, when it got to the primary in Georgia. But I've said all along, look what way long time ago when the nominating process started on the Republican side, I was going to support the nominee, support the ticket. And so that's what I'll be doing.

SANCHEZ: I do want to ask you about the case that the former president is facing in Fulton County. Obviously, given the pace of the proceedings, it doesn't seem like that's going to be figured out in the courtroom before the election. If the former president wins in November, would you support a pardon for him?

KEMP: Well, I would just say I got to be very careful about what I say in regards to that case because I'm a subpoenaed witness to that case.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

KEMP: I wouldn't want to weigh in on your question, not that I'm trying to dodge it. We'll see.

I'm like you. I don't think that case, you know, is going to go to trial before November. I think quite honestly, a lot of people around the country feel like all these cases have been politically motivated.

And certainly there's been other instances in in the Fulton County case that have created other issues that have delayed the trial. So, you know, we just got to let all that play out. But I'll be honest with you. I think the Democrats have overplayed their hand on a lot of those things. I think people are tired of all of that. They're ready to just, you know, go vote and let the election decide all this.

[15:35:02]

SANCHEZ: I'm curious to get your thoughts on what we saw last night following the attempted assassination of President Trump over the weekend, his triumphant return to an audience that adores him.

What was going through your mind when you saw him come out and get that reception?

KEMP: Well, regardless of how you feel, you know, whether you're Republican or Democrat or don't care, I mean, to see him come back from what happened Saturday. I mean, that just shows the spirit of America to me, you know, with President Biden calling him over the weekend. I think the two first ladies have spoken as well. It really shows the true fabric of our country. And I hope as the campaign moves on, you know, we'll continue to see that that spirit and, you know, fight hard and campaign hard and go to the ballot box with, you know, vigor for your candidate. But this violence and really some of the overtop rhetoric, I think it's time to just, you know, for as much as we can in a blood sport like politics, calm those things down.

SANCHEZ: And to that point, what did you think last night when some of the speakers were referring to President Biden as senile? And there were folks that said that Democrats are dangerous for the country. Does that cross the line in your mind, given --

KEMP: Well, listen, I think there's a lot of things that have been said on the other side that you could make the case that, you know, it incited, you know, some of the animosity against President Trump. I think you can also say there's been rhetoric on the Republican side in the same case for Joe Biden. And I think it's incumbent on all of us to really be careful about what we're saying, but also be graceful and forgiving to people.

You know, if they have a slip of the tongue and say something like it's going to be a blood bath or, you know, we need to put them in the crosshairs, meaning we need to focus on them, not shoot them. You know, we got to be realistic too in this world that, you know, everybody's fighting for their position hard. Let's just be respectful and let's make this election about policy.

I personally think if Donald Trump does that, if he speaks to the future and tells people what we're for the chairman of the party, Mike Whatley said the same thing. It's an opportunity for Republicans this week to tell people that are undecided why they should vote for us on policy issues. Now is the time to do that.

SANCHEZ: How do you think President Trump himself will tone down the rhetoric during this?

KEMP: Well, I can't speak for President -- former President Trump, but I think he has a great opportunity to do that. I mean, I'm not saying you don't fight hard for your position, but also think this is a great opportunity for him to show thanks and humility as to what happened. And, you know, the prayers that people are giving to really, you know, remember the loss of life from Saturday.

Those that are injured people that will be affected for decades by that day in this country. And let's, you know, let's make ourselves better every day. Let's make the country better. Let's tell people what we're going to do to make the country better.

And I think -- I think Donald Trump has a strong case to do that based on his record versus Joe Biden's.

SANCHEZ: Governor Brian Kemp thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us.

KEMP: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: We appreciate it.

We want to get straight now to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who's on the floor of the convention because Kaitlan is a familiar face touring the stage right now.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: But also a surprising face for us because this is not someone who was expected to be at the Republican Convention initially, that is Governor Nikki Haley, Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was once one of Donald Trump's fiercest primary challengers, certainly one of his harshest critics during the Republican primary. She was not actually invited to speak at the Republican Convention until after that attempted assassination of Donald Trump that happened on Saturday. I am told that it was after that that Donald Trump reached out to her.

His team did to see if she would be interested in coming here to speak. So we will be hearing from her on this stage behind me tonight. Now everyone will be watching that very closely.

We know that she's voting for Donald Trump. She already came out a few months ago and said as much, saying that when she looked at the choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it was an obvious choice for her and that she would be supporting Donald Trump.

But remember, Boris, how ugly that primary campaign got where Nikki Haley as the race went on, and it was eventually just Nikki Haley and Donald Trump in that Republican primary. She said that she believed Donald Trump was diminished. She called him unhinged. She was very critical of Joe Biden, obviously, as well. Not a surprise there, but also of Donald Trump.

And it was a notable moment when, of course, she dropped out of the race and she did not immediately endorse Donald Trump. That is something that came much later on when she said that she would be voting for him but stopped short of really endorsing him.

So we'll be watching to see what she says closely here tomorrow or tonight -- excuse me -- when she is at that lectern and this place is crowded with delegates. And what does -- you know, we've heard all this talk about unity and what that looks like. I think that's a real question of how she chooses to talk about this on stage and also how we see the delegates respond to her.

[15:40:04]

Remember yesterday? It was over there in Kentucky, their delegation seated right over there. Senator Mitch McConnell was booed when he got up to announce Kentucky's delegates for Donald Trump. Obviously, he's also someone who has said he will be supporting Donald Trump, though he has also been quite a harsh critic of his and they had actually gone several years without speaking after January 6th happened.

And so there is a theme here tonight. It is about immigration and crime that you're going to see a lot of the speakers talking about. But everyone's going to be watching the speeches from Nikki Haley and from Governor Ron DeSantis very closely, especially with Haley, given she was invited and only had a few days to work on her speech and to see what she says.

And, of course, how all of this has changed since what happened on Saturday night in Butler, Pennsylvania.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no doubt we're going to be closely watching the way that she's received here. We know the Trump campaign eagerly wants those Haley voters, even those zombie voters that continued supporting her even after she dropped out.

Kaitlan Collins live from the floor of the convention. We're going to take a quick break. CNN is back in just a few minutes.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Breaking news, Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty by a jury on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial. The New Jersey Democrat convicted on charges that included bribery, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent. We have CNN's Kara Scannell, who's outside of the courthouse in New York and has been following this all along.

Kara, what is Menendez saying about the verdict?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Brianna, Senator Menendez left court just a short time ago after the jury handed up that verdict. Guilty on 16 counts, all related to a sweeping bribery scheme. He walked to the cameras to address the media, saying that he was deeply disappointed and that they would appeal.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): Obviously, I'm deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury's decision. I have every faith that the law and the facts did not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal.

I have never violated my public oath. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent. And the decision rendered by the jury today would put at risk every member of the United States Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now Brianna, we also heard from the U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. He's the attorney for the Southern District of New York. He also spoke to the cameras, and he said that this was a shocking level of corruption. Prosecutors accused Menendez of accepting gold bars, nearly half a million dollars in cash that was found in his home in New Jersey, as well as a Mercedes Benz convertible.

And in exchange, they say he sold the power of his office by taking steps to help some of the men involved in the case who were charged alongside him. We found guilty as well as helping the government of Egypt all while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Certainly significant.

Now, this won't automatically remove Senator Menendez from the Senate. That is something the Senate would have to choose to do. But as of now, the senior senator from New Jersey has been convicted of 16 felony counts as part of a sweeping bribery scheme -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Big news today. Kara Scannell, thank you for that live for us from New York.

One way for former President Trump to win in November could be by picking up more votes from Black and Latino voters, and polling suggests that is a real possibility. Up next, we'll be talking to one of his former cabinet secretaries about how he could do it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:04]

SANCHEZ: We have some new details on what we're expected to hear tonight on the second night of the RNC. CNN has learned that entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to make the case for former President Trump directly to Black voters, immigrants and young voters. He's also expected to frame Trump as a candidate who can best unite the country during his speech at the RNC.

We're joined now by Dr. Ben Carson. He served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration. Dr. Carson, a pleasure to have you on. Thanks for joining us.

There were a lot of folks in those groups that Vivek Ramaswamy wants to address tonight. Black voters, younger voters, immigrants that in the first Trump administration felt alienated and felt attacked.

What do you think the former president needs to do to bring those voters in and to better address their concerns in a potential second Trump administration?

DR. BEN CARSON, FORMER HUD SECRETARY DURING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Well, I think one of the reasons that you see a lot of minority people moving toward Trump is because they saw in the Trump administration that he tended to believe that a rising tide floats all boats and he didn't necessarily pick one group and pick them against another group in terms of benefits for them. So I think people are starting to appreciate that. And I'm very hopeful that people on all sides will begin to realize that we're all Americans and stop trying to divide us on the basis of race, age, income, gender, political affiliation, religion.

It doesn't work because a house divided against itself cannot stand.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Carson, I'm wondering what you make of Donald Trump picking JD Vance to be his running mate, his vice presidential pick?

CARSON: Well, I think it was a good pick because JD Vance is young. He's energetic. He's very smart. He's quite articulate and I think can be extremely useful as an adjunct to what Trump is trying to do.

SANCHEZ: I'm also curious to get your thoughts on North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. He was on the shortlist to be one -- he was on the shortlist for vice president for Donald Trump.

He actually told our Kaitlan Collins that when Trump reached out to him yesterday to let him know that he wasn't going to be the vice presidential pick, Trump addressed him as Mr. Secretary. I'm wondering -- looks like we're having some mic issues. I'll give you a moment to fix that.

These things are challenging. It's no joke. And there's the band playing behind us. So there's a lot going on.

To the question of potential cabinet secretaries in a second Trump administration, who would you like to see serve?

CARSON: Well, I think a lot of the people we've seen publicly lately, some of their vice presidential candidates, some of the people who've been very vocal, people who've been very effective. I'd like to see them all there because we need people who can really concentrate on the solutions to the real issues, not so much political people who will be attacking other political people.

SANCHEZ: To that point, we've seen calls for the rhetoric to be toned down in light of the attempted assassination of former President Trump on Saturday. There was a tweet from JD Vance, now the vice presidential pick, soon after the shooting saying that the rhetoric coming from President Biden and the left contributed to what we saw unfold. I'm wondering if you agree with that sentiment.

CARSON: Well, I would certainly say, you know, calling people, you know, Hitler-like and things of that are not necessarily conducive to, you know, creating peace and harmony in a society. I think we all need to really concentrate on what the issues are. And this election is particularly important.

You know, it's not about personalities. It's about two different philosophies of how our society should be run. And, you know, one side believes that it should be of, by and for the people, and one side believes it should be of, by and for the government.

They're two very distinctly different things, and that's what they need to be talking about.

SANCHEZ: Do you think former President Trump will focus on that in his remarks and he won't launch any personal attacks?

CARSON: It would be nice.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Ben Carson, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate it. Thanks for joining us.

CARSON: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Much more of CNN's coverage of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee is straight ahead. We're also awaiting President Biden, who's expected to speak soon in Las Vegas. Stay with us.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: These are live pictures coming to us from Las Vegas, Nevada, where President Biden will be returning to the campaign trail today. It's the first time that we will have seen him on the trail since the assassination attempt on his rival, former President Donald Trump. Biden is getting set to deliver remarks at the NAACP's National Convention.

And this is coming after his interview with Lester Holt on NBC News, where he was pushing back on pressure from within his own party to step aside. Here is one testy exchange that he had.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS: Is there is there a sense of wanting to get back on the horse?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm on the horse. Where have you been? I've done 22 major events. And thousands of people, overwhelming crowds, a lot happening. I'm on the horse. What I'm doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I'm in command of all my faculties, that I don't need notes.

I don't need teleprompter. I can go out and answer any questions at all. And I stood there when NATO was in town, I stood there for an hour and answered questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: All of this, of course, as day two of the Republican National Convention is underway right now with some top Republicans. All of this, of course, as day two of the Republican National Convention is underway right now with some top Republicans expected to be speaking on the big stage tonight, that includes Trump's former primary rivals, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. And we're covering all of it live here on CNN.

CNN's coverage of the Republican National Convention continues on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper, and that starts right now.

END