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Interview With Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA); Kamala Harris to Hold Rally in Milwaukee; House and Senate Democratic Leaders Endorse Kamala Harris; Secret Service Director Resigns. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 23, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:01:06]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Happening now: We are standing by to hear from the top two Democrats on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. They are going to be holding a joint press conference, and they're expected to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris at this press conference for the Democratic presidential nomination.

And all of this is happening as Harris is preparing to hold the first campaign rally of her presidential campaign here in the next hour in Milwaukee, today's headline event in that battleground state capping a whirlwind 48 hours where Harris secured enough delegates to lock up the nomination, and she also has raised more than $100 million in just those two days, which is a staggering amount that took Biden and Trump all of June to each rake in.

And, this hour, President Biden is on his way back from isolating with COVID and Delaware to the White House, where, tomorrow, he will deliver a speech to the nation about his decision to end his reelection bid.

Any moment now, we expect to see the president for the first time since he announced that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice President Harris as the nominee.

We do begin our coverage with Manu Raju, who is at this press conference by top Democratic leaders.

A big announcement coming, Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we do expect that to both Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leaders, to announce their endorsement of Kamala Harris here in a matter of moments.

They have not done so yet. Initially, they decided not to do that because they didn't want to look like they were trying to essentially anoint the next Democratic nominee, allow the process to play out. But now with Harris having secured enough delegates to essentially be the presumptive nominee, essentially, they're going to make it clear where they stand, which is to support Kamala Harris. Now, of course, Schumer and Jeffries have been part of this effort,

raising concerns if Joe Biden were to stay in a race behind the scenes. They met privately with President Biden over the last couple of weeks, Schumer making a trek up to Delaware to talk to him, relay the concerns he was hearing from Democratic senators, Jeffries also separately heading a meeting with the president at the White House, conveying concerns he was hearing from the Democratic Caucus.

There were real fears if Jeffries -- if Biden were to stay at the top of the ticket, the impact that would have downticket. That was one of the concerns they were laying to the president. Now that Biden has stepped aside and Harris is on the top of the ticket, a much different view among Democrats, who believe their chances at potentially taking back the House, maybe keeping the Senate, although the Senate is much more difficult, perhaps those chances improve.

And, right here, we're at Democratic Senate Campaign Committee headquarters, where they plan to announce their endorsement, hoping that perhaps that Harris could change the dynamics of a race that had been going up until this point Donald Trump's way. So we will expect that endorsement here in a matter of moments here, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, we will be looking for that and bringing it live when we see it there.

Manu, thank you so much for that report.

We do have CNN's Eva McKend, who is in Milwaukee at the Harris campaign rally.

A big impression that she's hoping to make today. What are you expecting to hear?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, this is her first presidential rally since announcing her presidential campaign.

You have every elected leader here in Wisconsin supporting her. And she will need the infrastructure in place here in order to be successful come November in this pivotal battleground state.

As a former prosecutor, she is expected to make the case against former President Donald Trump, arguing that he has tried to undermine democracy, that he has attacked reproductive rights, that he has sold out working families.

This is a roarious crowd here, Brianna. And I can tell you, from being on the campaign trail with her the last couple of weeks, there is just so much momentum here on the ground, so much energy and a lot of new life that has been brought into this campaign.

[13:05:03]

You have people sort of not worried that this is happening in just around 100 days. They truly believe that Harris, her supporters tell me that she is the best messenger to go up against Trump -- Brianna. KEILAR: Yes, certainly a lot of enthusiasm for her behind you, as we do await. She has just landed in Milwaukee. We will be monitoring this rally.

Eva, thank you for that report.

Let's go now to M.J. Lee.

She's at the White House, where the president, President Biden, is expected to arrive here in the next hour.

M.J., tell us about the president's prime-time address to the nation tomorrow.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, in the next hour, we should see, as you said, the president returning to the White House for the first time in just over a week.

He had, of course, traveled to the West Coast, tested positive for COVID on Wednesday, and immediately traveled back to the East Coast to Delaware, where he has been in isolation ever since, and it was while he was in isolation that he made the stunning decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

And he did that through a letter that he had posted on social media and has had no public events since that decision was made public. And so we expect these remarks that the president will deliver from the Oval Office tomorrow night in prime time, we expect them to be sort of an offering of the most fulsome explanation that we have gotten from the president yet on that decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

We also expect him to sort of lay out the major and most defining accomplishments that he sees from his first three-and-a-half years in office, and we also certainly expect that the president will be forward-looking in these remarks, talking about the fact that he still has six months left. What does he hope to accomplish? How does he now see the stakes heading into the November election?

He, of course -- and we are seeing these pictures here of the vice president arriving in Milwaukee. He has thrown his support fully behind his vice president. Yesterday, we heard him telling his campaign team: Embrace her. She is the best. Give her everything that you have given to me.

And now -- Brianna, now that the president is no longer the presidential candidate, he is officially the lame-duck outgoing president. And I think, given that securing a second term is no longer the motivating sort of factor for him in his public life, we could potentially see some moves from the president, in terms of rhetoric or perhaps executive actions or pushes for legislative work, that we may not have necessarily seen if he were still running for a second term.

So this is a totally new lens via which we should see the president and the presidency. And, tomorrow night, we should get a real sense of how he is thinking about his legacy as a one-term president -- Brianna. KEILAR: All right, M.J., obviously a lot going on. We thank you for

keeping an eye on it there at the White House.

Thank you -- Jessica.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: A whole lot to discuss here.

Again, we are waiting to hear from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

In the meantime, joining us right now, Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia of California. He's a member of the Harris Campaign National Advisory Board.

Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us this afternoon.

I know that the vice president and you have been close for a long time.

Hold on. We're going to go in and listen to Schumer. We will get back to you in a moment.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Great, great day for the Democratic Party and the country.

Vice President Harris will soon be our nominee and will be elected president in November. We are brimming with excitement, enthusiasm, unity.

On Sunday, President Biden showed the world what a great man he is. His true patriotism, his profound sense of decency came shining through. We all know it was not an easy decision for him. But just as he has done his entire life, President Biden's selfless decision not to seek the nomination put our country, our party and our future first.

At his core, he's just an honorable man, a family man, a man of deep faith. We love him. We truly do.

I will have more to say on President Biden later this afternoon in my floor speech.

But President Biden's selfless decision has given the Democratic Party the opportunity to unite behind a new nominee. And, boy, oh, boy, are we enthusiastic.

Since President Biden's announcement, we have seen the Democratic Party swiftly coalesce behind Vice President Kamala Harris. When I spoke with her Sunday, she said she wanted the opportunity to win the nomination her own and to do so from the grassroots up, not top down.

We deeply respected that, Hakeem and I did. She said she would work to earn the support of our party. And, boy, has she done so in quick order.

[13:10:06] Vice President Harris has done a truly impressive job securing the majority of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party's nomination to be our next president to the United States. The vast majority of my senators quickly and enthusiastically endorsed her.

So, now that the process has played out, from the grassroots, bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

(APPLAUSE)

SCHUMER: I'm clapping. You don't have to.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHUMER: It's a happy day. What can I say?

Together, we will keep and hopefully grow the Senate majority, and, under future Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, we will win back the House. Democrats are moving forward stronger and more united than ever before.

In just the last 36 hours, I have seen a surge of enthusiasm from every corner of our party uniting behind Vice President Harris, an enthusiasm felt in every corner of the country, and it's contagious among Democrats.

The volunteers, the small contributions, they're just pouring in, in ways even beyond our expectations.

Now, we all know that Vice President Harris has a tremendous record to run on, and now begins the next chapter in our quest to make sure Donald Trump does not become president. Today, with one voice, we speak about the dangers he presents to working families, to our country, and to our democracy.

We will -- we see very clearly how nervous the Republicans are about our new nominee. Well, they ain't seen nothing yet. Last night, Vice President Harris secured a majority of delegates. Today, in Wisconsin and across America, we begin our next chapter, and it will be our best yet.

Vice President Harris will beat Donald Trump and become the next president of the United States of America.

Applause?

(LAUGHTER)

SCHUMER: Hakeem.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Thank you, Leader Schumer.

(LAUGHTER)

JEFFRIES: Joe Biden is a patriotic American. Joe Biden is a heroic American. Joe Biden is a great American.

Joe Biden will go down in American history as one of the most consequential presidents of all time. President Joe Biden has made the selfless decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready, willing and able to lead us into the future.

Kamala Harris and her candidacy has excited and energized the House Democratic Caucus, the Democratic Party and the nation. Vice President Harris has earned the nomination from the grassroots up, and not the top down.

She is ready, she is willing, she is able to energetically and emphatically lead America into the future. Kamala Harris is a commonsense leader who knows how to deliver real results for hardworking American taxpayers. Kamala Harris is a courageous leader who has worked hard throughout her entire career to keep our communities safe.

Kamala Harris is a compassionate leader who will build an affordable economy that makes life better for everyday Americans. Kamala Harris will fight for our freedom. Kamala Harris will fight for our families. Kamala Harris will fight for our future.

I'm proud to strongly endorse Kamala Harris to be the 47th president of the United States of America. We're going to hold the Senate, we're going to win the House, we're going to elect Kamala Harris as our next president in November.

Thank you.

SCHUMER: Yes. Well, questions on this subject. Yes.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) I know you said that this was a bottom-up process, but Kamala Harris is the vice president of the United States. There was no other competition. This is going to be selected by party delegates, insiders, essentially.

[13:15:03]

How -- what's your case to the American people and to the Democratic voters that voted for Joe Biden that this isn't a coronation?

SCHUMER: The bottom line, it was a bottom-up process. People just rallied right to her side. The enthusiasm in this big, diverse, representative party was amazing. You could -- it was palpable. You could cut it with a knife.

Yes?

QUESTION: Leader Schumer, are you worried that Republican efforts will bubble up in states to keep Harris off the ballot, to leave Joe Biden on the ballot?

SCHUMER: No.

Yes? QUESTION: Leader Schumer, when are you guys going to meet with the

vice president?

SCHUMER: Soon.

QUESTION: Leader Schumer...

SCHUMER: See, we're getting more questions with short answers.

(LAUGHTER)

RAJU: You had a number of conversations with the president over the last several weeks.

You went up to Delaware. That was described as a bit of an emotional meeting of sorts. I'm wondering, did you ever personally ask him not to run for reelection?

SCHUMER: Look, what I would say is that the president has done an amazing, amazing job as president, one of the best we have ever had. And he put his country first and made the right decision.

Thank you, everybody.

DEAN: All right, you were listening there to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, this after she secured enough delegate pledges last night to become the Democratic nominee for president.

I want to bring back in our guest, Congressman Robert Garcia, who has been patiently waiting.

We really do appreciate you sticking with us.

Congressman Garcia, we hear those endorsements now. It seems like the circle has been complete. We're going to see Vice President Harris become the nominee.

I know you all have a long relationship. Have you spoken with her in the last 48 hours, since all of this has happened? And what can you tell us, if you have?

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): I have. And, of course, it's great to see, of course, both our leaders in our party make the official endorsement. We knew it was on its way.

But, yes, I spoke to the vice president actually on Sunday, so the day that actually the announcement happened. And what she said is that she, of course, is excited. She's all about unifying the party. And exactly what the leader said is correct. It was really important for her for this to be a grassroots effort, for our process, which is delegate-driven, to unify and rally around the vice president.

But, wow, we had no idea that it would happen so swiftly and so fast. And what you're seeing right now is a party that's being energized by the grassroots around Kamala Harris, the fund-raising, which has broken records, the tens of thousands of volunteers that are signing up at offices across the country, and the entire party rallying around our vice president.

So, as someone that's known her for a long time as both a friend and a political ally and supporter, it's a proud moment for this Californian, for our state. We are going to do everything we can to work every day, and we're going to defeat Donald Trump in November.

DEAN: And you were the co-chair of Harris' 2020 presidential campaign. In that campaign, she dropped out before the Iowa caucuses.

And I think people look to that and they look to 2024 now, some four years later. Do you think she's a different candidate now?

GARCIA: I do.

Look, I think she's -- look, she's the same person. She's the same brilliant, funny, tough Kamala Harris. She's still that prosecutor that takes it to the big banks and corporate landlords and the large corporations. She's that person still.

But she also now has also a lot more experience. She's served as vice president. She has been the governing partner to Joe Biden, probably the most consequential president of the modern era. And so she is a person that has so much more experience today than she did when she first ran.

But I think that same person is still there. And one of the things that I have been telling folks is, I cannot wait for the country to get to know that Kamala Harris that we have known for such a long time, that prosecutor, the person that took on all the bad guys, that took on the sexual predators, that took on the huge, large corporate banks that were foreclosing and taking homes away from so many working-class families.

She took on the private colleges and universities that were scamming students. That's who Kamala Harris is. And so this contrast between her and Donald Trump, who is literally a criminal and a felon and a con man, she knows folks like Donald Trump. She's prosecuted them her whole life.

And so that is what I think we're excited about. And I think she's excited about it as well.

DEAN: And, Congressman, I don't have a ton of time left, but if she could ask you and consulted with you about who and what kind of qualities a vice presidential nominee should have for her, what would your advice be to her?

[13:20:09]

GARCIA: I mean, my advice would be is to -- I mean, to listen to your heart and to your gut. She has been vice president. She will know how to make the right selection and to lean on the president, President Biden, who has also been the vice president. She's going to do just that. We're going to support whoever she picks.

And I'm confident we're going to have a great ticket. So we're excited.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Robert Garcia, our thanks to you.

And, again, thanks for sticking around with us.

GARCIA: Thank you.

DEAN: We're following breaking news, as the Secret Service director stepping down as the agency faces some serious backlash over security lapses during the assassination attempt of former President Trump.

We're going to look at the fallout from all of it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:12]

KEILAR: New today, the director of the Secret Service is out one day after a very contentious hearing on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers pressed her for answers about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

DEAN: In her resignation letter, Kimberly Cheatle telling staff -- quote -- "In light of recent events, it is with the heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director, adding:"Scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases."

And joining us to discuss, CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez and senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

Evan, let's start first with you. And tell us -- bring us up to date and what you're learning.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that the Homeland Security Department has asked Ronald Rowe, who is the deputy director of the Secret Service, to be acting director, which is obviously a very big job that is going to remain under a lot of scrutiny because of all the problems that have been exposed by what happened on July 13, the attempted assassination of the former president.

You have one person dead, two others injured in a rally, during which time all of these details that have been coming out from the scene. But we know that the Secret Service director yesterday just performed terribly, I mean, no doubt it, because you have bipartisan calls for her to leave.

And very few things unify these two parties right now in Washington, but it was clear both sides viewed what she did yesterday.

And so, as a result, she said in her letter to the staff today, to the men and women of the Secret Service, she said: "The Secret Service will move forward with our investigatory and protective mission in a steadfast manner. We do not retreat from challenge. However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you does towards this mission."

She also said: "It's with a heavy heart I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."

It was obvious, obviously, after yesterday, where she declined to answer so many questions. And probably after the 17th time being asked, she finally relented and provided a little bit of information.

KEILAR: Yes, it seemed a matter of when, not if...

PEREZ: Right.

KEILAR: ... after what we saw yesterday.

You also have some new reporting from Pennsylvania State Police. What are you learning?

PEREZ: Right.

So there's another hearing that's ongoing, where pretty much nobody showed up, but the Pennsylvania police did show up, the Pennsylvania State Police. And one of the things that we're hearing from that hearing right now, the commissioner there is saying that you -- there is this couple of minutes where a police officer gets up on the roof, where the shooter is poised to fire shots.

And we have seen that video. We have seen where people are trying to get the attention of police that he is on this roof. What the -- this official now from the Pennsylvania State Police is saying is that they had a couple of minutes, perhaps as many as three minutes, where they knew he was on the roof, they saw he had a gun, and the time that the fire -- the first shots ring out.

So it does raise the question, again, of why the former president was on stage at a time when they were looking for someone. Yesterday, we heard from the director that she believed it was only seconds before they realized he was not just suspicious, but actually a threat.

It appears, from the local police, the State Police there, that that is not true, that it is much longer. And it does raise additional new questions, including the fact that a couple of local official -- police who were supposed to be watching that roof and that -- in a position to take shots at that roof, they left that post to go look for him.

So, again, it just shows you a lot of problems that were going on at the scene there during the time that Donald Trump is about to get on stage.

DEAN: No doubt about it.

Juliette, I want to go to you, because it was obvious from that hearing yesterday that Cheatle had little choice here in this matter. We can listen to bipartisan criticism from yesterday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): You answered more questions with an ABC reporter than you have with members of Congress.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): The notion of a report coming out in 60 days, when the threat environment is so high in the United States, irrespective of party, is not acceptable.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): You're full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) today. You're just being completely dishonest.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Do you really genuinely in your heart believe that you being in this role is what's right for America at this moment?

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): You should have come today ready to give us answers. I call upon you to resign today.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): So, I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Juliette, is her resignation a step in the right direction in helping restore trust in the Secret Service at this point?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Absolutely. It was necessary.

I mean, yesterday, when Jamie Raskin, someone who does not sort of oppose the White House very often, came out asking for a resignation, and then the White House was silent, you knew that this was bound to happen.

I think it's absolutely necessary. When she said she could lead it forward, it's actually the exact opposite.