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Trump Winds Straw Poll with Hugely Supportive CPAC Crowd; Man Accused of Recruiting Haiti's President's Assassins Arrested; Former Jordon Royal Court Chief Sentenced to 15 Years; Twelfth Parades to Kick Off Soon in Northern Ireland; Pope Makes First Appearance Since Colon Surgery; Djokovic Wins Record-Tying 20th Grand Slam Title. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired July 12, 2021 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone.
Well Donald Trump kept pushing lies about his election loss at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, and it seems to be paying off for the former U.S. president. He won the straw poll of attendees when they were asked who they would like to see run for president in 2024. Sara Murray has details now from Dallas.
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SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump lapped up the attention from an adoring crowd here at CPAC in Dallas on Sunday. He delivered a speech that lasted for more than an hour where he ran through many of his greatest hits, of course, rehashing the election results of 2020 and slamming the Biden administration.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We were doing so well until the rigged election happened to come along. We were doing really well. But today, that heritage is under threat like never before. Who would have thought this could have happened? Even Bernie Sanders is saying, I never thought this could happen. He's mild by comparison.
In a matter of mere months, Joe Biden has brought our country to the brink of ruin. Right here in Texas, we are the epicenter of a border and migration crisis unlike anything anyone has ever seen before in the history of our country.
MURRAY: And of course, you heard the mention of the rigged election there at the top. That is one of Trump's favorite talking points, even if there's no evidence of widespread fraud.
It was quite clear that the crowd at CPAC was very much in the former president's corner. You know, they did a straw poll here, which is just a snapshot of the far conservative wing of the Republican base, but it showed that 70 percent of the folks at CPAC would vote for Trump if he were running for reelection again. The closest person behind him was at 21 percent and that was Ron DeSantis of Florida. It gives you a sense of just how the former president has frozen the Republican field, as folks wait to see if he decides he's going to run again.
You know, normally, CPAC is a big moment for up and coming Republican stars. We didn't see as much of that this time around. Everyone is kind of waiting to see what the former president decides to do. He didn't give an answer in his speech. He says he knows what he wants to do, but he is not going to be announcing it.
Sara Murray, CNN, Dallas.
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CHURCH: And I spoke earlier about CPAC with CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, I asked him if former president can win over swing voters, with the same tactics that were so popular at CPAC.
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RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Midterm elections tend to be more about base voters because turnout is so much lower than in the presidential years. So it's possible that Republicans can have a successful midterm election without really testing whether this kind of Trumpification of the party will be any more sellable to swing voters in 2024 than it was in 2020.
I mean, the reality was in 2020, that Joe Biden was elected because so many previously Republican-leaning voters, particularly in the suburbs and major metros around America, whether it's Atlanta or Philadelphia or Denver or Minneapolis, they voted Democratic.
[04:35:02]
And the Republican Party continues to place their relationship with those voters at risk by buying in to so many of kind of the Trump tropes -- good phrase, Trump tropes -- especially and most perniciously this idea that the election was stolen.
So, I think we are not going to really fully know the answer to that until 2024, but I think there is a lot of reason for Republicans to be concerned about their continued subservience to the former president means for their vote in those formerly Republican-leaning white collar suburbs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH (on camera): Ron Brownstein also told me he thinks around a quarter of Republicans are still uncomfortable with Trump.
Well Haitian police have arrested a man who they say helped orchestrate Wednesday's presidential assassination. The announcement came the same day U.S. officials arrived in Haiti to assist in the investigation. CNN's Matt Rivers has more now from Port-au-Prince.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we got an update on Sunday evening from Haitian authorities after they held a press conference giving some updates into the investigation of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Authorities holding that Sunday evening press conference in part to announce the arrest of a 63-year-old man they say was born here in Haiti. They allege that that man actually helped recruit and then organize here in Haiti, this group of Colombian mercenaries. That the Haitian government says were the ones who actually carried out this assassination. Upon raiding this 63-year-old man's home authorities say they found multiple boxes of ammunition, they found shooting targets. They also found pistol and rifle holsters.
Meanwhile the political situation here in Haiti remains tenuous at best with a couple of different leaders in different political factions here in Haiti tweeting or saying publicly on Sunday that they actually met with a U.S. delegation here in Port-au-Prince to talk about the political situation, to talk about who should be running the country right now. And to talk about elections that should be happening at some point in the future. Not only to elect a new president but also to elect new members of Parliament here in Haiti.
But based on those public statements it's clear that no consensus was reached at that meeting and when there is disagreement, political disagreement in Haiti that can often lead to protests that sometimes turn violent. That is what we're looking out for over the next few days and even the next few weeks as Haiti tries to grapple with the assassination of its president.
Matt rivers, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we are also hearing from Haiti's first lady for the first time since that attack. In a voice message posted to her Twitter account on Saturday, she encouraged Haitians to persevere through the chaos now gripping the country. While CNN has not independently confirmed the authenticity of this audio, several Haitian officials say it is the first lady speaking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTINE MOISE, HAITI FIRST LADY (through translator): Tears will never dry up in my eyes, my heart will still bleed but we cannot allow the president to die a second time. It's true I'm crying, with you we can't let the country go astray.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A Taliban offensive is forcing some countries to make tough choices in Afghanistan. India says it's pulling out some consulate staff is fighting near Kandahar intensifies. They say the move is temporary until the situation stabilizes. But as the U.S. withdrawals, the Taliban are not just gaining ground near Kandahar, this video reportedly shows civilians and security forces fighting the militants in Takhar Province. According to the "Long War Journal" most of that region has already fallen to the Taliban.
Well a new chapter in a scandal that's rocked Jordan. A court has handed down a 15 year sentence to the former chief of the royal court. Their trial is linked to a bizarre incident last April that saw the king's half-brother detained. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh takes a microphone off look at the alleged plot.
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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind the walls of Jordan's state security court, a trial like no other this kingdom has ever seen unfolded over the past three weeks. Some dubbing it Jordan's trial of the century. The trial centers on the so-called sedition case, a royal and political intrigue that sent shock waves across the region and beyond.
HAMZAH BIN HUSSEIN, FORMER CROWN PRINCE OF JORDON: I'm making this recording today --
KARADSHEH (voice-over): It all started in April with this.
HUSSEIN: -- to try to say what's happened.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jordan's former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein, King Abdullah's half-brother released a dramatic video message telling the world he was effectively under house arrest.
HUSSEIN: I am now being cutoff.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): And lashed out at the country's leadership.
[04:40:00]
HUSSEIN: I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, for the corruption and for the incompetence that has been prevalent in our governing structure for the last 15 to 20 years and has been getting worse by the year. I'm not responsible for the lack of faith that people have in their institutions.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): More than a dozen people including a former royal court chief and financial minister, Bassem Awadallah, once a close confidant of King Abdullah, were rounded up. In a letter to his nation, the King Abdullah described the crisis as the most painful he's ever faced.
Telling them, quote, the sedition has been nipped in the bud. Sedition came from within and from outside our home and nothing compares to my shock, pain and anger as a brother and as the head of the Hashemite family.
The government accused Prince Hamza of conspiring with foreign entities to destabilize the country, a claim the prints denied. Jordanians have been told very little about this alleged plot, left to speculate amid rumors and leaks. Following royal family mediation, Prince Hamza pledged allegiance to the king in April and was spared prosecution. In most of those detained were released by the king. Leaving Awadallah in nature new royalty face trial.
Like the case, this closed trial has been shrouded in mystery. The men have pleaded not guilty to charges including incitement against the state and plotting to destabilize Jordan. They are accused of conspiring with the former crown prince to exploit rising economic and social discontent in the country to present the Prince Hamza as an alternative to the king. Many have question the fairness of the speedy trial where the man at the heart of the case has been absent and the judge rejected the defense's request for witnesses. As the trial draws to a close Jordan's leadership hopes this brings an end to an unprecedented chapter in Jordan's history, one that shattered the image of the stable country and its united royal family.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And still to come. How the annual 12th of July festivities in Northern Ireland are being marred by tensions over Brexit this year.
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[04:45:00]
CHURCH: In the coming hours, thousands of people are expected to participate in Northern Ireland's 12th of July parades. The festivities among Protestants have a long history of spiking sectarian violence. But this time there's added tension due to frustrations over Brexit and new customs regulations.
CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live from Belfast. Good to see you Nic. So despite the anger violence appears to have been averted so far, but what risks lie ahead?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, this is a day traditionally of parades, of celebration, of fun for the Protestant unionist, loyalists community. They'll be marching right down this street here. All the way down here. You can see the union jacks and other flags out on the street. But they do, as you say, feel under threat. They feel that this new -- the new protocols mean a border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. and that makes them feel less British and that's what their cultural identity is all about. And that's why the tensions have been so high this weekend.
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): A narrow escape, a metaphor for a weekend of pro-British Northern Ireland tradition, historically primed for potential violence. Irish Protestants celebrating a 331-year-old victory over Irish Catholics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just what we do. You see it every year. So --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good family event. It gets a lot of bad press, but you can see there's a lot of family and kids here. It's part of our culture and we will continue to celebrate every year.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Mostly families having fun. Teenagers are getting a little drunk. But underlying the festivities are frustrations. They are losers in Northern Ireland's peace, compounded by Brexit, a new custom regulations called protocols. They fear it threatened their constitutional ties to the U.K.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The protocol has caused a lot of anger in our community and that's all I want to say. The peace process is all one- sided. Enough is enough. There's nothing else to give.
ROBERTSON: Of the 250 bonfires to be lit over the weekend, police say only two or three are contentious. In recent years, tensions around this annual event have been subsiding. But this year, frustrations are underlying everything.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): At peaceful parades through Protestant neighborhoods, all part of the same annual loyalist commemorations. Families lined the road, bonding in their shared heritage, haunted by a common perception. Pro-Irish Catholics are making gains at their expense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's always issue, and I don't know if it'll always going to be resolved. Hopefully, it can. I'd like my kids to grows in a nice friendly country, you know what I mean. But, in the meantime, you wouldn't want them forgetting their heritage.
ROBERTSON: Brexit and the protocols are straining Northern Ireland's piece. But the parades and bonfires went off largely without incident this weekend is significant. But it is not by chance.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Behind the scenes, organizers have been working hard to defuse tensions.
MERVYN GIBSON, GRAND SECRETARY OF THE ORANGE ORDER: And we decided to deal with a protocol after the 12th of July. We want our members and supporters to have a good day.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The concern now, until the protocol issue is resolved, another flash point is just around the corner.
WINSTON IRVINE, COMMUNITY WORKER: We saw very serious violence spilling on to the streets here in April this year. And, yes, there's every chance that those types of scenes could return again.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A bullet task has quite literally been dodged this weekend. A source told CNN guns were being retted to stop police moving this contentious bonfire. Local organizers denied the claim. But the worry now, the guns could come out again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): So hundred parades today, and police expect streets like this one here just off the marching root to fill up with people. The concern going forward though is that Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, is supposed to make an important announcement about the protocols. That's what the march organizers have been told, that'll come in a couple of weeks. And if it doesn't go far enough to address their concerns, that's when they say there's a potential for violence again. This weekend calm, what happens next, that depends on the British Prime Minister -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: We'll be keeping a very close eye on that, as you will be of course. Nic Robertson joining us live from Belfast in Northern Ireland. Many thanks.
Well Pope Francis made his first public appearance since undergoing colon surgery last week.
[04:50:00]
The Vatican says he is gradually getting back to work and that his blood tests are satisfactory. CNN's Delia Gallagher has more now from Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: We saw Pope Francis for the first time since his colon surgery on Sunday. The pope appeared at the balcony of the Gemelli hospital together with three young patients. He thanked people for their prayers. He also talked about the importance of health care being accessible for all people and he made a special appeal for Haiti following the assassination of their president.
The Vatican has been keeping us up to date throughout the week on the pope's progress. They say he's been up, walking around, eating, he even managed to have dinner with some of the doctors and nurses from the hospital. The initial prognosis last Monday was for a seven day stay for the pope in the hospital. So the expectation is that he will be released on Monday.
Delia Gallagher, CNN, Rome.
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CHURCH: And we'll be back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Novack Djokovic makes history at Wimbledon and the Milwaukee Bucks look to get their first win in NBA finals. Patrick Snell has that and more in our minute in sports.
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[04:55:00]
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Rosemary, thanks so much. As Italy's footballers celebrate victory Euro 2020, one of the country's tennis players is coming to terms with defeat in Sunday's Wimbledon men's final. Mind you, no disgrace in Matteo Berrettini losing to top ranked Novak Djokovic. The Serbian with third straight title now at all England club, winning in four sets to make it a record equally 20th slam crown and he's now level with fellow great Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.
Here in the United States, the Milwaukee Bucks have breathed new life into the NBA finals after winning Sunday night's game three against the Phoenix Suns. The Buck's Greek star Giannis with another huge game coming off his recent knee injury, 41 points on the night for him, along with 13 rebounds and six assists. The Suns do lead the series though 2-1.
And Argentina's footballers are back on home soil. This after winning the famed Copa America for the first time since 1993. They returning to Buenos Aires much to the delight of their fans after Saturday night's 1-nil victory over footballing foes Brazil. The first piece of silverware that Lionel Messi has won with the national team. And our congrats to them. And with that is back to you -- Rosemary.
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CHURCH: Thank you so much Patrick.
Well summer blockbuster movies are back.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, MARVEL STUDIO, BLACK WIDOW: At some point we all have to choose. Who the world wants you to be, who you are.
Marvel studio's "Black Widow" rocked the box office this weekend, bringing in more than $215 million globally. "Black Widows" estimated 80 million North America take was a pandemic record for a film opening in theatres and streaming online. It was the biggest U.S. opening weekend since 2019.
And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Be sure to connect with me on Twitter @rosemaryCNN. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a wonderful day.
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