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Judge Merchan's Sentencing Options For Trump; Biden Unveils New Israeli Cease-Fire Proposal; Chad Daybell Faces Possible Death Penalty For Three Murders; Minnesota Sees Uptick In Fatal Ambushes On First Responders; Impact Of Trump's Convictions On 2024 Election; Mexico Likely To Elect Its First Woman President; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy To Speak At Singapore Security Summit; Stanley Cup Playoffs; President Biden Hosts Super Bowl Winners. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 01, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world.

I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Donald Trump isn't letting 34 felony convictions and a gag order stop him from lashing out. We'll break down his reactions to the jury's decision in his New York hush money trial.

President Joe Biden reveals a new plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu not appearing to be on board.

Plus Mexico is a day away from a historic election and the voters' decision could impact more than just domestic politics. How Mexico's relationship with the U.S. could change after Sunday.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Trump and his attorneys are planning their next moves after his conviction on 34 felony counts. A jury found Trump guilty this week of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

In New York Friday, he railed against the White House, the Justice Department and the judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This is a case where, if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone. These are bad people. These are, in many cases, I believe, sick people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The former president will be sentenced next month. Our Paula Reid has more on that.

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The New York criminal case against former president Trump is far from over. Of course, the next date on the calendar is his sentencing on July 11th, just days before the Republican National Convention.

Sources tell CNN it's unclear if Trump's legal team will move to push that back later in the year.

There'll be meetings about that over the next few days to figure out if they want to let that sentencing date stand and use it politically as they enter the convention or if they want to push it back a few weeks, given that his legal team will be busy with another case down in Florida through the end of June.

Now after that, we expect that the Trump team will ultimately file an appeal throughout the course of this case.

They have been preparing for the possibility of an appeal if there was a conviction. They have been filing motions, raising objections, trying to preserve any constitutional questions. Now that process will likely take a long time, possibly last until after the November election -- Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: In his Friday speech, Trump slammed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Now he didn't name Cohen because a gag order prevents him from doing that. But it was clear who Trump was talking about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not allowed to use his name because of the gag order. But you know, he's a sleazebag. Everybody knows that, took me a while to find out. But he was effective. He did work. But he wasn't a fixer. He was a lawyer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Cohen spoke to CNN Friday night and reacted to what his former boss said, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Yes. All right. I'm an effective sleazebag.

Again, there's nothing that Donald Trump can say that has any effect upon me at all. The days of me being in the cult, of that dumpster cult of Donald Trump is over. Right now. He wants to call me a convict?

He wants to call me a felon?

Guess what, pal?

So are you. So are you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The special counsel on Trump's classified documents case is again asking for a gag order against him. Jack Smith refiled his request with the judge overseeing the case on Friday. He wants to bar Trump from making statements about law enforcement officers who searched Mar-a-Lago.

Trump has said that his life was in danger because of the policy involving the use of deadly force. The judge refused a similar request earlier this week but said Smith could refile after speaking with Trump's attorneys.

President Joe Biden says Trump's attacks on the justice system is dangerous. He spoke at the White House on Friday about the verdict and Trump's statements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It's reckless, it's dangerous. It's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict.

The justice system should be respected and we should never allow anyone to tear it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Biden said Trump would now have the opportunity to appeal that decision because that's how the American system of justice works.

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BRUNHUBER: Michael Moore is a CNN legal analyst and a former U.S. attorney and partner at Moore Hall in Atlanta.

[05:05:00]

He joins us from New York.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So Donald Trump responded in his speech last night, yes, I can imagine that, what he said, likening the judge to a devil, would wouldn't really help them in terms of his sentencing phase, right?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I'm glad to be with you. That's true. I mean, he is playing this game of trying to both respond

to a verdict that he didn't like and, at the same time, he's doing politics on the stump by continuing to throw red meat to his base., by railing against the justice system and specifically against this judge.

I will tell you, the comments about the judge were not covered in the gag order. In other words, he was allowed to discuss his displeasure with the court. It may not be the smartest thing to do and I'm sure his lawyers are not encouraging him to get in there and to lambast this judge ahead of sentencing.

Which we -- it could be either in a couple of months or it could be further down the road if, in fact, that date is rescheduled so probably not the best move from a core perspective. But again, he's doing this political dance I think at the same time.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

You spoke of red meat there. I mean, Trump reached a fund raising milestone, not totally unexpected.

But what do you think that says about how Republicans and maybe the public more broadly are responding to this case?

MOORE: You know, I think this case has been seen as the weaker of the cases and maybe the less significant of the cases, would be a better way to put it, that it had been brought against him.

And so for this to go first, the Trump team, I believe, probably wanted this case, if any of them were going to go before the election, for this to be the one. It gives him a chance to talk about sort of the novel way that he was indicted.

This was an unusual case. He's the only one that we know of that has been prosecuted for these specific acts, sort of tying in a what would have been a misdemeanor, much less significant charge, and make it a felony in an effort to use state law to enforce federal law.

Those may be issues that we see on appeal. But he has used this case to maximize about his claims. And it's been played into his -- it played into his game a little bit. It's allowed him to maximize his client that the system has been weaponized against him. I think that's a dangerous position.

I think that's an another attack. And he's known for doing that. He's attacking the foundations of, functions of American government. But that's -- he's done that successfully, frankly, over the last number of years.

And so this was another one of those. Again, he's got to work his way through the appeal process. But we'll see how that comes out at the end of the day.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Well, let me ask you directly about that.

Do you think he might have solid grounds here?

MOORE: I do think there are a couple of issues that have some merit. Whether or not he is successful, we'll see. But they're not frivolous appeals. One of those would be the due process claims.

And that is was he placed on sufficient notice by the prosecutor of the specific charges, of the specific allegations and elements of those charges in the indictment?

Then we'll see, was the jury properly charged as to as to their function in relation to those?

So specifically, we're talking about that, that key step of making this case go from a misdemeanor to a felony level.

Was the jury sufficiently charged that they had to unanimously find the specific intent for a specific second crime, that one thing that makes this a felony?

And that specific second crime is not well laid out in the charging documents and other -- the American constitutional law, there's a due process, right, for a defendant to be placed on proper notice of those claims for which he or she must defend themselves against.

And so that will be I think an appeal and we'll also see I think a strong argument made about whether or not his proposed expert witness, this federal election expert, had his testimony so limited. And so they chose not to call him at trial.

But the judge so that to making the effort to call him sort of a nullity. Those are things I -- on the question of change in the venue and all those things, it probably will pass. I don't think the court would do much.

But certainly when we talk about constitutional principles, those things may catch the attention of the New York Court of Appeals or ultimately, if he's not successful in the state courts, they may catch the attention of a federal court, should his, should he be successful, get his appeal heard by a federal judge.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So looking ahead to sentencing, if he is sentenced to jail, I mean, the implications of that -- as a U.S. attorney, you served on the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee.

So I wonder how high do you think the chances are that we might see a violent response to this?

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MOORE: When we look back at history, especially involving Mr. Trump, there have been outbursts by (INAUDIBLE) before (ph).

We've seen that as recently as January the 6th. And so I hope we don't. And I hope that people will allow this process to work through. At the same time, I will say think it's unlikely that the judge sentences him to prison. It's just logistically almost impossible.

And frankly, under the regular sentencing parameters, this is the lowest grade felony. He's a non-violent offender. He's a first offender. There's no likelihood of a repeat of this -- of it (INAUDIBLE) this charge. And he's the former president of the United States. He's entitled to Secret Service protection even as a convicted felon.

He's entitled that protection. So that places a huge strain on how he would be protected should he be placed in some type of state facility. So hopefully that won't come to pass. But I think people are -- would be well placed to let the process work and to not heed any calls or intentions to cause any disturbance about it.

This is our system and our system as it, there's a trial, there's an appellate process. There are reviews, it can happen if there has been some error of law in the case. And so that process needs to work its way through.

But again, I just think it's unlikely that you'll see him confined to an institution, especially we also know he's going to be the Republican nominee for president.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

MOORE: And so that also places perhaps another constitutional restraint that a court would find perhaps oppressive in a restraint of his ability to name (ph) if he were incarcerated.

BRUNHUBER: Now so many implications. Let the process work, as you say, Michael Moore in New York. Thank you so much, really appreciate it.

MOORE: Glad to be with you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated earlier that the conditions for ending the war on Gaza have not changed.

Now his comments come after President Joe Biden laid out a new ceasefire deal he said Israel proposed. Netanyahu is calling for the elimination of Hamas, the freeing of all hostages and the assurance that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more on the new proposal.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden is describing this as a decisive moment as he unveils, in quite striking detail, this three-phase proposal from Israel to secure the release of hostages and pair it with a cease-fire.

And President Joe Biden clearly coming out, trying to put pressure on both sides to come back to the table and come to the agreement. And I think the thinking really is by laying out these details so specifically, the president is putting the onus on both sides to come together and end this war.

And certainly he did say very explicitly in his speech that it is time for the war to end. He said for the first time that Israel has degraded Hamas' capabilities to the point where they could not launch another attack akin to the one on October 7th.

And he said that that is reason enough for Israel to come back to the table and come to an agreement.

Now just to tick through some of the phases of this deal that the president laid out, in the first phase would be a six-week ceasefire. It would include the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza and the release of elderly and female hostages.

A senior administration official did say there still needed to be some details negotiated between the sides as the deal moves from the first phase to the second phase. But the second phase would include a permanent end to hostilities, the exchange of the remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

What the president said in his speech that was that, as these negotiations, were continuing, this ceasefire would also continue, sort of putting that on the table as a key option for these sides to come to an agreement on.

The third phase would include a reconstruction plan for Gaza as well as the return of all the remaining hostages. Now President Joe Biden said in his speech that this was an Israeli proposal. But I think the reaction from the prime minister's office does expose a little bit of daylight between the two men.

The prime minister's office says that they Israeli government is united in the desire to bring home our hostages as soon as possible. But they said that Netanyahu and his government remain firm in the fact that they cannot end the war before they are completely have gone after Hamas.

Now in his speech, President Biden did apply pressure on the Israeli public to pressure their own government to come to an agreement on this deal.

[05:15:00]

And he did call out certain members of the Israeli government, who he said were opposed to ending the war in Gaza. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They've made it clear they want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years. And the hostages are not a priority to them.

Well, I've urged leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Of course the backdrop to the president's speech today is the situation in Rafah as Israeli forces enter the central part of that city and as Israeli airstrikes continue to bombard areas there.

We did hear from the president for the first time today about that Israeli strike that resulted in the deaths of 45 civilians. He called them "terrible images." And this was interesting because certainly President Biden is under a lot of pressure himself here in the United States to try and find a conclusion to this war.

I think what you heard him say today to these protesters was to redirect their anger and their outrage toward Hamas and encourage that terror group to come to the table to finalize an agreement and to bring the hostilities to an end -- Kevin Liptak, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Israel confirmed its forces have pushed into central Rafah after a new offensive launched in the city in early May. It comes as Israel faces international criticism for its military operation there, which has uprooted hundreds of thousands of civilians, many not for the first time.

The U.N. is warning that it's unable to feed enough people experiencing apocalyptic conditions in the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW HOLLINGWORTH, PALESTINE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: We are tired. People are tired. We desperately need to start helping people go beyond this day-to-day existence and scraping for an existence. And to do that, there has to be a cease-fire. That also means hostages need to be released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: On Friday, the Israeli military claimed it destroyed dozens of Hamas tunnels and killed hundreds of Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah. And we have new satellite images, showing the destruction in eastern Rafah before and after Israel began its new offensive.

You can see the extent that buildings and homes were flattened over the past few weeks alone.

Ukraine gets the green light from Washington to use U.S. weapons for limited strikes on Russia.

Still ahead, we'll have reaction from Kyiv and Moscow to the major shift in U.S. policy.

Plus a key security summit is underway in Singapore right now. The U.S. Defense Secretary has been meeting with regional allies and rivals alike. But the focus is set to turn to Europe in the day ahead. That's all coming up soon.

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BRUNHUBER: A jury in Idaho deliberated six hours on Friday before calling it quits.

They're asked to determine whether Chad Daybell should face the death penalty for his crimes. On Thursday, the jury unanimously found Daybell guilty of murder and conspiracy charges in the deaths of his first wife and the children of his second wife.

It's a case prosecutors claim was fueled by power, sex, money and apocalyptic spiritual beliefs. The jury will return today to continue their deliberations.

The family of Air Force Airman Roger Fortson, who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in Florida, is calling for more action. Fortson was killed in his apartment on May 3rd by Deputy Eddie Duran, who was responding to a disturbance in process.

Bodycam footage showed Fortson holding a lowered firearm in his right hand when he answered the door and was killed. The sheriff's department fired Duran after an internal investigation, which found the deputy's use of deadly force unreasonable and in violation of agency policy.

The family says they are pleased with the firing but they expect charges to be filed against the officer amid an ongoing state criminal investigation.

In Minnesota, a Minneapolis police officer was killed while attempting to help an injured suspect. Officer Jamal Mitchell was responding to a shooting in an apartment complex when he himself was shot. He's now being remembered as a hero, described as being exceptional in every way. CNN's Whitney Wild has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At around 5:15 pm, police receive a call of two people shot at an apartment in south Minneapolis. When officers arrived, they are immediately met with gunfire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're getting shot at here, 22nd and Blaisdell, actively shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are multiple shots fire, multiple shots fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're actively shooting. WILD (voice-over): As Officer Jamal Mitchell drives up to the scene, he stops less than two blocks away. There, Mitchell spots someone he believes needs medical care. That's when police say Officer Mitchell is ambushed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cop down. There is a cop down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One officer critical en route to the hospital. One officer substantial. We're going to try to transport him as well.

WILD (voice-over): The suspect Officer Mitchell hoped to save instead shoots and kills him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Mitchell was attempting to assist the individual that shot him. And with that, it happened very fast and that he ambushed him. I'm using the term for a reason of seeing the video and he was ambushed at the time by this individual that was there.

WILD (voice-over): The suspect and a civilian were killed during the shooting. Four other people, a Minneapolis police officer, a firefighter and two citizens, were shot but survived. Mitchell's parents spoke out after the shooting.

DENNIS EDWARDS, OFFICER MITCHELL'S FATHER: we always worried about him when he's out there. You know. It's tough getting that call and, you know. So here yesterday (ph) and -- but he was he was always caring about people.

WILD (voice-over): Mitchell's courageousness was on full display at the moment he put on the badge. In 2023, CNN highlighted Mitchell after he and his partner ran into a burning home to save an elderly couple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police, anyone in here call out.

WILD (voice-over): Mitchell had been on the force just three days.

JAMAL MITCHELL, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER: We're not trained to run into fires but we are trained to put others' lives in front of ours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a hero.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never met an officer that received an award on the third day on the job. He was a wonderful human being. He had only been on our department about a year-and-a-half. And he was exceptional.

WILD (voice-over): Mitchell's murder marks the fourth first responder ambushed and killed in Minnesota in the last few months. On February 18, two officers and a firefighter were killed in Burnsville, Minnesota, after responding to a domestic violence call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That trauma quickly should turn to anger and a commitment that this cannot happen. We do not have to live this way.

WILD: Law enforcement continues to investigate what is a very complex case here. But they have not yet offered a motive or any insight into why this all happened. Meanwhile, the police officer and the firefighter who were injured have both been released from the hospital -- Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says it took a pounding from a new barrage of Russian strikes overnight. Officials say at least 12 people were injured in attacks on the Kharkiv region, including eight children, while the state grid operator is also reporting strikes on the energy system, which hit facilities in five regions.

They included two power plants operated by Ukraine's largest private energy company, which took significant damage. More than 100 firefighters were sent to put out a blaze at an energy facility in Western Ukraine. Military officials say more than 80 Russian drones and missiles were shot down overnight.

Meanwhile, Ukraine now has a go-ahead from Washington to conduct some strikes into Russia with U.S.-made weapons. The U.S. secretary of state confirmed the decision on Friday, which marks a U-turn from previous U.S. policy. But as Fred Pleitgen reports, it comes with some major caveats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Quite a significant step by the Biden administration to now allow the Ukrainians to use U.S.-made weapons to target Russian territory, albeit in a restrictive manner.

Now essentially what the U.S. is saying is that if Russian troops are amassing on the Russian side of the border, for instance, toward the Kharkiv region, then the Ukrainians could target those Russian troop concentrations, using American-made weapons.

They could also, for instance, target Russian jets that have been bombarding the front lines in that Kharkiv area as well.

However, what the Ukrainians can't do is they can't hit further into Russian territory; for instance, using ATACMS missiles to target some of those Russian air bases from which those jets take off from, that then target those Ukrainian positions.

Nevertheless, Ukrainians obviously very happy about all this. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he came out and he said that this is a very important first step for the Ukrainians.

Even though he couldn't talk much more about what all this is going to mean, the Kremlin, of course, irate about all of this, saying that this shows the degree of the involvement of the West and the U.S. on the Ukrainian side.

Another interesting thing about all this is that, as the U.S. says, that they are now allowing the Ukrainians to use American-made weapons to target Russian territory.

Other NATO allies are also following suit. The Germans, for instance, have come out and now said that the Ukrainians are also allowed to use German weapons to fire across the border, especially of course, in that Kharkiv region, where right now the Ukrainians are facing a massive Russian offensive -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts has a lot of voters talking. What some of them are saying, just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's lawyers say they plan to appeal his conviction on 34 felony counts. Trump spoke about the case in front of supporters on Friday. His speech was full of grievances and false claims. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was a rigged trial. We wanted a venue change where we could have a fair trial. We didn't get it. We wanted a judge change. We wanted a judge that wasn't conflicted and obviously, he didn't do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: His attorneys can't appeal the verdicts until after he is sentenced on July 11th. That's just days out from the Republican presidential nominating convention.

Convictions have Trump supporters and critics talking about what it means for his chances in this year's presidential race. CNN's Nick Valencia reports on what they're saying in the battleground state of Georgia.

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MILLICENT ABBEY, DEMOCRAT SUPPORTING TRUMP: Trump for '24. Go Trump.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Millicent Abbey gets too emotional when talking about Donald Trump.

ABBEY: I love you, Trump.

VALENCIA: When you look at that flag, what do you think?

What do you see?

What do you feel?

ABBEY: Well, I just I just feel he's coming back.

VALENCIA: The 64-year-old grandmother was right here at her home in Atlanta when the guilty verdict came down. She wasn't watching. Her husband, who was a Democrat, was but Abbey says she made up her mind a long time ago.

ABBEY: Except that we've added a little bit because they say, well Trump this, Trump that, he's going to jail, this and that, who cares, who cares?

We don't care.

VALENCIA: You don't care at all that he's a convicted felon now?

ABBEY: No, we don't, no.

VALENCIA: Do you understand that some people would say, you know, the justice system worked here?

He is --

ABBEY: What justice system?

VALENCIA: Out on the trail of Atlanta's belt line, the heart of the city's liberal enclave, voters were shocked anyone could still support Trump after the guilty verdict.

JADEN HUCKABY, FIRST TIME VOTER: I just think its crazy. I think somebody who doesn't know your name doesn't care about you at all having that kind of loyalty to somebody who would throw you to the dirt for nothing is insane.

JOSHUA HUCKABY, LIBERAL LEANING VOTER: I think that Trump is kind of put himself in this position where he is seen as almost a religious figure by a lot of his supporters. And they are willing to follow him regardless of what he does. And that is -- that is a scary thing.

GINA WAOTA, LIBERAL LEANING VOTER: I'm kind of upset that he could still so ran for president and being a felon but that's how it is.

DEB KAHN, BIDEN SUPPORTER: He's clearly just the most despicable person who's ever run in this country.

VALENCIA: And the guilty verdict?

KAHN: Oh, I mean, I'm not surprised.

VALENCIA: Twenty miles north, in Cobb County, voters here weren't surprised either in this populace Atlanta suburb crucial to Biden flipping Georgia four years ago, people we spoke to watch the case closely. For more than a dozen voters we spoke to, the verdict reaffirmed the way they were already leaning.

Do you think that he got a fair shake?

JAMES HENLY, COBB COUNTY VOTER: I think so.

VALENCIA: Yes.

HENLY: Yes, I think so. I mean it was a jury of twelve and that's how we've always done in his country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every man knows he did. You know, he is, he's guilty.

MELODY RICHESON, INDEPENDENT: I think everything happens for a reason.

[05:35:00]

And I think that when you do bad, that God sees what you do and he punishes you as he sees fit.

VALENCIA: Do you wish that Trump could be president forever?

ABBEY: Yes, I would.

VALENCIA: As for Millicent Abbey, she says nothing would stop her from voting for Trump in November.

So he could literally go on Fifth Avenue and shoot someone as he says --

ABBEY: I'd support him.

VALENCIA: -- and you would support him?

ABBEY: Yes, I would.

VALENCIA: Some of you may be wondering how we met Millicent Abbey. Well, I was driving through town in Atlanta earlier this week and I saw a Trump flag, which is a rarity for a deeply held blue county.

When we knocked on the door, though, I don't think I expected to see who came to the door. But Abbey tells me that she is such a hardcore Trump's supporter to the bone that this lifelong Democrat said she would go back to voting for the Democrats if Trump switched parties because she says he is such a good person.

But every other voter that we spoke to was not as convinced. In fact, one of the voters that you heard from in that piece says that she's only reluctantly voting for Joe Biden because she says that Trump has been proven to be such a bad person.

And in a state like Georgia, which is crucial to winning the 2024 presidential election, she would hate to hand the win over to president Trump -- Nick Valencia, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: On Sunday, Mexico is set to have the largest elections in its history, more than 20,000 positions are on the ballot nationwide. And the country is poised to elect its first female president.

Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is the leading candidate for the presidency and she's a close ally of the current president. Her rival Xochitl Galvez is supported by a coalition of opposition parties.

Issues like public security and immigration have been top issues for the presidential candidates while economy is a big matter between Mexico and its top trading partner, the U.S. Whoever wins the selection will have to grapple with trade disputes concerning Washington.

All right. Want to begin with Jason Marczak, who joins us out of Washington, he is the director of The Atlantic Council's Adrianne Arsht Latin America Center.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So first, before we get to all the politics, I mean, this election campaign has been marred by some horrific violence, murders, assassinations. Take us through what's behind it.

JASON MARCZAK, DIRECTOR, ADRIENNE ARSHT LATIN AMERICA CENTER: Kim, not only is this election the most -- the largest election in Mexico's history of 100 billion Mexicans who are registered to vote.

But this has also unfortunately been the most violent election in Mexico's history. Different estimates show that there's upwards of about 30 candidates who have been assassinated over the course of the election, including a candidate for a local officers' just assassinated this past Thursday.

Security violence has played significantly into this election. The last public debates, a couple weeks ago, had security as its main focus.

The two different candidates, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xochitl Galvez, have different approaches to violence. Claudia Sheinbaum seeks to continue the policies of the current president, Lopez Obrador, Xochitl seeks to have a more forceful policy with using the different apparatus of the state government.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So you mentioned the two candidates there. Obviously this is -- having a first female president is historic but the implications for the U.S. are important as well. So whoever wins for topics like migration as well.

You mentioned Sheinbaum sort of continuing on the policies of her predecessor on security.

Is the same true with migration and border issues as well?

Will we see roughly more of the same?

MARCZAK: Yes. Well, you know, Kim, Sheinbaum is the handpicked successor of the current president Lopez Obrador. And both her and Xochitl Galvez have relatively -- relative similarity in their migration approaches. Both seek to have a continuation of a humane approach.

Both seek to rectify the divides that exist between demand for labor and supply for labor. And both seek to work with the United States. Now the border, will, of course, be a top topic for both candidates, not only on the migration front.

But in 2026, we have the review period for the USMCA, the U.S.-Mexico- Canada free trade agreement, that what it was solidified about five years ago. There was built into it this review clause.

And so this will be one of the first topics, is seeing from the U.S. perspective, the Mexican perspective and the Canadian perspective of what's working, what isn't working as well in this agreement as we approach this review period.

Also, Kim, important to point out that this -- the next president will take office just one month before the U.S. election. So the first month in office will probably -- the next president will be faced with having to potentially respond to rhetoric that's coming on the U.S. campaign trail regarding Mexico.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, you can expect that'll certainly be a much mentioned topic, certainly by Donald Trump.

When you're talking about the two candidates, when it comes to trade and economic issues, is that where their differences are greatest, do you think?

MARCZAK: I think the differences are greatest with regard to this. I mentioned the security policy approach.

[05:40:00]

Also the approach to energy policy. President Lopez Obrador has continued the investment in fossil fuels in Mexico. Xochitl Galvez has a platform that seeks to favor even more of an emphasis on renewables. And one of the big differences between the two is this decision in Mexico of continuity, which is what (INAUDIBLE).

That's what Xochitl represents.

Now again, Claudia Sheinbaum is well-positioned by polls. Polls have hurt anywhere from about 11 to 22 points up. And her polling numbers are really not changed in the last three months since the official campaign period began.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We will be watching these elections. Jason Marczak, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.

MARCZAK: Thank you, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Turning now to the election in South Africa, the country is looking at its biggest political shift since the end of apartheid. For the first time in 30 years, the ruling African National Congress party is set to lose its majority after this week's vote.

With results from 90 percent of voting districts counted, the ANC was at 41 percent.

It's a huge blow for the party of Nelson Mandela since the ANC will be forced to form a coalition to stay in government.

We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak at Asia's premiere security summit in Singapore on Sunday.

Organizers announced his participation just a short time ago. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting with Washington's key partners in the region. Here he is in the past hour with Malaysia's defense minister.

And on Friday, Secretary Austin held rare talks with his counterpart from China. CNN's Ivan Watson joins me now live from Singapore.

So Ivan, the news just came down about Zelenskyy speaking.

What are we expecting to hear from him?

[05:45:00]

What's his goal here?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a surprise announcement. He was not scheduled, there was no Ukrainian delegation that was formally attending this annual security conference here in Singapore.

And what we're anticipating is, with his arrival, he will be bringing Europe's deadliest conflict right here to the heart of Asia, to an annual gathering, which is attended for the most part by defense chiefs from around Asia and dominated by the ongoing rivalry between the U.S. and China.

So you've had the U.S. secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, meeting with his Chinese counterpart here yesterday. There are clearly disagreements when it comes to the war in Ukraine, for example.

This morning we heard a Chinese People's Liberation Army officer in a question-and-answer period, asserting, laying claim to the argument that Beijing has made in the past, that the war in Ukraine was caused by the expansion of the NATO military alliance.

Austin responded, saying respectfully, I disagree.

He argued that the war was started, in his words, when Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, launched an illegal invasion into Ukraine, whereupon the audience applauded. I've never actually seen a reaction like that at one of these annual gatherings.

So this is going to be a moment for a Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face with leaders here in Asia, presumably with the U.S. defense chief and they have met before in the past but also to make a case to leaders in Asia about the ongoing conflict here.

And certainly when you have some governments in the region, China in particular, which is a close ally of Russia, China we've heard calling for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

But just yesterday, the Chinese foreign ministry, Kim, announced that it would not be participating in peace talks scheduled in Switzerland next month. Beijing responding, saying that since Russia isn't invited, that it doesn't make any sense for China to participate.

I heard the Dutch ministry of defense, who attended here, saying that that was a shame and that she regretted China's position here. So what we see are some of the fault lines, the rivalries in the region. And Zelenskyy coming in person to make Ukraine's case to the assembled delegations here in Singapore -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that analysis. Ivan Watson in Singapore. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: In sports, the Edmonton Oilers are one win away from booking their first trip to the Stanley Cup final in almost two decades. "CNN SPORT's" anchor Andy Scholes joins me now.

And, Andy, as I know very well, the Oilers have the weight of an entire country on their shoulders right now.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, as you, as a Canadian, you know how long the country has been waiting to have one of their teams win the Stanley Cup. Last time Canada won it all the way back in 1993, when the Montreal

Canadiens were the champs. So it's been a long time. And scoring the last five goals of game four to even the series, the Oilers offense picking up right where they left off in game five, Friday night in Dallas.

Stars goalie Jake Oettinger stops the first shot here but not the follow from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. That gave Edmonton the 1-0 lead. And the former first overall pick, he was not done. Just over a minute into the second, Nugent-Hopkins is going to clean up a mess here again, this time off the rebound from Leon Draisaitl.

Oilers grow up or go on to win 3-1, going up 3-2 in this series. They are going to have a chance to win the series tomorrow at home and Dallas Coach Peter DeBoer didn't appreciate some of the questions he was getting about his team's effort after the game.

QUESTION: As much as you're praising the Oilers, did you not think it was kind of a lifeless second period for your team after falling behind and just kind of putting no pressure on them at all?

PETER DEBOER, DALLAS STARS HEAD COACH: I mean, listen, there's always things you can do better. I'm not -- you can sit here and question our character if you want. You haven't been around all year. I haven't seen you here all year.

So yes, although you are, that's what you're doing. So you know, I'm not going to do it. You go ahead and write whatever the (INAUDIBLE) you want.

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SCHOLES: All right.

Elsewhere Simone Biles is well on her way to winning a record extending ninth U.S. championship and booking another trip to the Olympics, the 27 year-old her usual dominant self last night, starting the vault with a double Yurchenko, a move no other woman in the world can land.

And of course, she nailed it. Biles also finished first on the beam and uneven bars before rounding out the first night with a high-flying floor routine. Biles finishing 3.4 points ahead of Skye Blakely, who was in second. That's a larger margin than Blakely in 10th place. Biles, just incredible.

In baseball, Aaron Judge, playing at Oracle Park in San Francisco for the first time in his career. Judge grew up 100 miles from the stadium and lots of family and friends in attendance.

The Yankees slugger almost signed with the Giants as a free agent a couple of years ago. Their fans sure wish he did. Judge homering not once but twice last night. And those were home runs 13 and 14 of the month of May for Judge.

He now has a Major League leading 20 on this season. Judge had 26 extra base hits in May, the most in a month by a Yankees player since Joe DiMaggio back in July of 1937. So what a month. Yankees won that one 6-2.

And finally, Kansas City Chiefs visiting their offseason home, better known as the White House yesterday, celebrating their second straight Super Bowl title and third in five years.

And President Joe Biden getting in on the fun, squeezing on a slightly too small helmet before he called on Travis Kelce.

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BIDEN: I'm going to turn it over to the Chiefs but I -- you know. I'd have Travis come up here but God only knows what he'd say.

[05:55:00]

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: Travis, come here.

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BIDEN: It's all yours, pal.

TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: My fellow Americans --

(LAUGHTER)

KELCE: -- it's nice to see you all yet again. I'm not going to lie.

President Biden, they told me if I came up here, I could tell you so I'm going to go back to my spot, all right?

BIDEN: All right.

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SCHOLES: Aww, gave Travis Kelce always having a good time.

We will see if the Chiefs can go back again next year. No teams, ever won three straight Super Bowls.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I wonder if it was awkward with the kicker, Harrison Butker, there as well, who took shots at Biden in his now infamous commencement speech. I imagine he must have been sort of in one of the last rows there of that picture.

SCHOLES: Yes.

You know, I'm sure everybody's tense there around with what he said.

BRUNHUBER: Exactly.

All right. Well, Andy Scholes, we will talk to you soon. Thanks so much. SCHOLES: All right.

BRUNHUBER: A 12-year old from Florida won this year's U.S. Scripps National Spelling Bee following a tie-breaking spelloff involving some of the most obscure and complex words in the English language. You have to see this to believe it.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Adelantono.

BRUHAT SOMA, SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE WINNER: A-D-E-L-A-N-T-O-N- O.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hyporcheme.

SOMA: H-Y-P-O-R-C-H-E-M-E.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bisellium.

SOMA: B-I-S-E-L-L-I-U-M.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mycteric.

SOMA: M-Y-C-T-E-R-I-C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endecha.

SOMA: E-N-D-E-C-H-A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sericin.

SOMA: S-E-R-I-C-I-N.

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): That is Bruhat Soma from Tampa correctly spelling 29 words in 90 seconds, defeating seven other finalists in the bee's second ever spelloff. In addition to the prestigious award, he takes home $50,000.

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BRUNHUBER: Amazing.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For everyone else, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS" next.