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Trump To Face Off Against Biden Weeks Before Sentencing; Ukraine's President Zelenskyy Meets With U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; President's Son Set To Stand Trial In Delaware Tomorrow; Polls Closing Shortly In Mexico Elections; Predicting Monster Storms. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 02, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:48]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.

Former president and now convicted felon Donald Trump saying he'd be OK with serving prison time. This coming just days after he was found guilty on all the charges in his criminal hush money trial. But as he awaits his sentencing, that is set for July 11th, the Republican candidate for president warns a harsh punishment could lead to a breaking point among his supporters. This is what he said on FOX News this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, FOX NEWS HOST: The judge could decide to say, hey, house arrest or even jail.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It could, he could.

HEGSETH: How do you face what that could look like?

TRUMP: I'm OK with it. I saw one of my lawyers the other day on television saying, oh, no, you don't want to do that to the -- I said, don't, you know, beg for anything. You just the way it is. I don't know that the public would stand it, you know. I'm not sure the public would stand for it with a --

HEGSETH: You're saying house arrest or --

TRUMP: I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point there's a breaking point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now when asked if he would seek revenge if he was reelected, here's what he said to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's a very interesting question. My revenge will be success. And I mean that. But it's awfully hard when you see what they've done. These people are so evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The latest Quinnipiac poll taken before the verdict shows Biden and Trump essentially in a dead heat. No clear leader there.

The two men will face off for the first time in a CNN debate on June 27th for the first time this cycle. It's also the first time they've debated at all since debating each other in the last one. It's just four weeks away now. It will be less than two weeks before Trump's sentencing and days before the Republican National Convention. So quite a calendar coming up in June and July.

Joining me now to discuss this, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona and CNN senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.

Great to have both of you here.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Jessica. Great to be here.

DEAN: Happy Sunday to you, guys.

Scott, let's start first with you. We played some clips from President Trump's interview this morning. A lot is being made about his comments about a breaking point for his supporters, using that language. What is your takeaway?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Republicans are pretty mad. I mean, they think this trial was unfair. They I think it shouldn't -- have never been brought. I mean, the idea of -- I was very skeptical a few days ago, like, they're never going to throw Donald Trump in jail. The more I think about it, though, and look if you -- remember the core of the case is Democrats believe that this may have overturned the outcome of the 2016 election. That's why they brought the charges. It's a campaign finance case.

If you believe that Donald Trump might have stolen an election, how can you not put him in jail? So the more I think about it, the more I think they might. And so if they do, I mean, it's hard to predict how angry people will be, but they're going to be pretty white hot out there.

DEAN: But I think when you say that, there's angry and there's angry and expressing it. And the way you're talking about it --

JENNINGS: Now I will say -- no, I will say this. I should add that unlike other cases we've seen in this country after the Trump verdict was announced there were no riots. There were no buildings burning, there were no couches burning, there were no cars overturned, no cop cars were torched. So I think that's a good thing.

Now, what did happen was Donald Trump apparently has raised tens or maybe hundreds of millions of dollars. So you can see that the Republicans are putting their energy into getting him re-elected.

DEAN: But, Maria, there has been concern from some people that that rhetoric is not just white hot angry in the sense that they're going to do -- you know, give political donations and go to the ballot box. But that there could be violence attached to that. What do you think about those comments?

CARDONA: I mean, I think that is a very legitimate concern because it's happened before. These types of comments from Donald Trump are not meant to be comments that are just, you know, things that he says for nothing. The last time he has said those kinds of comments, we saw a violent, deadly insurrection at the White House. He has said things like stand back and stand by to the Proud Boys. He has said things like when -- in the run up to the January 6th, he told his supporters come to the White House or come to the capital, it's going to be wild. This is nothing new for him.

[18:05:01]

And he knows that when he says things like that he can get away with it because he's not calling for violence, but he knows his supporters are going to take it like let's bring up arms. We already saw images on the internet of his supporters saying grab your muskets, we got to go down and defend our president.

JENNINGS: Muskets. Come on.

CARDONA: So, yes, that's exactly what -- those are the MAGA people. I'm not making it up. I'll show you the picture. And so it is dangerous. It's dangerous rhetoric. And let's remember, this was not a verdict that Democrats came up with. This was a verdict that was handed down by a jury of 12 peers of Donald Trump, not Democrats, not Republicans. A jury of his peers.

This is how our justice system works. This was not a trial or a suit that was brought by President Biden, which is also something that Donald Trump likes to push. It's not even a federal case. So this has nothing to do with the Democratic Party.

JENNINGS: Wait.

CARDONA: But that is a lie that Donald Trump continues to perpetuate.

JENNINGS: You're saying that Democrats are not involved in any way in this case.

CARDONA: I'm saying that --

JENNINGS: There's not one Democrat in that courtroom?

CARDONA: I am saying what Donald Trump says that this was orchestrated by President Biden is an outright lie.

JENNINGS: You said Democrats weren't involved.

CARDONA: That's what I'm saying. JENNINGS: But the prosecutor is a Democrat. Yes?

CARDONA: It doesn't matter. Does it matter?

JENNINGS: And the judge did donate to Biden, yes?

CARDONA: Does it matter? OK. So then if this is --

JENNINGS: OK. I'm saying. There are Democrats involved.

CARDONA: If this is your argument, Scott, then you should think that Alito and Clarence Thomas need to recuse themselves from the cases that they're going to be hearing about Donald Trump.

JENNINGS: They didn't donate to anybody.

CARDONA: No. No. OK.

JENNINGS: Not that I know of.

CARDONA: Ginny Thomas, did she not participate in the whole issue of trying to overturn the election? Yes. So again, we should --

JENNINGS: Look, I know what's it's uncomfortable that there are Democrats.

CARDONA: No, no, and I know it's uncomfortable for Republicans on the Supreme Court.

JENNINGS: I'm not uncomfortable at all. I think they're great.

CARDONA: So -- well, I'm not uncomfortable with you saying that Democrats are part of this trial because what I do know is that it's a trial and the verdict that was handed down by a jury of Donald Trump's peers. And for Republicans, elected officials to continue to attack the jury, the judge, and our system is as dangerous as Donald Trump's words calling for violence.

DEAN: OK, Scott, I want to ask you just along the lines of what we were just getting into because Larry Hogan, who was the governor of Maryland and is running for a Senate seat in Maryland, which Republicans would be lucky to get if he wins in blue Maryland.

JENNINGS: Yes.

DEAN: He said that he everyone should accept the verdict, respect the jury's decision, right? And then Lara Trump went on and this is what she said. We have a clip of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA TRUMP, RNC CO-CHAIR: I think it's ridiculous and I think anybody who's not speaking up in the face of really something that should never again have seen the light of day, a trial that would never have been brought against any other person aside from Donald Trump, doesn't deserve the respect of anyone. Well, I'll have to get back to you. He doesn't deserve the respect of

anyone in the Republican Party at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: There's a couple of ways we could take this, but I am interested in first, is it not fair to say respect the jury's decision? You can argue, and a lot of people have, even some Democrats should this case have been brought or not. But the jury, did they not do their -- what they were charged to do?

JENNINGS: I have no problem with the jury.

DEAN: Right.

JENNINGS: I mean, these people were picked. They did what the prosecutors asked them to do. They were put in the situation, they did their job, I got no problem with the jury. Republicans have a problem with the prosecutor and the judge.

DEAN: But he was saying respect --

JENNINGS: But jury, they rendered their service.

DEAN: Wait, he said respect the jury's work here, and he's getting attacked by the head of the RNC.

JENNINGS: This is not good, by the way, because, A, it was a miracle when this race came on to board.

DEAN: Right. That's what I'm getting at.

JENNINGS: And Democrats are worried and if Larry Hogan makes it to the Senate it guarantees that Republicans will be in the majority, and so that is unequivocally a good thing. I do wonder politically if it's not actually somewhat helpful for Larry Hogan to be feuding with the Trump campaign.

DEAN: In a blue state, right.

JENNINGS: In Maryland because --

DEAN: Right.

CARDONA: That might help him.

JENNINGS: Because Democrats are attacking him saying, oh, he's just going to be a rubber stamp for the Trump Republican Party. Well, it doesn't look like that to me. So now again, you would want unity.

CARDONA: But Republicans should be embracing that, not attacking him.

JENNINGS: And you would want some unity in the party. And so I don't love this because getting Hogan's race on the board, getting that Marylanders on the board was a real huge get for the Republicans. And I think he's one of the -- maybe the top two or three pick-up opportunities for the party.

DEAN: Which was a surprise.

JENNINGS: Yes.

DEAN: So, Maria, but through your lens, how do you see it?

CARDONA: I think it's a mistake for the RNC to be attacking Larry Hogan because if the RNC is doing their job, they're supposed to be supporting every single Republican who is running and trying to take back the Senate and keep the House and for them to go after Larry Hogan because, you're right, Democrats are concerned. We should be concerned.

JENNINGS: Yes.

CARDONA: And for them to be going after him I think shows just how much this is no longer the Republican Party.

[18:10:02]

It's the Donald Trump MAGA party. And that's great for his supporters. It will absolutely rile up Donald Trump's MAGA supporters. It will absolutely rile up Donald Trump's MAGA supporters. But in order to win the White House, in order to take back the Senate and in order to keep the House, they need to expand their universe of voters into independents, into women. And by doing that, that is not going to happen.

DEAN: OK. I want to ask you how much the president, President Biden, should be leaning into this in his reelection effort, but we are going to take a break first. And so think on that and we're going to come right back. We will -- just hold that answer. We're going to discuss it right after the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:14]

DEAN: President Biden reacted to the verdict for former president Donald Trump on Friday after spending months avoiding that topic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts. Not only be given the opportunity as he should to appeal that decision just like everyone else has that opportunity. That's how the American system of justice works. And it's reckless, it's dangerous, it's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN White House correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now.

Priscilla, how is the Biden campaign viewing this moment?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're trying to strike a pretty delicate balance. In the way that they respond to this, they were very fiery in their statement shortly after the verdict was reached. But they're also trying to be quite somber, too, and making the point to voters that this is going to be decided at the ballot box, not in the courtroom and trying to push toward that message.

Now, of course, that it also tried to fund raise on it, noting that this verdict would fire up former president Donald Trump's supporters and trying to rake in those grassroots donations where they have succeeded quite a bit. And so the campaign looking forward it doesn't really see this verdict changing the calculus of the election entirely. It may have been different if it was an acquittal but of course this is a race that's going to be decided on the margins.

And so the question is, how the campaign wants to use this moving forward and how they describe and characterize the former president moving forward. Those are still answers that we don't have yet. But certainly in this moment they were both trying to be scathing in their statements, but also pointing straight to the ballot box in November.

DEAN: Right. All right. So our political panel is back here with us. They didn't go anywhere. CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and CNN senior political commentator and former assistant to the President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.

Priscilla, you're going to stay with us.

I want to go off of the reporting Priscilla just had. Maria, make the case that this verdict actually in the end has really any real effect on this race.

CARDONA: So I will say this. I don't think any of us really know what kind of effect this is going to have long term. We have seen past polls and the most recent poll that does say that a lot of independents and a smidgen of Republicans would think twice about putting a convicted felon as president of the United States.

I think the Biden campaign is being very smart in both making sure to hit that balance, and I think they were pitch-perfect right after the verdict, but also moving forward, not counting either on this trial or on any of the others where Trump was indicted and found guilty of a gazillion other charges because they need to focus on two things -- making sure that Americans understand what they have done, the massive accomplishments that they have put in place for American voters on the economy and on other issues, healthcare, student loans, et cetera.

But also making the case that they know that things are not easy for everyone, that not everyone is feeling the growth in the economy and that there's still a lot more to do. But smartly, they are going to use this verdict to lean into the message that they have already had from the moment that President Biden announced his reelection, and that is that Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. This verdict I think plays beautifully into that overall message. DEAN: And Scott, if you're the Biden campaign, would you lean in more

to this than they are?

JENNINGS: I think they have to be careful for a few reasons. One, I mean, as you pointed out, Trump has been making the argument that this is all being orchestrated by Biden. So the more he leans into it the more somebody might say, oh, it does look like he was involved. So they have to be careful on that. Number two, Hunter Biden is going on trial this week and he's got other trials he's going to face.

So it's not like the Biden family is, you know, super clean on criminal trials right now. And number three, I think they also have something of a hypocrisy problem right now. You know, on one day, Joe Biden says, well, it's irresponsible to question the judicial system and to say it's rigged, and it's terrible, and we have to respect the judges and everything. And on the next day he says, the Supreme Court tried to stop me, but I did it anyway, when he's talking about student loans.

So I'm confused about which parts of the judicial system we have to respect, because he wants to respect the ones in New York, but not the ones that the Supreme Court. So I think they have to be careful about that as well.

DEAN: OK.

CARDONA: That's a different issue, but we can get into that a little bit later.

JENNINGS: Are they not all courts? Do we not want to respect --

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: I do wonder, though, we have -- you mentioned. Hunter Biden is going on trial, a federal trial next week. Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator, also on trial. So it's not like just Republicans are being prosecuted.

[18:20:01]

CARDONA: Well, not only that, Jessica, but if all of this was being orchestrated by President Biden, then they're really bad at it if his own son is going to trial, right?

JENNINGS: Well, you're right.

CARDONA: So that's why that is just a completely ridiculous and unbelievable talking point that only works with Donald Trump's MAGA base, and this is where I think Republicans really need to be careful because the more that elected officials, Republican elected officials attack our judicial system and attack judges and attack the jury, I think even for their own races, that wasn't up for reelection, if they need to bring in independents and women and moderates and even commonsense Republicans, who want to say that our judicial system is still a foundational element of our democracy, I think that's a really dangerous point for Republicans to go down. ALVAREZ: Well, and you can also see just how significant a moment this

was and how sensitive the White House is through the president's remarks. It was a topper before his remarks on the Middle East when he addressed this verdict. And he was also very technical in the way that he described what happened. He talked about the jurors. He talked about it being a state case, not a federal case.

He's sort of walked through the process. He did say that it was irresponsible to say that this was rigged. It was shortly after the former president had come out in his remarks talking about the trial. So I think that that sort of captures where the White House is on this and how difficult and challenging it is for them because they have to do both.

CARDONA: That's right.

ALVAREZ: They have to address it, but they also have to stand by the judicial system.

CARDONA: Right.

JENNINGS: What judges is it irresponsible to attack? Because if it's irresponsible to attack the judge in New York, why is it not irresponsible for virtually every Democrat in Washington to attack every justice on the Supreme Court right now? Which ones are to be protected and which ones are OK or fair game?

CARDONA: I don't think that Democrat -- when you talk about Democrats attacking judges, I think you mean, for example, when the Supreme Court got rid of Roe v. Wade, I think what Democrats --

JENNINGS: No, I mean, in the press releases right now when they're accusing them of, quote, "flying MAGA battle flags," I'm just asking you, you all in the Democratic Party right now are very protective of the judge in New York. But you are more than happy to have open season on the justices here in Washington politically and I just -- I'm trying to discern the difference as a citizen.

CARDONA: So then I could say that when you say that this judge should have recused himself, which was what a lot of Republicans are saying, then what do you say about Alito and about Thomas? Because --

JENNINGS: About the made-up flag controversy? Nothing. Because it's dumb.

CARDONA: OK. That's because he blamed it on his wife, it's his wife's fault. I mean, look, the fact of the matter is, is that Democrats have never talked about our judicial system being rigged. Democrats have never said that an outcome, we might not have liked it, but that it should be, it should be, you know, deleted, it shouldn't be, you know, listened to or whatever. We've never talked about the judicial system in the United States being rigged.

This is something that Donald Trump ran on in 2016, ran on in 2020, and is running on now. And it is absolutely a danger. And it's an existential threat to our democracy. JENNINGS: I'm sorry. Chuck Schumer stood in front of the Supreme Court

and pointed at the building and said Kavanaugh and Roberts and -- name by name and said, if you don't vote the way I want you to vote, you will reap the whirlwind. Now, what sort of -- what sort of signal do you believe that that sent? I mean, I mean, it was pretty obvious what he was calling for and it wasn't a good day.

CARDONA: I understand what you're trying to do.

JENNINGS: No, it's not me. It was what Chuck Schumer was trying to do.

CARDONA: No. No, no. What you're trying to do, Scott, in terms of look at the shiny thing over here because Donald Trump --

JENNINGS: It wasn't shiny, it was very dark.

CARDONA: -- and Republicans are doing this horrible thing over here, that's not --

JENNINGS; Do you now acknowledge that happened?

CARDONA: That's not what we're taught. I mean, yes, it did happen.

JENNINGS: OK. Good.

CARDONA: But like I said, the Supreme Court -- every single decision that the Supreme Court has made, you have never heard a Democrat say we are not going to abide by that decision. So --

JENNINGS: Joe Biden says -- he says it all the time.

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: He literally says it all the time.

DEAN: We need so many hours. I think you two could --

JENNINGS: Joe Biden says it --

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: Let's continue this for sure.

DEAN: But we're going to have to pause you there, and thank you again, Priscilla, for your reporting as well. My thanks to all of you for being here.

CARDONA: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Thank you.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, thanking America for freeing Ukraine to use American weapons against Russia. Plus North Korea claims it will temporarily stop sending trash balloons after South Korea vowed to respond.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:55]

DEAN: Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today at an annual defense conference in Singapore. The two reportedly discussing the state of U.S. aid to the Ukrainian war effort in the face of Russia's heightened offensive over the last few months.

Natasha Bertrand has more from Singapore.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, President Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore earlier today to try to rally Asian leaders around Ukraine's fight against the Russians. But he also met here on the sidelines with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, where the two discussed Ukraine's most urgent battlefield needs at the moment, including their desperate need for additional air defense systems.

But importantly, Zelenskyy also wanted to take that opportunity to thank Secretary Austin as well as President Biden for that very important decision that the U.S. made just last week to finally allow Ukraine to strike directly inside Russian territory in order to help defend itself against Russian strikes that are coming from just over the border of Ukraine inside Russia itself. A real game changer that Ukraine has been pushing the United States for, for quite some time now.

[18:30:02]

So Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked the United States for that decision, but one of the major reasons he was actually here at this forum this weekend was to speak directly to the Chinese who had been accused by the United States and by the U.K. of directly supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine by bolstering its defensive sector. And Zelenskyy told reporters earlier today that he tried to meet with Chinese officials while he was here today, but the Chinese actually refused to meet with him.

So while Zelenskyy did not get everything that he wanted this weekend, he did get the opportunity to speak directly to some very key Asian leaders and secure their participation and their support for this peace summit that he hopes will eventually be able to come up with a formula to finally end this war between Ukraine and Russia -- Jessica.

DEAN: Natasha Bertrand, thanks so much.

And let's discuss those talks and more with CNN military analyst retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

Great to have you on this Sunday afternoon. I want to start first with the decision that Natasha was talking about in her report, that the U.S. will now allow Ukraine to use American munitions to carry out strikes inside Russia. Help people understand what makes that decision so impactful.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, some American weapons systems, Jessica. Just have to put a caveat on that. Because of the tactical battle in and around Kharkiv, there's a decision now by the president to allow some weapons like the HIMARS shooting short- range artillery up to 50 to 70 kilometers away to strike targets on the other side of the border.

What Mr. Zelenskyy has very upset about is he wants more latitude and using ATACMS missiles that have anywhere from 172 to 300-mile range. He wants to strike deeper into targets in Russia. And the president has not allowed that. So there has been the availability of some weapons to go against those Russian forces that are actually lingering on the other side of the Ukrainian border and Belarus and in Russia.

And that's a very good thing. There's been many of us who have said that should have happened a long time ago. But there's a concern, you know, the risk involved is that the Kremlin will see anything that strikes deep into Russia and it could possibly miss the target and maybe hit, I mean, I'm going to give an example, hit an apartment building with Russian citizens could be an extreme provocation that the Russian leader could use to say, hey, see, I've been telling you all along this is a U.S. war.

They're using proxies to do this. They're giving them their weapons. So that's part of the calculus in all of this. And it's frustrating for the Ukrainians, but truthfully, having been in these kind of meetings, I understand the risk calculation involved.

DEAN: And Mark, I'm going to let them know I can't hear you so I'm going to take that out, so I'm going to let the control room know I can't hear you btu I'm hearing myself, but I'm going to keep asking you questions. I do want to ask you about what your take is on the scene and reporting this week that the U.S.-issued Abrams tanks aren't performing well in the field in Ukraine.

There's this discussion about how they were really made for the desert and obviously Ukraine not the desert. What do you make of that?

HERTLING: I will say in one word that's hyphenated, that's BS, I'll just use the initials. These tanks had been basically made for a NATO environment in Europe. I was on these tanks for almost two decades, three decades in Europe, didn't have some of the problems that I heard. Nick Paton Walsh talked about with that tank crew, they were upset because the tank was broken down.

I'll remind folks that I said it was not the best tank to give to Ukraine because there are maintenance challenges and you have to have a highly trained crew to address some of the things. But, you know, some of the indicators they talked about like condensation on the instruments, that's BS. The fact that that Russia knows how to hit these tanks, it didn't have enough armor, that's BS.

That they couldn't clear wood lines or they would shoot multiple rounds in a building and it wouldn't explode. I know for a fact, having fired these vehicles and having been a tanker all my life, that this is a crude that's not either selecting the right weapon system or isn't maintaining their tanks very well.

Now at the same time, I'll say this, Jessica, that whenever you get two disgruntled tankers on a tank that's broken down, they're going to give you every reason why it doesn't work and how this piece of crap is something they shouldn't have. But remember, Ukraine continued to ask for these vehicles even though they knew that there was a high maintenance standard to keep them running.

DEAN: And I also want to ask you about the fact that President Zelenskyy tried to meet with Chinese officials while he was at this event. They didn't take him up on that offer. Do you think that there is any pathway there for them to have some success appealing to the Chinese, even though the Chinese and Russia have been quite cozy at this point?

[18:35:10]

HERTLING: In my view, Jessica, I'm not a Chinese expert, but I do know a little bit about the Chinese. No chance in the world. He is not going to persuade President Xi who is very stoic and who is in fact supporting the Russians to switch over to the Ukrainian side because he knows that he wants to keep this. I believe President Xi wants to keep this war going on because it involves both Russia and the United States in this action.

But it will be difficult for him to support Ukraine. The good thing is President Zelenskyy was able to persuade I think several other Asian nations to provide support to the Ukrainian cause. And that's been something that's been important as well.

DEAN: All right. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, always good to have you on. Thanks so much.

HERTLING: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: When we come back more than two dozen people shot overnight. The latest on the investigation into this mass shooting. That's up next.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:44]

DEAN: The president's son, Hunter Biden, is set to stand trial in his home state of Delaware starting tomorrow. It is a historic trial for several reasons, but much like Donald Trump's conviction in New York, there could be a significant political impact on top of the legal ramifications for the president's son whatever the outcome of the case ends up being.

CNN reporter Marshall Cohen has more. MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey Jessica. Hunter Biden will make

history tomorrow morning when he walks into a federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, and will become the first ever son of the sitting U.S. president to go on trial. Special Counsel David Weiss, who has investigated Hunter Biden for many years, filed a three-count indictment against the president's son.

It all relates to a gun that Hunter Biden bought back in 2018. It is against federal law for a drug user or drug addict to buy a gun. And that is the allegation here. Two charges of lying about his past drug use on a federal gun form and one charge of unlawfully possessing a gun as a drug user or drug addict.

Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty and he is fighting the case. But he's going to have to go up against some pretty powerful evidence. Prosecutors have lined up testimony from three of his ex's, including his ex-wife and including from Hallie Biden, his former romantic partner, who is the widow of his brother, Beau Biden. Prosecutors say that these women can tell the jury about Hunter Biden's drug use and that it happened around the time when he bought that gun.

Now, let's be clear here that Hunter Biden has been very public about his lifelong struggle with alcoholism and his very, very serious struggle with crack cocaine addiction. He wrote a memoir about it in 2021 describing the depths and the grip of the addiction, describing this as one of the absolute lowest periods of his life. That is what's going to be scrutinized in this case.

Prosecutors, by the way, Jessica, they are going to use some excerpts of that memoir against Hunter Biden to try to convince the jury that, yes, he was using drugs when he bought that gun, and therefore, he should be convicted.

So jury selection begins tomorrow. There are 250 Delaware residents that are lined up to be examined to potentially serve on this jury. And once all is said and done, both sides think that this case could last one or two weeks -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Marshall Cohen, thanks so much.

Tonight, police are investigating a mass shooting that happened overnight in Akron, Ohio. One person was killed, 24 others wounded, victims flooded area hospitals, some of them were in critical conditions. People telling the CNN affiliate, 19 News, the shooting took place at a large birthday party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We outside enjoying ourselves. The next thing you know, we're running for our lives. That fast, like that fast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lot of shots. I heard -- I feel like I heard over 50 shots, heard a lot of screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just heard like fireworks. I thought it was the Fourth of July, man, and I seen cars, everybody running. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.

Polls will soon be closing as Mexicans on both sides of the border cast their votes in a historic election that will likely bring Mexico its first female president.

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[18:48:52]

DEAN: It is the final hours of voting in Mexico's historic election with the presidency up for grabs, as well as more than 20,000 positions across the country. And whoever wins, they will most likely become Mexico's first female president. But violence has plagued this election cycle. Dozens of candidates have been assassinated in the lead up to today's vote.

CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now from Los Angeles. She is outside the Mexican consulate where some Mexican citizens are voting.

Camila, it did look like there was a sizable turnout today. What more are you learning on the ground?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. Absolutely a sizable turnout. A lot of people just enthusiastic ready to vote. You could see here behind me just the crowd and the amount of people that showed up.

Now there is a problem to that, and that's because only about 1400 people actually registered to vote here in Los Angeles and they had an extra 1500 spots for people that did not register to vote. But officials here told me that at 7:00 in the morning they already had 2,000 people lined up.

I want to show you that line. It wraps around the entire block and at times it was wrapping twice around the block.

[18:50:04]

And so a lot of the people that you're seeing here will not be able to vote because they did not register. In total about 223,000 people will be voting from abroad in these Mexican elections. About 70 percent of that is voters here in the United States. So you're seeing that passion and that need and that want to vote from a lot of these people here, and it's because of a number of reasons.

You know, I've talked to voters who have told me we have family in Mexico. So it matters to us. There's also the aspect of the relationship between the American president and the Mexican president. And so there are a lot of issues that then stem from that, like security, like trade, and the economics of it, and migration, which is a huge issue for both countries right now. And of course, this is a historic election because of the possibility of a woman winning this election. So take a listen to what one voter here told me earlier.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very important for us to elect a woman as president. No matter who wins. For me, it's very important because the women are leading contenders to be the next president of Mexico. But also it's the first time that we Mexicans who live abroad going to cast a ballot here. It used to be by mail or electronically, but now we're going to have that opportunity.

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BERNAL: And so of course we're still walking through the line so you can see the amount of people that are here wanting to vote. Now, another interesting thing here is that the Mexican presidential election happens every six years, of course, in the U.S. It happens every four years. So every 12 years, this actually lines up. This is the one year where both countries are electing their next president.

So again, it is huge in terms of how the relationship between the two presidents will play out after the November election here in the United States. But again, just a lot of enthusiasm here in Los Angeles. There are 20 consulates around the country where people could vote, and so we'll have to see exactly how many turned out today -- Jess.

DEAN: And Camila, before we let you go, you are standing in Los Angeles. The people in line behind you are voting in the Mexican election, the presidential election. How does that all work? Are these people who are here working in America, but they've retained their Mexican citizenship?

BERNAL: Yes, a lot of them have dual citizenship or just have the citizenship either in Mexico, and maybe are a resident of the United States. So they are eligible to vote because they are Mexican citizens. They have to have the voter credential, which is extremely important. If you don't have that, you will not be able to vote. That is a Mexican voting credential. And then you have to register to vote, you know.

And the sad thing here about Los Angeles is that you have the potential of about four million Mexican nationals in Los Angeles and despite the four million people, only about, you know, 3,000 will be able to vote. So hopefully in the future, more people register to vote so that you can have a bigger turnout and just people that are eligible to vote here in Los Angeles and really all over the country.

DEAN: All right. Camila Bernal for us in Los Angeles. Thank you so much.

Tornadoes certainly not a new phenomenon. They've been around for a long time and the 2024 tornado season here in the U.S., well, it's already brought massive damage and destruction to multiple states, many communities. There are conversation with a scientist and a storm chaser familiar

with the signs and causes of tornadoes, CNN's Derek Van Dam is taking a closer look at the severity and the weather conditions that are causing these monster storms.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Determining the precise weather conditions that spawn monster tornadoes is a topic heavily studied by forecasters. Now that mystery is one step closer to being solved thanks to a first-of-its-kind partnership.

HANK SCHYMA, PROFESSIONAL STORM CHASER: So, this is a supercell that is in Oklahoma in May and it's just beginning to start to drop its first tornado of the day.

VAN DAM: Hank Schyma, also known as Pecos Hank, is a professional storm chaser who's documented some of the world's most intense tornadoes. He's collaborated with University of Wisconsin research scientist Dr. Leigh Orf who utilizes one of the world's most powerful supercomputers to simulate the same twisters.

DR. LEIGH ORF, RESEARCH SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: He's capturing some of these low-pressure areas around the storm, little tiny whirls that probably last about five seconds. And you can see the same thing going on in my simulation.

VAN DAM: Pairing up Dr. Orf's animations with Hank's storm chasing footage provides clarity and realism that gives scientists confidence in their models and hopefully the detail needed to put the last pieces of the puzzle together.

SCHYMA: That's another thing that I think these simulations can really help is we need to figure out why one storm is dropping these big tornadoes and why another one is not.

VAN DAM: It's a tag team effort, one behind the lens and one behind the screen. But they hope to see the benefits in real life.

ORF: The combined effect looking at lots of storms, it's a basically crunching through to get to saving more lives.

[18:55:03]

It's just -- there's no easy way to get there. It's just the hard way but, you know, it's -- I'm willing to do it.

VAN DAM: Knowing when a storm is going to produce the next big tornado and just as importantly if it's not, could reduce the amount of false alarms that the public has to navigate.

SCHYMA: The cried wolf effect is if we can limit that, that would actually be more effective.

VAN DAM: With 2024's active tornado season, there has been plenty for this scientist and storm chaser to team up on. I'm CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

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DEAN: And be sure to tune in for the CNN Original Series "VIOLENT EARTH WITH LIB SCHREIBER." It premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m.

Former President Donald Trump says he's OK with possible jail time or house arrest after a jury found him guilty of 34 felonies. Up next, I'll speak with Congressman Jamie Raskin, who was on the January 6th House Select Committee.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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