Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump Travels to Milwaukee for the RNC Convention; Secret Service Says No Plans to Change Security for RNC; President Biden Calls for Calm and Unity; Motive Still Unknown in Trump's Failed Assassination; Secret Service Under Pressure After Trump Rally Shooting; Former Doctor Recounts Saving the Victim's Life; Biden Calls On Americans To "Cool Down" Political Rhetoric; FBI: Motive In Trump Rally Shooting Still Unknown; Secret Service: No Plans To Tighten RNC Security. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired July 15, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome. I'm Rosemary Church. Just one day after surviving an assassination attempt, former U.S. President Donald Trump has traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention is set to kick off in the hours ahead. Trump could be seen pumping his fist as he left his plane on Sunday.
A source says the former president underwent a precautionary CT scan after the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, and the results came back clear. Despite the violence over the weekend, the Secret Service says there are no plans to tighten security at the convention this week, but the shooting has prompted Trump to rewrite his convention speech, and in a new interview, he says he plans to focus on unity in an effort to bring the country together.
The attempted assassination of a U.S. presidential candidate has no doubt shaken the country. The FBI says the motive for the shooting at this stage is still unknown. U.S. President Joe Biden is condemning the violence. In an address to the nation from the Oval Office late Sunday, he said it's time to tone down the heated political rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We cannot, we must not go down this road in America. We've traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer, whether it's with members of Congress of both parties being targeted and shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against the sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump. There is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever. Period. No exceptions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN has obtained new video of the gunman positioned on a roof near the Trump rally on Saturday. The shooter can be seen before shots are fired and panic breaks out. A warning, these images and sounds may be disturbing to some viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Run! Get over here. Run! Run! Run!
(GUNSHOTS)
UNKNOWN: Run! Run! Stay over here. Run!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The Secret Service is facing questions over the security at the rally, specifically how the shooter was able to gain access to a rooftop roughly 120 to 150 meters from Trump's position at the podium. The FBI has identified the gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Federal authorities believe he acted alone and they are working to gain access to his cell phone as they investigate his background.
Trump says one of the bullets struck the upper part of his right ear during the shooting. One man in the crowd was killed in the gunfire, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. Pennsylvania's governor says he was a firefighter who dove on top of his family to protect them when the shots rang out. Two other men were injured.
In the aftermath of the shooting, U.S. Congressional members on both sides of the aisle are also saying it's time to cool the rhetoric and put an end to political violence. Some see the assassination attempt as a potential turning point and a chance to do better.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNI SANDERS (I-VT): The political violence of any kind or shape or form is unacceptable, it is un-American and we've got to put an end to it. I think in this traumatic moment, it's time for all of us to take a deep breath, remember what this country is about and what political campaigns are about and they're about serious discussions of serious ideas as to how we address these serious problems facing this country. So let's use this moment, if there's any silver lining in this tragedy, it's to figure out how we go forward peacefully, constructively and intelligently.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I wish I could say I was surprised, but I've been worried about this for a very, very long time. You know, if he wins, democracy is not going to end, he's not a fascist. So, he represents a point of view that me and share (ph).
[02:04:58]
The rhetoric is way too hot. There's a man who lost his life by attending a political rally, he's dead. His life came to an end, other people are hurt. Who to blame? Let's blame the shooter, but let's all try to do better. SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): It was horrific that this happened in our
commonwealth and I think it's a time for all of us in both parties. Every elected official in the country should categorically condemn all political violence, whether it's a shooting or otherwise. And we've got to take steps to reduce the likelihood of these kinds of horrific incidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now from Columbia, South Carolina is CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers. A pleasure to have you with us.
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you so much.
CHURCH: So since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, we have seen a rare primetime Oval Office address from U.S. President Joe Biden calling for unity. Donald Trump now says he has rewritten his RNC speech to focus on unity. And U.S. Congressional members on both sides of the aisle are calling for cooler heads and an end to political violence. Is this an indication that America is at a turning point and choosing to calm the rhetoric and do better?
SELLERS: I'm not sure if we're at a turning point. I do think that the shooting or the attempted assassination did actually shake the core of our country and it actually functionally scared so many individuals because the rhetoric had gotten to a point where something like this could happen.
And so I do think that there is some conversation or are some conversations that are going on right now that normally would not go on. But this is not anything new to our political process. I don't want anybody to think that this is an aberration. I mean, we've had Steve Scalise, a Republican member who was shot at a baseball game. We've had Gabby Giffords, of course, who was shot at a rally. I believe that was in 2010 or so.
We've had -- since those two incidents as well, we've had Paul Pelosi, the husband of Nancy Pelosi, who was attacked with a baseball bat. We've had attempted kidnappings of the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. And so this isn't something that is new. And so I believe we have to take stock of where we are and figure out, as Bernie Sanders says, how do we progress and move forward safely and intelligently.
CHURCH: And the Republican National Convention gets underway in the coming hours. What are you expecting to see? And can Donald Trump get everyone else on board with his new effort to focus on unity? Do you see signs of a shift in tone here?
SELLERS: No, there's no reason to see a shift in signs of tone, because he hasn't done anything or said anything that would reflect that. I want to remind people, though, Joe Biden and my colleagues in the Democratic Party still have to go about prosecuting the case against Donald Trump and show that there are clear differences between the two. Mark Robinson, one of the individuals who will be speaking at the
rally, who is running for governor of the state of North Carolina, a swing state, just a week ago said that people need to be killed. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is one of the most avid supporters of Donald Trump, basically said the Democratic Party, it's a good versus evil and she listed out the reasons why the Republican Party was that party that was good and our party was the one that was bad.
And so I still think that you show what Project 2025 would do and how that type of authoritarianism, how that type of policy would take our country back to a place where we don't want to. So I firmly believe that you can share condolences. I was one of the first people to put condolences up. I'm extremely glad that President Trump is alive.
However, I'm still very clear eyed about the fact that this country would go to a place that we don't want it to go if President Trump is reelected. And I think you'll see evidence of that next week over the four days while they're in Milwaukee.
CHURCH: Yeah, I mean, as you point out, there still is a presidential election on the horizon. So where do each of the campaigns likely go from here, do you think?
SELLERS: Well, I know what Joe Biden's campaign is going to do, because you have to have a period of counterprogramming while the RNC is still in session. And so I do know that the president of the United States will be at the NAACP this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. I know that speech on civil rights in Austin has been canceled. But I expect him to do much, much more.
The ads have been pulled down during this moment. And the president has shown great leadership. I just can't clearly articulate what the RNC is going to be. Because Rosemary, I want to remind you, after Paul Pelosi, the Speaker of the House's husband, was brutally attacked with a baseball bat by a deranged man, Donald Trump mocked that individual.
[02:10:03]
I mean, I don't know if you've seen the picture of Donald Trump, Jr. putting a hammer and a pair of underwear on his Twitter profile or Twitter picture after he was brutally attacked, nearly killed with a hammer.
And so while I believe that it's necessary for us to give those condolences, particularly to the individuals that lost their lives, and while we have to say that we were an inch away from having another conversation in this country, and thank God that we're not doing that, I can also clearly tell you that this country does not need to reelect Donald Trump as president of the United States because we don't need to go back to that place.
CHURCH: And Bakari, how likely is it that the events over the weekend and President Biden's response to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life will put an end to cause for the president to step aside? Or do you expect the opposite to happen? SELLERS: No, I mean, I've been somebody who said that it doesn't
really make sense for the president to step aside. I think one of the things that you saw prior to the incident that occurred yesterday was you saw the polls come back down to life. And let me just tell you and your viewers, particularly internationally, something about the polls. You know, Joe Biden is still within the margin of error in six of the seven swing state polls and down four points in North Carolina. So it's still a one- or two-point race, which is still extremely close.
And in those same polls, they have Donald Trump getting 20 percent of the black vote and 45 percent of the Hispanic vote. Ms. Church, I will sell you a bridge in Brooklyn if Donald Trump gets 20 percent of the black vote or 45 percent of the Hispanic vote. Those just things are not reality.
And so while we're having this discussion, I think that those calls will cease because this race has come back down to the fundamentals. Things that happened in July or June, whether or not it be a debate or an assassination attempt, are not going to change the fundamentals, which will lead to the outcome that we'll see in November.
CHURCH: Bakari Sellers, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis. Appreciate it.
SELLERS: Thank you. Have a blessed morning.
CHURCH: You too. Well, we get the latest now on the investigation from CNN's law enforcement correspondent, Whitney Wild.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is not clear exactly how this happened, but the questions are certainly centering on the Secret Service's preparation and response, as well as many questions about the shooter. What we know right now is that this building where the shooter had climbed up onto and shot the former president from was outside the security perimeter.
This building was about 150 yards from where the former president was speaking at the podium. And multiple law enforcement sources that I have spoken with have expressed real concern, real shock that a building that close, 150 yards or so from the podium, was not included in what they call the hard perimeter, which means it would have been subjected to an extensive security sweep, that it would have required anybody trying to enter that building to go through a magnetometer. So many more questions there.
Additionally, the big question, again, centering on this building, is in what way this building did factor into the overall security plan. So another question is whether or not the building was left out of the perimeter, because for whatever reason, the Secret Service decided that it did not present a security risk.
For example, did they determine that the building could not be accessed, that the doors were locked, that no one was inside, no one was likely to go inside? These are the questions that the service would have been asking as they assessed the site, as well as continuing to ask themselves in this extremely pivotal moment. The investigation is also shifting to the gunman here. This is 20- year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. What we know now is that he was not known to the FBI, he was not in any databases, that he used an AR- style 5.56 rifle that belonged to his father that was purchased legally, and that law enforcement has his cell phone, and what they're trying to do now is get into that cell phone and get some insight into what his motivation was.
That is the big question, and at this moment, it is not clear why he did this. Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
CHURCH: CNN's senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem, joins me now from Jamestown, Rhode Island. Appreciate you being with us, despite these unfortunate circumstances, of course.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So, some are calling this the biggest U.S. Secret Service failure in decades, with serious questions being asked about how it was possible for a lone gunman to get a clear shot at former U.S. President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, very nearly killing him, but hitting and killing a man behind him and injuring two other attendees. What's behind this massive failure, do you think?
KAYYEM: I want to begin with, it's inexplicable, but it needs to be explained.
[02:14:57]
In other words, what we're seeing now are a couple of areas that just, you know, that you can tell even if you're not an expert. I mean, one is that the security perimeter did not include the rooftop and the potential for a sniper. And so, why was the building accessible? Why was that outside the security perimeter?
And then there's other questions about communication. So many people who were attending the rally saw him. If other local law enforcement, there's lots of questions about what they were trying to do, saw him. Why did it take so long to communicate? What clearly many people saw as a threat. I think, you know, finally, you know, there is a question about the speed by which they protected the president, as well as whether the president was honestly sort of allowed to do too many things during that period.
I mean, it seems like a long time. I've talked to a bunch of Secret Service agents about, you know, about needing to ignore the protectee. I mean, their job is to protect the constitutional position, former president, potentially future president again, and so there's lots of questions.
And there's no sort of explanation yet because we really haven't heard from the Secret Service. And now President Biden says there will be an independent review of it. CHURCH: Yeah. And what does the U.S. Secret Service need to be doing
now to explain themselves and, of course, correct future security procedures, particularly given the Secret Service now says there are no plans to tighten security around this week's Republican National Convention? Is that wise considering what just happened?
KAYYEM: I had the same reaction when I heard that press conference, which was I'm not -- why are we -- why are we having this press conference if to tell us that it's a status quo? I know the designation of any political convention is called an NSSE, a National Special Security Event. It's the highest elevated event in terms of planning.
You get federal, state and local authorities working together. You have an incident commander. It's a very sort of long process, 12 to 14 to 16 months. And so it's a well-structured so, in other words, it is secure. But the idea that you wouldn't respond or the Secret Service wouldn't respond to a new threat environment, which we're clearly in, seems odd to me.
And I thought that that was just a weird first salvo by the Secret Service. Their job is to not only assure the protectee that they have his or her back, but that the American public can have confidence that what was once an elite law enforcement agency can perform its primary function to protect the people who represent the constitutional order, that they can continue to protect them.
CHURCH: And meantime, we are seeing a lot of Secret Service conspiracy theories out there on various social media platforms. How are they going to be debunked and how dangerous are conspiracy theories like this when the country stands at this most consequential and indeed unnerving moment?
KAYYEM: Well, the only way to combat them is to actually address them, and that's why the Secret Service's silence isn't that helpful. I think President Biden has been good in sort of asserting what was given to the Trump campaign, what the increased presence of Secret Service around the campaign and particularly around Donald Trump. We're going to learn a lot more.
I'm going to be a little bit cruel here. I think that the president should put the head of the Secret Service on leave. I think that they essentially had one job and they failed. And I think if this agency is going to move forward, people have to pay the consequences for it. You can't simply put this on, oh, it was that agent or that agent. As I said, this is their primary function and they failed.
I think that if you can begin to think about the Secret Service of getting new leadership and potentially, honestly, outside leadership, the Secret Service needs an outsider to come in and to really focus on what its primary duties are and what happened in this in this terrible incident.
CHURCH: And we don't yet know what motivated this suspected gunman to try and kill the former president. But we have learned that he was a loner at school, graduated high school in 2022 and was a registered Republican, but made a $15 donation to the Democratic Party in 2021. What does all this indicate to you in terms of possible motive and how will authorities determine why he did this, given they are trying to gain access to his phone?
KAYYEM: You know, sometimes we never find out the why. Sometimes we're looking for some explanation that fits our political agenda. Often, you know, oh, this group did that or the left is worse and the right is better. Whatever the debates are.
[02:20:00]
What you're looking for here, and I think we might be getting a sense soon, is whether this is sort of a Proud Boys scenario or a lonely boy scenario. And what I mean, I'm not defending the lonely boys, but what I mean is Proud Boys would be, you know, someone who's part of a large group, right wing group or political group that advocates violence for their political agenda.
They are well known. They are assertive. They're public. It's an organization that fundraise. This is the, you know, this is the sort of -- that's one scenario. The other is the sort of lonely boy motive, which is someone who's isolated, has no community, becomes -- begins to believe in a narrative about either themselves or their target that then they act upon.
And so I think what we're starting to see is that it's likely that and his political agenda may be less interesting or less decisive than maybe a combination of other things that led him to this moment. Right now, we're hearing, yes, he was a member of the Republican Party, but he gave to Democrats and high school friends say that he was conservative. It may not be as sort of clear as we on the outside want to believe these things are.
CHURCH: Juliette Kayyem, many thanks for your expertise and your analysis. Appreciate it.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
CHURCH: And despite those questions about the Secret Service's preparation for securing the rally, the agency's director is praising agents for their response on Saturday. In a memo reviewed by "The New York Times," Director Kimberly Cheadle says she is proud of those who were involved in protecting former President Donald Trump.
But she also cautioned the group, writing, quote, "In the coming days, the Secret Service will face praise and criticism." She urged all agents not to be distracted by people who weren't in Pennsylvania at the scene of the attack.
A retired emergency room doctor was on the scene when shots rang out at the Trump rally. He will tell us about his actions and what he witnessed when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: We have learned more about the victims of the shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was there with his wife and two daughters. When the shots rang out, he dove on top of them to protect them from the gunfire. Tragically, he was struck and killed.
Jim Sweetland is a retired emergency room doctor who jumped into action and administered CPR until state troopers arrived. He told CNN about the tragic events that unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SWEETLAND, RETIRED ER DOCTOR: I went into muscle memory. I'm an emergency physician, and that's what we do.
[02:25:00]
And all I remember is going to where he was down. Fortunately, everybody was sheltering, and so I could get to him fairly quickly. I was there within 45 seconds of the shots ringing out, and already an individual was applying pressure to his wound. Unfortunately, I found out the firefighter's name, Corey, and he was struck behind his right ear.
And the wound looked quite severe. I did what I always do when I come on the scene. I'm a doctor. I got the response, which was, really? Okay. And I said, I'm an ED doctor. This man is without pulse. He's not breathing. Help me get him up onto the bench. Corey's body, unfortunately, was wedged between the fourth and fifth benches on that stand.
And two individuals who were scared, and there was blood, and there was brain matter at the scene. And these people were courageous enough to get up and help me get Corey back on the bench so that I could perform CPR on him. And all the while, someone assisted me by putting pressure on that wound.
I performed CPR by giving him rescue respirations. I did chest compressions for about two minutes until I was tapped on the shoulder by a Pennsylvania State trooper. And he and another trooper, the biggest troopers I've ever seen, picked Corey up like a rag doll and got him off that stand as quickly as I've ever seen anybody be moved in my entire medical career.
They were brave, and they moved him as quickly as you could. And they got him onto a stretcher and off he went. I looked up to see Corey's wife and daughter looking at me. And the look on their face is something I'll never forget. It was them looking at someone that they loved who was extremely sick, near death. And they had a look that they wanted something to be said, what was going on.
And this was all communicated just by how they looked at me. And I blurted out to them, Corey's going to go to a place where he can get help. And I'm afraid that's all the comfort I could give them. I've not talked to that family. I hope and pray that their wounds can be healed. I know Corey's left behind daughters, and I know he will be sorely missed. I do wish to say to them if they're listening tonight, your father died a hero. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Saturday's shooting of Donald Trump could make all the difference at the ballot box this fall. Ahead, what impact the attempted assassination could have on campaign politics and the outcome of the U.S. elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:31:18]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Joe Biden is calling on Americans to cool down the political rhetoric in the country. He delivered a rare speech from the Oval Office on Sunday night, condemning the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We debate and disagree. We compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the vision for America. But in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. Now, that's how we do it at the ballot box, not with bullets. The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people not in the hands of would-be assassin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Questions are still swirling about how a gunman was able to get past the Secret Service at Saturday's rally in Pennsylvania. And plans are afoot for a congressional investigation. President Biden has already ordered an independent review of these security plans at the rally. Law enforcement sources say that will include looking at whether the Secret Service had enough assets to protect Trump, and if agents followed the proper procedures sweeping the building that the shooter used.
Investigators are still working to learn more about the man they say was behind the assassination attempt. They have identified him as 20- year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene and while investigators search for a motive, we are learning more about what he did before the shooting.
CNN's Brian Todd explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have new information now on the shooters movements just before and during the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. CNN's analysis shows that the shooter was roughly 150 meters away from where Trump was standing at the time, he started opening fire. That's less than 500 feet away from the former president.
We're also told by Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe that law enforcement officers, local police officers, got word of suspicious activity on the rooftop around there, and went and investigated it. At that point, according to the sheriff, one officer hoisted himself up to the ledge of this rooftop here, saw the gunman.
The gunman saw the officer according to the sheriff, and pointed his weapon at them at that point, the sheriff had to drop down for his own safety because he was cleaned to the ledge of the roof and did not was not able to draw his weapon to engage the shooter. So we had to drop down for his own safety.
Also, we're told by a senior law enforcement official that just before the shooting, the shooter was seen acting somewhat suspiciously in the area of magnetometers. They would presumably be in these areas here, not clear exactly where he was around these magnetometers, but according to a senior law enforcement official, he was acting somewhat suspiciously around the area of the magnetometers.
The key question is, what was he doing? Was he probing for a possible shooting position? Was he on a recon mission? That will be brought out in the investigation.
Another piece of information that were getting here is that this is according to Ben Macer, who is a witness who told CNN affiliate KTKA of the shooter's movements just before he took that position. According to Ben Macer, he saw the shooter move from roof to roof to roof in the moments before he took that position to take shots at the former president.
So these had to have been these roofs here because this, these buildings are all seemingly attached. If this witness saw the gunman moving from roof to roof to roof, it would have been right about there. And these buildings right there also, we have some video of the gunman in the moments just after he was neutralized by law enforcement, the body of the gunman lying on the on the on the roof of the building where he was.
And as we look at the post-shooting scenes here, what I can show you is there are some scenes here of the chairs and the debris.
[02:35:05]
But when we take to look at the grandstand, I'm going to pause the video for just a second here, you take a look at the grandstand, we have new information also from the governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, who told us about the deceased victim, Corey Comperatore, firefighter from Butler County.
Corey Comperatore was in these grandstands. He might have been in this one here were not sure if he was in that one or possibly this one. But he was hit with gunfire and was killed. But according to the governor, Josh Shapiro, Corey Comperatore committed a very heroic act during the shooting. He dove on top of his own family to protect them from the shooting. And, of course, was killed by a gunshot in the process.
Again, we're trying to find out which of these grandstands Corey Comperatore was in when he was shot and killed. As we go back to the scene here, we're told that President Biden has
ordered an independent review of the shooting. And according to our law enforcement analyst, Andrew McCabe, the most basic elements of securing an outdoor site, especially outdoors, is that you have to eliminate the sight lines to wear a protectee is standing or speaking.
A key component of this investigation is why was that sight line so close to the former president not eliminated.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: In the wake of Saturday's assassination attempt, President Joe Biden and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have condemned the political violence and urged for calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It's time to cool it down.
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): The way we settle political differences in America is through vigorous debates and campaigns and ultimately elections, not through political violence.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): What democracy is about is not radical rhetoric. What it is about is a serious discussion of where we are as a nation and how we go forward.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We have to see one another as fellow Americans and not enemies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Although the danger of political violence seems to loom especially large in this moment, it has long cast a shadow over America's history, from the violence in the 1960s, including President John F. Kennedy's assassination, that fateful day in Dallas in 1963, and his brother Robert shot dead while on the campaign trail just five years later.
That same year, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
And more recently, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S.C capitol on January 6, 2021, trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Earlier, CNN spoke with former Capitol Hill Officer Harry Dunn, who protected the capitol on that day and who has since become a Biden campaign surrogate.
Dunn shared his thoughts on the best way to cool off the increasingly angry political rhetoric in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRY DUNN, FORMER U.S. CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: You have to be 100 percent honest, first and foremost. If we want to take the temperature down, sure, how which we need to do. We all, as American people, need (INAUDIBLE) down.
The first thing you need to do is be honest about the things that happen, somebody attempted to assassinate the former president. That happened. Also, the president summoned a mob to attack the Capitol on January 6 on his behalf.
Until you have people acknowledging on both sides that those two things happen, then, you know, you can't really be -- how realistic and honest are you being with yourself that you want to take political -- the temperature down, so to speak? Because you're not even being honest about what happened that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer is a historian and professor at Princeton University, and he joins me now from Sag Harbor in New York.
Thank you so much for being with us.
JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: So in a rare primetime Oval Office address to the nation, U.S. President Joe Biden called for unity and condemnation of political violence in the wake of this effort by a lone gunman to assassinate his rival Donald Trump. And later Monday, we also learned that Donald Trump has rewritten his RNC speech to focus on unity.
But how difficult will it be to bring down the temperature as the president suggests and stopped the violence, the divisions, the conspiracy theories, and unite this country given the deeply rooted history of political violence in America, which you have just written about?
ZELIZER: It's extremely difficult. The problem of political violence, first of all, is very deeply rooted. It's not something new. The country has had many assassinations, assassination attempts, and just outright violence.
Second, the force is causing the polarization you're talking about from partisanship to the media and the nature of social media, in particular. It doesn't go away. And finally, we're in the middle of a campaign and, you know, come next week and the week after, the candidates, the parties will be going after each other.
[02:40:00]
So it's likely this will be like January 6 or COVID, where there is a temporary move to unity, but that breaks apart very quickly.
CHURCH: Yes, because, of course, the Republican National Convention gets underway in Milwaukee in the coming hours. The big question now, is will Donald Trump and his allies use this event or ratchet up the rhetoric or find a way to bring down the temperature, calm nerves, and unite Americans? What are your thoughts on this?
ZELIZER: Well, if we're looking at recent history of the party of the former President ratcheted things up. There might be some, you know, remarks that offer little insight or opening for unity, but that's not the way Trump does business. Even after the shots were fired, you know, he gets up and the first words out of his mouth were "fight".
So I think that will be the theme of the campaign. And I do think that will be the theme, not just in the convention, but going right through November.
CHURCH: And, meantime, of course, there is still an election looming. So how do you expect this attempted assassination will play into the November race, given two new polls, one from Fox and other from NBC, both showing narrow leads for Donald Trump against President Joe Biden?
ZELIZER: The irony is this might very well save President Biden's position within the Democratic Party. It seems there's less willingness and the next week at least to keep pushing for him to not run and the clock is ticking. But he's still in a very weak position. And some would argue that after this event and after the way it unfolded, Trump will come out stronger than ever.
So, it might very well end up saving the president politically for the time being, but costing Democrats the White House and maybe Congress come November.
CHURCH: Yeah, I wanted to discuss that a little more because, of course, there are still these questions of President Biden's age and what impact might a pause in the drumbeat for President Biden to step away, have on the news cycle as the RNC takes center stage, this week, of course, all attention on that.
ZELIZER: Yeah. I just add, it's not just age, it's the polls, you know, more broadly. They're just not very good right now. And I think a lot of Democrats in Congress here are very worried about where this is all going.
But again, this pause because of this horrific event that just happened, and now, the Republican convention might make it hard for that momentum that had gained ever since former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made some comments earlier this week to rebuild.
And so, Biden will probably be the nominee at this point. But he's a week nominee and his opponent, former president Donald Trump, is getting stronger, and I think the combination of how again, this unfolded, the unity surrounding that reaction to the assassination attempt, culminating with a convention might really solidify Trump in a way that seemed impossible about a month or month-and-a-half ago, to many Americans.
CHURCH: Julian Zelizer, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis on this issue. Appreciate it.
ZELIZER: Thanks for having me.
CHURCH: Leaders across the world are speaking out against political violence. When we return, the global response to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:46]
CHURCH: Authorities have released new information about the 20-year- old shooter at the Donald Trump rally. Thomas Matthew Crooks would have been eligible to vote in his first presidential election this November. Now, investigators are trying to learn why he attempted to assassinate at one of the candidates.
CNN's Danny Freeman has more on what we know about the gunman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Take a look what happened --
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moments after former President Trump came under fire Saturday about 500 feet away on a rooftop just outside the security perimeter, the would-be assassin himself was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers. The suspected shooter identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All units operating on Butler farm show grounds, facility's on lockdown. Everyone stay inside.
FREEMAN: A source tells CNN that local law enforcement spotted Crooks near the event metal detectors on Saturday today, he appeared to be acting suspiciously and an alert was put out over the radio to keep an eye on him. Later, just before Crooks open fire, the Butler County sheriff tells CNN that an officer encountered Crooks on the rooftop, but was forced to retreat after Crooks pointed his rifle at the officer.
This video taken from his high school graduation in 2022.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a gun!
FREEMAN: Law enforcement officers still have not announced a potential motive for the shooting.
BIDEN: I urge everyone, everyone, please, don't make assumptions about his motives or as affiliations. Let the FBI do their job and their partner agencies do their job.
FREEMAN: CNN has learned Crooks was a registered Republican and federal election records showed he made a $15 donation to a Democratic aligned group back in 2021.
TRUMP: This is a big crowd.
FREEMAN: This presidential election would have been the first, the gunman would be eligible to vote in. In his Bethel Park neighborhood, just south of Pittsburgh, a heavy police presence remains Sunday as investigators process his home. A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told CNN, the shooter had explosive material inside of his car and his residence.
Other law enforcement officials told CNN the gun used in the attack was an AR style weapon. The rifle was traced to the shooter's father, Matthew Crooks.
When reached by CNN Saturday, Matthew Crooks said he was still trying to figure out, quote, what the hell is going on, but would quote, wait until I talk to law enforcement before speaking about his son.
What was your reaction when you heard the news that this was the shooter?
JASON KOHLER, ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL WITH THOMAS CROOKS: Crazy, unbelievable.
FREEMAN: Jason Kohler went to the same high school as Crooks. He remembered him as an outcast who was bullied.
KOHLER: Just because he wasn't like with the clique. So he was always had target on his back.
When I would see him, he was very -- very bland. Then didn't -- saw no facial expression, just very -- very, very to himself.
FREEMAN: On Sunday, Bethel Park skilled nursing and rehabilitation confirmed Crooks worked at the center as a dietary aid.
They said they were shocked and saddened to learn this news, adding Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREEMAN (on camera): Now, there are a few more notes that I'll mention here that we learned from the FBI late Sunday afternoon. First is that the FBI believes at this point that Crooks was working alone. They also said that there was no indication that Crooks had any mental health issues.
Also, the FBI said at this its point they still don't have an idea of ideology or a motive for this attack, but they do believe that this answer might lie in his cell phone. However, at this point, the FBI has not been able to access the cell phone, so that cell phone is on its way to Quantico, Virginia, FBI headquarters, to get further analysis.
Danny Freeman, CNN, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
CHURCH: Global leaders are reacting to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump's life.
The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, called Trump's escape from death a miracle, and compared the shooting to a stabbing attack he experienced at a campaign rally in 2018.
(BGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The doctor said it was a miracle that I survived in 2018, given the seriousness of the injuries and he was saved by a matter of a few centimeters.
[02:50:05]
That in my opinion comes from above.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: In a rare primetime address from the Oval Office on Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden urged Americans to lower the temperature of the country's politics and to commit to working together to resolve differences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Here in America, we need to get out of our silos where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: For more on global reaction, CNN's Marc Stewart joins us now from Beijing.
So, Marc, the U.S. has accused China of interference in the past. How does its response play into this?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's interesting, Rosemary, to hear those remarks from President Biden about foreign actors, and then looking at the Chinese response. On one hand, we have the Chinese government offering a very safe and sanitary response, expressing concern and sympathy to President Trump.
Yet, if we look at social media and then state media, which you can argue as a messenger service for the Chinese government, you could say that its promoting some themes of discontent in the United States under that narrative that President Biden brought out about this idea of foreign actors, fanning the flames.
Let me go to some specific examples, first from Chinese state media, I want to focus in particular and editorial that was seen here in China, in China Daily, it's an English publication by Chinese state media. The headline there, Trump incident reflects U.S. polarization, divisions. This is commentary from state media, trying to promote this common theme of political discord in the United States. Another example from state media, China's global times with the
headline there reading, shooting at Trump rally shows rise in political violence as U.S. divides further.
Again, this is all serving as a tool for China to discredit the American political system globally, but also to the Chinese population.
And then we have Chinese state media. We've been seeing a lot of chatter about all of this. It is typically heavily censored by the Chinese state government, but we are seeing a lot of comment, especially as its portraying the United States in a negative light.
Let me point out something particular, for example, on Weibo, which is Chinese version of X or Twitter. What democracy and freedom? I now think elections in other countries are not so different from talent shows. The world is but a circus.
That's one example to discredit the American political process.
But we're also seeing some more general benign comments referring to the U.S. as a house of cards, we've seen references to gun violence, references as to how this may bolster Trump's chances in the upcoming election with people saying he came across as strong. Others calling him lucky.
Rosemary, this is just a collection of the reaction that we're getting here from our vantage point here in Beijing.
CHURCH: All right. We thank you, Marc Stewart in Beijing. Appreciate it.
Well, still to come, the U.S. Secret Service says no changes have been made to their plans for the Republican National Convention this week but all those plans enough to keep attendees safe? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The Republican national convention is set to begin just hours from now in the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
[02:55:05]
And despite the attempt on former President Donald Trump's life, the Secret Service says there are no plans to tighten security for the event. Notably, Wisconsin is an open carry state, meaning anyone deemed a lawful weapons carrier can have a handgun openly or concealed in most public spaces with a permit.
But there are some restrictions. Firearms are allowed inside the so- called soft perimeter around the convention but not inside the hard perimeter, which is any area requiring credentials to access. That hard perimeter includes the convention halls.
Security officials say that so far they have been no threats to the event. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDREY GIBSON-CICCHINO, SECRET SERVICE COORDINATOR: We're confident in the current plan that we have. This is based off of technical assessments, protective intelligence and we are continuously monitoring information related to the -- to the event. So we're confident in the plans that we have and we're moving forward with his plan.
MICHAEL HENSLE, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: So as I said, there's no known specific or articulated threat to the RNC, or any specific individual attending. As you'd expect, after the event yesterday, we've seen an uptick in social media chatter. People talking about what happened, and we as the lead for all intelligence matters related to the RNC, the FBI, we evaluate all of that to make sure that had trends in to criminal activity or threat-based information. We evaluate that and again, the disseminate outdoor federal and state partners for action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is in Milwaukee with more details on security for the Republican National Convention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Secret Service as they are not changing their security plans because of what happened on Saturday, the attempted assassination of the former president. They say they have a robust security plan in place and they are sticking with it.
More and more law enforcement officers from all across the country have started to arrive here in Milwaukee. We've seen law enforcement officers from Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Fresno, all across the country, here in Milwaukee to provide security.
There will be several perimeters setup all across downtown, which is going to limit vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Secret Service says they feel so that they have the right security measures in place.
The FBI says they are also assisting with security. They see no credible threats at this point, there are some concerns over their rhetoric that they're seeing online. And in other places since Saturday. But they say that they are continuing with their security plans. They are assisting and they expect everything to be safe.
Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
