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Trump Appears at Republican National Convention After Assassination Attempt; Trump Selects Ohio Sen. JD Vance as Running Mate; Investigators Search for Motive in Trump Rally Shooting. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 16, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church, just ahead.

A bandaged Donald Trump receives an emotional welcome on day one of the Republican National Convention, just 48 hours after the assassination attempt.

Plus, Trump's highly anticipated VP pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, a Trump critic turned close ally.

And a major legal victory for the former president, why his classified documents case was dismissed. That's just ahead.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

Well, delegates to the Republican National Convention delivered a hero's welcome to Donald Trump as he made his first public appearance since Saturday's assassination attempt. The former president's right ear was covered with a bandage as he greeted supporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

He's not expected to speak at the gathering until Thursday. Earlier in the day, he announced his vice presidential running mate would be Senator JD Vance of Ohio. The 39-year-old is a Marine veteran and Yale Law School graduate.

A number of the convention speakers on Monday night talked about the shooting at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): On Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet, and he roared!

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Two days ago, evil came for the man we admire and love so much. I thank God that his hand was on President Trump.

KRISTI NOEM, (R) SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR: Prior to this week, we already knew that President Donald Trump was a fighter. He is the toughest man that I have ever met. Nobody has endured more than what he has gone through.

They've attacked his reputation, they impeached him, they tried to bankrupt him, and they unjustly prosecuted him. But even in the most perilous moment this week, his instinct was to stand and to fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Sources say investigators have gained access to the gunman's phone, but they are no closer to determining a motive for the shooting.

Meanwhile, Trump has won a major legal victory, at least for now. A judge has dismissed the classified documents case against him and his co-defendants. She says the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unconstitutional. The Justice Department is appealing.

And on the Democratic side, sources tell CNN efforts to nudge Joe Biden out of the presidential race are continuing in private. A veteran pollster says the president is on track to lose the election and cause deep damage to other Democratic candidates. For more now from CNN's Kristen Holmes in Milwaukee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a very emotional scene on the ground in Milwaukee, Wisconsin tonight as former President Donald Trump walked out for the first time in public since that assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend. He had a bandage on his ear. He looked at times softer, almost as though he was going to cry.

I spoke to a number of aides and allies, supporters, all of whom had not seen him yet, and they were shocked at what they saw. They believed that this was almost scary and also, again, incredibly emotional. And there were a lot of tears in the audience here, people who felt like this was a patriotic moment.

And one of the things that we had heard from a number of people he had spoken to is that Donald Trump himself has said over and over again that he feels he is lucky to be alive, that he believes there was some sort of divine intervention. And talking to the people in the crowd here tonight, they think they saw that in his face. A number of them saying they think he is now a changed man.

[04:05:00]

Now, what we do know is that Donald Trump himself has been focusing on this concept of unity when he is talking to, again, aides, allies, supporters. But whether or not that holds, that, of course, is going to be the big question moving forward. Donald Trump has not really been one to focus on unity. There have

been brief moments of this in the past, but right now we are told that he scrapped his entire speech that he had written or at least had an idea of in his head before that shooting took place, and now he wants to focus on unity. And that was also really what we saw a lot of in the speeches today.

Maybe not necessarily a big focus on the concept of unity, but really staying away from the more violent rhetoric that we have heard in months past, weeks past, from a lot of these Republicans who were on the stage tonight. Now, of course, we don't know if this is going to be the only time we see the former president before he takes the stage again on Thursday. I know that he has been eager to be interacting with supporters and allies, and that was very clear here tonight, because at one point there was the question of whether or not Donald Trump would actually come yesterday to Milwaukee.

But he did show up here, so very interesting to see how the rest of the week plays out. Of course, the big news again coming out of today was, one, the first time we're seeing him in public, and, two, his announcement of Ohio Senator JD Vance to be his running mate.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Trump called Vance on Monday to officially offer him the spot 20 minutes before the former president made the announcement on social media.

He wrote this: After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of vice president of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the great state of Ohio.

Speaking to Fox News later that night, Vance shared Trump's explanation for why he picked him and spoke of his transformation from Trump critic to fierce supporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He just said, look, I think you've got to go save this country. I think you're the guy who can help me in the best way. You can help me govern.

You can help me win. You can help me in some of these Midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and so forth.

I don't hide from that. I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016, but President Trump was a great president and he changed my mind.

I bought into the media's lies and distortions. I bought into this idea that somehow he was going to be so different, a terrible threat to democracy. It was a joke. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The White House is also reacting to Donald Trump's new vice presidential pick. President Joe Biden, though, says he isn't surprised by the pick, referring to JD Vance as, quote, a clone of Trump on the issues. Speaking with NBC's Lester Holt, the president pointed to Vance's shift in politics in recent years to align closer with Trump's platform.

And here's part of that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's going to surround himself with people who agree completely with him. I have a voting record. I support him. Even though if you go back and listen to the things JD Vance said about Trump.

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS: Well, he said some things about you, yes.

BIDEN: He said something about me, but see what he said about Trump. What's with you guys? Come on, man.

Look, the point I'm making is that JD Vance has adopted the same policies, no exceptions on abortion, making sure that he supports the new $5 trillion tax cut that Trump wants to give in the next administration, signing on to the whole notion of whether or not we're going to -- He says there's no climate change that's happening. I mean, he signed on to the Trump agenda, which he should if he's running with Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Biden campaign officials say current Vice President Kamala Harris reached out to Vance and left him a voicemail congratulating him on his selection. She hopes to meet with him at a proposed vice presidential debate, but the Trump campaign has not yet accepted the invitation.

The public calls from Democrats urging Joe Biden to exit the presidential race have quieted in recent days, but several Democratic sources tell CNN that private efforts to nudge the president and his top aides continue.

Those efforts include numerous memos from seasoned Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who claims Mr. Biden is on track to lose the election and potentially lose so big that it hurts other Democratic candidates as well. Here's more of the president's interview with NBC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLT: Who do you listen to on deeply personal issues, like the decisions whether to stay in the race or not?

BIDEN: Me. Look, I've been doing this a long time. The idea that I'm the old guy, I am. I'm old. But I'm only three years older than Trump, number one.

[04:10:00]

And number two, my mental acuity's been pretty damn good. I've gotten more done than any president has in a long, long time in three and a half years. So I'm willing to be judged on that.

I understand. I understand why people say, God, he's 81 years old. Whoa. What's he going to be when he's 83 years old or 84 years old? It's a legitimate question to ask.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary. Always enjoy.

CHURCH: So Donald Trump is now the official nominee for the 2024 Republican presidential race, along with his new VP pick, Senator JD Vance, as the party kicks off the start of its convention. Trump, we saw, enjoyed a hero's welcome, his right ear bandaged after Saturday's assassination attempt. He certainly appeared much more subdued than we've ever seen him.

He came with a new message of unity, which followed the same message from U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday. How is that dual message of unity being received? And is this a real shift in tone or a flash in the pan, do you think?

SABATO: Politicians are very good at reading the electorate. And they both knew, that is, Biden and Trump, understood that after that assassination attempt and other incidents of violence that we've seen play out over the last few months and years, Americans were ready for some calmer times and for a call to quiet and peace and civility. And so having read the public correctly, I think they both have done well in giving the public what they wanted.

You know, as somebody said recently, this is still a democracy, and so therefore it's really important to give the people what they want every now and then.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And, of course, previously a never-Trumper and a harsh critic of the former president calling him noxious. What would Trump's VP pick, JD Vance, bring to the table if their ticket were to win?

SABATO: Well, one thing he brings to the table is actually useful to Democrats. He, on the record, said that Trump could be America's Hitler. So it seems to me that that gives a pass to Democrats who've been comparing the authoritarian Trump to the Third Reich.

I'm not saying that that's accurate. It probably is extreme. But the fact that Trump's own running mate actually said that. As far as what he adds to the ticket, it's a generational contrast.

He's 39. He would be the third youngest vice president in American history. And oddly enough, the very same age that Richard Nixon was when President Eisenhower, then General Eisenhower, chose him for the ticket in 1952.

He doesn't have much experience, but that isn't important to Trump. He ran without ever having been in public office and got elected president. So a year and a half in the Senate, a bestseller, Hillbilly Elegy, Yale Law School, a stint in the Marines, and there you have your nominee.

I don't know that it brings much beyond that because JD Vance is from Ohio, and Ohio is guaranteed Republican. It's now solidly Republican. And I don't think being from Ohio really appeals that much in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Michigan or Pennsylvania.

So, you know, it is what it is.

CHURCH: And what was your overall sense of the whole tone of the first day of the Republican National Convention?

SABATO: I never thought I would live to see even a bit of sweetness and light at really either convention, but particularly the Republican convention in the Trump age. But you hardly knew that this was the Donald Trump of 2016 or 2020 or since 2020. But again, I think that was appropriate, and it read the public correctly.

It is a shock to the system because I don't think we're ready necessarily for a civil Donald Trump, but maybe we're going to get that.

CHURCH: And then, of course, on the other side of politics, in an interview with NBC Monday, President Joe Biden admitted his earlier use of the word bullseye in a comment about Trump was a mistake as he tried to fight for his position at the top of the Democratic ticket. And this comes as we are hearing from sources that private efforts to nudge President Biden to step aside continue with internal polling data apparently showing the party will be wiped out if he remains. Is that what your numbers are telling you?

SABATO: I don't think it's appropriate to say wiped out.

[04:15:00]

Democrats would not be wiped out. And in the end, this will be relatively close, a point or two or three. Of course, that's enough to produce a substantial margin in the electoral college for Donald Trump and the Republicans. And that's what Democrats are really worried about.

Right now, Biden would lose almost all the swing states, including the three absolutely has to have, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. So that's really what the Democrats are focusing on.

And you're absolutely correct, Rosemary, they really still want for Biden to step aside, but he shows no sign of going. I think the question on a lot of people's minds, including mine, is are the Democratic pollsters and officials who aren't in that tight inner circle, are they really sharing the data, the unvarnished data, which are very depressing, with President Biden, or are they sugarcoating it? I wish we had the answer to that question because it really does matter.

By the way, if Biden slips further behind, which he could after a very positive Republican convention, and there hasn't been polling since the assassination attempt against Trump, if Biden falls substantially behind Trump, this movement to get rid of Biden, to move him out of the ticket, will only grow in intensity.

CHURCH: And what impact would you expect the attempted assassination of Donald Trump to have on polling?

SABATO: It's bound to help Trump. You can argue about how much and whether it will last or not, but I think those images are very powerful. And this is the kind of shock to the system that younger Americans are totally unused to.

I mean, the last real example of this was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was shot shortly into his presidency. So a whole generation, really two generations of Americans, have never experienced an attempted presidential assassination or a real assassination. So that's going to last, and it will have an impact.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, many thanks, as always, for sharing your analysis. Appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Investigators are running into a lack of leads as they probe the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. We will have the latest when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Investigators are still searching for a motive behind the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Law enforcement sources told CNN agents have searched the gunman's phone, computer, and bedroom and interviewed family and friends.

But they have yet to find evidence suggesting political or ideological reasons for the attack on Trump at a rally over the weekend.

[04:20:00]

CNN's Danny Freeman has more details from Butler, Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Monday, we learned a tremendous amount of new information, not only when it comes to what exactly happened and how was this shooting able to happen behind me at the fairgrounds here in Butler, Pennsylvania, but also we learned more information about the shooter's movements leading up to this assassination attempt.

But first I'll start with that question of what happened here. Well, we did hear from a Secret Service spokesperson earlier on Monday saying that they did not sweep the building that Thomas Crooks, the shooter, was perched on top of when he fired those shots.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service said that it was actually local law enforcement who was responsible for searching and covering that area because it was outside of the perimeter of that Trump campaign event. But the Secret Service did not say specifically who in local law enforcement was responsible for this. Well, what has resulted is a bit of a blame game and finger pointing.

We spoke with the Pennsylvania State Police who told us that they were not responsible for that particular area. And furthermore, they reiterated that they gave Secret Service all of the resources that Secret Service asked for when they were asking State Police to help provide security for this particular event. And Pennsylvania State Police emphasized that in these sorts of events, which they've done multiple of, Secret Service is the one who is the lead organization for these types of rallies.

Now, I want to move on to the new information that we learned about the shooters' movements prior to the event. We're learning from CNN's John Miller through law enforcement sources that back on Friday, a day before the shooting, Thomas Crooks actually went to a gun range. And that's important because Thomas Crooks belonged to a particular gun range, a sportsman's club, where there was a range that was about 200 yards.

That's notably just a little bit farther of a range than the distance between where the gunman was perched on that rooftop and former President Donald Trump on stage at that rally. Then, according to CNN's John Miller, the shooter on Saturday morning purchased a ladder, then later in the day purchased 50 rounds of ammunition from a local ammunition store in the area not too far, I should say, from his house. But here's the thing.

Even though there has been all of this evidence and all of this investigation, and that has included the cell phone of the shooter that the FBI is now telling CNN they have now finished processing, we have learned that through law enforcement sources, the FBI still has not been able to come up with a solid motive for this case. And that's after searching his phone. That's after interviews with family, interviews with friends, and going through the shooter's search history leading up to this particular incident.

The FBI at this point and law enforcement sources telling CNN that they just do not have an ideology and a motivation for this shooting. So that mystery at this point still open. Still a number of questions remaining about how this all came to pass.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Butler, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Meantime, House Oversight Committee Republicans are asking Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to preserve all documents in connection with Donald Trump's Pennsylvania rally. That includes text messages, e-mail communications, a list of law enforcement personnel at the rally, and any surveys identifying security concerns at the rally location. And amid growing questions over the agency's preparations, the Secret Service director is taking responsibility for the security lapse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your reaction when you saw the events unfold on Saturday?

KIMBERLY CHEATLE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: Shock, and then concern, obviously, for the former president. This is an event that should have never happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is most responsible for this happening?

CHEATLE: What I would say is that the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the buck stops with you?

CHEATLE: The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service. It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president and Homeland Security Secretary said today they had 100 percent confidence in you, but there are some members of Congress calling on you to resign.

CHEATLE: I appreciate the secretary's comments, and we're going to continue to be transparent and communicate with people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you plan to stay on, absolutely?

CHEATLE: I do plan to stay on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admits the attempted assassination was a failure of security. He says the Biden administration will, quote, deliver answers to the American people to the fullest extent possible. Mayorkas denied accusations that he turned down requests to give Trump more security, calling them baseless, irresponsible, and unequivocally false. He told CNN a shooting like this cannot happen again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have to. We have to tone down the rhetoric in this country. We are in a heightened threat environment.

[04:25:00]

Our incredible protective services adapt to that dynamic threat environment and make the changes that are necessary. That is indeed what an independent review is directed to do. Identify what occurred, make recommendations to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. We have a fail-proof responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Senior National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem, joins me now from Jamestown, Rhode Island. Good to have you with us again.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Now, when we spoke yesterday about the massive U.S. Secret Service failure that resulted in former President Donald Trump being shot and injured in an assassination attempt Saturday and another man being shot and killed, you said the director of the Secret Service should step aside. Kimberly Cheatle is now saying the buck stops with me, but she plans to stay on. What more should she be doing, do you think?

KAYYEM: Well, she should probably be doing less than that this outside review should really progress very quickly. And she needs to make available to them all the information that is in the possession of the Secret Service about the decisions made before, during, and after the shooting. Because that's the only way we are going to come to an understanding of what actually occurred.

Since we spoke yesterday, there's been a number of reports that seem -- that make it -- they are almost unbelievable in terms of what, in fact, transpired, the number of people that saw the shooter, his positioning, and whether he should have been identified earlier in terms of his threat to Donald Trump. None of it gets better for the Secret Service.

CHURCH: And Cheatle also said no changes will be made to security measures for this week's Republican National Convention, and she is standing by that, but she did say that changes have been made to Trump's security detail. What's your response to that?

KAYYEM: So, I mean, obviously, you want the protectee who was almost assassinated to have greater Secret Service protection than he did before, and anyone else in his orbit that may need it at this stage ought to have it as well. So that's clear.

It struck me as strange sort of how the Secret Service is sort of digging in on this. Well, we're not going to change a thing for the RNC. At the very least, they could say that they've reviewed and they are tightening up some procedures. They don't need to be specific about it and the deployment of additional personnel just to make sure that not only are people safe, but Rosemary, there's something about the perception of safety that matters a lot, right?

I mean, you want people to feel comfortable in the exercise of their democratic rights here, and this week it's the RNC. In a few weeks, it will be the DNC. So I can't say -- I can't say I get their strategy about constantly coming out saying we're not going to actually change anything. They could certainly change a few things to tighten it up and to make assurances to the public.

CHURCH: And meantime, we are learning more about the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks in the 48 hours before he opened fire on Donald Trump. The 20-year-old apparently went to a shooting range where he was a member and practiced firing. The next morning, he purchased a ladder and 50 rounds of ammunition.

What does all this tell you about what the shooter, what's behind the shooter or what motive perhaps?

KAYYEM: I think we're still unclear on the motive. I mean, the reports today about, they've sort of tried to look in his phone or they've looked in his phone. It's not giving them like that sort of eureka moment, right? It's like, OK, this is exactly why he did it.

We're hearing lots of information that is not neat in the sense that it conflicts with each other. He gave money to a democratic cause, but is his dad a big Trump supporter and was he part of the GOP? I mean, none of these are going to fit a perfect narrative.

What we do know from the information that you just described is in a very short period of time, he seems to have sort of thought through, executed, operationalized, and then almost was successful in killing the former president. That's a very tight timeframe.

It wasn't like he was hoarding bullets for a long period of time. You're talking in the last couple of days. So investigators are going to look at what was happening, what was he saying and might others have known.

CHURCH: And of course, there is never any guarantee that we will learn what the motive is behind the shooter. But would you expect, given what we know so far, that it's more likely that we would in the next few days or weeks?

[04:30:00]

KAYYEM: I think what we will be able to determine is whether he was motivated by a single idea. This is not your typical sort of lone wolf case. There's no manifesto. There's no sort of -- people aren't saying, well, he was clearly this or he was clearly that there's we're getting a better understanding of him. But it is not -- it is not at all clear cut. It may be, like you said, that we never quite know what was going on in his head that would have tied whatever it was he was thinking to assassinating or trying to assassinate Donald Trump.

And it may be only he knew. Right. And that is that is the challenge right now.

I think what's clear is he was not part of any large network that was planning to bring down the former president. He wasn't radicalized into a group. This was what we, you know, a loner, someone who didn't have a community, someone who clearly didn't have support, who then use that status, use that those characteristics to, for whatever reason, try to kill Donald Trump.

CHURCH: Juliette Kayyem, I am always appreciate you joining us. Many thanks.

KAYYEM: Thank you.