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J.D. Vance Accepts Vice Presidential Nomination for Republican Party; European Leaders Gather in U.K. for a Summit; President Biden Contracts with COVID; Gershkovich Trial Resumes. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 18, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT CANDIDATE: The most important thing that we can do for those people, for that American nation that we all love, is to re-elect Donald J. Trump president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Donald Trump's new running mate takes center stage at the RNC, singing the former president's praises and pitching a new future to working-class Americans.
This as President Joe Biden is now sidelined by COVID and facing more pressure from within his own party to quit the race.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well millions of Americans are getting their first introduction to Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate J.D. Vance. The 39-year-old spoke Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention highlighting his modest upbringing in rural Ohio.
He went on to serve in the Marine Corps and graduate from Yale Law School before becoming a venture capitalist and a U.S. senator. Vance took aim at President Joe Biden as he accepted his party's nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: From Iraq to Afghanistan, from the financial crisis to the Great Recession, from open borders to stagnating wages, the people who govern this country have failed and failed again.
(CHEERING)
VANCE: President Trump represents America's last best hope to restore what if lost may never be found again -- a country where a working- class boy born far from the halls of power can stand on this stage as the next vice president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Donald Trump will speak to the delegates tonight. He was on hand again Wednesday listening to speeches from his son Don Jr. And his granddaughter Kai. And Florida congressman Matt Gaetz warmed up the crowd for Vance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): J.D. looks like a young Abraham Lincoln, but he's from Ohio, like General Grant. And like General Grant, J.D. Vance knows how to fight.
(APPLAUSE)
GAETZ: So they can run Biden from the nursing home, Harris, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, whoever they want to run. We are on a mission to rescue and save this country. And we ride or die with Donald John Trump to the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More now on J.D. Vance from CNN's Julia Benbrook in Milwaukee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vance focused in on his own backstory. He was raised primarily by his grandparents in Rust Belt, Ohio before enlisting in the Marines, attending Ohio State University, and then Yale Law School. Now he's detailed much of his upbringing in his best-selling book "Hillbilly Elegy." But tonight gave him a major opportunity to introduce himself to many Americans.
BENBROOK (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump's running mate Ohio Senator J.D. Vance taking the stage at the Republican National Convention.
VANCE: Some people tell me I've lived the American dream, and of course, they're right.
BENBROOK (voice-over): His speech highlighting his personal story.
VANCE: I grew up in Middletown, Ohio...
(CHEERING)
VANCE: ... a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands, and loved their God, their family, their community, and their country with their whole hearts. But it was also a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington.
BENBROOK (voice-over): The former venture capitalist veteran and author entered Congress with an assist from Trump whose endorsement helped him win a contentious race in 2022.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: J.D. Vance, we love you J.D. I've gotten to know him really well. He's a great guy.
BENBROOK (voice-over): The 39-year old has been an outspoken supporter of Trump in Congress and often votes in allegiance with the former president's interest.
VANCE: Mr. President, I will never take for granted the trust you have put in me.
BENBROOK (voice-over): But Vance hasn't always been a Trump cheerleader and Democrats will surely use past comments against him.
During the 2016 presidential campaign Vance repeatedly went after Trump Including in a since-deleted tweet where he called him Reprehensible.
Vance has since apologized for criticizing Trump and says the former president's record in office speaks for itself.
[03:05:05]
VANCE: I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. But President Trump was a great president and he changed my mind.
BENBROOK: On Thursday, Trump will take this stage and the Trump family is expected to be in the crowd. While several of his children have attended throughout the week. We expect to see former first lady Melania Trump in the crowd for the first time.
Reporting in Milwaukee, I'm Julia Benbrook.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: While Donald Trump is riding high, President Joe Biden is facing yet another setback. He now has COVID though he says he feels good and his symptoms are mild. Still he will be isolating at home for the next few days while he recovers.
This comes as more Democratic lawmakers are calling on the president to drop out of the race. On Wednesday perhaps the biggest name so far Adam Schiff the representative from California who's now running for the U.S. Senate became the 20th congressional Democrat to publicly make that call.
There's also reporting from ABC News that the Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer has advised the president He should drop out. Schumer spokesperson called that idle speculation.
Now the Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with a plan to virtually nominate Mr. Biden before the convention in Chicago next month. An email from the DNC obtained by CNN Says the voting wouldn't begin before August 1st. Still the plan has angered some Democrats who feel their concerns about the president are being ignored.
And another big-name Democrat appears to be working behind the scenes to convince President Biden he's running a losing race. CNN's MJ Lee has a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spoken again with President Biden in recent days and that Nancy Pelosi told President Biden that polling shows the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that the president Would destroy Democrats chances of winning the house in November if he were to continue seeking a second term.
The president responded, we are told by our sources by being defensive about the polling and told Pelosi he has seen polling that shows that he can in fact win at one point we're told that Pelosi asked Mike Donilon the president's senior adviser to join the call to talk over all of the data.
Now none of our sources would say whether Pelosi in this conversation explicitly told the president that she believes that he needs to leave the race.
This would mark the second known conversation between Nancy Pelosi and President Biden since the debate at the end of June. The White House would not comment on the contents of this conversation as CNN is reporting they only said that President Biden is the nominee of the party he plans to win.
And a Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that the former House Speaker has been in California since Friday and that she has not spoken to President Biden since. It is impossible almost to overstate the importance of Nancy Pelosi in the entire conversation that is happening right now about President Biden and his future. She is somebody that has incredible sway within her party and probably has the best pulse of what her colleagues in the house are thinking right now than almost anybody else.
MJ Lee, CNN at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for politics. He joins me now from Charlottesville, Virginia. Great to have you with us
LARRY SABATO, CENTER FOR POLITICS DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank You, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, let's start with the breaking news President Joe Biden just diagnosed with COVID and now apparently receptive to discussions about his political future this coming, of course after Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer told the president his candidacy imperils the party's ability to win Congress. So where's all this going and if not Joe Biden then who?
SABATO: This is really a tremendous breakthrough for those who've been trying to convince Joe Biden to step aside. And it's tough to do imagine having slogged through all of that politics to win a second term and having slogged through the first term with a lot of accomplishments and then suddenly you're told you're not needed anymore.
It's the end of his political career basically. Now will he do it in the end? We still don't know but it's pretty clear that the dam is starting to break.
The fact that Democratic leaders finally ginned up the courage to tell him what just about everybody else knows that if he heads a Democratic ticket, it's going to lose not just the presidency, but probably the Senate and the House, too.
Now that he has heard them say that and there -- there will be more over the next few days.
[03:10:04]
I think he's going to think long and hard about it and may well come to the decision that makes the most sense not just for the Democratic Party, but for him.
CHURCH: And Republicans apparently prefer that Joe Biden remain at the top of the Democratic ticket presumably because their polling shows That Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden easier than any other possible nominee. Is that the case?
SABATO: I don't know whether it's that they think they can beat Biden more easily than others, but they have geared their whole campaign around opposing Joe Biden. They have loads of things in the canned ads and presentations of all sorts and speakers who are going to fan out across the country to attack Biden and it's possible -- possible that Biden will no longer be the opponent.
So a lot of that may have been wasted now they'll say if it's Kamala Harris, for example that she is simply a representative of Joe Biden and they will probably try and use the same attacks, but it may not work. You know Harris is going to be much more energetic and she is what people have been asking for a new face instead of these two very old faces.
CHURCH: And meantime, of course back at the Republican National Convention, night three saw Donald Trump's V.P. pick J.D. Vance take to the stage and share his life story one of humble beginnings. How will that story resonate with voters and what about his stand on more divisive issues like abortion and Ukraine?
SABATO: J.D. Vance's life story, his resume is much more appealing than some of his actual positions. He is very strongly anti-abortion and has made statements at times opposing abortion for any reason including rape and incest. This will not sell well now he's trying to back up and change his views to match Donald Trump's. The problem is you have the videotape and -- and whatever means you
use to record people today and they've got everything that they can use against him and it's not just that he's taken some pretty radical positions on a wide variety of things so it won't be as easy as the story he's telling. The story is interesting. But the story isn't necessarily relevant to the issues in this presidential campaign.
CHURCH: Yeah, of course because voters care about the issues here and Republicans have been focusing very much on immigration and crime at the RNC avoiding these more divisive issues for the party like abortion. So how likely is it that the party will try to soften their stand on abortion bans and how critical is this issue now for mobilizing voters on the Democratic side?
SABATO: Certainly the Republicans and Trump in particular understanding how divisive this issue is trying to use the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade to say well you see it's up to the 50 states down. We don't even have to talk about it. But he's going to be held accountable for the fact that his three appointees to the Supreme Court were the key votes in overturning Roe v. Wade. He cannot escape this particular issue or the other social issues.
So you got to remember at a convention everything is sweetness and light and rainbows and unicorns. But that isn't going to last very long. And then you start getting the other side of the story. The only thing people will remember is they were exposed to this new nominee J.D. Vance and they saw Donald Trump in the aftermath of the assassination attempt.
Those are the two lasting images from the campaign, but they're going to be a lot more images that may well be substitutes for what people already know.
CHURCH: So Larry overall How would you assess day three of the RNC and what are you expecting when Donald Trump takes to the stage Thursday night?
SABATO: Lot of speeches today by lots of people for different reasons. It was kind of family night and veterans night, gold star families. And it was it was a lot of different things appealing to constituencies that Trump needs and the Republicans need.
But again I -- I don't think it was that memorable now J.D. Vance's speech at least in part may be memorable. His book has shot to the top of the -- of the sales list again, "Hillbilly Elegy." But we've got -- we've got to remember only a tiny portion of Americans have actually read it. So you can exaggerate the importance of these things, but the story is useful.
CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always good to talk with you and get your analysis on all things political. I Appreciate it.
SABATO: Thank you so much, Rosemary.
[03:15:04] CHURCH: New details are being revealed about Thomas Matthew Crooks,
the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump over the weekend. Law enforcement told CNN the shooter's phone contained photos of President Joe Biden, Donald Trump, as well as other officials and political figures.
U.S. senators were briefed on the investigation Wednesday by Secret Service and FBI officials and sources on that call say Crooks visited the rally site at least twice after the event was announced. Based on cell phone data, authorities estimate he was at the rally for more than an hour before he opened fire. Despite this new information the shooter's motive remains a mystery.
More now from CNN's Jessica Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, our team is getting a lot more information about that would-be assassin, including the fact that law enforcement authorities found pictures of both former President Trump and Current President Biden on the shooters phone plus pictures of other political figures including Rudy Giuliani, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Now the search history of his devices, it also shows him looking up the dates of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Also inquiries about Trump's planned campaign events.
Now two of the officials have told our team that Thomas Matthew Crooks did search for information on major depression disorder and treatment, but officials are noting there was actually no indication he was actually diagnosed with depression.
Lawmakers were actually briefed by law enforcement officials from the FBI and also the Secret Service, the FBI revealing they haven't found any information that might speak to the ideological or political leanings of this would-be assassin.
The FBI saying they've already conducted more than 200 interviews they're vowing to leave no stone unturned as this investigation continues. And as for the investigation, the Homeland Security Inspector General did announce that they will be investigating the Secret Service and any security elapses and the Secret Service director Kim Cheatle. She is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHURCH: Still to come, J.D. Vance assumes the mantle of the Republican vice-presidential nominee and the heir apparent of Donald Trump's America first agenda. So what does that mean for U.S. foreign policy? We'll take a closer look after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, many of America's closest allies have been concerned about the prospect of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Now that the former president has picked J.D. Vance as his running mate, Trump has sent a clear signal that if elected his America first foreign policy will be back in force.
[03:19:58]
Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, is a staunch critic of sending support to Ukraine as it tries to defend itself against Russia. He has suggested Ukraine should negotiate with Russia because the U.S. and other allies can't support it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We cannot possibly support Ukraine and Israel and our own defense needs in the way that these guys demand. So I think we should focus. I think Israel is a much closer ally, is a much more core American national security interest. And of course, we've got to focus on ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Russia welcomed Vance's position on Wednesday the country's foreign minister saying stopping aid to Ukraine is necessary to end the war. Like Trump, Vance has repeatedly criticized NATO and its European members for not spending enough on defense. America first was a central theme of his speech at the Republican Convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: And if this movement of ours is going to succeed, and if this country is going to thrive, our leaders have to remember that America is a nation, and its citizens deserve leaders who put its interests first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Let's go live now to Amsterdam and to Michael Bociurkiw, former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. Appreciate you being with us.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE AND SR. FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: Donald Trump's V.P. pick, J.D. Vance, officially accepted his nomination Wednesday night. And while he didn't mention Ukraine in his speech, we of course know where he stands on the issue rejecting any US military aid being sent to the war-torn nation. What would a Trump- Vance administration look like for Ukraine?
BOCIURKIW: Sure good to be with you Rosemary. Well I'm sure that's going to be top of discussion as European leaders gather in the United Kingdom to meet with the new Prime Minister there. I don't think European capitals have ever dealt with a vice president who claims he comes descending from hillbilly royalty.
And you know let's not forget he's calling his future potential boss cultural hero and noxious and things like that. But what we do know is that we can surmise I think is that Mr. Vance will be the kind of pitbull for Mr. Trump. He will try to shake down countries like Ukraine as Trump did earlier on. He will try to extract more spending for NATO from European capitals.
And as those clips indicated that you played they'll try to shift attention I think from the Ukraine war to a little bit more to Israel but especially to Taiwan and China.
Now let's not forget I mean the way Trump treated Ukraine when he was president was really obnoxious and terrible. He tried to compromise Mr. Zelenskyy, let's not forget. Trying to get dirt on his opponent in exchange for aid to Ukraine.
And the other thing we know very well from Mr. Trump's statement is that he is going to claim that he can solve the Ukraine war even before inauguration day. And what we know from statements from Hungary's Mr. Orban is that that will involve inviting Russia to the table. It will probably involve territorial concessions on behalf of Ukraine. It will mean stopping aid to Ukraine and a number of other issues that will not be in favor of Kyiv.
CHURCH: And most of America's allies were already dreading the prospect of Donald Trump's return to the White House. But now we are seeing headlines suggesting Europe is looking at Trump's V.P. pick J.D. Vance with anxiety, what are some of those leaders across Europe doing to prepare for the possibility of a Trump-Vance administration and what's their greatest concern?
BOCIURKIW: Yeah, sure. Well I think we saw this in the lead up to that NATO summit in Washington D.C. where leaders were working to their credit -- to their credit very quickly running against the clock to Trump-proof or future-proof aid to Ukraine. So that means for instance setting aside tens of billions of dollars in aid that is not reliant on the United States or U.S. taxpayer that much.
Also finally getting what Ukraine needs in terms of advanced weaponry. Those F-16s, more Patriot air defense systems. And also talk now of giving Ukraine the ability to strike further inside Russia. However, that is not enough for Ukraine to win this war.
You know NATO has done things for example European leaders setting aside more weaponry. But also sending a senior NATO official to Kyiv integrating Ukraine's system better with NATO. But things as you know Rosemary are very, very bad in Ukraine right now, not only on the front line but Ukrainian cities being struck relentlessly. There's not much time left before a potential Trump administration comes in.
[03:24:57]
CHURCH: And like Trump, Vance has repeatedly criticized NATO and its European members for not spending enough on their own defense. So what does Vance's nomination signal to NATO allies, do you think? BOCIURKIW: Well you know we could take that speculation to the
extreme. And we can, you know, remember what Mr. Trump said that if NATO members don't stump up the change for their membership that he will give the green light to Russia to do whatever they like with these countries which is an absurd thing to say of course it causes a lot of instability.
But I think to be honest Rosemary, European leaders have already kind of baked in or factored in a potential Trump administration, hence they're making proper moves to become less reliant on the United States for things like aid to Ukraine.
And you know here the feeling, the fear rather is very palpable. I mean just a few kilometers from me yesterday we had the 10th anniversary commemoration of the downing of MH17 by a Russian rocket. And Europe feels much, much more closer to Russia and much, much more in the threat path of Mr. Putin.
So they will do everything possible to protect themselves from a further Russian advance. But again they're running a bit too late, and that drip, drip, drip approach to aiding Ukraine has not worked very well in the past two, two and a half years.
CHURCH: Michael Bociurkiw in Amsterdam many thanks for joining us.
BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.
CHURCH: The U.S. presidential election and the possibility of Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office are looming over a gathering of European leaders in the U.K. this hour. Newly-minted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting the summit in Woodstock, north of Oxford. He's looking to refresh ties with Europe following the recent elections in the region.
So let's go live now to CNN's Clare Sebastian who's at the summit in Woodstock, England. Good morning to you Clare. So in the midst of this EPC summit, what's been the general reaction from European leaders to the Trump-Vance ticket and what it signals?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Rosemary, look it's a coincidence that these two things are happening at the same time. But that doesn't mean that there won't be a very close eye being kept on events at the RNC.
And of course the fallout, the continuing fallout from the shooting of former President Trump over the weekend. This is a very large international gathering coming quite soon after NATO. But of course with those two new events, the pick of J.D. Vance and the shooting of Trump to digest. There's going to be 42 heads of state and government plus international organizations including NATO. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine will be here. And they will be digesting, I think, in some cases with a level of anxiety.
Recent statements by J.D. Vance about what looks to be His view of a very isolationist U.S. foreign policy. He has previously opposed aid to Ukraine. And has been quite critical of NATO. This was a point that he repeated in his speech at the RNC on Wednesday night. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: Together we will make sure our allies share in the burden of securing world peace. No more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: No more free rides, he says. So this is something that certainly the U.S.'s allies in Europe will be looking at NATO, perhaps having to contemplate a future with much less involvement from the U.S. should Trump be re-elected. I think a lot of leaders here of course will not want to prejudice that election. But we're starting to see the leaders arrive here at the summit.
You can see the red carpet there. They're being greeted already by the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Just two weeks to the day since the election was held in the U.K. They will also be discussing securing democracy. And I think very likely that the issue of political violence will also come up here.
Don't forget that an E.U. leader, the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was recently survived an assassination attempt as well. So that is certainly an issue that is going to be on the agenda here. And of course as you say the U.K. with an opportunity here to show leadership with this new government just having taken office. Rosemary.
CHURCH: Our thanks to Clare Sebastian for that live report.
U.S. President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID As calls mount for him to step aside from his campaign. Still to come, we talk to a noted physician about what it means for the 81-year-old president's health.
Despite his legal troubles Donald Trump is looking ahead to the November election. But his new running mate J.D. Vance Could be the future of the MAGA movement. That's next on CNN.
[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.
U.S. President Joe Biden says he is feeling good despite testing positive for COVID again. His doctor says the symptoms are mild and Mr. Biden is being treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid. The diagnosis was announced on Wednesday, forcing him to skip a key event in Las Vegas aimed at Latino voters. The president will now self- isolate at his residence in Delaware and conduct his duties from there. He also contracted COVID in 2022 experiencing only minor symptoms.
We're joined by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, a board-certified internal medicine specialist and viral researcher. Thank you doctor for being with us. DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, BOARD-CERTIFIED INTERNAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST AND
VIRAL RESEARCHER: My pleasure
CHURCH: So from a political perspective of course, this COVID diagnosis could not have come at a worse time for President Biden as he fights off efforts to remove him from the top of the Democratic ticket. But what about medically? He apparently had his last booster shot in September last year. But what does he need to be doing now to recover at the age of 81?
RODRIGUEZ: Well firstly he's at an age group where in the United States, 76 percent of all the people that have died from COVID have been over the age of 65. So he has that going against him as does anybody who is above 65 years old.
However what he does have going for him is that he's fully vaccinated so this is not the same as it was 3 years ago. And also that he has available to him as all Americans do the medication Paxlovid, which has been shown to markedly decrease, you know, the severity of COVID.
What I'm concerned about is that in order to show that he is vibrant And that he is, you know, in good health that he will sort of abandon the reality of the fact that this can make him very sick. So I just hope that he convalesces as he should and doesn't have to prove anything to anybody at this time except to get better.
CHURCH: And doctor we're looking at the video now Of President Joe Biden going up those stairs of Air Force One. We also saw him coming down the stairs.
[03:35:01]
I mean he is looking very frail and particularly old struggling to get up and down those stairs. What are your concerns about his health as you watch him battle COVID and indeed his own party at this time?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, you know, we're talking about two different things. We're talking about COVID which actually could exacerbate anything that he has going on. And I agree with you and I try not to make diagnoses from afar which is you know I have not examined the President, of course, it would be an honor. But he does look as if there is something neurological that isn't 100 percent there.
Yes, as we age, you know, our memory gets a little bit worse, and I know that his experience, you know, surmounts a lot of that. But it does appear as if there is something not 100 percent right. Does that mean that he cannot be a competent President? I think that that doesn't necessarily mean that. But with his age and if there is something else going on, COVID on top of that Does increase the risk of -- of something really bad happening.
CHURCH: And how long should the president remain isolated and what will this mean for him going forward from a medical perspective, given he may decide to continue with his presidential campaigning and that means a lot of extra work for him? RODRIGUEZ: Well, if he was my patient I would tell him that he has to
put himself, first and foremost. So, you know, the party line is that you can then go out and maybe work with a mask if you have been without any symptoms without any fever for 24 hours, that could be 3 days, that could be 5 days.
I certainly would not put him through an excruciating schedule any sooner than that. And they really have to be very careful that they don't tax him. And even with Paxlovid for example, there is rebound. So if he doesn't rest, the 5 days may turn into 10 days may turn into 3 weeks. So you have to be very careful.
CHURCH: And on Paxlovid, I mean of course, he will take more doses of that presumably. How many more would you suggest at this juncture and how long should he rest up before he gets out back on the campaign trail?
RODRIGUEZ: Listen, this is not the prescription for Paxlovid. The prescription for Paxlovid is to take it for five days. However others have been known to take it for twice as long for 10 days. Even though there is no proof of that it does tend anecdotally to decrease the possibility of rebound. So that's a possibility, you know, he is the President of the United States, probably. I mean, he does have access to things that perhaps the common man does not.
So that perhaps If I were to advise him would be something that I would advise, I would say maybe you need to take 10 days of Paxlovid, And not just five. And again that's not the recommendation. That is Dr. Rodriguez's recommendation if I was talking to the President.
CHURCH: And we appreciate you Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, joining us there. Thank you so much.
RODRIGUEZ: My pleasure.
CHURCH: At the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, all eyes were on the number-two man. J.D. Vance addressed the convention for the first time as the party's vice presidential nominee. The 39- year old first-term Senator from Ohio took plenty of shots at President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: Joe Biden has been a politician in Washington for longer than I've been alive -- 39 years old. Kamala Harris is not much further behind. For half a century, he's been the champion of every major policy initiative to make America weaker and poorer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Vance was picked by Trump with the apparent intention of carrying on the MAGA movement after Trump leaves the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: Now, I pledge to every American, no matter your party, I will give you everything I have to serve you and to make this country a place where every dream you have for yourself, your family, and your country will be possible once again.
(CHEERING)
VANCE: And I promise you one more thing. To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and every corner of our nation, I promise you this: I will be a vice president who never forgets where he came from.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Although he was once a self-described never-Trumper, Vance changed gears and became one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters defending him on cable TV and earning the respect of Trump's populist movement along the way. But there are still some who question what Vance himself brings to the ticket and whether he'll be able to hold together the loose coalition of voters that make up Trump's base.
[03:40:09]
Jeff Zeleny Has more on the man that many MAGA Supporters hope will be the future leader of their movement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): He's the new heir to the MAGA movement. J.D. Vance takes center stage As Donald Trump's running mate. A young Ohio senator chosen to reinforce the Trump brand and help carry it forward.
VANCE: We have got to reelect President Donald J. Trump to the White House, right?
ZELENY (voice-over): The Republican convention and the campaign is still the Trump show, but Vance is now written into the script and settling into his new partnership with the former president. His journey is a remarkable arc. From ferocious Trump critic --
VANCE: I'm definitely not going to vote for Trump because I think that he's projecting very complex problems onto simple villains.
ZELENY (voice-over): -- to ardent Trump loyalist.
VANCE: The president is right. I wasn't always nice, but the simple fact is he's the best president of my lifetime and he revealed the corruption in this country like nobody else.
ZELENY (voice-over): An economic populist at home and an isolationist abroad whose views are at odds with some Republican orthodoxy Of old, but he's squarely in the mold of Trump.
VANCE: It ain't the death of the America First agenda. ZELENY (voice-over): The ascension of Vance has been astonishingly
swift. Elected to the Senate less than two years ago with the help of Trump's endorsement.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: J.D. Vance is your guy. He will do a tremendous job when you cast your vote.
ZELENY (voice-over): At 39, Vance is the first millennial on a major party's presidential ticket. Born in 1984, three months before Ronald Reagan was elected to a second term, Vance served in the Marines. Graduated from Yale Law School and rose to fame with a best-selling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," a book about his troubled upbringing on the edge of Appalachia.
VANCE: You can't do this without your family's support and especially my beautiful wife, Usha. Thank you so much for helping.
ZELENY (voice-over): His wife Usha, Vance will introduce him, giving the country a first look at her too. They met at Yale Law School, married a decade ago, and have three young children.
USHA VANCE, WIFE OF J.D. VANCE: I'm not raring to change anything about our lives right now. But I really, you know, I believe in J.D. and I really love him. And so we'll just sort of see what happens with our life.
ZELENY (voice-over): The daughter of Indian immigrants, she was raised near San Diego, a registered Democrat until 2014. She clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before he joined the Supreme Court. Many Republican delegates here say they don't know much about him but like what they see.
What do you think of J.D. Vance?
BARBARA CARLSON, MISSOURI DELEGATE TO THE RNC: I'm really excited about him. I think it's a great choice. I think it's a younger look. I think it's somebody who can carry the torch. I think that he can carry this message. When Donald Trump hands it over, J.D. Vance can take us the next eight years.
ZELENY (voice-over): Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come Handcuffed and removed from a plane with no idea why Super Bowl champion Terrell Davis Speaks with CNN about the experience He says stripped him of his dignity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:45:07]
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Special counsel Jack Smith is appealing the U.S. District Court's Decision to throw out the classified documents indictment Against Donald Trump. Judge Eileen Cannon ruled Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, warranting a dismissal of the case Against Trump. The case will now be reviewed by judges from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Our Kaitlan Collins spoke about it earlier with a key member of Trump's legal team.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, "THE SOURCE" ANCHOR: I'm standing here with Todd Blanche, obviously one of Donald Trump's lead attorneys who was working on that classified documents case. And Todd great to have you here especially with the news that Jack Smith is now filing an appeal to what Judge Cannon Decided on Monday to try to get this to throw this case out. Do you believe that this will stand on appeal or do you think Judge Cannon will be overturned?
TODD BLANCHE, TRUMP'S LEAD DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it's going to stand on appeal for sure. I mean the Eleventh Circuit which the court's going to hear, there's no precedent there's no case that's ever appeared in front of them consistent with this and Judge Cannon's opinion 93 pages, consistent with the law, consistent with the legislative history.
It's a really beautifully accurate, well-written decision. We have no fear in front of the Eleventh Circuit. I think the Eleventh Circuit's going to affirm Judge Cannon. And then we'll see what happens after that.
COLLINS: So when Donald Trump was in office, when he was president, the Eleventh Circuit did face a case like this with Robert Mueller as special counsel and they upheld his appointment. So why do you think that they'll rule differently now?
BLANCHE: Well that was the D.C. Circuit So the D.C. Circuit ruled in a different way than the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Cannon is not bound by the D.C. Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit is not bound by the D.C. Circuit.
And if you look at Judge Cannon's opinion, all 93 pages of it, and you can compare that and stack it up against the other opinions that are out there, we're very confident that the Eleventh Circuit's going to affirm. And if it goes to the Supreme Court, then the Supreme Court will affirm as well.
COLLINS: But there are a lot of U.S. Attorneys that are not Senate confirmed, so I think some people may look at this and say well why does the special counsel have to be?
BLANCHE: Well that's not true. There aren't a lot of U.S. Attorneys who are not --
COLLINS: There are multiple U.S. attorneys who are not Senate confirmed?
BLANCHE: No absolutely, that's not true. There's a process that happens when there's a U.S. attorney vacancy. And you can be acting for a while and then the judges of that District actually make you the U.S. Attorney. It's not, nothing like what Jack Smith, it's not a situation where the Attorney General just says hey, you're a private citizen and you can come and you can sign indictments and you can prosecute people and you can take away somebody's liberty, you can take away the President of the United States' liberty.
That's nothing like a U.S. Attorney who's temporarily, who's temporarily appointed and then the judges actually ultimately approve them if the Senate does not.
COLLINS: So the big question here is whether or not your team plans to use this decision by Judge Cannon to try to get the case in D.C. dismissed the election interference case. Do you plan to do so and if so, when?
BLANCHE: Look, that case has still stayed. We're looking into what the best things to do about that case. Just as you know, Judge Chutkan and the Special Counsel have a lot to deal with the immunity decision. And so whether we're going to make a motion under the appointments clause. We're still thinking through that, we don't know yet.
COLLINS: But why would you think through it if you believe that Jack Smith cannot be in his position as Special Counsel because he wasn't picked by the President and he wasn't confirmed by the Senate. Why would you not argue that in Washington?
BLANCHE: Well, because there's a D.C. Circuit case that has come out the other way. So in theory, Judge Chutkan is bound by that decision, Judge Cannon was not bound by that decision. So, and I'm not saying we're not going to do it. We're looking into it, look, these cases should not have been charged, period. And any way we can get them dismissed, the Cannon case, that's dismissed, it's gone. The case in D.C. should be gone as well. And if it's immunity, if it's the appointments clause we're going to get that case dismissed as well. But we're still looking into it strategically.
COLLINS: Todd Blanche, you are here on the convention floor. Thank you for joining us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: NFL Hall of Fame player Terrell Davis Says he felt powerless and stripped of his dignity while being handcuffed and removed from a United Airlines flight he says over a misunderstanding. The two-time Super Bowl champion says the incident began after he lightly tapped a flight attendant on the arm to ask for a cup of ice for his son. According to Davis, the flight attendant responded by shouting, quote, "don't hit me" and went to the front of the plane with no further issue. When the plane landed, FBI agents and other law enforcement removed him from the plane for questioning.
United Airlines released a statement saying, quote, we have reached out to Mr. Davis' team to apologize We have removed the flight attendant from duty while we closely review this matter CNN's Erin Burnett spoke with Terrell Davis And his wife about their experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TERRELL DAVIS, FORMER DENVER BRONCOS RUNNINGBACK: They stop at me. The gentlemen leans over. He has a big FBI on his - on his jacket. And he leans over and he's got handcuffs. And now I'm looking at - looking at him and he says, don't fight it. Don't fight it. And he puts the cuffs on me.
[03:50:03]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: And your boys are there.
TERRELL DAVIS: And my boys are there. And my daughter is there. And my wife is there. And it's like, I felt so - I'm stripped of my dignity. You know, I was powerless. I had - I couldn't do anything. I'm wondering, what's going on. They didn't ask me any questions. It wasn't - I'd had no chance to even -
TAMIKO DAVIS, WIFE OF TERRELL DAVIS: Explain.
TERRELL DAVIS: Explain what happened.
TAMIKO DAVIS: Or ask.
TERRELL DAVIS: If anything happened.
BURNETT: So, but - but I mean, when they - so he just reached (ph) out to you with handcuffs.
TERRELL DAVIS: Handcuffs.
BURNETT: Your boys are right there, right?
TERRELL DAVIS: The boys are right there.
BURNETT: You're three in a row, coach.
TERRELL DAVIS: Yes.
BURNETT: And you - did you - you're - are you thinking, why?
TERRELL DAVIS: I am confused.
TAMIKO DAVIS: But you're calm. And I think -
TERRELL DAVIS: I'm calm, yes.
BURNETT: Yes, you're calm.
TERRELL DAVIS: Yes.
TAMIKO DAVIS: Terrell - Terrell - he had no choice but to comply.
BURNETT: Yes.
TAMIKO DAVIS: And that's a whole nother level to this. You know, I - I think he - he's not given an opportunity to ask questions or to challenge or to say, wait, what's happening, because the FBI agent came right to him, not asking his name, not giving any type of explanation. The first words that the FBI agents told him was, don't make a scene. Don't fight it. So, what can he do?
Terrell knows better. Unfortunately, historically, in these situations, interaction with law enforcement, as a black man, you can't fight. You can't resist. You can't ask - and I don't even want to say fight. You can't ask.
So, thank God my husband has the wherewithal, the class, the understanding to know, in that moment, all he could do was sit there and comply and be humiliated in front of his sons and the 200 whatever, however many people were on that plane. He hadn't - they didn't give him any other options.
BURNETT: And you're - you talk about being humiliated. Did you feel, in that moment - you talk about historically and being black - did - did you feel your blackness in that moment?
TERRELL DAVIS: Feel - yes, that's - you know what, that's a perfect word to use in this case, because it's not what you think, it's - it's how people make you feel. And I certainly felt like that wouldn't have happened if I were a person of - of - of not - of, you know, that was a white person, right?
TAMIKO DAVIS: Yes.
BURNETT: Yes.
TERRELL DAVIS: That wouldn't have happened.
BURNETT: Right.
TERRELL DAVIS: That's what I felt. Now, whether that's true or not, that's a different conversation. But, yes, you felt like that it was no degree of like respect or -
TAMIKO DAVIS: Courtesy.
TERRELL DAVIS: Courtesy or anything like that.
TAMIKO DAVIS: Regard.
TERRELL DAVIS: You know -
BURNETT: Well, I mean, I - when I saw this story, OK, I had just flown back and I also have three kids. So we do the same thing. We do two and one. And all I could think of - and I know you don't know exactly what happened or what the motive was or what someone was feeling, but I could just think to myself that I don't think that would have happened to me or my husband.
TERRELL DAVIS: Right. Right. Right.
And, right, and that's what we - we talked about it. And it has - here's another thing too.
BURNETT: Yes.
TERRELL DAVIS: Not only do I have my kids there, I'm always trying to tell them how - you know, be - be the model, right? Try to be an example to my kids and do the right things and then, you know what, you don't have to worry about anything. Well, we did the right thing, right? We didn't do anything. But yet I found myself with handcuffs -
TAMIKO DAVIS: (INAUDIBLE) still.
TERRELL DAVIS: Being paraded off of a plane and being treated like a - like a - like a - like a convict, right?
BURNETT: Yes.
TERRELL DAVIS: And then this kind of, you're guilty until you're proven innocent applied in that - in that - in that situation.
TAMIKO DAVIS: But the damage had already been done.
TERRELL DAVIS: The damage was done already.
BURNETT: So, did your kids - did you get to say anything to them as you get off the plane?
TAMIKO DAVIS: No.
TERRELL DAVIS: So, I - so - so, I told - the other heartbreaking part that I still just - it loops in my head is when they took me down the - the - the hallway, they take me out to the jetway. They don't take me through the regular terminal. And at least the FBI agent, you know, had the wherewithal to say, listen, man, he brought my family out, my wife and kids came out, and he asked for, like, a sweater or some to put over my handcuffs so nobody would see me. And I - the look on my family's face when they saw me in handcuffs, and I was going - I was going out the back door and they were going out - the one out the - I guess the, you know, the jet bridge.
BURNETT: Yes.
TERRELL DAVIS: I can see the look on their faces, and it broke my heart because my kids are looking there, their eyes are watery. They don't know what's happening to their dad. He's got handcuffs on. Nobody explained to them what was going on. And I was powerless. I couldn't do anything about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And we'll be right back.
[03:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: The Russian trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich has just resumed. Today's hearing in the case against the "Wall Street Journal" reporter was initially slated for August but was moved forward at his attorney's request. Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors last month on espionage charges which carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors allege the 32-year-old American journalist was spying for the CIA. Gershkovich, his newspaper, and the U.S. government all reject the allegation and say he was just doing his job as an accredited journalist.
Authorities in Paraguay have made the biggest cocaine bust in the country's history seizing more than four tons of coke worth 240 million U.S. dollars. The drugs were inside a shipment of sugar headed for Belgium. The bust, named Operation Sweetness, was carried out in Paraguay's capital city. The country's anti-drug agency says it believes organized crime was behind the massive shipment.
And finally, a record-setting auction in New York, 150 million years in the making. Meet Apex, the stegosaurus she just sold at auction for a whopping $44.6 million. That's a lot more than the previous record holder, Stan, the T-Rex, who fetched nearly 32 million. Apex was discovered in 2022 on the private land of paleontologist Jason Cooper. She's among the largest stegosaurus skeletons ever found. Apex is also well-preserved. Out of almost 320 bones, around 250 are real fossils. The rest were 3D printed or sculpted.
I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with my colleague Fred Pleitgen in London.
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