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Trump Centers on Unity and His Vision for A Second Term; One Person Died in a Drone Attack in Tel Aviv, Houthis Apparently Claimed Responsibility. Microsoft Global Outage Disrupts some U.S. Airport Operations; Day Two of Evan Gershkovich Trial Underway; Comedian Bob Newhart Dies. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 19, 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)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump lays out his vision for a second term as he accepts the nomination of the Republican Party. This as current President Biden is facing more pressure to bow out of the race.
At least one person is dead following an explosion near the U.S. Embassy's branch office in Tel Aviv, who is suggesting they could be behind the attack.
And the trial of detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich gets underway again in Russia. We'll look at what we're learning about the proceedings.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump has officially accepted his party's presidential nomination days after surviving an assassination attempt. He called on the country to heal the discord and division, promising to bring back the American dream. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: So, tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Trump gave his first major speech since the shooting in his rally on Saturday, wrapping up the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
It was the longest convention address in modern U.S. history. The former president repeated many false claims as he went off-script. He talked about his plan to boost the economy, promising massive tax cuts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Under my plan, incomes will skyrocket, inflation will vanish completely, jobs will come roaring back, and the middle class will prosper like never, ever before. And we're going to do it very rapidly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Melania Trump made a rare appearance supporting her husband, but she didn't make any remarks on stage. Hulk Hogan, Tucker Carlson and Eric Trump were among the other speakers on Thursday night.
The Biden campaign slammed Trump's speech, with one adviser saying it's all about him, adding the former president hasn't changed but has gotten worse. It comes as more Democrats are calling for Biden to drop out of the race, but a source tells CNN the president hasn't been persuaded to step aside.
More now from CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Milwaukee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Republicans ending their national convention in Wisconsin, sending former President Donald Trump off to the general election, unified behind his candidacy.
He promised a speech of unity to the nation. He delivered anything but. During a 90-minute address Thursday night here in Milwaukee, the former president talked about the attempted assassination on his life at the beginning of the speech in very dramatic fashions. He said it changed his life. He believes God intervened.
TRUMP: I'm not supposed to be here tonight. I'm not supposed to be here.
CROWD: Yes you are! Yes you are! Yes you are!
TRUMP: Thank you. But I'm not. And I'll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of Almighty God.
(APPLAUSE) ZELENY: He quickly moved on with prepared lines calling for unity, talking about how he would try to be a president for all Americans, those who voted for him last time, and those who did not.
TRUMP: I am here tonight to lay out a vision for the whole nation to every citizen whether you are young or old, man or woman, Democrat, Republican or independent, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, I extend to you a hand of loyalty and of friendship.
ZELENY: And after that, Donald Trump simply returned to form, delivering many of the same grievances he's been talking about for years. The convention speech turned into a rally speech, meandering, soft-spoken Trump may even call it low-energy, as he used to call many of his rival speeches.
[03:05:05]
There is no doubt Republicans are unified behind their candidate, and Democrats are in a state of disarray as questions are still rising about President Joe Biden.
Will he heed the calls to step aside? So this is an unprecedented situation heading into the fall election campaign.
Democrats are gathering in Chicago next month. Will President Biden be on their ticket? Will he not? The coming days may answer that question.
One thing is clear, dramatic contrast between the two tickets. Yes, Republicans united behind Donald Trump. The question, can Donald Trump expand his base, or is he even interested in trying to do so?
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And joining me now is Caroline Heldman, who's a democratic strategist and professor at Occidental College, and Republican consultant Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and co-host of the "Latino Vote" podcast. Thank you both for coming on.
So first, Caroline, I read the speech excerpts that were released before Trump spoke, and it read great, but that's not what we got. What did you make of the speech?
CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND PROFESSOR, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Well, the first half of it was something we've never seen from Trump, right? This vulnerable side. He invoked God, this kind of messianic idea that God has ordained him as a result of surviving this attempted assassination.
But as Phil noted, it just went into rambles vile for the second half of it. And this is a speech that was 90-minutes long, the longest in modern political history. He went into that same rhetoric that we expect from Trump. If you spend any time at his rallies, it felt like a Trump rally. It was rambling, a little incoherent. He made some strange reference to Hannibal Lecter, as he's done in the past from "Silence of the Lambs." Still can't figure that one out.
He went after Nancy Pelosi. He called the coronavirus the China virus, a xenophobic reference. So we saw kind of vintage Trump in the second part of it, which didn't help him. But boy, that first part, that was a brand new Trump for about 20 minutes.
BRUNHUBER: That's right. And on that, I mean, we were, Mike promised, a new Donald Trump, one who was changed after the shooting, a speech that was meant to unify. But as Caroline said, it was more basically like a long, very long rally.
MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT AND CO-HOST, "LATINO VOTE" PODCAST: It was a peculiar, rambling, unstructured speech. It's probably one of the worst convention speeches I've seen in 30 years in the business.
What he was trying to accomplish was trying to show that he was a steady hand moving away from the extremism that has defined his persona, his political brand.
And what he did was he reminded voters of why they rejected him in 2020. He's not competent. There's clearly cognitive decline. And his inability to stay disciplined at the biggest moment of his political career demonstrates, again, why people sent him packing after four years in the White House. So I think this was just one of one of the worst nights he's had politically, probably since 2016.
BRUNHUBER: So Caroline, maybe a bad night for Trump, but overall for Republicans, a great week. It seemed, at least for me, it seemed, you know, disciplined and well produced. What did you take from the week?
HELDMAN: I agree. I remember back in 2016, it was amateur hour at the RNC. And then in 2020, it was online, so a kind of a different beast.
But this was definitely more professional. The themes of each evening, having Trump's biggest competitors endorse him all in one day, and then women appealing, you know, making appeals to women the next day, J.D. Vance the third night.
And I think the theme of today was like muscle men and hyper-masculine presidential politics with Tucker Carlson and, you know, Hulk Hogan literally ripping his shirt off.
But the whole strategy for the Trump team has been he is strong and Biden is weak. So if we get a new candidate, that means that the strategy that we saw at the RNC, especially the strategy now for this final day four, simply can't be the same if he's up against another competitor.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Before I turn to that, Mike, I just want to get your take on the convention as a whole. Trump's speech notwithstanding, this kind of launches the Republicans on to the campaign with a lot of momentum.
MADRID: I think certainly the structure of the convention was actually quite good. What you did have was them not talking about the big lie and stolen elections. You didn't have them talking about some of the, you know, conspiracy theories which have defined the modern Republican Party.
All of that was kind of hidden in the background. There was some J6, you know, January 6 attendees that were actually there on the convention floor that they did a good job of, kind of, hiding and keeping quiet. And so, you know, for that matter, they did, I think, a great job. The problem is the main event really unspooled the entire three days of what they were trying to accomplish.
[03:09:09]
BRUNHUBER: So I'll say with you, Mike, the, you know, Donald Trump, as Caroline mentioned, barely mentioned Biden possibly because he might not be facing Biden ultimately. The Democratic convention a month from now, Democrats still aren't sure who will be giving the speech much less what they're going to say.
MADRID: I think the contrast in this campaign is between an old feeble man, as Joe Biden clearly demonstrated during his debate, and sort of this lunatic, unhinged, off-script, unstable character that Donald Trump showed America who, again, once he was, who he is and why they rejected him.
I think Biden wins hands down. I think that the Democrats -- look, this revived Biden's whole momentum. This is the best night for Democrats in three weeks. I just can't imagine that there's anybody who could plausibly say this is, you know, another step in the direction of removing Joe Biden. That makes no sense.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it might be a good night for Democrats, Caroline, but overall, I mean, looking at the amount of optimism, unity, enthusiasm that we're seeing from the Republicans and then contrasting that with what we're seeing among Democrats who are so divided right now. Again, more in Congress calling for Biden to step down, more anxiety from donors. So where do Democrats go from here?
HELDMAN: I think you're right that the Republicans are exuding confidence and, in fact, maybe even an air of inevitability, although hearkening back to 2016 and Hillary Clinton, maybe, you know, this race is far from over, but the Democrats are in disarray. You've got Joe Biden behind Trump in seven out of seven key swing states.
He's losing ground in 14 states. Only 28 percent of Americans think that he has the mental and physical fitness to be president, let alone run a campaign. And this is a man who, you know, we now have some internal rumblings that he might be replaced with folks who are polling higher.
I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. I think his decline has that debate was just undeniable in terms of his cognitive limitations, and he hasn't been able to convince folks since that time. So as we're seeing, you know, everything go right for Donald Trump, whether it's a case getting dismissed or, you know, essentially surviving an assassination attempt and then being able to essentially say you're a messiah. Everything is going right for Trump and the Republicans at this point in time, notwithstanding that kind of rambling speech he just gave. And everything is going wrong for the Democrats. But I would think that we're going to be in a very different place in about three weeks to one month from today.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, still plenty to sort out. But, Mike, I want to hone in on the donors. The fact that donors are getting jittery here. You know, it's one thing for, you know, Democrats to sort of come out, you know, the sort of drip, drip of Democrats in Congress. But once you start sort of, you know, shutting off the money valve for a campaign, you've worked on a campaign. I mean, what kind of impact could this have?
MADRID: Well, not only have I worked on a campaign, I've worked on campaigns at the highest levels on both sides of the aisle, which is a little bit unique.
What I will say is that it is unconscionable to me that Democrats are, you know, acting the way that they are, kind of creating the circular firing squad. They are absolutely their own worst enemy.
So, look, the donor community will come back. The base, as long as the base remains intact, and every bit of evidence suggests that it is, there's absolutely no reason to behave with the panic that's kind of consumed more of the elites in the party.
To suggest that somehow being down a few points in the polls when it's largely your own base that is diminishing in mid-July, it's, like I said, it's political malpractice. And I just, I'm not used to this as a Republican watching usually Republican campaigns. This is not the way winning campaigns operate. And it's completely self-inflicted.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, Carolyn, you want to come in on that just before we go? Well, I would say that I think it's well-founded.
HELDMAN: I think that we can't deny what we saw at that debate. And it's looking at polling data. In no time in the modern political age has someone this far down in the polls, numerous polls, been able to win re-election. I mean, Biden's numbers look like, they look like Jimmy Carter's in 1980 or George Herbert Walker Bush's in '92 or Trump's in 2020. So I think the panic is data-driven.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that is the dismal reality for Democrats. We'll have to leave it there. Carolyn Heldman, Mike Madrid, thank you both for being here with us. I Appreciate it.
[03:14:56]
Allies of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris are making calls to Democrats to assess concerns about President Joe Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. A source tells CNN the Harris allies are making clear that she expects the president to stay in the race.
Several Democrats say tensions in the party are increasing under pressure from donors and what's seen as maneuvering by competing interests. CNN's MJ Lee has the latest from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Based on conversations with dozens of sources inside and close to the White House and the campaign, what is increasingly becoming clear is that there are many senior officials both in the White House and the campaign who privately believe that the president must drop out of the 2024 race, that they believe the current situation is not politically tenable for the president and the campaign.
As one senior Democrat put it to CNN, everyone is seeing it privately. People see and feel the walls closing in. Now, this comes as sources also tell CNN that the president has become exceptionally insulated and isolated.
Everyone, of course, is familiar with the fact that the president has long relied on a pretty small circle of inner circle of advisers. And what has happened since the debate, we are told, is that a stunningly small group of the most loyal and longtime aides are now dug in with the president, chief among them Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti. Many Democrats at this point are not sure whether the president is being presented with and getting realistic data.
Some of the sources that we spoke to said that many meetings and phone calls where the president would be getting bad news, that those appear to have largely stopped now amid the speculation right now about the president's future and whether he will continue seeking a second term.
We are learning as well tonight that senior most West Wing advisers have not had meetings amongst themselves or with the president to discuss the possibility of the president dropping out.
This comes after our Dana Bash also reported that the president still believes that there is a path to victory and that he does not believe that he has seen data or polling so far that prove that he cannot win.
MJ Lee, CNN at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Breaking news right now on a growing list of airline problems, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, all Delta, United, Allegiant and American Airlines flights are grounded due to communications issues. It was not clear how long the ground stop will last, but the FAA suggests an update by 5 a.m. Eastern time.
Now, it comes after a significant Microsoft outage brought Frontier Airlines and some competitors to a standstill for hours on Thursday. That ground stop has since been lifted. Again, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, all Delta, United, Allegiant and American Airlines flights are grounded due to communications issues.
Tel Aviv is on heightened alert after a deadly drone strike early Friday. At least one person was killed in the explosion and 10 others injured. The attack occurred in an area that is home to several diplomatic compounds, including a U.S. embassy branch office. The U.S. State Department says there was no damage to their office. Houthi rebels in Yemen say they are responsible, but CNN can't independently verify the claim.
CNN's Nada Bashir is live in London with the details. So, Nada, what more are we learning about the attack?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that authorities and, of course, the Israeli military are still carrying out their investigations into this attack, which took place in the early hours of this morning, as you mentioned, targeting a central building in Tel Aviv, just about 100 meters away from the U.S. embassy compound in the city, though, according to the State Department, no damage was caused to the compound.
But as you mentioned, Kim, this was a fatal drone attack. The military says they believe a drone armed with a warhead was used in this attack. And at least one person has been confirmed to have been killed, a 50-year-old man and at least 10 others injured.
Emergency services and authorities are reporting that among those injured were some who had suffered shrapnel wounds as a result of the blast. We've had warnings from the authorities for local residents not to touch any remnants or debris in the area for fear of further explosives being present. Though at this stage, the Israeli military has said they are not concerned about another incoming attack just yet.
BRUNHUBER: And, Nada, Houthis, they claim responsibility for this. So what more can you tell us about that?
BASHIR: Well, that's right. CNN cannot independently verify this claim from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. We did hear from a spokesperson a little earlier today saying that the Houthis had targeted, in their words, occupied territory using a new drone capable of surpassing and bypassing, rather, Israel's interception systems.
[03:20:04]
And we did hear from the spokesperson going on to say that they are targeting Israel's internal front, that this is the current focus for the Houthi rebels and are looking into reaching deep into Israeli territory in direct response to Israel's military onslaught in Gaza.
Now, again, CNN cannot independently verify this claim. We've been waiting for more updates from the Israeli military. The IDF has said that they are not ruling out any options at this stage when it comes to who was behind this particular attack.
But there are concerns now around the city's preparedness for these sorts of attack. We know, of course, that the Iron Dome air defense system has been frequently successful in intercepting rockets fired from within Gaza.
Clearly, this was not the case. The military has said that sirens were not sounded during this incident and that while the drone was detected, it was not intercepted due to human error. So that will certainly be a point of investigation and focus for the military. But again, the military is not anticipating any further attacks on the city at this stage. And the city's mayor has said that they will be prepared if any circumstances do arise. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Alright. I appreciate that, Nada Bashir. Thank you so much.
Still ahead, President Biden and the Democrats are weighing their re- election chances amid growing pressure from donors and disagreements within the party. We'll have those details when we come back, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Joe Biden finds himself increasingly isolated, both literally and figuratively. He's back in his home state of Delaware recovering from COVID. And as you heard from our MJ Lee a few minutes ago, this comes at a time when many senior ranking White House and campaign officials say they believe he must abandon his campaign for a second term and soon.
In interviews with CNN, more than two dozen sources familiar with the dynamics inside the campaign said there's now widespread acceptance that Biden remaining in the 2024 race is wholly untenable.
And I spoke earlier with presidential historian Alan Lichtman, I pointed out that poll numbers, especially in key swing states, show Biden trailing Donald Trump. And I asked him whether there's any precedent for the sort of comeback Biden needs. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN AND DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: You know, first of all, we don't govern by polls. Polls four months out from the election are unreliable. Polls are not predictors. They're snapshots, and they change.
George H.W. Bush was 17 points behind Michael Dukakis in 1988. In the late spring, he went on to win by almost eight points, a 25-point swing.
Barack Obama had, in many ways, a more disastrous debate than Joe Biden. Only 20 percent in the CNN poll thought he won. 33 percent thought Biden won in a Republican-tilted poll. But to listen to the media, you would think nobody thought Biden won. The polls shifted 12 points after the Obama debate. He was eight points up. He went to four points down.
[03:25:09]
And the same pundits were saying, oh, my God, he's finished. And of course, all the polls were showing that Donald Trump was going to lose in 2016. So if every candidate behind in the polls quits, Bush, H.W. would have quit, Obama would have quit, and Trump would have quit. And yet they all won. Plus, as I explained, almost immediately after the debate, the polls
didn't move at all. There was a big headline, I think it was the "New York Times," saying race static. Moreover, you know, we have seen the worst kind of ableism and ageism from the Democrats, the pundits, the operatives like James Carville. Yes, Joe Biden has a slight disability. He does commit gas, he stutters, he's not that quick in debates. But he's always had that, even back in the 1980s.
What is being done here is an insult to the tens of millions of other Americans who also have slight disabilities and like Biden in his presidency, have done their jobs extremely well.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, but they're not running for president and expected to be governing for another four years.
LICHTMAN: They haven't proven that Biden can't govern. Look, did you watch the NATO summit? Biden, for an hour and nine minutes, stood there answering difficult, hostile questions with knowledge, precision, with understanding. Could Donald Trump have done that for 10 minutes? Moreover, I am familiar in my own family with senility and dementia. A senile or demented person could not have stood on that NATO summit stage for 20 seconds, much less an hour and nine minutes, without falling into utter chaos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump has formally accepted the nomination as the Republican presidential candidate. His lengthy speech was full of promises about closing the southern U.S. border. Well, the details after the break.
Plus, Donald Trump slammed China in his convention speech. How will Beijing react? We'll find out when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
We have breaking news right now on a growing list of airline problems. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, all Delta, United, Allegiant and American Airlines flights are grounded due to communications issues. It's not clear how long the ground stop will last, but the FAA suggests an update by 5 a.m. Eastern time.
It comes after a significant Microsoft outage brought Frontier Airlines and some competitors to a standstill for hours on Thursday. That ground stop has since been lifted. Again, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, all Delta, United, Allegiant and American Airlines flights are grounded due to communications issues.
The Republican National Convention has wrapped up after former President Donald Trump accepted the nomination of his party. Trump's long acceptance speech came less than one week after he was grazed by a bullet during an attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania. He asked convention delegates for their votes, vowing to never let them down.
Trump also pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare. He promised the largest deportation plan in history. He vowed to stop what he called the illegal immigrant invasion. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the heart of the Republican platform is our pledge to end this border nightmare and fully restore the sacred and sovereign borders of the United States of America, and we're going to do that on day one.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: That means two things in day one, right? Drill, baby, drill, and close our borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, there is growing division in the Democratic Party about President Joe Biden staying at the top of the ticket. One Democratic governor says the next 72 hours will be critical for the Biden campaign as it pushes back against calls for the president to step aside.
A source close to the president tells CNN he views those calls as being driven by donors and elites and divorced from the party's grassroots base. Democratic donors are threatening to freeze their donations down the ballot unless party leaders take stronger action to pressure the Biden campaign.
And Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst and the senior editor for "The Atlantic," and he joins me now from Los Angeles. Good to see you again, Ron. So for Donald Trump, Chris Wallace said something earlier that he thought Trump is weaker now than when he got up onto the podium to speak. I mean, the speech was a chance to expand his base. So, a lost opportunity here?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST AND SR. EDITOR, "THE ATLANTIC": Oh, absolutely. And more. Look, Donald Trump is in a strong position in this race. Americans are dissatisfied with inflation. Democrats have ignored for many months the consistent finding in polls that most Americans think that Biden is too old.
But if Joe Biden had delivered that speech tonight, can you imagine the outcry among Democrats? It reminded me in some ways of the debate where Trump was unfocused, rambling, grievance filled, all the same things he was again tonight.
He has clearly lost a step as a candidate as well. I mean, we heard all week, including often on our air, that there was a new Trump and it was going to be a different Trump. This is the same Trump. I mean, this is the Trump who says his greatest regret of his first term is he didn't send federal force into blue cities over the objections of their mayors.
I mean, or -- or who calls his opponents communists and fascists and vermin. There's a limit to how much he can go beyond who he is, again, still in a strong position given the weakness of Biden. But I don't think there was anything tonight. And again, much like the debate that caused Democrats to believe they could not beat him if they had a stronger opponent.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Even though the speech may not have been strong overall, though, it caps off a strong week for Republicans as the convention was maybe unusually well organized and well produced and certainly sends the candidate and all his -- his folks off onto the campaign trail with a with a sense of optimism. You'd presume.
BROWNSTEIN: And they have reason for optimism. I mean, you know, Democrat if Biden stays in the race, you know, as I wrote today in "The Atlantic," I mean, it's very hard to see a path toward recovery, given that he's been stuck at a 40 percent approval rating for over a year and 70 percent of Americans say he's too old.
But, you know, the unity in part was because all of the portions of the GOP that have been skeptical of Trump have essentially been driven out. And that is kind of the road, the path that is still out there for Democrats. I mean, you know, the there's a lot of center-right suburban voters who don't feel at home, even in the party that Republicans try to put forward this week.
[03:35:09]
They're not necessarily willing to vote for Biden, given all their concerns about him. Democrats are going through an exercise trying to figure out if they'd be more willing to vote for someone else, particularly the vice president. You know, Donald Trump has strengths as a candidate. He can mobilize his base. He has shown so far in polling the capacity to cut into Democratic groups, African-American voters, Hispanic voters.
But ultimately, he is still a grievance politician. And that puts a ceiling, I think, on his potential support in a way that, again, leaves an opening for Democrats, though it's harder and harder to see Biden being able to take advantage of that.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah, on that, I mean, the title of your piece, Democrats drifting towards disaster, you know, let's drill into that because you were saying that the path for him is narrowing. But Biden himself says he still doesn't see the data, the numbers that would convince him to drop out.
But the polls, especially in all seven of the states that we consider, you know, swing states, I mean, they really don't look good for Biden. So what do you make of the data and -- and I guess the drift towards disaster that we're seeing?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, it's not really clear what -- what Biden is referring to, because I think when you talk even to his campaign, they have a theory of the case that is not completely, you know, imaginary or illusory.
I mean, basically, they will acknowledge that the Sun Belt swing states, North Carolina and Georgia in the southeast, Arizona and Nevada in the southwest, are very tough climbs at this point for Biden.
But he is within range in most polling, although not necessarily in the very latest in the three Rust Belt states that were part of what I once called the Blue Wall: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And their argument is that among the voters who are not fully committed to either side at this point in those states, there are enough of them left.
And those voters tend to be even more negative on Trump than on Biden. And there is some evidence that that is true. The problem is, A, they are really negative on Biden as well. And B, does Biden have the campaigning skills to kind of move them in his direction?
BRUNHUBER: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Really appreciate your analysis as always.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: In the battleground state of Wisconsin, CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with some of the country's most sought-after voters' moments after Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention. Here are some of their reactions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But what I want to ask you all first at this point, all 13 of you, what you thought of the speech, not a yes or no answer, if you thought it was good or not good. I want you to give a letter grade to it like you're in school. So I'm going to start here with you. What letter grade do you give that speech?
KEVIN, UNDECIDED VOTER: B.
DAWN, UNDECIDED VOTER: C.
KEVIN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: B.
LENA, WISCONSIN VOTER: C.
RICH, WISCONSIN VOTER: D.
UNKNOWN: D.
UNKNOWN: A.
UNKNOWN: C.
UNKNOWN: B.
UNKNOWN: B.
UNKNOWN: C.
UNKNOWN: A.
UNKNOWN: B.
TUCHMAN: So B and C seem to be the most prevalent grades. I'm going to start with you, Kevin and Dawn, married couple right here. You are both still undecided about who you will vote for. Tell me what the most important thing you thought about when you watched the speech.
KEVIN, UNDECIDED VOTER: I was listening to his tone of voice, to his way of speaking and encouraging us and bringing unity to the country and those individuals that might be outside of the Republican Party.
TUCHMAN: What grade did you give it again?
KEVIN, UNDECIDED VOTER: B.
TUCHMAN: Dawn, what grade did you give it again?
DAWN: I gave it a C.
TUCHMAN: And what did you think of the speech?
DAWN: I thought the beginning was really good. I was looking for unity, speaking outside of the Republican Party. And I thought I heard we a lot and not so much about himself.
TUCHMAN: Kevin, you're supporting Donald Trump. You've already said that. You gave the grade of?
KEVIN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: A B.
TUCHMAN: And what did you think of the speech?
KEVIN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I thought it was too long. I think it started off slow, but as it progressed, I believe it got a lot better.
TUCHMAN: Lena, you gave what grade?
LENA: A C.
TUCHMAN: A C. And Lena and Rich are also married right here.
LENA: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Why did you give it a C?
LENA: Because his rhetoric hasn't changed about the election, 2020 election, and I'm really concerned that we're going to have another issue depending on who wins. So, you know, I'm just really praying that if Trump wins, that the guardrails of democracy will hold.
TUCHMAN: Rich, what grade did you give it? RICH: So I gave his speech a D.
TUCHMAN: And what?
RICH: It started out great, but then he went into mistruths and grievances and attacks, and it just totally contradicted itself in terms of what he wanted to achieve with unity.
TUCHMAN: The Wisconsinites we talked with are well aware of how critical their state will be in this upcoming presidential election, and while they had their disagreements, they do agree that it's good to have your vote mean so much.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:39:58]
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump mentioned China a number of times in his speech, making specific accusations about electric vehicles, for instance. At other times, he referenced China's fear of him and once again used the term China virus to describe COVID. He also emphasized U.S. energy potential and what it might imply for his China policy and competition with China. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And remember, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any other country by far. We are a nation that has the opportunity to make an absolute fortune with its energy. We have it, and China does it. Under the Trump administration just three and a half years ago, we were energy independent, but soon we will actually be better than that. We will be energy dominant and supply not only ourselves, but we will supply the rest of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right. So let's go to Beijing, where CNN's Marc Stewart is following developments. So Marc, China not really taking the bait here. Take us through the reactions such as it is.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kim. This is the last thing China would really like to confront. So it's trying to maintain a very hands-off posture in all of this. In fact, the wording from the government is that it's, quote, "opposed to making China an issue in U.S. elections." That was the phrase that we heard earlier this week.
But it's inevitable. When we hear a convention speech like this, it's very much a sign that China will be part of the discussion on the campaign trail between now and November.
Part of this focus is going to be on economics, the economic relationship between the United States and China.
President Trump, former President Trump, has been making a big appeal to American workers and has been talking a lot about the auto industry, as we just heard. He is raising concerns about the growth of auto plants in China as well as Mexico and how that could impact the domestic U.S. economy. Let's take a listen to some of his remarks he made just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: those plants are going to be built in the United States and our people are going to man those plants.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And if they don't agree with us, we'll put a tariff of approximately 100 percent to 200 percent on each car and they will be unsellable in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: A reference to China and to Mexico.
So also a reference to trade and tariffs. So there's the economic front in all of this. The former president also, though, talked about some of the political and military issues in this region. He talked about China and Taiwan, expressing concern about conflicts hanging over Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines and broader Asia, even saying that the planet is teetering on the edge of World War III. He also specifically addressed North Korea. Let me read you part of his remarks.
He said, quote, "Now North Korea is acting up again, but when we get back, I get along with them. He'd like to see me back, too," referring to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, saying, "I think he misses me if you want to know the truth."
Now, it is true that President Trump, former President Trump and Kim Jong-un did have a diplomatic relationship at one point. But it broke down in 2019 after talks in Hanoi. And since that time, we have seen North Korea continue to further develop its military ambitions.
As far as China is concerned, though, again, China wanting to be very hands off. We did see some mention on Chinese social media about his bandage on his ear, as well as talk of a possible trade war. But big picture, Kim, at this point, the response is pretty muted.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much. Marc Stewart in Beijing. I Appreciate that.
Now, Donald Trump made some false and misleading claims about inflation, tax cuts, gas prices and other things during his convention speech. CNN's Daniel Dale has been doing the fact checking. And here's some of what he found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL DALE, CNN SR. REPORTER: Donald Trump gave a remarkably long acceptance speech. It was also a remarkably dishonest speech. I counted at least 22 false claims. Here are just some of them.
Trump repeatedly said he achieved world peace, which is obvious nonsense. He ad-libbed his usual lie about Democrats having cheated in the 2020 election. That's more nonsense. He said U.S. crime is going up. The opposite is true. It's gone down sharply in 2023 and early 2024. It's now lower than it was under Trump himself in 2020.
He said we have the worst inflation ever. Not even close. It's 3 percent right now. The record is 23.7 percent. Trump said there was no inflation a few short years ago. It was low, yes, but not nonexistent when he left office. And it was 8 percent total for his presidency.
Trump also said the price of groceries is up 57 percent under Joe Biden. It's actually 21 percent. He exaggerated about gas prices, about tax agents. He wrongly said he ended North Korean missile launches. He said Democrats are proposing to quadruple people's taxes, which is totally imaginary. He said his own tax cut was the largest in U.S. history, even though it wasn't close.
[03:45:06]
He said the Biden administration does nothing to stop migrants. The Biden administration tried to get Congress to pass a bill tightening the border. And after Trump helped kill that bill, Biden took executive action to tighten the border.
Trump said he stopped human trafficking. Just not true. He said China stopped buying oil from Iran under him. Also did not happen. He said foreign governments are deliberately sending criminals and mental health patients from insane asylums to the U.S. as migrants. His own campaign has been unable to provide proof for that. I certainly cannot find any.
He said we defeated 100 percent of ISIS in a couple of months. In fact, the ISIS caliphate was declared fully liberated more than two years into his presidency.
And he said Russian warships are, in present tense, are operating in Cuba, and that the media refuses to write about this. The ships were there, but they left last month, and media outlets, including this one, CNN, covered it quite a bit.
Daniel Dale, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump met with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday to discuss the failed assassination attempt, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
Now, Trump's top campaign adviser is calling on the Secret Service Director to resign. She will likely face tough questions about the security failures from angry House Republicans on Monday. Questions will be sure to include why law enforcement identified the gunman as suspicious a full 19 minutes before the shooting took place, but failed to locate him. Now that his third presidential nomination is in the bag, Donald Trump is expected to speak with Ukraine's president in one of his first moves after the U.S. Republican convention. That story ahead.
And "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich is back in a Russian courtroom to look at what's at stake for the first U.S. journalist Moscow has accused of spying since the Cold War. That's straight ahead. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Now that he's accepted the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump is expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That's according to two sources familiar with the plans who say the phone call is scheduled for later today.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy is in London right now where he's expected to visit Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office on Downing Street later today. That's live pictures of the office. Zelenskyy will be the first foreign leader to address the cabinet meeting since 1997.
Court proceedings in the espionage trial of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich are now underway in Russia. The closed-door hearing was unexpectedly moved up by more than a month and it's moving at an unusually fast pace with witness testimony taking only one day. Moscow accuses Gershkovich of working for the CIA to gather information about a Russian tank company. Gershkovich, the "Wall Street Journal" and the U.S. government all reject Russia's claims.
I want to bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz in London. So, Salma, as I said, this case seems to be proceeding really quickly. What more are we learning?
[03:50:03]
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it does. Lightning fast pace, in fact, Kim. And today is day two of the hearings. We understand that yesterday evidence was heard in court, that today there's going to be arguments made from both sides and that Evan Gershkovich could be asked to give a final statement. Now, he faces a very serious sentence, potentially up to 20 years in prison, for a crime that, as you mentioned, U.S. officials and his employer, the "Wall Street Journal," of course, say he did not commit.
Let me read you a statement that's been issued by the "Wall Street Journal." Evan's wrongful detention has been an outrage since his unjust arrest 477 days ago, the statement says, and it must end now. Even as Russia orchestrates its shameful sham trial, we continue to do everything we can to push for Evan's immediate release and to state unequivocally: Evan was doing his job as a journalist and journalism is not a crime. Bring him home now.
Now, it's unclear, Kim, when a sentencing will take place. The trial proceedings are happening behind closed doors, so very little detail on what's happening inside that courtroom. We do know Gershkovich is in attendance behind a glass cage, head shaved, as we've seen previously. That's according to prison requirements.
But the hope is, Kim, that although this is happening at a lightning fast pace, that it could bring Gershkovich one step closer to coming home. And that's because Russia has indicated that they are willing to trade him in a prisoner swap, but that potentially he would need to be sentenced first.
So there is some optimism that this moving forward could again bring Evan home and, as the U.S. has said, allow that bargaining chip that Moscow wants to play to come out.
BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right. Salma Abdelaziz in London. Thanks so much.
Turning now to Bangladesh, where dozens of people have reportedly been killed and hundreds more injured amid widespread unrest. Police in the capital say protesters carried out, quote, destructive activities on several government and telecommunication offices Thursday.
The government imposed a nationwide blackout in response, leaving more than 170 million people without Internet. Protesters are demanding an end to civil service job quotas that they claim are discriminatory in a country where nearly 20 percent of the population is out of work or school.
After the break, celebrities bring some star power to Milwaukee. We'll have more coverage of the Republican National Convention after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEO PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: That was longtime Trump supporter, Kid Rock, performing on the RNC stage with a version of one of his hit songs. The rock star wasn't the only celebrity showing support for Donald Trump.
It was Hulkamania meets Trumpmania when Hulk Hogan called the former president, quote, "the toughest of them all." Pro-wrestling great delivered a defense of the Republican nominee with the type of enthusiasm reminiscent of his glory days in the ring. Listen to this.
[03:54:55]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HULK HOGAN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: But what happened last week when they took a shot at my hero? And they tried to kill the next president of the United States. Enough was enough. And I said, let Trumpmania run wild, brother. Let Trumpmania rule again. Let Trumpmania Make America Great Again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Hogan says that as an entertainer, he tries to avoid politics, but now he says he can no longer stay silent. And be sure to stay with CNN. We'll have much more from the Republican National Convention next hour.
Europe's scorching summer is still disrupting life for residents and plans for tourists. In Athens Thursday, Greek authorities closed all archaeological sites, including the Acropolis, for a second consecutive day. Thermal cameras recorded temperatures on road surfaces around 70 degrees Celsius, or 158 Fahrenheit. Greece is currently in the grips of what's forecast to be its longest ever heat wave, actually experiencing its hottest June on record.
The Olympic torch continues on its Tour de France. Stage 60 of the relay saw the torch making its way through northern France, finishing the latest phase of the voyage in the town of Bouvet on Thursday, where French Olympic fencing champion Sophie Morisset-Pichot, who won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, lit the cauldron. The relay will culminate one week from today with the lighting at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
Tributes are pouring in for comedy legend Bob Newhart. His agent says he died Thursday after a series of short illnesses. His career spanned five decades, including two top-rated sitcoms. "The Bob Newhart Show" debuted in 1972, featuring Newhart as a Chicago psychiatrist.
In the '80s, the show Newhart he played a Vermont innkeeper surrounded by a comical cast of locals. Newhart was known for his stammering, deadpan delivery. He won an Emmy in 2013 as Outstanding Guest Actor for his role as Professor Proton in "The Big Bang Theory." Bob Newhart was 94.
Alright, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber, in Atlanta. Fred Pleitgen picks up our coverage right after the break.
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