Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

35 Democratic Lawmakers Now Urging Biden To Exit Race; Trump And Vance In Michigan For First Rally Together; Interview With Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) About Joe Biden; Source: Investigators Believe Trump Shooter Used A Drone Over Rally Site Hours Before Shooting; Chaos At Airports After Massive Tech Outage; Israel Attacks Houthi Targets In Yemen For First Time. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 20, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Arena Football League fans had to in order to watch the championship game. Arena Bowl 33 taking place in the middle of New Jersey's American Dream Shopping Mall. The Billings Outlaws would beat the Albani Firebirds 46 to 41.

So, Alex, how about that? Get yourself a Cinnabon, maybe do a little build the bear and watch some Arena League football at the same time.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: Sounds like a great day. Andy Scholes, our thanks to you.

And thanks to you for joining me today. I'm Alex Marquardt. I'll be back right here tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. In the meantime, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Jessica Dean. Take care.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And we begin this hour with President Biden defiant as ever and facing new calls from Democratic lawmakers and donors, even former national security officials, all calling on him to step aside. Tonight, the president is isolating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, as he recovers from COVID-19. The president's doctor saying in a new letter Biden's symptoms are steadily improving.

But what is not improving is the Democratic Party's confidence in Biden to beat Donald Trump in November. The list has grown to 35 Democratic lawmakers who are publicly calling on Biden to drop out of the race.

Let's go straight to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, who is traveling with the president in Delaware this Saturday.

And Priscilla, the Biden campaign says the president will be back on the campaign trail next week. There is no other nominee. He is moving ahead. What are you hearing?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It continues to be a tone of defiance. The campaign making it clear on the airwaves and in statements that the president is staying in the race and that there is no plan B or other scenarios that are being cooked up for the president to step aside.

Now, of course, the president is still grappling with multiple Democratic lawmakers who have put out letters saying that he should withdraw from the race. I also obtained a letter today from former National Security officials and foreign policy experts who also ask the president and to step aside saying that while they respect his foreign policy chops, they just cannot risk former president Donald Trump taking on a second term.

So the campaign is grappling with this reality weeks after the CNN presidential debate and the president's performance at that debate that stoke so much anxiety and panic within the party. Now, the president, as he is wrestling with this, is doing so in isolation here at his residence in Delaware. As you mentioned there at the top, we have learned from the White House doctor that the president's symptoms are improving.

Of course, he was diagnosed with COVID earlier in the week. He continues to take Paxlovid, but he is also still testing positive for COVID so the president is really working here behind closed doors, talking with his advisers. Some top officials say that the situation at this point has become wholly untenable with so much dissent within the Democratic Party, but other loyal aides say that the president is dug in.

So the campaign saying that the president will hit the trail again this week when he recovers, but certainly those calls for the president to step aside are not quieting down anytime soon as far as we can tell with more piling on today and more expected in the days to come.

DEAN: And Priscilla, as the president isolates there in Delaware where you are, we also know today Vice President Kamala Harris is hitting the campaign trail in Cape Cod and also holding a rally in Provincetown tonight. She held a call with donors yesterday to let them express their concerns about Biden.

What more do we know about that call?

ALVAREZ: Well, donors in particular has been a bit of a difficult subject for the campaign. Big-dollar donors have been holding back their checks given all of the concerns circling around the president's candidacy. And so I am told that the vice president was asked by Biden advisers to join this call with donors and to essentially try to quell their concerns and maintain that defense of President Joe Biden that she has articulated on the campaign trail.

Now the vice president is attending a fundraiser today in Massachusetts. That's another opportunity for them to rake in some cash and they've already raked in some millions according to a source familiar. But certainly what aides have also told me is that there is no daylight between the vice president and the president. Her team has kept their heads down. They have not floated with these replacement theories, instead maintaining their defense of the president over all of this.

Meanwhile, some Democrats are starting to rally behind the vice president as a potential replacement if the president were to step aside. So certainly a difficult landscape here for the vice president and her staff to navigate as they maintain they're behind the president and that this is the Biden-Harris ticket. Meanwhile, Democrats are strategizing for, if the president were to step aside, what it would look like if she was at the top of the ticket -- Jess.

[16:05:03]

DEAN: All right. Priscilla Alvarez for us live in Delaware. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Meantime, former president Donald Trump is back on the road after officially receiving the Republican nomination for president this week. He hitting the campaign trail in the battleground the state of Michigan with his new running mate Senator J.D. Vance. This is Trump's first rally since the assassination attempt last Saturday evening in Pennsylvania.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at that rally in Grand Rapids, and Kristen, I know it is underway. What are you hearing? What's it like on the ground there?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we actually heard from J.D Vance. It's the first time he has been on the campaign trail since he was named the vice-presidential nominee. What we're really waiting to see is them together on the stage.

Now when J.D. Vance took the stage, took about an hour-and-a-half before Donald Trump was scheduled to appear, he kind of just warmed up the crowd and he started talking about why he thought Donald Trump should win. Now of course this is his job. He is here to build up the former president. A couple of things to note about J.D. Vance, Donald Trump thinks that it's possible (INAUDIBLE) with voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, these critical swing states because of his working class background.

But the other part about this that's been interesting is that people close to the former president told us that part of the reason he chose J.D. Vance was because he felt he had the most chemistry with him of any of the other vice presidential contenders. Well, we have never seen that because Donald Trump named him VP on Monday of the convention. All we have seen of them together really is just snippets of them talking in the family box.

Them kind of appreciating each other on stage, but never any idea of what a Trump-Vance ticket actually looks like. So what we're told right now is that they're sitting down for their first joint interview. That Donald Trump is going to come out on the stage with J.D. Vance and that's when we're really going to see what this pair is all about.

Now, the other thing I want to bring up here quickly is what you mentioned about being the first rally since that assassination attempt last Saturday. We have seen an enormous amount of increased security here. I'm talking about double or more the amount of agents you usually see at these kind of rallies, intense security outside, road closures, and we do know Secret Service requested 50 to 60 extra officers.

And one note right now, we did get our first peek into Donald Trump's health and I want to be very careful here because I've not gone through it and I am not a health professional, but it came from Ronny Jackson, the congressman from Texas, who was Donald Trump's former physician at the White House. He has been with him every single day since he got shot, at least he says so in this note. He says he's watched over Donald Trump, that he has helped change his bandages, monitored his wound to his ear.

We are going to go through that note meticulously, make sure our health experts and really get down for us before we share it but essentially what it is saying is that it was a bullet wound. He has been dressing the wound every day and Donald Trump has gone through routine tests, which we had reported and will continue to follow up with his primary care physician. Again, we want to spend some time really looking through what that health language that Ronny Jackson wrote about means before we break it down -- Jess.

DEAN: All right. Kristen Holmes for us in Michigan and also Kristen, we're noting this rally inside. Another safety precaution that's being taken. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Joining us now the first House Democrat to call for president Joe Biden to suspend his campaign, Representative Lloyd Doggett.

Congressman, thanks so much for making time today. We appreciate it. We're glad to have you on. We are seeing the president and his campaign officials defying the pressure, vowing Biden can beat Trump. He's going to start campaigning again next week. Yet the list of Democrats calling for him to pass the torch publicly is growing. What now?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): Well, Jessica, thank you so much. It has been almost three weeks since I made that first call for President Biden to step aside. It was done with respect. It was done with appreciation for his many accomplishments. But it was done with a recognition that the numbers over the last year have shown President Biden trailing despite the conviction of President Trump, despite his loss in a suit involving his sexual assault, despite his lies, and with the debate hopefully was going to provide us a surge.

Instead, it provided us a setback. And so my feeling is that there will continue to be more Democrats, more security experts, saying not that we want to get Joe Biden, but we want to be sure Donald Trump doesn't get the country. We'd like to see more focus on Trump's lies and less on Biden's limitations. And that involves him stepping aside and helping us with a wholehearted effort to elect another person as our nominee for president and for our victory in November.

DEAN: How long do you think this can go on, though, without a resolution? Because it's now stretching into weeks that this is going on.

[16:10:02]

DOGGETT: Indeed. I think every day is a loss for us, that it stretches on. Many of us had hoped that by this weekend a decision would be announced and perhaps it still can. I remain hopeful that President Biden will once again put country ahead of ego. He's not a Donald Trump and he'll make the decision based on the cold hard numbers. I wish there were another way. I don't need to be convinced about the success of his presidency, neither do most Democrats.

But the numbers show him going down in some of these battleground states. In fact, he's lagging behind Trump despite Trump's many lies and own limitations. He is lagging behind and with that, we risk the danger of a Trump presidency, of really a criminal and his gang taking over our government and perhaps never giving it back.

DEAN: And our reporting indicates, Congressman, and others as well that the president and those really closest to him really see this as a betrayal by people they've considered allies for years. What do you say to them?

DOGGETT: I think honesty is the most important aspect of loyalty. And we have to be honest with the president about his performance in the debate which he's recognized that it hasn't been rectified by the stage-managed rallies of people that were for him all the way and would have been with him no matter what, and that given the numbers that are out there, he needs to look at his legacy and his legacy is a fine one built on his service in the Senate and his presidency. But it should not end with him handing over the country to Donald Trump.

DEAN: I want to listen to something that one of your colleagues, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. She said essentially that Democrats don't have a plan B in place if Biden does step aside. So I want to listen to what she says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTES (D-NY): I am concerned about the lack of thought that I have seen from the individuals that would be responsible for executing on this. There is no safe option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Congressman, do you think she's right?

DOGGETT: No, I don't. We do have a plan B. It's called democracy with a little D. It's letting the convention make a decision after weeks of perhaps in many primary or town halls around the country to engage the American people, particularly those who have said they want a different candidate, that they want someone else besides Biden and Trump.

Democracy can work. It will be messy but it's interesting that the one group you don't need a poll to tell who they want to be the Democratic nominee are the Republicans. They're wholeheartedly for him, they focused all their attacks on him.

While it might be messy to have democracy and action and to see Democrats disagree before uniting behind a nominee, it will create plenty of challenges for the Republicans, too. They have to re-adjust their plan and talk about something about other than what they dislike about Joe Biden.

DEAN: And so if that were to happen, if the president does step aside, who do you think should replace him at the top of the ticket?

DOGGETT: Well, I've not lent my support to any of the other prospects. I think what we need is a fair, open Democratic process to select that nominee. Certainly Vice President Harris will probably the leading person as the vice president. But I don't agree with those colleagues who have suggested we simply should hand the nomination to her as able as she is. It's important that we hear all voices. We have a talented bench of governors and senators, perhaps some cabinet members.

And let's let everyone who wants to be considered be considered and make the decision that the American people will see has been done in a democratic way, offering new hope and probably a new generation to lead our country.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, thank you again for your time. We appreciate it.

DOGGETT: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, investigators continue to piece together the thoughts and actions of the man who tried to kill former president Trump in the hours before his assassination attempt. Plus the world is still trying to crawl its way back from a software glitch that strangled airports with thousands of canceled flights and forced hospitals to delay procedures.

And we have breaking news overseas where Israel has struck against Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for their attack on Tel Aviv.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:19:19]

DEAN: While the Republican Party unifies behind its nominees, the Democratic Party appears to be splintering on its choice with nearly three dozen Democratic lawmakers calling on the president to suspend his campaign.

Famed journalist and CNN political analyst Carl Bernstein telling Anderson Cooper last night President Biden is furious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The president is angry. He feels abandoned. The word abandon was used several times in discussions I've had with people in the White House. The people that he has supported through his political career and helped advance through the ladder of leadership in Washington have now turned their back on him, in his view, and in a really ugly way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [16:20:02]

DEAN: Joining me now CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic" Ron Brownstein, Axios national political reporter Alex Thompson, and author of "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House," Chris Whipple.

Great to have all three of you here. We have a lot to talk about.

Chris, let's start first with you on Carl Bernstein's reporting there. You know the president, you have talked to so many around him, you understand how his mind works. It seems to me that in these moments when his back is up against a wall that's when he digs in. Do you think that's the case?

CHRISTOPHER WHIPPLE, JOURNALIST AND BIDEN BIOGRAPHER: Yes. I mean, I think that's absolutely true. Carl is right about this. Joe Biden is pissed off. That does get his backup and he tends to dig in. Look, I think the pressure is overwhelming and probably will be irresistible in the end. But Joe Biden is going to take a minute. A high ranking Trump official made a bet with me that Biden would be gone by Monday. I'm pretty confident I'm going to win that bet by a long shot, and think about it.

You know, Biden is right to take a minute. He and his inner circle know something about elections. Arguably they know a lot more about elections than Barack Obama does. Remember Barack Obama's 2010 midterms, not so good. Contrast that with the 2022 midterms when everybody said there would be a red wave and Biden defied it and Trump is pretty weak. So look, it's possible that Joe Biden has a path as Jen O'Malley Dillon keeps insisting.

DEAN: Yes. And Alex, that's what I want to ask you about, is what you're hearing in your reporting from the Biden campaign because, to Chris' point, we know that Jen O'Malley Dillon went on "Morning Joe" yesterday. She was adamant he's staying in the race. Our reporting that she gave a rah-rah speech to the campaign, that there is a path.

What are you hearing from within the Biden campaign and around it?

ALEX THOMPSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Yes, and you know, I obtained an audio recording of the call that she gave internally to the campaign staff yesterday, and she basically was trying to urge them to stop watching cable news. Now, some people found it a little bit ironic that she was saying that right after she had gone on cable news herself. But I think she recognizes, Jen O'Malley Dillon has also done many, many campaigns. She's well- respected within the sort of Democratic political class.

But she also knows that things are tough right now. I mean, the fact is that she has a campaign in which morale is incredibly low. But you also have to remember, like inside the Biden campaign, a lot of these people and their personal lives were sort of validators for Biden's mental fitness. Whenever age came up in their personal lives with family members, friends, they were the ones that said, you don't know what you're talking about. It's a right-wing meme.

You know, he's just completely with it, and they feel disillusioned because they feel that senior staff has not been complete candid with them. You know, completely unprompted two different Biden aides reached out to me yesterday and compared some of the missives coming from senior staff to North Korean propaganda. That's the lack of trust that you are seeing inside the campaign as also, as Chris mentioned, Democratic leaders are exerting enormous pressure, including people that Biden thought were his friends.

DEAN: And Ron, "The New York Times" is reporting that while Biden has been recovering from COVID in Delaware, he's been fuming. He's increasingly resentful of his allies and even considers the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, quote, "the main instigator" in all of this, and their reporting says sees former president Obama as a, quote, "puppet master" behind the scenes.

You have talked about the calls for an open convention being a risky move, potentially rupturing the party. Is that already happening in front of us? Does it only get worse from here if it is an open convention?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that isn't actually what I said and I wrote. I mean, what I wrote is that any path is risky for Democrats at this point, as AOC pointed out, as you noted in your last interview, with the analogy I hear -- I've heard a striking analogy, almost exactly the same words from multiple Democratic strategists and consultants, who have said versions of, if you are in a car that is speeding over a cliff, there is risk in opening the door and tumbling out while the car is still moving.

There's probably more risks in staying in the car while it goes over the cliff. And I think that is what Democrats feel. You know, I did a piece this week talking to the campaign in depth about what they feel as a plausible road back and their theory is not crazy. Their theory is that Democrats are still within range in the three former blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and enough of the remaining voters are negative on Trump, that its possible for a pathway to be there to overcome his lead.

The problem is that almost no one else in the Democratic Party outside the campaign believes that Biden can take advantage of that opening.

[16:25:01]

That he has the skill -- his image and his skills are so damaged at this point that it is virtually certain that he is going to fall short. So what people say about Kamala Harris is that she might have a lower floor than him. It might go badly. She wasn't a great candidate in 2020, but she almost certainly has a higher ceiling as well. And that's why for Biden to be fuming, a human reaction, people can understand, but if he believes what he has said about Trump being an existential threat to democracy, even like a half moment of self- reflection would tell you that people are not turning on you.

They are just validating and prioritizing what you said was your own mission preventing this potential, you know, risk from coming through in November.

DEAN: Chris, the president and former president Obama have a complex relationship. This has been well documented. How do you think that's playing into this? And we hear him in that reporting thinking about the former president is the -- this puppet master thinking.

WHIPPLE: Well, for sure he is not taking any calls at the moment from Obama or George Clooney is my guess. I mean, it does get his back up. I completely agree with all of the great reporting that Ron and Alex have done. And with Ron's point about this being a huge risk any way you look at it. The good news here is that Donald Trump didn't do himself any favors in the last night of the convention when he veered from the teleprompter and delivered a "Caine Mutiny" strawberries 2.0 unhinged speech, and he his negatives are so high.

So, look, I mean, in 1968, Democrats had a disastrous convention. Riots in the streets and blood flowing. And somehow Hubert Humphrey closed the 15-point gap and almost caught Richard Nixon. So look, there's always hope here.

DEAN: And so, Alex, here we are on Saturday. We have the president there in Delaware recovering. We know he's obviously reflecting and thinking about this, fielding calls, talking with those closest to him. What do you think the next 24 to 48 hours look like?

THOMPSON: Yes. Well, so, one open question about this is whether or not Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel is going to come to D.C. early next week and I bring that up is because I think that could end up delaying any final decision on here. I also think Chris is right on. If you know anything about Joe Biden, sort of his self-mythology, which, you know, has facts in it, is that Biden has basically always proved his doubters wrong.

All of the smart set, you know, it's sort of ironic that a person that was elected to the Senate at 29 basically considers himself not part of the elite, but that is Joe Biden. And so in some ways what you're seeing is him really dig in. I would be, you know, I will not ruling out anything. I think a lot of people inside the Biden administration, one Biden aide even told me that it's almost a universal sentiment that this is the end of the road.

But Joe Biden, I would be shocked if he makes a quick decision here, given sort of his self-mythology and what he really believes, which is that he is the most electable candidate against Donald Trump.

DEAN: All right. We have to leave it there. Unfortunately, we are out of time, but Alex Thompson, Chris Whipple, Ron Brownstein, our thanks to all three of you.

WHIPPLE: Good to be with you.

DEAN: Thanks. As Donald Trump hits the campaign trail again with revamped security

for today's rally, investigators are using new evidence to pull together a timeline for the man who tried to kill Trump last week and his actions in the moments before he pulled the trigger.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:10]

DEAN: We're learning new details about the minutes before the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. A source says investigators believe the shooter may have used a drone to survey the site on the day of Trump's Pennsylvania rally.

It's just one aspect of the investigation that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is likely to be asked about when she appears before Congress on Monday.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

Gloria, what more do we know about the theory and new information from investigators?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this drone detail, one of the most recent details that has come out since Saturday, is significant because we have learned from our law enforcement sources that they believe that Thomas Matthew Crooks deployed the drone on the morning of the rally on Saturday morning.

And that's significant because it points to a level of planning and preparation by Crooks. Having a birds-eye view over the site of the rally really would have given him a lot of information, potentially helping him to decide where he was going to position himself.

So certainly a significant development that that drone was found in Crooks' vehicle.

Now, the motive behind all of this remains elusive. Investigators have not been able to pinpoint to the exact reason or what they believe drove Crooks to attempting to take the life of former President Trump and opening fire in that crowd.

But we do know that in the last several weeks he carried out several Internet searches, including looking up information about both president Joe Biden, the former President Donald Trump.

As well as information about the Democratic National Convention, the site of Trump's rally on Saturday, information about other high- profile politicians, including Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

[16:35:05]

And perhaps, very importantly, information about Ethan Crumbley. Now if that name sounds familiar, it's because he was a mass shooter who was convicted after he opened fire at a high school in Michigan.

And his parents were also convicted in that shooting. That is a significant detail. What we do not know is the reason why Crooks was looking for information about Ethan Crumbley and his parents.

We do know that the gun that he used, this A.R.-style weapon, was owned by Crooks' father, along with about 20 other weapons that we're kept in the family home that you see here behind me.

So the question of the motive remains an unanswered question. But investigators continuing to gather more information as they continue to investigate and look into the background and what could have possibly driven Crooks to commit this act of violence a week ago.

DEAN: All right. Gloria Pazmino, for us there in Pennsylvania, thanks so much.

And let's talk more about this with Juliette Kayyem, who used to be assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. She is now a CNN senior national security analyst.

Hi, Juliette. Good to have you on.

Let's talk first about this new information about this drone that now we have learned the shooter likely flew over the rally site just hours before the shooting. How did that happen without it raising any alarms?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's -- I'm going to put that on the list of things that seem incomprehensible. And I can't give you a good explanation.

I mean, generally, you would protect the airspace around a facility in particular, an open facility that was known beforehand. So it wasn't like it was chosen the morning of. I mean, there were weeks when the site had been selected.

So you would protect the airspace or, at the very least, you would monitor if you saw drones going up, even if they we're recreated personal drones.

The irony, of course, here is everyone, including myself, are thinking, how come there weren't Secret Service drones looking over these buildings that we're so close?

We heard from the Secret Service director, one of the reasons why they didn't put an agent on that -- on that particular building was because it had a slanted roof, which seems odd.

But nonetheless, even if true, you could still put a drone up there as the -- as the perpetrator is now showing it was possible to do.

DEAN: And we know that -- you're -- as you're walking through some of the things that you have noticed that are kind of incomprehensible, we know that the Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, is going to testify before Congress Monday. What would you ask her? KAYYEM: Yes. I mean, part of it is just -- I think there's two parts

to it.

The first is, of course, who planned the security? How was the perimeter, the security perimeter chosen? Why were there such gaps in communication between federal, state and local, both beforehand in terms of who was in charge of the space?

But obviously, in those in those 10 minutes when it's clear, lots of people know that the president is under threat and no one is protecting the president. So I have these sorts of operational questions.

I think I also -- I also have questions around her explanations since. I did not originally think that she needed to resign. I now think she does.

The explanations are incomprehensible. They were late on providing information on what they knew or didn't know. She went after the state and locals as if it weren't the Secret Service's responsibility.

And I'm not sure she's the leader who can get the Secret Service back into shape relatively quickly.

DEAN: Do you think, just generally, that in this environment that we currently find ourselves in, is it -- is it safe to have these outdoor rallies right now?

KAYYEM: You would never choose it. And if you chose it, you would have probably -- you would probably choose a place that was more -- was used to outdoor congregations.

So you can think of an open stadium or something like that where you would it would be open, but you would have some sense of what the access control is.

What this did look like -- I mean, the odd thing about it is this -- this looked like sort of randomly chosen space because it was cheap and the Trump -- the Trump campaign doesn't want to spend the money on indoor facilities, so they have an outdoor facility.

They chose a place that the Secret Service should have protected. You never want to be in a situation where you're learning on the job in terms of how to protect the space in such a short period of time.

I mean, I think about event planning, right? And I think about like the Olympics. Well, that's like three years of planning. That's not the same as a rally.

[16:40:02]

But just even think of a concert, right? Or a -- or a music festival. That these are months and months of security planning to make sure crowds are protected, to make sure the principle is protected.

And I think that -- I think they we're denied time. And then, because it was open, it is the hardest thing to protect.

DEAN: All right. Juliette Kayyem, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you. Thanks.

DEAN: Thousands of flights canceled or delayed, with those numbers still climbing. That is just the tip of the iceberg as businesses and industries all over the world try to bounce back from this massive IT outage.

This is a process experts think could take weeks, even months. We'll have more on it on the other side.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:24]

DEAN: It is being called the largest IT outage in history after a software update from a cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike, took down millions of computers running Microsoft Windows.

This outage has knocked out software systems all over the world, disrupting banks, healthcare providers, even some 9-1-1 call centers.

It has also, as we've noted, caused chaos at airports, resulting in the cancelation of thousands of flights and the delaying of thousands more.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is at the very, very busy Atlanta airport.

Isabel, travelers have been stranded following this outage. I see so many people behind you. What are they telling you?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, it is an absolute nightmare for so many people trying to get to marriages, to weddings, to funerals, to family reunions, just their plans absolutely spoiled.

Yesterday, I saw this chaos across multiple carriers, Frontier, Spirit, Delta. Today, the story is definitely with Delta. The crowds only here really. Everywhere else, it's running business this as usual, seemingly in terms of lines.

But not Delta. Take a look at this incredible line that just keeps on going. (TECHNICAL PROBLEM) -- talking to workers. You see it right over here. They are in line.

These are folks who had been delayed or canceled. They're trying to get their luggage. So they're waiting in these horrible lines just to get their belongings right bag. And it's been an absolute nightmare for them.

Delta seeing the most cancellations today, more than 600. Of course, that is a volume game as well, considering that this is Delta's primary hub. With so many passengers, it's a volume issue.

Let me introduce you right here to a passenger. Her name is Catalina.

You've been through some things today?

CATALINA VILLAREAL, AIRLINE PASSENGER: Yes. So my flight was supposed to leave at 8:20 this morning. Last night, we got a cancellation. We spent two hours -- around 10:00 p.m. with 2.5 hours on the phone with Delta. And we found your new 9:50 in the morning.

Also on our way here on their way in there, like, it's delayed 20 minutes, it's delayed 30 minutes. Around 12 -- around 11:30, it's canceled.

So two more hours the line to try to get another flight. Another flight, supposed to go out at 5:00. At 3:00 it's canceled again. So just chaos.

I have had three cancellations. I checked in three times for all of the flights. And now I have two bags, some place in the ATL, like some place in the airport.

And nobody knows how long it will take to come in. So we've been told us to come tomorrow or Monday. They should be --

(CROSSTALK)

ROSALES: Yes. A lack of answers there.

How would you describe what passengers like yourself are going through?

VILLAREAL: Mayhem, chaos, frustration, hunger. And there's some people I spoke to that they flew in from Barra (ph) and from Chile. And yesterday -- and they are not getting out until Monday to get to Portland.

And there's, like, no information. Nobody knows what to tell you. The lines are -- I know it's a problem, but that we had like --

(CROSSTALK)

ROSALES: Computer outage, right?

VILLAREAL Yes. It's --

ROSALES: Also Delta?

VILLAREAL: Yes. But there's like -- but Delta, it would have more people steps. Like there's four people and a line into Terminal E of 150 people. So.

ROSALES: Catalina, I'm so sorry to meet under these circumstances. And the best of luck in withstanding this line and getting your luggage back.

I appreciate it.

Jessica?

DEAN: Yes. I'm wishing them the best.

Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for that.

We have breaking news from the Middle East where new airstrikes on a terror group in Yemen could threaten to push Israel closer to a conflict on another front.

[16:48:57]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:40]

DEAN: We are following breaking news out of Yemen today where Israel says it has struck several Houthi military targets in the port city of Hudaydah. The Houthi-run TV says at least 80 people were injured, most with severe burns.

It comes one day after the terror group claimed responsibility for a drone attack in Tel Aviv that killed one person.

Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond with the latest.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, for months now, Houthi militants have carried out attacks against Israel and on those shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

But this is the first time that Israel has actually carried out strikes against Houthi targets on Yemeni soil. And I'm told that the reason for that is because of that Houthi drone attack yesterday.

That drone attack carried out against central Tel Aviv, actually resulting in Israeli casualties. One Israeli man in his 50s was killed in that attack. And that changed the calculus for the Israeli government, which, for months now, has really let the United States and the United Kingdom take the lead in striking Houthi targets in Yemen.

But they felt that, because of those civilian casualties, they needed to act, striking the area of the Al Hudaydah port.

Here's the Israeli military spokesman, Admiral Daniel Hagari.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAELI MILITARY SPOKESMAN: The Houthis attacks are acts of aggression, a violation of international law. And a threat to the international peace and security.

[16:55:04] Today, Israel stepped up its actions in self-defense against these attacks The Israeli Air Force conducted precise strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen.

The military target was the Al Hudaydah port used by the Houthis as a main supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons from -- from Iran to Yemen, like the UAV itself that was used in that attack on Friday morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: The Israeli prime minister also saying that this is about sending a message, making clear that there is no area that Israel cannot and will not reach when it is attacked.

I am told by an Israeli defense official that this was a 100 percent Israeli strike, not carried out in conjunction with the United States or the United Kingdom.

However, the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did get on the phone with his American counterpart, the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, informing him of Israels intentions to strike ahead of time -- Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond, for us, thank you so much.

And still to come, former President Donald Trump minutes away from his first rally since last weekend's assassination attempt. Also the first rally with his new pick for vice president, Senator J.D. Vance. What the Secret Service is doing to keep this event safe.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

9