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CNN International: Trump Takes Questions At Mar-a-Lago; Harris, Waltz To Speak At Union Hall In Michigan; Taylor Swift Cancels Austria Shows Over Alleged Terror Plot; Fighting Underway After Kyiv's Incursion Into Russia. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 08, 2024 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:01]
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And they're adding North Korea to it. Pretty powerful force.
This is something that is unthinkable that they allowed to happen.
REPORTER: Mr. President, just to put a button on this, you're saying that you're not going to change your campaign strategy. You're going to keep going with the issues. But if the so-called honeymoon period doesn't end?
TRUMP: Oh, it's going to end.
REPORTER: And (INAUDIBLE).
TRUMP: The honeymoon period is going to end.
Look, she's got a little period. She got a convention coming up.
It's about policy, it's not about her. I think she's incompetent because I've watched her. She destroyed California. She destroyed San Frans -- everything she's touched has turned to bad things.
I want to use -- I'm not going to use foul language, but everything she's touched has turned bad. She's incompetent.
The reason she's not doing what I do, and she's not doing what she should be doing, she won't even do interviews with friendly people because she can't do better than Biden.
Now he had a reason for not doing well, and he was never 25 years ago, the sharpest, or brightest bulb in the ceiling that I can tell you. Okay? He wasn't, but he could do interviews at least, not lately, he couldn't, perhaps.
But she's -- she should be doing interviews. She doesn't want to do interviews. And the reason she doesn't is, number one, her policies are so bad. It just to answer your question, I think that it's not going to change because it's really ultimately not about her as much as about her policies.
She wants open borders. She wants to defund the police. She wants it to fund the police. She wants to take away your guns.
Anybody that thinks they're not going to come after you or guns, you know, when I was president, I totally protected the guns and I think it's very important. And I know I take some heat sometimes for it. But you have to have safety. You have to have -- when the bad guy walks in with a gun, you've got to have some way of protecting himself and boy, that would be -- you would see crime go up at levels that you've never seen.
When people say on this side of the house, this house has guns, we will use the guns. They say, let's pass, we'll go someplace else. You have to have 'em.
And for four years and, you know, as you know, the NRA endorsed me very powerfully every time I ran, every time. My sons are members and I guess indirectly, I'm a member, too, but they gave me the strongest of endorsements and that's against very strong competition. People that -- felt the same way.
No, you have to have -- you have to have that right. Our Second Amendment is a very important right, and it has to be protected.
Okay. How about you? Go ahead.
(INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: Yeah. So there are some of the most brilliant people on Wall Street that are saying that if President Trump doesn't win, you're going to have a depression. I happen to agree. I think that's true, because I know how bad these people are.
You know, they like to say that they did this and that, you saw the 7 trillion that they said it was me for 7 trillion, it wasn't me it was them.
They said that I had inflation. They took over 9 percent in play. No, no, I had 1 percent inflation. I had actually no inflation because if you look at the categories, we had just about no inflation, but I had a very minor, I actually had a positive inflation was a perfect number because you don't want zero.
I mean, I'm not going to give you a whole course on economics, but you don't want zero. One percent, 1.4 percent is great. You want a little bit because you don't want to have deflation. Deflation in his in many ways, even worse.
I had a perfect number right around the 1 percent number. It was perfect. And to show you, it stayed there for two years. And then he did all of the different borrowings that he did and then he did so many things wrong every time he would do it, I'd say big mistake.
And don't forget they sell hats and they sell stories. Trump was right about everything. I had been right about a lot.
Yes, Maggie?
(INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: Well, we had a commission like other people do, and it's always complicated and it's always controversial. And we had commissions that and I think of respected people, you know, many of the people on the commission, and they would recommend to me certain pardons for certain people. Some people were treated very harshly.
A fantastic woman as you know, she served 24 years for being on a phone call, having to do with drugs. You know who I'm talking about she was great. And she had another 24 years to ago. And it was largely about marijuana, which in many cases is now legalized. Okay?
But we had -- but we had many very highly regarded people on a commission and they'd recommend.
[15:05:03]
And they put a reason why. Some people were served time, but they served a lot of time for something that today people wouldn't even serve time by.
Well, for the most part, I think they did. I mean, they did. They go through -- they went through -- I had a commission who's very important commission to me and highly respected people. And frankly, they came up with some decisions that I wouldn't necessarily agree with, but I did it.
But I let a lot of people out that were -- that had no representation. I went to people in jails in prison that we respected. I said, how many of these people should be let out? We let a large groups of low- income people that were serving like 40 years for something that today you wouldn't even be put in jail for.
We have had very few people let out because I said, I really don't want to let people out where they had a lot of violence, where they had killing, et cetera, et cetera. And for the most part, we didn't do that.
Yeah. Please?
(INAUDIBLE)
TRUMP: One defense, better on, sir.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: We've been listening to Donald Trump holding a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. We should note he has been off the campaign trail all week. He has no events in any battleground states.
And while he's home, his new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her newly announced vice presidential pick, Governor Tim Walz, are on a swing state blitz today, appealing to a union workers in Michigan at a UAW event, set to start a few minutes.
Just a few fact-checks on the former president as he's been speaking there in no particular order. He said that he had a bigger crowd than Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Photographs prove otherwise. He said that a majority of the country supported sending abortion rights back to the states. In fact, surveys have consistently shown a majority of the country supports abortion rights, oppose the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision.
He again, level the attack that he's used a number of times saying that any Jews who vote Democratic products should be ashamed of themselves. He shared a number of points, questionable gas prices to claim credit for gas being much cheaper when he was president than it is today he claimed that his base is 75 percent of the country, not clear that any polling. Well, in fact, no polling shows that.
If there was some hard news there, he did say that he's agreed to three debates with Kamala Harris. It was not clear when he said that the Kamala Harris has agreed to those same debates, but it does seem that Harris and Trump are moving towards arranging perhaps more than one debate before the November election.
Let's go first to CNN senior reporter Stephen Collinson.
Stephen, just big picture for a moment, there's been a lot of talk about Trump reset. And again, anytime that claim has been made. Trump has returned to many of his own approaches, as well as misleading statements and attacks quite personal attacks. Some of them.
What did you hear from the former president in this press conference?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, Jim, this looks like a candidate who has had the ground politically changed underneath him and has yet to come to terms with it.
Several things we're looking for at the beginning of this news conference. First is Donald Trump's state of mind. He appeared very angry, consumed by his personal grievances, basically arguing that it was not fair that he's not running against President Joe Biden, who he seems to the half of that conference seem to be still running against president Joe Biden.
Was he able to deliver a focused critique of the Democratic ticket? He did mention things like rising high prices, the economy, gas prices, but that was stuck in the middle of all his other grievances and ramblings.
So I don't think that was particularly effective.
One thing that was noticeable was the fact that he kept saying that the loss -- the change in the Democratic ticket was unconstitutional.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
COLLINSON: Clearly, that isn't the case, but it does appear given his past behavior that the former president is starting to lay the groundwork of a rationale to argue that if he loses this election, it was yet again unfair, which clearly is not the case.
SCIUTTO: Well, you say, Stephen, you're saying you hear in that not just a repeat of his quite constant refrain of the system being unfair to him somehow or rigged, but you're -- did you hear in that him positing a legal argument to challenge the election?
COLLINSON: Well, there is no legal argument on the basis of what he says. But if you remember, back in 2016 even, but also in 2020, in the run-up to the election, he started about this time and in September laying the groundwork to argue that the election wasn't fair.
[15:10:01]
He's now arguing that the change in Democratic candidate is unconstitutional. That is not true. But it sounds a lot like the kind of arguments he's made before to suggest that the election system is rigged against him. Another candidate, perhaps we wouldn't draw those conclusions, but history is pretty clear about what Donald Trump thinks and does.
SCIUTTO: You're right and he did level attacks once again on voting, early voting, et cetera, making his case as he often does just for paper ballots, although his own advisers have often cautioned him against saying that because they in fact see some advantage in early voting and voting outside of election day.
But it well caught there, Stephen, that laying the groundwork. And you're right that prior to 2020, he started well before the election, claiming that if he lost, it would have been rigged. Of course, there was no evidence of that.
Stephen Collinson, good to have you on. Thanks so much.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: One thing Trump said about the economy also caught our ear. The former president said, many people are saying of frequent phrase he uses without citing her those people are many people saying there will be a depression if he is not elected president.
Joining me now, the perfect person to fact check that, Richard Quest, CNN's business editor at large, the host of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS".
Well, the economy is doing pretty well right now. Certainly, inflation worries continue. There has been a -- there was a hiccup earlier this week with the stock market going down, concerns about slowing job growth in this country.
Is there ever -- any evidence to support the former president saying there will be a depression if he is not elected?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: None whatsoever. I can't say it any more clearly that there may be the odd crack pot or weird economist somewhere that you can rustle up, but there is to, my knowledge, not one -- not one, Jim, serious economist who says, there will the oppress -- a depression.
In 1990, I interviewed Donald Trump when he opened the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City. The economy was slowing down. Things were bad. And then he called it a depression to my face. He said it's the worst depression we've ever seen. People are saying it's a terrible depression. It's going to be an awful depression. On and on he went.
Well, of course, the only thing that failed was his casino, which, of course, the Democrats, Joe Biden has pointed out on several occasions, how do you go bankrupt when you're running a casino? But my point is, this is a line that Donald Trump has used again and again, that we're in a terrible depression. There will be a depression. It's the worst depression.
At the moment, Jim, there is not a scintilla of evidence or truth that there will be a depression if he is not elected.
SCIUTTO: Listen, and hyperbole is a frequent part of what his claims.
QUEST: Oh, was clipping away.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
QUEST: You know, I'm allowing political hyperbole on top of factual accuracy.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
QUEST: But there's no evidence.
Let me ask you this because he did something in this press conference that he's done prior which is compare the prices of things at the end of his term in the midst of the pandemic economy to things today, for instance, yes, gas was down in the latter part of his term because people weren't driving, right. And then comparing it to where gas prices are today, similar with inflation figures.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, the inflation wants a better, it's a really good example because he compares it to 1 percent inflation, this, that and the other, and there's a lot of truth in what he says -- when he left office, absolutely.
But we hadn't seen all the quantitative easing, the cutting of interest rates, the fiscal stimulus, than money that was sent to people by the U.S. treasury. We hadn't seen the full effect of that when he left office and this notion that yeah, there is a legitimate criticism of the Biden administrations first year in office, but it gave stimulus when non was needed and it stoked inflation yes, that's a valid criticism.
But the general inflationary pressures were everywhere. The U.K., Australia, Canada, the E.U., this was not unique. And this somehow notion that -- well, look, I mean, I could go forever on this.
SCIUTTO: Well, listen, it's stated as fact, but to your point, there -- there was a reason for inflation other than U.S. fiscal policy. It -- because we saw it pop up in so many other places around the world.
QUEST: That in -- and if he'd won -- if he had won, that inflation and follow the same economic policies, which would have had to do to prevent a collapse of the U.S. economy, then he would have ended up with the same inflation as everybody else because, of course, interest rates and designated by the Fed, not by the administration.
[15:15:07]
SCIUTTO: Indeed, well, that's why we fact check. We do our best.
Richard Quest, thanks so much.
Coming up, we're going to speak to two expert campaign strategists about that Trump press conference. What it means for his campaign.
Plus, upcoming remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, at a union event in Detroit. Of course, what that means for their campaign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Just moments ago, Donald Trump told reporters he wants to hold three debates with Vice President Kamala Harris next month. The Harris campaign has not yet responded to Trump's debate suggestions are planning.
In Michigan, the vice president and her new running mate, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, will be speaking at a United Auto Workers union hall. That will begin any minute now.
CNN's Kayla Tausche joins me now from the White House.
Kayla, unions, big for Democrats. Tell us where the relationship stands between the UAW and other unions and the Harris-Walz campaign.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, recently, the UAW and Vice President Harris have smoothed over a rift resulting in an endorsement from the union's leadership at the very least, but notable is the fact that Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are holding this event on the back of last night's mega rally in front of thousands of attendees where UAW leader Shawn Fain also was.
But now, it's a more intimate setting, with what we're told is about 100 rank and file union members. As these Democratic contenders now try to shore up support among the actual voters who are comprising the union. There's been near unanimous consolidation of endorsements from leaders of large unions, save for the Teamsters.
But beneath the hood, Jim, there are lots of political fractures and a lot of pockets of these unions who still support Donald Trump. And so, these union leaders are going to be spending the next several months conducting internal polling, and analytics to try to figure out exactly how to get that message across to their members and where exactly those political affiliations stand.
[15:20:11]
So certainly, Harris and Walz have their work cut out for them and the campaign is aware of that. They put out a memo this morning saying that they're going to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars from the campaign side to try to reach those rank and file members in the coming months with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the campaign's manager, saying that there are 2.7 million union members across battleground states and the last election was decided by just 45,000 votes.
So, every one of them counts, and they say that they're not limiting those efforts to the Midwestern blue wall. They're going to Arizona and Nevada to many other unions across the Sun Belt as well as they tried to turn the tide in favor of their tickets.
SCIUTTO: And it's a great -- a great distinction, right? Because the leadership can endorse, but the members, they got to vote, too, so they need to get those members to vote for them.
Kayla Tausche, thanks so much.
We do have some breaking news. And ABC News has confirmed that both Trump and Harris have now agreed to a September 10th debate on ABC.
I want to bring in two campaign experts, Faiz Shakir, former campaign manager for Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, and Republican strategist Rina Shah.
Good to have you both here.
But before I get into some other questions about state of the race, Rina, I just want to ask you, was that a good press conference and message for Donald Trump?
RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I will say this, Jim, that's not a popular opinion, but it was just fine. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't good. It hit right in the middle because if you are in a time machine, that was the press conference from back in 2019, 2020.
SCIUTTO: Okay. He did lose that race, I should note, in 2020.
Faiz, what was your review --
SHAH: Well --
SCIUTTO: -- of the president's comments?
FAIZ SHAKIR, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER, BERNIE SANDERS 2020 CAMPAIGN: Well, it's interesting because he's clever with his press conferences and he's announcing a walk back, right? The purpose of the press conference to be clear, is to say full-on reversal from what I told you five days ago when I said it's either September 4, or Fox News debate, or no debate at all.
And now, here we are. I'm going to bury that. The fact that I've walked that back and agreed to that September 10 debate by telling you that I've agreed to three different debates and confuse you all. But really, it was just to tell you that I have fully on caved at this point because he sees himself behind in the polls.
SCIUTTO: Okay. So let's talk about polls, first to you, Rina. New poll out today from Marquette shows that including third-party candidates, Harris is now leading Trump by six points outside the margin of error. It's not the first poll to show that shift, and Harris with the lead or at least taking away what Biden's been behind Trump.
Do you see this as a lasting campaign momentum for Harris?
SHAH: I actually see it to be quite sustained, this boost she's got. I don't see it going away anytime soon and even going past Labor Day, which is very good for this Democratic ticket.
You know, Trump is not just scared internally, I believe, because he's doing a mixture of it, listening to his consultants, but also being true to oneself. And that being true to oneself mean going back to old tactics he's employed, and let's not forget, Jim, he's somebody who continues to relitigate that 2020 election to sow doubt. He's never let his foot off the gas on that part.
So seeing Harris close the gap with him in polls makes him realize that he's got to employ yet another strategy. And this one is dubbed it myself because I've never advised the former president, and certainly never will. But the thing is that he loves to "keep them guessing" strategy is what I call it, because what he likes to do again by sowing that doubt, leaving the door open is creating a question mark in the minds those against centrist and independent voters that needed crossover for Harris by saying that the price of bacon is up.
Well, the okay. It says to those folks, well, the price of bacon is up. What else is going to be up in stay up? And so, again, I think he feels he wins with this strategy and he sends to employ what he sees that the gap is tightening.
SCIUTTO: So, Faiz, to that point. And let's quote some more polling here. The same Marquette poll that we mentioned earlier, that showed a drop jump up 16 percent for Democrats in terms of enthusiasm. And let's be frank, Democrats were not enthusiastic about the Biden candidacy consistently as polling showed.
Do you see that as a lasting figure? And how do you believe Democrats should respond to Rina's description of Trumps message here, particularly with an economic focus?
SHAKIR: Well, I would say the Trump, if you watched that press conference, and really have a message and he's still struggling. You can see him struggling through it about you must feel aggrieved and wronged. That Joe Biden was supposed to be his opponent, but no longer is.
[15:25:03]
And then he's got a lot of story we're dealing in a variety of kinds of things that he doesn't like about Kamala Harris.
But there's no clear message about what is the contrast that you want to draw here. And so he's struggling through that one. I think the Democratic enthusiasm is going to maintain, and it's back to where I think we all would have assumed and wanted it to be. So we're back at status quo.
My Democratic friends that I would say my caution is that in 2016 and 2020, both when Trump ran, he outperformed the vote, going in election day. What people thought he was going to be, he went above.
In 2020, you remember, the economy is crashing down. He got COVID at the end of that race and made people were thinking, oh, you know, Biden's in a very, very strong position. And on the date of Election Day that night, people, where do we lose Wisconsin? Did we lose Arizona?
SCIUTTO: Yeah, yeah.
SHAKIR: And I think that that's just a reminder that he will outperform on election day. That's my assumption coming in and we should not take anything.
SCIUTTO: It's a great point. It's a great point. Folks will forget that 2020 was not supposed to be closed or at least a lot of polling show.
Before I go, I want to ask you about this question. You know, the typical rule for vice presidential picks is at a minimum to do no harm.
And, Rina, first to you, has Vance helped or hurt Trump, or done no harm? And same with Walz, and, Faiz, I'll ask you the same question.
SHAH: Vance continues to be problematic for this ticket. In fact, I thought today's press conference was going to be in announcement he wants to shed Vance from the ticket.
SCIUTTO: Wow.
SHAH: Something you could do, of course, still, but would be a far off scenario.
I just really want to say this about Walz. He's not with the Republicans are saying he is, and I'm not talking about policy, I'm talking about the person because they did not want somebody relatable and likeable. And it just a day-and-a-half, all that's come out looking like he could have that appeal towards the very voters Republicans want to keep their tent.
So problematic on the Republican front.
SCIUTTO: Interesting.
SHAH: Don't listen when they say that they're not worried anymore.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. No, it's a smart rule, right, don't listen to what campaigns often say.
Faiz, before we go, Vance and Walz, your view?
SHAKIR: Well, you can see the worries, the point -- I mean, like the way in which they're trying to attack him for stolen valor and all kinds of craziness -- I mean, it really, the decency of the man is just so true and everyone knows about it is a very affable person by character and the fact that he lives and breathes a rural and middle- class approach. And so, he's going to be very effective as long as the Harris campaign lets him get out there and being itself.
And Vance, you know, I want him to keep talking -- I mean, it's not going great. And at some point, maybe he turns around but I appreciate he's doing these press conferences because it's (INAUDIBLE) foolish.
SCIUTTO: Republican, Democrat agreement on both Vance and Walz.
Faiz, Rina, thanks so much to both you.
Coming up -- Swifties take to the streets of Vienna, Austria, in song after a foiled ISIS terror plot prompted cancellations for all three sold-out nights of Taylor Swift's Eras tour. We're going to have an update on the suspects and the investigation, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:32]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back.
Authorities in Austria say they have foiled an ISIS inspired suicide attack plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts. All three of the singer's Vienna shows have now been canceled.
A 19-year-old suspect has been arrested. Police say they found explosive devices along with detonators and chemicals at his home in Ternitz, Austria, about an hour from the capital. Two other suspects are also being questioned. Picture there.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has been following the case from London.
Nick, you know, so often, online radicalization by ISIS, a plot along these lines, but it's been a few years since we've seen something quite the serious. So what do we know about this one?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and key here is that these are teenagers, all three under suspicion by Austrian authorities, 19, 17 and aged 15. An individual who is in fact, it seemed just questioned for his knowledge of the plot.
This is entirely new and in fact, the study we've been looking at suggests in the last nine months, nearly two-thirds of arrests or people involved in plots by ISIS in Europe have been teenagers. That's a startling proportion. This plot, shocking frankly, and the details that Austrian authorities have put out today.
The 19-year-old, the prime suspect, he quit his job, it seems weeks after pledging allegiance to ISIS online. Told his employees is colleagues that he'll be doing something big, changed his appearance. And then police descended upon his home, found precursors for chemicals, found knives, found a flashing blue police lights that they believe he might be going to put on a vehicle to get his bomb in his knives closer to the stadium quicker?
It seems they say he was trying to attack the periphery around the 65,000 strong venue that's meant have a concert tonight, Friday and Saturday, were much more vulnerable crowd there and they believe he actually contending a suicide attack that he would die, while tracking other lives with him.
At the 17-year-old was apparently also involved in the plotting police, believe he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Jim, you know, it starts for kind of teen psychology --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
WALSH: -- police having to look at in terms of motivation here. And so, these three possibly communicating online. Austrian police somewhat frustrated about encrypted messaging apps and the role they played in this tipped off, it seems by U.S. intelligence. And so, a remarkable instance of just how young radicalization appears to be affecting teenagers.
ISIS involved in this, Austrians not looking for more than and these three, but still the ideology turning children, it seems from a matter of days into people plotting something quite horrific.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, you know, the personal tragedy aspect. Peter Bergen has done a lot of reporting and research on that. How often there is a personal event that helps lead them along this path? There seems to be an insurgence -- a resurgence, rather, based on your reporting.
Just quick -- quickly, what do -- what do authorities pin that to?
WALSH: Yeah. I mean, look, there are two elements to this. I think there's ISIS and the teenagers. That's the role that social media can play in sort of randomly trying to select people who might be susceptible. And there's a whole separate thing, ISIS-K, growing rapidly in Central Asia, a lot of Tajik spillover from Afghanistan.
A lot of them also finding their way into Turkey, too. The Turkish arresting over 400 people in just last year alone in 122 operations. So, a phenomenal spread of a quite different set of nationalities, and we were previously associated in the past decades with terrorism.
[15:35:01]
And I think that's a huge challenge for counter-terrorism authorities in Europe as they spread west.
SCIUTTO: Exactly. I constantly been told by counterterror folks don't imagine that threat. It may seem quiet, it may seem dormant, but don't imagine that that threat has disappeared.
Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much.
Back here in the U.S., a new threat assessment from the FBI and Homeland Security Departments, raising concerns about the security risks ahead of the DNC, which is just over a week away.
CNN's Josh Campbell joins me now with the details.
Josh, to tell me what law enforcement is following here.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So this is a herculean task for law enforcement on any given day, when you have a large event like this, Democratic National Convention. But what I'm learning in this new assessment that was conducted by the FBI, as well as the Secret Service and other agencies, that law enforcement is on alert for what they're calling potential retaliatory attacks after that attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Now it's worth pointing out right now that there is no indication that we know that the shooter was motivated by politics. He had a mix of different political leanings, but there were these conspiracy theories that started showing up online blaming Democrats.
I'll read you what the federal agents say in this latest assessment. But they say that the FBI and DHS remain concerned about the potential for follow-on or retaliatory attacks of violence following the 13 July assassination attempt on Trump, particularly given that individuals in some online communities have threatened or encouraged or reference acts of violence in response to the attempted assassination.
It's worth pointing out also, Jim, that that's just one set of threats. Obviously, there are threats, the potential threats to cyber infrastructure, to critical infrastructure, a host of things that law enforcement will have to worry about when the Democratic National Convention kicks off just about 11 days.
SCIUTTO: So what are they doing? How did they say they're going about protecting such a high profile event?
CAMPBELL: Well, as you will know, this has been deemed a national security special event by Department of Homeland Security, that brings with it a host of resources, hundreds and hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the nation will be there to secure the venue, everything from anti-drone technology, CCTV, a lot of infrastructure that they're bringing in.
But interestingly, officials just held a press conference not long ago talking about security preparations. They're pointing to members of the public saying, look, law enforcement can only do so much. We need the eyes and ears of the public to be certain they're scouring for potential threats. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCAS ROTHAAR, FBI CHICAGO: The public is a key partnership in disrupting all the threats that we endeavor to fight. There is no such thing as something to insignificant to report. I would encourage everybody, if you see something suspicious, if something you feel as threatening, whether it's an online threat or comment, or it's whether you see something in person, please report it to law enforcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: And, Jim, as you've covered, you know, we've had several U.S. law enforcement agencies, intelligence officials warning about this heightened threat environment that we are in. There certainly monitoring various incidents like the one that you and Nic just talked about over in Europe involving the Taylor Swift concert.
So they're always looking to see what is the threat level, what are the potential threats? How are law enforcement officers trying to counter that? That will certainly -- those would be the tactics that they tried to employ here to prevent any threats in Chicago.
And then finally, Jim, even beyond threats, crowd control is going to be another major issue at the Democratic convention. We know that Middle East turmoil has caused a lot of protests here in the U.S. So they will certainly have resources out to try to keep people various factions a part ensure that violence does ensue.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, that old phrase, if you see something, say something.
Josh Campbell, thanks so much.
CAMPBELL: You bet.
SCIUTTO: Coming up, Ukraine's incursions inside Russian territory. The fighting is ongoing. I'm going to have new reporting, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:41:45]
SCIUTTO: Live pictures there of a Michigan campaign event. You can see Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They're going to be speaking shortly. And when they do begin speaking, we will bring you those comments live. This at a UAW event.
Meanwhile, overseas, Ukrainian forces are pushing further into the Kursk region of Russia and a cross border incursion that surprised even U.S. officials, multiple U.S. and Ukrainian officials tell me. Ukrainian forces are comprised a mix -- of a mix of Ukrainian, regular and special operations units, unlike previous Ukrainian operations inside Russia that often involves undercover units or local sympathizers.
The attention, say Ukrainian officials, is in part to disrupt and more lies. Russian forces in part to divert Russian forces away from other parts of the eastern front. U.S. officials do not believe Ukraine intends to hold Russian territory for the long term.
The Ukrainian President Zelenskyy praised the army for its achievements. He made no direct reference though to that Kursk incursion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): And now, first of all, I address our Ukrainian warriors. Our soldiers, sergeant, officers and generals, and everyone sees that the Ukrainian army can surprise and it can achieve results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: We should note, Ukraine has not officially confirmed that its forces are conducting a ground operation inside Russia.
Joining me now is Tymofiy Mylovanov. He's president of the Kyiv School of Economics, former Ukrainian minister of economic development, trade and agriculture.
Good to have you on, sir.
I wonder, what is the Ukrainian intention here with this cross incursion? Is it in effect to take the war to Russia?
TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, we can speculate. Even I can only speculate because this time, and this is very, very new the operational secret and strategic secrecy is unprecedented. Even my friends, high rank officials who are pretty candid with me in special ops, they admitted after the incursion that even they have not been briefed.
So this is new. What's new is that the regular armed forces at there. This scale is new and there are several hypotheses. Of course, the standard ones that there's an attempt to distract Russian military from the east in Donbas, where they're making progress, and to bring up morale of Ukrainian troops and depressed morale of the Russian troops.
But they're also some much more tactical objectives. There are serious assets, there railroad lines to Donbas which Ukraine now challenges. There is, I mean, it's still a long shot, a nuclear power station and there is a gas transmission center. So there are strategic assets in the area.
SCIUTTO: With the obvious proviso that it is Russia that invaded Ukraine full-scale invasion in February 2022, and, of course, partial invasion in 2014. Are there risks here? Because as you know, the U.S. has often says it does not want Ukraine to use U.S. supplied weapons to attack Russia itself.
[15:45:02]
Are there risks for Ukraine?
MYLOVANOV: I personally don't think -- don't think so. I -- this area, its a little bit north, north of Kharkiv and they have been rumors and expectations that Russia would attack in that area, anyway or will try, though, it looks like Ukraine has gone preemptive on this, and then once it has seen its success, has seen no resistance from Russia. It actually expanded. So, now, is it more of a leverage for Ukraine to be able to trade off things later? Or is it an escalation? I'm in the leverage camp. SCIUTTO: Understood, leverage, meaning you believe Ukraine might
attempt to hold this territory and then potentially trade it for Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory?
MYLOVANOV: Yeah. So I don't know what the strategy will be in the end but they're already rumors of satellite photos that Ukrainian troops are digging in.
SCIUTTO: Tymofiy Mylovanov, thank you so much for joining. Please continue to keep yourself and your family safe there.
Coming up, we're going to go live to Detroit, Michigan, as we mentioned, where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, standing by to address the United Auto Workers, and we will bring you those comments live.
Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Goodness, lots of Olympics headlines, hard to keep up, but were just two wins away from their fifth straight Olympic medal, gold medal. The U.S. men's basketball team currently playing against Serbia in the men's basketball semifinals.
In the last hour, we saw dramatic finish to the men's 200-meter sprint. The world's fastest man Noah Lyles is back on the track.
Don, I watch this race before I came on the air and not the results many expected, but a backstory, it seems?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, huge backstory here, Jim. So first of all, congratulations to the 21-year-old Letsile Tebogo from Botswana who won the race, winning the first-ever gold medal for his country. That was extraordinary.
But as you say, arguably biggest story here is what happened to Noah Lyles? He won the 100 meters in stunning fashion on Sunday with a photo finish, he was going for the sprint double.
The 200 is his favorite event.
[15:50:00]
He was expected to win it, and possibly even set a new world record. In the end, he came in third.
And pretty soon after that, it was confirmed that he was running with COVID. He apparently tested positive on Monday. That's according to the U.S. track and field association.
They said that they have to ensure the safety of all athletes, whilst also upholding their right to compete. And Lyles said he wanted to compete. In a post-race interview, he said it never crossed his mind that he wouldn't be running in this race, but I guess there is now a real doubt as to whether he'll be involved in the relays this weekend. SCIUTTO: Well, let me ask you, Don, because if he tested positive on
Monday, what are the IOC rules? I mean, masking? Because he was watched the other races. He was mixing, breathing heavily among as one does when they're -- when they're exerting themselves in the midst of that.
What do the rules hold?
RIDDELL: I mean, he -- yeah, you're right. He was seen wearing a mask earlier in the week. This is all just so different to the Tokyo Games. I mean, you remember what that was like when athletes for testing positive and their games were over 45 years of training, all for nothing.
We're living in different times now. So it's kind of treated more like a common cold that seems to be the attitude now, in Paris. But of course, there will be athletes who will be wondering, you know, I've got it.
We might be -- we might be seeing after these games are over many more positive cases and test being disclosed.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. And listen this particular strain, there's definitely -- there's definitely a bump and we see it in the states, we've seen a number of countries around the world.
Don Riddell, thanks so much.
RIDDELL: All right.
SCIUTTO: We do want to take you back live to Michigan where the vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, speaking now to UAW workers.
Let's listen in.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All right, everybody in this room knows and I keep saying this. This is a bit of preaching to the choir. But the choir needs to sing right now, the choir needs to sing.
We know -- we know that unions built the middle-class? The rest of America has to.
You know who doesn't believe that? Donald Trump.
He sees the world entirely differently. And it really starts with this, when I look at community and neighbors and unions and the word that Shawn said, unity. This guy doesn't know the first thing about unity or service. He's too busy serving himself.
Again and again and again, you've seen it. He put himself above us. He weakened our country to strengthen his own hand.
He mocks our laws. He sows chaos and division. That says nothing about how he dealt with as president, we lived through it. We lived through it.
He froze in the face of COVID and our neighbors died because of it, and by doing nothing about COVID, he drove this economy into the ground.
And I want to be very clear about this because there's a lot of lies that happened when they're here (ph). Violent crime was up when Donald Trump was president, without even counting his crimes. It was still up -- it was still up.
So this is very simple, you know it, and it's going to take a heck of a lot of hard work. But this election is a simple choice. What direction and what's our country going to look like? What direction are we going in?
You know what? We've said it, Donald Trump's going to take it backwards. He's going to -- we aren't going back. We're not going back.
CROWD: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!
WALZ: Ain't happening. We're not going back.
CROWD: We're not going back! We're not going back! We're not going back!
WALZ: Look, and this thing, playing dumb, while he sits on the planes with these billionaires and says he -- I don't know anything about Project 2025. I just fly on the planes with them.
You know what it's going to do. One of the goals of that, plain and simple, and they know this. This has been going on forever. Get rid of labor unions and get rid of the voices that we bring. They can do whatever the hell they want that.
If Trump returns, he's going to learn something from the last time. He didn't get the job done. This time, it will be far, far worse and he will get the job done and make sure that we can't organize collectively to improve our lives. That's what it's coming.
So whether he cuts to middle class, makes it more difficult to own a home, whether it appeals to Affordable Care Act, so you can't get health insurance are the things that you know they talk about -- gutting Social Security and Medicare. You know what, when you he got a billion dollars, you don't give a damn about your Social Security check.
But if you're like my mom and you depend on the Social Security check as your sole income, it's pretty damn important. And I've been saying it, and you've been hearing me say it. They will ban abortion across this country no matter what Congress says.
Now, look, it damn right it is, and I don't know why is it so simple or so difficult for these people to understand? You know how things work really well in life and really well with your
neighbors and really well in communities, when you mind your own business, things work better.
[15:55:02]
Stay out of our business. Stay out of our business.
(APPLAUSE)
WALZ: He's not fighting for you. He doesn't know you. He doesn't care about your family, and his running mate is just as dangerous and backward as he is.
So, look, we know they are -- the choirs ready to sing, this campaign is about the future, your future. Vice President Harris sure knows that. She grew up in a middle-class family. She goes to work everyday making sure families are on the front, so that they can get ahead and they can get into the middle-class.
She believes in something so simple and so beautiful. And when we go to these rallies, I say it, too. People drive. They sit in the sun. They get there. They stand next to their neighbor for one simple reason.
And just like the vice president says, they believe in their hearts, in the promise of America. They believe it. They believe it.
So, sisters and brothers in the UAW, how great is this going to be? Please join me in welcoming the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris!
(APPLAUSE)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, UAW! Good afternoon. Good afternoon.
Oh, it's good to be in the house of labor. It is good to be in the house of labor.
Thank you. Please have a seat. Please have a seat.
Okay. So let me just say, first of all, can we hear it again for Tim Walz?
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: Isn't he spectacular?
You know, I have to tell -- people have been asking what do you and Tim Walz have in common? I said, well, you know, a whole lot, a whole lot.
You know, we grew up the same way. We grew up in a community of people -- you know, I mean, he grew up in Nebraska. Me, Oakland, California, seemingly worlds apart but the same people raised us -- good people, hardworking people, people who had pride in their hard work.
You know, people who had pride in knowing that we were a community of people who looked out for each other. You know, raised by a community of folks who understood that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down. It's based on who you lift up.
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: And you know, there's some perversion that's happened in our country in the last several years, where there's a suggestion that somehow strength is about making people feel small, making people feel alone.
But isn't that the very opposite of what we know, unions know to be strength. It's about the collective. It's about understanding no one should ever be made to fight alone, that we are all in this together.
You know you know why I fought my entire career for unions and labor? Because I understand the concept and the novel concept behind collective bargaining.
And here it is. Here it is. Fairness. Fairness.
It's about saying, hey, in a negotiation, don't we all believe the outcome should be fair? I mean, who could disagree with that? The outcomes should be fair. It should be fair, right?
When you're talking about the individual and a big company. And you require not one individual to negotiate -- negotiate against a big company, how's that outcome going to be fair?
So collective bargaining is about saying, let the collective come together around a common experience which at its core is about dignity and the dignity of labor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
HARRIS: And then let the people come together to negotiate, so you make the balance and then the outcome will be fair and isn't that what we're talking about in this here, election.
We're saying we just want fairness. We want dignity for all people. We want to recognize the right all people have to freedom and liberty to make choices, especially those that are about heart and home and not have their government telling them what to do.
Our campaign is about saying we trust the people.
WALZ: Yeah.
HARRIS: We see the people. We know the people.
You know, one of the things I love about our country, we are a nation of people who believe in those ideals that were foundational to what made us so special as a nation. We believe in those ideals.
