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FBI Investigating Apparent Assassination Attempt On Trump. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Last October, Ralph began trying to enlist Afghan conscripts to fight in the war using social media, presenting himself as an off-the-books liaison for the Ukrainian government.

CNN's Randi Kaye has more now from Palm Beach County, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are learning more about the man who was detained in this incident here at Trump International Golf Course.

His name is Ryan Wesley Routh. He lived in Hawaii for some time. He's 58 years old. And the car that he was driving actually belonged to his daughter. We understand from law enforcement that when he was taken into custody, he was calm and that he was not displaying emotion, according to law enforcement.

Now, we also know that he had with him, according to what was found at the scene, two backpacks and a GoPro, as well as an AK-47 style rifle.

Now, this all unfolded after Secret Service, who was on the golf course, working the holes ahead of Donald Trump, saw the barrel of a rifle poking through the fence, and then they engaged the suspect with some gunfire. He took off. They made chase. They eventually tracked him down and took him into custody.

Now, in terms of the law enforcement presence here still at the International Golf Club, the roads have been closed since this incident occurred. That has continued much through the day here on Summit Boulevard, which is the main thoroughfare outside the front of the International Golf Club. That is where holes five and six, where this incident apparently occurred, those holes back up to Summit Boulevard, where we are standing. And this has been closed for hours.

So that is sort of a key boulevard, as well as others that surround the club, which would be Kirk Road and Congress Avenue. All of them were shut down following this incident.

The former president was kept here at the International Golf Club for hours, made sure that the area was secure. The entire golf club was locked down. And then he was brought to Mar-a-Lago, which he calls home about 15 minutes from here in West Palm Beach. So we understand that he does still have scheduled events this week,

and we will see what the week brings and what the investigation brings as well.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Golf courses have long been a source of concern among Secret Service officials trying to keep the former president safe. They're often the largest outdoor area a president can visit, and the landscaping offers many opportunities to hide. Secret Service agents typically follow the president in golf carts, whilst others secure the holes ahead. That's how the agency says it was able to stop the alleged gunman on Sunday.

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RAFAEL BARROS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SECRET SERVICE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: It was one or two holes behind. Because the bubble moves through the golf course, so our agents will get there first, clear it. He noticed that the rifle was pointed out, our agents engaged.

We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents, but for sure our agents were able to engage with the subject.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: I'm joined now by law enforcement and litigation expert Sunny Slaughter in Washington. Thank you so much for joining us. Is there a case for telling the president he can't play golf anymore?

SUNNY SLAUGHTER, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LITIGATION EXPERT: I do not think that is going to happen at all. I think the president's this attempted assassination will now change the strategy once again, and how they protect the president. Him not playing golf is not an option, but Secret Service reconstructing new strategies, identifying new threats, and doing what they need to do to protect the president will be the strategy going forward, and not him changing his response -- the president changing his response to what he is accustomed to, and what he needs to do to have his freedom and engage with the public as well.

FOSTER: Was he right to praise the Secret Service despite the fact that someone got so close to him with a gun?

SLAUGHTER: Absolutely. You know, they have a personal relationship, even though we might not think so. They are guarding the former president of the United States, and although it was an attempted assassination, we have to determine why that happened, but he is also grateful for them for doing the job they are supposed to do, and the job that they are required to do, and they are putting their lives on the line.

So I think his gratitude to them and for them is admirable, and it is necessary because there is a relationship. You travel with someone for that long, you have a relationship, you're building connectivity. Even though this was an attempt, it was an unsuccessful attempt, thank goodness for that, and it was a second attempt.

So we really have to get the Secret Service on board, and I'm sure they are working on this, and how to avoid these type of critical incidents going forward, knowing that the dynamics of today's societies and threats have changed.

[04:35:05]

FOSTER: What was notable here was how well-coordinated the local police were with the Secret Service, and that, you know, frankly wasn't the case, was it? The first assassination attempt, there was a lot of communication breakdown. But it was pretty incredible how there was an eyewitness report of this suspect, and very quickly, the law enforcement agencies came together to capture him.

SLAUGHTER: That type of communication between what we saw now and what happened previously is all about relationships. It is all about them having to work together previously.

Remember, a former president is located in Florida, so there is already a significant relationship between the Secret Service and local law enforcement in every jurisdiction in the city, in the state and throughout the state of Florida.

In Pennsylvania, that might not have been the same strategy. And also, there was a communication breakdown in how they actually talked to one another on the comms, their ability, local law enforcement's ability to hear what is going on, to directly communicate. There is some issues in that way which must be addressed in the first incident, but you can see that the changes in communication and strategy were significant in this particular incident.

FOSTER: If you were advising the Secret Service on this incident, would you insist that Trump got more resources? Because if he did have more resources, they would have been able to, you know, secure a wider area, wouldn't they?

SLAUGHTER: Yes, I would suggest that they have an additional advance team that is even further out looking at all of the avenues and potential ways that threats could come through. And I am sure that they are working on this, but we have to be more proactive instead of reactive in this. An additional advance team, more resources, because clearly his life is under threat, and we must address that.

We must figure out a way to reduce the level of threats against him, and particularly as we get closer to election time, and then even afterwards. So we are going to have to really figure out how to strategize, communicate, and get things done, but more resources, I am sure, are a part of the conversation and necessary.

FOSTER: OK, Sunny Slaughter, thank you again for joining us today with your insights.

SLAUGHTER: Thank you. FOSTER: Just ahead, a presidential historian joins us to discuss the

impact of political violence in the US.

Stay with us.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Donald Trump is safe after being targeted in what the FBI says was an apparent assassination attempt at his Palm Beach, Florida golf club on Sunday. This is the second time Trump's faced an apparent attempt on his life in two months. The first was this scene in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.

The Secret Service face mounting criticism over his handling of security at this event. Then U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned because of it.

Presidential historian Alexis Coe joins me now from Rhinebeck, New York. Thank you so much for joining us, Alexis. This second apparent attempt, is it unprecedented?

ALEXIS COE, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: It's not unprecedented. President Ford faced two assassination attempts 17 days apart. We have seen other repeated attempts. And of course, we don't know about all of them. We only know about the ones that got close.

FOSTER: What do you think marks this out? I mean, they feel linked. We don't know if they have similar motives. We just don't know the motives about either of them at the moment, but, you know, what do you think is notable about these two apparent attempts?

COE: I think the same thing that links these assassination attempts has been at the heart of this election, which is whether or not our democracy can endure. We have political violence being a problem. There are sort of three factors that destroy a democracy.

Violence against voters and organizers, sustained violence against political leaders, and ethnic violence, groups who are targeted.

And we see time and time again, I want to say this very carefully, but we do see connections between the rhetoric of Donald Trump eating cats. J.D. Vance yesterday told Dana Bash that that was not true. And then we see violence ensue. We see January 6th, Nancy Pelosi. So we do see connections and we've seen it in the past here.

FOSTER: I've noted about the conspiracy theory around the assassination attempts is that there's not one overriding conspiracy theory. There are actually two depending on where you are on the left, or indeed the right. They're almost like competing conspiracy theories.

And that comes out of the idea that we're not actually getting the facts because they're being investigated. There's a vacuum of information. Does that make these assassination attempts very different these days because of the impact they can have in such a quick amount of time?

COE: I think that's a really good point. We don't know as much as we usually knew in the past, which is confusing because information moves so much faster. So for instance, after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan's life, we had medical reports, we heard from doctors who were on the scene.

We haven't heard that from President Trump. I think there's a general misinformation, or at least the perception that there's misinformation. But there's also a problem in that after these assassination attempts in the past, there's a moment of unity.

In the past, there have been these charming telegrams that politicians have exchanged. I just saw ones between Kennedy and Nixon, and Nixon had not had an assassination attempt. And so we see this time and time again.

But what we don't see after is this moment of unity, not just in words, but in more than breaks for the day from campaigning, which is what's usually going on in those conversations. We see meaningful discourse and a way to move forward. And until we have that in this country, we're going to keep experiencing this.

In the aftermath, we see a doubling down, and very -- it's reminiscent of our other populist presidents. For example, Andrew Jackson, he said his only regret, and he had had an assassination attempt too, incited by misinformation and propaganda and hate speech.

[04:45:00]

And what we understand from that is, he allegedly said after his only regret from that time was not shooting Henry Clay, his political opponent.

And so we have remember that sticking to these divisive politics inspires more divisiveness, it begets more violence.

FOSTER: There has been some unity, hasn't there? Everyone across the political divide coming out and saying they're thankful that he was safe and that there shouldn't be political violence, we need to fight it all along. But are you saying that level of unity is much thinner than it has been after previous assassination attempts?

COE: Absolutely. We have real meaningful change. An example like George Wallace, a segregationist, was paralyzed by an assassination attempt. We saw him really change over time. In response to that. We saw Reagan change over time. He introduced the Brady Bill, so that was gun control. He wrote a New York Times op-ed. Remember, Reagan, a Republican, they're not usually associated with those words.

So there are meaningful changes, whereas there's a hopes and prayer element to this time after what we're becoming normalized, this political violence, and it's just not obviously meaningful.

FOSTER: OK, Alexis Coe, appreciate your perspective on this and looking back and how it does play into history. Thank you. COE: Thank you.

FOSTER: Still to come, nearly a dozen people are dead as catastrophic flooding hits Central and Eastern Europe. Details ahead.

Plus, honoring the year's best in television, I will bring you some of the biggest moments from the Emmy Awards.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: More now on the breaking news we've been telling you about. Donald Trump is safe after being targeted in what the FBI says was an apparent assassination attempt at his Palm Beach, Florida golf club on Sunday. One man was later detained and could soon go through a court ordered mental health assessment before facing any possible criminal charges.

A law enforcement source tells CNN that federal agents expect the court will require it before any possible criminal charges. Ryan Wesley Routh was detained after the incident at Trump's Palm Beach golf course. CNN is attempting to determine if Ralph has legal representation.

We'll keep following breaking news out of Florida throughout the day, but here are some other stories we're keeping an eye on for you.

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(JACKSON FIVE PERFORMERS)

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FOSTER: Singer and songwriter Tito Jackson has died at the age of 70. According to his family. Jackson was best known as one fifth of the Jackson five, the pop group made up of Tito and his brothers, including the late Michael Jackson.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer didn't pursue a solo career until 2016 with the release of his first album Tito Time.

His sons TJ, Taj and Terrell posted on social media, quote: We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well being.

No cause of death has been revealed so far.

The U.S. is rejecting Venezuela's claims that the CIA led a plot to assassinate the country's president and other top officials. In a news conference on Saturday, Venezuela's Interior Minister accused the American Intelligence Agency of working to destabilize his country, the country after its disputed presidential election.

Venezuelan officials say 400 U.S. rifles were seized and six foreigners were arrested, including a U.S. Navy SEAL and two other Americans.

The U.S. State Department says Venezuela's accusations are quote, categorically false, and says the U.S. continues to support a democratic solution to the country's political crisis.

At least eight people are dead after some of the heaviest rain in decades hit parts of Central and Eastern Europe, causing widespread flooding. A slow moving low pressure system named Storm Boris has dumped months and months worth of rain across the region. The flooding has impacted parts of Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, where rivers have burst their banks.

Poland's Prime Minister says the government will announce a state of disaster and seek aid from the European Union.

Austria has declared the entire state of Lower Austria as a disaster area. In the capital Vienna, the flooding -- in the capital Vienna, the flooding has shut down highways and train connections, and there's no relief in sight just yet, with more rain forecast for the region in the days ahead.

Chinese authorities say a typhoon Bebinca, is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in more than 70 years. It made landfall early on Monday with heavy rain and gale force winds. China's Meteorological Administration has issued a red typhoon warning for the area. It's the most severe alert.

Officials are keeping a close watch on rivers and water flow from mountain areas due to flooding concerns. Some parts of China could see up to 80 millimeters of rainfall per hour.

That was a record-setting night at the 76th Emmy Awards, where Hollywood honored the best in television achievements.

Historical drama Shogun took home awards for outstanding drama, lead actor and lead actress in a drama, as well as directing for a drama series. Along with its Creative Art Emmy Award wins, Shogun won 18 awards in total, a new record for the most wins in a single season.

But the big surprise was the winner for Outstanding Comedy.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Emmy goes to Hacks.

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FOSTER: Max series Hacks took a surprise win for Outstanding Comedy, one of its two wins on Sunday. Max and CNN belong to the same parent company. The show's co-creator and co-showrunner called for Hollywood to better utilize its large pool of ageing talent.

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PAUL W. DOWNS, ACTOR, CO-CREATOR, CO-SHOWRUNNER, HACKS: About 20 percent of our population is over 60 plus, and they're only 3 percent of those characters on television. And I would like to see more of them because while I'm a great young supporting actor, I really want to be a good old lead.

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[04:55:03]

FOSTER: Well, the evening had his share of emotional speeches as well. Richard Gadd scored wins for both his writing and acting in Netflix's Baby Reindeer. He urged the public to keep going no matter how bad life gets.

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RICHARD GADD, ACTOR AND WRITER, BABY REINDEER: Look, 10 years ago, I was down and out, right? I never, ever thought I'd get my life together. I never, ever thought I'd be able to rectify myself for what had happened to me and get myself back on my feet again.

And then here I am, just over a decade later, picking up one of the biggest writing awards in television.

I don't know much about this life. I don't know why we're here, none of that. But I do know that nothing lasts forever. And no matter how bad it gets, it always gets better. Yes, so if you're struggling, keep going, keep going. And I promise you things will be OK. Thank you so much for this award.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: WNBA star rookie Caitlin Clark broke the rookie scoring record on Sunday. It happened during the Indiana Fever's win over the Dallas Wings 110 to 109. Clark finished the game with a career high 35 points and now stands atop the rookie leaderboard with 761 points this season. That beats the previous record of 744 points set by Hall of Famer Simone Augustus. Clark says breaking her record felt like a full circle moment, adding that Augustus was the first player she ever met at her first WNBA game.

Another WNBA star made history on Sunday night. A'ja Wilson became the first player ever to score 1,000 points in a single season. Her team, the Las Vegas Aces, won the game 84 to 71. The crowd went wild, as you can hear, after Wilson broke the record, holding up signs that read the GOAT. After the game, Wilson was awarded the game ball. Likely so.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next after a break.