Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Trump's Golf Game Sunday was a Last-Minute Addition to his Schedule; FBI Investigating Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump; Trump Safe after Apparent Assassination Attempt; Political Fallout from Trump Assassination Unfolding; At Least 41 Injured in Russian Strike on Kharkiv; Tito Jackson of "The Jackson 5" Dead at 70 Years Old. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is CNN Newsroom. Just ahead, Donald Trump survives a second apparent assassination attempt in just two months. We're live in Florida with the very latest on the investigation and reaction from the former president.

Plus, suspect Ryan Ralph was taken into police custody shortly after the attempt. What we are learning about his ties to the war in Ukraine. And parts of Central and Eastern Europe are underwater as deadly floods sweep through the region.

In a U.S. presidential campaign that has seen several surprising twists and turns we got another shocking development on Sunday. A second assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Here's what we know right now. Trump was golfing on Sunday, an unannounced outing that was not on his published schedule. He was in between holes five and six when a Secret Service agent noticed what appeared to be the barrel of a gun, a rifle sticking out from between some trees, and the agent opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF: The Secret Service Agent that was on the course did a fantastic job. They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: That's unclear if the gunman fired any shots at all. When law enforcement searched the scene, they found a rifle similar to an AK-47 and two bags you see hanging there in the bushes. Police leaders spotted someone fitting the description of the gunman on a nearby highway.

Although authorities have not yet named the suspected gunman. CNN, sources have identified the man as Ryan Wesley Routh. You see his pictures here. Routh had apparently been a Trump supporter in the past, but had grown disillusioned over Trump's lack of support for Ukraine. Routh had even tried to go to Ukraine to join the fight there.

With the very latest now let's go to CNN's Carlos Suarez in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hi there, Carlos. What more are we learning about the alleged gunman here?

CARLOS SAUREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, good morning. So as the investigation unfolds out here, as you said, we are getting a clearer picture of the 58-year-old man who was detained in connection with what happened here yesterday afternoon.

As you said, he has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh. We know that he is a self-employed home builder in Hawaii, and that he has been a bit critical of Former President Trump on social media. As you noted, he also has some pretty strong opinions about the war in Ukraine.

And we know that he traveled to Kyiv back in 2022. In fact, Ukraine's Foreign Legion tells us that Routh reached out to them about volunteering in the war effort there. We also know that the 58-year- old was arrested back in 2002 for barricading himself inside of a building with a weapon in North Carolina.

Now, yesterday, CNN was able to speak with Routh's son Oren, who said of his father, quote, he was loving and a caring father and an honest, hard-working man. It doesn't sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violence. He is a good father and a great man. Amara, one final note, when it comes to this 58-year-old man, we know that he was a self-published author. He put out a book talking about his efforts in trying to volunteer in the war in Ukraine, Amara.

[08:05:00]

WALKER: Yeah, a lot to sift through there, although it seems that Routh has given authorities a lot of material, at least online and so forth, to go through to find a motive. But regarding the gunman, and being able to know where Donald Trump was doing and where he was. I mean, this -- we were saying Trump's schedule was not even published, and this was an unannounced golf outing for him. How did -- how did Ryan Wesley Routh even know where Trump would be?

SAUREZ: Yeah. So that is one of several unanswered questions this morning. As you noted, the former president's outing to this golf course yesterday was not on his schedule. In fact, we're being told that it was a last-minute thing that the former president wanted to do yesterday.

And so, it is still unclear at this hour exactly how the 58-year-old knew that the former president would be making his way from Trump's Mar-a-Lago Resort to the golf course here behind me. As for what else we expect, perhaps to learn a little bit more throughout the day.

We know that the United States Secret Service Director is expected to travel to Florida today to meet with law enforcement officials here on the ground. He is also expected to meet with Former President Trump, and so we're expecting some information from the U.S. Secret Service, on that.

We know that the FBI is also still trying to get information from the public, anyone who may have seen anything that played out near this golf course yesterday. Again, investigators are trying to figure out how Routh was able to get anywhere between four to 500 yards close to the former president as he was golfing.

And then, of course Amara, we are still waiting to see what possible charges will be filed against Routh? Exactly when he'll make his first court appearance, whether that will be in a court, in local court, or whether he will be in federal court, Amara?

WALKER: It's really incredible times. Carlos Suarez in West Palm Beach, Florida, thank you. Donald Trump is said to be in good spirits in the wake of this apparent assassination attempt on his life, and he's thanking Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials for protecting him.

He also posted this message on his fundraising website. Fear not, I am safe and well, and no one was hurt, thank God. But there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us. I will not stop fighting for you. I will never surrender. CNN's Steve Contorno joining us now from St. Petersburg, Florida, with more on Donald Trump's reaction to this apparent assassination attempt. Tell us more about what Trump is saying, along with campaign officials.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Amara. Donald Trump last night on Truth Social where he often shares his thoughts with his supporters, shared a message thanking first responders, thanking the secret service, also saying he would like to thank everyone for their concern and well wishes.

It was certainly an interesting day, saying that the job done by the response teams was, quote, absolutely outstanding. Adding, I am very proud to be an American. And one of the other responses we are seeing from his campaign is this sort of posture that they will continue on undeterred by these events, and certainly reflected in his schedule, which we are told has not been changed at all by these events.

He is going to continue to hold rallies throughout the week. He has one plan for Wednesday in New York, another Saturday in North Carolina. He also has a Townhall tomorrow in Michigan. He doesn't have anything on his campaign schedule throughout today, until this evening, when he is expected to address a new cryptocurrency venture that his family is starting from Mar-a-Lago.

But that's sort of everything on the schedule that's was on the schedule heading into this weekend is still on there as of right now, and that we don't expect that to change, although we'll certainly share any new developments we have with you.

WALKER: And we do want to mention that political leaders from across the aisle, including President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, have condemned this incident. Of course, political violence in general, top Congressional leaders also speaking out. What about Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance? How is he reacting? CONTORNO: He posted on X that he actually was able to speak with the former president before it was even announced that this attempted assassination, or apparent attempted assassination took place, as he described Trump's as, in quote, good spirits.

And certainly, that has been reflected by others who have spoken to him as well. One interesting note I'd like to add from his campaign, which is they put out a note internally to staff from the top Trump Campaign Manager Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, for the second time in as many months, bracing them for the sort of fallout from another attempt on the former president's life. Saying, quote, this is not a matter that we take lightly. Your safety

is always our top priority.

[08:10:00]

They went on to say they hope that the staff can, quote, remain resilient in your daily activities, be observant and maintain constant level of situational awareness, just the kind of message that, unfortunately, is a reflection of the reality that what it's like to work for a presidential campaign in this day and age, Amara.

WALKER: And we are also learning that the Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe plans to remain in Florida indefinitely as this investigation continues, obviously it's a high priority. Steve Contorno, thank you very much.

Trump's opponent in the presidential race was quick to condemn the apparent assassination attempt as I just mentioned moments ago. Kamala Harris wrote on social media, I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America. She and President Joe Biden each issued statements condemning political violence. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House with more. Hi, Kevin. Tell us more about how Biden and Harris have been reacting to this news?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, both of them expressing relief that Donald Trump was unharmed. And as you said, condemning in pretty forceful terms any type of political violence. And we did not see President Biden yesterday, but we did learn, sort of within an hour of this incident taking place, that he and the vice president had been briefed by their teams.

He was kept updated all throughout yesterday afternoon and evening, and then sort of late last night, did put out a statement, a more fulsome statement, talking about what occurred, saying that he was relieved that the former president was unharmed, and said as of -- as I have said many times, there's no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.

And he goes on to say that he's directed his team to ensure that the secret service had every resource that it needs to ensure Former President Trump's protection. For her part, the Vice President Kamala Harris said that she was deeply disturbed by what she called the possible assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

And she reiterated the importance of the Biden Administration's focus on ensuring that the secret service has the resources it needs to keep Trump safe. Of course, you will remember following the first assassination attempt over the summer, there were all kinds of questions about the secret service, about how it had prepared, about whether it had done enough to prevent that situation.

Ultimately, it resulted in the then Director Kim Cheatle stepping down, current Director Ronald Rowe is on his way now to West Palm Beach, Florida. And it's interesting, he actually began his career as a police officer in West Palm Beach, so when he's down there, he will certainly know the area well, as he's getting an assessment of what exactly happened.

And certainly, if it is determined that Trump requires more protection from the secret service President Biden is saying in this statement that the secret service should do everything it possibly can and should have every resource that it possibly needs to keep him safe.

WALKER: It's a delicate situation, isn't it, for both Biden and Harris? Because now, of course, they're condemning political violence, but they're going to be out on the campaign trail attacking Trump's policies and his record. But I guess, fortunately or unfortunately, they now have precedent for this, because -- you know just it lessened -- a little over two months ago, they were in the same situation after that first assassination attempt.

LIPTAK: Yeah, it is tricky. And neither of them is canceling their planned schedules for today. We will see President Biden in about 45 minutes from now, leaving the White House. He's going to Philadelphia for an event on historically black colleges universities.

And so, it is sort of a fine line. I think what you will hear from the president and from Kamala Harris is certainly that they detest any kind of political violence, but it is the policies of President Trump and the character of President Trump that they don't think is fit for office.

Certainly, on both sides of the aisle you have heard talk about tamping down on some violent rhetoric. I think Democrats would say that the violent rhetoric is much more pronounced on the Republican side. But certainly, they will have a fine line to walk, and every sort of utterance that they make over the next 24 hours or so will be delved over by partisans to try and ensure that they are actually tamping down on what could be constituted as violent rhetoric.

But certainly, both of them very quick in their statements yesterday to say that violence has no place in American politics, but obviously this is a very fraught moment for both of them. It's a very tense time in America with now two assassination attempts on the former president. Certainly, both of them are highly aware that they're living through this moment and contesting an election in this moment, and they don't take any of that very lightly.

WALKER: Kevin Liptak, Senior White House reporter, thank you. Well, the Palm Beach County Sheriff is explaining why Donald Trump's Secret Service protection was so quote limited, and he's also defending the service's actions. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADSHAW: Well, you got to understand, the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight. All right. And at this level that he is at right now, he's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this higher golf course around it.

[08:15:00]

But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the secret service deems possible. So, I would imagine that the next time he comes at a golf course, there'll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter, but the secret service did exactly what they should have done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Let's get more now. Let's bring in CNN's Senior National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem. Let's go off the Palm Beach County Sheriff's comments there that the secret service did exactly what should have been done. I mean, it is remarkable that you had an agent who was able to spot that rifle.

I looked right down the barrel of it and was able to take action quickly, potentially saving the former president's life. Is this a success story, Juliette Kayyem for the secret service, or, you know, is this another example of why there should be more scrutiny on the secret service that -- the fact that the gunman got this close, nearly 500 yards close to Donald Trump?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yeah, and we don't even know if the gunman at this stage was waiting for Trump to get closer, because it does seem like he had the backpacks still pinned up. So, we don't even know at what stage he was interrupted.

So, I want to say yes, unequivocally, a success, because its lessons learned from the Butler -- Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump, which was you essentially, if you see anything that looks like it's a threat to the president, you engage. And that's what they did.

People will remember from Butler Pennsylvania. There was a lot of people saying something was wrong, and no one was responding. So that engagement by the secret service agent scared the assassin, the attempted assassin, who then runs and is then a photograph of the car is captured by a very smart bystander who knew to take the picture, and he's captured.

So that's good news. The bad news or the still lessons to be learned news is, it is clear Trump, for security purposes, is a category of his own. He is not just a Former President in the United States. Most of those former presidents go play golf. They go to Texas, to the ranch. They're not present.

This one is now running again, and he is running in a very contested election where the threat environment is very high. So, they need to assess Trump as a sort of risk of one in some ways, and then assess the security perimeters. This also will mean, however, that Trump will have to moderate or modify some of his movement in response. And so, there's going to be, I think, a lot of give and take between Trump as a former president, Trump as candidate, and the secret service's needs.

WALKER: We were saying Ronald Rowe, the Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service will be in Florida, and definitely, as this investigation plays out. Obviously, a lot of questions to be answered. One that has me scratching my head is, is how the suspected gunman even knew where the former president would be and at that time, right? Because we were saying Trump this -- was an unannounced event on his schedule. It wasn't even published on his schedule.

KAYYEM: Yes. That's exactly right. What I'm looking at, just based on my experience, is here's a person who's -- you know sort of living life out loud in terms of social media that he -- but he doesn't -- you know he's got prior convictions. But nothing is leading us, at least in his background, to this moment.

Then the Butler assassination attempt happens, and you see him begin to engage. He's very focused on Ukraine as well over the last couple of years. So, what I'm very interested in is, sort of as I was -- you know as we were during Butler, is that, would it breed copycats and others, right? And so where was he during this time period between the two attacks?

When did he arrive in Florida? What was he looking at? What was he staking out? You know, they're going to go back and see was he driving along the highways near the golf course so he could get a sense of Trump's routine.

And look, if you're there, as anyone who's been near a presidential detail, when the -- when the -- when the VIP moves. It's pretty clear. Everyone gets into cars. All the cars move. So -- I'm of the belief that he probably focused on the routine of Trump and knew he was at the golf course then, rather than any nefarious thing that he had inside knowledge.

WALKER: It really is just incredible to think about the political environment that we're in. I mean, two assassination attempts on a Former U.S. President within 2.5 months, just 50 some days out from a presidential election. Can we just take a step back and I just want to get your take on -- you know what America is facing right now? And are we talking about the danger of more would be assassins out there?

[08:20:00]

KAYYEM: Yeah. I mean, I was saying last night on air -- you know I never thought I'd be on air for one assassination attempt, let alone two.

WALKER: Right.

KAYYEM: This is unique for all of us. We have been monitoring the threat environment over the last couple months that were certainly listening to what the FBI and what counter terrorism and adequalization government officials are telling us the threat environment is higher than we've ever seen.

We know that the language, and in particular, since Trump has entered the political scene, that language has bred violence across the United States, election officials, judges, Nancy Pelosi's husband, and now two assassination attempts. And people will think, well, it's the right or the left.

I am now of the school given both the Butler Pennsylvania attack, where the guy's motives were, it was not he -- that was just -- he just chose something out of convenience. And you know he didn't have a particular agenda. And this alleged assassin who -- whose political background is somewhat all over the place, though, he has a tremendous focus on Ukraine, that it's no longer about the ideology, it's just about the violence, right?

So, we can't put people into different camps anymore. This one's right, this one's left. That's scary from the perspective of defense, because you simply don't know -- you know anyone or everyone could be a threat. And so, we always talk about lowering the temperature that leaders need to calm the water, so to speak.

We've got here in the United States, a big issue going on around Haitians and immigrants in Ohio. All of that has been leading to threats and the threat of violence and now a potential assassination. We are responsible for this. This is no -- no one else is to blame. And it doesn't lead to good places unless we are able to address it.

WALKER: It's a sad state of affairs in our country today.

KAYYEM: Yeah.

WALKER: Juliette Kayyem, thank you for that sobering assessment.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WALKER: Still to come, we are getting new details about the man investigators believe is behind the assassination attempt, specifically his ties to Ukraine. We'll have more on that just ahead. And later this hour, a look at the political fallout from the latest assassination attempt on Donald Trump. How will the Harris and Trump campaigns move forward from here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: We are learning more about the man detained in the apparent second assassination attempt of Donald Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and he actually visited the country in 2022 that is, according to video and images geolocated by CNN.

Now, Routh also criticized Trump in a self-published book on the Ukraine war. He also wrote the former president's withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018 drove Tehran closer to Moscow.

[08:25:00]

And Russia as you know from watching this program, has been using Iran supply drones in Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian is looking at all of this for us. She's joining us now from London. Clare, what more are you learning about Routh's apparent ties to Ukraine?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Amara, we're building up a picture through his social media post, through his book that he self- published last year, through various photos and interviews that he gave to media of someone who had a very intense interest, bordering on obsession, I think you can say, with helping Ukraine.

But whose efforts, in all different ways seem to have failed, leading to, obviously, an increase in his frustration. He, according to his book, went to Ukraine in the early months of the war, trying to volunteer, but was turned away, he said, because he was too old at the age of 56 back then, and didn't have any military experience.

So, he then turned his attention to trying to recruit foreign soldiers for the Ukrainian military. The AFP News Agency captured some footage of him in Kyiv in April of 2022. I think we can show you that, where he apparently set up a makeshift volunteer center there, but that was eventually dispersed by police.

He then seems to have tried to target Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban through extensive social media posts, but that didn't seem to come to anything either. And there are two main departments within the Ukrainian military that handle volunteers. Both of them have told us that he had nothing to do with them.

One of them associated with the land forces, admitted that he reached out multiple times to them, but described his ideas as, quote, delusional. So, look, I think obviously the question is, how do you get from that to someone now a suspect in an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate? But we are, as I say, sort of piecing this together from interviews, including one that he gave to Newsweek Romania in June of 2022 take a listen to a clip from that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT: Well, I've been dealing with Russia for my entire life. You know, we have one period where it was OK, but now we've let it slip, flip back into in the terrorism. So, it's just the world needs to respond. You know, the -- why world leaders are not sending military is beyond me. We're going to have to elect new leaders the next go around that have a backbone and that -- you know have the fortitude to say, hey, we're not going to tolerate this type of a behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, like, obviously, that doesn't prove anything, but we can see there's a level of frustration there over the Ukraine war that he is now seemingly directing at his own leaders in the U.S., saying we're going to have to elect new leaders the next go around that have a backbone. There's a lot we still don't know, of course, around his Ukraine

connection, how he funded his efforts to help Ukraine, someone who was a builder of affordable housing in Hawaii. And if there's anything to that comment that he said in that clip there, that I've been dealing with Russia for my entire life.

But as I say, this picture is building up of someone who was -- you know very keen to try and help -- try to make a name for himself, and was very much sort of out there and visible while doing that.

WALKER: Clare Sebastian, really interesting. Thank you very much. So how will this second attempt on Donald Trump's life affect the campaign? That is a question we must ask just 50 days from Election Day. We're going to look at how both sides might play. How it might play on both sides of the U.S. presidential election.

Our breaking news coverage continues after the break. And many Eastern European communities are reeling after Storm Boris dropped months- worth of rain in just two days. We're going to take a look at what's being done to help those affected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

WALKER: Back to our top story, and CNN has just obtained a new photo of the suspect tied to the latest assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Three law enforcement sources tell CNN that suspect is Ryan Wesley Routh. The 58-year-old you see here is a self-employed home builder in Hawaii, and his social media shows a history of criticizing the former president.

In the meantime, Donald Trump is safe and unharmed after another apparent assassination attempt. This is just the second one in two months. Trump was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday when a secret service agent noticed something in the bushes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADSHAW: They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at. And he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Well, the secret service says the suspect was 300 to 500 yards away from the president that's less than 450 meters. A witness helped law enforcement locate the suspect as he fled the scene along Interstate 95 North of Palm Beach, that witness taking a photo of the getaway car.

Now, while the investigation continues to unfold, Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe plans to remain in Florida indefinitely to manage the case. CNN's Randy Kay has more now from Palm Beach County, Florida.

RANDY KAY, 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 Randy Kay CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

WALKER: Randy, thanks so much. The 2024 race for the White House has been a close one, a very close one up to this point, with both campaigns polling very, very close to one another. So how might this second assassination attempt on Donald Trump impact voter opinion and each campaign. The Author of this book, Corey Brettschneider is a Professor of Political Science at Brown University.

[08:35:00]

His book is titled "The Presidents and the People" and he is an expert on topics such as this. He joins us now from New York. Good to see you, Corey. I just want to take a step back and just you know big picture here -- you know the fact that this has happened again, an attempted assassination attempt on a former president within 2.5 months, just 50 days from a Presidential Election. What are your thoughts? COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, BROWN UNIVERSITY: A couple. One is that, of course, it highlights the fact, and you just heard that there was a weapon of war, essentially, that was discovered on the suspect's person. This is a country which has really failed to provide basic security. And when it comes to the deep question this election, which is the question of whether or not our democracy will survive.

The ability to provide security is essential, and yet we don't have laws that enforce that basic security. We don't have the gun laws necessary. More generally, I think that the -- you know the violence that we're seeing also speaks to the kind of rhetoric that we're hearing.

And of course, the president and the former vice president are doing anything they can to demonize some Americans, some migrants. And so, the atmosphere, as you've been reporting, is really tense during this election. The stakes couldn't be greater. Because, of course, this isn't a normal election.

The President -- Former President Donald Trump is promising if he were to win, to become a dictator on day one. So, the threat of democracy is also on the table. The stability of the system itself. Now we might hear, and I think we will hear from J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, that that rhetoric itself, what they'll call rhetoric.

The threat to democracy is a danger, and it should be tamped down. But when it comes to the truth, which is that this former president has promised that, I don't think we have any choice but to discuss that issue.

WALKER: Absolutely. And look, it may seem insensitive. You know that we're already talking about the political ramifications of an attempt on humans, a person's life, but that's kind of the reality -- you know with -- when we're just so close to a presidential election.

How do you expect both sides, not just the Harris and Trump campaigns, but you know, also Congressional leaders and just people -- you know on the left and right spinning this and of course, I feel like the finger pointing has already begun?

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Well, I think, as on the Trump side, it's very clear that they'll paint him as a hero, the victim now of two attempts on his life and the victim of violence aimed against him. And I think the response has to be to say, first of all, no violence is acceptable in this country, whether that's in our schools or against presidential candidates.

And also, to be honest with the American people, really that theme of the threat to democracy can't be backed off because of the accusation that that somehow linked to violence. We've got to, I think, all of us, not just the campaigns leaders in Congress and especially citizens, see what's on the table, which is the ability to criticize our leaders.

Donald Trump, of course, has threatened to shut down the opposition, just as John Adams did during the second presidency. He's been indifferent to matters of race at best, and now stoking violence, as Woodrow Wilson did during his presidency, talking about hyphenated Americans to really other and suggest that some Americans are less than others.

What I'd love to see from both campaigns, although I don't think we'll see it from the Trump campaign, is a return to the idea that the presidency is unique. It's the one leader that is supposed to represent all Americans, and representing all Americans means not demonizing some based-on ethnicity or race.

WALKER: You're -- picking up on that where you have -- you know one side demonizing migrants. You talked about the rhetoric fueling this threatening political environment that we live in today. Over the weekend, you had the Vice-Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance doubling down on this racist trope, a debunked myth that Haitian migrants are eating cats and dogs. Here he is on Sunday, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: The --

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do Dana.

BASH: Sorry, you just said that you're creating the story --

VANCE: What's that, Dana?

BASH: You just said that this is a story that you created.

VANCE: Yes.

BASH: So, the eating dog -- thing is not --

VANCE: We are creating. We are -- Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we're creating a story, meaning we're creating the American media focusing on it.

BASH: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:40:00]

WALKER: J.D. Vance just openly admitted there that they were creating this story. Clearly, this kind of rhetoric is not going to go away.

BRETTSCHNEIDER: Absolutely, some of the threat to democracy lies in Vance's blatant willingness to demonize a community, Haitian Americans in Springfield, specifically, who have done nothing but work hard and be successful. And there are issues about facing all communities, like housing shortages. And he is in the most anti-Democratic, really fascistic, fascist way, saying that it's -- this minority community is to blame for all the problems of Springfield, of this city, that's a threat to democracy. It's the kind of rhetoric that we're used to from dictators who are trying to win at all costs.

But there's another threat to democracy implicit in what he's saying, which is an indifference to the truth. He tells CNN that he's making it up. He just admits it. And that kind of indifference to the truth. How can you have a democracy if citizens can't tell between fact and fiction?

And if one candidate really two candidates, Donald Trump and his running mate, are willing to say they don't care about the truth that they're willing to make stories up. It's impossible in such an environment to have anything resembling a serious democracy, which requires citizens to make decisions based on facts and based on information. And this is disinformation, and you have such a brazen candidate, somebody, by the way, who went to Yale Law School --

WALKER: Right.

BRETTSCHNEIDER: -- couldn't show more to the rule of law, admitting that he's just making the facts up. It is outrageous. I can't think of another example candidate conceding that they are indifferent to the basic, fundamental idea that Americans need to hear the truth, or at least an attempt at the truth by their candidates.

WALKER: Yeah, we have a major problem in this country when we cannot even agree on the basic facts. Corey Brettschneider, thanks for the conversation. Well, sources tell CNN that U.S. intelligence officials recently briefed the Trump campaign on potential threats from Iran, which they say included plans to step up attacks on Donald Trump and people around him, as well as engaging in cybersecurity attacks.

CNN National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen joining me now live from Washington with more. Zach, what more do we know about these apparent threats from Iran? Presumably, they are being taken seriously if officials brief Trump's campaign on them?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Amara, it's clear that U.S. officials do think this threat from Iran is credible, and it really does compound concerns about Donald Trump's security policy -- in the security posture around Donald Trump, given what happened yesterday.

Now I want to be really clear, there is no indication at this point that the intelligence briefing about Iran's intention to escalate threats against Donald Trump is related in any way to the apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump to put out yesterday.

But this is now the second time we're hearing about intelligence streams, new intelligence streams that indicate Iran is specifically looking into the idea of potentially trying to assassinate Donald Trump or the people around him, as well as other U.S. political figures. And the briefing that happened recently, our sources tell us what was

an indication and a warning from U.S. intelligence officials that Iran is planning to escalate that threat and potentially attempt to carry out something that they would have gone further than they would have before.

And this is going to be a concern in the wake of not just what happened yesterday and the fact that yet another person was able to breach the security perimeter around Donald Trump's golf course. But in the wake of the Butler, Pennsylvania rally shooting on July 13th, when Donald Trump was in Butler, Pennsylvania, and obviously that would be assassin narrowly missed shooting the former president.

And so, you -- now you add in the added threat of a foreign adversary actively attempting and planning out potential assassination plots against Donald Trump, according to U.S. intelligence officials, and they're also planning different ways to try to undermine Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

You mentioned the briefing was also about plans to increase cyberattacks against Donald Trump. We know for a fact that U.S. officials have already blamed Iran for conducting a hack and leak operation targeting Donald Trump's presidential campaign with the intention of undermining his ability to put himself back in the White House.

It's clear that Iran is targeting Donald Trump on a variety of fronts at the same time, the security concerns around these attempted assassinations are really raising questions about the ability of the secret service to handle threats for both foreign and domestic.

WALKER: Zach Cohen, appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Still ahead, a frightening experience devastating floods hit Central Europe this weekend. Why rescue operations like this one are becoming common on parts of this continent?

[08:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: At least 41 people have been injured after a Russian aerial bomb hit a 12-storey apartment building in Northeastern Ukraine. Officials in Kharkiv say they fear others are trapped under the rubble, and the search and rescue operation goes on.

Ukraine's Interior Minister says one resident refused to leave without his dog, so the emergency crew rescued them both from their smoke- filled apartment. At least 10 people have died after some of the heaviest rain in decades hit parts of Central and Eastern Europe, causing widespread flooding.

These images are coming from the Czech Republic, and you can see how rising water levels have swamped this neighborhood, a slow-moving low- pressure system named Storm Boris has dumped a month's worth of rain across the region. Take a look at this street in Poland, which has become a fast moving, muddy river, an image that has been repeated from Austria to Romania.

Joining me now from Paris is Melissa Bell. Melissa, give us a sense of the scale of this flooding and what emergency officials are facing?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the scale is, as you said, Amara some of the worst flooding that we've seen in a couple of decades in these parts of Europe, the result of that very dramatic, very heavy rainfall that we saw in so many parts.

Some of the worst hit along the Polish border of the Czech Republic, where you've seen extensive damage, some bridges entirely swept away, and, of course, huge difficulty for the residents to try and recover from the initial aftermath just to get some basic supplies, have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could get ready, because we had enough information suggesting what will come these days with Facebook and Instagram, you know what is happening around you, and so you can calm down a bit and that you know what's going on. We made stocks of drinking water and prepared a camping gas cooker in case they switched off gas and electricity. We also recharged all electrical devices we had, and we're hoping we just won't need this all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: The result is many thousands forced from their homes, huge evacuations across those parts of Europe. And while the water is receding in those-hardest-hit over the last couple of days, Amara, we're seeing the region across which threats of heavy rainfall and flooding are extending.

We're looking as far south as Hungary the -- along the Danube into Slovakia and all the way to Vienna. So extreme weather conditions that are causing extensive damage, and essentially, for which these parts of the world, and we're talking here about the European community -- European Union, I'm sorry, was simply not prepared.

It isn't simply that specialists say we could expect these weather patterns, more extreme weather, the evaporation for the Mediterranean, the Black Sea causing this. This was predictable and predicted Amara what was not prepared for were these communities. It gives you an idea of just how difficult these increasingly difficult weather conditions are going to be for the world to deal with. And again, we're talking about the European Union Amara.

WALKER: Exactly. And it's extraordinary to see those pictures as well. Melissa Bell in Paris, thank you. Well, China's authorities say Typhoon Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in more than 70 years.

[08:50:00]

It made landfall early Monday with heavy rain and gale force winds of 130 kilometers per hour. China's Meteorological Administration has issued a red typhoon warning for the area, it is -- its most severe alert. Flights and trains are currently suspended during what is a three-day mid-autumn festival.

More than 400,000 people in Shanghai have been evacuated from their homes as exhibition centers and school gyms have been turned into makeshift shelters. Bebinca is the second major storm to hit China this month, following deadly Super Typhoon Yagi.

Still ahead, a member of American pop music royalty has died. Tito Jackson was the last member of the Jackson family to launch a solo career. We'll look back at his life and career after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: It was a record setting night at the 76th Emmy Awards, where Hollywood honor 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 his creative -- Emmy won 18 awards total, a new record for the most wins in a single season. But the big surprise was the winner for Outstanding Comedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Emmy goes to Hacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Max Series, Hacks took a surprise win for Outstanding Comedy, one of its two wins on Sunday. Max and CNN belonged to the same parent company. The show's Co-Creator and Co-Showrunner called for Hollywood to better utilize its large pool of aging talent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL W. DOWNS, ACTOR, CO-CREATOR, CO-SHOWRUNNER, "HACKS": About 20 percent of our population is over 60 plus, and there are 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: And the evening had its 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD GADD, ACTOR & WRITER, "BABY REINDEER": Look ten 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 with 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 hear 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)

WALKER: And finally, this hour, saying farewell to a member of one of Pop's legendary groups. 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 5" the pop group made up of Tito and his brothers, including the late Michael Jackson.

[08:55:00]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer did not 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. And that is my time here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Erica Hill is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:00]