Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Apparent Trump Assassination Attempt; Sean "Diddy" Combs Arrested; Putin Orders Russia To Boost Army By 180,000 Troops; Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh Charged in Court With Federal Firearms Offenses in Trump Assassination Attempt; Presidential Candidates Trade Blame Over Polarizing Rhetoric; Mayoral Candidate Swings Chair at Counterpart in Brazil. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 17, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:32]

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Anna Coren live from Hong Kong. Just ahead. Donald Trump praises the Secret Service while bashing Democrats. Why he says Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are to blame for the apparent attempt on his life.

Plus, music mogul Sean Diddy Combs is arrested in New York following a wave of sexual assault lawsuits and a human trafficking probe.

And escape from Afghanistan. One family's harrowing journey to the United States after the fall of Kabul.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Hong Kong. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Anna Coren.

COREN: Well, first this hour, new details on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida. We're learning the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh may have been lying in wait for nearly 12 hours along the tree line at the Trump International Golf Club before he was spotted by a Secret Service agent and fled in a car. The moment of Routh's arrest, a short time later caught on body cam video.

You can see him with his hands up as officers quickly handcuff him. He appeared in court Monday and was charged with two federal gun-related crimes, and officials say additional charges are possible. The Secret Service says the suspect did not have a line of sight on Trump and the Palm Beach County Sheriff says the suspect "didn't even get close to getting a round off."

Well, Trump is praising the Secret Service and other law enforcement for their actions, and is publicly recounting what appears to be a second attempt on his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All of a sudden, we heard shots being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five, and it sounded like bullets, but what do I know about that? But Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets. And they grabbed me, and so we're in the group, and everybody just -- we got into the carts and we moved along pretty good. I was with an agent and the agent did a fantastic job.

There was no question that we were off that course. I would have loved to have sank that last putt, but we decided to get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: CNN's Randi Kaye is following developments from Palm Beach, County, Florida, and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan Wesley Routh may have been laying in wait from his spot in the bushes at Trump International Golf Club for nearly 12 hours. That's according to court documents unsealed today showing Routh's phone was in the vicinity of the area starting as early as 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Prosecutors also revealed in court documents that the serial number on the rifle recovered from the area where Routh was spotted was unreadable to the naked eye.

Just before 2:00 p.m. Secret Service noticed the barrel of a rifle poking through a fence at Trump International Golf Club. Trump was somewhere between the fifth and sixth hole at the time.

CHARLES RAMSEY, FORMER PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: When you look at the map, you see a roadway very close to holes five and six, which it would make sense that that would be a location if you were going to try to take a shot and be closer, and would give you an opportunity to do so and also give you an escape route.

KAYE (voice-over): The Secret Service fired on the man with the gun before he fled. A quick-thinking witness at the scene provided authorities with a description of the suspect as well as a picture of the car and license plate.

Martin County deputies detained Routh a short time later. CNN obtained this body cam video of Routh's arrest.

SHERIFF WILLIAM D. SNYDER, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA: The witness from the incident at Trump International was flown to the scene by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and he was able to make a positive I.D.

KAYE (voice-over): In the bushes at the golf club, authorities recovered an SKS-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks equipped with ceramic tiles for a makeshift bulletproof vest and a GoPro. Since then, a complicated picture has emerged of Ryan Routh. A 58-year-old small business owner from Hawaii. CNN has learned that Routh supported Trump in 2016 but later dismissed him as a buffoon and a fool.

Routh also mentioned Trump in his book titled Ukraine's Unwinnable War. Routh traveled to Ukraine in 2022 and encouraged others to sign up to fight. He did an interview with AFP News Agency from Kyiv in April that year.

RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, MAN SUSPECTED IN THE APPARENT ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT OF FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Putin is a terrorist, and he needs to be ended.

KAYE (voice-over): Court documents also detail passed run ins with the law, including felony convictions in North Carolina.

[02:05:03]

In 2002, he pleaded guilty to felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction and carrying a concealed weapon. Other charges over the years included possession of stolen goods, driving without registration and failing to pay his taxes on time. Still unanswered questions remain, including how safe is Trump and others, given the current political environment.

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Everywhere the former President goes and the current president and other candidates go they're going to have to start thinking differently about the threat assessment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And a bit more information from that press briefing. We did learn that the FBI interviewed seven civilian witnesses at the scene, so they're trying to gather more information. We also now know that they are processing the suspect's items found at the scene that would include that SKS rifle with the scope, also the two backpacks and the GoPro. They collected DNA from those items and have sent that to Quantico.

They're also processing his vehicle. But questions do still remain. So far, the FBI says there isn't any indication that he worked with anyone else on this. It does look like he acted alone, but they couldn't say that for sure, and the FBI is still trying to figure out just how long he was in the state of Florida before this.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, County, Florida.

COREN: For more on this, I'm joined by CNN Senior National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem. She is also a former Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and a Harvard professor. Juliet, lovely to see you. We are just learning that the Secret Service did not search the golf course perimeter. Does that not appear to be a massive oversight?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It does if they had had enough notice that Trump was going to play golf. And so, this is where the complication arises. Is that in most instances, the protecte either has a known schedule is not impromptu, or is not as much of a of a potential risk as Donald Trump is. You know, look, most former presidents, they go to their ranches, they go play golf, but their schedules are pretty well known.

Trump is not only a former president, is, of course, the presidential nominee. And so, what we know now to be careful is that this was a more -- this was a spontaneous golf outing. They're not uncommon, and that therefore, what the Secret Service was able to do is at least secure the area around him and then have the kind of patrols around the open areas that I think ultimately resulted in stopping this potential assassination attack.

It's -- there's nothing good about this. In particular, how long that it appears that the shooter was in the hedges of maybe plus 10 hours, and no one identified him or the -- or his car, which was sitting there as well.

COREN: Juliette, we also heard from the acting director of the Secret Service who said, it's perhaps time to review their protective methodology and look at how they move from a reactive model to a readiness model. I mean, that is quite an extraordinary statement to make, suggesting that the system needs to be fixed.

KAYYEM: That's exactly right. Look, we used to -- the Secret Service would design their VIP protectee sort of resources around the person's relevance to the constitutional order. President, a vice president, a speaker -- a speaker of the house, or some legacy that they were, a former president. Donald Trump, like in most things in his life, is in a different category. He is -- he is a former president.

He may be a future president that is very uncommon in U.S. history. And he is quite public. He's out there. He likes crowds, he likes going out. He likes playing golf. All of that suggests that the Secret Service can't really put him into any of these normal categories, and really does need to take a different posture about -- in particular about him. But of course, given the U.S. threat environment right now, the increase in violence, increase in political threats of violence against everyone from judges to Secretaries of State that the Secret Service is going to have to rethink.

The threat environment and also particular protectees and how much they provide them safety.

COREN: Let's talk about the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh. What more we are learning about him, but also the fact that he was never in -- I guess, range, like he never had a line of sight of the former president nor did he fire his weapon.

KAYYEM: That's exactly right. The charges that we have seen at least disclosed today are really quite limited, and they really don't get to intent at this stage. He is being charged for essentially, gun violations. He is a former felony was in possession of a gun that's not allowable.

[02:10:03]

So what they quickly did is they got the easy part out of the way in terms of the charges against him.

The other charges that we might suspect including a federal statute that makes an enhanced crime to threaten violence or seek violence against a former president. Those will come later as they begin to understand his narrative. Now it may seem very obvious to people, this is exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to kill the president. The truth is, is that they have to prove it if he wasn't in range. If there's disclosures that he said, if he has some sort of defense. They want to make sure that what they indict him with and what they charge him with can stick.

There would be nothing worse than charging him for something that they actually don't have the evidence for. And so that's why you're going to see the easy charges first. You'll see other charges later. I have to say something about his history, though. What's interesting to me and people who study political violence is he's, you know, he's got these felonies, these criminal charges, none of them are really related to politics.

He gets obsessed with Ukraine in a way that that, at least on his social media, he's much engaged and enraged on. But he doesn't really focus on Trump as much as you would think, given that he might have attempted to assassinate Trump. That gap is something that prosecutors and investigators are going to have to figure out. How did you go from someone who was not a likely suspect to someone who spent a lot of time trying to get within range of Donald Trump.

COREN: Juliet Kayyem, always great to get your analysis. Thank you so much for joining us.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

COREN: Rapper and music producer Sean Diddy Combs has been arrested in New York, according to his attorney. The arrest comes as a federal indictment against him is expected to be unsealed in the coming hours. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has more.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: major breaking news regarding embattled music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. He was arrested on Monday night in Manhattan and was then brought in for processing. Charges are currently unclear, but this comes after months and months of civil allegations against Combs and also a long grand jury process.

This grand jury indictment comes after we had exclusively broken back in May that a grand jury may soon hear from some of those civil accusers. Now our viewers may remember a few months ago when we broke a disturbing video of Sean Diddy Combs' violently abusing his ex- girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, who was better known by her performing name Cassie back in 2016 at a Los Angeles hotel.

Now that came after Cassie was the first accuser to sue Diddy back in November, roughly 10 months ago. That began this domino effect against the rapper and businessman who is now facing 10 civil suits, nine of which directly accuse him of sexual assault. Now, Diddy is maintaining his innocence. His attorney telling me tonight, "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office."

They say, "he is an imperfect person, but is not criminal." Now, his attorney also says that he has been cooperating with the investigation and that he got to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. So much more to come. We will see what the charges are when the indictment is unsealed. Back to you.

COREN: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you. Well, a lawyer for three of the women accusing Combs of sexual assault says this is the first step towards justice. In a statement, their lawyer wrote, the long-awaited arrest of Sean Combs is the first step for our clients receiving justice. We knew this was coming. The evidence is very clear, and it was only a matter of time.

There are new concerns about the ceasefire and hostage release talks involving Israel and Hamas. Next, how the leader of Israel's opposition party is offering to help Benjamin Netanyahu get the hostages home.

Plus, the story of one Afghan family's long journey from the fall of Kabul to a new future in the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:16:48]

COREN: There are new concerns about the status of a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken plans to return to Egypt this week, but he won't stop in Israel, the State Department says Blinken will discuss efforts toward a ceasefire in Egypt, but not visiting Israel is raising doubts that a deal can be brokered before President Joe Biden leaves office.

Well, this will be the first time since the October 7 attacks, Blinken will travel to the Middle East without visiting Israel. Two senior Biden administration officials tell CNN the White House has no imminent plan to present the U.S. president with an updated ceasefire proposal.

Meantime, Israel's opposition leader is calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to bring the hostages home, and is offering political help. Yair Lapid says he'll provide Netanyahu with "any necessary safety net to get a deal."

Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to add 180,000 more troops starting in December. Well, that would bring Russia's troop total to about 1-1/2 million. It's a third time Putin has expanded the military ranks since launching his invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. The news comes one week after Russia stepped up its efforts to drive Ukrainian troops out of Kursk and as Russian forces are inching forward in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

It's been more than three years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country and one Afghan Family is finally settling into their new home in the United States.

Araf Safi worked as a translator for U.S. journalists in the years before the fall of Kabul and when the Taliban took over the capital, they were looking for him. Safi, his wife and their four children, eventually made it to the airport and managed to flee the country, but they ended up in Italy living in limbo with their future uncertain. Well, journalist Jennifer glass had worked with Safi in Afghanistan and has been fighting to get the Safi family to the U.S. Now they are finally in the state of Georgia, ready to start a new chapter in their lives.

Jennifer Glasse and Arif Safi join me now. A huge congratulations to you both. I know this has been an incredibly long and challenging journey to get a reef to the United States, but let's go back to August of 2021 when the Taliban was rolling into Kabul. Arif, you were obviously in danger because you had worked for foreigners, for a U.S. company. Jennifer, tell me about that moment and the conversation that you had with Arif.

JENNIFER GLASSE, JOURNALIST: It was a really horrific time. We had tried to prepare for it. I had told Arif to get passports for his children so that they would be prepared if we could -- if we were able to get them out, there was a visa program that was announced beginning of August for translators of American journalists, and that was our opportunity. But the Taliban took us by surprise.

They were at the gate of our house at 7:00 a.m. the first morning that they took over Kabul looking for Arif.

[02:20:05]

So, I was very surprised that they were so aggressive, so quickly.

COREN: Arif, we're looking at some of the photos of you outside that the airport. Obviously, you were waiting to board a flight. Jennifer used her contacts. She got you and your family on a plane to Italy, which is an incredible feat to pull off. Tell me how did you feel when you got on that plane and you were making your way to Italy?

ARIF SAFI, AFGHAN TRANSLATOR/ASSISTANT: Yes. It's a very difficult time. When the Taliban take our cover. So this very tough time for the -- it's very hard to get to the airport. So, the Taliban's everywhere there is the checkpoint. So, I was hiding from the Taliban and yes, when Jennifer told me, so they go to the airport. So, I took my family and my kids at 12:00 at the night.

So, I go to the airport. So, it's very hard, because there's a lot of people, they pushing together. And, yes, the crowd is a huge crowd there. So it's very hard for me. It took seven hours to -- I get into the airport.

COREN: But you finally got onto a plane to Italy. Jennifer, you obviously thought that this would just be a temporary stopover, perhaps for a few months before even his family would be evacuated to the United States. Tell us what happened.

GLASSE: Yes. We -- I thought getting them out of Afghanistan was going to be the hard part, and then it was -- it seemed impossible to get them out of Italy. The U.S. Embassy told me in November, I went to Italy in October of 2021 to try and figure out how to move things forward. The Embassy told me in November of 2021 that they would definitely get out because they left the Kabul airport in that window between August 15th and August 30th when the Americans were evacuating.

And so, we had filed their paperwork, and it seemed like nothing happens. For a year and a half, really, nothing happened. It took us a very long time to get them case number, which is crucial to move anything forward. And there's a lot of run around.

COREN: Arif, tell us about the difficulties that you face living in Italy. You know, you obviously had to support your family, legally, you weren't allowed to work. What was it like for those years that you were stuck there?

SAFI: It was life in Italy is very difficult for me because I'm living Calabria is the south of Italy. Where is the big problem the work, because I artwork, because I'm artworker, yes, I work in the restaurant. I work -- I was work on the greenhouse and I was work eight hours. Did not pay me. They not what say that? Fire with me, fair with me, because they a lot of problem with the work in the Italy. Yes. It's hard for me. I support my family in Italy because the -- yes, the work is big problem in there.

COREN: And Jennifer, then then tell us, you know, years pass, his family, they're living in this limbo, this purgatory, you know, waiting for this new chapter to begin, and finally, their P2 visas to the United States come through. How did you both feel? Jennifer, start with you.

GLASSE: This week, he's been here about six days, and we keep kind of like, can you believe it's real? I can't believe I'm sitting next to Arif Safi sappy in the United States. It is -- it is amazing. It has been incredible to have him here. I was a wreck until they actually got on the plane in Rome, and then when they got off the plane in Chicago, I just -- I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it until last week, I walked in and said, hello and welcome to America and their new American apartments.

And it's amazing. It's wonderful. And I'm so excited for him. He deserves this. And so, it's wonderful. It's great. I don't have words, I -- I'll start crying if I -- if I keep going.

COREN: I can -- I can sense that. I can only imagine that the relief and the joy that you must have felt.

[02:25:06]

Arif, I know you've been through so much, but you obviously realize how lucky you are to have had a champion in Jennifer but also that there are other fixers and translators who worked for U.S. companies, stuck in Afghanistan, still stuck in those, you know, third countries waiting for visas to be approved. How lucky do you feel?

SAFI: Yes. Yes. I'm -- I feel -- I'm feeling very well. I'm very lucky because she's doing a lot of things for me in Afghanistan, in Italy. She was a third time come to Italy and see me. I'm very thankful. I appreciate it because, yes, yes, I don't have word for her, because she's doing a lot of things for me.

COREN: Jennifer, I'm sure there are people watching this asking, why did you go to such lengths to help Arif and his family?

GLASSE: Arab's life was at risk because he worked for me. How could you not be the person who -- he was my responsibility. His family is my responsibility. If anything had happened to him, I don't know what I could have done. Arif worked for me for 10 years, and we went into dangerous spots together. We covered difficult things together. And of course, I was never going to stop. I was never going to let go.

Of course, he deserves a life in America. I'm so happy that he's getting a life in America. And we took it one step at a time. That has really been our mantra the entire time. When at the airport, he just -- it was so hard at one point, he says, it's really crowded, it's really hard. And I've never sent somebody into danger without being out there in front with them. And it was very hard being thousands of miles away.

And I just had to say to him, Arif, get to the gate. You have to get to the gate to know that he was 100 yards from freedom and might not get there was heartbreaking, and then we got through the gate, and then we got to Italy, and then Italy was hard, but we were like, OK, but you're not in Afghanistan and you're safe. One step at a time, one step at a time, and that's where we are now, one step at a time.

COREN: Tell me about your plans for the future. I noticed that in the family photos, you have two daughters. How fortunate they are to not be in Afghanistan, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where they would be prisoners in their own homes. I mean, tell me the life that you now have and will give to your children.

GLASSE: What's your plan for the future?

SAI: Yes. The first thing, I'm very happy for my kids, so they go to school today, the first day they go for the test. I'm very happy for the -- for my kids' future. And yes, my plan is the -- in the U.S., so I work. Maybe it doesn't matter what kind of work and restaurant and the company and I will build my new life. I hope it's a little bit -- maybe it's new for me, but I'm very happy. It's a lot of opportunity in the U.S. maybe. Research says --

COREN: Well, I'm so thrilled for both of you. I can see the bond that you both share and that comes with years of working together. And Jennifer, I just commend you for not giving up, not giving up. And Arif and we wish you and your family the very best in your future. Jennifer Glasse, Arif Safi, thank you so much.

SAFI: Thank you so much.

COREN: Well, coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Donald Trump is blaming what he says is inflammatory language from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the apparent attempts on his life, but he's also posting politically charge comments on social media. Next, a look at what can be done to calm the political polarization in the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:30] COREN: Welcome back. An update now on the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The suspect was in court Monday where he was charged with two federal gun related crimes. Officials say he could eventually face more charges. Cell phone data indicates Ryan Wesley Routh may have been waiting for up to 12 hours for Trump outside the Palm Beach Golf Course before he was arrested.

The former president is blaming U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the apparent attempt on his life. Speaking with Fox News, Trump claimed the suspect believed their rhetoric and acted on it. He also posted this on social media, "Because of these communist left rhetoric, the bullets are flying and it will only get worse."

Well, Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, also wasted no time in adopting the former U.S. president's rhetoric. Speaking in Georgia on Monday, he questioned why no one has attempted to assassinate Vice President Kamala Harris. Vance claims it is because Democrats are solely responsible for the current political violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE, (R-OH) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No, it is popular on a lot of corners of the left to say that we have a both sides problem. And I'm not going to say were always perfect. I'm not going to say that conservatives always get things exactly right. But you know the big difference between conservatives and liberals is that we -- no one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months, I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and needs to cut this crap out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: Richard Johnson is a lecturer in U.S. Politics at Queen Mary University of London. He joins us now from Oxford. I have to start with J.D. Vance's comments. What do you make of what he just said?

RICHARD JOHNSON, U.S. POLITICS LECTURER, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: I think it is very irresponsible. I mean, it almost sounds like it is an invitation for someone to have a shot at Kamala Harris. And this is really -- I mean, the comments that both Vance and Trump have made about Democratic rhetoric being responsible for these acts -- I mean, first of all, we don't have any evidence from the investigations from the Butler County incident and assassination attempt in July or the or the current one that that is in fact the case. But also, I think rather -- it is rather obvious, but important point to make that neither Donald Trump nor J.D. Vance have exactly practiced what they preached in this regard in terms of toning down their rhetoric.

And indeed in fact, even in the comments that Trump made about calling for the Democrats to take responsibility for their rhetoric, he used inflammatory comments about Kamala Harris being a communist. So, I think this is really wildly irresponsible coming out -- the language coming out of both J.D. Vance and Donald Trump on this. COREN: It is a pot calling kettle black; that is for sure. Donald Trump, he has spoken of Democrats as being the enemy from within and the real threat. I mean, how does that differ to Democrats calling Trump a threat to democracy?

JOHNSON: Well, I don't -- I mean, I think actually there is a difference because the Democrats are pointing out that Donald Trump did not accept the outcome of the last presidential election. And Donald Trump attempted in the period after the November 2020 election for weeks to claim that the election had been stolen, had been rigged when there was really no evidence of any kind of fraud or efforts to overturn -- to cheat on the election.

[02:35:00]

Trump and his allies were lying. And I think we just have to say that, they were lying about the outcome of the last election. And that I am afraid is a threat to democracy, when you don't -- loser's consent is an extremely important part of any robust democracy. That I think differs from Trump, when he makes comments about Kamala Harris or Joe Biden, where really he uses policy differences that he has with them to make -- cast aspersions about their character or their patriotism, which really I don't think he has any legitimate grounds to make those kinds of claims.

COREN: Richard, considering the rhetoric in this toxic political environment, can these statements being interpreted as inciting violence if you're mentally unwell?

JOHNSON: Well, I think one of the real challenges for us in the days to come after this attempt, which is different from July's -- the alleged perpetrator has survived, and also the alleged perpetrator has a much larger social media footprint. That would invite people both in the media, but also people who are just online to comb-over this individual's life story and the comments and so on. And I would discourage that sort of activity.

I think that the problem with doing that is it can lead to people with obscure, fringe and dangerous views, sort of person who believes that shooting someone is a legitimate act in a democracy getting too much attention and can invite perhaps other people of that sort to think that one of the ways that they can get attention to their views is to engage in acts of violence.

So, I think there is a responsibility on all of us to try to not focus too much on the individual, even though of course, there will be many reports in the days to come as well. So, it is difficult balance for the media on this.

COREN: Actually, I want to ask you about that, Richard, because I think it is fair to say that there is a responsibility of all candidates to bring down the temperature in their language, in their rhetoric. But, how can this be enforced and what role does the media play in all of this?

JOHNSON: This is also very difficult for the candidates where in a very febrile political environment United states is experiencing not just ideological polarization, but what we call in political science, effective polarization and that is to say an emotional polarization in American politics where people view supporters of the either party, and not everyone, but there is a growing proportion of people in the United States who view people who vote for a party different from them, not just as people who have a legitimate grievance, but people who are a threat to their country and their way of life.

And this leads people to try to start to seek alternatives outside of the system. And so what I think is really incumbent, both on politicians and on the media and citizens in the United states and around the world is to really focus on using the political system, using the democratic process to address your grievances, to air your grievances in a way that's responsible and measured, can be passionate, but it can't look to actions outside of the system, particularly political violence or intimidation. There has been too much of that.

Of course, the two attempts against Trump's life now which are unacceptable, but we've also seen it with the plot against Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan and Nancy Pelosi, which led to her husband being attacked with a hammer. And this sort of activity has to stop and both candidates need to say, cool it.

COREN: Yes. Enough is enough. Richard Johnson, we thank you for your time.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

COREN: Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:41:35]

COREN: A mayoral debate in Brazil turned ugly Sunday with one candidate sending another to hospital for treatment. Well, video shows Jose Luiz Datena swinging a chair at his counterpart Pablo Marcal on live television. Datena was expelled from the debate, but said in a statement, that his opponent had brought up dismissed sexual harassment allegations and that he does not regret his actions. Marcal, who was injured in the chest and wrist, has compared it to July's assassination attempt on Donald Trump and vowed to take legal action.

Well, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. "World Sport" is up next. Then, I'll be back in 15 minutes time with more of "CNN Newsroom." See you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)