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Suspect In Kirk Shooting Being Held Without Bail in Utah County Jail; Lawmakers Seek Increased Security Amid Political Violence Concerns; Trump Tells NATO Countries To Stop Buying Russian Oil; Man Beheaded With Machete At Dallas Motel; Analysts Compare Today's Tensions To Unrest In 1968; Star-Studded Concern In St. Peter's Square Today. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 13, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:55]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with the investigation into the accused killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Right now state and federal authorities are digging into the past of 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson, who they believe acted alone. But many questions remain. Officials conducted a search at Robinson's apartment yesterday in southern Utah as they work to find more evidence, including indications of a possible motive.

And Kirk's widow is publicly mourning her loss. In a series of emotional photos posted to social media Erika Kirk is seen grieving beside her husband's casket and kissing his hand as she says her goodbyes.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is on the campus of Utah Valley University, where the tragedy happened.

Ed, what more are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here on the Utah Valley University campus, it remains closed, cordoned off. And we have learned that classes will resume on Wednesday here. But it also comes that reopening will come a day after the suspect. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson is slated to make his first initial court appearance.

So we've learned that from prosecutors here in Utah that formal criminal charges will be filed next Tuesday afternoon. And then shortly after that, we will see the suspect appear briefly for the initial hearings, appearance in court. We are also told that he will not be brought from the jail to the courthouse. He will instead appear virtually, but obviously that will be a significant moment in this investigation as investigators continue to work throughout all of this, trying to piece together more details, more evidence.

As you mentioned, Fredricka, the question of the motive, what we've learned so far is that the governor here in Utah says that the they've learned from family members that in recent years, the suspect had become much more political. That he had felt and had a dislike for Charlie Kirk, because he felt like he spread hate. But there's still a lot of great deal of context missing around those conversations and how all of that might have led to the motive to carrying out such a heinous shooting here on this campus.

And here on the edge of the campus we've seen this memorial continue to grow here in a steady stream of people, Fredricka, throughout the weekend, coming to pay their respects and many of them paying close attention to what Charlie Kirk's wife said yesterday. She spoke for almost 20 minutes. And this is a little bit of what she talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIKA KIRK, WIFE OF CHARLIE KIRK: To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won't. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die. All of us will refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband's name. And I will make sure of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: She went on to describe her husband as a martyr for his beliefs, and also definitely seemed to suggest that she would be very involved in carrying on the mantle there at Turning Point USA, which has been a hugely successful political operation, especially among -- generating enthusiasm among young voters for conservative causes. So she vows to continue carrying that on.

And, you know, here, as we mentioned, Fredricka, we continue to see people coming to pay their respects as this campus looks in the days ahead to try to get back to some sort of semblance of normalcy -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavandera in Utah, thank you.

All right. After Kirk's killing and other recent political attacks, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are contending with how to engage with the public going forward.

CNN Capitol Hill reporter Camila DeChalus is joining us right now.

Camila, what are lawmakers saying?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, several lawmakers have really spoken out condemning this political violence. And they say that the death of Charlie Kirk really underscores just how heightened the political environment in this country has become.

[15:05:03]

And it also illustrates just how seriously they need to take threats made against lawmakers and other officials. For instance, earlier this week, Republican Representative Nancy Mace told reporters that she's taking additional security measures. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I know that they've increased the budget for members. I have police posted outside of my offices in South Carolina. I have employees that are afraid to come to work. I have -- I have children who think they're going to get murdered at school. And so this is -- it's going to end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now Democratic lawmakers are also speaking out. For example, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ruben Gallego canceled campaign events this weekend out of precaution. And it really further highlights just how serious this issue has become.

Now threats made against officials just in the recent years have really increased, Fred. An initiative by Princeton University which tracks political violence in the U.S., says that there have already been more than 300 instances of threats and harassment made against local officials this year, which is a 9 percent increase compared to last year.

WHITFIELD: Camila DeChalus, thanks so much.

All right. The shooting death of Charlie Kirk is the latest in a long line of troubling political violence in U.S. history.

Joining me right now to talk more about this is Leah Wright Rigueur. She's an associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins University and a CNN political historian.

Great to see you. So near immediately after this assassination, images of the assassination of JFK, MLK and RFK all coming to mind, as well as attempted assassinations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and most recently Donald Trump before his second term.

So what kind of similarities or perhaps contrast do you see in the political climates of these very different eras?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: So I think the best way to think about this is that there are very old strategies, and the difference is that there are new techniques and new technologies. And so we've always known that there have been -- there's been a place in our democratic society, in our constitutional republic for attacks on political figures, particularly when people feel alienated, ostracized or let down by political systems.

We also know that these things aren't unique to say one side of the aisle. It's not right. It's not left. Sometimes it just is. This is one of the things I would caution people as they rush towards judgment about the shooter. In fact, once it comes out, we may find, like in the case of Gerald Ford's attempted assassination, in the case of Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination, that these things may not nicely and neatly fit into ideological categories.

Instead, what they fit into is really a disaffection and alienation from traditional metrics of a democratic society. In short, when people feel a level of rage and a level of anger and dissatisfaction with political systems, they act on it and it generally results in horrific violence that is directed either at public figures or public political figures.

WHITFIELD: Mm-hmm. I mean, in this case, the immediate impact, you know, of political violence is palpable, right? People feel shocked. They're scared. They're worried. But then historically, does that moment provoke change or even a new chapter?

RIGUEUR: so the way that it can provoke a new chapter and it often does is it often serves as a unifying moment for the country, for the positive. But that is a very specific set of circumstances. What it takes is a leader, a national figure, to look around and look at the landscape and call for unity, and to say that this is a moment where Americans, irrespective of their beliefs, irrespective of their backgrounds, their experiences, that we need to come together in support of our democratic ideals.

And so at these various points in time, we see this in the aftermath, the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's assassination. We see this in the immediate aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. When RFK Senior comes out and says, hey, everyone, let's keep calm. We are all Americans. And that actually leads to the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act.

We see this in the aftermath of RFK's assassination after the California Democratic primary that it's these calls for unity, saying that this is something that we're all united by, and we can all say that we abhor political violence, that this is not the way that we settle our differences. If the leaders at the top don't do that, it actually has the opposite effect and can lead to more violence.

WHITFIELD: And when you say the leaders at the top and these calls for calm or unity, it may not necessarily come from an elected leader.

[15:10:03]

You did say a national leader. Are we at a time right now where people are looking at the audience of people and even looking among just regular folks or a new movement and trying to identify who this national leader could be to help promote some calm?

RIGUEUR: I think that there -- that Americans are scared. We know from polling data, we know from interviews and all kinds of data, especially data that has come from here, from CNN, that shows Americans are deeply concerned about the direction of the country and are deeply concerned about increasing polarization. They are looking for someone to unify them. They are looking for someone to lower the temperature and to say, look, we can have dialogue.

We can have difference, and we can settle our political grievances in democratic ways. But I think one of the hard things right now is because we are so polarized and because there are outside influencers, agitators, foreign, in particular foreign influencers. The FBI mentioned this the other day that China and Russia in particular have been -- have been very interested in sowing discord, further discord, is that many of our leaders have gotten caught up in this idea of actually doubling down on their side.

And what they -- what they don't realize is that actually makes things worse, because as people lose faith in political institutions and in political leaders to do the right thing, they will turn to non- and anti-democratic means to satisfy their grievances. So it is really important right now. And Americans want this and demand this right now that our leaders, including the president of the United States, need to turn down the temperature and need to point towards fighting for what is right and for our democratic ideals.

WHITFIELD: All right. Leah Wright Rigueur, thank you so much. Great to see you.

RIGUEUR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Tomorrow on "THE WHOLE STORY," political violence has often threatened our democracy. After the latest tragedy where does America go from here? "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER: POLITICAL VIOLENCE, AMERICA'S BLOODY HISTORY," Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, right here on CNN.

All right. Just ahead, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy speaks with CNN as hopes for peace with Russia are fading. And Pharrell, John Legend and Andrea Bocelli all performing for the Pope. Details on the historic concert at the Vatican.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:14]

WHITFIELD: NATO says it has launched a new security operation on its eastern flank. The move came after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace earlier in the week.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a conference Friday. And here's some of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": You have mentioned the Russian drones in Poland several times. Do you think NATO failed? What should NATO have done to respond to that attack?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I do not believe -- I don't think that NATO has failed. Everywhere where NATO is present, there is no war. So we understand that there's a strong alliance strong and strong allies. It's simply that I believe that now, when there are such signals coming to NATO countries, and let's be honest, during this war there were no such massive attacks on the territory of NATO countries.

But there were cases with Romania and Poland that -- so it's not the first time. I simply believe that there must be a response to him. For signals, we don't say here that NATO must use this or that weapon. Nobody wants to expand the war. Nobody is talking about that. At least I'm not the one to talk about that. We're not a NATO member. We are simply warning. And we are saying that strong answers are needed, strong response.

For example, we'll give Ukraine certain weapons that Ukraine never had. Why? Because there are drones flying and Ukrainians cannot down them. And some of them land on NATO countries, territories. So we'll give Ukrainians the weapons that they have asked all along, and that weapon will hit, not the drones, but the facilities, factories where those drones are being produced. It's not about NATO. It's about Ukraine. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can watch the full interview on "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

All right. New today, President Trump talking tough to NATO countries and giving them an ultimatum, saying they need to stop all purchases of Russian oil if they want the White House to impose major sanctions against Moscow. Moscow said this week that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine had stalled. It also comes just days after Russian drones were shot down inside Polish airspace.

[15:20:03]

We've got full coverage of these developments. Joining us right now, CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein.

Betsy, are NATO countries likely to fall in line with Trump's demands?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll have to see. I did speak with one European diplomat who is cautiously optimistic that this could potentially pressure the remaining holdouts. But President Trump issuing that ultimatum to NATO allies, saying that it is time for them to stop purchasing Russian oil and that the U.S. will put major sanctions on Russia if they agree to do the same.

The president saying this in a letter and in that same letter, he also called on NATO allies to ramp up significantly tariffs on China to 50 to 100 percent tariffs. Now, it's unclear if there can be buy-in from these NATO allies. This would mark a significant shift in existing policy. And it's not clear at this time if there's going to be the collective interest in doing so. But the president saying in his letter, quote, "NATO's commitment to win has been far less than 100 percent. And the purchase of Russian oil by some has been shocking. It greatly weakens your negotiating position and bargaining power over Russia."

Now, many of these NATO countries still import Russian liquefied natural gas as well as fossil fuels. Turkey, which is a member of NATO, also is a major importer of Russian oil. And this is generally not how European countries conduct their tariff policy. So a lot of questions here as to how influential President Trump can be on U.S. allies on this issue. But this all comes as Russia shows no signs that it is interested in ending its war in Ukraine, and has really been escalating with that incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked about that earlier today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think anybody is happy about it seeing happen. You saw NATO respond to it appropriately. We don't want to see it happen again. We think it's unacceptable and unfortunate and dangerous development in this regard. I think it will take a few more days for everybody to fully -- the drones were intentionally launched. No doubt about the drones were intentionally launched. The question is whether the drones were targeted to go into Poland specifically.

If that's the case, that if the evidence leads us there, then obviously that would be a highly escalatory move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: President Trump, for his part, has been frustrated with the pace of these negotiations. He says that his patience with Russian President Putin is running out and running out fast. But the president's demands here risk prolonging this conflict -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thanks so much.

All right. Let's get more on this. With us is retired vice admiral and former intelligence officer Robert Murrett. He is now a professor at Syracuse University.

Great to see you. So NATO launching this eastern sentry operation in response to those Russian drone incursions in Poland. What kind of statement is that making?

VICE ADMIRAL ROBERT MURRETT (RET.), U.S. NAVY: Hey, Fredricka, a great question. I think it makes the right kind of statement. And I think the response by all the NATO nations, including the United States, since the drones found their way into Poland, which was a deliberate action by the Russians, have been appropriate, both in terms of the military response and it was actually happened by the fighter aircraft and air defense assets from four different countries, but also what they've done since then.

WHITFIELD: So you disagree with the secretary of state who said, you know, who seemed to question whether it was deliberate or not?

MURRETT: No. I think, you know, Secretary Rubio is leaving it open to getting more data. I think as the days have gone on or even a couple of days since the incursion took place, it's become pretty clear that it was not an accident. I mean, they flew over Belarus and from Belarus into Poland. There were a total of about 19 drones, and it was also noteworthy that none of them were armed.

I mean, they were very carefully selected drones, if you want to put it that way. Just the flight paths they took, especially for at least one of them, it's going to the central Poland, but also the other ones are in the border area suggest that it was a deliberate action.

WHITFIELD: All right. And so now consequently this ultimatum, Trump demanding that all NATO countries stop buying Russian oil. Is he demanding that knowing that it would be almost impossible for that to happen and potentially make, you know, make this a way for him to impose new sanctions instead?

MURRETT: Yes, Fredricka, I think it's a question of degrees. I think it was good of him to make that statement. And also, I'll come back to secondary sanctions here in a minute with respect to India and China. But I think it was a good initiative by the White House to make that statement and put more pressure on the European countries, which in varying degrees are importing amounts of Russian oil. Some of them not at all, and some of them a little bit.

[15:25:00]

But you can always like a lot of things in life, I don't think this is going to be completely successful. On the other hand, I do think that the statement by the president will result in less, less quantities of Russian oil flowing into Western European countries because of the pressure he's putting on them.

A final remark on that. The next step, which would be most useful would useful would be secondary sanctions, especially against India and China, relative to the largescale oil imports that they are taking from Russia at a reduced cost. And there would be considerable pressure, which we need to look at.

WHITFIELD: How do you expect NATO is going to navigate and proceed with Trump, given that it's been expressed that many NATO allies are kind of afraid of ruffling his feathers, getting him too agitated, too upset?

MURRETT: I think, you know, and first point I would make is we are NATO and we say, how is NATO going to deal with the United States? That's, you know, kind of an internal conversation obviously. But I think, you know, all of the NATO heads of state, you know, as Dwight Eisenhower said, the only thing worse than going to war without an alliance is going to war with an alliance. And he had firsthand experience in that.

But there's always going to be among the heads of state of all the NATO countries different personal dynamics and the president of the United States is a key component of that, as well as the chancellor of Germany, the president of France, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and so, so many others. So I think those personal contacts matter. But what you're seeing from the administration, and I think that Secretary Rubio's remarks reflected that as well as you just played, reflect continued pressure they're going to put on Russia.

And a final comment, you know, Putin and his inner circle there in the Kremlin they probably think they're winning, but they're not. They're losing. And I think that becomes more apparent as the war goes on.

WHITFIELD: We're a few weeks outside of that Alaska summit. President Trump and Putin meeting. Do you see that as, been for naught?

MURRETT: Fredricka, I think any kind of engagement you're going to have like that with a foreign leader is useful. And sometimes it will be disappointing. Sometimes you'll make great progress. But I think the Alaska meeting was a useful step. And it doesn't, you know, solve, you know, huge problems that were in front of us. But at the same time, it reflected the degree to which the White House and President Trump does want to do the best he can to make additional progress on this.

And it was also a good calibration for President Trump and the administration. He was up there with the secretary of state and the secretary of defense and other key personnel, and having a better understanding of what they're up against and the stubbornness that they have with the Russian leadership.

WHITFIELD: All right, Robert Murrett, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much.

MURRETT: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: You as well.

All right. Straight ahead, the mayor of Memphis is speaking out a day after the president said his administration would start to focus on that city as part of the White House's efforts to crack down on crime. What the mayor just told CNN today about when he found out about those plans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:37]

WHITFIELD: All right. This next story is very disturbing. A Cuban national is accused of attacking and ultimately beheading a man with a machete at a Texas motel. Police say this happened right in front of the victim's wife and son. Authorities have identified this man as the suspect, who they say is in the U.S. illegally.

CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more on this horrible situation.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very horrible. And, Fred, many people having a hard time trying to wrap their heads around what led to this. It's just so, so disturbing. And officials say the suspect, a Cuban national, is being held without bond on a charge of capital murder by terror threat and has a lengthy criminal history that includes serious crimes. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, those crimes include child sex abuse, grand theft of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment and carjacking.

CNN requested more detail about those allegations, including when and where they allegedly took place, but ICE did not provide any. CNN cannot independently verify the accusations, and we need to warn our viewers once again that some of the details in this case are gruesome. According to a court affidavit filed in the case, the suspect, identified by the Dallas Police Department as 37-year-old Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, has admitted to using a machete to kill a man.

The affidavit also says that Cobos-Martinez was working on a motel room when the victim, identified as Sandra Nagamallaiah, asked an unidentified witness working with the suspect to translate a request not to use a broken washing machine. Apparently the request made the suspect so upset that he pulled out a machete and started cutting and stabbing the victim multiple times even after he ran to the hotel office, at one point pushing away Nagamallaiah's wife and son as they attempted to make him stop. The 911 call indicates Cobos-Martinez did not stop at stabbing the victim multiple times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To that stabbing the suspect has a machete and Fire is -- Fire is noticing that he is actually cutting someone's head off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Dallas Police say this violent crime will not go unpunished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRENCE RHODES, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CHIEF, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: A preliminary investigation determined that the suspect cut the victim with an edged weapon several times. Dallas Fire Rescue responded to the scene where the victim died. The suspect is in custody and charges are pending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:04]

ROMO: And not only police, but people in Dallas struggled to put into words their reaction when asked by CNN affiliate KCTV the day after the gruesome murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find it sick, disgusting. Just -- it just -- it just -- I'm speechless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of out of the norm and it's mind blowing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement Thursday announced that it had lodged a detainer for the arrest and removal of Cobos-Martinez, whom ICE called a depraved criminal illegal alien from Cuba. In a statement, a top DHS official said that, "This is exactly why we are removing criminal illegal aliens to third countries. President Trump and Secretary Noem are no longer allowing barbaric criminals to indefinitely remain in America. If you come to our country illegally, you could end up in Eswatini, Uganda, South Sudan, or CECOT," referring to the notorious prison for alleged gang members in El Salvador, where U.S. officials have sent undocumented migrants during the current Trump administration.

President Trump and several officials in his administration have used serious crimes committed by people accused of being in the country illegally as the reason why a tough immigration crackdown is needed across the United States -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

All right. Now to President Trump's crackdown on crime and the city that he's now focusing on, Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis Mayor Paul Young said on CNN today that he didn't have official confirmation of the National Guard coming to his city until President Donald Trump announced it Friday during an interview with FOX News. Earlier today, Young spoke to our colleague Victor Blackwell about the National Guard coming to his city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PAUL YOUNG (D), MEMPHIS: I learned earlier this week that it was under consideration. I think Monday afternoon got a call from the governor's office and they informed me of the dialogue that was underway. Certainly there were a couple of conversations that were happening all week trying to look at the form of how the support would come to the city because the dialogue that I had been having was around how we can get more federal resources for FBI, DEA, ATF, and while those things are still under consideration I learned that the National Guard is a part of what they are exploring as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And no word yet on when National Guard troops would arrive in Memphis.

All right. Still to come, in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing, we look back at the long history of political violence in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:22]

WHITFIELD: One phone call ended the 33-hour manhunt for conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killer. 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody late Thursday night after a source says a family friend contacted law enforcement, telling them Robinson had confessed to the killing. That announcement of an arrest capped an intense search by state and federal authorities.

Officials say they believe Robinson acted alone and are now investigating what motivated him to allegedly carry out the attacks. The attack, rather. He is being held without bail in a Utah jail and is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.

In the wake of Kirk's killing, fear and tension are gripping a nation already on edge as concerns for political violence grow. The current climate is being compared to 1968, when the shocking assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led to political unrest in the streets. CNN's Brian Todd takes a look back at that perilous year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Panic and terror in the moments after a political assassination. The scene at Utah Valley University after the shooting of Charlie Kirk, the latest in a string of violence against political figures, disturbingly reminiscent of a moment 57 years earlier. June 5th, 1968. The kitchen of L.A.'s Ambassador Hotel erupts in chaos after Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot. Kennedy died several hours later.

The political violence in America over the past several months with the Kirk assassination, the assassination attempt against President Trump, the murders of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband in their home, and other targeted political attacks have analysts reflecting on the perilous year that was 1968.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: This was a year when political protest was in the streets with violence, not just with words.

TODD: 1968 began with the Tet Offensive, an attack which shook Americans' confidence in the way their leaders were waging war in Vietnam. Protests got violent. Large sections of American cities burned.

On April 4th of that year, Martin Luther King, Jr., the most prominent civil rights leader in American history, was assassinated in Memphis. That evening, as he broke the news of King's death to a crowd in Indianapolis, Robert F. Kennedy made this appeal.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom and compassion toward one another.

[15:45:03]

TODD: A different tone in 2025. Here's what President Donald Trump said Friday on FOX.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The radicals on the left are the problem, and they are vicious and they are horrible and they are politically savvy.

TOOBIN: The contrast between RFK after Martin Luther King's assassination and Donald Trump after Charlie Kirk's assassination couldn't be greater. One is an appeal for peace and understanding, and the other is an appeal for vengeance.

TODD: Kennedy was murdered just two months after King was gunned down, and later that summer, protests over Vietnam turned horribly violent. Police ruthlessly beating demonstrators on the streets of Chicago outside the Democratic National Convention. One important contrast between 1968 and now, analysts say, the constant bombardment of social media fomenting more political violence.

JONATHAN LEWIS, PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: When you have individuals who are disturbed, who are predisposed to violence, who are looking for that justification, all they have to do is wake up every day and look at their phone, and it's right there in their face.

TODD: Two of the analysts we spoke to say 1968 and this current period have to be put into one important context. That political violence has always been part of the American fabric. Jeffrey Toobin points out President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts in 1975. Toobin says he doesn't see any sign that political violence in the U.S. will ever go away.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:12]

WHITFIELD: All right. Millions in the U.S. can say goodbye to those fall-like temperatures. In the coming days summer heat is surging across the central U.S. and spreading eastward.

Allison Chinchar joins us with what to expect.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Over 100 million people are expected to see temperatures at or above 90 degrees at some point over the next week. And it started in the central U.S., but is expected to spread eastward in the coming days. And this is where we're really going to see the focus.

Take a look at this. High temperature today, 95 in Omaha, 95 in Kansas City, 91 in Nashville and even 94 down in Jackson, Mississippi. But other areas of the southeast, the mid-Atlantic and the Midwest are also going to start to see their temperatures rising in about the next one to three days.

Here's a look. Again, you can see a lot of that orange color not only spreading east, but it's also expanding. And so you're going to see a widespread population dealing with those extreme temperatures even in the middle of September.

Here's a look at what we're talking about. Saint Louis, the normal high is about 82 degrees. They're going to be in the 90s every one of the next several days. Atlanta is also going to start to see a warm- up, but it's going to take a little bit longer before we start to see the peak in some southeastern cities.

So for Kansas City, for example, the average high is 80 degrees. We will be in the 90s the next three days. Still above average. We don't see things drop until the very end of the upcoming week.

And for other areas, we really don't get much of a break. Take, for example, Memphis spending every single one of the next seven days above their average high temperature. And then we talked about cities in the southeast, Atlanta, for example. Not too bad for the weekend, pretty much on par with where they normally would be. But then you start to see that spike back into the 90s once we get towards the end of the upcoming week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Don't put away those shorts and T-shirts just yet.

Allison Chinchar, thank you.

All right. A star-studded lineup for our first ever pop concert in St. Peter's Square today. Big names including Pharrell Williams and Andrea Bocelli, among others, performing at the free Grace for the World concert. Other celebrations in Rome this weekend include Pope Leo's birthday. The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican in fact gave the pontiff a cake, a chocolate cake right there, to mark his 70th birthday, which is tomorrow.

CNN's Christopher Lamb is joining us from all the festivities.

How's it going?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the concert has gone underway. It started, though, with an incredible drone show above the Basilica of St. Peter's. And since then, we've had John Legend, Karol G. We've also heard from Graca Machel Mandela, President Mandela's widow, because this concert is also part of a summit on human fraternity that the Vatican has been holding over the last two days, bringing together thinkers and Nobel Prize laureates to focus on human fraternity.

How we can have a more humane and peaceful world, and amongst the discussions was a focus on artificial intelligence. And Will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas frontman, was among those people who were called to talk about A.I. He's been in that space since 2012, and I spoke to him, and this is what he had to say about why he was in the Vatican for these talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL.I.AM., AMERICAN RAPPER AND SINGER: It demands that people (INAUDIBLE) center themselves around what's good for humanity. It demands that folks are stakeholders and not only care about their shareholders. It demands that they build systems that are for community and the improvement of society. Right? That's the thesis of why they come to the Vatican. And it's beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:00]

LAMB: Well, the celebratory atmosphere is appropriate because, of course, as you mentioned, Fredricka, tomorrow is Pope Leo's birthday. He's 70 years old. It's actually quite young for a Pope. It's not clear how he's going to celebrate the day, but he did get a cake from the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. It was a cake from Portillo's, the restaurant chain headquartered in Chicago.

WHITFIELD: So he will be eating cake on his birthday. A taste of home.

All right. Christopher Lamb, thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Remember to tune in tonight for an all-new "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU." Comedian Mae Martin and "New York Times" climate reporter David Gelles join Roy Wood, Jr., Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black to dig into the week's headlines. "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" airs tonight 9:00 right here on CNN.

Thank you so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "SMERCONISH" is next.