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Soon: Thousands Gather To Honor Life And Legacy Of Charlie Kirk; Shooting At New Hampshire Country Club Leaves One Dead, Two Injured; UK, Canada, Australia Formally Recognize Palestine As A State. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired September 21, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:27]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Hello and thanks for joining us. I'm Dana Bash.

And we are one hour from the start of the memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

This is a live look inside State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where tens of thousands are expected to attend today's service to honor and mourn the 31-year-old. Kirk was shot and killed in broad daylight at Utah Valley University during a campus event 11 days ago. The ramifications are vast. The human horror, especially among friends and supporters and the political reaction, a presidential promise to crack down on critics and leftist groups.

Kirk's memorial will feature a lineup of speakers from the highest levels of the U.S. government and the MAGA movement, including President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Kirk's wife, Mrs. Erika Kirk, who has taken over the leadership of her late husband's Turning Point USA movement. She is also slated to speak.

We have a team of correspondents covering this memorial service, and we begin with Arlette Saenz.

Arlette, you are inside the State Farm Stadium. Let's start with you. What do we expect from that stage today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, we're not even an hour out, and already, this stadium appears to be near capacity as tens of thousands of people have gathered here to memorialize Charlie Kirk.

This event will really draw in the top political leaders in the country. They will -- attendees will be hearing from President Donald Trump, who is expected to speak in very personal terms about his relationship with Charlie Kirk. There will also be speeches from Vice President J.D. Vance and other members of the cabinet, and many people will also be interested to hear directly from Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's wife, who is now expected to carry on his movement at Turning Point, USA.

This is a remarkable scene. It is nothing close to a typical funeral, especially when you think about the number of political leaders, the number of people who are coming here for someone who never held office but had a profound impact on the conservative movement. Now, we've been spending some time inside this stadium talking to attendees, hearing why they wanted to come and show their support for Charlie Kirk. There are young conservatives who were drawn to his Christian faith, and there are others who said that they simply want to see a more united country.

Take a listen to one of those people we spoke with, Elizabeth Alexander.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, ATTENDING CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL: If you believe in something that somebody else doesn't, that your life could be taken from you, people willingly give up their lives to fight so that we can speak our minds and believe different. And I think we really need to focus on that kind of stuff instead of hating on each other and spreading hate. I think there really needs to be more coming together from both sides to stop the violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, as you can see and hear behind me, this almost has the feel of a megachurch. There are worship songs, people dancing and praise. Many of the attendees are dressed in red, white and blue. That was a request from Turning Point USA as they sought to honor Charlie Kirk's life.

There is also a little bit of political organizing going on here, as we have seen people trying to encourage people to sign up to vote, also inviting them to future Turning Point USA events. So, certainly, this could also be used as an organizing moment. But for many attendees here in the arena today, they simply want to honor and memorialize Charlie Kirk and the movement that he really helped push forward for conservatives.

BASH: All right, Arlette, thank you so much.

I want to now go outside the stadium. Josh Campbell is there.

Josh, this is a very big event with so many people, which also means that security is a huge, huge aspect of what officials are focused on.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. And it is gridlock here outside of the State Farm stadium, really a testament to how many people wanted to come here for the ceremony honoring the slain conservative activist, Charlie Kirk.

We're here at a Secret Service checkpoint, going into the venue. Of course, this has been declared a tier one event, meaning a high level of security checkpoints, multiple checkpoints in and out of this area, not only because of the large number of people, but also because of, of course, who will be in attendance here.

The president himself, as well as several members of the cabinet, will be here on scene. That, of course, means a very robust security presence.

[13:05:01]

Now, law enforcement source did tell me that there is no known credible threat to this event. That is something that obviously investigators always want to be on the lookout for, but the security is certainly very strong.

Now, I want to move from that to talk about the people who are actually here, because we've been interviewing a lot of people who have come from all over the country. And I can tell you, Arlette alluded to this just a moment ago, that the stadium is now full. People have been turned away who were waiting here for hours and hours in line, but they do have other areas that they can go, the overflow area.

So as you see people coming behind me, that's what they're doing. But I want you to have a listen, because one thing that always whenever we cover a story, we want to know about the people, what are they thinking? Why are they here? Take a listen here to some of the folks we spoke with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AIDAN GATES, ATTENDING CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL: Charlie played a huge role in me coming to Christ and me finding Jesus. He's sowed seeds in my heart years ago. And so I'm here to pay my respects and to be gathered with other believers.

CAMPBELL: So you said its emotional to think about talking about it. What's on your mind?

MARIE NELSON, ATTENDING CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL: Oh, I'm still like, it's great to see so many people come together believing in Christ, and we have to stand together and there's more of us than they are, the evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, Dana, there are a couple themes that I've been hearing and talking to people. One of them being obviously this is an event to celebrate Charlie Kirk's life, but obviously people here are in mourning. So, they're holding those two ideas in their head at the same time.

The second, which was really impactful in talking to people who brought this up unprompted. They talked about the division in the country, but not only what it means to them, but for future generations. People are bringing kids here that we've seen. We've talked to some of the kids that were here as well, and so that's something worth noting that I've heard again, almost to a person, it's not just this generation, it's the next generation, which is why people have talked about wanting to get over this division. But certainly, a lot of people here, tens of thousands now on hand, Dana.

BASH: All right. Josh, thank you so much. Really fascinating to hear from the people who are there. Appreciate it.

The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Friday to honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk after that assassination last week. The measure passed by 310 to 58. Democrats were heavily split on the issue. The resolution condemns his death and political violence and hails the conservative activist as a courageous American patriot.

I want to discuss with CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings and CNN chief political analyst David Axelrod.

Hello to you -- to you both. Thank you so much for being here.

I wanted to start on that resolution because to me it is kind of a window into the way that politicians in both parties are grappling with this moment that we are in. Not just leading into the memorial, but the moment after the horrible assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Markwayne Mullin was on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. He is a huge ally of President Trump. He was a friend of Charlie Kirk's. He's going to the funeral today. He brought up with me how upset he was that Democrats voted against that resolution. Afterwards, I spoke to Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas. She was one of the 58 to vote no.

Listen to what he said. And her reason after that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): : The same resolution that had Charlie Kirk's name on, you had 58 representatives vote no, 38 voted present, 22 chose not to vote.

BASH: OK.

MULLIN: That is silence. So you had 118 individuals that didn't condemn it, because why? Because of hypocrisy over both sides.

BASH: OK, Senator, we're going to get to that.

But I want to --

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): I saw the no-votes, there were only two Caucasians.

For the most part, the only people they voted no were people of color, because the rhetoric that Charlie Kirk continuously put out there was rhetoric that specifically targeted people of color. And so it is unfortunate that even our colleagues could not see how harmful his rhetoric was specifically to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Scott Jennings?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, she's lying. I mean, Charlie Kirk targeted nobody. He was not racist in any way. I've listened to hours and hours and hours and hours of Charlie Kirk debates and talks and have been with Charlie Kirk and did events with Charlie Kirk and knew Charlie Kirk. There wasn't a racist bone in his body.

To say that he was continuously targeting people of color is nothing but a malicious smear on the very day that people are remembering Charlie, and he's going to be laid to rest.

And so, I think when you combine the no votes on the resolution and then you look at the leading Democratic voices like Ilhan Omar and Jasmine Crockett, who've gone out to smear Charlie before he's even had his funeral, when I hear people say, we need to come together and both sides need to turn down the rhetoric, you know, a lot of the people saying that need to look inward right now. I was shocked at that -- well, I guess I should say I'm shocked by her, but I was a little, little stunned by what happened this morning.

BASH: David?

[13:10:01]

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. Well, look, first of all, let's just say a couple of things.

One is Charlie Kirk's assassination was a tragedy for his family. It was a tragedy for his friends and supporters, many of whom are pouring into Phoenix right now. Glendale right now. And it was a tragedy for the country because it was an assault on free speech, and the willing -- and the ability to express oneself in a, in the public square that is so fundamental to our country. And that's what Charlie Kirk was doing.

It is not -- you can -- whether you call something racist or not, that's a discussion. Charlie Kirk said things that were offensive to Black people. That doesn't -- I don't want to sully this day of mourning by getting deeply into that debate. But that's just a fact, you know, and we can go through some of them here. I don't really want to go through that exercise.

But I don't also want this to be the occasion for continued division, continued hate, continued violence. And one of the things I'm going to be looking for today is to the people who are coming there to mourn, will they get the kind of ceremony and service that they deserve and yearn for?

BASH: Uh-huh.

AXELROD: Or will it just turn into a political rally where, you know, this, this horrible occasion will be used to further divide and galvanize? That would be -- that would be a loss for the country.

BASH: And, Scott, we saw some of what's already going on as the -- everything gets underway for the memorial service. We heard Josh Campbell talking to people there.

The feeling is, of course, sadness, but it is, I mean, you can even see right there it is kind of, as Arlette said, like a megachurch. There is a lot of spirituality happening in that giant stadium. And that is an open question. What happens when the politicians start speaking despite the fact that they were genuinely very close friends with Charlie Kirk?

JENNINGS: Yeah. If I first just may echo the sentiments of my friend David Axelrod about it's a day of mourning and we should treat it that way. And I also hope that today is a day where we have unity in the country and so on and so forth. We can debate the other things later.

But I agree with David. It was a tragedy for the country because, just as a political matter, it was completely an assault on free speech and free debate, which is what Charlie stood for.

Regarding the faith aspect of this, I think this is maybe something that is not as understood by the people who didn't follow Charlie, or from another political persuasion, as much as he was a political activist. His testimony about his belief in Jesus Christ, his adherence to his faith, his constantly proclaiming his faith, was just as much a part of his identity and his public persona as anything.

I spoke in Des Moines, Iowa, last night to the faith and freedom coalition annual dinner. There were a thousand people there, and I talked to countless people who were talking about Charlie Kirk, not as a political activist, but as someone who helped them strengthen their own faith in their own lives. And so, this is a religious -- it's a spiritual moment for thousands of people. I think in the political media, we tend to cover Charlie like he was a political operative, and he was. But for millions of Americans, he was as much of a spiritual leader as he was anything.

BASH: Yeah. And it's -- and it's both. And I think that's a really important point to make. I mean, there is no question that Turning Point is a political juggernaut for Republicans and helped get Donald Trump elected, helped get a lot of people on the state level and elsewhere on the federal level as well.

But one of the things that he obviously was very open about was his faith, and it definitely infused the conversations that he had, especially on those college campuses, David.

AXELROD: Yes. Well, listen, I think what he did in terms of galvanizing young people on the Republican side was very instrumental, and you know, I think the crowd, you see, is in part a reflection of that and part a reflection of that other aspect. And, you know, just again, let me say, I hope that the -- this is the day, this day, focuses on the sacred and not the profane. And that people get the comfort that they're -- that they're seeking in a really difficult moment.

But he was a, you know, he, he was a great political organizer. And, look, I work on college campuses, including Arizona State University. And I saw, you know, the way he galvanized, young people, some of whom felt previously that they didn't have a home on those campuses to speak their minds.

[13:15:08] And we should all be for that. We should be for free speech. And we should be against cancel culture, whether it comes in a shade of red or a shade of blue.

BASH: All right, well, we are going to leave it there. Obviously, we're going to watch as the day unfolds in Glendale, Arizona. Thank you both for being here. Really appreciate it. Good to see you.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

AXELROD: Thank you.

BASH: And we're going to continue to bring you the latest from Arizona as leaders of the MAGA movement and musicians, as you see there, gather to remember and celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk.

And still ahead, we're going to talk about the California Governor Gavin Newsom. He's fighting back about immigration, the crackdown in his state, tactics by the federal government and new legislation he signed into law.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:39]

BASH: Welcome back.

That's a live look at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where thousands of people are gathering for conservative activist Charlie Kirk's memorial. President Trump, Vice President Vance and Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, are among those slated to speak.

My panel joins me now. Alex Thompson, a CNN political analyst and national political correspondent for "Axios"; Kristen Holmes, CNN's senior White House correspondent; Xochitl Hinojosa, a CNN political commentator, former DNC communications director; and Brad Todd, CNN political communicator and GOP consultant and strategist.

Thank you all for being here. Appreciate it.

While were watching things start to get underway, they're not quite there yet in Arizona. I want to turn to something that we talk about. I don't know, every six months, every year and have for years. I would say unfortunately here, which is Congress gets to the point. Washington gets to the point where they're about to run out of money because their funding is hitting a deadline, and they try to figure out how to keep the government open. And the politics that all are involved in that.

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, who is the Democratic leader, was on "STATE OF THE UNION" with me this morning. And unlike six months ago, when he voted yes to keep the government running, and other Democrats did as well and got some blowback from people in his base, this time, he is pushing hard towards potentially a shutdown because he's trying to push back on Republicans in charge.

Listen to what he said to me this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I hope and pray that Trump will sit down with us and negotiate a bipartisan bill. That's how it's always been done in the past. That's how shutdowns have been avoided in the past.

BASH: And if he doesn't, I'm just confirming here, you will vote no? Is that correct?

SCHUMER: We are hoping -- Dana, we are hoping that he will negotiate with us.

BASH: And if he doesn't?

SCHUMER: So far, he hasn't. And we have had two bills in the House and Senate, and neither of them have passed. Our Democrats are firm. We need to get something done to relieve the distress the American people are in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Xochitl, talk about the politics that are going on inside the Democratic Party that brought Chuck Schumer to this point.

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he faced, as you mentioned, a lot of backlash last time. Around for really not having a strategy. Democrats didn't -- they didn't feel like he walked in with any sort of strategy for a shutdown, et cetera. This time around, I do think he's doing better along with Jeffries, which it was very telling when the Senate voted that the Democratic bill got more votes than the Republican bill.

And so, I found that interesting. It wasn't just Democrats that voted against the Republican bill. You also had Murkowski and others who voted against it. But then I also think it was smart for them to ask for a meeting with Donald Trump.

It's very clear that Johnson isn't going to negotiate. He sent everyone back home on recess. And so, he sort of owns this shutdown, and they want to put the pressure on Republicans and on Johnson. So, I found it interesting that they asked for this meeting. It looks like Trump would like to meet with them. He will ultimately be the decision maker in this. And it just shows that Democrats are wanting to come to the table. They don't want to shut down.

So I do think that Democrats are handling it a lot better than last time. And there is somewhat of a strategy to last time.

BASH: But there is -- but they don't. The leaders might not want to shut down, but there's a lot of pressure from, as you were saying, from the Democratic base to do just that, to show they're fighting.

HINOJOSA: Yeah, I think that there -- there is pressure. I -- I never agree with the shutdown. I don't think it's good for either party for there ever to be a shutdown. And I think that going back many years, I think both parties would look, leaders would understand that and understand that it's not popular. But at the same time, I think Chuck Sschumer needs to show that he's fighting and that's what he's doing right now.

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Chuck Schumer better be careful and prove that he can lead. That's the question that independents will decide -- who will decide this election are asking. Democrats have always said it's irresponsible to shut down the government. You gave Chuck Schumer this morning three chances to say that he would not vote to shut down the government, and he refused to tell you, yes. You gave him more than enough room to do that.

He is headed toward doing something irresponsible because the Democratic Party is irresponsible right now.

[13:25:03]

And that's -- that's I realize he's got a lot of pressure. I realize he's worried that AOC might primary him, but it's time for him to do what's right for the country and not what's right for Chuck Schumer.

HINOJOSA: But he also knows that this is about health care. And I think that they want the midterm elections to be about the economy and health care. And I think that's what he's ultimately trying to pick that fight about.

TODD: About keeping the government open, period. You can't insert --

BASH: Right, the Democrats --

TODD: -- other issue into it and say it, so, oh, it's about something else. No. Should we --

BASH: Democrats are saying, we'll do it as long as you put more money in there for health care subsidies.

TODD: We'll hold the country hostage unless we get our way.

BASH: Alex, there is a lone Democratic voice in the Senate caucus, and that is John Fetterman, who is saying, do not do this. It is a disaster, strategically.

Listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I would love to restore a lot of those health care things, that that's the right outcome. But that's a dangerous tactic. If you are going to shut the government down for one of our policies, do I think its the right thing to extend those health care things? But it is absolutely the wrong thing for a lot of reasons that we're going to shut our government down. I condemned it when the Republicans threatened to do that thing. And it's entirely wrong for us to do the same thing now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think the line is Democrats in disarray, right? Is that they are not all on the same page here. You have people that are actively calling for a shutdown, not just for health care reasons, but because you saw this in Ezra Klein's piece a few weeks ago that circulated around. Capitol Hill that said, we need to shut it down in order to stop Trump's authoritarian government.

Then you also have some Democrats saying, no, we need to do it for aca subsidies. Some Democrats are saying for Medicaid -- to roll back the Medicaid cuts. They are not all on the same page.

And John Fetterman, while is the lone public voice, is not the only voice privately that does not want to shut down, in part because they do not believe the party has an exit strategy. Once you shut the government down, you still need to have Democratic votes in order to reopen it. What is the strategy if Republicans say no?

BASH: Yeah, exactly.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I do think one thing to note on that is when you don't have Democrats with the same messaging, it allows Donald Trump and his administration to do what they do best which is to coalesce behind the message that this is Democrats' fault and blaming a shutdown on them, rather than the fact that he is in office at this time.

BASH: Kristen, I want to turn to Arizona. What are your sources telling you about the tone and tenor that the president wants to set with his speech?

HOLMES: Well, there's what they're saying and what we might ultimately see. And I think we're going to have to wait to actually see what he puts forward. And I will remind you that when he sat in the Oval Office to him and to the people around him, that was a measured speech that honored the life of Charlie Kirk.

To many, they believe that that was a blame game, that that was an opportunity for him to unite the country. And instead, he blamed Democrats and the left. We know he's been personally involved in this. This has hit him. He is very close. He was very close to Charlie Kirk.

And it's not just him. He sees it in the people around him who all had relationships with Kirk. This is personal for him. He's spending a lot of time himself writing and editing the speech and infusing what he believes should be in there. He has said that he wanted to focus on Charlie Kirk's faith and his messaging and his movement.

But of course, as we know, President Trump does often take these in a political direction. So, I think at that point is when I say, let's wait and see what he says.

THOMPSON: And I think this very tragic memorial is doubling as a political fight within the Republican Party. You have seen many parts of MAGA, and the Republican Party try to claim Charlie Kirk as part of their legacy, and you've seen a lot of in intraparty divisions. I think it's very interesting that Tucker Carlson is going to be speaking, who has been very active on pushing back against people like Pam Bondi and other people that have tried to invoke Charlie Kirk's legacy in order to justify censoring hate speech and everything else.

And so they're watching very closely to what these people say as they try to claim Charlie Kirk's legacy is going to be really interesting the next few hours.

BASH: And he also pushed back against the FCC chair, threatening ABC and what that means about a potential slippery slope.

Don't go anywhere. We're going to be touching base later.

I want to now talk about a social media post by the California Governor Gavin Newsom's press office, and it may be the target of a secret service investigation. A crypt c post said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is going to have a bad day. You're welcome. America. It drew swift criticism from Californias acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California who said, quote, we have zero tolerance for direct or implicit threats against government officials. He then called for full Secret Service threat assessment.

Newsom's office later clarified its post, saying it was referring to a new legislative push the governor had just actually piece of legislation that he had just signed banning most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from wearing masks.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones joins me now from Los Angeles.

[13:30:03]

Julia, what more can you tell us about the legislation that the governor says this was about?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is legislation, Dana, that will basically ban any law enforcement officers from any kind of face covering. So that includes neck gaiters, ski masks or anything that those ICE officers have been using here in California to conduct those raids. But that does not apply to state officers, I will add.

So, there are some exceptions, like for undercover agents, medical masks and tactical gear. But basically, what the governor said yesterday at the press conference where he announced this bill is that agents will have to provide identification and tell local agencies what federal agencies they are with, that they represent. And his argument is that anyone on American soil has the right to due process, including undocumented immigrants. He's saying that these raids here in Los Angeles and other parts of California have eroded public trust on federal officers, and that is what he's trying to restore with this bill. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying. It's like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing, no due process, no rights -- no rights in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to stand up and push back. And that's what we're doing here today. This is a disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And, Dana, the legislation is supposed to go into effect on January 1st. But Newsom already said that he is expecting challenges to this. And those challenges have already started to come in.

We did hear from Tricia McLaughlin, homeland security assistant secretary for public affairs, who said that basically, "federal enforcement officers are being assaulted by rioters having rocks, Molotov cocktails thrown at them in a sanctuary. Politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers."

Now, Newsom addressed this at the press conference yesterday. He said that DHS had failed to provide any data to support that kind of assertion that there was a rise in assaults on officers. But more important than that, than the pushback from the DHS, is the kind of rhetoric that were hearing from the acting U.S. attorney for the central district of California, who also said that the state of California has no jurisdiction over federal officers, and that he has already directed those forces to not take this legislation into account.

So, the key question here is how will this legislation be enforced going forward? Dana?

BASH: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

Up next, chaos at a New Hampshire country club after a gunman opened fire as a wedding reception was being held at the club. What we're learning about the suspect in custody.

And we'll take you take you back to Arizona, where the memorial for Charlie Kirk will get underway soon. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:38]

BASH: We have new details on a deadly shooting at New Hampshire country club. Police say a man opened fire at the club restaurant, killing one person and injuring two others. It happened as a wedding was taking place in the next room. Terrified guests ran for the exits while others took cover under tables.

One guest described the chaotic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOPHIE FLABOURIS, WITNESS: I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and then gun, run, and people started screaming and running. I was talking with the gentleman there who took a chair, hit him -- hit him over the head. He dropped the gun. The man fled. He went through the reception area, into the kitchen. He had blood on him. He made a -- he made some comments.

REPORTER: What did he say?

FLABOURIS: He said, at least the children are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: CNN's Leigh Waldman joins me now from Nashua, New Hampshire.

Leigh, you just spoke to the mother of the victim.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dana, the mom we spoke to, Evie O'Rourke, she's heartbroken over losing her son, Robert DeCesare, last night.

She tells us that Robert was having dinner at a restaurant, inside of the Sky Meadow Country Club with his wife and with his daughter when a gunman came through and started shooting.

She says that the gunman, 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau, shot an employee, shot a patron and then turned towards her son Robert and his family. His wife. His daughter turned to leave. Get out of the way of danger. But she said her son sprung into action and lunged at the gunman, hoping to protect his family and everyone else who was inside of that restaurant.

And unfortunately, that's when he was killed. That's when he was shot and killed. And heartbreakingly, his daughter is getting married in a number of weeks. She's heartbroken. Her father won't be around anymore to walk her down the aisle.

We know from other witnesses who were at the wedding that was happening at a separate location inside of that club. The shots were fired in the restaurant. That's when the gunman allegedly made his way into the reception area, where the bridal party was there on the dance floor, ready to dance. And people started fleeing for cover there, running into the kitchen. Take a listen to what the wedding DJ had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOMEWOOD, WITNESS & WEDDING DJ: A gentleman who was in the restaurant, apparently used a chair to hit him over the head.

[13:40:00]

Everyone else said that they saw he came in bleeding. I did not see the blood. I just -- I just saw this guy who I knew must have been the guy. It was kind of surreal. You know, one of those things where it's the lottery, you don't want to win in America. You know, you're there when something like that happens. You know?

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALDMAN: And we heard from authorities just moments ago that Nadeau, the alleged shooter in this incident, he was arrested in a nearby neighborhood within 30 minutes of the shooting, finishing up with officers arriving on scene. They tell us that he was a former employee of the club within the last year or so. He made some remarks while the shooting was taking place, but authorities don't believe this is a hate-based crime at this point. They said he was making those statements to try and create chaos.

At this point, he's charged with second degree reckless murder. We're expecting additional charges to be filed. He'll be in court tomorrow -- Dana.

BASH: So, Leigh, there is reporting that one of the things he screamed, in addition to one of the witnesses said, which is the children are safe. It was "free Palestine".

Is that accurate? And what are officials saying about that, as they say that there is no political motive or any other sort of hate motive?

WALDMAN: We asked the authorities that, who just wrapped up a press conference moments ago. And yes, multiple witnesses said that. He said, "save the children and free Palestine". But authorities are saying that he made a number of other comments while this shooting was actually taking place. They don't believe that there's any evidence. And speaking to him afterwards that this was motivated as a hate-based crime.

Obviously, it's less than 24 hours ago this shooting happened. They're going to continue to investigate this, Dana.

BASH: No question about it. Wow. That witness saying this is the lottery in America that you don't want to win, that is really telling.

Thank you so much for your reporting. Appreciate it.

We're continuing to watch the memorial for Charlie Kirk. Thousands of people gathering there in Arizona to remember his life. We'll go there, live next.

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[13:46:27]

BASH: We are minutes away from the start of the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale, Arizona.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now from inside the stadium.

Arlette, set the scene.

SAENZ: Well, there were just 30 minutes out from the memorial service for Charlie Kirk beginning, and it's a very somber mood in here as people are remembering their friend and this conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. Now, just moments ago, there was actually a scene where people had

been handed out red, white and blue signs throughout the stadium, and there was a string music, piano music playing, and people were really almost in silence as they turned their signs and had each of those red, white and blue colors honoring Charlie Kirk.

Right now, they are showing a giant sign of Charlie Kirk, which is one of the reasons you are hearing this eruption of cheers for so many people. They are here to mourn his life, but also celebrate him and the profound impact that he had had on the conservative movement, including young people. Now we expect President Trump to be landing in the coming hours, but already it's a who's who of Republican political leadership here at this event as they're coming to pay their respects for Charlie Kirk as well as his family in this moment.

BASH: All right. Thank you so much, Arlette. Appreciate you bringing us up to date there.

And a growing list of U.S. allies -- looking at the international scene right now -- they're officially recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of this week's United Nations General Assembly. How Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is responding after a quick break.

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[13:52:49]

BASH: New today, the U.K., Canada and Australia have announced they are recognizing a Palestinian state. France and Portugal, among other countries, also are expected to follow suit as the United Nations General Assembly gets underway this week.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is here with us from London.

Nic, talk about the geopolitics of these, this sort of domino effect of these European countries saying that they support a Palestinian state. What are they trying to accomplish in the short term?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. Well, the British are saying they're trying to do is to create open the possibility of a two-state solution of a Palestinian state. And the Canadians are saying the same, trying to give a space for those that would support living side by side with Israel in tolerance and in peace with Israel, to give those voices a leg up. They both condemn Hamas outrightly, and both say there's no space for Hamas in a future government.

But I think geopolitically, where does it go from here? Well, you have Germany and Italy have come out very clearly, as well as Japan, significant players, not only in Europe but at the G7, who are opposed to recognizing a. Palestinian state right now. So, in a way, it creates an alienation between Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu and some of his former key staunch allies. It creates gaps within the political thinking at the G7. And it very clearly creates more of a rift with the United States, although that's one, as we heard President Trump say, when he's standing side by side with Prime Minister Keir Starmer just a couple of days ago, that while they -- you know, that this is an area of disagreement, one of only a few areas.

But again, you look at the sort of geopolitics and this looks especially when you roll in Ukraine here, perhaps, you know, the separation of Europe or parts of Europe, and therefore the weakening of Europe away from the United States.

BASH: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thats such a good point. We have to look at this much more broadly.

Nic, thank you. Always good to see you.

And you're looking at a live picture of the very, very large stadium in Arizona where the Charlie Kirk memorial is about to begin.

[13:55:09]

It is a packed stadium at capacity. We'll talk about that. The people who are outside looking for the overflow areas.

We'll be right back.

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BASH: Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Dana Bash.

Happening now, a massive gathering underway in Arizona. Tens of thousands of people have now poured into the State Farm Stadium in Glendale for a memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In the coming hours, were going to see a lineup of speakers from the highest levels of the U.S. government and the MAGA movement.