Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Focus Turns To Rhetoric Following Assassination Attempt; Source: "Diddy" Arrested By Homeland Security Agents; Rowe Orders "Paradigm Shift" For Secret Service. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 17, 2024 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 5:29 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at West Palm Beach, Florida two days after the second apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump down there.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
A rare moment of unity between President Biden and Donald Trump. The two shared what the White House calls a cordial phone call yesterday. Trump said it was a very nice call in a statement to CNN.
The pleasantries, though, short-lived. Trump now blaming the left for the latest apparent attempt on his life. He posted this. "Politics in our country are at a whole new level of hatred, abuse, and distrust. Because of the Communist left rhetoric the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse."
And he doubled down on that blame during an interview on the platform formerly known as Twitter last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAROKH SARMAD, X: This was the second attempt on your life --
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah.
SARMAD: -- in under two months. What do you make of that?
TRUMP: Well, there's a lot of rhetoric going on --
SARMAD: Right.
TRUMP: -- and a lot of people think that the Democrats when they talk about a threat to democracy and all of this.
SARMAD: Um-hum.
TRUMP: And it seems that both of these people were radical lefts.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: So to be clear, at this time, the FBI hasn't determined a motive for the gunman who was in Butler, Pennsylvania or for the suspect in Florida.
President Biden and Vice President Harris are both condemning the violence.
Former Trump presidential opponent Hillary Clinton says it's up to political leaders to try to turn down the temperature.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I worry about what's being said online about many, many people, not just the former president. And he should be doing -- if he were really a leader, he should be doing what he can to calm the waters, not try to just continue to throw red meat out there to get people riled up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right. Joining us now to discuss all of this, Margaret Talev, senior contributor to Axios and the director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism, and Citizenship at Syracuse University. Margaret, good morning. Thank you so much --
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Good morning.
HUNT: -- for being here.
TALEV: Yeah.
HUNT: There is a lot of rhetoric about the rhetoric --
TALEV: Yeah.
HUNT: -- in the wake of what happened with Donald Trump here. And while after the first attempt he -- Trump himself largely steered clear of -- you know, he let kind of his supporters and allies lay political blame. He is not shying away from it this time.
What do you make of how he is handling this and how Democrats are handling it?
TALEV: It's really interesting because there are so many layers to unpack here. On the one hand, there is evidence from researchers over time that says that when you amp up fears about the other party and the idea that the other party is anti-Democratic, you do actually have the ability to further polarize people emotionally.
It presents a real problem for Democrats who actually feel the Donald threat -- Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, right? And so how do you -- what is the safe way to talk about that? What is the correct way to share your concerns with American voters without the kind of fearmongering that becomes dangerous? On the other hand, you see former President Trump himself using much more violence and pointed language consistently over time. And so the idea that he's asking the other party to embrace an approach that he, himself, has not embraced, that goes to the idea of the violence.
The -- there's an element of -- there are two stories going on at the same time. One is that there was another apparent attempt on his life, and the other is the fearmongering around immigration issues, which has a violent bent to it itself. And so these two things are conflating at this critical time in the race and the backdrop is that the polling shows him nationally falling behind Harris and needing to do something to change that dynamic.
HUNT: Yeah. And Margaret, his running mate -- Trump's running mate J.D. Vance went farther than Trump has gone in talking about this. I want to show you what he had to say and then we'll talk about it -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know the big difference between conservatives and liberals is that we have -- 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. Somebody's going to get hurt by it and it's going to destroy this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Does that rhetoric that we hear from J.D. Vance not potentially raise the stakes and -- on Kamala Harris getting hurt?
TALEV: Correct. So that would not be an example of toning down the violent rhetoric to dispel fear mongering on both sides.
And the issue here is we talk about polarization a lot. It has been a longtime conversation in this country, and it even predates Donald Trump -- but particularly, over the course of the last eight years, polarization.
[05:35:00]
There's two kinds of polarization. There's ideological polarization where people truly have different views and the parties espouse them. And then there's the more emotional kind of polarization. The political scientists call it effective polarization. That is the kind that people who study civil society and disruptive behavior and the rise of violent rhetoric in politics -- that is what they're thinking about.
The idea that if you ask people how do you feel on issues, people who align with the two major parties are often not really that far apart on most issues. But if you ask them do you trust the other side to perpetuate democracy or democratic values, that's where the gap is. And so I think what you just heard is the kind of language that
expands that gap and says you should be afraid of the other side. There's absolutely no evidence that the Democratic Party as an organization has anything to do with supporting violent threats against the former president.
And, in fact, all of the language that we have heard from the sitting President Joe Biden and from Vice President Kamala Harris has said this is unacceptable -- we condemn this -- you know, not OK -- and does the Secret Service need more money?
HUNT: Right. The rhetoric that we are hearing directly from those candidates is very clear in saying this is not OK and that there is a difference there.
Margaret Talev, thank you very much.
TALEV: Thanks.
HUNT: I really appreciate it.
All right, we've got this developing story this morning. Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs expected to be processed in a Manhattan court after he was arrested last night. A source telling CNN the music producer was arrested by Homeland Security agents at a Manhattan hotel. And right now, the charges he's facing are still not known but an indictment is expected to be unsealed later on this morning. Combs' lawyer says he temporarily relocated to New York in anticipation of these charges.
The arrest comes after months of scandal for Combs. He was the target of a monthslong human trafficking probe and was hit with multiple lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, including from his ex- girlfriend Cassie.
CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson joins me now. Joey, good morning to you.
This, of course, came after there was a release by CNN of a video of Diddy being violent toward Cassie after, of course, that was settled out of court. It was her lawsuit that seemed to spark all of this unraveling for him.
What more do we know about what he faces here?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR (via Skype): Yeah, you're absolutely right, Kasie. Good morning to you.
And so there's a lot we don't know but some we do. We do know that there was a grand jury that convened and that indicted him. Now, the significance of that is that a grand jury doesn't condemn anybody to guilt. What is does is show two things. There's reason to believe that a crime was committed, and 2) the subject of that investigation before the grand jury committed them. Now, inconsistent with that, what happens is they don't -- that is, grand jurors -- vote by unanimous, right, consent to get an indictment. It's a majority. And standards of proof are far different.
However, what I believe is that consistent with what we do know is that there were raids on his homes in California and in Miami. During those raids what we know is that the federal government seized many things -- certainly, evidence that will be used here and certainly, evidence before the grand jury.
Third thing. In addition to whatever they seize -- perhaps potential video and other evidence, which would be suggestive of potential crimes -- that people have to go and testify before the grand jury. That means give testimony relevant to factual allegations and assertions.
Finally, what allegations may they be? There are several lawsuits, as you just mentioned, and I think those lawsuits, Kasie, served as a treasure-trove and a roadmap with respect to potential drug -- you know, drug issues, violent issues. Again, all allegations -- issues consistent with commercial sexual exploitation, various parties, and other things where people may have been exploited. Perhaps some underage issues.
And so, again, all of these allegations, all of these noted in the lawsuits, we'll see what they do in terms of appearing in this indictment that will be unsealed later this morning.
HUNT: So, Joey, very briefly, is it unusual for someone to relocate to a jurisdiction like this in order to be arrested? Like, why did he do that?
JACKSON: So I think what happens is that a centerpiece of what he has been saying, both for public relations purposes and I think at trial, is look, I have nothing to hide. I've been fully cooperative. I've been tipped off -- my team has -- with regard to the arrest. I'm well- resourced in order to appear and ultimately continue to cooperate -- and here I am, and so let's go.
And so it's the Southern District of New York prosecution in Manhattan. He's here to face that charge in that indictment. It'll be unsealed. The allegations will be fully known shortly. And he'll be here to do just that.
So, yes, it's unusual but I think it's part and parcel of the nature both from a public relations perspective and criminal perspective to say hey, I didn't do any of these things and there are people who have axes to grind against me.
[05:40:07]
So we'll see what happens next.
HUNT: Interesting.
All right, Joey Jackson for us this morning. Joey, always grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
JACKSON: Thank you.
HUNT: All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, more scrutiny over the Secret Service and their handling of another apparent attempt on Donald Trump's life. Does the agency have the resources it needs?
Plus, a thrilling finish to close out the week. Was it so thrilling for my Eagles? I don't know about that, but it did close out week two of the NFL season. We have that coming up in our Bleacher Report.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The one thing I want to make clear, the Service needs more help. And I think the Congress should respond to their needs if they, in fact, need more services. So that's what we're going to be talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: President Biden calling on Congress to respond to the needs of the Secret Service after the second apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
Agents prevented this latest incident, taking 58-year-old suspect Ryan Routh into custody as he drove off from the scene. Authorities say Routh spent 12 hours outside the former president's West Palm Beach golf course until a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a weapon and opened fire.
The disaster was averted but the acting director of the Secret Service tells reporters it's time for the agency to change its approach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD ROWE JR., ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: I have ordered a paradigm shift. The Secret Service's protective methodologies work, and they are sound, and we saw that yesterday. But the way we are positioned right now in this dynamic threat environment, it has given me guidance to say you know what, we need to look at what our protective methodology is. We need to get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Hmm.
I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow who is also a former Secret Service agent. Jonathan, so grateful to have you on the show. Thank you so much for being here.
Can you explain a little bit more of what he means by that? How they are thinking about changing? How they do this?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT (via Skype): Well listen, when he talks about the paradigm shift from reactive to (INAUDIBLE) this model I'm not really sure. Because I know that the women and men of the Secret Service, whether they're agents or officers, have always been ready with challenge in an aggressive and threat environment.
But what I think that the acting director is trying to get to is that we are living in a very dynamic and almost unpredictable threat environment that is changing very quickly for the Secret Service.
Just take former President Donald Trump, for instance. You know, he does not fit the typical model of a former president, such as Obama, Clinton, or Bush where their threat profile diminishes the further, they get away from the office of the presidency.
Former President Trump, on the other hand -- his threat profile almost seemingly has increased since he has left office. Why? Because he's continuously in the public eye. He is running for office again. And he has this lingering threat from Iran that is trying to seek retaliation for actions that he took while he was in office.
All of that threat profile of the former president needs to be addressed in how the Secret Service actually applies its protective methodologies and a protective model to the former president. So the assistant -- you know, the director of the Secret Service is right in saying hey, there needs to be a recalibration here, but that recalibration has to be done very quickly because we see how dynamic this threat environment actually is and when these threats can materialize.
HUNT: So, Jonathan, we've seen a number of Democrats come out and say -- including, you know, Biden, the president, calling on Congress to give them more money to be able to do more.
If -- from your understanding of what it's like to do this job -- to try to protect a president, or a former president, or a nominee -- any one of the various protectees -- what is that money most usefully applied to to prevent stuff like this?
WACKROW: Well, it's applied in three ways. It's applied to people, process, and technology.
More funding will allow for more hiring of officers and agents who execute the mission every single day.
The technology is key right now. We're seeing our adversaries utilizing advanced technology to try to launch attacks. The Secret Service needs to develop the countermeasures to thwart those types of attacks such as drones, for instance.
And then process. You know, really thinking about what is the strategy of the Secret Service moving forward and how does it not react to the changing threat environment, but how does it anticipate the threat environment changing for our protectees and put the right structures in place so we're not back on our heels; we're more leaning into what we face on a day-to-day basis.
So the Secret Service, since I joined in 2001 to today, has always been under-resourced but it -- this is the moment. This is a seminal moment for the Secret Service to really change the way that it operates and get more resources that are necessary for the frontline agents and officers that are out there who are charged with this remarkable responsibility of protecting our national leaders.
HUNT: Jonathan, briefly, Gerald Ford faced two assassination attempts in a very short period of time. What is different about the environment now than the environment that we saw then?
[05:50:00]
WACKROW: Well, listen, there's a phrase in the Secret Service that our policies are born out of blood. I know that's a little graphic, but it actually is true. When you think about assassination attempts in the past, the Secret Service in those moments had to change its protective model. We saw that going all the way back to Kennedy.
And the difference between then and now is that we have the resources. We have the capabilities to get a better viewpoint because of digital technology of how these threats that are facing our political leaders are developing, metastasizing, and organizing to launch attacks.
The Secret Service, along with their law enforcement and intelligence partners, need to be more coordinated on how to address that threat environment to then --
HUNT: Yeah.
WACKROW: -- put in place the right control measures to address the threat.
HUNT: Yeah.
All right, Jonathan Wackrow for us this morning. Very grateful to have your expertise, sir. Thank you very much for being here.
WACKROW: Thanks, Kasie.
HUNT: All right, time now for sports.
If you went to bed early you missed a Monday night nail-biter. It was the Falcons and the Eagles, and it came down to the very last minute much to my chagrin.
Carolyn Manno has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Carolyn, good morning.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kasie. Sorry about this. It's got to be tough to be an Eagles fan.
Last year, the team lost three games after leading with two minutes left. Last night they did it again. I feel bad saying it with Kasie sitting right there. Up by three, it looked like Philly would be able to run down the clock by just handing the ball off to running back Saquon Barkley. But on the third and three play, Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with a minute-46 left. That forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal to go up by six instead of a potentially game-sealing first down.
And then Kirk Cousins and the Falcons went to work. He hit receiver Darnell Mooney for 21 yards. And then the very next play, Cousins dropping back and finding Mooney again, this time for 26 yards. So now with 38:6 left, Cousins fires into the end zone and hits Drake London for the score. And young Younghoe Koo putting Atlanta on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for excessive celebration.
Philadelphia gets the ball back with a chance to win with a field goal, but Jalen Hurts' pass in intercepted. The Falcons escape with a 22-21 win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK COUSINS, QUARTERBACK, ATLANTA FALCONS: It was big. It was a big drive -- big, big play. It's a tough place to come win. It's a good football team. Um, it was, you know, a good, good character-building deal for us to have this experience together and now we've got to go build on it.
And we've got the Chiefs next week. It doesn't stop. That's the NFL.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: Check out the scene in the locker room after the game. The Falcons celebrating their first win of the season like they just won the Super Bowl. I kind of like it, though.
The 0-2 Carolina Panthers, meanwhile, are benching Bryce Young, the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft, for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. The decision comes a day after Young went 18 for 26 passing with only 84 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception in a 26-3 loss to the Chargers.
After the game, head coach Dave Canales told reporters he wasn't planning on making a quarterback change. Less than 24 hours later he changed his mind after rewatching the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE CANALES, HEAD COACH, CAROLINA PANTHERS: Certainly, a lot of parties involved there and ultimately, this comes on me. And my number one responsibility is to help the Panthers win. And so this move, I believe, puts us in the best chance to do that this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: The Mets' offense could use a hero and Starling Marte was that guy Monday night. The veteran outfielder had been out of the lineup after getting drilled with a pitch to the forearm against the Phillies on Saturday. But he stepped up to the plate in the 10th inning and smacked a walk-off RBI single to give New York a 2-1 win over the Nationals.
The Mets in the midst of a critical seven-game homestand right now. They have only scored three runs in the last 24 innings.
And Tom Brady got the last laugh in a much anticipated meeting at St. Andrews Monday night. David Beckham joining the quarterback who has a minority stake in League One's Birmingham City with a clash against Wrexham. And that side owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Brady spent a record $13 million on Premier League forward Jay Stansfield. That investment paid off. He had the equalizer. The Blues stay unbeaten with a 3-1 win over the Dragons.
So Tom Brady heard a lot of trash talk, Kasie, coming into St. Andrews. Thank David Beckham on Instagram. He said he couldn't repeat a lot of what was said by the fans at St. Andrews to him but got the win. The GOAT gets it done. What else is new?
HUNT: Indeed -- hilarious.
Carolyn, thank you very much for that. I will say that despite your Eagles. You know, the celebration was little gratuitous. I mean, I didn't really need to see that, but it's fine.
MANNO: I'm sorry. I'm going to talk about producers. I'm talking about producers. Never again.
HUNT: Thank you, Carolyn. I'll see you soon.
MANNO: Sure.
HUNT: Coming up in our next hour on CNN THIS MORNING, Donald Trump speaking out, recounting the moments that one of his Secret Service agents spotted a would-be assassin just 500 yards from the former president.
[05:55:00]
Plus, J.D. Vance blaming the left, calling for Democrats to tamp down their political rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: If you tell the American people that this person needs to be eliminated, most of them, thank God, are going to ignore you, but some crazy person is going to take matters into their own hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL)
HUNT: It's Tuesday, September 17. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Secret Service did an excellent job. And they have the man behind bars and hopefully, he's going to be there for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: First-hand account. Donald Trump talks about the apparent assassination attempt against him.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF DEPUTY: Driver, walk straight back. Keep walking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The suspect charged. New details as the man accused appears in court.
[06:00:00]
