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Trump Makes Emotional Return To Campaign After Assassination Attempt; Donalds: Trump "Was Emotional," Knows "How Close He Was To Death"; Trump Picks Populist Ohio Sen. J. D. Vance As Running Mate; Vance: I "Can Make A Good Case" To People Skeptical Of Trump; NYT: Rep. Schiff Warned Of Electoral Wipeout If Biden Is Nominee; Biden Sits For Testy Interview With NBC's Lester Holt; Sources: Private Efforts Ongoing To Get Biden To Step Aside; NYT: DNC Aims To Formalize Biden Nomination In Next Two Weeks. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired July 16, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Dana Bash, live from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Donald Trump was given a hero's welcome by his most ardent supporters here, just two days after surviving an assassination attempt.

You can see that white bandage over Trump's right ear. A reminder of just how close he came to death, while the hall here was electric. The former president appeared subdued and even emotional as he stood with his new running mate, Ohio Senator J. D. Vance, who is now effectively the political heir to the MAGA movement. Vance spoke to Fox about what Donald Trump said when he got the call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He just said, look, I think got to go save this country. I think you're the guy who can help me in the best way. You can help me govern. You can help me win. You could help me in some of these midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and so forth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: The vice-presidential candidate will address his party right here behind me tomorrow. And tonight, three former Trump primary rivals will speak on the convention stage, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy. There is so much to discuss with a group of very smart reporters who I am lucky enough to have with me here. CNN's Audie Cornish, David Weigel of Semafor, Astead Herndon of The New York Times, and CNN's Kristen Holmes. Hello, happy day two of the convention to everybody.

Kristen, and I know that you have been doing a lot of reporting on the kind of feeling. I mean, I felt we were sitting here that former president was like right below us. And the hall was definitely as I mentioned, electric. It was noteworthy to see his face. I mean, you could kind of feel his emotion.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, there was a point where it looked like he actually might start crying, which obviously for Donald Trump is a pretty unique thing. He has often told people around him that he doesn't like it. When people cry, even in emotional settings.

I spoke to a number of allies and supporters who that was the first time they had seen him in public since that shooting. They felt like they were looking at a different man. Obviously, all of this is with the caveat that Donald Trump could just be Donald Trump. And obviously, he is somebody who was just shot at and that is an emotional experience of whether or not this last.

But I am told by a number of people around him that he seems changed in this moment that he has been talking about divine intervention. Again, this is not something that Donald Trump generally does. He's not a religious man. He's not even a spiritual man. He has been talking about constantly how he should be dead. How he is lucky to be alive. And any experience like that, whether this change is permanent or just temporary, is going to change you.

BASH: Yeah. Hold that thought on the diviner dimension, because I want to get more into that in a second. But I just want to play for you what Byron Donalds, who is a big supporter of the former president and who was in that box with him right below us last night, when Trump was here and getting that rousing welcome. What it was like from Donald's perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): He was emotional. And I saw what I saw. And I think the whole world saw that. And he fully understands how close he was to death. He literally just turning his head to look at the prompter was everything, but he truly wants the best thing for our country. I think that was a window into that level of emotion last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Audie?

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a lot different from eight years ago, when I think the former president came out and you had an RNC where many governors hadn't showed up, right? Like a lot of Bush era where people were still in angst over what was happening. Ted Cruz was on stage saying, vote your conscience, kind of not this guy. And when Trump came out, it was a very -- almost WWE moment, right? And there was a lot of bluster involved.

[12:05:00]

So, I think some of this is we're reacting to what is a very human and humane moment where someone has come away from something very striking. And you have a crowd of people who are kind of religious identified as well. So, this concept of divine intervention and blast and just being lucky, I think it was almost compounded in this convention space and hall.

BASH: And I want to -- because you mentioned that again, this is one of the things that is most striking to me about many in the Trump movement, not all, but many in the Trump movement. And I know you've talked to a lot of voters for your podcast and for your pieces about people who genuinely believe that Donald Trump was sent by God.

And I want everybody to listen to what Tim Scott said last night. And he used very religious terminology, when he talked about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): We live in a country that still believes in the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega. He still delivers and he still sets free. Because on Saturday, the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle, but an American lion got back up on his feet. And he won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: American lion is a reference to the second coming.

ASTEAD HERNDON, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES & CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, yeah. I mean, this is not unusual for Republicans. I mean, sometimes when I'm at Trump rallies, it's best understood as kind of a church experience. I go back to like, my own life. And my father is a pastor, sometimes feels like that's the kind of setting that they're setting up.

(CROSSTALK)

HERNDON: Yeah, exactly. And I think that's -- that is the set-up Trump as a figure that is sent kind of from divine, and as providentially made for this moment. There's a sense of inevitability from Republicans in the air here. This is not all these points like 2016, where they felt like they were climbing up hill. They think that this is their moment, and they think the stars and kind of the Gods are aligning for them and for Trump this November.

DAVID WEIGEL, POLITICAL REPORTER, SEMAFOR: Yes. And this is happening in the context of a convention where for political reasons, the party took some abortion mentions out of the platform, change some of the ways it talks about that religion. But it's nominating a ticket that is not seen as maybe as religious as Mike Pence was.

But if you listen to J. D. Vance's rhetoric, it's a piece where Republicans believe we're in a fallen world right now that the culture has declined, that gender norms have fallen apart, that people are getting sicker and less healthy because they're not getting married and they're not going to church. And this might seem like an awkward fit with Donald Trump. It's a less awkward fit with J. D. Vance. That's part of this, too.

I think that's part of the same mix is that this is a president who needs to come and save, not just the country, not just the price of the grocery store, but the entire culture, which is not a role that Donald Trump had in 2016.

BASH: It was certainly much more of an awkward fit in 2016, which is a big reason why he picked Mike Pence in the first place because Mike Pence had such a connection with the evangelical base of the Republican Party because you mentioned the vice-presidential running mate.

Let's talk about the new one, J. D. Vance. A couple of things. First of all, just on the kind of raw numbers, Ohio. Now nobody thinks Ohio is in play at all. It is solidly Republican. Didn't used to be when I first started covering politics, but it is now.

But just interesting note here. In 2022 when J. D. Vance won his one and only race. He's a very new politician. He won by six percentage point in 2020, two years earlier. Donald Trump, of course lost the presidency, won Ohio by eight points.

Which leads me to the question of in the places where electorally the Trump campaign is perhaps hoping that J. D. Vance does help Ohio like pockets of the Midwest of Pennsylvania, of the state where we are right now, maybe less so but Michigan also. What makes them so sure that he can help deliver more votes than they would otherwise get?

HOLMES: I don't think that that's why J. D. Vance was chosen. I think if you look at the top three people who are on his list, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. The one thing about Rubio is he could potentially deliver some Republicans who are still on the fence. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. He's not going to need help in North Dakota, and J. D. Vance.

Donald Trump has said over-and-over again that he doesn't need a vice president. That he himself is a polarizing figure. You either like him or you don't. And you're not -- and no one he brings on to his ticket is going to change the mind of suburban women, for example. So, a lot of --

BASH: The J. D. Vance votes -- I think, pick his definitely not to Burgum women. The question is --

[12:10:00]

HOLMES: Who does it bring to the table?

BASH: Well, the volume of support people getting out there exactly.

HOLMES: But I think that what they're doing instead, and what Donald Trump is doing instead. One, he's looking for who he has the best chemistry with, who he feels like he can work with. And two, who is actually going to continue the MAGA movement, who believes in populism? Who is actually going to go out there and fight every day and do it well? Do it on TV.

Again, J. D. Vance is a good-looking guy. He's been on television. He fights. He speaks eloquently. That is what Donald Trump was looking for in this pick, not necessarily just to pick him up votes, because there were a lot of people he could have picked Nikki Haley, for example. That would have been incredibly helpful with voters. He was never going to do that.

HERNDON: And we remember there were other people on those lists who were supposed to kind of expand them out. Byron Donalds, Elise Stefanik, Tim Scott. There was a sense that he would have to go in a different direction to bring in those folks. And he did. And I think it speaks to your point that this is a governing pitch. This is a pic of someone who is looking ahead to continue the kind of ideology of the market movement.

And I think also he's thinking about the Senate and Capitol Hill, and J. D. Vance is someone who has kind of led the undoing of kind of those norms in that place. And I think Donald Trump is think about how he gets things done a lot more than he's thinking about -- it speaks to the confidence that we're talking about earlier that they think they're in a position to think past November rather than someone who gets them over the line in November.

BASH: He also persona faiz (ph) the transformation of the Republican Party, since he started out life, obviously being incredibly well known by writing the Hillbilly Elegy's trying to explain to broader America. The Trump appeal. But he didn't like Trump in a visceral, very outspoken, very graphic way. And now he obviously does.

And he worked very methodically for years to try to convince the former president that he is now a loyal supporter. Of course, this was one of the things that Vance was asked about while on Fox last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. But President Trump was a great president. And he changed my mind. He can make a good case to the American people, people who may have been skeptical of the president back in 2016. Who couldn't be skeptical now that we've seen the results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEIGEL: Yes, he's very comfortable making that argument. He's made that for years. This is an argument that define his 22 Senate race where Donald Trump basically baptized him, and said, I forgive you of your sins. I'm endorsing you. So, I've talked to some Democrats who say they can portray him as cynical maybe, but that's not their best point of attack that Vance can be compelling as a guy who thought.

And they didn't think they were -- think maybe the voters in 2020. They think there were many going this cycle, who didn't like Trump in 2016. And warm to him. They're comfort -- they think he is comfortable in that skin. Democrats are more interested in attacking him on positions he's taken that Trump does not take abortion positions. Things he said about how the government -- the president should be able to tell the Supreme Court to take a hike in disagreeing. They're trying to go that way. Although, everything is blurred out right this week.

BASH: Yeah, sure. As speaking of that, something really important happened on the sidelines of this convention. In addition to J. D. Vance getting the call and that is, Donald Trump made a phone call to RFK Jr, who recorded his end of the call. And we have part of that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voiceover): When you see that likes a nation that has like 38 different rep seats, and it looks like it's been so worst, not a, you know, 10 pounds or 20 pounds. It looks like you're giving -- you should be giving on the horse. And he (inaudible) that, right. There was this massive. And then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically. I've seen it so many times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So, this is Donald Trump, trashing the very vaccines that his administration pushed through in a very successful way. And I just want to make abundantly clear. All vaccines that are approved or authorized for use have been proven safe and effective through rigorous scientific studies, severe reactions are exceedingly rare.

And the CDC says, the benefits far outweigh the risks. The World Health Organization says, vaccines prevent more than 4 million deaths every year. Critical back check there. But the fact that Trump is trying to appeal to one of the most well-known vaccine opponents clearly trying, Audie, to get him to drop his bid and get on board with Donald Trump. What does that tell you?

CORNISH: I mean, I kind of want to defer to Kristen here. But for a time, people thought maybe Kennedy would take votes away from Biden and that was the big concern. And I think that sort of changed after a while as people started to take a look at this very kind of mixed bag coalition of people who are supporters of Kennedy and try to make sense of it.

[12:15:00]

Obviously, the Trump people have or else this phone call wouldn't have happened. You know, one other thing I want to add just back to the J. D. Vance conversation, it's not about a regional identity, it's about a political one. And his political identity as a rural man from the military et cetera, is like the kind of a no brainer for a Trump, right, in terms of the people who support that.

And while he at one point called Trump cultural heroine. He has always, always talked about the people who support Trump positively. And he has always been part of the us versus them language saying, there has been decline in America. You have been left behind and there's a body of people out there, elites who don't pay attention to you. That he has always been consistent --

BASH: We're going to have to sneak in a quick break. Coming up. President Biden spends his day in Las Vegas, making a pitch to African American voters and defending his decision to stay in the presidential race. And a Teamsters' boss delivers a rare speech to the RNC. Later I will talk to Sean O'Brien about the critical union vote and what his rip-roaring speech here last night was meant to do for the RNC and also the Democrats.

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[12:20:00]

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BASH: If he is our nominee, I think we lose. The New York Times is reporting that's what democratic congressman and California Senate candidate Adam Schiff said about Joe Biden during a private meeting with donors. He went on to say, and we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.

Our excellent reporters are back. I'm sure every one of us has heard a version of that from some of his colleagues, both in the House and the Senate on multiple occasions. I know I have. He said it out loud. Somebody gave it to your fine publication. And it's not as if the cats out of the bag for the first time now. But this is a significant moment.

Because, again, these are the private musings of so many members, some have come out and said that explicitly those who have publicly called for President Biden to step aside, but not as many as actually feeling.

HERNDON: Not as many as actually feeling. And I think we're seeing a slow drumbeat of some of these become public. And it speaks to the kind of the Biden's attempt futile attempts to really put this cat back in the bag. These are the beliefs of a lot of Democrats, and of course, they are. The publicly available evidence backs up what Adam Schiff is saying.

I think it adds -- I think it adds a level of seriousness because he's someone who has such credibility among Democratic base, someone who's been a fierce defender of the president. But you see, Democrats who are on the ballot this year, kind of increasingly flash warning signs.

I think when we look ahead to November, the question is going to be, well vulnerable Democrats, those frontlines Democrats in tough Senate races, in tough House races. If 70 percent of the public thinks that Joe Biden is unfit for a second term, how are they going to be able to talk about this in public? As we get closer and closer to November.

I think some of these private donor thoughts will increasingly become public, because of course they will, if they're going to be so out of step with voters. Democrats have a real challenge on their hands on this front, because what they're asking them to do in terms of the party line is completely out of step with kind of baseline opinion.

BASH: Yeah. I want our viewers to listen to some of the interview that the president gave to Lester Holt last night. What we have in here, it's a bit of a summation of a longer interview. But it starts with the question of what happened to his opponent, the assassination attempt and the heat that is out there. And then it continues with pretty contentious back and forth about what we were talking about, about Joe Biden staying in the race. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS, ANCHOR: This doesn't sound like you're turning down the heat, though. You've talked about --

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, no, no. Look, when I'm turning down, we have to stop that whole notion that there are certain things that are contrary to our democracy.

HOLT: Is there a sense of wanting to get back on their horse?

BIDEN: I'm on the horse. Where have you been? 14 million people voted for me to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. OK.

HOLT: Who do you listen to on deeply personal issues, like the decisions whether to stay in the race or not?

BIDEN: Me, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Audie, what do you make of that?

CORNISH: Well, first, I want to say there's no public private conversation anymore. It's all basically public, like this comment by Schiff happened at a fundraiser, and people immediately were like, hello, New York time. So, I don't think it's that much of a secret. But at this point, every time Biden goes out, he's trying to show that he's agile, energetic and punchy. And every time he goes out, people count how many gaffes per minute and say, you're none of those things.

I think the question is what happens with the post-debate bounce that is inevitable after the RNC when people start to be like, wow, those Republicans, they really got it going. Look at the fundraising and Democrats, I feel like will have their last shot at really just saying like, no, no, no, please don't do this. But I don't think it's for lack of trying. They've already been having this conversation with his people.

[12:25:00]

BASH: And Dave --

CORNISH: Wait, wait. You don't think they've been trying?

HERNDON: I think they've been kind of trying. I don't think we've seen --

CORNISH: And those thing goes on his favorite morning breakfast show. Look him -- in the face, knowing he has a bagel, and said, I know about this. Like he said --

HERNDON: I thought we should (inaudible) that's something that like the top levels of the party, another formal open conversation. And I think that there is another level this could go to. I think the timing is right that it would be before the DNC and after the RNC and over the next couple of --

BASH: But before the DNC might feel like it's like a month away, but it's not, because the Democrats are planning on doing a virtual roll call. Meaning, they're going to make Joe Biden nothing changes the nominee, they're going to begin that process as soon as next week -- for various reasons. And that is in part, the reason why, yes, I know that there's a public private morphing of the two that has been going on for some time, but it's still pretty aggressive in a very different way and private.

To that end, our John King has a new reporting about Stan Greenberg, who has been a longtime democratic pollster who has been writing memos, trying to get them to Joe Biden. Several Democratic members of Congress have continued to lobby privately urging top Biden advisers to consider the damage to Biden's legacy if the president not only loses the White House, but Republicans hold the House and capture the Senate majority. One Democratic lawmaker told CNN, some top Biden aides get the depth of this.

WEIGEL: Yes. And one thing I heard from Republicans in the last 24 hours is the events in Butler, the emphasize nation froze Democrats in a way that they are happy with. They are happy with Democrats are even more undecided of what they want to do. I was just with Democrats in Milwaukee.

This question came up and we followed up on it. Why are you holding the virtual convention vote when there are these questions about the president? And the answer is they think they need to because Ohio might change the law again. This was not seen as very credible by reporters covering this.

I asked the spokespeople for the governor of Ohio, secretary of state. They both say they're not going to change the lock. And it was a complicated story that's over, but the official Democratic Party position to go what you're saying, does not match up with the out loud conversation Democrats are having that they might need more time to figure out what to do about the nominee.

If they come out of the convention in a weaker position, the official party position is that they're going to shrink the timeline for nominating Biden out of what they say as a necessity. What Ohio says is not --

BASH: And by way of background, we did set this up.

WEIGEL: I'm sorry.

BASH: It's OK. Ohio has a measure that says that the Democrats -- you have to be nominated officially by your party by a certain date, that date is sooner than everybody else, which is why initially the Democrats moved it up. Thank you so much for that reporting. Thank you so much for your insights. Coming up. Donald Trump's new right-hand man. I will talk to a longtime RNC member about what J. D. Vance on the ticket means for the future of the GOP. Stay with us.

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