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Inside Politics
Tonight: Trump Delivers Speech Accepting GOP Nomination; Trump's Path To Electoral Victory Is Widening; "Iconic": RNC Vendors Jump On Trump Image As Bestseller. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired July 18, 2024 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And what he believes the party -- where the party should be and then the rest of the party will follow on.
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Yes, I mean there was -- you're talking about some of the leading anti-abortion groups --
HOLMES: Right.
BASH: -- and they were not happy that the platform was changed to not include a national abortion ban. Now he's saying leave it up to the states.
HOLMES: Right.
BASH: The concern among some of them was about enthusiasm.
HOLMES: Right.
BASH: After what happened on Saturday?
HOLMES: I don't think there's an enthusiasm problem.
BASH: I don't think so.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, hardly any mention of Reagan, really, at this. I mean, from the foreign policy perspective, when you listen to Senator J.D. Vance, Republican senators will be watching him incredibly closely. He's against any more aid to Ukraine. But just thinking of all the speeches overall that we've seen, barely -- probably the fewest mentions of Reagan at any Republican convention since Reagan was president.
BASH: Somewhere -- Mike Pence is still talking about Ronald Reagan.
All right, everybody, up next as Donald Trump makes his triumphant return here tonight. Joe Biden's path to an election win, as we've been talking about, it's getting narrower and narrower. We're going to show you exactly where it is right now. John King is going to be here at the Magic Wall to explain. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:35:42]
BASH: Donald Trump's path to electoral victory is wider than it's ever been. Polls show that Trump has a small but consistent lead in most battleground states. CNN's John King is here with us at the Magic Wall to show us exactly what we're talking about.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Dana, this is the map from 2020. Forget about it. Donald Trump was behind when he has his big night in 2016. He was behind in the COVID conventions of 2020 on his big night. He is ahead. When he takes that stage tonight in this hall, he is ahead. And you could even say he's ahead in a commanding way that is growing.
This is the current CNN projection and watch when I go through it because this will change in the coming days. Already, we have the data to change this. Right now, if Donald Trump just won, deep red, solid Republican. Light red, lean Republican.
If he just won the states on this map, that we have as either solid or leaning Republican, he's already the next president of the United States. 272 electoral votes. But, but, the data in recent days we know, Trump is now ahead. Let me turn this off here. Trump is now ahead in Pennsylvania. Trump is now ahead in Wisconsin. Trump is ahead in this Nebraska congressional district. Trump is ahead out here in Arizona.
Let's turn all that. That's 313 electoral votes right there. And there is data that shows that some other states that maybe he's only ahead a little bit, or it's margin of error, or it's tied, but they're traditional blue states. States like Virginia. Trump is now at least in play there, Dana.
And then you come up to New Hampshire. Trump is in play there. There are Republicans talking about maybe Minnesota. There are Democrats worried about Colorado and New Mexico. Look at this map right here. Potentially 330 electoral votes.
Does that mean Donald Trump's going to get 330 electoral votes? Of course not. Do the blue states tend to come home late in the campaign? They tend to, but the president is so weak. Let's just show a little bit of reasons of why Democrats are so worried about this. This is -- this data is several days old. I have seen data in recent days, private data that is even worse than this, but this is public data.
This is the incumbent president of the United States. His ballot chair in Arizona, 37 percent. 40 in Georgia, 38 in Wisconsin, 40 in Michigan, 40 in Pennsylvania, 40 in North Carolina, 42, his best state, Nevada, 42. Correlates almost exactly, within a point or two, to his approval rating right there.
Dana, the president is in trouble. And when Donald Trump takes that stage tonight, this is his race. He's in the driver's seat.
BASH: So, go back -- just use Minnesota as an example. I've talked to Democrats there who are very worried about that Jeff Zeleny likes to call that the reddest blue state. I talked to a donor of a lawmaker who is in touch with a lot of big donors this morning who said that they're like, they're done.
They're not going to give any more to Joe Biden's campaign. That matters when you have to be playing on territory that you weren't planning on playing before (ph).
KING: Right. So this is the 2020 map. Imagine the 2016 map. Donald Trump's winning the blue wall states here. And in 2016, look at Minnesota in 2016, we have third party candidates this time. Again, you have the president of the United States approval rating is down. And you see how close it was, right? Donald Trump was close.
This -- and this is where J.D. Vance, again, vice presidential candidates tend not to make a huge difference, but can they make a little difference? J.D. Vance, Donald Trump campaigning in the state like this. This is just one of them here. It was very close. And again, in 2020, third party candidates didn't matter.
Donald Trump can get to 45. He can get to 46. If Joe Biden is in the high 30s or low 40s, it's not just Minnesota. That's why they're worried in Colorado. They're worried in New Mexico. They're worried in New Hampshire. They're worried in Virginia. Can Joe Biden change it? Sure. But that's why you have consistent pressure, Dana, on him to please get out, Mr. President. Give us a chance with somebody else.
BASH: It's so fascinating. It's so important to look at the big picture. And the question is, if all that information is getting to the president, it sounds like now it is.
KING: Slowly it is.
BASH: Thank you so much, John.
And coming up, he was one of the first Republican senators to endorse Donald Trump in the GOP primary. Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin joins us live right here in Milwaukee next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:44:15]
BASH: Tonight, former President Donald Trump will take the stage at the final night here at the Republican National Convention. And he of course will formally accept the GOP nomination, doing it for the third consecutive time for the Republican Party.
Joining me now to talk about all of this is Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin, one of the first Republican senators to endorse Trump during the primaries. And back then that was -- you were rolling the dice. He was in dire straits.
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Well, for me it wasn't. President Trump's a dear friend of mine. When my family was in a situation with my son back in 2020, President Trump was the first one there and he called every single week and was a big help for 18 months, which was a pretty tough time for our family. And it's -- that friendships never stopped. [12:45:00]
BASH: You were in the VIP box, which is right down below us last night. Talk about what it was like and what kind of the vibe you got from the former president, particularly as he prepares for his speech tonight.
MULLIN: Well, as I said, I've known President Trump for a long time. I really started considering him a close friend in 2020. And the way his family is around him right now, they've always been close, but you see it at Mar-a-Lago or you'd see it at Bedminster. But to see it in public, it's quite different.
You know, when you go through a life or death situation like that, it changes, and it really changes for people that are around you too, especially when they see it. They know that you're in a fight. They know that you're fighting for a cause, and in his case, the United States.
But when you see somebody try to take their life, it puts things in perspective. And so just to see him around his family, and for the American people to see that on stage and see the love in his eyes and I love they have for him. I think that was neat because that's not a typical picture you've seen of Trump since he's been in public.
BASH: Yes. So you talk about him as a friend.
MULLIN: Right.
BASH: I want to ask you about him as a candidate --
MULLIN: Right.
BASH: -- at the top of your ticket and as a fellow politician. What do you hope that he does tonight to advance the goodwill --
MULLIN: Right.
BASH: -- that he has engendered in the wake of the horrible tragedy on Saturday.
MULLIN: Well, I think you're going to continue seeing a leader. You know, what the American people saw with the iconic picture of him standing up and his fist in the air saying, fight, fight, fight, that people saw a moment in history that was caught of a leader, that wasn't going to cower down in a time of adversity.
What you saw -- what you're going to see tonight, I believe, is the future president, the 47th president of the United States, talking about unity as a country. That we need to come together as a country. We need to put some of this partisan, this anger, this bitterness, this inner fighting to the side and focus on what's important for the country and how do we get back on track.
BASH: So let me just push back on that.
MULLIN: Right.
BASH: I'm sure you would be the first to admit that Donald Trump and unity aren't usually used in the same sentence mostly because he came up and he became the nominee in the first place in 2016 because of his bomb throwing.
MULLIN: Well --
BASH: I mean, he -- being a divisive character is part of his brand.
MULLIN: I don't think that was actually the case at first. I think the media drawled at that because they continued to go after him nonstop. I mean, you get attacked enough, you got to defend yourself. And I think what Trump has always done is defending himself.
BASH: It's not just the media, I mean --
MULLIN: But you --
BASH: -- it's with his -- with people who cross him --
MULLIN: Well, but you got to think about --
BASH: -- on the Republican side, on the Democratic side --
MULLIN: Who is Donald Trump? Donald Trump is a guy who builds things. He's built an empire. You don't do that by being divisive. You do that by bringing people together that believe in your vision, that's willing to work for you and do things for you. As -- I think it was said last night that you're going to ride or die with the brand, right?
This is -- this Donald Trump, he's a unity and a unifier. That's why people love the guy. So what the media drawed him over the years is quite different than what he actually is as a individual --
BASH: Yes.
MULLIN: -- as a person that I've got to know. And I think in politics you're going to see that. I think there's a great opportunity, Dana, right now, to build unity.
BASH: Yes. And, respectfully, we reported on the things that he said and he tweeted and --
MULLIN: Right.
BASH: -- that was --
MULLIN: Sure, I mean, listen, you've done a great --
BASH: -- that came in at least --
MULLIN: -- and you've done a great job and I even gave you a compliment on the fact that you did wonderful. I thought you did a great job even during the debate, and you're very fair and straightforward.
BASH: All right, this isn't about me.
MULLIN: Yes.
BASH: Let's talk about Donald Trump. What does he need to do besides sort of the leadership and the the idea that he -- you said that he -- should be a unifying character when it comes to the actual substance of what he will do in another term.
The Democrats are really fixated on Project 2025, which is a think tank outside. He has tried to separate himself from that, but there are some pretty extreme ideas in there. I mean, is he going to lay down the gauntlet on what he says he will do, or is it going to be more kind of soaring rhetoric?
MULLIN: You know, I haven't seen the speech. But I will tell you the policies moving forward for the country is to bring inflation, bring down the cost of everyday Americans that are spending 11,000 more per year today than they were when Trump was previously in office.
And to do that, you got to get the country back on track. And when you do that, you've got to say that energy is the backbone of our economy. And President Trump knows that. He understands that energy. You cannot have a strong and affordable economy if you don't have reliable and affordable energy.
And so, if he's able to do that, then all the American people are going to see that. They're going to fill it in their pockets. Right now, if you go to McDonald's and get three meals, you're spending $50. And for a family of eight, like my wife and I have with six kids, it's like going to a steakhouse --
BASH: Yes.
MULLIN: -- when you go to McDonald's right now. He can do that through his policies, through pro-growth, pro-economy, pro-America policies and he -- and all the American people are going to fill it as we move forward.
[12:50:07]
BASH: Senator, thank you so much. Nice to see you.
MULLIN: Thank you, Dana. Thank you.
BASH: Appreciate it.
And here at the RNC, we're noticing a new fashion trend. Republicans find a new way to show their solidarity with their nominee. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BASH: Political merch has always been a huge part of conventions, but when a convention starts less than 48 hours after the party's nominee is almost assassinated, it takes it to another level. At least here it has. Donald Trump's most ardent supporters are buying t-shirts, cups, posters, you name it, featuring the iconic image of the former president returning to his feet moments after the shooting.
[12:55:09]
My colleague Gregory Krieg spoke to one of the vendors capitalizing on that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shirt is selling number one, yes. He could have died. He fell, got up and wasn't concerned about running away to be further protected, but he wanted to stand up and let everyone know he's OK. This is not a glorification of violence. It is putting on display how fearless the actions he took immediately after being grazed by the bullet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And it's not just the merch. My colleagues and I have noticed a new trend here at the RNC. People wearing bandages over their right ear in solidarity with Donald Trump and just how close he came to death.
Thank you so much for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after the break.
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