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Suspect In Apparent Assassination Attempt Charged; FBI Investigation Apparent Second Assassination Attempt On Trump; Springfield Forced To Cancel Annual Culturefest After Threats; Vance Defends Baseless Rumor About Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets; DeWine "Discussion About Haitians Eating Dogs Is Just Not Helpful". Aired 12- 12:30p ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:10]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Today on Inside Politics, we live in dangerous times. That chilling assessment from the secret service after a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life in just 65 days. We'll bring you the latest on the investigation and breaking details from the suspect's first court appearance, which happened moments ago.

Plus, J. D. Vance is still defending baseless and racist conspiracies about Haitian immigrants eating pets. The VP candidate told, may he's willing to quote, create stories for media attention.

And courting the teamsters. Kamala Harris has a high stakes' meeting today with leadership of a union that usually backs Democrats, but its president spoke at the Republican convention this summer. So, who will get their coveted endorsement, if anyone?

I'm Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

We do start with the breaking news. The suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump was just charged in court. 58- year-old Ryan Routh was arrested yesterday after fleeing the scene at Trump's golf resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former president was about to putt on the fifth hole when gunshots rang out.

Those shots were from secret service agents who spotted a rifle barrel, peeking through the fence and opened fire on a suspect hiding in the bushes. Trump was about 300 to 500 yards away. The suspect had an AK-47 style rifle with a scope, making a couple of 100 yards, not far at all. A witness on the scene told police, they saw someone run from those bushes and flee in a black Nissan, which helped officials find an ultimately detained Routh.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is on the ground in Florida today, and sources tell CNN he's expected to meet with Donald Trump. I want to get straight to CNN's Paula Reid, who is outside the courthouse. Paula, what just happened in court?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So, Dana, the court just unsealed the charging documents in this case, and these reveal the details from investigators, the ones that prosecutors used to present probable cause to support the charges that Ryan Wesley Routh is now facing.

Now, just moments ago, he was in this court in front of a judge for his initial appearance in this case. Now there are no cameras in federal court, of course, but our colleagues inside report that he was shackled both his arms and his legs. He was wearing dark prison scrubs, and he said, yes, a few times, nodded his head to the judge.

But this was the first time that he actually learned the charges that he is currently facing two counts. One, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and also receipt of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. We do expect that additional charges will be filed in this case. This investigation is barely 24 hours old.

But the charges if they are added, they may not be what people expect. At least one state level prosecutor said, it may be difficult to charge him with a crime in relation to Trump because of the distance between him and the former president on the golf course. They might be more successful if they charge him with some sort of crime related to pointing his gun at the secret service officer.

Now, the next time he will be in court will be a week from now for detention hearing. And Dana, we expect there, the prosecutors will continue to argue that Routh should remain detained ahead of a possible trial. They argue that not only is he a flight risk, they also say, he is, of course, a danger to the community.

And then on September 30, he will be arraigned, where he'll have an opportunity to again hear these charges that have been filed against him and enter a plea of not guilty, or potentially even guilty. Dana?

BASH: OK. Paula, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it. I want to go now to CNN's Kristen Holmes, who is also in Florida, as well as CNN's John Miller. John Miller, I want to start with you, and just to pick up on where Paula left off on the charges against Ryan Routh. And the notion that perhaps it will be hard to charge him with an apparent or with an assassination attempt. Explain that.

And because, just to me, who doesn't, you know, know all the details of federal law or the law that's sort of applicable here, it seems like, if it's a former president and candidate for president, and this guy is on the golf course trying to aim at him, what else is it?

[12:05:00]

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, we've got two things going here. One, we just learned from Paula, which is we've got holding charges is what the Feds would kind of describe these as. And they're good charges, if you're a prosecutor. The possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, that's a charge where people often can get sentenced to five years in prison, and you can go up from there the possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

And that's key, because if you're the person providing a gun to a convicted felon, not only is he committing a crime by having it, you're committing a crime by knowingly transmitting that to him. So that serial number was probably scratched off to protect the person who supplied it. So, there may be another person in this case, but that will get him held. The detention memo will list all of the reasons they think he's a danger that he was there in the bushes with a rifle as the president was approaching, fled from secret service agents.

But this gives them time, and the time is to the heart of your question, to go through those phones, go through those tablets, go through the social media, go through whatever papers they find where he was staying, whatever he had in the car, to show if they can establish that, that he was there, that he was there because of the former president that he was planning to take some kind of action, and don't forget the GoPro.

So, there's that GoPro on the fence. We don't know what's inside there yet, but that might reveal things he said, might reveal what he was recording and pointing at might reveal whether he was transmitting it to somewhere else. So, this is basically the charge that they're going to use to keep them in, investigation is just starting for the rest.

BASH: That is such important context. Thank you for clearing that up. Kristen, I want to go to you now about what you're hearing from team Trump about this, and obviously the social media post allowed him to do what he did in real time when he actually was apparently hit 65 days ago or so in Butler County. He said, fight, fight, fight on his social media platform. He's going to meet later today with the acting secret service director.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Dana. So, we are told that this afternoon there is an expected meeting between the acting secret service director and Donald Trump in Florida. Unclear if that's going to be at Mar-a-Lago or at a separate venue.

But I will tell you from talking to law enforcement sources and sources at the campaign who have been briefed by various secret service agents. Mar-a-Lago right now is considered a quote, hard location, meaning that it is one of the safest places that Donald Trump could be, so he has been holed up there since yesterday.

Now what comes out of that meeting? We will wait and try to find out from our sources. Right now, I am told by the campaign that nothing is expected to change. He has a full week. He has an event at Mar-a-Lago tonight. It is a virtual event that he's going to continue to do. Tomorrow, he's expected to be in Flint, Michigan and Uniondale, New York on Wednesday, back in D.C. on Thursday. All of those events as of this moment are still on.

Sources saying that the show must go on. He's going to continue to campaign. But of course, there are a lot of questions as to what exactly comes out of this meeting with the acting director in terms of security protocol. They had already ramped up security to an enormous extent.

He had an entirely new addition of secret service agents to his entourage, people who are on the golf course with the people who are traveling with him, as well as an uptick in local law enforcement presence. Both here, in West Palm Beach, also when he is on the road at these various campaign events.

So, what could they be doing differently? One of the biggest concerns that I have heard from the campaign and questions they have is how exactly the suspect was tracking where Trump was going to be. Was it a coincidence? Was he following Trump? Was he watching his movements?

Because that golf game that he had on Sunday was a last-minute addition to his schedule. Some of his closest advisers didn't even know he was in Palm Beach. So, a lot of questions right now swirling what exactly happened and how this happened.

BASH: Right. That's so interesting usually, and John Miller, you can sort of add to this when a principal like this has a "OTR" secret service and law enforcement consider it among the safest because people don't know it hasn't been publicized. As I bring you in on that, I also want you to talk a little bit more about this suspect. What are sort of some red flags, if any, that you see in his profile?

[12:10:00]

MILLER: Well, a few. First on your first question on the OTRs. An Off The Record appearance by a president or a former president isn't scheduled, no advance notice. And, you know, when I was with the New York City Police Department, working with the secret service, every time the president came to town.

When we did an OTR together, we didn't even have a visible president presence in advance of that. That would kind of tip people off to ask, well, what's going on or who's coming? We tried to keep this as invisible as possible.

The problem with this case here, as Kristen will tell you is, Donald Trump is a creature of habit, and you know, he often goes golfing, and he often goes golfing on Sunday, and he often goes golfing on Sunday at his own club.

So, as they go backwards through this suspect, they'll be looking for. Is there a Starbucks across the street that he's been seen at in the last three Sundays, waiting for the motorcade to come in? Has he been doing reconnaissance around there?

To the second part of your question about his background, what jumps out? His criminal record goes back to 1997. But what we see is minor things, no big crimes. And then there's the event in 2002 where he allegedly is in a car stop. He has a gun in his hand. The officer backs off. He takes off in the car. There's a chase. He ends up in a roofing company, which he runs into, and he's barricaded there for three hours. And then when he's arrested, he's also charged with having a machine gun.

So, we get a picture of a guy with interest in foreign fighters, interest in foreign conflicts, who's looking at different politicians, including the former president on social media, and has affinity for guns. So, he is -- he has a background that lends itself to this case.

BASH: Really, really interesting. Thank you so much for your reporting, for your insight, for all of it. To both of you, Kristen and John, thank you so much. And coming up. Donald Trump's running make claims to the baseless claims about immigrants eating dogs and cats in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I start talking about cat memes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: New reporting on the real world, negative impact of such comments on his constituents. Don't go anywhere.

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[12:15:00]

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BASH: This morning, the Springfield, Ohio city government canceled its annual culture fest, citing recent threats and safety concerns. Two Springfield universities have made all of their classes virtual only this week after receiving bomb threats and mass shooting threats, targeting Haitian American communities.

I spoke with GOP vice presidential candidate J. D. Vance yesterday, who took umbrage at the notion that his unsubstantiated claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets is contributing to the unrest in this town that he represents in the U.S. Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast.

You had one interview with her. You talk about pushing back against me, Dana, you didn't push back against the fact that she cast the deciding vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which is why a lot of Americans can't afford food and housing.

BASH: You just said that you're creating a story.

VANCE: I'll be talking about public policy.

BASH: Sorry, you just said that you're creating the story.

VANCE: Is that, Dana?

BASH: You just said that this is a story that you created.

VANCE: Yes. BASH: So then, the eating dog -- thing is not accurate (Ph).

VANCE: We are creating -- we are - Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we're creating a story, meaning we're creating the American media focusing on it. I didn't create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield. Thanks to Kamala Harris's policies. Her policies did that. But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris' policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I want to bring in my panel of terrific reporters, CNN's Jeff Zeleny, CNN's Manu Raju, and Jasmine Wright of NOTUS. Before we start this conversation, I just want to play. I spoke to Mayor Rob Rue, who represents and lives in Springfield, Ohio, after that interview that I did with J. D. Vance. And I want to play part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ROB RUE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: It would be helpful if they understood the weight of their words and how they could harm a community like ours. Again, I say the light has been shined so brightly that it's caused people to not even see clearly. It'd be helpful to like, bring peace with the words that you're saying about communities like ours, instead of unrest. We're listing Turk constituents. We're not ignoring the problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Manu, you have covered J. D. Vance since he got to the Senate. What, almost two years ago, obviously, you've been covering him as well as a VP nominee. What's your take on this?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, he's doing what Trump does, right? If they are caught in something that they is not true, they're doubling down. They're trying to muddy the waters, confuse the narrative, and try to hope the news cycle moves on. That's very clearly what they were trying to do there.

[12:20:00]

I mean, J. D. Vance is trying to have it both ways, creating a media narrative, by also saying that, you know, not acknowledging that it's not true. But then suggesting that perhaps it is true, and even suggesting that the Haitians are there illegally. And you called him out on that, that they are there legally. He may disagree on the policy about why they're there. They're there for Temporary Protected Status.

That's an issue that is ongoing in that community, but they're not there illegally. But we heard Trump over the weekend to doing pretty much the exact same thing, despite being called out in the aftermath of his debate comment digging in because they believe that immigration will be the calling card back to the White House. JEFF ZELENY, CNN NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The only difference here is between the former president doing it and J. D. Vance doing it. They're his constituents. So, this is something we've seen many times, obviously, like a narrative will take hold in a national campaign, a brighter light is shine on it.

But when we look at this, there are Republicans. There, the mayor, the Republican governor, saying this is not true. These refugees are working. The city, of course, has its challenges, but this isn't true. So, the odd part about all this is that Senator Vance is creating this narrative for his own constituents. And just you saw him just meandering through your great interview with him, Dana.

And it's no question. This is a red county. Donald Trump will almost certainly win this county, but it will be fascinating to go back and look after the election to see if this has any impact on it all, because the rhetoric is just extraordinary but they're his constituents.

JASMINE WRIGHT, POLITICS REPORTER, NOTUS: And I think even beyond the rhetoric, these are real people that he's kind of throwing under the bus, right? Not just the cultural arts festivals being canceled. People are keeping their children home from school. Multiple parts of the local government are shutting down because of threats of violence that they're getting.

And that, frankly, these two Republican candidates are not exactly denouncing. And so, not only these constituents, these are very real people who are experiencing kind of a terrible time. And I don't think that the Republican Party, particularly these two candidates have said anything about the real feel -- fear that these migrants are experiencing -- these legal migrants are experiencing.

BASH: Well, it's not, and again, it's the migrants, but also the broader community now has fear. And not only did they not say anything, they're attacking the media, me, and that I was the person who was obviously at the other end of that interview. So, it was me in that instance, for suggesting that they were responsible.

Meanwhile, in local Springfield, Ohio, it is the people who are there who are saying that these federal officials are responsible. And it is bringing out the ugliness that is already just below the surface, and that is kind of the unsaid part of this.

Mike DeWine, the governor, you referred to him. He was -- he's very much in favor of these Haitian migrants being there. He acknowledges that more needs to be done to help integrate them into the community. Give the community more resources. But he says, they're filling jobs that employers need to be filled.

He also, yesterday, talked about KKK flyers that are purportedly out there being shown around. We saw that there were allegedly proud boys marching, at least that was what was reported to the police there.

RAJU: Yeah. I mean, the concerns that Mike DeWine is voicing are pretty loud and clear and he is a Republican governor. He is making it. He supported Donald Trump. He is in line with J. D. Vance on a lot of issues. He doesn't want this rhetoric to continue because of the real fears that this is causing in his community.

And as you tried to put it to J. D. Vance about this -- over and over again, about this, he seemed to skirt the idea that it's not. The media are raising concerns about this, even it is his own party, it is his own Republican governor, but that seems to be something that they're conveniently trying to overlook.

BASH: And yet, what has not been on the front page until for many, many months, until they made up this story, apparently, about cats and dogs being eaten immigration. Things seem to be calmer at the border. And so, what have they done? They have certainly not gotten the kind of reporting and the kind of stories that they were hoping to get with regard to, you know, kind of dangers out there that are really happening. But this is clearly part of their strategy.

ZELENY: Without question. I mean, there is always part of a strategy here. When the former president is involved, what he says, and this is exactly part of the strategy to inject sort of a darker side of the immigration conversation into the campaign. It is not really fallen out. I mean, it's a top issue for so many voters.

Look at the ads that the Trump campaign is running here, blaming Vice President Harris for so many things. But the former president often has a hard time sort of staying on message and delivering that attack. But this is a way to sort of expand the immigration conversation.

[12:25:00]

But the bigger point is, if he visits there, some of his advisers have said, he might. I mean, imagine sort of the fallout from that. So, the bottom line is, the people of Springfield in Ohio are not done any service by this external conversation.

BASH: OK. Don't go anywhere. Don't go far, because coming up. What is next for the congressional task force that is already looking at the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life. A Republican member of that task force, Congressman Mike Waltz will be here.

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