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One World with Zain Asher
Democrats Coalescing Around Harris After Biden Exits The Race; Congressional Panel Questions U.S. Secret Service Director; Cheatle: Sufficient Number Of Agents Assigned To Trump Rally; House Speaker Johnson Expects Legal Challenges To Harris; Legal Threats To Democratic Nominee; How Kamala Harris May Take On Donald Trump. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 22, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:27]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right, everyone, live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today.
It's a busy day in Washington D.C. as well as a continued fallout from President Biden's dramatic exit from the presidential race.
Right now on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, is testifying for the House Oversight Committee.
Her agency is under intense scrutiny after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, nine days ago, at one of his campaign rallies.
We are closely monitoring that hearing and we'll bring you live updates throughout the hour.
We're now to this and passing the torch and plowing full steam ahead. It is a brand-new U.S. presidential race and Democratic leaders are coalescing
around Kamala Harris. They're likely new nominee as she launches into her first full day of campaigning.
The vice president just wrapped up her remarks honoring NCAA championship teams at the White House. It's her first public appearance since President
Biden announced that he is not seeking reelection.
She began by praising President Biden and his service to the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe Biden's legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history.
His honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his love, deep love of our country.
And I am firsthand witness that every day, our president Joe Biden fights for the American people and we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service
to our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Harris, meanwhile, has been working the phone since President Biden's decision became public on Sunday, trying to shore up democratic
support.
In her campaign, which quietly released this logo, says Harris has already raised nearly $50 million from grassroots donors and what's being described
as the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.
CNN's Eva McKend joins me now live in Washington, D.C.
Eva, so a huge night in terms of funding, in terms of support, in terms of re-energizing, really this race from the vice president now not skipping a
beat, I would argue the past month since that devastating debate performance from the president.
But yesterday, she's getting the endorsement from the president as his pick for the party's nominee, other notable names, including the Clintons and
many who would have been viewed as her most serious contenders, governor, senators, also endorsing her the latest Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Tell us more about what we can expect in the coming hours and days.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Bianna, this is the reset, the course correction that a lot of her allies said that this
campaign needed for President Biden to step aside and for her to be at the helm of the ticket, because they believe that she can organize really key
coalitions of the Democratic Party, black voters, young voters, female voters. And that is why they were pushing so hard for Harris.
But now, the hard work for her begins. We know that she has been working the phones. She spent more than 10 hours on the phones calling governors,
members of Congress, leaders of civil rights organizations, labor organizations, praying with her pastor for strength, that she can get
through the weeks ahead.
And that is all to shore up internal support within the Democratic Party. That is what's going to be needed in the weeks ahead for those delegates
that plan to support President Biden at the convention to actually go and switch her -- their support to her.
Now, she does have an angle here, or I would say an edge here, and that she enters this stage with the support of key coalitions already. I'm talking
about groups like Black Voters Matter, Higher Heights. They do some crucial work in terms of organizing and turning out voters in key battleground
states.
And they have been with her throughout this entire process, doing that quiet diplomacy as it looked like President Biden would step aside, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Eva McKend, I should commend you for continuing without even a flinch there when that ambulance siren went off behind you.
[12:05:04]
We should also let our viewers know that in addition to Gretchen Whitmer endorsing Vice President Harris as the Democratic nominee.
She also says in a post on X that she will serve as a co-chair of the Harris campaign as well. We'll continue to be following these developments.
Again, Eva McKend, thank you so much.
And we're learning more about President Biden's sudden exit from the race as well. According to a source, President Biden's decision came after two
of his closest advisors huddled with him on Saturday and told him a path to victory was, quote, basically non-existent, after reviewing polling data.
Many Democrats and analysts hailed the decision as selfless.
CNN commentator Van Jones, meanwhile, grew visibly emotional while reacting to the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Joe Biden's body may not be as strong as it used to be, his language skills may not be as sharp as it used
to be. His heart is as big as ever. His heart is as big and as true and as strong.
And this is -- this is the difference between a politician and a leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Camila DeChalus joins me now live from Washington.
And, Camila, in addition to those really sobering new polls that the president was presented with the numbers were grim already showing that he
was trailing in all six critical swing states and collapsing in places like Virginia and New Mexico, perhaps even New Jersey being a close race at
that.
Ultimately, a lot of weeks, a few weeks now of pressure from Democrats, both publicly and privately, finally led the president to his decision
yesterday.
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We're told that President Biden made his final decision in the last 48 hours before he put
out the official announcement.
We're told that he talked to a lot of his close advisors and his family members about this decision, whether he should drop out or not.
And as you mentioned, he consulted the polls. And the polls just showed that he was going to face a very challenging reelection process going up
against former President Donald Trump.
Now, even though in the last few days, he's put out statements saying he's looking forward to hitting the campaign trail, ultimately, when he put out
the letter, one of the biggest things he said was that, he is trying to look out for the better good of the American people. And that is what's at
focus here.
He also later then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. And I can tell you now, Bianna, from a lot of the conversations I've spoken to, grassroots
organizers, and even activists who are going to now really be in the space of really mobilizing voters, that they say that there's this renewed energy
around the Democratic Party and that they're more committed than ever to making sure that Kamala Harris gets on that ballot. And that on the day of
the election, that she gets chose to be the next president instead of former President Donald Trump.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.
Well, the Republicans have wasted no time in slamming both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Former President Donald Trump posted on social media.
"Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president and is certainly not fit to serve and never was."
Trump and his new running made, J.D. Vance, will sit down for a joint interview with Fox News later today. And they'll likely slam Harris for the
same things seen in this new political ad already hitting airwaves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala knew Joe couldn't do the job, so she did it. Look what she got done, a border invasion runaway inflation, the American
dream dead. They created this mess. They know Kamala owns this failed record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: My next guest says Biden stepping down was, quote, "Joe's way of knifing his own party on the way out."
Matt Mowers is a former senior White House advisor at the State Department and worked on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Matt, first, let me just get you to explain what you meant about Joe Biden knifing his party.
MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Well, clearly President Biden did not want to give up the reins, right? He had been, you
know, digging in his heels ever since that debate in June, ever since the calls got ratcheted up. So this is the last thing he wanted to do was to
drop out.
What I mean by that is that they recognize the fact that Kamala Harris, up until the debate, was the least popular political figure in America. Joe
Biden, for the longest time, had been the second least after the debate. His number slipped. He became the least popular.
You asked any Democrat around D.C. Among the reasons Joe Biden did not step down a year and a half ago were the internal concerns democratic operatives
had that Kamala Harris was not up to the job to actually be the nominee. Not for any other reason the fact that she pulled worse than Joe Biden.
And if you look at the head-to-head matchups that are already coming out today, she is only doing marginally better than Joe Biden did against
Donald Trump right now. And that is without the klieg lights on her, without the hot lights on her right now, which are about to get really
ratcheted up.
[12:10:03]
GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you about that because as you know, Tim Alberta has spent a lot of time not only covering the Republican Party, but Donald
Trump specifically and his campaign. He has a very timely piece in "The Atlantic" from a few weeks ago entitled, Trump is planning for a landslide
win.
And, of course, the blueprint for that win was going up against Joe Biden. That has now shifted. And Tim Alberta tweeting yesterday upon this news,
really cannot overstate how problematic this is for Trump's operation. Everything they built was customized for a contest with Biden. And I mean
everything.
So wouldn't you acknowledge that this is a bit jarring and perhaps problematic for Donald Trump if, for no other issue, the age issue alone?
MOWERS: Well, Donald Trump's campaign was built about Donald Trump and, yes, about Joe Biden.
The difference is Joe Biden's campaign was also built against Joe Biden and that no longer is part of the equation, right?
So if you're talking about which campaign structurally has to catch up more quickly, it's the new Kamala Harris campaign, which has been around for
about less than 24 hours at this point.
Look, is the structure and the messaging going to be slightly different than it would have been against Joe Biden? Yes, but not dramatically so. If
you go up until before the first debate, Donald Trump was leading Joe Biden still. And it wasn't because of Joe Biden's age. It was because of his
policies. It was because voters had soured on the Biden-Harris administration on issues around immigration, which she was the borders
czar. And then the point is to handle root causes of migration and then securing the border, which she did not do, and which the American people do
not believe that she's done a good job at.
And she was there on all the big spending that caused a lot of the inflation. And so they're blaming -- voters are blaming the Biden-Harris
administration on inflation.
Not to mention the fact that if you look at all the foreign policy challenges that we have right now, whether it's Russia invading Ukraine,
the crisis in the Mideast, whether it was the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Kamala Harris was there right with Joe Biden.
And so if you take out, yes, the age issue, which certainly has dominated the headlines since the end of July during the CNN debate, before that it
was really about the policies. And that is why, as of today in the new poll that just came out, Kamala Harris is losing to Donald Trump at about the
same margin that Joe Biden was losing to Donald Trump going into that first debate.
And that's because voters are judging them on their record and on the issues, not just on the personalities.
GOLODRYGA: But we do know, and then again, this was all hypothetical because it was polling that was done before this announcement officially
from the president that he will not be the nominee.
That Vice President Harris was actually polling slightly better than Donald Trump or Biden against Donald Trump. And I guess there is hope that that
polling and that trajectory will only continue in the days and weeks to come.
Matt Mowers, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us.
MOWERS: Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: And as we told you at the top of the hour, we've also been listening to the hearing right now. The Secret Service Director testifying
before Capitol Hill in Congress, really getting a lot of tough questions grilled from both sides of the aisle.
Let's listen in now. I believe that Representative Nancy Mace is questioning her right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Demands of information that we wanted. Has the Secret Service provided this committee a complete list of all law
enforcement personnel that were there that day? Have you done that? Have you provided a list to the oversight committee? Yes or no?
KIMBERLY CHEATLE, DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE: I'll have to get back to you on that.
MACE: That is a no. Have you provided all audio and video recordings in your possession to this committee, as we asked on July 15th? Yes or no?
CHEATLE: I would have to get back to you on that.
MACE: That is a no. You're full of shit today. You're just being completely dishonest. Mr. Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Chairman --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to --
MACE: Mr. Chairman -- I'm going to continue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to maintain decorum in this committee.
MACE: Any --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- no matter how upset we get.
MACE: -- Have you provided any more memos to this committee that we've asked you on July 15th? Have you provided all of them random within the
Secret Service?
CHEATLE: I would have to get back to you on that.
MACE: That is a no. You are being dishonest or lying. I just -- you're being dishonest here with this committee. These are important questions
that the American people want answers to and you're just -- you're just dodging and talking around it in generalities.
And we had to subpoena you to be here and you won't even answer the questions. We have asked you repeatedly to answer our questions. This isn't
hard. These are not hard questions.
Have you provided us all communications from the Secret Service related to that day in that rally? Have you provided this committee? We've asked for
this information on July 15th. Have you provided any of this information that this committee has asked of the Secret Service? Any of it?
CHEATLE: I'll have to get back to you on that.
MACE: Have you even read this letter that we sent you? Did you even read this?
CHEATLE: Yes.
MACE: OK. And you have said you don't know. You have no idea. The answer is no.
We haven't gotten a single document or piece of information or data from you or your agency in related to the rally that we have asked you for.
[12:15:04]
So, is this -- was this attempted assassination of Donald Trump of Failure of Training or Execution or both?
CHEATLE: I think that those are answers that we need to --
MACE: Training, execution or both? Which one?
CHEATLE: I think those are answers that we need to --
MACE: All right. How many -- how many Secret Service personnel have lost their jobs due to this colossal failure?
CHEATLE: At this time, none.
MACE: How many Secret Service personnel have been required to take a refresher course on how not to let people shoot Donald Trump?
CHEATLE: Our personnel are currently operational. We are examining the facts of this investigation and we will make the changes necessary.
MACE: What time did law enforcement become aware that there was an individual on the roof with a clear line of sight to President Trump?
CHEATLE: I am still verifying timelines.
MACE: Of course. Nine days and you have no answers. How many minutes went by between the time law enforcement saw and took photos of crooks and the
shooting? How many minutes?
CHEATLE: I am still verifying timelines.
MACE: Fifty-seven minutes.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, yield to the right.
Before I recognize Ms. Stansbury, I believe I want to recognize Mr. Mfume for a unanimous consent.
REP. KWEISI MFUME (D-MD): Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I beg your indulgence. I meant to do this earlier. I'd like to have unanimous consent
that it'd be submitted for the record, the 2023 ranking of best and worst workplaces in the federal government, compiled by the Office of Personnel
Management, which shows the United States Secret Service coming in again, as I said earlier, 413 out of 459 sub-agencies. And this appears in the
July 17th edition of government executive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objections ordered.
Chair now recognizes. Ms. Stansbury from New Mexico.
REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (-NM): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, I want to start by just saying that part of why you have bipartisan agreement here on
the dais about the severity and importance of this hearing is because this is not just a single shooting. This is about national security and the
security of our democracy.
It's not just one operational failure. This is about our public officials safe. And what does that signal to our country and to the world about
American security and the ability of our officials to do their job safely?
So I want to start by saying thank you to all of our brave men and women who are in the uniform, whether it's the Secret Service or local law
enforcement who put their lives on the line.
I think, obviously, we honor their service, but this is really about operational failures and what it means for our country at large.
And I also want to reaffirm that we must condemn unequivocally political violence of any kind. Violence of any kind, not just political violence,
and that it cannot be tolerated in this democracy.
And also to offer my prayers for the slain fire chief, Corey Comperatore, and also prayers for those who've been injured.
Now, I think, you know, the tone of this hearing is how is it that a 20- year-old young man with a gun that was legally purchased by his father could, on the day of a rally, go to a gun shop, legally purchased
ammunition, show up to a secured site, and then not only attempt an assassination of a political figure but kill an injured two others.
How could this happen?
I'm not asking yet. I think we've had a lot of testimony here today.
I want to talk a little bit about the timeline.
Now, here's what we know. And I know, Director, you were also on the call that we had a few days ago with the FBI and other law enforcement. So I
respect that you are not able to share based on your testimony some of the details that are currently being investigated.
But I know you were on the call because I heard you on the call and you heard them too. So I'm going to lay out the timeline a little bit.
On July 3rd, the rally was announced that it was going to be in Butler. On July 6th, three days later, we know that the shooter searched for dates for
Trump and DNC events.
On July 7th, so this is four days after the announcement, the shooter went to the site. He actually physically went to the site.
On July 12th, the shooter went to a gun range where he and his dad regularly go and practiced shooting.
And the next day, on July 13th, he went to the site again before the rally began. We know that he then went and searched online for gun store where he
went and he purchased 50 rounds of ammunition, went home, got his father's AR, which was legally purchased and returned to the venue.
[12:20:06]
At 5:00 P.M. that evening, this is more than an hour before Donald Trump actually took the stage that evening. Local law enforcement made aware --
were made aware that there was a suspicious man.
In fact, at 5:20 local law enforcement flagged that he had a rangefinder. And they radioed their concerns and sent around pictures of the individual.
At 5:40, 20 minutes before local law enforcement actually identified the shooter.
And at 5:51, Secret Service notify -- was notified of the suspicious person by the state police. And one minute later, they distributed that
information. That was before Donald Trump even took the stage. That was 11 minutes before he took the stage.
So the Secret Service was aware that there was a suspicious person.
At 6:03, he took the stage.
It's 6:09, rally goers, as was shown in the video, identified this gentleman climbing on the roof.
At 6:11, three shots were heard, three rounds of shots, and of course, the president and the other victims were shot.
This shooter was a 20-year-old young man. No criminal record. Legally purchased gun and ammunition, who for days, in the lead up to this
shooting, was searching mass shooters. He even had a picture of a mass shooter on his cell phone, the day of the shooting. He searched for
explosives, he searched high level officials.
So the American people want to know, how did a 20-year-old young man with access to a military-style weapon, actually bring it on to an unsecured
perimeter who for days had been planning a mass shooting event?
And I think that, Madam Director, with all due respect, the answers that we've received here in this hearing today are completely unsatisfactory.
How could this happen? We need answers.
We need answers, not just for the family members, the gentleman who was killed and those who were injured, but we need answers for our democracy.
Because as others have stated here today, we are in a highly politically charged environment right now.
We are only weeks away from one of the most significant presidential elections in American history. And it is clear that our public --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: All right. You've been listening to testimony there now before a congressional panel with the director of the U.S. Secret Service. Really
some tough questions coming from both sides of the aisle, her way.
CNN's and Zach Cohen have joined us from Washington with the story.
Zach, a lot of questions into members of Congress frustration. Not very many answers. We heard from the director saying that she takes
accountability and that, quote, we failed and we will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13th does not happen again.
But aside from that, it appears that her constant answer is that an investigation is ongoing and thus she can't provide more information to
some of these frustrated lawmakers.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Bianna. That's exactly right.
And despite acknowledging that this was the most significant operational failure for the Secret Service in decades, as you mentioned, there is
frustration on both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats asking the director of the Secret Service, how did this happen?
That is the question that lawmakers on both sides want to know. And they frankly did not get the answer to that question.
The director often citing an ongoing investigation and really couldn't provide any specifics to questions like why was the shooter able to get on
an unsecured roof and then fire the shots not only at former President Donald Trump, but the shots that hit rally goers and killed a former
firefighter as well. So a lot of questions here.
And look, one of the main questions that lawmakers had as well is the -- when did Secret Service agents on the ground know there was a credible
threat? What were the communications like between them? And how was Donald Trump still allowed to take the stage even when people in the audience had
to observe the 20-year-old climb onto that roof with what looked like to be a gun?
Again, Director Cheatle unable to answer that question.
But she was a little bit defiant when she was called on by Republicans and Democrats to resign. She said that she believes that she's still the best
person for that job.
So this hearing is still ongoing. We'll see what this means for Director Cheatle's professional fate going forward, but still a lot of unanswered
questions about how this shooting was allowed to happen and what really security lapses that facilitated it.
[12:25:02]
GOLODRYGA: And also, the continued reporting initially that was refuted by the Secret Service that the Donald Trump campaign had been asking for
additional resources that were denied only a few days later to then hear that in fact that that was true, but then the director said that had
nothing to do with resources specific to that day in Butler County.
So it will be interesting to see how that story evolves as well.
Zach Cohen, thank you so much.
We want to take a closer look now at the hearing and those security lapses at that Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Wackrow is a CNN law enforcement analyst and was a Secret Service agent under President Barack Obama. Jonathan, welcome to the program.
Listen, just watching this, it's frustrating. You sense the anger and just bewilderment that the fact that this happened in the United States with the
presidential candidate for one of two parties, a former president as well.
And the director not able to answer a lot of what appears, at least for a viewer to be pretty rudimentary questions. How did this happen? Why did
certain events? Why wasn't there more security? How were there these time- lapses?
You're a professional here. This is your area of expertise. Obviously, I want to respect that an ongoing investigation is happening as well.
But how would you assess how the director is handling this right now?
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I mean, listen, I think we can just hear from the lawmakers themselves. We're always calling
for a bipartisan consensus.
And today, we have finally a bipartisan consensus. But unfortunately, it's around the failures of the Secret Service. And more specifically in this
moment, the inability of the director to answer direct questions, not only concerning what happened during the assassination attempt, but really what
is going on within the Secret Service that actually led to this moment.
So I think that what we're hearing is a lot of themes coming out of the questioning thus far, but the director, you know, has failed to respond and
reassure not only lawmakers, but the American public that this election is safe.
And, you know, to the reporting that we just had -- just prior to my joining, what we don't understand is, how did this happen? Right?
What we don't need is actually the details because we know that there's a criminal investigation. There's a mission assurance investigations going
on.
But what we do need is at least directionally a real understanding from the -- from the director that all of these investigative resources will yield
some answers.
And the answers are going to come really in two parts. One, is this an isolated incident? Was this just a series of failures on that day?
And the Secret Service only needs to make, you know, smaller recommendations and smaller adjustments to ensure that this never happens
again.
Or do we have a systemic problem in the protective model that the Secret Service is applying, not only to the former president, but to all of our
protectees?
So this is a real seminal moment for the United States Secret Service. There's a spotlight on our mission, on the way that we actually execute our
protective mission, you know, across an entire spectrum of protectees. The director is failing to reassure everybody that the Secret Service can move
forward.
However, I want to say as a former Secret Service agent, I'd like to take this moment to know -- because I know that the women and men of the Secret
Service who stand up every day to do this job are doing everything that they can do to protect these governmental leaders.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
WACKROW: The challenges is that their own leadership is failing, though.
GOLODRYGA: And they should be commended as well. And they should also, I'm sure you would agree, receive the resources that they need to do their jobs
and to answer your own question whether this was just a one-day outlier type of event that ended up being a tragedy. Or is this an indication of a
systemic problem that needs to be addressed?
I mean, this is your area of expertise. You worked as a Secret Service agent. You still talk to many people in the field, I would imagine.
What do you think it is? Do you think this was an outlier? Or do you think this is an indication of a bigger problem?
WACKROW: I think it's -- actually, I think it's yes to, you know, both situations. I think that the Secret Service, like a lot of law enforcement
entities around the country, are a resource challenge, right? They're challenged with funding. They're challenged with staffing levels.
And then all the while, the threat environment that these law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service operate in, is getting more dynamic.
So trying to address that threat environment with less resources is difficult for the Secret Service.
Take that and then you apply it to high-risk engagements and events, such as the former President Donald Trump's event, where we already knew well in
advance of that day that Iranian proxies had made a direct threat against the former president.
[12:30:12]
GOLODRYGA: Right. Can I --
WACKROW: Just like that fact alone -- yes, go ahead.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, of course, of course. And that's one of the number of questions we've heard from lawmakers.
Quickly before you go, to this issue of whether or not, and appears it actually was true that was initially denied by the Secret Service that the
Trump campaign had asked for additional resources that were denied. How common is that?
That someone of that stature, like a former president or the party's nominee and their candidate would be denied resources?
WACKROW: Listen, the Secret Service takes a threat-based methodology on applying resources to any protectee, including the former president.
If requests were made that were directly aligned to a change in the threat environment or were necessary to mitigate either a direct threat or a
vulnerability around the former president, that -- if that -- those conditions were there and the requests were denied, I am absolutely
stunned. I've actually never heard it within the Secret Service.
So I think this is where the director and the Secret Service, as a whole, needs to really be transparent around what requests were made, what was
approved, what type of protection was bolstered, and more importantly, what was -- what type of requests were denied. And we really need to get to the
bottom of that.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. We sure do.
Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much.
WACKROW: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, Harris versus Trump will be a very different race to the one we've seen so far. When we return, a look at what
Harris' strategy might be. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:27]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to ONE WORLD, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
While Democrats seem enthusiastic and energized by the prospect of Kamala Harris replacing Biden at the top of the ticket, some Republicans are
challenging the move.
On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling for Biden to step down from the presidency. He said that if Biden is not fit to run, then he
is not fit to serve.
Johnson also said he expects lawsuits to be filed in various states challenging any move from Biden to Harris.
CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raja joins us with more.
So we heard from the speaker there and Representative Nancy Mace also, said that she will be pushing for the Cabinet, Biden's Cabinet, to invoke the
25th Amendment.
I'm wondering, we're hearing all of these threats. How serious are these calls for the president to step down from Republicans?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, the Republicans are still trying to figure out their exact strategy now going
forward.
This decision, while a lot of people were speculating could happen, certainly came as a shock to the political world. And Republicans are
scrambling to figure out exactly how to go after Kamala Harris.
There's a text about her is being too liberal. There's a text about her ties to some of the more unpopular aspects of the Biden administration,
namely his border policies. Expect a lot of attacks about that.
And there's some questions about how they will deal with the fact that she is a historic figure in her own right. She, of course, would be the first
woman president, the first black and South Asian American president. And the question is to get Republicans on how they would deal with that.
I put that question to some Republicans, including one Congressman, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, about how Republicans would deal with that aspect of
the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Biden said, first off, he said he's going to hire a black female for vice president. And that not -- he just skipped over.
What about -- what about females? What about any other group?
Just when you go down that route, you take mediocrity and that's what they have right now as vice president.
RAJU: So, are you suggesting she's -- she was DEI hire?
BURCHETT: One hundred percent she was a DEI hire. He said he was going to hire. And then -- and she didn't -- her record is abysmal at best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Of course, DEI refers to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
And what you're hearing from the Congressman there is that he's saying that she was not qualified, at least to be vice president or president, calling
her mediocre at best, saying that she only got the job, as he said, because, of course, she was -- she's a black woman.
Of course, Democrats would say that she -- her qualifications were the reason, ultimately, for her decision to get that post, even as the then-
Vice President Joe Biden had suggested that perhaps that he wanted a black woman as the number two on the ticket in an effort to try to energize that
aspect of the democratic base.
But it all underscores what the Republicans are still grappling with, that there's a new nominee, that things will change in this election, that
Democrats who are really struggling with their enthusiasm with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket now have a new energy, particularly among some of the
aspects of the democratic base that simply were not there with Joe Biden as he was struggling to rebuild his coalition for 2020.
Now they have to grapple with the likelihood of Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, and what that means for them going forward. It's something
they're still trying to hash out behind the scenes.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it does, Manu, appear from reporting that Republicans are pretty confident that Joe Biden would be the Democratic candidate
through the end.
And if I recall, it was only really Nikki Haley, who focused a lot on what a potential Kamala Harris presidency would be even throughout the
Republican National Convention.
Last week, we didn't hear much, many other people, any of the speakers in Vote Kamala Harris's name. It was strictly Biden, Biden, Biden.
And as we note now, they're really scrambling to do their opposition research in light of this new development.
Manu Raju, thank you so much.
RAJU: Thanks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: What has been less than 24 hours since Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris for president, and in that time, we have seen
more than 500 democratic officials and delegates lining up behind her and tens of millions of dollars. So, how will she attack Trump?
CNN has learned that Harris will campaign on her history as a prosecutor, contrasting that with Trump's many legal problems.
Harris' advisors think they can make a case that she fights for Americans while Trump is only out for himself.
[12:40:00]
Edward-Isaac Dovere -- Isaac Dovere has been digging into the Harris campaign strategy and joins us now.
I mean, you can already sell the line of prosecutor versus convicted felon. But aside from that, how is this new campaign going to really focus on
attacking Donald Trump differently from how Joe Biden had been?
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. And look, some of this thinking was underway even before Joe Biden's disastrous debate
performance. There was preparations going on from Harris and her team to go at Trump in this way, even, and basically to ignore whoever he picked as
the running mate. Obviously, different circumstances now.
But it is to lean on this idea. She's been a district attorney. Before that, she was even an assistant district attorney, then-San Francisco DA,
then-California Attorney General.
That is much more part of her life and resume than being a senator or vice president when it comes to the number of years.
And so this will be an attempt, not just to make it prosecutor versus criminal, but to talk about things like she went after rapists. He has been
accused of sexual assault and had the E. Jean Carroll settlement civil suit found against him for hundreds of millions of dollars.
She went after big banks. He is protecting big money to interest is what they'll say.
And another part of it, importantly, it's beyond just the legal machinations here, is to try to get people to connect that with attributes
that they feel like they make Harris shine, that she's tough, that she's smart, that she goes after people, those are -- goes after people in a sort
of righteous way as a prosecutor would.
And that's stuff that they want to connect from being a prosecutor to attributes they want in a commander-in-chief.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, quickly, Edward-Isaac, is there any sense or concern that she was perhaps weakened if for no other reason that it's taken a few weeks
for the president finally to come to this conclusion and decision. And there had been some leaks and reports that the president had been concerned
about how strong of a candidate she actually would be.
DOVERE: Yes. Look, we should not forget, and many people, including Democrats who are supporting her now, have not forgotten all of the
problems that Kamala Harris had from staff infighting and the problems managing her own office, to issues with how she's presented herself in
public, as soon as being about word salad and all that stuff that we know about.
And some of the issues that she has struggled with. The Republicans have already gone after her for calling her that she was the borders czar. She
was not the borders czar, but she was in charge of trying to get to the root causes of illegal immigration by working with Central American
countries.
Those are all still part of this. And, yes, it's been a day of thinking about her as president in a new way, or presidential candidate in a new
way, but that is going to shift into the next -- all the rest of the way of thinking about this very quickly.
GOLODRYGA: Indeed. Edward-Isaac Dovere, thank you so much.
DOVERE: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, if Kamala Harris wants some campaign advice, she may want to consult our next guest.
Tim Hogan was a key communications advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, as well as Amy Klobuchar's bid for president in 2020. Tim, thanks
for joining us.
And let's start right there, because it does appear now from reporting at least that Kamala Harris will be inheriting Joe Biden's existing campaign
leadership.
I'm wondering Jen O'Malley Dillon, I'm wondering if that is a smart move in your opinion.
TIM HOGAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes, I think it is. I mean, she was on the ticket before. It's the same staff. And the reality is a campaign is
like a billion dollar startup. And we are now four months away from the general election.
So, you know, completely flipping campaign infrastructure on its head would be a huge, huge problem.
And one of the benefits of her also being the nominee is she gets to tap the staff resources. She also gets to tap the campaign coffers.
And like we saw yesterday, there's a lot of excitement about her. We saw $67 million come in via ActBlue, which is a record.
So she has a strong case to prosecute against Donald Trump. She will have some messaging that is slightly different from Joe Biden. Most notably, she
sheds the largest liability that we heard from voters, which is an age issue, but keeping the campaign staff and infrastructure that she has in
place is the right move.
GOLODRYGA: Looking at polling, though, it does appear, and again, this was hypothetical because it was polling conducted before Joe Biden actually
left the race.
That having been said, she pulled slightly better, perhaps, than Joe Biden. And that was after Joe Biden's really weak performance at the debate. So it
appears, at least for now, she's starting at about the same level where Joe Biden was right prior to the debate.
Do you think, realistically, there's a lot of room for improvement? Will American voters that know her so well as being part of the Biden-Harris
ticket and administration be able to look at her in a different light now?
HOGAN: Yes, I think so. I mean, look, she inherits a lot of the previous campaign, but she also has some more folks who don't know her, who are
undecided, who need to learn more about her, which is why this period right after Joe Biden announcing his endorsement of Kamala Harris is critical.
[12:45:07]
We need to get out there and define her before Republicans do. But to your point, look, in a lot of those polls too, she was positioned better and had
a trajectory that was better than the current president. I think that is part of the reason we saw a push to get her at the top of the ticket.
When it comes to her advantage, head-to-head versus Trump, you know, it's about a point better than the president. When it comes to key swing states
like Pennsylvania and Virginia, in "New York Times/Siena" polling, we saw that she is doing better.
And it comes to favorables and unfavorables. She is underwater. The president is also underwater. But it's a smaller gap for her. And I think
these next few weeks are going to be critical in reintroducing her to the American people, getting her biography out there and communicating a
message going forward.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It will be critical. Also critical to see who she ultimately picks as her vice presidential running mate as well.
Democratic campaign consultant, Tim Hogan, thank you so much for the time.
HOGAN: Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come for us, the next democratic nominee for a president could face legal challenges on their way to the top of the
ticket.
Up next, what scholars and experts are saying about the possibilities.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. I want to take you back to Capitol Hill, where you see Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, a Republican there
questioning, the Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle in what has now been over two hours of intense grilling.
Let's listen to what she says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DANIEL GOLDMAN (D-NY): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Director, I want to follow up and just understand a little bit why there is so much information about this out in the public, including some from you
and your communications team. And yet, you're here, pursuant to a subpoena, under oath in front of Congress and you're unable or unwilling to answer
some of those same questions.
Can you just explain why you are answering so many fewer questions here than you have to the media?
CHEATLE: I'm answering the questions that I'm able to answer based on the fact that there are multiple ongoing investigations.
GOLDMAN: But you've -- you have answered some of these questions previously, correct? To the public, to the media.
[12:50:00]
CHEATLE: Which questions?
GOLDMAN: Well, for -- did you have an interview with ABC News?
CHEATLE: Yes, I did.
GOLDMAN: OK. And did you explain the interaction between local law enforcement and the Secret Service? And that local law enforcement was
responsible for securing the perimeter of the building where the shooter was?
CHEATLE: I said that the Secret Service is responsible for designing and implementing and executing the security plan. And that we rely on the
assistance of our local law enforcement partners to assist us with that plan.
GOLDMAN: Let me ask you something, were you given any instructions about what you can and cannot answer here today?
CHEATLE: My ability to answer questions is solely reflective of the fact that there are multiple ongoing investigations. And I want to make sure
that I provide accurate information that doesn't conflict with any of those investigations that are going on.
GOLDMAN: So is it your view that you can't talk about anything that happened that day until those investigations are completed?
CHEATLE: My view is that I want to make sure that this committee and the American public gets correct and actual information.
GOLDMAN: And so is it your view that that has -- that can only happen after the completion of the investigation?
CHEATLE: Is my view that when the investigations are complete that we will be able to share that information.
GOLDMAN: And how about before that?
CHEATLE: If I have factual information that I can share before that, I absolutely will.
GOLDMAN: I'm guessing you have factual information as to when the suspicious photograph -- the photograph of the suspicious person was
relayed to the Secret Service. There's a time stamp on that text message or whatever it was, correct?
CHEATLE: Sir, I'm sure you can understand that when you're dealing with text messages, e-mails, and other communications, the timelines don't
always match up.
GOLDMAN: Not really if they're time stamped. But let me -- let me move on. Because you have acknowledged that this was a major security failure, is
that right?
CHEATLE: Yes.
GOLDMAN: Do you acknowledge that it was a major security failure not to secure the rooftop of the building that the shooter shot from?
CHEATLE: I believe at this time that the rooftop was provided overwatch. I acknowledge that we are unaware at this time how the individual was able to
access the roof.
GOLDMAN: Overwatch meaning from other counter sniper or other higher points?
CHEATLE: Correct.
GOLDMAN: And so was it a failure then that when that shooter was on the rooftop, that overwatch did not identify him before he fired his shots?
CHEATLE: I don't have the timeline of how the individual accessed the roof, where they accessed the roof, or how long they were on the roof.
GOLDMAN: Let me ask a couple things quickly. You have testified here about all the resources that the Secret Service needed to deploy to protect the
NATO summit and all of the leaders here, is that right?
CHEATLE: Yes.
GOLDMAN: Does -- did you have to rely more on local law enforcement because of the NATO summit for this event?
CHEATLE: The Secret Service routinely works with local law enforcement at every event. It doesn't matter whether it is a NATO summit, NSSE, the DN --
I'm sorry, the RNC in Milwaukee.
GOLDMAN: No, but that's not my question. Obviously, there's a natural give and take as to I'm sure how many agents you deploy and how much you rely on
local law enforcement.
Did you have to rely more on local law enforcement because there were fewer Secret Service assets available because of the NATO summit?
CHEATLE: No.
GOLDMAN: I hope we get answers before the completion. I don't like the fact that the media has received far more answers than Congress has. If this is
a function of getting your ducks in a row, I assume you have access to a lot of these reports and a lot of this information and you should have come
prepared here today.
And I would just want to flag, Mr. Chairman, before I yield back, that I want to just point out one thing that my colleague from Texas was talking
about. When he said he recreated the shooting twice with an AR-15 and he had a 94 percent success rate, 15 out of 16 shots, I don't know why that
doesn't convince him that we should get rid of AR-15s.
But clearly we need to do something about the prevalence of AR-15s and weapons of war on our streets. And I yield back.
[12:55:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Chair now recognize Mr. Perry from Pennsylvania.
REP. SCOTT PERRY (R-PA): Thank you, Chairman.
Director, I guess 60 days is the time of the investigation. Is that --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: OK. You've been listening to a rare moment in congressional testimony and that is where a witness is grilled equally, I would argue,
aggressively and skeptically there with a lot of frustration from members of Congress from both sides of the aisle as we've been listening to the
U.S. Secret Service Director, Kim Cheatle, answered questions or perhaps not answer questions far enough regarding the attempted assassination of
the former president last Saturday in Pennsylvania, in Butler, Pennsylvania.
There you saw Dan Goldman, a Democrat, before him. You saw many Republicans also bewildered and frustrated by the lack of what appears to be
transparency or real answers to basic questions about the chain of events.
We will continue to follow this testimony, which is now well over two hours. We're expecting about six hours worth of testimony today and we'll
bring you all of the highlights in any new developments.
In the meantime, that is it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. Don't go anywhere.
I'll be right back here with "AMANPOUR" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
