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CNN Live Event/Special
Trump Picks Sen. J.D. Vance As Running Mate; Trump Formally Nominated For President. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired July 15, 2024 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of its 26 votes for President Donald J. Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Nevada, 26 votes, President Trump. Oklahoma, 43 delegates.
NATHAN DAHM, OKLAHOMA DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, I'm Nathan Dahm, Republican Party Chairman of the great state of Oklahoma. The crossroads of our country and the first state to have a president, Donald J. Trump highway, and the only state to have all 77 counties vote for President Trump, two elections in a row with a third time coming up this November.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DAHM: The state of Oklahoma proudly cast all of its 43 votes for President Donald J. Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Oklahoma, 43 votes, President Trump. West Virginia, 32 delegates.
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PATRICK MORRISEY, WEST VIRGINIA DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Chairman, on behalf of the West Virginia delegation, my name is Patrick Morrisey, and I am very proud to cast all 32 votes for the Mountaineers, where we're always free. And to cast those 32 votes for our former and future president, Donald J. Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, West Virginia, 32 votes, President Donald J. Trump. New Hampshire, 22 delegates.
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, NEW HAMPSHIRE DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, my name is Corey Lewandowski, and I served as President Trump's campaign manager in 2016 for that historic victory. I stand before you today on behalf of the great state of New Hampshire, the granite state, the first in the nation primary state, the state that delivered President Trump's first election victory way back in February of 2016.
New Hampshire proudly casts all 22 votes for my good friend, the 45th and soon to be 47th president of the United States, Donald John Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, New Hampshire, 22 votes, President Trump. Nebraska, 36 delegates.
ERIC UNDERWOOD, NEBRASKA DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, my name is Eric Underwood, I'm the chairman. I present the great state of Nebraska. The good life is our motto. Where agriculture, beef and corn is the lifeblood of our economy. Where our medical field and university are amongst the top in the nation. But it is our people that embody a Nebraska nice, modest lifestyle.
Now to announce our delegate allocation, our delegation co-chair, John Tucker.
JOHN TUCKER, NEBRASKA DELEGATION CO-CHAIR: Madam Secretary, the great state of Nebraska proudly casts all of its 36 votes for President Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Nebraska, 36 votes, President Trump. California. California, 169 delegates.
JESSICA PATTERSON, CALIFORNIA DELEGATION CHAIRWOMAN: California represents nearly 5.4 million registered Republicans, more than any other state in the nation. From its pristine beaches to its soaring mountains, from expansive deserts to the redwood forests, the Golden State is responsible for securing today's GOP House Majority.
It will be the state responsible for returning a House Majority to Washington this November so that President Trump has a partner in Congress to support his common sense agenda.
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With the largest delegation in the nation, Madam Secretary, the great state of California proudly casts all of its 169 votes for President Donald Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, California, 169 votes, President Trump.
Tennessee. Tennessee, 58 delegates. JACK JOHNSON, TENNESSEE DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Madam Secretary. My name is Jack Johnson. I have the honor of serving as the Republican Majority Leader in the Tennessee State Senate. On behalf of our delegation chairman --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: OK.
JOHNSON: -- the Honorable Bill Lee, the 50th governor of the great state of Tennessee, I am happy to report that from the mighty Mississippi --
TAPPER: Thanks, one and all. We're going to interrupt right now. We have some news and the news, let us go to Dana Bash about what is going on right now.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we now have the former president's pick, and it is J.D. Vance, a 39-year-old freshman senator from the state of Ohio.
TAPPER: Let me just read, if I can read.
BASH: Please do.
TAPPER: So, we have this announcement in the Donald Trump Truth Social bit. "After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the great state of Ohio. J.D. honorably served our country in the Marine Corps, graduated from" -- he says Ohio State University, it should say The Ohio State University, I've been told, in two years, summa cum laude, and is a Yale Law School graduate where he was editor of the Yale Law Journal and president of the Yale Law Veterans Association.
J.D.'s book, "Hillbilly Elegy," became a major bestseller and movie. As a champion of the hard working men and women of our country, J.D. has had a very successful business career in technology and finance, and now, during the campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond. That came at 2:04 p.m. Central Time.
So 3:04. Let us go to Phil Mattingly, who is, I believe, with the Ohio delegation. And Phil, I hope that adding the "the" in that message didn't alarm anybody, but reliably you're supposed to call it The Ohio State University, that's what you've drilled into my head, so --
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No, that's important --
TAPPER: There must be a lot of excitement where you are.
MATTINGLY: Jake, I want to watch right now.
TAPPER: Must be a lot of excitement, yes. MATTINGLY: Governor DeWine is actually reading the Truth Social post as the delegation is learning about this right now. I asked if they wanted to discuss it and they actually wanted to wait and see and make sure, not because they didn't believe it, but because they knew that it could go any different way.
So, as they're reading these posts right now, I'm actually going to show you the delegates from Ohio as they are learning this basically in real time. Governor, I want to ask you, I know you were very cautious throughout this process. You know it could go any different way. Now we know that the former president has selected J.D. Vance. What do you think?
GOV. MIKE DEWINE, OHIO: Well, we're very happy. This is a great day for Ohio. Ohio truly is the heart of it all, as we say. And now we have the vice presidential candidate, and we hope the next vice president of the United States in J.D. Vance.
MATTINGLY: What point did you know -- I mean, I saw you reading the social media posts. Was that -- when you knew or did you have like a little bit of insight?
DEWINE: No, you never knew it for sure until you see it, you know? I've been around this business for a while and, you know, we thought it was going to be J.D., but we did not know that.
MATTINGLY: Yes. Lieutenant Governor Husted, did you have any kind of insight into this process beforehand or was that the first you learned of it officially too?
JON HUSTED, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, OHIO: Well, I think we've known for a few days that it was likely, but it's never done until it's done. And when Donald Trump posts it and says, that's the nominee, then we can all move forward with a great deal of joy here in Ohio.
MATTINGLY: Governor, before I toss you back to Jack -- Jake, I think the big question right now is, does this help the former president? Does this change the dynamics? You've been in politics an awfully long time. What does a vice presidential selection mean?
DEWINE: Well, look, we're going to win Ohio. We've won it twice by 8 percentage points. But I think J.D. Vance will be a great nominee for vice president. He brings a lot to the ticket. He brings a great American story, an unbelievable story. He served in the military. He's extremely articulate.
He has the ability to take Donald Trump's positions and articulate them in just a very, very good way, very understandable way. So look, he's going -- this is a new generation. This is a new generation of leaders in this country. And J.D. Vance is going to be the next vice president of the United States.
MATTINGLY: All right, Governor Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, we appreciate it.
Jake, back to you. TAPPER: Thanks so much, Phil Mattingly. And it is exciting news.
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We have just learned, Kristen Holmes, J.D. Vance is 39. He's been married for 10 years. He has three kids. This will be the first ever CNN commentator ever put on a presidential ticket. J.D. Vance briefly served as a CNN commentator after the publication of his book, "Hillbilly Elegy." Kristen Holmes, what more can you tell us about this pic?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we've had lots of conversations around who Donald Trump was going to pick talking about those top three contenders, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Senators Marco Rubio and Senator J.D. Vance.
And around Vance, the conversation continued to be, if he chooses J.D. Vance, he is looking to secure his legacy in the MAGA movement. As you noted, he is 39 years old, and it is clear to everyone, including former President Donald Trump, that obviously on day one of a potential Trump administration, J.D. Vance is likely to start running for president in 2028. But that would mean that Donald Trump would secure this message of populism that has really taken over the Republican Party.
And J.D. Vance, as you noted, was a CNN commentator, but he was also a Never Trumper back in 2017. He was somebody who had spoken out very critically against the former president. When I asked people around them how it was that Donald Trump overcame that, somebody who cares so deeply about loyalty, they said that J.D. was able to win him over, not just through himself, but also through his son, Don Jr.
Don Jr. has been one of the biggest proponents of J.D. Vance constantly building him up to both his father and publicly as well. Some of the tea leaves that we had seen is that Donald Trump's team seems to be very receptive to J.D. Vance as well. I will note that Vance was the only of these three potential candidates who went with Donald Trump on a West Coast swing recently.
Burgum did meet them there. But part of the reasoning was because J.D. Vance had secured relationships with a number of Silicon Valley Tech Moguls, including David Sacks, who's speaking later tonight. This was a huge coup for Donald Trump. This is a world that he had never really ventured up into.
So clearly, we had seen this moving and inching in this direction. But it is interesting when you hear about Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, a lot of this is him really securing his legacy and moving that MAGA movement forward, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.
Let's go to Kaitlan Collins, who's on the floor. And obviously, the big exciting news here for the Republican delegates is the fact that President Trump has picked Senator --
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
TAPPER: -- from Ohio, J.D. Vance. He's 39 years old. So almost 40 years younger than Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. This is a favorite pic of Donald Trump's son Donnie Jr. And this is without question a generational change for the Republican Party handing the baton, as it were. Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yes, Jake. And I think it raises a lot of questions about what this is going to look like for the MAGA agenda, because when Donald Trump was president, obviously the last time, Mike Pence was not a threat to him necessarily politically. He was someone who bolstered the ticket in 2016 with evangelicals.
But one part of the consideration and this veepstakes has been whether or not Donald Trump would view the person that he picked as his vice president as potentially a threat, someone who wanted to be kind of the heir apparent to MAGA. Obviously Senator J.D. Vance is someone who, as you noted, is incredibly young, has big political aspirations.
And right now they are noting that J.D. Vance has been the pick as vice president. A lot of delegates here, Jake, are not able to watch TV. They're not on their phones. They are learning about this all in real time. But I will tell you, one thing that has been happening behind the scenes as Kristen Holmes just alluded to, is this push for Vance in recent days as Donald Trump was kind of waffling on his pick.
Everyone had always believed that he favored Vance the most, but in recent days, he had been asking people about Burgum, about Rubio. He was even throwing out names, Jake, like the Texas Governor Greg Abbott and even Nikki Haley. That is kind of how Donald Trump's brain works during this selection process.
But I will note, Donald Trump Jr. went to his dad in recent days and made a final push for Senator Vance. And I should note, I'm standing right here by five empty chairs. One of them has Donald Trump Jr.'s name on it. That is where he is going to be here any moment now. They've cleared a pathway for the family as they are about to come in here because this is the Florida delegation, which of course is going to officially put their father over the top.
TAPPER: Listen in as the roll call continues. Ohio is going to come soon and obviously that is the home state of the brandly new -- the brand newly named running mate, J.D. Vance. And after that we will hear Florida, which will put President Trump over the top to be the nominee. Let's listen in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 45th and 47th president of the United States, Donald John Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Maryland, 37 votes, President Trump. Texas.
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ABRAHAM GEORGE, TEXAS DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, I'm Abraham George, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. Not only in Texas is the economic powerhouse of America --
COLLINS: Any comment, Donald Jr. on your dad picking Senator Vance for his vice presidential pick?
DONALD TRUMP JR., DONALD TRUMP'S SON: I think it's an incredible pick. I think he's an incredible guy with an amazing story both in business and in life. And I think it's just going to be an incredible person to help unify this country.
COLLINS: And what did you say to your dad in recent days about why because he was considering other names as you know? What did you say to him in recent days about why it should be Senator Vance?
D. TRUMP JR.: Listen, I think, I've seen him on TV. I've seen him prosecute the case against the Democrats. I think no one's more articulate than that. And I think his story, his background, really helps us in a lot of the places that you're going to need from the Electoral College standpoint. And I think it's just going to be a great choice.
COLLINS: When did you find out that he had made the pick of Senator Vance?
D. TRUMP JR.: Couple seconds ago.
COLLINS: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump --
GEORGE: -- 161 of our delegates for the 45th and the 47th president, Donald J. Trump.
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GEORGE: Thank you and God bless you and God bless Texas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Texas, 161 votes, President Trump. Iowa, 79 delegates.
ALEX TRIANTAFILOU, OHIO DELEGATION CHAIRMAN: Madam Secretary, Alex Triantafilou, Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. I stand here today with my friend Bernie Moreno, who's going to retire forever, politician Sherrod Brown, and deliver a win to the United States Senate. We proudly cast our 79 votes for President Donald J. Trump.
BERNIE MORENO, IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: And J.D. Vance. (APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Iowa, 79 votes, President Trump. American Samoa, nine delegates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talofa (ph) (INAUDIBLE) of American Samoa. Where our motto is God -- where our motto, to our God is first. Therefore, Madam Secretary, Americans are more proudly, and with all our hearts, cast our vote in favor of our next president, Donald J. Trump.
American Samoa. Donald boy (ph), Donald boy (ph), hey, hey, hey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, American Samoa, nine votes, President Trump. Wisconsin, 41 delegates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madam Secretary, on behalf of the Wisconsin delegation, we welcome everyone here to this 23rd some place we call home. Where 170 years ago, this great party was founded down the road in Ripon, Wisconsin, in a little white schoolhouse.
Madam Secretary, the great state of Wisconsin proudly casts all of its 41 votes for Donald J. Trump.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and rules and procedures of this convention, Wisconsin, 41 votes, President Trump. New York, 91 votes.
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ALL: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
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REP. ELISE STEFANIK, REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIRWOMAN: President Donald J. Trump will always be a New Yorker and New York will always love President Donald J. Trump.
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We believe that President Donald J. Trump will be the first Republican in a generation who will win New York State.
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It is my honor as representative for New York's 21st Congressional District, House Republican Conference Chair, on behalf of the 91 New York delegates to the Republican National Convention, we proudly cast all 91 votes for President Donald J. Trump.
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ALL: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, New York, 91 votes, President Trump. Florida.
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Florida, 125 delegates.
ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: Madam Secretary, and everybody in this great city --
(APPLAUSE & CHEERING)
E. TRUMP: -- on behalf of our entire family, and on behalf of the 125 delegates in the unbelievable state of Florida, we hereby nominate every single one of them for the greatest president that's ever lived, and that's Donald J. Trump, hereby declaring him the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America.
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ALL: Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to the announcement of the delegation and the rules and procedures of this convention, Florida, 125 votes, President Trump.
(APPLAUSE)
(MUSIC)
TAPPER: All right, it is called the over the top celebration. That is not a subjective statement about it. It is about the fact that Donald Trump has gone over the top in terms of the need for 1,215 delegates. Florida giving 125 delegates to Donald Trump. He has officially become the nominee.
You heard Eric Trump, his second oldest son, standing there with his daughter Tiffany, his wife Laura Trump, and his brother, Donald Trump Jr. giving Florida's delegates to Donald Trump. He is now officially the third -- the official Republican nominee, third time's the charm, perhaps.
BASH: Well, it certainly worked for him the first time. And this is -- as we said before, a very, very, very different vibe from the last time we had an in-person convention 2024 for --
TAPPER: Let's go to Kaitlan Collins right now, who's on the floor. Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yes, Jake, thank you. I'm here with Donald Trump Jr. Obviously, he was just talking about how his dad picked his selection for Vice President Senator J.D. Vance, but how's your dad doing overall since Saturday night? D. TRUMP JR.: He's doing well. I mean, obviously, it was a pretty somber moment. I was with my kids on a Saturday evening, and I get this news that he's been shot, but I couldn't get a hold of anyone. He was in lockdown at the hospital. It took about 90 minutes, so that was a long time.
[15:25:06]
COLLINS: 90 minutes before you could talk to him?
D. TRUMP JR.: Before I could speak to him and really know what was going on. And when I did, he was, you know, just some shot, but a lot of resolve. He was able to -- he was joking about it and talking about it in a way that only my father could do.
But it was just that moment when he stood up after being shot at and just showed resolve to keep fighting for this country. That was everything for me. I just literally told him I go, you're the biggest badass I know. And so we had some jokes about that. That was the first thing I thought to think of even in that moment because it was that powerful and that's the kind of resolve.
That's why we had peace deals under Trump. That's why we had a great economy. You need that. We're watching right now the weakness that's led our country into all of these disasters, into these wars and it's because that's the nature of predation.
When a predator sees weakness that we're exuding on the world stage, they pounce. And so --
COLLINS: Can I --
D. TRUMP JR.: -- I think it's going to be important to get that back and I'm looking forward to it.
COLLINS: Can I just not right now that boo was at Senator Mitch McConnell. I should know that Kentucky delegation is over there. But on that, you know, how has that changed do you think how your dad is approaching this convention and this campaign overall? Has it changed it?
D. TRUMP JR.: I think it has. I mean, I know he basically scrapped his speech that they've been working on. I was in the office when they were working with it for hours last week, and I think they just started from scratch with just a different message. We are going to try to unite this country.
I mean, I take that kind of moment of just shocking moment that really changed I think even in his mindset of what we need to do to replace everything. I mean, I basically I think we all got the directive like, hey, whatever you were doing and I tend to get a little bit hot.
So we're going to tone it down and keep it keep a different message out there. And I think that's going to be important actually. I think it's going to be important for us to move forward that way as a country. COLLINS: Is that what your dad himself -- I mean, I know we've heard from political advisers and sources, they want to say --
D. TRUMP JR.: My dad is -- yes, listen. My dad, you know, this is his political adviser, when he hears the people, when he speaks to the crowds, that -- he doesn't listen to the pollsters or he doesn't look at polling. He doesn't make decisions that are bad because the poll says it's, you know, 0.24 basis points more, he doesn't think that way. He understands. He listens to the people and he has a trust his own gut instinct that he's done pretty well with that throughout his career.
COLLINS: How's he -- have you talked to him today, how's he reflecting on just the fact that 48 hours ago this happened?
D. TRUMP JR.: Listen, I think he's moving forward. That's what he is. He's a fighter He's going to get back in the game. He's never going to be pushed aside. He's, you know -- they've tried to go after him for so many ways, whether it was the businesses, where it's throwing him in jail, up to and including the death penalty and that. They've just tried everything to stop him.
He's not meant to be stopped. He's meant to help fix this country.
COLLINS: Donald Trump Jr., thank you for sharing us --
D. TRUMP JR.: Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: -- some insights, obviously, Jake, there on how his dad is doing talking about --
E. TRUMP: And everybody really appreciates Donald Trump and how hard he actually fought. You know, under Donald Trump, we actually had a cheerleader in this country. We don't have a cheerleader anymore. We don't even have leadership.
I mean, the people aren't around. They're not present. The policies suck. We're going to win this thing. Make no mistake about it.
MATTINGLY: Yes. Jake, I'm standing here with Eric Trump. Eric, can we talk about the mood in the last couple of days?
E. TRUMP: Well, it's been a pretty somber mood, right? I mean, my father got shot at. Somebody took off half his ear. But I can tell you my father's never been more determined than he is right now. He is -- he's more determined to make America great again. He's got an incredible fighting spirit.
No different than when he's pumping his hand in the air with blood running across his face. And I'm really proud of him. I've never been more proud as a child, as a son. He's a remarkable human being. He's got backbone that's unlike any person I've ever met before and as I said before, we're going to win and we're going to restore prosperity to this country and he's going to make America great again.
Thanks, guys. MATTINGLY: Jake, that was Eric Trump. Back to you.
TAPPER: Thanks, Phil. And let's take this all in.
First of all, Dana, we should note, I mean, in another display of just how much Donald Trump has remade the Republican Party when Kentucky was providing its delegates --
BASH: Yes.
TAPPER: -- to Donald Trump and the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, who is in no small way responsible for Donald Trump's successful four years getting conservative jurists on benches which in many ways has helped Donald Trump in the last few weeks, I think it's fair to say. He was resoundingly booed by the crowd here. Again, this is a Republican Party that has been completely remade and refashioned into the Trump Republican Party.
BASH: And that was, I mean, quite a moment. Not only jurists on the bench, across the federal bench, but he almost physically put his body between Barack Obama and the nominee that he felt that he could put on the bench and McConnell blocked it.
And as a result of that, Donald Trump got three Supreme Court justices on the highest court in the land. And we've seen just in the past year what that court has done in the past month, what that court has done to promote the wishes of Donald Trump on a host of issues, including and especially the issue of immunity.
But on the question that we just saw, the big issue, which is Donald Trump --
