Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

New CNN Reporting About Increased Security Around Trump; Tonight, Former Trump Rivals Headline RNC; New Reporting On Shooter's Actions In Hours Before Trump Rally; CNN Republican National Convention. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 16, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We are live here in Milwaukee where Republicans are raising the curtain on the next act of their convention and sending a very clear message that the GOP is now more than ever the party of Donald Trump. We are watching it all from the CNN skybox just above the convention hall.

We want to welcome you to a special edition of The Situation Room. I'm Wolf Blitzer along with Erin Burnett. Erin, we expect to see former President Trump in the hall once again tonight, along with his new running mate, Senator J.D. Vance.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And, Wolf, we're told that they plan to appear together every single night of the convention. It was certainly an emotional high point for the delegates there when Trump showed up in the hall last night, his ear bandaged from the attempt on his life. And we will be watching to see how the crowd reacts to speeches tonight, a crucial night. Trump's former primary opponents will be appearing one after the other, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, all of them there tonight, Wolf, as this convention gets underway. There's also breaking developments on Donald Trump's security.

BLITZER: Erin, we're just learning that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are now warning of potential follow-on, what they're calling follow-on, or retaliatory attacks after the Trump assassination attempt. And this comes on the heels of CNN's exclusive new reporting that the U.S. Secret Service ramped up security around the former president in recent weeks after receiving intelligence of an Iranian plot to assassinate him.

Sources now telling us there is no known connection to the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday, but it does raise many additional questions about why that shooting wasn't thwarted in an increased security environment.

I want to quickly go to CNN's Kristen Holmes who's working the story for us. Kristen, first of all, any reaction from the Trump campaign to this new reporting?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we've talked to a number of people and the reaction is really mixed. Now, we were told that officials briefed the Trump campaign on this security threat, but it still remains unclear who they briefed or what exactly they told the campaign. The campaign directing us to Secret Service saying they don't comment and anything involving Trump's security detail.

But when I spoke to folks that are close to the former president, including those people who actually work for him, many of them were shocked to hear this report. Some of them said they believed the Secret Service would handle it, but others were incredibly angry and very concerned after what we saw on Saturday. There are a lot of questions remaining as to how that could happen on Saturday, particularly now that they know that there was an increased amount of security. One of his advisers saying to me, so you're telling me that there was more people there and they still.

And that is, appears to be exactly what it was. One of another source telling me that while they had learned that there was increased security, they had noticed it themselves, but they just believed it was because he was going to be the nominee, that that's why they had beefed up his security. So, not really any clue as to why exactly that was going on or about this incredibly significant plot from Iran.

BLITZER: All right. Kristen, we're going to get back to you with more reporting. I want to quickly want to go to the convention floor here in Milwaukee right now. CNN's Kaitlan Collins is joining us. Kaitlan, I know you're learning more about Nikki Haley's late addition to the convention program. We're all getting ready to hear from her tonight.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf. I'm standing right by the stage where Nikki Haley will take that stage in just a few hours. I can tell you they're playing videos right now. All the delegates are starting to show up. It is very lively here on the convention floor as it was last night as well. And what is going to be so fascinating to watch tonight is the reaction when Nikki Haley takes that stage tonight because, of course, she was only invited to deliver a primetime speaking slot, I should note, only a few days ago.

And I've been talking to campaign sources about why they felt it was important to have Nikki Haley come out here. They've been talking about unity ever since, of course, that attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday night.

[18:05:03]

It's an open question of how the crowd here will receive her.

But, Wolf, I want you to listen to what former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is walking around here this morning, who is walking around here just a few moments ago, said to me about this idea of Republican unity, but watch what happened here at the end of our interview, Wolf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): But what you're seeing here, a more united Republican Party. Think back eight years ago, Ted Cruz wouldn't endorse. Senator Lee was saying no to President Trump. Now you've got Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, you're watching a united party like we haven't been in the past.

One who's not coming back, and then the other part that you have, and the other part you have is one person who raised the issue, he's got an ethics complaint about paying, sleeping with a 17-year-old. So, that's the way they would go. So, that's the biggest challenge we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Wolf, that's Kevin McCarthy there talking about how he believes the Republican Party is unified. Of course, I pointed to his ouster that the House Republicans at least are fractured. And then you saw Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida interrupt that interview just over here on the House floor a few moments ago, obviously highlighting that there are still very much fractures in the Republican Party.

We'll see what the reaction is when Nikki Haley, one of Donald Trump's fiercest critics, takes the stage. She is someone who only months ago, Wolf, said that she believed Donald Trump was diminished, that he was unhinge, that he was unfit for the office, and now she will be coming out to speak at his Republican convention, a floor that is certainly in the grasp of his hands, and a party that also is as well, Wolf. It will be fascinating to watch her and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, two of the harshest critics of Donald Trump during the Republican primary, now on stage urging unity within their own party.

BLITZER: Very interesting indeed. All right, Kaitlan, thanks very much. David Chalian, give us your assessment right now.

Actually, you know what, let's, let's listen in for the chair of this Republican convention and then we'll get back to this.

MICHAEL WHATLEY, RNC CHAIRMAN: I want to welcome you all to the night, second night of this historic Republican National Convention.

I have to ask. Did we have a great night last night?

Do we have a great nominee for vice president in J.D. Vance?

And do we have a great nominee for the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump?

Are you ready for a great night too?

I hereby call this session to order.

BLITZER: All right, David Chalian, the call to order has now occurred. This is night two of this Republican convention.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm a little jealous of the gavel. It's a really enormous gavel. Tonight, too, though, Wolf, is thematically going to be focused on keeping America safe, and it's largely going to be focused on immigration, crime, fentanyl coming across the border, again, totally familiar topics for anyone that has been paying attention to what Donald Trump has been campaigning on this season. And that will be a centerpiece. But we do have some key political moments here, seeing Nikki Haley on this stage tonight addressing this convention after their bitter primary. She released her delegates. She said she's going to vote for him. And tonight, she's clearly going to make the case to others, supporters of hers, as to why they should come along on this journey with her. So, you got the political piece on his former rivals.

And then we're going to hear from a slew of Senate candidates, Republican Senate candidates. and this is fascinating, Wolf. A lot of these candidates are running in states that overlap with the presidential battleground map and where Trump is right now ahead of Biden in a lot of these states, it's the flip. The Democratic incumbent senators are performing well against these Republican challengers that we're going to hear from tonight. Biden is not dragging them under thus far.

And so I'm curious to see how much they try to tie Joe Biden to their Democratic opponents that they're running against.

BLITZER: I'm especially anxious to hear, Audie, what Nikki Haley has to say, given what she said when she was running for the Republican nomination didn't work out for her. But we're going to hear a very different Nikki Haley, I assume, tonight.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, she just has to create stakes, really, and to say to people, don't stay home. It's not just about voting for Donald Trump. But don't say, I give up because I'm frustrated all together. She may not need to do that, given how Republicans are feeling about Joe Biden and their concerns about him, but I do think we're going to hear her talk probably more about Biden, in a way, than about Trump.

[18:10:01]

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think that's right. And, and listen, this is sort of an unexpected speech, speaker because it didn't seem like she was going to be here. There's clearly had been a history of animosity between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, and she'll do something very powerful tonight, and that is try to unify the party, try to bring in some of those voters who were with her, even when she wasn't in the running.

The other speaker I'm interested in, in hearing from, and she's the last speaker, is Lara Trump, who is the co-chair of the RNC. And if you think about Donald Trump's first convention in 2016, you know, it was a very different kind of party, right? It was Reince Priebus who was the head of the RNC at that point. And now, this is a total takeover of the party with his daughter-in-law as the head of the RNC, the co-chair, and she is really the head of it in so many ways. So, it'll be interesting to hear. She's getting a primetime slot, the final speaker of the night. So, that'll be interesting to hear from her.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The last thing was so much about the base throwing meat to the base, trying to rile up Republican base. This will try to be a more of a see if they can actually reach out to Donald Trump's major weakness, suburban voters, women voters, something that he has struggled with in past election cycles. What will Nikki Haley do to shore up that key constituency that, frankly, they were skeptical of him during the primary, were skeptical of him after she stepped out of the race? Do they come back to the Republican fold as Biden is struggling right now?

And I'm told she's going to be talking about --

BLITZER: Hold on a moment. I want to go to the floor and listen to the ceremony as it's just beginning.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mary Ann Taylor to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Hello,

MARY ANN TAYLOR: Hello, patriots. Are you ready to pledge this American flag and give them our loyalty? Yes. Well, we're going to do this the Southern South Carolina way, a little bit slower. If you are military and I'm looking out and a lot of you already are poised, if you're like me from a military family, but not military, we're going to stand at attention, place your right hand over your heart, and pledge with me.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage, Grammy award winning singer and U.S. Army veteran Milwaukee native, Daniel Irby, to perform our national anthem.

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: A very beautiful opening to night two of this Republican National Convention here in Milwaukee. We quickly want to go to Kristen Holmes. She's getting some more news for us. What are you learning, Kristen?

HOLMES: Yes, Wolf. We have learned that former President Donald Trump is expected to come to the convention, to be in the arena around 9:00 P.M. Eastern tonight. Now, there is a significance of that. That means that he is likely to be in the convention hall when both former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis take the stage.

Now, one thing to watch for, Wolf, how the former president responds to both of these speeches. Remember, neither Ron DeSantis nor Nikki Haley were originally invited to speak. It was only after backlash that they were given speaking roles at this convention, even when Donald Trump had been asked whether or not he would consider inviting Haley before she got that invitation, he said he would consider it, look into it, but then he aired grievances against her.

But remember this, Donald Trump in recent days and his allies and advisers all say he is trying to unite the party. This will be one of the first opportunities to see whether or not he really wants to do that. BLITZER: Kristen Holmes, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, much more of our special coverage from here in Milwaukee, Donald Trump preparing for another appearance here at the Republican National Convention, where we're told he's planning to keep a very close eye on his former rivals for the GOP nomination. We're talking about Nikki Haley. And we'll be right back with more special coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:40]

BURNETT: And welcome back to CNN's special live coverage of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where night two just kicked off. We are expecting Donald Trump to make another appearance tonight alongside his vice presidential pick, J.D. Vance, as well as a show of unity from Trump's one time rivals who challenged him for the Republican nomination. We're going to hear from a lot of them tonight.

Jeff Zeleny joins us with more for -- of the challenge tonight for Trump's former challengers, right? You've got, let's see, Marco Rubio, you've got Vivek Ramaswamy, you've got Nikki Haley, you've got Ron DeSantis. They're all going to be here, Jeff, and significant for all of them, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis perhaps with the hardest jobs to do.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, there's no doubt that we all remember those pointed lines in this really intense Republican primary campaign with Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis and a field of other Republican challengers who just a year ago were here in Milwaukee trying to make their case against Donald Trump. That's an entirely different matter tonight. They're on his side. He may even be in the audience watching his vanquished rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (voice over): Tonight, they're with him. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis invited to the second night of the Republican Convention in a show of party unity. On the grand GOP stage here, there will be none of this from the Florida governor.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think Donald Trump ultimately can win an election.

ZELENY: Or any talk of this from the former South Carolina governor.

NIKKI HALEY, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How much more losing do we have to do before we realize maybe Donald Trump is the problem?

ZELENY: Tonight, they each have specific assignments at the party of and for Donald Trump.

Invited to attend only two days ago, Haley intends to address voters who are uncertain about voting for President Trump, an aide says, and make the case for why she is voting for him. DeSantis is set to praise the former president and deliver a blistering critique of President Biden.

A year ago, they were among the field of Republicans who dared to challenge Trump.

HALEY: I feel no need to kiss the ring. I have no fear of Trump's retribution.

DESANTIS: Trump, his kind of -- the way he would run things, very chaotic.

ZELENY: In a primary campaign that he lorded over.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (R): We're going to win this state and then we're going to tell Crooked Joe Biden, you're fired, get out of here. You're fired.

ZELENY: At this Republican convention, there's no whiff of dissent, unlike 2016 in Cleveland, when the rivalries with Trump ran a bit deeper and lasted a little longer.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Stand and speak and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.

ZELENY: But in this race, as the former president tries to take command of his campaign against Biden, advisers see a unique utility in Haley.

HALEY: Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I've made that clear many, many times, but Biden has been a catastrophe. So, I will be voting for Trump.

ZELENY: Who spoke more bluntly about Trump than any rival and continued to win votes in key battlegrounds long after she left the race.

HALEY: Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they're just going to be with him. And I genuinely hope he does that.

ZELENY: But for his biggest choice of all, Trump didn't seriously consider Haley or DeSantis, and picked Senator J. D. Vance, in a decision that sent a loud message about his views of 2028, and the next chapter of the Trump era.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (on camera): And I am told that Nikki Haley will be talking specifically about the border as well, trying to urge some of those voters to embrace the Trump policies, DeSantis also talking about safety and security. But there is no question that if Trump is in the hall watching his two rivals, it is a moment for him as well. This is his party. He is now in charge. And, Erin, both of them have pretty tight time limits. J.D. Vance, of course, will have that marquee speech tomorrow night. He is the future of the party in the Trump era. Erin?

BURNETT: You know -- thank you very much, Jeff Zeleny. And, you know, obviously, you say that the time that they speak tonight is tight.

[18:25:02]

They are very short windows of time.

I'm here with my panel. Shermichael, it's interesting, though, we have just reporting from our team saying that Trump will be showing up a little earlier tonight. And maybe that is because he just can't stay away from seeing Senator Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley and Governor Ron DeSantis speak, to be in the room.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, look, primary processes are contentious. You want to showcase your differences from your opponent. That is to be expected. But from a strategic perspective, Donald Trump has to reach out to those Nikki Haley voters. I mean, you're talking about nationally, maybe a million or two of never Trumpers. I would argue that there's maybe a 3 to 4 percent of them nationally who will not vote for President Biden a second time around. I think there's a potential appealing argument to make to those individuals from someone like a Nikki Haley. There's also some DeSantis voters out there who are very skeptical of Trump as well.

BURNETT: What visibility do you have on those Haley voters?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, what I think is fascinating is that all of those names you just mentioned, Cruz, Haley, DeSantis, there is an alternate universe in which they are each, at some point, the leader of the Republican Party. They are the one giving the Thursday night speech. They are the one heading into November as the nominee. We don't live in that universe.

And so what I'm curious to see is, what will they do tonight that sets up that for the future, if it's even possible, especially someone like Ron DeSantis? Governor DeSantis was sort of touted as Trumpism without Trump. If you like the policies but you don't like the guy, DeSantis is going to be the one, he's going to bow out of this race, but look toward 2028. What do you do when you're Ron DeSantis and now J.D. Vance is essentially the new heir apparent to the whole Trump movement? Very interesting to see how he handles it.

BURNETT: And he's only 40 years old, or he will be in a couple weeks.

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, he is. So, for me, what makes this really difficult is they didn't just argue that Donald Trump had a tax policy he didn't like, or they were uncomfortable with his position on Ukraine. They said he was a bad person. He was odious, that they didn't think he could win, that they didn't think he probably even deserved to win. And now you got to sort of come back and not just say, I was wrong about this policy or that, but come back and say, I think this person ought to be the highest position in the land, and my children, your children, should watch them on television and admire them. That, to me, seems completely off base from where most Americans would be.

JONAH GOLBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. So, I focus much more on a policy thing. This party is not unified on actual policy. The first night had David Sacks, a tech pro guy who basically said that we provoked Russia to invade Ukraine. Nikki Haley is the leader of an assertive American Reaganite foreign policy. If they don't let her talk about it tonight, that is a real sign.

BURNETT: Yes, and it does truly show the bifurcation of the party. All right, all staying with us, we've got new details on the assassination attempt of Donald Trump. What we are learning right now about the gunman's motives and what he did just hours before the Trump rally, how he actually went through the magnometers. Also ahead, our coverage of the Republican National Convention continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:32:21]

BURNETT: You are watching night two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. With the GOP ticket officially set, the party is now unifying behind Donald Trump and his new running mate, J.D. Vance. The pair expected to make another appearance tonight. We're told a little bit earlier even than had been anticipated, as Trump's former Republican rivals take to the stage, including Nikki Haley as well as Ron DeSantis and Marco Rubio, all of them will be speaking.

Just the importance of this, Shermichael, when you talk about the job that they have to do, obviously, most people watching -- many people watching are people who are open to supporting Trump or -- you know, and there's others who are, but that's the base of your audience.

SINGLETON: Yes.

BURNETT: So, can Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis really say anything that's going to get, say that 20 percent of Haley voters, that continued to vote for her even after she got out of the race to actually vote for Trump?

SINGLETON: I think so, Erin. I think you just need a sliver of those voters to move them over. I think there's going to be some Republican- leaning independents that, that lean towards the right, maybe they're more moderate. They're looking to someone like a Nikki Haley or maybe even a DeSantis to make that compelling argument for why Donald Trump and J.D. Vance could carry the conservative mantle forward for the next four years. That's a far better alternative if you're a conservative than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And so I do think an argument can be made tonight.

BURNETT: All right. And I want to ask about the polling in a moment. We do just have some breaking news, though, coming in, some developments on what we know about the shooter in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Our Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller joins me now. And, John, you have a lot of new information here about the shooter.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Erin, there's been some developments as the investigation has progressed. You know, what the investigators are telling us is, as far as a motive, a manifesto the reasoning behind this, the suspect is still a blank slate. But what they have developed is a lot of the background about what happened that day.

They know that he went to his employer at the nursing home where he works as a dietary specialist before this and said, I need Saturday off, I have something important to do, but he told his co-workers, I'll see you on Sunday. So, he changed his days off presumably for this.

We also understand that when he got to the fairgrounds where this rally was being held for Donald Trump, the first thing that puts him on the radar of security people is near the magnetometer area where they're screening people in, he's carrying in his hand a range finder. It's a device that looks like a small pair of binoculars, but it's used by shooters to measure the distance when they're setting up a long distance shot. Because he didn't have a weapon, that would not have prevented him to go through security, but they did flag, what does he have this in his hand for?

[18:35:06]

At that point, they told people keep an eye on this guy, but then he leaves the secure area, the staging area, and he doesn't turn up again for some time until the crowd says there's a guy crawling up the roof and it appears he has a rifle.

There is an eerie moment in here, Erin, where he's taking the range finder and he's looking through it at the countersniper positions and one of the counter sniper positions is looking at him through the scope. At this point, there's not a gun in the picture, as I understand it, but they're saying he's looking at us looking at him. Then when people alert the police and they try to come up the ladder to get him, and he confronts them with the AR-15 gun, they dive for cover, and then a moment later, he opens fire. But a lot of this sounds very spread out. The end of it happens very quickly.

The last piece is the search of the car. As we reported last night, two remote controlled IEDs, remote controlled bombs in the car, the remote control for those devices found on his person on the roof, according to sources, three fully loaded magazines with nearly a hundred rounds, a bulletproof vest.

So it raises the question, did he expect to escape from this? And if so, what was all that intended for, what was to happen next, questions that are still open in the minds of these investigators.

BURNETT: Right. I mean, I know that they say they just simply don't have details on motive. I mean, just saying as a lay person, I understand, you know, if you don't have a gun, then you can go through. Having a range finder and still being allowed to go through, I think is jarring for many people watching that they would have some discretion to say, sorry, you can't bring that in there. So, I will admit just -- yes.

MILLER: That's a really interesting point because this is a prickly issue, which is, you know, this is in a place where there are a lot of Trump supporters. There are a lot of Trump supporters coming to the rallies. You may have been to these rallies where people show up wearing camouflage. People show up outside the rally with weapons. This is not a weapon. It's a device used by shooters, but also by golfers to measure these distances.

And for security people, the Secret Service Uniform Division, to make a decision about you can't come in could actually backfire on the rally organizers and so on. So --

BURNETT: Which -- yes. So, can I ask you one other thing, John? I think that's -- and it's important, the context that you just gave about who would be there, the message you'd be sending to others. But then this question, but he goes through the screening and he has the range finder, but obviously he ends up with the gun, which he uses on top of the roof. So, when does he get the gun and where?

MILLER: So when he leaves that secure area and appears to depart, he goes outside the inner perimeter, outside the outer perimeter, to that third layer which is that, you know, that football field and a half away, I mean, the working theory is, he goes to the car, he retrieves the weapon. I don't know how he carries it or conceals it, and then moves towards that building. And there's a long time --

BURNETT: So, wait, can I just -- I'm sorry to interrupt John, I'm trying to understand, and maybe it is unclear at this time, but if you clear security and the metal detectors, you can get back all the way to your car to get something and not go back through the metal detectors?

MILLER: So, to be clear, when he was in a secure area with the rangefinder, there was nothing that would have stopped him from clearing security. He leaves that area, then he goes to get his weapon, presumably, but then he doesn't go back into the secure area. He's way outside the perimeter where they're doing security screening. In fact, the people who spot him are among the people who couldn't get into the rally or didn't go through security who are outside the wall where it's happening and looking in the direction because you can't see it from there, but you can hear it. You can see it if you're on the roof.

BURNETT: Right. All right, and, I mean, just crucial and incredible details here, especially bringing that scope in through security.

John Miller, thank you so much, breaking all of those new details for us. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Very disturbing information, indeed. I want to thank John Miller. Erin, thanks to you as well.

I want to get back to what's going on here in Milwaukee right now. And, John King, fortunately, he's with us as he always is at the magic wall. The latest polls show Trump is slightly ahead of Biden in all these key battleground states.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The state of the race is on night two of the Republican convention, Donald Trump is leading in this race. Significantly, if you look deep into the polling, he has a chance to build on it. New numbers out today, more bad news for the president, Wolf.

[18:40:02]

Let's look through it. But let's start with the then. This is back in 2020 when Joe Biden won a pretty convincing win, 306 to 232. This is the map as it fills in. Remember the then when you look at the now, because the striking -- the difference is striking. This is how our CNN political unit led by David Chalian projects the race right now. And right now, deep red solid Republican, light red, lean Republican. If this map played out, if the election were today and the map played out like this, even if the toss ups went blue, Donald Trump would win the election. Donald Trump would win the election.

But the map is even more favorable to Donald Trump if you look through this. New polling today, it's a small lead, but Donald Trump is leading in Pennsylvania right now. Donald Trump is leading in Wisconsin right now. Donald Trump is leading in Arizona right now. And Donald Trump, most believe, is right now has the lead in Nebraska, too. Nebraska, like Maine, rewards electoral votes by congressional district.

So, look at the map right now. That gets Donald Trump to 303. And there's new polling today that shows the president's approval rating in these battleground states is below 40. The president's ballot number right now is below 40 in most of those states, and it's at 42 in Nevada. It's very hard in 16 weeks, we count the votes 16 weeks from tonight, to turn that around.

Plus, Democrats are now worried they think, I'm not saying this is going to happen, but what they're saying is the President's going to have to spend more time and more resources on places like Virginia because it's competitive, on places like New Hampshire because it's competitive. You look at this map as it plays out, and there are Democrats making the case, and we have Wisconsin blue here, let's move Wisconsin over here.

There are Democrats making the case that Donald Trump is on a viable path, as of today, to get to 330 electoral votes, Wolf, or even higher, or even higher, because they see other states in here, the Trump campaign says Minnesota, the Trump campaign says maybe New Mexico. Let's be cautious. Those are blue states traditionally, but the president's standing, his approval rating, his ballot number, people's views about how old he is, and people who view the state of the economy are very bad for the president right now.

And so even if you just go back to where we start, Donald Trump is in command. The numbers are getting worse for the president, Wolf, and Donald Trump has an opportunity with this convention to build it even more.

BLITZER: And let's not forget the key magic number is 270, 270 electoral votes to be elected president of the United States.

And speaking of David Chalian, you're our political director, if the election were held today, would Trump be re-elected?

CHALIAN: Oh, I think that's without a question if it were held today. And, of course, the map that John is playing with here, it's not a projection of what November will look like. It's sort of a snapshot of where we are now.

But I would argue when John just took us through all of that, what you see not only is Donald Trump's dominance, but what a narrow path Joe Biden actually has to victory. I mean, it really is. Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and that second congressional district in Nebraska, it's hard to even find him another truly viable path at this point to 270.

KING: And, Wolf, (INAUDIBLE) Pennsylvania, toss up Wisconsin, lean Republican Michigan. Yes, Joe Biden has to win that, has to turn that around and has to win where we are in the state of Wisconsin. To David's point, that would only get him to 269. He would have to pick up that congressional district there. That is Biden's path to 270.

But Donald Trump, if you project he could get 330, think about how many states he could lose from that collection and still get to 270. So, Trump, you could write six, eight viable paths for Donald Trump to get to 270. You can write one, maybe two, for Joe Biden. And, you know, the Democrats are saying, oh, 16 weeks, plenty of time. If you look at the approval rating, Wolf, if you look at some of these other numbers, it is hard to bend numbers like that when you see the structural underpinnings of the race.

It doesn't mean it's impossible but no one has ever done it before. From where we are now to where we will be 16 weeks from tonight, no one's ever changed numbers like that in that period of time.

BLITZER: Excellent reporting, as usual, John King at the magic wall for us. David Chalian, thanks to you as well. Still ahead, Donald Trump is set to make another convention appearance as some of his toughest critics during the GOP primary race take the stage tonight here in Milwaukee.

Plus, we're getting new reporting on President Biden considering endorsing major reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our special live coverage will continue in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:43]

BLITZER: We're back with more of our very special coverage from here in Milwaukee where Donald Trump is expected to be in the arena tonight. And his fiercest contender for the GOP nomination, Nikki Haley, actually takes to the stage.

I want to bring in CNN's Kaitlan Collins. She's on the floor of the convention for us right now, along with Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who's speaking to the convention later tonight as well.

Go ahead, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yeah, Wolf. Of course. We are standing right here next to the Florida delegation where we find Florida Rick Scott.

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): No, best delegation. You forgot that part.

COLLINS: One of the biggest delegations certainly that has a big role here. And obviously, we are also, Wolf, you mentioned Nikki Haley is going to be on stage tonight. Also, your home state Governor Ron DeSantis, who had a very bitter primary challenge against Donald Trump once told me he didn't think Donald Trump could beat Joe Biden.

What do you want to hear from Governor DeSantis on stage tonight?

SCOTT: I think we're all Americans who wanted us to do and say, we're all going to stop to focus on the issues that we need to solve. We've got to solve the border. We've got to solve inflation. We got to make sure we deal with our enemies. And I think that's what -- I think that's what the whole public -- Republican, Democrat, independent, every wants. So I hope everybody will talk about how they're going to start solving problems.

COLLINS: But what do you make of the fact that two major Trump critics who -- they didn't just disagree with him on policy. Nikki Haley's said he was unfit for office and diminished and that -- she didn't think that he could essentially effectively govern and she's going to be on that stage, too.

[18:50:03]

What do you make of that move by the Trump campaign?

SCOTT: I think Trump's done a great job. I think what he's done is he's trying to bring everybody together. He's trying to make sure this is a party that's unified, that we can when in November. And it's important because that's how we're going to win the House, the White House and the Senate. We need to win all three.

COLLINS: Should he consider putting either of them in his cabinet should he be re-elected?

SCOTT: Well, you know, that's, of course, the choice for him, but I think they're both competent people, and there's things they could -- they could be doing if that's what they want to do with the next step in their careers.

COLLINS: He just picked Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio to be his running mate. You are obviously running to be the Republican leader in the Senate. Do you think you'll get Trump's endorsement?

SCOTT: I hope so. I'm hopeful, but I've got -- I've had a good working relationship with Trump since -- actually I knew him before he ran for office. So I'm hopeful I will. I mean, we've got to change the Senate. It's not working the way it's

working. The -- so I'm hopeful that he'll -- he'll endorse. I'm glad J.D. Vance was picked. I think -- I'll miss him in the Senate. He's been a great colleague and he's been a good supporter of mine. But I think he'll do a great job as VP.

COLLINS: And what do you make of what happened yesterday during that roll call where Senator McConnell, who used to be the majority leader for Republicans, was booed when he was announcing Kentucky's delegates.

SCOTT: Well, you hate anybody being booed in a convention, Republican Convention. But I think people know we got to have change. They know that the way this has been operating, it's not working.

I mean, we're not solving the problems that we have now $35 trillion debt almost, and, you know, the border -- I mean, we're doing earmarks, we're doing so many things that Republicans don't like.

COLLINS: Yeah. Of course we saw how high the deficit was with Trump as well. It's been a partisan issue.

Senator Rick Scott of Florida, you are going to be speaking shortly. We'll be watching your speak -- speech.

SCOTT: It'll be fine.

COLLINS: Thank you very much.

SCOTT: Nice to see you, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Wolf, back to you. Obviously, we are here on a very busy floor with a lot of speakers that you're going to see on stage tonight, also down here with the delegates.

BURNETT: All right. Kaitlan, thank you very much.

And meantime, we are learning that President Biden is considering publicly endorsing major reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Okay, term limits and an ethics code for justices are on the list as well as a constitutional amendment that would eliminate immunity for presidents, and what we all know where that came from.

Okay. So, Jonah, let's just start with you on this. This -- this is coming from, you know, a president whose party has many have wanted a lot more in terms of Supreme -- I'm looking for, let's increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court. That's what, you know, many would have hoped for, not what we're getting.

But nonetheless, clearly feeling pressure to energize his base with these sorts of suggestions.

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, I think it's kind of lame. So, first of all, for an 81-year-old who is under fire for being just too old, all of a sudden, started talking about term limits for other government officials.

BURNETT: And ethics code.

GOLDBERG: And on the ethics code, that cuts a lot of different ways.

But the -- just also -- like so much of his rhetoric has been about don't attack judges, don't attack the court, don't -- you know, don't -- don't politicize the criminal justice system. And now, I mean, I understand he's putting it up to voters and whatnot, but I think it muddies the water for him in a way that I -- you know, it rallies the base, to be sure.

BURNETT: Does it rally the base, Jamal?

SIMMONS: Oh, yes, for sure, because there are lots of people out there who want him to pick two more -- two or three more Supreme Court justices.

BURNETT: That's not what this is.

SIMMONS: It's not in there, but what it is, it's not this, but something else that you might also like because people believe in the Democratic Party that this is the -- what he, what's happened in the Supreme Court is just unconstitutional. But what they are doing is an abuse of power.

And so, if we -- if what we had to do is change the language the order to be able to make this work, then go ahead and change the language, but you cant just lay down and do nothing. And people on the left feel like the politicians in Washington are doing nothing, while the Republicans are running roughshod over our right.

GOLDBERG: Just for a record, it's not unconstitutional what the Supreme Court is doing. I will defend what the Supreme Court is doing.

(CROSSTALK)

SIMMONS: I don't know, you gave president immunity --

GOLDBERG: I'm against the immunity decision the way it's done. I like any Comey Barrett's concurrence. I didn't like the majority opinion.

BURNETT: And immunity is on this, right, that this would eliminate immunity for presidents, which will have its own.

Can I just ask you, Kristen, this issue of the Supreme Court, especially in the context of what is happening with Trump, do voters care?

ANDERSON: This is one that's going to be much more for the Democratic base than for your average swing voter. The reality is that even though the Supreme Court is right in the middle of many of our most contentious debates, when you ask voters, do you approve or disapprove of different branches of government, the Supreme Court doesn't necessarily fare worse than say Congress, who everyone hates.

And so, while the Supreme Court is definitely something that progressives have been agitated about for a while that doesn't necessarily mean that for your average swing voter, procedural changes to how the Supreme Court functions is necessarily going to be something that will --

SINGLETON: So, you don't like what the court is doing, so we're going to change the rules. That's exactly what I here as a conservative. I mean, this is Kabuki Theater coming from the Biden administration.

And it's obvious to me that the progressive mob is literally holding the president hostage. This was something he refused to do a year ago and, all of a sudden, because he's up for reelection, oh, here's some new rules.

[18:55:03]

Let's change the court.

I don't like it.

SIMMONS: How was reform -- who was reform Kabuki Theater? I mean, reform is saying, I don't like the rules that exist, let's go have another process to get new rules.

SINGLETON: OK. Republicans changed the rules and --

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: It's also never going to pass Congress. So it's all --

SINGLETON: That's another reality check.

BURNETT: It does need congressional approval.

All right. We hit pause, but just for a moment, still ahead, will Donald Trump's party pull off a big show of unity tonight because we are standing by tonight for the speeches by Trump's former rivals, that the former president is planning to be in the hall, so that he can listen to them.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: The second night of the Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee. The primetime program I designed to be a showcase of party unity behind the new Trump-Vance ticket.

And we are standing by to hear from tonight's top speakers, and to hear whether they stay on the Trump message.

CNN's convention coverage continues now with this special edition of OUTFRONT.

Welcome to all. I'm Erin Burnett, along with Wolf Blitzer.

And, Wolf, what are you watching for tonight?