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Harris Calls for Second Debate After Trump Says No; GOP Backlash as Far Right Conspiracy Promoter Gets Access to Trump; Garland Slams Efforts to Turn DOJ into a Political Weapon. Major Fires Scorch Southern California, Thousands Forced To Leave; How NFL Kickoff Rule Change May Reduce Football Head Injuries. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 12, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, Vice President Kamala Harris keeps pushing for a second debate with Donald Trump after the former president says there won't be a rematch.

[18:00:03]

We're covering both candidates back out there on the campaign trail tonight in crucial Sun Belt swing states.

Also this hour, a far right promoter of conspiracy theories is facing serious backlash as she gets extraordinary access to Trump. Even MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene is calling Laura Loomer's rhetoric a huge problem and racist.

Plus, a huge and explosive wildfire is raging east of Los Angeles, forcing thousands of people to flee. CNN is on the scene.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

And let's get right to the breaking news on Donald Trump's announcement that he won't debate Kamala Harris again. CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins is here with me in The Situation Room. Kaitlan, how is Trump spitting all of this?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Trump is now arguing that there is no need for a third debate, which by, that he means a second debate with Vice President Harris, of course, the first debate in his view being that sit-down that he had, the debate with President Biden earlier this summer that ultimately led to him dropping out of the race. And he's making this argument and he's giving a series of reasons for this.

And, one, he had this lengthy post on Truth Social earlier today announcing that there would not be a third debate. He was criticizing Harris with a message that actually a lot of his allies thought he didn't deploy nearly enough in that debate this week on Tuesday night, which was essentially arguing that if she has all of these policies and these plans that she's running on, why not put them in place in the last three and a half years that she's been in office. That wasn't really something you heard Donald Trump emphasize until his closing argument in the debate, something that people I spoke to thought was far too late in that 90-minute debate that they had on stage. But Trump was just in Arizona, obviously a crucial state that he needs to win in this election. And this is what he told his supporters about why he is not going to do another debate with Vice President Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When a prize fighter, loses a fight, you've seen a lot of fights, right, the first words out of that fighter's mouth is, I want a rematch. I want a rematch. And that's what she said, I want a rematch. Polls clearly show that I won the debate against Comrade Kamala Harris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Wolf, obviously, he is citing polls that aren't really that well respected, saying that he defeated her. But the other comment that he made just now, he offered another reason for why he's not debating her, which is he said that it's too late, that a lot of people have already started voting, early voting and ballots going out, as we know, and arguing that, which is surprising given it was just last month in August when he was holding that press conference at one of his properties where he was the one who proposed three debates with Vice President Harris since she had become the nominee. Now, he is saying it is going to only be this one.

And, Wolf, I'll tell you, I've been doing reporting on this and essentially, immediately after he got off stage in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, he started quizzing people about how he had done. A lot of them told him to his face that he had done a great job against her. Privately, they were not saying that. They were actually disappointed that he wasn't able to execute the case better against her, that he was on defense the entire time and that he took the bait moment after moment in a way that was clearly designed and telegraphed by the Harris campaign leading up to that, that they were going to try to get under his skin and then weren't successful at doing so.

BLITZER: And since then, and you've been doing a lot of excellent reporting on all of this, since then, what's been the fallout from his allies to how that debate went?

COLLINS: Well, a lot of them have been downplaying the significance of this debate. And maybe they're right. We don't know. We're just now seeing numbers come in about what voters thought about that debate, not just what the political experts thought about it. But they've been downplaying the significance of it and saying that it's not going to shift the margin or shift the needle very much. Obviously, the margin matters a lot, and even if it shifts it a little, that could disrupt where his standing is right now.

But, almost to a tee, everyone I spoke with over the last 48 hours since that Tuesday night debate did believe there would be a second debate between Donald Trump and Vice President Harris. They did not think he would back out of it, even though he tried to back out of the ABC debate. He was talking about it a lot. So, tonight, him saying, no more debates, the question is, does he stick by that, and does it stand?

BLITZER: We shall see. Kaitlan Collins, excellent reporting, as usual, thank you very much. And Kaitlan, of course, will be back later tonight, 9:00 P.M. Eastern, to anchor her excellent show, The Source. We'll, of course, all be watching.

Also tonight, Kamala Harris has been taunting Trump over his debate performance after he announced he won't face off with her on stage again.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more. She's joining us from Charlotte, North Carolina, right now. That's where Harris spoke just a little while ago. What did the vice president have to say, Priscilla?

[18:05:00]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the vice president renewed her call for another debate. Remember, just moments after the presidential debate concluded on Tuesday, the campaign came out and put another one on the table and said they were ready to go. And that's exactly what the vice president said on the stage only minutes when she started her remarks, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate. And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, the vice president has reason to perhaps want another debate. They felt strongly about the way that it went on Tuesday. They also raked in a lot of cash, $47 million in the 24 hours after the debate. And the campaign isn't taking former President Donald Trump for his word yet on whether or not one happens.

But she has chosen to come here to North Carolina, two stops. She was in Charlotte here earlier. Now, she is in Greensboro. North Carolina is, of course, a state that campaign wants to keep in play. President Joe Biden lost it in 2020. It's been years since a Democrat has won in the state. But they think that because of the unpopular gubernatorial GOP candidate and because reproductive rights is such an important issue among voters here, that they can make headway.

Tomorrow, she heads to Pennsylvania, another battleground state, important one, where she's trying to appeal to voters. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, thank you very much. Priscilla Alvarez on the scene for us, thank you. Let's bring in more of our political experts right now. Alyssa Farah Griffin, are you surprised Trump is now refusing to face off against Kamala Harris for a second time?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITCAL COMMENTATOR: I'm not surprised, but I would predict that he may change his tune on this. Listen, if Kamala Harris sees a bump in the polls from her performance in the debate, where I think most folks think that she won, I could see a world which, where in a couple weeks, Donald Trump actually says, I challenge her to a debate. He'll likely say that he wants it to be on a favorable network. He'll likely ask for it to be certain moderators. But I could see him thinking if things get a little bit tighter in the final eight-week stretch, he might need a big moment to remain competitive against her.

So, I wouldn't rule out that there will be another one. And I think it's incredibly smart politics that the vice president got ahead and was the one to first call for the second debate. It puts Trump on the defensive, a place he doesn't like to be. So, I actually think there's a world in which he tries to flip the narrative and agree to another debate.

BLITZER: Interesting. Bryan Lanza, I understand you're now a senior adviser with the Trump campaign. Is Trump scared to debate Kamala Harris again?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISeR TO THE TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: You know, first of all, thank you for having me, Wolf. No, it's not a function of being scared, it's a function of what are our priorities towards the end of the election. Our goal is to talk to as many voters as possible, and our goal is to paint Kamala Harris as a liberal. And I think we have better opportunities doing it through one-on-one interviews, through our rallies, through going into these states and having this impact than go in on a debate that's going to sort of stack the deck against President Trump, not do the proper fact-check against Harris, and sort of delve into that environment.

Listen, our goal at this debate was to continue to paint Kamala Harris as a radical liberal, and that's what we did. She didn't respond to any of the accusations we made, and they're going to stick. And whether she had a strong performance or not, we feel we hit our goal of continue to paint this picture that she's radically to the left outside the American mainstream, which has been reflective in the CNN poll and which has been reflected in The New York Times poll. We're very comfortable going into the final seven weeks.

BLITZER: Meghan Hays, the Harris campaign raised, what, 47 million in the 24 hours after the debate on Tuesday night. What does that tell you about the momentum she has right now?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Yes. I mean, they had over 600,000 people who donated that $47 million. So, it shows that there is a lot of momentum still in her favor.

These debate nights are incredibly lucrative for fundraising. So, on top of wanting to have, you know, more substantive conversations for the American people, it's also a huge night for people to bring in more money for their campaign spend. So, I do think, you know, they are in a really good place. They have the wind at their back on this. They have a lot of money for their organizing, for door knocking, and boots on the ground, and to be on air and on radio there. So, I think that this is an incredible moment for her to raise so much money in the first 24 hours.

BLITZER: Interesting. Alyssa, we now have the first results from a new substantive poll conducted after Tuesday night's debate. It finds little change in the state of the presidential race, Harris at 47 percent, Trump at 42 percent. That's about the same as the 45 percent for Harris to 41 percent for Trump. That was the result of the poll just before the debate. So, what does that tell you?

GRIFFIN: This race is neck-and-neck. I don't think that anyone here, if they're being honest with themselves, could say either is the frontrunner at this moment. Listen, Trump still performs better than Kamala Harris does on the economy. I think we could argue that Hillary Clinton likely won both debates in 2016, yet she went on to lose. So, I think there is so much that's going to happen in this final stretch.

[18:10:01]

But I do think the resources are important. This $47 million, that allows Kamala Harris to be playing in the Sun Belt states, to be expanding the map to all seven battlegrounds so that she has more optionality in the states that she wins, that it's not just must win Pennsylvania, but there's also some other avenues. So, that's a big advantage that she's going to have and I also think just trying to reach low propensity voters and trying to get some more young people out there.

But, listen, Donald Trump is playing smart. He's trying to reach some untraditional audiences. The podcast he's doing, the right wing audiences of younger men that he's trying to appeal to. So, it's so neck-and-neck. I think it's going to be one of the closest races in a generation.

BLITZER: It certainly seems to be neck and neck right now.

Bryan, Kamala Harris once again today repeated that she's the underdog in this race. Does Donald Trump see himself as the favorite?

LANZA: No. Listen, you know politics better than anybody else. You're either running hard or you're running scared. So, we're running hard. Kamala Harris is going to do the same thing. I expect nothing less of her Democratic opponents.

But we have our priorities, we have -- and she knows hers. Our priorities are to paint a picture of a San Francisco liberal, something that she's been her entire professional career, and how that's outside the mainstream of America, certainly outside the mainstream of Pennsylvania and Michigan. And we're going to effectively do that. We've done that effectively in the last month- and-a-half, in spite of all this media buzz on the T.V., of the race being reset. We still see her drifting, drifting further and further to the left as voters see that. That is a success for us and we're going to continue to drive that message through November.

BLITZER: Interesting. And, Meghan, Kamala Harris just launched in your state and other battleground states this. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest? Being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don't want that. I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body, should not be made by the government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Meghan, the voters already favor Kamala Harris on this issue of reproductive rights. Would it make more sense to focus in on the economy right now, to dig into Trump's advantage with voters on that economic issue?

HAYS: I think this has been a strong issue for Democrats, and I think it's good to continue to nail that home for folks. I think it builds up your base. It gets to undecided voters. Also there's a lot of women in the suburbs, in these battleground states that are undecided. And I think this is an issue that's important to women. And so I do think that they need to keep him right at home part of, you know, having such a large war chest that they are continuing to build is being able to fight on many fronts.

So, this isn't the only ad they have out there. They have ads about the economy. They have ads on immigration. So, they are fighting on all fronts here on the different issues. They've reached those different voters. But this has been known to be a very strong issue for Democrats and I think it's smart of them to continue to drive it home.

BLITZER: Alyssa, what do you think the messaging from the Kamala Harris campaign should be, as they try to seize, the momentum from the debate?

GRIFFIN: So, Kamala Harris had a line she used about five times in the debate, which is there's more that unites Americans than divides them. She's trying to move to the center. You know, Bryan will point out her record was to the left, but she's talking about actual policy issues that resonate with the vast majority of the country. If she can play to the center, talk about the economy, talk about rebuilding the middle class, that works.

I actually agree though, abortion is an animating issue. We've seen red states, deep red Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, where there have been ballot initiatives or constitutional amendments around abortion, and even Republicans have turned out to vote for some access. So I think that's more about just energizing voters, but she has got to hit on the economy. That is the number one issue for voters.

BLITZER: It's the economy stupid, as they used to say. All right, guys, thank you very much. Stand by, we're going to get back to all of you, in just a bit.

Just ahead, more reaction to Trump's refusal to debate Kamala Harris once again. The Democratic governor of Illinois, J. B. Pritzker, there he is, he's standing by live. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news in the presidential race. Donald Trump announcing today he won't debate Kamala Harris again, as the vice president is hammering Trump about his performance in the face off on Tuesday.

Joining us now, Illinois' Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker. Governor, thanks so much for joining us. So, why do you think Trump is refusing to debate Kamala Harris for a second time?

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Well, let's be clear. If anybody who watched the Tuesday night debate saw Donald Trump was weak, he honestly came across as a little desperate. Kamala Harris came across as strong and presidential. And I think if he had another debate with her and that happened again, I mean, that would be -- it would be it for his campaign. He'd be done. So, I think that's why he's afraid. That's why he doesn't want to have another debate.

And Kamala Harris is right to go out and brag about the fact that, frankly, Donald Trump has no plans for middle class Americans, for people who are struggling in the United States. And he showed that, no plans at all, couldn't even tell you what he was going to do to help people on health care or small businesses.

You know, you heard Kamala Harris talk about a plan that she's got to help people buy homes to make sure that they have the ability to raise a family with a tax credit, child tax credit, very important to have to show the American public what you're going to do as president.

Donald Trump, no plans. Kamala Harris knows that her job is to address the challenges of working class people across this country.

BLITZER: You know, the Harris campaign governor says it raised a very impressive 47 million in the 24 hours after the debate. So, how do you think the campaign best seizes all this momentum now?

PRITZKER: Yes, I think you're right to call it momentum because you know, people don't go online and give $25 or $50 unless they're motivated after seeing that debate, so $47 million, a lot of it in very small contributions, pretty impressive.

[18:20:05]

So, seizing on it means making sure you're taking the message of the plan that she talked about, the strength that she talked about that the United States needs in the world and the weakness that Donald Trump showed and take that on the road to the battleground states. And she's doing that. She's been doing bus tours. And interestingly note that she's going to places that often you don't see Democrats going to rural areas of Georgia, for example, with Tim Walz and making sure that people understand that she's going to be a president for every American.

Donald Trump seems like he's all about Elon Musk and the wealthiest people in this country. You know, Kamala Harris is somebody who's fought her entire career for everyday average folks who just need a little bit of help from the federal government.

BLITZER: Kamala Harris repeated today, Governor, that she's the underdog in this campaign. A new poll taken after the debate shows her up five points over Trump. Is she really the underdog? What do you think?

PRITZKER: Yes, you got to remember that these national polls really are not accurate in terms of, you know, who's really ahead. This is going to come down to maybe eight or ten battleground states. And we have an Electoral College system, whether you like it or not. And Donald Trump won, by the way, in 2016, by losing the popular vote, but winning the Electoral College. It's important for Kamala Harris to win in each one of those battleground states. So, that's really where people ought to pay attention.

And, yes, it's true that, you know, it's always good to see a poll where you're ahead. But the reality is that we've got a lot of work to do, you know, Kamala Harris and the campaign that she's running and all of us were helping. It's about getting people out to vote. Because in the end, a poll doesn't tell you a lot, what does tell you a lot is who shows up on Election Day?

And I do think that she's got the momentum. I think that Americans are starting to see that Kamala Harris truly is on their side. She's the one who's fighting for them and she's not about all these petty grievances that Donald Trump's been about.

So, again, she's got good momentum, but there's a whole lot of work to do between now and November 5th.

BLITZER: Yes. As I keep saying, smart candidates always run as if they're way behind so they don't lose that advantage.

The economy, Governor, is certainly one of Trump's biggest strengths right now in this race, Harris has tried to separate herself, at least from some of President Biden's economic policies. But in our CNN instant poll of debate watchers taken right after the debate, Trump actually widened his lead over Harris on who would do a better job on the economy.

What does she need to do, Governor, and you're a governor of an important state like Illinois, what does she need to do to turn these numbers around?

PRITZKER: Well, again, it's focusing on the things that really matter, the kitchen table issues important to all Americans, you know, the cost of health care and accessibility of it, the idea that people could go start a small business, making sure that people can raise a family and with a $6,000 child tax credit. These are all things that matter to ordinary Americans who just want to get ahead a little bit.

And it's been challenging. There's no doubt about it. We've had inflation all over the world. The United States is fairly better than most other countries, I might add, but inflation has now come down. Maybe it's about 2.5 percent, needs to come down a little bit more, but that's the thing that I think that Kamala Harris has been focusing on and needs to continue to.

Remember, she's only been a candidate for president for the last, what, 70, 80 days, maybe 90 days, it's not a lot of time, but she has managed to even up the race with Donald Trump, where he had been ten points ahead before that. And so now she's just got to go battle it out state by state.

And I will say that Tim Walz, what a great partner he is for her, because I think he conveys, you know, real heart. And that to me is what people want to see in their leaders, someone who actually cares deeply about, again, ordinary, everyday working families across this country. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz are going to get things done for them.

BLITZER: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, thanks for coming into The Situation Room. I appreciate it very much. We'll have you back.

PRITZKER: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, the far right promoter of conspiracy theories who's gotten close to Donald Trump is now being painted as extreme by none other than the MAGA firebrand, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Stand by, we have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, some of Donald Trump's most ardent allies are raising serious concerns about a far right provocateur and promoter of conspiracy theories, who's made her way into the former president's inner circle right now. Her name is Laura Loomer and she's been seen traveling with Trump twice in the past few days alone. Her views are considered extreme, even by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's calling Loomer's rhetoric a huge problem and arguing that she doesn't represent the MAGA movement.

Our political experts are back with us right now, along with CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter, who's back here at CNN. Welcome back, Brian, to CNN. Good to have you back.

I want to start with you. We've been -- we've seen Loomer in Trump's inner circle in recent days. Who is she and what are some of the conspiracy theories she has been promoting out there that Trump has now publicly elevated by bringing her into his inner circle?

[18:30:01]

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right. She's a self- promoting far right performer who has a long history of racist and Islamophobic commentary. She's also a failed congressional candidate in Florida. She's the type of person who, ten years ago, would not have been the subject of national news. She'd be shouting into the void on some obscure social network. But nowadays, partly because of the Trump movement, and because Trump has brought her on into the inner circle, she is a newsworthy figure and someone deserving of this kind of scrutiny.

For example, here's a recent post from Loomer, promoting that racist lie about Haitians in Ohio referring to cannibalistic Haitians stealing and eating people's pets. We know that's been debunked, but it didn't stop Loomer from pushing the lie. Here's another, you know, and that is the kind of thing that we've seen travel, perhaps, from the likes of Loomer to Trump.

Now, here's another example that was very disturbing. In 2023, Loomer calling 9/11 an inside job, promoting a long conspiracy theory. And then, there she was earlier this week at the 9/11 commemoration at the ceremony in New York. This raised a lot of eyebrows given Loomer's history promoting conspiracy theories. Those are a couple of the examples, Wolf, of Loomer potentially influencing the former president.

BLITZER: And, Brian, let me follow up. We're now seeing some Republican lawmakers, like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Lindsey Graham, for that matter, distance themselves publicly from Laura Loomer after she tweeted about Kamala Harris' Indian-American heritage and cooking. What about that?

STELTER: That's right, and I'm sorry to read this one out loud, it's pretty gross. But here's what she posted about Kamala Harris, saying, if Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry and White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center. And it goes on and on, clearly touching on racial prejudice there.

It is notable that the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene have tried to distance the GOP from Loomer. Here's what Greene said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEEN (R-GA): I have concerns about her rhetoric and her hateful tone. To me, many of the comments that she makes and how she attacks Republicans like me, many other Republicans that are strong supporters of President Trump. I think there are huge problems, and that doesn't represent MAGA as a whole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: For years, we have been covering Marjorie Taylor Greene's conspiracy theories and her history of offensive and controversial statements, and yet she seems to know that it is smart, politically, to try to distance from the likes of Laura Loomer.

Like I said, Wolf, Loomer is a failed congressional candidate. She's a troll who lives on the internet trying to get attention. She once actually handcuffed herself to the offices of Twitter protesting the fact that Twitter banned her. That's the kind of internet persona she is. But because Trump has brought her in, she is a newsworthy subject.

BLITZER: And that raises the question, Alyssa, why is Donald Trump associating himself with someone like Laura Loomer, who has a long history of making bigoted comments?

GRIFFIN: So, Laura Loomer is somebody who was a bit of a presence in the 2016 campaign. She tried to get access around Donald Trump. She did throughout his -- she tried to during his first term, but I think this underscores how different a second Trump term would be than a first. Adults in the room, the Mike Pence's on the campaign and one in the White House, would not have let this person around the president. They would speak out on the fact that this is not somebody who should be advising him, that she's dangerous, she's polarizing, she espouses blatantly racist beliefs.

And it just seems like those guardrails have come off. There was a picture of Susie Wiles standing next to her. And Susie Wiles is a serious, thoughtful operative, and I cannot imagine for a minute she thinks that this is a person who should be in Donald Trump's ear.

And, by the way, during the debate when he, you know, infamously said, they're eating cats and dogs, once I learned that Laura Loomer had traveled with him. It made sense, because oftentimes the last person in Donald Trump's ear is the person that he ends up espousing what they want him to say. It made sense there. There is a major risk to this person being anywhere near a potential future president of the United States.

BLITZER: You know, Meghan, the White House today called Trump's associating with Laura Loomer repugnant, that was the word. What does it say to you that Kamala Harris hasn't yet waded into this?

HAYS: Look, I don't think she needs to weigh into this, right, like who he wants to surround himself with is his business. It just shows the American people who he is and what his character is. Those aren't the people that she surrounds herself with.

Also it's telling the actual Republican, conservative Republicans that worked with him in the White House before don't support him. His own vice president doesn't support him. He doesn't have the support of the traditional Republican Party. So, he is going to these extreme people, because those are the people who are telling him what he wants to hear.

You know, the vice president doesn't need to get involved in this, because that's just not who her character is and she doesn't listen to people. It's just showing more about that Donald Trump is listening to these racist people and he's also being racist with these horrible statements that are coming out on the debate and on Twitter and Truth Social.

So, you know, it's just telling of who he is and I just think it's repugnant that we're even giving her time discussing her relevance.

BLITZER: It's interesting, Brian that this is -- as you and I well know, this is certainly not the first time Trump has been criticized for associating with rather hateful figures like Laura Loomer.

[18:35:05]

Do you think enough attention is getting paid to all of this right now?

STELTER: I would tell you on 9/11 when this happened, no. But today, I think there is now, thankfully, more scrutiny, and partly that is because she's been traveling with the former president this week. It strikes me as another example, Wolf, of the feedback loop that Trump is in, where he gets misinformed by people around him.

Sometimes the T.V. shows he watches, sometimes the online personalities that he hangs out with, he ends up getting bad information, in some cases, totally bogus information, like about the case in Ohio. Then he repeats it, then it becomes even more of a story, then it becomes a multiday news cycle that ultimately may hurt his campaign all because of the people that he chooses to either listen to on television, or in this case, hang out with on his airplane.

BLITZER: And some weirdos that he actually invites to have dinner with him at Mar-a-Lago. Guys, thank you very much for that analysis.

Just ahead, hours after the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's speech condemning political attacks against the U.S. Justice Department, Donald Trump's campaign issued a statement slamming Garland himself. We'll talk to our experts about what's going on. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Amid escalating attacks by former President Donald Trump today, the U.S. attorney general, Merrick Garland, condemned those using the U.S. Justice Department as a, quote, political weapon. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: There is not one rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor, one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans.

Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, Trump's campaign has responded calling Merrick Garland's conduct, and I'm quoting the Trump campaign, disgraceful.

Joining us now to discuss, CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez and CNN Legal Analyst Carrie Cordero. Evan, how significant is this message from the attorney general?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is some -- this is a message that's close to his heart. This is something that he believes very strongly ever since he came back to the Justice Department, Wolf.

And part of the issue here is not only the fact that the former president has been attacking the Justice Department, claiming that it has been weaponized, but also the concern that some of these attacks on the department and the prosecutors and some of the agents actually have led to threats against them.

We've seen, for example, members of Congress who have publicized the names of agents who have been involved in things that they don't agree with. And then as a result of that, those people have had attacks or threats against them, their families.

Listen to the attorney general talk specifically about those concerns with regard to the Justice Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARLAND: It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this department solely for doing their jobs, and it is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right and upholding the rule of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREZ: And, Wolf, I mean, obviously the attorney general, he's open to getting these attacks. The FBI director, they understand that it comes with a job. But sort of the line agents and the prosecutors, that's something else. And that's one of the things that he was very, very much concerned about in this speech.

BLITZER: And the threats to election workers and their families. That's awful what's going on.

Carrie, the Trump team baselessly attacked the attorney general and the Justice Department for that matter, once again, after Merrick Garland's speech today. How much does this underscore why Merrick Garland took this very rare step in speaking publicly about this issue?

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think that's part of the reason why he chose now to give this speech. Because he knows that as we get closer and closer to the election, both the rhetoric and potentially the actual threats that Evan was describing against members of the Justice Department are only going to increase.

And so I think this was a really powerful speech by the Attorney General, in part, he is looking also, I think, at his legacy of leadership over the department. But he is someone who does not just lead the department, he is of the Department of Justice. And so he has made it his mission during his tenure to restore confidence in the department, to really communicate to the agents and the prosecutors and the career civil servants who work behind the scenes, that he is there to support them. And he knows that this next several weeks leading up to the election is going to be particularly fraught. It's going to be a heightened environment. And so I think that's why he wanted to communicate this now.

BLITZER: All this comes, Evan, as you know, amid heightened concerns right now for election workers and others as we get ready for another January 6th, potentially. I hope it doesn't happen. But there's clearly a lot of concern that come January 6th, something else could happen.

PEREZ: Right, exactly. And, look, I mean, given the fact that you look at the polls, you see how close everything is. And if we have an election, like we did last time, where we have a couple of weeks where a couple of states are still waiting to be called, you have the potential for those kinds of threats as they happen in 2020.

And one of the things that the Homeland Security Department recently did are the last couple days is designated January 6th. For the first time, they've designated January 6th, which is the time for the certification of the ballots for that to be a national special security event.

And the significance of that is that, you know, the amount of security that will be surrounding the Capitol is so much more than was there on in 2020. The concern there is that, you have groups that will seek to try to take advantage of this again next time.

BLITZER: And I know, Carrie, this is something you've advocated for over the years.

[18:45:00]

CORDERO: Absolutely. So, in testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee in 2021, I argued that in earlier -- that that event, January 6, should have been designated, in NSSE, the special security event.

And so this is a really important development that has happened today. What it means is that the -- January 6 will be treated like the Super Bowl. The Justice -- Department of Homeland Security, the Secret Service will now be in charge of security for this event. That will give them resources, manpower, coordination over the federal government personnel, state, locals, and they will really put together an operational plan to protect January 6 and the certification of the election, the same way that they protect the inauguration for the Super Bowl.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Very important.

All right, guys. Thank you very, very much.

Evan and Carrie, appreciate it. Coming up, right now, firefighters in southern California are battling several major wildfires. Thousands of people have already been forced to evacuate as flames engulf homes and cars. We're going to bring you an update. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:17]

BLITZER: Three major wildfires are now ripping through southern California, forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

CNN's Stephanie Elam has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A race against time, fighting extreme wildfires along multiple fronts in southern California after triple-digit heat and high winds have fanned surging flames, firefighters are now battling three immense firestorms in the region where more than 100,000 acres have burned in recent days.

In Orange County, a woman fleeing the airport fire on foot as a fire battalion chief comes to her rescue. The blaze is only 5 percent contained as scorch air rises, creating fire whirls of smoke and flames, searing ranch lands, engulfing homes.

There are nearly 11,000 residents in the evacuation zone of the Bridge Fire.

MIKE DEVESTERN, WRIGHTWOOD, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT: Everybody burning out. Go into the gas and gas in the car is up trying to get out of here before they got burned. It was -- it was scary.

ELAM: The blaze is still at zero percent containment and is igniting dry brush spreading across mountain tops, some firefighters here had to stop fighting the flames to help residents flee, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

JOHN MILLER, PIO U.S. FOREST SERVICE, ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST: They were actively helping law enforcement evacuate people from the community. It was a life-saving mission.

ELAM: Were you able to see what it looked like at that time?

MILLER: An inferno.

ELAM: In San Bernardino County, the Line Fire were fire clouds morph into thunderstorms, wind gusts, and dry conditions have fanned the flames, torching homes and cars, and knocking out power lines. Firefighters now, hoping cooler temperatures ahead will help them hold the line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (on camera): And I just spoke to a man who rode out the Bridge Fire here in Wrightwood as it was blowing past the building he was in. He said that it actually sounded like it was roaring as it was going by -- fueled by those really intense winds, which just goes to show you why this fire blew up as quickly as it did from Sunday at 4,000 acres to over 30,000 acres on Monday, and now over 51,000 acres -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Stephanie Elam, thank you very much. Stay safe. We'll be right back.

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[18:56:54]

BLITZER: The NFL has dramatically changed its kickoff rules in an effort to try to reduce injuries.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What you're watching is perhaps the most dangerous play in football -- the kickoff.

DR. ALLEN SILLS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, NFL: It's space and speed. So if you think about where we're standing here, you've got players that are lined up in this case, maybe 50, 60 yards away from where we are. They're running down the field as fast as they can possibly run.

So coming down the field at speed and then having collisions obviously is a driver for injury.

GUPTA: The NFL says last season concussions occurred four times more often on a kickoff than any other play.

It's exactly why Riverdale Country School in the Bronx wants to change the game.

JOHN PIZZI, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL: I sort of jokingly said to him, like, what I want to change football in America, like we need to figure this out.

GUPTA: I want to change football in America. It's pretty audacious.

PIZZI: Yeah, I don't know if I actually realize what I was saying at the time.

GUPTA: John Pizzi is the school's athletic director.

PIZZI: Yes. So in 2018, we had 18 players left for the last game of our season. We had a bunch of concussions and a bunch of season ending injuries. So we made a decision to cancel our last game. But when that season ended, we had to figure out how we were going to manage the next football season.

GUPTA: So together with the Concussion Legacy Foundation, they proposed something pretty radical, getting rid of the sport's most iconic play, no more kickoffs, no more returns. the beginning of their games now look like this. Play just starts at the 35-yard line. And so far, Pizzi says they've seen a 33 percent decrease in concussions across the league, and importantly, in 18 percent increase in participation.

Parents certainly liked the idea and it turns out, so do the players. Like team captain Tristan Cornell.

TRISTAN CORNELL, CAPTAIN, RIVERDALE COUNTRY SCHOOL VARISTY FOOTBALL TEAM: I see all these injuries that happen from kickoffs, so the fact that we don't have that probably allows us to keep healthy and play throughout the entire season.

SILLS: It's a fascinating approach.

GUPTA: But the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, says the league is not yet ready to give up on the kickoff altogether.

SILLS: All options are on the table. I mean, I think that certainly the eliminating the play is one of those options, but I believe there are potentially other solutions.

GUPTA: So this year in the NFL, you're going to see a very different sort of kickoff, what they're calling a dynamic kickoff. Now, again, previously as soon as the ball was kicked, all 11 members of the kicking team would start sprinting down the field to try and tackle the receiving team. Lots of speed, lots of space.

This season, only the kicker is back here while the opposing teams are lined up, all the way over here, separated by just five yards. And none of those players can move until the ball has been caught by the receiving team or it hits the ground. It reduces the speed and the space of the play.

It's what competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay says is one of the biggest rule changes in 30 years.

RICH MCKAY, NFL COMPETITION COMMITTEE, CO-CHAIRMAN: But the problem is, is we're trying to not just make this game better next year, were trying to keep the game going for 10, 20, 30, 40. That's what our legacy is supposed to be.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, the Bronx, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Our special thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta for that excellent, excellent report. Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.