Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Harris Weighs Border Visit Aimed at Closing Gap With Trump in Arizona; CNN Talks to Young Voters in Crucial Battleground of Pennsylvania; Israel Targets Hezbollah in Deadliest Lebanon Strike in Decades. Jump: Trump Assassination Attempt Suspect Will Remain Detained; Melania Trump Got A Six-Figure Paycheck For Political Appearance. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 23, 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 ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, we're learning about a possible move by Kamala Harris aimed at helping her close the gap with Donald Trump in the swing state of Arizona, as the former president is showing strength in new polling of Sun Belt battlegrounds. We'll also break down the newest polling results and lines of attack with high-profile governors from both parties.

Also tonight, how younger voters view the Harris-Trump matchup and whether they're feeling energized or apathetic about the race. CNN is on the ground in a crucial swing state.

Plus, breaking news, officials say hundreds have been killed as Israel targets Hezbollah with intense airstrikes, its deadliest day of attacks on Lebanon in decades. CNN is in the region as fears of an all-out war are rising.

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

Let's get right to the breaking news on the intensifying fight in presidential battleground states, Kamala Harris and her aides studying the newest polls and gaming out their strategy in the days ahead.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is covering the Harris campaign for us. And CNN's Danny Freeman is covering the Trump campaign.

Priscilla, first to you. You have new reporting on what Harris may do during her visit to Arizona this week.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Sources are telling me that the Harris campaign officials are weighing a potential visit to the U.S.-Mexico border when the vice president is set to visit Arizona later this week. Of course, this has been a political vulnerability for Democrats, and they have been trailing former President Donald Trump in the polls, but they see an opportunity, an opportunity, Wolf, to narrow the gap, try to close that gap with the former president on the issue of border security. Now, some campaign officials remain concerned about that gap, but, again, perhaps with this visit to Arizona could tack on that border visit. Now, of course, no final decision has been made yet, that according to a source, and the vice president has previously visited the border as vice president as well as senator of California and also attorney general.

So, while she has been on the trail, she has talked about her work as the attorney general and campaign officials think she has a case to make, not only painting the former president as I'm serious on the border for taking that bipartisan border bill, but also calling back to the work that she has done tackling transnational gangs.

And some of this we've had a preview on last week. For example, she also hammered the former president over his controversial immigration policies. So, considerations underway on whether or not she goes to the border later this week. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Priscilla, thank you, Priscilla Alvarez reporting.

Now to the Trump campaign. The former president is focusing in on Pennsylvania tonight. He's set to hold a rally in a rural area just northeast of Pittsburgh.

CNN's Danny Freeman is on the scene for us in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Danny, what's Trump's message to voters in that important battleground state?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the message this afternoon and evening is the economy, the economy, the economy. You noted it, President Trump, former President Trump, back here in Western Pennsylvania. Notably, he's in Westmoreland County. He's then making his way up here to Indiana County, where we are right now. These are two areas, Wolf, two counties that former President Trump won handily in both 2016 and 2020. So, these are the kind of, like you said, rural areas that he really needs to run up the margins in if he has a hope of winning the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

And now we just finished up an event in Smithton, Pennsylvania, it's about an hour south of here, focused on the economy, like I said, specifically tariffs and that key part of his own economic plan. One of the things he said at this roundtable event with farmers is that if elected president, he said, I don't need Congress to enact some of this most extreme tariff proposals.

Now, experts have told CNN that that may be true, but if he were to do that, if he were elected, that members of Congress might try to wrestle away some of that tariff policy. But he also said appealing to some of these workers in Pennsylvania, that there are fears of Europe not wanting products from this commonwealth.

[18:05:02]

And we can expect more rhetoric like that coming likely later at his event tonight, starting at 7:00 here in Indianapolis, Wolf. BLITZER: And, Danny, I know one voter group both Trump and Harris need to reach in Pennsylvania is younger voters. Tell us about that.

FREEMAN: Wolf, over the past few weeks, I've had a chance to speak with young voters, a crucial demographic in the electorate all over the country, but, of course, especially here in Pennsylvania. I want you to take a listen to what some young voters in this all important state told me about the state of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EIAN ANDERSON, PRESIDENT, UPJ DEMOCRATS: I was thinking, how could I convince some 18 year old fresh of the high school? Hey, come spend the whole day talking to people you don't know over the phone for Joe Biden. Hard sell.

FREEMAN (voice over): The head of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's College Democrats got new life once President Joe Biden dropped out, and Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee.

ANDERSON: There wasn't a lot of passion going around.

FREEMAN: And you feel that's changed?

ANDERSON: It's definitely changed.

FREEMAN: How you feeling today?

MARIAM BANGURAH, SECRETARY, UPJ DEMOCRATS: I'm feeling a lot more comfortable.

FREEMAN: UPJ senior Mariam Bangurah says Harris background in particular has energized younger voters.

BANGURAH: I'm 22 years old, and I've lived my entire life not seeing many people who look like me or have a similar background as me who have done the job that I want to do.

We are like doing well, but like we really need to like keep that energy, and that's what I'm worried about.

FREEMAN: In 2020 younger voters, overwhelmingly supported Biden over former President Donald Trump. But before Biden dropped out, some polls showed Trump making gains with this key demographic. Now with Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, there are signs younger voters are swinging back in her direction.

ELECTRA JANIS, VICE CHAIR, WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: I think she is helping young voters get out, and for that I'm grateful you know, regardless of who you are voting for.

FREEMAN: Electra Janis is the vice chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners. A 28-year-old Republican voting for Trump, she thinks that Trump can keep the gains he made with younger voters when Biden was still in the race. JANIS: I will say, when I'm voting for President Trump, I'm not voting for a person. I'm voting for his policies. Their volunteer base has grown in Pennsylvania significantly, and I think what they need to do is get the young, passionate, motivated individuals out there seeking other young individuals to do the same.

FREEMAN: For that, the Trump campaign is turning to people like Stephen Kale (ph).

Did you ever expect to be working on a political campaign?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not, no.

FREEMAN: The 33-year-old service technician from outside Pittsburgh was motivated to knock doors after he witnessed the former president get shot at his Butler rally in July.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I saw that day, I just wanted to help out.

FREEMAN: For Kale, that means outworking Harris volunteers and staying on message with younger voters as much as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I start off by talking about the economy, their cost of living, especially if they're in college, paying higher prices for gas, utilities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want a Kamala Harris sticker?

FREEMAN: But on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus, young supporters of both candidates are now readying closing arguments to their peers.

JOSH MINSKY, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: I don't know if that's necessarily doable to get people extremely excited about Trump, but I do think it's possible to get people to understand that you don't have to like someone to vote for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, we are out basically doing things every single day. We're just working on building student power and on transforming a lot of that enthusiasm. And I think it's a great way to bring that conversation into actual actionable things.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): Wolf, one of the signs perhaps that the Trump campaign is trying to re energize younger voters, tonight is only the second time that the Trump campaign will have a rally on a college campus in Pennsylvania over the past several months. The first time he did that was just days before that crucial debate against President Biden. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Danny Freeman, good report, thank you very much.

I want to get some more in all of this. Our political experts are joining us. Karen Finney, in a New York Times poll of three key Sunbelt states, Trump is leading Harris in Arizona, take a look at this, 50 percent to 45 percent, and he's showing strength in both Georgia and North Carolina as well, but no clear leader in those in those states, the results being inside what's called the margin of error.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.

BLITZER: These are states that Harris has been hoping to do well in. Is this a disappointment, what we're seeing at least in these latest polls?

FINNEY: Actually, Wolf, I would say that it is an affirmation of what she has been saying all along. Democrats are the underdogs. She's right about that. And I think, you know, so much of the work that has to be done, and we have I've been talking about this since, frankly, the convention, all of that joy and energy and enthusiasm has to be turned into people showing up at the polls to vote.

And so that is something I know that the campaign is very focused on, obviously, in those key states. Actually, it's young black and brown and Asian American voters who will make up the difference in many of those states, and so having direct communications with those voters.

[18:10:00]

And it was interesting, the young woman who said -- or the gentleman who said, you know, you don't have to like somebody to vote for them. Well, I think if you -- though, if you don't like them, can you trust them? And I think Vice President Harris is able to make a very credible case, both on the substance of her policies and the fact that she can be trusted to deliver.

BLITZER: Sarah Longwell, I know you speak to undecided voters in your various focus groups that you conduct out there. This is what The New York Times says about voters who have yet to completely make up their minds, and I'm quoting now. This group of voters had leaned toward Ms. Harris in these states in August but now lean slightly more toward Mr. Trump. Why do you think that is?

SARAH LONGWELL, PUBLISHER, THE BULWARK: Well, I'm not exactly sure why it is. I do think that North Carolina was always a reach for Democrats. And I think the fact that Kamala Harris has been able to put that into the battleground column and make it really competitive was a testament to how much she changed this race.

The state that's the most interesting in these Sun Belt polls to me is Arizona. And I think that it's really a good idea for her to go out there and visit the border, go on offense more on the border. If there's a reason she's down five points in Arizona, it's because people are angry about the border. And I think she's going to have to distance herself from some of Joe Biden's policies and not just say, you know, that Donald Trump scuttled that deal, the bipartisan deal, but also present her plan for what she's going to do about the border. She's talked about getting more funding and doing more about it. Arizona should be a state that she can do well in. Joe Biden won it in 2020. The Democrats were able to win the gubernatorial race in 2022 because Kari Lake was such a catastrophic candidate. Kari Lake is on the ballot again as a Senate candidate. There's also an abortion ballot initiative that's going to be on the ballot in November. And so Kamala Harris should be working hard to compete there.

Now it should be noted, she continues to do better and improve in those more blue wall states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and then Nebraska too, which is what she needs to get to 270. But certainly her campaign would be more comfortable if she was able to also have Nevada and Arizona in better places.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Bryan Lanza, what's your take away from these latest results?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: Listen, Wolf, it's a jump ball in the issues on our side. We need to deliver our message for the next 42 days to the voters of Pennsylvania and Michigan. We need to demonstrate and continue to demonstrate that we're the change agent. But more importantly, we need to talk about the economy. That's why we're benefiting in these states, is people are still apprehensive about Kamala Harris and they're confident in the Trump economy. So, those are the messages we're going to hit.

Immigration is a big thing. I think showing up to the border this late is very insincere, and it just lacks credibility with Harris, when you consider the fact that she was a sanctuary D.A. in San Francisco, when you consider the fact that just recently a video was released today where she talked about down with deportations in Los Angeles, and when you talk about the fact that she, at one point, I guess in some questionnaire, talked about defunding ICE.

So, when it comes to the border, Kamala has no credibility, even if she shows up a dozen times between now and November.

BLITZER: Bryan Lanza is a senior adviser to the Trump 2024 campaign.

Sarah, Let me get back to you. Kamala Harris accepted, as you know, CNN's invitation to debate Trump on October 23rd. This is what Trump says about another debate. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Everybody's voting now, and it's very late to be doing a third debate. But once the election starts, and it started, it's a very bad thing to be doing a debate in the middle of the vote counting. And this would really be late into the election so I think it would be a very bad thing. I think it would actually be a bad thing for the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: But, Sarah, look at this. Back in 2020, the final debate took place on October 22nd, just 12 days before the election, whereas the proposed CNN debate would take place 13 days before the big day. So, what do you make of Trump saying it's, quote, too late to debate?

LONGWELL: I mean, I think that the debate for Donald Trump was catastrophic and Kamala Harris just really demonstrated both her prowess as a debater, as a prosecutor, she was able to go on offense. He came out looking terrible. We ran a number of focus groups. We've had lots of focus groups subsequently since the debate. Nobody thinks he won the debate. It really moved the needle in her direction with a lot of these swing voters.

And so I think that the only way that Donald Trump debates again is if he sort of the bottom falls out of his campaign and they're just desperate for him to do something to try to change the dynamic. But I think right now, where it looks a little closer, he's too afraid to get back in the ring with her and afraid that it could do more damage to his campaign.

Bryan, is Trump really going to let his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, get the final word from a debate stage in this race?

[18:15:03]

LANZA: Yes. I mean, if you look at the first debate on your network, we did a good debate. We won. The second debate is questionable. People have their own opinions. But at the end of the day, what we've noticed from the debates, at least with President Trump, is that he doesn't get a fair shake. You know, you have moderators who inject themselves, you have them sort of do fact-check, and you know, even people on this network have talked about how the last debate was not sort of faring in for President Trump.

So, at this point, you know, why would we subject ourselves to another imbalanced debate? Let's let the voters decide, and we'll make our case to the voters every day, and so will J.D. Vance.

BLITZER: As you know, Trump said the CNN debate was very fair, and he was very pleased with the results.

LANZA: He sure did.

BLITZER: That's what he said.

FINNEY: Yes.

BLITZER: All right, guys, everybody, stand by. Thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, dueling takes on the state of the presidential race as we're joined by the Democratic governor of Maryland and the Republican governor of New Hampshire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

BLITZER: Tomorrow marks six weeks until Election Day, and the Harris and Trump campaigns are zeroing in on seven key battleground states during a very busy week ahead.

And joining me now, a high-profile Democrat, Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Governor, thanks so much for joining us.

As you probably noticed today, Trump is leading Kamala Harris in three key Sun Belt battleground states. Voters say the economy is their top issue. And across those three states, 55 percent of the voters say Trump would do a better job managing the economy compared to just 42 percent for Kamala Harris. Why do you think Harris' messaging on the economy, such a critically important issue, is not breaking through right now?

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): Well, I think that people should be cautious about getting too excited about good polls or getting too down about tougher polls. I think that polls are our snapshots, and I think that this race is going to be won or lost on the ground, and we'll see that over the process of these next 40 days.

And I think the thing that you're continuing to see from the vice president is she's actually putting together detailed plans about things that can actually get our economy moving and making sure that our economy works for everybody. She's putting together detailed plans about what does it mean to support small businesses and making sure the small businesses are getting the liquidity that they need and the capital that they need to grow.

She's putting together detailed plans about increasing the child tax credit and by adding on a $6,000 child tax credit that can not only have a significant impact on the child poverty rate that we have in this country but also being able to create economic momentum and get people back into the workforce and actually incentivize work.

And so what we're seeing from the vice president is real plans to be able to get the economy going, making sure that more people can participate in the economy. And I think that's a stark difference from what we're seeing from her opponent.

BLITZER: Stephen Collinson, our CNN colleague, writes this about the state of the presidential race right now, and let me quote from his article. Wild weeks of outlandish rhetoric by the ex-president have revived memories of the cacophony of his four White House years and shattered perceptions that he's running a more disciplined campaign than back in 2020 or 2016. But the nature of the race, a toss-up contest in swing states, has not budged.

So, Governor, why do you think that is so?

MOORE: Well, I think as we're getting closer to Election Day, I think people are going to go into the booth and they are going to take a breath and they are going to think about what is it they hope for the future. Do they want to go back to the days of chaos and the days of not being sure whether or not the truth was being spoken from the Oval Office and from the White House, or do they want to move on to a new future? Do they want to move on to a new generation of leadership? Do they want to move on to a place where we can have an economy that actually works for everybody and have a country that is respected on the global stage?

And so I think that the chaos that came along with how to come along with the Trump campaign, it's bringing people back to the days of the chaos of the Trump administration. And I think that the American people are going to choose that that is not the direction that they want to go in when they think about the future for our country.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll find out fairly soon. Maryland's Democratic Senate candidate, Angela Alsobrooks, is in a very close race against your predecessor, former Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who remains pretty popular in Maryland, despite being, as I said, a Republican. This is what retiring Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said about Alsobrooks and let me quote him. She has a challenge. There's no question about that. And we recognize she has to work on that.

As you know, this is a must-win seat for Democrats. How does she overcome that challenge?

MOORE: I think she overcomes the challenge by doing exactly what she's been doing, which is working hard. You know, she is running against somebody who has a 100 percent name recognition in the state. He was the former governor for eight years, but she's also running against somebody who now is finding himself reintroducing himself to the people of the state for a person while he was the governor actually vetoed legislation that supported privacy and protections and withheld funds going towards abortion providers and reproductive health providers. So, $3.5 million I released on my first day in office because he would not release those funds. But now he's saying he's had a change of heart on those issues.

When he's talking about public safety, she has a track record as being the former state's attorney for Prince George's County, where she was able to help bring the violent crime rate and cut it in half in Prince George's County while she was state's attorney. But while he was the governor, we saw how the homicide rate in the state of Maryland nearly doubled.

[18:25:02]

In Baltimore City, we saw eight straight years of 300-plus homicides in Baltimore City during his entire time as the governor, but now he's saying that he's tough on crime.

So, I think while he has 100 percent name recognition, he's finding himself reintroducing himself to the state versus where Angela Alsobrooks, a candidate who I endorsed early and I'm proud to support, I believe she will be Maryland's next senator because she's not only putting in the work, but also she's showing that her history and her track record is consistent with the vision that she's offering for the people of my state.

BLITZER: Very important race and we'll be watching you closely. Maryland Governor Wes Moore, as usual, thanks for joining us.

MOORE: It's great to be with you as always. BLITZER: And just ahead, the deadliest day of Israeli strikes inside Lebanon in nearly 20 years. Our live report from the Middle East is coming up right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: There's breaking news we're following in the Middle East. Lebanon now saying at least 492 people have been killed in the latest wave of Israeli attacks.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Israeli airstrikes battering southern and eastern Lebanon. It is the most intense Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since the 2006 war, and the deadliest. Hundreds were killed and many more injured, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah weapons depots and rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, Israeli air defenses springing into action as Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets and drones at Israel, targeting the city of Haifa and aiming further south than usual. At least two rockets hitting the West Bank, more than 60 miles south of the Lebanese border and just east of Tel Aviv. As Israeli fighter jets carried out some 1,300 airstrikes today, the country's leaders say they are deliberately escalating, hoping to change the equation.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I promised to change the security balance, the balance of power in the north, this is exactly what we're doing. We're dismantling thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at Israeli cities and citizens.

DIAMOND: Lebanese officials say this is simply Israeli aggression.

ZIAD MAKARY, LEBANESE INFORMATION MINISTER: The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan aimed at destroying Lebanese villages and towns and eliminating green areas.

DIAMOND: In Lebanon, Israel's new escalatory strategy is pushing thousands to flee their homes, as the Israeli military sent mass text messages, including to some residents of the Lebanese capital, and interrupted radio broadcasts, urging residents in Southern and Eastern Lebanon to evacuate.

In Lebanon's Bekaa Valley --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This warning is focused on the villages in the Bekaa Valley.

DIAMOND: -- residents were given just two hours notice before Israeli jets began hitting targets, including homes where the Israeli military says Hezbollah is storing rockets and weapons. As smoke engulfed swaths of Lebanon, many now fear this is just the beginning, as the prospect of all-out war now looms larger than ever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Wolf, this evening, the Israeli cabinet approving a. quote, special situation across Israel this empowering the government to put in place emergency measures to limit civilian activity should it deem that necessary, clear evidence that this country is on a war footing. The Israeli government clearly aiming to try and escalate the situation in Lebanon in order to try and get Hezbollah to back down. But for now, Hezbollah is simply showing that it is willing and capable of striking deeper into Israel than before. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Jeremy Diamond reporting from Haifa, Israel, up in the north, stay safe over there, Jeremy. Thank you very much.

Joining us now, CNN Political and Global Affairs Analyst Barak Ravid and Kim Ghattas, a distinguished fellow at the Columbia University Institute of Global Politics.

And, Kim, I know you're in Beirut. How devastating have these Israeli attacks been, these attacks against Hezbollah, and for Lebanese civilians, how devastating has it been?

KIM GHATTAS, AUTHOR, BLACK WAVE: Wolf, great to be with you on the show. The escalation in Israeli strikes today against Lebanon has had a devastating toll already, the single deadliest day for Lebanon in many decades, almost 500 killed and 1,600 injured, many of them women and children. And, of course, some of them or many of them will also have been members of Hezbollah.

But the sheer terror that the Lebanese are living through, pondering the possibility of even further strikes and a prolonged war, comes on top of a day of a terror last week when we had these pager attacks, pagers blowing up across the country, which really sent people scurrying, sirens wailing, people going to hospitals, flooding the hospitals. And so that leads to a week on a national level of deep trauma for Lebanese civilians in a war that they have not chosen and which Hezbollah started on the 8th of October when it launched its first missiles against Israel after the horrific attacks by Hamas on the 7th of October.

This is a country without a president, with a caretaker government and barely functioning institutions.

[18:35:01]

So, the Lebanese feel very much trapped at the moment.

The Israelis are saying that they hope that Hezbollah will back down and that this is escalation to lead to de-escalation. I don't see that happening. I don't see Hezbollah backing down and admitting defeat even though they've been severely degraded. BLITZER: Let me get Barak to weigh in on this as well. Barak, Israel seems to think this latest barrage could force Hezbollah to de- escalate. Could that, though, backfire?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think there are a lot of people who are concerned that, you know, once you escalate, and this has started several days ago, with all the -- you know, we are now at the like fourth or fifth stage of escalation in one week and Hezbollah hasn't backed down.

And the fear is that this thing will continue for another week, two weeks, three weeks. What if Hezbollah doesn't back down then? Does this mean that Israel will invade Lebanon with ground forces, something that both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Gallant and the IDF really don't want to do.

So, in a way, even though it has taken tremendous hits in the last few days, Hezbollah will still determine whether this thing will stop or it will continue indefinitely.

BLITZER: You know, Kim as you know, Israel has killed many of Hezbollah's top commanders during this latest assault, including some of those commanders who were responsible for the terror attack against the U.S. embassy in Beirut back in 1983 in the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983. How does that influence Hezbollah's possible response?

GHATTAS: Well, they seem to have been thrown into chaos. You know, the leadership decapitated their ability to communicate severely degraded. But as you saw, they're still able to launch missiles and rockets at Israel. They seem to have either because they're not able to or because they've consciously decided to not to further escalate themselves.

I know that for residents of Israel and Northern Israel, it does look like Hezbollah is escalating, but compared to Israel's strikes against Lebanon, you could argue that Hezbollah's reaction is still somewhat contained. We'll have to see whether that continues, whether they're simply trying to regroup so that they can land a devastating blow on Israel.

They're not going to simply back down and admit defeat We need creative diplomacy to provide an off-ramp to a group that has said they will not stop firing into Northern Israel unless there is a ceasefire in Gaza. If there is no ceasefire in Gaza, we need creative diplomacy with the help of the United States, France and Arab countries to help find a way out on an off-ramp so that someone within Hezbollah can say, for the sake of Lebanon, we are now going to step down, but they're not going to admit defeat short of that.

BLITZER: I'd be surprised if that happens. It looks like it's escalating very, very quickly. Kim Ghattas, Barak Ravid, to both of you, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, my interview with New Hampshire's Republican governor, Chris Sununu, I'll get his take on the state of the presidential race. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Mark Robinson, North Carolina's Republican candidate for governor, is back on the campaign trail today as he scrambles to manage the fallout from a bombshell CNN report about offensive comments he made on a porn site. J.D. Vance refusing to say if the Trump ticket still backs Robinson and that it's Robinson's job to make his case to voters.

Right now, I'm joined by New Hampshire's Republican Governor Chris Sununu. Governor, thanks so much for joining us.

Senator Vance, as you know. is calling this a sex scandal that of course ignores the hatred exposed in these various posts, Robinson referring to himself as a, quote, black Nazi and saying some people need to be slaves and he would buy slaves if slavery were legal. Does the Trump campaign need to be more clear about where they stand?

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Well, I think they've been pretty clear. I think again, they're not going to be campaigning with them. I think they've already canceled an event with them. They're focused on North Carolina for their campaign. You know, the lieutenant governor has a lot of problems that he's got to deal with and basically everybody's kind of walking away from this one, saying this isn't this isn't a policy problem, this isn't an image problem, this is hatred. This is really weird stuff at a whole different level and no one wants to be associated with it.

BLITZER: The Republican Governor's Association has signaled it won't spend more to elect Robinson, but should he step aside from this race and his post, for that matter, as the lieutenant governor of North Carolina.

SUNUNU: Absolutely, yes. He has no confidence of anybody right now. Not as a campaigner, not in the job he's currently in, and it doesn't look like in the job he's gunning for. So, again, he's got some personal issues he's got to take care of. My recommendation is go do that. Let someone else get in the race and run. And, again, North Carolina, the unfortunate part of it, it hurts folks down the ballot, right, other Republicans down the ballot in North Carolina, good folks that just want good policies. He's really put a negative brand on the whole situation.

BLITZER: Why do you think Trump has not said what you've just said?

SUNUNU: Well, I don't know. I don't know whether if he's been asked about it. His has all kind of come up in the last couple of days. I know they've already canceled the event and he's moving on. My sense is the Trump campaign is going to really be focused on veterans, some of the older voters there. They're still making a hard press. They're leading in most of the polls, but they're not taking North Carolina for granted.

So, my sense is they'll make the right decision. I can't explain, you know, what lack of answers or who's been questioning him, other than they're focusing on their race and my sense is they're not going to be associating themselves with that gentleman at all.

[18:45:02]

BLITZER: Also, Governor, I want to get your reaction to something Trump posted on his Truth Social account earlier today.

Let me read it to you, quote: Any Catholic that votes for comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined.

Do you agree the Catholic Harris supporters should have their heads examined?

SUNUNU: I don't know what that means. I'm a Catholic and I don't know what that means.

Frankly, so I can't comment on that other than to say a bizarre tweet from Donald Trump, what a shock, right? I mean, it's almost daily that you get something kind of interesting coming out of whether its tweet or one of his speeches. At the end of the day, this -- as you and I both know, this comes down to swing states, swing voters in swing states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania Arizona, Georgia, where Trump is doing pretty darn well, even aware the vice president is leading in the polls in most of those states, I don't think its by enough so by enlarge.

I mean, she's had her moments of, you know, kind of swooping in taking the nomination from the current president, having a strong convention, a strong debate performance. You've got to give her some credit there. But I don't think those big inflection points are going to exist going forward. So as folks get their bills, as the credit card bills come in people start focusing more on policy and listen just the personality difference.

I just don't think in some of those swing state, she's built up enough of a buffer to overcome the change that, that folks want to see.

So, whether it's a weird tweet -- my point being whether it's a weird tweet or not, right now, people are really policy-focused. They're really looking for some sort of change. And that's what President Trump's offering.

BLITZER: But he's saying that Jews, if they vote for Kamala Harris, should have their head heads examined. And now the same point, he's making about Catholics, Governor Chris Sununu. Thank you very much.

SUNUNU: They'll be nobody left, you bet.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us.

Coming up, new details as the suspect in the second Trump assassination attempt appears in court. Standby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:09]

BLITZER: We're following developments in the case against the suspect in the second Trump assassination attempt.

CNN's Randi Kaye was inside court for today's hearing.

Randi, what are you learning?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, prosecutors did reveal some new evidence, including a handwritten letter they say was written by Ryan Routh, and in part, that letter reads: Dear World, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster.

In addition to that letter that they revealed, they also talked about the six cell phones that were found in his car when he was picked up by authorities. One of those phones prosecutors say show a Google search from how to get from Palm Beach County to Mexico. Those phones also showed, according to prosecutors, that he had been in this area for about a month and his cell phone had been pinging the cell towers near Mar-a-Lago and Trump international golf club from August 18 until September 15, the day of the incident.

And then finally, Wolf, they talked about this scope on the rifle that was recovered at the scene. They said that there were electrical tape that was holding the scope to that rifle and on that electrical tape, not on the rifle, but they did find a fingerprint at least at least it as a preliminary finding of a fingerprint that they say matches the fingerprints of Ryan Routh -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All important information.

Randi Kaye, thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:56]

BLITZER: Melania Trumps campaign appearances have been very rare in this election year. But she's attracting more attention right now for the memoir she's out there promoting and for a big paycheck she received from a political appearance.

Brian Todd is working the story for us.

Brian, this payment to the former first lady is considered highly unusual. What can you tell us about it?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we know it's a lot of money, $237,000, and we know it's raising a lot of ethics questions. What we don't know is the source of that money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER FIRST LADY: Thank you all. TODD (voice-over): Tonight, a new CNN report uncovering mystery over

who paid Melania Trump for a speech at a political event. The former first lady got $237,500 for speaking at one Log Cabin Republicans fundraising event in April, according to former President Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure form. But the form doesn't say who the donor was. The Log Cabin Republicans tell CNN it wasn't them.

Campaign finance and ethics watchdog say not knowing the source of the money raises troubling questions.

NORM EISEN, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE ETHICS CZAR: It could be an individual who has a conflict of interests who wants something from a future resident.

TODD: There are also questions being raised about the timing of her paid appearance.

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, AUTHOR, "FIRST WOMEN": It's not unusual for a former first lady to earn six figures speaking, but it is unusual during a campaign season.

TODD: Officials for Jill Biden, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton say those first ladies did not get paid for any fundraising appearances during political campaigns.

EISEN: Typically, these appearances are associated with raising money for the campaign, associated groups, not for your own pockets.

TODD: This comes amid a barrage of videos Melania Trump is posting on social media promoting her upcoming memoir titled "Melania", videos ranging from a discussion of her renovation of the White House Rose Garden, to a video defending her past work as dude model.

M. TRUMP: Why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human forum in a fashion photo shoot? Are we no longer able to I appreciate the beauty of the human body?

TODD: And there's a video speculating about the assassination attempt on her husband in July.

M. TRUMP: I can't help but wonder why didn't law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech? There is definitely more to this story. And we need to uncover the truth.

TODD: But Melania Trump still has barely appeared anywhere to support her husband this year. She didn't attend his hush money trial in New York. And aside from this grand entrance at the Republican national convention --

BROWER: She hasn't been on the campaign really much at all. I mean, she was only at the RNC that one night and she didn't even speak.

And for Melania, a lot of it is about making money, right?

(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD (on camera): A spokesperson for Melania Trump declined to comment in response to CNN's questions about the payment for at least one Log Cabin Republican event. Sources who are supportive of the former first lady who attended the Log Cabin events, but who did not know that she got paid for at least one of those defended her, saying she has a right to decide how to spend our time and right to get paid for her time -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us, Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.