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The Situation Room

Father of School Shooter Set For Sentencing; Markets Recovering; Republicans in Danger in Midterms?. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired July 30, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:33:10]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now: mounting midterm frustrations. With less than 100 days to go until this November's pivotal midterm elections, new CNN polling reveals voters want significant change in Congress, and Democrats potentially could stand to benefit.

Here with us now, CNN's chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

So what does this latest poll say?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, as you said, less than 100 days before the midterm elections, it is showing significant angst out there among the electorate.

The electorate is effectively fed up with both sides, but Republicans are standing to fare worse, because they, of course, are in charge of Congress. But when you look specifically at this question, which party would you like to see control Congress, this is very interesting. Democrats now lead in this question 47 percent to 39 percent. Neither is 11 percent.

But this is a big change from April and may. Democrats are up a couple points, Republicans are down a couple points. So this is really what is happening out there in the electorate. Democrats have the advantage here in the generic ballot, we call it.

Of course, midterm elections are won state by state, the House districts, the Senate races, governor's races, but, overall, the mood of the American public, as we saw in the findings yesterday of the president's approval rating being very low, are favoring Democrats, at this point at least.

BLITZER: Still almost 100 days to go. We will see what happens.

Despite favoring the Democrats this year, voters seem to have a rather low favorable opinion of the Democratic Party. What can you tell us about that?

ZELENY: I mean, that definitely is true. I mean, there is a fight for the brand and the identity of the Democratic Party happening as these primaries are going on.

But when you look at this question of the view of the Democratic Party here, still unfavorable is a slight majority; 51 percent of voters find their view of the Democratic Party unfavorable, a 30 percent favorable, no opinion 16 percent. So this shows that people aren't necessarily in love with Democrats, but they are not thrilled with what Republicans are doing in office.

[10:35:05]

I mean, Republicans have control of the White House, obviously, the House, the Senate as well. So what is going on right now is clearly a sign that there is a mood for change, a demand for change, and the history of midterm elections will show the president's party almost always, with just a couple exceptions, suffer in the midterms.

BLITZER: We will see what happens in November. All right, thanks very much, Jeff Zeleny.

ZELENY: Sure.

BLITZER: And we're also following other breaking news and what the U.S. military is now calling a heavy wave of strikes against Iran.

U.S. forces hit command centers and missile and drone facilities in Iran in retaliation for Iran's attempted attack on U.S. forces in the region. Also, Egypt now says a drone struck one of its energy facilities yesterday in an incident that could widen this Middle East conflict.

Joining us now is Michael Allen. He's the former special assistant to President George W. Bush for national security, and he's the managing director of -- for Beacon Global Strategies.

Michael, thanks for joining us.

Do you see any off-ramp right now that the U.S. potentially could offer to break this current cycle of back-and-forth military strikes?

MICHAEL ALLEN, FORMER BUSH NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL STAFFER: I really don't, Wolf.

I think now that we're in this, and maybe we shouldn't have started this in the first place, but we now need to exercise some strategic patience. I think the blockade has got to resume and be very tight. And that amounts to sanctions enforcement, which I believe will help pressure the Iranian economy.

We also, I'm afraid, need to do more to force open the straits. We have talked about Project Freedom, which is guiding ships through the most advantageous route to make sure they make it through. I think that's what we have to do and be prepared to do it for an extended period of time, because just one and done or 10 days worth of bombing here and there is not enough to condition the Iranians to make fulsome compromises.

And so we're I think we're just going to have to stick with it longer.

BLITZER: This drone strike at an energy facility in Egypt is a first for that country. If confirmed as a deliberate Iranian attack, would it represent a significant widening of this conflict? And could this change the U.S. strategy in the process?

ALLEN: Wolf, I think so.

I mean, this is just another example of the Iranians don't feel threatened by us, don't feel any real pressure. This is yet another country that they have widened the escalation to. They are trying to incorporate every other country in the region.

So it's a very broad conflict. It's not necessarily deep in every other country, but it's something for us to watch. The Iranians seem fearless and they seem like they want to be able to take shots at us all across the region, not only where our troops are, but where our interests are and where there's energy infrastructure.

So we have to be ready. We have to be on our toes. But, yes, I mean, we're in the middle of a pretty broad fight.

BLITZER: As you know, Michael, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the White House earlier this week. He said it in an interview he did not try to persuade President Trump to continue attacking Iran while the U.S. is also trying to negotiate with Tehran.

Here's what he told ABC. Listen to this.

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QUESTION: When you met with President Trump at the White House, did you try to persuade him to resume attacks on Iran?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Actually, not. That's the caricature, the cartoon picture. That is not true. We actually analyzed all three possibilities, and I thought we did it in an open way between friends and allies, and it's his decision. It's his decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Prime Minister Netanyahu said he was skeptical that a diplomatic solution was even possible. How do you see Israel having an influence on the talks right now?

ALLEN: Yes, I saw the whole Netanyahu visit as trying to reestablish a rapport with President Trump. Trump has obviously been quite annoyed, maybe even angry with Netanyahu.

There's suggestions that he sort of tricked the president into the campaign in the first place. Certainly, the regime change part of it, he seems to have pulled one over on the president about its viability. So I saw this as a repair mission for Netanyahu.

I'm not surprised he wouldn't have urged a particular course of action, because I think the president is annoyed that Netanyahu has been so aggressive with him up until this point. So, if it's true what he said in the interview that you just played, it makes sense. They discussed the issues broadly.

And it seems to have had some success, because I have not heard Trump tee off against Netanyahu since the visit, like he was very publicly before the visit.

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BLITZER: Michael Allen, as usual, thanks very much for joining us.

ALLEN: Thanks so much for having me.

BLITZER: And coming up: the stock market recovering this morning after a major sell-off, this as new economic numbers show the state of the U.S. economy and inflation.

We have details. That's next.

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BLITZER: Breaking news.

We have brand-new numbers coming into THE SITUATION ROOM this morning that show the United States economy slowing in the second quarter, this as the core inflation for June came in at 3.3 percent, still well above the Federal Reserve's goal of 2 percent inflation.

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We're also keeping a very close eye on the markets this morning. The Dow had its worst day in over a year yesterday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady.

CNN senior reporter Matt Egan is here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM.

So, are the markets recovering this morning?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, markets are bouncing back a bit from yesterday's steep sell-off.

But, look, no doubt, the ride on Wall Street, it's gotten a lot bumpier of late, I think for a few reasons. First off, there's all the all of the volatility in the oil market, right? It's been a completely roller-coaster ride. One day, prices are plunging. The next day, they're spiking.

The fact that oil prices have come down just a bit today, they have stabilized, that is helping the mood on Wall Street. There's also the A.I. boom. There's this big debate raging among investors over who the winners will be, who the losers, but the big focus is on the Federal Reserve.

So, the Fed yesterday keeping rates steady, no big surprise there, but new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, he is under increasing pressure from his own colleagues to act on inflation. Not one or two, but three of his colleagues, they dissented yesterday. They all favored an interest rate hike. That's the most descent that we have seen in one direction in almost a decade.

Now, Warsh himself, he continued to talk tough on inflation, but when he was pressed by reporters during a press conference yesterday about what his plan is, he was pretty vague. Some of the investors, economists, Fed watchers that I'm talking to, they tell me they have been kind of confused, even frustrated by his responses.

I think the market is looking for answers on what his plan is going to be to fight inflation, but he's been pretty cryptic. And there's been some frustration among investors. I think we have seen that spill over into the bond market, because yesterday what we saw was bonds sold off as Kevin Warsh was speaking.

That lifted bond rates, in fact, the 30-year, highest level since 2007. So, in other words, even though the Fed didn't act yesterday, the market did. And, Wolf, the higher treasury rates go, the more expensive it will be for consumers to get a mortgage, small businesses to take out a loan, and for the federal government to pay down its mountain of debt.

BLITZER: Matt Egan, excellent explanation. Thank you very, very much.

And happening now: The father of a convicted Georgia school shooter will soon learn his own fate.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is live at the sentencing hearing for Colin Gray -- Isabel.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Colin Gray is the first parent in the U.S. to be charged with murder for a shooting that their child carried out.

Still ahead, why this may not be the end of this high-profile trial. I will tell you what his attorney told me right before court.

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BLITZER: Breaking news: Colin Gray, the father of school shooter Colt Gray, is back in court today for his sentencing.

Only moments ago, he faced victims' families and survivors, who shared very emotional testimonies.

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ANSLEE ASPINWALL GOSSETT, SISTER OF RICHARD ASPINWALL: Words just cannot express the extreme sadness for our family and the other families that have been impacted by this stupid act of irresponsible parenting.

I know, as a parent, I would never actively leave a gun available to my child, no matter their age, even if they were of age. I would not let it be accessible. And because of this, we are here today giving testimony because guns were left available to a young child that thought he was doing something incredible. It was such -- incredibly stupid.

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BLITZER: Colin Gray was found guilty of murder and manslaughter charges in March. The trial was part of a broader push to hold more people accountable for a school shooting, like the shooter's parents.

This week, his son Colt Gray was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Isabel Rosales, who's on the scene for us.

Isabel, what's happening in court at this moment?

ROSALES: Wolf, yes, good morning.

Just two days ago, his son, Colt Gray, was just handed the maximum penalty, and now here in a matter of an hour or two, we're expecting that Colin Gray will learn his own fate. They just wrapped things up. Both sides rested. They did closing arguments.

And now the judge is back in his chamber deciding what is a fair sentence here in this landmark case pushing the limits of who is responsible for a school shooting. Now, Colin Gray did not address the court when he was given the opportunity.

But his attorney Brian Hobbs did tell me this morning, first on CNN, that they will appeal. That happens after this sentencing. So this is not changing any of the procedural happenings that we're expecting today.

Now, back in March, Colin Gray was convicted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Prosecutors argued that he was criminally negligent by buying his son the very gun that he used to carry out this mass shooting as a Christmas present, a gun that he left unsecured and unlocked in his closet, despite all the multiple warnings and red flags that his son could be a danger to other people and that his behavior was spiraling.

Today in court, we heard powerful testimony, victim impact statements from families expressing their grief over the people that they lost, victims' family survivors, and also expressing their anger, their rage directly at Colin. Listen.

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TERRY MCELHANNON, GRANDFATHER OF VICTIM: Why are we here today? It's because of him. His actions and his neglect are responsible for what happened here. Though he did not shoot the gun, he bought the bullets.

SHAYNA ASPINWALL, WIFE OF RICHARD ASPINWALL: My now 7-year-old, who is a daddy's girl, spends time going to therapy because she struggled with the grief of losing her dad. Colin could not take his son to therapy. Therefore, I have to take mine.

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ROSALES: And the state is asking the judge here, the court to sentence Colin Gray to 80 years in prison.

But, under Georgia law, this judge has the authority to decide how much of that sentence, whatever it may be, is spent in prison versus probation. And, of course, I will leave you with this, Wolf. The kids, these teenagers return back to Apalachee High School tomorrow.

BLITZER: Yes, such a sad, sad story.

Isabel Rosales, thank you very, very much.

And here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour.

Disturbing new testimony in the trial of a mother accused of killing her three young children. What her ex-husband said that brought her to tears.

Plus, new Secret Service e-mails reveal how the case was built against James Comey. Now Comey's attorney says federal officials were acting without a warrant.

And the real cost of A.I. on your wallet. We're making it make sense.

That's all new in the next hour.

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