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Mayor JonDavid Longo (R-Slippery Rock, PA) Discusses Trump Assassination Attempt, Trump Attends RNC Kicking Off Today; Biden Preps For Major Interview After Trump Assassination Attempt; RNC Convention Underscores Shift From GOP to MAGA; Moments Away, Republican National Convention Will Begin; Republican National Convention Starts. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 15, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

MAYOR JONDAVID LONGO (R-SLIPPERY ROCK, PA): I saw him rise from the huddle and kind of wrangle his -- his arms and his head from them, so he could show everyone that he was up and standing and he was strong. He raised his fist in -- in what I could only describe as a triumphant resistance. It was defiance in that moment. It was a message to the world, and I think that it was important that he did that because what President Trump did in that moment was he offered a reprieve to the many thousands of us around him who were experiencing that horror with him. He gave us a reprieve by offering steadfast leadership in that moment, and I'm grateful to the president for (INAUDIBLE)

SANCHEZ: I do want to ask you since you served overseas in the military and you have experience with combat, what do you think of the security questions swirling around the incident? What would you hope to see out of an investigation?

LONGO: I don't have any comment on the security situation other than what it is that I witnessed, and what I witnessed was Secret Service and law enforcement professionals inside the venue where I was, on the ground with me who were steadfast, who were concerned with the safety of everyone around us, and who ultimately addressed and neutralized the threat this maniac who did this, this act of violence against the president and his attendees at the rally. And that's what I'll have to say about our law enforcement officers and security.

SANCHEZ: Mayor Jondavid Longo, we'll leave the conversation there. We so appreciate you not only sharing your story with us but also detailing those moments of courage and you jumping in to potentially save someone's life.

LONGO: (INAUDIBLE)

SANCHEZ: Still plenty more news to come on NEWS CENTRAL. Ahead a political balancing act, how President Biden is navigating his reelection campaign as the nation reels from the assassination attempt of former President Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:58]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: While former President Trump says he's overhauling his message at the RNC, his opponent is navigating a political moment that is very different from what he thought it would be just days ago.

President Biden is set to record an interview for primetime here in just a couple of hours.

Let's get to CNN senior White House correspondent, M.J. Lee, with more on what Biden has a head here.

M.J., the campaign navigating, of course, a sensitive and complicated politically well dynamic.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. What happened on Saturday has certainly upended so much on both sides of the political aisle.

We saw the Biden campaign immediately pulling down at TV ads. They stopped all political communications for a while. The White House had to cancel the president's trip to Texas today. One of the stops was meant to be a fundraiser.

And something else that we saw come to a halt after Saturday, the public Democratic dissent against President Biden and questions about whether he should seek a second term, which questions about that had been really growing by the day until Saturday.

Remember, even, in the hours leading up to that Donald Trump rally in Pennsylvania, the president was having some tough, at times tense, conversations with Democratic lawmakers that were really pressing him on whether he was a viable candidate to seek a second term, whether he could even defeat Donald Trump.

And the president had really been bracing for a really tough political week ahead. They knew that there was probably going to be growing dissent. Some advisers had even worried that there could be some prominent Democratic defections on the Sunday shows yesterday.

And today, the president has this big TV interview where, again, until two days ago, we had expected the focus would be on his age, his fitness, and all of these questions swirling about him.

And we have spoken since Saturday with some Biden allies that are privately hoping, privately wondering whether, in the aftermath of what happened on Saturday, the effect might be that these questions about the president's political future might actually come to a stop.

The idea being the Democrats will actually seize this moment and see this moment as really, urgently, the party needs to come together, particularly as they are watching Republicans really rallying around Donald Trump in a new way.

We know that it is early though, and obviously, it's not even been 48 hours since the horrific events of Saturday. So we're watching to see how Democrats are watching the tone that comes out of the Republican National Convention.

But as for the president in just the coming days, he is still headed to Las Vegas this afternoon after he sits down with NBC News' Lester Holt.

But obviously, Brianna, I don't need to tell you that the backdrop of that interview is now so different than what we were expecting even two days ago.

KEILAR: Yes, it certainly is.

M.J. Lee, live for us at the White House, thank you.

And as the RNC gets underway, nothing shows how much the GOP has changed over the past few years than looking at the party's platform. We're going to break down how this truly is the party of Trump. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:42:07]

KEILAR: As Republicans gather in Milwaukee for the convention, it is really worth remembering how the party has changed since Donald Trump came down that golden escalator back in 2015. And nothing reflects those changes more than the party's platform.

And CNN senior political data reporter, Harry Enten, is here to break that down for us.

Harry, let's start with two of the biggest issues for the traditional Republican base, at least, which is abortion in the sanctity of marriage. How have we seen those change in the platform language?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, I mean, look, social issue mentions in the platform language way down from 2016. You know, we look at it now, look how many mentions there are. Just one. Just one of each. My, goodness gracious. That is so untraditional of the Republican Party.

And this might be in my mind something that the GOP and Donald Trump have been concentrating on, which is trying to get rid of some of the language that is more divisive, trying to be a bigger-tent party.

And indeed, if you look at the polling, what you see is that, when it comes to the issue of abortion, Democrats and Joe Biden are trusted much more on it. Republicans have already won the war, right? Roe v. Wade was overturned.

But the fact is the Republican Party wants to drop these unpopular planks in their messaging. And that is something that you're seeing reflected in the GOP platform.

KEILAR: Trump won in 2016 with a strong message on securing the border. What do we see from 2016 to now? ENTEN: Yes. If social issues are being mentioned less, issues surrounding the border are definitely mentioned more. And you can see that in border mentioned issues, which, of course, were a prominent part of the GOP platform back in 2016. But it's even more now.

You look at a word like "invasion," right? That was not mentioned at all back in 2016. Now we're seeing that actually mentioned a number of times in the platform.

And again, this is partially about Donald Trump shaping the platform. But it's also about understanding what's popular with the American public. We know that immigration is much higher up on the issues of most important problems in terms of what Americans think.

And more than that, it's an issue on which Donald Trump does very, very well. He leads Joe Biden overwhelmingly on this issue.

So the fact that you're dropping those social issues, the issues that Joe Biden's doing particularly well on, and you're raising issues surrounding the border, which Donald Trump does well on.

So they're basically trying to craft a message that appeals to a wider segment of the American public, not just with the Republican base.

KEILAR: And, Harry, of course, some Trump supporters see him as bigger than the party. Has the candidate always been a big part of the platform?

ENTEN: It wasn't back in 2016, but it is now. Mentions of Donald Trump are way up from where we were in 2016.

Now, that is partially because Donald Trump is more popular among the broader for electorate now than he was in 2016.

But more than that, remember the GOP convention in 2016 was actually quite divisive, right? Ted Cruz came on the stage in the middle of that week, basically he said vote your conscience.

[13:45:07]

There was not this sort of coalescing around Donald Trump in the Republican base, as there is now. His support among Republicans is considerably higher.

The one thing I will note is, of course, Trump is a quasi-incumbent, right? And what we have seen traditionally is when incumbents do run, they get more mentions in the platform. George w bush got a lot of mentions back in 2004.

So the fact this is as much more reflective of an incumbent running than perhaps an open seat, which, of course, makes sense given that Donald Trump was president once before. And Republicans are hoping that he will be, once again, come November.

KEILAR: Yes, what a difference a few years makes.

Harry Enten --

ENTEN: oh, yes.

KEILAR: -- live for us from Milwaukee, thank you so much.

And I am Brianna Keilar in Washington. And CNN's special coverage of the Republican National Convention continues with Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:05]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We're live and we're coming to you from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at a stunning and unparalleled moment in American politics.

The Republican National Convention is about to get underway. And we could learn the identity of Donald Trump's running mate at any minute.

This is an added dose of drama in this arena just two days after former President Trump survived an assassination attempt and only hours after the judge in the Trump classified documents case in Florida dismissed the criminal indictment against him.

Welcome to CNN special live coverage of the Republican National Convention. I'm Jake Tapper along with Anderson Cooper.

And, Anderson, this convention is kicking off under truly extraordinary circumstances.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: That it is. In a break from tradition. Donald Trump says he's announcing his running mate today. That could happen very soon.

Anticipation building at the convention. This is the first time in more than three decades that a major political party went into its convention without first revealing the name of the vice-presidential nominee.

Right now, delegates are preparing for one of their first and most important official acts, handing Donald Trump a historic third presidential nomination.

Jake, we've covered a lot of conventions. None like this.

TAPPER: Yes, that's absolutely correct. And it has been a turbulent few weeks in the presidential race, beginning with President Biden's baffling debate performance and then the fallout within his Democratic Party.

CNN is, of course, covering every twist and turn of this election and this Republican convention.

We expect the traditional roll call of states to kick off in about an hour. That will culminate with Donald Trump's official presidential nomination.

Our anchors and correspondents are in key locations throughout the convention hall as this historic event unfolds.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is positioned right near the podium, where a lot of the action will happen, including the headline speeches.

Phil Mattingly and Kaitlan Collins are on the convention floor, where delegates are getting ready for the roll call.

Let's begin with Kaitlan Collins.

Kaitlan, what are you learning about Trump's vice-presidential selection process.

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR & CO-HOST, "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLIN COLLINS": Well, Jake, that's the topic of conversation here on the floor, obviously. I am being surrounded by delegates right now.

I'm actually standing right in front of the Florida delegation. And that is crucial because that, of course, is the delegation during that roll call that you just mentioned, and once it gets underway will be a state that puts Donald Trump over the line as he is becoming, the third time, the Republican nominee for president.

This is his third Republican convention. The last one was held at the White House. This is the second one that he has had a real one since 2016.

And of course, one of the big questions that so many people still have is who his running mate on that ticket is going to be, Jake. And as you know, Donald Trump likes to keep people guessing, as he did in 2016.

And I've been talking to sources all morning long, all weekend long about this. And obviously, there's no doubt that what happened Saturday night was really the focus of the last 24 hours or so.

But also Donald Trump himself hasn't quite focused on who that pick is going to be. I am told that, as of a few hours ago, Donald Trump was still waffling over what his selection was going to be.

That means even those candidates who know that they are at the top of the list have still been left in the dark.

The names that we've been talking about, obviously, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Those have really been the three finalists that Trump has been talking about.

But I have learned, Jake, that Donald Trump has been very preoccupied with the idea that, if he does pick Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, of course, someone who once challenged him for the Republican nomination, he has a concern that it could create residency issues.

Obviously, the vice president and president cannot both be from the same state to be on that presidential ticket. Marco Rubio would have to essentially resign his Senate seat, move.

Donald Trump has become quite concerned that this could be caught up in the courts. He has a long fear. He does not think the legal system is fair to him, as you well know.

And so, for that reason, I am told that Marco Rubio seems to have potentially fallen out of contention.

[13:55:03]

Now, of course, it is Donald Trump. And that comes with a caveat that nothing is final until it's final. But that is what we have been hearing, Jake.

And Donald Trump himself may come here to announce his pick. It still remains to be seen how he will do so. But it does show that there is still a lot of uncertainty in this race, even as we are on day one of the Republican convention, Jake, here from the floor in Milwaukee itself.

TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan, thanks so much. We're going to check back with you.

Let's get more analysis from my panel.

And, Dana, it seems like every single thing at this convention is unprecedented.

Marco -- by the way, if Marco Rubio were the nominee -- and we have no indication that he will be -- that would not be unprecedented. As you might remember, in 2000, when George W. Bush picked Dick Cheney, who lived in Texas. He just moved back to Wyoming.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, a decade for Dick Cheney.

TAPPER: Right. When Dick Cheney picked Cheney. But we're dating ourselves.

BASH: Yes.

TAPPER: In any case, this is going to be quite a night. I can't believe that they've held the secret that long. When -- when we say that, usually, we know who the nominee is by this point, it's usually because a reporter has figured it out.

BASH: Yes. And it'll probably happen soon. These finalists, the people who we believe are the finalists, the men who are the finalists, are here in town in their hotel rooms.

I was talking to a top staffer of one of them. I mean, to say that there are on pins and needles is an understatement.

Here's one thing that's not unprecedented, is the business that is going to occur behind us, which is the nuts and bolt -- nuts and bolts, rather, of what a convention does, which is not only to adopt the rules, but to actually nominate their candidate for president.

And we are going to see that tonight. This afternoon. I should say. And then they do have to actually formally nominate the person who's going to be on the ticket. So presumably, in the next couple of hours, we will know who that will be.

TAPPER: And, John, John King, you have -- you have broken in the past who the running mate was. Are you surprised that they've held this as well and this long?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in the sense that I think sometimes people have this overly locked-in impression Trump is temperamental, Trump is indecisive, Trump is this, Trump is that.

Around conventions, if you go back to the 2016 convention when he also had a big pick like this, they made a very disciplined choice. At that convention, very unlike this room -- that's Donald Trump's room behind you. That is Donald Trump's room.

In 2016, there was still talk, you know, Ted Cruz or someone else tried to take it away. And they picked Mike Pence, what, about a week out. And that sent a signal. We're going to middle America, former governor, a member of the House, governor at the time, member of the House, Christian conservative.

And then any opposition from the Republican base went away like that.

This is interesting in that those three finalists, maybe no surprise to us. Traditionally, Michael Dukakis, my first one, picked Lloyd Bentsen, right, Massachusetts, picked Texas.

But Al Gore was picked by Bill Clintons. This -- Trump reminds me of this. He's picking somebody from MAGA, somebody who's with him, deciding I'm in a position of strength. I don't need to address a weakness.

We'll see -- and the political pros can answer this better than I can -- if that plays out.

Trump's biggest weakness, if you're looking at how to put together a Republican coalition is suburban women.

TAPPER: Yes.

KING: And as best we know, there are no women on his shortlist. One of them will be speaking here, Nikki Haley, someone who we know could help him. But he's unconventional in how he does this.

Although, I would say, in 2016, he listened to the political people. So we'll see what he does now.

TAPPER: And, Chris Wallace, you've covered the Reagan assassination in 1981. There is also this wild the card of the fact that President Trump famously, just survived an assassination attempt with an iconic pose afterwards. And we have no idea -- it seems crude to even talk about the politics

of it but we can't ignore them.

We have no idea how that's going to play into the convention or the -- or the campaign.

CHRIS WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR, "WHO'S TALKING TO CHRIS WALLACE": Well, the one thing I would say about the Ragan assassination attempt in 1981 is it changed the public's view of him. He was very a controversial figure, although he won by a landslide.

And it really cemented a bond between Reagan and the American people. Because they saw in a way that you don't normally see of politicians, they saw the make of the man, the measure of the man, and the strength and the courage and the humor of Ronald Reagan in the weeks that passed.

Twenty-nine days after he was shot outside the Hilton Hotel, he addressed a joint session of Congress and proposed a tremendously controversial plan, spending cuts, tax cuts. It all sailed through.

And I think part of that that was the wind at his back. But it also changes the man. It changed Ronald Reagan. And he famously told Cardinal Cook (ph) afterwards, I feel that whatever time I have left, it's for God.

And I -- I -- not to get overly sentimental about this, but you refer to the interviews that Trump has done overnight, he was deeply affected, as anybody would be going through a near death occurrence.

TAPPER: All right, the convention is starting. Let's listen in.

[13:59:57]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This convention will come to order.

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delegates and alternate delegates, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2024 Republican National Convention.