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30 Democratic Lawmakers Calling On Biden To Quit Race; WSJ's Evan Gershkovich Sentenced To 16 Years In Russian Prison; Source: Trump Rally Gunman May Have Plotted Mass Shooting. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 19, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:03]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Calls from Democrats telling Joe Biden to step aside, you see here they are growing louder. They are growing more numerous. The number right now standing at 30 lawmakers.

And there are other calls as well. And some of those calls are coming from inside the House, the White House, to be exact, in the Biden campaign where many senior officials believe the president, their boss, must abandon his reelection bid.

But the Biden campaign has developed a case of selective deafness, and it is proceeding in a bit of a denial mode today with a new memo. Battleground state director, Dan Cannon, in writing this, that "There is no plan for an alternative nominee."

He says, "We also have immense opportunity and a clear path to victory."

And he goes on to say, "I will not sugarcoat the state of the race. We have our work cut out for us this -- to win this November."

But as we said, many Democrats believe that Biden has already lost. And here is why. A new CBS/YouGov poll from last night conducted after Saturday's assassination attempt, and you see it here, Trump up 52 to 47 percent over Biden nationally.

Of course, this election is won or lost in battleground states. And the picture there is also bleak.

Look at these seven key states. Trump is now ahead in four. He is ahead in the other three, but it is within the margin of error there. So that is a statistical tie in those states. Do note, though, Biden's doing worse than he was in the spring.

So you see there, public polls flashing red. Well, so, too, are internal polls. CNN has obtained polling from Democratic donors that shows, post-debate, Biden is losing ground to Donald Trump in 14 key states across the country.

That includes the five that Biden flipped against Trump in 2020, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And we should note that partisan polling does not meet CNN standards,

but it's important to look at this because this is the window into the alarming data that the party is looking at and certainly is putting stock in.

There's a research firm, another research firm, well-respected in Democratic circles, and it has a warning. It is saying that "Defending Biden's fitness for office is an untenable position for down-ballot Democrats."

That they're worried that it will be viewed as dishonest because, quote, "concerns about the -- about President Biden's fitness for office are pervasive among voters."

And then look at this poll out this week. A 65 percent majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say that Joe Biden should withdraw and allow his party to select a different candidate.

It is a big and growing number, or as the Biden campaign calls it, quote, "some slippage in support."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN O'MALLEY DILLION, BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN CHAIR: It has been a small movement. And -- and you know this. The reason is because so much of this race is hardened already. The American people know that the president is older. They -- they see that. They knew that before the debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's dig in on this subject with Larry Sabato. He's the founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Larry great to see you as always.

It feels like we're kind of stuck in a holding pattern here because we've talked about polls, post-debate, before, but now we have a larger sample of data to give a picture of any potential path that Joe Biden might have to win in November.

Do you see one?

LARRY SABATO, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: I see the one that everybody else sees, which is when everything that Biden won in 2020, with the exception of Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, maybe that district in Nebraska.

And then absolutely positively carry Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, except Biden really isn't ahead in any of those.

Now, look, he has a path to victory, but it's a narrow path. He does not have alternative paths that I've seen. And I don't know what the campaign's spokesperson was talking about.

[13:35:08]

There may be another one I'm not thinking of, but there aren't very many.

And Donald Trump has quite a few paths to victory. He has a path to a little over to 270. And he also has to path to well over 300. And I do mean well over.

So this is an argument that they can't win, except with the one person who matters, Joe Biden.

I think he's inclined to believe what they tell him on this because he wants to believe it. He doesn't want to step down. And one can understand why.

But the fact of the matter is Democrats are in deep trouble. And they know it. Politicians are good, even in the absence of polls, at sensing where people are moving. They have a pretty good idea of it. They can't put precise numbers on it. They know what's happening.

KEILAR: Yes, and he certainly has experience.

So, Larry, and it sounds like you're already saying this, but when you look at what you're hearing from the campaign, what you are hearing and not hearing from President Biden, does it reflect the reality of what you just laid out about the paths that he does and does not have to victory?

SABATO: Oh, absolutely not. But then they would, wouldn't they? There's only one person who can make this decision, and it's President Biden. And they're all going to deny that anything is going to happen or that decision will be made in the negative. That is, he will drop out.

Until the moment he makes it and then they set up the announcement. And of course, he should be the one to announce it.

So it's not surprising that they would all deny it. What is surprising is there appears to be no real movement under the cover as to what is going on and how this election can be revived for the Democratic Party.

And let's remember, if this were a normal Republican, if this weren't Donald Trump, and you had one of the normal Republicans that used to get the Republican nomination, I think probably this election would be effectively over, in the Republican's direction.

But because it's Donald Trump, it's easier for President Biden and his staff to convince themselves that, well, there's no way, in the end, that people will elect Donald Trump.

And we're all reminded of other circumstances where -- I remember one in 1980 when Jimmy Carter was up for reelection and they all said, and his staff, no way will the country elect Ronald Reagan. He's too far to the right.

And we know the ending of that. They did elect Ronald Reagan, quite handily. And then reelected him by more in 1984.

So you can convince yourself with anything you want to. But the reality is Donald Trump, thanks to the Electoral College, at least, can win another term.

SANCHEZ: You can convince yourself of anything you want to. A powerful point from Larry Sabato.

Appreciate the perspective, Larry. Thanks.

SABATO: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, President Biden says he's pushing hard for the release of American journalist, Evan Gershkovich, after he was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison for espionage.

Up next, we get reaction from a journalist who was wrongly imprisoned in Iran. Jason Rezaian joining us live in just moments.

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[13:42:53]

KEILAR: "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Evan Gershkovich, is now staring at a sentence of 16 years in a Russian prison after being found guilty of espionage.

The 32-year-old appeared in a glass cage as today's verdict and sentence were read. The Kremlin says that he's a spy for the CIA. They never offered any proof of that though. And both the State Department and "The Journal" deny it.

The newspaper outraged by the verdict saying, quote, "This disgraceful sham conviction comes after Evan spent 478 days in prison wrongfully detained away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist."

SANCHEZ: The trial's speed has also fueled speculation that Gershkovich could be used in a potential prisoner swap.

We want to get some perspective now from "Washington Post" opinion writer, Jason Rezaian.

Jason, for those who are not familiar with your story, you endured an 18-month wrongful detention in Iran until 2016.

First, I just want to get your reaction to this sentencing.

JASON REZAIAN, "WASHINGTON POST" OPINION WRITER: Boris, when I hear the sentencing, if you swap out the name, Evan with Jason and Russia with Iran, it's exactly the same story that I was subjected to almost a decade ago.

And, you know, it's heartbreaking, on the one hand, to get this news. On the other hand, the whole situation, the entire procedure was an absolute farce. Up until this point, we knew that a sentence would be coming. And I want to remind people that this is not a court like the sort of thing we recognize in the free world.

And ultimately, there had to be a sentence to move the ball forward. So I'm hoping that there's some -- some action on a swap or some other kind of release very soon.

KEILAR: Yes. No, that's a good way to look at it. And that certainly is a hopeful way to look at it.

I do wonder, Jason, can you speak, because so few people have been in this kind of experience. Yes, this is completely illegitimate the way this has been conducted.

And yet, what is it like, even knowing that the sentence doesn't change anything. He's been detained illegitimately.

[13:45:02]

What is it like for a person like yourself or like Evan to hear a sentence of that length coming down?

REZAIAN: The understanding that the judicial process is a farce and everything about it is ridiculous doesn't take away from how serious the specter of such a long sentence hanging over your head feels like.

And trapped in a confinement without the benefit of having access to people that you care about, people who are similar positioned to you, is very, very, very difficult.

And although the entire world is calling for Evan's release and called for my release, it's very hard not to feel quite alone in those circumstances.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's difficult to imagine those circumstances to begin with.

Jason, President Biden says that his administration is pushing hard for Evan's release. What's the likelihood, in your mind, that he actually gets released through diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Russia?

REZAIAN: I think what we've seen across multiple presidencies, including the Biden administration, is that, when a person is taken hostage, by a state like Russia, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, like China, they only come home in diplomatic settlements.

So I think that the process, the discussions have been ongoing since almost immediately after Evan's detention as they we're in my case and so many other cases in the intervening years.

And I think that although the circumstances in the relationship between Russia and the U.S. has maybe never been at a lower point than it is right now, as we've seen with the release of Brittney Griner or Trevor Reed and others, the conversations are ongoing. Things can still happen.

I just hope that Evan and Paul Whelan, who's been held for more than five years, also, Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe journalist, and my colleague, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a political prisoner in Russia, also being arbitrarily detained by the state, I hope that they are all released very soon.

Their health depends on it. Their families need their loved ones home.

KEILAR: Jason, and you understand and you've talked about this and you've written about this in your book. So much is outside of Evan's control right now as he is in prison there.

And I know that there were some ways that you we're able to sort of manage your mental health and try to take back some control. Can you speak to what you were able to do in ways that he may be able to find a way to weather this?

REZAIAN: Well, when I see the pictures of with Evan -- of Evan in the courtroom in that glass cage sometimes with a smirk on his face, I say to myself, this -- this young man still has his wit, his sense of humor, he understands how ridiculous this is.

The first thing that I tell people is that, in tough situations like this, you really have to be able to laugh at the circumstances. If you can't, you're lost.

And the other thing -- and I think I can glean this from looking at images of Evan before and after, and myself before and after -- staying physically active, keeping your body in motion, getting exercise, even in those tightly cramped circumstances.

And I'm also very heartened to hear that Evan has the opportunity to receive letters and write letters to the outside world, something that I didn't have the benefit of.

But he also has books. And I think keeping your mind engaged by reading, for me and so many others, has been a game changer in these circumstances.

KEILAR: Jason, thank you so much for being with us. It's a really sad day, even as you say, maybe this paves the way to some movement forward. We certainly hope that.

Jason Rezaian, thank you so much.

[13:49:02]

And we'll be right back.

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SANCHEZ: As investigators struggled to find a motive in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, a theory is emerging that the gunman may have been planning a mass shooting. KEILAR: That's right. Sources say that's based, in part, on his recent

web history, which actually included searches related to the 2021 school shooting in Oxford, Michigan.

SANCHEZ: Investigators think the Trump rally shooter chose the former president's event based on its timing and proximity.

Let's get the latest on the investigation now from CNN's Kyung Lah.

Kyung, bring us up to speed.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the -- how they get to the fact that they still don't quite have a motive is that there was no manifesto left behind that investigators could find and no clear clues about why he did this.

But what they are starting to begin to have a better understanding of is his mindset. And that's where they're starting to build this potential theory about wanting to commit some type of mass shooting.

He did search online on his cell phone for information, as you pointed out, on that 2021 Michigan mass shooting, the shooter himself, as well as his parents, who are both later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

And then, a few days after the Trump campaign announced the Butler campaign rally, what he did was, is that he started searching for political figures, both Democratic as well as Republican, information about the dates of the DNC.

And not only did he look up President Trump, he also searched for President Biden. So those are two important things to note.

And on the day of the rally, he did look up the location of the rally itself in Butler. He also looked up information about a local gun store.

[13:55:06]

It is something that he did on the day of the rally where he would later buy the bullets. Again, all of this before he even opened fire at the rally.

And something else that's important, Boris and Brianna, is that he did not appear to have any clear political leanings, that this simply was a location that was convenient.

SANCHEZ: Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that update.

Still ahead, the list of lawmakers calling on President Biden to drop his reelection bid is growing by the hour.

And moments go, we got breaking news. The Biden campaign chair giving a rah-rah speech to campaign staff. What does this mean exactly? New details straight ahead.

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