Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Doesn't Mention Robinson; Trump Speaks about Women; Israel Conducts Strikes on Hezbollah; New Details About Trump Assassination; Birmingham Police Investigate Shooting; Matt Tuerk is Interviewed about Latino Voters. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 23, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And fire safety and microgravity among many other things. This really is - was a great flight for her. And you know what she said all along the hardest part in all of this, time away from her family, which I can well imagine. Astronauts go through a lot of that.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: One hundred and eighty days is a long time. That's a long time to bee away.

FOREMAN: It's a long time to be away. It's - yes, we know a little bit about that because, you know, our jobs take us away a pretty good bit, but nothing like that. Not usually.

BERMAN: Did you know that there was a non-profit that oversees emojis, Tom Foreman?

FOREMAN: Yes, I'm on the board.

BERMAN: That explains a lot. That - that explains a lot.

FOREMAN: We're - we're - we're - we're preparing one - we're preparing one based on you. It's got lots of raised eyebrows.

BERMAN: Yes, exactly. Crying face emoji.

Tom Foreman, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

FOREMAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Did you know that Election Day has already begun. Early voting is happening in three states. But we are 42 days away now until the actual Election Day. Brand new polling this morning showing one of the tightest races ever. More on the new numbers from key battleground states is ahead.

And breaking news overnight, at least 100 people are dead as Israel escalates its attacks on Hezbollah inside Lebanon. This is a fast- developing story this morning. We are live on the ground with the very latest. And also, more breaking news for you. We are getting a little newer look at a letter the suspect in the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Brand new details. What he wrote before he was arrested, as he's expected in court this morning.

I'm Sara Sidner, with John Berman. Kate is out this morning. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, we've got brand-new polling out this morning that shows Donald Trump has a lead in a key battleground state and a slight edge but within the margin of error in two others. This polling from "The New York Times" and Siena College shows Donald Trump up by five in Arizona. That is outside the margin of error. Georgia and North Carolina both within the margin of error.

All of it comes as Donald Trump has yet to speak publicly about his pick for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson. He is the current lieutenant governor. His campaign in chaos. Some of his top staffers resigned. This follows the CNN K-file report that uncovered those inflammatory comments on a porn website forum.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is with us.

You know, Trump and J.D. Vance, they go to North Carolina. They don't talk about Mark Robinson. We're going to see more of that.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We certainly expect to, John. And by the way, just your introduction there sounded like political Mad Libs. I would have never guessed this is what we were going to be talking about at this time when it came to Mark Robinson. But we don't expect any mentioned of Mark Robinson.

He had a rally over the weekend. Mark Robinson wasn't invited. Was nowhere to be found. And we haven't heard Donald Trump either disavow the comments or call for Mark Robinson to step down.

Now, this comes as a lot of Republicans are concerned having Mark Robinson at the top of the ticket in that critical battleground state of North Carolina could damage Donald Trump down the road on Election Day. You showed those polling numbers. About two-point difference here. Well within the margin of error. And there's a lot of concern there's a lot of wiggle room there.

But the question is whether or not if Mark Robinson were to step down, is there a mechanism to replace him? We don't believe there is. What would hurt Donald Trump more, having no one at the top of the ticket or having Mark Robinson at the top of the ticket. And that question is really unanswerable right now. And again, that's why we don't expect Donald Trump, at this point in time, to ask for Mark Robinson to step back from this race or to mention him at all.

Again, we are expecting to see Donald Trump in North Carolina likely the later this week. We also don't expect to see him campaigning anywhere near Mark Robinson.

I do want to mention one other thing, John, because Donald Trump, today, he has a big week in a lot of these battleground states. He's going to be in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. He's holding various events, including a rally. That is another state they are deeply concerned about. They have seen the numbers coming out of them, again, well within the margin of error, but they thought that Donald Trump would be doing a little bit better at this point in Pennsylvania.

So, there's a lot of concern around this state. We expect him to go there several more times before Election Day.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, at this stage, just 43 days left, when the candidates are not in a battleground state, that's the big question is why aren't they there today? His travels, very important though.

Kristen Holmes, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, here now, former Burgum 2024 presidential campaign spokesman, Lance Trover, and Democratic strategist, Antjuan Seawright.

Thank you both so much for coming in this morning.

We're talking about this new polling. There's a gender gap, which has been talked about quite a bit these days. Men, 48 percent for Harris versus 52 percent for Trump.

[09:05:02]

Women, 55 for Harris versus 44 for Trump. You see the numbers there.

Here's what Trump had to say about women over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Women are poorer than they were four years ago, are less healthy than they were four years ago, are less safe on the streets than they were four years ago, are more stressed and depressed and unhappy than they were for years ago. I will fix all of that. Women, I will fix all of that.

Women will be happy, healthy, confident, and free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Antjuan, what do you make of that comment from Donald Trump? There was quite a bit there to jump into.

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, it's par for the course. It's a friendly reminder that President Trump, former President Trump, has no connective tissue to a very powerful and consistent voting bloc in this country, and that's women. And if you look at the fact there will be ten states in this country that have reproductive freedom and reproductive justice on the ballot, and it's quite clear the president does not have a plan or have words to reach those voters.

And if you look at every single election that has happened, particularly ballot initiatives that include women having a say so in being trusted with their health care decisions, Democrats continue to outperform the narrative.

I'm thankful we have a woman at the top of the ticket. But more importantly, I'm thankful we have a party who understand that women issues are our issues and our issues should be women issues.

SIDNER: Lance, do you think this is the right way to sort of talk about the issues that women have? You know, he's saying a lot of different things there, but oddly says they won't be thinking about abortion. What was that?

LANCE TROVER, FORMER BURGUM 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: I think what he's talking about is the fact that there's more on the ballot than issues - than just abortion for both men and women out there in this election cycle.

I just look at "The New York Times"/Siena poll that came out today. And there are still some long-term warning signs for the Harris campaign. The economy, immigration, cost of living issues are all at the top of mind of voters, and Donald Trump continues leading on all of those issues. That is something everyone is focused on.

And part of the reason is that, you know, she doesn't want to do interviews, she doesn't want to really outline any of her policy positions. Sixty to 70 percent of this country believes we are on the wrong track. And 60 to 70 percent of this country believes we are on the wrong track. People know Donald Trump. They know his policies. That's why he's doing fairly well in these polls. They don't know a lot about Kamala Harris.

And so I think he's speaking to these issues which affect all Americans across the board.

SIDNER: Antjuan, I know you want to jump in.

SEAWRIGHT: Well, Lance, I just fundamentally disagree with that. The fact of the matter is, when you talk about concepts of a plan, when you talk about drill, baby, drill, or no one can pin down where he stands on issues like IVF and others, and the fact is, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have been on the record agreeing that they will criminalize a woman for making their own healthcare decisions.

Most people, including Republicans, cannot articulate one single issue that Donald Trump stands for when it comes to everyday Americans. When have we heard from the former president about his plan on housing? When have we talked - when - when have we heard from him about a plan on work - wages and wealth? Weve heard from him on the fact that he wants to undo the Affordable Care Act. We've heard - we've also heard from him that he thinks somehow or another there are black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, who are eating cats and dog. That's not a plan. That's not something the American people care about.

But on the other hand, the journey for Kamala Harris, this woman of color, is twice as hard, half as much and somehow or another this minimally adequate standard for the former president seems to be OK in the Republican Party.

SIDNER: Lance, how important do you think another potential debate is? Kamala Harris has said that she will do one here on CNN. And Donald Trump is not committed. Is this something that needs to happen again?

TROVER: I think that's a decision for the Trump campaign to make. I mean if you look at the polling that just came out overnight, you see he's doing fairly well. I understand it's a snapshot in time.

But again, I just want to go back to, I - come on, that's - that's pretty rich for someone who - she - she literally will not do one unscripted interview. She will not do one - anything unscripted. She doesn't want to talk -

SEAWRIGHT: Well, that's a -

TROVER: That's a billion dollars in free - there's a billion dollars in free earned media every single day out there, and all you have to do is look at this "Times" polling from over the weekend that says voters are very concerned about their financial future and they look at Kamala Harris and all they're seeing is the past and her voting record and being number two to Joe Biden. I mean the proof is in the pudding of what came out overnight. I'm not just making stuff up here

SIDNER: Yes, a lot of those things are within the margin of -

SEAWRIGHT: Lance - Lance - Lance - Lance -

SIDNER: Go ahead. Go ahead, Antjuan.

SEAWRIGHT: Lance, I would just say to you respectfully, I think that's a misrepresentation on the facts. In some communities we call that a lie.

The fact is she sat for interviews time and time again.

[09:10:04]

The challenge is, you all will not embrace how she interviews or how she interviewed with the American people. The most important interviews she can do is with the American people because the American people are ultimately going to decide whether or not she get a political promotion.

If you look at what Donald Trump has done, quality and quantity are two different things. He rambles and lies for a minute, minutes, minutes, and then somehow or another you think that's OK. The fact is, Donald Trump has not embraced or even discussed Trump's Project 2025, the impact it will have on communities all across this country. Kamala Harris has talked about her policy agenda. She's talked about what it means. And her record, we all are proud of because there is not a constituency in this country who have not benefited from her time as vice president.

SIDNER: We are expecting to see more of her economic policy this week.

I do want to talk about an issue that is being talked about a lot in North Carolina, which is one of the states that's being very hard- fought and looks like the numbers are about even there right now. Several top operatives on Republican Mark Robinson's campaign have now stepped down.

Where do you think Robinson goes from here? And it does seem, Lance, that the Trump folks have really backed away from him. He was not there, as he usually is, at Trump's side in North Carolina.

TROVER: Well, it's obvious that the Robinson campaign is done and over with. And I think you can look at what happened over the weekend. They didn't have him on stage. And they didn't talk about him at all. I mean that's the -- a decision, and I think the Trump campaign will address that further going down the road. And you saw the staffers quit over the weekend. That was probably the - that was definitely the right decision to do.

But I give the voters - the voters are savvy in North Carolina. And, you know, this idea that he's at the top of the ticket. Donald Trump is actually at the top of the ticket. And voters will be making their decision based on him. They're savvy there. I think they can discern the difference between the two of them. So, I'm not super concerned about that in North Carolina.

SIDNER: All right, Lance Trover and Antjuan Seawright, thank you both so much. Appreciate your time this morning.

John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking this morning, officials say at least 182 people have now been killed in Lebanon as the Israeli military is conducting what they're calling extensive strikes on Hezbollah targets. The IDF issued a warning to civilians to leave areas where the Iranian backed militant group operates.

Let's get right to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who is in Jerusalem now.

What is the latest you're hearing at this point, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, 182 dead, 727 injured, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. This - these figures look higher than the figures of any spate of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since 2006. This is a very serious escalation that's underway right now. The IDF says it's conducting precise, proactive air strikes to degrade Hezbollah's infrastructure and capability. They are advising Lebanese civilians who may believe that there are Hezbollah operative or installations or weapon systems close to where they live to leave their homes. Some of the strikes today, over 300 by the IDF, so far in Lebanon have been far north of Beirut, the capital, way up into the Baker (ph) Valley. Citizens there an hour ago were given two hours to leave their homes by the IDF if they believed Hezbollah was close to their - close to their locations. So that is due to expire in about an hour's time. So, this does seem to foreshadow another round of attacks deep in the Baker Valley, going to where Israel believes that some of Hezbollah's weapons storage sites are.

The aim appears, by Israel at the moment, to limit Hezbollah's ability to be able to fire into - to fire into Israel. We do know that some of the Hezbollah missiles have landed in Israel today according to the police here. One house was hit directly. The two people in the house were in their safe room. They weren't hurt.

But the defense minister telling the people of Israel today that they must observe with full obedience the directions of the home front command. And that's the warning system that tells them when to get in their shelters, their rocket shelters, and to stay in there long after the sirens go off so they're not hit by shrapnel.

So, this is a very tense time that's emerging along the northern border and deeper into Israel at the moment, John.

BERMAN: Nic, in terms of rhetoric, what has been promised or threatened from Hezbollah since these attacks from Israel have begun?

ROBERTSON: Over the weekend the funeral for the group of commanders from the border region, the second in command of Hezbollah, warned at a - warned of a wider war, of a war without - without an end, without boundaries.

[09:15:01]

So, Hezbollah is threatening to ratchet up. Israel is ratcheting up. And it does seem to be in a - in a moment of severe escalation.

BERMAN: All right, Nic Robertson in Jerusalem for us. Nic, thank you very much. Extraordinary tension in the region this morning.

All right, an urgent manhunt underway for the suspects in a mass shooting that killed four people. We've got new details on the Harris campaign's strategy to win over key voters in Latino communities.

And ammunition, a metal pipe, four phones and a letter stating, quote, "this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump." Extraordinary, brand-new information about the man suspected of trying to carry out an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:21]

SIDNER: Breaking this morning, we're learning new information about what federal prosecutors say they found in a letter written by the suspect in the second attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Suspect Ryan Routh will be in court in Florida this morning on two gun charges after the Secret Service says he pointed a rifle through the tree line at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach.

CNN's Zach Cohen is joining us now.

What more can you tell us about this letter and - and what the contents are?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Sara, prosecutors revealing new details about the evidence they've collected as part - as part of this investigation. And that includes evidence that may help speak to what Ryan Routh's intent was. The reason he was there at Donald Trump's golf course. And that includes a handwritten letter that prosecutors say was left behind for one of Routh's neighbors. And it states very clearly, quote, "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. It is up to you now to finish the job, and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job."

Now, the letter also ended that saying Trump, quote, "ended relations with Iran like a child, and now the Middle East has unraveled."

And, obviously, this speaks again to the potential intent argument here. We know that Ryan Routh is only currently charged with those two gun charges, both possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

But investigators have continued to try to investigate this broader, bigger assassination case. They're trying to put together more serious charges that they could potentially bring it any time.

And this is really the first pieces of evidence that we've seen prosecutors put forward that could help them bring that bigger case, those more serious charges.

Now, the other evidence that prosecutors lay out in this memo include several cell phones that were found in Ryan Routh's car. And one of those cell phones had a Google search for how to travel from Palm Beach, where Donald Trump's golf course is located, to Mexico. That was highlighted by prosecutors in this memo. Sort of piecing together, again, what evidence they found since Ryan Routh was arrested and since they tried to then peace together - or try to put together this bigger, more serious case against him because, as you know, Sara, initially the FBI and prosecutors made very clear that they viewed this as an attempted assassination. But that is a harder case to put forward than the gun charges that they've currently brought against Ryan Routh.

SIDNER: Certainly. And prosecutors are always looking for what the intent was. That letter may be that perfect piece of evidence for them.

Thank you so much, Zach Cohen, I really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a manhunt is underway in Birmingham, Alabama, after a shooting in a popular entertainment district left four people dead and 17 injured. Police believe the attack, it happened Saturday night, targeted a single individual, but bystanders, they were caught in the crossfire.

CNN's Rafael Romo is in Birmingham with the latest on this, this morning. Rafael, what are you learning?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

There are several key details that officials have revealed since the shooting, Birmingham police say the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident were multiple victims were caught in the crossfire. In fact, Chief Scott Thurmond said he believes this was a targeted hit on one person and the other victims were in the middle.

This is how he explained it. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF SCOTT THURMOND, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA POLICE: We believe the individual that was targeted is among the deceased. We believe that there was a hit, if you will, on that particular person. Far as, you know, someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, John, Chief Thurmond also said that multiple suspects fired upon a large group of people outside an establish here in the Five Points (ph) south area on Saturday night, just after 11.

And here's another key detail. Police say -

BERMAN: All right, we appear to have lost Rafael's signal right there. We will get back to him for that key detail.

All right, Vice President Harris seeking to court Latino voters in the race for the White House. Details on her campaign's outreach to the voting bloc.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:04]

SIDNER: New this morning, the Harris campaign is shifting its strategy on Latino voters in states like Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania. All important. This is new polls from "The New York Times" this morning shows Donald Trump leading in some of those critical sun belt states where Latino voters make up a key voting bloc.

Joining us now is the first Latino mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Mayor Matt Tuerk.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We know that Latino voters, like any other group, are not a monolith. What must they do to bring the Latino voters into the fold? Some of them have broken off and going to - gone to Donald Trump.

MAYOR MATT TUERK, FIRST LATINO MAYOR OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA: I think that they need - first, buenos dias, good morning.

Any campaign needs to treat Latino voters like the Americans that we are. So, understanding that although some of us might speak a different language, that we are - we hold the same American values that everybody else does.

[09:30:01]

So, we're interested in not just getting by, but getting ahead in the economy. We're interested in educational opportunities for our