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Trump Set To Leave Camp David Shortly After Cabinet Meeting; Trump Defends Anti-Weaponization Fund, Attacks Cornyn; Jurors Visit Crime Scene In Clancy Trial; Mother Cries As Doctor Testifies On Trying To Revive Baby; Sheriff's Department Releases Guthrie Ransom Notes In Hopes Of Generating New Leads. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 31, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: I spoke to David Evan Harris, he is an A.I. researcher and ethics advisor. He told me eyeballs have value, American eyeballs have value. So, if you're a person with a computer anywhere in the world, finding ways to produce any content that you can think of, getting them into a place where they can click on a thing, people can turn that into a livelihood and they will, Boris. So, very important to be skeptical when people see these come across their feeds.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Clare Duffy with that one weird trick to solve whatever ailments people want to figure out.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Cabinet Retreat: the President gathering with members of his administration at Camp David as he faces mounting tensions in the Middle East and a growing feud with members of his own party.

Plus, chaotic scenes in North Africa as 10s of thousands of Moroccan migrants try to cross the border into a tiny patch of Spanish territory. The exodus across the border leading to dozens of deaths, we'll take you there live.

And this bear is barking up the wrong tree. Nevada's Department of Wildlife getting a helping paw to safely chase bears away from humans in Lake Tahoe.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

A busy day at Camp David, President Trump just wrapping up an hour's long meeting with his cabinet. He's set to leave the Presidential retreat in Maryland any moment now after addressing a range of domestic and international issues. Trump touting what he called a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas, while at the same time expressing frustration over the collapse of his ceasefire with Iran as fighting appears to be expanding across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They'll make a deal. As an example, we'll talk about nuclear and we'll be in there talking about nuclear for seven hours. I say, why is it -- why do you need seven? You can take 10 minutes. You have five minutes. You should solve it. But seven hours. And then, they'll go out and I'll say they discussed nuclear and they'll go out and they'll say, we never discussed nuclear. And I said, why -- what did they say? All they do is make me angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The President is under mounting political pressure to bring the war to a close. And senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes is with us now. So, a long meeting at Camp David and rare to do it at Camp David. What are some of the main takeaways here today, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's very clear when we're talking about Iran that President Trump is incredibly frustrated. He's gone back and forth, although I don't think there was anything that new that we heard in this cabinet meeting. We've heard him say a number of times that they are liars, that they don't negotiate in good faith. He has said that the conversations are still going on.

And in terms of what was going to happen next, I'll remind you that there were no strikes last night. So,, there were questions about what's actually going to happen next. He continued to say they're going to hit them very hard. The United States is going to hit Iran very hard. At some point, they're going to say we just can't take it anymore, which I would argue that based on our own reporting, U.S. intelligence has said that that is not something that's going to happen if they continue this level of strikes that we have seen from the United States.

And also, it's been five months. So, it obviously begs the question as to how much is too much for Iran, because it doesn't seem as though they're backing down at this point. And even when the United States stopped their strikes several days ago, it was Iran that reignited strikes by the surprise attack on U.S. forces. So, a lot of frustration there, a lot of him saying he was done with diplomacy, he doesn't believe they operate in good faith, he wasn't sure if they could get there.

The other big issue that's facing President Trump right now, of course, is the nominee -- it is the confirmation vote of his Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche. We know that there are a number of senators who have been standing in the way, particularly the Texas Senator John Cornyn. A lot of this is all over the anti-weaponization fund, as well as the IRS settlement. Here's what President Trump said about Blanche and this process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Todd -- Todd Blanche is a very, very good man, and he shouldn't be in the middle of this. He should get approved, because you will never get anybody like him. You're never going to get anybody. And to make him a pawn in this whole thing, this is being done by a senator, and I don't really blame him, to be honest with you. I endorsed his opponent, and as soon as I endorsed his opponent, his opponent went through the roof, and he won the primary election in Texas, or the Senate. And the man that lost, the man that I didn't endorse, has become very angry, and that's okay. I understand that I probably would do the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Again, it might be that there is no love lost between these two men, but it also is about trying to get a deal in writing from the Department of Justice that says they'll not revive this anti- weaponization fund, which was a sticking point not just for Cornyn, also Senator Tillis, but also for a number of Republicans who did not believe this was a good move.

[15:05:06]

Also, they are looking for some specifics, some clarity on that IRS settlement.

So, right now, it does feel as though Todd Blanche is in the middle of this, but these Republican senators say they are working with him, they're moving forward, and there is still a lot of optimism, despite what you're hearing from President Trump, that they're going to get this done.

HILL: All right, Kristen, really appreciate it. Thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss now with Peter Hamby. He's a chief national correspondent for Puck News. Peter, thanks so much for being with us.

First, what is your read of Todd Blanche's nomination, and the process and Trump defending, again, today that weaponization fund?

PETER HAMBY, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK NEWS: Sometimes, Trump, Boris, just says what he's thinking and it's the right answer. The reason Todd Blanche is in the middle of this is because Donald Trump appointed him to be attorney general, from Acting Attorney General, and he's absolutely right. And this is no shade to John Cornyn.

Senators, when they are not running again, suddenly feel liberated to speak their mind about Donald Trump. This happened in the first term with Mitt Romney, with Jeff Flake, Bob Corker. When they were on their way out, they were willing to say and criticize -- say things and criticize Donald Trump in a way that they weren't when they were within the party structure and Donald Trump was running the party.

We knew this was going to happen. I mean, when Donald Trump endorsed against Bill Cassidy in Louisiana and against John Cornyn, they're suddenly liberated. You also have Thom Tillis, who's been critical off and on of Donald Trump this entire term. He's shooting himself in -- in his own foot, Donald Trump is.

And look, there's no one on Capitol Hill thinks any major legislation is going to get through. But keeping Republican senators on his side in the caucus would have helped in a situation like this. And now he's facing a situation with an approval rating of 38 percent and Democrats plus eight on the generic ballot, according to CNN's polling yesterday, where he could just lose control of the Senate entirely in his second term.

And so, when he made these endorsements, I know he's a short-term thinker and not a long-term strategist, but he's the one who brought this upon himself. The flip side is, of course, legal experts say that Todd Blanche can just be an acting attorney general for the rest of his term, maybe even a year, if not the whole term. So, he still gets to have Blanche in place, whether he gets him out of judiciary.

SANCHEZ: Yes, there's hardly much difference between his powers now as acting attorney general and -- and being confirmed attorney general. So, I wonder if you think there is a good chance, depending on what happens in November, that Trump's stated strategy of potentially withdrawing the nomination temporarily might actually lead to an eventual confirmation.

HAMBY: Again, it -- it depends if Republicans ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

HAMBY: ... are able to keep the Senate and keep control of judiciary. Look, it's a hard Senate map for Democrats. They've got to win in red states like Texas against Ken Paxton, who Donald Trump endorsed. They have to win in Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, Maine. All of these places are very competitive. At the same time, Donald Trump's approval rating is lower now. It's around 38 percent in the average right now, Boris, compared to where it was at the same point in 2018. The last midterms when Donald Trump as president.

But back then, we remember there was a wave that brought Democrats back into the House. The Senate map was hard and Republicans kept control of the Senate. And so, I think he's banking on that and banking on the fact that Democrats are -- are putting up, at least in a couple of cases, some controversial nominees. You see some cockiness coming out of the White House political team, by the way, about they -- they think at least that some of these races, some of these personalities, some of the narrowing of the House map could keep, you know, the Senate or the House maybe in Republican control, despite all the headwinds against, you know, an unpopular president sitting in office. And that's what midterms are always about.

SANCHEZ: On those candidates that Republicans see as -- as wacky or -- or extreme, the Democratic Socialists of America are holding their summit in Chicago this weekend. New CNN polling finds that about a third of the party identifies as Democratic Socialists. It's not just Republicans that think that this is not going to be palatable for voters. Some mainstream Democrats have argued that this is a takeover of the party. How do you see it?

HAMBY: I think the strength of DSA/leftist/Bernie-style candidates this cycle is that they are positioned as fighters and outsiders, and in many cases they are young. And that's what's bringing them success. The Democratic base is angry. They want fighters. But it's not every situation, not every primary, not every governor's primary, Senate primary, House primary features a DSA candidate coming from behind.

[15:10:01]

It's just that if a -- if a Democrat running for office generally or a progressive is showing themselves that they want to take on the system, kick out Chuck Schumer, that plays to their advantage inside of a primary. Now, we have a primary coming up in Wisconsin on Tuesday, where it's very likely as a vowed Democratic Socialist who once tweeted that we need to get rid of Thanksgiving, Francesca Hong, is going to be the Democratic nominee in a battleground state, you know, and Republicans are salivating over that prospect.

We also see Abdul El-Sayed surging ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

HAMBY: ... in Michigan. We'll see if he pulls it out the week after. The question, though, for Republicans is this is such a good environment for Democrats. If there's one cycle where these socialists can win in the general election, even in battleground states, it might be this one.

SANCHEZ: I'm also curious about one issue in particular that has come up again and again in a lot of these races. In recent weeks, Democratic primary voters in a number of states embraced candidates that criticized U.S. policy toward Israel. Now, that largely happened in especially blue areas. But with Abdul El-Sayed as a potential Senate candidate in Michigan, that would be in a battleground state. If he wins, what message does that send on that issue to the rest of the Democratic base?

HAMBY: I actually think, Boris, the issue is almost settled inside the Democratic base. You certainly have lots of infighting among the pro- Gaza, pro-Palestinian left and Jewish communities, Jewish donors, pro- Israel groups. But if you look at any poll, a big majority of Democrats, I think it's almost 70 percent, according to Gallup, think that the United States needs to scale back its support for the state of Israel. They now side with the Palestinians over the Israelis.

This is unprecedented in American politics. It is -- it is now a litmus test inside Democratic primaries that you have to speak out against Bibi Netanyahu, his wars in Gaza and Lebanon, you know, if not the state of Israel.

Now, there's certainly a more -- there's definitely a darker blue shade to some of those criticisms on the left. And, you know, I think taking a more strident pro-Gaza, anti-Israel position, that -- that movement will feel empowered if al-Sayed wins, for sure. And then, you know, you know, if he wins in November, we head into the mid -- the Presidential election. Michigan is an early primary state for Democrats now, the DNC calendar - the DNC just ratified their new early state calendar.

SANCHEZ: Right.

HAMBY: So, any presidential candidate running for a Democratic nomination is going to have to litigate this in greater Detroit area, where there's a huge Arab and Muslim population, and this issue is white-hot.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a lot to watch for come next Tuesday and beyond. Peter Hamby, appreciate you walking us through it.

HAMBY: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course, still to come, jurors visiting the former home of Lindsay Clancy, the mother accused of killing her three small children in a moment of what her lawyers say was a state of psychosis. We'll discuss.

Plus, dozens of people in Morocco drowned trying to cross the border while thousands more spill over into Spanish territory. A court ruling may have encouraged many people to risk their lives in an exodus of 10s of thousands. The images and the analysis when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:48]

HILL: The judge in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial says things are actually moving ahead of schedule. Testimony expected to pick back up next week. Today, jurors got an up-close look at the Massachusetts home where Clancy is accused of killing her children in 2023. CNN's Brynn Gingras has been following these developments and joins me now.

This must have been an incredibly difficult day, Brynn, for people on that jury. What did they see during the visit?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Erica, this is what the court called a view. It allowed the jurors to get out of the courtroom and actually see these locations that they've been hearing so far in the testimony. And included on the first stop, the CVS, and then the next stop, the restaurant. Those were the two places that Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, visited when he ran those errands during the time his ex-wife killed their three children.

They didn't get out of the bus for those visits, but then the third visit they did, they went into small groups into the house, the Duxbury home of the Clancy family, and they were able to go to the back of the house, outside that window, where Lindsay Clancy was found by her ex-husband and paramedics, semi-conscious, after a failed suicide attempt, and then, of course, inside the home where they lived, in that basement, of course, where those three children were found by her ex-husband and -- and paramedics as well.

So, this really gave them a sense to look around. They were told that they could not touch anything, could not open any doors or any drawers, but they were able to just kind of get an idea, a sense of where this all took place on that January 2023 day.

HILL: It is such a tough story for so many people. Jurors ...

GINGRAS: Yes. HILL: ... also heard additional testimony today from detectives, also from medical professionals. What were they talking about today?

GINGRAS: Yes, so a lot of the testimony was talking about when Lindsay Clancy was brought to the hospital as well two of the three children by paramedics. So, it was showing the jurors pictures of Lindsay Clancy's injuries, the cuts to her wrist, her neck, inside the hospital, what doctors were doing to help revive her, because remember she was semi -- semi-conscious at the time that she was discovered, and then also the heartbreaking testimony hearing about how these medical professionals were trying to revive two of these three young children that were brought into their care.

[15:20:07]

I actually want you to hear some of this testimony, but what you'll be seeing is Lindsay Clancy as they are -- as she's also listening to this testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And about how long into your care of Callan did he regain a heartbeat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably from the time that he got to the ER, maybe like 10 minutes or so, I'm guessing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time did he regain the ability to breathe on his own while he was in your care?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And you could just see her there, Erica, sobbing. She has many times broken down in court throughout this week. This is expected to last six to eight weeks. As you said to your viewers, it is on time so far, so we'll continue to stay on this for you guys.

HILL: All right. Brynn appreciate it. Thank you. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Breaking news into CNN. Officials in Arizona have released the full contents of two notes allegedly sent by Nancy Guthrie's purported abductors to a news outlet in Arizona. Let's go to CNN's Josh Campbell, who's following the story for us. Josh, what do these letters say?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, I mean, this is now just breaking this new information that has been released by authorities there in Arizona. This comes on the six-month anniversary of the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, who, of course, went missing at her Tucson home, now believed to be deceased. Now, we've been reporting on, throughout the past several months, there were various so-called ransom letters that were received by different news outlets, some of them authorities believed to have been hoaxes. Some people were actually charged for sending false messages. But there were two in particular that were received by CNN affiliate KOLD and some other outlets that authorities zeroed in on, believing that they were indeed possibly legitimate from the people who had taken Nancy Guthrie captive.

And before I read you the contents of the letter, I want to explain why authorities are doing this. They want this information out there because they want the public to pay particular attention to the wording, to the syntax. Again, they've been asking, if you know anyone who may have been responsible for this, they want you to call authorities. All of us have different unique speaking styles, different writing styles, and so authorities are releasing this information. I mean, we're not reporting on this just because people are curious. We want you to actually look at some of the wording.

So, let me start with the first letter. This was on February 2nd, which I'll read in just a moment. But to start, this letter is received, and this -- this purported kidnapper says that we have your mother. She's safe but scared. They demand a ransom of $4 million. And then, they go on to say, if payment is not received, the ransom will be increased to $6 million, which will need to be paid by 5 P.M. on Monday the 9th. Once payment is received to the Bitcoin address below, she will be released within 12 hours of deposit to a safe drop-off location back in Tucson. They warn if payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th at 5 P.M., she will be killed.

They say, your mother is aware of this, and her life is in your hands. Again, pay particular attention to the syntax here.

Fast forward just a few days later, on February the 6th, and this is heartbreaking. You know, this somewhat confirms with some of the reporting that we've had before and some of the suspicion that perhaps she did not survive. The second note says, I'll read from this, they say, quote, we did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her. That was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart- related. She is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. They go on to say, we're -- we're truly sorry, which obviously is very little consolation to the Guthrie family that has been grieving.

And you know, we can all recall just a lot of the very emotional, heartbreaking videos that Samantha had put out as she tried to appeal to the public to provide any tips. There was one video in particular that a lot of us, particularly those who've worked in law enforcement before, started to really home in on, and that was her word choice in one of those videos when she was actually addressing the person or persons who believe -- they believe took her mother, and she said, we understand, but essentially we're trying to find closure. A lot of us read into that. They're possibly trying to, you know, gather information on where she might be.

The final thing I'll note is if you go to cnn.com, I want you to read our story because we're including details that the authorities want people to understand against some of the key indicators that someone you might know might be exhibiting. They changed their appearance. They're acting off during the time of the kidnapping. Perhaps their whereabouts were accounted for. All that very important. But again, the reason they're providing this now, coming up on six months, they want the public to continue to reach out. Call 1-800-FBI if you have any information.

SANCHEZ: Painful to read those details. Our -- our hearts are with the Guthrie family. Josh Campbell, thank you so much for that reporting.

[15:25:03]

Coming up, we are tracking a humanitarian crisis playing out overseas. We'll tell you how Spain's government is responding after about 50,000 migrants from Morocco crossed the border into North African Spanish territory in a single day. We'll take you live to Ceuta in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:59]

SANCHEZ: Happening right now, Spain's leader has rushed to the scene of a deadly migrant crisis. This is video of people from Morocco rushing to cross the border into Spain's tiny territory in northern Africa, Ceuta, earlier today.