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Biden Taps Hollywood For $28 Million Fundraiser; Trump Speaks At Conservative Conference In Michigan; Rules Set For June 27th Presidential Debate; Deadliest Attack In Rafah Kills Eight IDF Soldiers; Protesters In Tel Aviv Demand Elections, Ceasefire Deal; Shooting At Splash Pad In Rochester Hills, Michigan; Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump-Era Ban On Gun Gump Stocks; Trump Reportedly Calls RNC Host, Milwaukee A Horrible City. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 15, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:59]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, welcome, everyone. Another hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Omar Jimenez in Washington.

Big bucks and big stars at President Biden's campaign fundraiser tonight. The Los Angeles event has already broken a fundraising record for the Democratic Party just two weeks before for the first debate between Biden and Trump. That debate will be right here on CNN.

Tickets for the Hollywood fundraiser event went from $250 to half a million dollars with a contest for small-dollar donors to win tickets which would let them meet President Biden, former president Obama, Julia Roberts, George Clooney. Jimmy Kimmel will also moderate a Q and A with Biden and Obama tonight.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz joins us now.

Arlette, big haul for the campaign even before the event starts. What else are we learning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, the Biden campaign says that this is the biggest Democratic fundraiser in history. President Biden already raking in $28 million heading into tonight's events. The president is leaning out a bit of help from some of his celebrity friends with George Clooney and Julia Roberts among the A-list celebrities who will be part of the program tonight.

Now President Biden will be on stage with former president Barack Obama, his former boss. Jimmy Kimmel will moderate that conversation. There's other celebrities like Jason Bateman, Jack Black and Sheryl Lee Ralph who will also be part of this program. What the Biden campaign is trying to do is tap into some of that celebrity star power to try to engage voters in this campaign, whether it's to actually mobilize them to the polls or simply to donate some money in what is expected to be a very expensive race.

Now this fundraiser tonight right behind me is modeled after a fundraiser that Biden did back in March with two other presidents, Obama and former president Bill Clinton. That event brought in $26 million. So this event tonight has already eclipsed that figure and it comes at a time when President Biden is really hoping to maintain his cash advantage that he's had through most of this race over former president Donald Trump.

But in recent months, Trump has seen a significant gain in his fundraising especially since he secured the Republican nomination. So for the Biden campaign, they are hoping events like this will really try to drive up enthusiasm when it comes to donations, not just people who paid a lot of money to be inside this theater tonight, but also those grassroots donors. As you mentioned, they ran a contest for people to come out here and meet the two presidents, as well as a few celebrities.

There's also an opportunity for people to tune in virtually if they donated about $20 so the Biden campaign stressing that this is an event really trying to appeal to donors and supporters across the board as they are hoping to rake in even more money boost this campaign war chest heading into November's election.

JIMENEZ: Arlette Saenz, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump is in Michigan tonight, a key swing state. CNN's Eva McKend is in Detroit for us.

So what has the former president been saying?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Omar, he's still speaking behind me, but he began his remarks tonight basically telling these voters that he's confident he could win Michigan in November as he did in 2016. He said that if elected again, he will address inflation, stand up to China and other nations around the globe, as well as promote MAGA-nomics. That of course is a direct blow to Bidenomics.

And then perhaps most consequentially, Omar, he hasn't said it yet but he is expected to tell these Michigan voters that it's important that they make a plan to vote whether that's voting early or by mail, to make a plan to vote. That of course is in opposition to the cold water that he threw on early voting and mail-in voting in 2020, an indication of a little bit more discipline this time around and a recognition that he can't leave any votes on the table.

JIMENEZ: And Eva, earlier today, the former president also met with members of the black community in Detroit and seemed to tease the crowd about his possible VP pick.

[19:05:10]

What did he say?

MCKEND: Yes, that list is long, Omar. There are a lot of people that he is considering for his running mate. One of the people in the mix is Florida Congressman Byron Donalds who joined him at that black voter outreach event at a predominantly black church here in Detroit, and he just told that crowd that Donalds is an incredible guy and that he is high up on the list, Omar. JIMENEZ: Eva McKend reporting while Donald Trump is speaking. I can

say it is very difficult to do that. I've been in some of those rooms. So really appreciate you making it look easy. Thank you so much.

All right. In just 12 days, June 27th, at CNN's Atlanta Studios, President Biden and former president Trump will go head-to-head for the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. We've got new details about the rules that both of them have agreed to. I'm going to take you through them.

All right. The 90-minute debate will have two commercial breaks. During those breaks, the candidates and their staff are not allowed to interact with each other. Both presidents will appear at uniformed podiums and their position will be determined by a coin flip. The microphones will be muted during the debate except when it's a candidate's turn to speak, obviously.

No props or pre-written notes are allowed on stage. Each candidate, though, will get a pen, a pad and a bottle of water. No studio audience and the moderators will be Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who will enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion. You of course, will be able to watch the debate right here on CNN on June 27th or stream it on Max.

All right. Let's have the debate before the debate. Joining me now, former Republican congressman Charlie Dent and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategists, Maria Cardona.

All right, Charlie, we just went through the rules. Do they seem fair? Do they favor either candidate based on what you've heard so far?

CHARLIE DENT, FORMER REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE OF PENNSYLVANIA: Yes, the rules are fine. The question is, will the rules be enforced once violated? I mean, remember what happened in 2020 when Donald Trump repeatedly interrupted Joe Biden. I think Chris Wallace moderated that debate and that debate was just completely chaotic and really not of any value to the voter, frankly. It probably hurt Donald Trump.

The question is, you know, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are very skilled moderators, what will they do if one of the candidates completely disrupts the debate? You know, how will they manage that situation? And the other issue I think that we have to be concerned about, it's not the rules. Again, they're fine. The issue is RFK Junior has not been included in this debate and he is polling somewhere around 15 percent of the vote. And that's going to be another subject of debate about the debates.

JIMENEZ: Yes. On your first point, I have full faith in Jake and Dana, so I will leave it in their hands for now.

Maria, I want to bring you in on this because, look, sometimes we do see President Biden when he's speaking publicly, you know, he might be squinting, he might be a little bit more soft-spoken. That's not every event, of course, but it is out there. Other times you see him like at the State of the Union, much more energetic and really, really, really into it. How do you expect him to come out over the course of this debate? How

does he need to present here?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, no one knows the stakes in this debate and in this election in terms of how high they are than President Biden, and as you said, when the stakes are high, this president comes out and he completely commands the stage. And I have no doubt that this is exactly what he's going to do at this debate. He won the last two debates with Donald Trump, regardless of how disruptive Donald Trump was. And I believe he's going to do so again.

And like you said, the State of the Union, he also, you know, completely came out. He commanded that stage. He was very forceful. He talked about what is at stake, what he's going to do in a second term. And I think at this debate nothing less than that is going to happen.

You know, one of the most interesting things, Omar, is that Republicans and especially Donald Trump love to belittle this president to the point where the expectations for him are so low, so he'll come out and he will actually be able to put two sentences together and he's won. So for me, that strategy for them is really stupid because they know probably better than most just what a really good debater Joe Biden is because he beat Donald Trump twice before.

And so I think the same thing is going to happen this time, especially when the stakes are so high and President Biden is really going to be able to talk about the huge lies and the conspiracy theories and the violent rhetoric that Donald Trump has been focused on, how he's been focused on the politics of vengeance and retribution, and getting back at his opponents.

[19:10:17]

And he's going to really be able to contrast that with the kind of accomplishments that he's been able to deliver to the American people and what he will do for four more years.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And Charlie, I want to bring you in on some of those points because, look, Trump has been huddled with advisers, doing debate prep this week, according to our reporting, and some aspects focused on how to address January 6th. And so I want to ask you, how do you expect him to answer those questions? But also on what some of Maria was saying, do you think it will be smart for Donald Trump to right off the bat attack sort of the coherency of Joe Biden or some of the other attacks that we've seen?

DENT: No, I don't think it would be smart. As Maria indicated, I think by Trump continuing to belittle Joe Biden, he has lowered expectations for Joe Biden. I think Donald Trump better bring his A game and he better be able to respond to policy questions. That's not what he typically does. So I don't think that belittling his opponent is really going to help them that much. I expect that he will.

And let's face it, when it comes to debate prep, you know, Donald Trump is not particularly traditional. You know, he is -- he just likes, he just seems to wing it. He goes in there. He is not -- he deals with attention deficit disorder. He's not particularly focused and he really has very little interest in public policy. So I suspect you're going to hear much of the same things he's been spouting from the campaign trail.

He's going to -- he's just going to go off on the border. He's going to go off on inflation. He's going to go off on just Joe Biden generally. I think there won't be a lot of personal ad hominem attacks coming from Trump, but don't expect this to be any type of more staid debate that we're used to with more traditional candidate. It's just simply not going to happen. You know, I just expect chaos.

JIMENEZ: Well, hopefully, we get some substance out of it. I'm always the most hopeful person as the most hopeful person ahead of a debate. And so I remain hopeful of that at this point.

Maria, look, one of the things I think that -- one of the dynamics I think has been out there, and I saw it a little bit when I covered some of the primaries in this cycle is that we're not excited about either candidate, what other options are out there. And the Biden campaign just broke another record for its fundraiser tonight in L.A. I mean, Trump has also raised a lot of money, but Biden has broken this record for the Democratic side.

How are you hoping that that financial enthusiasm actually translates to the ballot box because of course that's what matters here?

CARDONA: So I actually think that those stories about how there is a lack of excitement are wrong because of exactly what you're saying, right? Because all of those stories are based on polls, Omar, and why not let space the stories about what's truly going on out there on things that are tangible, like money like fundraising, like record money coming from grassroots voters. If there wasn't that kind of enthusiasm, Omar, they wouldn't be giving $30, $50, their hard-earned money.

They are literally putting their money where Joe Biden's mouth has been. They are buying what he is selling because they understand exactly just like President Biden does what is at stake in this election. And it is nothing less than our democracy. And it is nothing less than their future and the futures of their families.

And the other thing I will say is that the other tangible piece that we can put on excitement on the Democratic side are special elections, right? Democrats have trounced Republicans in every single special election and also in the midterms in 2022, where everyone was, you know, saying there's going to be this big red tsunami, right? The Democrats are going to be blown out of water. It didn't happen because the reality is, is that the mass numbers of Americans have roundly rejected the MAGA agenda and they're going to do so again in November.

JIMENEZ: And of course, look, we're -- both of these candidates are out and about tonight, fundraising, campaigning.

And Charlie, as we've talked about in some are reporting former president Trump in Michigan tonight speaking to a conservative conference this hour. I want to play something that Steve Bannon said earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: November 5th is judgment day. January 20th, 2025 is accountability day. Trust me, on the afternoon of the 20th, we're also going to start the pick and shovel work to take apart the administrative state and to take on its rogue element, the Praetorian Guard, the deep state, we're going to run them all out of town.

[19:15:06]

Are you prepared to fight? Are you prepared to give it all? Are you prepared to leave it all on the battlefield?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's very simple. Victory or death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: All right. So it does sound very vengeful, but from a wider campaign standpoint, is that an effective strategy that actually will be able to get people out to vote for the former president?

DENT: You know, I really don't think it's very effective to have convicted -- convicts going out there making those kinds of incendiary inflammatory statements that are essentially foreshadowing violence. Steve Bannon was also out there prior to January 6th making a lot of apocalyptic predictions. I think this is completely unhelpful and I think it's a sad state of affairs that people like this and Navarro and some of these other really shady characters get political traction.

I think it's quite dangerous what he's saying. He's basically inviting violence with that type of rhetoric, you know, victory or death. I mean, this is an election, you know. This isn't some foreign banana republic where their political violence is expected. This is United States of America, and I'm deeply shocked by this. And that's why I'm leading this group called Our Republican Legacy, where we're trying to bring the party back, you know, talking about traditional principles that have sustained a party for generations and we can't have this type of MAGA extremism basically, as evidenced by Steve Bannon, you know, dragging this party into a ditch.

I think this is a very dangerous place when Bannon makes those kinds of outrageous comments that will I fear lead to violence particularly if Trump loses on election day. What will they plan for January -- for the certification the election? I think we're going to experience real chaos if Trump loses, thanks to people like Bannon.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

CARDONA: When Trump loses.

JIMENEZ: Well, all right, there you go. That's the debate they --

CARDONA: When Trump loses. JIMENEZ: That's the debate they used to -- what's that, Charlie?

DENT: These candidates aren't too popular. Let's face it, I'm not in the business of making predictions. But let's be honest. Two-thirds of the American public thinks one of these candidates is too old and the other is too crazy. And they don't like the choice.

CARDONA: Better old and steady than old and crazy and a 34 times convicted felon.

DENT: Yes. But it's a serious, though, I mean, people -- that's why --

CARDONA: That is serious, Charlie. That is dead serious.

DENT: It's not just about spin. This is third -- look, third parties are going to get a big chunk of the vote this time. Let's be honest because the public is so dissatisfied. They nominated the two people they didn't want. Neither party listened to what the public has been telling him. And I think this is a big problem for this election and I do fear for what's going to happen in this election when people like Bannon are making noise.

CARDONA: The public also knows what's at stake, Charlie, and the vast majority of Americans, when they go into that ballot box, are not going to pull the lever for a 34 times convicted felon, sexual assaulter, and somebody who wants to overturn an election and one that started insurrection in order to do it. Americans understand that choice.

JIMENEZ: All right. I got to jump in. I got to jump in not because I don't enjoy the debate back-and-forth but because we are out of time.

DENT: OK.

JIMENEZ: So Maria Cardona, Charlie Dent, giving us maybe a little bit of political fireworks preview to what is going to happen on the --

CARDONA: There you go.

JIMENEZ: -- right side of your screen there. Presidential debate in 12 days. I appreciate you both. Please come back.

CARDONA: Thank you, Omar.

DENT: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead, Hamas says strikes against Israeli troops will continue after eight Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Gaza. It's as massive crowds gather in Tel Aviv tonight demanding new government elections. We're live in Israel next.

Plus Supreme Court overturns a Trump ban on bump stocks for guns. What the ruling means and the major cases the courts still has before it. And a group of Russian warships are now docked in Havana, Cuba, just 90 miles away from Florida. As the Cold War allies strengthen their ties, what Putin's war games mean. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:24:03]

JIMENEZ: Breaking news out of Gaza tonight, Hamas says strikes against Israel, quote, "will continue," after an incident in southern Gaza left eight soldiers dead, making it one of the single deadliest events involving Israeli troops since the October 7th attacks. Earlier, the militant wing of Hamas claimed it carried out a, quote, "complex ambush against enemy vehicles." But Israel has not said whether the group was responsible for the incident.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Haifa for us.

Oren, I know you've been following some of the findings that have been released at least the preliminary ones from this investigation. What are you learning so far?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Omar, this all focuses around what happened early this morning in Tal Al-Sultan in northwest Rafah. That's where the IDF is operating. At 5:15 this morning, they say there was a side bomb which detonated an armored personnel carrier. They don't explicitly say what a side bomb is, whether it's an explosive that was attached to the side of an armored vehicle or was fired at it like a missile.

[19:25:05]

But they say that it caused a, quote, "significant explosion" and killed eight soldiers. Early this morning, they say that this was part of a combat engineering unit and that there were explosives attached to the outside of the armored personnel carrier. Now, part of the reason this is under investigation is because those explosives are not supposed to detonate based on an outside factor or an outside explosion.

So part of what they're investigating is, why they detonated it if it was a result of an enemy strike. That's all part of what they have to figure out here. But they say this significant explosion made it difficult to locate remains of the vehicle itself and of the soldiers that were killed as part of this incident. Meanwhile, the Al Qassam Brigades, that is Hamas' military wing, say they carried out a complex operation that led to the attack on this armored personnel carrier that included first starting with an attack on a military bulldozer that was in the area and then when the rescue unit or extraction unit came in carrying out the strike on that armored vehicle.

They say that attacks and strikes on Israeli units and soldiers in Gaza will continue. It's also worth noting that the Rafah Civil Defense in Gaza says that there were heavy artillery strikes and airstrikes from Israeli units on Tal Al-Sultan early this morning since dawn. It's very possible they're talking about this exact same incident -- Omar. JIMENEZ: Yes. And look, while that has been happening, we've also been

following demonstrations and protests that have happened across Israel specifically we were following some images out of Tel Aviv at one point tonight.

What are protesters demanding? What have they been demanding? Because obviously this isn't the first time we've seen them out on the streets.

LIEBERMANN: Not at all. And these are tens of thousands of protesters on the streets of Tel Aviv. There are two parts of this protest. One is the pro-hostage or pro-ceasefire protests demanding that the government do whatever it takes and sign whatever deal it takes to bring the remaining hostages home. And then there's an anti-government protests and very often these effectively become one larger, one frankly massive protest against the government, calling for early elections.

The ones we see are in Tel Aviv. Those are the largest in the country, but there are also anti-government protests in Jerusalem and elsewhere throughout the country. The longevity of these has been just as impressive as the size of these. These anti-government protests began before October 7th, they then took a break at the beginning of the war after the Hamas terror attack. And they have picked up in force.

And we expect to see them not only now but also in the coming weeks as they essentially pick up in anger, in frustration, and very often in fury at the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers that effectively have propped him up all this time. You see that anger growing. It is palpable, especially on the streets of Tel Aviv -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, all important dynamics to follow. Oren Liebermann, really appreciate it.

Still ahead for us, Donald Trump at odds with the host of this year's Republican National Convention, Milwaukee, reportedly calling it a horrible city. We're going to be joined by the city's Democratic mayor to talk about those comments and more.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:42]

JIMENEZ: All right, I want to take you back to that breaking news from Michigan where police say several people were shot at a public splash pad tonight.

Now, this happened in Rochester Hills, about 30 minutes outside of Detroit. The Sheriff's Office isn't saying exactly how many people were hurt, only saying there are numerous victims.

Deputies also say they potentially have the suspect contained near the splash pad, so we are continuing to monitor the situation. We are going to bring you any developments as we get them.

Now in a major ruling, the Supreme Court has lifted a federal ban on bump stocks, it can essentially turn a semiautomatic rifle into an automatic one.

Now, the ruling makes it legal again to buy the gun accessories that lets semiautomatic rifle is really far hundreds of bullets a minute. Those devices were banned during the Trump presidency after a gunman used bump stocks during the deadliest mass shooting in US history in Las Vegas.

CNN's Paula Reid has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down a ban on bump stocks.

Bump stocks enables semiautomatic rifles to fire at speeds comparable to machine guns. This was a rare regulation to result from a mass shooting in the United States. This regulation, of course resulted from the 2017 Las Vegas shooting from a hotel that left dozens of people dead and hundreds injured.

Now, Friday's decision fell along ideological lines. Justice Clarence Thomas writing for the majority that: "We hold that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a machine gun because it cannot fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger, and even if it could, it could not do so automatically."

Now the liberal justices joined in a fiery dissent written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote: "When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck. A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle fires automatically more than one shot without manual reloading by a single function of the trigger because I, like Congress call that a machine gun. I respectfully dissent."

Now, the ATF, which put forth this regulation originally released a statement calling on Congress to legislate and try to restrict these bumps docs that way, but of course, it is unrealistic that in an election year, Congress would actually be able to pass anything this sensitive.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:35:10]

JIMENEZ: All right, thank you, Paula.

Donald Trump is at odds with the host city of this year's Republican National Convention. The former president reportedly referred to Milwaukee as a horrible city while complaining to Republican lawmakers that the convention would be there, and that's really a pretty curious move to say the least, given Wisconsin is a potentially crucial battleground state in this November's election.

Democrats are using the remarks to campaign as you can see on some of the billboards on your screen.

Milwaukee's Democratic Mayor Cavalier Johnson is with this now.

All right, Mayor Johnson, thanks for being here.

But what was your reaction when you saw those reported comments coming from Trump.

MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON (D), MILWAUKEE: Well, thank you, Omar.

And you look, at when I first started hearing these comments and Republicans, you know, talked about what happened. It didn't happen, it was about crime, it was about election integrity. It wasn't about the city itself. He didn't say it.

I keep hearing all of these things, it is like they were twisting themselves in a pretzel, reminded me of the Milwaukee pretzel company here.

The fact of the matter though is that the RNC, the Republican National Committee, which by the way has been great to work with, they've been in Milwaukee a number of times. They thought the city was marvelous, it was a splendid city, a wonderful place. So much so that they decided to host the 2024 Republican National Convention here.

So to call the host city in a pivotal state and you've got to win Wisconsin to win White House horrible, I thought that was not a smart political move.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and I want to play for everyone your response in the immediate aftermath of this because I think it summed it up pretty, pretty neatly.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Well, Donald Trump was talking about things that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency, so right back at your, buddy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So what is your message to Donald Trump ahead of this convention, which is I mean, in literally just weeks at this point? What is your message to him right now?

JOHNSON: Well, look Milwaukee is a pivotal city. Milwaukee matters. It matters in the economy for the state of Wisconsin, it matters because we are the most diverse place in this state. Roughly one in 10 people who live in the state of Wisconsin live here and Milwaukee matters in terms of statewide elections. Statewide elections that in a purple state like Wisconsin are decided on a razor's edge and Donald Trump has been trying to make inroads with African-Americans, the vast majority of Black people in Wisconsin lived right here in the city limits of Milwaukee.

And not just that, but there are tens of thousands, tens of thousands of Republicans who call Milwaukee home, who raise their kids here, who raised their grandkids here, who are members of our community and intersect with this entire community.

So to call their home a horrible place, I just don't think that was a wise thing to do, and I think ultimately, this is going to end up costing in the election for him, especially given the fact that there are a number of Republicans in the city and the state that voted for Ambassador Haley.

So Donald Trump is, I think kind of put his foot in his mouth a little bit here.

JIMENEZ: And look, we've heard some rhetoric from, not just Donald Trump, but some of his, I guess some of his allies, Steve Bannon in particular, claiming that every person they went against is going to be investigated and prosecuted and incarcerated.

And just as someone who leads a major city in this country in Milwaukee, what is your reaction to the tone of that coming out of the camp of who is at this point the leading candidate of the Republican Party?

JOHNSON: You know, it is more of the divisive nature that was the hallmark of Donald Trump's initial presidency, and in fact, his first campaign for office.

The fact of the matter is that in this country, there is only one flag that we all salute to. There is only one flag that we all live under and the more that we understand that, the more that we realize that, the more that we come together, because really there are more that brings us together that unites us than that doesn't, then they are cities, our states and in fact, our entire country will be a better place.

But the fact of the matter is that regardless of what anybody says, including about Donald Trump's current status as a felon 34 times over, the only way to stop him from becoming president again and having a presidency that is focused on retribution and revenge is to vote, is to make sure you get out, you go out, you make sure your voice is heard, you vote at the ballot box and make sure that Joe Biden has a second term as president of United States of America.

JIMENEZ: Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, been in Milwaukee many times. I've always had a good time, but you know, that's just me.

Thanks so much for being here. I appreciate it.

[19:40:05] All right, still ahead, war games reminiscent of the Cold War, a Russian ship and nuclear-powered submarine are now just 90 miles off the US Coast in Cuba. Why Putin is flexing his military muscles, we will explain, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:45:00]

JIMENEZ: All right, tonight Russia is flexing its military muscle in a show of force in Cuba, just 90 miles away from the coast of Florida, a Russian warship, a nuclear-powered submarine, and two other ships are in the harbor in Havana, for "military exercises."

Now, in response, the US sailed a fast-attack, nuclear-powered submarine to the nearby naval base in Guantanamo Bay.

Joining us now is retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

All right, Colonel, I mean, just for starters, what do you make of this move by Moscow?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, this is a very interesting thing, Omar, because of course, as you can see, we are only 90 miles away from the Florida Coast right here. So Key West is right here, and you've got Havana right there where it is. And this is where the Admiral Gorshkov and the Kazan actually have docked and doing their port visit.

So what this means is that this is actually a way for the Russians to, in essence declare that they have a presence in the western hemisphere and they are doing this in response to our moves with Ukraine where we have given the Ukrainians the right to use our weapons systems, the weapons systems that we've built that we've given them to hit targets in Russia on Russian soil that are directly affecting the war in Ukraine.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes, and I guess I think the biggest question that people have is obviously the proximity is very close and might jump out as concerning. But what sort of capabilities do these ships actually have?

LEIGHTON: So let's take a look at this one. This is the Admiral Gorshkov. This is the ship, this is a frigate and it has actually stealth technology.

It was commissioned in 2018 and it is designed to carry a variety of different missiles. Among these are the Kalibr missile, which is basically a land-attack cruise missile. Although there are submarine and surface ship variants. It has a range of a little over 1,200 miles and a warhead that is about 1,100 or so pounds.

And then the other possibility is the zircon missile. This is a hypersonic missile. The other one was a --

JIMENEZ: The other one is a little older. LEIGHTON: It is older. Exactly.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes.

LEIGHTON: Whereas this one is much newer. This picture was taken in 2022, but this is the Admiral Gorshkov showing firing this particular missile, the zircon missile, because they did that not only in this picture, but they also did two years before that in a test run.

So this is a hypersonic missile. It can travel at nine times the speed of sound so that is what the Admiral Gorshkov can do.

Very similar things can happen with the Kazan. This is a submarine, it is capable of launching Kalibr missiles, as well as zircon missiles and several other types of missiles.

It is designed, of course, to provide the Russians with naval stealth capabilities and like all submarines, it is designed to be undetected until the very last moment that it is used in combat.

JIMENEZ: And obviously, look, optics are a big thing here. We don't know exactly the motivation from Russia sending these over, but I know at the very least, optics and how it appears is likely part of that equation.

How though is the US responding to it?

LEIGHTON: So what the US has done is they have deployed this submarine, the USS Helena. And the USS Helena is a nuclear-powered submarine that is currently at this location or right about here, Guantanamo Bay.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

LEIGHTON: So right across the island, the Cuban island from Havana. Right over here, we have put our presence in place at our US naval facility there, and that is one of the responses that we've made.

We've also been following this fleet as it has transited the North Atlantic. So we've been observing this fleet for quite some time.

JIMENEZ: Yes --

LEIGHTON: This flotilla, I should say.

JIMENEZ: And as we've learned from Patrick Oppmann on the ground in Havana, Cubans are actually able to board this ship and they've been getting what appeared to be limited types of tours.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Omar. Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: Yes, good to see you. I want to get our viewers an update on this breaking news. We do have an update on the mass shooting at a splash park and we are going to meet back in a moment with some of those details.

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[9:53:41]

JIMENEZ: Now, we've been following some new information about a splash pad shooting outside of Detroit. Authorities in Rochester Hills, Michigan say at least nine people were shot at a splash pad. Here is what the sheriff said just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: ... were they enjoying the splash pad? I mean, what do you know about the shooter?

SHERIFF MICHAEL BOUCHARD, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN: So far, again, this is all super preliminary.

It appears like the individual pulled up, exited a vehicle, approached the splash pad, opened fire, reloaded, opened fire, reloaded, left.

It appears very random. At this point, it appears random. No connectivity to the victims.

REPORTER: How far is the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Random at this point.

I want to get to CNN's Camila Bernal, who has also been following the details for us here. What else do we know?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Omar, as you heard the sheriff there, there is very little information, but what he says is that this is believed to be random.

At least nine people were shot, the youngest of those victims is just eight years old. So the sheriff did not give a condition or ages of all of the victims, but says they are obviously working through all of this and you heard him there, this is someone who pulled up to the splash pad, started shooting, reloaded, and continued shooting.

The sheriff saying that he believes about 28 times is number of times that this person shot towards the splash pad. So this is something that went on for quite some time, at least in terms of how long it took him to fire 28 shots.

What the sheriff is also saying is that they believe they have the suspect contained in a home. He said that he was essentially on his way there now, and they believe that he was the person responsible -- Omar.

[19:55:22]

JIMENEZ: All right, Camila Bernal, thank you. We are going to continue to follow these developments online as well.

Thank you for joining me this evening. I'm Omar Jimenez. See you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern.

Encore presentation of HBO's "Real-Time with Bill Maher" starts now.

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