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Republican National Convention Day 3; Vance Highlights Modest Upbringing in RNC Speech; Vance Attacks Biden in Republican Convention Speech; Biden Under New Pressure to Quit Presidential Race; U.S. Election Looms Over Gathering of European Leaders. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 18, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, who is actually running the country anyway? It's obviously not Joe Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone who thinks they can take on Donald Trump or take down America is now on notice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ride or die with Donald John Trump to the end.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our last chance to make America great again.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I officially accept your nomination to be vice president of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Fred Pleitgen in today for Max Foster. It is Thursday, July 18th, 9 a.m. here in London, 3 a.m. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Donald Trump will formally accept his party's presidential nomination in the coming hours at the Republican National Convention, which will culminate in a speech by the former president coming tonight.

But Wednesday night belonged to his vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, who told delegates about his modest upbringing in rural Ohio and pledged to fight for forgotten working class Americans. The U.S. senator attacked President Biden on the economy, on trade and on foreign policy. And other speakers on day three were singing the former president's praises.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANCE: From Iraq to Afghanistan, from the financial crisis to the Great Recession, from open borders to stagnating wages, the people who govern this country have failed and failed again.

DONALD TRUMP JR., DONALD TRUMP'S SON: So what was my father's instinct as his life was on the line? Not to cower, not to surrender, but to show for all the world to see that the next American president has the heart of a lion.

PETER NAVARRO, FORMER TRUMP ADVISER: If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful, they will come for you.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): The swamp draining will recommence soon, and I will be President Trump's strongest ally in Congress to pass term limits, to stop taxpayer funding for political campaigns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Meanwhile, more bad news for President Biden as he's tested positive for COVID and will spend the next days isolating at his home in Delaware. He says he feels good and his doctor describes his symptoms as mild. But political observers say the news and timing couldn't be worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Today is a terrible day. If you pull back and look at this thing, strength versus weakness, a bullet couldn't stop Trump, a virus just stopped Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: More now on J.D. Vance and the Republican National Convention from CNN's Julia Benbrook in Milwaukee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vance focused in on his own backstory. He was raised primarily by his grandparents in Rust Belt, Ohio, before enlisting in the Marines, attending Ohio State University, and then Yale Law School. Now, he's detailed much of his upbringing in his best-selling book, "Hillbilly Elegy," but tonight gave him a major opportunity to introduce himself to many Americans.

BENBROOK (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, taking the stage at the Republican National Convention.

VANCE: Some people tell me I've lived the American dream, and of course they're right.

BENBROOK (voice-over): His speech highlighting his personal story.

VANCE: I grew up in Middletown, Ohio --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

-- a small town where people spoke their minds, built with their hands, and loved their God, their family, their community, and their country with their whole hearts. But it was also a place that had been cast aside and forgotten by America's ruling class in Washington. BENBROOK (voice-over): The former venture capitalist, veteran, and author entered Congress with an assist from Trump, whose endorsement helped him win a contentious race in 2022.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: J.D. Vance, we love you, J.D. I've gotten to know him really well, he's a great guy.

BENBROOK (voice-over): The 39-year-old has been an outspoken supporter of Trump in Congress, and often votes in allegiance with the former president's interests.

VANCE: Mr. President, I will never take for granted the trust you have put in me.

[04:05:00]

BENBROOK (voice-over): But Vance hasn't always been a Trump cheerleader, and Democrats will surely use past comments against him. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Vance repeatedly went after Trump, including in a since-deleted tweet where he called him reprehensible.

Vance has since apologized for criticizing Trump, and says the former president's record in office speaks for itself.

VANCE: I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016, but President Trump was a great president, and he changed my mind.

BENBROOK: On Thursday, Trump will take the stage, and the Trump family is expected to be in the crowd. While several of his children have attended throughout the week, we expect to see former first lady Melania Trump in the crowd for the first time.

Reporting in Milwaukee, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And a big thank you to Julia Benbrook for that report.

And as for President Biden, the latest polling suggests he's losing more and more support on the Democratic side. Almost two-thirds of Democrat and Democrat-leaning independents want him out of the presidential race.

You can see the numbers there on your screen. And according to a new poll by the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center, only 35 percent of those voters say Biden should keep running.

More Democratic political leaders are also not convinced President Biden should stay in the race. On Wednesday, perhaps the biggest name so far, Adam Schiff, the representative from California who's now running for the Senate, became the 20th congressional Democrat to publicly make that call.

There's also reporting from ABC News that the Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has advised the president he should drop out. Schumer's spokesperson called that, quote, idle speculation.

Other Democrats say the ball is in the president's court, and he knows it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JOE MORELLE (D-NY): He still has work to do if he's going to convince people that he can not only run and run successfully, but he can continue to govern. And again, it's his decision because he has the delegates and the pledge delegates. But frankly, I think there's real concerns.

SEN. CHRISS COONS (D-DE): He attracts people who are very loyal to him, but he is hearing on conference calls from governors and mayors, senators, House members and in press conferences where he's getting asked about these issues and getting pressed about them. So I am confident he is well aware of the concerns that you've raised and that others have raised.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: That's Chris Coons there, of course, a big supporter of President Biden. But despite the calls to drop out, President Biden is giving no hint that he's reconsidering his plan to keep going with his reelection bid. But a senior Democratic adviser tells CNN Mr. Biden is, quote, being receptive and has gone from saying Kamala can't win to do you think Kamala can win?

Sources now say that even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told Mr. Biden that polls show he cannot defeat Donald Trump in November and could also destroy the Democrats chances of winning the House. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of Democrats have been taking their worries and fears to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And we have really seen an evolution of her thinking over the last now nearly three weeks since that debate. Now, when President Biden said he is going to run, he's not reconsidering.

She reopened the door for him and that allowed some other House Democrats to have conversations with her. So she has been trying to handle this behind the scenes, if you will. But what we are hearing is that it hasn't worked. So they are being slightly more public with this.

But she's not alone. Last Saturday, a key meeting in all of this. History may show this to be a pivotal meeting here, depending on what happens. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, traveled to Rehoboth Beach. That's where the president was spending the weekend. He had a private one-on-one meeting with the president, expressing concerns of Senate Democrats as well that they do not think that they can win and are worried about him winning in November.

This is a different moment here as we hit the three-week period. As for the president, he's back in Delaware. The campaign tells me tonight he's in this race. He's not changing. And they say he'll be the Democratic nominee. Of course, we'll see about that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: Big thank you to Jeff Zeleny. And despite concerns of several key Democrats over having President Biden at the top of the ticket, the Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with its controversial plan to virtually nominate Joe Biden ahead of the convention in Chicago next month. According to an e-mail obtained by CNN, the Rules Committee plans to proceed with a previously scheduled meeting on Friday to set in motion the steps for the nomination.

But the e-mail also says, quote, no virtual voting will begin before August 1st. This sets up a deadline for Democrats to resolve questions around Mr. Biden's reelection bid. The plan has led to furious backlash from some Democrats.

And the Nasdaq is looking to rebound in the day ahead after its worst performance since December of 2022. The sell-off comes amid reports the Biden administration is considering plans to impose sanctions on Chinese tech firms. It was a landmark day for the Dow, though, which gained more than half a percent to close that above forty one thousand for the first time. You can see it there on your screens.

The Nasdaq lost nearly three percent, though, which gained more than half a percent to close that above forty one thousand for the first time. You can see it there on your screens.

The Nasdaq lost nearly three percent and the S&P 500 was down about .4 of a percent.

Let's take a look at the U.S. futures markets. The Dow is down slightly as you can see. Nasdaq is at slightly up at plus point two, four, 0.41 percent. And the S&P 500 also inching up just a little bit and still ahead.

And still ahead, J.D. Vance assumes the mantle of the Republican vice presidential nominee and the heir apparent of Donald Trump's, quote, America first agenda. So what does that mean for U.S. foreign policy?

Plus, U.S. President Joe Biden tests positive for covid just as calls are mounting for him to bow out of the presidential race.

And happening now, Russia resumes its case against jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich of "The Wall Street Journal." More on the closed door trial after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good jobs to Mexico. When I was a sophomore in high school, that same career politician named Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good American middle class manufacturing jobs.

When I was a senior in high school, that same Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq. And at each step of the way, in small towns like mine in Ohio or next door in Pennsylvania or Michigan, in states all across our country, jobs were sent overseas and our children were sent to war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: As you can see there, Vice Presidential hopeful J.D. Vance on the attack against U.S. President Joe Biden as he addressed the Republican National Convention Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And with Vance as his running mate, Donald Trump has sent a clear signal that if elected, his America first foreign policy will be back in force. Vance, a junior senator from Ohio, is a staunch critic of sending support to Ukraine as it tries to defend itself against the Russian invasion.

And he suggested Ukraine should negotiate with Russia because the U.S. and other allies cannot support it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: We cannot possibly support Ukraine and Israel and our own defense needs in the way that these guys demand. So I think we should focus. I think Israel is a much closer ally. It has a much more core American national security interest. And of course we've got to focus on ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Trump, J.D. Vance has also repeatedly criticized NATO and its European members for not spending enough on defense. On Wednesday, Russia's foreign minister welcomed Vance's position against aid to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:03]

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): He's in favor of peace, in favor of ending the assistance. And we can only welcome that because that's what we need to stop pumping Ukraine full of weapons. And then the war will end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Thomas Gift is the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College here in London. And he joins me now from the lovely Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thomas, first of all, thank you. Thank you for being on the program.

First of all, what do you make of J.D. Vance's speech? It seems as though he's curbed some of his more radical views, for instance, on abortion and tried to appeal to working class, foremost white Americans, hasn't he? THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTRE ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, thanks so much for having me. It's great to be with you. I think set aside policy for the moment.

If you haven't heard J.D. Vance speak before, and he is a relative newcomer to the national political scene, I think it would be hard to find too much fault in what he said. His speech was almost an abridged version of his book the "Hillbilly Elegy." It was biographic. He weaved the story of his own life into his vision of American politics. And his background is quite remarkable.

But Vance's message was very clear when it came to substance, that the next four years are going to be about implementing right wing policies.

I think you're right that he did moderate himself in some respects, but on the domestic front, he's still pushing a socially conservative agenda that's geared toward working class voters, some of which is laid out in Project 2025.

And on foreign policy, as we just heard, he's advocating a more isolationist America that's skeptical of foreign intervention, especially in Ukraine.

PLEITGEN: Yes, I was going to ask you, he didn't say too much specifically about foreign policy, but presumably if you're among the leadership in Ukraine and in European countries, you must be pretty concerned right now.

GIFT: Well, I think so, because Vance has really been critical repeatedly of sending more and more funds to Ukraine. I think to some extent that matches up with a lot of Republican Congress members, particularly in the House, who are responding to public opinion polls, showing that support for sending funds to Kyiv is starting to wane. And so I think more and more he's within the mainstream of at least where the median voter is on that particular policy.

But this is sort of very consistent with Vance's view toward the world generally, that he thinks that America should step back, not necessarily take as an aggressive step in the world and focus more at home, rebuilding the middle class.

PLEITGEN: One of the interesting things about the Vance speech is that no matter where you stand or what you think of what he thinks, he is quite eloquent, and he does appear to know what he's talking about as far as foreign policy is concerned. He's obviously been to a lot of places. He's served in the U.S. military abroad. How receptive do you think that he would be to speaking with European leaders, maybe seeing their side of the whole thing and maybe negotiating a way out of the impasses with them, especially as far as the war in Ukraine is concerned and some of the concerns that the Europeans have there?

GIFT: Well, of course, Trump said that he's going to get out of the war on day one of his presidency. He's never exactly said how he's going to do that, but he said he's just going to snap his fingers and it's all going to be over. But I do think that when presidents and vice presidents get into

office, sometimes their opinions of foreign policy change. They see the reality of the situation on the ground.

I do think that Vance is undoubtedly smart. I think he would be an effective negotiator in some of these meetings, but I still think he has this strong ideological bent, which is that this is not something that the United States should be involving itself in.

So it will be interesting to see how he might be expected to interact with world leaders.

PLEITGEN: President Biden seems to be getting one gut punch after the next right now in his re-election bid. Now he's caught COVID. He has several Democrats who are urging him to drop out of the race.

And how dire straits do you think his re-election campaign is? And do you think he's going to be able to persevere?

GIFT: Well, the walls are certainly closing in on Biden, but reports are still that the president thinks he has the best chance to beat Trump. In some ways, what's remarkable is that Biden is running as close as he is to Trump, given all that's happened in recent weeks.

Of course, we know Biden's 81. He had a catastrophic debate performance. His post-debate excuses only made things worse. Prominent donors have turned against Biden.

"The New York Times" editorial board said that he should leave. His own party leadership on Capitol Hill thinks he should bow out. Roughly three in four Americans believe he lacks the cognitive acuity to fulfill his job as presidency.

COVID has stopped him in his tracks. And his opponent at the same time survived an attempted assassination and in the process emerged with maybe one of the most iconic images in modern American political history.

So the real question is how maybe Biden has managed to hang on this long.

[04:20:00]

I think it's probably more a reflection of how polarizing a figure Trump is rather than it saying anything about Biden specifically. But we should keep in mind that Biden has displayed some resilience, and we probably shouldn't be surprised if he sees this thing through to November.

PLEITGEN: Yes, certainly some interesting times coming for the Democrats in the coming days, in the coming weeks. Thank you so much, Thomas Gift in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

And the U.S. presidential election and the possibility of Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office are, of course, looming large over a gathering of European leaders in the United Kingdom at this hour. Newly minted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting the summit north of Oxford. He's looking to refresh ties with Europe following the recent elections in the region. And we can go live now to that summit and to CNN's Clare Sebastian.

Clare, first of all, obviously a very important gathering right now with Keir Starmer chairing for the first time. But how large does a possible second Trump presidency loom over the discussions there?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think, Fred, it is a really important part of the backdrop here. The official line, of course, from the leaders is that they don't want to prejudice a U.S. election. But given the recent events, the shooting over the weekend, now the selection of J.D. Vance as his running mate, a candidate who -- a senator who has made it very clear that he does not support Ukraine aid, that he thinks that the U.S. should deprioritize Europe and has taken a pretty hard line on NATO as well, that is going to form part of the backdrop here.

And I think, you know, look, leaders will have to contemplate what to do if Trump ends up as president, whether NATO can pick up the slack if the U.S. pulls back on Ukraine aid, how to provide an effective deterrent in the absence of a U.S. that really prioritizes this war in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy is also expected here today. But this is also, as you say, about U.K. leadership. I can actually see the British prime minister standing at the steps of Blenheim Palace just to my left here. He's been greeting leaders. This time two weeks ago, he was not even prime minister.

So this is a time for the U.K. to sort of take its place, to lead this grouping, which was formed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, a much broader grouping than the E.U. This is some 42 heads of state and government that are expected here today. And it's designed to be more informal. Leaders can break off, have their own bilateral discussions, try to get things done.

And I just spoke to the Finnish president. He said, look, if we're in a situation where we have this sort of what he called second Iron Curtain, this pressure from the east with Russia and Belarus and pressure potentially from the West with a more unpredictable United States, this is really a time when Europe needs the U.K. and the U.K. needs Europe. So there's an opportunity here, it seems, for the U.K. to really, as you say, reset those ties with Europe.

PLEITGEN: Thank you, Clare. And one of the other things is that I'm always surprised at how divided European leaders are still on a lot of issues. What are some of the other big topics out there at this at this informal meeting today?

Say, for instance, the economy in Europe, but also, of course, immigration as well.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, migration is going to be a big topic. Energy is a big topic. Interestingly, they're having two working groups today, Fred, on securing democracy.

And I think it's quite likely that we're going to see discussions emerge on the issue of sort of political violence, disinformation and its role in sort of fanning tensions in politics in Europe. Don't forget, there was an assassination attempt on a European leader, the Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico, just two months ago. He is expected here today as well.

The Danish prime minister was also attacked in the street last month. So it is a specter, especially given events over the weekend in the U.S. with the assassination attempt of former President Trump that Europe will have to grapple with as well.

As for division, Viktor Orban of Hungary is also expected here. He has been roundly criticized by Europe for his recent diplomatic freelancing, perhaps we should put it that way, with his visits to Moscow, to Beijing, to the U.S. Europe has said that he was not acting on their behalf, despite having recently taken up the rotating presidency of the European Council. So it will be interesting to see how they handle that and his proposals for peace for Ukraine.

But in terms of Ukraine, this is an opportunity for Europe not to show division, but to show that unity in its support for Ukraine. And certainly we've heard from leaders talking about that as they've been coming in today.

PLEITGEN: Yes, huge issues at hand. Thank you, Clare Sebastian. You'll obviously be monitoring all that for us.

Now, a lot of speeches containing a lot of falsehood at day three of the Republican National Convention. And when we come back, our president fact checker sets the record straight.

Plus, new information about the shooter who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, what he knew about the rally site and what police found on his phone. That's when we return.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PLEITGEN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fred Pleitgen. Here are some of today's top stories.

Donald Trump will accept the Republican nomination for president tonight. The theme for the convention's final day is "Make America Great Once Again." Trump says his speech now will focus on, quote, unity following the assassination attempt on Saturday.

President Biden has tested positive for COVID-19. Biden's doctor says he has mild symptoms and has received his first dose of Paxlovid. The president will be self-isolating at his home in Delaware.

And the U.S.'s special counsel's office is appealing the dismissal of Donald Trump's classified documents case. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case this week. She said special counsel Jack Smith's appointment violated the Constitution but did not rule on whether Trump's handling of documents was proper. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is making his case to the American people. The U.S. senator spoke to the Republican National Convention Wednesday night describing his modest upbringing in rural Ohio. He went on the attack against Joe Biden on the economy, immigration and foreign policy saying the president's policies have made America, quote, weaker and poor. He vowed to fight alongside Donald Trump for the working class people forgotten by politicians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: We have a big tent in this party on everything from national security to economic policy. But my message to you my fellow Republicans is we love this country and we are united to win.

Now I think our disagreements actually make us stronger. That's what I've learned in my time in the United States Senate where sometimes I persuade my colleagues and sometimes they persuade me. And my message to my fellow Americans, those watching from across the country is shouldn't we be governed by a party that is unafraid to debate ideas and come to the best solution?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: That was certainly a forceful speech. But there are still some who question what Vance himself brings to the ticket and whether he will be able to hold together the loose coalition of voters that make up Trump's base.

Our own Jeff Zeleny has more on the man that many MAGA supporters will hope to be the future leader of their movement.

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