Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Polls Show Harris, Trump Locked In Tight Race With No Clear Leader; Largest CA Wildfire Of The Year; First Medals Of The Summer Olympics Are Handed Out; Israeli Athletes Under Heavy Police Protection As Games Kick Off; Trump Unleashes Attacks On Harris; Interview With U.S. Ambassador To The United Nations Linda Thomas- Greenfield. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired July 27, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:41]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone.

Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And with just over 100 days until the 2024 election the race to raise money and gain support is a sprint. Today, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are both out on the campaign trail.

Harris will soon head to Massachusetts for a fundraiser as her campaign looks to add to an already impressive cash haul. The Harris campaign says, it raised $126 million in just the first three days after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.

The campaign also says it has seen an explosion in grassroots support with more than 100,000 people signing up to volunteer in the Harris presidential bid, and more than 2000 applying for campaign jobs.

According to a new Fox News poll, the presidential race is now a statistical dead heat in the three swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

CNN's Eva McKend is joining us right now.

Eva, tell us more about Harris' so-called weekend of action.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Now Fred, just 100 days until the election, even less than that before early voting begins in some places Harris telling supporters this weekend should be a weekend of action that includes donating, making calls, knocking on doors.

Today she's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts at a big donor event featuring James Taylor and Yoyo Ma. Author and historian Heather Cox Richardson will also be in the mix.

And then she's addressing young voters at a virtual event, voters of tomorrow. They're a Gen Z lead organization with young organizers and activists from across the country.

And the group says they're feeling energized and resolved to restore reproductive rights, deliver climate action and end gun violence. And they say that the vice president really speaks well to those issues.

But she's not the only one out on the campaign trail. Several folks that are rumored to be among the people that she's mulling over as a potential running mate are out on the campaign trail as well. Governor Josh Shapiro, Governor Andy Beshear, and Governor Tim Walz are in Minnesota, Iowa, and Pennsylvania, making the case on her behalf, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, keep us posted throughout the day for more on the current state of the race.

Let's bring in senior political writer for the "San Francisco Chronicle" Joe Garofoli. Joe, good to see you again. I mean, wow, what a difference --

JOE GAROFOLI, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: -- a week makes, right? I mean this time --

GAROFOLI: It's crazy.

WHITFIELD: -- it's crazy. I think all of our heads are spinning right now. But we're going to try and focus right now because this time, you know, last week Vice President Harris, you know, was still defending President Biden on the campaign trail.

And now she is the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee. So you've covered Harris throughout her political career and her law enforcement career as a prosecutor and the AG in California, starting back in San Francisco as district attorney.

I mean, she seems to have command of this moment. What does this say to you about her preparedness for the right now.

GAROFOLI: Well, one thing I've noticed with the vice president in her public addresses this week is that she seems very comfortable, she's very much in her own skin. That's always been the rap on Harris is that you know, those of us who know her a little bit, you know, at a personal level we see her in small groups, is that she's very charming, very funny, and such.

And I think voters are finally seeing that now. And plus, she has also been very pointed, and that's -- reporters who have covered her for years also have seen that side of her too.

And I think she's been very much in her own skin this week and I think that's a good sign for that campaign.

WHITFIELD: Ok many critics have said, wait a minute -- the Trump campaign seems to have been caught flat-footed, didn't see this coming. [11:04:43]

WHITFIELD: So instead Republicans have, you know, tried to launch attacks on Harris criticizing her leadership at the U.S. southern border, blasting her record as a San Francisco, you know, prosecutor, calling her soft on crime.

So let's zero in on the latter, since you have become familiar in covering her and the San Francisco area, you know, as a prosecutor there and then later as California attorney general.

Can the Trump campaign substantiate the soft on crime criticism. What has been her reputation there?

GAROFOLI: I think you can find anything you want to in Kamala Harris' record as a prosecutor in San Francisco -- granted a very left-leaning city. She was seen as a centrist. She was -- progressives called her Cappella because of some of the things that she did. Namely one of them was she is -- she sought to -- she was concerned about graduation rates.

And she said people who -- one of the common denominators of people who are not graduating is that there are truant. So she created this program, pilot program here in San Francisco about truancy.

And she said for people who are habitually truant missing 50 days here -- that's like a third of the school year. We would work with the parents and the educators, but if the kids still weren't going to school, she would prosecute the parents. And that's certainly not soft on crime there.

Another hand, she has been always against the death penalty. She ran against it from her first time running for office here in San Francisco.

So there's going to be plenty of fodder for the Trump campaign there.

WHITFIELD: Ok. A new Fox News poll in some key battleground states show Harris and Trump locked in this dead heat with no clear leader as of now. Harris' performance is, you know, similar to President Biden's from earlier Fox News polls, you know, comparatively.

So what in your view is going to make the difference. Are people still trying to get to know her as top of the ticket because as vice president, you know, perhaps your role isn't as front and -- you know, front and center stage.

GAROFOLI: That's -- that's part of it, too. But I think there's good things in some of these polls that have come out this week and warning signs for the Harris campaign.

The good news is that her approval rating is bouncing up. I mean, it was one of the lowest ever for a vice president. So I think as people though, the rollout certainly has helped her, the enthusiasm that she's frankly not Joe Biden and Democrats has helped her. But the thing that she should be watching out for is that still may --

a majority of people say the economy is not good and people always vote their pocketbooks, they always vote their wallets.

WHITFIELD: Endorsements --

(CROSSTALKING)

GAROFOLI: And also --

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

GAROFOLI: -- a majority of people also see the country is not going in the right direction.

WHITFIELD: Endorsements, do they matter, especially if it comes in the form of former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama. Seeing the ad rollout with the phone call, a very similar theme from the phone call, you know, when she received the offer to be the vice president for President Biden. How impactful might this make?

GAROFOLI: I think the news if the Obama's didn't endorse her -- she's known Barack Obama since he was a state senator with Barack Obama campaigning for Senate here in California this was, Jesus, 20 -- 25 years ago.

So I think the biggest endorsement she's getting right now are not from big names or celebrities, but from these folks who were creating -- organically creating memes and such in support of her. It reminds me of when then-Senator Obama was running for president the first time, you've had all the iconic -- the Shepard Fairey (ph) art. You had the Black-eyed Peas making a best-selling song, riffing off one of his speeches.

That's the stuff that's going to matter. The endorsements, fine now. But when you have the grassroots calls with tens of thousands of people on them crashing Zoom this week, that's what matters.

The celebrity endorsements, you know, that's nice but it really doesn't matter in the long run.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So you see that, you know, from the ordinary people creating some of these memes or TikToks, you know, to the celebrity types who have all the eyeballs, you know, and the followers on some of these social media that you do see that that is potentially --

GAROFOLI: Correct.

WHITFIELD: -- impactful and perhaps even giving a greater outreach particularly to the Gen Zs or Gen Xs.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: Whatever other generation.

GAROFOLI: Yes. Yes. My kids -- it helps -- it open doors to that crowd. In that way it helps. And these were not doors that are being opened for Joe Biden. Let's be real.

Nobody -- nobody's creating memes other than, you know, Dark Brandon and that petered out a few years ago.

[11:09:45]

GAROFOLI: So this -- it's reflective of the energy that's behind Harris' campaign. Now remember, there was a lot of energy behind Kamala Harris' first campaign or presidential campaign in 2019.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I remember that roll-out.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: I mean that happened actually on our show, that roll out, her introduction to "This is my campaign. We the people."

GAROFOLI: It was.

WHITFIELD: And I mean, I think the energy that we saw there is very similar to -- I mean this light the fire kind of energy we're seeing now.

GAROFOLI: Absolutely.

But then that energy dissipated within several weeks after some missteps at debates and some confusing performances about where she was on Medicare for all, for example.

But the other impressive thing about this first week is that this is a very tightly-focused campaign. They're trying to hammer the prosecutor versus the felon. And she is sticking to that message very well.

I think there is a thought that she might be going to this bitcoin conference this weekend that President Trump and RFK Jr. are going to be attending.

You know, she doesn't really have a position on bitcoin and it probably was the campaign was like, well, let's not -- let's not get out of our lane right now. We've got a good thing going let's stick with what we're doing.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Joe Garofoli, thank you so much. "San Francisco Chronicle", great to see you again.

GAROFOLI: Good to see you, Fred. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Coming up, former President Donald Trump, once bashed bitcoin as Joe was reminding us as based on thin air. Well, guess what? Now, he is set to speak at crypto's largest annual gathering. Why did he do a total 180 and support the industry?

Plus the Park Fire in California more than doubled in size in one day as it scorches buildings and forces thousands of people to leave their homes. We're live in California next.

[11:11:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This breaking news.

California's Park Wildfire has exploded in size, becoming the state's largest fire of the year. It's burning an area bigger than the size of Los Angeles. More than 300,000 acres so far with zero containment.

CNN's Camila Bernal has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: California's largest wildfire of the year is on the move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year, we're kind of starting off with a bang.

BERNAL: Scorching hillsides, decimating homes and buildings, forcing residents to flee.

Firefighters battling the fast-moving flames in rugged, remote terrain amid wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles an hour in what officials call critically low humidities.

CAPT. DAN COLLINES, CAL FIRE BUTTE UNIT: It is concerning that were having these larger fires earlier in the season. If we're having big fires like this in July and August we may have bigger FIRES come the fall as the fuels get drier and the winds start to pick up.

JULIA YARBOUGH, LOST HOME IN PARK FIRE: Our house is gone. Their house, ok. House next to it. You can see it's gone.

BERNAL: Flames flattened Julia Yarbough's home. She called the experience surreal as she walked through the rubble surveying the destruction.

YARBOUGH: It puts a finality to it of just going, wow, this chapter over.

TIM FURGUSON, EVACUEE: Here we go again, yes.

BERNAL: The Park Fire brings back haunting memories for residents in Butte County. It's the same county where the 2018 camp fire killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes it remains the deadliest wildfire in California's history.

FURGUSON: I lost my dad in the Camp Fire. We've got our home and we've been working on it a lot lately, fixing it up and it's just -- we're at the verge of maybe losing all that.

COLLINS: Talking to some of the evacuees yesterday there's a big concern. This this county has been tested time and time again.

Unfortunately you know, some of our folks that are evacuated now from these fires lost their home during the Camp Fire.

BERNAL: And with the states wildfire season already underway, it's a test this community may be forced to live with for months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL: And firefighters are describing this fire as challenging. It has moved so quickly and it has already destroyed more than 100 structures, including this. It used to be someone's home.

Unfortunately, officials also saying that this fire was caused by a 42-year-old man who they say pushed a burning car into an embankment. It was an area that was difficult to get to and officials say that that helped the spread of the fire.

Even now, the fire is in very steep terrain, so you have difficult access. You have high winds and high temperatures and that caused this fire to really explode.

We are expecting lower temperatures over the weekend, but the reality is that right now this fire, Fred, is uncontrollable.

WHITFIELD: And then Camila, what is the latest on that suspected arsonist. Well, he is expected in court on Monday and officials are saying that they have witnesses who actually saw him at this local park, saw when he pushed the burning car and saw when he simply left.

So he is in custody, but we will get a lot more details on Monday when he makes his first court appearance.

WHITFIELD: All right. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

Straight ahead, millions of visitors and thousands of athletes are in Paris as the Summer Olympic Games begin. We'll take a look at the potential security threats in Paris and how organizers are trying to keep the Games safe.

[11:19:54]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ok. The first medals of the Summer Olympic Games are now in athlete's hands. Spoiler alert: China took home the gold in two events so far. Team U.S.A. also won its first medal, a silver in women's synchronized three-meter springboard diving. They are so excited there.

It's an opening day full of exciting events in cycling, judo, and more.

[11:24:46]

WHITFIELD: Let's discuss what's ahead with CNN sports anchor Coy Wire, joining us live there from (INAUDIBLE).

All right, good to see you. This is very exciting because it was an extraordinary opening ceremony last night. But now on to the really important, good stuff. So talk to us more about --

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Also --

WHITFIELD: -- yes, what's expected?

WIRE: -- also really important and good the fact that you wore gold for your gold medal here, and our coverage from that, yes.

I see what you did there, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Of course, yes.

WIRE: Listen, Team U.S.A. They won the medal count the last summer games. So big expectations for this delegation of approximately 600 athletes representing Team U.S.A.. And they have snagged their first medal of these games.

Sara Bacon and Cassidy Cook diving right into the medal tally for Team U.S.A. on day one, divers winning silver in the women's diving synchronized three-meter springboard competition. Their nickname Bacon and Cook -- no, Cook'N Bacon. That's what it is. How perfect is that?

It's the first Olympic medal for both divers and first American medal won in this event since 2012. So congrats to them. Hopefully many more to come for Team U.S.A.

Also seeking a medal in this competition, Nic Fink in the 100-meter breaststroke. He's in the semifinals tonight. He finished fifth at the Tokyo, Olympics. And let's just say a lot has changed since the last time he was in the Olympic stage.

NIC FINK, TEAM U.S.A. SWIMMER: I've gotten a master's degree, moved to two different cities bought a house, sold the house, got engaged, got married, expecting a baby. So it's -- it seems like a lot actually, when I say it out loud right now. But whatever happens here, I get to go home and there's a baby on the way.

So you know, building the crib waits for nobody and all that stuff is going to be fun to do. And I'm really looking forward to that, that step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I mean is this not perfect or what Fredricka. The crib waits for nobody. I mean put that on the quote board, right? Yes.

So Nic competing tonight in the semifinals of the 100-meter breaststroke. We'll see if he can level up from his last performance on the Olympic stage.

It's still pouring down rain in Paris, but it doesn't matter.

WHITFIELD: Who cares.

WIRE: We're still having a party out here. Yes, we're still going to be racking gold and chasing that gold all Games longs. WHITFIELD: That's right. The medals and the athletes are still shining

as are you. You know what, I must say the whole Cook'N Bacon I mean, they have to stay together forever just because of that, of course, they obviously have great chemistry.

I mean, they're silver medalists now. But I love that name.

WIRE: Perfect.

WHITFIELD: Fink is something else too because he's been training even with a little baby and, you know, no sleep and all that. That comes with it. But extraordinary.

WIRE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, I look forward to more great it stories just like those. Coy Wire in Paris.

WIRE: Thank you Fredricka. We'll keep them coming.

WHITFIELD: Awesome.

All right. Well, keeping athletes safe is one of the biggest challenges of the games. Israel's Olympic team is getting especially heavy protection.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Israeli athletes arrived in France, making their way to the Olympic Village under heavy French police protection, protests against Israel's participation the 2024 games had already erupted in Paris.

France's government acknowledging the threat level for Israeli athletes is extremely high.

"I proposed to the president of the republic that the Israeli delegation be fully protected by the French police 24 hours a day," the interior minister said.

Security forces are on high alert. French and international police patrolling the area around the Olympics, trying to prevent mistakes made in the past.

"We took this decision because the Israeli athletes, and we've known this since the Munich Games, of course, but more recently again, are particularly targeted by attacks."

Munich, West Germany at the Summer Games, 1972. Palestinians from a militant group named Black September stormed the dormitory housing the Israeli team. They immediately shoot and kill two athletes and take nine more team members hostage. The games continue as the hostage crisis drags on, the gunmen often seen on the balcony of the Olympic dormitory. German police finally attempt and completely botch a rescue mission, leaving all of the Israeli hostages, a German cop, and five of the terrorists dead.

Esther Roth-Shahamorov was on Israel's 1972 track and field team.

ESTHER ROTH-SHAHAMOROV, FORMER ISRAELI TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE (through translator): I was sitting in the plane transporting the coffins of my coach and comrades I had trained with. They returned with you in coffins.

That was the thing I couldn't understand. And I kept thinking, what's going on here.

[11:29:49]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: At this moment, eight or nine athletes of the Israeli team are being held prisoner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: These guerillas are called Black September.

PLEITGEN: Israel's intelligence service, Mossad, soon launched a campaign of assassinations targeting those connected to the Munich massacre, depicted in the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, "Munich", which also depicts the botched German rescue attempt.

And while 1972 isn't 2024, the trauma remains and so do the lessons learned.

Israel's sports minister recently met with the country's domestic security service, Shin Bet.

Since October 7 of last year, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and taking roughly 250 others hostage, Israel has launched a punishing military campaign in Gaza, killing many Hamas fighters, but also scores of civilians.

Israeli athletes say they're well aware of the anger they face.

INBAR LANIR, ISRAELI OLYMPIC JUDOKA: It's something that we're used to. And I'm feeling really safe. My part is to connect with everyone by sports.

PLEITGEN: French authorities say they will do their part to try and make sure violence doesn't disrupt the games that are supposed to be above politics.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk, more about keeping the games as secure as possible with CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Good to see you again, Juliette, there in Paris. All right. So those coordinated attacks against France's high-speed

train lines -- I mean, that happened just over 24 hours ago. It's still causing huge travel disruptions. What are the priorities or I should say, how do authorities, you know, focus what are dual priorities? Getting things running again yet at the same time, looking for who's responsible.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

I've talked to a couple of French officials. I have to be honest, the priority is still the protection of the Olympics.

They will investigate this case. They believe, as our reporting shows, it is likely a domestic political group, some group that is angry at the Olympics or France for whatever reason and the politics that have been going on here over the last couple of weeks with that surprise election.

And so -- but while the investigation is important, all focus is here in Paris. Got through the opening ceremonies really, really successfully. I was down there, saw the security apparatus, had to go through all the security but they've got two weeks of this.

They've got dozens of venues there. I just saw the bike riding down the streets of Paris and they have to keep up the security footprint for the -- for the athletes, of course, but also the tourists.

So the focus is still on the Olympics. The investigation will be ongoing, but because there was no so known-for nexus, there isn't any really suspicion that it was sort of a foreign terror group or foreign country. They are going to -- they're going to still prioritize the Olympics.

WHITFIELD: And obviously, an objective was to disrupt the games, ahead of the games. And at the same time, perhaps it could have been a diversionary tactic as well.

Security obviously leading into the Olympic Games was already preparing itself for the many ways in which you have to keep the athletes, the visitors in the city safe.

So does this end up serving as a diversion or do you believe law enforcement was really ready for this kind of thing while also being able to maintain security and lookout for anything that is potentially troublesome.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYYEM: Yes, that's a great point and the folks I talk to really said they were not going to treat it as a diversion. If it was a diversion, they were not going to divert resources to this investigation, partially because they have some suspicions that it was domestic, you know, protests, unrest, disruption.

And the second reason is whoever did it clearly did not intend there to be a mass casualty events. It was the kind of things that they're worried about here in Paris.

What they're focused on is a mass casualty event. It's either a, you know, terrorist or a cyberattack that would have an impact on basically the functioning of Paris right now.

So they will not treat it as a diversion. Part of that is because of their suspicions about who did it. And also because it had no casualties.

It's an annoyance, but some of the trains are already back up. There's cars, there's other train services up and running. And the focus then therefore is on Paris.

I will say for our leadup story, the intel that I have been seeing leading in was similar, which is you're worried about particular countries, in particular Israel and their security there's lots of protests here against Israel, pro-Palestinian rallies.

[11:34:51]

KAYYEM: But there's something about the spirit here. I was -- I was there when the boat with the Israeli athletes passed by. I was a little bit nervous what the reaction would be, and there was just applause for them as well.

So I think that the spirit that maybe however horrible the world is right now, it might change if we -- if we focus on young people, in sports, and healthy competition even resonated yesterday at the Olympics -- at the opening ceremonies.

WHITFIELD: Right. All of that actually helps underscore, I mean, the incredible journeys that so many of these athletes have been on order to even get to this opportunity.

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Juliette Kayyem in Paris, thanks so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, Donald Trump, back on the campaign trail set to speak at the crypto currency industry's largest convention as Trump vows to continue holding outdoor rallies following his assassination attempt.

[11:35:43]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Later this afternoon, former president Trump hits the campaign trail as he heads to Nashville to speak at a bitcoin conference. His campaign has been struggling to define Harris since she unexpectedly rose to the top of the Democratic ticket less than a week ago.

And during a speech on Friday to a group of conservatives in Florida, Trump tested new attacks on his political rival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: she was a bum three weeks ago. She was a bum. A failed vice president and a failed administration with millions of people crossing and she was the border czar. Now they're trying to say she never was the border czar. She had nothing to do with the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Steve Contorno is covering the Trump campaign for us. Steve, great to see you. What can you tell us about this bitcoin convention appearance for Trump today and how it fits into his overall messaging.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, this is the largest annual gathering of the cryptocurrency industry. And several years ago, it would've been very unlikely that Donald Trump would have headlined an event like this.

Listen to what he said back in 2019 about cryptocurrency on his social media account. He said, "I am not a fan of bitcoin and other crypto cryptocurrencies which are not money and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air.

Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior including drug trade and other illegal activity."

Very harshly words about bitcoin and he continued to hold that posture for several years.

But listen to what he had to say earlier this summer about bitcoin at one of his rallies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will end Joe Biden's war on crypto. We will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of bitcoin will be made in America. Otherwise, other countries are going to have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, this total 180 on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies is coming as the industry has embraced Donald Trump, many of its top investors and cheerleaders and champions are donating money to Donald Trump's campaign.

He in turn is supporting cryptocurrency policies in fact, he is accepting bitcoin donations to his campaign and we're told he has collected about $4 million worth of it so far.

And this community here is embracing him as well. There's a lot of Trump fans in this audience. In fact, a Democratic congressman on this stage earlier today pointed out that Donald Trump once said bitcoin was a scam and he was booed relentlessly by this audience, Fred. WHITFIELD: Ok. And then Steve, I mean, Trump also says he plans to continue holding outdoor rallies following that assassination attempt. I mean, this is an about face also because shortly after that assassination attempt wasn't there some agreement and recommendation that the, you know, the remaining rallies need to be inside.

CONTORNO: Certainly the U.S. Secret Service agency has urged Donald Trump to try to hold his rallies at indoor facilities. It's much easier to protect the former president in that kind of controlled environment.

But Trump writing today on Truth Social that he intends to continue to hold outdoor rallies. He wrote quote, "No one can ever be allowed to stop or impede free speech."

He also said that he believes that the Secret Service has agreed to step up security for these outdoor events. At some point in the summer, he says he intends to go back to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the shooting but we're not entirely clear when or where that will be.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

All right. Steve Contorno, thanks so much.

All right, even as Israeli strikes hit central Gaza, new ceasefire talks are scheduled for tomorrow. Straight ahead, I speak with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations about American's role in pursuing peace, and whether President Biden can accomplish everything he wants in the time he has left in office.

[11:44:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New this morning, at least 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in central Gaza. That's according to Palestinian health officials. Israel says it launched the attack to destroy a Hamas command center inside the compound.

Video shows victims from the strike being taken to nearby al-Aqsa hospital. A short time before the attack, the Israeli military also warned residents in parts of southern Gaza to evacuate.

The attack came as CIA director Bill Burns is preparing to join new ceasefire talks set for tomorrow in Rome.

I spoke with U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield about the war in Gaza and America's role in pursuing peace there.

Here's part of our conversation.

[11:49:48] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It's been nine months now since Hamas attacked and killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and in retaliation tens of thousands of people many civilians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza.

I mean, do you have a new assessment of the humanitarian developments in this conflict? The need, the aid that can be rendered?

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We know that the humanitarian situation is dire. And we have been working with the humanitarian community, with the U.N. to address those humanitarian needs.

We have also worked with the Israelis and put pressure on Israelis to allow for humanitarian assistance to get in unimpeded and we continue to work on those efforts.

But Fredricka what we are working on now, what the president is working on, is moving forward the agenda to achieve peace. The negotiations -- negotiators are on the ground as we speak to continue negotiations on the peace deal that the president put on the table.

Both Israel and Hamas have agreed to that peace deal and we're working relentlessly to bring it about.

I would also add we cannot forget that Hamas is a terrorist organization and their actions in Israel were terrorist actions.

The Palestinian people are suffering because of what Hamas did to them. There was not this level of conflict in Gaza before the Hamas attack.

That said, Israel has a responsibility to provide security and to avoid endangering civilians. Our priority is to see that there is a ceasefire that hostages are brought home to their families and that humanitarian assistance get to the Palestinian people.

WHITFIELD: Now, the former House Speaker says she was stunned to hear some of the language that was used from the prime minister while he was on Capitol Hill. He described, you know, critics of Israels part in the war as useful idiots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What did you make of the demeanor of the language. Did that upstage any potential hope that he may have brought on his visit?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I think we have to continue to press the Israeli government and to continue to have hope that this will achieve the desired result that we want to see. And that is, that there is a cessation of hostilities and hostages are brought home and Palestinian suffering ends.

So this --

WHITFIELD: Are people still confident that we're getting closer to that?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I think they have to feel confident --

WHITFIELD: Why?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: -- and they should feel confident because the president is confident. We are hearing from our negotiators on the ground that they are close. I engage on a regular basis with the Qataris and the Egyptians in New York who have negotiators participating in this.

They feel confident that we are close, that there are some details that are narrowing and that we're going to get there. And it is because of hope that we keep trying. Because if we don't have hope, we stop trying. So we're -- we're hopeful that we're going to get there.

WHITFIELD: Bringing some resolution, bringing the American hostages, in particular, home.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: All of them, but we, of course, we care about the American hostages. We care about all of them.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Bringing all of them home.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Those are among the things that we heard from President Biden in his speech this week. He says this is part of the unfinished business that he wants to get done in the next six months. How much more confident are you that this will be resolved in the next six months?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I am confident that this will be resolved in the next six months. I am confident that the efforts that are taking place on the ground right now well will lead to a resolution even sooner than six months.

And it is important that we do that. The president is committed to it. He has charged his entire team to put our foot to the pedal and charge forward and get these things done.

And that's one of the issues that is -- he's put on all of our plates.

WHITFIELD: Does it concern you though, that he has said he's no longer running for a second term and so this period makes him a lame duck president. [11:54:48]

And that his to-do list, while it may be important, while it may be along, or even if it were short that because he is a lame duck, it would make it a little bit more difficult -- difficult to for him to have leverage to get things done.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I would argue the opposite. I think --

WHITFIELD: Why?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: -- because it's short, the commitment to getting it done is even more intense. And it's stronger than if we thought we had years to get it done. The president is committed. And We're going to get everything done that we need to get done in these next six months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We'll have more of my interview with the ambassador later on this afternoon as she is just back from Haiti. She explains how pledged aid there will assist.

We'll be right back.

[11:55:37]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)