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Trump And Harris Trade Barbs In Newly Shaped Race; White House Says Hezbollah Behind Strike In Golan Heights; Park Fire Scorches Thousands Of Acres, Forces Evacuations In California; Poll Suggests Democratic Enthusiasm For Harris Is Up; Democratic Enthusiasm; Trump After Assassination Attempt; Interview With Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S Ambassador Of U.N.; Mexican Cartel Arrested; Celebrities At Olympics In Paris. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 28, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:01:03]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And the 2024 presidential race is now entering the final 100 days of the campaign. It's a race that has been completely altered in the last week since President Biden dropped out and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Over the past seven days, she has moved at lightning speed to unite and energize the Democratic Party.

Today, the Harris campaign announced that she has already raised a staggering $200 million and signed up 170,000 new volunteers in the past week. She has also made gains with voters as several polls show her tightening the race with Trump.

Both candidates have spent the weekend on the campaign trail. Trump trying out new attack lines at trying to define his rival. Harris highlighting her record and calling out her opponent's, quote, "wild lies."

We have a team coverage rather of this fast-moving a presidential race. Let's begin with CNN's Julia Benbrook at the White House.

Julia, good to see you again. What can you tell us about the Harris campaign strategy over the final 100 days now?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democrats really are feeling that energy right now with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. As you mentioned, they brought in $200 million since President Joe Biden said that he would not be seeking reelection. And of that amount they say that 66 percent came from first-time donors. They've also added 170,000 new volunteers and hosted over 2,000 campaign events in battleground states just this weekend.

Now Trump has been trying out some new lines of attacks since he has a new opponent. In recent days, he's called Harris evil. He has made front of her laugh and he's even gone as far as to say that the American dream is dead if she wins in November. She's responding, she's calling those comments wild lies and saying that those statements coming from the top of the GOP ticket are just plain weird.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record and some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it's just plain weird.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: I mean, that's the box you put that in, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And that's a line that we've heard several Harris allies use on the campaign trail as well. Party officials have said that they are hoping to have the presidential and the vice presidential candidates made official by August 7th. That date, of course, coming very quickly and then quickly after that is the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. That starts on August 19th, and we expect there to be some changes with a new name at the top of the ticket. They may lean in more to the vice president's personality and her political achievements.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook, keep us posted there from the White House. Thanks so much.

As Harris focuses on a vice president choice, running mate, and looks toward the Democratic convention in three weeks now, Trump's campaign is sharpening its attacks on her. The former president hit the campaign trail on Saturday speaking at a cryptocurrency convention in Nashville and holding a joint campaign rally with his running mate J.D Vance in Minnesota. Trump used both events to lash out at Harris as he scrambles to find ways to define her.

CNN's Alayna Treene has details.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, former president Donald Trump really escalated his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris last night, and some of them grew increasingly nasty. We saw him really try to deploy new lines as he's workshopping the best way to define her. He went after her and said she was more radically liberal than President Joe Biden.

He argued that she is way worse than he is, and he also tried to focus a lot of his attacks on her positions when it comes to immigration, crime, inflation, all areas where I know that the Trump campaign is urging Donald Trump to focus on because those are the types of policies they believe he polls better on than Democrats.

[16:05:10]

Now another very notable moment during that rally last night was he actually noted that some people have argued to him, perhaps they thought he would be nicer in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on his life earlier this month. He said actually I might be worst and joking there, but then he continued to kind of lob more criticisms at Harris.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a new candidate to defeat, the most incompetent, unpopular, and far-left vice president in American history, probably the most far-left person in American history.

As a senator she was ranked the number one most radical left Democrat in the entire Senate. They say she made Bernie Sanders looked like a moderate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Fred, I also want you to watch this moment because I found it really striking. He was about to go after Joe Biden and mock him, a kind of stick that we've seen him do time and time again in the last year or so, but then he abruptly stopped himself and said this actually might be a waste of time. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Sarcasm doesn't work when you have a crooked press. You know, when I imitated him, because Biden and -- I don't want to waste a lot of time, but because it's over now, right? He's gone. I told you he would be. I told you he wasn't going to make it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, Fred, the reason I find that so interesting is because, you know, when I talked to Donald Trump's senior campaign advisers, they'll privately acknowledged that they are still finding the best way to go after her and to define Harris. Remember, for the last year and a half, really this entire election cycle so far, they have designed a playbook to go after an unpopular 81-year-old man.

They've spent millions of dollars on modeling data, advertising, all to go after Joe Biden. And now they really need to re-imagine that and rework that playbook. And we kind of saw Donald Trump do that last night, but it was very clear that he was trying to focus his attacks and his attention on Harris as he looks ahead to November -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, thanks so much.

All right. Now to our other top story, the White House saying a short time ago that the strike in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children was carried out by the militant group Hezbollah and called for the attack to be universally condemned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just back from his trip to the U.S. is meeting with senior near members of his government. They are weighing rather Israel's next move. Israeli war planes have already struck the Iran-backed group deep inside Lebanon. The incident is fueling fears that an all-out war could break out on Israel's northern border. All of this providing a tense backdrop for a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks that took place in Rome today.

We've got full coverage for you. Jeremy Diamond is in the Golan Heights, Ben Wedeman in Lebanon, and Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome.

Jeremy, you first, how is Israel preparing to respond?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the Israeli prime minister returned from Washington earlier today. He immediately went into a security briefing and then to meet with his political and security cabinet.

We're now told by the prime minister's office that that meeting has indeed ended and that the meeting ended with the cabinet having authorized the prime minister and the defense minister to decide on the manner and response against Hezbollah, as well as the timing of that response. So that doesn't yet give us an indication of what that response will look like. But it is clear that the gears are now set in motion for that response to take place.

But the language about the timing of that response being up to the prime minister and the defense minister to choose is notable because it indicates that there may not be an immediate response. We saw something similar, for example, after Iran carried out its attacks against Israel a few months ago. Israel waited several days before responding. We don't know whether that that will be the case in this instance.

Already overnight the Israeli military conducting one of its regular rounds of strikes in southern Lebanon. But of course we have been told by the Israeli prime minister himself as well as officials down the line that there will be a significant and serious response to what the Israeli government says was clearly a Hezbollah rocket attack on this community of Majdal Shams. And as you can see behind me, you have people who are still milling about.

This is a very tight-knit community of Syrian Druze who live in this area of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And everybody here knows somebody who was impacted by this attack in which 12 children were killed when a rocket struck this soccer field right behind me. So still very much a community in mourning and a community also waiting to see how the Israeli government and its military will respond to this attack -- Fred.

[16:10:04]

WHITFIELD: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

Let's got to Ben Wedeman now in Lebanon.

So how is Hezbollah responding to this?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, Hezbollah responded very soon after the attack on Majdal Shams saying that they had nothing to do with that attack. Now we heard today from a senior media adviser to Hezbollah that they are in a state of mobilization, in his words, and that some military posts have been evacuated.

Now clearly there is a high level of tension in Lebanon. Today Middle East Airlines, the flag carrier for Lebanon, announced that several flights to Beirut had been delayed. They were supposed to arrive overnight. They've been delayed until tomorrow morning. We've just heard that Turkish Airlines, Air France, KLM have canceled all remaining flights to Beirut this evening and that all flights from Egypt to Lebanon have been canceled until further notice.

Now, the U.S. embassy put out an announcement sort of restating their strong advice to Americans to reconsider any travel plans to Lebanon. Now, this afternoon I arrived in Beirut and the airport was full of people coming to Lebanon, not leaving. And many of those who were in the line waiting for passport control, they have American passports.

Now today, we also had an opportunity, Fredricka, to speak to the caretaker foreign minister of Lebanon, Abdallah Bou Habib, who stressed that when it comes to Hezbollah, the Lebanese government is basically helpless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: But does the Lebanese government have the ability to control Hezbollah?

BOU HABIB, LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: Let me see, the choices to us all was too bad and worse, and I don't think we can do it. Let me be frank with you. But we always communicate with them. On my way here somebody from their office called me and, you know, we always talk with each other. Prime minister of course, the speaker speaks with them.

WEDEMAN: But do they listen to you?

HABIB: They do. There is a lot of negotiation, give and take. And they listen, they listen. To stop, no, because they started it in support of what's going on in Gaza. So I don't think they're going to listen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And the foreign minister also told me that the worry here among officials in the government is that if Israel attacks Lebanon in a big way that it's not -- they're not just going to be fighting Hezbollah. They will be fighting the Houthis in Yemen. They will be fighting militias in Syria and Iraq as well.

The real worry is that what has been until now a relatively limited war between Hezbollah and Israel could become a regional war involving many, many others -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ben Wedeman, thank you so much.

All right. Let's go to Rome now and Barbie Latza Nadeau.

Talk to us about how this is impacting the ceasefire talks there. BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, when these

ceasefire talks were scheduled, obviously that was going to be on the back of the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the United States and his address to Congress and his meeting with the Biden administration. Of course, things are drastically different today when they did meet here in Rome.

This was the head of the CIA meeting, his counterparts from Israel, Egypt, and Qatar. And the meeting did not last all day. In fact, the Israeli head of Mossad flew back to Tel Aviv immediately after the lunch hour and was meeting with the prime minister there. That's the only on the record information we actually have about what happened in this meeting.

That came from the Israeli prime minister's office saying that in fact they talked about the document with some, quote-unquote, "clarifications" that came from Israel but that the talks will be convened in a later date. They didn't say exactly when, and they didn't say exactly where, if that will come back here to the Italian capital, or if it will be held elsewhere as this incredible situation in the Middle East just continues to move forward -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome. Thank you so much.

All right. Nearly 4,000 firefighters in this country are working to slow down a massive blaze in California. It's now one of the biggest wildfires in state history. We'll take cue to the fire lines. And later, the 2024 summer games are in full swing in Paris. We are live in this city of light.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:19:37]

WHITFIELD: All right. Fire crews are just starting to make some progress on containing California's massive Park wildfire. It's left behind more than 357,000 acres of scorched landscape. The fire is only 12 percent contained and people in four Northern California counties are under evacuation warnings and orders. One woman shared what she learned when she was forced to evacuate during the Camp Fire.

[16:20:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY PATTERSON, BUTTE COUNTY VOLUNTEER: Having a plan, making sure that, you know, you're not thinking about those items that you left behind or that you could possibly lose. So having a plan is that's all I could say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Camila Bernal is on the ground in Northern California.

Camila, what are you seeing? CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, well, more than

350,000 acres burned look a lot like what you're seeing here behind me. Everything really just gone. It's heartbreaking for the people of this community. And what I'm being told is that the fire is still very active at its center. It is an areas where it is very steep, it is difficult to access that fire. But there is some progress and two things that have helped over the weekend.

Lower temperatures and also the addition of more resources, more people on the ground. That number actually about doubling. We now have almost 4,000 firefighters on the ground. And when you put those boots on the ground, there are a couple of things that they can do. We were told that some of them were able to come and assess the damage. And so as they were making those assessments, they were able to bring down the number of structures that were destroyed. That number is now at 66.

And the other thing they were able to do is what they've called a direct aggressive attack on that fire that helped the containment essentially in this fire. And so what you're seeing too is a priority for the people of this county. That's what fire officials told me. This is a county that went through the deadliest fire in California history in 2018 when a lot of people died and thousands of homes were destroyed.

And so at least from what I'm hearing from people, they're taking these evacuation warnings and orders very seriously. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't want to wait for the -- to go because I was thinking on the Paradise Fire and all the cars that didn't make it. And I didn't want to get caught in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And, you know, we've been here for a number of days and today it's finally the first time that I talked to firefighters and that they're sounding a little bit more optimistic. You know, they're happy with at least 12 percent containment when you compare it to zero yesterday, and they do expect to make some progress hopefully today and over the next couple of days. But the reality is this fire is huge. It did explode over the last two days. So there is still a lot of work to be done here -- Fred.

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

All right. Straight ahead, Vice President Kamala Harris picks up another big endorsement and she's bringing in some serious cash just one week into her presidential campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:27:09]

WHITFIELD: Vice President Kamala Harris picking up another key endorsement 100 days from the 2024 election. Former vice president Al Gore throwing his support to Harris. It comes as her campaign says she has raised $200 million since Biden announced that he would not seek reelection one week ago today.

For more, let's bring in CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic," Ron Brownstein.

Ron, great to see you. So $200 million. I mean, that's quite the haul. The campaign says 66 percent of these donations came from first-time donors.

And Ron, you had written about how Kamala Harris would benefit from an Obama light campaign. Do you see that happening here with this galvanized first-time donor support and youth oriented meme and TikTok backing?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, the clearest shift in the environment and the landscape from a week ago when President Biden dropped out until now is the unleashing of Democratic enthusiasm. You know, a political strategist named Mike Podhorzer has calculated that there were over 90 million separate individuals who came out to vote against Trump or Trumpism in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, what many Democrats call the anti-MAGA coalition.

That coalition was feeling pretty depressed about Biden's prospects against Trump. They were feeling pretty depressed about the erosion of Biden's capacity at this point in his career to make the case the Democrats want to hear made against Trump, and Harris has really unleashed all of that energy and enthusiasm. And you are seeing on multiple fronts, both in terms of the fundraising, the volunteers, the share of Democrats who say they're excited to vote.

It really is a new ballgame. I mean, it's not as though she is the favorite. She said yesterday, you know, she said I'm still the underdog, but Democrats are now in the race after it had seemed frozen in a negative way toward Biden for so long.

WHITFIELD: So how does she or the party kind of maintain this momentum, you know, and also broaden support in the next 100 days because like you said, if those 90 million, you know, anti-Trump folks out there who haven't necessarily, you know, committed, she needs some of those people.

BROWNSTEIN: Right. So, no, Joe Biden's biggest weakness, if you compare where he was when he left the race to where he was in 2020, was that he had lost ground substantially among young voters and voters of color. That was his biggest erosion. There's every indication in the early poll that Harris is going to improve on both of those fronts. She's almost certainly going to run better. She is already running better than he did among young people.

She is likely to regain some of the ground, much of the ground that who lost them on black voters to probably will regain substantial grounds among Latinos, a little less clear what's going to happen with Latino men. So if you're looking at Biden's weakness, she is in position to shore them up and improve on them.

[16:30:16]

RONALD BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (via Webex): She probably will regain substantial ground among the Latinas. A little less clear what's going to happen with Latino men. So, if you're looking at Biden's weaknesses, she is in position to shore them up and improve on them.

The question real -- really, the big question for her is whether she can maintain Biden's strengths. I mean, given all of his other problems, it was striking that, I believe (?), in 2024 was essentially running as well among white voters as he did in 2020. Not only college-educated white voters who are socially liberal and where she might do well, but also those blue-collar white voters. Older and non- college whites who are so important in those rust belt swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The best news Democrats got all weekend, Fred, was that those Fox polls that came out in those three states showed Harris running at least as well as Biden did in 2020, among working class white voters in those states. If she can do that, you know -- and it's far from clear if she can hold that all the way to November. We haven't seen the arguments Republicans are going to turn on her. She will be in a very strong position, given the likelihood that she will improve over Biden on other fronts.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then, quickly, on Trump. You know, the former president is back to his old style, right? He even said so at a rally --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- in Minnesota last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She's terrible. She's worse -- she's worse than he is. I'll tell you right now. I want to be nice. They all say, I think he's changed. I think he's changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him. No, I haven't changed. Maybe I've gotten worse, actually. Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, he said he hasn't changed. But at the Republican National Convention, following that assassination attempt, --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- he said he was a changed man. So, so after last week's change on the Democratic ticket, he seems to be struggling now with messages to help broaden his support beyond his base. BROWNSTEIN: Yes. It was always implausible that Don -- and we -- Donald Trump has shown us by now the way he approaches politics. He is a base politician, whose campaign is fueled by grievance and who focuses on dividing the electorate.

I mean, you know, kind of the paradox here is that, you know, most Americans are dissatisfied with the outcomes they have received under the Biden Administration, largely because of inflation. That we just overshadowed all of their other achievements on the economy. All the new investment. All the jobs. All the gains in the stock market.

You could run a generic Republican and they would have to be favored. You know, when 58 percent or 60 percent are saying they disapprove of the -- of the incumbent president, the other party is favored in that presidential election.

But Donald Trump is anything but a generic Republican. And even though there may be a majority who is dissatisfied with the outcomes they have gotten under Biden, that doesn't mean there's a majority who wants to live in the world -- in the country that Donald Trump is sketching out.

And, really, that is -- you know, the vice president talks about, you know, the Venn Diagrams that she loves. That's the Venn Diagram. Those voters who are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country but are really reluctant to return Trump to power.

And after a, kind of, 48-hour window of exaggerated promises from his campaign, he is back to reminding that little group in that overlap part of the Venn Diagram why they may be hesitant about giving him another term. And those voters were all going to be watching so closely in a handful of states, between now and November, to decide the direction for our nation of 330 million people.

WHITFIELD: One hundred days. All right, Ron Brownstein, great to see you. Thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So, of course, the world is closely watching the 2024 election and the shake-up that has upended the race over the last few weeks. I sat down with a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, this week and asked her about how this is impacting the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (on camera): Biden nominated you. The U.S. Senate confirmed you. What was it like to hear the president this week?

(VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a generation. That's the best way to unite our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S AMBASSADOR, THE UNITED NATIONS: You know, I -- it's been the honor of my life to have been selected by the president to serve in his cabinet and in this very high-profile room (?).

And so, like everyone else, when the president announced this decision, we all felt very emotional. But it's his decision.

[16:35:00]

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: And he has made that decision. And we're going to work until January 19th to ensure that he carries out his priorities. And we look forward to what he does next.

I'm not a political person. So, even though I'm in this big, political job and --

WHITFIELD: You're a diplomat.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I'm a diplomat. I'm a career diplomat. And as a career diplomat, I rarely would engage in domestic politics. And so, I won't engage in domestic politics here. Only to say that I have -- it was a pleasure for me to work for the president.

But, in that position, I also had the opportunity to work closely with the vice president. And I have seen her on the international stage. I have seen how she is received on the international stage. How she has engaged with her counterparts. And I do have tremendous respect for her abilities.

WHITFIELD: If she is to win, what do you believe the largest challenges on the international stage will be for her in a transitional state from the Biden administration to potentially a Kamala Harris administration?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, I think it will be a lot of the same because she's been part of this administration. So, I think -- what my guess is what will happen is that we're going -- it's going to be a recommitment to achieving some of the same goals.

How those goals are pursued may be different because they are different. But I don't see that we're going to see a massive, sort of, redirection in our foreign policy.

WHITFIELD: What might be one of the proudest endeavors or, you know, moments under the Biden Administration, as the U.N. -- U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. for you?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: When Russia invaded Ukraine. And we took a resolution to the general assembly, because Russia vetoed the resolution in the Security Council. And we were hoping that we would get, I don't know, 100 votes, 120 maximum votes, condemning Russia. And as we watched the ticker go up with the numbers. And we had 100, 135. And we had 141. And that was my proudest moment.

And I got a call from the President. And I am -- I am still proud of that moment. Because it was -- it was our hard work in New York, engaging with every single country to impress upon them how important this was. It was the work of the Secretary of State engaging with his counterpart in capitals. It was the work of our ambassadors overseas that delivered that resounding victory for peace and for democracy around the world. And I will be proud of that moment forever.

WHITFIELD: And what are you hoping that the American people understand, embrace and appreciate about the art, the skill, the value of diplomacy?

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Look, our diplomats are on the front lines of conflict. It is not our military. Our military comes in after. We've had our -- we've had diplomats killed in the line of duty. And what I would hope from Americans is that they are proud of the efforts that we, as diplomats, make overseas being on those -- on those front lines. And representing America, the face of America, overseas.

And my -- what I've been doing on this trip to Atlanta, as well as when I traveled elsewhere domestically, is speaking to the American people about why it is that the United Nations matters to them. Why it is important for us to be in leadership at the United Nations and on the frontlines of diplomacy around the world. We're delivering peace and security for people around the world. But we're also delivering peace and security for Americans.

WHITFIELD: U.S. ambassador to the U.N., what a pleasure. Thank you so much.

THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm really delighted to be here with you.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (live): All right, that was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, talking to me about a variety of world stage issues.

All right, straight ahead. The Mexican government is upset with its American counterparts, after the surprising operation to arrest two major drug cartel kingpins. And we're hearing from the lawyer of one of the cartel leaders.

[16:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The son of the infamous drug cartel boss, El Chapo, will appear in U.S. federal court on Tuesday. Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, alongside another alleged drug cartel leader named Ismael El Mayo Zambada Garcia. Sources tell CNN Guzman Lopez helped organize the arrest with U.S. officials.

[16:45:00]

WHITFIELD: The Mexican gov -- Mexican government rather, is now furious with U.S. law enforcement for not warning them about the planned operation.

Joining me right now is CNN National Correspondent Rafael Romo. Boy, this has taken a really interesting turn.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The more we learn about the story, there are more questions we have about how exactly it happened. The latest twist comes from the attorney for Ismael El Mayo Zambada, the alleged co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, who now says his clients neither surrendered or negotiated any terms with the U.S. government but was, instead, kidnapped.

I spoke earlier on the phone with Frank Perez, Zambada's attorney, who told me his 76-year-old client was kidnapped by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the other co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez forcibly kidnapped my client. He was ambushed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed by six men in military uniforms and Joaquin. His legs were tied and a black bag was placed over his head, Perez said in a statement sent to CNN.

He was then thrown into the back of a pickup truck and taken to a landing strip. There, he was forced onto a plane. His legs tied to the seat by Joaquin and brought to the U.S. against his will. The only people on the plane were the pilot, Joaquin and my client, Perez added.

U.S. law enforcement officials had previously told CNN that Joaquin Guzman Lopez had duped Zambada and orchestrated the arrest by making him believe they were flying to northern Mexico to look at real estate. Instead, the official said their small, private plane landed north of the border near El Paso, Texas, where U.S. authorities were waiting on the tarmac.

Former D.A. agent, Jack Riley, told CNN that Zambada managed to elude law enforcement for decades.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK RILEY, FORMER AGENT, DEA: There's some speculation that El Mayo Zambada may have been in the process of trying to negotiate a surrender. I see that highly unlikely, given where he was in the organization.

But this it is a tremendous blow to Sinaloa. And I think it's important to understand that this guy has been around. Mayo Zambada has been around for 40 years. That's really unheard of for someone in his position. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And CNN learned Saturday that whatever action the U.S. might have taken to arrest Zambada and Guzman Lopez prompted a furious behind-the-scenes reaction from the Mexican government. A U.S. official familiar with the operations said Mexican officials are demanding senior U.S. law enforcement explain exactly what transpired in their own country.

Meanwhile, Guzman Lopez is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday in Chicago, the U.S. attorney told CNN but declined further comment.

We were trying to also speak with them, --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ROMO: -- trying to get that other side of the story. But he declined only saying that he's in jail, and he's going to appear in court.

WHITFIELD: Something tells me there is going to be more, and you'll bring it to us.

ROMO: I totally agree with you, yes.

WHITFIELD: Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

[16:48:02]

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WHITFIELD: OK. The Olympic competitions are really heating up. But it was the electrifying gymnast, Simone Biles, who really stole the show in Paris today. CNN's Coy Wire is in Paris for all the action. Coy, Biles is already considered the greatest gymnast in history. But today, I mean, she really nailed it, didn't she?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it was a party in Paris at that women's gymnastics team qualifier. All sorts of celebrities in the house. We're talking Tom Cruise had some "TOP GUN" in the stands, walking, taking selfies with the fans. Snoop Dogg sitting in the front row. Ariana Grande was there. You had John Legend. His wife, Chrissy Teigen, in the house. Jessica Chastain, too. All to see the goat, Simone Biles, in Paris, in her third Olympic games.

But during warm-ups, Fredricka, she injured herself. She was limping. The arena got quiet. But Simone rises up, tapes up her ankles and rallies to dominate. Her coach told the media afterwards that it was a lingering calf injury. But Biles dug deep for that iconic performance. The team qualified for the final. Four of the five U.S. gymnasts qualified for individual events led by Biles in four of them. So, a shot at five more medals for the goat in Paris. And there was a shocker in the pool. Team USA's world and Olympic

record holder in the 100-meter butterfly. Gretchen Walsh in her first ever games (?), getting caught down the stretch by her teammate Torri Huske. The U.S. finishing one and two, with the 21-year-old Huske, who missed the podium in Tokyo, becoming an Olympic champion this time.

Lebron James and Team USA pulling away in the fourth quarter in their opener to dominate Nikola Jokic and Serbia for their first win here in Paris. Lebron finishing with 21. But U.S. all-time leading scorer, Kevin Durant, comes off the bench for his first game with the team and lights it up to the tune of 23 points. Final score 110 to 84. The U.S. plays South Sudan next on Wednesday.

Finally, Fredricka, these are not high school yearbook photos. This is a teenage trio who swept the women's skateboarding street competition at these games. Japan's 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa taking the gold. Fifteen-year-old teammate, Liz Akama, winning the silver. And 16-year- old Rayssa Leal taking the bronze.

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WIRE: An Olympic medal and they can't even drive yet. The IOC said they wanted the younger fans to watch the games. The youth (?) said, no, we're not just watching, we're competing and we're winning all of the metals, thank you very much.

What an awesome Sunday funday for the Olympics here in Paris, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I love it. I can't wait to now watch it all. Because, you know, we're preparing for a show. Doing a show. Didn't get to see any of it but I will later.

Coy Wire, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

WIRE: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks for joining me today, this entire weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you next Saturday and Sunday right here. But before that, join me on Max at 8:00 a.m. Thursday and Friday. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean right after this.

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