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Trump Safe as FBI Investigates Apparent Assassination Attempt. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:00:47]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.

We continue to follow breaking news out of Florida, where the FBI is now investigating an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump just two months after the former president was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump is safe. He was not harmed in Sunday's incident at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A 58-year-old man, identified -- you see him there -- as Ryan Wesley Routh has been detained.

He had weighed in on politics on social media in the past, at times criticizing Trump. A source says the FBI investigation has now gone global as officials look into the alleged assassin's background, or attempted assassin's background.

Earlier the Palm Beach County sheriff said the Secret Service fired shots at a man who was holding a rifle in the bushes along the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club.

A source says Trump had been playing golf at the time. He was moving between the fifth and six holes. His outing, we are told, was a last- minute decision.

Officials described just how far the former president was from the man at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL BARROS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SECRET SERVICE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: It was one or two holes behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is that?

BARROS: Because the bubble moves through the golf course. So, our agents will get there first, clear. He noticed that the rifle was pointed out. Our agents engaged. We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents. But for sure, our agents were able to engage with -- with the -- with this individual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

BARROS: I don't know. It doesn't appear so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Trump, who returned to Mar-a-Lago after the incident, put out a fundraising email quite quickly after, saying in part, "My resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life. I will never slow down. I will never give up. I will never surrender."

CNN's Randi Kaye has more details now from Palm Beach County, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are learning more about the man who was detained in this incident here at Trump International Golf Course.

His name is Ryan Wesley Routh. He lived in Hawaii for some time. He's 58 years old, and the car that he was driving actually belonged to his daughter.

We understand from law enforcement that, when he was taken into custody, he was calm and that he was not displaying emotion, according to law enforcement.

Now, we also know that he had with him, according to what was found at the scene, two backpacks and a GoPro, as well as an AK-47 style rifle.

Now this all unfolded after Secret Service, who was on the golf course working the holes ahead of Donald Trump, saw the barrel of a rifle poking through the fence. And then they engaged the suspect with some gunfire. He took off.

They made chase. They eventually tracked him down and took him into custody.

Now, in terms of the law enforcement presence here, still at the International Golf Club, the roads have been closed since this incident occurred. That has continued much through the day here on Summit Boulevard, which is the main thoroughfare outside the front of the International Golf Club.

That is where holes five and six, where this incident apparently occurred, those holes back up to Summit Boulevard where we are standing. And this has been closed for hours.

So, that is sort of a key boulevard, as well as others that surround the club, which would be Kirk Road and Congress Avenue. All of them were shut down following this incident.

The former president was kept here at the International Golf Club for hours, made sure that the area was secure, the entire golf club was locked down. And then he was brought to Mar-a-Lago, which he calls home about 15 minutes from here in West Palm Beach.

So, we understand that he does still have scheduled events this week. And we will see what the week brings and what the investigation brings, as well.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Donald Trump has just posted a new statement on Truth Social that reads, "I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes. It was certainly an interesting day. Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his office of brave and dedicated patriots and all of law enforcement for the incredible job done today at Trump International and keeping me, as the 45th president of the United States and the Republican nominee in the upcoming presidential election, SAFE. THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"

Joining me now from Palm Springs, California, is Bobby Chacon, retired FBI special agent, former leader of an FBI dive team.

Bobby, good to have you on tonight. Appreciate your experience on this.

As you listen to law enforcement, explain the situation leading up to this incident. They had agents a hole or two ahead of the former president.

But as our reporter was saying last hour, they had not blocked off, it seems, access to the golf course entirely. And by the way, there are other players there. I suppose, to some degree that's natural.

But does that strike you as a sufficient enough cordon, as it were around the former president, which allowed this attempted gunman to get within 300, 500 yards of the former president.

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Yes, it wouldn't seem so. But you know, what they do after each of these events is they do a hot wash to do what lessons learned.

And so, one of the things coming out of Pennsylvania was to push these boundaries back. And one of the things coming out of this incident may be to actually extend the security perimeters even further.

You know, I'm surprised they didn't deploy. This would have been a perfect example of deploying a drone that can fly over bigger spaces and give you kind of an eye in the sky and see those things.

But it may be a result of lessons learned here that we push the security perimeter back even further. As you've spoken about tonight, you know, the caliber of this weapon. And I'm not talking about the particular -- the range of this weapon is such, and it's so readily available that they should consider starting to push these security perimeters further and further. SCIUTTO: When you look -- and I think we can put the picture back up

on here, what was the position where this gunman was. You had this AK- 47 style rifle, long-barreled rifle with some range to it.

But you also have these -- these backpacks that seemed to be -- as police described, it had ceramic plates in there, which are -- which are a form of body armor, in effect.

The way it was set up there, does that look to you like a firing position in which he was trying to protect himself from the possibility of return fire?

CHACON: Yes, it does to me. I think that -- you know, I used to wear one of them ceramic ballistic places, as well, over my Kevlar.

And I think that, if you look at the way they're set up, if he was in a kneeling position, so if there was a berm on the other side of that fence on the golf course side. And he couldn't be in a prone position, because the land rose up on the other side. If he was going to shoot from a kneeling position, you can see him setting that rifle barrel in between those two backpacks, which could have provided him ballistic protection from -- from return fire coming at him.

So, it did kind of look like a shooting position to me. If he was in a kneeling position, those plates were at the height where his head and the rifle might be.

SCIUTTO: When you look at -- and now we're showing images of when he was taken on the highway, and as police described it, there was a witness who saw the alleged gunman go into a vehicle.

He gave a description of that vehicle. I think even a license plate. And then they were able to quickly get -- apprehend him, as you're seeing there.

You've been in law enforcement a long time. We have two attempted assassination attempts in the span of two months against the former president, both with long rifles, right? An AR-platform rifle in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now an AK-47-style rifle here in Florida.

Does that make the job of the Secret Service just more difficult? The fact that weapons like this with ranges like this are so available?

CHACON: Well, of course. You're right. I mean, look, if -- if we only had everybody with knives out there, we wouldn't be talking about a security perimeter, you know, of 500 yards. Right?

So yes, the longer -- the longer-range weapons that are available, the more they are available to the public, the -- the more difficult the job is of protecting someone. Sure. That's -- that's -- it's seemingly common sense that the more dangerous weapons that you have in circulation that are available to the general public, the more danger there is to people who become targets.

And unfortunately, our political system now, all of our politicians, you know, could become targets. So, I think, yes, it makes -- it makes the job much more difficult.

SCIUTTO: It seems so often in shootings, whether they're attempts on the former president's life or school shootings that -- and other incidents, that it's not the first time law enforcement has heard of the perpetrator.

[00:10:05]

You think about this kid in the Apalachee school. You know, he had a run-in with police before. This -- this gentlemen, Routh, as well. He was arrested in 2002 for barricading himself into a business, he had a firearm, and he was later charged with possession of a fully automatic machine gun. And yet is some -- we'll learn how he got this weapon, whether it was legal. Perhaps it was illegal. But as you know, sadly, sometimes folks can have a record and still get a weapon like this.

Does that make sense to you?

CHACON: No. There are certain crimes -- I think, you know, when we start talking about the gun rights, I think that there are certain crimes that should prohibit you from ever having a gun again, having a fully automatic weapon, you should never have the ability to get a gun again.

Certain domestic violence and certain violent crimes and, you know, certain threats being made. I think that you should forfeit your right to ever own a gun again.

I think that that's the kind of thing we need to do instead of -- you know, I know a lot of the talk always goes to restricting everybody from buying a gun.

But I think that first, we need to, you know, start enforcing a different set of laws that go to these people that have already committed crimes, are already shown a propensity for possible violence to -- to target that population.

First, to prevent them from getting guns again, or getting guns in the first place.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, it seemed to make sense. Barbie Chacon, thanks so much for joining us tonight.

CHACON: Thanks, Jim. Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: U.S. President Joe Biden says he is relieved that Donald Trump was unharmed in Sunday's apparent assassination attempt.

In a statement, he says, quote, "As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I've directed my team to continue to ensure that secret -- the Secret Service has every resource capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president's continued safety."

Democratic presidential nominee, also vice president, Kamala Harris, she also released a statement saying, quote, "I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear. I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence."

Those statements coming very quickly after this incident.

Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, said he spoke with the former president before news of the attempts, apparent attempt went public. He posted on X, "I'm glad President Trump is safe. He was amazingly in good spirits. Still much we don't know, but I'll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude."

Joining me now from Los Angeles, CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. He's also a senior editor for "The Atlantic."

Ron, it's good to have you on.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: I mean, we talk a lot about a lot of things, a lot of political developments. And of course, there's sadly a political element to this, because we are in an age of political violence, sadly, in this country.

But -- but first, just if you can, comment on seeing two incidents like this, two months apart, what that says about the state of political violence in this country.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I mean, look, threats and attempts of political violence have become much more frequent in American life in the last few years.

And of course, these are the most spectacular and horrific examples when you have a former president involved. But we're talking about everything from school board, to local governments, to public health officials during COVID, to the Democratic governor of Michigan, with, we know, a kidnapping and potentially assassination plot.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: This is a society that is facing, in many ways, threats to its fundamental cohesion that we have not seen in a very long time.

I remember talking to one of the former Trump DHS officials after January 6, who felt that we were kind of heading into our own version of the troubles, as they called it in Northern Ireland, in which threats of political violence would become just kind of a backbeat to our lives.

And they have indeed, I think, become more common. We've heard reports about all the threats to election officials leading up to this --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: -- this November election. It's a different era in American life. SCIUTTO: And let's be frank. I mean, there are politicians who quickly condemn political violence and those who do not. A fact. And that's -- it's a sad fact the debate, again, you saw Trump attempt to normalize political violence by the way he was defending the January 6 rioters and saying that they were badly treated, and making one of them almost into a martyr.

And we've obviously seen him instigating hate against a marginalized community in Ohio.

Doesn't justify any of this, you know, action against him and doesn't justify, you know, what -- what someone apparently did today, but it contributes -- you know, it does contribute to this -- to this climate.

[00:15:17]

I mean, there's no question that Trump has been someone who has used violent language, who has targeted marginalized communities and has gone, really, the opposite end of condemning.

But I mean, J.D. Vance would not even really condemn the Proud Boys who marched in -- in Ohio today. So, it's a dangerous environment in which we seem to be teetering on the edge of something really scary happening with unpredictable results for the country.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, I have to ask you where this leaves us some 50 days, just over 50 days from a -- what promises to be a close election, but also a highly divisive one, to have these two attempts thrown into the mix.

I mean, you can only describe that as fuel on the fire.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Already burning, to some degree. Where does it leave us? Right. As we come -- come close to election day.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I've said before, I think we are facing the greatest threats to our fundamental cohesion since the years before the Civil War.

And you see some of the things that have happened tonight in the aftermath of this attempt. First of all, you know, as is usually the case, someone who would do something like this, their political ideology does not follow what any of us would consider a straight line, you know, in terms of kind of tracking the boundaries of the usual political division and dispute.

I mean, this is someone who has sort of ricocheted all over the political map. And -- and the most constant threat in all of these cases, and some that you were just talking about, you know, is an obsession with guns.

But look, you know, we are at a moment where the country is closely divided and deeply divided. And you see almost immediately among some of the Trump allies, an attempt to, you know, somehow wrap this into a conspiracy.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Ron DeSantis saying he's going to do his own investigation out of Florida, because he doesn't trust the federal government.

Elon Musk posting something that was truly reprehensible.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: I mean that's especially unusual. But it's astonishing the kind of thing that he put out on Twitter tonight is seeming to incite yet more violence, potentially.

So, it is going to be a rocky road between now and November, and really between November and January. And he's caught -- even if these people are not part of the conventional political dispute. As I say, they don't track the boundaries of our political divide and debate.

It just adds more pressure and more fuel, as you say, to kind of this -- this fire that is -- that is simmering and is going to get ugly in other ways between now and November, as we've seen with this rather remarkable story out of Ohio, for example.

SCIUTTO: And the lines keep getting moved, right? The lines of what's acceptable or tolerated.

Ron Brownstein, good to have you on.

Thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: The troubles.

SCIUTTO: The troubles.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: It's a good comparison.

Well, still ahead, reaction from Republican lawmakers pouring in after this apparent attempt on the former president's life. Please do stay with us.

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[00:22:14]

SCIUTTO: Many Republican lawmakers have been reacting to the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida. House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X, saying in part, quote, "No leader in American history has endured more attacks and remained so strong and resilient. He is unstoppable."

Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida called for the U.S. Secret Service to brief Congress, saying that, quote, "The July 13 assassination attempt was not an isolated incident that we can take our time investigating as domestic and foreign threats are ongoing."

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Democrats, asking on X whether two assassination attempts on Donald Trump's life are considered a threat to democracy yet.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is following all the developments; has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I was talking to a number of campaign advisers who say there are still a lot of questions as to what exactly happened, the details there, and how exactly this happened --

HOLMES (voice-over): -- in particular, how the suspect knew where Donald Trump was going to be and when today.

Just a reminder, he is a former president. He is not a current sitting president, which means he doesn't have to put out a schedule. There was no pool, press pool following him around.

And so, instead, this was a private event with a close friend. He was with ally and donors Steve Witkoff, golfing his property there. So, there's a lot of questions as to how exactly this unfolded.

Now one thing that I've spoken to a number of campaign advisers about is that they are pleased with the Secret Service response.

One thing that I will note is that, after that assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, there were a lot of questions as to why exactly the U.S. Secret Service did not respond or engage in the shooter quickly. That is not, or at least does not seem to be the case here.

As we know, Donald Trump seem to be traveling with least two sets of Secret Service agents, ones that were behind him. And then another set that was in front of him.

He himself was traveling between the fifth and sixth hole, we are told. There was an entire other Secret Service group ahead of him advancing him. That is the group that saw the rifle and engaged with the suspect on the golf course? Shots were fired.

And then a second group of Secret Service agents took Donald Trump away. They went back to the club, which was on lockdown for several hours.

Then we were told Donald Trump was brought back to Mar-a-Lago. Again, several hours later, which is not completely unreasonable.

Something we saw in Butler, Pennsylvania. as well, Secret Service taking their time to secure the location, as well as make sure there's no secondary location or secondary potential gunman waiting.

So, that is unsurprising. HOLMES: Now we also are told that the campaign managers have now

reached out to the entire staff, to the campaign to discuss what happened today with them in an email.

This is what they wrote. This came from co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.

[00:25:02]

HOLMES (voice-over): Partly, they say, "Today for the second time in two months, an evil monster attempted to take the life of President Trump. Thankfully, no one was injured at the golf course. This is not a matter that we take lightly. Your safety is always top priority. We ask that you remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings. Be observant, maintain a constant level of situational awareness."

We are also told that, for at least some time period after this assassination attempt --

HOLMES: -- they did close down the West Palm Beach or at least locked down the West Palm Beach campaign offices. They had done the same thing after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

They're clearly trying to make sure that everyone around Donald Trump is safe.

But also, you hear them. They're encouraging and urging people to remain vigilant, to keep their eyes open.

HOLMES (voice-over): They believe there is potentially an ongoing security threat.

But again, a big -- a huge notable event here. We are now talking about the second assassination attempt in roughly two months.

But on top of that, lots of questions still as to how exactly and why exactly --

HOLMES: -- this happened again.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Sources tell CNN that Donald Trump's golf game was a last- minute addition to his schedule. Earlier, CNN's Erin Burnett spoke to Marc Caputo, national political reporter for "The Bulwark," conservative news outlet.

She asked how Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect, could have known Trump's location ahead of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE BULWARK": Two schools of thought. No. 1, that falls into the paranoia basket, right? How did he know?

And in talking to local law enforcement, there are questions about how this man knew that.

Now, it is true that Donald Trump is somewhat of a creature of habit. He does have a tendency the play golf on Sundays when he's in town. And the question that no one's able to answer yet, and hopefully, will be answered, is this person, the alleged assassin, appeared to have been from out-of-state.

How did he drive down there? How did he case the joint? How do you know when the former president would be there and come within his potential line of sight.

Just a whole load of questions. And local law enforcement that I've talked to have asked the same questions, and no one really knows. But leading up to this, the former president had been -- had been subject to some critical coverage in the news media for stoking some conspiracy theories about the first assassination attempt. And now that the second one came along. It's going to be hard to persuade him otherwise, that there is not some deeper, darker force at work.

I'm not saying that there is, but this is just his belief system. And it's only going to strengthened by the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Our breaking news continues right after a short break. We're going to take a closer look at exactly where the investigation stands now. Stay with us.

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[00:31:33]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Back to our breaking news coverage, as we are learning that the FBI's investigation into a second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump has now gone global.

A source say authorities are working to obtain search warrants on social media accounts believed to be associated with Ryan Wesley Routh, some of which are on platforms outside of the U.S. That explains the global aspect.

Routh, pictured there, is in custody in connection with the apparent attempted assassination. The source adds that authorities have not identified any potential coconspirators.

A congressional task force already investigating the first attempt on Trump's life two months ago is now requesting a briefing with the Secret Service following Sunday's incident.

Here's what the Secret Service had to say about the incident so far. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the Secret Service, have you guys changed at all the way that you guys are protecting former President Donald Trump this now second -- potential second attempt on him. Can you just elaborate on how things have changed and what you make of all of this?

BARROS: Yes. We changed the -- the threat level is high. We have increased the amount of assets that we support. So, we are -- we live in a dangerous time. So yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, perhaps not satisfied, announced he will have his state conduct its own investigation of the apparent assassination attempt.

One official says Ryan Wesley Routh was relatively calm, did not display much emotion as he was detained. Here is the Palm Beach County sheriff, recounting events leading to his apprehension.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF: We are able to locate a witness that came to us and said, hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black Nissan, and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag, which was great.

So, we had that information. Our real-time crime center put it out to the license plate readers, and we were able to get a hit on that vehicle on I-95 as it was headed into Martin County.

We got a hold of the Martin County Sheriff's Office, alerted them, and they spotted the vehicle and pulled it over. And detained the guy.

After that, we took the victim -- I'm sorry, the witness that witnessed the incident -- took -- flew him up there. And he identified as the person that he saw running out of the bushes that jumped into the car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Quick work there, and a helpful witness, as well. Law enforcement found a weapon, among other items, left behind the scene. It was an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, along with two backpacks. You could see them hanging there. They apparently had ceramic plates, bulletproof plates inside, as well as a GoPro camera.

Routh's eldest son tells CNN his father, in his experience, is a loving, caring, and hardworking man. He says, quote, "I don't know what's happened in Florida. And I hope things have just been blown out of proportion. Because from the little I've heard, it doesn't sound like the man I know, to do anything crazy, much less violent. He's a good father, a great man. And I hope you can portray him in an honest light."

Those are the words of his son.

[00:35:02]

The FBI is looking for any information the public has to offer about the incident. During a news conference, the special agents in charge asked local residents to stay away from the scene, instead encouraging them to provide details to law enforcement if they have them to help its ongoing case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY B. VELTRI, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: We've deployed a number of resources, including investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians, and evidence response team members, as well.

What we need right now is for the public to avoid the area around the golf course.

We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, alongside our partners with the United States Secret Service and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, as well as Martin County Sheriff's Office, and state and local law enforcement.

I would ask that, if anyone has any information that may assist with this investigation to contact our tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or at TIPS -- That's T-I-P-S -- dot FBI dot gov.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Daniel Brunner. He's a retired special agent with the FBI and president of the Brunner Sierra Group. Good to have you on.

Thanks for joining us tonight.

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED SPECIAL AGENT WITH THE FBI: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: So, after the Butler, Pennsylvania, incident, the Secret Service expanded its resources. I wonder, based on what you observed today, based on what we know, and of course, the investigation is still going on. It's early.

Did they sufficiently increase those resources and protections to allow someone. Granted, they stopped him. Right. But he did get within 300 to 500 yards with a long rifle.

BRUNNER: Well, there's a number of questions that need to be answered. And then the investigation by the FBI and the Secret Services investigation running concurrently. But at the FBI with the lead, we're going to -- we're going to get answers to these.

There's lots of different questions after Butler. Clearly, Butler, he was much closer. But there's a lots of questions as to how did he get this intelligence? How did he know that the president was there? How did he know that, not only was the president at the golf course,

but where he was on the golf course? He was positioned in those bushes. How long was he positioned in those bushes? At what point did he do advanced work on this?

A lot of these questions, but fortunately, for the FBI Miami division, they have a lot of electronic evidence. This individual clearly had a tremendous electronic presence. Social media, he was online a lot. He was over in Ukraine. He was traveling there.

So, a lot of these -- this digital evidence is going to be collected along with what the SAC of Miami was asking for, was the community providing any video evidence, any you know, closed-circuit TV from stores that are across the street from the day before. Was that vehicle seen there?

So, all this evidence is going to be collected together, and a timeline, a pathway to violence will be determined. And to find where did this pathway start? Where did it diverge from his travels in Ukraine to where he is now to figure out why did he -- what was his motivation?

But the FBI will be leading that investigation and find out these things.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, the path of radicalization to making such a choice. But also, you raise a very important one. What was the planning prior? It came from out-of-state.

As we understand it, Trump's decision to play on that course today was a last-minute decision, wasn't public. But he does play on this course. He's known to play on Sundays.

How long had -- had the suspect here but been casing it outright, to make a decision to be where he was, which was quite close, right, to where the former president was at that exact moment. I mean, that speaks to some prepper preparation. Does it not?

BRUNNER: Now, this is clearly some event that he -- he had planned for. We're going to find those breadcrumbs. The FBI Miami division are going to find the breadcrumbs. They're going to figure out how he did that.

This is not a target of opportunity. This wasn't someone who lived across the street and saw the motorcade arrive. This is someone who lived out-of-state. So clearly, the LPRs that detected him leaving the state are going to have his records of him coming into the state.

And they're going to be able to look at that evidence and find how long he had been preparing for this, whether he had been talking to somebody for -- at the -- at the golf club or at Mar-a-Lago; just in conversation online. Those little things, those little slip-ups by someone who may be a janitor or maybe a guard and may be providing information to someone they thought would be friendly.

Those are the sorts of things that they're going to look for. Little pieces and little clues to indicate why was he coming from North Carolina to Florida to conduct this event.

Had he been living here? Had he rented an apartment, a hotel, a motel? All these things are going to be collected. There's lots of questions.

[00:40:08]

And setting up those ballistic plate vests, that, for me, indicates that he was trying to defend. He was going to be in a defensive position, because he anticipated returning fire. And with the GoPro, attempted to livestream it. I think that there was a lot of drowning, and they're going to see a lot of evidence.

SCIUTTO: Yes. We've showed that picture up again. I mean, it was a firing position that he seemed to have there, with those backpacks hanging with those ceramic plates, which are meant to be bulletproof plates there to resist -- I mean, it would seem, as described -- to resist incoming fire.

Let me ask you this. I mean, as is so often the case, this is not his first run-in with law enforcement. A number of arrests, but this one in 2002, I just want to draw attention to.

Barricaded himself into a business, had a firearm, but also was charged with carrying a fully automatic machine gun. How could someone like that get their hands on, legally, if that's how he got his hands on this AK-47, get his hands on a weapon like that?

BRUNNER: Well, that's something the ATF is going to determine and figure out how that weapon got into his hands, whether it was purchased through a straw brier [SIC] -- excuse me, a straw buyer, or purchased legally.

He's going to look at, depending on which state he was able to acquire the weapon. Along with the scope, every single piece, where did he get the ammunition? Where did he train? Did he practice with this weapon?

So a lot of these things is -- it needs to be determined. And ATF working with the FBI, getting that information, fortunately, I'm sure they have the serial number already. I'm sure they already have where it was purchased, where it was sold.

And getting this information, the fact that he has the 2002 arrest for, you know, having a barricaded situation and having that firearm back then, it is alarming. That needs to be looked at, as -- as to how he was able to get a new firearm.

So, many years later, the anticipation of the event. He prepared for this, and that's what we're all going to look at now. There's going to have to be answers.

But when the most important things is not going to be quick, it's not going to have answers tomorrow morning. The FBI needs to conduct their investigation. Just as Butler did, it didn't happen overnight. It's going to take some time to gather all this evidence and properly analyze it correctly and so we have information the first time correctly. SCIUTTO: Daniel Brunner, thanks so much for helping us understand.

I'm joined now by CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali.

And Tim, historically, we're talking about this last hour. There have been violent periods before in our nation's political history and were in the midst of another one, again.

One difference, right, is that so many participants right now, very public participants in the political discourse deliberately do not condemn violence, right?

I mean, you had very quick statements tonight from President Biden, Vice President Harris explicitly condemning all political violence.

But the fact is our discourse that -- in our discourse, that is not a universal principle at this point, I guess; some that seem to openly encourage it.

NAFTALI: We are living in a period of great political turmoil. And the first thing that needs to be said, and repeatedly said, is that we are very fortunate that the former president is safe and that, whatever Mr. Routh intended, he did not achieve.

That's the first thing to keep in mind. And it's important that we all understand why violence is not the way to resolve our political disputes.

But as we've discussed, and in our history, all too many people have sought to resolve political disagreements by the use of guns. And it almost happened, it seems, today.

We have been living, since January 6th, in a country that can't seem to agree with itself about what is the appropriate way to approach a political situation that you find abhorrent.

And we should have had a coming together after January 6, to at least lay down this one basic principle: that we understand that there's always a tomorrow. Don't act as if this is the end of history. Don't use violence if you're not happy with the outcome of a political event. Because our Constitution provides for another time.

[00:45:10]

And we didn't really come together. I'm not saying that's the reason for today's madness or attempted madness, but the fact of the matter is, we live in a way too fragile society.

And we have lived in a similar situation in our country in the past. But there's no reason for us to want it to be a regular situation. And I worry about where we are today.

I hope we will wait for law enforcement to conclude whether Mr. Routh acted alone. We are in such a conspiratorial moment in our country that it would be easy to come to conclusions that would be very damaging for the country. Let's wait to find out if the man worked alone. It's very important

that we not jump to conclusions.

SCIUTTO: No question. I mean, the sad fact is there's a heck of a lot of that going around at every moment in the political discourse, right? The allegations being made without -- without evidence.

I wonder, when you look to previous periods of political division in this country, where there's been political violence. And I'm thinking the year 1968 and times around that and other difficult times.

What got us out of that period -- of a period like that? What -- what were the elements? And I'm not saying it ends -- that there's a hard break, but what are the elements that help calm the waters?

NAFTALI: Leadership. Bipartisan leadership, a sense that the country's in trouble and that political differences have to be put to one side, not to end elections. But when extremism raises its ugly head, leadership stands in the way and says, we are not like this. We are not this way.

And so, we saw leadership on the issues of gun control after the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968. We saw it again in 1972 when George Wallace was nearly killed by an assassin.

In 1968, at a time of great political tension, Republicans and Democrats together voted for another Civil Rights Bill, one which desegregated federal housing. The housing bill. It was possible, even in '68, to reach across the aisle and reach an agreement.

So, we have in the past, our leaders, our elected leaders have shown that they can rise above partisanship when the country seems on the edge of extremism.

And the question today is, are we capable of it again? When so many it appears, or at least two this summer, have sought to deprive us of the vote by using their weapons against one choice by one major party.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, listen, you look at the years, too: 1963, Kennedy; '68 Kennedy; of course, Martin Luther King; '72, Wallace; '81, Reagan. I mean they seem like --

NAFTALI: Nineteen seventy-five.

SCIUTTO: Seventy-five --

NAFTALI: Seventy-five, Gerald Ford, twice.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAFTALI: No, it's -- it is bred in the bone in this country. It's not unusual. There's a sad regularity about this.

Harry Truman was the target of an assassination attempt. Franklin Roosevelt as -- as a president-elect, was the target, it appears, of an assassination attempt. We still don't know if he or the mayor of Chicago, who was actually killed, was the likely target. But -- but Franklin Roosevelt was fired on.

So, this just hasn't happened once. It has happened many -- too many times.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAFTALI: And it's because, I believe, there is the capacity of extremism in our political culture. And we need to rise above that.

SCIUTTO: A long history of it. Tim Naftali, thanks so much.

We will continue our breaking news coverage, including steps officials are taking now to increase security around Donald Trump's properties in Florida, following this second apparent assassination attempt.

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[00:53:26]

SCIUTTO: Sources tell CNN that Trump's golf outing on Sunday was a last-minute addition to his schedule. The spontaneous golf game may have complicated matters for the Secret Service.

Golf courses, particularly Trump's own properties, have long been a source of concern among officials tasked with securing the grounds.

Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach presents its own set of unique challenges. The course sits along three heavily trafficked roads, and Palm Beach International Airport is nearby, as well.

Earlier, CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow, shed light on Trump's security detail while golfing and what he says were clear vulnerabilities prior to this incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: There are specific protocols that have, you know, been in place for the former president when he is golfing. And that that structure has since been enhanced even more with additional agents.

Again, today, the model worked, where those agents that were flanking in advance of the president, their role specifically is to identify this type of specific long-range threat.

Now, the question that -- the follow-up question is going to be -- and the Secret Service will need to address this -- is how was the outer perimeter, how was this shooter able to get to that outer perimeter, an area that, you know, should have been identified as a vulnerability previously?

Again, if you are able to get line of sight from the fence line into the golf course where the former president is, in this threat environment, that needs lets to be addressed fully.

[00:55:00] And as you may remember back in 2017, there was a -- you know, a CNN crew that was actually filming the then-president of the United States, you know, golfing with a clear line of sight that -- that was blocked or mitigated by a box truck.

But -- so the thought that you have seen inside the golf course from the exterior, this isn't the first time this has happened.

So, there are some questions that the Secret Service will have to answer for that. But at the end of the day, the protective model that surrounds the president worked. You know, we saw that happen.

And more to the point, the communication, the immediate notification by the agent that, you know, shots were fired, that there was a suspect, that communication was immediately picked up by local law enforcement who were able to carry forward the -- the immediate action of, you know, setting up a perimeter around the golf course, and then getting the witness to identify exactly the vehicle, the tag number, and bringing a successful resolution to the immediate threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Quite a moment. In the last 24 hours, another apparent assassination attempt of the former President Donald Trump.

Thanks so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. My colleague, Anna Coren, will have more news right after a short break.

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