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FBI Investigating Apparent Assassination Attempt On Trump; Tensions Rise In Springfield Amid Baseless Migrant Claims; Texans Hold Off Bears On Sunday Night Football. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 5:31 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at West Palm Beach, Florida this morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

For the second time in two months, the FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump's life. The questions are mounting about how a gunman was able to get so close to Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The gunman was near the sixth hole when a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through the fence and opened fire in the direction of the gunman. Trump was one hole away, approximately, and was unharmed.

Law enforcement sources say that Ryan Wesley Routh has been detained in connection with the incident and, so far, is not speaking to investigators.

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DAVE ARONBERG, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY: He has a rap sheet. Apparently, a lot of the crimes were up in North Carolina. He apparently knew enough with his previous interactions with law enforcement that when he was pulled over and detained on I-95 about 40 minutes north of West Palm Beach -- he was apparently trying to drive out, perhaps driving back to North Carolina -- that he knew enough to stay silent. He did not apparently speak to officers. He was calm.

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HUNT: There's also a focus on the golf course itself and whether or not there was enough security provided for the former president.

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SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: You've got to understand the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery they're pretty much out of sight, all right? And at this level that he is at right now he's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. Joining me now to discuss the latest is Dan Oates. He's the former police chief of Aurora, Colorado. Chief Oates, thank you for being here this morning.

I want to get your take on the security situation, particularly around protecting golf courses because they have unique challenges. I know you've actually played the course in question, in addition to bringing your law enforcement expertise to bear.

What would you kind of bring to our attention in the wake of the events of yesterday?

DAN OATES, FORMER POLICE CHIEF OF AURORA, COLORADO, FORMER POLICE CHIEF AND SAFETY SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN (via Webex by Cisco): Well, you know, it's very different to secure a site -- a fixed site for a presidential visit and then to provide the same level of protection at a golf course. I mean, the golf course is a huge, broad expanse. I know enough about that golf course -- I've played it a few times -- that much of it is surrounded by foliage. But there is a portion that is adjoining a runway and apparently, that's where this occurred.

Now, you know, there's some good news here. The Service was advancing his movement across the golf course and intercepted the threat ahead of the president and acted on it, and they're to be commended for that. But in terms of personnel, you take a golf course like that and to truly cover that broad expanse would require a lot more personnel.

[05:35:07]

Again, that course almost -- almost all of it, with the exception of that area around that fifth and sixth hole, is -- sort of goes out into the wilderness foliage area where there is no access by the public.

So some real challenges for the Service compared to securing a fixed site, which should be a much easier way to go in terms of protecting a protectee.

HUNT: So one thing that's been noted, of course, is that Donald Trump currently the presumptive Republican nominee and a former president, but that may merit a different level of protection than, of course, the sitting president when he were to do something like this.

What do you understand about the differences in those two things, and what more is reasonable to do for the former president in the waning days of this campaign?

OATES: Well, you know, in light of the earlier attack two months ago, I'm sure there's an additional level of protection for the -- for former President Trump right now. The President of the United States gets a massive package of protection and a lot of mobilized local law enforcement resources as well. I'm surmising that he's played golf there so many times that there is a package and a deployment plan for that golf course when he plays that they've been using for some time.

The biggest thing that could be a difference would be additional personnel spread out more broadly around the course. Perhaps some other technology -- you know, drones or something -- other efforts could be put in place. And I'm sure the Service is rethinking all of that. But it's important to point out that the plan that they had did, in fact, intercept the threat.

So I'm sure there's going to be an evaluation that's going to take place. I understand the director of the Service is actually going to be on scene today to personally look at -- personally look into the entirety of that.

But the important thing here is they were successful here in intercepting a threat.

HUNT: All right, Dan Oates for us this morning. Sir, very grateful to have your expertise. Thank you very much for being here.

OATES: Thank you.

HUNT: All right.

Many of Donald Trump's supporters became aware of the second assassination attempt because of a campaign fundraising email Sunday afternoon just about two hours after this close call. The Trump campaign sent out an email soliciting donations to the Republican fundraising website Win Red.

Trump wrote, "There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first. I am safe and well." He also assured his supporters that he will "never surrender."

Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston joins me now with more. Nic, good morning.

NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS: Good morning.

HUNT: Nice to have you here.

JOHNSTON: Great to be here.

HUNT: What do you make of this fundraising solicitation and the way Trump has responded in the wake of this second --

JOHNSTON: I mean, I think that's a relatively standard reproach to anything that happens in a campaign. This is hundreds of -- hundreds of millions of dollars being raised here since Kamala Harris entered the race. The Republicans had a little bit of a fundraising advantage. So I don't think it should surprise or shock anyone that anytime an opportunity -- you have a chance to pin your base to try and get them to click and send a little bit more money that makes perfect sense. And so I think they're playing a lot of catch up if anything else

would happen. I wouldn't be surprised if they sent out fundraising emails around attacking Taylor Swift as well. Anything you can do to try and get people to click that money -- click the button to donate more money in these last 50 days of the race, absolutely.

HUNT: Nic, we heard from President Biden, from Vice President Harris -- of course, Donald Trump's opponent in the presidential race.

Harris wrote this. "I'm 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 must all do our part to ensure this incident does not lead to more violence."

Her running mate, Tim Walz, posted something similar.

TEXT: Gwen and I are glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe. Violence has no place in our country. It's not who we are as a nation.

HUNT: This, of course -- we have talked more about political violence --

JOHNSTON: Right.

HUNT: -- through the course of this campaign. I mean, the much closer call that Donald Trump had in Butler but, of course, more broadly in our politics.

JOHNSTON: I mean, this is a very fraught time, I think. Like, two attempted assassinations in the past couple of months. And I think we should also -- the broader context as well that there were schools and government offices in Springfield, Ohio being shut down last week because of some of the political rhetoric. I think what people will go out and say is what they'll always say -- that we need to tone it down.

But you can spend five minutes on social media, as I did before walking out here, just scrolling through what people are reacting to this, blaming Kamala Harris for the attack. People attacking both sides.

I mean, there is very little I think, political incentive to actually turn down the volume on all of this. And so I think what we'll have to see instead, as the police chief was saying earlier, like, what is the physical response to this -- something that struck me very much as I think many reporters in D.C. are familiar with.

I spent many a Sunday -- Saturday morning watching President Bush or President Obama play golf. They played golf on military bases I think for exactly these kind of security reasons.

[05:40:05]

And so I think Donald Trump was doing outdoor rallies and loves playing -- Trump loves playing golf at his golf clubs. I think the Secret Service might have other thoughts about that. HUNT: Yeah, no. It's an interesting point about military installations. When I covered -- I covered George W. Bush, who wasn't a big golfer the way some of these guys are.

JOHNSTON: Yeah.

HUNT: But he used to ride his bike every weekend and he would always do it at the Secret Service facility up in Beltsville, Maryland for that reason --

JOHNSTON: One hundred percent, right, exactly.

HUNT: -- because securing that kind of an environment is so tricky.

All right, Nic Johnston for us this morning. Nic, very grateful to have you here.

JOHNSTON: Great to be here -- thanks.

HUNT: Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come after the break, an Ohio town thrust into the spotlight by those comments that Donald Trump made at last week's debate.

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MAYOR ROB RUE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: The sheriff's department did go back through the last 11 months, and we just have no verifiable claim that this has actually happened.

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HUNT: How the community is grappling with the unwanted attention that's now turned into threats.

Plus, the Houston Texans lock in a win against the Chicago Bears. That and more coming up in the Bleacher Report.

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[05:45:30]

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs -- the people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: J.D. Vance doubling down on Donald Trump's now infamous and debunked claims about migrants in Springfield, Ohio. When appearing on "STATE OF THE -- CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday, Trump's running mate J.D. Vance said the stories were firsthand accounts from his constituents, but he did not provide any evidence to back that up.

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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to -- if I have to --

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR, "STATE OF THE UNION": But I wasn't just a meme, sir.

VANCE: -- create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do, Dana.

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HUNT: Ohio officials, including the state's Republican governor, say there's no truth to the claim that Haitian migrants are eating the pets of Springfield residents. Still, the community is now facing multiple threats.

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RUE: It would be helpful if they understood the weight of their words and how they could harm a community like ours.

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HUNT: Today, all classes at two separate colleges in Springfield will be held remotely after recent threats against the campuses.

Joining me now, congressional reporter for The Hill, Mychael Schnell. Mychael, good morning. Wonderful to see you.

It's clear that these words have real world consequences. The threats that are coming into this community are clearly really impacting things.

And then you had J.D. Vance essentially saying -- Dana went on to press him a little bit there because he basically said well, if I have to create this narrative -- obviously, eyebrow-raising. He then went on to say well, it's actually from firsthand accounts --

MYCHAEL SCHNELL, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Um-hum.

HUNT: -- from my constituents.

But again, there's no evidence of this.

SCHNELL: Right, and we've heard officials over and over again debunk these claims. We heard from the mayor of Springfield who said that there's no evidence to back that up. Officials from Springfield have said the same. And then Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who you rightly point out is a Republican, said that he has no evidence of Haitian migrants eating their pets. And remember, this is not a claim that just came up during the debate. It was -- well, it was actually first cropped up by J.D. Vance. And he wrote it on X and then he got some pushback about it. And he said well look, these are, of course, claims I got from my constituents. Not all of them are going to be true.

So the fact that he's amplifying information that he doesn't have evidence to back up is not proven to be true, folks are saying it's problematic and we're seeing some consequences from that. J.D. Vance saying that his words and Trump's words are not directly linked to the consequences we're seeing on the ground.

But it's those two colleges. We've seen elementary schools who had to cancel classes. Local hospitals had to shut down because of bomb threats. There are -- we're really seeing consequences and things happen on the ground because of these comments that have been amplified on the highest national stage possible.

HUNT: Right. It's -- I mean, the -- it's impossible to overstate how this kind of traveled from the far corners of the internet into the main stream because of the fact that it played out on the debate stage the way that it did.

Mychael, I want -- I also want to ask you about this because Donald Trump had posted -- this was before the apparent second assassination attempt against him. I do want to note that. But he wrote in all caps on Truth Social, "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT." And, of course, Swift has said that she is voting for Kamala Harris.

And this is something I think it's worth noting a lot of his fellow Republicans have steered clear of doing. And even J.D. Vance, his running mate, had this to say when he was asked about Taylor Swift earlier this week. Let's watch what Vance had to say.

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VANCE: We admire Taylor Swift's music. But I don't think most Americans, whether they like her music and are fans of hers or not, are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans.

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HUNT: So he's calling her fundamentally disconnected but he is complimenting her first. And other Republicans I've seen do the same thing because they know that Taylor Swift fans cross all sorts of political lines.

Is it wise for Donald Trump to be doing this?

SCHNELL: I don't think so. I don't think the Taylor Swift fan base, which is very large -- she has nearly 300 million followers on Instagram. I just looked right before. We're seeing her tour right now take over cities not just in the U.S. but around the country -- around the world. [05:50:04]

I don't think that Taylor Swift's groups, the Swifties, are ones that Trump really wants to pick a fight with at this point. They're very loyal fans to Taylor.

You know, whether or not her endorsement of Harris will actually lead to more votes for the Harris-Walz campaign, that remains to be seen. But it looks like the Harris-Walz campaign is having a lot of fun with this -- fun with Trump consistently and constantly going after Taylor Swift.

We saw Gov. Tim Walz say Swifties together, we're going to beat the smallest man who has ever lived. Obviously, a play on one of her songs. And just yesterday, the Harris-Walz campaign putting out an email statement that said Trump's bad week. It's Taylor's version -- a play on her album. So the Harris-Walz campaign having a lot of fun with this.

The Trump campaign -- I don't think it's the smartest move. But I just will note this is not his first issue with Taylor Swift. Back in 2018 when Taylor Swift had endorsed Democratic candidates that cycle, Trump said I think I like her music about 25 percent less. It looks like that 75 percent has diminished at this point. But I don't think it's the folks that he's wanting to pick a fight with.

HUNT: I think if we're going to "I hate Taylor Swift," it's probably 100 percent --

SCHNELL: Oh, yeah.

HUNT: -- but, you know, maybe I guess that's conjecture on my part.

Mychael Schnell, thank you very much for being here today. I appreciate it.

SCHNELL: Thanks.

HUNT: All right, time now for sports.

The Houston Texans struggling on offense against the Chicago Bears in "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL," but their defense came through for the win.

Carolyn Manno has more in this morning's Bleacher Report. Carolyn, good morning.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kasie.

Last night's game hyped as a showdown between two of the league's promising young quarterbacks, but this one turned out to be all about the defense. Points were hard to come by in this game.

C.J. Stroud's 28-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins put Houston up 10-3 early in the second quarter. Meantime, Houston's defense swarming Chicago rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, sacking him seven times. The Texans special teams delivering as well with Ka'imi Fairbairn knocking in four field goals, three of them from beyond 50 yards.

Houston wins 19-13 for their first 2-0 start in eight years.

The two-time defending Super Bowl Chiefs had their own struggles against the Bengals yesterday, even with Taylor Swift, you just mentioned, in attendance. The NFL loves Taylor Swift, that's for sure.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes overcoming two interceptions and coming through with the game on the line, leading his team downfield in the final minute. A fourth down pass interference call on Cincinnati with 38 seconds remaining kept the drive alive, setting up Harrison Butker in range for a 51-yard field goal. He drilled it as time expired giving Kansas City the 26-25 walk-off win.

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PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Obviously, we made too many mistakes today. Our defense picked us up there in the fourth quarter and then we got it to Harrison, man, and he knocks it through. So we've got a lot to learn from but I'm glad we got a win and we're going to learn from it that way.

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MANNO: The Saints come marching into Dallas and pull off one of the biggest upsets of the week. There was no stopping New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara, scoring four touchdowns on the day, including three in the first half. He finished with 115 rushing yards on 20 carries while hauling in two catches for 65 yards in a 44-19 blowout.

The Saints off to a surprising 2-0 start.

And in a surprise to nobody, Caitlin Clark adding to her historic rookie campaign over the weekend. The superstar putting up 35 on Sunday against Dallas, setting the WNBA rookie single-season scoring record. She already held the rookie records of assists and made threes. She now has 761 points in 39 games, besting the previous mark of 744 set by Seimone Augustus back in 2006 when the season was 34 games.

With the win, the Fever are now headed into the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Fever earning a six-seed.

The only team they haven't beaten this season are the two-time defending champ Las Vegas Aces, and that squad is led by A'ja Wilson, who is setting records of her own. On Sunday, she became the first player in league history to score 1,000 points in a single season. She needed 29 to hit the mark. She got there with a mid-range jumper late in the fourth quarter.

Everybody went crazy. Her teammates ready to celebrate her. The MVP favorite finishing with 29 points, nine boards, three assists, two blocks, and the Aces won for the seventh time in eight games.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) A'JA WILSON, CENTER, LAS VEGAS ACES: I hope you all know how much I love you all -- each and every last one of you all (crying). You all will never understand how much you all mean to me because it's -- I hate being A'ja Wilson. I hate it. But when I come into work and I see you all smiling and I see you all just happy, it makes me who I am.

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MANNO: She's such a leader in the locker room, Kasie. And thanks to her effort this season the Aces now closing in on the fourth seed in the playoffs. But just remarkable. She's been so efficient all year. She's just been incredible to watch.

HUNT: Yeah, absolutely amazing. That was a really fun moment.

Carolyn, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

[05:55:00]

All right. Coming up next here in our next hour on CNN THIS MORNING, the Polaris Dawn crew splashing down -- back down to Earth following their historic mission into orbit.

Plus, Donald Trump safe and unharmed after a second apparent assassination attempt. The new details this morning about the person who has been detained.

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BRADSHAW: They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engaged that individual.

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HUNT: It's Monday, September 16. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed.

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HUNT: Attack prevented, a man detained, and the FBI now investigating another apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.