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CNN This Morning
Trump Safe Following Apparent Assassination Attempt. Aired 6- 6:30a ET
Aired September 16, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Monday, September 16. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[06:00:01]
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RAFAEL BARROS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SECRET SERVICE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: 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.
Plus --
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REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): People just don't get it. They don't understand how we're in this situation for a second time.
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HUNT: Twice in two months. Lawmakers demand answers after this latest close call for the former president.
And --
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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I start talking about cat meat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Standing firm. J.D. Vance defends his echoing of false claims that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Ohio.
And then, bad blood. Donald Trump declares his hatred for Taylor Swift after her endorsement of Kamala Harris.
All right, 6 a.m. on the East Coast. Here's a live look at West Palm Beach, Florida, on this Monday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Donald Trump is once again safe following an apparent assassination attempt. The nation, once against -- once again, rocked a tragedy only narrowly avoided. And yet another historic moment in an election that has been defined by historic moments.
On Sunday, Donald Trump was golfing with a Republican donor at his course in West Palm Beach. Sources telling CNN the round was a last- minute addition to his schedule, unannounced to the public.
The former president was about to putt on the fifth hole when gunshots rang out. Those shots coming from Secret Service agents who spotted the barrel of a would-be assassin's gun.
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SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president that was at, and he was able to spot rifle barrel sticking out of the fence, and immediately engaged that individual, at which time individual took off.
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HUNT: At this time, it's unclear if the gunman fired any rounds himself.
Police later finding what they called an AK-47-style rifle and two bags in the bushes around the golf course.
A witness on the scene telling police they saw someone run from those bushes and flee in a black Nissan. That afternoon, police detained a man driving a matching vehicle on a highway to the North.
Although authorities have not yet named the suspected gunman, CNN's law enforcement sources have identified the man detained yesterday as Ryan Wesley Routh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVE ARONBERG, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY: He has a rap sheet. Apparently, a lot of the crimes are up in North Carolina. He apparently knew enough with his previous interaction 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: A source says that Routh is expected to face a mental health assessment.
CNN has learned the FBI is conducting a global investigation into Routh's background, and that the acting director of the Secret Service is traveling to Florida.
It has been just over two months since another would-be assassin attempted to kill Donald Trump, shooting at him as he spoke on a stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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TRUMP: Take a look at what happened --
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TRUMP: Wait, wait, wait.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got to move!
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HUNT: Following yesterday's attempt, Trump posting on Truth Social thanking law enforcement, adding, "The job done was absolutely outstanding. I'm very proud to be an American."
Our panel is here this morning: Donell Harvin, security expert, faculty member at Georgetown's emergency and disaster management program; Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political reporter for Axios; Meghan Hays, former director of message planning for the Biden White House; and Shermichael Singleton, Republican strategist, CNN political commentator.
Donell, let me start with you in terms of the investigation here. One of the things we've talked a lot about here is the difficulty of securing a golf course; in particular, a kind of sprawling open space with obviously a lot of potential entry points, at least if it's a course that's not controlled by -- or is on, say, a military base where some presidents have golfed in the past because of the security concerns.
What do you make of what we've heard from the investigators so far as they are looking into this? And what do you see happening next?
DONELL HARVIN, SECURITY EXPERT: Well, it's obviously difficult to secure something with that type of acreage. But clearly, the Secret Service was on top of their game.
As mentioned, they were -- there was an advanced team that was looking out and astutely noticed a barrel sticking out from the gate where it shouldn't be.
[06:05:08]
You know, the size of a golf course -- you know, something like where President Trump was golfing, I mean, you think of a large amusement park. I mean, you need a small army of law enforcement to truly lock that down.
This is an individual that enjoys his outdoor sports, clearly. His outdoor rallies. And so that's not going to stop, nor should it stop. And Secret Service will just have to continue to do the job that they did yesterday to make sure that the former president's safe.
HUNT: Alex Thompson, we heard from the campaign leadership via an email yesterday. They said this is not a matter that we take lightly. This is the Trump campaign. "Your safety" -- they're writing to their staff -- "is always our top priority. We ask that you remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings. Be observant and maintain a constant level of situational awareness."
And "The New York Times" this morning reports this about Trump's mindset: "Former President Donald J. Trump was said to be shocked at what the FBI described as a second attempt on his life in two months. But he was already cracking jokes about it on Sunday afternoon in phone calls with advisers and allies." Quote, "'He told me he was always glad to hear from me, but he was glad that he didn't need my services today,' said Mr. Ronny Jackson, who" -- doctor who "tended to Mr. Trump's wounded ear while traveling with him the day after an assassin's bullet flew within inches of his brain at a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13."
What have you heard from the Trump camp about the president's [SIC] mindset and about what all of this says about where we are today?
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. When you also saw him joke about on Truth Social, when he said, "O and 2." Basically, that assassins zero; me, 2.
And the thing is that Trump, even before the assassination attempts had really described and framed himself as a martyr. And really tried to use martyrdom basically, since the first indictments came down, as -- and he says this in the rallies like I'm, you know, they're not after me; they're after you. I'm just in the way.
And all this does is reinforce that message.
And martyrdom, I don't think you can underestimate it as a political force. Martyrdom has been a powerful force in politics, not just in American politics, but in world politics forever.
HUNT: Shermichael Singleton, we, of course, want to be careful and precise in our language.
We were saying this was assessed that the person that was detained. Law enforcement not yet naming him as the suspect. We obviously don't know very much at this point about the potential motive here. And we may never know about that.
This man had done an interview with "The New York Times" about traveling. He did travel to Ukraine. We have video of him in Ukraine.
But as you look at how this is kind of playing out in the campaign, this is another incredibly difficult moment for the country and one that puts the violence in our politics on display.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, yes, its heightened and I think the Trump campaign will obviously utilize this to rally their voters. You're already seeing that the campaign sent out some emails yesterday.
I think the response from Democrats, the vice president, her running mate, were pretty on par for what to be expected.
But Kasie, I've got to tell you something. I'm worried about this, because what happens if this occurs again with someone who's more talented and skillful? We have to figure out a way to tone down this rhetoric, whether it's from the left on the political side, or the right on the political side.
I just don't think that what we're seeing in our politics today bodes very well. Particularly, let's say Trump loses this election in November. What happens then, compared to what we've seen in 2020?
I have a lot of questions here that I think a lot of Americans are worried about to see this occur for a second time.
THOMPSON: Do you think there's any hope, though, of the rhetoric toning down the last six weeks in the election?
SINGLETON: I doubt it, Alex. I doubt it. I would hope that the advisors advising the former president would say, hey, look at what's going on in Ohio. Bomb threats with many of the Haitians.
Many of those folks are innocent people. They're just trying to make a living, trying to take care of their families. That isn't helpful either. Right?
And so, you can look at this from two different paradigms and recognize the rhetoric coming from the former president is not helpful, but also saying the former president as a threat to democracy constantly, constantly. That's also not helpful either.
HUNT: One thing that we have seen in a bipartisan way, Meghan, is calls for increased resources for protecting the former president.
Here was Jared Moskowitz, who's part of the task force that's investigating the first assassination attempt. We've seen this cycle against President Trump on our air yesterday. Let's watch.
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MOSKOWITZ: I'm very concerned about, you know, the status of the Secret Service's ability to keep the former president safe in outdoor -- in outdoor environments.
But I went to Butler. I could not believe how close the roof was to the stage. The protocols going on right now, and the resources being committed to the former president, in my equation, seem to be wholly inadequate.
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HUNT: So of course, worth noting that the Secret Service did prevent it -- anything bad from happening to former President Trump yesterday.
But that said, I mean, you've worked in the White House. You understand kind of what's required here. Does there need to be more for President Trump?
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING FOR BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: I think that protocols that are in place are there for a reason, right? So, the president and the vice president have things that are different from the former president or people who are running, because there's a continuation of government. And that's what is allowed by the budget in Congress.
I think that there's a budget problem. I think there's a resource problem. I think that the Secret Service and our federal law enforcement is wholly underfunded to do the things.
We have UNGA coming up. They are responsible for all these world leaders. Secret Services --
HUNT: U.N. General Assembly.
HAYS: They're coming in, you know, into the U.S. Secret Service is responsible for them. They're responsible to the president, the vice president, everyone running. The former presidents. I mean, the national security advisor, the secretary of treasury.
Like, there are a mass amount of people. And they have very limited resources. They rely so heavily on our other federal law enforcement partners and our local -- their local law enforcement that they just -- they are not resourced enough.
So, I don't necessarily know that the measures in place aren't enough. I just think overall, in a holistic scale, they are not resourced enough.
KEILAR: All right, fair enough.
Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, J.D. Vance amplifies false statements about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. Those remarks sparking violent threats in his home state's small town.
Plus, Donald Trump lashes out a Taylor Swift following the megastar's endorsement of Kamala Harris.
And we continue to bring you the latest developments out of Florida and the calls for heightened security around the former president, following the apparent second assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
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BRADSHAW: I would imagine that the next time he comes at a golf course, there will probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter.
But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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MOSKOWITZ: He's a former president, running for reelection again. We have to be able to keep him safe. This is getting embarrassing for the agency. The idea that they haven't changed the protocols. And we're still giving him the same sort of protection in these outdoor areas is unacceptable.
So, look, if the Secret Service now gets the point, right, and they're now going to change their protocols, well, congratulations. But it should have happened after the first attempt two months ago.
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HUNT: That was Florida's Democratic congressman, Jared Moskowitz, questioning why Donald Trump is not getting more protection after another apparent assassination attempt.
But according to the Palm Beach County sheriff, the former president is getting the protection that he's entitled to.
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BRADSHAW: 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 this line of golf course around him. But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.
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HUNT: The White House was quick to respond to the latest apparent attempt on Trump's life, President Biden expressing relief that the former president wasn't hurt and condemning all forms of political violence.
Kamala Harris calling the incident deeply disturbing and raising concerns about more violence going forward.
Donell Harvin, can I bring you back into this conversation? Because when we are, you know, covering violent events, shootings, or you know, attempts, there's often conversations about people repeating the actions of others, or copycat kind of situations.
We obviously heard quite a bit from the sheriff here about the details of this. What concerns do you have about how or whether this might lead to additional problematic incidents? HARVIN: Well, I have concerns, but just not -- not just me, my federal
law enforcement friends who I heard from yesterday.
You recall after the Butler incident, the Secret -- the Secret Service was concerned. It prompted the FBI and DHS to put out a joint bulletin, what we call a JIB, a joint intelligence bulletin, to state and local authorities about their concerns at a very high level with copycat or repeat type of attacks.
And so, you know, the threat environment is really unique. And, you know, I think we should take a moment to appreciate that.
When you're looking at the security detail of Donald Trump, you know, in normal times, normal election times, I'm sure it would be -- probably be overkill, be more than what you need.
What we have right now is a threat environment where, you know, two months ago, you had a gentleman who was two years out of high school come within centimeters of killing the former president.
And now you have a gentleman who's well into his 50s. And so, from when you're looking at a threat assessment, that's a wide range of individuals, with potentially a wide different range of grievances that you have to protect someone for. And it's quite difficult.
HUNT: All right. Donell Harvin for us this morning. Donell, very grateful to have your expertise. Really appreciate your being on the show.
Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, the Polaris Dawn crew returns home. The successful splashdown. It's going to be one of the five things you have to see this morning.
Plus, a four-word post from Donald Trump revealing to the world how he really feels about Taylor Swift.
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HUNT: All right, 23 minutes past the hour, five things you have to see this morning.
Law enforcement set on a chase after a handcuffed man in court tried to make a break for it. The man, accused of aggravated assault against a 14-month-old, attempted to flee the main courthouse after a jury convicted him.
He eventually tripped and was taken down by two jurors. And law enforcement took him back into custody.
Deadly flooding sweeping across Eastern Europe over the weekend as a storm dumped months' worth of rain in just days. At least five people were reported dead in areas of Poland and Romania. And this.
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HUNT: Perry Farrell, the lead singer of Jane's Addiction getting into a scuffle on stage with guitarist Dave Navarro, and the crew had to break it up.
The band issuing an apology and canceling their next show on Sunday night.
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Zookeepers in Japan celebrating the rescue of a runaway penguin. The runaway, named Pen, escaped nearly two weeks ago when a typhoon slammed into the area.
Pen was found on a beach about eight miles away unharmed. Now he's back at the zoo.
Plus, this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And there you can see.
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HUNT: The Polaris Dawn crew splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday, ending a five-day mission into orbit. And there's the crew at the moment that the hatch opened.
They made history, reaching a higher altitude than any human has traveled in five decades.
All right, still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, more details about the gunman who got dangerously close to Donald Trump and what an apparent second assassination attempt says about our political climate.
Plus, anti-Haitian bomb threats have shut down hospitals and schools in Springfield, Ohio. What Senator J.D. Vance is saying about the rumors that sparked them.
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VANCE: If I have to 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.
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