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Laura Coates Live

Biden, Trump Urge Unity As FBI Hunts For Gunman's Motive; FBI Investigating Shooting As Potential Domestic Terrorism; Historic Image Capture Assassination Attempt On Trump; Lawmakers Blame Trump Shooting On Biden. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired July 14, 2024 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:47]

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: It's Sunday in Milwaukee on the eve of the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump is here in the city tonight. And it's been 24 hours since this country witnessed a former American president placed in grave danger. Twenty- four hours since a bullet was close enough to graze his ear while he campaigned for reelection, the world let alone the nation was holding its collective breath, wondering if this would be the day that so many of our parents and our grandparents, and even ourselves once asked, where were you when.

But he is here and ready to accept his party's nomination this very week, just as in the seconds after he emerged and under the weight of Secret Service, shielding not only him but our nation from a terrible and tragic repeat of history. He pumped his fist while exiting his plane just a few hours ago. His team, they say he is doing well. And we're told the CT scan he underwent, it came back clear. But the attempt on his life has cast a long and dark shadow over the convention, the campaign and frankly, the entire nation.

President Biden appealed to the nation tonight, imploring America to remember that while we may disagree, we cannot treat each other as enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: There is no place in America this kind of violence for any violence ever, period. No exceptions. We can't allow this violence to be normalized. You know, the political record in this country has gotten very heated, it's time to cool it down. We all have responsibility to do that. We stand for an America not of extremism and fury, but a decency and grace.

All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches. And the higher the stakes, the more fervent the passions become. This place is an added burden on each of us to ensure that no matter how strong our convictions was never descend into violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, Donald Trump's acceptance speech, we're told, will now focus on unity, not Biden. He told the reporter today that he is rewriting the entire thing, "honestly, it's going to be a whole different speech now."

But first, there is an urgent investigation underway to try and figure out how the 20-year-old gunman was able to nearly assassinate Donald Trump. CNN obtained this video showing the shooter in position ready to fire. But what happens in the moments right before he pulled the trigger is the question everyone's asking. And tonight, we're getting a little bit closer to that answer. Listen to CNN's Brian Todd.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laura, we have new information on the shooters movements during and just before the shooting occurred. We do know that the shooter was roughly 150 meters away, that's less than 500 feet away from the former president when the shooting started. We also were told by a former -- by the sheriff of Butler County, Michael Slupe, that law enforcement officers did see the shooter on top of the building.

They went to investigate. One law enforcement officer hoisted himself up, according to the sheriff, to this ledge of the rooftop and was clean to the rooftop when he saw the shooter. According to the sheriff, the shooter saw him and pointed his weapon at the law enforcement officer.

But at that point, the officer was not -- he was holding on to the ledge and could not engage the shooter with his weapons so the officer had to drop down for his own safety. At that point, the shooting started.

COATES: Brian, thank you so much. It's pretty unbelievable to think that this has happened. And the FBI they believe the gunman acted alone. As of now, the FBI says no motive has emerged, no ideology. All we know is that he was a registered Republican but once donated to a progressive group. Explosive materials were found in the gunman's car and at his home.

The AR-15 he used was purchased legally by his father. How the gunman got it is still being looked into.

I want to bring in former Assistant Director of Secret Service Gordon Heddell and former Deputy of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division Peter Strzok. Gentlemen, thank you both for being here this evening.

[23:05:08]

The world has so many questions. And I want to begin with you here, Gordon. I wonder from your perspective, what is the most pressing question the Secret Service needs to answer at this very hour?

GORDON HEDDELL, FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: Well, Laura, it's good to be with you tonight. Thank you. You know, in the wake of the recent attempted assassination of a candidate, President Trump, the Secret Service is facing some very pressing questions. Director Cheatle and her team face a critical week. If it were just the attempted assassination of former President Trump, the pressure on the Secret Service would be more than enough.

However, tomorrow, the Republican Convention kicks off, followed a few weeks later by the Democratic Convention. These are designated national security events. The Secret Service is the lead agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plans for both conventions, they've got a lot on their plate.

But I can tell you that operating under these kinds of pressures is where the Secret Service traditionally excels. I've done conventions myself and I can tell you, they are not a piece of cake. But they're going to be under a lot of pressure not to have any more missteps. And I'm not saying --

COATES: I mean, certainly so.

HEDDELL: -- that they (inaudible) before but yes.

COATES: Well, Gordon, I'm glad you spoke about this in the language you have, because I think it's important for people to understand. And, Peter, let me bring you into this conversation, because the idea of being a designated national security event comes with its own set of requirements and heightened alert, because they know that there is a risk in the presence of somebody like a former president just adds that exponentially.

But the fact that the gunman was so close, Peter, I mean, we're talking roughly 150 yards away, a little more than a football field. I mean, that is shocking. Why was there no law enforcement on that roof given the proximity? Our audience is seeing a diagram of that close proximity as we're sitting here now.

HEDDELL: Laura, the idea -- I'm sorry, are you talking to me, Laura?

COATES: No, to Peter. I'm going to come back to you and I want to get your insight and additionally too. But, Peter, I want you to take that one.

PETER STRZOK, FORMER DEPUTY, FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE DIVISION: Yes, absolutely. No, I think that's one of the key questions. I mean, 150 meters is a very, very close shot for anybody with a shoulder weapon. You know, a Secret Service colleague here can speak to it much in more depth than I can. But they rely on protection in depth.

So you will have a layer of Secret Service agents around the protectee (ph). You rely on state and local officials and other federal officials potentially in rings going further out. But I think that is absolutely one of the questions that is going to be asked. It is something that the Secret Service is excellent at doing and clearly did not occur this time.

So I think that is a real bonafide question and one that I think people are going to make sure things are put in place to ensure that doesn't happen again.

COATES: We certainly hope not. Gordon, Peter, we're going to come back to you. But thank you so much. Your insight is going to be invaluable as we get through all of the next several hours, and thank you.

In just 24 hours, just 24 hours from now, Donald Trump could announce his pick for vice president. And now that choice is carrying an additional level of significance after the attempt on a former president's life. Now, the three VP candidates we know are on Trump's shortlist, all reacting to the attempted assassination.

You had Senator Marco Rubio saying, God protected President Trump. Governor Doug Burgum saying, we all know President Trump is stronger than his enemies. Today, he showed it. And Senator JD Vance, well, he's blaming the current president.

I want to bring in Harry Enten, CNN Senior Data Reporter, Shermichael Singleton, CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist, and Ashley Allison is also here, a CNN Political Commentator. I don't know about you, guys, but I have been -- my stomach has been turning ever since this all happened. And I know that people have very serious and visceral reactions, the idea that this is happening in the United States of America.

We are under an umbrella political division but this is so stunning and so shocking, Sir Michael, for so many reasons. And you saw that there were some measured responses --

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

COATES: -- from Burgum, from Marco Rubio. Now, JD Vance had a had a different take on all of this. And I'm wondering, from your perspective, what you say. He is blaming Biden and I wonder what impact that could have. I

SINGLETON: I mean, look, I think people, Laura, should follow Trump's footsteps on this. I think Trump, in a very odd sort of existential way, at 78 years old saw his life flash before his eyes. I mean, we've seen all of the analysis if it was just a few millimeters, this could have ended very differently. From the perspective of a lot of Republican voters, and I've had the chance to just talk and mingle with a few folks who are here for the convention.

[23:10:06]

And I heard one recurring theme from people, he doesn't have to do this. He's wealthy, he could go and do anything else he wants to do, and yet he's choosing to live this very uncomfortable life, where he's disliked by a whole lot of people. And he literally just put his life on the line, as one lady told me earlier today for us.

And so, I think if you look at someone like JD Vance, I understand why people may say, oh, those aren't the best statements during this time. But from the Republican voters that I have spoken with, they're looking at Trump just want to lead and guide not only them, but hopefully bring the country together this week during the convention.

COATES: Ashley, how do you see it? Because, you know, this is something right at convention, right? We know that this is political season for so many people. I mean, strategists and voters, and delegates, we all know how this is rounded out in the normal sense, policy positions, policy disagreements, all those things.

When you are seeing the climate that we are presently in? What is going through your mind in particular?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's been going through my mind for some time, even before Saturday, is that we need to take a beat and really have conversations about -- Shermichael and I talk about this all the time. Let's talk about policy.

I'll go toe to toe with you and talk about immigration on this side versus that side. I don't actually need to use violence to get my point across. I have words, and I have brains, and I have emotions, and so I can use all of that to make an argument. That's not what's happening. Obviously, it didn't happen on Saturday.

But I do think that JD Vance's comments, the senator from my home state, are not great. They are inappropriate, and they should not have been said, not in the first 24 hours of the attempted assassination, and not ever quite honestly. If we really want to use this moment to turn the page, we need to turn it. We need to -- people need to acknowledge their role that they have played in it.

But what we don't need is people saying, I'm going to pick on you and I'm going to pick on you. That's somewhat how we got here. And so, we do need to rise to the occasion. And the reason why we're even talking about JD Vance in this way is because he is on the shortlist to be vice president. And the question is, if he is selected is that the type of person that you actually want to be second in command if Donald Trump were to win in November.

COATES: Let me bring you in here, Harry, because the country -- we talked -- the word divided is used as common as maybe the word of these days. And we are as divided in a lot of sense.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes.

COATES: And frankly, that's part of the beauty of democracy, to have conversations that are productive with a common goal of advancing our society, but divided as we are today has a very different connotation. And we've seen just yesterday what's happened. But what is the latest polling tell us in terms of the divisions and the state of political extremism in this country?

ENTEN: You know, I think there's a difference between division and hatred.

COATES: Yes, well said.

ENTEN: And where we're ending up now is ending close to the hatred. One way you can see this is just by looking, asking party members, do you have an extremely or very unfavorable view of the other party? You go back 20 years ago, we're talking less than a third of the electorate felt that way about the other party.

COATES: Yes.

ENTEN: You look at where we are today, we are talking nearly 70 percent of Americans who say that they have a very unfavorable view of the other party. The fact that hatred is now taken over as the main political feeling, negative partisanship has taken over as the main political feeling, that is what's driving that. It's not love of their own party, necessarily. It's hatred of the other party.

And I just would wish, taking off my analyst hat for a second, putting on my American hat for a second, I wish that we could just lower the temperature, just lower it. This week is supposed to be a celebration of democracy. That is what conventions are. And instead, what we're talking about is fortunately, not an actual assassination but a failed assassination of a president.

Frankly, this whole thing has been disgusting, and I am very hopeful that we can come together and not be divided as much anymore. If even for just a month or two, just to lower the temperature.

ALLISON: You know -- can I say on that --

COATES: Yes, please.

ALLISON: I think that really -- I agree. I'm -- I feel, you lowering the temperature. And I've been trying to think about, and I've been really reflecting on this, coming into the Republican National Convention as a Democrat. And I think about my dear friend Alice Stewart (ph), who we tragically lost a couple of weeks ago.

And I remember there being a moment where there -- I could have been on the verge of going from division to hatred with Alice, because we had a disagreement. But there's those moments of intervention where you have to be the adult.

ENTEN: Yes.

COATES: Alice was an adult and I was an adult, and we did not change our point of views on policy. But we actually had a conversation and we don't -- we aren't modeling that as an adult. I was glad that the President called the former president to say, I hope you're OK. OK. I'm glad the First Lady called, Melania, to say, I hope you're OK.

It's funny. I don't even know if they've ever talked before because they didn't happen at the inauguration. But at moments like this, we have to be the adult. And that means we have to model behavior. So again, we can disagree on politics, but I have to see your humanity. And then you have to see mine.

COATES: You know what, you raise a good point. We've introduced the (inaudible) Melania Trump, the former first lady, and she issued a statement. And I think it's worth revisiting for the reasons that we're articulating right now at this moment in time. And she responded by saying, a monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald's passion. His laughter, ingenuity, love of music and inspiration, the core facets of my husband's life, his human side, were buried below the political machine.

She went on to talk about as well of how her life could change and remind us of her young son, Barron, who obviously is growing on the public side. But, you know, you hear this and this notion of the political machine. The political machine sometimes is personified with the person. But oftentimes, we all collectively think this is how the sausage is made, right?

ALLISON: Yes, but you bite your tongue every time.

SINGLETON: The political machine is supposed to foster the environment for that exchange of ideas, to have disparate perspectives that's supposed to be OK to be able to challenge each other that old aphorism, iron sharpens iron, and that's a great thing. But I think the problem here, Laura, is at this disintegration, this disconnectedness that we have witnessed for about a decade or two now, it has caused individuals on the liberal side, on the conservative side to see each other as being an existential threat to their existence.

When you reach that point, then you get to the level where you do see violence, you do see the pillars, that's what a form and hold our foundation slowly begin to crumble. And my concern here, if we don't tone down this rhetoric, as those threads rip apart, it's like a fabric. When it rips so much, you can't repair it.

And so, I hope the American people understand we're on the brink of going off a cliff, and the parachute is not going to open if we don't stop.

COATES: You know, I think we all have -- when we come back to this point, it's so important. And we're going to continue to talk about this because here we are about 100 days away from a presidential election. And I know there are voters out there who want to cast their ballot in favor of who they think will be best supportive of democracy. And the conversation that will happen this week and in the weeks to come will entail just that.

Ahead, Trump is saying in his first interview after the rally shooting, that he has rewritten his RNC speech, and I am so eager to hear what it will entail. We're going to talk about with the former 2024 GOP presidential candidate, the former governor, Asa Hutchinson. Plus, two eyewitnesses to the shooting join me to describe the chaos that they saw and what ensued.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:22:08]

COATES: Well, hours before the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump telling the Washington Examiner that he is rewriting the speech he planned to give, this time with a focus on unity. Saying, "This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together."

Well joining me here in Milwaukee, former Republican presidential candidate and Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson. Thank you so much for being here. What a time we are in, governor.

You have been critical of former President Trump in the past. I am very curious to know what your opinion is of how both Trump and Biden have been handling this near tragedy in America.

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), FORMER 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he'd been handling it very well and see it as a moment to reduce harsh rhetoric, and to bring the country together. President Biden first made a very gracious statement, appropriate supportive. The fact that they suspended the -- some campaign activities is consistent with that. And then, I'm just thrilled with Donald Trump and the introspection that I think this serious event in his life has caused. I mean, he could have lost his life.

And while he showed determination and vigor at that moment, and, you know, at the same time, I think it caused him to reflect, and I hope so. And this is a moment that with President Biden's calmness, and now with President Trump rewriting his speech, it's an opportunity to really showcase positive things about our country, and to diminish the harsh rhetoric.

When you think about it, Democrats are saying Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. Republicans are saying reelecting Joe Biden will be the end of Western civilization. And so, people interpret these words in different ways. And so, I think we have to contend in this world of politics very vigorously, and difference of ideas, but harshness brings out the worst in people. And I think this is an opportunity to bring out the best of America.

COATES: You know what always struck me just learning more about the person who was -- is the shooter and the suspect, that would -- this would have been the first time they would have been able to vote in this country for a presidential election. That struck a chord with me, governor, for so many reasons, because we know that a lot of division and rhetoric that we speak about, you know, for you and I who have been a part and seen it as adults, as voters, but there are people who are growing up to have been existing in that very world.

And that just struck a big chord with me. And you heard President Biden talking about lowering the temperature, resolving our differences at the ballot box. Now, there may be introspection for Trump and maybe a statement from Biden but what about the electorate? Will the vitriol subdue and subside?

[23:25:10]

HUTCHINSON: Well, I think that's a test of this convention. I hope that -- there's a whole lot of people rewriting speeches at this moment. And so, it's President Trump, former President Trump sets the tone of this convention. And I think you'll see people following that tone. But the big question is whether how long it lasts.

COATES: Right.

HUTCHINSON: Whether this is just a moment in time to take -- to say we need to come together, and whether it changes down the road.

COATES: Because, governor, excuse me, that would be almost a complete 180 from a lot of messaging we have seen up till now. That would be -- to have that to be a sustained change would be remarkable. HUTCHINSON: Yes. We'd be going from calling the enemy scumbags to say, and we need to get along. And it's an important change.

COATES: Yes.

HUTCHINSON: And words mean something. And so, I applaud President Trump for his initiative in saying, we're going to use this convention for something good to bring America together. And then, you're going to have the Democratic Convention. And, you know, it's a time for defining differences.

But once again, I've been a federal prosecutor, and people respond to harsh rhetoric in different ways. It could just, you know, blow off our back and we say, well, that's just, you know, that's what a heated campaign is about.

But to others, it's marching orders. And so, we want to know more about the FBI and the Secret Service investigation of the perpetrator of this assassination attempt. But we know that people respond in different ways. You reduce the harshness of the rhetoric, and it brings a more calming spirit to America.

COATES: It puts a greater emphasis as well on who the running mate would be for the former president, because it's about lowering the temperature but it's about trying to reinforce statement, and ideology about unifying and beyond, it's that much more important. Do you have any insight on who that type of candidate could be to run alongside a more introspective Donald Trump?

HUTCHINSON: Well, you know, of course, we've got to see how this develops over the coming weeks. But I thought about whether this changes the dynamics of who he needs as a VP, it probably doesn't. I think the criteria is still there for someone who is loyal, who can be president at a moment's notice, that reflects his philosophy.

But you've got some of the candidates that for VP that are more harsh in their rhetoric than others. And we'll see if that makes a difference. But I'm confident that whoever he selects as VP will follow Donald Trump's lead. If he becomes harsh in September, that's exactly what the party will become.

And so, it's really up to his leadership to define the differences, the reason this election is important and what he offers, but to do it with a tone that does not further divide our country.

COATES: And, governor, we'll, of course, look into more of the investigation and what went wrong, and how to prevent anything like this from happening. Thank you for joining us.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Well, there are the images that are now seared into our collective minds in the minds of millions of Americans, and dare I say the entire world. The instant a bullet grazed Donald Trump's ear and the moments immediately after, one of the photographers who captured this chaos joins me next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:32:43]

COATES: What people heard and saw when Donald Trump was nearly assassinated will stay with them likely for the rest of their entire lives. And the images they will most certainly go down in the history books. New York Times photographer Doug Mills capturing these shocking images when Trump realized something whizzed past his ear.

Then, Trump removing his right hand only to see blood on his fingers. And this close up photo taken by Getty Images, you can see blood slowly oozing down the face after Secret Service agents took Trump to the ground for his own protection. And the seminal image from yesterday, Trump emerging from the chaos, raising his fist in the air and American flag waving in the background, the ultimate symbol of defiance in the face of the violence that had occurred against him.

Joining me now, the man who took that photo, Associated Press Photographer Evan Vucci, and Mark McEvoy, a Trump supporter, who attended the rally yesterday. Let me begin with you here, Evan, and thank you both for being here and helping to be our own eyes on the ground as of yesterday.

How did you, Evan, get that photograph? And what was going through your mind during that extraordinary moment?

EVAN VUCCI, CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER, AP NEWS: Well, I mean, what was going through my mind was I just wanted to do the job that I needed to do. The minute I heard (inaudible) moment so I just sort of went into work mode, and started doing my job photographing, trying to get the whole scene thinking about but making sure that my composition was good. That's all really I was thinking about, you know, I didn't realize, you know, the impact that the photo would have until much later.

COATES: I mean, first of all, you're a constant professional be thinking about all those things, and then to document this moment in history that will live on. I mean, there has been, as you mentioned, quite a visceral reaction to your photo. The Atlantic called it legendary, the New Yorker said, "it carries echoes of the Marines at Iwo Jima," and the former president's bloody defiance and he even evokes Rocky Balboa.

Now, when you were looking at this 24 hours later, I wonder what it is you see given that distance of time, knowing what you captured.

VUCCI: I mean, I wasn't seeing any of those things. I was -- what I was seeing was -- my job as a photo journalist is to bring you the viewer into my eyes and give you an idea of what's in front of my lens. And that's all I could think about, was just doing the work for the viewers and our members, and just trying to do the job the best I could. I never thought about any of those things.

COATES: You know, Mark, were talking to Evan who captured the moments on lens, you were there. Your eyes, your ears --

MARK MCEVOY, EYEWITNESS TO TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: Yes.

COATES: -- your senses, you were there. And you were in the press pan, I guess, when the shooting happened. Can you just walk us through that moment what that was like?

MCEVOY: Laura, it was -- actually there was a lot of feelings going on simultaneously. I heard the pop-pop-pop, there was three shots that rang out. And they -- I could tell they were a smaller caliber. And I knew it was a .22, sounded like a .22, and then louder caliber shots followed, which I assume was our snipers firing back, louder shots like pop-pop-pop-pop, like sound like five more shots, return fire to me.

And panic ensued, people were ducking. But for some reason, I didn't feel fear. Like I just knew they weren't aimed at me. And I kind of maintain my composure, right? I saw Trump go down, you know, the first few shots. And I was scared, but then when I saw him come back up with the Secret Service and he raised his hands, raised his fist, and all of a sudden the crowd just went crazy, like USA, USA, USA.

It was just static, li , everybody was just -- I just -- in unison just felt incredible, I think. But there was still some people who just could not be consoled at the same time, you know? They would just got to the point where they were just sobbing, and weeping and could not be brought out of that.

So I would say the emotions ran from zero to 10. You know, and just, I think that was a moment that just was almost indescribable to me. You know, and that -- that was the sense that I got from that moment. And really, it was just all in a matter of 10 or 12 seconds, tops.

COATES: The way you have both describing these different vantage points, and just the reaction from what that emotional spectrum must have been like for people who are present, let alone the nation watching it and feeling a lot of the domino effect. Evan, Mark, thank you both so much for being here.

MCEVOY: Well, thank you for having me.

COATES: Well, President Biden warning against political violence after the assassination attempt against Trump, but anger has slowly been boiling over in America for quite some time. Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn who experienced political violence on January 6 joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:42:51]

COATES: The attempted assassination of Donald Trump spurring new concerns about political violence. Speaking tonight, Biden says there's no place for violence in politics, but a handful of Republicans blame the shooting on Trump's critics. Ohio senator and Trump vice presidential hopeful JD Vance went a step further than that, saying that Biden's rhetoric calling Trump a threat to democracy led to the attempted assassination. Georgia Congressman Mike Collins suggesting Biden ordered the shooting and calling for local prosecutors to indict Biden for "inciting and assassination." Now, there is zero evidence that President Biden was involved, but it is an example of the heated discourse once again infecting our body politic, even after an assassination attempt.

Well, joining me now is someone who's all too familiar with political violence, former Capitol officer -- Capitol Hill Officer Harry Dunn who protected the Capitol on January 6. He has also been a Biden campaign surrogate. Harry, my friend, good to see you this evening.

But, my goodness, just having to resuscitate -- recite, excuse me, what was just said in different camps about the conspiracy theories and beyond. I mean, you're somebody who is no stranger to this. You have survived the assault on the Capitol on January 6. And so, a lot of this must be quite triggering to hear politicized reactions to something that maybe would have had a universalizing effect.

What is your reaction when you heard the news of a shooting attempt, an assassination of the former president?

HARRY DUNN, FORMER CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: Sure. Well, thank you. It's always good to be with you. But first and foremost, you -- there's -- like the president that is so many people have said, there's no room anywhere in the United States for political violence. It should be condemned by any and everybody no matter who would it's against, whether that be Gretchen Whitmer, President Trump, Paul Pelosi, Steve Scalise, anybody. It needs to be condemned.

I'm glad that the former president is safe, and that's where everybody's focus should be right now. There is an individual right now who was not with his family right now.

[23:45:07]

Forgive me, forgetting his name or blanking on his name right now, Corey, but he died. He was killed at the hands of a lunatic. And that's what we need to be focusing on. And that should never, never ever be acceptable.

COATES: I mean, just in your hearing you say and remind the world about the various instances of people who have been victims of attacks, attacks on politicians, attacks on their families. You remind us about Steve Scalise surviving the shooting. The husband of Nancy Pelosi surviving a hammer attack. I mean, you are a former Capitol police officer, you have been in the rooms where it happens in terms of the policy disputes and beyond.

But it's one thing to have division and statements that show that there is a distinction between how one person feels or the other. This level of political violence we're in right now, what does it do to you to hear about it?

DUNN: It sucks to be frank, because like I said, what we went through on January 6, with a nation witness, was the result of -- it was political violence. It's exactly what it was. They were there with -- they were chanting, and, you know, hang Mike Pence, and they were going to kill Nancy Pelosi. They were there with violent intent at the behest of, you know, the president, the former president.

So anybody right now, like it's so frustrating to hear the rhetoric that's going. Anybody from any party attempting to score political points in a moment like this, but we need to -- yes, we do need to take the temperature down as so many people have said, that temperature needs to come way down. Because, you know, sure, we -- people have talked about just the grace of God, that the former president is still with us.

You know, what if it's not so lucky next time or what not even just the former president, like I said, we lost a dedicated public servant to this country. So people's lives are being changed. And, you know, I've always fought for accountability since January 6. And, you know, with the Supreme Court, you know, issuing their ruling, it's clear that we have to do it at the ballot box and not on, you know, on a battlefield like President Biden said earlier tonight.

COATES: I mean, the idea of being able to articulate your grievances by voting, that is what democracy really is. And I wonder about the bringing down the temperature in the room. I hear this being said, I honestly wonder how does President Biden move forward with the campaign against Trump, how does Trump forward the campaign against Biden, knowing that the rhetoric has been heated. It has been a heightened temperature.

So they're not expecting what has happened this past weekend, but how do you course correct air your grievances about both believing that the other is legitimate threat to democracy? And then not inviting voters or people who are taking it somehow, as a message subliminally to do something different with that word?

DUNN: Well, you have to be 100 percent honest, first and foremost. If we want to take the temperature down, sure, which we need to do. We all as American people need to take the temperature down.

The first thing you need to do is be honest about the things that happened. Somebody attempted to assassinate the former president, that happened. Also, the president summit a mob to attack the Capitol on January 6 on his behalf. Until you have people acknowledging on both sides that those two things happen then, you know, you can't really be you how realistic and honest are you being with yourself that you want to take the political -- the temperature down, so to speak, because you're not even being honest about what happened that day.

Until this day, even now, you know, there's referring to January 6 as a peaceful protest that maybe got out of hand. That's not what happened that day. And until we're being honest about what happened, I am all for bringing the temperature down. But until we're being honest about what really happened, and like I said, yesterday, was it a failed assassination attempt, you know, by a lunatic that has no place, you know, there's no place in this world for that type of behavior.

COATES: Harry Dunn, thank you so much for joining us this evening. It's always important to hear your perspective particularly.

DUNN: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Back with us now, Harry Enten -- thank you, Shermichael Singleton and also Ashley Allison. Let me begin you, Ashley. I want to hear a little bit more from what Biden had to say in the Oval Office tonight.

Listen, one of the things he said was, and we'll talks about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'll be traveling this week making the case for our record, and the vision -- my vision of the country, our vision. I'll continue to speak out strongly for our democracy. Stand up for our Constitution, the rule of law, to call for action at the ballot box. No violence on our streets, that's how democracy should work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:50:08]

COATES: It's how it should work, Ashley, but is there a way to engage in the type of heated campaign that they have both been in and avoid this?

ALLISON: So I really appreciate with what officer Dunn said about having to be honest. You know, I feel like there are people in this country, a lot of people who are hurting and who have different experiences through a historical lens. And in this very moment, there are people who are still struggling from what happened on January 6, and then there are people who are denying what happened on January 6.

There are people who are heartbroken that Donald Trump was -- there was an attempted assassination. And there are people who have conversations that are not very helpful right now. I think I want to know why these folks are behaving in that way, and why we aren't able to have a conversation about facts and about honesty, because I think, Joe Biden's point is like, we don't want to go down that road.

But we're not even going down the same road right now. People are on one side of the street, and someone's on a whole different road, going down another side of the street. And it's not like we're even going to find a way to read, to have an intersection, to have a crossroads, because we're going in such opposite directions.

And so, the only way that I think this intervention can happen, even with the truth telling of like, I don't like your policy, I don't like your policy, is that someone who has to say, stop and say, hey, I think we're going in the wrong direction. Let me tell you why, and let's have this conversation. And we get back.

But right now, it's like we're talking past each other. And people don't understand how other people are feeling in this moment.

COATES: Shermichael. SINGLETON: And I wonder if that is -- if this is that moment, potentially, right? I mean, at the end of the day, this country will be no more no less than what we make it. No more, no less than our willingness to speak up and speak out to your point for what is just, what is right, but also the speak against what's just plain wrong.

And if we don't have enough people, Laura, who are willing to have that courage of magnanimity, if you will, then it does beg the question, if we are traveling on two roads so disparate and far apart from one another, will we ever meet at that intersection. And if we don't ever meet at that intersection, then again you can only see this surveillance of political violence only getting worse. And that's not what I don't think anyone any one of us would like to see.

ENTEN: Please, you know, I would just maybe add a little positivity. I do think we shall overcome, we will overcome, because we have been through tumultuous times so far. I mean, you think back to the 1960s, there were four major assassinations, JFK, Medgar Evers (ph), Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK and MLK happened within two months of each other in 1968.

The fact is, I do believe looking at the numbers. Yes, there's about a fifth of the country who believes that political violence may be acceptable, but the vast majority of Americans will not stand for this garbage.

COATES: I certainly hope that is the case and thinking about the woes of history even remotely repeating itself sends shivers down our spines. Thank you all of you, for all of your words.

And up next, a tribute to the man who died protecting his family during the shooting at Trump's rally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:57:36]

COATES: The assassination attempt against former President Trump is tragically a moment that will come to define an entire generation. The scars will run especially deep for the thousands of people who were at that rally, most of all, for the family of the man who was killed. His name is Corey Comperatore.

He was 50 years old. He was a firefighter, a husband, and a father of two daughters. He was at the rally with his family, and he died protecting them.

And I want to read for you now what his daughter, Allyson, shared on Facebook. "He was the best dad a girl could ever ask for. My sister and I never needed for anything. You call, he would answer, and he would do whatever it is you needed. And if he didn't know how, he would figure it out how. He could talk and make friends with anyone which he was doing all day yesterday, and loved every minute of it. He was a man of God, loves Jesus fiercely, and also looked after our church and our members as family." "The media will not tell you that he died a real life superhero. They're not going to tell you how quickly he threw my mom and I to the ground. They are not going to tell you that he shielded my body from the bullet that came at us. He loved his family. He truly loved us and not to take a real bullet for us. And I want nothing more than that to cry on him and tell him, thank you. I want nothing more than to wake up and for this to not be reality for me and my family. We lost a selfless, loving husband, father, brother, uncle, son, and friend."

"And I will never stop thinking about him and mourning over him until the day that I die too. July 13th will forever be a day that changed my life. I will never be the same person I was less than 24 hours ago. There are a lot of children out there that say their dad is their hero but my dad really is mine. I don't think I would be here today without him. Dad, I love you so much but there aren't enough words to express how deep that love goes."

"I know you'll give heaven some hell. I know that God is proud of the man that came to his gates yesterday."

That's our show for this evening. I will see you back here tomorrow night right here in Milwaukee. CNN's coverage continues with Anderson Cooper 360.