NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Monday, July 15, 2024

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

Trump officially becomes Republican nominee for president; Exclusive: Biden on his conversation with Trump and heated campaign rhetoric; Judge throws out classified documents case against Trump; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, breaking news across the political world. Donald Trump once again officially nominated for president by the Republican Party after surviving an assassination attempt at a packed political rally. Tonight announcing his running mate with a convention already underway. It comes as President Biden decries political violence, but not backing down in his characterization of former President Trump. In my exclusive interview, we discuss Mr. Biden's conversation with Mr. Trump, why he regrets using the word bullseye, but why he says people should focus on the words of his

political opponent. Plus our new reporting on the investigation into the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, the video emerging of the shooter minutes before the deadly assault. The weapons cache found at his family's home as a portrait emerges of who he was and the victims of the latest act of political violence. Plus, from hillbilly elegy to vice presidential nominee, the nation meets Senator J.D. Vance. His meteoric rise despite past criticism of Mr. Trump. Case dismissed, the political uproar after a Trump-appointed federal judge tosses the classified documents case against the Republican nominee,

where the case heads next. And this American moment, with red-hot rhetoric soaring in a presidential election, what can be done to tone things down? This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt reporting tonight from the White House. Good evening from the White House. For just a short time ago, I spoke with President Biden in an exclusive wide ranging interview at this remarkable moment in our nation's history. I asked him about the attempted assassination of former President Trump this weekend,

his reaction when he heard about it and the heated political rhetoric of this presidential campaign. And we talked about Mr. Biden's own political future. Has anything changed in his decision to continue the campaign? It comes on a day when Mr. Trump was formally nominated by his party at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and announced his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio. Also today, Mr. Trump winning another major legal victory with the federal judge overseeing the classified documents case against him in Florida, throwing it out. We'll get to my interview with the president in a few minutes. But first,

former President Trump in Milwaukee, just two days after the attempt on his life. Hallie Jackson is at the RNC. Hallie, what is the mood there today? Hey there, Lester. The assassination attempt against the former president is obviously top of mind, but the mood here is also celebratory with the official rollout of the Trump-Vance ticket. All eyes right now on the Ohio delegation here. And the first time a running mate has been revealed in the convention hall in four decades. Republicans making it official. The Republican nominee for president of the United States of America. Former President Trump becoming the party's nominee for president.

And alongside him, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance announced today as Mr. Trump's running mate, his name already being added to the campaign plane. The former president calling Vance to share word of his selection just 20 minutes before the public announcement, according to a source familiar with the call. Writing in an online post, Vance will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American workers and farmers. Vance, a 39-year-old first-term senator and the author of Hillbilly Elegy, is a populist conservative seen as the next generation of the MAGA movement,

who's won the strong support of the former president's son, Donald Trump Jr. I think he just helps us in places that we're going to need the help, in Pennsylvania, in Wisconsin, in Michigan. The party ticket now complete, with Mr. Trump set to formally accept the nomination for the third time in his political career, but never under circumstances like these, just 48 hours after the assassination attempt against him.

The former president now reflective in a pair of new interviews. I'm not supposed to be here, he says. I'm supposed to be dead, adding it's surreal. Mr. Trump says he threw out the speech he'd planned for the grand finale of the convention. Initially a rip roar, he says, and extremely tough, but now more unifying as he describes it. And in a gesture to his former political rival, inviting Nikki Haley to speak at the convention and meeting today with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to the Kennedy campaign. But the nods to unity come even as Mr. Trump rails online today against what he calls the January 6th hoax and the, quote, lawless indictment against him in Florida. That federal classified documents case dismissed today in a stunning development by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who ruled the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith was unlawful. Here in Milwaukee, protests over the Republican agenda

outside the convention as the rally shooting this weekend puts a white hot spotlight on safety. Law enforcement officials say there are no plans to change security measures and no known threats. I think it gave pause to my wife and my friends and family at home. They did not want me to come, but it renewed my vigor and my grit that I wanted to be here. Hallie Jackson, NBC News, Milwaukee. Now to my exclusive interview with President Biden late today. I asked him about the assassination attempt on former President Trump, the heated language of this campaign, and his reaction to Mr. Trump's running mate announcement. Mr. President, thank you for

sitting down with us. There's a lot to talk about. I'd like to start with the horrible events of last weekend. It has shocked a lot of Americans. A political rally, your opponent, Donald Trump, shot in the middle of greeting his supporters. You spoke to Mr. Trump afterward. Can you give me a sense of that conversation? Very cordial. I told him how concerned I was and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good. He said he was fine. And he thanked me for calling him. I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me. And I hope his whole family was weathering this. Well, let's talk about the conversation this has started. And it's really about language, what we say out loud and the consequences of those. You called your opponent an existential threat on a call a week ago. You said it's time to put Trump in the bullseye. There's some dispute about the context, but I think you appreciate.

I didn't say crosshairs. I was talking about focus on. Look, the truth of the matter was, what I guess I was talking about at the time was there's very little focus on Trump's agenda. Yeah, the term is bullseye. It was a mistake to use the word. I didn't say crosshairs. I meant bullseye. I meant focus on him. Focus on what he's doing. Focus on his policies.

Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate. Focus. I mean, there's a whole range of things. Look, I'm not the guy that said, I want to be a dictator on day one. I'm not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election. I'm not the guy who said that I want to be a dictator on day one. I'm not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election. I'm not the guy who said that one accept the outcome of this election automatically. You can't only love your country when you win. Mr. President, you've been in politics a very long time. So let's speak frankly. We're all

adults here. Has this shooting changed the trajectory of this race? I don't know. And you don't know either. I don't know. But is it something you've given thought to? No, I thought less about the trajectory of the case than two things. One, what his health is, that that was secure, number one. And number two, what happens from here on in terms of the kind of coverage that the president and vice president and former president and new vice president get in terms of look i've never seen a circumstance where you ride through certain rural areas of the country and people have signs there stand big trump signs with a middle sign saying f biden and the little kid standing there putting up his middle finger.

I mean, that's the kind of stuff that is just inflammatory and a kind of viciousness. It's a very different thing than to say, look, I really disagree with Trump for the way he takes care of taxes, the way he has wants a five trillion dollar tax cut for people who are making a lot of money next time around. Doesn't focus on working class people. And I asked him about his struggle in the debate and the calls from some Democrats for him to step aside. Do you feel like you've weathered the storm on this issue of whether you should be on the ticket or not? Look, 14 million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic Party. OK?

I listened to them. In your last TV interview, you were asked if you had watched the debate. Your answer was, I don't think so, no. Have you since seen it? I've seen pieces of it. I've not watched the whole debate. The president also responding to news of Donald Trump's new vice presidential pick. I want to ask you about just shortly before you and I sat down, former President Trump named his vice presidential pick J.D. Vance.

What does that tell you? His qualities. What does that tell you about former President Trump's values in terms of who he will surround himself with in the next administration should he win? Well, it's not unusual. He's going to surround himself with people who agree completely with him, have a voting record. I support him, even though if you go back and listen to the things that J.D. Vance said about Trump. And the president had a lot more to say about Senator Vance. Plus, we asked him about the Secret Service and more. You can see the complete unedited interview airing tonight on NBC starting at 9 p.m. Eastern. Now to the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

Tonight, we're learning more about the shooter, his background, and his familiarity with guns. Stephanie Gosk is in Butler, Pennsylvania. Grainy video shows the shooter, Thomas Crooks, moments before he fired an AR-15 style rifle at Donald Trump. Someone's on top of the roof. Look. He does not go unnoticed. According to two senior officials, local police officers saw Crooks on the rooftop, but couldn't stop him before he opened fire, injuring former President Trump. 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, shielding his family from the gunfire, was killed. David Dutch and James Coppenhaver were critically

wounded before a sniper team shot and killed crooks. Among the many unanswered questions tonight, how did the 20-year-old get on that rooftop, and why wasn't it better secured? He had a vantage point just 148 yards from the podium where Trump was speaking. Snipers took up positions nearby, but the Secret Service says the rooftop was outside of their security perimeter. Crook's father, who, according to the FBI, has been cooperating with the investigation, legally purchased the rifle his son used. And NBC News has learned Crookoks purchased ammunition at this store near his home just hours before the rally. Senior officials say more than a dozen firearms were found while searching the family's home. After the shooting, they say his father called police,

worried his son and an AR-style rifle were missing. Crooks graduated from community college and worked as a dietary aid at a nursing home. He was also a member of a shooting club at a firing range. He was just a normal kid to me, walking around the neighborhood. I mean, he was just a bit odd, that's all. But authorities still have not identified a motive, even after analyzing Crooks' cell phone, according to a senior law enforcement official. While the small rural town of Butler struggles with what happened here.

Right now, I think it's more the feeling of numbness in the city. Stephanie, where does the investigation stand tonight? Well, Lester, the FBI says they've conducted over 100 interviews. They continue to pour over the shooter's electronic devices, as well as photos and videos from that day of the rally. They are also asking the public to please come forward if you have any information you think could be useful. Lester. All right, Stephanie Goss, thank you. Now to the stunning decision in Florida, a federal judge throwing out the classified documents case against the former president and another major legal victory for Mr. Trump.

Here's Laura Jarrett. It was already indefinitely on hold, but tonight, case closed. A federal judge in Florida today handing Donald Trump a sweeping unexpected legal windfall, dismissing the charges he'd faced for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving the White House and then allegedly obstructing the government's efforts to get them back. Violations of those laws put our country at risk. Judge Eileen Cannon finding the appointment of that top prosecutor, Special Counsel Jack Smith, improper. Cannon, a Trump appointee, concluding in a 93-page decision that Smith's appointment

by Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Constitution as Smith wasn't nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. That reasoning, a dramatic departure from every other court that's looked at the issue. The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges last summer. Today, Mr. Trump described as very happy with the court victory, according to a source who spoke with him as he called for the dismissal of his three other pending cases. Lester asking President Biden to weigh in on the ruling. Judge Cannon dismissed the documents case, as you may have heard, in Mar-a-Lago.

Can I first get your reaction to that? I'm not surprised. And Laura, the Justice Department saying late tonight it plans to appeal. Yes, that's right, Lester. The Justice Department giving the special counsel, Jack Smith, the authorization, the green light to appeal, saying Judge Cannon's decision today, quote, deviates from all other courts. Lester. All right, Laura Jarrett, thank you.

In 60 seconds, the Secret Service under scrutiny after the assassination attempt on former President Trump. How is it that the gunman was able to get up to the roof of that building? More on that after this. One of the biggest questions after the assassination attempt on former President Trump, how was the gunman able to evade law enforcement, including the Secret Service? Kelly O'Donnell has that part of the story. Take a look at what happened. Though stunning and unexpected, authorities had already considered the gunman's rooftop

perch a worry. Witnesses say they spotted a threat that day. We're like, hey, man, there's a guy on the roof with a rifle. But the Secret Service had actually identified the building near the Trump rally as a potential vulnerability in the days before the event, according to two sources familiar with the agency's operations. But officials say no officers had been posted there. A key question is why? Today at the White House, Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas said he expects, within days, to choose the head of an independent review from outside the administration. I am committed to going externally of the department and externally of the government

so that no question of its independence can be raised. Secret Service officials say they had designated that local law enforcement would secure that building. Any type of missteps that were made or miscommunication that was made has to be addressed. Tonight, a major shift affecting independent candidate Robert Kennedy, who has been repeatedly denied government security. The president has directed me to work with the Secret Service to provide protection to Robert Kennedy Jr. Today, the Secret Service director said while she had increased the Trump security detail in June, she has now made other changes since Saturday to ensure his protection. Kelly O'Donnell, thank you. We'll have a deeper look next at Donald

Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, and his rapid rise. Former President Trump's new running mate, J.D. Vance, has had a meteoric rise in the Republican Party, first elected to public office just two years ago. Garrett Haake is in Milwaukee with more on the 39-year-old Ohio Senator. Garrett. Lester, J.D. Vance has been an outspoken advocate for Donald Trump's MAGA movement as a senator, but he's about to enter a much brighter spotlight as a relatively untested first-term lawmaker turned vice presidential nominee. Tonight, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance launched into the national political spotlight. We proudly cast our 79 votes for President Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance.

The freshman senator was first elected in 2022. Raised in poverty, Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq. He later graduated from Yale Law School and wrote the best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, before turning to politics, first as a Republican Trump critic. I'm a never-Trump guy. I never liked him. Eventually becoming one of the former president's most outspoken admirers. I was wrong about Donald Trump. I didn't think he was going to be a good president, Brett. He was a great president. Vance is largely aligned with Mr. Trump's MAGA makeover of the GOP, opposing abortion rights and aid for Ukraine. That's the whole reason why me and so many others are trying to reelect Donald Trump is because the agenda actually worked. Supporters already adding his name to campaign signs, while RNC co-chair

Lara Trump cheering her father-in-law's pick. I think he'll be a great partner and I think he'll be a great advocate for this country. Is he too much like Donald Trump to help you expand your coalition? Is there anything like too much like Donald Trump? Can you get too much Donald Trump? I don't think so. Tonight, the Biden campaign blasting the choice with a statement reading in part, Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn't on January 6th, bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda. Garrett Haake, NBC News, Milwaukee. When we come back, calls for civility in a nation divided. Though we still do not know what motivated the shooter

on Saturday night, the events of the past 48 hours are highlighting political divisions in this country. Both President Biden and former President Trump have called for unity, but there has been dangerous discourse. Here's Kate Snow. Even before Saturday night, the nation was polarized. Donald Trump is a loser. Still, you dumb son of a... Since Saturday, some Republicans saying President Biden's sharp warnings that electing former President Trump would put democracy at stake contributed to the assassination attempt. But Democrats blame former President Trump for normalizing incendiary speech.

Increasingly hateful rhetoric online has led to real-world violence. According to a University of Maryland criminologist who has tracked political violence over a 50-year span, incidents have been on the rise since 2016, the year Trump was elected. In 2017, a man shot former House Majority Leader Steve Scalise at a Republican congressional baseball team practice. In 2020, the FBI foiled a plot to kidnap and kill Michigan Democratic

Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Last year, Trump mocked the violent attack on then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband. And she's against building a wall at our border, even though she has a wall around her house, which obviously didn't do a very good job. And now Trump himself, targeted by a would-be assassin. The majority of statements from Republican and Democratic leaders have called for calm and unity. We can't go on like this as a society. For all of us to turn down any kind of the temperature. Echoed by voters from across the political spectrum. I hope that this is not used for propaganda to support violence one way or the

other. There's no tolerance and there's no room for terrorism, for violence, for assassination attempts in this country. We may have differences, but we can still have one goal in common is to be, you know, civil to each other. The country's leaders warning the current political climate cannot continue. The question now, will civility win? Kate Snow, NBC News. That is nightly news for this Monday. Thank you for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night.