[THEME MUSIC] Well, the Trump world finds itself on defense as the Kamala Harris universe goes on the offensive. But how long will this surge last tonight on Laura Coates Live? [MUSIC PLAYING] Well, the Harris campaign Sugar High might be given the Trump campaign a bit of a stomach ache, at least for now. The man who once said he was excited to debate, now singing a little bit of a different tune, just tonight alone, Trump stopped short of committing to a debate saying he probably end up debating her. He also had to defend his own VP pick, Senator JD Vant, over his comments that childless women don't have as much of a stake as mothers. I think they understand it. No, I think they understand it. The Democrats are good at spinning things differently from what they were. All he said is he does like-- I mean, for him, he likes family. All he said, Trump defending his running mate is not exactly where you want to be 99 days before the election, particularly if you are on the top of that ticket. Now, the polls they do show an incredibly tight race, and the Trump campaign is ready to throw the kitchen sink, maybe even the whole house at Harris, hitting her on everything from the border surge and inflation during her time as the vice president, to what Trump calls her radical record as a prosecutor. In fact, Trump tonight claimed he's happy he's running against her. Now I have her. I would rather run against her than him. I think she's easier than he is. Well, it looks like his running mate JD Vant may not have gotten that same messaging memo. Listen to what he had to say. We talked with private donors in just private last week. All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch. The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might say, Kamala Harris is a lot younger, and Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did. Well, certainly Harris is not struggling when it comes to enthusiasm. I mean, tonight, tens of thousands of self-proclaimed white dudes for Harris joined a Zoom call to rally support for her. They raised about $3 million that even featured a cameo from the dude himself, Jeff Bridges. Kamala is just so certainly our girl. I can see her being president. I'm so excited. A woman president, man. How exciting. If only he was in the robe like the big Lebowski. North Carolina, though, the governor there, Roy Cooper, he was also on that call. And remember, he actually was on the VP short list. And I do mean was until tonight, when he then learned that he took himself out of the running. A source says that he had concerns about going through the vetting process at the age of 67. Well, joining me now, one of Cooper's fellow state executives, the Democratic governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, governor. Thank you so much for joining. I want to begin right there because you and I have previously had this conversation. You said that you like the idea of a governor for her running mate. What do you make of the decision for governor Cooper to take himself out of consideration? Well, I haven't had a chance to talk to Roy since he made that decision, but I'm sure he went through a lot of soul searching and made an important decision. There's a lot to learn from different kinds of experience, whether it's experience in the business sector, whether it's experience in a governor's position, the United States Senate. I think Kamala Harris is going to really surround herself, not just with a vice president, but frankly, with a cabinet that really represents the best of America. Are you possibly going to surround that ticket? Would you be an asset to it? Well, there's a lot to learn from the Colorado model, right? We took a state that was a tied state neck and neck. I won real action with a 20 port margin. We've cut the income tax three times in Colorado. We cut property taxes and capped it. We've really focused on really growing our economy and an abundance agenda that lifts all boats. We've removed barriers to housing, to help reduce housing prices and make our state more affordable. And I think that Joe Biden's leading some of those same policies. I'm confident Kamala Harris will, too, in terms of removing barriers to building apartments and new starter homes. I'm excited. I'm excited about continuing the tax cuts to make sure the middle class and Americans don't pay any more in taxes and providing additional reductions in tariffs to help grow trade opportunities for growing in America and made in America products. Governor, have you been asked to be a running mate? Are you being vetted? Well, again, I don't know exactly what the process is. I want to share with them. And I have shared with them what we've done here in Colorado. We've taken a state that was neck and neck to a 20 point Democratic margin in my real act. But you've got to earn it every day. It's not about what you have done. A lot of my advice to the vice presidents don't focus on the accomplishments of the last four years. They're great. We could talk about them for hours. But the voters want to know what you're going to do for them tomorrow. And as long as she runs an agenda of protecting on expanding our freedoms versus Donald Trump rolling them back on reducing costs for everyday Americans versus Donald Trump's 10% tariff increasing the cost of everyday items by 10% and causing a recession with retaliatory tariffs that will destroy manufacturing in our country versus Kamala Harris expanding opportunities for made in America products overseas. That's how you win. And I think she has a lot of Kamala momentum so far with 99 days ago. We're going to keep it up. 99 short days are very long days. And as Jan Jackson once said to put a finer point in what you've just said, I know you used to do nice things for me. But what have you done for me lately? That'll be the question for many of the voters. Because part of the Republican message seems to be that voters don't exactly know, they say, what Harris stands for. In fact, Trump tonight, Governor, suggested that the more progressive Kamala Harris from 2020 in her campaign is still that same Harris today, even though she's now the vice president. Other critics say that her policy positions are not crystal clear. Does she need to do more work to define herself and the eyes of the electorate now that she's the top of that ticket? First of all, everybody's going to be playing these games of what people said 10 years ago, five years ago. JD Vance was as critical of Donald Trump as anybody. And said he didn't have the character to lead and was a failure. He said a lot of terrible things about Donald Trump and there he is as his running mate. Look, Kamala Harris has a lot of experience. She was a prosecutor. She's tough as nails, put criminals behind bars. Frankly, she got attacked from the left by being too tough on criminals. That's something that'll serve her well as she moves into the chief executive office. Of course, she ran on certain things when she ran for president. She's now been vice president. She's worked alongside Joe Biden. She's grown. She's developed a lot of international experience overseas as our vice president. And domestic experience here. And she has a chance to carve out her own agenda to protect our freedoms and to grow our economy, to make America an even better place for everybody. At the same time, though, obviously, it's a campaign. And the messaging will have to also tell voters why she believes that he should not vote for the Trump Vance ticket. There seems to have been a messaging shift over just the last week with Democrats calling that Trump Vance ticket the word of the day and the week seems to be, well, weird. Listen. Some of what he and his running make are saying, well, it's just plain weird. These guys are just weird. That's where they are. I mean, it's like weird what he does, right? I mean, on the other side, they're just weird. No matter what kind of weird stuff they keep saying. What was weird was him joking about racism today and then talking about diet, Mountain Dew. I mean, there's a lot of words one could choose. I wonder if weird is as impactful to the calls to suggest that Trump is an existential threat to democracy. Why is this the new vehicle? - Look, all's fair in love in politics, existential threat to democracy, convicted felon, weird. They're all fair. But again, I think we have to keep the focus on what the guy would do that would hurt the quality of life of the average American, right? When he talks about raising terrorists 10%, you know, I'm a parent of a 12-year-old, a 10-year-old. We're doing back to school clothing shopping. Every single thing we buy, 98% of clothing imported, would cost 10% more under Donald Trump. It would cause a recession that would devastate American manufacturing, destroy agriculture and farm jobs with growing American produce with retaliatory tariffs. So I think we need a president's gonna focus on expanding markets for growing and making America products reduce costs rather than increase costs like Donald Trump's agenda would do. So whatever names people call one another and obviously in politics, people are gonna do that. I like to bring it back to what the policies would mean for everyday American families sitting around the kitchen table and American families are gonna be better off under a Kamala Harris presidency than under a second Donald Trump presidency. We know what happened last time. Record unemployment, inflation started to grow. Joe Biden has started to tame inflation. Kamala Harris will continue that with strong monetary policy, expanding trade opportunities and making sure that we continue all the middle-class tax cuts. - Well, Governor, Jerry Pollis, our kids are about the same age. So as back to school shopping continues, I'll see you at Target next time. Thank you so much for joining. - See you there. - Well, in that white dudes for Harris call, Minnesota governor and potential VP candidate, Tim Walz, making the case for continued Harris momentum. - How often 100 days do you get to change the trajectory of the world? How often 100 days do you get to do something that's going to impact generations to come? And how often in the world do you make that bastard wake up afterwards and know that a black woman kicked his ass and send him on the road? - That might have to be a t-shirt for something. With me now, seeing a political commentator or publicist strategist, Sir Michael Singleton and Democratic strategist and former senior advisor for Bernie Sanders as his presidential campaigns, Chuck Rocha. Glad to have you both here right now. Let me begin with you, Chuck. 99 days left. That just sounds crazy to me. 99 days left. Did Governor Walz find the right message? - Yes, I think he did. 99 days left. The VP only has one job. If you want to know the wrong way to do it, watch JD Vance because the only job a vice president has is to do no harm. Go stand over there, be quiet, look nice, show up when you're supposed to show up and be quiet. If the vice president's showing up in press clips they're doing the wrong thing. Tim Walz is trying to make a voice for himself. I said this earlier today. Tim Walz was a high school teacher and he was a high school football coach. Now, for anybody who has 30 seconds to guess, you can tell I play a little high school football. A lot of us reminisce about that every day. That's the kind of person you want to be the vice president. Somebody somebody can relate with real language and some real skills. - You missed your Al Bundy moment and tell the world how great you were at football. No one could say anything. - All state takes us. Don't get me started. Easy. Don't get me started. - Let's the resume for sure. - And I mean, I'll go to you tomorrow, Michael. Next, 'cause of course I'm sure you had your own glory days as well. But let me ask you about this. The Washington Post reporting the Vance told donors that this was a sucker, a political sucker punch to have Harris now there. That's quite the word choice. To me, that suggests there's a bit of vulnerability. How do you see it? - I mean, look, it suggests that the vice presidential running mate is objectively aware that vice president Harris is not going to be a cakewalk the way President Biden was. She's not older. She's younger. She has obviously energized black women, a cohort of black men, younger voters, $200 million in a week, 170,000 volunteers. I'm a strategist. Objectively speaking, when I look at metrics like that, I'm saying to myself, we have to bring our A game. If we're going to compete against this person. And so having someone on the campaign that recognizes this, not just a strategist, but one of the running mates, I think that's a very good thing. - Well, so what is the game letter you would assign to the child is cat comment that was made by JD Vance? But more importantly, the fact that Donald Trump has to defend it. In fact, listen to what he had to say tonight to even address this moment. - He made a statement having to do with families. That doesn't mean that people that aren't a member of a big and beautiful family with 400 children around and everything else. It doesn't mean that a person doesn't have, he's not against anything, but he loves family. It's very important to him. He grew up in a very interesting family situation and he feels family is good. And I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that. - Is that enough? - No, it's just not. There's only a small little group Shermichael knows this. Any politician, anybody who's run campaigns for 30 seconds knows that there's just a small little group of people who are actually gonna make the decisions on who's gonna be the president and a lot of them are women. A lot of them are single women and just so happens, a lot of them are single women who have cats. That's why this thing hits at the root of what he shouldn't be doing. He can talk about her trade policies like Shermichael does, he can talk about crime, but don't talk about single women with cats. That's the last thing you wanna be doing right now. I'm like, I'm not a fan of cats, but don't talk. - I'm not even on the dog person. - I mean, look, but look, I'm not single women with cats. - You can be single noobs with whatever. - Look, I feel you about the idea of the whole cat thing, but let me tell you, tonight, my colleague and friend Erin Burnett, she spoke to Sophia Nelson who is a former Yale Law School classmate of Senator J.D. Vance, 'cause again, it just keeps on coming. I have to wonder about the full vetting process or not. And Sophia was extremely critical of Trump in the 80 emails that they actually exchanged over the course of their friendship, but now Vance is a completely different person today. Listen to what Sophia had to say. - What I've seen is a chameleon, someone who is able to change their positions and their values depending on what will amass them, political power and wealth. And I think that's really unfortunate because it reflects a lack of integrity. - So Sophia's point there that many of you are wondering as to why there was the 180 degree shift now at the RNC, the entire narrative was an epiphany. People had the right to change their minds and we should not vilify and condemn that for that. But as more and more comments are coming out, not just the anecdotes or isolated incidents, does Sophia have a point? - I mean, look, I think strategically speaking, his friendship with Sophia, I would say is a net benefit if he doesn't run away from it. I mean, Sophia represents a percent of the country that I would probably argue most people would say Republicans have not been open to. And here is a vice presidential running made on the Republican side with, I think, a 10 year friendship with Sophia, if I remember correctly. I think that's a positive thing. I wouldn't run away from it. I would say this is a new version, a new iteration of the Republican party that's open to all Americans, which it should be. - That's putting form over substance. I mean, that they had a friendship versus what was actually said in the correspondence. That's the focus. - And everybody's trying to figure out who this guy is, who is JD? And every time something else happens, whether it's cat ladies, whether it's Sophia's comments, like you get to learn more about JD, people are trying to learn more about Vice President Harris as well. We've got, to your point, 99 days left, people forget, we're gonna start voting in this country in 65 days. People get there, it's happening now. This whole thing about momentum, it's happening now. And the more we learn, the more we see, the more folks you're gonna be with Vice President. - Important point, 65 days away, 99 days, should Michael Chuck, thank you both so much. Hey up next, a sitting Republican mayor from Arizona who says that he is choosing country over party and he's backing Kamala Harris. Mayor John Giles joins me next, explain why he is breaking ranks. And later, President Biden takes on the United States Supreme Court, why his plan to reform it as unlikely as it may be to do so, has some conservatives completely outraged. - Angie has made it easier than ever to hire high quality pros to get all your home service jobs done well. Whether it's routine maintenance and emergency repair or a dream project, Angie lets you compare quotes from multiple local pros, browse homeowner reviews, and even book a service instantly, Angie's been connecting people with skilled pros for nearly 30 years. So the next time you have a home project, bring it to Angie to get your job done well. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit angie.com. That's A-N-G-I.com. - Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. And one thing I've learned is that you buy a house but you make it a home. Because with every fix, update, and renovation, it becomes a little more your own. So you need all your jobs done well. For nearly 30 years, Angie has helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. From plumbing to electrical, roof repair to deck upgrades. So leave it to the pros who will get your jobs done well. Hire high quality certified pros at angie.com. - Since a Republican Party transformed itself into what some would call the Trump Party, it has become increasingly rare to see Republicans who speak out against the former president and of course the Republican nominee. There have been a few over the years. I mean, we've seen retired Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican outspoken about the former president's dangers to democracy. He even sat, if you recall, on the January 6th committee. Former GOP Congressman Liz Cheney, another critic who also served on that same committee. There's also Jeff Duncan, the former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia who speaks out quite frequently about the former president. And one thing in common with those three, well none are currently in office. So it's exceptionally rare are sitting Republicans who do speak out and even more rare, sitting Republicans who speak out and then go on to endorse a Democrat. But tonight we have that for you here. The Republican Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles. With a piece out today, endorsing Kamala Harris. And he's here with me now. Mayor Giles, welcome. You know, you're really perhaps putting yourself out there with this endorsement. I do wonder what has compelled you to do so? - You know, it was with a lot of thought. You know, I'm certainly not anxious. I am a Republican and I enjoy endorsing Republicans. So this was a very considered step to take. And I also, as a mayor, you know, I love to not get involved in partisan politics at all when I can avoid it. Mayors like to focus on solving problems and on city issues and on, you know, being in the middle of between the 20 yard lines on all the things that there are consensus on. So this was not something that I was excited to do or are necessarily looking to do. But, you know, occasionally there are issues and questions that we're presented with in life that are just too compelling to be silent. And I knew that I had to sleep at night and that I couldn't do that well if I didn't speak out and express my disappointment in the Republican nominee. - Have there been some who have expressed his appointment in your decision to come forward and endorse Kamala Harris? - Absolutely. Yeah, and that's to be expected. But what I didn't necessarily expect was the tremendous response that I got today from people in my party and in my community expressed in support for the op-ed that I published. - Let's talk about the why. Why you are supporting Kamala Harris and rejecting Donald Trump, who is a Republican, what is the reason that you find her to be the preference and the preferred candidate over even Trump? - Well, I think that there's a minimum bar for elected officials in this country and having to do with character, having to do with commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution. And I don't feel like Mr. Trump gets over that low bar. And at the same time I do think that the vice president is a good alternative. The contrast between the two of them is stark and President Trump does not compare well. There are many issues that, again, being a Republican, I differ with the vice president on. But what to me is the compelling reason to support her is that I don't question that at the top of her agenda is what is in the best interest of the United States? I honestly can't say that I think that's the case with Mr. Trump. - Your words speak volumes and I know you've written and talked about election denialism as perhaps one reason to reject them. And you know, Trump made comments over the weekend saying Christians won't have to vote again if he gets back in the White House. Here he is, by the way, tonight trying to clean up those remarks. May I listen? - And I think everybody understood it. I didn't know there was anything. - Yeah, well, I mean, because it's the constant refrain. I mean, after they have done all the things that we've talked about. - Horrible. - All of the things. - Russia, Russia, all the things. - And dump their guy at 52 years, just dump him to the side. So they do all that. And then they say, well, no, you can't vote for him because he's literally never gonna leave office. They're actually still saying that. - It's just unbelievable. - But you will leave office after four years. - That's by the way that I did last time. - Do you think that he would leave office at the end of his term if he is elected given your concerns about election denialism and his comments about voting today? - No, I don't. You know, as I was writing this op-ed that ran in the Arizona Republic this morning, I remember at one point I had a phrase in the op-ed where I said, if Donald Trump selected, I fear this might be the last pre and fair election of my lifetime. And I struck it out 'cause I thought, you know what, that's a little hyperbolic. That's more than needs to be said. And then, you know, he makes this statement saying that once I'm elected and I'm enthroned, you know, we won't need elections any longer. So sometimes Donald Trump says the quiet part out loud and we have to believe him. And I think this is one of those occasions that we got some real insight into what his priorities are. - There are many who will say that the conversation itself is hyperbolic and then you hear statements that he's made and you have to wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg in these conversations. You know, one of Harris's potential contenders for her running mate happens to come from your state. Mark Kelly, the Senator. Would you wanna see him in that VP spot? - Absolutely. I've had the privilege of working with Senator Kelly. He's the real, you know, John Glenn, right stuff person. And he would make an excellent vice president. So I haven't spoken to him about this, but I do know him well, he's very talented. He does a deep dive into everything. This would not be the type of vice president that you just send to funerals. You know, he's a very capable person. I could see him being the secretary of defense and the vice president at the same time 'cause he's very, very capable. - Well, that would be two daunting tasks at once. Let's see, maybe you can do either or if in fact she chooses him in the end. Mayor Giles, nice to speak with you. Thank you for joining me tonight. - Thank you for the invitation. - Up next, President Biden makes a bold move against an unpopular court. How his proposals to reform the Supreme Court are enraging the right and maybe even rallying the left, even if they have, well, very little chance of passing. Tonight, President Biden calling for doing away with lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. - I believe the best structure is the 18-year term limit. That would help ensure the country would not have what it has now. An extreme court that's a proud of an attack on the confirmation process that's weaponized by those seeking to carry out an extreme agenda for decades to come. - But just a few years ago, then presidential candidate Biden, well, he felt pretty differently. - No, no, no, no, no. There is a question about whether or not it's a lifetime appointment. I'm not gonna attempt to change that at all. - That was before the election, right? But joining me now, former Disney attorney, Kim Whaley. She's the author of the new column. Biden's last project fixed a Supreme Court in desperate need of reform. Kim, so good to see you. I do wonder, is this too little, too later, as my dad always says, a day late and a dollar short? - Well, the immunity decision, Laura, changed everything. I mean, the court really did almost amend the constitution and turned it into a monarchy when it comes to committing crimes with the massive power of the office. So this is really an amendment to go back to where we were prior to the court manufacturing something that doesn't exist in the constitution. And remember, these are purported textualists that are supposed to read the plain language. It's not in there and they actually read some things out of the constitution. I think it's really, really important to protect democracy this way. - And yet your statement, I think, would give ammunition to some to suggest it was the opinion that made people angry to say, okay, now you can't stay on the court. What do you say to those who will say, no, you can't impose these changes because you're like a decision, but because it's the right thing for the court? - Well, I've been teaching constitutional law for a long time and it's getting harder and harder to teach basic principles of constitutional law 'cause this court is departing from precedent, departing from the plain language of the constitution, departing from basic grounds for taking cases. They're reaching out into culture wars, into politics. And really, it's very difficult to be intellectually honest to students about what the court is doing. It's a very, very different court than it was three, five, 10 years ago. - You make a great point because one of the things why the laws are on the books we were always taught in law school is about deterrence because you knew what the law of the land was. It would change and shape behavior so no one could expect something different. But now if you're on a precedent, it's hard to predict those issues as well. But what do you make of these changes? Would term limits correct that behavior? Would it change the public opinion, which is really an all-time low for this court I should add? I mean, we're talking in the teens at this point, which used to be a very storied institution. - Well, it's very unusual to have this lifetime appointment for the highest courts. Other democracies don't have that. And so it's a very anti-democratic entity. There's no accountability. They're there forever. So the term limit idea with presidents doing two appointments every two years would be more reflective of the country, more reflective of the people. And these people would be more accountable. They wouldn't really be kings and queens on there for life. Appointed very young with arbitrary numbers, depending on which president of Barack Obama got two. Donald Trump got three and Obama was there twice as long. So there are other ways of addressing the Supreme Court. This isn't the only one, but this is the one that President Biden has advanced. And I think something needs to be done and it's urgent. - I mean, Speaker Johnson has called this essentially DOA, dead on arrival. So in terms of legislation, what could be done to do this differently? - Well, legislatively, you could expand the size of the court. It's been anywhere from five to 10. That is within Congress's authority. Congress could decide to rotate other judges through the Supreme Court. It doesn't say in the Constitution, it has to be Supreme Court justices. Those other federal judges are there for life. The same way the Supreme Court is. There are other things that Congress could do, a code of ethics that's enforceable. Ensuring that these justices don't have these egregious conflicts of interest, don't have political flags on their front lawns, things like that. Most other, pretty much every other federal actor in the system has checks and balances. That's why we don't have a monarchy anymore, Laura. And the Supreme Court is a little drunk with its own power, I think, the majority. - Would this cut both ways to sort of silence the crags that would say, oh, this might be good for Democrats today, but then down the road, horrible? Well, the idea is it's up to the voters, right? So elections matter, and if every president gets to rotate two justices with this 18-year term, if that's the particular thing that goes through, then the idea is voters can decide on presidents that they want to have that authority. So if it's a Republican for many terms, and yeah, you're gonna have many justices that are Republican or Democrat, but right now it's really, really stacked against, frankly, the populace, where under Mitch McConnell, there was no filibuster for the last three justices. So really, the Democrats in the United States had no buy-in for the last three justices that are now wiping out constitutional rights, getting rid of affirmative action in education, green lighting, racial gerrymandering, and now, again, rewriting this foundational principle that no one's above the law, and every branch gets their papers graded by the other two branches, not if you're committing crimes using official power now in the Oval Office. - A lot of food for thought. We'll see how the Congress acts now that it's been said, and what happens in the last of this term. Kim Whaley, always pay to talk to you. Thank you so much. Well, ahead, the newly revealed text message is that suggests law enforcement saw the Trump shooter more than 90 minutes before his attack. Plus, the latest on the investigation into the government's motive, including his online searches for past assassination attempts. - They say opposites attract. That's why the sleep number smart bed is the best bed for couples. You can each choose what's right for you whenever you like. You like a bed that feels firm, but they want soft. Sleep number does that. You wanna sleep cooler while they like to feel warm. Sleep number does that, too. You have to feel it to believe it. Find the bed that's for both of you, only at a sleep number store. Nine out of 10 couples say that they sleep better on a sleep number smart bed. Only sleep number smart bed lets you choose your ideal comfort and support, your sleep number setting. Sleep number smart beds automatically respond and adjust to your movements so that you sleep comfortably all night long. Beat the summer heat. Temperature balancing bedding, like true temp bedding, is designed to move heat and humidity away. So you sleep just right. Can't agree on temperature? The sleep number climate 360 smart bed lets you adjust up to 30 degrees cooler or warmer on either side. So you can be polar opposites in the same bed. Sleep better together. JD Power Ranks sleep number number one in customer satisfaction with mattresses purchased in store. And now sleep number smart bed starting at $999. Prices higher in Alaska and Hawaii. For JD Power 2023 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards only at a sleep number store or sleepnumber.com. From politics to pop culture and everything in between, CNN's Five Things brings you the five essential stories to get you up to speed and on with your day, five times a day. - Hello from CNN, I'm Jo Beck. With the five things you need to know for Tuesday. - Follow CNN Five Things on Spotify, enable push notifications so you don't miss an update. (upbeat music) Alarming new text messages revealing security failures and confusion around the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Text messages released by Senator Chuck Grassley so that law enforcement actually noticed the shooter more than 90 minutes before he carried out his attack. And at one point, they actually lost track of him. In exchange shows an officer saying these photos of the shooter to a group text and someone responds with this, they being the event command center are asking for a direction of travel. Someone else responds, quote, not sure. He was up against the building. If I had to guess towards the back away from the event. Now we learn more about what law enforcement was actually doing before the attack, determining the shooter's motive appears as elusive as ever. The FBI revealing it's conducted more than 450 interviews to try and figure out what he may have been thinking and why. Today we got some insight on what's been discovered. The FBI says that he was a loner and his social circle was limited to his immediate family. He used encrypted email accounts and aliases to buy firearms and he searched for information on power plants, mass shooting events, improvised explosive devices and the attempted assassination of Slovakia's prime minister. Join me now former senior FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole. Mary Ellen, thank you so much for joining me. You just heard about those additional details on the shooter's search history. He looked up the Kennedy assassination as well, we understand. So what's all of this tell you about the shooter in terms of maybe a profile? - Well, what it tells me is that he was preoccupied with finding somebody that he could shoot, somebody that he could assassinate and that he wasn't necessarily just focused on former President Trump. And I think that's very interesting because if you get just a laser focus on a particular person, that really is a different type of motivation. And then I think with him, once he realized that Trump was gonna be basically in his backyard in an area where he could access, then that made his victimology come up quite a bit. But I think that he was looking at other people as well who just as easily could have been a target for him. So he was preoccupied with being able to shoot people, with being able to build explosives and possibly use those as well. So I think his thinking and his ideology was a lot broader than just one particular victim. - Harder to determine prevent that broad spectrum of focus as well. I mean, the FBI saying the shooter was quote, "highly intelligent" and that he was also a loner, both online and in person. And we still don't know a motive. How hard is it to solve given his lack of context in this short or this small social circle? - That can make it very difficult. But the fact of the matter is he is a loner, which means he wasn't trying to be by himself. That he was a loner by personality. And when that happens, he prefers to operate by himself. And it's not likely that he would have brought in or even wanted to bring somebody in to his plans. So that makes it difficult, but he also made a concerted effort to cover up his searches and to cover up how he was going about planning this crime. It's pretty clear to me that the planning was very enjoyable to him. When you look at a crime and how much effort and time the person puts into the planning or carrying out the act itself, if the effort is in the planning, that's the part that they really enjoyed. And I think for him, that is something that he enjoyed very much, but he wasn't perfect at it. And the reason that I say wasn't perfect because he engaged in behavior of the rally that drew attention to him from members of the tactical teams. He was not an experienced assassin. He wasn't an experienced strategic SWAT person. So he sat on picnic tables. He drew attention to himself. And on any other day, I would be very surprised that law enforcement would not have come down from where they were and said, what are you doing here? Talk to us about what you're doing. And he would have been arrested, but not that day. - You know, it's interesting because some Republicans are saying that they would be shocked to find out that there's 20 year old acted alone because of his age. Would it really be so unusual for somebody at that age, 20 years old, to pull off and plan this solo? - Well, I think it's unusual, I do, but I also think that's his personality. I don't think he was trying to be a loner. I don't think he was trying to be an isolationist. I think his being a loner was so severe that it could have bordered on an undiagnosed mental health issue. I'm not saying out of touch with reality, but he was very comfortable being a loner. So for him to bring somebody else in to planning an event that he was really enjoying makes absolutely no sense. The only persons he would have brought in are people close to him, and that would have been his family. But I think he clearly opted that this was going to be just an event for himself. We've seen that in other cases. Is it unusual? Yes, but is it likely at the 11th hour, this person who's a loner throughout his entire lifetime brings in a buddy? Not gonna happen. - Mary Ellen O'Toole, so insightful. Thank you so much for joining. - You're welcome. - Well, it's the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in a time when some fierce civil rights are facing dangerous and new threats. What's the government doing about it? The Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights joins me next. President Biden celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. He was emphasizing there is far more work to be done and ensuring that all communities are free from discrimination. We can and must be protected and expand our civil rights in America. We can and must prevent the abuse of presidential power and restore faith in the Supreme Court. We can and must strengthen the guardrails of democracy. They must have to remind ourselves who we are. We're the United States of America. - Well, joining me now, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the US Department of Justice, Ms. Kristen Clark. So glad to have you here. Thank you for joining me this evening. You know, I'm an alum of the DOJ. Obviously, in your very prominent role, we all look to you for guidance and for your thoughts on what the state of America really is as a woman of color and somebody as a part of the Department of Justice. I wonder what does the 60th anniversary of civil rights mean to you, the act itself, knowing the work that needs to be done? - Yeah. Well, it's such a great moment to take stock of the tremendous progress that we've made over the past six decades. You know, we hold our heads down and do the work at the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the main tools that we are using to stand up to discrimination. And it's a moment to take stock of the progress, but to really remember that there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. Discrimination, sadly, is alive and well in this country and its laws like the Civil Rights Act that give us the ability to continue to make sure that we're making progress. - You yourself were an alum, so you know, certainly the work that needs to be done in the Civil Rights Division and the work that actually is doing, it's actually doing, but you've heard a lot of people describe the work that promotes diversity or equity or inclusion or the acronym of DEI. It's leveled as an insult. It's suggested that somehow it is not only not needed, but that it is counterproductive to trying to achieve true equality. What do you say to those who are suggesting that there is no work to be done in that space and that DEI, frankly, is unnecessary? - Yeah, it's needed. Diversity matters. It matters now more than ever and we can't go back. You know, one area of our work that I think provides a powerful example of the work that still needs to be done is hate crimes. You know, hate crimes are alive and well in our country. We continue sadly to see anti-Semitic violence, anti-Arab violence, white supremacist-fueled violence, Islamophobia, homophobia. You know, our office has been prosecuting cases, everything from the Tree of Life Massacre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the massacres of 23 Latino people at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas. We are prosecuting the defendant responsible for the deaths of 10 black people at a top supermarket in Buffalo, New York. I don't see how anyone can take a step back and look at the hate that we are wrestling with in America today and say that we should abandon the project of working to ensure that we have a diverse and inclusive America. - Now you have Project 2025, that is top of mind for many people and the electorate. I do wonder if that initiative concerns you in the DOJ. - You know, we've been down this path before where we've made progress and we have suffered setbacks. But we remain undeterred in our commitment to using the laws that we have and relying on the precedents that have been set by the courts to make sure that we are standing up for justice in this country. So, you know, we've experienced the setbacks but we're not gonna let us slow us down. - Are there a frustration with the Supreme Court or other courts that chip away at seams at some of that progress and can create some setbacks? - We have seen disappointing rulings that have made it harder to do this work but it's important that we dust ourselves off and that we continue to use the tools that we have to make sure that people can have a voice in our democracy to make sure that people have equal access to jobs and to homes. It's important that we fight redlining by banks of another crisis that we continue to see today. So, we don't let the setbacks slow down the project of continuing to fight for a just and equitable America. - Finally, when I think about the work that needs to be done and obviously we're in an election year and many people are focused on who will be the president of the United States, the Department of Justice is often attacked as being a vehicle of weapons, of weaponizing politics or political, you know, access to grind. How do you stay above the fray and keep focused on the mission, not only of the Department of Justice but the Civil Rights Division, which has really been something that's not only as evolved but is so necessary as you describe in this country. - Yeah, you know, politics has no place in the way we carry out our work at the Justice Department. We hold our heads down, we follow the law and the facts, we file cases to stand up for victims of discrimination, period point blank. You know, I have a poster of Justice Thurgood Marshall that sits in my office. Civil Rights American, a hero who dedicated his life and his career to standing up for the cause for justice. And, you know, it is frankly folks like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, who shaped the way that we carry out our work today. It is about standing up for the voiceless and making sure that we're doing everything that we can to beat back the discrimination that we sadly continue to see today. - The pursuit of justice seems not to have yet caught it but maybe one day. Thank you so much for joining us, thank you. - Thanks for watching. Anderson Cooper 360 starts right now.
