The Lead with Jake Tapper Aired June 17, 2024 - 16:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [16:00:01] … [16:58:53] JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: …exclusive interview with two of the women who testified against Harvey Weinstein. The new mission that they're taking on after the disgraced Hollywood mogul sex crimes conviction was overturned in New York. Plus, are the health risks of social media akin to those of cigarettes and booze? Well, the U.S. surgeon general is calling for morning label four apps, declaring that the mental health crisis among children has reached emergency levels. And leading this hour, Donald Trump is hosting two key Republicans Mar-a-Lago this afternoon, maybe asking their opinions on whom his vice presidential pick should be? The possible contenders are blitzing the country and the airwaves, trying to make their cases. But as we are hearing names such as Senator Marco Rubio or Governor Doug Burgum, floated by Trump allies, it is Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who appears to have won the backing of the young Trump diehards, at least some of them. This weekend, Vance won the VP straw poll at the Turning Point Action Convention. That's a conservative event aimed at college students. We should note, the straw poll, it is far from a scientific survey and does not represent the larger Republican electorate. … The Lead with Jake Tapper Aired June 17, 2024 - 17:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [17:00:00] JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: CNN's Jeff Zeleny joins us now. Jeff, I want to start with Senator Vance who was asked this weekend what would make a good running mate for Trump. Here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH): This applies to the vice president. There are a lot of smart good people that Trump is looking at, but it also applies to our senators, it applies to our congressmen and women too. We need to have people who are supporting Trump, not trying to stab him in the back. It's very, very simple. (END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: A push for loyalty there. If Trump is looking for a loyal fighter on the ticket and one who says loyalty is incredibly important for everyone else too, J.D. Vance showing that he's capable and willing. JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Capable and willing and flexible because we all remember back in 2016, he was one of those Republicans who was very critical of Donald Trump, but look so much has changed since then. Yes, he did win the straw poll at that conference over the weekend. He was also the only one of the potential VP candidates to actually speak in person at the event, so perhaps seeing him in the flesh was actually one of the reasons he was supported. But look, he has become one of the biggest defenders of the president. There is no doubt that he is on the shortlist. We know this because he's been spending significant time with former President Donald Trump. He'll be doing so again on Thursday evening in Cleveland when Trump goes there for a fundraiser. Jake, so much of this, via Veep-stakes if you will, has been sort of playing out right in front of our eyes. These auditions have been happening in real time. The former president will pick one or a couple of them to fly with him, to travel with him, to appear at rallies with him, and he wants the buzz and the conversation to be about all of them as he makes up his own mind. Talking to Trump advisers they say look he is going to make up his own decision, he is not going to get much input from the outside, but it's who he feels comfortable with. But there is no doubt J.D. Vance at 39 years old, the youngest person on the list, has proven himself as a strong fighter and defender of Trump on television, and we know that that is what the former president likes more than anything perhaps, his skills on television. He's ambitious though. The question is he too ambitious? That will be one of the questions weighed here. TAPPER: So, speaking of people who sounded very different about Trump in 2016 as they do now in 2024, Senator Marco Rubio, Florida. They fought each other for the Republican nomination. Now Rubio is reported to be there near the top of Trump's shortlist as well. ZELENY: He is and we all remember those fiery debates when the two would stand on stage and Marco Rubio at the time took great pleasure in making fun of Donald Trump. All that is in the past. I was talking to a Rubio adviser earlier and reminded me that they actually buried the hatchet if you will during the Trump administration. President Trump had Senator Rubio and his wife over to the White House for a series of dinners. They made a friendship then and he worked with him in the administration. There is no one who has been on the record so much against Trump who has completely changed his tune. He is absolutely a strong defender of Donald Trump and he would also bring several things to the ticket. One challenge of course, he is a resident of Florida, Trump also a resident of Florida. The Constitution essentially prohibits that, it's not been attested. Would he move someplace else? Would Trump ignore that? We will see but there's no doubt that Marco Rubio is now in Trump's good graces. Those insults of 2016, ancient history. TAPPER: Yeah. I do remember when Bush picked Cheney, they were both Texas residents and Cheney just moved back to his home state of Wyoming. Theoretically, I guess Trump could move to New York just because Marco Rubio doesn't have anywhere to move back to. ZELENY: I don't think Trump's moving anywhere though. That's the question, is Rubio going to move somewhere else? We'll see. TAPPER: Well, where would he move? Anyway, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum doesn't have the same name recognition as a Vance or Rubio but that also might be part of the appeal for Trump. ZELENY: Exactly. I mean one thing he is, he's a wealthy businessman. This is something that Donald Trump likes more than anything. And look at him there. He's central casting in the view of Donald Trump in terms of good looks there. Again, a wealthy businessman. He made his money in Microsoft. He sold his company in North Dakota. A self-made man without question there. He tried to run for president earlier this cycle, most people likely don't remember that. That's also good because his insults of Trump are few and far between. He once said he wouldn't do business with him, he corrected that over the weekend. He said, of course, he would do business with him. So the Rolodex that Doug Burgum has could be very important to the former president. But Jake, these are only three. If we look at the full list here of people that Donald Trump is considering, it also includes some other names. Tim Scott for example, the senator from South Carolina. Elise Stefanik of course, she's in the house. Byron Donald's also in the house. Ben Carson of course, a close friend of Donald Trump's and on from there. So one thing we do know, that one month from today this person, whoever it is, is likely to give a speech in Milwaukee at the Republican National Convention as the vice-presidential nominee. [17:05:00] TAPPER: Don't forget Tom Cotton also. Senator Tom Cotton. ZELENY: Tom Cotton also. Sorry, I did not see him on the list. Yes, senator from Arkansas. TAPPER: We just had him on State of the Union yesterday. ZELENY: Exactly, and his wife from Nebraska of course. So, he is also on the list, but one month from today, they'll be in Milwaukee. TAPPER: Nebraska's own Jeff Zeleny. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Let's bring in our political panel. I'll bring them back to weigh in on this and more. Let's stay with the Veep-stakes. So Congressman Byron Donald's was on the graphic there from Florida and he is not shy about explaining why he would be a good running mate. Here he is on "Meet the Press." Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): It's obviously the toughest job, the biggest job, not just in our politics but really frankly in the world. Look, I think that I would have an ability to step in. I'm actually pretty intelligent. I can sift through issues really, really well. Do I believe in myself? One hundred percent I do. (END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: Wait, you are a former Trump administration official, a former Trump White House official. Who do you think would be the best pick? I'm not predicting -- I'm not saying tell me who you think Trump will pick. Who do you think would be the best pick? MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think there's several great candidates, you know. Some good -- TAPPER: Okay, but pick one. MOWERS: Governor Doug Burgum, unquestionably qualified, unquestionably -- whether it's the private sector as governor. Senator Tom Cotton, I think Senator Tim Scott, Senator Marco Rubio. You know, maybe Congressman Byron Donald's, but I'll tell you that Byron Donald's is clearly not shy about it, but has also earned a lot of goodwill with Donald Trump because you got to remember out of all those candidates only one of them was actually introducing Ron DeSantis the night that he won re-election as governor and it was Byron Donald's. He and his wife were close personal friends with Governor DeSantis, yet he became one of the highest profile endorsers and most active surrogates for Donald Trump in that primary process which indeed built him a lot of goodwill with President Trump and those around him. We'll see if he actually makes the final cut but I expect it's -- I think it's unlikely it's gonna be someone from the House. He'll probably be someone who either served in his cabinet or was in the Senate or maybe a governor. TAPPER: You didn't narrow it down at all. All right anyway, on Saturday night at a Democratic fundraiser in Los Angeles, President Biden had a lot to say. Alencia, he was very, very critical of the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's just an excerpt. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The Supreme Court has never been as out of kilter as it is today. I mean never. I taught constitutional law for nine years. This guy knows more about it than most. Look, the fact of the matter is that this has never been a court that's been this far out of step. (END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: This is a big issue for Democrats, I think. ALENCIA JOHNSON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, BIDEN CAMPAIGN: Yeah, it's a huge issue. I mean, I've been on the road with a lot of Democrats over the past couple years talking to voters on both sides of the aisle about the Supreme Court. And this is the lowest polling and confidence that we have seen in the Supreme Court. You have a lot of voters, majority of voters, wanting ethics reform, wanting expansion or term limits. And a lot of this happened after the Dobbs decision. And the polling shows that the decrease in confidence continued after affirmative action. And so we see that there are a couple of Supreme Court justices who have openly said that they want to retire under a Republican president. This is the critical issue that should move a lot of Democrats. And it has been an issue not just this election. Hillary Clinton also talked about it in 2016. Obviously, we know how that campaign went. But I think more of our base is paying attention to what is happening, especially with Dobbs and the affirmative action. It's a smart strategy to run on. TAPPER: I think there are probably Trump supporters out there who think that if Donald Trump said this about a liberal U.S. Supreme Court, people would be like setting their hair on fire. MOWERS: Yeah. TAPPER: Saying, look at this, he's going after judiciary, he has no respect for institutions. Do you agree? Do you think that there is a double standard here? MOWERS: I do think that President Biden has to be very careful in the way he's talking about these issues. Otherwise, it's going to undermine what he's now saying is the entire premises of his campaign. That he is saying that he is the one that's going to defend American institutions, defend democracy. Well, last time I checked the Constitution, the Supreme Court is a third co-equal branch of government. And so if he's going to show respect to the institution, clearly, he's going to disagree with Supreme Court rulings. Right? I mean, we've had presidents for since, you know, our founding that disagree with Supreme Court rulings. But to go after them as an institution, I think does a lot to not just undermine the credibility of the institution, but to undermine the key argument he's trying to make in this campaign. JOHNSON: But you know, respectfully, Matt, we might disagree given our positions and our sides of the aisle. But I think the conversation around respecting the institution comes when there are conservative justices who aren't, you know, reporting the trips that they're taking. They're not holding themselves accountable to the way that their wives are showing up in very partisan ways. But that is where the American -- MOWERS: But that's not what President Biden is talking about. JOHNSON: -- but that is where the American people have raised their concerns. And therefore, we know how a conservative president will appoint justices who are loyal to him versus loyal to the Constitution, which we have seen so many of these activist justices do. TAPPER: So, I'm sure you would agree with one part of what I'm going to air right now, what we're going to run right now from President Biden still talking about the U.S. Supreme Court and what the stakes are when it comes to the November election regarding the court. Let's roll that tape. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: The next president is likely to have two new Supreme Court nominees, two more, two more. [17:10:00] He's already appointed two that have been very negative in terms of the rights of individuals. The idea that if he's re-elected, he's going to appoint two more firing flags upside down is really -- I really mean it. (END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: So, first of all, just for the record, Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices, not two. But beyond that, here are the ages of Supreme Court justices. Thomas is 75, Alito 74, Roberts 69, Sotomayor 69. I mean, he's not wrong. Whoever wins in November could appoint two, maybe even more. MOWERS: And look, that was a big reason why conservative voters in 2016, who were still a little skeptical of Donald Trump as a candidate at that point, came around to his candidacy. I mean, I remember looking at polling and, you know, we were just talking about Michigan before. Conservative, evangelical Western Michigan had not come on board with Donald Trump until really the last couple of months. Part of it, he campaigned on the Supreme Court justices and the types of folks he was going to put out there. He put out a list of potential Supreme Court justices. It's an issue that -- TAPPER: Well, the Federalist Society put out the list. MOWERS: Well, they did together. TAPPER: He signed on to it. JOHNSON: And he campaigned on filling that stolen seat that Mitch McConnell took from President Obama. TAPPER: Speaking of the Supreme Court, Alencia, I want to get your take on this. This morning, Trump posted to Truth Social, quote, "If a president does not have immunity, the court will be opening the floodgates to prosecuting former presidents. An opposing hostile party will be doing it for any reason all of the time." This is, of course, about the immunity case that we're going to hear from in the Supreme Court's going to rule in the next few weeks about on whether or not and to what degree they think Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution, if at all. JOHNSON: Look, I think this speaks to what I was saying earlier about President Trump was about loyalty to himself and not loyalty to the Constitution. We have seen some of these justices, the way that they have, you know, decided in these cases are very much aligned with some of their outspoken lives who are in Donald Trump's pocket. And so -- TAPPER: Ginny Thomas and Martha-Ann Alito. JOHNSON: Exactly. And so he is signaling directly to those justices what he wants them to do. And to be honest, that is extremely partisan and very concerning and throws out the loyalty to the Constitution that we've been talking about. MOWERS: I'll just say real quickly that, you know, those Supreme Court justices have, you know, impeccable credentials, impeccable education on both sides, by the way, on both ideologies. I think they're making up their own decisions, not just because their spouse is telling them to roll one way or the other. TAPPER: Thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. Always good to have you both. Next on "The Lead" quote, "We have to do better." A co-chair of Columbia University's Task Force on anti-Semitism, revealing allegations of intimidation and harassment and discrimination against the school's Jewish students. Plus, a key task for Democrats as they look to sharpen their messaging ahead of November. Why one race in New York is getting so much attention. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:16:54] TAPPER: Back with our "National Lead" now. A task force at one of United States' most elite universities reveals some disturbing instances of anti-Semitism and a generally hostile environment for many Jewish students and faculty. Columbia University created the task force in November, a month before the protests in May that ended in dozens of arrests after students barricaded themselves inside a university building. CNN's Omar Jimenez digs into the findings of this task force. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ESTHER FUCHS, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Many things are broken at Columbia, deeply broken. OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Professor Esther Fuchs is among the co-chairs of Columbia University's Task Force on anti- Semitism. The task force was formed in November 2023 to, quote, "foster a community, as Columbia University President Minouche Shafik put it, where debates and disagreements are rooted in academic rigor and civil discourse." (On camera): Where are you right now in the process? FUCHS: Questions of harassment, intimidation, hate, just pain, isolation, discrimination, every word you could think of came out from students' experiences, Jewish students' experiences at Columbia, making it very clear to us that a lot of systems in place are not working for Jewish students. What we found in the listening sessions were essentially students who felt like the burden was on them to resolve it. JIMENEZ (voice-over): Professor Fuchs says they found that one professor came across what may have been a Jewish-sounding name before an exam and asked that student to explain their views on the Israeli government's actions in Gaza. Also, that another professor told their class to avoid reading mainstream media, declaring, quote, "it is owned by the Jews." FUCHS: To ask a student to defend the policies of a government in Israel because they're Jewish is -- I don't even have words to say how ridiculous that is, but also how intimidating that is. JIMENEZ (voice-over): For weeks, Columbia University was at the focal point of nationwide protests on college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. Some of those nationwide protests got violent. In and around Columbia's campus, there were similar dynamics, especially just outside campus, but at the very least, there was palpable tension. Some Jewish students felt unsafe to the point they chose to leave campus in the lead up to graduation. (On camera): We also heard from Jewish students who did not feel that way, who said they did feel safe on campus, and we also heard from Muslim and Arab students who also felt unsafe. I know this is an anti- Semitism task force, but -- FUCHS: No, no, no. It's a perfectly appropriate question. JIMENEZ: -- but how do you deal with that dynamic? FUCHS: So, you know, we are hoping that our recommendations will be relevant and be used to deal with all students who are feeling unsafe or discriminated against. [17:20:00] We were asked to be the anti-Semitism task force to do the work around that. The president tried to constitute an Islamophobia task force and could not find faculty to be on it. We would have preferred to have an Islamophobia task force right next to us doing the work with us because this is a broader issue. JIMENEZ (voice-over): A university official told CNN they didn't get enough professor buy-in, that for the administration, there was a will but no willingness from those who were calling for it. FUCHS: The university has to do better, you know, if we're about educating, which is our primary mission, education and research are our primary missions, we have to do better. (END VIDEOTAPE) JIMENEZ: The task force already put out a report largely focusing on Columbia's rules around protesting and recommendations on that front, which the university president says she supports. But this next report is one that's going to focus a lot more on campus climate. That's where we're going to see some of their in-depth reporting about from these listening sessions that we got some details of here, which I should also point out, the co-chair told me that the super majority of faculty, that for that super majority, they were not behaving in some of those egregious examples that were described, for example, asking a student, a particular student, to defend a government's policy. But the fact that it happened was still concerning to this task force. And they tell me the next report will also take a look at all the systems that are currently in place to report incidents like that, not just for Jewish students, but for all students that are facing discrimination in this front. And throughout all of this, it's a task force that university officials tell me has the full support of not just university president Minouche Shafik, but the wider administration as well, Jake. TAPPER: All right, Omar Jimenez in New York. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Now in our "Politics Lead," a major test for Democrats in a highly contested district in New York, New York's 16th congressional district, which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County. The primary is next week in eight days. It's an ugly primary race with Israel's war on Hamas at center stage. The incumbent is Congressman Jamal Bowman. He has been courting the progressive Democrats critical of Israel, such as AOC and the squad, as well as supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders. His challenger, George Latimer, is backed by Hillary Clinton and more establishment Democrats, as well as the pro-Israel group AIPAC. CNN's Gloria Pazmino lays out the high stakes race. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jamal Bowman is in a fight for his political life, and the two-term congressman seems to know it. REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): If I win my election, I'm one step closer to getting to go back to Washington. PAZMINO (voice-over): But a series of political stumbles and Democrats serious divisions over the Israel-Hamas war have put the left-wing congressman at risk of losing his primary. One such misstep, Bowman had to plead guilty to a misdemeanor after he pulled a fire alarm inside a House office building during a vote last year. Then some of his past blog posts resurfaced, showing he took an interest in 9/11 conspiracy theories. Bowman says he regrets the posts. But he also says some of the criticism he's faced is political. BOWMAN: Those who are outspoken and fight for justice and challenge power, you know, there's always pushback. PAZMINO (voice-over): Bowman faces a challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a familiar face in parts of New York's 16th Congressional District. GEORGE LATIMER, NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I may not look progressive by my demographics, but I am. PAZMINO (voice-over): The two went after each other in a debate over differences in class, race and vision for the future of the Democratic Party. BOWMAN: It's too soon to say anything. LATIMER: I think it's time for us to pull the truth alarm, Jamaal, because you constantly misrepresent the truth. BOWMAN: Please stop it. Stop your lying. PAZMINO (voice-over): Bowman's early comments on the Israel-Hamas war led to ugly attacks on both sides. Bowman was forced to backtrack after calling reports of sexual assault during Hamas's terror attacks in Israel on October 7th propaganda. BOWMAN: There is still no evidence of beheaded babies or raped women, but they still keep using that lie. Propaganda. PAZMINO (voice-over): While Bowman was one of the earliest and most outspoken members of Congress to call for a ceasefire, even the liberal pro-peace, pro-Israel lobbying group J Street dropped its endorsement of Bowman, saying the past few months have, however, highlighted significant differences between us in framing and approach. Latimer has racked up support from the local Democratic establishment, including Westchester County resident Hillary Clinton and the influential pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC has poured millions into the race. [17:25:00] UNKNOWN: George Latimer has sold out to Republican funded AIPAC. UNKNOWN: Bowman voted against resolutions to condemn Hamas. PAZMINO (voice-over): During a recent debate, Latimer said Bowman's constituency is Dearborn, Michigan, a reference to the city with the country's largest Arab-American community. Speaking to union members this past Saturday, Latimer said Bowman is chasing social media attention and airtime rather than prioritizing the needs of the district. LATIMER: I know what a legislator has to do, and it's not just get headlines. PAZMINO (voice-over): Bowman, who has the backing of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, has hit back. BOWMAN: He's not running for the Bronx or Mount Vernon or New Rochelle or Yonkers. He's not running for the people here. He's running for Netanyahu and he's running for the wealthiest constituents in our district. PAZMINO (voice-over): The district covers parts of the North Bronx up to Westchester County and is home to some of the wealthiest suburbs in America. A large Jewish population and a majority of non-white black and Latino voters. Many of them told us they're paying attention. (END VIDEOTAPE) (On camera): Now, Jake, we spoke to many of those voters over the past week and the beginning of early voting. They told us that they're also worried about public safety, the cost of housing, the cost of food. But they're also paying attention to what these two candidates have said about the war. Now, Jake, just like in any other close election, this is going to come down to turnout, particularly in areas where Bowman is popular. But so is George Latimer, partly because he has a longstanding record and has represented areas in that district for a long time. TAPPER: All right, Gloria Pazmino in New York, thanks so much for that. Appreciate it. Coming up next to see an exclusive interview with two of the women who testified against Harvey Weinstein, their new mission as the former Hollywood mogul faces a potential retrial. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) …