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tv   BBC News America  PBS  July 15, 2024 2:30pm-3:01pm PDT

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and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" n milwaukee and this is bbc worldn news america. donald trump announces senator j.d.vance as his pick for vice president as the republican national convention kicks off. a federal judge dismisses the classified documents case against donald trump, saying the special prosecutor was improperly appointed. investigators seized the phone of the 20-year-old gunman responsible for saturday's assassination attempt.
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a very warm welcome to bbc world news america, broadcasting from the republican national convention in milwaukee. party delegates from all 50 states are here, plus territories. they took part earlier in what's known as a roll call, formerly nominating -- formerly nominating trump as the republican pick for the white house. >> we hereby nominate every single one of them for the greatest president who has ever lived, donald j. trump, hereby declaring him the republican nominee for president of the united states of america. sumi: you can hear that prompted cheers from the crowd. mr. trump had already secured a majority of delegates during the state-by-state primaries and nomination process, so this selection is considered a formality.
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we are going to have plenty of developments from outside the convention center as well. a legal victory for the former president as a judge dismissed his classified documents case, plus the latest into the investigation into saturday's assassination attempt. freshman ohio senator j.d. vance joining the republican ticket as trump's pick for vice president, expected to take the stage shortly. you can see the images behind me as well, the former president making the announcement on his truth social platform. we are looking at live pictures of j.d. vance in the crowd. he is next to his wife who was there with him as well. former president trump when he made this announcement on social, he said in part, jd had a successful business career in technology and finance and now will be strongly focused on people. he fought so brilliantly for american workers and farmers in pennsylvania, michigan,
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wisconsin, ohio, minnesota, and far beyond. prior to his career as a lawyer and venture capitalist, j.d. vance served in the rain corps and is the author of best-selling memoir hillbilly elegy. j.d. vance once described himself as a never trump guy but that changed in 2022 after a last-minute endorsement from donald trump helped him win that senate seat. since then, 39-year-old vance has been a loyal trump ally. president joe biden said, j.d. vance talks a big game about working people but now he and trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing for more tax cuts for the rich. let's talk about all this now. we have with us our friends of bbc, stephanie murphy, former democrat congresswoman from florida, and rodney davis, former republican congresswoman from illinois. great to have you both.
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rodney, what do you think of j.d. vance as the pick for vice president? rodney: this is clearly the person donald trump is most comfortable with. that's what we saw when he picked mike pence. i would see mike pence in every meeting at the white house when i went to meet with president trump when he was in office. i think j.d. vance is a comfort factor for donald trump. i don't think it brings him any certain segment of the voting population. i think he matters comfort matters when you are president a lot more than it does to win the election. stephanie: i think this was an interesting play because it was not necessarily about expanding the president's base, because he has his base secured. the republican party more united today than i have seen them in years. i think it's a senate play. ohio is going to be much harder for sherrod brown now that j.d. vance will also be on the ticket. i think that was a smart play on
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behalf of president trump and his team. sumi: we are watching the nomination take place. those are the loud noises behind us. stephanie, sherrod brown of course the democrat senator from ohio who is seeking reelection. what do you think this means for what we will see from the trump-vance ticket in terms of a platform? stephanie: he picked j.d. vance because he has the impression of being for the working man, but if you peel back the layers and look at his trade policies and some things you stand for, it actually would really hurt working americans. a tariff policy, as the president and j.d. vance are supportive of, is a tax on middle america. i think as the debate and campaign moves forward, there will be an opportunity for democrats to highlight that. also his position on women's or productive rights is a real liability. sumi: what do you think about
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this ticket? rodney: this platform at the republican convention, nobody ever looks at those once the convention is over. it's considered moderate. donald trump actually had his will with this new republican platform that is short, concise, and wrapped around the trump and now vance agenda. i agree with stephanie on some of the issues when it comes to the economy and dealing with tariffs. unfortunately the american people are going to be choosing between two candidates who are for tariffs. they may not be the best thing economically for the country but that's who the candidates are right now, president biden and president trump. sumi: j.d. vance is getting handshakes and claps on the back as he is being introduced. we are looking to see if he is going to get on stage. we would love to listen in. rodney, if i could follow up on what you said, if you look at
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the messaging we have heard so far, also from president trump on social media, they talked about the need for unity. do you think that is something we can expect from j.d. vance as well? rodney: i certainly believe so. i think president trump postdebate and now post shooting, this is one of those times where president trump, who has never been known for discipline when it comes to messaging, has been on message. i think that near-death experience, just like my near-death experience and the people who were with me, it changes who you are. it changes the importance of politics in your life, the importance of arguing. sumi: great to talk to you, as always. thank you for those insights, as we look at those pictures. all this commotion surrounding j.d. vance as he has been moving onto the floor of the convention, the center of the floor, and expected to take the stage. as the convention kicked off, there was some surprise good
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news for donald trump out of florida. a judge throwing out the federal case that accused him of holding onto classified documents after leaving the white house. mr. trump was charged with violating the espionage act after the fbi found documents, including information about the u.s. nuclear weapons, in boxes piled up around the mar-a-lago estate. these charges carried up to 20 years in prison. the judge, who was nominated to the bench by donald trump, wild -- said the prosecutor was illegally appointed and lacked authority to bring the case. federal prosecutors are likely to appeal the ruling. let's bring in richard paynter, professor of law at the university of minnesota who served as white house counsel and chief ethics lawyer to former president george w. bush. good to have you back. can you explain aileen cannon to a vs thinking, the legal justification for this decision? >> first of all, this has
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nothing to do with the merits of the case, the classified documents and what donald trump allegedly did, removing those documents intentionally to mar-a-lago and refusing to give them back and showing them to people unauthorized to see them. this has to do with whether jack smith the special prosecutor has authority to bring this case or whether the case should have been brought by the attorney general himself or a who was confirmed by the united states senate. this has to do with the appointments clause of the united states constitution. this is an interpretation of the appointments clause that only justice thomas on the supreme court endorsed in his concurring opinion on the trump versus united states case. i don't think judge cannon's ruling will be upheld on appeal. i saw in no indication from the other justices that they bought
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into this argument that jack smith lacks authority to bring this case because he is an appointed special counsel and was not confirmed by the senate. but that's what this is about. a lot of people think judge cannon was looking for an excuse to get rid of the case, and this will hold things up for quite a while while the appellate courts look at the merits of her ruling. sumi: that is the question, isn't it? as you said, jack smith is anticipated to appeal this decision. what does that mean for this case going forward? i'm guessing we won't actually see it go to trial anytime soon, if there were a successful appeal. >> this order will certainly delay the case by a few months, almost certainly until after the election. it's very clear that if donald trump wins this election, when he is sworn in as president, he will fire jack smith, appoint an
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attorney general who will dismiss both this case and the case pending in the district of columbia, the criminal case against donald trump, pertaining to the january 6 insurrection and attempt to overturn the election. if donald trump loses, there is the possibility these cases may proceed with a complexity that the u.s. supreme court has apparently ruled that a sitting president is immune from ever being prosecuted for official acts within constitutional response abilities and has a presumption of immunity with respect to other professional functions. this case could drag out for a long time unless donald trump is elected, and if he is, it's game over on january 20. these cases will be dismissed because the president controls the justice department and can even fire a special prosecutor, it seems clear from the message we are getting from the u.s. supreme court.
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sumi: about 30 seconds left. you touch on this briefly, the other two cases donald trump is facing. he was convicted on the hush money case in new york. the other two, with those have any chance of going to trial? >> they could if he is not elected. if he is, he will use his power of the justice department to make sure they are dismissed. then all we have is the fourth case, the case in georgia, where the prosecutor had some ethical problems herself with her affair with someone else working in the office that have held that case up in the georgia appellate courts. i have no idea what's going to happen with the georgia case. all of this will be resolved after the election. sumi: richard paynter, thank you as always for joining us on bbc news. let's go now down the line to republican congressman might carry from ohio, joining us on
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the phone. i hope you can hear me, it is quite loud in the convention center in milwaukee. j.d. vance, the pick for vice presidential nominee for donald trump, center from your state. what's your reaction? >> i'm excited. we are kind of the cradle of president's in ohio and it's great to have a vice president. j.d. is a dear friend of mine, somebody who has been very effective since he has been elected to the senate. he is somebody i think will do a great job for the president and looking forward to having him on the ballot. sumi: what do you think he brings to the ticket? what priorities will he bring to the platform? rep. carey: he is strong on the workforce, strong in a region of our state and most of a region
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that has been ignored for a long time, appalachia. he highlighted that in his book and since he has been a member of the senate. this is a great pick for the president. he is useful, has a lot of energy, and i think he's going to bring -- it will be a plus for the president to have him on the ticket, no doubt. sumi: we are also anticipating to hear from former president trump, the first time he would speak since the assassination attempt in pennsylvania. just want to get your thoughts on what you are expecting and hope to hear from the former president, what you are looking forward to. rep. carey: i think everything is already said. it's going to be bringing the country together, because that's what we need to do. republican or democrat doesn't matter. you have got to stop this dialogue that divides us. i think you are going to see a speech from president trump that unites the country. his policies when he was
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president and everything he has done since then, and bringing j.d. vance on as vice president really sets the tone that we are going to get through all of this stuff but you have a team that's going to be in place to really move america forward. sumi: we are certainly seeing the campaigning pick up again. i want to ask since you mentioned again the vice president nominee, j.d. vance. we saw from the biden campaign the statement released earlier saying, billionaires and corporations are rooting for j.d. vance. they know he and trump will cut taxes and sent prices skyrocketing for everyone else. what's your response? rep. carey: you got to look at jd's record. he has taken on corporate america when he needed to. he has done everything possible for the working man, and i think that's what you are going to see
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and that's why the president picked j.d. i think he's going to be a great asset to the team. sumi: i want to follow up on that because two of our guests earlier were saying that j.d. vance, like donald trump, does endorse the idea of higher tariffs on foreign goods. that could lead to higher prices for americans. is that something that concerns you for your constituents in ohio? rep. carey: when you look at columbus, where i represent, i have most of the city of columbus all the way to the indiana border. we have a lot of multinational companies here. every time i talk to them, they like what j.d. has done in the senate and they are looking forward. i have been on the phone with a couple of them. they are excited about the opportunity. the fact that ohio is going to be part of the administration is pretty exciting to them. i don't think there is any worry there. i think we need to have fair
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trade, no doubt. i think j.d. is the guy that can help us. sumi: all right, congressman carey, great to talk to you. thank you for joining us. we hope to catch up with you in person at the convention perhaps. rep. carey: i will be there on wednesday. i will see you on wednesday. sumi: see you then. let's look at what else we can expect from this week's convention. it is in wisconsin, a battleground state expected to play a key role deciding november's election. donald trump's new running mate j.d. vance is scheduled to address the convention on wednesday. mr. trump will formally accept the nomination with a speech on thursday, the final night of the convention. each day features a theme linked to trump's platform make america great again, from his record on the economy to foreign policy and crime.
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we have lisa lehrer with us now for more on what we have been seeing at the rnc. thank you for joining us, great to have you with us in milwaukee. we have been talking about j.d. vance, talking about what's been happening, but it's been such a busy monday at this convention. i want to get your thoughts on what you make about this convention is played out so far. lisa: it is very early still but the pick of j.d. vance is quite significant. he certainly puts a younger face on the ticket in a race where you have two of the oldest candidates in american history against each other. he is a different, younger face, something that former president trump found appealing about him. he also has quite a trail of statements, including some he made against former president trump, so there will have to be some reckoning with his past and his present. sumi: what do you think about the fact that donald trump said, i have been thinking about this
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for months and this has always been my pick? what do you think about j.d. vance resonated with donald trump? lisa: i think psalm is the young -- i think some is the youngness. trump knew he need that. trump has remade the republican in his image and now he has this person who could be a standardbearer to bring that into the future, so i think that was appealing. he does not bring much in terms of the electoral map. he is from ohio, a state republicans expected to win anyhow, but he may play well across the rust belt states, some of which are quite important. we always talk about michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania. sumi: i would love your take on the other big news, the judge aileen cannon dismissing the classified documents case against donald trump, seen as another important legal victory for the former president. what impact do you think that
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has. lisa: i think in some ways, donald trump's legal cases were baked into this race, but it's a lucky break. he had appointed this judge and now she has thrown out the case. he still has three other legal matters moving through the courts, but this is definitely a lucky break for the president and another blow to democrats who are coming off several weeks of interparty fighting on whether president biden should even remain there nominee. sumi: we have the vice presidential nomination, this important legal news, and everyone is looking forward to seeing president trump here. what do you make of the way he has until now spoke about what happened on saturday and the message of unity? do you think we can expect to see that from him on stage? lisa: there has been a cottage industry of people who have been wrong making predictions about what former president trump was going to say. i have learned over the past
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eight years to be out of that business. certainly that's the message his campaign is trying to project. they sent the word to speakers to maybe calm down some of the more heated rhetoric, to see this as a moment where donald trump can rise to this moment of national crisis and bring the country together. that has never been his brand. he has been a polarizing figure for many years that it's unclear whether he can call that off, but that's certainly what they are trying to do here. there is some evidence he may be able to give it he has been a much more disciplined campaigner in this contest than either of his two previous runs. sumi: long joe biden, we have seen some campaign emails starting up again. how do you think he is going to react after the assassination attempt? lisa: the biden campaign took a day down when they pulled all their ads.
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they are back up tomorrow. i think they see an opportunity to remind voters of what the trump administration is like and what voters rejected before, the chaos and unpredictable it he, and also a bit of what a second from some administration could look like, project 25, the positions he could take on everything from taxes to foreign policy to abortion rights. sumi: lisa lerer, national politics reporter for the new york times. the fbi still investigating what motivated donald trump's would-be assassin, saying they have possession of the 20-year-olds bone and they continue to analyze his devices. officials say the search of his residence and vehicle are complete. thomas crooks was shot and killed by the secret service after pulling the trigger on a semi automatic ar-15 type rifle. he lived in a small pennsylvania town an hour from the rally. our correspondent emma is there and filed this report.
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emma: what was in the mind of this young man is still unknown. he graduated high school two years ago, said to be good at maths, and later worked as an assistant at a nursing home. now the eyes of the international media are on the house where thomas crooks lived. kelly was one of a number of neighbors evacuated as police investigated a suspicious device at his home. >> we were overrun with law enforcement agents from literally everywhere and given no explanation. emma: your neighbor, what was he like? >> he would avidly walk the neighborhood and always had on beats style headphones and seems like your average american dorky young man. emma: at just 20 years old, this would have been the first presidential election that thomas crooks was old enough to vote in. there are still many questions about why he left this quiet neighborhood and ended up coming inches away from killing donald
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trump. we do know that thomas crooks was a member of this gun club, which has condemned what it called the senseless violence. how typical is it for people to own guns in this area? >> hunting is really typical in western pennsylvania and belonging to a gun club, having something like a rifle team like bethel park has, honing your craft and being a better shot, is pretty typical throughout western pennsylvania for gun owners. emma: when thomas crooks died on his roof, he was wearing a t-shirt from a popular youtuber who creates glamorized gun content for millions of subscribers. now the fbi is trawling through thomas crooks' life, his mobile phone and online activity, to try to understand the beliefs and motivations from the young man who has changed the course of this election. sumi: thank you for watching world news america. go to bbc.com/news for all the
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latest on the republican national convention in milwaukee. we have correspondence all over milwaukee who are updating with the latest. always stay tuned to bbc news for the latest. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.
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geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz here at the republican national convention in milwaukee. on the news hour tonight. >> senator j.d. vance has the overwhelming support of this convention to be the next vp of -- vice president of the united states. amna: donald trump picks ohio senator j.d. vance to be his running mate as the gop charts its path forward, days after the assassination attempt on the former president. >> a federal judge in florida dismisses mr trump's classified documents case, likely setting up a high stakes appeal. amna:

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