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Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) Discusses Upcoming presidential Debate; Cyber Attack Crippling 15,000 Auto Dealerships Could Last Into July; Biden & Trump Gear Up For CNN Debate Showdown Tomorrow In Atlanta; Grand Rapids, Michigan Is #8 On CNN's "Best Town To Visit" List. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 26, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

REP. DAN MEUSER (R-PA): They're a far cry different from those who basically wandered into the capital. And they we're wrong.

(CROSSTALK)

MEUSER: But they should -- they should receive no more of a -- of a penalty than anybody else who would be --

(CROSSTALK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: I'm not sure -- I'm not sure there we're a whole --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- host of folks just randomly wandering into the halls of Congress. It certainly didn't look like that from where I was standing.

MEUSER: Boris, I was there. I saw it.

SANCHEZ: Sir, respectfully, I have to disagree with your characterization.

But I do appreciate your time.

(CROSSTALK)

MEUSER: I'm not minimizing anything because it was a bad day.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Well, you're saying that -- you're saying that these folks deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The president, the former president is talking about pardoning the same people that attacked you and your colleagues.

MEUSER: Right. And you want to know what Joe Biden dismissed and --

(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: What does this have to do with Joe Biden?

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Let's talk Donald Trump --

(CROSSTALK)

MEUSER: -- talking about Kamala Harris paid --

SANCHEZ: You try to defend other folks, again.

MEUSER: Chestnut Avenue and many cities, including here in Washington, D.C., were destroyed during the riots. People's livelihoods were destroyed. Kamala Harris helped pay the bail to get those violent folks out.

So those who were here on January 6th --

SANCHEZ: That in no way, shape or form answers the question about Donald Trump --

(CROSSTALK)

MEUSER: -- talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

MEUSER: -- severely than talking about --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- the very people that you described as violent and the very ugly day, as you described, that you experienced at the capital, trying to help police officers.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Congressmen Dan Meuser --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: -- let's pick up the conversation another time. Nobody wants violent criminals and nobody wants people rioting at the capital, least of all, someone like you that was defending --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Thank you very much.

MEUSER: -- on the streets of Philadelphia.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, dealerships and customers feel the effects of a massive technology outage. It could take months, if not years, to recover. What impact that could have on the economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:23]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The massive systems outage impacting car dealerships is set to roll into next month and could take months or years even to recover from.

SANCHEZ: This is a really big deal. Thousands of dealerships we're abruptly taken offline a week ago following a cyber incident, having an impact on dealers' bottom line, buyers and the broader economy.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.

Matt, what's the update?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Boris and Brianna, this has really been a mess, both for customers and for the car dealerships.

It's about a week ago that CDK Global revealed that it was the victim of back-to-back cyberattacks. Now CDK may not be a household name, but it is very important in the auto industry. Its technology powers 15,000 dealerships across North America.

And this outage has really caused some significant disruptions for customers. They face delays at some dealerships. Wait times have doubled or even tripled because the sales staff has had to resort to pen and paper to process the sale.

That, of course, has really slow things down. Car shoppers, they've had fewer choices here, fewer car dealers to choose from. That means less leverage when they're trying to negotiate a deal on a new car.

Even people who are just trying to get their cars fixed have been impacted because some of these repair shops at the car dealers, they rely on CDK's technology to book appointments and to track parts.

One couple in San Diego told CNN that they we're just trying to get their Kia's air-conditioning unit fixed amid the heatwave, but they couldn't even get an appointment because of this cyber incident.

There's a Mazda dealership in Massachusetts and the sales manager told CNN that the findings actual impact here will take months to correct if not years.

Another problem, one that you might not even think about, is registration. CDK's technology normally allows the dealers to instantly register people. But because that has been down, they've had to send some car buyers to local DMVs to try to get their cars registered. And then the DMVs have been flooded with people and they're turning people away.

Like I said, it's been a mess. There's also an economic impact here. Car dealerships have amounted for $120 billion of sales last month alone.

And so, Boris and Brianna, the longer that this outage continues, the bigger the impact for car buyers and perhaps even for the economy at large.

SANCHEZ: What a headache.

Matt Egan, thanks so much for the report.

EGAN: Thank you, guys.

[14:38:50]

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, we're only about 30 hour -- 30-ish hours until the CNN presidential debate. We'll talk about what to watch out for tomorrow night. And a look at some of the debate's biggest faux pas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:53]

KEILAR: For the first time in U.S. history, a sitting president will be debating a former president.

SANCHEZ: That's all going to go down right here on CNN. President Biden and Donald Trump facing off on the issues.

Let's get some perspective now from CNN presidential historian, Tim Naftali, and Jeffrey Engel. He's the director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

So tomorrow's debate, as Brianna laid out, the first between a current president and a former president.

Americans know who these two men are, Tim, so how does that potentially shift the dynamics and expectations?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, it chips in one way. Historically, incumbent presidents have had a lot of rust in their first debate.

Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama did quite poorly in their first debate. And George W. Bush didn't do that much better.

Well, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been or are president. And some of the reasons why presidents are not especially good in their first debate is that they're used to people listening to them and they're not used to push back.

[14:45:05]

So I think that particular advantage to the challenger is probably neutralized in this case, which makes it unusual.

Now, in the cases of Reagan, Obama and George W. Bush, they all did very well on their second debate.

But in this case, the first debate is so important, particularly to President Biden, that I don't think he wants to take a chance on doing better inn a second debate. He wants to do well in his first debate.

KEILAR: Yes, it is a strange season when it comes to debates. They don't really have that makeup necessarily.

Jeff, I also wonder what you think about this breaking news affecting the debate. Of course, this leaked Supreme Court abortion document that seems to be indicative of this decision on abortion, which is a key issue in this race.

How do you expect this to affect things?

JEFFREY ENGEL, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: I think it's one of the key points that President Biden is going to push. I think, if there are words that he's going to use, we're going to hear the word "abortion" again and again.

For President Trump, on the other hand, he's probably going to talk about "inflation" and the "border." We're going to hear those words again and again.

But to reinforce Tim's point, one of the fascinating things that's going on here, historically, of course, is how early this debate is. We have to remember that neither candidate is actually nominated officially by their parties yet. I mean, we're only in June. So there's a long time to go.

And of course, these two people have debated before, but so both of them have a record to go on. But we are still remarkably -- from a historical perspective, remarkably early in the campaign season for a debate itself.

SANCHEZ: Jeff, looking back at history, does it help a candidate to be aggressive? I mean, I'm thinking about this debate now and this sort of calibrating from -- specifically the Trump side, going back to 2020.

He even told "The Washington Examiner," he sort of tip his hand, saying that he thought perhaps the people didn't love that he was so aggressive in the first debate. He thought he performed better in the second when he was more measured.

But historically, has it ever helped a candidate to really just be out there during a debate?

ENGEL: Not really. I think this is a moment where people really expect their president to actually look presidential.

I think, less important than being aggressive is that the president, either of them, now, because they are both former presidents, don't want to be defensive.

They don't want to spend all their time defending what they've done, and especially for President Biden, who, of course, has to be -- responsibility for the last four years. So I think we have -- time and again -- President Obama is a good

example of this -- really came back in his second debate and hit Mitt Romney very hard with the idea that he was not acting presidential.

George W. Bush came back and hit Al Gore in 2000, saying you're not acting presidential.

I think this is a moment where people expect the leader to essentially rise to the station of the office, rise to the prestige of the office.

And if we remember President Trump's first debate in 2020, he had a lot of trouble keeping himself quiet, essentially not acting like an adult, not acting like a president you should expect, which is mostly why must tended to believe he failed that test.

KEILAR: Yes, that can speak to fitness.

We know that's going to be an issue, Tim. We know age is going to be an issue.

I want to see a moment where I think that most famously came up, which was in the 1984 Reagan-Mondale debate.

Here's President Reagan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Clearly, Tim, a prepared remark.

How important is it that Biden has a moment where he is, you know, dealing with the age issue or maybe pitting it off -- pitting it against the fitness issue, something memorable?

NAFTALI: Well, yes, he has to. But let's put into perspective that great comment from Ronald Reagan. That came because, in his first debate with Walter Mondale, Reagan seemed distracted. He seemed very old. He lost his train of thought.

So in a sense, it was essential that, in the second debate -- and that quip comes from the second debate -- that Reagan faced the age issue head on.

I think President Biden will face the -- the age issue head on. He absolutely has to. Because in many, many interviews, voters are saying that that is Joe Biden's greatest weakness.

So I expect him to find a way to deal with that issue in the first debate and not wait until the second debate as Ronald Reagan did so many years ago.

KEILAR: Yes, it's just not the same kind of rhythm of these debates, I think, this season.

Jeffrey Engel, Tim Naftali, thank you so much to both of you. We appreciate your insights.

[14:50:01]

And be sure to tune in tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m., for the CNN presidential debate. We'll have special coverage all day leading up to it live from Atlanta.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

KEILAR: I get to dance today.

SANCHEZ: There it is, dancing.

KEILAR: I love this segment. I love this song.

SANCHEZ: It's a good song.

KEILAR: Very good.

SANCHEZ: It's got some sax in there.

KEILAR: It's beautiful.

Sometimes the best vacations are made by finding a great spot just to sit, enjoy the scenery. And that is why Grand Rapids, Michigan, is number eight on our list of America's "Best Towns to Visit."

[14:55:08]

SANCHEZ: And for our own Derek Van Dam, Grand Rapids is extra special. It's where he grew up.

Derek gives us a tour alongside a very special guest, his 7-year-old daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's do this. Come on. Maya?

(voice-over): There's nothing more memorable than doing something new for the first time.

(on camera): You're not nervous, are you?

MAYA VAN DAM, DAUGHTER OF DEREK VAN DAM: Yes, I'm nervous and excited.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN DAM (voice-over): This is my 7-year-old daughter, Maya. And these moments are what Michigan summers are all about.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN DAM: I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, but traveling here with my daughter makes me see this town in a completely different way.

(on camera): I'm just super happy that I got to show you this part of my life.

M. VAN DAM: Yes.

VAN DAM: Maybe. I love you.

M. VAN DAM: (INAUDIBLE)

VAN DAM (voice-over): We checkout Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

(on camera): Wow.

(voice-over): It's a fascinating place of wonder and adventure.

(on camera): Is that a turkey? He likes your hand.

(voice-over): Where kids can let their imaginations run free.

Live music outdoors and cool summer nights and zero chance of making it back before bedtime.

In a town nicknamed Beer City, USA, even the breweries are family- friendly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

M. VAN DAM: I love it. Look, Daddy, look.

VAN DAM: On a tour of the city's public art, it's easy to see how there's something for everybody here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can ask anyone in Grand Rapids about art and they'll tell you what their favorite mural is, what their favorite art piece was.

VAN DAM (on camera): So art brings the people together?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does.

VAN DAM: Three, two, one. There we go.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN DAM: Thanks for coming to my hometown, baby. There's lots to tell you about. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That was adorable.

KEILAR: I love that.

SANCHEZ: Yes. She's so cute.

KEILAR: I want to go on that tire swing that she was in. I'm jealous. I want to be a child in Grand Rapids.

SANCHEZ: Derek Van Dam, invite Brianna to jump on the tire, will you?

Thanks so much for that report.

To learn more about Grand Rapids, you can visit our Web site or scan the QR code that's over there on your screen.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)