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Trump Campaign Attacks Harris; Trump's Favorability Rises After RNC and Assassination Attempt; Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) is Interviewed about Harris; High-Tech Efforts to Clean Air Ahead of Olympics in Paris. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired July 23, 2024 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARTHUR GINOLFI, DELTA PASSENGER: It is frustrating to travel. But this is the worst experience I've ever had in my 35 years in business travel.
You take care of your customers. There are likes that were unacceptable. There were people that were frustrated. I saw - I heard a lot of sad stories. You ought (ph) to have (ph) cried (ph). I saw people stranded and they had no recourse. And there should be some kind of compensation for this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and we saw over the weekend the CEO of Delta, Ed Bastian, put out a statement apologizing for all of this messing, that they are working around the clock to fix it.
And, John, at the crux of the problem here is that the tool that Delta uses to track their crews, their planes, their pilots, their flight attendants, that was deeply impacted by this outage and they're trying to find a fixed to that. So, the same way that a lot of these passengers are stranded, so too are Delta's crew members.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Isabel Rosales, at the airport in Atlanta. By the way, people at that airport get very upset when I suggest that the experience there is anything less than optimal. It's a wonderful place and I can't wait to go back again.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: What?
BERMAN: Yes. Last week, when it was all happening, we had people in Atlanta, and I suggested sometimes it's slow getting through Atlanta. They didn't like that. So I'm retracting.
BOLDUAN: You - well, I won't.
But, I mean, the fact that it's not going to get ironed out until the end of this week is -
BERMAN: No, that's a problem. BOLDUAN: They - that - I hope - I hope there's an update on that one.
BERMAN: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, Kamala Harris with the - with serious momentum out of the gate, yet Donald Trump has had years to solidify his support. Where do they stand right now with voters? We have a new look at the numbers.
And a wild - a new wildfire is scorching California and now being blamed on illegal fireworks. Police say they have the suspects on tape. New details on that this morning.
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[08:36:58]
BOLDUAN: Donald Trump and his campaign trying to refocus now as the race has reset, and now trying to jump back on offense against Kamala Harris. His campaign's leaders sending out a new memo calling Harris, quote, "dangerously liberal," and claiming the 2024 presidential race is a, the way they put it in the memo, "a new fight for American independence," yet also saying the following, "same year, same people, same record of failure, same result."
CNN's Daniel Strauss has much more on this. He's joining me now.
Daniel, how were Republicans initially addressing - what's your kind of read on how they're addressing Kamala Harris as the nominee?
DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: It's interesting. It's a shift from when Joe Biden was the nominee because now this is not so much for Republicans about attacking Biden and his record as it is attacking Harris and what she would do as a president.
And that's a change because for the past few months and throughout much of this campaign the Trump campaign has been eager to argue that Biden is a vestige of the past, that he's been in Washington too long. Thats in contrast to Harris. And we can hear that not only in criticism from Donald Trump himself, but also from his new vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, history will remember Joe Biden as not just a quitter, which he is, but one of the worst presidents of the United States of America. But my friends, Kamala Harris is a million times worse, and everybody knows it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STRAUSS: In a way this is actually dusting off an old playbook. About a year ago, Republicans were warning that a vote for Biden would be essentially a vote for Harris and a Harris administration. Well, that's the situation we're in now. And Republicans are resurrecting that argument.
BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Daniel. Thank you so much for your - for your reporting, as always.
Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this just came into us. Actor George Clooney has officially endorsed Kamala Harris for president. You'll remember, Clooney wrote that op-ed in "The New York Times" asking President Biden to drop out of the race. But it was just a few weeks after raising a huge amount of money for him. Now, in a brand- new statement he says, "President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He's saving democracy once again. We're all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest."
As the endorsements keep coming in, let's take stock of where things stand with voters.
CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, joining me now to run the numbers.
There is a lot of excitement. We have not seen this kind of shift in tone from the Democrats in particular.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Sure.
SIDNER: I can't remember a time where we've been through something like this.
ENTEN: This has been the craziest month in American politics that I can possibly recall. It was less than a month ago that Joe Biden and Donald Trump were debating in the CNN debate -
SIDNER: Less than a month.
ENTEN: Less than a month. We had a failed assassination attempt. We had a president literally saying, no, I'm not going to run for re- election less than a month before the Democratic National Convention.
[08:40:00]
But here is the thing, Sara Sidner. For all of the excitement that Democrats have over Kamala Harris, it is going to be difficult to beat Donald Trump. And I want to give you an understanding of why.
Let's take a look here just first at the favorable views of Donald Trump. We know that Donald Trump has historically been unpopular. But take a look now. After the Republican National Convention, in the ABC News/Ipsos poll, he recorded its highest ever favorable rating at 40 present. That's not a one-off.
Take a look at the Quinnipiac University poll, 46 percent. That's the highest ever in that pollster. The fact is, Donald Trump is more popular now than he ever has been before. So, yes, Democrats can make this switch-a-roo (ph), but they're still going to have to beat Donald Trump. A Donald Trump who is stronger, Sara, than he has ever been before.
SIDNER: It will be interesting to see how voters respond to all of this.
Now, how is he doing relative to Harris, who did run at one point?
ENTEN: Yes.
SIDNER: What do those numbers look like?
ENTEN: Yes. So, let's take a look here, right? We've been focusing so much on how Harris was doing better than Biden in the polling. And that's true. If we take a look at the national average, what do we see? We see Donald Trump up by one. That's within the margin race, right? That's a close race.
But remember, of course, in the national popular vote, Democrats tend to do better there than they've done in the Electoral College, at least when Donald Trump has been running for president.
So, last time around, when Joe Biden barely won in the Electoral College, he actually won the national popular vote by four points. So, at this point, Donald Trump is running five points better, five, that's a five of some sort -
SIDNER: Not a good one.
ENTEN: Five points better than he was four years ago against Joe Biden.
So, at this particular point, whether you look at the favorable ratings, whether you look at the horse race polling, we see that Donald Trump is doing significantly better than he was doing four years ago at this point. Kamala Harris is going to have to do better than this if, of course, if she wants to win the popular vote, but more than that, if she wants to win the Electoral College, which she'll likely have to outperform how she's done nationally because the fact is, if you've got a tie in the national popular vote, that is probably not good enough if you are Kamala Harris and you want to win the election against Donald Trump.
SIDNER: Give me some sense of what the biggest thing that could create change here. And also, we have to be clear, there hasn't been time for a poll since Kamala Harris announced.
ENTEN: That's correct.
SIDNER: It just happened.
ENTEN: Yes. So, this - all this polling was taken before Kamala Harris actually became the likely and now presumptive Democratic nominee, given those delegates that have lined up behind her. But keep in mind this, Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, never changed. It was the least volatile race on record. Even after that first debate, you saw movement of a point or two. Of course, Donald Trump and Joe Biden were basically universally well-known. So, I want to take a look here, no opinion of the candidate. For
Donald Trump it was 9 percent in the ABC News/Ipsos poll that came out over the weekend.
But look at this, for Kamala Harris, nearly a fifth of the electorate had no opinion of her. And those opinions, in all honesty, probably weren't that well baked in. They just knew Harris as Biden's VP. There are a lot of folks that are going to be taking a second look at Kamala Harris over the next week, over the next month, all the way up until the election. And the truth is, that presents Democrats with a major opportunity, right?
SIDNER: Right.
ENTEN: Because it could be that their perceptions of Kamala Harris are proven wrong based upon her campaign rhetoric and her campaign actions, but they could be proven wrong either way. She could be much better than they think, or she could be worse than they think. There's still a lot to be determined here.
Sara, we started off this segment saying how crazy the last less than a month has been.
SIDNER: Yes.
ENTEN: This is truly unprecedented. We can look at the numbers now, but the real thing to look at going down the road is looking at those trend lines because the fact is, this is a race that is truly up for grabs.
SIDNER: Just want to let you know that my friends just took a drink because they had this thing about the word "unprecedented," and now they're - you've said it and they just -
ENTEN: Yes, I - sometimes there's a word that get used over and over and over again. But in a year like this, the word of the year, probably according to Websters by the end of it, will be "unprecedented."
SIDNER: Unprecedented. And they're drinking again.
All right, John.
BERMAN: Unprecedented use of the word unprecedented.
ENTEN: There you go.
BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congressman Ami Bera, a Democrat from California.
Congressman, thank you so much for being with us.
I don't know if you heard Harry's presentation right there, but he laid out the fact that Donald Trump is more popular now in polling than he's ever been. A higher favorability in the ABC News/Ipsos poll and the Quinnipiac poll. So, how do you get past that? REP. AMI BERA (D-CA): John, thanks for having me on.
So, if 40 percent is popular, that's not that great. That's not a great favorability. And again, Kamala - Vice President Harris has the chance to introduce herself. You have to assume all of President Biden's voters are going to shift over to Vice President Harris. But she's got a real opportunity to expand the base, bring young voters back in, energize folks. And that's what you're seeing, you know, whereas over the last month you saw a lack of energy in the Democratic Party, you're seeing unity, folks coming together, donors coming together, $100 million in 24 hours on (INAUDIBLE), $150 million in super PAC money coming in. That's going to create momentum. So, let's watch that trend line that Harry talked about over this next week and couple weeks going into the convention, and I think you'll see that trend line moving in Kamala Harris' favor.
[08:45:06]
BERMAN: Can you articulate some specific ways that Kamala Harris would be a different president than Joe Biden.
BERA: Very much so. So, she has a track record to run on, the Biden- Harris administration's record of achievement. So, she will lean into that, run on that record. But she also is a new generation. So, she'll have that ability to start talking about how we move this country forward, how we start to pass the baton on to that next generation, the millennials, gen x. They're going to inherit this great country of the United States. And I think she can start articulating how to move the country forward. Whereas you'll see Donald Trump talk about the grievances and grievance politics are not going to win politics of optimism.
BERMAN: And I ask every young person in America to forgive me for this, but since you brought up younger voters, people are discussing the Charli XCX tweet calling Vice President Harris "brat." There are also all kinds of social media postings on TikTok with music and whatnot.
My question to you, and again, you brought this up, how do you convert that energy that's out there - we see all kinds of musical videos - how do you convert that energy into votes? Because that hasn't been happening.
BERA: It hasn't been happening, but now we have Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket, someone who can speak directly to those young folks, use those media platforms, weather that's TikTok or Instagram, speak to folks where they are. And, to me, this feels a lot like 2008 and Barack Obama's first campaign, where you started to get that momentum and the enthusiasm.
It's a sprint. There's roughly 100 days to Election Day. You'll start to see folks donating. You'll start to see folks signing up to volunteer, knock on doors. I'm glad they're keeping the campaign apparatus intact. You know, we've got great tacticians on our side. And again, I think you'll see that momentum in those swing states. BERMAN: The criticism from Republicans this morning, and they woke up with new memos, are calling - they're calling Vice President Harris "dangerously liberal," and "worse than Biden."
How do you respond to that?
BERA: Well, the Republicans don't have an agenda to run on. They've got a convicted felon at the top of the ticket, so they can't run on his record. So, they are going to do the politics of fear. And again, I think what you'll see the Harris campaign doing its talking about optimism, building off of a foundation of the work that we've done the last three-and-a-half years, and talking about the work that needs to be done. How to move this country forward. And I think that positive message against a convicted felon, moving the country backwards, is going to be a winning message for Vice President Harris.
BERMAN: So, everything's been moving so quickly, but I think it was three days ago, four days ago, I saw an interview with you where you were talking about if President Biden got out of the race, you might like to see some kind of a short primary-ish like process where Vice President Harris would face, you know, perhaps some challenges there. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. Do you think that's a problem?
BERA: Well, it was a short process, less than 24 hours, because once Vice President Harris was out there and said she was going to run, you know, you saw some folks contemplate running. But we also recognize there's less than 100 days left, so we've all come together, as a party, with momentum, all the delegates, all the electeds, and we're going to sprint this thing out in the next hundred days and win it.
BERMAN: So, Representative Nancy Mace has moved to force a vote on impeaching the Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle. How will you vote on that if it gets to the floor?
BERA: You know, I think this was a massive security failure by the Secret Service. You know, we're glad that former President Trump is doing well recovering. But, you know, you saw the hearing yesterday. I would probably lean towards some changes at the top of the Secret Service.
BERMAN: If she doesn't resign, will you vote to impeach?
BERA: Yes, I'll take a look at that. But, you know, I - I suspect that we'll see some changes before a vote.
BERMAN: Congressman Ami Bera, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you very much.
Kate.
BERA: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: Kamala Harris rolling out her message to voters that even includes with her - her message with her walkout music, walking into campaign headquarters yesterday to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE, MUSICIAN (singing): Freedom. Freedom. I can't move. Freedom, cut me lose. Freedom. Freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[08:53:52]
SIDNER: The IDF, the Israeli Defense Force, says they have killed several Palestinian militants and dismantled explosives in the occupied West Bank. Meantime, the Hamas run Palestinian health ministry calling the latest of attacks have killed 89 people in southern Gaza, as thousands of people there flee to a shrinking humanitarian zone.
The mayor of Riverside, California, says officials believe fireworks caused a 500 acre fire that injured at least two people and caused $10 million in damage. The flames forced several thousand people to evacuate. The fire now fully contained, and residents are being allowed to finally return to their homes.
And a gas station clerk in Tennessee accused of trying to steal a lotto scratch off ticket worth a million. Investigators say a man had the clerk check his ticket to see if it was a winner. The guy allegedly told the customer, no, you didn't win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. DETECTIVE STEVE CRAIG, RUTHERFORD CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Threw it on top of the trash. As that gentleman left, he took the trash outside. And if you follow him on the camera, you can see him grab the ticket, put it in his pocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: The cameras always find you these days.
[08:55:01]
Tennessee lottery officials check out all big winners by looking at the video from the stores, and that's how they saw the incident. Lottery officials say he was acting suspicious too when he tried to claim the money. The man who originally bought the ticket got it back and had no idea that it was worth that much money.
All right, LeBron James will be one of the flag bearers for the United States in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Paris on Friday. The 39-year-old star was clearly excited after an exhibition win over Germany.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, TEAM USA: I love it, competition. (INAUDIBLE) seize opportunity in a moment, man. Stay in the moment.
That's all it's about. Stay in the moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Does LeBron really have competition? I don't know. A flag bearer partner for LeBron James will be announced very soon.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: I feel like that's how you walk in the studio in the morning. I love the competition.
SIDNER: Yes, baby. Let's go.
BOLDUAN: All right, there is also this. This just in. The one and only Snoop Dogg will be one of the final torchbearers of the Olympic flame ahead of the game's opening ceremony in Paris on Friday. Snoop has already arrived in Paris, tweeting a photo of himself Tuesday. Beautiful. In the host city.
This as Paris is installing and unveiling new technology to try to keep athletes and everyone safe inside Olympic Village.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Here in the Olympic Village, these air purifiers are here to help athletes breathe easier. And their inspiration comes from an often-overlooked feature of the city's skyline. You see, athletes' performance could be in danger because the Paris region has a serious pollution problem with over 8,000 deaths a year. With a nearby highway spewing fumes into the Olympic Village, air quality experts are concerned.
JEAN-BAPTISTE RENARD, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, CNRS: It's crazy. It's certainly crazy. It's not a good place to put an Olympic Village. It's clear.
VAN DAM (voice over): The engineer behind these giant vacuum cleaners says his air filters suck in polluted air and filtered out harmful particles.
JEROME GIACOMONI, CO-FOUNDER, AEROPHILE: Please start the device, the air filter, one by one.
VAN DAM: Oh, you can hear -
GIACOMONI: You breathe the same then if you were at the top of the Alps. Breathe.
VAN DAM: Oh.
GIACOMONI: This is good air. You can breathe. You feel it.
VAN DAM: I feel it.
GIACOMONI: You feel it.
VAN DAM: These air filters have the ability to clean the air of the equivalent of 40 Olympic-size swimming pools volume per hour, acting as a barrier from the adjacent highway, providing the cleanest possible air for the athletes.
VAN DAM (voice over): The concept of purifying the air on a large scale came from a different hobby of Jerome's, hot air ballooning.
GIACOMONI: Let's have a flight now.
VAN DAM: A thunderstorm is coming.
GIACOMONI: Yes.
VAN DAM: Is this thing safe? Get a little wobbly?
GIACOMONI: Yes, a little bit.
VAN DAM: This is like a real-life climate lab but on a balloon. Now, not only is there carbon dioxide being measured by this very box right here, but we are also measuring methane, ozone, and even pollen counts.
VAN DAM (voice over): Jerome noticed that while his balloon was flying, it was extracting pollutants from the surrounding air.
GIACOMONI: And so all the particulate matter were positively charged. Whoot (ph), come.
VAN DAM: Oh, wow.
GIACOMONI: And go straight to the balloon.
VAN DAM (voice over): And with the balloon's visibility to over 400,000 people across the city, he could turn this into a useful tool for all Parisians.
VAN DAM: If the balloon is green, no action is required. If the balloon is orange, it's a warning to Parisians that they need to take extra precautions. But if this balloon turns red or violet, that's when they need to take action.
VAN DAM (voice over): Back at the Olympic Village, these five filters remove at least 50 percent of air pollution, but their reach is limited to a few dozen meters. And even after the 14,000 athletes leave, they're expected to live on.
Derek Van Dam, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Brand new this morning, $100 million since Sunday in her pocket, a fresh endorsement from George Clooney, Vice President Kamala Harris heads to her first campaign event at the top of the ticket, as Republicans unveil a new angle of attack. She needed a helping hand. She didn't need a bullet to the face. Angering and calls for answers after new body cam video shows an Illinois police officer shooting a black woman inside her home.
And then piles of suitcases, delays, cancellations. The global tech outage causing new headaches for Delta customers and costing the airline millions.
I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
[09:00:00]
SIDNER: New this morning, it's on. $100 million fundraising haul is fueling momentum for Kamala Harris' brand-new presidential campaign.
