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Harris Shuts Down Hecklers During Detroit Rally, I'm Speaking; Markets Open After Better Than Expected Jobless Claims Report; Sacramento State University Launches First Ever Black Honors College. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 08, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There wasn't any problems in those under war in Gaza at the time.

[09:30:03]

So, it's actually kind of overblown. And I think the grace and strength that Kamala Harris showed with those -- you don't want to be mean to them. You don't want to be rude to them. But I thought she handled it just perfectly. If she keeps going like this, she can win this thing.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I wanted to ask you, Maura, just from a comms perspective. What do you think of how she handled it? Every candidate, every presidential candidate especially, handles hecklers or protesters or whatever. It's just the world we live in today. What do you think of how she handled it?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL, BLUESTACK STRATEGIES: I mean, I'm not necessarily speaking on behalf of Democrats here, but I think as an American, that was how you have to handle it. If you're trying to put yourself out there to be the leader of the free world, you've got to stand firm against this and point out what they're doing isn't helping. If they're there because they believe, you know, they want to support the Democratic ticket, that's not helping by heckling her.

And so she handled it in a way that I think is how if you're a Kamala Harris supporter, you wanted to see her to handle it and redirect the message back to what the goal is here, is her goal is to be Donald Trump, and that's not how you get there.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about messaging and let's talk -- we know now that Donald Trump says that he is going to be having a press conference at 2:00 P.M. this afternoon. A wide ranging, I'm sure, he will say, press conference. Part of the message, I'm just going to assume is going to be, Paul, attacking Tim Walz and his military career.

You remember swift boat well. Could it land the same in 2024 as it did in 2004?

BEGALA: This will be a great question. This is the first big test. Because, reportedly, the same guy who was behind swift boats is behind this, right? So he hasn't grown morally. The question is, have the Democrats grown tougher and smarter?

This is what you do. You go Jake Gyllenhaal and Roadhouse on him. You hit back so hard. You say, I'm not going to take lectures about Master Sergeant Walz's military service from a man who faked bone spurs to get out of service himself, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, who said our war dead are suckers and losers, Donald Trump who stood over the grave of a fallen hero at Arlington Cemetery and said to his dad, I don't get it, what was in it for them? Donald Trump, who doesn't want wounded warriors at his events because, and I, quote, no one wants to see that. Donald Trump, who said John McCain and other POWs were not heroes. Donald Trump, who praised Adolf Hitler, said Hitler did a lot of good things. Donald Trump, who sucks up to Vladimir Putin and told the whole world he believes Putin over courageous American intelligence, Donald Trump, who attacked a gold star family of Captain Humayun Khan of Virginia, who gave his life for our country.

So, forgive me if I won't take lectures on Master Sergeant Walz's service from a coward and a creep and a crook like Donald Trump. That's what the Democrats ought to say.

BOLDUAN: And we shall see. Maura, what do you think of this, Maura? Because one aspect of this me taking a different approach than Paul on this, is if you don't, if you really want to open up the basket of we can look back at the past, that has not been a good place so far for Donald Trump and for J.D. Vance, going from J.D. Vance and cat ladies, J.D. Vance on hating police, J. D. Vance onn calling Donald Trump America's Hitler. The looking back has not been beneficial to them so far. But what do you think of this approach? Because it seems it's very coordinated, it's very targeted, and it does not look like it's going to let up from Republicans.

GILLESPIE: Right. I don't think it's ever good for veterans to be competing with veterans about their service and questioning each other service. As a nation, we should be grateful for all of our veteran service because they put their lives --

BOLDUAN: Right. There is a third lane. Just appreciate his service and (INAUDIBLE), right?

GILLESPIE: Absolutely. I do think, though, that what happened in the rally in Philadelphia where Tim Walz went off the cuff by all accounts, by making the couch comment directed to J.D. Vance, he opened himself up then to J.D. Vance wanting to say something back at him and pointing out.

And, again, I don't necessarily agree with going veteran versus veteran on your service, but I don't think that Tim Walz had thought through it in a way because, you know, today's press conference coming from Donald Trump, a bit rich, as Paul may have pointed out there, but if it comes from J.D. Vance, it's a little bit different, right, because he is a fellow veteran. He actually served as a Marine Corps, like he served overseas in Afghanistan. So, it's very different.

And I think we all realize that some of the questionable or misleading comments that Governor Walz has made opens him up to voters than thinking should we be questioning a little bit of his character, what does that say about him?

So, I'm not saying that it's a tactic that will benefit because looking backwards has not proven to be effective for Republicans, but also hasn't proven to be effective for Democrats. But, again, this is politics, and this is a part of politics that most Americans find beyond frustrating, because both sides don't know where to stop.

BOLDUAN: This is when it gets nasty and ugly and all.

GILLESPIE: Because they don't know where to stop. They go too far.

BOLDUAN: Right, there is no bottom is what we have realized, unfortunately.

Paul, before we go, I wanted to ask you something I saw in Punch Bowl reporting that some key vulnerable Democrats are not attending the Dem Convention and here's how the playbook is writing about that -- that Punch Bowl was writing about this, sorry.

[09:35:04]

With the Senate at stake falling into -- at stake of falling into Republican control and the GOP targeting dozens of at risk House Democrats, some members are prioritizing their own campaigns over the convention.

Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Jon Tester, Montana, they said they will not be going. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who will appear with Harris and Walz in Nevada on Saturday, is also skipping the DNC. They also named vulnerable House Dems that have said they are not attending. And it is true that not all politicians of a certain party go to every convention. We saw that on the Republican side as well. What does this -- does this reflect something though?

BEGALA: Now, it just happens every convention. This will be, Kate, because I'm an old man, my tenth Democratic convention. And there's always -- and, by the way, I've been to at least five Republicans. In each party, there are vulnerable members who don't want to seem too partisan. I think it's very smart. I mean, Jon Tester is not a very partisan Democrat. He would not be. I think do well at a very partisan event like a convention,

So, I think it's smart. You saw the same thing in the Republican side. It happens at every convention because, frankly, they're smart. It's a very partisan event. It's great for people like me. But if you're not a very partisan politician, you probably shouldn't be at such a partisan event.

BOLDUAN: Partisan, partisan, partisan. It's good to see you, Paul, thank you. Maura, it's great to see you as well. Thanks, guys.

SIDNER: Best quote and most accurate ever.

Moments ago, the opening bell ringing on Wall Street, markets are up, up, up and away after new data shows a better than expected report on first time unemployment claims, as markets try to bounce back from the route earlier this week, triggered by last week's weaker than expected July jobs report.

CNN's Julia Chatterly back here with us. And you were just talking about all these swings. What the heck?

JULIA CHATTERLY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Yes, what the heck, is the appropriate way to talk about this. And, by the way, one data point should not do this. This shows you, one, how sensitive we are to economic data, but also just the general level of volatility.

Let's talk about why it's got investors excited. Let me just show you the numbers. This was first time claimants for unemployment benefits. The number was better than expected. We were expecting around 240,000 people. It's actually 17,000 less than we got last week. Not only that, something that stood out to me, Texas, 6,500 less people claiming first time unemployment benefits in Texas.

Why do we care? That jobs number on Friday, the data collection period was during Hurricane Beryl. So, it kind of suggests that maybe weather played a role in that weak number. So, again, optimism being taken from that, it's one data point. We shouldn't act like this but it shows the sensitivity.

The final thing we're going to watch today on my list, tech stocks. Are we tech tantruming or are we tech-tastic? Well, we're sort of tech-tastic for now. We have to wait and see.

I've pulled out the really sensitive A.I. ones that you all should be watching now. Down the bottom left, super microcomputers, it's a hardware player. It announced weaker than expected earnings yesterday. It plunged 20 percent.

We're overreacting to earnings at this moment, too. So keep an eye on this. Keep an eye on the data. But for now, we're swinging high.

SIDNER: And you warned people if you would have gotten out of the market, you wouldn't have been able to enjoy this, but it is volatile. Keep calm and carry on, as you say.

CHATTERLY: Very British, nicely done, my friend.

SIDNER: Julia Chatterly, it's always a pleasure. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Today and historic first, the official launch of the nation's first ever black honors college. The university's president is our guest.

And the South African skateboarder is making mom proud at the Olympics at the tender age of 49.

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[09:40:00]

SIDNER: For the first time ever, a university is launching a black honors college for students interested in black history, life and culture. This is all happening at Sacramento State University, which has the largest number of black students in the Cal State system.

Joining us now is university President Dr. J. Luke Wood and one of the first students to sign up at the black honors college, Olivia Lewis. Thank you both for joining us this morning.

Dr. Wood, I want to go first to you. Why do you think it is so critical right now at this point in American history to have a black honors college, the first of its kind?

J. LUKE WOOD, PRESIDENT, SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, I think it's important to have it because it creates an opportunity for students to be in an environment where they're fully invested in. You know, in California, we have a lot of students who do leave the state to go have an amazing experience at a historically black college or university but we also know that there are students who are place- bound, who can't necessarily leave the state, but want to be able to have an experience that's focused on them, the curriculum, the faculty, the cultural experience is one that's rooted in their history, their life, and their culture.

SIDNER: Olivia, you're a student there. You signed up for this class, one of the first. What do you hope to get out of this class that you don't feel like has been offered in other places before, except for HBCUs?

OLIVIA LEWIS, FRESHMAN, SACRAMENTO STATE UNIVERSITY: So, what I'm hoping for is -- so, first, it's an honors college. So, what that means is, basically, the education is taken more seriously, and that was a really big factor for me. So, I'm hoping for better education. And, honestly, I'm hoping to be in a community where there's intelligent, gifted people that look like me.

[09:45:03]

And, honestly, I just want to be a part of a community where we all work together and we're just, you know -- yes.

SIDNER: Yes, Olivia is talking about working together. So, I'm curious, Dr. Wood, is this a class that really is just for black folks or should white students and Latino students and Asian students also join in to a class such as this? What would they get out of it?

WOOD: Well, we're never going to succeed in being inclusive by excluding. So, for us, it's really important to make sure that this is experience that's opened up to everyone. We're in California, and that's kind of the ethos and also the legal landscape of the state.

That being said, while we are open to every student of every background, what we've done is we've created a curriculum that's specifically focused on black history, black life, and black culture. And so I would say to any student who's interested in having that kind of experience that this would be one that would be perfect for them.

I'll also say that this is part of a larger effort that's taking place across the Cal State system where you're seeing institutions lean into a focus on serving black students and black student success under the leadership of our chancellor, Mildred Garcia.

And what we're doing here is a unique component of that, and that we have, you know, our own dean of students, our own director, our own faculty members, our own staff members, our own therapists, our own academic advisers and outreach team. So, we've created an entire ecosystem around these students. So, all of their general education will be taught in the honors college with faculty members who have a demonstrated record of success in teaching and serving black students.

SIDNER: I'm curious, this is to the both of you. I'll start with you, Dr. Wood. How concerned are you about a move to ban books and libraries in schools, some of them like The Bluest Eye and Beloved from Tony Morrison, who's one of truly the most prolific black authors of our time? How do you see this playing into this? And was this a thought process when you decided that this school needed to exist in the Cal State system?

WOOD: Well, it was certainly a thought process because, obviously, across the United States, you're seeing a push against, you know, diversity and inclusion. You're seeing the banning of books, the elimination or banning of critical race theory, of African-American studies, of DEI offices, of anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion. And at the same time, in these same states, they'll put the students who are black on the front of their brochures for the colleges and universities.

And so what we want to do is be the north star of the west. So, if you're in a state like Florida or Alabama or Texas or other states that are moving away from diversity inclusion, we say, come on over the Sacramento State where you won't just be a name on a sheet, right? You'll be a person, a community and a future that we're invested in.

SIDNER: Dr. Luke Wood and Olivia Lewis, thank you both so much for coming on this morning and explaining that to us. It was really interesting, the north star of the west. I'll try to remember that. I appreciate you this morning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also new this morning, swimming superstar Katie Ledecky has been chosen as one of the flag bearers for Team USA at the closing ceremonies. We are live in Paris for the moments to watch today.

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[09:50:00]

SIDNER: So, he is 33 years older than his youngest competitor. At age 49, a South African skateboarder competed at the Olympics, and yet he's still not the oldest to shred in Paris. CNN's Coy Wire joins us now.

Coy, you know nothing about being 49, but do you know anything about shredding?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm not far from 49. I don't know too much about shredding either, but what a story. You know, you have this guy who's 49 years old. He went on this spiritual trip. The sport took its toll mentally, physically. He went to the Peruvian jungles. He did ayahuasca. He said he saw dragons was flying on dragons. He comes back with clear perspective, gets to compete.

He finished dead last, but he said he knew he would. But he said this was all about doing it for his mom. She was there cheering him on. And as you mentioned, wasn't even the oldest competitor. There's a 51 year old from Team G.B. So, there's still a chance for all of us to be in Olympian for us mere mortals.

All right, tonight, the newly crowned 100-meter champ Noah Lyles is going to put it all on the line for a chance at that elusive double. If he can claim gold in the 200 meters as well, he'd be the first person to do it since the legend, Usain Bolt. Only nine men have ever done it. Can he do it?

And can she do it? Epic showdown at 1:30 Eastern in the 400-meter hurdles. World record holder, Team USA, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looking to win back-to-back Olympic golds, but she has to get past the Netherlands' Femke Bol.

Sydney has broken the world record five times. We caught up with her ahead of the games to chat about how she's had to persevere through some injuries and adversity. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE, TWO-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Growth is huge. I mean, we're human, you know, we have insecurities, we have flaws, we have things that, you know, can easily knock us down and nobody's invincible. Obviously, I want to go out there and compete every single time to the best of my ability and compete aggressively, but the reality is I'm human.

And so I need to be okay with growth. I think I saw that a lot last year. And I'm content knowing that was a part of the journey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. Kate, Sara, the general vibe around Paris, this is going to be a hot night for track, all right? World records may tumble.

Kate talked a big game the last time earlier this morning about her doggy paddle when we were talking swimming.

[09:55:04]

I want to know how her sprint game is. We need an end of show race to the end of studio between Kate and Sara. Give the people what they want. Let's get it on.

SIDNER: I win.

BOLDUAN: Won, Sara's smart and wears sneaks. And I'm wearing foreign teals (ph). But still, challenge accepted. I'm taking off first. Can we go? WIRE: Legends.

SIDNER: Thanks for joining us. Join Newsroom next.

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[10:00:00]