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Blinken: Israel Accepts "Bridging Proposal" For Gaza Ceasefire; Harris, Trump Vie To Build Excitement, Support Among Young Voters; Organizers Plan Marches, Rallies For Each Day Of The Convention. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:25}

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news from the Middle East. Secretary of State Antony Blinken now says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a "bridging proposal" for a potential ceasefire in Gaza.

Let's go to CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson.

Nic, I understand we just got an update from Secretary Blinken.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, we know, earlier in the day, had a two-and-a-half-hour one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The track record for Secretary Blinken in meetings here with the Israeli prime minister is often not to get what he wanted.

But Secretary Blinken saying that he has had a very constructive meeting and got something of what he wanted from the Israeli prime minister.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.

These are still complex issues. And they're going to require hard decisions by the leaders. Ultimately, it comes down to those decisions. But there is, I think, a real sense of urgency here across the region on the need to get this over the finish line. And to do it as soon as possible.

The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done, to getting it done now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Yes, and right now, that is a very big question mark, if Hamas will agree to the bridging proposal.

[13:35:01]

This is a proposal United States put forward to get over some of those key differences between Israel and Hamas. And it was done partly in conjunction with, with the Israeli side already.

Hamas has already criticized this bridging proposal as being essentially too pro-Israel.

Prime Minister -- rather, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about that and he said, look, sometimes last puts forward a public position that doesn't really represent their private possession.

But whichever way you look at it, this -- this sort of represents an incremental, a tiny incremental step forward that Israel agrees to that bridging proposal. Next, Hamas has to agree to it.

And then it goes to discussions about how even that bridging proposal would be implemented. Meaning, that actually nothing about the bridging has been agreed yet. This is just down to Hamas to say whether or not they'll accept the notion of it.

SANCHEZ: Incremental progress, progress, nonetheless.

Nic Robertson, live for us from Tel Aviv, thank you so much.

Still on ahead on CNN, many couldn't even vote in the last election, but they could decide this one. A generation of social-media savvy voters set to make their mark at the polls.

And if anyone knows about the power of a viral moment, it's our next guest. Remember this guy? Yes, we're going to chat with him in just moments. Stay with CNN.

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[13:40:56]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Welcome back. We are live from the Democratic National Convention.

Young voters are expected to play a key role in the election in November. And both campaigns are vying to build excitement in this key voting bloc.

And if you want to see excitement, well, if it looks something like this. A moment that went viral at a Harris rally.

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(SINGING)

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KEILAR: All right, that was Parker Short, a DNC delegate, and the head of Young Democrats of Georgia. He's with us now.

You know, every word to that song. Which that song is?

PARKER SHORT, PRESIDENT, YOUNG DEMOCRATS FOR GEORGIA & DNC DELEGATE: That song is Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar.

KEILAR: OK, so you love that song.

PARKER: Yes, I'm a huge music fan.

KEILAR: You were telling me that actually your girlfriend had said previously this, you weren't such a great dancer.

SHORT: Not just my girlfriend. Just about everybody, you know, my roommates. I'm -- look, I'm a corny, goofy guy. But the energy showed through. And the passion that I have for the Democratic party in our next president, Kamala Harris, was on display in Atlanta.

KEILAR: Sure was. What were you thinking in the moment when you had no idea that a camera was on you? And what are you thinking now that it's going viral?

SHORT: I was thinking, wow, this is a really great D.J. I loved the energy in this room. It's great to see all of these wonderful Georgia Democrats. A lot of young folks.

That room looked like Georgia, you know what I mean? Georgia is an extremely diverse state. And it's not just about young people or old people, or white people, or black people. It doesn't matter what kind of music you listen to. Georgia deserves better.

So in that room, the energy was just off the charts and all I could think about was I felt hopeful.

KEILAR: You're very civically minded. You work in local government. And I know that you are trying to harness some of what has been a lot of popularity for you. Tell us about that.

SHORT: Well, you know, I have been the Georgia Young Democrats chairman for a while. But I've been involved since I was 15. My first job was as a field intern for Jon Ossoff's congressional campaign. And you know, I've worked in local government and mayoral races.

And I think the most important thing that you can do for your democracy, you can do for your country, is to get involved locally, to make your voice heard.

If you don't know who your State House representative is, your state Senator, your county commissioner, your city council person, when push comes to shove and you have a local problem that you need solved, you're not going to be able to reach out to those people.

You need to hold your local officials accountable. So I've been going around trying to promote wonderful Democratic candidates in the state of Georgia, like my friend, Bryce Berry (ph). Bryce (ph) is a teacher in House District 56. He teaches middle school

students. And he's running against an incumbent Republican who switched her party from Democrat to Republican because they don't want to fund public education.

KEILAR: You are in the nitty-gritty for sure --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: -- when it comes to Georgia. When you look at Georgia as a potential battleground state, because Biden wanted, which just floored a lot of people.

And I think there's this expectation that maybe Harris could put this in play. But when you look at the polling, it's a tough challenge.

Among registered voters, Trump is leading Georgia 51 percent to 44 percent. I wonder what you think Harris needs to do in your state to close the gap?

SHORT: Well, honestly, I got to say, I thank Vice President Harris is doing just about everything she should be doing. She is so active on the ground.

We've got about 20 field offices opening, you know, the Young Democrats have been invested in, the party has been invested in. We've got a lot of great down-ballot candidates.

And the truth of it is, I think Kamala Harris is running just about the most oppressive presidential campaign that I've seen, you know, being able to observe. She has truly been on fire. I'm so proud to be a delegate for her.

But I honestly believe in the bottom my heart, she is going to win Georgia. I know Georgia politics. I saw Joe win in 2020. I saw also Ossoff and Warnock, who won in 2021.

And I know what Georgia cares about. I know our values. A majority of Georgia believes a woman deserves the right to choose.

And I think when we get to the ballot in November, we're going to make our voices heard.

KEILAR: You think that's going to be the issue that might make the difference. That's an issue we're going to be hearing tonight with some women who've been affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

SHORT: Well, there are a bunch of big issues but I think that's a huge one because, in the state of Georgia, a woman born today has less rights than before Brian Kemp and Donald Trump came to power in our state and took women's freedoms.

[13:45:04]

This is very real. And education in the state of Georgia, not only is it sorely underfunded but our state superintendent didn't want to offer A.P. African-American studies statewide, while still offering A.P. European studies.

So for me, this fight is very real. We can't expand Medicaid because the Republican governor refuses to. That gives 600,000 people jobs. Opens -- it would give 600,000 people health care. It gives 60,000 people jobs and opens new hospitals all around the state. We have hospitals closing year after year.

If you live in Georgia, you see how Republican policies have failed. In the last couple of years, Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and Joe Biden have brought the largest two economic development projects in the history of our state to Georgia.

KEILAR: President Biden is going to be speaking tonight. I wonder what you want to hear from him, and I specifically wonder if you can speak to how your enthusiasm has changed from when he was running versus now that he's stepped aside and it's Harris.

SHORT: I'll be very frank with you. I have a whole lot of respect for Joe Biden. I think he is putting in an amazing four years.

But I think not only will I respect, but I think the American voters will respect the fact that he knew that it was time to pass the torch. He knew that it was time for someone else to carry on this cause.

I've truly respect Joe Biden's public service. He was actually elected as the youngest Senator in the history of our country, at 29. They had to delay his inauguration.

But his service speaks volumes. And I think what he did, giving the -- passing the torch speaks volumes, too, because I am extraordinarily excited about this nominee. I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are a dream team ticket.

And I think they're going to win Georgia. And I think we're going to once again save the country and save our democracy. And we're going to fight for women's rights.

I know they're going to have an amazing win. We put in the work and Americans make their voice heard. They're going to have an amazing four years of delivering for the working class.

Her policy agenda has already just blown me away. As somebody who wants to buy a home, you know, a recent college graduate, that makes it much more feasible for me to think about financial mobility.

So I'm very excited for this election. And I -- I could not be more excited to have the most passionate, energetic, kind leader, Kamala Harris, at the top of ticket.

KEILAR: And just lastly and quickly, dance moves this week? Yes?

SHORT: Oh, I mean, I got to see if the D.J. here is as good as in Atlanta. You know? We'll see. We'll see.

KEILAR: Atlanta is tough.

SHORT: I mean, if they have Beyonce on Thursday, that'll get me excited.

KEILAR: Well, we -- there are rumors but, so far, we're hearing no, but --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: We're holding out hope.

Parker Short, thank you.

SHORT: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

So echoes of 1968 as the Democratic convention gets underway today. Police are here on the streets of Chicago. They're facing thousands of protesters who have descended on the city. The latest on the tensions there after a quick break.

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[13:52:42]

KEILAR: Welcome back to our special coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Right now, we are seeing protests across Chicago. And among them, the march on the DNC. Tens of thousands of people expected to participate, demanding the U.S. stop sending aid to Israel.

CNN's Whitney Wild is outside of the convention hall.

Whitney, tell us what you're seeing.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we're hearing that (INAUDIBLE) in part, a couple of blocks away from the United Center. And this is really the heart of the major protest here.

So let me just walk you through the crowd here.

It was anticipated that up to tens of thousands of people from all around the country would descend on Chicago for, as you mentioned, the march on the DNC.

And, Brianna, it's important to remember that this area is home to the largest Palestinian population in the United States.

And what you're seeing right now is thousands of people listening to speakers. And if you look down here, in a few minutes, at least, protesters are expected to pick up these signs and then they're going to march.

The city designated route is about a mile. But protest organizers, Brianna, say that is not enough, that they want to march a route that's about two-and-a-half miles.

They've been battling with the city for weeks in court. They did not win. But they said, either way, they plan to walk a larger route.

The larger the other question is what the police presence is going to look like. And so far, we've seen dozens of police officers, mostly on bikes, surrounding this area. And so far, this is extremely peaceful.

Again, speakers at the moment, the expectation is that they we're set off for their march here in a few moments.

As far as whether there are counter-protesters, there were,, I'd say, a handful, maybe a dozen or two dozen, Brianna, counter-protesters. But there we're no conflicts that we saw -- Brianna?

KEILAR: And, Whitney, what are the issues or protesters are planning to bring attention to this week here in Chicago?

WILD: Well, there's a range of protests, again, it runs the gamut, from LGBTQ rights, something that was mentioned here today is a push for greater disability rights. There are protests that's around both the relationship between police and the public.

I mean, this is really an opportunity for protesters from a range of different causes to use the DNC spotlight to highlight their causes.

And so the expectation certainly is that we're going to see a range of issues -- Brianna?

[13:54:59]

KEILAR: All right, Whitney Wild, thank you so much for that.

We are live from Chicago and the Democratic National Convention. After the break, we'll be breaking down the numbers on where Vice President Kamala Harris stands after a month in the race. We'll discuss the issues driving this election.

Stay with us.

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