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Police: Four Protesters Arrested After Breaching DNC Security Fence; IDF: Bodies Of Six Israeli Hostages Recovered From Gaza; Former Trump Supporter Endorses Harris At DNC. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 20, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: In the short term, Sara, they're putting up another layer of fencing. So if you look over my shoulder here, this third layer of fencing is going up here just outside the United Center. We are about a block from where the breach of this fence happened, Sara.

And what law enforcement has stressed to us over many, many months of covering the security preparations for the DNC is that the security perimeter has layers and layers of security. Clearly, that outer layer was breachable by the demonstrators last night so they're putting up this third layer of fencing here just outside the United Center. But the big question is, is this going to be sufficient.

And Sara, this is a -- this is a tough thing for the Secret Service and for the Chicago Police Department considering that was day one and there are more protests scheduled for later this week.

Here was Superintendent Larry Snelling. He came out to the scene last night and here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SNELLING, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Our job here is to make sure we keep the DNC safe, keep our city safe, and keep our people safe. We have no idea what they would have done if they'd gotten on to the other side. But as I said before, we're not going to tolerate anyone who is going to vandalize things in our city. We're not going to tolerate anyone who are going to commit acts of violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Sara, we interviewed the superintendent last week and what I asked him was what is a realistic measure of success for you and for your officers? And what he made clear is that if the protesters are safe, if the rest of the city is safe, and if the DNC is safe, and training works for law enforcement, that is his measure of success.

But incidents like this are certainly pushing the Chicago Police Department to the test. We expect to hear from them later this morning, Sara. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Whitney Wild. Thank you so much for your reporting out there -- John.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America, I gave my best to you. I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. Joining us now is CNN political commentator David Urban, and Democratic National Convention consultant, Meghan Hays.

Meghan, we heard from Hillary Clinton last night. She was strong, booming. Perhaps the response to her bigger than even when she was the nominee.

What did you make of her speech? What did you make of what she brought to the room?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION CONSULTANT: I thought her speech was incredible. She really lit up the energy in the room. The crowd loved it that she's uniting the party again. I think that she's also saying these are the things I told you were going to happen that did happen, and we can't go back there.

She was also extremely complimentary of the president. She was extremely gracious about Kamala Harris.

I worked for her on the 2008 campaign, part of the 18 million cracks in the ceiling. She is just -- she is saying that we are there. We are going to be there, and we need to be there with Kamala Harris.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we'll get to David in a second, I promise. This was more --

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, all fine.

BERMAN: This was -- you were not so much the audience last night --

URBAN: I was not the audience at all.

BERMAN: -- as maybe Meghan was. So -- and we'll talk more about what we saw last night.

But I am curious at what you think is left to do, particularly tonight?

HAYS: Look, I think that we just have more of our leaders in the party -- more up and coming stars in the party who are going to be here giving their remarks and unifying the party. But I think it's just also introducing Gov. Walz to the party and reintroducing the vice president to the party and highlighting their accomplishments.

This is about unity. We were not in this place three weeks ago and so it's really exciting to be here with all the momentum and all the organizing efforts that have been done, and all the fundraising. So we are in a good place as a party, and I think that we are just highlighting that and showing unity and showing how we're going to move into the future.

SIDNER: David, I'm curious what you think of this moment because Hillary Clinton had what one might say was a revenge moment.

Let's listen to what she said about Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial. And when he woke up, he made his own kind of history -- the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And the crowd is screaming "Lock her -- Lock him up! Lock him up!" -- something that Donald Trump in all of the rallies in 2016 and all the way into now -- that you heard over and over and over from the crowd.

What did you think there because when we go --

URBAN: Oh, it was fine. Let her have her moment. Like, I don't begrudge her the moment, right?

And my take on last night was like, as John said, I'm clearly not the audience. My takeaway was several things, right?

One, this is a very base -- one, the Democrats better get their act together because it was terribly orchestrated and put together. It took too long. Joe Biden went way into the night. I know this gets consumed differently and nobody -- most Americans aren't staying up to watch this. They're going to watch it in snips and clips. But it was really just poorly produced.

And I think that was a missed opportunity in a lot of places because Sweet Baby James got bumped from the ticket last night, right? You had James Taylor --

[07:35:01]

BERMAN: James Taylor.

URBAN: -- in there practicing.

So, you know, I think that there wasn't a lot of outreach to the Tim Walz part of the party. If you're a white, working-class guy in Erie County, Pennsylvania, nothing spoke to you last night. They weren't going after those voters -- the Tim Walz voters last night. It was geared towards specific -- very heavy on abortion, right. Lots of women of color and women.

So you're right that my demographic was not the target last night. And so I thought that was kind of interesting.

And look, Daniel Dale wasn't around last night, so I think in terms of fact-checking, just a couple of quick fact-checks here to provide Daniel Dale.

SIDNER: He's got his notebook.

URBAN: The convention didn't run long, as the convention planner said, because of applause, OK? Just factually not correct. It didn't run long because of applause; it ran long because of poor planning.

Project 2025 is not the blueprint for the Trump campaign. When the state senator stood up there and said that I'm like, are you kidding me? President Trump has stood on numerous platforms and said I disavow this. It's at NPR -- it's on this network.

We've got to fact-check --

SIDNER: But the architect of that was on camera saying --

URBAN: No.

SIDNER: -- he was totally for it and that he --

URBAN: No. The architect can say whatever he wants, but when the candidate stands up there, I think it's our obligation to say the Trump campaign is and the candidate has disavowed this.

The third thing is that Trump has said repeatedly I will not sign a federal ban on abortion. I will not sign it if it comes to me. I won't sign it. And Trump has always been for exceptions for life -- for life of the mother, rape, incest -- the normal kind of things that every person in the abortion world has ever been for. And yet, that was kind of implied.

Joe Biden finally topped it all off with the lie of lies about Charlottesville that Snopes and everybody else has kind of said this isn't true.

So those kind of things that kind of marred the -- from a factual perspective, I think those are kind of some of things that should have been fact-checked along the way because they just weren't true. And it kind of devolved -- I think if those things are -- the big things aren't true, what other things aren't true that are being said?

So again, I'm not the audience. It was red meat for the Democratic base.

BERMAN: Blue meat.

SIDNER: Correct.

URBAN: Yeah, red meat for the blue base, right? They perhaps did a great job on that.

I -- listen, I thought Joe Biden, he had two great lines. Joe Biden's a public servant -- a great public servant that deserves to be -- the credit that he got. He had a great line -- he gave his best for America. Hats off to Joe Biden for that. But I just felt badly that he got pushed to 11:30.

BERMAN: All right, a two-part question for you then, Meghan. Let's take the -- sort of the first and last thing David addressed right there, which is the event went really, really long. And David acknowledged it.

There is -- I think there are now three separate audiences. There's the audience in the crowd, there's the audience on TV, and then there's the national media. There's no question that there are a lot of upset reporters because they had to wait in line and maybe the catering wasn't good, which is the two most important things.

URBAN: Not just even that.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

URBAN: It was ridiculous -- you know, that line last night getting in.

BERMAN: I get it. I get it.

URBAN: I saw some of our colleagues waiting in that line. I don't know if they even made it.

BERMAN: So first of all, on the organization, how much do you think the Democrats need to tighten this up heading into night two?

HAYS: I think they are doing that. They're pushing the program start time. They're doing their line-by-line today at noon, so I think they are taking how they do the pool. So I do think they're taking that into account, and I think that they are going to make adjustments to the program, so we don't have that same situation.

But you know what? That's all fine and good that you guys had a hard time getting in. But the people in this room had a great time last night and it showed that the party is unified and there's a lot of enthusiasm here not only for Sec. Clinton and for Joe Biden, but for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

And Shawn Fain was here last night so I think that they were speaking a little bit to the blue-collar workers with him. But --

BERMAN: And then -- and then David mentioned there was a lot of focus on reproductive rights.

HAYS: Yeah.

BERMAN: And I just want to play one of -- a really emotional moment. I mean, this room went completely silent --

SIDNER: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- when this young woman from Kentucky who was raped by her stepfather --

SIDNER: Stepfather -- horrible.

BERMAN: -- spoke in front of the crowd. Let's listen quickly to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADLEY DUVALL, DNC SPEAKER: He calls it a beautiful thing. What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent's child?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Meghan, talk about the importance of that message being delivered to a national audience.

HAYS: Look, I think that we -- it's been stated now for several months that the abortion issue on the ballot for Democrats is a positive. We see that there was referendum on it in 2022 that every one of them -- the initiatives failed and where in, you know, Democrats' favor. And I think that folks are leaning into that to 2024 as well.

That's an incredibly powerful moment. But this is an issue that is very powerful for Democrats. And when this is going to be decided by Independent women in seven states, those types of moments matter for us.

SIDNER: We also saw, and we'll talk more about this, what happened -- you mentioned Biden. That was an incredibly emotional moment, and we are going to -- we're going to talk through that as well throughout the hour because it was striking to the crowd.

BERMAN: David, you still want to weigh in on that (PH)?

URBAN: Yeah. I was going to say that was -- I -- you know, that -- you cannot watch that young lady and be -- and just feel for her.

SIDNER: Yeah.

URBAN: Again, though, let's please be factual. Republicans do not want a ban that doesn't take into rape, incest, life of the mother.

[07:40:00]

BERMAN: Well, some --

SIDNER: Some states have --

URBAN: Some states. Again --

SIDNER: -- made that -- URBAN: -- the president and the platform --

SIDNER: -- law.

URBAN: -- does not -- does not have that in there.

And I thought the richest moment of the night was Nancy Pelosi standing there in the front row with her "I Love Joe Biden" sign as she was putting her knife away after she helped push Joe Biden gently off the cliff and keeping him from being here Thursday night, and her in the front row. I just -- a little ironic.

SIDNER: Nancy Pelosi has said over and over again she loves Joe Biden, but --

URBAN: She does love Joe Biden. I know she loves him.

SIDNER: But as Joe Biden has said, this is for the country --

URBAN: Uh, yeah.

SIDNER: -- and he made this decision.

URBAN: A little bit of -- a little bit of irony there.

SIDNER: So --

BERMAN: David, Meghan, great to see you both. Thank you.

URBAN: Thanks for having me.

SIDNER: Thank you, guys.

HAYS: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, breaking overnight, the Israeli military now says it has recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza.

And perhaps Israel's former defense minister Benny Gantz put it best. Six faces and names that this morning symbolize the hourglass that is running out -- running out on the time for reaching a ceasefire deal to get all of the -- all of the October 7 hostages out.

Here is what President Biden said last night during his convention speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We're working around the clock -- my Secretary of State -- to prevent a wider war and reunite hostages with their families. To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people. And finally, finally, finally deliver a ceasefire and end this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Jim Sciutto is in Tel Aviv. And Jim, the Secretary of State just left meetings in Israel for Egypt to continue with meetings to try to push this forward. What is the very latest that you're hearing?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Um-hum. Kate, listen, over the weekend, Israeli officials used this phrase "cautious optimism." But frankly, watching developments closely in the last several days it's hard to see the events, the statements, the progress to justify that description.

Hamas released a statement today saying that both Blinken's statements and President Biden's statements last night that you just played included misleading claims and do not reflect the true position of Hamas.

We should note that as Sec. Blinken left here in Israel last night to go on to Egypt, he said that OK, Israel has accepted the U.S. bridging proposal. That's fine. That's the U.S. and Israel with their vision of the agreement. But it is not clear -- in fact, it's clear that their vision of the agreement does not line up with Hamas' vision of this agreement to move it forward.

And there have been accusations, even in this country, that Israel has added or tightened new conditions on that agreement. For instance, who is going to govern the Philadelphia Corridor? That is the border between Gaza and Egypt, which has been a central sticking point in these negotiations.

So Blinken continues his diplomatic effort -- his shuttle diplomacy, but the two sides just do not seem to be speaking the same language of this deal. So hopes that it might get through -- make real progress this week following progress last week in Doha -- it's just hard to see, Kate, the evidence that justifies that hope.

BOLDUAN: And what then, Jim, are you -- what more are you learning about the dead hostages that IDF says that it was able to recover their --

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- bodies overnight?

SCIUTTO: So, there are six of them, as you mentioned, and here are their names. I think it's important to read them. Yoram Metzger, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Haim Perry, Nadav Popplewell, Yagev Buchshtav.

Now, we should note that all of these hostages were taken alive on October 7. And though a few months ago, Israel came to believe that one of those six had died. Until yesterday we didn't know for sure that those six were dead.

And what that is doing is it is -- it is gradually taking down that number of hostages that would be part of any hostage release-ceasefire agreement. We're down to 109 now. And the fact is that Israeli officials believe that a large portion of those 109 are dead as well. And that's a -- that's a sad fact in this country, right, because you know, Kate, what pain this has caused the family members here. There continue to be demonstrations wherever you travel in this country and see faces of those hostages.

But the number of those who will be exchanged and gain their freedom and be returned to their families, with events like today that number is always coming down.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, dwindling.

Jim, thank you so much. It's good to see you.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Still ahead for us, he devoted his life to MAGA, voting for Donald Trump both 2016 and 2020. And then fast-forward to today -- him speaking at the DNC in support of Kamala Harris. What happened. That man who had a video that ran at the convention -- during the convention last night -- he is our guest.

And the search continues for six missing people who were onboard a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily after being hit by a tornado.

[07:45:05]

(COMMERCIAL)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We all have so much more in common than what separates us. Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear and let us all always remember when we fight, we win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That was Kamala Harris last night briefly taking to the stage.

And now it is day two of the Democratic Convention and hosting tonight's gathering, a Republican -- host of "THE VIEW" and CNN political commentator, Ana Navarro. But she is not the only Republican who is lending their voice in support of Kamala Harris -- something the Harris campaign is making sure to highlight this week at the DNC, of course.

[07:50:05]

That includes Rich Logis. He is a self-proclaimed ex-MAGA activist who addressed the convention last night explaining how he went from loving Donald Trump to now campaigning for Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH LOGIS, FLORIDA CO-CHAIR, REPUBLICANS FOR HARRIS, FORMER MAGA ACTIVIST: So I finally stepped outside the MAGA echo chamber. I stopped listening to what Trump said and looked around with my own eyes, and I realized that he had been lying about pretty much everything.

So this is my message to all the Republicans and Independents who are watching people like me who voted for and believed in Trump. I made a grave mistake but it's never too late to change your mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is Rich Logis. He is now the co- chair of Republicans for Harris in Florida. Thanks for coming in, Rich.

Seeing your message -- your face there in that video the same night on the same convention stage as President Joe Biden who took the stage later, as Hillary Clinton who was a 2016 Democratic nominee against Donald Trump taking the stage the same night, what was it like for you?

LOGIS (via Webex by Cisco): Well, Kate, good morning. Thank you so much for having me.

It was -- my life has come a bit full circle. That video aired on the evening in which Sec. Clinton and President Biden both spoke. When I was a MAGA activist and pundit from 2015 to '22 I made some abhorrent comments publicly and privately about Ms. Clinton and President Biden. And I even went on my Twitter account last night and wrote them personal apologies that I hope will get to them.

And when I was in the MAGA community I was not just simply a partisan Trump voter. I was a volunteer. I did phone banking. I did -- I wrote, in part -- contributed some of the call script to the Trump campaign. So I was very much into that world.

And after the victory in 2016, I got even deeper into it having spoken at Trump groups, sponsored Trump groups. Writing for a number of -- as a freelancer, a number of right-wing articles -- excuse me, right-wing news sites and opinion sites. I professional produced podcasts.

So I was someone who gravitated to the Trump campaign at the time --

BOLDUAN: And --

LOGIS: -- in 2015.

BOLDUAN: And Rich, you were deep in it, as you're describing. And one of the things --

LOGIS: I was.

BOLDUAN: -- I've been wondering is what -- how do you sum up what attracted you so much to Donald Trump then and also, when was the moment that he lost you.

LOGIS: So I was -- I considered myself at the time a very disillusioned American politically, and I saw Trump as someone -- as an outsider looking to change the ways of Washington.

And right now, as I am working on behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign for Republicans for Harris down here as a co-chair in Florida, I understand why there are Americans right now who have these feelings of disillusionment and disenchantment.

And I was asked to come on the campaign. I didn't hesitate when I was asked because I think that there's a message that perhaps I hope I'm uniquely able to deliver because there were a number of factors that led to my questioning my beliefs. They all happened in the summer of 2021.

There was mismanagement of COVID by both Trump and my governor, Ron DeSantis. There was a better understanding of January 6. I started to diversify my news and information sources. I started to get out of that MAGA and right-wing echo chamber and started to realize that there were some beliefs I held that turned out to be wrong.

There were other moments, such as when the Republican Party deemed the insurrection legitimate political discourse. And then there was the final straw for me, really, which was the Uvalde, Texas school shootings.

So I went through an entire year of personal tumult having to come to this conclusion that I was mistaken about pretty much everything that I believed. And I think it's important that I let viewers know that I take responsibility for everything that I said, all my rhetoric, all of my decisions.

And it was on August 30, 2022, when I published a mea culpa in which I stated my remorse for supporting Trump and DeSantis and MAGA. And I wanted to acknowledge that mistake publicly because I was always very public in my support for Trump.

BOLDUAN: So I also want to ask you. Now you're working on behalf of the Harris campaign trying to win over more Republicans to support Kamala Harris in Florida.

And my colleague John King -- he spoke with some Republicans in Iowa who have waivered on Trump. One really stuck with me, saying that she did not want to vote for Trump this time, but then inflation started hurting just too bad.

Let me play what she said.

[07:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETSY SARCONE, IOWA VOTER: I describe myself as being resigned, I suppose, to voting for Donald Trump. Again, I just -- I can't vote for the status quo. And I was absolutely better off during Donald Trump's presidency than I am today.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: I'm wondering in the conversations that you're having or you're trying to have with Republicans in Florida, is the economy, is inflation -- is it your biggest struggle?

LOGIS: There's no question that is an everyday concern for most Americans and will be throughout the duration of their lives.

But in this particular election, I helped Donald Trump divide the country for many, many years. He is -- he is someone who has torn asunder families and communities and households all across the country. He's pitted complete strangers against each other. He's amplified and elevated conspiracies that he almost certainly knows caused avoidable deaths and trauma.

And so with those concerns, I've been saying to those who are feeling disenchanted with our political system -- Republicans right now who maybe are not enamored for whatever reason with the Harris-Walz ticket but don't want to vote for Donald Trump -- I think that this is an election that is a referendum on character and trust.

And we have with the Harris-Walz ticket, very clearly, a campaign who is inclusive. It is -- I am unaware of any major presidential candidate who has actually invited into the campaign to directly participate those whom they know are probably going to disagree with some of the policy style and substance.

BOLDUAN: Hmm.

LOGIS: That is an inclusive campaign. The Harris campaign is one that is looking to unite left, center, and right. And very clearly, that is not what the Trump campaign is trying to do. In fact, when I was in MAGA, we did not talk about the benefits of democracy. We talked about crushing and conquering our opponents and our enemies because we believed anyone not with us was an enemy.

So when we think about these issues of trust we have to ask ourselves -- and my message to undecided voters is if we're going to talk about character and we're going to talk about trust, do we think that Trump or Harris is better equipped and better fit to try to provide actual solutions to these concerns that all of us have every day?

BOLDUAN: It's fascinating, the conversations that I'm having with you and also the conversations you're having with fellow Republicans, or trying to have, in Florida.

Rich, thank you very much for coming in.

LOGIS: It's my pleasure, Kate. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

Also new overnight, numbers are showing -- new numbers showing that the U.S. fertility rate dropped to a record low in 2023. That's according to new data from the CDC.

Let's bring in CNN's Jacqueline Howard who has been looking at this new data. And what are you finding, Jacqueline.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yeah, Kate. Well, what we're seeing is that last year, there were about 55 babies born for every 1,000 women of reproductive age, but that number reflects a three percent drop in the general fertility rate here in the United States.

And this decline is something that's been ongoing since the year 2007, Kate. We know that since 2007, the number of births in the U.S. has dropped 17 percent. The general fertility rate has declined to 21 percent.

And the reason why this is happening, we know that there has been a shift in our society where women are having babies less often. Some women are waiting until they might be older in age to have children. But also, the teen birth rate has declined significantly. When you look at ages 15 to 19, the teen birth rate has dropped two-thirds since 2007.

So, Kate, we're seeing these trends happening in real time leading to this continuous decline in the U.S. fertility rate.

BOLDUAN: Hmm, important data to have out there.

HOWARD: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: Jacqueline, thank you very much.

Also new this morning, the mother of one of Hunter Biden's children is sharing her story in a tell-all memoir. "Out of the Shadows" is what it's called. It details what it was like for Lunden Roberts to raise her daughter as a single mother in Arkansas. She also chronicles how she met Hunter Biden, his battle against addiction, and her fight to have daughter recognized by the Biden family, she says.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us right now. And what more is Roberts revealing in this book?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Kate.

Well, there are two sides to every story. We've heard about Lunden Roberts and her daughter Navy for years in tabloids and court filings, but now we're hearing directly from her for the very first time.

And it's an intensely personal story of her journey from rural Arkansas to Washington, D.C. where she met Hunter Biden, fell in love, and got pregnant with his child. But after she got pregnant, Hunter pulled away and denied paternity. So she went to court in 2019.

Kate, let me read for you a quote from the book where Roberts explained why she sued Hunter Biden while his father was ramping up his campaign.

"I don't want this to be a scandal. I never did. I'm rooting for Joe in this next election, and I'm not part of a conspiracy trying to bring down the Biden family. It would just be nice if Hunter would tell the truth and give my daughter the father she deserves." Now, first of all, her support for Joe Biden might come as a surprise because she's from a deep red county in Arkansas.