Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Vivek Ramaswamy is interviewed about Politics; Fake Political Endorsements Swamp Social Media; Harris to Accept Nomination Tonight; Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) are Interviewed about Harris' Acceptance Tonight. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 22, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Policy, but it sounds like they're saying what you're saying, which is that you have to listen to what people are saying. And you feel like maybe you came in a little hot when you were running in the Republican primary.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I take a look at the presidential campaign. I often judge - as a business leader I've been by results. The reality is, I came in with no name ID. Most people didn't know my name, let alone how to pronounce it. I wasn't even expected to make the debate stage. I beat a vice president, multiple former U.S. senators and current senators and governors. So, I'm proud of what we achieved.

But at the same time I didn't achieve my goal of receiving the nomination and being the next president. And one of my learnings from that campaign was that there's a lot of distractions along the way. There's a lot of things that will pull you off of your original purpose. Don't seed to that temptation.

So, as it relates to the race right now, what you bring up in the Democratic Convention, I think one of the things that's missing in this race right now is a rigorous debate on policy. You do get a lot of Democratic criticism of Republicans and of Trump in particular, including even that clip of Bill Clinton that you played, that it's built around a cult of personality. I see a little bit of projection right now. And right now we see a campaign that's built mostly around style rather than substance. And I do think Americans are going to be best served if this is an election built around competing policy visions for the future of the country. And I do think right now that's missing, if we're being very honest, from the Kamala Harris campaign and the Democratic - and the Democratic campaigns more generally.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And not from the Trump campaign? Cult of personality? Really?

RAMASWAMY: Well, look, that's why I bring it up. I - like it or not, Trump has offered deep policy specifics, from everything from a vision for a crypto currency and digital assets framework, all the way to his specific proposals of what tariffs he would or wouldn't impose, a clear position on how to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a clear position on mass deportations in this country and exactly what he would do to seal that southern border. You may or may not agree with the policies, but he has offered policy specifics at a level that we have not heard from Kamala Harris.

And I do say this - I think it's accurate to say this. I think right now, so far, in her campaign, it's early, but I think the media has been covering for her absence of policy specifics in the same way they were covering for Biden's cognitive deficits for the course of three years. And I do think Americans are left off worse as voters when we don't get those hard answers.

So, my advice to voters across the country would be, assume that her positions are what they were when she ran for U.S. president in 2020. That wasn't a long time ago. And if so, we ought to be having a debate about abolishing private health insurance, about taxes on unrealized capital gains, about the green new deal. That's the debate we need to be having, but we're not. And I think Americans are less well served as a consequence.

BERMAN: So, I will say, this "Politico" article and conversation you had with them, you basically said you've been telling Trump he's got to do a better job of staying on message, on policy, because, look, over the last four weeks and five days since the nominee became Vice President Harris, he's questioned whether she's black, he's made fun of her name repeatedly, he questions her intelligence constantly. That's not the message you seem to be suggesting is the right one for him.

RAMASWAMY: I think there's a gaping, wide-open opportunity to go harder after Kamala Harris on her policy record. I think the reality is, most people do like their private health insurance, who have it. She has favored taking it away. Most people do like fracking and drilling and the effects on energy prices that that has. She's opposed fracking. She's opposed to even offshore drilling. These are issues we should be hitting hard on.

Take that tax on unrealized capital gains. That means most farmers and most small business owners will have to pay taxes with cash they literally do not have. That is a formula for a great depression. So, my assessment is, we have not been going hard enough at her for that policy record.

You look at the other side. Their strategy has been to call about 70 plus million Americans weird. I -

BERMAN: But stay away - but stay away - but stay - but stay away from the personal side. Are you saying stay away from the personal stuff?

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE) attacks?

RAMASWAMY: I think it's a winning strategy for us, especially against the backdrop of Democrats who have made this quite personal.

BERMAN: Not the personal stuff, though? Not the personal stuff, though, right? RAMASWAMY: Because I think that's a contrast from Democrats. You think

about the Democratic Convention. Chants of "lock him up." Chance of "weird." Effectively calling 70 plus million Americans on the other side weird. As they're leveling those personal insults -

SIDNER: But they're not calling the Americans that - but they - wait, I just want to - they're not calling Americans weird. They're not calling the electorate weird. They are specifically calling -

RAMASWAMY: They are just weird was - was the - they're weird was the broad phrase they used. But my point is, this is a contrast we can draw.

SIDNER: They're specifically - you know they're specifically talking about the vice president - the Republican vice presidential nominee and Donald Trump, not the electorate.

RAMASWAMY: Well, I - I think that - I beg to differ on that characterization. You look at the way that many Republicans, even down-ballot Republicans, are treated in these races. My goal is not to play the victim card. My goal is actually to highlight an opportunity that Republicans have to say that at a moment where they're leveling personal insults at you, you know what, you have an opportunity. We have an opportunity to attack even harder on the policy record. And I think our country is going to be better off if we have those policy debates.

[08:35:02]

We still have two months ahead. I'm optimistic that's where this is going to go after the pageantry of a well-produced Democratic Convention, after John Legend and Oprah Winfrey are done. Now we can get past the show to the real action of a policy debate that Americans want.

SIDNER: Vivek Ramaswamy, thank you so much for coming on this morning. Appreciate your time.

Kate.

RAMASWAMY: Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up for us, Tim Walz takes the gloves off of his Minnesota nice reputation last night. What we know now about how Kamala Harris is approaching her big moment tonight for the biggest speech of her political career.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:08]

BOLDUAN: Sewing discord and confusion with the click of a button. You've probably seen the images on social media - we'll show you - like these that went viral this week of Taylor Swift endorsing Donald Trump, even though she has not endorsed Donald Trump. She has not endorsed anyone. First on CNN, there's new data now showing fakes like that and more are just exploding online right now.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has the details in the reporting. He joins me now.

Marshall, what have you learned?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Kate. Well, the internet is just swamped with these fake endorsements. They've been spreading widely and sowing confusion on social media.

So, researchers from the News Literacy Project, a non-partisan group, they analyzed more than 500 unique examples of election misinformation. They're launching a searchable database today, hoping to raise awareness and combat the lies.

We got an early look at their data and found that about one in ten of these examples were actually the fake endorsements, like you just showed. Look at this, you showed it. I'll show it again. Just this past weekend, Donald Trump put this problem front and center when he shared these AI generated images of Swifties for Trump. Many of these images, especially that one on the top left, there's simply not real. They were made by a computer, designed to deceive.

But it's not just Trump. The misinformation is coming from all angles. Here's another viral post from earlier this year claiming that Taylor Swift endorsed Joe Biden. She did not support him in 2020. She did support him in 2020, but has not yet weighed in in 2024.

And here's one more, Kate. Look at this photoshopped image of actor Ryan Reynolds, supposedly wearing a shirt supporting Kamala Harris. Some of these lies are easy to spot, like this one is photoshopped. But others are far more sophisticated with AI, and they regularly rack up millions of views online.

The News Literacy Project is hoping to fight back against this problem and stem the tide by releasing this dashboard so people can check it out for themselves. And it's just a good reminder for everyone out there that it's really on us, Kate, if people see something that's just too good to believe, an eye-popping celebrity endorsement, you might want to take a closer look before you hit that share button.

BOLDUAN: Yes, we have learned that over and over again with what we've seen online and how effective or ineffectively the social media companies kind of go after these. The News Literacy Project, a great organization, doing some really important work.

It's great to see you, Marshall. Thank you so much for bringing us that.

And so tonight Vice President Kamala Harris will take center stage at the Democratic Convention for the biggest moment of her political career, officially accepting the party's nomination for president.

Ahead of her, Democrat after Democrat who have already taken the stage have worked very hard to lay the groundwork for this moment that they hope will propel her to victory. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Kamala Harris is top. Kamala Harris is experienced. And Kamala Harris is ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala Harris is fighting for our freedom. Kamala Harris is fighting for our families. Kamala Harris is fighting for our future. Together -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining me right now is CNN political commentator, political anchor for Spectrum News, and host of "The Big Deal With Errol Louis," Errol Louis. And joining us also is CNN political commentator and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson.

Thanks, guys, for being here.

Errol, what do you think tonight means for Kamala Harris, other than everything?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, everything, really. And, look, there's a lot at stake for her and for the Democratic Party. We - we've seen a lot of different versions of where the future can take us.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

LOUIS: We heard from the labor movement. We heard from the women's movement, the environmental movement, the base of the Democratic Party. Everybody's got some place that they want to go. She has to bring them all together and promise them victory. And she's got to do it, you know, living up to all of this rhetoric.

We've heard speech after speech, literally hundreds of people getting on stage over the last four days saying, she's great, she's this, she's that. Well, she's got to prove it now.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that's exactly - setting the bar high, but necessarily so, I guess, is the only way you can point a thing (ph).

LOUIS: Exactly right.

BOLDUAN: Kristen, what is polling - what are voters, and all of your research, telling you about voters want to and need to hear from her now? A 20-point plan of what you're - what you're going to - what she's going to - what she's going to do, or tell them how she wants them - wants to help them feel? Said another way, joy as a strategy, what do you think?

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think voters certainly are looking for a turning of the page to a brighter, more optimistic future. The challenge for Harris will be tonight demonstrating how much is she a different page than the current administration in which she is the vice president. Her challenge is that she has to say she's the person to do the next four years without being too closely tied to the last four years.

And she's so far been able to somewhat definitely navigate that. Polling that came out this weekend showed that only about a third of voters really think that she's had a significant influence on her administration's policies on things like the economy, on things like immigration.

[08:45:11]

So, she has a real opportunity to distance herself from the more unpopular policies of the current administration. But how she threads that needle will be key.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it will be key.

And, you know, it is - it does come down to it that, Errol, voters at the end, they always vote on their gut. That's the thing we always talk about. It's kind of like an old adage and how - and how they feel and how they make - a candidate makes them feel. And you can see that in the - at this convention. They really are leaning into that joy.

But you also have Tim Walz, who leaned into that. The - with bringing joy back to the campaign. But also as the "Politico" headline put it, "watch out Trump, Walz shows he's not just Minnesota nice."

What did America learn about Tim Walz last night, and what role he plays in the campaign and a possible administration?

LOUIS: Well, one thing we learned is that he's got a son who really loves him. That was just a wonderful moment.

BOLDUAN: Totally.

LOUIS: Look, I think what we've seen is that Minnesota nice, you know, those Vikings are also - they also hit pretty hard, right? And I think that's true for the front line of the Minnesota Vikings -

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

LOUIS: But it's also true for, you know, the high school team. It's true for - for Tim Walz. They - they come at you and they keep coming, you know? He's - he's a cafeteria - you know, high school cafeteria monitor for 20 years. You know, he's in the National Guard for 26 years. They - they just keep coming. They mean what they say, you know? And he says he's from a small town, and that the connections - that I thought was the - one of the more meaningful politically sort of themes that he hit on is that he's from a town of 400 people and that you don't have to like the politics of your neighbor, you don't have to share their religion or their lifestyle, but you do have to look out for them. And that - that's sort of a core value that I think is really important. That's the kind of thing you want to connect with. And if along the way you steal a few rural votes that otherwise would have gone Republican, so much the better.

BOLDUAN: And caring about your neighbor was also a theme, Kristen, that Oprah hit on in her speech. Oprah Winfrey's surprise appearance and speech. She made an appeal very directly to independent and undecided voters. And I saw you - you've definitely written about this, but I saw you also post about this last night, saying, "Oprah is still a very influential voice among many of the very voters both campaigns are actively courting."

Which voters and what's the influence?

ANDERSON: So, I did a focus group of women who had voted for Donald Trump in a past presidential election but said they were open-minded this time. Now, this is before the switch out of the top of the Democratic ticket. But nevertheless, these are the sort of Republican women who are not guaranteed to vote for Donald Trump this election. And when I asked them, who do you wish was running for president who isn't right now, the first answer that came out was Oprah. And even though it's pretty well known that Oprah has more sort of progressive or Democratic views, she was a big advocate for Barack Obama when he ran for president, she still retains a lot of these qualities that many swing voters like. She's a businesswoman. She's very successful. She's a good communicator. And that's something that people really admire. Frankly, that love for someone who's successful in business is part of why they still find Trump to be appealing in some ways. Donald Trump and Oprah have a lot that are - is very different about them, but there are certain pieces about them being successful individuals that is appealing to a certain kind of swing voter in this election.

BOLDUAN: And that is a - what was so fascinating about her op-ed is like, there's actually something - there's a connective tissue there of why they like Trump and why they like Oprah, which you say that sentence and people will think Kate has absolutely lost her mind.

LOUIS: No, no, not at all. What could - there was a point, I mean, I remember, when he first was running and speculating about who he might choose as a running mate, Donald Trump said he wanted Oprah. And that was, you know, it wasn't just a sort of a surface level idea -

BOLDUAN: Yes.

LOUIS: Of having a popular celebrity on the ticket with him. He understands something. You know, look, people who operate at the level of a Donald Trump and an Oprah Winfrey, they understand something about the culture that the rest of us don't, you know, and how to move people by the millions. And that is one thing that they've always had in common.

BOLDUAN: So fascinating (ph).

It's great to see you, Errol, thanks for being here.

Kristen, great, as always, and great to hear more about your research and your focus groups, always. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, from the House minority leader calling him an ex- boyfriend who won't go away, to Bill Clinton saying he's a narcissistic opera singer. How Democrats went after Donald Trump last night at the Democratic National Convention. That and a lot more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:36]

SIDNER: Tonight, the finale. Vice President Kamala Harris will have the biggest moment of her political life when she officially accept the Democratic nomination for president.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman from Minnesota, Angie Craig, and New York Congressman Pat Ryan.

Thank you both for being here.

What does Kamala Harris have to do tonight to solidify, not just the fact that she's going to say, yes, I accept the nomination, but to actually solidify the presidency? Do you think it is that important of the speech?

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): From literally day one she has just knocked it out of the park, day after day, better and better, stronger and stronger, more unity, more energy, more joy. I think tonight she could take this from sort of a campaign to an actual movement where you see across the country folks just feeling like, I'm now part of something bigger than - I mean no knock on Vice President Harris, who's amazing, but like to really feel like we can send a message as a country, as patriots, that we are going to reject this other thing that has been brutal for the last few years and we're going to be for her and Governor Walz. And that feels good.

BERMAN: What's great about having both of you here, you are two of the members who - you're in frontline districts, who you guys win by really small margins. And I think you both have lost by really small margins also when you've run.

What has changed in the last four-and-a-half weeks on the ground in your district and in your races?

[08:55:05]

REP. ANGIE CRAIG (D-MN): The Democratic enthusiasm is off the charts. We're seeing record signups to volunteer, to phone bank, to door knock. People want to turn the page on the last several years. People want to reach their hand out to their neighbor again.

And so, for districts like ours, it's both Democratic enthusiasm, but enthusiasm to get back to the doors and to reach out your hand and tell your neighbor, OK, we're done. Now is the time for joy. Now is the time for hope. Now is the time to come back together as one country.

And, of course, in Minnesota, it's also the time to make sure that our governor becomes the vice president of the United States.

SIDNER: You talked about the way that people are feeling, but it has been three plus years, almost four years of Joe Biden in office. And you talk about the shift. What have you been hearing about how people change? Because there is a painful part of this for a man who has spent his entire life in public service.

RYAN: I think it's been underappreciated actually how President Biden's like truly patriotic and selfless decision seeded this ground and reminded people actually, we can have a politics where people - where people put country ahead of party, ahead of self. We haven't seen that in - certainly in my lifetime.

SIDNER: Right.

RYAN: And so that then like created this fertile ground for Vice President Harris, for Governor Walz, for this kind of campaign they're running. And it - and it takes both. It took him, President Biden, doing what he did, and Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, doing what they're doing. And that's just like a one-two combo that, look at the - look at the opposite - or the other choice here, where they've just done the opposite in every way.

SIDNER: But you're in this district, right, that could go either way and you face that every single time. So, what are independent saying? Like, what are people saying to you who are not team Democrat?

RYAN: Yes. I have a lot, like Angie, a lot of independents. They are responding to that as well in a way that has exceeded my expectations. And it really makes me proud. It's - again, it's like, people want to be called to something better, something more positive. We've heard this throughout. So many remarks, including Governor Walz, very compellingly last night. And when we give them that positive choice to be for something, it - really, I think, a patriotic feeling that we're stirring in people, it's just a very easy choice for folks, I think.

BERMAN: All right, you're part of the Minnesota delegation. You know, one -

SIDNER: We're going there.

BERMAN: One of the most popular delegations on the floor. The cameras are all around it. Spill on Gus. Tell us about Gus. Tell us about that moment, what you guys were all thinking then.

CRAIG: Well, look, you know, when John Legend came out and sang, "Let's Go Crazy," you should have seen us bouncing up and down. So crazy. But the most meaningful - I mean, and think about this. I'm a mother of four sons. You know, to have your son stand up, that's my dad! That's my dad! Look, this is who we've known in Minnesota for years, though, right? Gus and Hope. I mean Gus, who finally got the puppy when his dad was elected governor, you know? I - it's - it's - these are the kids. And the kids are growing up. But you can still see that joy and that love.

And that's something else that I think America wants to see again, that - that love for your neighbor, but also just the joy and love in a family.

BERMAN: Can I ask, the neighbor thing, which is something you brought up, and something explicitly that I think speakers have brought up. Barack Obama -

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: You know, Bill Clinton, you know, Governor Walz are all made this point. And I understand you're building a contrast with Donald Trump in this case, but I also feel like it may be something of a warning to Democrats out there too and how you would prefer them to approach the next 75 days?

CRAIG: Well, look, I - you know, what's been interesting is I think none of us have realized the group therapy that we've all been in together over the last several months and several weeks. But we need to reach out to one another again as Americans. You know, my family may look a little bit different than Pat's family. I have a wife and four sons. And Pat's married to a woman and has children that are a lot younger than mine. But you know want, we all have the same hopes and dreams. And I think that's what this campaign is reminding us. And I think it's so critical for this nation at this moment in time, as we think about, who can we be in the future? That's the difference. This campaign has turned to the future. And I think we're optimistic again.

SIDNER: Pat, you've touched on this. You said, look, I - what I heard was - was hope and joy and pushing it forward. And the thing you didn't say is, we should continue to attack and attack and attack Donald Trump. Do you think some of that should be sort of stripped away now that the point has been made?

RYAN: Elections are about choices. We got to draw a contrast. But my - my first boss in the Army used to say, if you're - if your enemy is making a mistake, get out of their way.

And, I mean, we've just seen this over and over and on a very personal level to see Donald Trump say what he said about Medal of Honor recipients as a combat veteran of 27 months, he's got to own that.

[09:00:02]

I'm going to talk - I'm speaking tonight. I'm going to make him own that. Every American should make him own that.