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David Hogg is Interviewed about Gun Violence Speakers at DNC; Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is Interviewed about Harris; DJ Cassidy Talks about Roll Call. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired August 23, 2024 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think, pretty explicitly about when Joe Biden was the nominee. And you were out there working for him hard, trying to drum up progressive support for him.
What you're saying is you really have seen a change that sticking?
DAVID HOGG, PARKLAND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Well, I think what I'm getting at more specifically is that the - a lot of people didn't want to see a rematch of 2020, frankly. But, more than that, I think because of the politics that Donald Trump had helped to create, many people were divided, many people - I mean, they still are divided, obviously, but many people were hopeless. They felt like they were in a dark tunnel with no path at the end of it - or no light at the end of it. And what we're seeing now, with the incredible leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris, is that leadership, is that excitement. And people just, you know, I think more than anything, just didn't want to see a rematch of 2020.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: You're talking about the double-haters. And there were a lot of people concerned about that. Or not excited, as you put it.
David, I'm curious, you know, that the NRA does give money, the gun lobby does give money to both parties. What makes you think that Kamala Harris will be the person that is able to get new and stronger gun legislation in place after what you and your fellow students went through at Parkland.
HOGG: Well, let me be clear, they may give money to both parties, but it is nowhere near the same at all in terms of how much is given to Democrats versus Republicans. And to those Democrats that take money from the NRA or are supported by the NRA, I think they need to be primaried. And I think I'm going to be working on that very soon.
But, in the meantime, I know that under Vice President Kamala Harris' leadership and President Biden's leadership, we've seen the first - the passage of the first gun law in 30 years. In politics, as in life, I don't care what people say. I care what they do. And what we've seen is the administration do a whole lot on addressing gun violence, right? Whether that's the creation of the first office of gun violence prevention, or the passage of the first gun law in 30 years. And I think what we're going to be able to do here, as we saw after
Uvalde, for the first time in 30 years, Democrats and Republicans came together and passed a bipartisan bill. And I think other Vice President Harris' leadership, with her experience in the Senate, and with Tim Walz's experience in the House, we'll certainly have a great chance at getting more gun safety legislation passed, especially if we obviously have - if Democrats have control of the House and Senate.
BERMAN: What are you going to be doing for the next 75 days, David?
HOGG: I am going to be on the road constantly turning out young voters in swing districts in a lot of swing states to help flip state legislatures and make sure that we win the presidency come this November.
I'll be in Georgia. I'll be in North Carolina, Arizona, all over the place. I've been on the road for about two-and-a-half weeks now. I was actually just in rural western Wisconsin working on a race. And if anybody would like to learn more about what I'm up to, they can go to leaderswedeserve.com to hear more about how I'm working to elect more young Democrats that support gun safety around the country.
SIDNER: David, you are so young, you are so passionate. And I'm going to put out a plea to you, John and I want to be your first interview when you run for office, because we see it's coming. We're not confused by that.
HOGG: I don't know about that. I'm working on getting more great Democrats (ph) elected.
SIDNER: I need you to say I agree. That's all I need. I just need, I agree. That's it.
HOGG: OK. Sure. If - if that time comes, you got it.
SIDNER: OK, perfect. We've got it on record.
David Hogg, thank you so much for getting up. I know it was rough because none of us have had sleep, but we appreciate you coming on and chatting with us today.
HOGG: Thank you. All right. Bye, now.
SIDNER: Kate.
Bye.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, Kamala Harris' big night was also a first introduction for many to her family. And her great nieces might have stolen the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:38:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody over here say Kama -
CROWD: Kama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody over here say la.
CROWD: La.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Together.
CROWD: Kama.
CROWD: La.
CROWD: Kama.
CROWD: La.
CROWD: Kama.
CROWD: La.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For president!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: That can only be called a call and response. That's how we call it in the hood. Moment with Kamala Harris' great nieces and Kerry Washington last night on just how to correctly say her name. The message being sent, obviously, to a certain other candidate in this race.
And then there is this photo the captures the magnitude of Kamala Harris' historic moment for millions of little girls. Harris great- niece, Amara (ph), alongside with her father, watching her great aunt do something no woman of color has ever done before, accept a major party's nomination for president.
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters joins us now.
You got up early for us. Thank you. I know this has been rough because you've been busy.
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): Yes. Yes.
SIDNER: What did you see last night that makes you think Kamala Harris is going to finally break that big, heavy glass ceiling?
WATERS: I, last night, was fortunate enough to be here at the Democratic Convention, sitting on the front row with the California delegation, watching very carefully. I saw the next president of the United States of America. She was absolutely presidential. She talked about all of the issues that we've been talking about for a long time, both domestic and international, and it was a unifying message.
[09:40:07] It was a message about being the president of all the people. It was about continuing some of the work of Biden as it relates to health care and other kinds of issues that we're concerned about.
But also the theme that ran through what we were doing last night as Democrats was helping to educate the people about Trump and who has been, what he has done, the difference between being really patriotic and loving this country, and someone that's disparaging the country, talking about how the United States is falling apart, it's no good, et cetera, et cetera.
So, I saw not only a presidential candidate, but I saw someone who's going to run for office with the right message and win.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats are one for two against Donald Trump.
WATERS: Yes.
BERMAN: You've won one and you've lost one. You last one first, then won one.
WATERS: Yes, that's right.
BERMAN: What have you learned about what you think is the right way to beat him?
WATERS: Well, you know, I have been disturbed for a long time that it has taken Democrats so long to take him on. I started with this from the time he was nominated for, you know, the presidency, when he talked about grabbing women by their private part. The obvious lies that he takes. I what the media to ask him about those lies when they interview him.
This man, aside from all of the old lies, the new lies. For example, how does he credibly get an interview and talk about, you know, the 15,000 people that showed up in Detroit was false. It was artificial intelligence. How do you - how do you entertain talking with someone who wants to be president of the United States of America, who can look you in the face and lie to the media, to the public, to his opposition?
Well, we have to make sure that we call him out. And we point out the lies and how he's disparaging and how he cannot be trusted and how he really is not the patriot that he would have people believe.
He aligns himself with Putin in Russia. He loves Kim Jong-un he said. They have love letters or something going. I mean it's so much there.
He has absolutely disrespected the veterans of this nation and talked about he prefers those who have not been, you know, hard - doing battle. And on and on and on.
And so I think in addition to talking about where this country needs to go domestically and internationally, also showing the difference between Trump and Kamala, and the Democrats and the Republicans. As a matter of fact, it's not hard to do. He's given us a lot of
information. Yes.
SIDNER: In California -
WATERS: Yes.
SIDNER: In particular in Los Angeles County, you were known as Auntie Maxine.
WATERS: Yes, that's right.
SIDNER: And you also represent a district that is mostly African American and Latino, Inglewood. How do you explain the - the move for young black men, younger black men, towards Donald Trump as the years have gone by, not away from Donald Trump?
WATERS: Well, I believe that we have not done a good enough job in working with and educating young people about public policy issues. Many of our young people are entrepreneurial, and they want to have businesses. They would like to have some assistance and some help with that. They need access to capital. And this is very important with them. They see that their lives have been a little bit difficult. Rent's too high. They don't have 20 percent for a down payment on a home. On and on and on. We've got to a better job. Yes.
SIDNER: Do you think they see him as a baller shot-caller type of guy and they look up to that part of his -
WATERS: That's only a small segment. You're talking about more the hip hop segment of the black males that they talk about maybe, you know, talking about supporting Trump. It's not a huge number. Some of those, of course, you know, Trump has pardoned, some of those who have been in prison, like Lil Wayne. And I say to people, look, if you're in prison and somebody pardons you, say, thank you. And I don't know what all else went into that.
But after you say thank you and do whatever it is you do to appreciate pardons, then you say, but I've got to say goodbye. I've got to be with the people who understand what is necessary for everybody to have a decent quality of life.
[09:45:09]
BERMAN: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
WATERS: Yes. You're welcome. Thank you.
BERMAN: Nice to see you.
SIDNER: Thank you.
WATERS: You're welcome and thank you.
BERMAN: Kate. BOLDUAN: So, it was the roll call to end all roll calls. The DJ who
brought the house down with the roll call vote, DJ Cassidy joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DJ CASSIDY, GRAMMY-NOMINATED PRODUCER AND PERFORMER: Name is DJ Cassidy. And I'd like to welcome you all to the Democratic National Convention roll call.
[09:50:09]
Now, we're passing the mic all around the world tonight. So, let's join together. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) THC (ph), turn out for what (ph).
DJ CASSIDY: Chicago, are you ready?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: It was definitely one of the most memorable aspects of the entire Democratic Convention. The typically kind of sleepy or awkward, sometimes boring roll call vote required to finalize the actual nomination, it was turned on its head. This roll call at this convention was a vibe, to put it mildly. The playlist ignited the crowd, kept them going for hours, and it was all a creation of one man, the world-renowned DJ, DJ Cassidy. Once onstage and crafting a political version, if you will, of "Pass the Mic."
And joining us right now is DJ Cassidy.
Good morning. Great to see you.
DJ CASSIDY, GRAMMY-NOMINATED PRODUCER AND PERFORMER: Good morning to you. Great to see you. And truly surreal to be watching that recap from the hotel room in which I worked to put it together.
BOLDUAN: I mean I've been calling it a roll call vote on steroids. Have been listening to, thank you for putting it on Spotify, I have been listening to it since. It's been an absolute blast to enjoy.
Can you take us behind the scenes? How did this come about?
DJ CASSIDY: I first got a call from the convention producers almost a month ago, right after Joe Biden passed the mic, as I say, to Kamala Harris. And they asked me if I'd like to be the first musical maestro of a convention roll call. And I said, well, what do the speakers usually talk over? And they said, nothing. And I went on YouTube and looked up the roll calls of previous Democratic National Conventions, and Republican National Conventions -
BOLDUAN: And then you fell asleep.
DJ CASSIDY: And I realized - pretty much. I realized that all the speakers simply talked over silence. And I said to myself, this is an incredible opportunity to do something that could potentially change the future of conventions. And I don't think anyone involved in this year's roll call had any expectation of the reaction being so overwhelming and emotional that night and the next day.
BOLDUAN: I mean, how did you - I've got a million questions and we never have enough time. How did you decide what song was right from each state - was right for each state? Did the states get input? And then I've got specific questions about songs that I didn't think matched with the state. But, go.
DJ CASSIDY: So, I was very insistent from the beginning of the process that I did not want to curate this playlist in a vacuum. I wanted to be as collaborative as possible. Not only as - as - as collaborative as possible with the convention producers and the Democratic National Committee, but with the states, especially those representatives of the state who were going to be there in person.
So, I acted really as the source of inspiration. I immediately came up with a master list of songs for every state. And it was really collaborative. And I was really eager to get input from the states and from the representatives who were going to be onsite in the arena.
And after all was said and done, and we had curated this epic 57 song playlist, it was my job to put the pieces of the puzzle together and form this epic, emotional tapestry of music that would work together, not only musically, but emotionally. And it all comes down to emotion. That, to me, was the most important thing. Not only that the songs had a connection to the state, but that the songs represented the night's emotion, and that the songs represented the diversity of the country.
These songs represented seven decades of music, all genres, all walks of life, all demographics that people, and that was my ultimate goal.
BOLDUAN: So, I mean, I - I got chills a couple times just hearing the crowd, but definitely when the Bulls - like the Bulls' anthem came on for Illinois, I had like full-on chills, being a kid who would go to Bulls' games.
DJ CASSIDY: And that -
BOLDUAN: What was - what was the big moment for you?
[09:55:02]
DJ CASSIDY: Well, it's funny you should say that. That was one of my favorite moments. Playing the Chicago Bulls' theme at the United Center, home of the Bulls, in Chicago, felt so epic. And look, there is a lot of artists from Chicago. We could have gone many directions with that state in particular. Illinois had many options under its name. But this Chicago Bulls' theme just felt epic. It felt like "We Will Rock You." It felt like "We Are the Champions." It had that emotion. And when I spoke over the first 30 seconds of that song, I personally got chills.
BOLDUAN: So, I mean, it is non-partisan bipartisan. You hit it out of the park. It was a blast to hear what was coming next because I had my girls sitting next to me. I'm like, just wait, let's see what the next state is.
What did it feel like being on the stage?
DJ CASSIDY: That 75 minutes went by so fast, in the blink of an eye. I had the director in one year. I had the music in the other ear. And it really was a whirlwind of 75 minutes. We've been producing this roll call segment for nearly a month, hours and hours of preparation to represent these states and the country properly.
BOLDUAN: And you did it.
DJ CASSIDY: And when I walked offstage -
BOLDUAN: And you did it.
DJ CASSIDY: Well, I'm - I - I feel very grateful and very honored to have been brought this opportunity. And I think none of us were prepared for the overwhelming emotional reaction that this music sparked.
BOLDUAN: Can't wait to see what DJ Cassidy comes up with next. It's great to see you. Thank you so much.
DJ CASSIDY: Thank you for having me.
BOLDUAN: Of course.
Happy Friday, everybody. Thanks for joining us. "CNN NEWSROOM" is up next.
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