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Adviser Says Trump Ramping Up Schedule: "Think Trump On Steroids"; Russia Launches Deadly Overnight Aerial Attack On Ukraine; Trump Assassination Attempt Task Force To Visit Shooting Site. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 26, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:43]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: "All hands on deck" and "Trump on steroids." Those are quotes from President Trump's campaign as they say they are preparing to aggressively ramp up the president's schedule, focus on honing his debate skills, and cultivating new ground game strategy starting this week.

Joining us now, CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, and Democratic strategist Matt Bennett. Thank you, gentlemen, for coming in.

I'm going to start with you, Scott. You heard those words: Trump on steroids, all hands on deck. What does that mean? What does Trump on steroids mean?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, it sounds like it means he's going to be pretty aggressive on his campaign travel schedule. You know, he hasn't done as many events in the cycle so far and now that's going to increase. I think that was to be expected as we get to Labor Day.

But I think it's obvious that they now realize the race that they're in today against Harris is a lot different race than they were in against Biden and it's going to require a lot more effort. I mean, they were on a glide path to a landslide and now they're in a real dog fight. So I would expect them to be out there, and J.D. Vance as well, and really probably focusing on the -- you know, the core states that we know are going to make up the election results.

SIDNER: Matt, Harris has -- you know, she's had this very long, if you will, honeymoon, really, that people keep waiting for it to be over. When I say people, I mean, the Trump campaign.

What should she do next? She is going out to the battleground states; so is Trump. Does she need to sit down and do an interview or as a -- you know, sort of, as someone in her camp, do you think hey, the numbers are good -- maybe we hold off on this just in case mistakes are made? MATT BENNETT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY

ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT CLINTON (via Webex by Cisco): Well, if it ain't broke you don't want to fix it. But I do think she'll sit for an interview. Every candidate does and there's no question that she'll do that. She's promised to do so.

But I will say this. I'm not sure that this is a honeymoon. I mean, a honeymoon suggests that she's getting some kind of kid glove treatment -- she's not. She has not made a mistake in a month, which is an incredible thing.

And the other thing I think is winning campaigns kind of around flywheels. You know, if you look at 1992 when Clinton and Gore came roaring out their convention on a bus into Pennsylvania, they really never looked back. They were winning from that moment forward. That was much earlier in the cycle. That was in July and we're now in late August.

So the question is can Harris maintain all of this? We don't know the answer. She's human. She's likely to make a mistake over the course of the next couple of months.

But so far, there is zero evidence that any of this is slowing down. Her crowds are huge and enthusiastic. She's performing extraordinarily well. The money is pouring in. Her paid ads are terrific. So I don't see any sign of this changing right now.

SIDNER: I do want to as you Scott about something that came out from the Trump administration national security adviser. Former Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster has written a book and in it, its' really a blistering takedown of Donald Trump.

He talks about in meetings of the Oval Office where everyone had to be sycophantic. And then he talks about foreign policy where Donald Trump was saying, as he put it, outlandish things like, "Why don't we just bomb the drugs in Mexico or why don't we take out the whole North Korean Army during one of their parades."

[07:35:00]

How does Trump defend these allegations by H.R. McMaster, or does he need to?

JENNINGS: I don't know that he's going to end up needing to do that or if he does, I guess it'll be like -- you know, there's been a lot of former Trump administration officials that have had negative things to say about him. So I assume he'll deal with them the same way he's dealt with everything.

I think H.R. McMaster is a great America. He served our country honorably. He has a right to say the things and tell his story.

But I would be surprised if this becomes part of the larger campaign narrative. I mean, if I were Trump, I would say look, we had a lot of discussions in the Oval Office. The decisions we made are the decisions we made and ultimately, I think we did a good job with the country, and I think Biden and Harris have done a bad job. I mean, you know, you could see how he'd pivot out of it.

SIDNER: Yeah.

Matt, what do you make of the comments by McMaster?

BENNETT: I mean, it's just extraordinary how basically everybody that was around Donald Trump when he was president thinks he was a catastrophe and dangerous. His vice president, most of his cabinet, almost all of his chiefs of staff have said the same thing. He said crazy things. He sucked up to dictators. He attacked our allies.

This is not someone who should be anywhere near the levers of power ever again. And it's basically a unanimous judgment on the part of the people who know him best that he should be kept out of the White House.

SIDNER: I want to move on to J.D. Vance, the vice presidential nominee for the Republicans, who sat down and did an interview -- another interview with Kristen Welker on NBC. And he was asked about whether the administration, if they were to become the next president and vice president, would sign a federal abortion ban.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, NBC "MEET THE PRESS": If such a piece of legislation landed on Donald Trump's desk, would he veto it?

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I think he'd be very clear he would not support it. I mean, he's said that exclusively.

WELKER: But would he veto it?

VANCE: Yeah, I think -- I mean, if you're not supporting it as the President of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it.

WELKER: So he would veto a federal abortion ban?

VANCE: I think he would. He's said that explicitly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: What do you make of this because conservatives -- some people have come out really strongly against this saying hey, what are you doing? You're going to lose the election by saying that you would not sign this?

JENNINGS: Yeah. Well, first of all, the premise of the question is a little fantastical. I mean, there's more of a chance of me sprouting wings and flying around this room than 60 votes in the U.S. Senate for an abortion ban or any kind of more permissive abortion structure. I just don't think the Senate, as closely divided as it is and will be after the election, is going to do that. So the odds of the next president signing anything are almost zero, and that goes for Kamala Harris too. She's promising to restore -- she can, you know. So now, the Trump position is actually a very defensible, moderate position. We're going to let the states make their laws.

And my position is basically what Ronald Reagan's was. I believe in the three exceptions. I'm pro-life. I think we should have reasonable restrictions. But at the end of the day, the states are going to make their judgments. And oh, by the way, I'm also a strong supporter of IVF. Very defensible, moderate position.

This debate about whether a president would sign a ban or not just strikes me as it's sort of a fantasy conversation because the odds of it happening are so infinitesimal.

SIDNER: Matt, what do you think about this response from J.D. Vance and the backlash that he is facing, a bit, from those who feel like they are too moderate while the rest of the country, obviously in polling, doesn't like the idea of a federal abortion ban?

BENNETT: Sara, I mean, it's clear that Trump is in a box here because his base really does want a ban. They want much more stringent controls on reproductive freedom whereas most Americans do not. And it is clear that Trump's and Vance's pollsters understand this problem and they know that this can be a real liability for them.

Trump has bragged many times about killing Roe versus Wade by appointing very conservative people to the Supreme Court. We have the receipts on that. There is no -- you can't escape that.

And Harris has made this a centerpiece of her campaign. You saw that at the convention certainly in her speech. I think you're going to hear a lot more about this because the things that women and girls are going through in the states that have banned abortion are horrific and they're only going to get worse. And this is going to be a huge issue.

SIDNER: Matt Bennett, Scott Jennings, thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate you getting up early after that long DNC Festivus -- Omar.

BENNETT: Thank you.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight, a massive Russian assault on Ukraine. More than 100 missiles and up to 100 drones targeting multiple cities across the country. President Zelenskyy is calling it one of the largest attacks yet. And, so far, we know at least four people have been killed in the strikes. And this comes as President Zelenskky says Ukrainian forces are making progress in Russia's Kursk region.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following all of this for us. So, Salma, what else are we learning about this particular attack overnight?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar. So ever since Ukraine pushed into Russian territory into Kursk a few weeks ago with that surprise assault, it had been bracing for Russian response and that appears to be what occurred this morning.

[07:40:05}

The Ukrainian Air Force saying that it received information that drones and missiles were coming at nearly every single region of Ukraine (audio gap) assault. Several people killed. So far, (audio gap) at least temporarily. That means some people are without energy in cities like Kyiv. People were told to shelter -- to stay in those bomb shelters for long periods until it was clear and safe.

And, of course, that damage that has sent rescue workers responding -- scrambling across various cities continues.

It is yet another reminder, Omar, to Ukrainians who are very far from those front lines of the (audio gap) war and that's exactly what Russia wanted to inflict with this. To make those who are very far from the battlefield continue to suffer during this conflict.

And speaking of those front lines, it was over the weekend that yet another shocking attack occurred -- this one in Kramatorsk. And it's been extremely concerning for journalists because a hotel, the Hotel Sapphire, was struck by Russian attacks. Several people were wounded, including a Reuters crew and one person was killed. A British national who was their security adviser to this Reuters crew killed in this attack.

It is, according to President Zelenskyy, a deliberate attack meant -- intended to make it evermore difficult and scary to cover that conflict.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much.

I want to talk more about all of this with CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton. Thanks for being here.

I want to take a look at Russia launching this missile and drone attack aimed at energy infrastructure really across Ukraine during the overnight hours. As we heard from Salma Abdelaziz, four people were killed in total.

As Ukraine's Air Force says, it detected missiles and drones targeting almost all regions from the front line eastern regions of Kharkiv in the east, even down to Odessa in the South. Kyiv to more of the central part of the country. So, obviously, a wide swath here.

So I just want to get your take. What is the strategy here, especially across such a wide array of targets at once?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning, Omar.

Yeah, the big strategy for the Russians is to inflict as much terror as possible on the civilian population. A lot of the targets involved with civilian infrastructure, especially the heating system and the power plants. So because all of that is fairly centralized in the Ukrainian cities, that makes for really ripe targets from a military perspective.

And so what the Russians are doing is they're trying to inflict basically hell on Earth for the civilian population. And then what they also want to do is cut off as much as they possibly can -- supply routes and the ability of the Ukrainian military to reinforce their soldiers and Marines in the different areas of Ukraine, especially in the east but also eventually in the Kursk region where they've, of course, invaded that part of Russian territory.

JIMENEZ: And you mentioned the Kursk region. Just -- we're going to zoom in, but just for our viewers, it's this small region up here in the northeast part of the country. But as you come in a little bit closer as well, you can see this is -- right now, I just zoomed in a little bit for our folks.

But as those broad strikes have been happening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has talked about how they've advanced up to three kilometers in Russia's Kursk region and have taken control of two more settlements.

What is the significance here, and what are your realistic expectations for that campaign?

LEIGHTON: So what the Ukrainians are doing Omar is they're basically taking as much land as they can. They're not going to be able to advance extremely far into Russia, at least not under normal circumstances. But what they are trying to do is they're trying to grab as much land as they can to swap potentially more of the land that Russia has taken in Ukraine.

They're also taking Russian prisoners, and they've already exchanged some prisoners with the Russians. So the Ukrainians are getting their prisoners back from Russia and the Russians are getting their prisoners back from Ukraine. And that is part of the -- of the effort that's Zelenskyy has in order to take the border to a part of Russia but also to tell the Russians that their border is not in (INAUDIBLE). They can actually go within and move fairly much at will in certain parts of the border region along Ukraine's border with Russia.

JIMENEZ: And I think for those watching from the outside in it changes a lot of the dynamics with most of this war being fought on Ukrainian soil to see this. It does seem like a significant moment.

I want to shift gears a little bit over to Israel because the Israeli military launched what they said were preemptive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon as the IDF says Hezbollah was preparing to fire missiles and rockets toward Israeli territory.

[07:45:00]

And later on, 200 rockets were launched by Lebanon -- launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah, which they said was the first phase of its strikes against Israel over -- and they are describing it as a complete success. So bottom line -- I mean, we've seen this back-and-forth between, again, Hezbollah in the Lebanon region and Israel for a long time now. But this one, in particular, in retaliation for the killing of that senior Hezbollah leader.

What are you looking for now? Have we avoided that wider regional escalation in your assessment, or I'm just wondering where your assessment is of the situation?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, Omar, I think we have avoided it for the next 24 to 48 hours. I'm not sure what will happen next because it really depends in part on what happens with the peace talks -- or the ceasefire talks, I should call them, in Cairo. Then that pertains to what happens with Hamas and Gaza.

But both Hezbollah and Iran still have reasons to go after Israel -- to attack Israel based on what happened. Now, when Hezbollah makes that statement that they're in phase one and that they completed it successfully, what that means is that successful completion in their view may give them an excuse for an off-ramp.

So it's possible that tensions can be reduced as a result of that assessment -- that public assessment that Hezbollah has made even though on the Israeli side, they're saying that there's been very little to actually no damage to their infrastructure because they were able to intercept most of the missiles and rockets that came in their direction.

JIMENEZ: And these -- and their retaliation dynamics that we're looking at on two fronts. Obviously, we're talking about Hezbollah and the killing of Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah military leader. But also, on the Iranian front, we're looking for potential retaliation over the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

And so that brings me to my question there is what are you looking to be the response there from the Iranians, and what is the United States' role in all of this?

LEIGHTON: So when it comes to the Iranian response, that one is critical. And you're right to point that out, Omar because Hezbollah and Iran, of course, work together in many respects. And what the Iranians are doing is they're basically waiting to see how effective Hezbollah's efforts work and then they may decide that they need to respond even further and to mount their own attack.

But mostly likely, they will work with proxies. It's easier for them to do that. However, because of Haniyeh's killing in Tehran, that means that they have to make some kind of response, and they may wait a bit before they do. So that could take a bit longer than the 48-hour timeframe for them to put something like that together. We may see something like what happened around April 13, but I suspect it will be a little bit different because they know that they weren't that successful in attacking Israel on that day.

JIMENEZ: And again, all this happening, as you mentioned, as intricate ceasefire talks are going on. Also, worries over potential wide escalation depending on how some of these retaliations carry out. A lot to keep an eye on.

Retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, appreciate the time.

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, serious public health concerns in Massachusetts over deadly mosquito-borne diseases. The extreme measures that are now being taken there.

And a stunning turn of events. How and when two astronauts who have been stranded onboard the International Space Station will finally get to return to Earth.

All of these stories and more ahead.

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[07:53:05]

JIMENEZ: Later today, the bipartisan congressional task force investigating the assassination attempt on Donald Trump will visit the Pennsylvania site where the shooting happened. Now, this comes after the Secret Service revealed last week it has put multiple employees on administrative leave as it investigates the security failures leading up to that shooting.

Joining me now is CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe. Thanks for being here.

Look, the task force is expected to meet with local officials and tour the rally site. It's the first major investigative step for this task force since its inception. But what should these lawmakers be looking for today when they're at this site? And does this have, really, any real impact on the investigation taking place?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, Omar, it's a really important step for the investigators themselves, particularly when they're investigating an incident that depends so crucially on factors like spatiality and proportion and understanding things like line of sight. The presence -- the placement of shooter's shooting position on the roof of that AGR building relative to the placement of the stage. And determining whether or not it would have been reasonable and advisable to extend the security perimeter out beyond that building.

So in order to make those sorts of judgments and recommendations there's really no substitute than going out to the location and seeing it with your -- seeing it for yourself with your own eyes and understanding how all of these different elements lay out in real space and time.

JIMENEZ: And I want to ask about another aspect of this day because obviously, as the investigations play out, we're learning more details. And CNN is reporting about some of the failures on that day, including how the day before the rally, local police officers left radios for the Secret Service to use but they were never picked up. Definitely some sort of miscommunication there.

[07:55:03]

How does something like that happen? Just -- can you bring us into the nature of what the communication should be between local law enforcement, state in some cases, but also federal with the Secret Service here?

MCCABE: Absolutely. So it's important to remember that everything -- all of the development in law enforcement with regards to response to a critical incident like this in the post-9/11 era has been really driving towards just a few themes. And one of them is coordination and communication.

Now, we recognized after so many really unfortunate and tragic aspects of 9/11 that the ability for first responders -- from law enforcement to fire, EMS -- to be able to communicate in the moment is absolutely essential.

So you see that here in the Butler incident. The fact that local police had obtained radios on their frequencies, which they knew that the Secret Service doesn't have the ability still, to this day, to monitor with their own equipment. So they got those radios and they set them aside and told the Secret Service counter snipers to pick these radios up, and that never happened.

So there was an opportunity to improve their communication and coordination and they didn't take it, which is a really very concerning and odd development. It's one that's going to be critical to the ultimate outcome of all of these investigative efforts to determine who could have done what to essentially perform better.

There's really no substitute for easy communication. Typically, most crisis response locations have a single incident command post where everybody is co-located. We now know that the communication here went from the locals through a State Police representative to the Secret Service. That is just too attenuated and clearly did not work here.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, and in a situation like this every second counts.

Andrew McCabe, really appreciate the time. Thanks for being here -- Sara.

SIDNER: On our radar, Friday Night Lights dimmed in Selma, Alabama after tragedy struck there. A high school quarterback died from a brain injury he sustained during the first game of the season. Sixteen-year-old Caden Tellier went to the hospital in critical condition. His death was announced the next morning.

His family saying, "Lives have been touched by the way he lived and now lives will be saved through his passing."

A service for Caden will be scheduled very soon.

The CEO and founder of the messaging app Telegram has been arrested in France. The warrant for Pavel Durov was said to be related to the limited oversight on the app that has allegedly led to crimes like money laundering and drug trafficking. Telegram says Durov has nothing to hide and he should not be blamed for people misusing the platform.

The app has about 900 million users and it includes people in Ukraine who have been using it to share news about the war.

And stuck in space. They were supposed to be there for eight days and now two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station won't be heading home until next year. In a stunning turn, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will head back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in February.

The trip started in June and it was supposed to last just eight days, as we mentioned, but there are issues with the Starliner capsule made by Boeing that brought them to space.

And right now, Dr. Anthony Fauci is recovering after being hospitalized with a case of West Nile virus. He's expected to make a full recovery, but his infection highlights the growing concern about mosquito-borne illnesses.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard is joining us now. West Nile is pretty common but, wow, hospitalized and it seems to be out there in a very big way.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Exactly, Sara. You know, around this time of year, in August and September, is when we see the highest levels of this kind of viral activity. And when it comes to West Nile virus itself, it is the most common mosquito-borne disease here in the United States. Each year, an estimated few thousand cases are reported. So far this year, there have been a total of 216 cases across 33 states, as you see on the map there. This is as of August 20.

But the disease itself -- the symptoms it causes include fever, body aches, and there's no specific treatment. There is no vaccine. But when symptoms develop, like in Dr. Fauci's case, they can be alleviated with rest and fluids, and pain medication, Sara.

SIDNER: So another mosquito-borne illness has caused some issues in Massachusetts. Tell me what's going on there.

HOWARD: That's right. Eastern Equine Encephalitis or also known as EEE -- they are seeing a heightened risk of this, especially in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Sara. So much so that they've close their municipal parks at night due to this illness.

Now, it's not as common as West Nile virus. An estimated 11 human cases are reported each year in the U.S. And it doesn't always cause symptoms, but when symptoms do develop they include fever, headache, body aches, but also neurological disease.