Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Rosario Marin is Interviewed about Supporting Harris; Israeli Hostage Rescued from Tunnel; Latino Group Calls or Investigation on Texas AG; SpaceX's Plans First Civilian Spacewalk. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 27, 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]

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Around the world plummeted because of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, in that months, April of 2020, the Border Patrol had about 16,000 encounters with migrants in between ports of entry at the southern border.

And then after April 2020, with Trump still in office, the number of encounters rose each and every month, so for more than eight months, going up to more than 75,000 encounters, when he actually left office in January of 2021.

Now, it is true that the number of encounters continue to increase when President Biden and Vice President Harris took over, but what this arrow falsely claims and what the former president himself is falsely claiming is that the low point occurred when he left and then it suddenly began increasing. When, in fact, Biden and Harris took over when the number was actually on an upward trend for about three- quarters of a year before they were sworn in.

So, a classic example of how you can lie, how you can deceive using so-called statistics.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And no one know, right, because there's a lot going on. But I just want to point out, because there's a lot of arrows here -

DALE: Yes.

SIDNER: This is the arrow where he says Trump leaves office.

DALE: That's the -

SIDNER: And this is where the big fact check needed to happen.

DALE: That's right. That's the bad arrow.

SIDNER: Daniel Dale, we always love having you. Thank you so much.

DALE: OK.

SIDNER: John. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You approached the wall.

SIDNER: I touched the wall. And now I'm in deep trouble.

BERMAN: You went all the way up to the wall. You almost touched it. You almost touched it.

SIDNER: I might have touched to, John, but don't tell anyone. The bosses are watching.

BERMAN: Who knows what will happen. It's like crossing streams in "Ghostbusters." Who knows what happens if you touch it.

All right, this morning, more than 200 Republicans who previously worked for former Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or former Senators John McCain and Mitt Romney, they signed a letter backing Vice President Harris for president. The list includes former chiefs of staff, press secretaries, campaign managers, interns. There are some interns on the list as well.

With me now is Rosario Marin, former U.S. treasurer under George W. Bush. We saw your name on the dollar bill. Mice to see you in person this morning.

Now, your name is not on this list, but you are supporting Vice President Harris. Why?

ROSARIO MARIN, FORMER U.S. TREASURER: Yes. So, back on July 31st, I put out a statement saying that I support Vice President Kamala Harris because we have seen what 40 out of 44 cabinet members of Donald Trump have warned us. We have seen what they have said.

I don't know him. I have never been in the room with him. But I have been with President Bush, with Senator McCain, with Mitt Romney. These are honorable men. Donald Trump is not. And we -- and I have seen, and I have heard people who have worked with him saying he's going to be a danger. If he was a danger before, he's even more dangerous now. And the fact that he has said that he would be a dictator from day one, that should scare all of us.

So, back on July 31st, I said, I am voting for Kamala Harris. I am really tired of all the things that they have said against her. And she's a very accomplished woman. Of course, I'm from California, so I'm a little bit biased. But I understand that we can no longer have another four years of chaos, four years of, we don't know what he's going to do or - we don't know what he's going to say every day.

I'm exhausted. Every day, when he was in office, I was just exhausted. We don't need four more years of that.

BERMAN: You know, I'm curious, you said July 31st, when she was a candidate. Would - had you not supported publicly President Biden until then?

MARIN: No, I had supported. It's like, I am going to support anybody that is running against Donald Trump. BERMAN: Got it.

MARIN: So, I was supporting him. And then - and then when it - it was clear that it was going to be her, or that it was her, rather, than I immediately supported her.

BERMAN: You mentioned the former cabinet officials, White House staff and others, people who have worked for Donald Trump who are either now supporting Harris vocally or not endorsing Trump. They're all different variations here.

We've had conversations about this and some Trump supporters will say, oh, these are people who just couldn't get on board with all the changes that Trump wanted to make. This doesn't speak to his leadership style or what he's like behind closed doors. What do you say to that?

MARIN: It speaks precisely to his leadership styles. See, a leader brings people together, creates consensus. A dictator say it's either my way or the highway. And isn't it interesting how the people that know him the best would not support him? That, to me, speaks volumes.

[09:35:00]

Most of us - I mean I saw many of the people who I worked with, who I have this tremendous desire to keep our democracy strong and growing.

All of those people, those 200 people, yes, they're all levels. You know, I know he mentioned something. These are nobodies. Like, are you kidding me? These are people that worked so hard for whether it was in the administrations with the both President Bushs, or with Senator McCain or with Senator Romney or their campaigns. These are people that really, truly care, not just about our party, but more importantly about our democracy, about America, about the United States. And so if all of these people in every day, John, every day we have more people counting on more Republicans.

And I know it's not easy. I know it's not easy for Republicans, you know, stalwart Republicans, people that have been on the trenches. I know it's not easy. But the reality is, if he gets back into the White House, God knows what's going to happen to our great nation.

So, I would - I would hope that more and more - and we have seen - we have seen - we started with some (ph). We had - we had a call with 72,000 we hope mostly Republicans joining the call and they're all saying, we need - we need to come together. We need to save America from Donald Trump again.

BERMAN: Former Treasurer Rosario Marin, thank you so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, homes are raided across Texas as part of a voter fraud investigation, according to the state AG, but the targets say it's really part of an intimidation campaign. Now, they're asking the U.S. Department of Justice to step in.

And the IDF is revealing new details in the rescue of a hostage held by Hamas since October of last year. That hostage is out in the hospital and in stable condition. We have a live report on the breaking developments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:35]

SIDNER: We are following breaking news for you this morning. Israeli military is now giving more details about the rescue of a hostage held in Gaza this morning.

Let's get right to CNN's Jim Sciutto. We know that there was this release. We know you told us last hour that he is in stable condition. What can you - what more can you tell us? What are you learning?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sara, some new details just in the last several minutes. These coming from the IDF. The spokesman, Daniel Hagari, saying that the hostage, al- Qaid, was rescued from a tunnel based on what the IDF describes as an exact piece of intelligence.

We also know that among the special forces units involved in what the IDF is calling a rescue operation was an elite combat engineering unit which has been tasked with operations just like this one, going after this network of tunnels under Gaza, primarily, of course, to go after Hamas fighters, but also involved in, and you would expect them to be involved, in a rescue operation such as this one. If those details turn out to be accurate, then this would be the first hostage rescued from those tunnels. And that's significant because that is extreme dangerous territory to operate in Gaza. It is proven so for Israeli forces going back to October 7th, as they've attempted to go after Hamas, but rescue hostages alive.

We've seen images, and I believe you've shared some on the air so far, but images of his family. Kaid Farhan al-Qadi's family meeting with him in the hospital. He was immediately taken by helicopter to a hospital in Beersheba, in southern Israel, where they are saying he is in stable condition, though they continue to carry out medical tests.

I just want to also add, Sara, if I can, and highlight the statement from the hostages forum following this rescue. This is, of course, the forum representing the families of the many hostages that still remain in Gaza. The number now stands at 108. They said the following. They said, Qadi's return home is nothing short of miraculous. But the statement went on to say that military operations alone cannot free the 108 remaining hostages. A negotiated deal is the only way forward.

And that speaks to the larger pressure felt here in this country. Not - and not just by the hostage families, because, of course, there are members of the Israeli public pushing for this as well, that those families of remaining hostages do not believe that military operations alone will bring their loved ones home. They believe there needs to be a deal, a ceasefire and hostage negotiation deal that will get a large number of hostages, or perhaps all the hostages home, and home quickly, because they fear that the longer we wait, the longer the Israeli government waits, the less likely it is that they're going to see their family members alive.

Israeli officials have already they acknowledged that many of those hundred eight are not still alive. And we got a reminder of that just in the last week when another Israeli operation brought back the bodies of six hostages held - held in Gaza. Of course, they will not be having tearful reunions like the ones we're seeing now with al- Qadi's family. You have to go back to June to the last time that hostages were rescued alive from Gaza.

SIDNER: Kaid Farhan al-Qadi, his family, lucky to have him back. And I just want to mention the video that I think that this is his family running out towards the helicopter where they are bringing him into the hospital.

[09:45:05]

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDNER: And it's quite touching to see just how quickly everyone is just trying to get to him as fast as possible. And as you reported last hour, he's in stable condition, so he's doing OK and his family is surrounding him now at the hospital.

Jim Sciutto, thank you so much for those new details. Really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, in Texas this morning, a Latino civil rights group is calling for a federal investigation into this state attorney general, Ken Paxton, after a series of raids on the homes of Latino voting activists happened in three counties. Some of those targeted are in their 70s and 80s. The president of the League of United Latin American Citizens calls it point blank voter intimidation.

Let's get right to CNN's Ed Lavandera in Dallas to explain what's going on here.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, all of this stems from what appears to be at least six different raids that occurred last week targeting various volunteers and campaign activists in three different counties around the San Antonio area. One of those included a state Democratic candidate that is running for the House of Representatives there in south Texas, as well as other volunteers who say they were simply trying to get people registered to vote and ready for the upcoming election. Ken Paxton says this investigation has to do with voter harvesting and organized electoral fraud. And that is what this investigation goes.

We've reached out to Ken Paxton. He has not responded to any of our requests for an interview regarding this investigation. But LULAC officials, as you mentioned, John, have reached out to the Department of Justice, calling for a civil rights investigation. LULAC essentially saying that this is a serious violation of the civil rights of Latino citizens. That this is a direct attempt to suppress Latino vote through intimidation and harassment.

LULAC officials say that all of the allegations that Paxton is investigating in this situation are simply not true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMAN PALOMARE, PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS: Attorney General Paxton is using his position of authority to harass and intimidate Latino non-profit organizations, Latino leaders, and LULAC members.

This is point blank voter intimidation. And LULAC will fight for the right of every Latino to exercise their right to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And, John, one of the raids occurred at the home of an 87- year-old campaign activists, Lidia Martinez, who told us that she was simply trying to help people register to vote. She says she was forced to stand, interrogated for three hours by the officers that raided her home and forced to stand on her front porch while the officers were inside of her home.

We should also point out that Ken Paxton has a checkered history when it comes to these electoral integrity investigations that he has spearheaded over the last several years. You know, not many of these cases have really come to fruition. And electoral experts here in Texas say voter fraud continues to be an extremely rare occurrence.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Ed Lavandera for us in Dallas. Ed, nice to see you this morning. Thanks so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, starting at the vacuum of space. Oh, that would be starring. Really? This is what I have to deal with. I make one little mistake and John Berman cracks up. All right, there he is making front of me. Great. Let's just do this. He would never go into space with me. He told me that. Details on a delayed but daring space mission that will debut the first ever civilian spacewalk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:19]

SIDNER: So, new this morning, SpaceX has delayed the launch of a new mission that's supposed to be historic on a variety of levels.

With us now is CNN's Kristin Fisher. So, Kristin, why the delay? Why is this mission so different than the

ones we've seen before?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I think this might be one of the most exciting, daring, and risky human space flight missions that I've covered in quite some time. I mean, first and foremost, what we're going to see is the world's first commercial spacewalk. And you know it's one thing to go into space. It's another thing to do a spacewalk. Very risky.

And these are not NASA astronauts. These are not government astronauts. This will be the first time that private citizens have ever ventured into the vacuum of space. And they're going to be using a brand new space suit. Never been tested in space before. Really difficult to make spacesuits. NASA has been using the same ones for about 40 years. So, that's one big piece of what makes this mission so fascinating.

And then the other piece is that they're going to be flying farther into space than any humans since the end of the Apollo program back in the 1970s. And they're going to be passing through this region of space called the radiation belt. It's piece of space that - it's where highly charged particles congregate. A dangerous part of space for humans and spaceships. So, that's another really risky component of this mission.

And then, John, as for what happened last night, it wasn't an issue with the rocket or the spacecraft itself. It was a problem with something on the ground side of things where the helium on the ground flows into the rocket during fueling. So, they think they've fixed it. Hopefully, they'll be all set for a launch very early this morning.

John.

[09:55:02]

BERMAN: All right, you've got about 30 seconds to explain to us how they're going to stay safe going through the radiation belt. I've got a whale (ph) belt, but I think this is very different than that.

SIDNER: I've got a tool belt but not a radiation belt.

BERMAN: There you go.

FISHER: Yes. So, it's - you know, it's dangerous to humans, but also dangerous to the spacecraft. And so to make sure that this Dragon spacecraft could withstand that radiation, SpaceX strapped some of the avionics on a gurney and sent it to an oncology lab, a cancer lab, where they just pelted it with radiation to the point that it broke. Even the crew was surprised that they did it, but that's kind of the out of the box thinking that SpaceX is known for and that they tried to do this time to make sure that these astronauts are safe going through the radiation belt.

SIDNER: I wouldn't mind one of those nifty space suits. They're kind of - I would wear that to work. Would you? BERMAN: First ever - would you want to be the first one to ever use

it?

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: They have to use like very special sewing machines to make these special space suits.

Kristin Fisher, thank you very much for being with us. Appreciate it.

FISHER: Thanks.

SIDNER: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL with John Berman and Sara Sidner. "CNN NEWSROOM," up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)