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Polling Shows Harris and Trump in Tight Race in Key Sun Belt States; Russia Launches Another Round of Massive Strikes on Kyiv; Today, Idaho Court to Consider Change of Venue for Kohberger Murder Trial. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Standing by for the first television interview for Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee, it is right here on CNN. This is a string of new polls from key states shows how the race has changed.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Will suspected killer Bryan Kohberger get his trial move. The new claim that people in the Idaho college town could burn the courthouse down if it stays there.

Plus, a new urgent warning to check your fridge. A batch of recalled deli meats now tied to the deadliest listeria outbreak in more than a decade.

I'm Rahel Solomon with John Berman. Kate and Sara are out today. CNN New Central starts right now.

BERMAN: A huge day for the Harris campaign that is showing new signs of momentum. Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, they sit down for their first interview of the campaign with CNN's Dana Bash. That airs tonight at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. Do not miss that.

Meanwhile, the candidates are waking up to new polls that show they have gained ground on Donald Trump in Sun Belt states. President Biden had been trailing in all of these states. Harris is up one point in Arizona, two in Nevada and Georgia, Trump up a point in North Carolina. This is all within the margin of error. No clear leader here. But it is a completely different race than it was a few months ago. You can get a sense of the different shape of the campaign.

Harris now leads in most of these states on who is trusted to bring change. The sitting vice president is seen as the change candidate. She continues her tour through Southern Georgia today.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez in lovely Savannah. What's on tap today, Priscilla?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, John, as you mentioned, the campaign is feeling pretty good about where they could try to close margins with Republicans, but they also note that these polls show that it is still within the margin of error and that there is no clear leader. But it is the reason why they are employing aggressive strategies in the state of Georgia, a crucial battleground state. And what has been notable about this visit is where they have been going, hitting South Georgia, those rural, counties that typically lean Republican.

Now, I have spoken to senior campaign officials about this strategy, and essentially, what they're trying to do here is shave off votes from Republicans, essentially lose by less. And by doing that, assuming they still win big in Metro Atlanta, they can try to carve out that pathway to victory in Georgia, a state that President Biden only won by less than 12,000 votes.

So, this is really a place where every vote is going to count. And that is what they have been focused on over the course of this bus tour. Of course, the vice president kicking it off with Governor Walz yesterday, hitting a high school where the vice president had an inspirational message for the students there. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was in a band when I was your age. So, I know a little bit about -- coach knows about the players, right? And all that you all are doing, it requires a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice.

But all that practice makes for beautiful music. And that is a metaphor. That is symbolic for everything that you all do in your lives.are doing.

(CROSSTALKS)

HARRIS: You never want to take yourself out of the game, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, after that, the two went to a restaurant yesterday where they spoke with voters and what Democratic strategists were looking out for was the Walz factor. How does he play in this area? He has a rural upbringing, he has roots in football and the military. And how will he resonate with voters?

Now, today, the vice president will be going to two restaurants and she'll also be at the arena behind me for a rally.

[07:05:05]

Walz, for his part, is going to be hitting North Carolina, yet another state that the campaign is trying to bullish on. John?

BERMAN: Priscilla, talk about the stakes for this interview, the first for Vice President Harris, since she has become the Democratic nominee.

ALVAREZ: Up until this point, observers, strategists, allies have noted that over the last month, it has been a quite scripted campaign. Of course, it wasn't expected after President Biden stepped aside and the vice president became the lead of the party's ticket. And every step has been quite choreographed, even as the vice president has spoken to reporters on the sidelines of her events.

So, today offers a window, an opportunity for the two to talk candidly, to talk about the issues. And we know the issues that are top of mind for voters, immigration, the economy, Israel-Hamas war, healthcare, abortion. Two of those issues, Trump tends to have the lead in polls, especially on immigration and the economy.

So, the challenge for the campaign is how do they provide policy distinctions from former President Donald Trump, and where, if any, are there distinctions with President Biden? So, all of that yet to be answered, but an opportunity with that interview with our Dana Bash.

BERMAN: It is an opportunity for the entire country to see. Priscilla Alvarez in Savannah, thanks so much for being with us. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, John. And for the first time this week, Donald Trump hits the campaign trail making two stops in the Midwest. Now, he's supposed to talk a lot about the economy today, but if last night's late night rant is any indication, his legal grievances may still be top of mind.

CNN's Daniel Strauss following the Trump campaign. Daniel, while we were sleeping, Trump was still posting. What did he say? And what's on tap today?

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN REPORTER: Yes, look, the former president in multiple Truth Social posts last night did not focus on the economy. He did focus on Jack Smith and various new indictments.

And the importance here -- and also Nancy Pelosi. And the importance here is that this underscores the anxiety that Trump allies and Trump strategists feel about how closely the former president can stay on message. They feel that in this very, very tight presidential race, he needs to focus on policy, shed the personal attacks, and really dig into the areas where polling shows that Democrats are vulnerable. But he hasn't been able to do that. And going forward, it causes real concern among rank and file Republican leaders.

SOLOMON: And, Daniel, talk to us a little bit about Trump himself will not be in Georgia, but Brian Camp, the governor will be. He's going to be fundraising for Trump. This is something that some would say that you would have expected to see just even a few days ago, but here we are. Talk to us a little bit about that. What more can you share there?

STRAUSS: Yes. Look, this is really important, because Governor Kemp, a popular Republican governor, has been at loggerheads with former President Trump for a while now, going back to Trump in the final days of the 2020 presidential election. And there has been an ongoing question about whether the former president would have Kemp's support at any single moment in time.

Now, very recently, Trump and his team, including Senator J.D. Vance, have been making efforts to try and cool down tensions between the two. And the fact that he's going to this event really shows that.

I think we have audio here of Vance talking about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I certainly gave him a phone call. I think 150 other people have given Brian Kemp a phone call and talked about the need to have a unified Republican team.

The media wants to tell a story that somehow I have been the peace broker between Brian Kemp and Donald Trump. It's just not true. I reached out to Brian Kemp. I encouraged him to support the president, and he didn't take much persuasion. He wanted to support the president because he thinks Kamala Harris is going to be a disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STRAUSS: Yes. And, look, in that comment is a very important point, which is that Kemp's motivation here may not necessarily be a newfound love for Donald Trump, but a real sense that a Kamala Harris administration would be worse.

SOLOMON: Yes, really fascinating point. It just all goes to show both campaigns continue to keep an eye on the all important state of Georgia.

Daniel Strauss, thank you, live for us there in Washington.

STRAUSS: Thanks, Rahel.

SOLOMON: And breaking overnight, Russia launches a new wave of drone attacks on Ukraine's capital as President Zelenskyy prepares to ask the Biden administration for something that he hopes could change the course of the war.

And they would, quote, burn the courthouse down. Bryan Kohberger's defense team says that a, quote, mob mentality in Moscow, Idaho, is why the trial should be moved.

Plus cashing out, President Trump will soon be able to tap into his Truth Social fortune, but it won't be easy. We'll be right back

[07:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, Russia launched a new wave of drone attacks at Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is looking for permission from the Biden administration to attack more locations inside Russia.

CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nic Payton Walsh is with us this morning. This new wave of drone attacks this morning follows this huge uptick in activity from Russia. Why, Nick? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's been a horrific week for Ukrainians on the receiving end of this latest Russian onslaught.

[07:15:02]

Over 400 missiles and drones launched since Friday. Just last night, 79 launched. There were five missiles, two of which were taken down and 60 of the 74 drones launched taken down as well. So, a relative success for Ukrainian air defenses, but still casualties on the receiving end.

We don't always get full transparencies, the damage done to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which is really the target here, as always the Kremlin trying to make the forthcoming winter and the heat of the summer as punitive as possible for ordinary Ukrainians.

I think many are interpreting this significant wave of strikes as being Russia's bid to try and hit back after the humiliation they've seen inside the Kursk region. Remember, Ukraine three weeks ago launching an incursion into Russia, the first since the Nazis and taking and still holding quite a large part of the border areas here. We're also seeing, too, a significant uptick in Ukrainian strikes using, it seems, their drones and their domestically produced missiles deeper inside Russia itself, hitting airfields, hitting oil depots, hitting ammunition sites as well.

Remarkable, frankly, to see the billowing smoke now often posted on social media from some of these Russian towns where the war, frankly, has been a distant thing. For the last two years plus, all part of a broader push, it seems, by Ukraine to bring the war to Russia's front door after years of having it imposed on them themselves.

And I think part two, John. the rapid paced bid by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cause an uptick in Ukrainian activity to increase the pressure on Moscow here, I think, ahead of these U.S. elections, where many I think are concerned we might see a change in American policy if Donald Trump wins or even just a reduction of NATO's until this point pretty solid cohesion in backing Ukraine. The clock is certainly ticking as to how long that can sustain, John.

BERMAN: Nick, President Zelenskyy, what does he want now? What's his current ask from the United States?

WALSH: Yes. He's been a bit opaque about this four-point plan he's going to present to President Biden and clearly with his mind on the election, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as well. One of those points is the invasion into Kursk. Well, that seems to be going reasonably well. Ukraine has taken casualties, but it's pushing into another region, Belgorod, reports suggest now, in which, Russians are being evacuated from the Borzya region, too. So, that's not slowing down. And be it no mistake, it's very embarrassing for Vladimir Putin.

The other three points seem to involve the economy, seem to involve a desire to use U.S. supplied weapons to strike deeper inside the United States. Whether he gets that or not, the aim here is to pressure all presidential candidates and the Biden administration to try and make being a Russia hawk part of the campaign here. And I think he sees that he needs to see some sort of progress before winter in case negotiation and diplomacy become a key part of this conflict. John?

BERMAN: Every day counts there. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

So, they would, quote, find him and kill him if he is not convicted. The message from the potential jury pool and the trial of the man accused of murdering four Idaho college students.

And this morning, a warning sign for the Trump campaign as brand new polls show Vice President Harris surging in key battleground states.

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[07:20:00]

SOLOMON: This morning, a crucial hearing in the Bryan Kohberger murder case. Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho college students while they slept in their home. And his attorneys are now requesting a change of venue, saying that the potential jury pool in Moscow, Idaho, told them that if Kohberger was not convicted, quote, they would burn the courthouse down, end quote, they would probably find him and kill him.

Let's bring in CNN's Jean Casarez here with the details. Jean, what else did the defense saying on this?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the defense and prosecution have both had filings, but today is the formal hearing. It's a very important hearing, because the defense is saying Moscow is a very small -- it's a college town. Everybody knows everybody. The emotions, the trauma, it's still with this community, and they're going to be biased. Bryan Kohberger cannot get a fair and impartial trial in Moscow, and this trial needs to be in the state capital of Boise, its most larger courthouse, witnesses can fly in and out of very easily.

But the prosecution is saying, no, this is Moscow's case. This is this community's case. They lived this. They deserve to have the trial here. So, the defense was able to have an expert do a survey of 400 residents of Latah County, which is Moscow. They found that, first of all, 28 percent of the entire population of Idaho is in Moscow, but 36 percent of all the publicity of this case was in Moscow. And they also found that 70 percent of the people they polled believe he's guilty in Moscow. And 50 percent they're firm, they're not going to change their opinion at all.

But they went farther to get some quotes from residents that they polled. And listen to this. People in Moscow residents, according to the defense survey, said they would burn this courthouse down. Outrage would be a mild description. They would probably find and kill him if he wasn't convicted. There would likely be a riot, and he wouldn't last long outside because somebody would do the good old boy justice. And these quotes right here are very stark, and they are stunning, because this is vigilante justice, right? So, this is just what some people said. It just shows, I think, the defense is trying to portray the emotions in all of this.

[07:25:02]

So, it's going to be formal hearing. Defense will have witnesses. The prosecution is saying, judge, let's just try to get a jury in Moscow, because we've got thousands of people that we can bring into the courthouse for potential jury pool. We can get a fair and impartial jury here. It may take some time, but we can do it. And the trial is set for three months next year, starting in June, and it's a death -- yes, next year, death penalty trial, which takes this to another level.

SOLOMON: Yes. Okay. Jean Cazares, thank you. Clearly a lot at stake here. Passion is really high for the family and the community that had to endure this, Jean Cazares.

Well, CNN exclusive, Vice President Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are set to sit down with our own Dana Bass today as new polls show a very tight race in key battleground states.

And a stark warning from the CDC after more deaths have been linked to a listeria outbreak from Boar's Head deli meat.

We'll be right back.

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