Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Jason Carter is Interviewed about Georgia Politics; Supreme Court Keeps Block on Student Loan Relief; Dr. Megan Ranney is Interviewed about the Surgeon General's Warning; Fake MAGA Profiles. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 29, 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]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Rotting water pipes. How some vacations are getting cut short at the Grand Canyon.

And still ahead, why a ruling from the Supreme Court is putting President Biden's student loan relief plan in limbo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:15]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are counting down to the first interview with Vice President Kamala Harris with Dana Bash in just a few hours. The vice president and Governor Tim Walz, they are in Georgia right now on a bus tour. That's a state that Joe Biden won by less than 12,000 votes last time. And the Harris-Walz team is focused on the southeastern part of the state, right here specifically. They were in Liberty County yesterday at a high school. That is a county that Joe Biden won you can see by 6,000 votes in 2016. Hillary Clinton, only won it by 3,000 votes. So clearly that is something they want to extend. They're also in Chatham County. That is where Savannah is. That is a county that Joe Biden won by 25,000 votes. Hillary Clinton, for her part, only won it by about 17,000.

So again, you can see where they would want to expand the lead from last time.

With us now to talk about Georgia, someone who certainly knows it, Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

Jason, thank you so much for being with us. I know you can't see the map, you have no return video, which means you can't see my beautiful face or the map here, but talk to us about the importance of southeastern Georgia here. There's a lot of red down there.

JASON CARTER, GRANDSON OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER: Sure, I mean, and I know that map and I don't miss your face, honestly, I'm just teasing. We have a -- you know, Georgia is a swing state. We elected a Republican governor last time and a Democratic senator.

And so we have, you know, a lot of folks out there that are willing to take a look at candidates and make decisions. And I think you see Kamala Harris down in this red part of the state where nobody's been for 30 years as a Democratic presidential candidate telling people that she's going to be the president for everyone. And I think that message helps down in South Georgia and I think it helps across the rest of the country.

It's exactly what people are ready to hear is that we're not running against anybody's supporters. We're running to unify this country. And I think it's an exciting moment.

BERMAN: So the popular Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, seems ever more slightly on board with Donald Trump now. Maybe some of those broken fences have been mended. What kind of a difference will that make?

CARTER: You know, it's interesting. I mean, I think you have Brian Kemp doing sort of his duty as a Republican in this state. I think when Donald Trump attacked his wife, everybody was shocked.

Marty Kemp is a wonderful person. She's done a lot of good for this state in a host of different contexts. And Donald Trump came out last time he was here and attacked her. I think people were surprised by that. And I think that, you know, whether they're publicly mending fences or not, I think you've got a lot of Republicans and a lot of my Republican friends who are still super uncomfortable with what that says about the candidate they've got for president.

BERMAN: Let's look quickly at Sumter County, if we can, which, of course, is where Plains, Georgia is, famously the hometown of your grandfather, Jimmy Carter. You can see President Biden won in Sumter County by a thousand votes or so, a little less than a thousand last time, obviously something Kamala Harris would like to win this time. But let's talk about your grandfather. How's he doing?

CARTER: You know, he's doing OK. I think, obviously, he's been in hospice for 18 months. And so his body is very, very diminished. Folks who saw him at my grandmother's funeral back in November were maybe surprised by how physically diminished he is. But lately, he's really been engaged more with, you know, the news and with our family. And so he's doing pretty well.

And the key to this whole moment for him is he knows that he's not in charge. And this part of his faith journey, I think, is really continuing to sustain him as it has for his whole life.

BERMAN: And he wants to vote for Kamala Harris this fall, correct?

CARTER: Oh, sure. I mean, you know, we have been talking about his 100th birthday, what's coming up. We have a celebration planned. And as we've been discussing this, you know, he really has said multiple times now that he's excited for that. But he's most excited to cast that ballot for Kamala Harris. And in part, I think he really wants, like a lot of other people, to turn the page on this Trump era that has been sort of marked by darkness and meanness and a lot of things that are very different than the way my grandfather sees the world.

BERMAN: You said you're planning a celebration to celebrate your grandfather's 100th birthday. I understand it's a concert in Atlanta. And I'll just put Fulton County up so people can see it in Atlanta.

You know, there's that documentary, the great CNN documentary, Rock and Roll President. I mean, your grandfather had the best music when he ran for president first time in 1976. So what's this concert going to be like?

CARTER: I mean, it's going to be like that. You know, he loved music. He thought it was one of those things that impacted him as a person. I mean, he would -- he would tell you that Bob Dylan taught him as much about the world as anyone else. He loved the Allman Brothers. He loved, you know, Georgia music and believed it was a way to bring people together.

[08:40:01]

So this concert on September 17th, for which there's tickets and for which you're invited, they have -- are going to have a huge number of people, a very diverse group. And it's just going to be a celebration of -- of all different kinds of music. And it's going to be a celebration of my grandfather's love for that and for bringing people together. So we're really excited about it.

BERMAN: Invited despite my face. Jason Carter. Great to see you this morning. Thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

CARTER: Thanks guys.

BERMAN: Rahel.

SOLOMON: So, there is something to be said about Georgia music and Atlanta music in particular.

BERMAN: Yes, pretty good.

SOLOMON: Class of its own.

BERMAN: Pretty good.

SOLOMON: All right, President Biden's plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt is still on hold this morning after the Supreme Court opted not to lift a block on it.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is traveling with the president. She is in Delaware.

So, Arlette, how is the White House responding to this?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, the White House says they will aggressively defend President Biden's student loan repayment plan, even as the Supreme Court said it would remain on hold for now. This really marks the latest chapter in the ongoing legal challenges against President Biden's efforts to offer some student debt relief. You'll remember that the Supreme Court had struck down President Biden's sweeping plan that would have offered about $400 billion in student debt relief in 2023. After that plan was struck down, the administration had put this SAVE plan in place. This student loan repayment plan basically structures the payments based on individual's incomes and their household sizes.

Now, this plan has been on hold since earlier in the summer after a lower court had blocked it following a challenge led by - by Republican-led states. The Biden administration then went to the Supreme Court asking them to put this program back into play. The Supreme Court says that they will not step in, but they do expect the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is weighing this challenge, to act swiftly on this case.

Now, as they've been preparing for these legal challenges, the Department of Education had actually put those who are currently enrolled in that program, about 8 million borrowers, into an interest- free forbearance. So they're not going to make payments on their monthly loans during this time as these legal challenges play out.

But this is all part of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' efforts to try to alleviate some of the financial burdens that Americans are facing relating to their students debts. Biden's team had long viewed this as a key issue, not just for young voters, but also for family - young families trying - who are struggling to make some of these payments. They believe that this would be a key issue in the campaign.

Vice President Harris herself actually, just last night, weighed in on this, saying that she and the president will continue to try to defend this type of program going forward. So, for the time being, they're still waiting for all of this to play out - play out the course in the courts as they are hoping that ultimately this program, it would be put back in place and offer some relief to those facing those high student loans.

SOLOMON: Yes. And as you pointed out, for at least the moment, everything is sort of on forbearance where those students or those borrowers who were enrolled in this sort of plan. So, everything is sort of on hold.

Arlette Saenz, live for us there in Delaware.

Arlette, thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, nine people are now dead due to the largest listeria outbreak since 2011. The CDC is urging everyone to check their refrigerator for Boar's Head ready to eat liverwurst, as well as other deli meat products. Some of the recalled products have sell-by dates into October of this year. Symptoms of listeria include a stiff neck, fever, fatigue.

Visitors heading to the Grand Canyon this weekend may want to pack extra water after the park's main pipeline broke down. Officials say the waterline failed after a series of breaks, forcing a sudden shutdown of overnight hotel stays. Park officials say water restrictions well run throughout Labor Day, when hotels are near or at capacity.

In just minutes, Blue Origin will launch a new tourism spaceflight from west Texas. This is the eighth manned commercial spaceflight for the company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos. It is unclear how much each of the five ticketed customers paid, but a ticket for the company's first flight auctioned off at $28 million. So, it's probably not cheap.

And the travel window for Labor Day weekend opens today. There is some good news and bad news for travelers. The bad news, longer lines at the airport. The TSA expecting its busiest Labor Day travel period on record. The good news, some lower prices. AAA says overall it is seeing a 2 percent dip in the cost of traveling domestically over the holiday weekend compared with last year.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: Apparently airline fares have fallen as well. So, perhaps some good news for folks traveling.

Well, coming up, parents are stressed out and that stress is now being directly linked to the well-being of children. Why the surgeon general says that a change is needed now, and what it means for you and your family.

Images of models and influencers are being used to urge Americans to vote for Donald Trump in November.

[08:45:05]

There's just one problem. They're all fake.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

If you are a parent who feels stressed out and burnt out, you are not alone. So much so that the surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy is now sounding the alarm on this quickly growing mental health crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Forty-eight percent, nearly half of parents, are saying on most days they're completely overwhelmed by their stress.

[08:49:59]

This intensified culture of comparison that we're all living in, that's really potentiated and fed by social media and the online environment, where parents are looking around them and comparing themselves to sometimes hundreds of other parents, some of whom they know, some of whom they don't know, but they often come away feeling worse about themselves and like they're falling short as parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Joining us now is emergency physician and dean at the Yale School of Public Health, Dr. Megan Ranney.

Doctor, good to see you.

So, you know, really upsetting to here the surgeon general there. I'm sure a lot of people can relate. What can parents do?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN AND DEAN, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: You know, as a parent myself, honestly, I cheered this. I think it reflects the experience of so many parents across the country.

To me, this advisory serves as a reminder to all of us as parents, to put our own oxygen mask on first. And we spent a lot of time talking about the mental health crisis among kids. And I will say, as a parent, as - and as an emergency physician, that I know that we can't help our kids get better if we're not better ourselves.

So, as a parent, try to find help. Try to find time to take care of yourself. And advocate for policies in your community, at your workplace, in your state or city that help other parents, right? We need paid leave, especially during those early childbearing years. We need access to good childcare, not just in the toddler an infant years, but also throughout. Right, nobody's workday ends when the school day ends. And we need to have communities that look out for each other. So, to me, the advisory really illustrate all of that. Yes.

SOLOMON: Yes.

And I wonder how damaging you would say stress is and how much of a toll that actually takes on the body. I think sometimes we sort of write it off as, you know, it's just stress, it's just life, but it can also have a damaging effect physically on your health.

RANNEY: Absolutely. And I frequently tell my patients in the emergency department that the connection between the mind and the body is very, very real. When we are stressed, our body releases hormones, suppresses other hormones that can have an effect on our gut, on our immune function and can actually have long-lasting effects on our vascular system, on risk of asthma, on risk of infections. So, taking care of that stress not just helps your mental health, but also your short and long term physical health.

SOLOMON: And what about the connection between parental stress and how it might impact your children?

RANNEY: Absolutely. Kids need to see that their parents are OK. If you are stressed, if you are anxious, if you are depressed, your kids are going to see that and feel that. It makes them feel unstable, which is not to blame the parent for kids mental health crisis, but rather to say, if you can take care of yourself, it will help your kid in the long term.

Now, of course, again, we have to deal with some societal problems to help with our stress. Let's decrease the risk of gun violence in our schools. Let's provide safe places for our kids to play after school. Let's make sure kids are taken care of so that we don't have to struggle between work in parenting. But there are also things that you can do yourself, like working with your extended family or friends to help care for those kids to give you a little break.

SOLOMON: Yes.

Doctor, I want to switch gears really quickly and get to something. It's Labor Day coming up. A lot of people are going to be outside. What do we need to know about this - this virus that's being spread by mosquitoes? It's apparently still rare, but we've already seen one man die from it.

RANNEY: Yes. So, this new virus - well, it's not new, but the one that's in the news right now, EEE, or Eastern Equine Encephalitis, has been around for a long time. Luckily, relatively rare. But when it does develop into this encephalitis or brain-swelling, it's quite, quite dangerous. About 30 percent of people who end up with encephalitis from the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus end up dying.

Now, there's two things to know. One is that it is borne by mosquitoes. So, the best thing to do is to prevent mosquito bites. So, try to stay indoors after dusk. Make sure you're wearing DEET or Picaridin, some sort of a real honesty (ph) chemical bug spray and try to not spend a lot of time around swamps or standing water, where there are lots of mosquitoes. That's one thing.

The other thing to know is that EEE is actually much less common than things like West Nile Virus, which, of course, Dr. Fauci recently had. So, I would say to protect yourself, not just because of the risk of EEE, but also because of the risk of all of these other mosquito-borne viruses that are out there. Getting bitten by a mosquito is never a good thing, especially not right now when we are seeing this surge in mosquito-borne illness.

SOLOMON: Yes, certainly worth a reminder.

Dr. Megan Ranney, good to see you. Thank you.

RANNEY: Thank you.

SOLOMON: John.

BERMAN: All right, a new report this morning on how models and social influencers in Europe have had their identities stolen in an attempt to Influence the U.S. presidential election. Dozens of them have discovered their images have been used, and in some cases manipulated, to promote Donald Trump's re-election bid with fake MAGA accounts.

[08:55:08]

CNN investigative reporter Katie Polglase shares the story. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice over): Debbie is heading home from work in Luxembourg, northern Europe. Crossing the border into Germany, she races back to her son and, of course, Lu (ph).

But Debbie's day doesn't end there. She's also a professional model. Her image, not only her identity, but her source of income, helping support her and her son.

But it's been stolen, used in a pro-Trump account on X, attracting nearly 30,000 followers in less than six months.

Here's Luna.

DEBBIE NEDERLOF, MODEL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER: Yes, that's very crazy.

POLGLASE: And when you see these views, you know, its' saying vote for Trump in 2024. What's your reaction?

NEDERLOF: My - to be honest, what the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was my reaction. That was my reaction because I have never - nothing to do with the United States, with Trump or the political things over there.

POLGLASE: And if people following this account believe that this is you, what do you want to say to them?

NEDERLOF: That it's definitely not me. Definitely. It was never me and it will never be me. And they have to unfollow, please.

POLGLASE: In fact, Debbie is not alone. In partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience, CNN found nearly 60 fake Trump supporting accounts. And from these we identified nearly a dozen women, real women from across Europe, from Denmark to the Netherlands and as far away as Russia, whose identities are being used in accounts telling voters, American voters, to vote for Trump in the upcoming U.S. election.

POLGLASE (voice over): Let's take a look at some of these accounts, like Alina (ph), 33 and voting for Trump. But she's not. She's really Kamilla from Denmark.

KAMILLA BROBERG, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: I think it's rare. Anything that can discriminate other people on my account because it's my little universe, I don't think it's fair.

POLGLASE (voice over): And this one, Eva. She even has a verified blue tick, which is supposed to weed out fake accounts.

NERIAH TELLERUP, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: You feel very taken advantage of, also because it's kind of my image. I don't want to think people think that I do what those profiles sometimes are promoting.

POLGLASE (voice over): We run the suspicious X photos through a reverse image search engine and found they were lifted from Instagram posts. Certain patterns emerged. The fake accounts repost each other. It's a sign of a coordinated campaign. Here, several of the fake accounts post the exact same wording. "If you're voting for the man who survived an assassination attempt, I want to follow you." It's another sign the accounts are linked.

And that's not all. Some of the accounts manipulated the images of these women. Have a look at Debbie's post. The original on Instagram, and now the fake one on X. Her hat now reads make America great again. Look at this t-shirt, before, and then Trump 2024. For now, we don't know who is behind all these accounts, but the former U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman, who also used to investigate fake accounts for Twitter, told us this.

EMILY HORNE, FORMER GLOBAL HEAD OF POLICY, TWITTER: I don't think it's unreasonable to ask questions about, could there be a state actor involved? We know that there are multiple state actors who have been using social media to try to sow disinformation campaigns in the run- up to the 2024 election.

POLGLASE (voice over): But regardless, the accounts are reaching influential politicians. Doug Mastriano, a Republican state senator for Pennsylvania, follows Debbie's failed account. CNN contacted the senator about the account, but has not heard back.

Back in Germany, Debbie is shocked and upset that her image is being used in this way.

With President Trump now back on X and Elon Musk, the owner of X, throwing his weight behind him, fake pro-Trump content appears to be flourishing, silencing the real women affected. Once again, women's rights at the very heart of this presidential election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLGLASE: Well, this investigation really showed that the process of verification, authentication of accounts on X, has plummeted massively under Musk's leadership of the platform. And this really shows that the trust and safety team at X, the team exactly designed to catch this kind of content, has shrunk considerably. They're just not catching this kind of content. And the question is, why?

[08:59:59]

And we did put to X all of our findings. We sent them a full list of all of these accounts. We received no response. But we did notice that just in the last 24 hours or so before publishing,