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Pennsylvania Could be Key to Winning the White House; Shutdown Threat Grows Amid Congressional Funding Fight; Governor Sununu Saves Man Choking on Lobster Roll; More Men Join for Reproductive Rights; Israel to Reopen Border Crossing into Jordan. Aired 8:30-8a ET

Aired September 09, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: -- sent to his mother the morning of the deadly attack and how she tried to warn the school. And why more men in conservative states are now joining the fight for reproductive rights ahead of the election. We will talk to one of those men ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, the big debate tomorrow night is in the City of Philadelphia, which is in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Now, in a previous episode of CNN News Central, I circled Pennsylvania many, many times to emphasize just how important it could be in the election. Watching from home when I was doing that was CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, who is standing right here.

[08:35:00]

So, we kind of put some meat on the bones, right, and do a better job than I did of just circling Pennsylvania.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I'm going to be additive. I couldn't do a better job. I'm just going to make the product you've made even better. So, I just want to take a look at Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, and what we see is a tightening race in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All right. This is Harris vs. Trump margin in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

A month ago, when you looked at the polls, New York Times plus four Harris, plus three Quinnipiac for Harris. Franklin and Marshall, plus three for Harris. But look at polls that have come out over the last week or so, and what do we see? We see a much tighter race. We see a tie in the CBS new YouGov poll. We see a tie in the CNN SSRS poll.

And this, to me, is part of an emerging pattern, which is in a very pivotal state. What we saw was a small Harris lead, but within the margin of error, becoming a race that is way, way, way too close to call it this particular point one that is even.

BERMAN: You say very pivotal, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania could be. How pivotal?

ENTEN: How pivotal? All right. So, let's take a look at this particular map. This is with the betting favorites, but with Kamala Harris taking the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over here. What do we see? We see that Kamala Harris wins in this particular case. Look at that, with exactly 270 electoral votes to Donald Trump's 268.

All right. So, Kamala Harris wins the Electoral College when she wins the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But let's take Pennsylvania out of Kamala Harris' column and put them in a Donald Trump's column. Again, with the betting favorites, with Trump taking Pennsylvania, what happens when we turn Pennsylvania red? Well, take a look here, Donald Trump wins in the Electoral College, 287 electoral votes to Kamala Harris' 251 electoral votes. So, that is why I say it is pivotal.

BERMAN: It is so important it's -- it's worth adding letters. I will say.

ENTEN: It's add -- it's worth adding letters. I can't even get it out. The bottom line is, it is so important. This state is very, very important.

BERMAN: Important data people like to call it a tipping point. Say it looks like Pennsylvania could be the tipping point state, which means the one state that will decide the election. Now, if it is in fact the tipping point state, is there any elected official in Pennsylvania who may have been on a ticket that might have made a difference?

ENTEN: Well, this was the great question when Kamala Harris was making her VP selection, who should she select? And of course, folks like myself thought that she should take Josh Shapiro, of course, as the governor of the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Why? Because his approval rating is 59 percent.

And the bottom line is, If Kamala Harris loses in the State of Pennsylvania, and that is the tipping point state, as Mr. Berman put it, the state that put Donald Trump over the top in the Electoral College, there are going to be some real questions as to whether Kamala Harris should have chosen Josh Shapiro, given how popular he is in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Could she have been a winner if she had chosen him instead of Tim Walz? We don't know the answer to that question. We don't know who's going to win the State of Pennsylvania, but it's certainly a question that, at this particular moment, with the Pennsylvania polls getting tighter and tighter and tighter, that I'm certainly asking, John.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you as well.

ENTEN: Pivotal.

BERMAN: Pivotal. Pivotal to see this morning.

ENTEN: Pivotal.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: No, I'm sorry. We are now officially changing it to pivotable because it sounds fantastic. We're going with that. Thank you, gentlemen. Let's talk about all of this and how pivotable it all is. Joining us right now I've seen and senior political analyst and senior editor with The Atlantic Ron Brownstein. It's good to see you, Ron.

OK. Ron, you coined the phrase the blue wall. Recently, you were writing more about the history of the blue wall, how Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin have voted the same way in every presidential election since 1980 save one. That suggests what though, Ron, this time around?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST AND SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC: Yes, I mean, it is striking. I mean, these are states that are demographically and economically similar. And as you know, they voted the same way in every presidential election since '80, except one. They've even voted the same way in every gubernatorial election since 1994, except one. They tend to move together. That's the history.

But as you're noting, we're seeing something of a different pattern potentially this year. If you look at the totality of the recent polling, the CBS poll yesterday, the say 24, YouGov project and the CNN polls last week, I think they -- you look at them all together, they suggest that Harris is opening kind of sort of a little bit of space in Michigan and Wisconsin, which means, as you've been discussing, if she can add Pennsylvania, she gets to exactly 270, Pennsylvania looks tougher.

By the way, looking -- kind of looking at this even more narrowly, Pennsylvania and Michigan have voted the same way in every election since 1940, except for one, in 1976, when Michigan went with favorite son, Gerald Ford, and Pennsylvania went with Jimmy Carter. So, for them to separate, obviously history, you know, prior results is no guarantee of future performance, but for them to separate would be a striking deviation from our history over really the last 80 years.

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BOLDUAN: It is really fascinating. And Axios kind of summing up the polling trends of recent. Axios put it this way this morning, which I loved, kind of speaking to all American voters, you live in a tossup nation where every election brings coin toss close fights to run American government. I mean, is that just what you added all up to and what we see now?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, it's really kind of a striking dynamic in that. I was recently talking to Karl Rove and he was reminiscing about how many states as recently as the 2000 election they were playing in, either on offense or on defense, places like Tennessee or Kentucky that we no longer consider -- or West Virginia even, part of the dialogue.

What's happened is that the number of swing states has dwindled to six or seven. But those states themselves have become hyper competitive. I mean, they are swing states because they are balanced, you know, on the edge of a knife. So, what you're talking about is a couple 100,000 people in really six or seven states choosing the direction for a nation of 300 million -- 330 million.

And we see some pretty similar patterns, whether we're talking about the national polling or the swing state polling where Harris, like Biden, is running pretty close to what Biden got in his winning number in 2020 among white voters, maybe a little below where he was among whites without a college degree, maybe a little above where he was among whites with a college degree and netting out to about the same place.

But despite her gains, she is still not equaling what Democrats usually get among non-white voters and young voters, and that, in many ways, looks like her challenge and her task in the remaining weeks of the campaign.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you this, Ron, Dana and I were just talking about, I want to get your take on this. Voters continue to say that they wanted to know more about Kamala Harris' policy positions.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: The Harris campaign has added an issues tab on the campaign website, but I wonder what you think about this perception from voters, and I'm wondering what her campaign thinks about it as well, and if they are OK with that perception?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, I think we basically know what a Kamala Harris presidency would focus on, because there is kind of a communal bottom-up agenda from the Democratic Party really at all levels. I mean, if you look at the pieces of the build back better bill that passed the House in 2021 and were stripped out in the Senate by Manchin and Sinema, that's pretty much a presidential agenda.

Child tax credit, increased child care help, health subsidies, more prescription drug support, you know, gun control. I mean, there's a broad agenda that's out there. But, you know, voters are safe, 30 percent in that poll in The New York Times rising to 40 percent among Latino and black voters, 50 percent of younger voters. They need to know more about her.

It's not only her agenda, I think, it's who she is, who her values are, and whether they are comfortable with her as president. I think that's her big job on Tuesday night, more than making the case against Donald Trump, making the case for herself.

BOLDUAN: Interesting. Great to see you, Ron. Thank you so much. And you can follow CNN for complete coverage and exclusive analysis before and after that debate. The ABC News Presidential Debate simulcast tomorrow at 9:00 Eastern on CNN. Sara.

SIDNER: Lawmakers back to work in Washington today in a new funding fight with a looming deadline once again is one of the most pressing issues. Are we headed for a partial government shutdown? Joining us now is CNN's Lauren Fox. We have had this conversation, I feel like, over and over and over again over the last few months or so, year or so. What can you tell us? LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have 13 legislative days for Republicans and Democrats to figure out if they can come together to avert a government shutdown by that September 30th deadline.

Here's what we're going to see this week. House Republicans are going to begin whipping a piece of legislation that would fund the government actually until March. So, this is a much lengthier short- term spending bill than what Democrats were hoping for. Their bill also includes what is known as the Save Act, that would bar illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections.

Now, it's already illegal for illegal immigrants to be voting in U.S. elections. But, Sara, this is really part of that broader effort that Republicans are making to try to make this an issue going into November. This is something that president -- or Former President Donald Trump supports, but it is something that Democrats say is a nonstarter. And in a letter to his colleagues yesterday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made clear that he wants a shorter-term spending bill that does not include that Save Act.

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So, right now, one thing to watch this week is whether Republicans have the votes to pass this out of their own chamber. Just keep in mind that Speaker Mike Johnson has a very narrow majority. So, they may have to undertake this herculean effort to try to get this through the House. But it's a non-starter in the Senate, which means, of course, even if they can pass it, they'll be starting back at square one when they return next week. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Lauren Fox. And we will be right back with you as well. Thank you so much. You're reporting there from Washington D.C.

Speaking of herculean efforts, John.

BERMAN: Yes, exactly. Governor Sununu one, lobster roll zero. The New Hampshire governor saved the life of a man who started choking during a lobster roll eating contest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): I started saying, he's choking, he's choking. And I could tell people weren't responding. So, I just moved forward and immediately started to kind of give him the Heimlich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[08:50:00]

BOLDUAN: So, this morning, police in Australia say a man accused of burning a baby with scalding hot coffee, that man has now fled the country. The assault happened in a park in Brisbane. There is video of the suspect described as a 33-year-old foreign national fleeing the scene. And here's what police say happened. They said the nine-year- old -- nine-month-old, rather, baby boy was sitting in the park with his mother when the suspect threw hot coffee at the baby. And the child reportedly suffered serious burns to his face, arms, and legs.

Now, Pope Francis has arrived in the small Southeast Asian Island nation of East Timor today. It's one of the youngest nations in the world. It's also the second most Catholic country, next to the Vatican. During his speech to the country's political leaders, the pope called on the leaders to, quote, "do everything possible to prevent the abuse of children" in response to recent revelations of clerical sex abuse there.

And in a very different story, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is now a hero. Springing into action when a man started choking during a lobster roll eating competition over the weekend. The governor says he noticed the man struggling, who is signaling for help. So, Sununu jumped up and started performing the Heimlich maneuver. All was OK, is OK. After four or five compressions, the man was breathing well again, and the competition went on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't freak out. You're going to finish this. Like, you're going to get this out, and you're going to keep going.

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): He went right back to the contest, which I couldn't believe. He ate another seven lobster rolls after that, right down the gullet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: In only the way that Chris Sununu can. I saved him right down the gullet, Sara.

SIDNER: I mean, it's impressive. He should have gotten whatever the award was just for finishing.

BOLDUAN: I mean, let's be honest, I -- questionable judgment going back to it. I am -- he's made a stronger stuff than me. There's no way I'm going back to eat some more lobster after that.

SIDNER: I'm with the lobster roll guy. I'm with him. I would have gone back to it. Just finish the job.

BOLDUAN: You got to win. You got to win at all costs, Sara.

SIDNER: At all cost. OK. All right. Abortion is a top issue on the ballot in 2024, mostly for women after the overturning, of course, of Roe versus Wade. But it's not just women, men, especially men in conservative states are starting to speak out in defense of reproductive rights.

Here now is one of those men. Radio and podcast host Ryan Hamilton. Thank you, sir, so much for joining us. First of all, you and your wife, you live in Texas, a state that has restricted abortion, probably one of the most restrictive states in the country. You have really told the publican what has happened to you and your wife personally. Can you give us some sense of what happened when your wife is experiencing a prolonged miscarriage?

RYAN HAMILTON, WIFE EXPERIENCED LIFE-THREATENING COMPLICATIONS DURING MISCARRIAGE: Absolutely. And thank you for having me. What happened to us was we needed abortion related care, and I think there's a lot of confusion around that because my wife had an incomplete miscarriage, you know, finding out that our baby's heart had stopped beating would have been enough. But what happened to us was she needed a procedure called a DNC and the doctors refused that care and kept sending us back home after multiple visits to multiple hospitals across Texas. They just kept sending us back home with a prescription for a drug called misoprostol.

And the short version of that story is my wife bled profusely for four days, and I found her unconscious in her own blood in our bathroom, and she had to be rushed to the hospital for life saving care.

SIDNER: When you think through this, you know, after Roe v. Wade, the country as a whole, every time that people are polled, they do believe that abortion care should be a part of the care that a woman gets, and there is a discussion as to what the restrictions should be. But most Americans did not like the idea that Roe v. Wade was overturned. How did you all deal with that? In the end, what happened and how did it change you, you know, as someone who is, in this state, that has really restrictive abortion rights?

HAMILTON: Great question. The truth is, this was not something that was really on our radar. I mean, you hear the terrible stories, of course, are now friend Amanda Zurawski. And, you know, your heart breaks for those stories, but until it actually hits you, when you're not really a political person, which I was not, you don't really understand it.

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And what happened to us and knowing what we know now, it's very hard to think about Donald Trump and what he calls a beautiful thing to watch. When it comes to the abortion bans, he seems proud to have overturned Roe v. Wade and sent it back to the States.

And, you know, look at what is happening in Texas. My family is just one of a lot of examples. And you'll have to excuse me if I don't think my wife bleeding out on our bathroom floor is a beautiful thing to watch.

SIDNER: I'm really sorry that you and your wife went through this really traumatic time. And it stays with you, you know, forever, having -- you having to experience it, your wife having to experience this. Have you been hearing stories from other men after you sort of came out? You went on social media, you explained what happened in a very detailed way, what have you hearing from other men?

HAMILTON: It's interesting because, yes, there are men starting to speak out, but it seems to be a new thing. I didn't know it was rare for a man to speak out on behalf of his wife and family, whenever it comes to reproductive rights, it shouldn't be a rare thing.

What's interesting and infuriating to me is what I hear mostly from men is hate. They want to come at me because I'm a man speaking out. I get attacked in a different way. They say the things to me that they seemingly want to say to these women going through these nightmare experiences. But because I'm a man speaking out, they feel like it's just OK to really let me have it and say all the terrible things they really want to say to these women. So, I don't understand how any husband --

SIDNER: What sorts of things are you hearing right now? What sorts of things?

HAMILTON: Well, I mean, things I probably shouldn't say on TV, but the most recent is, your wife should have died. It's a shame she didn't die. It's the most cruel, cruel stuff you can imagine. When I first shared the post that went viral, I quoted my wife as saying, get this dead baby out of me, because she said it in frustration after our second trip to the emergency center when they would not perform the DNC that she needed.

And the response from these men was to make memes and make some sort of comedy song that said, get this dead baby out of me. They think it's funny. They seem to get a kick out of it. They think this is political propaganda. I'm a husband and a dad, and I was never a political person. I'm out here doing what I thought any man would do, fighting for my family.

SIDNER: Ryan, it's such a stark story. It is so heartbreaking to hear what you all went through and then the aftermath and the way that you were treated, you know, by the public after hearing your story. But I'm sure there are a lot of people that have read it and understand what you're going through and appreciate you spelling things out for them. Ryan Hamilton, thank you so much for coming on and telling something that is so incredibly personal. Appreciate it. John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, a border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan remains closed after three Israeli citizens were shot and killed this weekend. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Tel Aviv this morning. Matthew, what's the latest on this front?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's really hot temperature wise here, and the security situation has been overheating as well. Because there's been, you know, kind of all that trouble on that that border between Jordan and the Israeli controlled West Bank that took place yesterday. A Jordanian truck driver came across that frontier, driving a commercial truck, got out of the truck, walked up to some Israeli civilian workers at the checkpoint area and opened fire, killed three of them before he himself was shot dead by an Israeli security guard.

The border checkpoint was closed. Other crossings into Jordan from Israel were also shut down, with the Jordanian authorities and the Israelis saying they're investigating what happened. The Jordanians have said that they believe this was a lone operator, somebody who acted alone. But the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that this was an act of terrorism, a despicable terrorist, is what he called this truck driver from Jordan. The Jordanians condemning it as well.

But saying that the root causes for that violence, in their words, have to be addressed. And they're talking about the war in Gaza and Israeli action in the West Bank, where it's been embarked in military operations, particularly over the course of the past several weeks.

So, again, it all adds to that sense of tension and violence, which from day to day seems to be ratcheting up here in --

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