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Biden Could Soon Give Ukraine Long-Range Missile Approval; Putin Warning the West; U.K. PM Meets with Biden on Ukraine; Hillary Clinton Speaks Out About State of Presidential Race; New Numbers in the Race for the White House; GA State Senate Holds Hearing on Fani Willis' Conduct; Judge Tosses Two Charges Against Trump; FAA Investigates Near Collision on Nashville Runway; Gen Z Voters Set to Shape Presidential Election. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 13, 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]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine has had to balance their gratitude for getting these weapons with really the impatience, feeling that they could do more if they had these permissions, had these weapons sooner. So, this is going to be discussed between President Biden and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, here in Washington today.

The Brits have a role in this as well, because alongside the ATACMS comes that the Ukrainians want to use, there's also a British missile called the Storm Shadow that Ukraine wants the Brits to give them permission to use as well.

Now, we have seen some signs that the U.S. and Britain might be willing to do this. We heard Secretary Blinken in Kyiv and in Poland earlier this week saying that, as the battlefield changes, so too does U.S. foreign policy and policy towards these weapons evolve. This is something we've heard him say in the past before the American position changes.

Now, my colleague Kevin Liptak is reporting that we are not expecting an announcement out of that meeting today, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't come at some point in the near future. Ukrainian officials have been pushing for this very hard. Recently, top Ukrainian officials came to Washington to present a list of targets that they would use with these American ATACMS. I spoke with the Ukrainian defense minister at the time, he told me that it included airfields that could be targeted inside Russia that are being used to hit at Ukraine.

But at the same time, Sara, there are significant American concerns. Concerns that you mentioned about the fear of escalation. Putin now warning that if the U.S. gives Ukraine permission to use these weapons that Russia would then be at war with NATO. So, there are those concerns over Russia escalating the fight against Ukraine and against NATO countries. There are concerns about the supply of these missiles. There is not an infinite supply of them, and some U.S. officials believe that they could be used with -- more effectively inside of Russian occupied Ukraine, like Crimea.

And then, there's also the concern that they might not actually move the needle, that Russia has moved many of its targets beyond the range of these ATACMS. And that's where we start to see the daylight between the U.S. and Ukrainian military strategy. But no doubt, Sara, if Washington made this decision, if President Biden made this decision, it would send a strong signal about American support for Ukraine.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for your reporting on this morning. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, new post-debate poll numbers are showing just how tight the race for the White House remains.

And trouble at takeoff. A close call as two passenger planes nearly collide. We have the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:00]

BOLDUAN: New this morning, Hillary Clinton is now speaking out about the state of the presidential race, describing how she felt when Biden dropped out and Kamala Harris jumped in. It's recorded as an epilogue to her book that comes out next week, and she shared it with MSNBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In the years after 2016, I also wondered how I would feel if another woman ever took the torch that I had carried so far and ran on with it. With some little voice, deep down inside, whisper, that should have been me.

Now, I know the answer. After I got off the phone with the vice president, I looked at Bill with a huge smile and said, this is exciting. I felt promise. I felt possibility. It was exhilarating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We are also getting a look at the first major poll since Tuesday's debate. The new National Reuters/Ipsos poll has Harris ahead by five points. Let's take a look at that right now. CNN's Harry Enten is here with much more. Harry, can you give us some context around that margin and the movement that you're seeing in polling post- debate?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, I think it's rather important, Kate, to point out that the Reuters/Ipsos poll has actually been one of Harris' best.

So, look, you get that five-point margin, right? That 47-42 that you mentioned post-debate. But that's actually not a lot of movement from where we were in August when Harris was up by four. Now, that is movement from where we were in late July when Harris was up by two. But the bottom line here is this, at least in the first polling that we're getting post this debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, maybe slight, slight, slight movement in Harris' direction, but not overwhelmingly so, which I don't think is really much of a surprise given the 50/50 nation we are right now.

But the bottom line is, in the average of polls, Harris had a slight national lead. And at this particular point, I think she'll probably hold on to that, at least based upon this initial signal.

BOLDUAN: Yes, didn't hurt her, maybe -- but didn't also --

ENTEN: No.

BOLDUAN: Like it wasn't -- you know, the death -- the nail in a coffin for a Donald Trump candidacy either, which is exactly kind of what people expected with this debate in the 50/50 nation we are in right now. What is the biggest difference, though, you see in polls -- these polls compared Biden Trump debate in June?

ENTEN: Yes. I mean, look, it all comes down to mental state and being able to deal with challenges. All right. So, mental sharp and can deal with challenges. Look at this. Back in the post-June debate, right, look at that, 52 percent of voters said that in fact Trump was mentally sharp and can deal with challenges. Look at the Joe Biden number, it was just 26 percent.

Now, look at the difference here. Look at this, 58 percent in the post-September debate poll said that Harris was mentally sharp that can deal with challenges. Trump's number actually dropped below 50 percent down to just 46. So, that 52 to 46. So, this was the big change that I think a lot of Democrats are hoping for when they switched out Biden for Harris, it came down to mental sharpness. And the bottom line is the clear majority of voters believe that Kamala Harris is mentally sharp and deal with challenges. And the number for Trump, that declined by six points between post-June and post- September. I think that's a very welcome sign for Democrats.

[08:40:00]

So, on the top line, maybe not so much movement nationally, but underneath the hood, I think Democrats really have to like what they see.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Harry. Thank you.

ENTEN: See you.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. With us now is former Missouri Secretary of State and Army veteran Jason Kander. Always great to see you. Our viewers, many will remember you ran for Senate in Missouri in 2016. Got very close in a red state there. So, you've got a lot of experience in electoral politics.

Jason, you wrote an op-ed where you said that years ago, Vice President Harris, before she was vice president, made you feel seen. What do you mean by that?

JASON KANDER (D), FORMER MISSOURI SECRETARY OF STATE AND U.S. ARMY VETERAN: Yes. First of all, good to see you again, John, Kate, too, both of you. Yes. Look, what I really was trying to write about was the fact that I'm not close friends with Kamala Harris. And we know each other. We've been work acquaintances. We both ran for Senate in the same year. And I think it's important, particularly as people are getting to know Kamala Harris, to learn a little about what she is like when she's not on television, when she's not, you know, in a debate, beating Donald Trump, like he stole something, like what she's actually like as a person.

And what she's like as a person is somebody who, when I dropped out of public life, dropped out of politics to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder at the VA, you know, there was a period where everybody was calling. I mean, everybody in the world was calling because I was a public person. And then, there was a period where the world, which I had given it permission to do, sort of forgot about me. And that was OK. I was working on therapy and that kind of thing.

But Kamala Harris had no real motivation to continue to check in on me, but she did. She did what a friend would do, even though we weren't very close. And, you know, so now that she's running for president, I went ahead and thought it was best to tell the world about that experience.

BERMAN: She kept on checking in. Tell us more about that and what it meant to you.

KANDER: Yes. Look, I was a guy who, at that point, was trying to navigate life post being a presidential candidate. So, I'm like going to Costco and trying to figure out how to be helpful around the house. And she was calling me, you know, to get my thoughts on veterans' policy, get my thoughts on national security policy.

And as I pointed out in the piece, I don't know that she necessarily needed my thoughts on veteran's policy or national security policy. Maybe I was helpful, maybe I wasn't, but she was doing what a friend would do for another person, which is basically saying, you still have value to me, and I'm going to make sure to communicate that.

So, you know, I think that's the kind of person that not only would we all want to be friends with. But it's also the kind of person who we would want to lead anything, our corporation and on profit, a PTA, our country. And I would just ask people to imagine for a moment Donald Trump calling anybody to make them feel anything other than, you know, somebody who he finds useful to him. I don't think that's a practice he often engages in.

BERMAN: You talk about veterans' issues in general. This is where you work. I mean, you work on veterans' issues now every day. What is the terrain, you think, that veterans want to see this campaign being waged over? What are those issues and who is speaking to them?

KANDER: Well, first of all, I mean, you won't be shocked to hear that I believe Kamala Harris is the one speaking to them. I think that what veterans want is to see candidates who understand them as more than political props in a campaign. You know, when I think about the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, they're both people who didn't serve. But Kamala Harris is the person who didn't serve and is genuinely interested in your service, is genuinely interested in learning more about the military, because it furthers her ability to do her job. Not somebody who just puts you on a pedestal and thinks of you as a hero who is invulnerable or, in Donald Trump's case, pities you.

Donald Trump is a different person. Donald Trump is somebody who most veterans recognize as the guy who, you know, finds out you served, feels immediately insecure, then tells you about how, well, you know, he was going to go be a green beret, but he figured he has a problem with authority and he would have just ended up punching out his drill sergeant during basic. So, he never bothered to join. Then he takes out his phone and he shows you pictures of his guns because he thinks that's how he's going to relate to you. We can tell the difference between the two personalities.

BERMAN: You mentioned, you know, you are not a candidate, haven't been for some time. What do you think the future might hold for you? Can you see yourself getting back into elected politics? Could you see yourself serving in a potential Harris administration if that were come to pass?

KANDER: It's very flattering that people still ask these questions. I've spent a lot of years working very hard to get people to think about me this way.

[08:45:00]

I have a great job in the last several years. I have made a greater impact on the world by, you know, building villages of tiny houses for homeless veterans, by actually getting involved in Afghan evacuation efforts and starting an organization that, you know, has gotten over 2,000 Afghans out of the country, including my translator's family, who now lives down the street.

And as I rattle these things off, I'm starting to realize I sound like a politician who wants to run for something. So, let me stop rattling these things off and say no, I have no interest in either and -- I have no interest in either. And really, you know, if at some point two things happen, which is my kids stop being interested in hanging out with me, which, you know, they're 11 and four, so I think I got a few years, and two, if the other thing that happens is -- oh, did I get the thumbs up on that?

I don't understand how this technology works. Well, look, I'm a thumbs up about how my life is right now. And the other thing would be -- oh, look at this. Amazing. I'm breaking new ground on CNN. The point I was going to make, the second point is just that if at some point I no longer feel I can make a greater impact out of office, which is how I felt the last few years, then maybe.

But, you know, politicians like to say, that's not what I'm thinking about right now and actually done, that's all they're thinking about. That's actually not where I'm thinking about right now. BERMAN: I feel like a whole lot just happens. I feel like a lot just happened right there with the fireworks, maybe telling us one thing and then --

KANDER: What else can this thing do?

BERMAN: And you maybe work through some issues there where maybe you announced you were running and maybe you announced you weren't. There's a lot going on with that. People will be analyzing that for years to come.

KANDER: I promise, I'm on your WebEx. This is not my text. I don't know.

BOLDUAN: I am cry laughing. I am cry laughing at Jason Kander --

BERMAN: I really appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: -- who is one of the funniest people on the planet. Oh, my god.

BERMAN: Jason Kander, thank you so much for speaking with us this morning, sharing your time, sharing your stories. Go hug the kids. Go hug the kids.

KANDER: Good to see you all. Good to see you all. Happy birthday to my mom.

SIDNER: Happy birthday. Shall we sing?

BERMAN: You know what? Who would do that? A politician.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: Someone running for office would say happy birthday to his mother. No, just kidding. I'm kidding. Jason Kander, great to see you. Thank you very.

SIDNER: John, you're on fire this morning. Maybe you should take over the Jon Stewart role. I think that your next --

BERMAN: You know, that's once a week. That's like once a week.

SIDNER: Not trying to get rid of trying to get rid of you.

BERMAN: You're trying to get rid me four days a week?

SIDNER: No, no, no. No, not at all.

BOLDUAN: Yes, she is.

BERMAN: Yes, she is.

SIDNER: All right. coming up this morning, the Fulton County prosecutor leading Georgia's election subversion case against Donald Trump expected to defy a subpoena from a state Senate committee investigating her conduct. That's according to local reports. Nick Valencia live at the state capitol in Atlanta, where a hearing on funny Willis' conduct and relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade is set to begin soon. Nick, let us know what's going on now.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, different kind of fireworks here that we're expecting this morning. Good morning, Sara. At the core of the arguments that we're going to hear today is whether or not this panel has the authority to compel somebody to show up to testify.

The chairman of this committee believes that they do, and they've issued a subpoena for District Attorney Fani Willis, but she is not going to show up. Not expected to, anyway. And it's a not so veiled signal to this committee that she thinks it's more about political theater. And let's be clear, this nine-member panel was initiated to investigate potential impropriety by the district attorney during the drama that played out that we all saw earlier this year in the Trump criminal case, they believe that there was a potential misuse of public funds and they want Fani Willis to show up here to talk about that.

I did speak to a Democrat on this panel, six Republicans, three Democrats late last night. He says that we should expect some political theater and perhaps even a legal filing from the panel to try to get a judge to compel Fani Willis to show up. This hearing begins at 9 30. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. So, yesterday, two charges against Donald Trump were dropped in that same case in Georgia. What does that mean for the case going forward?

VALENCIA: You know, it's somewhat of an awkward ruling because Judge Scott McAfee doesn't technically have jurisdiction over Trump's portion of the case. So, these three counts, which were, you know, Trump was facing in the indictment, a total of initially 13 counts, they're not technically applied to him, but they are to his co- defendants, John Eastman and Shawn Still, they were among the 16 so- called fake electors to try to subvert the Electoral College. Those three counts related to filing false documents have been thrown out.

And even though it's not technically applied to Donald Trump's part of the case, that's not stopped his attorney from touting it as a victory. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Nick Valencia live there for us with all those details. Appreciate it. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up still for us, could the key to winning the election be found on TikTok? We'll hear from the new generation of Rock the Vote organizers on this. Dude, that's what makes you laugh? And this -- this is what makes you laugh? Oh, this is what makes you laugh. And a long-lost Lego and why a man found it in his nose decades later.

BERMAN: We're all that man.

[08:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Yes, we are, or John is. But first, to the heroes. In Arizona, thousands of children are in the foster care system. Many of them Native American and struggling to connect with their roots and their heritage. This week's CNN Hero is trying to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I tell people I was abundantly blessed, within six months I became a mom to four children that were all under the age of two years old. That's where I kind of knew we needed to make a change. I started out just providing basic resources. Clothes and shoes and diapers. I really wanted to create family engagement a cultural experience.

When we can incorporate our culture and have that sense of identity, your world changes. I had non-native foster parents and grandparents raising children. Even some group homes say, how do I get my kids connected to culture? I don't know where to go. There's thousands of native children that are in care and could be connected.

I want kids to come and actually feel like their sense of identity and culture is right there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: To see her impactful work in action and learn more, go to cnnheroes.com. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:00]

BERMAN: So, this morning the FAA is investigating a close call at an airport in Nashville. A Southwest Airlines plane crossed the same runway as an Alaska Airlines flight, forcing the Alaska crew to brake so suddenly they blew out their tires. There were 176 passengers, six crew members on board. Luckily, no one was hurt.

All right. Train versus tank. Train wins. So, this happened in South Carolina. I mean, it's like a movie thing. A train crashed into this tractor trailer hauling a tank in Goose Creek. The truck apparently was stuck on the tracks. A witness told CNN affiliate WCSC the driver did get out of the way barely five seconds before the crash and amazingly, luckily, again, no one was hurt.

OK. A 32-year-old man just dislodged a Lego that had been stuck in his nose since he was six. Andy Norton says he put the dot up there in the 1990s. He has suffered from asthma and sleep apnea for years. His doctor recommended blowing his nose in the shower to take advantage of the steam and humidity. And after six months of that, it finally worked. Norton says he can finally breathe from that side of his nose again. And amazingly, he finally finished the Lego model that he'd been working on since the 1990s.

Now, I -- BOLDUAN: It was a life-size version of an Atari.

BERMAN: I just want to tell you both, as the father of two boys, and as someone who was once a boy myself, there is only one place Legos are supposed to go. I don't blame the guy. I mean, he did with them what you're supposed to do when you're a little kid.

SIDNER: I have a lot of questions.

BERMAN: Everyone here on set is nodding their head in agreement. You all know it's true.

BOLDUAN: I disagree. I have kids. They have not put -- the girls have not put Legos in their nose to my knowledge.

BERMAN: Yes. Don't have a closed mindset.

SIDNER: But does anyone have a question as to why didn't the blowing of the nose happen earlier? I am confused.

BERMAN: That is a fair question. I'm a little concerned about what happened since the '90s.

SIDNER: I'm concerned.

BOLDUAN: You have health concerns? I just want to do the math. He's 32 now. He was six when this occurred. That is 26 years later.

BERMAN: 38 in the metric system.

BOLDUAN: Stop having the last funny word. It's driving me nuts today. He's being too funny.

SIDNER: All right. The presidential election. TikTok playing a huge role in politics, especially for Gen Z. Young content creators are using it to show support for both Kamala Harris and for Donald Trump. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan sat down with some of them to take a look at what they're up to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's your most viewed video?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Born in Iran, raised in Iran, but more patriot than those who wrote blue with the Trump flag in my office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right. This year, around 8 million young people will turn 18 and get the chance to vote for the very first time. In total, about 41 million members of Gen Z, those under 27, will be eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election. More than 45 percent of those Gen Z voters will be young people of color, according to Circle, a nonpartisan research group. Joining me now is Carolyn DeWitt, president and executive director of Rock the Vote.

I want you to forgive me because I did not know that Rock the Vote was still around. I remember it in 1992, back in the day, I'm obviously not Gen Z. I'm a Gen Xer. I have a question for you. What are some of the key issues that you're hearing from Gen Z as they prepare for the 2024 election?

CAROLYN DEWITT, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ROCK THE VOTE: Hi. Well, it's so good to see you. Thanks for having me. As far as issues that young people care about, we are seeing -- you know, this is not a monolithic group, but not surprising gun violence, climate change, abortion, issues of equality, so racial equity, student debt.

Really, the reality is Gen Z is not a -- they're not single-issue voters, they understand the sophistication and the fact that all of these issues are interrelated. So, they're looking for candidates who are proposing bold solutions and platforms.

SIDNER: All right. So, we've just gotten word that Taylor Swift has allowed the campaign to use her famous line, and now, she's talking about being in the Kamala era, which is what they're going to use. They're going to be having these digital billboards in Vegas and in Times Square with Taylor Swift.

[09:00:00]