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CNN's KFile Discovers Disturbing Online Posts; Mark Robinson Denies Report of Disturbing Posts; Trump Campaign Not Saying if NC GOP Nominee Should Drop Out; Trump Says Jewish Voters Should Bear Some Blame if He Loses Election; Harris Heads to Battleground Georgia; Fresh Attacks Inside Lebanon and Israel Today; How GOP Governor Nominee's Online Comments Impact Election; Government Shutdown Looming; Dodgers' Ohtani Becomes First MLB Player Ever to Join 50/50 Club. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 20, 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]

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, we don't know exactly who the target was. We're seeing lots of reports coming out of Israel that the target was Ibrahim Aqil, who is a senior member of the military aspect, the military part of Hezbollah, and this comes just a month and a half after another -- the senior leader of the military part of Hezbollah was killed, Fuad Shukr. And it certainly comes in a week that has seen, you know, first the pager blast, then the walkie-talkie blast and now this.

So, it really does represent a dramatic escalation in a week where we've already seen dramatic events here in Lebanon. Really, the tension is boiling over at this point. We could hear ambulances rushing to the scene. So, we'll just try to get you more details as they come in. But certainly, the -- a tense city is ever more tenser. John.

BERMAN: Yes, we know you've got reporting to do, Ben. Thank you so much for being with us. Find out as much as you can. Let us know what you learned. In the meantime, I'm here again with Chief National Security Analyst Jim Sciutto. Jim, Israel itself says this is a new era of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Is that what we're seeing here, do you think?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Listen, you have all the ingredients for an escalation here. The U.S. and others view strikes inside Beirut as fundamentally different from Israeli strikes in Southern Lebanon, which are quite frequent. In fact, when I was in Israel last month, in retaliation for that attempted Hezbollah attack, U.S. officials noted, well, Israel's concentrating its fire on the south, not in Beirut. We look at that as, you know, avoiding escalation.

So, here, you have strikes in Beirut. You had this massive unprecedented pager and walkie-talkie attack, which is -- can be seen certainly as an escalation by Israel. And keep in mind, it was only a few weeks ago when Hezbollah attempted a massive escalation of their own, this massive missile and rocket barrage that was only caught about a half hour before it took off due to U.S. and Israeli intelligence. So, Israel was able to snuff out that attempted escalation.

So, from each side, you have them raising the level here. Add to that Israel saying quite publicly now, we're turning our focus from the south in Gaza to the north, which is not new. Really, it's been a matter of time. When I was in Israel after October 7th, Israeli officials, soldiers, and residents of the north said, once we're done in Gaza, we have to deal with the problem in the north, go after Hezbollah, attempt to push them back from the border. So, all those Israelis who've been forced south can go back to their home.

So, it's really been a matter of time before you reach that point of escalation as well. It's a nasty mix. And it's hard to see how we avoid this turning into something much bigger.

BERMAN: And you were all over the north in the months after October 7th, watching the back and forth there. The simmering back and forth is no longer simmering. It's like -- it's past that point. Jim, I don't know if you've spoken to any U.S. officials about this, but is there any assessment about how much Hezbollah's capabilities might have been damaged in the last several days?

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, they've had a massive vulnerability exposed, right? First of all, their communications have absolutely been disrupted, there's no question. And Hezbollah is certainly doing an internal review now to figure out how this happened, right? And do they have intelligence weaknesses as well?

BERMAN: I mean, yes. Clearly -- the answer is yes.

SCIUTTO: Clearly, they do. But do they have insiders providing information to the Israelis, which was part of the reason, it's been theorized, that Israel got a heads up prior to that attempted Hezbollah attack last month, right? They -- listen, they infiltrate Hezbollah. So, they're assessing that and might want to do that before they attempt any major escalation.

I suppose the one thing that might hold Hezbollah back, and you've heard this for months going back to October 7th is that, Hezbollah doesn't really want a full-scale war with Israel because it calculated that it might very well lose that war, plus they have enormous public opposition within Lebanon to going to war again with Israel. And Hezbollah, it's a terrorist organization, but it's also a political organization in Lebanon. They have to be conscious of their base, as it were as well. But listen, as the attacks escalate, it's hard to see how they don't respond.

BERMAN: And very quickly, as Israel turns its attention north, what does that mean for Gaza?

SCIUTTO: Well, here's the thing. I mean, you saw The Wall Street Journal story today about U.S. officials quietly conceding that the ceasefire talks do not appear to be going anywhere. And that's something you and I have seen quite clearly for some time now. And I've been speaking to U.S. officials involved whose hope for a breakthrough has been dwindling over time.

First of all, imagine hostage families, right, their reaction to this. But the talk of a ceasefire there was seen as one way to avoid an escalation in the north. And that that might hold Hezbollah back from an escalation. If those talks are dead, that's yet another ingredient to potential expansion of this war.

BERMAN: Jim Sciutto, great to see you in person.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

[09:35:00]

BERMAN: Thanks so much for being here. All right. We've got new reporting this morning on how the wildly explicit comments by the lieutenant governor of North Carolina could impact the presidential race.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. The stunning KFile report about the message board postings from this man, North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, on a porn messaging board has really rocked the political world this morning.

[09:40:00]

The key question, what impact will this have on the presidential race? North Carolina, a very important state. Well, there's one man who can answer that question, Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten. Let's talk about the potential impact of this.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. All right. So, let's just take a look at where we are in the polls in North Carolina. Look, it's as close as you can be in the presidential race. It is a tie right at this particular hour. In the governor's race, even before this scandal rocked everything, the Democrat Stein was ahead by 10 points. So, the bottom line was, look, Mark Robinson was very likely to lose this race even before the scandal. Now, he's likely more likely to lose this race.

But let's talk about the tie in North Carolina and the importance of that state in this election. All right. So, this is the chance of winning the election if you win North Carolina. The bottom line is this, if Kamala Harris wins in the great state of North Carolina, she's got a 95 percent chance of winning the election. There are many maps in which she can win the election without North Carolina. That's less so for Donald Trump because he has only a 77 percent chance of winning the election if he wins in North Carolina. So, the bottom line is, must-win state much more for Donald Trump than it is for Kamala Harris.

BERMAN: And this is according to Nate Silver on his Silver Bullet messaging board. He talks about the importance of every state, what state would be a tipping point here. Obviously for Harris, if she wins that, likely to win. Trump a little less so, but still pretty important to both.

ENTEN: Still pretty gosh darn important to both. And you know, when we talk about this story and how much of an impact that could potentially have, look, this is an immediate measure. Google searches for Mark Robinson through the roof since the KFile story came out. Look at this, up over 8,000 percent nationally, and even in the great state of North Carolina, where they were searching for him more than they were nationally, it's up nearly 4,000 percent.

So, the bottom line is, this is a scandal that could definitely have a big potential for impact in a very important state in the presidential election, John.

BERMAN: Interesting this is less, though, because they know, the idea would be they already know what's going on down there.

ENTEN: They were already searching for him, not big surprise, people in North Carolina were more interested in that gubernatorial race before this scandal than folks nationally. But now, the folks nationally are certainly interested, and that's part of the reason why we're talking this morning about it.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, great to see you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Great to see you. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also, this morning, here is how Axios describes the state of things on Capitol Hill. Johnson's coming surrender. Referring to the ongoing fight and uncertainty around, well, keeping the lights on. The battle over passing a government funding bill by the October 1st deadline before the government starts shutting down. House Speaker Mike Johnson's first move failed. He told reporters Thursday, now, we go back to the playbook. There are 10 days to that deadline.

What's the playbook? Where are they headed? Joining me right now is Republican Congressman Mike Lawler from New York. Congressman, thanks for jumping in. You told Manu, I think, it was yesterday, that you said, obviously the Speaker's going to have to recalibrate. Bottom line, you said, there's not going to be a shutdown. What is the plan today?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Look, ultimately, I think the speaker's going to have to put a three-month clean CR and maybe have some disaster relief or a -- you know, anything that needs to be in there over the next three months. But we're not having a shutdown with, you know, 46, 47 days to go in election. We will obviously have to complete our appropriations work when we come back in the lame duck session and ensure that the government is funded.

Government shutdowns don't help anybody, they actually cost more money there's no savings there. So, to me, this is not a function of saving money and it would be the height of stupidity to shut the government down just before an election. BOLDUAN: It's refreshing to hear that candid and accurate assessment of what shutdowns do. Axios though is reporting that some conservatives like Ralph Norman, he said -- like here is the -- what their take on a short-term CR, a three-monther and a clean one. Ralph Norman saying that there'll be a lot of disappointment if Johnson goes bipartisan. Asked if Johnson would face a revolt if he moved ahead with a clean three-month bill. Jim Banks said, I sure hope so.

And then, you have Donald Trump, who is pushing for a government shutdown when it comes to a clean CR. To that, you say what?

LAWLER: Look, you know, I certainly read some of my colleagues' comments. I mean, the reality is, if you wanted certain things, then you need to make sure you have the votes to pass it. And unfortunately, some of my colleagues voted against a CR because they don't believe in it, and that's fine. That's their right as representatives.

But at the end of the day, you know, if they don't want to vote for a CR, we still need to keep the government funded and open. And in a divided government, in which Democrats control the Senate and the White House, the only way to get something passed is bipartisan legislation.

[09:45:00]

So, from my vantage point, the reality of the situation is that there's going to be a short-term CR to keep the government funded so that we get through Election Day, come back and negotiate the final appropriations package for fiscal year '25 and pass it in the lame duck.

BOLDUAN: Does that -- do I assume correctly that what I hear from you is you'll vote to support a short-term clean CR, if that's what it is?

LAWLER: Oh, absolutely. As I have last year and will continue to do. I do not believe shutting down the government does anything to help the American people.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you this. Donald Trump -- President Trump last night said that if he loses the presidential election, it would be in large part because of Jewish people. He said this at an event opposing anti-Semitism. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no way that I should be getting 40 percent of the vote. I'm the one that's protecting you. When I heard that number today, I think it was insulting to our country. It was insulting to Israel. Any Jewish person that votes for her, especially now, her or the Democrat Party, should have their head examined.

In my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I'm at 40 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: If I don't win this election, Jewish people would have a lot to do with it. Are you OK with those statements?

LAWLER: Look, I was there last night and listened to the president's comments. I certainly believe what the president is talking about is, frankly, the importance of the Jewish vote in this election. I represent a district that has one of the largest Jewish communities in America. And I will do very well in that community because I have focused on the issues of protecting the State of Israel and combating anti-Semitism.

I've passed numerous pieces of legislation, including the Special Envoy for the Abraham Accords, the SHIP Act and the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act to take on the illicit oil trade that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have allowed between China and Iran, as well as the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act to combat anti-Semitism on our college campuses.

President Trump obviously has a strong record of standing up for Israel and the Jewish people. And I think what he was expressing, obviously, is that they are going to have a big voice in this election and especially in districts like mine. And so, they will have a voice in determining the outcome.

BOLDUAN: But, Congressman, is blaming Jewish people good electoral strategy?

LAWLER: I don't think -- he wasn't blaming Jewish people. What he was saying, at the end of the day is, if he doesn't win, it'll be in part because Jewish people didn't vote for him. He obviously has a strong record on Israel, on --

BOLDUAN: Right. But you know where this gets at. As you said, you have a large Jewish population in your district. Is -- he has a history of kind of perpetuating an anti-Semitic trope of about one will do loyalties of Jews, which he said, you know, if they vote for Democrats, they hate Israel and that's what --

LAWLER: No. Respectfully, Kate, respectfully, Donald Trump put in place in 2019 an executive order to adopt the IRA working definition of anti-Semitism and force the Department of Education to take on anti-Semitism on college campuses. So, he has stood up against anti- Semitism and --

BOLDUAN: I think that's why against it confuses people when uses wording like this though.

LAWLER: Look, I'm -- you can ask him about his wording. At the end of the day, I think everybody there understood what he was talking about, which was, in the end, Jewish people will have a big say in this election. Obviously, the issues of Israel and anti-Semitism have, you know, confronted the country over the last many months. And this is something that matters to people, in my district and across the country, the relationship between Israel and the United States, standing up for the Jewish people and combating anti-Semitism. And I think his point was, ultimately, they will have a big voice in the outcome of this election.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Thank you very much. You choose your words very specifically and appropriately when it comes to all of the policy that you speak about. So, that is the point I'm trying to make. It's good to see you. Thank you for coming in. John.

LAWLER: Thank you, Kate.

BERMAN: All right. He is so good. It's like almost offensive, right? The history made by Dodgers' superstar Shohei Ohtani. I mean, not offensive, but it's, honestly, like he mocks the game. He's so good.

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[09:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shohei Ohtani. He swings. It's a drag to the left. This ball's back. There it is. Number 50. The firsts player in the history of Major League Baseball to have a 50/50 season. He is incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Really, you're not supposed to be able to do it and make it look that easy. Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani just joined an elite baseball club. So elite, he is the only member. 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season. CNN's Natasha Chen is in Los Angeles. The Dodgers come home today. I mean, just incredible.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is insane to watch this, John. He is at 51/51 at this point. And tonight, he could bring those numbers even higher. At this point to just go for 60/60.

[09:55:00]

To explain to folks who may not follow baseball super closely, no one has ever come close to 50 home runs in one season. You had Ronald Acuna Jr. last season with more steals, but did not come close to the home run record. It is so rare to have both the power to hit those home runs and the speed to steal those bases.

And this isn't just baseball history that's being made, this is also having huge cultural impact as I speak to, obviously, Dodgers fans who are super excited about this, but also the Asian American community, the community from Japan visiting L.A.

I talked to one Dodgers fan who said that he feels like he's witnessing an the Babe Ruth of this era, and I spoke to another fan of Asian descent who said he's just so proud and so happy for the Asian American kids growing up today because he himself did not have someone who looked like him to look up to when he was growing up here in Los Angeles. And then, you have just all the tourists coming from Japan to L.A. L.A. tourism says 80 to 90 percent of people visiting L.A. from Japan are making a trip to Dodgers Stadium during their visit. So, I've met them. I've met them in Little Tokyo downtown. There was one person yesterday who said that he was hoping to witness this moment in person. But, of course, Ohtani blew past that already.

BERMAN: Yes, well, more records to come. The season is not over yet. Just incredible. Natasha Chen, thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: That's what people say when they come to visit Boston, they're just waiting to look for John Berman.

BERMAN: Historic. They want to see history being made.

BOLDUAN: Historic.

BERMAN: History.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you all. Thank you. You are now released from us. This is CNN News Central with the two of us. Sara will be back next week. CNN Newsroom is up next.

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