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VP Harris Speaks For First Time Since Biden Dropped Out. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 22, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): A reason you wouldn't just do what Stuart Knight did after the Reagan assassination attempt?

KIMBERLY CHEATLE, DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: I believe that I provided an answer.

KHANNA: There's nothing more that you have to say. I mean, do you really believe at this moment, given how divided the country is and the questions asked, that your service in this role is the best for the nation? I mean, I'm not saying you can't --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're going to continue to monitor this very important Congressional hearing with the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle. We'll get back to it. We'll watch it very closely.

But we're anticipating, momentarily, the current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, likely to be the Democratic presidential nominee, is going to be speaking at an event at the White House honoring athletes -- NCAA athletes from the 2023-2024 Season. Kayla Tausche is our White House correspondent. You're there on the South Lawn of the White House, Kayla. Tell us what to expect.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is the first official event for the vice president since President Biden withdrew from the race and formally endorsed her for the top of the ticket. Several prominent Democrats have come out in the wake of that endorsing her as well. But the party and others in leadership like House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and the top Senate Democrats as well as the top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, and Chuck Schumer, also have stopped short of providing an explicit endorsement of Harris.

Of course, she's been serving as vice president for the last three and a half years. But this morning's event will serve as something of an audition for American voters as they consider her through a new lens, one as President of the United States, where they will have to make a choice in November. Of course, much of the messaging for the campaign up until this point has focused on the choice between Trump and what the Biden-Harris team has viewed as democracy, rule of law, and a good economy.

And we'll see how Harris distills that message for the audience here today while an official event at the White House focused on the athletic achievements of hundreds of athletes from all over the country, schools, small and large from states -- from sea to sea. We'll see exactly how she distills that message and how she fine-tunes it. Because, of course, there is an audience much bigger than the audience that's gathered here on the South Lawn to see how Harris -- how she seizes this moment, Wolf.

BLITZER: And this will be the first time we'll see her make a statement on television at this sensitive moment, indeed. And I just want to confirm with you, Kayla, that normally, the President of the United States would be hosting this event honoring these special athletes. But he's still recuperating from COVID at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, right?

TAUSCHE: The president is isolating as he continues to recover from COVID. He continues to be treated with Paxlovid as of today. And so, he is not participating in this official event.

But we expect that at some point later this week, he will make a return to Washington. The White House has said that he expects to address the nation. The president said that in his own letter.

But for now, he remains behind closed doors until further notice. And it's Vice President Harris's moment to step into the spotlight, Wolf.

BLITZER: It certainly is right now that this is her moment. Larry Sabato is joining us right now. A political historian at the University of Virginia.

Larry, talk a little bit about the historic moment that we're all about to see, her first public appearance since President Biden decided to drop out of the race and certainly invited her and endorsed her to be the Democratic presidential nominee.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Well, she's the presumptive nominee, Wolf. There's no question about that. And everything she says and does is now very newsworthy.

It was even when she was just serving as vice president under President Biden. But now, her words really matter because the Democrats are behind the eight ball for this election. And so, when she speaks, she's speaking for the party.

And I'm assuming she'll get the nomination, even if she has some opposition, which is unlikely. So, Democrats are depending on her to turn in her A-game every single time. Maybe it's not possible, but she's got to try to do it because there's ground to make up.

BLITZER: She's almost certainly going to be the Democratic presidential nominee. It looks almost certain, at least right now, all these Democrats are quickly coming out and endorsing her, supporting her right now. Do you have any doubt about whether or not she's going to be the nominee? SABATO: I don't. I don't know how anyone -- unless they're just trying to make a point, would bother to try. You know, you can be a junior politician and get some publicity like Dean Phillips did, the challenger to President Biden in the Democratic primaries. That didn't turn out too well for him, obviously.

But that's what you have to look at. You have to look at people who have an incentive to do it and are willing perhaps to have their careers ended early.

[11:35:05]

BLITZER: Ron Brownstein is with us, our political analyst as well. Ron, this is truly -- and you and I have covered a lot of these political conventions, a lot of these campaigns over the years. This is truly an unprecedented historic moment that we're watching.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. And I was a little too young for the 1968 Convention, which is probably the closest thing. But even then, Lyndon Johnson, the incumbent president, got out in March.

I mean, look, this is a moment that Democrats understand is fraught with risk. But I think the overwhelming consensus in the party became that the risk of inaction was greater than the risk of action.

Harris's floor might be lower than Biden's. This might not work out. She wasn't a great candidate in 2020 but I think the view -- overwhelming view among Democrats is that a potential ceiling is higher, that Biden was kind of dealing with frozen or cemented perceptions, an approval rating that was stuck at 40 percent or below since the summer of '23.

70 percent or more voters saying they doubted he had the capacity to do the job for another four years. And Harris is much more of a fluid situation, you know. Democrats I've talked to say that impressions of her positive or negative are pretty shallow at this point. And that gives Democrats an opportunity to kind of reset the board.

Now, Republicans are rushing in to fill that, you know, space themselves, defining her as a California liberal on crime and as weak on the border. But she -- and she will have to bear the same process that Biden did in terms of discontent over inflation and his record at the border. But what she offers Democrats in the views of almost everyone I've talked to, is the ability to take the offense more than Biden.

She will be on the defensive over the -- defense over the same issues, but her capacity at this point to press the offensive case against Trump, the Democratic case on rights centered on abortion, values, and democracy, is clearly much greater.

People, Wolf, often cite the contrast between her remarks at the ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans when the Supreme Court gave its immunity ruling, the blank check to Trump, and Biden's own remarks two days later to give a sense of what the difference might be on the campaign trail in the weeks ahead with her rather than Biden as the nominee.

BLITZER: Let me get some other thoughts right now. Maria Cardona, what do you think? This is a pretty important moment we're about to hear --

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BLITZER: From the current Vice President of the United States, the almost certain Democratic presidential nominee.

CARDONA: Absolutely. I think it's an incredibly important moment for her, for the party, for the country. I want to push back a little bit on my dear friend Ron Brownstein. There's no question that in 2020, she -- when she launched her campaign, it was a very different time.

The same way that people are saying that Joe Biden is not the same person he was four years ago. Well, neither is Vice President Kamala Harris. She has grown leaps and bounds.

And for those of us who have been -- who have been seeing her in our communities since she became vice president, she was part and parcel of the reason why Democrats did so well in 2022 and why the red wave never appeared. Because she was out talking to college students in black universities, Latino universities, universities all across the country, to young voters, to communities of color, to the people who really understood what was at stake with Roe v. Wade in 2022

And she has been doing it since then, talking about what's at stake in 2024 in terms of the contrast between what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and now Harris for president and whoever she chooses as her VP and Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Ashley, go ahead.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think the backdrop of this is almost perfect. OK? We used to have this thing in politics called the soccer mom. Well, she's doing it with the soccer team, right? And there's an opportunity.

Last night, you saw members of the base -- when we talk about the coalition she's going to need to build to win this election. You saw members of the base, black women super excited around her. Well now today, she has an opportunity to talk to all women, to talk to America, to say to young girls you know, you can be a national champion and be here either because you're the first president, is first vice president, or because you're just really great at sports.

And so, really tell the story of what is possible in America. And if she -- this is not a political event. This is an official event. So, she probably won't lean into much.

But there's an opportunity for her to reintroduce herself and say I can be the president for all. And that's important because when people think about 2016 and Hillary Clinton, we think about the 53 percent of white women who did not go out and support Hillary Clinton and voted for Donald Trump. Today is a day she can talk to those 53 percent and say there's a place for you in the Democratic coalition, and I'm going to open the door for you.

BLITZER: Ashley, if -- you know the vice president very well. You were her communications director. Talk a little bit about what this means for her right now and how she's about to handle this great new assignment.

[11:40:00]

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS: Oh no, I'm super excited for the vice president. I'm excited for the nation. And to Ashley's point, I'm excited for my daughter and all young women that are going to be able to grow up and see their full possibility.

But I'd love to say I would love to sort of take a step back to something Ron said. I think what's going to be interesting here now is the Republican attack lines are actually going to be her strength. They're going to attack her on being a woman.

This is a current environment where the Republicans have an all-out assault on women. They've undermined Roe. The head of their party is a convicted rapist.

You know, I know very well because I work for Speaker Pelosi, Donald Trump becomes unhinged when a woman actually challenges him. So, that's going to give her an advantage. But in addition to that, to Ashley's point, she is every woman.

And so, women of color -- her being a person of color now is going to work to her advantage. If we were seeing sort of a lag among enthusiasm among black people, we don't see that anymore today. To Ashley's point, there was a call with 47,000 black women on the phone last night. In three hours, raised seven million dollars.

So, there's huge enthusiasm around the vice president. I'm excited for her. And so now she gets to really put herself on you know, full display for the nation to see how great and brilliant she actually is.

BLITZER: And she was what, the District Attorney in San Francisco --

ETIENNE: Absolutely.

BLITZER: And then the attorney general in the state of California, the largest state in the Union.

ETIENNE: The first at every job, right?

BLITZER: And -- so she's a prosecutor. How's she going to handle if there's a debate with Trump between her and Trump? How's she going to handle them?

ETIENNE: Well, this is now a time where her being a prosecutor actually works to her advantage. When she ran in the primary race, it actually didn't then, but now it actually works to her advantage. You can almost see the bumper stickers like vote for the prosecutor, not the felon. So, I think she's going to you know, absolutely prosecute the case. She's done it effectively very well in states and among key constituencies. That broad coalition that Joe Biden built to win in 2020. She's doing that now.

But here's the other thing I would say. I would challenge her not to do what Democrats typically do. We like to win the argument and not the debate.

Don't argue him point for point. Stick to big themes. He's a liar. You can't trust him.

You know, he's a threat to American democracy. Stick to those big themes, and don't try to challenge him on each point.

BLITZER: And she's a good debater.

ETIENNE: She's amazing debater.

BLITZER: We'll see how it goes.

ETIENNE: Absolutely excellent. You've seen those clips. That's why Donald Trump doesn't want to debate her because he's a little scared.

CARDONA: Debate her. He's a little scared.

ETIENNE: Not a little. A lot of scares, I should say.

BLITZER: He said he doesn't want ABC to do the next debate. He wants Fox News to do the next debate. When I heard that, I suspected maybe he's a little worried about debating Kamala Harris.

ETIENNE: Absolutely. So, he can be on friendly territory, absolutely.

BLITZER: Yes. Interesting.

We're looking at these live pictures coming in from the South Lawn of the White House right now. The vice president, filling in for the president today, will be honoring these athletes from the NCAA, athletes from the 2023-2024 season. She's going to be speaking.

We want to hear what she has to say. This will be her first remarks. She's now being introduced right now. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINDA TAYLOR, NCAA: Good morning. I'm Linda Taylor, Senior Vice President for championships at the NCAA --

BLITZER (voiceover): All right. While we're waiting to hear from the vice president, I want to bring in presidential historian Douglas Brinkley for some analysis right now. Step back a little bit, Douglas, and give us the historic picture of what we're seeing in our country right now.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN (voiceover): I think everybody now should read the truths we hold in the memoir of Kamala Harris because she's one of those extraordinary you know, up from a modest circumstances immigrant parents going up in Oakland and then bouncing around and going to Howard University and being a star there. Being a star University of California law school. So, her whole trajectory is part of kind of the American dream.

It's strange, but it -- when you -- when you think about, if I ask who's vice president of the 19th Century at every given time, Wolf, people don't know. So, Kamala Harris really does need to be introduced to the American people. The conservative movement, MAGA, has tried to identify her with the border. They tried to Hillary Clinton's eyes her right out of the gate for the last four years and trying to damage her brand.

They dented it. But she can come on strong now. And I think the most important thing will be for President Biden to talk strongly about her, why his final legacy is a Kamala Harris president -- I -- presidency. I think over the weekend, it's a lot of almost mourning of Joe Biden leaving, not running for reelection should be reversed.

[11:45:15]

It should be Biden coming out and say don't worry about what I did for America. This is my final legacy, Kamala Harris. Put some wind in her sail.

BLITZER (voiceover): Yes. It's going to be interesting to see how this relationship continues to evolve. And Ashley, at the end, you worked for Kamala Harris as communications director, what was her relationship with the -- President Biden like?

ETIENNE (voiceover): They had an incredibly close relationship. Not only just a friendship, but they were true partners in the work. This is why I make the point that his accomplishments aren't his alone, that she was a true partner.

And every bit of that I was there in the -- in the Oval Office with them, where she was, you know, sitting in on the presidential daily briefing every morning. She was calling world leaders as he was, sort of complimenting his work. She was tasked with big assignments to go to the heel and flip, not just Democrats, but also move some Republicans.

So, they have a really good relationship that's rooted in respect -- mutual respect for each other. I think he adores, you know, what she brings to the table in terms of her practicality about seeing problems, seeing people, that's her ethos. But then also, how does that apply to implementation of policy?

I think he really appreciated that. If you know anything about Joe Biden, he always asks a question, well, how does it affect real people? What does this mean for real people?

BLITZER (voiceover): All right. She's about to speak. Let's listen in.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank you for all you do to support these extraordinary student-athletes, and it is good to be here with so many leaders. Including, of course, members of Congress, members of our administration, and our extraordinary athletes.

Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast. And he looks forward to getting back on the road.

And I wanted to say a few words about our president. Joe Biden's legacy of accomplishments over the past three years is unmatched in modern history. In one term, he has already -- yes, you may clap.

In one term, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who have served two terms in office. And I first came to know President Biden through his son, Beau. We worked together as attorneys general in our states.

And back then, Beau would often tell me stories about his dad. He would talk about the kind of father and the kind of man that Joe Biden is. The qualities that Beau revered in his father are the same qualities that I have seen every day in our president. His honesty, his integrity, his commitment to his faith and his family, his big heart, and his love, deep love of our country.

And I am a first-hand witness that every day our President Joe Biden fights for the American people. And we are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.

And so, with that, on behalf of our president and Dr. Biden, I am honored to welcome all of you to the White House to celebrate the achievements of these great athletes. Every one of them is a national champion. A national champion.

In America, tens of millions of people play a sport as a child, and the best of the best grow up to become national champions. Here today, we have seven undefeated teams, 11 repeat champions, and 2o first-time winners. Some of you have represented our nation on the international stage, in World Cups, and World Championships. And later this month, six of you will represent our nation at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

As members of Team USA, you are ambassadors for our nation. And with pride, we will cheer you on. And we look forward to congratulating you when you bring home the gold.

So, to all of our athletes, I know it was not easy to make it to this moment. Each of you has faced challenges and obstacles, and you have endured. You have fought back and fought through.

[11:50:00]

By doing so, you demonstrated that true greatness requires more than skill. It requires grit and determination. You all know what it means to commit and to persevere, and you know what it means to count on teammates.

During the course of a long season, sports teams become a family. You rely on each other, you develop relationships that will last a lifetime, and you make the people around you better in every way. And when you play, you inspire people across our nation. You remind all of us what can be achieved with hard work and ambition.

And of course, none of you made it here alone. Today, you are surrounded by the people who stood by you every step of this journey. The folks who support you on and off the field. Your friends, your family members, your coaches, your trainers, and teachers who for years have cheered you on. So, today again, let us give them a round of applause.

And in conclusion, I say to our athletes, congratulations again on all you have accomplished and good luck on all that is to come. Wherever you all go from here, you will always -- and know this, you will always be champions, and we will always be so proud of you. And so now, it is my honor to welcome to the stage Jordynn Dudley, who plays on the Florida State University Women's Soccer Team and our U-20 Women's National Team. Please welcome Jordynn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (on camera): We just heard from the Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris. I just want to point out that the vice president will be heading to Wilmington, Delaware later this afternoon to meet with campaign staff there on this the first -- what they're describing, the first full day of her presidential campaign. That, according to updated guidance that we're just getting it from her office, and a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, right now.

Kayla Tashi is our White House correspondent. Kayla, give us a sense of what's going on right now. What we should anticipate in the coming hours and the next few days.

TAUSCHE: Wolf, Vice President Harris has made it clear that she is going to seize the reins of this moment and of this campaign, traveling to Wilmington, as you just mentioned, later this afternoon to try to rally the troops for the 105 days to go. This home stretch of the campaign where, in the last four weeks, Harris and her party have become something of underdogs, to use a sports metaphor, as the vice president addresses this audience of athletes.

She used these remarks to praise the leadership of President Biden and the accomplishments that he's -- that he has notched in the last three years and thanking him and the First Lady for the opportunity to be here at this event today. But using some broad language talking about going for the gold, being a winner, and being supported by a team, it's hard not to sense the metaphors and some of the parallels in what she was saying as she embarks on this journey of her own to try to retake the narrative for the Democratic Party and trying to rally members of the party nationwide and to galvanize voters behind her candidacy. Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting. We'll see what happens when she's in Wilmington, Delaware. Maria Cardona, it jumps out at me, and I'm sure a lot of other people, she would be the first woman president of the United States if, in fact, she's elected president. Hillary Clinton tried that --

CARDONA: Right.

BLITZER: Didn't work out for her. But this would be a huge, huge moment in American history.

CARDONA: Huge moment, Wolf. But she wouldn't just be the first woman. She'd be the first woman of color, black, woman of Asian descent, daughter of immigrants. So many glass ceilings would be just shattered if she makes it.

But I also notice this amazing parallel between the events that she's doing now telling those athletes that they are about to embark on the competition of their life, the ones that are going to the Olympics. She's about to embark on the competition of her life. And that competition is going to be tough.

It's going to be something that we -- none of us, have ever seen before. They are going to attack her like no other woman in that position has ever been attacked because it's really been no other woman doing what she's about to do.

The other side is going to lie, cheat, and steal. They are going to otherize her. And she's going to need the team of her life as well around her. Because when she brings home the gold, it's not going to be just for her, it's going to be for the American people who are looking to her, to the Democrats, to somebody to make sure that we keep our democracy sacred, that we continue to fight for the families that have been given so much with the accomplishments that she just underscored for her and what Joe Biden have been able to accomplish.

[11:55:21]

And there's so much more that is at stake between what she wants to offer and the massive threat that Ashley said it so well the prosecutor against the 34 times convicted rapist felon. You know, that is something that is so critical because so many communities would be at stake if he win.

BLITZER: We're going to continue to watch history unfold here in the United States. Everyone, stand by. To our viewers, thanks very much for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I'll be back later tonight, 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Right back here tomorrow morning, 11:00 a.m. in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right after a very short break.

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