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CNN International: Harris Holds First Presidential Campaign Rally In Wisconsin; Secret Service Chief Resigns After Trump Assassination Attempt; Netanyahu To Address Congress For Record Fourth Time; France Launches Massive Security Operation For The Games. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 23, 2024 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:36]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: It is 8:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Gaza, 12:00 p.m. in San Francisco, 3:00 p.m. here in Washington.
I'm Jim Sciutto. Thanks so much for joining me today on CNN NEWSROOM. And let's get right to the news.
The Kamala Harris campaign has officially begun and is on the road. Just moments ago, the vice president wrapped up spirited rally in the swing state of Wisconsin where she pulled no punches in her portrayal of her opponent, former President Donald Trump, in particular leaning into her background as a prosecutor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I think you can count on hearing that line again during this campaign.
Today, she also raked in endorsements from party leaders, one of them right there, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, alongside him, the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
She has also, this is crucial, secured the required delegates to get the party's nomination. Money-wise, she's brought in a stunning haul, more than $100 million raised between Sunday and Monday for more than 1 million donors, 62 percent of whom had never donated to a campaign before. That's a big number when you talk to campaigns. This all coming from a campaign official.
CNN's Isaac Dovere joins me for more on how this campaign is heating up. Listen, these are good numbers -- the money of the volunteers, the
endorsements, and the timeframe of them. I mean, the amount of money coming in a short period of time, particularly small donors first-time donors, and the timeframe of her getting the party's backing now. Things are going to -- it's a long campaign, right? I mean, I wonder what your view is of this. Is this -- is this a lasting bump for her as the new nominee?
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Look, we don't know. One line that you often hear from presidential candidates in the past is the best days of their campaign.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
DOVERE: The day they launch and the day they quit. This has been a pretty good the launch Kamala Harris in just about every way.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
DOVERE: And I think a lot of Democrats are surprised by how enthusiastic they feel about this. I was getting a text message from Democrat who watched that speech in Wisconsin, who was skeptical of Harris, who said to me I can't believe this, this is so exciting and some of it is just in that person said to me not being worried about watching Joe Biden walk around the stage, right? Really basic stuff here.
SCIUTTO: Well, the difference between that speech we saw just then at a Biden speech, listen, its the difference of being separated by a generation really an age. But energy clarity -- I mean, this was, this was not a blown-up phenomenon. It's a real one.
DOVERE: No, and she is a clear contrast to that in a lot of ways I think she has been landing the talking points that she has been on a strong way so far to the relief and joy of a lot of Democrats who could watch here.
But you say it's a long campaign. It's also a short campaign. It's -- we're 105 days to the election, that means that she needs to keep this up over the next couple of months and, look, none of the polls that we have it since Sunday mean anything because it'll take a while to see how this is all landing. But the where the polls were beforehand, not only was Joe Biden behind, she was behind, too, she was just behind by less.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, there is one new poll today. But as you say, take polls with a grain of salt, plus we need a lot more data.
DOVERE: Yeah.
SCIUTTO: Isaac Dovere, thanks so much.
President Biden says he will address the nation himself from the Oval Office tomorrow to explain his historic decision to drop out of the race, and crucially to pass the torch on to Vice President Harris.
CNN senior White House correspondent MJ Lee joins me now.
Listen, this could only have been a deeply, deeply difficult decision, perhaps a painful decision for the president. What do we expect to hear from him tomorrow night?
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a painful and drawn out decision for sure. And the president has just returned to the White House. This is the first time he's been back here at the White House in a little hello over a week and Jim, you know, when he made this really stunning decision over the weekend and made that decision public, he was still isolating, recovering from COVID, was in Rehoboth.
[15:05:06]
And so, when we hear the president speak really tomorrow night for the first time at length, because yesterday we did hear from him just over a phone speaker when he called into his headquarters at Wilmington, Delaware. This is going to be the first time that we hear from the president directly, sort of the most fulsome explanation for his decision to drop out of the 2024 race. You know, in that letter that he released on Sunday to the American public, he did say this is clearly now in the best interest of my party pretty and the country, but we will hear directly from him on how he likely got to that point. This really difficult decision, as you say.
And we also expect that he's going to do a little bit of laying out what he sees as his most important and defining accomplishments in the first three-and-a-half years as president and certainly we also expect that this is going to be a forward-looking speech and a lot of ways.
You know, he still has about six months left in office. We should hear the problem president talking about what more he hopes to accomplish. But how does the now see the stakes of the November election now that he is no longer trying to win a second term but there's no question about it. You know, now that he is no longer a presidential candidate, he is officially a lame-duck candidate who is outgoing. There are just months left on calendar before the end of his first term.
But given that, securing a second term is no longer his main sort of motivating political factor. I do think, Jim, that it is possible that we might see some moves from the president, whether it is just rhetoric or perhaps executive actions or pushed for new legislation and that we may not have necessarily seen even a couple of days ago when we knew that he was an active presidential candidate.
This is just a totally new lens through which we should view the president and the presidency. And I think tomorrow night will get a pretty clear sense of how he is now thinking about his legacy as first term and one term president.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, and perhaps a focus on trying to get a ceasefire deal in the Middle East as well, given Netanyahu's visit this week.
MJ Lee at the White House, thanks so much. Well, very quickly, Donald Trump is trying out new attacks, many of
them personal, on Kamala Harris via his social media account, Truth Social, including a new nickname, lyin' Kamala Harris may sound familiar. He used that on Ted Cruz.
Harris's husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, now in the spotlight light hit back on that moniker. Have a listen to his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG EMHOFF, SECOND GENTLEMAN: That's all he's got. Look, you heard the vice president yesterday making the case against Donald Trump very clearly, but she also laid out a vision for the future, a vision where there's freedom, where we're not having to talk about these issues of today in this post-Dobbs hellscape that Donald Trump created.
You see the enthusiasm. You see the excitement. You saw the money raised. You saw the party coalesce. You saw the broad base of support that she had and just one or two days because she's talking about an America that we all have a place in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Let's speak now to our panel, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist Scott Jennings.
Good to have you both and I'm not going to give either of you easy questions here. All right. You ready?
I'll start with you, Maria, since we're talking about your party here. It's been a great 48 hours with the money, the endorsements, cetera. But there are more than 100 days.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.
SCIUTTO: You know, that the glare of the national spotlight is different from those initial moments of euphoria here.
Let me ask excuse this. What do you think Kamala Harris is biggest challenges are in the last three months or so before the election?
CARDONA: I think some of her challenges are going to be to let everyone get to know that Kamala Harris, that we just saw, Jim, because it's so interesting just saying to me what Isaac was saying about the texts that he was getting from people even Democrats, who said that they were so surprised and, you know, they loved it, but they were surprised at how good she was.
Well, those of us who have been watching her for the last three years know how good she is, because we have been watching her going out and about so many times under the radar, Jim, especially during 2022, she would go out to talk to Black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, colleges in general, going out to talk to women voters, young voters about what was at stake, and it is no small coincidence that we did not see a red wave in 2022, and a lot of it is owed to the hard work of Kamala Harris as vice president. But she needs to show that two people other than our base.
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SCIUTTO: Uh-huh.
CARDONA: She needs to show that to white vote, to older voters, to rural voters, right? I think her message of protecting our democracy, expanding the middle class protecting our rights and freedoms is something that's going to resonate with the vast majority of Americans. So I look forward to her doing that in the coming weeks.
SCIUTTO: Okay. Scott, let me ask you, I know you have responses to Maria there, but I want to ask you from the Republican side.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.
SCIUTTO: The Trump campaign was already an excited to go against Biden. They don't have that anymore.
JENNINGS: Uh-huh.
SCIUTTO: They have someone younger. They have someone who is, let's be frank, better at making the Democratic case to voters, whether you like, whether you accept that case or not. So what are the dangers? What are the weaknesses for the Trump campaign going forward?
JENNINGS: For the Trump campaign? Well, I mean, I would just add to your list. They also have the person who has been Joe Biden's right- hand person when it comes to implementing all the policies that everyone once come to hate. But I digress.
On the Trump side, look, they need to just simply transfer what they were doing to Harris. They should not -- I think the danger here will be to overthink this, over-complicate it, you know, over-nuance it.
The bottom line is, she's been Joe Biden's right-hand person during inflation, during immigration, all the things that you don't like. And so, I think the danger sometimes in campaigns is just to try to overdo it or over complicated, they really need to resist that.
They are now running against someone younger. And so, obviously, that is going to be used by Democrats. So they're going to have to continue to stay vigilant on the front of showing that Trump is a vigorous, you know, commander in chief.
And they did not have any trouble contrasting themselves that way against Joe Biden, obviously. And so, now, they've got a different person to run against here. And that has to be also I think top of mind for how you frame the race. Remember, the whole thing was around strength versus weakness. That was how Trump wanted to run the race. And so, they have to continue to try to do their part of that framework showing Trump being strong and finding the political arguments that would show Harris to be weak.
She's not going to be lethargic. She's not going to, you know, be sort of the way Biden was able to be portrayed, obviously. So, they're going to have to go down this framework on issues more than just the image of the two candidates.
SCIUTTO: All right. To you, and, by the way, both of you made a case for your candidate more than the -- but that's okay. I get what you got to do.
Maria, you are hearing from Republicans this DEI candidate line which quite understandably is upsetting, not just a lot of Democrats, but people of color. Tell me your response to that line. And do you think that there's a danger for Trump and Trump supporters to -- I mean, let's be frank alienate a base of what would normally be Democratic voters, people of color that they said they were making inroads with?
CARDONA: Yeah. Absolutely, because they're not only calling Kamala Harris DEI hires, they're calling women DEI hires. And so, when you insult the biggest electorate in the country, that is not a smart campaign strategy. And, you know, what I would say about, you know, Scott's right about the strategy that they should actually follow. But we all know how bad Donald Trump is at following strategy and at doing what his campaign advisors tell him to do.
The first thing out of the press that he did its called the vice president dumb as a rock. So if you want to expand your voter base and God knows Republicans and MAGA, especially, especially since they doubled down on their MAGA base with the choice of J.D. Vance as V.P., they absolutely need to expand their voter base.
They're not going to do that with African-American voters by treating the first African American vice president, and now major nominee for president, the way they are. They're not going to do that with women. They're not going to do that with Latino voters that they continue to talk about mass deportation camps all across the country and wanting to rip families apart.
So good luck with trying to add to what they need to add in order to win. And as Kamala makes, sorry, the future president of the United States, makes the contrast between the prosecutor that she is and the 34 times convicted felon that Donald Trump is, and using that as the frame of all of the issues that we know are incredibly popular with the American electorate, I think its going to be a great contrast to make. And at the end of the day, I think she'll win that.
SCIUTTO: Scott, you know, people forget, but in 2008, I mean, there are a lot of folks who voted for Barack Obama, right? There were a lot of assumptions, assumptions going into that election. They wouldn't.
And by the way, some of those people ended up being Trump districts in 2016, you know, folks willing to go one way and the other way, even coming over, folks assumptions about who they would vote for or not vote for based on their race.
[15:15:10]
Is there a message do you think that might -- that Kamala Harris can use, whether you believe it or not, I'm just saying like Kamala Harris can use to appeal to -- well, in this case, say Nikki Haley voters, right, you know, Trump skeptic or never Trump Republicans? Is there a message?
JENNINGS: I think it's tough. I actually think Biden had a better chance to make that case because he at least paid lip service to the idea that he was something of a moderate or somebody who would resist the fringes of our politics.
Harris is an unabashed liberal progressive. She has numerous liberal viewpoints. She has espoused them. She had the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate when she was there, even more liberal than Bernie Sanders.
So she's all in on being a liberal progressive. And I think it would make it difficult -- I mean, the Haley voters, I don't think of themselves as liberals. They think of themselves as conservatives who don't like Donald Trump. I would find it less likely candidly that she would be appealing than Biden, who I think maybe they thought would at least listen to them on some of their more center-right viewpoints.
SCIUTTO: And to be fair, there are some Democrats who share that view and express that view as they were defending Biden's continuing as a candidate.
Listen, we're going to be talking about this stuff for the 105 days. Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, thank you --
CARDONA: A fun fact for you, a fun fact for you, Jim and Scott, the Nikki Haley PAC just endorsed Kamala Harris.
SCIUTTO: Well --
JENNINGS: But that's not -- but that's not affiliated with Nikki Haley who gave a full-throated endorsement at the Republican National Convention of Donald Trump, just -- just to be fair.
SCIUTTO: Well, that's why we have you both on same time. I will leave it there.
We just learned that Donald --
JENNINGS: Would you rather have the person or the PAC? Just out of curiosity.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Well, it's kind of nice. I will leave you with this, Donald Trump is saying he wants to debate Harris but he is not set the date yet. So that'll be something to talk about as well.
Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, thanks so much.
SCIUTTO: Thanks.
CARDONA: Absolutely. Thanks. SCIUTTO: Other big story we're following today. Secret Service has a new interim director following the resignation earlier today of Kimberly Cheatle. Cheatle resigned 10 days after that assassination attempt on Donald Trump and following a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday. This also comes following bipartisan calls for her to step down.
CNN's Jessica Schneider has more on the changing leadership.
So, we were speaking this morning about Cheatle going out. So, to tell us more about who's coming in?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So shortly after her resignation, the DHS secretary announced it would be longtime Secret Service official Ronald Rowe. He's been tapped to lead the agency. He will be the interim director.
He was most recently the deputy director. He's actually been at the Secret Service for more than two decades. But really I think it's safe to say that the appointment of Roe after Director Cheatle's resignation, it is really likely to quell what's been a groundswell of criticism that the agency has faced in those ten days since the assassination attempt.
You know, there are currently. Jim, numerous inquiries into the Secret Service response, as well as their potential lack of proper preparation here.
We've heard most vehemently from House Oversight Chairman James Comer, he said this in a statement after Director Cheatle's resignation. He said: There will be more accountability to come. The Secret Service has a no fail mission, yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle's watch. While Director Cheatle's resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full accounting of how the security failures happen, so that we can prevent them going forward.
And what's interesting, Jim, is that, you know, today, there's been another congressional hearing. Pennsylvania law enforcement, they're testifying, and we're hearing some about the lapse of security here. They testified that several minutes actually lapsed between when local law enforcement climbed up on that roof where that would be assassin was perched. And a few minutes between that and when he assassin or would be assassin actually fired his shots, it turns out the officer climbed up on the roof and actually fell off once the shooter aimed at him.
So definitely a bungled law enforcement response, Jim, where there will be the a lot of questions as several investigations are actually ongoing now.
SCIUTTO: No question. Jessica Schneider, thanks so much.
And still ahead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to address the U.S. Congress tomorrow. What to look for in his address and where things stand right now for the possibility of a ceasefire and hostage release deal. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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SCIUTTO: Welcome back.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has landed now in Washington to a very difficult -- different political landscape than he planned. The prime minister will meet with President Biden on Thursday. But has now added separate meetings with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago.
Tomorrow, Israel's -- the prime minister will make history addressing a joint meeting of Congress for a record fourth time. The prime minister is trying to shore up U.S. support as talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal remains stalled. The families of hostages still held in Gaza testified on Capitol Hill earlier today, calling on lawmakers to pressure Netanyahu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL NEUTRA, BROTHER OF AMERICAN-ISRAELI HOSTAGE HELD IN GAZA: Last night, we met Prime Minister Netanyahu again. I have to say the urgency of the matter did not seem to resonate with him.
JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, FATHER OF AMERICAN-ISRAELI HOSTAGE HELD IN GAZA: I believe at this point, as an Israeli American, that any true friend of Israel today must pressure our prime minister to finish the deal now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: CNN's Kylie Atwood joins us now from the State Department.
Netanyahu, he says, conditions are ripening. It's just that you and I have heard this for weeks and months, and I just wonder if you're hearing -- if the latest assessment you're hearing is that they -- the two sides might be coming to an agreement?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest assessment that we've really gotten was the secretary of state speaking late last week on Thursday out in Aspen saying that the two sides are in the ten-yard line here, but he also said that the last ten yards or often the hardest, Jim, and I think that that's probably a good assessment as to where the sides are right now.
U.S. officials do feel like the challenges that are in place in terms of standing in the way of a deal coming together are insurmountable but the question is, can they surmount those challenges? Can they come to an agreement? And we just don't know because we've heard U.S. officials in the past, you know, say that they're hopeful before and they just haven't gotten there.
So it'll be interesting to see however what the prime minister discusses with President Biden this week when they meet, their meeting is expected plan to happen on Thursday. [15:25:03]
Now that President Biden is no longer the Democratic nominee for president, there are some hostage families who are projecting the possibility that he might be able to thrust a little bit more of his energy into a hostage and ceasefire deal, effectively that he has nothing to lose at this could be good for his legacy. That's something that they told lawmakers earlier today.
Of course, that's a hopeful assessment from them. It's not informed based on being told that by U.S. officials or anything, but we'll have to watch how this dynamic plays out this week and we'll, of course, be watching to see how Netanyahu approaches his meetings with former President Trump. They haven't had a conversation since Trump left office more than three years ago now, and the vice president Harris, who's expected to become the Democratic nominee for president.
SCIUTTO: Kylie, could ask you a question? Is there any worry that Trump might pressure Netanyahu to wait until after the election to Trump might say that would help Biden, it would help the administration, it wouldn't help me?
ATWOOD: Well, listen, I actually asked the State Department spokesperson today if there were any concerns in this building that Trump would try and metal with these ceasefire and hostage talks when he's in that meeting later this week with Netanyahu, the spokesperson said, look, it's pretty typical for foreign leaders to meet with leaders of different political parties, U.S. officials do that when they travel abroad and really wouldn't engage into the question as to whether Trump might try and get in the way somehow of these ongoing talks and to his benefit, try and you know, push them and make a deal happen, potentially after he wins in November.
But that is an area for us to watch. However, there is a law, the Logan Act, that prevents any us person from meddling in U.S. affairs when they hadn't been authorized by the government to do so. This is certainly an area for us to watch and keep reporting out.
SCIUTTO: And listen. We've seen that law come up in the last administration. We've seen folks go right up to the line and perhaps over a number of times.
We'll be watching. I know you will.
Kylie Atwood, thanks so much.
Well, since Israel launched a new military operation inside Gaza on Monday -- actually, hold on one moment these are live pictures from the Capitol building inside the Cannon House Office Building on the Capitol. Protesters are being arrested. And you can tell from their t- shirts that they are protesting Israel and Netanyahu's visit there. You can hear them chanting. Capitol Police responding, putting a number of them into plastic cups, zip ties, as they are removed.
This protest connected to the Israeli prime ministers visit tomorrow. We will continue to follow as we get new images and reports from the Capitol.
Well, since Israel launched a new military operation inside Gaza on Monday, Gaza's health ministry says more than 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire. Thousands of people stuck in an endless cycle of displacement, once again fleeing an area that had previously been declared a humanitarian zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day, our children are murdered every day, every moment. This is the blood of our children. It has not yet dried and this is not what remains under the houses and it's house (ph), and no one told us to evacuate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Now, adding to this severe challenges, new waterborne diseases and viruses, polio has been found in sewage there and risks spreading due to the dire sanitary situation, you get a sense of it. Look at those pictures there.
Joe English is an emergency communication specialist at UNICEF and he joins me now.
Goodness, polio at risk of spreading. The IDF is vaccinating its own troops against polio, right now. What efforts is the IDF making, if any, to help prevent this further disaster and how to humanitarian groups like yourself respond.
JOE ENGLISH, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST, UNICEF: Hey, Jim. We've been warning about the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases for many, many months, the conditions are ripe, and it feels like our warnings continue to fall on deaf ears.
We are so, so sick and tired of seeing our predictions our warnings come true. Now polio is a disease that we know how to combat, we know how to eradicate. We have almost eradicated in every single country in the world.
[15:30:02]
And the vaccination levels in Gaza prior to this conflict with 99 percent. Now that is almost enough to keep every child in the strip safe.
Last year, we saw it fall to 89 percent. That means there are thousands of young children who are vulnerable to a disease that should have been consigned to the past a long time ago. And so, we need to be able to get in. We need to be able to vaccinate them with our partners at WHO and the health authorities.
But in order to conduct a vaccination campaign of that scale, we need a ceasefire. We continue to call for this, we continue to push this because it is the only way to allow us to respond in a manner that we know how to. SCIUTTO: A child Ahmed (ph), 8 years old, told UNICEF, I'm quoting, the children refused to play with me. They are afraid of the rash on my skin.
I mean, beyond the fear of a bomb, drop it on your head killing yourself or your friends, or your family, fear of spreading disease -- can you describe it all the mental toll, mental health toll on children?
ENGLISH: And children on parents and my family is it is it is every single person in Gaza are exhausted mentally, physically. As a parent, you know, your only hope each and every day is to keep your child happy and safe. And we've now had more than nine months of parents every single day, meaning to find the fortitude to continue to tell their children that it's going to be okay, and it is going to be all right, when many of them don't actually believe that themselves.
And so as you say, whether it's -- whether it's violence from the skies, whether it's displacement. You know, we're talking now in many areas about 600 people per toilet and we're surprised that we are seeing, you know, waterborne and infectious diseases, now, we have been warning about this again and again and again. And I would say that we have also been prevented from bringing in portable toilets, the one of the things which we've had issues with previously.
And so we continue to call for a ceasefire is the only way to protect children, to protect families, and to end this horror. You know, release the hostages, a ceasefire as soon as possible. Otherwise, our predictions will continue to come true and our predictions are that the situation will only get worse.
SCIUTTO: I want to talk about threat to humanitarian teams there. Two clearly marked UNICEF cars were shot at today at a Gaza checkpoint. There was a similar incident with UNRWA staff and, of course, we have the deadly strike that killed those World Central Kitchen workers a number of weeks ago.
Has there been any improvement of security conditions for your teams and other aid workers there any clearer communication with the IDF?
ENGLISH: I mean, these incidents continue to happen and I think that answers the question, you know, our teams today, were working to reunite five young children with their father. They were on the way to pick up these children when there waiting area, which was agreed with all the authorities. And as we say, they came on under fire.
Now, thankfully, due to the absolute determination of our teams, we were able to complete that mission. We were able to reunite that family, but reunite them to what? These families are just -- they're crying out for an end to this and families of the hostages, all they want is that their family home, you know?
And so we need to see concerted pressure on decision-makers, on governments, on everyone who has any power in this situation whatsoever to bring this to an end.
SCIUTTO: Joe English with UNICEF, thanks so much for joining us today and giving us a sense of just the awful conditions there.
ENGLISH: Thanks so much, Jim.
SCIUTTO: District attorney, state attorney general, senator, vice president, now presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Up next, we're going to take a look back at exactly how Kamala Harris got to this moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:37:12]
SCIUTTO: When Kamala Harris tells her own story, it begins with a passion for justice instilled, she has said, by her immigrant parents from India and Jamaica who met as civil rights activists. She spent her childhood surrounded by the racial justice movements, history and culture in Oakland, California, the same place she launched her bid for the White House back in 2019.
Here's how she put it then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We were raised to believe public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is everyone's responsibility. In fact, my mother used to say, don't sit around and complain about things, do something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Well, she did do something. Her ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket caps off a career of firsts. The first African American woman and first South Asian woman elected as San Francisco D.A., California attorney general. And, of course, vice president of the United States.
We want to take a look at that career journey, her reputation across those roles? As well as the position she's staked out on hot button issues and how this informs not just a campaign, but Harris presidency potentially.
With me to discuss, Marisa Lagos of KQED in San Francisco, who has long covered Harris going back to her time as D.A.
Marissa, good to have you on.
MARISA LAGOS, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, KQED: Thanks for having me, Jim.
SCIUTTO: It's quite clear that she's going to be pushing her brand as a prosecutor, we saw that in her first campaign today in Wisconsin. She's talked a lot about prosecuting the case against Donald Trump, specifically, going after predators, traitors, et cetera. And she has that line, you know, I know his type.
Tell us about that record and how she became a prosecutor all those years ago. LAGOS: Right. I mean, when she ran in 2003, this was really still in the heart of the tough on crime era. And I would say she ran as a more progressive prosecutor, but I don't think its fair to say that that will even attack term yet at the time. I mean, her race, she actually ran to the right of the sitting district attorney, who was very liberal and to the left of another challenger who was more of a sort of traditional law and order prosecutor.
I would say as D.A., it's a mixed bag. I mean, she definitely implemented some pretty new programs, like a back on track program of re-entry and diversion program. She also implemented a truancy programs that go after parents whose kids were chronically absent.
I would argue that's kind of been a hallmark of her law enforcement career, trying to straddle this line between the civil rights, but I believe she did learn from our parents, but also being a cop. I mean, she was California's top cop in a state of almost 40 million people. She had to get along with law enforcement and she had to kind of prove her mettle because you get elected to those positions to keep the public safe.
[15:40:05]
SCIUTTO: You know, her record as a prosecutor skews positive in some circles, and it has skewed negative at times, particularly among some on the left, and this came up during a 2019 presidential run a moment when then candidate Tulsi Gabbard went after Harris.
Let me play a clip of that and I want to get your thoughts on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TULSI GABBARD (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana. And she fought to keep a cash bail system in place. That impacts poor people in the worst kind of way.
HARRIS: I did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system of the state of 40 million people, which became a national model for the work that needs to be done. And I am proud of that work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Those criticisms don't come out of nowhere, right?
And there have been questions about that for a number of years, whether that might be a weakness for her among African-Americans, her participation in the justice system they see as fundamentally skewed against them.
What was her actual reputation in those roles?
LAGOS: Again, I think she always tried to kind of hit this middle ground. It's true. She did not come out early on things like cannabis legalization, which its important to note, Governor Gavin Newsom helped sponsor legalization in California. I think she was always cautious.
I also think she was held to a different standard as a woman of color and law enforcement and she was very aware of that. But on the other hand, you know again, a lot of I think activists on the left who are very angry about her lack of standing up and sticking her neck out on police accountability measures when she was attorney Bernie general, that was definitely out there.
You know, on the other hand, she -- as I said, like she's not a lock them up law and order prosecutor. And I do think that you've seen some of this change.
In 2019 when she was mounting that presidential campaign, we were about to come into the George Floyd's summer. It was a lot of movement on the left around this question of police and how they should be held accountable. I think in this moment, she's in a better position because there's a bit of backlash to that. Let's be real.
And so, in this campaign, I think you're going to hear that. She's going to try to kind of have it both ways. And in some ways that's fair. And I also think there's a lot of people in communities of color, both here in San Francisco and statewide that appreciate some of the things she's done. They're not a monolith obviously.
So, yeah, caution I think is really the key word here. She knew that she would be under a microscope her whole career and she really was and she had earn back some trust from police and other law enforcement because whatever first move her as D.A. was declining to seek the death penalty against a man who had killed a police officer.
That really angered the police. His family, Isaac Espinosa, that officer has continued to put that against her. I expect that they will in this campaign as well.
SCIUTTO: Very basic question I always ask this, you know, when candidates on the national stage, of course, have a state background. In the simplest terms, is she popular in California today based on only that state record, but her record in national office?
LAGOS: You know what? I think she's more popular right now than she ever has been. There's a lot of excitement here. A lot of people that were criticizing her back in 2019 when she first mounted that run for president or in 2016 when she ran for U.S. Senate, are now giving her full-throated endorsements. I count people on the left and in the center of Democratic politics.
You know, she's a likable person. You see that in all the memes we're seeing right now. She's best when she's off the cuff. She's the best I would say in my experience, kind off the record behind the scenes. And so, I think a lot of people are kind of remembering that. And I think there's a lot of pride here in California to see this very extraordinary path, the woman, you know, a Black woman, the kid of immigrants coming from Oakland and mounting a presidential run now. SCIUTTO: Marisa Lagos, thanks so much.
LAGOS: My pleasure.
SCIUTTO: We will have more on the vice president coming up. And unless you just fell out of a coconut tree, you've probably seen some of the memes about her recently.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:47:32]
SCIUTTO: The Harris campaign is having a brat summer and even Beyonce is getting on the fun now. Beyonce who typically maintains strict guidelines about the use of her music, greenlit her song "Freedom" for Harris to use on the campaign trail. And Harris walked out to the song during her first visit to her campaign headquarters yesterday.
And it follows this, a campaign leaning into the brat image for our offline viewers out year, that color and lowercase branding match pop star Charli XCX's newest album, "Brat". The Harris campaign embraced the brat appeal after Charli XCX, herself posted "Kamala is brat" on Sunday.
Brats album, it's a vibe, is going viral all over the world in Harris TikTok's and beyond. We're still confused about what it all means.
CNN's Anna Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now, summer, the world went pink.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Circle.
STEWART: Buses, shop fronts and billboards.
This year, pink is out, and lime green is in.
From cosmetics retailers this now TikTok, famous deli in Charleston, even London Zoo got in on the action.
Charli XCX born this trend with the launch of her "Brat" album in June. Slime green basic fonts. It's irreverent.
Am I surprised that it's inspired a whole summer trend? A little bit.
(MUSIC)
STEWART: You can look to music videos like 360 for inspiration, all get the definition from the artist herself. CHARLI XCX, ARTIST: But it can also be like so like trashy, just like a pack of cigs, and a bit lighter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CHARLI XCX: Like a strappy white top.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CHARLI XCX: With no bra.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
CHARLI XCX: That's like kind of all you need.
STEWART: Beyond that, it's hard to really nail down what "Brat" girls summer looks like.
Do you know the answer to this question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charli XCX.
STEWART: Yes. He knows, he knows.
Stumbling upon film director Edgar Wright was worth further investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charlie XCX, there we go.
STEWART: Are you brat girl summer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so, not today. I don't think I am today, but the boots kind of are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SPF in your girlies.
STEWART: What? What does that even mean?
This is just the latest micro trend.
[15:50:01]
Recent ones include gorpcore, coastal grandma, and last year's tomato girl summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it has a bit of that if you know, you know, angle, like if you understand it, you want to buy into it. It doesn't guarantee viral success, but it just very easy to hop on and people will enjoy it.
STEWART: With engagement that easy, even politicians are having a brat girl summer. It was a bratty election campaign for the UK Green Party. And now, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is hoping slime green will appeal. And Charli approves.
Go enjoy your brat summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You, too. Have a brat girl summer.
STEWART: Bye.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.
STEWART: I like brat girl summer.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
Do you know what brat girl summer is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Well, the music's definitely catchy.
Thanks to Anna Stewart there.
After the break, as we look towards the Summer Olympic. Starting on Friday, the measures France is taking to keep the Paris Games secure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: France is pulling out all the stops to protect the Olympic Games, which was just days until the spotlight shines on Paris, the country's national terror alert remains at its highest level.
Something close to 45,000 police and soldiers will be on duty to keep the ceremony, the opening ceremonies secure. It's a lot of steps they're taking throughout.
CNN's Melissa Bell has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paris is taking no chances. Hopes of a spectacular Olympics stopped by fears of the worst.
Part of the problem for French authorities is the sheer ambition that lies at the heart of these games.
For the very first time, an Olympic opening ceremony is going to happen not inside a stadium but actually through the very city on its main artery on the Seine River itself.
Despite a terror threat in France that's still at its highest level some 320,000 people are expected to line the banks of the river over six kilometers to watch, the biggest crowd ever to attend such an event in person.
GEN. ERIC CHASBEOUF, OLYMPIC GAMES MILITARY FORCES: We'll have more than 10,000 soldiers, more than 35,000 policemen. It will be completely secure.
BELL: Street patrols leave regularly from the largest military camp erected in France since the end of World War II.
And beyond the terror threat, there are also fears linked to crime, social unrest, and cyberattacks.
[15:55:04]
NICOLAS NORMAN, PARIS DEPUTY MAYOR FOR SECURITY (through translator): There are lots of exercises, crises simulations, sometimes quite extraordinary events where everyone during an entire day tries to anticipate and then to manage them. And so today, we're ready and we're calm.
BELL: The Olympic flame arrived in Paris to welcoming crowds, but nothing compared to what is to come. Officials say that some 10 to 15 million people are expected, far too many for human eyes only to watch so A.I. has been brought in to help monitor CCTV.
MATTHIAS HOUILLIER, CO-FOUNDER, WINTICS: They need to detect abnormal situations like, for example, when there is intrusion of people on railways, when there is unattended item that could be suspicious package, et cetera.
We detect them and then the operator gets notified in real-time so that he can decide what should be done.
BELL: An unprecedented security operation made up of police, military, foreign forces and even A.I. startups that officials hope has made Paris ready for anything.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Our thanks to Melissa Bell.
And thanks so much to all of you for joining me today.
I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.
"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
