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Today, Harris Meets With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu; New, Harris Campaign Releases First Ad of Presidential Bid; Republicans Race to Define Harris as a DEI President. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 25, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin with the race for the White House as Democratic Contender Kamala Harris is crisscrossing the country after President Biden passed the torch to her in a historic address to the nation. Moments from now, the vice president will speak before the nation's second largest union of teachers gathering today in Houston. We'll bring that to you shortly.

Later today, Harris will be back in Washington to sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Looming over their meeting, Netanyahu's controversial defense of Israel's war in Gaza.

Also this morning, the Harris campaign has released its first ad of her presidential bid, a video set to Beyonce's hit song, Freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In this election, we each face a question. What kind of country do we want to live in?

There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate. But us? We choose something different. We choose freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Harris has hit the ground running since the president withdrew from the race. On Monday, she spoke at a White House event celebrating college athletes. On Tuesday, she held her first presidential rally in Milwaukee. Yesterday, she was in Indianapolis to speak to a historically black sorority and now Houston.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is there for us. Priscilla, what will be Harris' message in the next hour?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, she's expected to talk about the importance of unions and her own land, long-standing relationship with them. Of course, this was the first union to endorse her when she was put to where when President Biden withdrew from the race. And it is one of the unions that the vice president called on Sunday in that blitz of calls shortly again after President Biden said that he would not reelections.

So, she does have a relationship with the American Federation of Teachers, and she's expected to talk more about that today. But she's also expected to continue to articulate her message on the campaign trail, which is what we are seeing more of over the last week, not only talking. About the stakes of the election, but specifically the issues that could be in play, like a reproductive rights, gun violence, health care, and one key theme we'll hear a lot about that no one is above the law.

Of course, the vice president has said that she's going to prosecute the case. And we've seen some of that when she was the running mate to President Biden. We're seeing it now at a bigger stage, and that it was part of what you saw too in that campaign video that was released by the campaign just this morning, days again after she led the party's ticket. So, all those themes expected to come together in this address here in Houston. Jim?

ACOSTA: Yes. Priscilla, while Harris is shaping her campaign, sharpening her message, there's a lot of buzz building around Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly as a possible running mate. What can you tell us about that?

ALVAREZ: Well, this has been the most accelerated search for a vice president in history. They're trying to pick someone in less than two weeks, so before August 7th. So they are working against the clock here.

Now, in terms of some of the names that are under consideration, Roy Cooper, Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, among others. Of course, former Attorney General Eric Holder is going through documents along with a team, looking through public statements, doing what you might expect when searching for a vice president, but doing so in a very, very tight deadline. Of course, this is something that the vice president is focused on along with our team, and we'll expect to hear who she decides to pick in the days to come. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. Priscilla Alvarez in Houston for us, thanks so much. In the meantime, Republicans and right wing media are wasting no time in attacking the vice president, the New York Post proclaiming her as America's first DEI president, a racist broadside that's echoing across the far right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): 100 percent, she was a DEI hire.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.

[10:05:06] It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.

ALEX LACE, CONSERVATIVE AUTHOR: And there's the DEI press secretary telling you that the DEI vice president is the future of the party here. And so the future looks kind of dim for the Democrats here, but this is no shocker either. Kamala Harris, she's the original hawk tuah girl. That's the way she got where she is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Let's discuss with the former Democratic mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, The New York Times' Maya King and The Washington Post Senior Editor at Large Robin Givhan.

Mayor, let me start with you first. I mean, a lot of this stuff is just absolutely repugnant. What's your response to that when you hear these attacks? I guess it was to be expected.

FMR. MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D-ATLANTA, GA): Yes, it makes me so angry. And I'm not sure what the campaign strategy is when your intent is to offend everyone except straight white men. It is absolutely ridiculous as someone who went through three rounds of in vitro fertilization. The notion that you would take a swipe at someone because they don't have children is absolutely incredible to me.

But beyond that, the reality is that the more time we spend on this fifth grade silliness, the less time we're spending on talking about the real issues in this campaign and head-to-head on the issues. Kamala Harris outbest J.D. Vance and Donald Trump every single step of the way.

So I hope that we can get back to focusing on the issues, Donald Trump's celebration of getting rid of Roe with the Dobbs decision, also with Project 2025, what it will do to our Department of Education, what it will do the Social Security, Medicare recipients, and the list goes on. Let's focus on the issues and let's let them have their silly time while we go out and do the work and vote.

ACOSTA: And, Maya, I mean, what is this DEI stuff? I mean, we've heard this from a number of members of Congress. We saw it in the New York Post. Why is that line of attack reverberating on the far right, do you think?

MAYA KING, POLITICS REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, this kind of line of talking started, I think, with the Supreme Court decision that overturned affirmative action, and it was also sort of an outgrowth of what we've been seeing from Republicans for many years, which is railing against efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion, which is what DEI stands for.

But this has been a pattern of conversation on the right for some time, that any people of color in positions of power are considered not qualified, particularly women. And I've spent a number of -- I've spent quite a bit of time at Trump rallies. I was at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, and this was certainly something that came up. And this was in a largely white crowd, where you saw many people on the right very much criticizing, women and people of color in positions of power and sort of delegitimizing them.

And so what we're seeing now coming from Republicans, I'll also note reporting from Politico that said that this is that -- that Republicans should lay off of criticizing the vice president on the grounds of her race and gender. You know, it's all very unsophisticated in the way that they're mentioning it, but it's also not very surprising.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, there are these racist attacks, but also sexist, misogynist attacks. Robin, we heard Trump's running mate, J. D. Vance, refer to Harris as a, quote, childless cat lady. We should note, the actress, Jennifer Aniston, who does not have children posted that clip on Instagram and said this, quote, I truly can't believe this is coming from a potential vice president of the United States. All I can say is Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option because you were trying to take that away from her too.

I mean, these kinds of attacks, I mean, they just -- they offend, I mean, just about anybody, I would think. I mean, it's just extraordinary.

ROBIN GIVHAN, SENIOR CRITIC-AT-LARGE, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes. I mean, frankly, I'm not, you know, someone who covers politics per se. I observe politics. And I have to say that as someone who does not have children, I find it really striking that there is this characterization that sort of the primary purpose of politics is to the purpose of women is to, in fact, bear children. And if they don't do that, then they have somehow failed in their purpose.

I would also say that I think a lot of this reflects and a degree of fear in this country and this idea that sort of the possibilities and the riches are quite limited.

[10:10:04]

And if someone gets their fair share of it, then someone else loses out.

And then the last thing I would say is that, you know, I think it also reflects the way in which we still, unfortunately, live in silos. The fact that Republicans and those who are critical of Kamala Harris can speak about her in such terms really suggests that there is this distance and dehumanizing of someone. And I think if we weren't so siloed just in terms of the diversity of our friend group that it would be more difficult to do that.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, that kind of an attack referring to somebody as childless, I mean, it has to, I think, overlook, ignore the fact that a lot of people struggle having children. A lot of -- I mean, sure, a lot of folks decide not to have children for career reasons and so on, but it just ignores, it just overlooks the fact that so many families struggle to have children in this area.

And, Mayor, I mean, I have to think that all of these kinds of comments are just dumb, politically speaking. You know, the Trump campaign had been trying to carve into some of these, you know, groups of voters as a way to sort of carve into the Democratic base. And I have to think those things are going to just backfire, politically speaking.

BOTTOMS: I would think so. But the reality is that half of the people in America who went to vote elected Trump the last go-round when he was on the ballot, knowing that he offended people, that he had no regard for anyone who was different. And so this is why I keep saying we've got to focus on the issues. It is offensive.

My first thought was every person of color who is walking into the office today has to feel that people are looking at them, wondering if they are DEI hire. Also women, the fact that you would defend such a wide voting bloc of people really just is -- I don't -- I can't make sense of it as someone who's been on the ballot, but I've long ago stopped trying to make sense of things that Donald Trump says. And now we can add Donald Trump 2.0 with J.D. Vance.

And these are the things that people need to remember as we are in this election season, and also remembering that Kamala Harris is highly qualified. This is a woman who has been vice president of the United States, a Senator, an attorney general, a district attorney, and the list goes on. What more do you need to be qualified to run for president and to serve as president of the United States?

ACOSTA: Yes. Maya, I mean, I suppose there's the possibility that some of the folks who are leveling these kinds of DEI charges and so on are just not as qualified, not as accomplished as the vice president. I mean, she has accomplished a great deal. I mean, you know, Kevin McCarthy was even saying yesterday, I believe, that, you know, she is the vice president. That is a major accomplishment. How can you make these kinds of claims?

And the other thing that needs to be said is that, you know, we have DEI programs at major corporations across the country, and they help bring about major changes in these corporations, and that a lot of the boardrooms in this country have been exclusive for so long, and you can have qualified people of all different backgrounds in these kinds of positions, and that should be the case in the year 2024.

KING: I think it's a reflection of where the Republican Party still thinks of itself at this point. The Republican Party, at least in Congress, is still not a very diverse party. And it's worth asking the small number of black Republicans what they think of these comments.

And I'll also say they underestimate the large number now of black men and black women across the country who are very excited and mobilized and ready to mobilize on behalf of the possibility of the first black woman, black and South Asian woman as president. We saw on Sunday almost 50,000 black women gathered on a phone call that raised over $1 million. In the following night, even more black men gathered on a phone call that raised, I think, just over $1.5 million and a half dollars.

And so there is real grassroots energy right now among black voters, infrequent, frequent voters and grassroots organizers. They're paying attention to these comments as Republicans try to make inroads with black voters, and I believe they were earlier this year.

[10:15:04]

Now, these comments, the more that they're elevated, and the more that other black leaders draw attention to them, it could absolutely become a real problem for the GOP, at least a bigger problem than it is right now.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, thank you all, all of you, for those comments this morning. I appreciate it very much. Keisha Lance Bottoms, Maya King, Robin Givhan, thanks so much.

Still to come, in just a couple of hours from now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris. It comes a day after a polarizing speech to Congress. We will speak to two lawmakers who were there and have different views on that speech. That's coming up in just a few moments.

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ACOSTA: All right. Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Biden and presumptive Democratic Nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Netanyahu's White House visit comes after he delivered a fiery speech before Congress on Wednesday defending Israel's conduct in Gaza and slamming critics of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: For all we know, Iran is funding the anti Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building. Not that many, but they're there.

You have officially become Iran's useful idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And with us now to discuss, Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California. He's calling on Netanyahu to resign after yesterday's speech. Congressman, thanks very much.

What was it that stood out to you in the prime minister's speech that you objected to, and why are you calling on him to step down?

REP. JIMMY GOMEZ (D-CA): It's been a long time coming. It's from the beginning, from before October 7th, when it came to illegal settlements expanding into the West Bank, and then at the same time his failure. Remember, he's the guy that says, I'm the only one that can protect Israel. Well, he failed when it came to October 7th, when 3,000 terrorists stormed across, killed 1,200 people, kidnapped 255 people.

Last night, we were expecting to hear a vision for where he was going to take not only his country but how he's going to bring this war to a conclusion. We didn't hear that. All we heard was more rhetoric when it comes to total victory.

And I'm also on the House Intelligence Committee. I know how complicated it is. I know Hamas is a terrorist organization and they must be defeated or defanged. But he has no plan and he doesn't even have a war cabinet anymore. So, I think it's time for him to call for elections and allow a new minister to step forward.

ACOSTA: Do you think it was a mistake for the prime minister to be invited to give this kind of a speech right in the middle of an election campaign, and, I mean, Democratic leaders from your party invited him to speak? Was that a mistake?

GOMEZ: I wouldn't have invited him to speak if I was the, the head of the Senate or the speaker. They invited him. But every time that any delegation of members of Congress go, he meets with them, even if we disagree with him. I called him out on illegal settlements and questioned his strategy So, I think it's something that can be allowed but people can also speak up and say why they disagree with him.

ACOSTA: And there were a number of lawmakers who were not present at the Netanyahu address. One notable absence was Vice President Harris. Should she have been in attendance, do you think? And she's supposed to be with Netanyahu today. What do you hope she says? What do you hope the president will say?

GOMEZ: I think that they're meeting with him today. I think that they need to push on settling, getting to a ceasefire, so that they can bring all the hostages home, get more aid into Gaza, and make sure that this war is brought to an end. But at the same time, what is the path forward for security and stability in the region? Because they are our partner in the region, so is Jordan, but we want to talk to all our partners to make sure that peace and stability in the region can be established again after this war is conducted.

ACOSTA: Would you like to see Harris get a little tougher on the prime minister than maybe the President has been? I don't want to get you in any trouble here, get you in the middle of that, but what do you think? Should she maybe amp things up a little bit?

GOMEZ: I think Joe Biden has been dealing with Bibi for such a long time. I actually trust him when it comes to dealing with it. And at the same time, there's only one president at a time. She might be the presumptive Democratic nominee. Joe Biden is still the commander-in- chief of the United States of America.

ACOSTA: And your sense of things right now, how do you think the president, the vice president handled this handoff? The president gave that address to the nation last night. He's now passing the baton to Kamala Harris. Your thoughts?

GOMEZ: You know, I think it just revealed that for 50 years, he's always put his service to country above everything else, even when he lost his wife and two kids. I have a child. Just thinking about that chokes me up, that he always went back and gave more.

He did his part. He met the moment in history to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and now to hand it off to a new generation of leaders, like Kamala Harris.

ACOSTA: All right, very good. Congressman Gomez, thanks very much for coming in. I appreciate it. Good to talk to you.

For more perspective on this, I'm joined by Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin. He's the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, presided over Netanyahu's address in place of vice president yesterday. Senator Cardin, good to see you, sir.

What's your reaction to the speech? I mean, it did not go over well with a lot of your colleagues in the Democratic Party.

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D-MD): Well, Jim, first of all, it's good to be with you. It's always important when we have the prime minister of Israel In the joint session. The relationship between our two countries transcends any one administration. It really is a reflection of the importance of Israel and the United States working together. And when he talked about unity, I think he got the strongest bipartisan response that we need to work together.

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ACOSTA: Do you think he went overboard at times during the speech?

CARDIN: Well, at first, I was pleased that he started with the hostages. We need to get the hostages released. We need to get a ceasefire so we can get humanitarian assistance into Gaza, which is desperately needed. So, I was pleased that he harped upon that.

We certainly agree with Israel's right to defend itself. We know Hamas should never have taken hostages and should release them immediately. I was concerned with some of his comments went bounds as it related to the demonstrators, as it related to humanitarian assistance. But, by and large, I think the point that needs to be emphasized is that we need to move to the next chapter, and that is peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis with responsible leadership and with no Hamas.

ACOSTA: And do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu is a reliable partner when it comes to finding peace?

CARDIN: Well, it's interesting. He mentioned the comparisons to World War 2. And, of course, there are now independent countries in Germany and Japan. The only solution here is two states living side by side in peace. That's what I strongly support. That's the path we have to pursue, but it has to be without terrorists.

ACOSTA: And a number of your colleagues, including the former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, skipped the speech. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib held up a sign that said, war criminal, during the speech. Your reaction to all of that?

CARDIN: Well, I also know that they met with the hostage families. I met with the hostage families. I was, again, pleased to see that we put the focus on getting the hostages released. I know we're close to that right now. The prime minister mentioned that. We've heard from the administration that these negotiations are really close.

I think if we can get the hostages released and we can get to a ceasefire, I hope that we'll be able to move forward in a constructive way in the region.

ACOSTA: And what is your response to the prime minister referring to protesters who have been demonstrating against the war in Gaza as, quote, Iran's useful idiots? Is that the kind of language that a head of state should be using in an address to Congress talking about Americans in that fashion? I mean, people have the right to free speech. Should he be describing critics of the war as Iran's useful idiots, especially in the middle of a campaign?

CARDIN: Yes. Quite frankly, I believe strongly in the right of those who disagree with our views to be able to peacefully protest. They have to respect the rights of others. What we saw yesterday at the train station was irresponsible, horrible, and wrong, and needs to be condemned. The burning of the American flag, things like that, had no place in peaceful demonstrations. But I think characterizing all protesters as pawns of Iran is just wrong. But I do recognize that some of these protesters have gone overboard and need to be contained.

ACOSTA: All right. Senator Ben Cardin, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

CARDIN: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. We are following breaking news. CNN can confirm now that former President Barack Obama's team has been in touch with the Harris campaign, and they do and expect an endorsement soon. That's according to a source familiar with all of this.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us live from Houston. There's been a lot of anticipation inside the Democratic Party as to whether or not the former president would come out and endorse Vice President Harris. We're hearing that may come soon. What can you tell us?

ALVAREZ: Well, and what we had heard from aids on Sunday is that the former president was taking an approach similar to that of 2020 in waiting to endorse in hopes of trying to unify the party. Now, it is becoming clear that the vice president will be the Democratic nominee, so it seems as though we are getting even closer to that endorsement from former President Barack Obama. Of course, his statement on Sunday was really focused on President Joe Biden and the decision that he had made to step aside from the presidential race, the former president calling him patriot of the highest order.

So, certainly, an endorsement from Obama would be quite significant for Vice President Kamala Harris. She has been breaking in several endorsements from within the Democratic Party over the last week. Of course, this is notable because of the division that we saw in the Democratic Party over the last several weeks. But she has been getting multiple endorsements this week, including from the union that I am here with in Houston, the American Federation of Teachers. They were the first union to back the vice president. She will be addressing them this morning. They were also among the calls that she made on Sunday, over 100 of them, to try to convey that she wanted to earn the nomination and earn their support. And here in Houston, she certainly has.

But, again, Jim, this would be significant endorsement from former President Barack Obama. We have not seen it yet. We are inching closer to it, it appears, but that is also because we are now in a position where the vice president is on track to be the Democratic nominee.

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