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99 Days Until U.S. U.S. Presidential Election; Poll: Harris Sees Favorability Uptick, Trump Slips; Venezuela's Maduro Declared Winner, Opposition Rejects Official Results; Israel Strikes Deep Inside Lebanon After Rocket Attack; California's Park Fire Burns 360,000 Acres, 12 Percent Contained. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 29, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Well Mr. Trump, in America we play by the rules. Sometimes you lose, you're going to lose this election, except the results.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people. The international community is watching this very closely, and will respond accordingly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Access has definitely been a problem for firefighters. With the steep, rugged terrain, you just can't get in there sometimes. Firefighters right now, from the sky to the ground, they're taking advantage of the break we do have in the weather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM, with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, warm welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and around the world, I'm Max Foster.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Monday, July 29th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in Washington, where the race for the White House is heating up with less that 100 days until the presidential election.

It's now been just over a week since U.S. President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who moved quickly to consolidate support from the Democratic Party.

FOSTER: Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump took a break from the campaign trail on Sunday, and instead let their allies stump for them. Here's Senator Bernie Sanders rallying for Harris as he blasted Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANDERS: This country will not do well, will not survive, if we elect a president like Trump, who has spent years undermining the very foundations of American democracy, and who just recently told us that he will not accept the election results in November unless he thinks that they are fair. Well, Mr. Trump, in America, we play by the rules, sometimes you lose, you're going to lose this election, except the results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was defending the Trump-Vance ticket when he asked, when asked if the former president regrets picking J.D. Vance to be his running mate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Not at all, because J.D. Vance has one of the most compelling stories in American politics. When you look at his background, what he overcome early in life to be who he is, he went to Iraq, he didn't have to, went to Yale Law School, he became a Marine, that's no small deal.

I don't have children, but I'm going to vote for J.D. and Trump, because I think we'll be safer and more prosperous and more secure. I want to end the Biden-Harris debacle. No, you should never say anything to hurt anybody's feelings, but when you look at all these interviews by J.D., he was talking about how the Democratic Party has abandoned the traditional family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Donald Trump and his allies have had to pivot to focus their attacks on Kamala Harris as she looks to top the Democratic ticket.

FOSTER: CNN's Julia Benbrook has more on how the Harris campaign is managing those attacks.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Harris campaign has announced that they've brought in $200 million in donations in just the last week. Of that amount, they say that 66 percent has come from new donors. They're also highlighting organizing efforts, saying that they have 170,000 new volunteers.

All of this is taking place as former President Donald Trump is trying out new lines of attacks against his new opponent. In recent days, he has called Harris evil, made fun of her laugh, and even gone as far as to say that the American dream is dead if Harris wins.

Now, the vice president is responding. She has called some of Trump's comments wild lies, and then gone on to say that some of the statements coming from the top of the GOP ticket are, quote, just plain weird. KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record, and some of what he and his running mate are saying, well, it's just plain weird. I mean, that's the box you put that in, right?

BENBROOK: The voting process to officially name Harris, the Democratic Party's nominee, is expected to begin next week. Voting is conducted by electronic ballots sent to convention delegates. Now, party officials have said that they hope to nominate the presidential and vice presidential candidates by August 7th.

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Another date that's quickly approaching is August 19th. That's the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. We expect for there to be some changes with a new name at the top of the ticket, and have them lean in more to the vice president's personality and political achievements.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, in the past week, Kamala Harris has effectively erased former President Donald Trump's lead in the polls.

MACFARLANE: CNN's Harry Enten breaks down the numbers for us now.

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HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Why don't you look where we were a week ago? Look at this. Both Harris and Trump, not particularly well-liked, certainly better-liked than former President Joe Biden, but look at this, a minus 11 net point favorability rating, a minus 11 point net favorability rating.

But look at where we stand right now since Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Her net favorability is now actually in the positive territory at plus one point.

And look at Donald Trump. His net favorability has actually dropped from minus 11 points to minus 16 points. So the last week has been one in which Kamala Harris has received a load of good press, while Donald Trump, coming off of his Republican National Convention, perhaps not some necessarily good news for his vice presidential choice, J.D. Vance. And what we've seen is clear movement on this particular metric towards Kamala Harris.

I think the question ultimately will be, as we get more of that horse race polling, does it translate to the ballot test? But certainly, I think Democrats would argue that this is one of Kamala Harris's best polls so far, showing her much more popular than a week ago, while Trump has fallen back a little bit.

So let's take a look at those Great Lake Battleground states, because I think that this will give you an idea of how tight the race is in the Great Lake battleground states.

Look at Wisconsin, a point race well within the margin of error, no clear leader. Michigan, tied. Pennsylvania, tied.

And of course, these were states that post the first debate, in fact, the only debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We saw that Trump was picking up ground in these states and holding an advantage over Joe Biden. Not the case against Kamala Harris.

Why is that so important? Well, it's so important because if, if Kamala Harris can win up in these Great Lake battleground states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, even if she were to lose in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, of course, those Sunbelt Battleground states that Joe Biden won four years ago. Look at that.

She would get to exactly 270 electoral votes. She would win the election. So the fact that she's holding her own there definitely suggests that the Great Lake battleground states are a potential pathway for her to allow Democrats to hold on to the White House.

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MACFARLANE: Now we are continuing to monitor the situation in Venezuela, where authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro has been declared the winner of Sunday's election. That's according to the country's National Electoral Council. Maduro suggested there would be bloodshed if he lost, but shifted his rhetoric after being declared the winner.

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NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I said it. There was peace before and there was, during and we have it. And there will be peace, stability and justice after the 28th of July, starting from today. Peace, justice, respect of the law and justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Maduro's main challenger was opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a former diplomat who the coalition rallied behind after their two preferred candidates were barred from running.

Speaking in Tokyo moments after the result was announced, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the electoral authorities to ensure transparency and accountability.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen the announcement just a short while ago by the Venezuelan Electoral Commission. We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people. It's critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently, that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay, and that the electoral authorities publish the detailed tabulation of votes. The international community is watching this very closely and will respond accordingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: We go now to journalist Stefano Pozzebon in the capital of Caracas, with reaction from the opposition and regional leaders.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Venezuela is living through hours of tension this Monday morning as the electoral authorities, which are heavily controlled by the government, have declared longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the presidential election celebrated on 28th of July. The announcement came around midnight on Monday morning, six hours after the polling closed and after an extensive wait when the opposition was claiming that they were ahead in the voting count.

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And this is why there has been a lot of doubts, cast a lot of doubts over this result. This is how the Venezuelan opposition reacted.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): We want to tell all Venezuelans and to the entire world that Venezuela has a new president-elect, and that is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. We won and everyone knows it. Everyone knows it.

I want you to know that this was something so overwhelming, so big, that we won in every sector of the country.

POZZEBON: On his part, Maduro was quickly to claim victory. He took the stage in a presidential palace saying that the election occurred in a climate of peace and tranquility, that he is the true leader of Venezuela.

However, many countries in Latin America have already announced that they have doubted these results. All of these countries include Chile, Peru, Costa Rica and others. The United States are urging caution and inviting the electoral authorities to proceed with the publication of all the numbers and the data they have. In the next few hours, the situation will continue to evolve here in Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Lebanon warning Israel of a regional war if it goes too far in its response to a deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel vowed Hezbollah will pay the price after blaming the Lebanese militant group for a rocket attack which killed 12 children and injured more than 40 people on Saturday.

MACFARLANE: Our CNN's Ben Wedeman, who has extensive experience covering the region, has more now from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lebanon is bracing for an Israeli response to the attack that killed at least 12 children in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights Saturday evening. A senior Hezbollah media official told CNN that the group is in what he called a state of mobilization and that they had already evacuated some of their posts.

Now various airlines have either delayed or canceled flights to Beirut in fear of an imminent Israeli attack. And the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon has reissued a strongly worded advisory urging Americans to reconsider travel plans to Lebanon.

Now, Sunday, we had the opportunity to speak with Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, who warned that if Israel attacks Lebanon, it could risk a regional war.

ABDALLAH BOU HABIB, LEBANESE CARETAKER FOREIGN MINISTER: You know, not because of conviction, but because of any attack on our country. We support Hezbollah in this regard. But it's not going to be Hezbollah alone, as I mentioned.

Iran foreign minister said it yesterday. It wouldn't be Hezbollah alone. And you have the Houthis, you have the Iraqi militias, you have militias in Syria who are not serious, Pakistani, Afghani militias.

WEDEMAN: But in the meantime, nonetheless, it does appear that many Lebanese are going on with their lives. Just below me, there is a loud dance party going on. And when I was at the airport, when I arrived in Beirut today, there were very long lines of people coming to the country, many of them with American passports.

I'm Ben Wiedemann, CNN, reporting from Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: And later this hour, we'll discuss the border implications of the Israel-Hezbollah tensions with Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York.

FOSTER: Now, a raging wildfire in Northern California has now burned an area larger than New York City. Cal Fire reports the park fire has scorched more than 360,000 acres. Firefighters have contained 12 percent of the blaze, thanks to favorable weather over the weekend. But on Sunday, spot fires were reported.

MACFARLANE: More than 100 structures have been destroyed by the blaze. California police have arrested one man suspected of starting the fire.

FOSTER: CNN's Camilla Bernal has more on the efforts to control the massive blaze in Northern California.

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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thousands and thousands of acres look a lot like what you see here behind me, so much destruction caused by this fire. And what fire officials are telling me is that the center of the fire is still very active. It's still in very steep terrain where it is difficult to access.

But there are two things that have helped this weekend. One, lower temperatures, and the second is resources. When it comes to lower temperatures, it is still hot, but the lower temperatures also cause higher humidity, and that has been very helpful.

And then the other thing is boots on the ground. We now know that about 4,000 firefighters are here battling this fire, and it's been giving them the opportunity to make assessments, to go to areas like where I am now.

[04:15:04]

And thankfully, they say now that the number of structures destroyed has gone down to 66 after these assessments.

The other thing that they say they were able to do is a direct and aggressive attack on the flames, and that's what has brought the percentage of containment up over the last couple of days. It is the first time that we're hearing some sort of optimism from firefighters who now say they are making progress. They're saying that the priority is to get people back into their homes.

They say they're very sensitive specifically to people of this county because they already went through the deadliest fire in California history back in 2018. So they know what it's like for these people who are struggling and who are remembering what they went through in 2018.

Anecdotally, I can say that people are taking evacuation orders and warnings more seriously because of what they lived through. So the bottom line is that firefighters are working around the clock doing everything they can. They're optimistic about this progress, but there's still a lot of work to be done here as thousands and thousands of acres in this area continue to burn.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Butte County, California.

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MACFARLANE: Well, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more on the Park Fire along with a look at flooding expected across parts of the U.S. this week.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yet more than 90 active wildfires still ongoing in the western half of the U.S., and the one that all of those eyes are on is certainly the Park Fire in California, and the main reason for this is just how much it has burned in a very short period of time. Still over 350,000 acres just since late Wednesday. When you do the math, that roughly equates to about 50 football fields on average every single minute, so that really goes to show you how quickly it's spread. But it's not just the flames. It's also the smoke. You have a lot of

states under air quality alerts just because of how thick that smoke is and likely to cause some problems, especially for folks that already maybe have respiratory conditions or illnesses. Now, one other thing to note, we got a brief reprieve over the weekend in terms of temperatures.

That helped firefighters out a little bit, be able to bring those containment numbers up by a little bit, but it will be short-lived. Notice Sacramento here, those temperatures get right back up into the mid to upper 90s and even triple digits by the time we get to the end of the week.

Now, in the eastern half of the country, the bigger concern here is actually flooding, and this threat stretches from Minnesota all the way down through Florida as we head at least through the early morning hours of Monday.

Now, once we get into the back half of the day Monday and especially into the evening, the focus really becomes areas of the southeast and Ohio Valley, so places like Cincinnati, Knoxville, Charlotte, even down through Atlanta and even towards Orlando and Tampa.

The thing here is that it's been so much rain over the last two weeks, now we're adding more rain on top of it. Most of these areas likely only to pick up about an extra one to three inches, but it's on top of four to eight inches that many of these areas have seen in just the last two weeks.

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FOSTER: We do have some good news, though, don't we, on the destruction in Northern California. That is a rescue crew pulling a daring operation to save a rottweiler and her four puppies stranded in the park fire. The owner of the dogs had to leave them behind after the vehicle they were traveling in broke down, but once the Butte County Sheriff's Office learned its location, they landed as close as they could to save the puppies.

MACFARLANE: Oh, thank goodness for that. Officials say the rescuer walked nearly two miles to find the dogs who were tired and thirsty. What a hero. The puppies and their mother have been kept in a nearby shelter until they can be reunited with their owner. Love a puppy story for a Monday.

FOSTER: Always.

Now, coming up, activists across the U.S. are calling for justice for Sonia Massey, a black woman gunned down by a sheriff's deputy in her home.

MACFARLANE: And new developments in diagnosing Alzheimer's, a blood test that's significantly better at predicting dementia.

FOSTER: But next, we'll go live to Paris for the latest on the Olympic Games. AMANDA DAVIS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Good morning, guys. France is waking up to a new hero. He dreamed of emulating the great Michael Phelps. And on the biggest stage, Leon Marchand claimed Olympic gold and a new record. News of a brilliant night in the pool coming your way.

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MACFARLANE: Japan is now leading the gold medal count after an exciting weekend of tough competition in Paris. Australia is a close second. Both countries with four golds.

But Japan has the edge with an extra bronze. U.S. holds the third spot with three gold wins and 12 medals total. France and South Korea round out the top five.

FOSTER: On Monday, 19 more medals will be handed out. Including the women's 400-meter individual medley in swimming. And British diver Tom Daley hoping to defend his title in the synchronized 10-meter platform.

MACFARLANE: CNN's Amanda Davis joins us live from Paris. So good to see you, Amanda. I know how crazy these opening few days can be.

I hope you've managed to get out and see some sport already. We know, Amanda, it's important, isn't it, for the host nation to get off to a good start. But we saw a huge win for them in the pool just yesterday.

DAVIS: Yes, we did indeed. I have to say, I was actually at the tennis, which we will come on to. But I missed what sounds like an absolutely epic evening in the swimming pool.

At the same venue, actually, where Taylor Swift has performed in the past. Usually a music venue transformed into the swimming venue here. And French swimming very much is now celebrating a new rock star in 22-year-old Leon Marchand.

I say new, but this was his moment. There was the expectation that this would be his moment. He came out wearing his gold goggles. There's a massive building, about 40 stories high, just out of my eyeline.

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His face is adorned on that. He was the man with the hopes of this nation, hoping to win their first swimming gold for 12 years since London in 2012.

He set his sights high. He's wanted to emulate the success of Michael Phelps. He's gone to ASU, Arizona State University, and hooked up with Phelps coach Bob Bowman. And boy, is it working for him. He'd already set the world record in the 400 individual medley.

Last night, he embraced the pressure, the flags, the cheers, all eyes upon him. He put in the most sensational of swims, leading from start to finish to set a new Olympic record and claim that gold.

The front pages, the back pages, they all have his face on this morning. And perhaps worryingly for his rivals, he still has three more events to go. So Leon Marchand, if he is not a name you had been familiar with, I suspect you will get to know him very well over the next couple of months.

But the atmosphere there really was rivaled at the gymnastics hall a little bit earlier in the day. Never before has a gymnastics meeting attracted the likes of Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Anna Wintour. But that is the impact that Simone Biles has had not only on gymnastics, but this Games. Her much anticipated return, the greatest gymnast of all time after that disappointment in Tokyo. It was the qualifying events. It wasn't even the medal event.

She helped the U.S. to the top ranking in terms of the qualification for the team competition. She put in the top scores for the all-around competition as well. She did give people a scare, ending up with a very heavily bandaged ankle and calf.

But without speaking to the media, officially on her way out, she did say, I'm doing as OK as I can. And kind of signed off with a good little jig and a dance. So definitely confidence high around her and Team USA heading into Tuesday's final.

FOSTER: Yes, incredible. She's always one to watch, isn't she? Thank you so much, Amanda.

I wonder what you'll be watching today.

MACFARLANE: I am readying myself for a showdown of all showdowns on the Chartreuse. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, their 60th meeting today in just a couple of hours' time. So out of office, we'll be firmly on for that.

FOSTER: Who's the favorite?

MACFARLANE: Really hard to tell, you know?

FOSTER: I have to ask you that.

MACFARLANE: Really hard to tell. I mean, he is a 14-time French Open champion, Nadal, isn't he? But he's still also kind of injured.

Anyway, our thanks to Amanda.

FOSTER: Indeed.

The French Interior Minister, meanwhile, saying they've identified several people who carried out Friday's railway sabotage. He said the tactics that were used resembled those of the far left. But authorities are still trying to determine whether those responsible were manipulated by others or did it voluntarily.

MACFARLANE: We're told the French intelligence services have been fully mobilized to find the perpetrators. At this point, we don't know if anyone's been arrested.

FOSTER: Still to come, some flights to Beirut are cancelled as fears grow of an Israeli retaliation for a rocket attack in the occupied Golan Heights. We'll have a live update as tensions escalate between Israel and Hezbollah.

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