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Trump Falsely Claims Harris Happened to Turn Black; Political; Middle East on Edge After Hamas Leader's Assassination; Second Night of Clashes in the U.K. Between Far-Right Protesters and Police; Olympics Day 6 to Feature Women's Gymnastics Individual All-Round Final; Celebrities Take Starring Role in the Race for the White House. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired August 01, 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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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have seen a lot of celebrities that have been endorsing and speaking out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reporting live with the future president of the United States!
What do you have to say to the American people?
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not going back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is how you make an entrance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We try to do the best and never give up, like the Olympic Games.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Max Foster.
MACFARLANE: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Thursday, August 1st, 9 a.m. here in London and 3 a.m. in Chicago, where Donald Trump made more racially charged and outright false attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black.
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FOSTER: The Harris campaign immediately responded, saying: Today's tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that's been a hallmark of Trump's MAGA rallies this entire campaign.
Potential vice presidential pick Senator Mark Kelly spoke out.
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SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): This is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man. He's afraid. He's probably afraid to debate her. He's certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November.
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MACFARLANE: Meanwhile, Trump's team says the former president was successful in his goal to bring Americans together, saying quote: President Trump has continually said that unlike Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, he's running to be president for all Americans, and if you're running to unite the entire country, you have to back it up with action like President Trump did today.
FOSTER: To be clear, Kamala Harris has always identified as Black. She has always talked about being both Indian and Black. This is what she said back in twenty nineteen.
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HARRIS: I'm Black and I'm proud of being Black and I was born Black. I will die Black and I'm proud of being Black and I'm not going to make any excuses for anybody because they don't understand.
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MACFARLANE: It's not the first time the former president has made similar attacks against his political opponents. Sarah Seidner walks us through his highly combative interview.
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SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention turning contentious right from the beginning.
TRUMP: Look, if I came onto a stage like this and I got treated so rudely as this woman treated me --
MODERATOR: Oh my goodness.
TRUMP: -- and I'm fine with it because she -- it doesn't -- she was very rude, sir. Very rude. SIDNER (voice-over): As the former president attempts to broaden his appeal with Black voters, speaking to a roomful of Black journalists in Chicago, Trump invoking Kamala Harris's race, falsely questioning the vice president's Black heritage.
TRUMP: I didn't know she was Black, until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know. Is she Indian or is she Black?
MODERATOR: She's always identified as a Black woman. She went to a historically Black college.
TRUMP: But you know what? I respect either one -- I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because he was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went -- she became a Black person.
SIDNER (voice-over): With running mate J.D. Vance drawing scrutiny for past comments he made about childless women, Trump was asked about his decision to pick the Ohio senator and whether he would be ready to serve on day one.
TRUMP: But you're not voting that way. You're voting for the president. You're voting for me. If you're like me, I'm going to win. If you don't like me, I'm not going to win.
SIDNER (voice-over): On policy, Trump focusing his attacks on inflation and the Biden administration's handling of the economy, a top concern for all voters.
TRUMP: What do I do? That and I drill, baby, drill. I bring energy way down. I bring interest rates down, I bring inflation way down, so people can buy bacon again. So people can buy a ham sandwich again, so that people can go to a restaurant and afford it because right now, people can't buy food.
SIDNER (voice-over): The former president was also asked about his pledge to pardon rioters involved with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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TRUMP: If they're innocent, I would pardon them.
MODERATOR: They've been convicted.
TRUMP: And, by the way, the Supreme Court just under -- well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system.
SIDNER (voice-over): And in a case that has touched the Black community deeply, an Illinois mother shot and killed in her own home earlier this month by a sheriff's deputy after calling 911 for help, Trump saying he was unfamiliar with the specifics of the case.
TRUMP: I don't know the exact case, but I saw something and it didn't look -- it didn't look good to me. It didn't look good to me. MODERATOR: So why should he receive immunity?
TRUMP: Well, he might not. I mean, it depends -- it depends on what happens. I'm talking about people that are much different cases than that. We need people to protect ourselves.
SIDNER (voice-over): Sara Sidner, CNN, Chicago.
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FOSTER: At an historically Black sorority, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to Trump's attacks as the same old show, bringing hostility, anger and division to the American people. CNN's Arlette Saenz has the details.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris forcefully pushed back against former President Donald Trump's appearance at the NABJ convention in Chicago, portraying his moments on stage as divisive and disrespectful. It comes after Trump had baselessly questioned Harris' heritage and identity as a Black woman. Harris said the American people deserve better.
Take a listen.
HARRIS: The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength.
SAENZ: Harris' husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, also forcefully pushed back on Trump. According to "The Washington Post," he appeared at a fundraiser in Maine where he directly addressed Trump's what he called insults against him and his wife, saying that Trump does not deserve a second term in the White House.
Now, Harris was making her comments here in Houston, Texas, at a gathering of Sigma Gamma Rho.
That is a Black sorority that is part of the Divine Nine. Harris herself is also a member of a Divine Nine sorority, which she joined back when she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. This is actually the third gathering of a Divine Nine sorority Harris has addressed just this month. Part of the goal here is trying to mobilize Black women in this election.
Now, the Divine Nine does not endorse political candidates, but its vast alumni network, which includes Black men and Black women, could serve as an organizing force heading into November's election against Donald Trump.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, traveling with the vice president in Houston, Texas.
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MACFARLANE: Max, it's just astounding to see, I think, that event play out in the way it did. You know, speaking for myself, I'm actually a half Indian, half Scottish woman, and it seems ridiculous to have to state that it is possible to be both. That's the definition of being multiracial, of being biracial. So I'm not quite sure what Donald Trump is hoping to achieve with this.
FOSTER: Because you don't want to choose, you just are. Like, how do you identify? I mean --
MACFARLANE: It's not, you know, something I think about on a day-to- day basis. You're born into it. It's who you are.
But, you know, to make those comments as well to the audience that he did, and to the National Association of Black Journalists, I just don't know what his motivation was there. I really don't. I really don't get it.
FOSTER: Yes, it would be interesting to be in the room and actually see the reaction from them.
MACFARLANE: Yes, it didn't seem to be good.
FOSTER: Iran observing three days of mourning for slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Thousands of people turned out for a memorial service today in Tehran, where Haniyeh was assassinated. Iran and its allies are vowing retaliation against Israel, which hasn't yet claimed responsibility.
MACFARLANE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention Haniyeh in an address to the nation on Wednesday. But he claimed Israel delivered a crushing blow to its enemies and said he won't give in to calls to end the war in Gaza.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Citizens of Israel, challenging days lie ahead. Since the strike in Beirut, there are threats sounding from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario, and we will stand united and determined against any threat.
Israel will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.
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MACFARLANE: Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is live this hour for us in Beirut. And Ivan, a lot happening today, also where you are in Beirut today. But for now, all eyes on Tehran this morning and that funeral procession of Haniyeh that's been ongoing now for some hours.
[04:10:00] IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization has closed airspace over Tehran, around the University of Tehran, the funeral procession planned to go from the University of Tehran to Azadi Square. And Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expected to be leading the prayers at this moment. The Iranian government furious at the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
No details yet officially on how he was killed, what exactly happened there. And, in fact, the U.S. government has been arguing that it hasn't seen any independent confirmation that Haniyeh has actually been killed.
But make no mistake, Tehran is vowing vengeance and those threats coming from all different levels of Iranian society and also extending that to the U.S. government, saying that the U.S. bears responsibility for this assassination as a strong supporter, weapons provider, and funder of the Israeli government.
Meanwhile, we've heard from the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, warning that tensions are escalating, that the region looks like it's heading towards conflict, but also making an appeal again for a ceasefire. Take a listen.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Right now, the path that the region is on is toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity. And it is crucial that we break the cycle. And that starts with a ceasefire.
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WATSON: Now, those calls for a ceasefire are ringing quite hollow right now when you consider what close allies the U.S. and Israel are, the fact that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was in Washington meeting with President Biden, Vice President Harris, former President Trump, and then flew directly back urgently to Israel. And then these assassinations were carried out shortly after that.
Of course, Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for the murder of Ismail Haniyeh yet.
But here in Beirut, also preparations for a funeral. That is for the senior Hezbollah military commander, Fuad Shukr, who was killed on Tuesday afternoon. We're expecting to hear from the leader of Hezbollah at some time around that funeral.
One final note is that the border conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has subsided somewhat over the last 36 hours. There has been less cross-border firing that's been taking place. But some might argue that could be the calm before the storm.
Back to you.
FOSTER: Ivan in Beirut, thank you. The death penalty no longer on the table for the suspected mastermind
of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
MACFARLANE: The Defense Department says Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has reached a plea deal with prosecutors after more than 20 years in U.S. custody. According to letters sent to victims' families, he would get life in prison in return for pleading guilty to all charges.
FOSTER: The agreement also covers two of his co-defendants, with the plea hearing possibly coming as early as next week. The deal allows prosecutors to avoid a potentially long and complex trial, which has faced major legal hurdles and multiple delays.
MACFARLANE: British prosecutors have charged the 17-year-old suspect in a -- a 17-year-old suspect in a deadly knife attack with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. He's set to appear in court in the coming hours.
FOSTER: He's been charged with the murder of three young girls, killed while at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event on Monday. At least eight other children were attacked as well, with at least five in critical condition, according to the police. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited with emergency workers, thanking them for a swift response earlier this week.
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KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I came here to pay my respects to the victims and families who are going through raw pain and grief that most of us can't imagine. I can't imagine as a dad myself.
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FOSTER: The attack has sparked days of sometimes violent protests from far-right groups, even though the police say the suspect was born in Britain and the attack wasn't terror-related.
MACFARLANE: This was the scene Wednesday as crowds swarmed Downing Street, protesters threw flares and smoke canisters towards government officers. Similar scenes on Tuesday as demonstrators clashed with police in the town of Southport. A local resident accuses protesters of making this about themselves and forgetting those who died.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an organized, if you like, gang of people who have come down just purely to cause hate and just anger. And the entire community that actually live in Southport are so angry and frustrated because it's kind of like, you know, it's not about this, it's about what happened to these kids, which is devastating.
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FOSTER: More than 100 people have been arrested across the country, there have been clashes with police, more than 50 officers have been injured and actually the police are meeting with the Prime Minister this morning in Downing Street where he's going to offer his full support. Because, I mean, it comes out of conspiracy theory, doesn't it? Anything about the suspect really, apart from he's not an immigrant, his parents are from Rwanda, and that's a mainly Christian country, so none of this is based on fact.
MACFARLANE: And these riots and protests are just pouring more agony on the families and, you know, the incident at the core of this, it feels very wrong.
Now, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is asking the country's Supreme Court to certify his disputed election victory. The authoritarian leader filed an appeal on Wednesday as he looks to extend his grip on power.
Speaking to reporters, he warned against what he called North American imperialism and vowed to keep fighting.
FOSTER: The opposition is calling for supporters to mobilize over the declared results. They claim their candidate roundly defeated Maduro at the ballot box.
MACFARLANE: But the country's electoral body has not released the full tallies from Sunday's vote. More than 1,000 people have been detained in the nationwide protests since then.
FOSTER: If Nicolas Maduro is looking for a fight, it appears he has got one. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday accepted a challenge from the Venezuelan autocrat to square off in a fistfight. Musk added he thinks Maduro will chicken out, which is notable considering it was Musk who backed out of a fight with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg after hyping it up for weeks, if you remember.
MACFARLANE: I do remember. He loves a fistfight, doesn't he?
Well, Maduro called out Musk by name during a televised tirade on Monday after the richest man in the world criticized the integrity of Venezuela's presidential election.
Maduro added: I am not afraid of you, Elon Musk. Let's go.
FOSTER: In the U.S., firefighters continue to battle wildfires as the summer heat intensifies. Colorado's National Guard has been deployed for the first time since 2021 to help fight fires in the state. Emergency crews evacuated areas near Denver as the Quarry Fire continues to spread.
MACFARLANE: Well, further west in California, more than 500 fire engines and 40 helicopters are still trying to tame a still-growing Park Fire. CalFire reports it's now the fifth largest blaze in California history and is less than 20 percent contained.
FOSTER: Now, Russia launching its largest attack of the year on Kyiv. But according to Ukraine, not a single drone reached its target. That story's just ahead. MACFARLANE: And poking fun at politics. It's a "Saturday Night Live" tradition. And soon a familiar face will return after getting a big promotion. Details just ahead.
FOSTER: Later, Katie Ledecky does it again. The decorated American swimmer dominates in the long-distance freestyle and breaks her own Olympic record.
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CROWD OF FANS: USA! USA! USA! USA!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was electric. We were three rows back right by the balance beam, and you could watch Simone and the girls literally just sitting there looking at the scoreboard, and as soon as they went, everybody jumped out of their seats, and it was just absolutely crazy. I lost my voice.
You can't even hear me. I mean, you probably can't even hear me right now, but it was so exciting, and just seeing them and seeing Simone prove all the haters wrong, she proved it. She's the GOAT.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a gymnast, and so her whole life, we've been, you know, wanting to see them, so it's amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazing.
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MACFARLANE: The lucky few USA team fans there who got to see one of the greatest of all time in action, Simone Biles, of course, one-fifth of the team, already bringing home a gold medal, and Biles has another shot at gold today in the women's gymnastics individual all-round final.
FOSTER: We'll all be glued. U.S. gymnasts have won the event in every Olympics pretty much since 2004, and it could certainly happen again. World sportsman Amanda Davies is live in Paris with a look ahead to day six, as well as some of the highlights from Wednesday's action.
I mean, getting a seat to watch the gymnastics must be pretty tough today.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, even in the media seats, the queues to get in to the gymnastics and the swimming in particular, you have to get there early. And honestly, it's such a privilege to be alive and be here to witness some of the greatest of all time in action and see them at the top of their game, which is what we've got over the last six days of action so far. We use the word legend probably too often in sports, don't we?
But let's start with the pool, because Katie Ledecky is definitely one who deserves that title. She'd been disappointed with her performance in the 400m freestyle, she said, but she more than made up for it last night with the 1,500 freestyle. She set a new Olympic record. She beat the time she posted in Tokyo three years ago to claim gold by seven seconds.
You almost had to readjust the camera settings to make sure they got the rest of the field in. She finished so far ahead of the rest. But it was an eighth Olympic gold medal for 27-year-old Katie Ledecky, and this is what she had to say afterwards.
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KATIE LEDECKY, U.S. SWIMMER: You know, any gold medal is -- it's not easy to win. So I'm just trying to appreciate it, appreciate the moment, and, I mean, I don't mean to celebrate that much, but it comes out, you know. Just the happiness and the joy, it just comes out.
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DAVIES: But why win one Olympic gold medal in a session when you can win two? That is what France's newest swimming superstar, Leon Marchand, did last night. Something Michael Phelps didn't even achieve.
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He came out, took victory ahead of the world record holder Milak in the 200 meters butterfly. Took part in the medals ceremony, then less than an hour later came back out and did it all again in the 200 meter breaststroke.
The atmosphere inside the pool went off. It was incredible. Those big heads that we've seen, the cardboard heads everywhere, the flags flying high.
Both he and Ledecky looking for more medals, though, still over the next couple of days of action in the pool. And as you rightly mentioned, that's something Simone Biles is hoping for as well. But going head-to-head as it's being built with the 2020 champion, Suni Lee, her team-mate. Team-mates turned rivals for today.
FOSTER: OK, Amanda, thank you so much.
We were obviously looking out for the triathlon because there was sewage in the water, but there was --
MACFARLANE: Yes.
FOSTER: You know, it was at a low enough level to swim in yesterday.
MACFARLANE: And it was spectacular when it happened, wasn't it? I mean, seeing them all dive. And, ironically, it turned out to be, for me, one of the most exciting events of the day, the exciting finishers of the day.
Alex Yee, U.K. athlete, no, England GB athlete, was, I think, 14 seconds behind coming into the last lap and managed to run his competitor down to win Olympic gold. FOSTER: It was so strategic, it was brilliant.
MACFARLANE: A masterclass.
FOSTER: He got a bit of advice, you said, on the way round.
MACFARLANE: Yes, Alistair Brownlee apparently shouted at him, what was it, they're still time-mate, or something like that, Alistair Brownlee --
FOSTER: Which is when he really surged.
MACFARLANE: -- himself, and that's when he surged forward, yes. So, very special win for Great Britain. You know, Great Britain are up there in the medal tallies so far.
FOSTER: Well, we always say that at this point in the Olympics, until the athletics.
Now, recent changes on the Democratic ticket have a familiar face returning to "Saturday Night Live." Maya Rudolph will reprise her role on the comedy show as now-presidential candidate Kamala Harris this fall.
MACFARLANE: Our Brian Todd has details on that and a look at what impact the celebrity factor can have on presidential elections in the U.S.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Kamala Harris on NBC's "Saturday Night Live". And now, according to a source with knowledge of her plans, comedian Maya Rudolph is returning to the show this fall to reprise the role.
MAYA RUDOLPH, PLAYING VP KAMALA HARRIS: You see, this is what they do, Susan. They avoid taking any responsibility.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not.
RUDOLPH: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking.
TODD (voice-over): Rudolph, the latest in an iconic line of comedians who have done impersonations of famous politicians on the show, like Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump.
ALEC BALDWIN, PLAYING FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'm going to set my alarm for 3:20 a.m. I go sit on my golden toilet bowl and tweet about it until completion.
TODD (voice-over): And Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton.
KATE MCKINNON, PLAYING FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: Bartender, keep them coming.
TODD (voice-over): And there are other indications that the celebrity buzz around Harris is ramping up on the campaign trail.
Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, performed last night at Harris rally in Atlanta, part of a pattern of celebrity endorsements analysts say that the Harris campaign has embraced to court young voters.
MICHAEL WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE DISPATCH: She did a TikTok with Megan Thee Stallion after her rally. That's the sort of thing, you know, where she's -- Kamala Harris is going to be able to reach people that might otherwise again, now be tuning in until maybe the last few days before the election, if that.
TODD (voice-over): A source tells CNN, Beyonce has allowed Harris to use her hit song, "Freedom" at campaign events.
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TODD: After Harris's event with Megan Thee Stallion, former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, quote: I don't need concerts or entertainers.
But Trump's campaign did have country and hip hop star Kid Rock and wrestler Hulk Hogan make big appearances at the Republican National Convention, and one analyst says, Trump may have a strategy in mind by bringing those celebrities into his camp.
WARREN: These may not be, you know, the most popular with Gen Z, particularly, you know, with girls, college girls. But men, this a big part of Donald Trump's coalition and that's who he's trying to tap into with those celebrities. He does need those celebrities to validate him.
TODD (voice-over): And there's still the celebrity who many political observers are watching for, pop superstar Taylor Swift. She endorsed Biden in 2020. Last year, Swift urged her fans on Instagram to register to vote. The group vote.org reported its saw a surge of about 35,000 registrations in just one day in response.
BRYAN WEST, TAYLOR SWIFT REPORTER, USA TODAY: With Taylor, it's not just about her influence, it's her power, it's her ability to speak to a massive fandom. And what everyone is wondering with her massive power and massive appeal is if she's going to speak out this election.
TODD: The analysts we spoke to say the candidates could move more voters if they go beyond just getting the celebrities' endorsements and actually have them appear at campaign events as often as they can.
[04:30:00]
They cite Megan Thee Stallion's appearance at Harris' rally and Kid Rock's and Hulk Hogan's appearances at the Republican Convention as moments that generated a lot of buzz, especially potentially among younger voters.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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