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Harris and Trump Set to Debate; Museum of Modern Art's History; Mosquito-Borne Diseases Surging; Venezuelan Plane Seized. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 03, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:33:25]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Venezuela is now accusing the United States of piracy and criminal practice after the U.S. Justice Department took custody of that country's equivalent of Air Force One.

The jet used by Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is now back on American soil after it was seized in the Dominican Republic while supposedly undergoing maintenance for several months.

Former CIA officer Bob Baer is joining us right now.

Bob, how does an investigation like the one that resulted in this seizure actually start? Give us your analysis.

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Well, I'm sure they have been looking at this plane for a long time. It's been flying internationally. They can track that it was an embargoed airplane. And it was just a matter of getting it to a friendly country where we could seize it.

But we're clearly in an offensive against the Maduro regime.

BLITZER: The plane was seized during what was described as a maintenance visit. What does that tell you about the kind of surveillance it may have been under?

BAER: Well, train -- planes are very easy to track, and as are spare parts go into the Dominican Republic, where it was getting its repairs.

So, once we put those two together, it was a matter of just grabbing that airplane. But, like I said, it's part of a larger campaign.

BLITZER: So, specifically, what message is the Biden administration sending with this seizure?

BAER: I think, being former CIA, it's a signal to the military and intelligence services of Venezuela that this guy's got to go.

[11:35:02]

The country's a basket case. It has very good relations with Russia, Iran and China, as well as Cuba. It's a very important country for us. It has 17 percent of the world's oil resources. It's a source of instability in Latin America. And this is a subtle way of telling Venezuelans, get rid of this guy if you want to normalize relations with us.

BLITZER: Not so subtle, I should say.

The Department of Justice says this plan -- this plane, I should say, was purchased by a shell company and then smuggled out of the United States. Could the company be held liable and charged?

BAER: Oh, absolutely. For violating an embargo? Yes. People in Florida who did this should be going to jail.

BLITZER: We will see what happens on that front.

Bob Baer, as usual, thank you very much for joining us.

And we will take a quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:19]

BLITZER: Turning now to the second presidential debate now just one week away.

The candidates are taking different approaches just ahead of their face off in Philadelphia next Tuesday. Donald Trump is ramping up his appearances this week, while Kamala Harris is largely stepping back a bit from the campaign trail.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign released a new ad today focusing on inflation and the economy, two issues weighing down her bid for president. A new ABC/Ipsos poll shows Harris trailing eight points behind Trump when it comes to who Americans trust to handle the economy.

Let's bring in our CNN political commentator and former communications director for Vice President Harris Jamal Simmons. And former spokesperson for Republican Governor Doug Burgum -- Doug Burgum's 2024 presidential campaign, Lance Trover, is joining us as well.

Jamal, let me start with you.

Vice President Harris' new ad vows to cut costs for everyday Americans and it acknowledges that prices right now are still too high. So how does she sell a different strategy to voters when she has been vice president for the past 3.5 years?

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, she's done a really good job of talking about the Biden economy and what's really working in the economy. The truth is the macroeconomic numbers are spectacular, right, 16 million jobs growing, the inflation rate is down, wages are up, GDP is going up. All those things work.

But people still have pain points in the economy. And that's what the vice president is going after directly. She talks about rent and trying to help people get more housing stock and then be able to buy houses that would help with lowering housing costs. She talks about now price gouging and how we're going to have -- go after companies that might be taking too much money from the American public as the inflation rate's going up and they're overpricing.

So they're really going after very concrete steps to help people who are trying to manage an economy where they still have pain points around inflation.

BLITZER: Interesting.

Lance, the debate is coming up one week from today, as you know.

What does Trump need to do and what does Trump not need to do in order to promote himself going into this debate?

LANCE TROVER, FORMER BURGUM PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Well, I think everybody is pretty well aware of who Donald Trump is and the policies that he espouses.

Many of these voters out there that are going to be watching want to go back to his policies. So I think the real test for him is going to be not to let Kamala Harris, who I think a lot of people are going to be tuning in, saying, who is this, who is this vice president we have been hearing about? They're going to be Kamala-curious, I think.

And so the test for Donald Trump will be not to let her rewrite history. She's kind of wanting to gloss over her time as a U.S. senator, wanting to gloss over her time as being vice president.

So I think, for Donald Trump, it's about not letting her gloss over that time as inflation has skyrocketed over the last four years and the border has been out of control. That's really going to be the test for him, to put a stop to that.

BLITZER: Interesting.

Jamal, on the flip side, what does Kamala Harris need to do in the debate to have a winning, a winning performance?

SIMMONS: Well, here's the challenge with debating Donald Trump. There are so many things to pull from, so many bad facts out there, indictments and convictions and all these things that are out there.

She's going to figure out, what is her central thesis, what is the argument that she wants the American public to know, and then go about the case of discipline -- in a disciplined way of making that argument, using the facts that actually make it clear.

The danger is that you just start throwing the kitchen sink at Trump and then none of it really lands well because people don't understand the fundamental point you're trying to make. So they have got to have a clear strategy on their team, on their side to figure out what is the thing they want people to know the most about Donald Trump when they walk out of that debate and stop listening to that debate.

BLITZER: "The New York Times," Lance, as you know, is reporting that many Republicans who voted for Nikki Haley, for example, and against Trump are now weighing whether to support Kamala Harris.

How concerned should the Trump campaign be that these voters potentially could make a huge difference?

TROVER: I find this idea of a Nikki Haley voter kind of like a unicorn, lots of stories about it, but only a few people have actually found one or two.

I know "The New York Times" found a couple this week and saw that. But at the end of the day, Donald Trump's polling over 90 percent with Republicans. I think the real focus for both of these campaigns are the true swing voters that are out there, and that's why this debate next week is so critically important for both campaigns.

BLITZER: What do you think, Jamal?

SIMMONS: I think I like that joke about the Nikki Haley voter being a unicorn. I think that's kind of funny.

(LAUGHTER)

SIMMONS: Look, they're going to have to spend some time, as we just talked about -- the Harris campaign is going to have to spend some time, again, talking about these challenges Donald Trump has.

Look, he's got sexual harassment and assault things, and he's got to deal with January 6. There are all these different facts to talk about. But she can make a compelling case. She's been a prosecutor. She knows how to do this. And I think that is the thing that people want her -- Democrats want her to do that.

[11:45:04]

And then, if there are those swing voters who are still left out there, people who make up their minds after Labor Day, people who sit around the kitchen table the weekend before election, go through all that mail that they have gotten and try to figure out which one of these people do I believe want to vote for, she's got to make a compelling argument for those folks.

BLITZER: And, Jamal, let me follow up.

As you know, President Biden has now gone from being a candidate to becoming the top surrogate for Kamala Harris out there on the campaign trail. Take a listen to what he said in Pennsylvania only yesterday. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's been a lot of progress. And Kamala and I are going to build on that progress, and she's going to build on it. I will be on the sidelines, but I will do everything I can to help.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Jamal, what is the most important thing -- what is the most important thing President Biden can do to help Kamala Harris win this presidential election?

SIMMONS: Yes, the truth is that -- I think there's two things.

One, he can go to Pennsylvania and help validate and vouch for Kamala Harris in those places with working-class voters. It's going to be helpful.

But the most important thing he can do is keep governing the country well, because, if he can keep the Democratic presidential nominee from having to respond to big international or national crises, knowing that the president is on top of that, that will free her up to make arguments about the future and not get bogged down in some of the issues that are taking place right now on the world scene.

BLITZER: And, Lance, the Harris/Walz campaign, as you know, is making a major issue out of abortion rights for women, reproductive rights, as they say.

How big of an issue do you think this is going to be down the road?

TROVER: I think, if you look at the polling right now, it's certainly a big issue. I know it's one they want to make an issue.

I don't think, by going to Florida, they're going to swing the electoral votes in the Florida, but it's a big issue. I encourage every Republican to be up front with voters about where they stand. I think it's important to be just honest with voters to say where you stand, whether you're Republican or Democrat, and tell the voters where you stand.

And that's the best thing you can do at this juncture.

BLITZER: So you don't think it's going to be necessarily a huge issue, especially for women in a key battleground state like Florida?

TROVER: I think it's going to -- I think it's absolutely an important issue. And I don't think any person running for office should discount it. Do I think it's going to swing the state of Florida to -- over to Kamala Harris? No, I do not think so.

BLITZER: What do you think, Jamal?

SIMMONS: Well, I think Lance may be right about Florida. Florida is a tough state for Democrats. But I think Democrats will do better than people think and may win a

couple of legislative seats that keep that supermajority from taking place in Florida -- staying in place.

What might also work for the Democrats on this question is places like Pennsylvania, where everyone's talking about these working-class voters. It's important to remember a lot of those working-class guys with lunch pails aren't the only people they're talking to. They're talking to the women who are working next to them.

And a lot of those women are worried about abortion.

BLITZER: All right, Jamal, thank you very much, Jamal Simmons.

SIMMONS: They are worried childcare tax credits. And that's got to be important.

BLITZER: Jamal, thank you. Lance, thanks to you as well.

Other important news we're following, a health alert for you this hour. When you hear West Nile, EEE, and dengue, you know it must be mosquito season out there. Mosquito-borne diseases are surging across the globe right now, not just here in the United States. And experts now say climate change is contributing to the conditions that enable the transmission of those diseases.

But before we panic over every bite, let's bring in our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to help break -- to help us break down exactly how concerned we all need to be.

Sanjay, how widespread, first of all, are these diseases right now?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So let me give you a snapshot of the United States.

We can put up the map of what's happening with West Nile. And as you look at this map, keep in mind that August and September are sort of peak mosquito season. So we're in the thick of it right now. But what we can see if we have that map of West Nile is that two -- there's 289 cases roughly in 33 states.

Sort of interesting, Wolf. It's sort of spread around the countries. It's Texas, California, but also quite a bit, as you see there, in the Northeast and Michigan, that area.

So you're seeing quite a few cases right now. Again, this month, sort of the end of this month is when we will probably start to see those numbers start to come down.

Eastern equine, that's much rarer. We have six cases in five states right now. Again, it's the same thing, because they're both mosquito- borne illnesses. This is the time where those cases will be up. I will point out, Wolf, that, when it comes to dengue and malaria, that's typically travel-acquired. Travel somewhere, you bring it back.

But Puerto Rico right now has a public health emergency going on with regard to dengue. They have 1,500 cases or so, much higher than they normally get. So that's something we're keeping an eye on.

BLITZER: What do we know, Sanjay, about the risk of transmission?

GUPTA: Yes, this is the big question, right? I just got bit by a mosquito. Did I get West Nile virus? I think that's what a lot of people ask.

Let me give you context. First of all, one bite can transmit the virus, so just one mosquito bite. That is true. But the chance of a mosquito actually carrying the virus is about one in 500.

So I know I'm throwing a lot of numbers at you there, but one bite can transmit. But most mosquitoes, the vast majority, are not going to be containing the virus. So it's rare.

[11:50:08]

And for the majority of people who get the infection, they're not going to have symptoms; 80 percent will not have any symptoms at all, probably never knew that they had West Nile virus.

BLITZER: Still, I'm sure no one wants to get bitten. So what's the best way to protect ourselves?

GUPTA: Yes. Yes, nobody likes mosquitoes, as it turns out. And there's some 200 types. And it's just the females, by the way, that bite and transmit the virus.

The recommendations are going to sound pretty obvious, but using mosquito repellent all the time, really, especially this time of year, August, September, important, DEET or picaridin. Picaridin doesn't have the odor. So if DEET bothers you from an odor standpoint, picaridin is probably better.

Wearing the right kinds of clothes, loose-fitting clothes. Standing water is one of the big areas where these mosquitoes breed. And then dusk until dawn, that's going to be the worst time. So if you're out at those times, wear long sleeves and wear insect repellent.

And, again, hopefully, fingers crossed, Wolf, end of this month, that's when we will see the number start to go down.

BLITZER: Let's hope.

Sanjay Gupta, as usual, thank you very, very much.

GUPTA: You're welcome.

BLITZER: An important note to our viewers. You can submit your questions about these mosquito-borne illnesses by scanning the Q.R. code right on your screen. We will be answering them tomorrow 11:00 a.m. Eastern right here.

Finally, this hour, it's been five years since the Museum of Modern Art's latest great expansion. Nestled in Midtown Manhattan, it's a draw for art lovers everywhere, featuring an ever-changing array of contemporary work. But the MoMA is also steeped in colorful history.

CNN's Richard Quest takes us back to MoMA's beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE (voice-over): MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art. It was born in turbulent times, when MoMA opened days after the 1929 Wall Street crash.

MoMA's idea was simple. New York needed a museum focused on the art of today, not that ancient stuff.

GLENN LOWRY, DAVID ROCKEFELLER DIRECTOR, MUSEUM OF MODERN ART: This institution, when it was founded in 1929 by three extraordinary women, and Alfred Barr as its young director, actually had a global perspective.

Among the first exhibitions here were exhibitions of Mexican art, exhibitions of American primitives, exhibitions of subcontinental Indian art.

QUEST: The idea caught on, and, within three years, MoMA had outgrown its original home in a 12-story apartment, moving to a nearby townhouse and its permanent home, steps from New York's Fifth Avenue.

The greatest artists of the 20th century hang on these walls, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol. They have all made their names on the walls of the MoMA. Today's artists use the MoMA as a launching pad, taking careers to new heights.

LATOYA RUBY FRAZIER, ARTIST: I was stunned when MoMA reached out to me to offer me the exhibition. It was FDR who was on the radio who talked about the purpose and the mission of the Museum of Modern Art, and he distinctly pointed out that, first of all, art belongs to the people.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Friends of the Museum of Modern Art, the mission of this museum is plain. We are dedicating this building to the cause of peace.

QUEST: Today, this museum is considered the epicenter of the modern art world, and it's a position the director Glenn Lowry takes very seriously.

LOWRY: I worry about everything. I worry about whether anybody will show up at the museum in the morning. Literally, will people bother to come to the museum? I worry about whether it's going to rain or not, because when it rains, more people come to the museum.

So I'm one of those people that looks at a sunny day and goes, oh, no, not another beautiful day, because I know, I know that, if it's bad weather, more people will visit the museums.

QUEST: Over its 95-year history, the MoMA has weathered many storms. A devastating fire in the late 1950s wiped out some of its prized treasures. ANNOUNCER: Many others are scooted to safety by employees undaunted

by the fire.

QUEST: And, recently, the MoMA has undergone expansions, relocations, and renovations galore.

LOWRY: So I think of the institution not as a fixed entity. Imagine the British Museum or the Louvre or the Metropolitan. They're historical institutions. Their responsibility is to tell this very long story in a very measured and ordered way. We are a work in progress.

QUEST: Perhaps that's the beauty of the Museum of Modern Art, always changing, always reinventing itself, much like the art that fills its galleries.

[11:55:04]

Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I will be back later tonight 6:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Phil Mattingly starts right after a short break.