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Isa Soares Tonight
Kamala Harris Prepares To Formally Accept Her Party's Nomination at Democratic Convention; Biden Calls On Netanyahu To Get A Deal Done On Israel-Hamas War; Investigators Work To Determine Cause Of Sunken Yacht Off The Coast Of Sicily; Harris To Make History As Democratic Nominee; VP Harris Prepares For Biggest Speech Of Political Career; Celebrities In DNC to Support Harris; Republicans Endorse Harris At DNC; RFK Jr. Expected To Suspend His Campaign Friday; Trump Hits More Battleground States. Aired 2- 3p ET
Aired August 22, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: And a very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Paula Newton in for Isa Soares. Tonight, making her
case. Kamala Harris prepares to formally accept her party's nomination at the Democratic Convention. We'll have a preview of her message to the
American people.
U.S. President calls the Israeli Prime Minister, stressing the need on getting a deal done as negotiators continue to try and push for a
ceasefire deal. We are live in Cairo with the latest. And investigators are trying to determine what went wrong as divers work to recover the missing
from a luxury yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to make history. Just hours from now, she'll become the first woman of color to formally accept a major
party's presidential nomination. Democrats will close out their convention in Chicago with the keynote address, of course, from VP Harris.
As it's been all week, the atmosphere inside the United Center is expected to be a celebratory one, a far cry from how many Democrats were feeling
just a few weeks ago. Harris' running mate Tim Walz had the spotlight last night. Minnesota's governor leaned into his background as a high school
football coach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM WALZ, U.S. DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, you might not know it, but I haven't given a lot of big speeches like this.
(LAUGHTER)
WALZ: But I have given a lot of pep talks. So, let me -- let me finish with this team --
(CROWD CHANTING)
WALZ: It's the fourth quarter, we're down a field goal. But we're on offense and we've got the ball. We're driving down the field.
(CHEERS)
WALZ: We got 76 days. That's nothing. There will be time to sleep when you're dead. We're going to leave it on the field. And as the next
President of the United States always says, when we fight --
CROWD: We win!
WALZ: When we fight!
CROWD: We win! --
WALZ: When we fight!
CROWD: We win! --
WALZ: Thank you, God bless!
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And his speech so moved his 17-year-old son, Gus, he really was reduced to tears. At one point, he stood up, pointed at the stage saying
that's my dad. The night also featured a surprise appearance from Oprah Winfrey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, AMERICAN TV HOST & TELEVISION PRODUCER: Let us choose honor, and let us choose joy! Let's all choose Kamala Harris! Thank you
Chicago. Thank you, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: CNN politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson joins us now from the convention site. It has been quite a week already, Stephen, it's good
to have you there. And I'm really interested to get your perspective on how you believe Kamala Harris is now going to close this out, because it has
been quite a week.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: That's right. I think what she has to do tonight is, first of all, to show Americans, they're
looking at a potential present. She's not always been seen as a substantial political figure through her vice presidency.
Her previous presidential campaign ended long before the 2020 primaries. I think she has to tackle some of her weaknesses. She is tied to the Biden
administration's economic policy and the resulting high prices that are hurting many Americans. She's really made a populist pivot on that issue.
And I think with Republican nominee Donald Trump down on the southern border, she has to try to mitigate some of the liabilities that she had on
the issue of immigration, which is another big concern for most Americans. I think you'll see Harris bolster the really sharp attacks on Trump.
They are now not just warning that he is Democrats -- a threat to democracy, but almost mocking him and belittling him and making the case
that a vote for Trump would be an absurd thing for many Americans to do. And then she has to harness this joy and exuberance that has rocked this
convention and turn it into a political movement that can seriously compete in the key swing states that are going to decide this election.
[14:05:00]
Because as Walz was alluding to there, it's a very close election, and she might be a touch behind even though she's erased most of President Joe
Biden's polling deficits.
NEWTON: Yes, I'm interested to get your insights on how they're going to do that. As you just said, I mean, Walz gave a brief by convention
standards speech, about 15 or 16 minutes, and yet, so powerful. Also making the point we're behind, kids, we've got to get -- we've got to get to work
here.
Do you think Walz's excitement that this convention is starting to make in- roads in those swing states with those independents?
COLLINSON: I think it could be. I think Walz -- what Walz is trying to do is to offer something to suburban Americans and even conservative
cultural voters in some of the swing states who might be normally voting Republicans, but have been a little bit alienated by the way Trump has
behaved over the last eight years.
He's offering an alternative opportunity for white male voters, middle-aged voters, for example. I mean, a lot of what he says might sound to viewers
outside the United States as a little hokey and a little cheesy. The whole football coach talk. He was a high school football coach.
He wasn't in the NFL, but it can sometimes work in American politics. He's not the typical Yale-educated lawyer as he pointed out, that tends to be
found on a presidential ticket. And of course, he's a counterbalance to the historic potential of Kamala Harris as potentially the first black woman
president.
So, it looks like her decision to pick him was quite a shrewd one politically, the way it worked out last night, and we're just going to have
to see how Trump responds to all this. I think that's the big question running out of this convention. Can Trump somehow get his own campaign
under control and make a sharper argument on economics and immigration?
NEWTON: Yes, and we should say, Donald Trump, we expect to see him in the coming hour. He is in fact at the border and will have a tour and give a
press conference. Stephen, before I let you go, you know, Kamala Harris has now -- way I see it, three big tests and the things she's been criticized
for.
So, when the first instance, tonight, she's got to lay out some policy, then she still has not sat down for a feature interview with some hard
questions or a press conference, and then we have the debate, September 10th. How important is her performance, given the three-step process she
now has to go through, I mean, starting tonight because there's not a lot of time, not a lot of time to recover if she does falter.
COLLINSON: That's true. But there's also not a lot of time for her to mess up if you like. Some people have viewed her campaign and the fact that she
only has to run for another 75 days is actually an advantage, because that allows her strategist to really pick their spots.
Of course, she's going to have to end up doing some kind of interview. That forum has been a liability for her and a weakness in the past, sometimes
early in her vice presidency, especially on issues like immigration, she seemed to struggle in elucidating her own policies at times.
The debate clearly is very crucial. We just had a debate and it was the most consequential presidential debate in history. If Harris can get
through that, the next debate without any damage, she really only have a couple of months to sustain this momentum, and she would be in a good
position.
So, everything she does is a test. This is a hard thing she's trying to do, to come from basically, the side-kick to President Joe Biden to suddenly be
in the middle of this, you know, American and global spotlight. So, you know, no modern nominee has tried to win the nomination and to win the
election. And as many Democrats see it, save democracy all in the space of three months.
NEWTON: Yes, as we're looking at them on stage right now, Stephen, you raise such a good point. I mean, just the two candidates, they're still
Americans in this country and you can stop them on the street and they'd say, who's that again? Literally even name recognition at this point in
time is difficult for a small minority of Americans, nonetheless.
Stephen Collinson, as I said, very good to have you there and we'll wait to see what the evening brings. Thank you. Now, to a devastating scene in
northern Gaza after a deadly Israeli strike. A hospital director says 12 people were killed when a house was hit and that includes six children, two
of them were 16-month-old twins.
Nic Robertson tells us more about the attack, and how a so-called safe zone for civilians in Gaza has been steadily shrinking. And we want to warn you,
his report contains graphic and incredibly disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROSSTALK)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): As peace talks stall an overnight Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza --
[14:10:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON: Pulled from the rubble charred children. Images too horrific to broadcast. Twelve dead, no injured, no survivors, according to Palestinian
officials. Israel's military says they're looking into the incident. In the past few days, strikes killing families in the north, center and southern
Gaza.
As diplomacy fails, desperation in Gaza increases in parallel with the renewed push for peace. Israel's military is pushing into previously
declared safe zones. Over the past month, CNN has tracked a more than one- third reduction in the areas supposedly safe from Israeli strikes.
Less than 11 percent of Gaza technically safe. But even the shrunken safe zone, no protection for Mahmoud Abu Thial's(ph) three-year-old niece killed
in a tent in the safe area. He says, "they attacked us by surprise. All of a sudden, a quadcopter came on us and started shooting.
We ran away towards the beach. But my niece was killed." While diplomat shuttle to talks, Gazans are increasingly on the move too, reluctantly
responding to increasing Israeli evacuation orders, telling them their sanctuary not safe. "This is the tenth time we've been displaced", he
shouts.
"Where should we go to? Where should we go to?" "We ask all the world, Biden and the others, all the Arab states to find a solution", Abu Mohammed
Hajaj(ph) says."The Palestinian people are dying. The people of Gaza are being killed and going through hell."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON: Absence of peace deal. Gaza's unsafe zones appear to face extinction. Gazans themselves caught in a roulette with no good options.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now in the meantime, ceasefire talks to end the war at an impasse, despite intense U.S. diplomatic efforts, and negotiations are expected to
resume this weekend in Cairo with high level mediators, and that includes CIA Director Bill Burns.
The White House says President Joe Biden stressed the urgency of a Gaza ceasefire in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The
U.S. insists Israel has in fact accepted the latest proposal, but Mr. Netanyahu's office says he has not agreed to withdraw Israeli troops from a
key corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border.
We want to get more now from our Nada Bashir, who is on the ground for us in Cairo. Now, as you were just mentioning, Nada, that CNN has learned that
the CIA director will arrive in Cairo tomorrow. What if anything, can we read into that? Because so many now describe the pessimism around these
negotiations are no longer hopeful.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely, Paula. And actually had been that hope last week following talks in Doha in Qatar, high level talks
where they had aimed to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas. Throughout the week, we have seen a continuation of those technical level
discussions focused on that ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
Now, of course, we are getting confirmation from sources that CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive here in Cairo tomorrow. We actually have
also learned just in the last hour or so from the Israeli Prime Minister's office, that there is currently an Israeli delegation here in Cairo,
including the Mossad head David Barnea.
We're also hearing from the White House that the Biden administration's Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk is also present in Cairo. So, we are
certainly seeing that high-level presence, diplomatic presence here in Cairo to continue those crucial discussions and negotiations.
We know of course, that U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister yesterday reiterating the
urgent need to get a ceasefire and hostage-release deal struck and agreed upon it. And the soonest time possible, we've been hearing from the family
members of hostages held captive in Gaza.
We've been seeing the mounting death toll, more than 40,000, and as you saw there in Nic Robertson's, supporting desperate situation in Gaza as we're
hearing more evacuation orders. So, that need for a ceasefire to be struck is only growing more urgent with each passing day.
[14:15:00]
But as you mentioned, hope does appear to be fading at this current point in time, despite those ongoing negotiations. There continue to be according
to indications and sources, significant sticking points, significant gaps between Israel and Hamas. These talks are focused on the so-called bridging
proposals put forward by the Biden administration to try and narrow those gaps down in these final sticking points.
But again, it appears as though with Israel and Hamas continue to be at odds with no clear agreement in sight on those key sticking points.
NEWTON: Nada, good to have you on the ground there as we continue to follow those negotiations through the weekend. Appreciate it. Now, our next
guest says President Biden's quote, "capitulation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a betrayal of his values."
Gideon Levy is a columnist with "Haaretz" and "Israeli Daily". He's also the author of the book, "The Punishment of Gaza". Good to see you again and
help us get through what we believe will be negotiations in the next few days, although some have commented that the principles to this negotiation
actually won't be there.
You say that the American President is capitulating. Those are your words, and yet, what do you believe a ceasefire agreement needs to look like right
now, and why do you believe it's not being accepted?
GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, HAARETZ: And this fire should include first of all a ceasefire, and then releasing the hostages, and releasing the Palestinian
prisoners and withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israel is not ready for this, not for a moment. The Israeli Prime Minister doesn't even
consider to be ready to those conditions.
In the United States, I'm very sorry to say so, is betraying its mission. It's betraying its values by spreading this false optimism now for many
weeks now, and we are watching a masquerade in which United States is adjusting its positions to Israel's positions, and then the blame game is
very clear. Hamas is to be blamed.
I'm not here to protect Hamas, but Hamas will not agree to any kind of those ideas. And the question is, does the United States wants to put an
end to this war or not? If it does, is the President saying it in such a noble way in Chicago. If it does, United States knows very well how to put
an end to it by deeds, by actions, not by talking.
It's believable. It's unacceptable that the state which arms one party in a war, one side in a war in such a massive way, an unconditioned way claims
that it is against continuing the war. If you want to stop a war, you don't arm one side.
NEWTON: But Gideon, you know what the U.S. administration would say, and in fact, the Israeli government that they need to protect you, where you
are sitting there in Tel Aviv right now. Now, before you answer that question, I want to speak to you about the specific leverage that you
believe the Biden administration has, and you say it's not using to quote you, "it sang high praise for a deal, but did not even consider putting
genuine pressure on Israel with actions."
OK, you just articulated that. What are those actions if at the same time they need to protect Israel?
LEVY: That would be very simple. Conditioning the arming, the support, the diplomatic support, the military support by some kind of conditions. For
example, if the United States wants to put an end to the war, if the United States believes that the Biden scheme or program is the right one, why not
to tell Israel, we will supply you with anything you wish, but you will have to follow our ideas because we want to put an end to this war.
Because we care about the millions of Palestinians living under this terrible inhuman conditions in Gaza, because we care about the hostages,
because we care about Israel. But instead of this, the United States is playing a very weird game. It's a masquerade.
On one hand, Biden speaks in such a noble way about ending the war. And in the same time, Blinken is certain, accepting almost all Netanyahu's
conditions --
NEWTON: But --
LEVY: And the arms goes on, the flow of arms to Israel goes on without any conditions. How do you want to end this war like this?
NEWTON: Beginning, even accepting everything you say isn't -- does this have a lot to do with Israelis themselves and the Israeli electorate? We
have painfully watched so many families go to the Netanyahu government, the families of the hostages, they are assured that the Israeli government is
doing everything they can.
[14:20:00]
And yet, Benjamin Netanyahu seems emboldened after actions in Gaza. He's continued -- he continues to go further and further in terms of the
military actions he takes within Gaza. Clearly, you know, enlighten us. How and why is he able to do this with the backing clearly of a significant
portion of the Israeli electorate.
LEVY: I don't know where the Israeli electorate is. This will be proven only in elections. I know there is a big pressure on Netanyahu to go for a
deal. I'm not sure that most of the Israelis want to end this war, but, you know, when we are dealing with the war --
(CLEARS THROAT)
LEVY: Sorry. Which seems as quite the criminal war with a lot of bribes of war being committed on a daily basis. It's not only a question of what the
Israelis want. It's also the question of if it is legal, what is moral, what is clever, what might bring us to a regional war? You know, there are
major things here at stake, and if the United States wants to follow the ideas of Biden, of Blinken, of the Democrats of whoever, it must prove it
in actions, not in tokens.
Because Israel learned to ignore all the advisors and the warnings of the administration because they know that totally all through.
NEWTON: Gideon Levy, we will leave it there for now as we continue to watch what we hope is progress in these negotiations throughout the
weekend. We'll be in touch with you again, thanks so much. Still to come for us tonight, the search continues in Italy for the last missing person
after the sinking of a yacht.
And India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Ukraine. But how warm will his welcome be just weeks after he visited Moscow? We'll have that
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Fighting between Russia and Ukraine is continuing to intensify in both countries. Russian defense officials say Ukraine launched fresh drone
attacks overnight, targeting a military airfield. It comes as Moscow increases efforts to protect civilians in the city of Kursk more than two
weeks into Kyiv's surprise incursion there.
Meantime, Russian forces are said to be advancing faster than expected towards a key city in eastern Ukraine. Local officials are now urging
residents to -- nearby to evacuate to nearby communities.
[14:25:00]
Meantime, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Ukraine Friday, it was part of a landmark European tour. Mr. Modi met with Poland's Prime
Minister and President today, discussing a path towards peace in Ukraine. Both nations calling for dialogue, diplomacy, and the restoration of peace.
The Indian Prime Minister is then set to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday. It comes just weeks after Mr. Modi traveled to Moscow in a trip
that was heavily criticized by the Ukrainian President. Now, an Italian government official -- an Italian government official tells "Reuters' the
body of British tech tycoon, Mike Lynch has been recovered after a yacht he was on sank off the coast of Sicily.
Six people were initially reported missing, including Lynch and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer. Lynch's daughter is still missing. They
all went down on Monday after being hit by a tornado. Here's CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Search efforts have ended for today, four days after a tornado struck a luxury yacht, sending it to
the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea here behind me off the coast of Sicily. They've been searching for the bodies of six people since a yacht went down
on Monday.
At that time, they recovered the body of the onboard chef. On Wednesday, they were able to recover four bodies. And on Thursday morning, they've
brought here to the staging area behind us, the body of what Italian authorities say belong to Mike Lynch. That is the British tech titan, whose
wife's company owned the yacht.
Now, they're searching for his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah. And today's efforts proved fruitless. They're hoping to begin searching again on Friday
morning, which should be the fifth day since the accident happened. A criminal investigation is also underway. The local prosecutors office here
has interviewed many of the survivors, including the captain, we believe to be a 51-year-old man from New Zealand who lives in Spain.
We understand that the prosecutor's office spoke to him, interviewed him for about two hours. Part of this criminal investigation is to try to
determine if there were any human errors that led to the sinking of the ship and the death of what is seven people once the final body is
recovered.
They'll be looking at a variety of factors when it comes to determining criminal negligence, among them what might have been done to save the
people on board that faded vessel. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Porticello, Sicily.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: So, all is quiet on Canada's two major freight railroads. Operations have ground to a standstill, foreseeing more than 9,000 members
of the teamsters to stay home. This after months of an unresolved labor dispute over employee safety and rest time. To be clear, this is not a
strike, it's actually a locker(ph), it was a move by management and nonetheless, the results could be just as devastating for both the U.S. and
Canadian economies.
One estimate from the Anderson economic group says a three-day strike could lead to losses as much as $300 million U.S. Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau says resolving the standoff is his top priority. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: We're on this, we're taking it so seriously, the Minister is engaged directly. We are -- we are not taking
this lightly, obviously, because Canadians across the country are worried about it, and we will have more to say shortly on what we're doing to make
sure that the right solution is found quickly for the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Still to come for us tonight, one of the biggest speeches of her political career. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will soon step into the
spotlight and into the history books. We'll look back at this week's memorable DNC moments, that's next. And later, we'll take a closer look at
Gen Z's presence at the DNC.
We'll be joined by content creator and immigrant rights activists Carlos Eduardo Espina, who says quote, "to be pro-immigrant is to be pro-
American."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
NEWTON: So, we are in the final hours now before U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage in Chicago and formally accepts the
Democratic Party's nomination for president. So, much momentum has been building up to tonight's historic moment. This week we heard from three
Democratic presidents, three first ladies, and even Oprah.
But one of the biggest DNC speeches came from Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is calling on American voters to, quote,
turn the page on Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Look, we got 76 days. That's nothing. There'll be time to sleep when you're dead. We're
going to leave it on the field. That's how we'll keep moving forward. That's how we'll turn the page on Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now from the Democratic National Convention. Listen, I hear you have some new reporting in terms of what
Kamala Harris will say and the point she's trying to get across in terms of framing her campaign to come.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, very much so. And there's no under -- overstating it. This is the most important moment of
her entire political career. She's been working on this speech from nearly the moment that Joe Biden stepped down as the Democratic nominee. Actually,
she's probably been working on it well before. that she was always going to deliver a speech at this convention. I think she probably just tweaked some
of that, and this is obviously highly important. She's been practicing at her hotel room all week.
And I'm told that she wants to strike three distinct themes in this speech. One is to just introduce herself to the American people. Of course, we know
who she is, but a lot of voters are just tuning into this race now and they want to know what she's about. She will really rely on her working-class
roots. You know, she has made a whole thing about how she worked at McDonald's when she was younger. She's going to talk about her career as a
prosecutor. So, expect that to be a big part of what she'll say.
Of course, she wants to make the contrast with Donald Trump, frame herself as the candidate of the future compared to Donald Trump whose campaign has
taken on some darker themes. And then third, she wants to talk about patriotism and talk about being a president for all Americans. And
certainly, her goal tonight is to try and take the swell of momentum that she wrote into this convention upon and turn it into a movement that will
propel her towards the election in November.
[14:35:00]
And I think at the end of the day, that really is kind of the undercurrent of this entire convention. And there are some open questions. You know,
when you talk to delegates, and especially when you talk to the huge number of Democratic officials who are at this convention this week, there is an
open question of what happens now?
You know, Democrats, at the end of the day, are trying to do something that's never been done before. There's no playbook in American politics for
changing out your nominee a hundred days before the election and winning in November. And so, you know, after the balloons drop tonight, after everyone
leaves O'Hare tomorrow morning, the question is, what comes next?
Certainly, this has been a euphoric gathering for Democrats. The polls show it. The fundraising shows it. The general vibes just kind of show it. But
there is a lot of time between now and November, and I think that there are some questions about what Democrats -- how Democrats will continue to
maintain that going forward.
NEWTON: Kevin Liptak for us, thanks so much, as we will be watching just a few hours from now when she does give that all important speech. Appreciate
it.
Now, night three of the Democratic National Convention turned into a star- studded affair. In fact, musicians, actors, celebrities showed up to lend their support to the Harris-Walz ticket. Here are just some of the
highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Oprah Winfrey.
OPRAH WINFREY, TELEVISION HOST AND ACTRESS: Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, and let us choose joy.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KENAN THOMPSON, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: You all remember this big old book from before? Well, these are the terms and conditions of a second Trump
presidency. You vote for him, you vote for all of this. Let's take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you all ready? Are you all ready to reach your high ground?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MINDY KALING, ACTRESS: For those of you who don't know me I am an incredibly famous Gen Z actress who you might recognize from "The Office."
Thank you, "The Mindy Project." Or the woman who courageously outed Kamala Harris as Indian in an Instagram cooking video.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
WINFREY: Because that's the best of America. We're all Americans. And together, let's all choose Kamala Harris. Thank you, Chicago. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, as entertaining as all of that was, there were many bold statements made throughout the evening. Thankfully, CNN's Daniel Dale did
some fact checking.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: I counted just two flat false claims the whole night, but I think they're both important false claims because both
were on a central subject of Democrats attacks, and that is Project 2025, a conservative think tank's proposals for a next Republican administration.
Listen to this claim from Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware about Project 2025 and Former President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER (D-DE): He has, with his friends, said the quiet parts out loud, but not only said them out loud, he wrote a book about it.
What's it called? Project 2025.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DALE: That is false. Trump did not write Project 2025. The project's big policy document, published by the Heritage Foundation think tank, lists
dozens of people as authors, editors, contributors. Donald Trump is not among them. A Project 2025 spokesman told me tonight no candidate was
involved with the drafting of the document.
Now, it is fair to say Trump has extensive ties to Project 2025 and CNN has reported that more than half of those authors, editors, and contributors
worked at some point in his administration. But that's different than saying Trump actually wrote it.
Now, let's also play something that Colorado's Governor Jared Polis said about what's in that Project 2025 document.
[14:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Page 451 says the only legitimate family is a married mother and father were only the father works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DALE: That is also false. Project 2025 does not say there is only one kind of legitimate family, let alone say that families in which a mother works
outside the home is illegitimate. A Heritage Foundation spokeswoman who's a working mom herself told me tonight the governor's claim is a lie.
Now, if you read the page, the governor mentioned, you'll see it does express a preference for a certain kind of family. It says, quote, families
comprised of a married mother, father and their children are the foundation of a healthy society. It then goes on to criticize Biden policies that
supposedly subsidize single motherhood and focus on LGBT equity. You can obviously debate all of that. But nowhere does Project 2025 say a family is
not legitimate if the mom has a job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Our thanks to Daniel Dale there. Now, still to come for us, Donald Trump is hitting more battleground states this week in an effort to shift
attention away from the DNC. Details ahead on the big name that could endorse his campaign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: In Chicago, Democrats are hearing from plenty of Republicans who are not supporting their party and Trump in 2024, including former White
House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham. She was the first senior White House staffer to resign from the Trump administration on January 6, 2021.
And has since been a vocal critic of the former president. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth. When I was press
secretary, I got skewered for never holding a White House briefing. It's because unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand at that podium and lie.
Now, here I am behind a podium advocating for a Democrat. And that's because I love my country more than my party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, former lieutenant governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, also taking to the stage at the DNC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEOFF DUNCAN, (R) FORMER GEORGIA LT. GOVERNOR: If Republicans are being intellectually honest with ourselves, our party is not civil or
conservative. It's chaotic and crazy. And the only thing left to do is dump Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, going on to make the case that he sees voting for Kamala Harris as the patriotic thing to do.
[14:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUNCAN: Look, you don't have to agree with every policy position of Kamala Harris. I don't. But you do have to recognize her prosecutor mindset that
understands right from wrong, good from evil. She's a steady hand, and will bring leadership to the White House that Donald Trump could never do.
Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching, if you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you're not a Democrat, you're a patriot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, meantime, Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, are continuing their battleground state tour this week while
Vance -- pardon me, while Vance campaigns in Georgia.
Trump is touring the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. He is expected to talk about security and immigration. That is in the coming hours. Meantime, a
source tells CNN, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to suspend his campaign on Friday. He's reportedly in talks to endorse
Trump over Harris.
CNN's Kristen Holmes is tracking the Republican ticket, and she does join us now from Tucson, Arizona. Good to see you there as you are following the
campaign. I do want to get to RFK. Jr. first. How close do you believe the Trump campaign is to securing his endorsement? And how much of a difference
could this make?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they're very close. I mean, look, we know that RFK Jr. is going to suspend his
campaign tomorrow. He's going to be in Phoenix. We also know Donald Trump is holding a rally just outside of Phoenix in a town called Glendale. So,
what I've been told is that these are ongoing conversations. They've been happening for several weeks, and they've been really led in part by Tucker
Carlson and Don Jr., Donald Trump's son. Now, these conversations are not completely finalized yet, but obviously, we're inching closer to that
announcement in Phoenix tomorrow.
It would likely move the needle at least somewhat. Now, how much? That's the big question. Would it actually make up for any polling in which Donald
Trump is lacking? That is unknown. But for example, here in Arizona, the most recent polling we've seen, RFK Jr. has about 6 percent. That is a big
margin in a state like Arizona, a critical battleground state, a state that Donald Trump feels like he needs to win.
Can he get any of that? Can he get a majority of that? That's the big question. So, what they're hoping for here is that he will endorse and that
it could move the needle at least twice past there being any question of Donald Trump being as close to Kamala Harris.
Again, we don't actually know what him dropping out would do. We don't even know what his endorsement would do as everybody who is going to vote for
RFK is not going to necessarily vote for whoever he endorses. They liked things specifically about RFK.
And remember, he is generally incredibly progressive, particularly on specific issues like the climate. So, those people who were maybe focusing
on RFK because of that, they might not necessarily be voting for the former president, but we are going to be in an election in November that is
incredibly tight. Both sides will tell you that. It's going to come down to a handful of voters. So, if this could move the needle at all, Donald
Trump's team is very excited about it and they hope it will.
NEWTON: And as our viewers can see, you are in fact at the border. You're at Montezuma's Pass in Arizona, likely in front of a portion of the wall. I
don't have a lot of time left, but what are you expecting to hear from the former president?
HOLMES: This is going to be a traditional stump speech for Donald Trump. It's going to be what we hear from him all the time when he hammers down
immigration. They believe that this is an issue that he won, they saw, pulled ahead of President Joe Biden on, but they believe he can still pull
ahead of Kamala Harris on, and it's an issue that's very important to voters.
The interesting thing about this, this is called a messaging event. Meaning, there aren't really anyone else here except for the media. He is
going to be touring the wall. He's doing this to send a message from the border here. One of his main arguments against Kamala Harris is the fact
that she was tasked with doing some work on the border that they say wasn't successful. You've heard Donald Trump say that multiple times. He will be
here hammering that same message today.
Also talking about how immigration relates to crime. We know that he has been fear mongering with that, saying that immigration is leading to higher
crime, especially in areas like this in Arizona.
NEWTON: Thank you so much, Kristen. We'll wait to hear more on this event in the coming hour. Appreciate it. And we will have more news in just a
moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
NEWTON: So, as we mentioned earlier, night three of the Democratic National Convention turned into a star-studded affair. Musicians, actors,
and celebrities showed up to lend their support to the Harris-Walz ticket.
Now, we want to bring in one of the content creators, also speaking at the DNC, Carlos Eduardo Espina. Espina is a 25-year-old activist and aspiring
lawyer who works to uplift the immigrant community through social media. Good to have you on board.
I mean, the topic that you speak of has been quite contentious. We were just listening to our correspondent who's at the border with the former
president today. I want you to listen now though, to both candidates as they speak about immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: We know our immigration system is broken and we know what it
takes to fix it. Comprehensive reform that includes health care, yes, strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most of the job creation has gone to migrants. In fact, I've heard that
substantially more than -- beyond -- actually beyond the number of 100 percent, it's a much higher number than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, good to have you with us, as I said, in your address to the DNC, which I watched. I mean, you assert, after quoting the Republican
president, Reagan, I should add, that immigration is an American value, not a Democratic or a Republican one.
I guess I'm asking you, how are you getting that message across? Because on both sides, it has really been used as a political hammer.
CARLOS EDUARDO ESPINA, CONTENT CREATOR SPEAKING AT DNC AND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yes. Well, first off, thank you for having me. And like you
mentioned, I think my message last night is something that has kind of been lost, I would say, even by both parties over the past few years, and it's
focusing back on the humane aspect on immigration, and not forgetting that throughout our history, immigration has been good.
I think over the past years we've made -- we've been made to believe that immigration is bad, that, you know, immigrants are hurting the country,
poisoning the blood, whatever the narrative maybe. So, I think we need to, you know, scale back a little bit, look things from a different
perspective, look beyond all the rhetoric and all the hate and realize that, you know, there was a time when Republicans and Democrats both agreed
on this issue, maybe not always 100 percent, but at least there was some consensus that today has been lost, and what I'm seeking is to move back in
that direction.
NEWTON: And, Carlos, you know as well as I do that although the numbers -- the encounters at the border have gone down, and we can show viewers that
the trend line since late last year, it really has been down, as you can see it there.
And yet, this is still an issue. And why? Because people do see, in fact, that immigrants in their communities are not doing well, those that have
come in. Sometimes there aren't the resources to feed them or house them. They see the stress of that. So, what are you saying as an influencer, and
what message have you found is most effective when you're trying to talk to them about that?
[14:55:00]
ESPINA: Well, the first thing is this, there's this narrative, right, that as long as there's not zero border crossings, that there's a problem, I
don't think that's the case because what we have to accept is that there's always going to be people who want to come to the United States, as long as
we're the greatest nation on Earth.
Why don't people do the same, go through the same suffering and, you know, effort to migrate to China or to Russia? They want to come to the United
States because it's the greatest nation on Earth. That's not necessarily a bad thing. So, we have to accept that people want to come.
Now, I do agree there is an issue, a political issue, when it comes to how we handle those people who do want to come. Because there's not enough
legal pathways, there's not enough ways for people to migrate legally, they are forced, essentially, to come through these illegal pathways, which I
myself don't support. I think it's very dangerous. I've met many people, you know, who are here and they had to cross the desert five, six, seven
days without water. No one wants to do that. They do that because there's no other choice.
So, what we need to do if we want to really care about, you know, lowering the number of border crossings is create legal pathways so people don't
have to take those paths and then we can find solutions. And at the same time, we do have to recognize that, yes, over the past few years, and not
just under Biden, under Trump as well, there's been a few people who have come here and have done bad things. We can't ignore that reality either.
And those people, there should be consequences, they should be dealt with - -
NEWTON: And, Carlos, unfortunately, I do have to leave it there, but we can watch you online and so can the viewers.
ESPINA: Yes.
NEWTON: It was quite a forceful address that you gave to the DNC. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
ESPINA: No, yes. Thank you. Thank you.
NEWTON: And I want to thank all of you for watching. Stay with us. CNN Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
