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One World with Zain Asher
Israel Attacks School And Shelter; First Round Of Polio Vaccinations Concludes In Gaza; Top U.S. Diplomat Pressed On Ukraine Strike Restrictions; Garland Slams Efforts To Turn His Department Into A Political Weapon; Polaris Dawn Crew Completes Historic Spacewalk; How The Debate Will Impact The Swing States; Ohio Reacts To Trump's False Claims Of Migrants Eating Pets; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired September 12, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:34]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: A school and shelter in the crossfire. Another escalation in the war between Israel and Hamas.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: ONE WORLD starts right now.
The United Nations says it's the deadliest attack among its ranks. The IDF says that it did everything it could to avoid civilians in a Gaza strike.
ASHER: Also ahead, a closer look, we visit the community. The Trump campaign accuses of eating cats and dogs. Some of the residents are still
in shock.
GOLODRYGA: And later, what can't she do? Taylor Swift making history yet again. We'll explain.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga, you are watching ONE WORLD.
And we begin with an Israeli strike on a school compound sheltering some 12,000 Palestinians in one of the most densely populated areas of Gaza.
ASHER: Yes. The head of the U.N. Refugee Agency calls the attack, quote, endless and senseless killings day after day.
At least 18 people including six U.N. staff were killed in Wednesday's strikes.
GOLODRYGA: Israel is calling it a precise strike on terrorists operating inside the school. The U.N. says it's the largest single death toll of U.N.
staff in a single day. And the fifth time the school has been targeted since October 7th.
ASHER: CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live now from Tel Aviv, Israel.
So the fifth time this particular facility has been targeted, the largest or rather highest death toll among U.N. staff in a single incident.
Nic Robertson, what more can you tell us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. And some of the other statistics that sort of concurrent with this are equally shocking, I
think, to certainly to the U.N. Certainly that's the reaction that we're getting at the moment.
Two hundred twenty UNRWA staff since October 7th have been killed. These six obviously added to that list. Seventy percent of UNWRA schools, like
this one, that were once schools for children that have become refugees for displaced people have been hit now.
These are the UNRWA run ones, the biggest U.N. operation inside of Gaza for Palestinians.
And the director of that agency has said, look, these continuing strikes, strikes with impunity, he says, against these UNRWA facilities, if they are
continued, then they essentially undermine international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
He says they must stop. That is what the U.N. Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, posted on X as well, saying, these continued violations of
international law must stop.
These are places that have become refuge for very many of the Palestinians stuck in Gaza. One of the people inside the school described a scenario
where they were having lunch with colleagues. They left the room after lunch to go to another part of the building.
The explosion happened, they came back to the room where they'd had lunch. And the room and the colleagues were gone, destroyed by the force of the
blast. Eighteen killed, 44 wounded.
Now, the IDF are being very clear about this and provided more information during the day. They have said that it was targeted, that there was a
specific information about a Hamas cell command and control operating in the school.
And even have said, have named nine people who they say were killed in this strike, who were Hamas operatives inside of the -- inside of the school
building.
I think the notion that the U.N. can make statements and stop the IDF's tactics is clearly at this stage of the conflict in Gaza. Clearly, that's
not going to happen.
But for the -- for the U.N., this is six more of their staff lost. And for Palestinians there, 18 dead and 44 killed. The statistics are very brutal.
ASHER: Yes. Nic Robertson live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Separately, the World Health Organization says that it's confident that the campaign to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of Gaza
children against polio hit its target.
Today was the last day for the first of two rounds of vaccinations.
UNRWA wants to immunize more than 90 percent of Gaza's children under the age of 10, after the first confirmed case of polio in 25 years was reported
recently. The disease has spread with Gaza in ruins.
[12:05:11]
GOLODRYGA: Let's bring in Dr. Margaret Harris to talk more about it. She's a spokesperson for the World Health Organization and joins us now live from
Geneva, Switzerland.
Finally, some good news. Some 90 percent of those children under the age of 10 were able to receive the first dose of that vaccine. That is according
to the WHO's figures, and that seems to be in line with the numbers provided by COGAT. That's a defense ministry body that works between Israel
and Gaza, as well as the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank.
This all worked because there was an agreed-upon eight-hour pause in fighting window in a humanitarian area where these children could get
immunized.
I guess the question is, Margaret, are you that optimistic now for weeks from now when we are expecting, you are expecting, to deliver the second
dose? Are you hoping that the same eight-hour window will be in place?
MARGARET HARRIS, SPOKESPERSON, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Actually, what we'd really like to see is a ceasefire, let's be honest.
The good thing is those eight-hour windows did hold. The commitment made was kept. And the other great thing, the thing that really heartened us,
was the optimism of the parents and the caregivers who brought their children out. In fact, my colleagues described it as almost a festive
atmosphere.
So in the middle of all this misery, all this despair, there was a little moment of happiness for at least the kids and the parents, a sense that
something good was happening in all the bad.
ASHER: For our viewers who might not understand sort of the process and the level of bureaucracy involved in this sort of large-scale vaccination
campaign, just talk to us about, A, the process, and B, the challenges of delivering these many vaccines, not just once, by the way, but twice in a
war zone.
HARRIS: Indeed. It's as hard as it gets. So you have to be sure that you've not just got the vaccines, but you've also got the equipment, what we call
the cold chain, because you've got to keep them at the right temperature the whole time.
So all the vaccinators have to have things called congelateur, these vaccine carriers that keep it cold. The vaccinators all have to know what
they're doing, even though it's a relatively simple vaccine to give. It's two drops.
You have to know how to give it. You have to ensure that you can mark off the children's fingers so that you know that you've reached the children.
You have to ensure that the parents know what's going on, know where to come. You have to design the sites often with these mass vaccination
campaigns. You'll actually go house to house. But in Gaza, there aren't any houses and tent to tent, it was proving very hard.
So we had to -- we aimed to work with fixed sites, but we also did have what we call outreach teams that would be mobile teams going to find the
children and the parents that really couldn't make it to the fixed sites or were too frightened.
And it's extraordinary how many have come out that we really set a very ambitious target. And we hope to meet it, but we honestly, in our -- in our
honest moments, probably thought we wouldn't. So this is really down to the parents.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, listen, when it comes to meeting that target, we're talking about over 550,000 children under the age of 10.
And another challenge that you're facing is one that we talk about on a daily basis here now as it relates to the election, but also as it related
to the pandemic and COVID, and that is misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.
And I know that that also applies to Gaza and the war zone there and people spreading concerns about the efficacy of this vaccine.
How do you combat that in a war zone?
HARRIS: Indeed, that it's really disheartening when you see this kind of thing. You know, you've got something that the children need desperately.
They've got a threat that didn't exist, hasn't existed for several generations, but now is a very big threat on top of all the other threats
they face.
And then they have people spreading disinformation, trying to say that it's being given for the wrong reasons or the wrong, you know, for negative
reasons or that it's a negative thing, adds misery upon misery.
But actually, clearly, those disinformation campaigns did not work because the parents very much wanted to have this for their children. They want
much more and they need much more. This is the beginning.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. They deserve much more of these children too.
ASHER: Absolutely. When you think about just how close the enclave came to disaster, we remember that of course back in August, a 1-year-old boy was
found to have polio, the first case in 25 years polio in Gaza. Obviously, polio can cause paralysis and then death.
[12:10:06]
I mean, what would have happened if the WHO wasn't able to get in, if UNRWA wasn't able to get in and administer these vaccines? Just explain to us
what would have been at stake here.
HARRIS: So when we know we've got one case of paralysis, and as you mentioned with this little 10-month-old boy has become paralyzed by the
virus, it actually means they're already likely to be a hundred other cases --
GOLODRYGA: Wow.
HARRIS: -- around that person. Because this virus spreads. It's super contagious and it spreads in conditions where there's overcrowding and
there's unclean water and people are underfed and ill and stressed. And, of course, all those things are exactly what's going on in Gaza right now.
And so -- and some of those people will be asymptomatic or they'll have so many other illnesses. There's so much diarrhea. There's so many coughs and
colds going on in Gaza. It's impossible for the health workers to know whether it's polio, whether it's anything else. So that means it's already
spread.
Now, if we didn't do the vaccination campaign, it would spread a lot further out of the borders of Gaza, out to all the neighboring countries,
and essentially the rest of the world.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And it was detected as many of these viruses are through the testing of wastewater, which is so important to do. And obviously the
alarm bells went off.
Dr. Margaret Harris, this first phase was a success. We are wishing you equal success in the next four weeks when the second dose, the very
important second dose for the efficacy for this to really work. Both doses are needed to be given. Let's hope it's just as successful.
Thank you so much for the work --
HARRIS: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: -- that you and the WHO are doing.
ASHER: Thank you, Margaret.
All right. America's top diplomat is hearing new appeals urging the U.S. to lift restrictions on how Ukraine uses Western-supplied weaponry against
Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met earlier with the president of NATO member Poland in Warsaw. He then hinted to reporters that the U.S.
could allow Kyiv to use Western-supplied arms to strike deep inside Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: We have adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed. And I have
no doubt that we'll continue to do that as this -- as this evolves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The pressure to lift Ukraine's restrictions isn't only coming from Europe. The Biden administration is also being pressed on the issue at
home. It's hearing from Republican and democratic lawmakers, including democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who sits on the powerful Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. They say the current limits put Ukraine at a disadvantage.
ASHER: Let's go live now to Kylie Atwood, who is at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
So, Kylie, there have been a lot of fears among American lawmakers and American politicians about the use of long-range missiles against Russia,
because, of course, there are fears of escalation. Just talk to us about how that might be shifting now.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. The major concern for the United States throughout the entire course of
this war has been that of escalation, not going up that ladder of escalation too quickly in a way that would trigger Russia to do something
dramatic on the battlefield.
But, of course, Russia's attacks against Ukraine have continued, and Ukraine has continued to say, for months now, as you both well know, that
they really would like a loosening, a green light from the United States to be able to use long-range military capabilities from the U.S. deeper inside
Russia to target what they view as legitimate military targets inside of Russia.
Now, as you guys were playing there, the Secretary of State, not being very clear in terms of where the U.S. stands on this conversation right now, in
terms of which side they're leaning towards, but he was clear in saying that this is something that they're looking at incredibly closely.
Pointing out that the United States has adjusted its support of Ukraine throughout the entire course of the war based on, as he said, the
battlefield conditions. And that's the key here.
We know that U.S. officials are looking at exactly why Ukraine feels that they need this capability.
There is some concern in the U.S. that due to the fact that there are a limited number of this type of weapons, ATACMS, that are the long-range
capability, they believe that Ukraine could actually use those in other areas where the war is already taking place, Crimea, for example, that they
don't necessarily need them to target some of these targets deeper inside Russia that they say they need them for.
The other thing that the U.S. officials point out is that some of the targets that they believe that Ukraine would like to strike are actually
quite far inside Russia, beyond what would be able to be hit with these long-range weaponry.
[12:15:05]
I've talked to Ukrainian officials, however, who have said, listen, there are weapons production facilities that would be within range and they want
to hit those.
So this is an ongoing conversation. What we're looking for tomorrow is a conversation between President Biden and the new U.K. Prime Minister,
Starmer. He's going to be here in Washington. They're going to have a critical conversation about the future of Ukraine, the U.S., the U.K.,
European support for Ukraine. And they are likely to have a discussion based on the findings of the Secretary of State and his U.K. counterpart
when they were in Ukraine this week about this specific question, as to if the U.S. and the U.K. should actually give them the green light to ease
these restrictions on the use of these long-range weaponry inside Russia.
The backdrop here in Washington is that as you guys said, the pressure is mounting from both sides of the aisle. Republicans writing to the
administration about this earlier this week, then we have statements from prominent Democratic senators about this just yesterday.
So the White House is really hearing this from all sides.
ASHER: Kylie Atwood live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Kylie.
Well, Jens Stoltenberg is talking about NATO's commitment to Ukraine.
ASHER: Yes, less than -- sorry.
GOLODRYGA: I haven't done that in a while. Keep going.
ASHER: If that's OK to you.
GOLODRYGA: No, no. I can't read.
ASHER: OK. But less than three weeks to go until he steps down as head of the alliance, Stoltenberg has been talking to our colleague Christiane
Amanpour about helping Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I think we need to be even stronger, partly in what we do as providing more military support on top of
the unprecedented support which is -- which has already been delivered.
But as important is actually that we communicate that long-term commitment, because --
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: So loud and clear?
STOLTENBERG: Loud and clear for long-term because now, President Putin, I'm afraid that he believes that he can wait us out. And as long as he believes
that he can wait us out, the war will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And be sure to tune in in the next hour to see the full exit interview with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. That's at 1:00 P.M.
Eastern, 6:00 P.M. in London.
ASHER: U.S. Attorney General says he's fed up with those trying to turn the Department of Justice into what he calls a political weapon.
GOLODRYGA: Merrick Garland made a fiery speech to his staff a short while ago, slamming the escalation of attacks against the department's staff. He
mentioned intimidation of employees for doing their jobs, floating conspiracy theories, lies, and even threats of violence.
Garland thanked his prosecutors and staffers for refusing to bend to politics or break under pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERRICK GARLAND, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon.
And our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Let's take a closer look at what prompted Merrick Garland's speech. We're joined by Zach Cohen.
Zach, so it would make sense that he would deliver the speech before his staff. I'm just curious as to why they decided to televise this as well.
ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. It's also interesting that the name Donald Trump did not come out of the Attorney General's mouth, but
it was very clear based on the wording of his remarks that this was a message in part directed at the current Republican nominee for president of
the United States.
We know just from the other day, during the debate, President Donald Trump again repeating these attacks on the Justice Department, claiming with no
evidence that the Biden-Harris administration is attempting to weaponize the Justice Department against him as part of these various criminal cases
against him, even the ones at the state level that the federal government has nothing to do with.
He's also said recently again that he plans to dismantle the Justice Department and the FBI and politicize it for his own purposes if he does
retake the White House.
So, again, the attorney general today relay a message to his workforce reassuring them that the norms and the sort of code that they operate by
will, you know, maintain the impartiality and the non-political nature of the Justice Department, even if Donald Trump takes the White House and
Merrick Garland is no longer the attorney general.
But he's also signaling outward to Donald Trump and to other, his allies, and to others who have spread these conspiracy theories about the Justice
Department that that will not change anything. That they're going to continue to pursue the same impartial mission that they always have,
including missions that will have no impact or have no bearing on an election.
And obviously the timing of this is consequential given we are about 50 days out from the presidential election. And you can be sure that the
attacks from Donald Trump on the Justice Department will continue.
ASHER: Yes. It's interesting because one of the things he says -- said is, our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a
country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics. Obviously, words are important but without sort of concrete actionable
steps.
[12:20:01]
How do you prevent that from actually happening?
COHEN: Well, and that's the importance of why these remarks were delivered to the DOJ workforce, right? Because ultimately it is the career officials,
the ones who will remain there at the Justice Department, regardless of who's in the White House, who make decisions every day, and they can decide
on an individual basis and as a collective department whether or not they want to adhere to these norms and they want to maintain that impartial,
that non-political sort of viewpoint as they carry out their day-to-day duties.
And that includes just anything from arrests conducted by FBI officers, from various criminal investigations conducted by DOJ prosecutors and U.S.
attorneys. So he's really speaking to the entire scope of the Justice Department and just reminding them that they can individually maintain that
-- those norms and in a way collectively continue to remain apolitical.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Zach Cohen reporting to us live from Washington. Thank you.
ASHER: Today was a beautiful day for a walk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Look at that view. It's certainly a day for a perfect walk. If it is the first privately funded spacewalk in history.
Coming up, what it took to make this historic trip happen.
GOLODRYGA: And that shadowy figure is our own Derek Van Dam that you're seeing right now, feeling the fury of Hurricane Francine. We look at where
the storm is headed and the damage that it left in its wake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, that silhouette is billionaire, Jared Isaacman. Earlier, he crawled out of a space ship and into the history books. He is now the
first private citizen ever to perform a spacewalk.
ASHER: He wasn't alone. He also had crewmember, Sarah Gillis, floated out of the ship for a little while as well. The two other crewmembers stayed
inside, but they still experienced the vacuum of space since their Dragon capsule has no airlock.
GOLODRYGA: The mission, called Polaris Dawn, was meant to test the capabilities of SpaceX's newly designed space suit.
The Polaris Dawn crew has traveled farther than any human since the Apollo program ended 50 years ago.
CNN's Kristin Fisher has been following the historic mission all day and joins us live.
Listen, Kristin, aside from these stunning visuals, talk about the significance of this mission and its accomplishment.
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, up until a few hours ago, spacewalks had historically only been conducted by very wealthy
and very powerful nations, the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union.
[12:25:09]
That all changed when Jared Isaacman and the crew of Polaris Dawn opened up the hatch to their Dragon capsule.
Not only was it the world's first spacewalk conducted by regular citizens, but it was the first time that they were using SpaceX's brand-new space
suit in the vacuum of space and really testing it out. And that's really what the point of this whole Polaris program is.
Jared Isaacman, who you saw there, the commander, that's his helmet camera right there, the commander of this mission, also the person partially
funding this mission and program, wanted to help SpaceX advance humanity further into space. And so that's how they came up with this program.
Jared went to SpaceX and said, what do you guys need? Let me be your test pilot or your guinea pig, so to speak. And so that's what we saw today.
We also saw them the day before fly farther into space than any human since the end of the Apollo program flying through the radiation belt. That was
an important thing for SpaceX too because they want to go to Mars.
And in order to go to Mars and the moon, you have to go through the radiation belt. So those were the two riskiest parts of this mission, the
spacewalk and flying farther into space than any humans have ever gone since the Apollo program.
But the other things they're doing are things like scientific experiments. Forty of them, throughout the course of this five-day mission. They're also
raising funds for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
And then if all goes according to plan, guys, they should be landing back on Earth, splashing down sometime this weekend.
GOLODRYGA: Wow. I mean, those images of him, especially in space there when you see him emerging, just something you see in sci-fi movies and the fact
that it's happening now.
ASHER: And I love what he said, right? It does look like a perfect world when you're up there, you know? But we do not quite there yet in terms of
the work we have to do down here.
Kristin Fisher, live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Kristin.
Well, back here on Earth, Tropical Depression Francine is heading north after a pounding South Louisiana.
ASHER: Francine roared ashore as a category two hurricane Wednesday night, as you can see. It brought fierce winds, heavy rain and flash flooding. In
fact, the months' worth of rain fell on New Orleans in just a matter of hours.
Our Derek Van Dam was just outside the city and felt the force of Francine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Every time I get one of those strong bands, it feels like you're getting the backwash. I've said it before, the
backwash of a jet engine. And it stings your face with those little tiny wind droplets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: We should know Derek Van Dam is safe. He's OK, but that is quite scary to see in that footage.
And take a look at this, a Good Samaritan sprang into action to save a man from his fully submerged truck. The driver reportedly drove around some
barricades into the water. Don't do that, folks. The barricades were there for a reason.
Miles Crawford saw what happened, grabbed something to break the window and then pulled the driver out. Crawford was very humble about the whole
ordeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILES CRAWFORD, NURSE: I just had to go on there and do it. I'm a nurse. So got to save lives, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: God bless nurses. As of the last hour, Tropical Depression Francine was in Mississippi, also heading towards Arkansas.
Despite losing power, the threat of tornadoes remains across the Gulf Coast.
ASHER: All right. Still to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY AMOS, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: She came prepared for a tussle and he met his match.
You are not going to bully a prosecutor, period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: How some swing state women saw Tuesday night's debate? We check in with a group of women from Georgia who have been talking to -- who have
been talking to each other since the race for the White House began.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:18]
ASHER: Welcome back to ONE WORLD, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
After a day spent processing the impact of Tuesday night's presidential debate, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be back on the campaign trail
in just the next few hours.
ASHER: Yes. Trump will be in Arizona for his first post-debate rally. CNN sources say, even his staunchest allies admit the debate was at best a tie.
Harris will also hold two rallies in North Carolina today. Her campaign is releasing TV ads showcasing her best moments from the debate.
But despite the excitement surrounding Harris' performance, her allies remind us the race is far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): Yesterday morning, one of my township supervisors called me and wanted to know what I thought and I said, well,
what did you think? And that discussion brought me right back down to Earth.
I think Michigan is a dead heat.
But there's just a lot of people in the middle. I don't understand at times what people see in Donald Trump. They know what will happen to this country
if he's president again, but they believe strongly. And it's just closer than people realize.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Throughout this campaign, CNN has been tracking a group of female voters who live in the swing state of Georgia.
ASHER: CNN's Randi Kaye sat down with them as they watch the presidential debate on Tuesday. Here is what they saw that night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome (INAUDIBLE) Anything to serve for you all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jolly Rancher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jolly Rancher.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The (INAUDIBLE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Macon, Georgia, we watched the presidential debate with these five women, all of them were
undecided months ago when we first started visiting with them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ABC News presidential debate starts right now.
ANDREA COOKE, GEORGIA VOTER: Seeing this debate, I immediately noticed how much older than her he is.
BRITNEY DANIELS, GEORGIA VOTER: He was not ready for her.
COOKE: I think that he just did not expect her to come as hard as she did. I think that he underestimated her and it showed up.
KAYE HLAVATY, GEORGIA VOTER: I didn't think she was going to be the person that went in for the jugular.
AMOS: I think that she came prepared for a tussle and he met his match.
KAY BELIVEAU, GEORGIA VOTER: He could have done a better job. He really could have. So, I was a little disappointed in him.
KAYE: What did you make of her right off the top, walking over to his podium, putting out her hand, introducing herself as Kamala Harris?
BELIVEAU: I just think she was making a statement. I'm here. I'm in charge.
KAYE: How many of you think Donald Trump won the debate? Raise your hand.
COOKE: I believe, hands down, it was Kamala.
HLAVATY: I think that Donald Trump came to say what he wanted to say. Kamala was very rehearsed.
AMOS: You are not going to bully a prosecutor, period.
KAYE: What do you make of when she said that Trump was fired by -- this was another moment -- Trump was fired by 81 million people and he's clearly
having a hard time processing that?
(LAUGH)
[12:35:09]
COOKE: I think that that absolutely rattled him.
HLAVATY: Yes.
COOKE: It knocked him off of whatever high horse he was on at that moment.
KAYE: How many of you believe Donald Trump looked more presidential tonight than Kamala Harris? Raise your hand.
How many of you believe Kamala Harris looked more presidential tonight? I saw you were about to raise your hand and --
(CROSSTALK)
BELIVEAU: It's painful to raise my hand thinking, yes, she looked a little more presidential. But I still, I'm sorry -- all in all, I don't believe
what she says. I think she's says what she thinks people want to hear.
KAYE: How do you think Trump did in answering the question about calling out Kamala Harris for her race? His response was, I don't really care about
her race.
AMOS: By him simply saying that I don't care, I don't care, that lets me know you actually do care because you would have never brought it up. It
would have never even slipped out of your mouth if it wasn't an issue.
KAYE: Did anybody hear a solid plan on anything from Donald Trump tonight?
COOKE: Absolutely not.
DANIELS: I did not.
HLAVATY: No.
BELIVEAU: He could have been more to the point, telling us more about what the plans are. What does he plan to do?
DANIELS: We're suffering from the economy the most, the middle-class, lower-class people, and Trump did not state that at all. He really didn't
mention anything about his policies. He avoided all of those questions about just straight policy.
KAYE: You were still undecided after the last meeting as a group.
AMOS: Yes.
KAYE: You were wanting to hear more from Kamala Harris.
AMOS: Yes.
KAYE: Did you hear enough at this debate to decide?
AMOS: Not 100 percent decide. And I'm feeling really, really, really promising in her direction. I wasn't quite sure what Kamala Harris was
about, what her policies were, what she stood for. And tonight, she answered so to a lot of those questions for me and I want to hear more --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: More like how she's going to get it done?
AMOS: Right. Exactly. Yes. Specifically, obviously about the small businesses.
I want to hear how it's going to get done because I do understand when money gets moved around, the money has to come from somewhere.
BELIVEAU: Yes.
AMOS: Where are you got to pull that money from?
KAYE: Where do you stand after the debate?
HLAVATY: I truly believe Kamala Harris is a great spokesman and she will represent our country well.
Will she lead our country well? I still think Trump has the experience to go forward and be the leader, instead of the spokesman.
KAYE: And just to sum up for you, because you were considering Kamala last time we spoke, what was it about this debate that made you say, I'm going
to go back to Trump?
HLAVATY: Where has she been the last three-and-a-half years? And why can we expect something different now?
KAYE: Kamala Harris' team is already asking for another debate. If you were Donald Trump, would you debate her again?
DANIELS: Oh, no.
BELIVEAU: Yes, he needs to. He should.
DANIELS: But he probably won't.
KAYE: And why do you think he needs to?
BELIVEAU: To answer questions. We really didn't get a lot of answers tonight.
DANIELS: Right.
BELIVEAU: We need to know more. Some solid information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Time now for The Exchange.
So much to discuss here. I want to focus on two of the most important swing states and what voters there got out of the debate.
Joining us live now from North Carolina Public Radio is Colin Campbell. And we also welcome in Jonathan Salant of one of the largest newspapers in
Pennsylvania, "The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette."
Colin and Jonathan, thank you so much for being with us.
Colin, let me start with you because obviously you're from North Carolina. A major, major state of course in this election. Kamala Harris as Vice
President has visited that state about 17 times or so.
The fact though is that that state has not been won by a Democrat since Barack Obama won it back in 2008. So what does she need to do, right?
Especially after the debate, a lot of people agree that she came out well in this debate. Many people will say that she won that debate.
But what does she need to do between now and November 5th to win over North Carolinians?
COLIN CAMPBELL, CAPITOL BUREAU CHIEF, NORTH CAROLINA PUBLIC RADIO WUNC: Yes. I think the big goal here in North Carolina for her campaign is going
to be turnout. That's one of the reasons Democrats have not quite gotten above the finish line in previous presidential elections. Joe Biden came
really close in 2020 but didn't quite turn the state blue.
Their hope is they can get voters out. And you see that with the attention that the Harris campaign is putting in North Carolina. She's got two
rallies here today in two urban areas, Greensboro and Charlotte. The spouses of the candidates, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz were here in the
Raleigh area just a couple of days ago.
They're really, really trying to put a lot of resources into North Carolina. I think the debate they had watched parties in all 100 counties
trying to get people excited about this campaign and get people to turn out and avoid some of the turnout challenges they've had in recent cycles.
GOLODRYGA: And, Jonathan, from North Carolina, Kamala Harris will be traveling back to Pennsylvania. It will be the six out of seven days that
she's had public appearances. They're really signifying how important that state is for her to win this election. And just as a sample of some voters
and how they felt coming out of the debate.
[12:40:21]
"The Wall Street Journal" spoke with two who had been in the past and more democratically aligned or aligned with the Democratic Party and voted
Democrat. One woman said that she appreciated Harris' economic proposals, but she said, quote, I wish we could go back to a place where we felt
financially safe.
I struggled to even figure out how I'm going to make ends meet and what college will look like for my kids, ask for Donald Trump when he started
talking about Haitians, eating people's dogs. I don't even know what to do.
Another man said something along those same lines suggesting that he thought Trump appeared to be flustered by Harris, but he still plans to
vote for Trump.
Both of these voters, in Pennsylvania, said that Kamala Harris won the debate, and yet one remains undecided. The other is voting for Donald
Trump. This is a small sample, obviously, of a large pool of voters in the state.
But I'm wondering what you're hearing there on the ground following that debate. How consequential was it for voters ultimately trying to make a
decision?
JONATHAN SALANT, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, POLITICS, PITTSBURGH POST- GAZETTE: Well, a lot of people didn't know Kamala Harris, she's vice president. And then the vice president is secondary to the president,
because this was her big chance other than convention to introduce herself to the public or reintroduce herself to the public, as Governor Shapiro
told me after the debate.
And a lot of people saw -- like what they saw with her by judging and all of the post-debate commentary.
But, you know, in the middle of it, we had a terrible economic downturn because of the coronavirus. Then we had -- we spent money to get out of
that economic downturn, inflation rose.
Inflation's down, but gas is still more expensive. And people are still hurting. They don't like the prices that they're seeing. And that's
influencing everybody, where everybody's looking at. Like, low interest rates is coming month, as opposed to, I mean, gas prices are down
dramatically from where they are.
And, you know, 70 days from now, we'll see what the people are feeling better about their economic concerns. And if they are, that's going to be a
big boon for the Democrats.
ASHER: Colin, how much of an effort did Kamala Harris make during the debate to actually win over independents? Or win over Republicans that
perhaps were not feeling a second round of Donald Trump, just in terms of, you know, praising John McCain, for example. She surprised a lot of people
when she came out and said that she was a gun owner.
And then also just listing the various sort of prominent Republicans that have supported her, including, for example, former Vice President Dick
Cheney.
How well does she do at reaching out across the aisle do you think?
CAMPBELL: I think that was definitely the goal. And I think a lot of voters here in North Carolina were sort of looking to see how well she performed.
You know, Trump's performance was, you know, considered to be subpar for him, but also not that different from the sort of substance and style that
Trump had for years.
Harris is more of an unknown quantity here. So a lot of people are watching, you know, would she look presidential? I think the outreach on
some of these issues around fracking, around -- you mentioned gun ownership sort of Second Amendment rights, making her seem a little bit less to the
left.
I mean, one of the challenges in North Carolina is we've often had a more moderate candidate for governor here on the democratic side. And that
person has won while the presidential campaign here for the Democrats has not been successful.
So we'll see if her trying to tack towards the middle with a lot of her debate answers. We'll have that effect of sort of winning over some of
those folks who are a little bit more to the center politically here in North Carolina.
GOLODRYGA: And appears she'll be doing that by sitting down for local media interviews, which I know both of you would approve of that poll -- that
plan going forward.
Jonathan, quickly, perhaps even more telling than polling, is voter registration. Are we seeing an increase in voter registration in
Pennsylvania over the last month and a half?
SALANT: Well, it's a big boost in general that the governor of Pennsylvania has made it easier to register to vote. None of you can compare what's
happening this these last couple of weeks or months with what's happened for more than a year.
It's much easier to register the vote in Pennsylvania now. And that's been a big boost that, frankly, for both sides to get people out. Once you're
registered, the more likely to vote.
GOLODRYGA: That's true.
All right. Jonathan Salant and Colin Campbell, thank you so much for joining us. We'll check back in with you later on this campaign season.
CAMPBELL: Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:51]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're
eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Just silent. What do you say to that, honey?
GOLODRYGA: I have no idea.
ASHER: Haitian community leaders in the U.S. are criticizing remarks Donald Trump made about Haitian immigrants during Tuesday's presidential debate.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. They say his baseless claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating household pets are raising fears for the
safety of immigrants in that city.
CNN's Omar Jimenez went to Springfield to find out more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you hear allegations of Haitians eating dogs and cats and taking them off the street and stealing them from
people's yards, what is your reaction when you hear that?
VILES DORSAINVIL, PRESIDENT, HAITIAN COMMUNITY HELP AND SUPPORT CENTER: It was shocking to me, honestly, because the first question I asked myself,
where in the world do people are eating pets?
JIMENEZ (voice-over): Viles Dorsainvil is the head of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, Ohio. He came to the United States
about four years ago from Haiti. And he hasn't just questioned the nature of the recent rumors, he's questioned what they will do to his community.
DORSAINVIL: It's just like xenophobia, it's just like bigotry, discrimination, and racist. And they do not normally take time to see the
impact that can have on the mental health of the immigrants fleeing their country from all kinds of chaos.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): To be clear, former President Donald Trump's claims are not supported by evidence.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the city of Springfield said, "There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being
harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."
But all of this has also come as part of a very real surge in Haitian population in Springfield.
ROB RUE, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO MAYOR: We have realistically have been saying 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants as what we have counted through the Health
Department and other agencies.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): And they are here legally, under the Immigration Parole Program. Once here, immigrants are then eligible to apply for
Temporary Protected Status.
Haitian Temporary Protected Status was recently extended and re-designated for Haiti mainly due to violent anarchy in the country.
But the total population of Springfield is around 58,000. So, that's around 25 percent Haitian and the growing pains in the community have not always
been easy.
State officials say it's stressing resources.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): That obviously represents a massive increase based upon percentage of the population in Springfield. It is -- it is
unprecedented in such a short period of time.
So, the government simply has to be part of the solution. They have to step up. It's their policies that have created these surges.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): The influx of Haitians has also manifested itself in other ways, including a tragedy, specifically in 2023 when 11-year-old
Aiden Clark was killed in a Springfield bus crash, one that involved a Haitian immigrant who had a driver's license that was not valid in Ohio, as
reported by "The New York Times."
[12:50:07]
Aiden's father declined to speak on camera, but as others have posted about the tragedy recently, he told CNN in a statement, "We just want our family
out of the news and for Aiden to not be mentioned in regards to politics."
Putting aside any unverified theories about cats and dogs, Vilbrun Dorsainvil, also Haitian, says he understands the criticisms about the
strain on resources caused by the influx of immigrants.
VILBRUN DORSAINVIL, HAITIAN IMMIGRANT: I agree with these people.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): But he also painted a harsh reality.
V. DORSAINVIL: If it was not for a matter of death or life in my country, it would be better to get back.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Springfield, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, rock star, Jon Bon Jovi, found himself in the right place at the right time and helped someone and would appear to be a dangerous
situation.
ASHER: Yes. He was actually on a pedestrian bridge in Nashville, Tennessee where a woman was standing on the other side of the railing appearing ready
to jump.
GOLODRYGA: Bon Jovi was there filming a music video when -- look, you can see it right there. He noticed the woman. The singer, and another
unidentified person, helped lift the woman to safety and then stayed to give her a hug as well.
ASHER: Police say the woman was taken to hospital and they also thanked the singer for coming to her aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: That is Taylor Swift with Post Malone there on "Fortnight." And Swift won big last night at the MTV Video Music Awards. She now have seven
of the ceremonies moon person trophies including the marquee prize, Video of the Year for "Fortnight."
ASHER: But music, not the only thing on her mind at that ceremony. She used her moment in the spotlight to encouraged fans to register to vote in the
upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, AMERICAN SINGER AND SONGWRITER: This is a fan voted award and you voted for this. I appreciate it so much.
And if you are over 18, please register to vote for something else. It's very important for the upcoming president election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:55:59]
ASHER: Swift is credited now with encouraging more than 300, imagine that kind of stuff out, 300,000 people this week to visit vote.gov, a website
that helps Americans to register to vote.
GOLODRYGA: Star power being used in a positive way.
ASHER: Right, yes.
GOLODRYGA: Right.
ASHER: Exactly.
GOLODRYGA: Civic duty.
ASHER: That's why we love it. That's why we're Swifties, aren't we, Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: She can do no wrong.
ASHER: Can't tell whether she's being (INAUDIBLE).
GOLODRYGA: We'll talk after the break.
ASHER: Are you a Swiftie?
GOLODRYGA: I appreciate Taylor Swift --
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- with everything she does. She's a hardworking, talented woman --
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- who's accomplished so much on her own. Is that diplomatic?
ASHER: Yes, yes.
GOLODRYGA: OK. Well, we're not done yet.
ASHER: You did good, girl.
GOLODRYGA: Swift also celebrated her big evening at the VMAs by giving a touching shout-out to her boyfriend, Mr. Travis Kelce.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SWIFT: When I would finish a take and I'd -- and I'd say cut, and we'd be done with that take, I would always just hear like someone like cheering
and like, woo, like from across -- from across the studio where we were shooting it and that one person was my boyfriend, Travis.
Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic. So I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Now, how does he top that?
ASHER: Oh, my God.
GOLODRYGA: Very sweet.
ASHER: That is so sweet.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The couple have been dating for at least a year now. That's them at the U.S. Open last weekend and that's after they won the Super
Bowl.
Like each other's good luck charms, I guess.
Well, that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD.
ASHER: I'm so touched by that. I love it.
GOLODRYGA: I'm Bianna Golodryga. That was touching.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
END
