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CNN Live Event/Special
Biden Passes The Torch To Harris On First Night Of DNC. Day One: Democratic National Convention. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 20, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:56]
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KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: This November, we will come together and declare with one voice as one people, we are moving forward.
STEVE KERR, AMERICAN BASKETBALL COACH: In the words of the great Steph Curry, we can tell Donald Trump, night, night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala Harris is one of us. Donald Trump is a scam.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): To love this country is to fight for its people, all people.
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I wish my mother and Kamala's mother could see us. They would say, keep going.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Progress was and is possible. Justice is achievable, and our best days are not behind us. They're before us. Are we ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz? President, Vice President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, as the clock strikes midnight here in Chicago, it's a new day in Shy Town, and it's lit by the torch just passed from President Biden to his second in command. I'm Laura Coates inside the United Center with CNN special coverage of the Democratic National Convention. They literally burned the midnight oil in a night that drew from a deep bench of Democrats, all of whom were eager to convince voters why their party is for the people.
Democrats trying to take the momentum they have gained this past month and exponentially increase it in a mere 78 days from election day. Now, the page was turned tonight on that stage right behind me, but not before one last curtain call from President Joe Biden. He walked out to a roaring, and I do mean roaring applause. Everyone was on their feet, and it was a pretty fitting minutes long ovation after night that saw speaker after speaker after speaker thanking him for his leadership, for his service, and though some didn't outright say it, for his decision to drop out of the race, and of course, paved the way for his vice president, Kamala Harris, to Now sit on top of that ticket.
Now she was there tonight watching from the wings, this time by choice, as Biden delivered an impassioned swan song.
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BIDEN: All this talk about how I'm angry, all those people said I should step down. That's not true, because of all of you in this room and others, we came together in 2020 to save democracy.
As your president, I've been determined to keep America moving forward, not going back. Because of you, I'm not exaggerating, because of you, we've had one most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period. Well, I say we, I mean Kamala and me.
And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I want to bring in the executive producer of The Circus and former advisor to George W. Bush and John McCain. Mark McKinnon is here. CNN, political commentator and senior spokesperson for Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign, Karen Finney, CNN political commentator and former deputy assistant to President Joe Biden, Jamal Simmons and Deputy Campaign Manager got for Governor Ron DeSantis is presidential campaign David Polyansky, so glad to have all of you here.
This was quite a night. I mean, this is how you start right, and you think about all the energy, all of the long hours, and the speakers who were there.
[01:05:00]
But what I wonder stuck out to you, I can tell you, from my perspective, it was that phrase, the saying of America, I gave my best to you. That's probably going to resonate, because clearly it was a bittersweet moment for a man who got those delegates and now has passed the baton
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMENTATOR: Absolutely. And remember when he walked out, his daughter had just given him this rousing, very personal introduction.
COATES: He cried.
SIMMONS: And he walked out and tears were in his eyes. I mean, we hadn't really seen Joe Biden cries Jesus wept, right like so we hadn't really seen that.
COATES: Really. Not only right now but in your Jesus name in five minutes. OK.
SIMMONS: It's not -- it's not my first Bible verse.
COATES: OK. There you go.
SIMMONS: But no, so he walks out, and he starts to cry, and everybody goes crazy in this place. And I just think it just -- it lends to the point of how big this moment was. And we saw him say that, the other thing he said, I thought, was very important, is that he said, like many of the best presidents, Kamala was also vice president. He really gave her a very heartfelt endorsement about why she was better to sit in the Oval Office and let's get a prosecutor in the Oval Office, not a convicted felon.
MARK MCKINNON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, THE CIRCUS: Listen, I hate to bring it down. I think there were a lot of big moments tonight. Joe Biden is not wanting. I thought it was a terrible speech.
COATES: Really.
MCKINNON: Angry, cranky, mad. Where was the joy? There was no joy in that speech. I thought was terrible.
SIMMONS: but that was but, but I think, in fairness, Joe Biden has been running that kind of a speech throughout this campaign all year.
MCKINNON: I agree.
SIMMONS: With taking it to Donald Trump. So I think what we saw --
MCKINNON: I think you made it clear. He's good that he's not the nominee.
COATES: What about it for you, Mark, I want to hear from you as well. What about it for you, Mark, do you think was a missed opportunity? I mean, he was -- there's obviously that --
MCKINNON: I just think he should have -- he should have shown some joy himself. He should have been joyful handing off the baton. It just he sounded mad and cranky and like, you know, he wasn't passing the baton. He was passing gas.
COATES: Wait, we had Jesus comment, now we got gasoline. This is a family program here. What are we doing?
DAVID POLYANSKY, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO SENATOR TED CRUZ: I'll keep it G level here. I look, I agree with Mark in the sense that, well, number one, I mean, they -- President and his team have to be disappointed that by the time folks on the east coast were watching this, you know, most were gone. It was almost like the old school, you know, late night PAC 12 football, you know, where Andrew Luck might have thrown four touchdowns, but nobody on the East Coast saw it.
It's pretty disappointing for them, I'm sure. But to his performance, I actually gave him a C as well. I thought he missed the moment. Tonight wasn't a night to talk about, you know, his own emotions, and frankly, it wasn't a night to talk about what he had accomplished or felt that he'd accomplished. In fact, I think that hurts the vice president when he does that.
Tonight was a night where he should have passed the baton with care and love and emotion and passion, and I thought he missed that moment and missed that opportunity. And the one thing I'll say that I thought really stuck, and I think you'll hear Republicans say it. Tonight he said that the United States has the best economy in the world. I think there are a lot of people in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and, you know, in Nevada and Arizona and elsewhere that are going to disagree with him. And that is not just a Biden narrative. That is now a Biden- Harris narrative after that speech.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think what he was referring to, though, is it sort of, by the numbers, our economy is doing better than any other economy of, you know, in around the world at the same time.
Look, I did -- it did feel like to Jamal's point, like a lot of his campaign speeches. But he also seemed like he was trying when he said, here's what we accomplished. And by that, I mean, Kamala, he was trying to give her the benefit of, here's the positives. I know my Republican colleagues will always say, 16 million jobs. P Shaw, who cares? I don't know the people who have those jobs might care.
I mean, as Democrats, we're very proud of that record, and I thought he was really trying to give her credit for some of those important moments, like the role she played in helping to make a historic deal to get some Americans home most recently.
I'll tell you what stood out to me was --
COATES: Hold on, strategically.
FINNEY: Yes.
COATES: Before you get to that point. Strategically is that beneficial to the Harris-Walz campaign to have that association? I mean, obviously she's a part of the administration.
FINNEY: Yes.
COATES: And obviously she's going to want to have the feathers in her cap.
FINNEY: Sure.
COATES: And she's going to want to shed whatever dead weight that she -- might be perceived as part of the administration. Is it a good thing for her to have that connection at this juncture and what she's trying to define herself? Or is it inevitable?
FINNEY: Well, but it's the truth.
COATES: Yes.
FINNEY: It's the fact. The fact is that it is the Biden-Harris administration. Look, Republican talking points say, no, it's not good, and it's a noose around her neck and all those sorts of things or weight around her neck, but there's a lot of positives from the Biden administration that she does deserve credit for.
And look, I think part of what she will have to do the rest of this week and going forward in this campaign, is identify those places where she will do things a little bit differently. I think our goals and our values are still the same, but she may have some different ideas about how we get there.
[01:10:03]
I just wanted to make one point, though about Joe Biden that I thought was really important about tonight. He didn't get this four years ago because of COVID. He didn't get to have the moment where you come out on a big stage and have, you know, the crowd go out, and it was nice to see him have that moment, and have that joy, at least in the audience, towards him, and that appreciation, because I felt like, I mean, he deserves it --
MCKINNON: I just reflected that joy a little bit. I mean, he just seemed --
COATES: What would that have looked like? First, I want to play for everyone. It wasn't -- you think you made the point. It should have been about Joe Biden, it wasn't as if he's a person who talked about. I mean, he was praised multiple times by nearly every speaker. Listen to this little montage I've got arranged for you.
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BIDEN: Thank you.
ASHLEY BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S DAUGTHER: When I look at Dad, I see grace, strength and humility. I see one of the most consequential leaders ever in history.
CLINTON: He brought dignity, decency and confidence back to the White House.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Thank you, Joe Biden, for your leadership.
HARRIS: We are forever grateful to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Just a few moments we're talking about here. But to Karen's point, you're talking about the joy and whether and you gave him a C plus, I think it was. But I mean, this is a different moment than we've seen before, politically.
We have about a month ago, he was on the top of the ticket.
SIMMONS: Yes.
COATES: This is a swan song. Is there a different standard that you would apply for someone right now? I mean, was what was he supposed to do?
POLYANSKY: He should, he should have come out tonight. And to Mark's point, taking the joy and emotion and all the compliments and simply said, Thank you for that.
MCKINNON: Yes.
POLYANSKY: But tonight's about her. Tonight is about me telling you about this woman who should be our next president. I think he failed miserably.
SIMMONS: Here's what I think at the end of the day, the President United States was supposed to be giving the big speech on Thursday night. He's not. He didn't do it because he recognized the moment he realized what was happening. He decided to give his vice president the mantle and let her go ahead and run with this baton.
And I think the man came out tonight. He wanted to express himself. He wanted to talk about his record. He wanted to put his thumb on the scale for his vice president. And he did it in the way he wanted to do it. And I feel like everybody else like kick rocks, like let him do what he has to do.
POLYANSKY: Hey, I'm Republican I'm thankfully.
SIMMONS: Right. Let him do it. He had his night. And you know what?
MCKINNON: I think Democrat should be happy he wasn't in primetime.
SIMMONS: But wait a minute, but tomorrow night, we're going to move on, and in the day, you know, there'll be the Obamas, and they'll be Bill Clinton, and the Vice President will have her. Tonight was his night, and he did it the way he wanted to do it, and he has taken care of this party. And I think the party says thank you, and we move on tomorrow night to the next part of the agenda.
COATES: I mean, it wasn't just the Frank Sinatra My Way moment, although he did say Chicago was his kind of town. I don't know if you pick up with him. I would say -- thank you. But the point is, it wasn't just him talking. I want to hear your opinion of you heard Hillary Clinton, you heard Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you heard Jasmine Crockett.
MCKINNON: Great, great, great.
COATES: And so --
MCKINNON: Not so great.
COATES: But isn't the -- I wonder how you evaluate and assess those who are part of the bench and the so called future of the party, versus somebody who is clearly saying I'm out judged differently?
POLYANSKY: I mean, I'll say I thought the best speech night was Hillary. She stood up there with a motion, she touched on the mood and the energy the crowd, and she met the moment, which everybody in this arena wanted to hear.
And so that's why I'd give her a higher grade and put the president much lower. Again, deferential to him. It's his night. It's a very tough circumstance for him. She met the moment.
But at the end of the day, when you balance out who were trying to reach here, both Republicans and Democrats, probably 100 to 200,000 voters, swing voters in seven, six or seven battleground states. And, you know, I'm not sure that parading any past politicians up on the stage, whether it's Hillary or AOC, certainly, even the president, is really the message that you're going to drive.
You know what? I'd probably stand up there with Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock and find that a little more attractive to the type of voters that we're going to be going after.
COATES: I guess the question what type of voters.
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MCKINNON: Donald Trump didn't have any former presidents because no former presidents would agree to share.
COATES: Yes. Oh, well, no, leave it there. Hold a second. We're going to go. We're going to come right back. We have a lot more to talk about. There were a number of speakers. So please everybody stand by. But I do want to bring in CNN Harry Enten, who's live at the CNN POLITICO Grill right here in Chicago.
Did you save me a hot dog?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I saved you all the food in the world. I'd save you a few drinks once you get off the air, but not when you're on the air.
[01:15:04]
We're here at the CNN Grill.
COATES: Water.
ENTEN: There is a ton of action going on, as you may see, and someone who came up to me no more than a few minutes ago, I am honored and blessed the star of Encino Man, the star of Rudy, and, of course, Lord of the Rings as well. Sean Astin, my friend, how you doing?
SEAN ASTIN, ACTOR: I came up to you to tell you I was a fan.
ENTEN: I'll take it, right? I mean, who could -- I couldn't have a bigger fan or a better fan than you?
ASTIN: Well, I know who the smartest guy in the network is, and I'm not afraid to say it.
ENTEN: Is it me?
ASTIN: Yes.
ENTEN: I was just making sure. OK, I was just making sure. I, you know, I just want confirmation, you know, I have to take a poll. So you're here. You were showing me the map on your phone. You know, you're a big political junkie.
What are your feelings after tonight all the action that was going on?
ASTIN: Well, there's so much cynicism and so much nitpickiness and so much kind of, you know, people -- a lot of times don't appreciate, like, the history of what this is a convention, you know, and what we saw tonight was a moment of consequence.
So as a person who campaigned for Hillary Clinton, from the time I was 20 until tonight, and someone who has supported Joe Biden to watch them with such grace resolve a season of their legacy and hand it over with such power, is what sets our nation apart from the world.
ENTEN: What is the feeling that you have right now than the feeling that you might have had a month ago? Right. Joe Biden looked like he was running. Obviously, that debate performance, according to the polls, according to most experts, really wasn't up to snuff. And then he drops out.
You know, you were a big Joe Biden fan, as you just said, and then Kamala Harris comes on the scene and just the enthusiasm, it has to be bittersweet in some sense.
ASTIN: Well, I mean, my sense of pride in President Biden is full, watching him come out and work through that both he and Hillary were forced to wait. I was so proud of the room for understanding the moment like of course they would. But sometimes people don't get it. They made those two people wait while they cheered and cheered and cheered and cheered and cheered.
So whatever cynicism exists out there in the world, it's not bittersweet. It's not bittersweet. This is what he said he said he was going to do. He said he would be a transformational figure. He said that he would pass the torch.
You don't want to hire somebody to do a job like that who's going to stop unless they have to. He didn't stop. He was he was going to keep running. He keep going. But he passed the torch, and now we've got 78 days of, you know, America has an incredibly intense decision to make, and I'm going to do whatever I can to try and help.
ENTEN: Let me just say, the cynicism that I might have had before seeing you has melted away. I have cynicism no more, Laura Coates, all of my New York cynicism has melt away. Sean says, hello. I say hello, Laura Coates, and I am going to throw it back to you, because any time I talk to you, I get a giant smile on my face.
COATES: I mean, look, you're next to Sean Astin, on behalf of my 1993 Charles S. Titan fortune moment.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Could you tell Laura that we missed her.
ENTEN: And Shimon, Shimon Prokupecz says that we miss you, and we're hoping to see you very, very soon, Laura, that's what I can tell you. Sean is clapping.
COATES: Done and done.
ENTEN: We're all clapping.
COATES: I did this slow clap from Rudy. I'm just saying everyone, I'm a 90s person. I'm an 80s, you know, whatever. Anyway, thank you so much, Harry. What -- I got a show I'm doing here. We are talking about? We need. I'm coming back to you. We'll come right back.
ENTEN: We -- OK. Don't worry. I'll be here. It's not working.
COATES: I'm coming back. Thank you so much. We got to go right back. Everyone will come right back. It's still a real night at the DNC. Hillary Clinton walking out to a huge ovation during her return to the DNC, and she invoked the tallest glass ceiling that she nearly broke down.
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CLINTON: I want to tell you what I see through all those cracks and why it matters for each and every one of us. What do I see? I see freedom.
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[01:23:22]
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CLINTON: And the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States.
This is our time America. This is when we stand up. This is when we break through the future is here. It's in our grasp. Let's go win it.
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COATES: The 2016 Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, returning to the DNC with, well, some unfinished business. This time pushing for vice president Kamala Harris to break the highest, hardest glass ceiling. My panel is back with me, also joining us, comedian and host of the upcoming CNN comedy series. Have I Got News for You? Roy Wood, Jr. Oh, does it come with a wink to that part of the show?
ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Maybe, maybe. We'll see. I'm working on my charisma.
MCKINNON: It's rizz. Yeah. COATES: It's rizz. I know. What are you talking about with the skiving?
WOOD: I'm old.
COATES: OK, skibidi, sigma, alpha, and that's all I know.
WOOD: I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out what demure means.
MCKINNON: Oh, we'll get to that.
COATES: Well, listen, Karen, can you be very demure, very mindful right now, when you describe what you thought of Hillary Clinton, talking about that glass ceiling in many ways, talk about Biden bittersweet. This had to be a moment for her, and she certainly addressed it head on.
FINNEY: Yes, I was standing actually with I'm going to get a little emotional a couple of women who we worked for Hillary in the White House. We worked on her Senate campaigns. We worked on her presidential.
[01:25:02]
And seeing her have that moment just really meant everything. It really did because it was so beautiful to see the love for her when she came out, which again, well deserved, and an understanding that here we are in an arc just eight years later, and we have another woman who is the top of our ticket, who is the nominee of our ticket.
My mother said to me the other day, oh, my God, I might actually live to see the first female president, because she thought, after Hillary didn't make it, that she was not going to live to see it.
MCKINNON: Yes.
FINNEY: So and I think for a lot of people in this --
MCKINNON: It really feel that on court.
FINNEY: You could feel that.
MCKINNON: Passion, enthusiasm, and it's just, you know, that -- what's making Kamala Harris possible is not Joe Biden, it's Hillary Clinton.
COATES: Yes, it is.
MCKINNON: You stand on and that was a great speech. I'm with David. I was an A plus.
COATES: Yes.
MCKINNON: I thought she was fantastic.
FINNEY: And I love what you said about the cracks in the ceiling and what you could see on the other side. I thought that was a beautiful visual and just a beautiful device to really, you know, again, sort of, this is how we move forward.
MCKINNON: And she didn't -- it wasn't -- there was, you know, wasn't about her, not Hillary.
FINNEY: No.
MCKINNON: She wasn't saying this because of me or I made this possible. It was all forward leaning and all credit to Biden and to Kamala. I was really the right tone, right touch, right everything.
COATES: You know, she -- I want to lean in. She did praise Kamala's character and also experience. She also draw -- drew a pretty big distinction between Donald Trump, listen to what she had said, and we're here one.
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CLINTON: As a prosecutor, Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers. She will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history, the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I mean, Roy.
WOOD: Hillary got some unfinished business.
MCKINNON: Revenge served cold.
WOOD: Yes. Yes. I thought it was really cool as well that she kind of held back when they started chatting lock him up.
COATES: Yes.
WOOD: Because she really could have, like, just as a comedian, you could just really go down that road and really dig in, but to keep the poise, to keep it about the moment in hand, to keep it about what was happening in the moment in the now for the party, classy, but she won't get a lick back.
POLYANSKY: Oh yes.
WOOD: She does not forget.
MCKINNON: You know, she should say, when they say, lock them up. She said, Listen, I'm prosecuting. Let the courts handle that. What we need to do is lock him out of the White House.
POLYANSKY: Yes.
COATES: That's a good time. But will it work?
POLYANSKY: Well, look, I agree with everything that's been said here. She delivered an incredible speech tonight. She did it with a lot of passion. She did it with joy.
FINNEY: Yes, she was joyed.
POLYANSKY: And the crowd felt that and fed off of it. But I think, to your point, she also relished it. She was getting in her licks, by the way, not -- it didn't look like she was getting personal retribution back. It looked like she was doing it in the context of knowing she could potentially cause damage and harm to Donald Trump and help the vice president win this race. And that's what, again, going back to the president, that's where he should have tried to go tonight.
FINNEY: Well. And again, remember after Trump was elected in 2016 and all those women showed up in their little pink hats, and many of us were like, well, where were you on election day, my sister, you were not there, and so part of it was, I think she also serves as a reminder, don't sit it out. Don't think that your vote does not matter.
We don't want to -- because me, personally, I want to hear it, if you don't come out and vote, I don't even want to hear it from you.
COATES: She didn't want people to be overly confident. You heard the word underdog a lot tonight, which at a place of the convention where everyone is sort of, you know, their own choir, and the preachers are all here trying to jazz everyone up. They're still putting that out there. Why do you think that is?
WOOD: Because of what happened to her in 2016.
MCKINNON: Put that in lesson.
WOOD: (INAUDIBLE) She was round And it's like those Olympic videos you see where the runner thinks they have it, and then you see Trump coming around turn four and catching Hillary now, eight years ago. So I think that's the thing is that keep your eyes on the target.
MCKINNON: There's only two ways to run scared and unopposed. Always run like you're 10 points down.
FINNEY: Yes.
COATES: We'll see.
FINNEY: Fair.
POLYANSKY: Frankly, that was the danger of for our party a month ago. We were running as if we were 10 points ahead and maybe we were nearing it but boy.
MCKINNON: Yes. I mean --
COATES: A month ago was like 35 years ago. It was a whole different ticket. You know, we know your show is coming yet.
POLYANSKY: Don't remind met yet.
WOOD: The Olympics was two years ago. All right.
COATES: All right. Well, we have to get gold medals ever we did have Steve Kerr talk about his medal.
MCKINNON: I thought that was the best moment in us.
COATES: He did a silent like you know, by the way, I was in Paris. It was a gold medal moment. I'm just saying there was thing. President Biden, though, also making new remarks just moments ago as he leaves Chicago, what he said about Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump, next.
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[01:33:17]
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Well, just in tonight, President Biden speaking to reporters right before boarding Air Force One for California. He did talk about his decision to withdraw from the race and whether he has spoken to Nancy Pelosi.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I haven't spoken to Nancy at all. I mean, no one influenced my decision. No one knew it was coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: My panel is back with me along with Tara Palmeri senior political correspondent for Puck News.
Tara, I wonder what you make of this first day of the DNC, number one. Also, he directly talked about this at his speech, all the reports of him being angry, that's not true. And now you have this moment about Speaker Pelosi. What do you make of it?
TARA PALMERI, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, PUCK NEWS: I don't believe that he didn't know that the speaker wanted him out. I believe that he was under pressure from the leaders of the party. They had come to him and said that he was losing support within the party and that it was going to get worse.
We know that about 20 members of the Senate were about to put out a letter laying out that they did not support him and that was going to happen the next week if he didn't step down.
He was fully aware whether it was directly from Nancy Pelosi. Chuck Schumer went to his beach house in Wilmington to talk to him. Hakeem Jeffries spoke to him. He knew exactly what was going on right there.
So I don't -- I don't believe that this was just his decision. He was being pressured by the party. He knew he had to step down and he knew he lost the support. The bottom had given out.
[01:34:46] PALMERI: So whether he wants to say it was his decision or not, it's just -- you know, he wants to go out in his own way. But all of the reporting and evidence is contrary and even Nancy Pelosi said on Jake Tapper -- on the show with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. She said I did what I had to do for the party.
COATES: And well, she also has said for multiple times, it was ultimately his decision and that was kind of the big -- the running joke of it's your decision. I'm saying it's your decision. I'm saying well, it's your decision. You kept hearing that.
But then you also had Donald Trump, who would make this -- would make different comments about this.
He recently spoke about almost, you know, sympathetically towards Biden that he had been ousted. But well, Biden spoke about Trump as well before he left for California. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your reaction to Donald Trump saying it was a coup to get you out of the race?
BIDEN: I think he has a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I think he was hiding his face, not because -- we knew it was Biden talking right.
I think he has a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- confirm that.
COATES: It was -- it was Biden.
What do you make of this though? I mean he didn't really reference -- he referenced Trump a lot obviously, during his speech in ways that were I think expected. But when you hear this reaction and not addressing what you're talking about, the influence, what do you make of it?
DAVID POLYANSKY, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO SEN. TED CRUZ: Well, clearly the president doesn't like Donald Trump. I think that's pretty evident.
COATES: Now, what gave you that.
POLYANSKY: not just what he said. It was in his tone. But look, I mean Donald Trump has made a career, political career at least out of getting under people's skin and making them talk about him. And so whether that's, you know, Taylor Swift post today or getting the president on his way out of town to go negative on him, that's what he wants.
COATES: It's all about counterprogramming, right though? I mean, by the way we have that post on this very notion. But you know, the interesting aspect Roy, Trump is still fixated on Biden dropping out of the race.
ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Yes. Because that was the playbook I had set up. And then they all switched over. I don't know how to run against Kamala -- it's the playbook.
Can't even pronounce her name right after a time. I do think that it was Biden's choice to choose whether or not to be pushed. So in essence, it was his choice. But you cannot -- we've all had a job and you know whether or not your coworkers like you.
COATES: Why are you staring in my eyes.
WOOD: I'm sorry. You all know this. But the idea that the thing that I think that Biden is not getting enough credit for, whether or not he was pushed is that he's with it. When you look at what he did tonight, he's completely merging into traffic and going go team, go. Let's all get it done.
Regardless of what's happening behind the scenes, he's not continuing to be a cog in the machine right now for the Democrats.
COATES: That's a fascinating point because that was something that Republicans at their convention were hoping to accomplish, right? They were trying to suggest everyone leave everything aside, we're unified.
Meanwhile, they wanted to have a split-screen with Democrats to suggest that they were not unified for precisely the reason you're talking about. About whether Biden should be on the ticket still.
It sounds as though he understands the assignment in some respect, Jamal. That she's the top of the ticket, coalescing has begun. Now you got 78 days to make it happen.
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he does understand that assignment because here's the thing. Donald Trump knew -- he's a TV guy -- he knew that he was supposed to have four uninterrupted days of television. And instead, he did have that split screen that you just mentioned and it was all about the Democratic drama.
At the end the Democratic drama, we picked a new candidate and that new candidate was fresh and everybody was happy and everybody was excited. And then she went out and found a partner and now they have a buddy movie that's running around the country electrifying, you know, crowds.
People -- he knows, the TV guy, that this is the worst possible outcome and there's no natural bend in the river coming up for him to change the direction of the debate.
WOOD: And on top of all of that, you have Biden stepping down, you have Kamala and Walz doing their thing out there on the campaign trail. Now you're getting a better president because he doesn't got the stress of Nancy Pelosi sending them text messages at 2:00 in the morning anymore. POLYANSKY: And yet, at the end of this week, the race is still going
to be tied.
COATES: Well, she was edging ahead. I mean Tara, a little bit -- but I mean he is still going after not just he's not fixated on just Biden. He's fixated in part on Kamala Harris.
PALMERI: Right.
COATES: And he does know it's Kamala Harris?
PALMERI: Yes.
COATES: But he is focused on trying to figure out a way to make it stick, the insult stick. And the old playbook is not resonating in the same way.
PALMERI: No, he is trying to make her seem foreign, right? Like he tried to do with Barack Obama. He's questioning her origin. He -- you know, subtle digs. He's going after her race. He's going after her gender, her appearance. He's just so rattled.
He doesn't understand why she's so popular. Why it's a movement, why he just can't get his hands around it. He's furious that he's not running against Biden. He doesn't get the rematch that he always wanted to prove that he won in 2020.
And he's got to actually work for it. This is a guy who doesn't like to campaign. When was the last time we really saw him out on the campaign trail? He goes out there once every few days.
[01:39:51]
PALMERI: I mean, he and Biden were similar in their ability to campaign, their stamina. It was -- and now he's got Kamala Harris out on the road with Tim Walz and they are everywhere. And now he's got -- he can't golf. He's still golfing though.
(CROSSTALKING)
PALMERI: But you know, he's got to get out there and it's a harder race and it's a closer race.
They are tied, but they weren't before.
WOOD: Right.
PALMERI: And he's going to have to work for it and she's actually like chipping away at white -- white working-class voters. I mean, he should be scared.
POLYANSKY: Absolutely. But I think as we get through this week and we get past Labor Day, were going to have a debate. And that debate is going to be one of the most important presidential debates we've had. Maybe Bush-Gore, if not Reagan-Carter. It is going to potentially decide the outcome of this race. And I
think it's a chance for both of these candidates to really get their messaging right, and to make if the contrast that they want.
And we saw a little bit of that today. I'm sure we'll hear more of it on Thursday -- Wednesday, and Thursday night. But that's going to be a determining factor in the seven battleground states and I think ultimately the race.
So I think that is the contour in the fork in the road.
WOOD: If half of the stuff that he said on the trail about the vice president, if he says it at the debate, she will dunk on him and it will be over. Like he literally said, well, why is she on the cover of "Time", I look better.
He basically called -- that's like reverse-calling somebody ugly. That's basically what he tried to do.
And all Kamala has to do was flip that and go look, I'm running for president, he's running for beauty queen. And just keep it moving.
And she's quick like that and I don't think that he's ready for that type of verbal sparring because once you get into the school yard, name-calling, this isn't Biden.
PALMERI: But she has to be competent on the policy.
POLYANSKY: That's right.
PALMERI: And she's got to be able to articulate her economic plan, which already has gotten some blowback, like when she's even asked about how she's going to pay for it. I think it was a CNN reporter yesterday, she kept saying it's a return on investment, return on investments, the return on -- she said it four times in a minute.
She's not that great on her feet right now because she hasn't been doing a lot of interviews. And I actually think it would serve her to do some interviews ahead of this debate. Just so she gets better about answering policy questions.
You -- yes, she can be snappy and fun, but she's also got to seem serious.
SIMMONS: Interviews are great, but this is really a campaign. It's not really about policy.
(CROSSTALKING)
SIMMONS: I mean, let's -- she went up and I don't know 10 or 12 points on economic policy before she even put her economic policy plan out.
PALMERI: That's right.
SIMMONS: People aren't really supporting her for that reason. People are supporting her because they wanted to chart a new course. This is a pro-democracy campaign. And he and the MAGA movement are unpopular. They have been in the last three or four elections.
COATES: Well, details matter and both candidates are responsible for the details that come out. We'll see how it all unfolds.
Standby, everyone. We'll go back to CNN's Harry Enten at the CNN Political Grill next with a new special guest. Who is it? Tease.
[01:42:39]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: All right. Things are really having fun over at the CNN Grill. CNN's Harry Enten is there talking to all the VIPs that are showing up. Harry, who's -- right now. Is it Wendell Pierce?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: She's right. It's Wendell Pierce, baby.
It is Wendell Pierce.
(CROSSTALKING)
ENTEN: I'm getting luckier and luckier and luckier. Wendell Pierce, Lisbeth, Jack Ryan and of course, "The Wire". But we're not going to say the famous catchphrase here because we're going to try and keep it PG at this hour.
But Wendell Pierce, how are you doing, my man?
WENDELL PIERCE, ACTOR: I'm feeling great. It's an exciting night? Very historic. This is what I came here for. I felt a clarion call to make sure that I was going to be in Chicago this week. And tonight did not disappoint.
ENTEN: What was your favorite moment or moments from the evening.
PIERCE: Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton reminded us of this stateswoman that she is, a brilliant politician and the woman that I voted for and the possibility of the president she would have been and she really stated the case that she broke glass feeling into a million cracks and that in 70 plus days we're going to break through.
ENTEN: So Kamala Harris comes into this campaign, comes into this convention, seems to have momentum. What is just the general feeling that you felt in the hall and you felt when you landed in Chicago. Just -- what some adjectives you might use to describe that?
PIERCE: The thing that keeps coming to mind for me is this clarion call. Something that we clearly can hear. I'm from New Orleans. It's the feeling that we had when we were rebuilding New Orleans, which was this is a time for us to exercise our right of self-determination.
You know, I'm an artist and the reason we gather in a darkened hall to see a play or a movie is because collectively we come together, decide what our values are. And then when we leave, we go and act on them.
And that's what we had a sense tonight in the hall for me. It was a sense of anticipation of what is possible. And you know, that's the American aesthetic.
ENTEN: Well, Wendell, let me just say, I'm a huge fan. I know Laura Coates is a huge fan. and Laura, let me tell you, I spoke with Wendell. Laura --
PIERCE: Laura is wonderful.
ENTEN: Laura is wonderful.
PIERCE: She's one of our most brilliant minds, one of our great legal minds, political scientist, and she, like actors, has a keen sense of being a student of human behavior. And how to tie that into political action.
She's very keen at pointing that out and that's why I love Laura.
ENTEN: Laura, I don't think I could have said it any better myself. I know. Wasn't that very sweet. Unfortunately, we run out of time otherwise Wendell and I were going to belt out a few -- few notes from "Laughter in the Rain" from Uncle Neil, but we'll leave it there. And we'll just say, you're beautiful Laura Coates.
COATES: Oh well, let me return the flowers to him because I am such a fan of his and tell him that was absolutely divine in Death of a Salesman". He's a true actor to be able to be a thespian, and he certainly is one as well.
Thank you so much for those beautiful words. Harry Enten, thank you as well.
Man, did my mommy hear that?
SIMMONS: I know. That's something you haven't heard --
COATES: Awesome. That's my new ringtone for right now.
But ahead, let me ask you all this. How deep does your DNC the knowledge go?
[01:49:50]
WOOD: Oh boy.
COATES: I've got trivia with our panel. It's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: All right, everyone. You know what time it is? It's time for DNC trivia. You all have your paddles ready? Yes, you do.
So let's get started. I've got some questions for you. Ok. First question. Kamala Harris is campaign font is a tribute to
which female candidate? Is it Hillary Clinton, Carol Moseley Braun or Shirley Chisholm.
Put your paddles up.
Everyone got it right. It in fact is Shirley Chisholm's Unbossed, everyone. There you go.
Number two, which VP candidates said, "If we can do this, we can do anything" at their DNC speech. Was it A, Geraldine Ferraro; B. Al Gore; or C, Joe Biden.
Ok. It's A. There you go. It's A, Geraldine Ferraro. You guys went -- I don't really know. I could see --
(CROSSTALKING)
PALMERI: He's an RNC guy.
COATES: I think. All right.
Number three, how many times has Hillary Clinton spoken at a DNC? Is it A, five; B, six; or C, seven.
It's B, 6. Oh, you almost had it, Roy.
(CROSSTALKING)
COATES: All right. Here you go.
Question 4, which NBA figure mocked Donald Trump at the 2016 DNC? Was it Steve Kerr, Kareem Abdul Jabbar or Michael Jordan?
SIMMONS: I guarantee you it wasn't Jordan.
WOOD: It was not Jordan. That's for sure.
[01:54:50]
COATES: You know what? It was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
PALMERI: Play it.
COATES: Let's play the sound. You don't believe me, play the sound.
PALMERI: No, I believe you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR, FORMER NBA STAR: Hello, everyone. I'm Michael Jordan and I'm here with Hillary.
I said that because I know that Donald Trump couldn't tell the difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Oh, we're in the -- ok, we move right on.
Number five, a man who knows, of course Michael Jordan quite well, Steve Kerr. Steve Kerr and the Bulls beat whom for the NBA title in 1996, was it the Utah Jazz, the Seattle Supersonics, or the Phoenix Suns.
COATES: All of you got it wrong. It's Shawn Kemp (ph) and the Supersonics. Ok.
WOOD: Really.
(CROSSTALKING)
COATES: Hello, everyone. Ok. Let's move on. Everyone got that wrong.
How about number six? How many people are expected to attend the 2024 DNC? Is it 50,000; 75,000 or 100,000. What's the answer.
It's A 50,000 people. All right. Hold on.
WOOD: Is CNN going to take my show from me now?
COATES: No, we're making it fair for everyone.
Here's one last question, everyone.
PALMERI: Tie breaker.
COATES: Where is the Obama family home in Chicago? Lincoln Park, Lake View or Hyde Park.
we need you to have that show -- (INAUDIBLE).
It's C. Roy got it. it's C. It's Hyde Park. Tara, you won. There you go. Bravo.
(CROSSTALKING)
COATES: All right. Everyone, playing at home, Thank you so much everyone. The game --
(CROSSTALKING)
COATES: Much more of our special coverage of the Democrat National Convention coming up next.
You got it.
[01:56:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
