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CNN: Eric Swalwell To Become First Dem To Drop Out Of Race; Indicted Epstein Pleads Not Guilty To Sex Trafficking Charges; Biden: I Waited Until Right "Opportunity" To Apologize For Remarks; Kamala Harris On Biden Apology: "We Cannot Rewrite History". Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 08, 2019 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Happening soon the U.S. Women's Soccer Team will be back home to a hero's welcome after their historic second straight World Cup title. They'll also be getting a Ticker-Tape parade on Wednesday.

And this game was huge, it drew a big T.V. viewership. Fox Sports reporting it -- 20 percent jump over last year's Men's World Cup. Listen to this chant from the stands during the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

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So despite being a bigger draw than the Men's team the Women's team is paid less and all 28 players on the team are suing the U.S. Soccer Federation for gender discrimination. Team Captain Megan Rapinoe says she could hear the fans chanting.

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MEGAN RAPINOE, U.S. WOMEN'S SOCCER TEAM PLAYER: Yeah, definitely heard that as we were kind of lining on the side -- I mean, it's -- I think it's just everybody's ready for it, everybody wants it -- everybody's ready for the conversation to be moved to the next piece and to have something like that. And obviously in the biggest match, that went so far beyond anything sport, was pretty incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's talk all of this over with a World Cup Champion. We are so lucky to have you here today Briana Scurry, she was of course the goal keeper for the legendary 1999 World Cup Championship team, we know her for her iconic, acrobatic, horizontal saves that lead to four shutouts as she and her team really brought home a huge win. Thank you so much for being with us -- you also are a gold medal winner, I could go on and on in the Olympics.

BRIANA SCURRY, MEMBER OF WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 1999 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: Thank you.

KEILAR: So first off, let's just talk about this victory and what this means?

SCURRY: Yesterday was an amazing day. Not only because of the way they won the actual game on the pitch, but because of all of the stuff that was going on off the pitch and they were still able to focus and be themselves, and win in the way that they wanted to.

And I really feel like France embraced them, the fans at the game were amazing and it really is a true testament to just the kind of people that those women are and the fact that they not only are great footballers but they're just great people in general.

KEILAR: So there were two things happening, you had sport and then you had the reality of this pay issue which has been going on for a long time. I want to talk about sort of how this has changed over the years, but first I want to ask you -- as they're pulling in more T.V. viewers, as there's all this pressure there is a lawsuit. What else can they do -- do they need to do anything else? Do you think this is going to equalize here because of this?

SCURRY: Yeah, I think it's -- it's really coming to a head now. There was always an argument of say revenue and ratings, right? So now the last several years the revenue has either been equal or better than the men, and now you also have that other R which is ratings.

You know, are people watching, do you have eyeballs? Yes in fact they do have both things now. So now the argument that they usually have (ph) no longer exists for them. And so now I think when you have the winning which we've always done, and you get rid of the other two R's and now we're equal, I think there's really no other argument to make.

KEILAR: What was the discussion in the late '90s among professional women's soccer players when it came to this issue, how is it different than today?

SCURRY: Back in the '90s we were just trying to get things like two massage therapists -- if the men had two we wanted two. If they were travelling in a certain way, like on commercial flights getting window seats we didn't want middle seats. We wanted to have the intangible things be the same. We wanted the pay to be equal too, but we knew that was a little bit too far to reach even though we started that boat in motion.

I think now that they have the travel that's the same, the hotels are the same -- all the auxiliary things are now equal, now the pay issue is the last part that's missing. And I think now in this environment and with the winning, now we have a potential for that to be no longer the case.

[13:35:00]

KEILAR: You fought for the comforts that would help you in your play --

SCURRY: Right.

KEILAR: And really taking it to improve the performance to make the point.

SCURRY: Absolutely.

KEILAR: There's a question now about whether this team is going to go to the White House. Megan Rapinoe has made it very clear where she is on that.

SCURRY: Yes.

KEILAR: Should the team consider going? How should the team handle this?

SCURRY: I really, honestly feel if you have a championship team and you are invited -- if you feel strongly about going you should go. If you feel strongly about not going that you shouldn't go.

I honestly feel that, this is America and these athletes have represented their country incredibly well in their craft, and if they choose -- and they feel strongly about going or not going that they really shouldn't be criticized for whatever view they have.

I think it's more than just the football now, it's a personal thing and if we (ph) choose to not be a part of that, I think that's OK and I think that's actually very American to have a choice.

KEILAR: How do you view the progress over the years of women's soccer? Because this isn't just something that happened in this year, this has built over the decades.

SCURRY: The progress has been amazing. It's been amazing. I mean, the truth is the fact that these women in 2019 have taken up the mantel of not just being great footballers on the pitch which is what you're expected to do in your sport, but they also have taken up that social mantel that we in the '99ers also did. It's continuing.

And the truth is, it's unfortunate to have to still fight for equal pay. But the fact that they have a social responsibility and they believe in that, and they take that to heart as much as their football, I think that really says a lot about the team -- not only this current team, but the legacy of Women's National team players over the decades.

KEILAR: Briana Scurry, thank you so -- it is such a pleasure having you. I rewatched your save against China for the -- in the World Cup which delivered the win, and I got goose bumps even all these years later.

SCURRY: It never gets old.

KEILAR: It never -- for you, for us it doesn't. Thank you so much.

SCURRY: Thank you -- thank you for having me.

[13:37:20] KEILAR: Breaking now. We are getting word of the first Democratic candidate to drop out of the 2020 race. Plus, another shake up at the Pentagon among leadership. Does this make us less safe?

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[13:42:04] KEILAR: We have some breaking news just into CNN, Democratic presidential candidate Eric Swalwell is expected to announce that he is dropping out of the 2020 race. For more, let's bring in our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. Why?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: He's probably run out of money. We haven't gotten his quarterly result yet and there's probably a reason for that. And also quite frankly he was running as a generational candidate and you'll remember during that debate with Joe Biden, how many times did he talk about passing the torch.

KEILAR: Give me the torch.

BORGER: That torch lane is a little crowded, because there are lots of young people running this time around. So Eric Swalwell didn't have the generational argument to himself. He ran very much as somebody on gun issues, anti gun issues and I just don't think he gained any national attention or traction. He was probably not going to make it into the next debate that CNN is doing and I think at a certain point, when you're a candidate and you're running out of money, and you don't see any on the horizon, you have to make a tough decision, which is this is time for me to leave..

KEILAR: So are we going to see more of this?

BORGER: I think so. I think so. I think when you're polling at less than 1 percent nationally, it's usually a clue that you're not going to see that money coming in. And if you don't see the money coming in, you can't sustain a campaign and that's what I think a lot of these candidates are facing. Also, if they don't qualify for these debates going forward, they're going to have - there's the Democratic field and you're going to see it window down and the debates going forward are going to have higher bars for the candidates to participate.

And if the candidates can't participate in those debates, then it's going to be very difficult for them to gain any kind of national attention for people to take them seriously and I think that's a real problem. In the first debate, I do not think Swalwell did himself any favors when he kept talking about passing the torch and taking on Biden that way. I think Kamala Harris found a better way to take on Joe Biden.

KEILAR: All right. Gloria, thank you.

BORGER: Sure.

KEILAR: Who's next? We'll have to wait and see. BORGER: Yes.

KEILAR: We have more in our breaking news that we're following out of New York. Jeffrey Epstein is in court pleading not guilty in a sex trafficking ring. Plus, new fears of the big one after the earthquake and thousands of aftershocks in California.

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[13:49:26] KEILAR: Joe Biden says South Carolina was the right place and it was the right time to apologize for comments he made a couple weeks ago about working with segregationist senators back in the 1970s. Robert Garcia is mayor of Long Beach, California. He is also a state co-chair for the Kamala Harris campaign. Thanks for being with us.

MAYOR ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Absolutely. Thank you.

KEILAR: So Senator Harris, she never really called for an apology here. She didn't exactly accept it, but this is all stemming from an issue that she brought up in the first debate. At least on the issue of busing this back and forth that we've heard. Is this the last that we're going to hear of this from Senator Harris?

[13:50:05] GARCIA: Well, I think Senator Harris really spoke her truth at the debate. She talked about an experience that was very personal for her. Obviously, we all saw that photo of her as a young child. And I think what folks saw across the country is something that us in California have always known is that Kamala Harris is tough. She's ready to prosecute Donald Trump on day one on the issues and I think that when you think about her record, whether it's been on equality or pay equity, those are also the issues that she talked about at the debate.

And so we're in California here. We're happy that America is getting to see the Kamala Harris that we all know. But she's talking about a lot of variety of issues and we saw that also the last few days in South Carolina.

KEILAR: I wonder if it's welcome to - she wants to turn the page, is part of the reason that she wants to turn the page because if she's been asked about busing, present day, her at least for present day that is present day not the '70s like Biden, but her opinion now about busing does line up with what he thought many, many years ago. Is that part of the reason why she wants to turn the page?

GARCIA: I think Senator Harris' position has been pretty clear. Obviously, the 1970s required a certain type of action by the federal government and as far as today is concerned, Senator Harris believes there's a wide variety of methods that have to be taken to ensure that schools are diverse and represent the entire community and so she's talked about busing as being a part of that, but also a variety of other issues and ensuring that all public schools are excellent for all of our kids across the country.

KEILAR: I mean, you're in Long Beach. Certainly everyone when they are overseeing a city has certain areas where there may be problems in certain schools. In a situation like that, if you have schools that might benefit from busing, how would you go about that?

GARCIA: Well, I think that first of all that busing has to be a part of the conversation and one of a variety of different methods and tools that we can ensure that schools are diverse and represent the entire community. And so I think that Senator Harris is correct. It is about to be 2020 and so the way we deal with these issues today in segregation is different than it's going to be in the 1970s.

But again I go back to she's been talking about a variety of issues and it's not just been this issue, which speaks to her truth as a young person, but it's been the other big issues that folks are caring about. And if you look at the reaction, take even just the CNN poll, obviously, that came out after the debate, America is getting to know Kamala Harris. They're getting to know her positions on a variety of issues, not just on education but obviously on other issues, whether it's been standing up for the LGBT community or pay equity or Medicare for all, and they like what they're seeing and I think you're beginning to see the reactions from across the country, especially recently in Iowa and South Carolina and I expect she's going to have another great debate on a couple of weeks here on CNN.

KEILAR: I wonder because we saw a preview of this from Joe Biden in their first debate, he brought up being a defender, a public defender. She was a prosecutor. I mean you see the incoming that she's going to get, she may be on the other side of this coin when there's a discussion about race relations. How do you defend her record as a prosecutor when it comes to race relations?

GARCIA: Well, she's been a progressive prosecutor. I think people are very aware of her record, as a prosecutor. And the truth is, is if you want someone to prosecute the case on behalf of the American people --

KEILAR: Well, there are critics who would say that - there are critics who would take issue with your characterization and there are going to be examples that can be brought out in a debate.

GARCIA: Sure and I would say that those of us in California who know her well, who know her record, have seen her in action and if you look at her, what she's done as attorney general, she was the first woman AG that we had in California and she focused on going after the for profit colleges. She focused by taking on the big banks. She prosecuted transnational criminal organizations.

And so she's going to talk about that record. She's proud of her record as a prosecutor. We're proud of the work she did both as DA in San Fran as well as AG. And if you want to look at her record, you just got to go back to look at her early support for issues, for example, around marriage. She was one of the first people that put in special units to fight hate crimes and crimes against LGBTQ people.

KEILAR: But criminal justice reform, she's going to run into these issues. How does she push back against that?

GARCIA: Well, she's been very supportive --

KEILAR: When I ask you that, you pivot to LGBTQ. This is going to be a tricky subject for her to defend herself against.

[13:54:59] GARCIA: Sure. I mean, I think obviously as an openly gay person, LGBTQ issues are very important and so that's why I'm proud of her record as a prosecutor and as a leader in our state on those issues. But on criminal justice reform, she's talking about those issues. And I think that she is someone that has a lived experience when you look at what she's done. As her record on AG, she's always stood up on behalf of working people and working families.

And so I think that her record as a progressive prosecutor is very clear and I think she continues to look forward to talking about her experience and she will, I know, on the debate stage coming up in a couple of weeks.

KEILAR: We cannot wait for the next debate. Robert Garcia, thank you so much for being with us.

GARCIA: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: And the next Democratic presidential debate is going to take place in three weeks. That's on July 30th and the 31st in Detroit. It's going to air here on CNN in the United States and all around the world. And the debates will be hosted by my colleagues Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Don Lemon. Twenty candidates vying for the White House will participate with 10 taking the stage each night to face off against each other and answer questions from the moderators.

And before that, CNN will conduct a draw to determine which candidate will appear on which night. That will air live on July 18th in the 8:00 pm Eastern hour here on CNN. CNN is doing the draw live on the Air for full transparency. Everyone will get to see this for themselves. We'll be back in a moment.

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