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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Harris Holds Houston Rally; Trump Returns To Battleground PA; Harris Speaks In Texas After Trump Attacks Her Racial Heritage; Iran's Leader Orders Attack On Israel For Haniyeh Killing; Haniyeh's Death Could Complicate Hostage, Ceasefire Talks. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 31, 2024 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK YOUNG, CHIEF DETECTIVE AND EMERGENCY SERVICE UNIT COMMANDER, PENNSYLVANIA: ...anything that they say that they did wrong, there's a 'but' and that 'but' is usually assigning blame to the local law enforcement or state police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erin, now I will say these men say of course they will help out with any other rallies if they are asked. But they did acknowledge that the confidence and trust they have with that working relationship with Secret Service, it definitely has been fractured. Last thing, I'll note, Erin, the Secret Service declined to comment for our story this evening -- Erin.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Danny, thank you very much and thanks so much to all of you as always for being with us. Anderson starts now.
[20:00:38]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. Thanks for joining us. In just a few moments, we're going to be bringing you live remarks by Vice President Harris who will be speaking live in Houston to a biennial gathering at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. It's hard to imagine she won't weigh-in in some way on what her opponent, Donald Trump said today at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has already called his remarks repulsive.
Before we play some of what Mr. Trump said, I do want to read you a portion of the statement his campaign put out shortly afterwards trying to put their spin on what happened, quoting now, "President Trump has continually said that unlike Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, he's running to be president for all Americans and if you're running to unite the entire country you have to back it up with action President Trump did today."
So that's how the campaign is explaining it. He was trying to unite the country today. Here are some of that alleged unity message starting with ABC News as Rachel Scott asking him about a Republican talking point in recent weeks describing the vice president as a so- called DEI hire. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL SCOTT, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a Black woman?
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I can say no. I think it's maybe a little bit different, so I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly, very much. And she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?
SCOTT: She has always identified as a Black woman. She went to a Historically Black College.
TRUMP: But you know what, I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went -- she became a Black person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now, Mr. Trump is once again lying, of course. And while it's ridiculous to even fact check something like this just factually speaking, Kamala Harris' father was a black man born in Jamaica. She's long embraced that part of her heritage and her identity. The vice president grew up in a black working and middle-class neighborhood in Berkeley, California and attended Howard University, a historically Black institution. She's also lifetime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a predominantly Black sorority. So no, Kamala Harris did not quote "happen to turn Black".
Trump began the interview by attacking another Black woman, ABC News' Rachel Scott, who asked him this at the start of the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true.
You have told four congresswomen of color who are American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like "animal" and "rabid" to describe Black district attorneys. You've attack Black journalists, calling them a loser saying the questions that they asked are, "stupid and racist." You've had dinner with a White supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort.
So my question, Sir. Now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?
TRUMP: Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so -- in such a horrible manner, first question. You don't even say hello. How are you? Are you with ABC? Because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country.
I've done so much for the Black population of this country including employment, including opportunity zones with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina which is one of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs.
I've done so much --
SCOTT: Mr. President I would love for you to answer the question on your rhetoric on why you believe the Black community would trust you with another four years.
TRUMP: I think it's a very nasty question. I have answered the question. I have been the best President for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Now living inside the use of the phrase the Black population, some perspective in 1948, President Harry Truman desegregated the US military. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent Federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, so Black students could safely attend newly integrated schools. In 1964 and '65, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
Donald Trump, whatever his other accomplishments may be, did none of those things and nothing even close?
Also today, in this appearance, his campaign now says was meant to unify the country. He said this about the people convicted for attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
[20:05:27]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: Would you pardon those --
TRUMP: What's going to happen -- oh, absolutely I would.
SCOTT: --you would pardon those --
TRUMP: If they're innocent, I would pardon them.
SCOTT: They've been convicted.
TRUMP: And by the way, the Supreme Court just funded -- well, they were convicted by a very tough system. How come that people that tried to burn down Minneapolis -- how come the people that took over a large percentage of Seattle. How come nothing happened to them? How come the people that --
SCOTT: But, sir, we're talking about people that were seen beating officers with flagpoles, dragging them down the stairs, they're on video, have you seen that video, sir?
TRUMP: No, no, no. We're talking about federal buildings -- really? Oh really? Well, they shot --
SCOTT: You would pardon those rioters?
TRUMP: They shot a young lady in the face who was protesting, they shot her on the face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The woman who was shot and killed Ashli Babbitt is seen here on the front line of a mob inside the Capitol trying to break into what's called the speaker's lobby of the House just moments after Speaker Pelosi and other members of the House leadership had been escorted away from that mob.
And by the way, after the event, the former president weighed in on his social network, doubling down on his largos vice president, quoting now, "Crazy Kamala is saying she's Indian, not Black, this is a big deal, stone cold phony. She uses everybody including her racial identity."
Now, as we wait to hear from the vice president, who should be taking the stage any moment. Let's going to CNNs Arlette Saenz in the Hall in Houston.
So I mean, is Vice President Harris expected to address the former president's comments about her race?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, yes. All eyes tonight will be on whether Vice President Kamala Harris decides to directly take on former President Trump's comments head on.
She is set to speak tonight at an event with a Sigma Gamma Rho. That is a Black sorority that is part of the Divine Nine. This is actually the third Divine Nine sorority that Harris will be speaking to just this month as she is seeking to rally Black women voters heading into this election. But as we wait to see whether Vice President Harris will respond to Trump, we are hearing tonight from her husband Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, "The Washington Post" is reporting that Emhoff a pushed back on Trumps' comments in a fundraiser in Maine this evening.
Emhoff said, in part that Trump's comments at the NABJ showed, "A worse version of an already horrible person. The insults, the BS shows a lack of character, but it's a distraction." He added, "That guy it should never be in the White House again."
Now, the Harris Campaign did release a statement responding to Trump's NABJ appearance say that he attacked Black journalists and that he also was seeking to divide the country at this time, but they didn't directly mention Trump's comments questioning Harris' identity and heritage as a Black woman.
Instead, a lot of that pushback has fallen to allies, like White House Press Secretary Karine John-Pierre, who was asked about the moment in real time in the press briefing today. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINE JOHN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's repulsive, it's insulting and you know, no one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify, that is not one's right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: So, that's just a flavor of the pushback that's coming from Democrats against Trump after these comments earlier at NABJ. But it is important to know what type of event Harris is speaking out today. This is an event with ties to the Divine Nine. Harris herself is a member of a sorority that's also from the Divine Nine, that is Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority that she was a part of while she attended Howard, a historically Black college and university.
So, many will be watching closely whether this might be just the right audience for her to give this pushback to Trump on. We will see how exactly that plays out, when she takes the stage in just a few minutes.
COOPER: Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
In Chicago, senior political analyst "The New York Times" national political reporter, Astead Herndon joins us. He was at the NABJ, the National Association Black Journalists event today. Also joining us "CNN News Night" anchor, Abby Phillip and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers.
COOPER: Abby, obviously, the former president believes there's some benefit whether it's people that he's trying to talk to in the Black community or whether it's other supporters of his, for saying these things.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Either that or it's a sign of desperation. I think often with Trump, when he goes down this kind of road, it's because he believes that these sort of base attacks on people's identity, just like you did with Barack Obama, kind of hit at something that will get traction.
[20:10:04]
I don't know that there's a whole lot of electoral logic to this, because Trump showed up at NABJ presumptively because he thought he has a shot at reaching Black voters. I can't think of many things that are more offensive to Black people than someone, a White man showing up at a conference and trying to be the arbiter of who is Black or not.
It's just really problematic and not what his advisors would have wanted for this particular event. But Trump has been showing himself to be pretty rattled recently by the change of momentum in this race and by the degree to which Harris has unified the Democratic Party, including perhaps some Black voters who had been straying away, now giving her a second look. COOPER: Bakari, I mean, do you think there's any rationale for what he was doing? I mean, the Trump campaign has been open about trying to make inroads of Black and Hispanic voters particularly male Black voters. I mean, is continuing to question the vice presidents' heritage helpful in any way in that regard?
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I want to be succinct in my analysis though, Anderson, and just kind of give it how I see it. There are a couple of points.
The first is that, every person who votes for Donald Trump is not a racist and we have to be extremely clear about that. But Donald Trump is a racist. I recall not long ago, I think it was back in 2016, I believe, it was after, I was on "State of the Union" and there was a question about David Duke. It was before the Mississippi primary and I called Donald Trump a racist and David Axelrod, who I love and adore and who provides me more guidance and mentorship that I could ever be thankful for pulled me aside and said, you have to be cautious about throwing that term out and using it in such a fashion.
And I so I began to say that, is that Donald Trump uses racism as political currency. And I think that's actually accurate as well. What we're seeing here though, and I want to be extremely clear, what we're seeing here is as Abby said, somebody who is extremely desperate. But I disagree slightly with the analysis. I think that Donald Trump goes into environments like this and talks to Black folk like they're dogs, because he wants to appease to other White voters.
And I think he goes into environments like this and I think the spin that you're seeing from JD Vance and others is that he went into the lion's den -- he went into the heart of the beast. And the reason he does it is not to woo Black voters, but to show other White voters, at least I did it. I went and tried to talk to those Black folk and they just didn't really want to hear it.
Now Kamala Harris, for example, has a different philosophy than I do. Because I disagree with Michelle Obama. I believe I'm from South Carolina where the politics is different. Michelle Obama said, when they go low, we go high. I believe when they go low, we go to hell and so I think that you have to fight fire with fire.
Kamala Harris is more in line with Michelle Obama. I think Kamala Harris understands as you'll see tonight, that there's no benefit in rolling around with pigs because you both get muddy and the pig likes it. So, she's going to stay above the fray and she's going to talk about a vision for tomorrow. And I'm just going to stay here pissed at both the NABJ for inviting him and platforming him and him, for having the audacity to come into our house and disrespect Black women in front of Black women. I'm livid at it and I've been that way for nine years and I just want something new.
COOPER: It is, Abby, remarkable to see this elderly White man who's lived most of his adult life in a very gaudy penthouse in New York. I mean, to the face of a reporter from ABC, using the same words he's used to describe Black women and many women who challenged him and stand up to him, which is nasty attacking their character. PHILIP: Yes.
COOPER: I want to play another thing he said, this is in response to a question about whether he would take a cognitive test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She failed her law exam, she didn't pass her law exam, so maybe she wouldn't pass the cognitive test.
SCOTT: Oh my God. Mr. President I'm saying she --
TRUMP: I'm just giving you the facts.
SCOTT: To be clear, you don't think Harris passed --
TRUMP: She didn't pass her bar exam and she didn't think she would pass it and she didn't think she was going to ever pass it, and I don't know what happened. Maybe she passed it.
SCOTT: She did pass it, she did. She did in fact pass it.
TRUMP: There's a man over here, I think who was...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Again, I mean, you know --
PHILIP: I mean look, this is who Donald Trump is. I am not sure what people want to just put Donald Trump under a rock. This is who he is, this is who he was when in -- I think it was 2018. He said that the question I was asking him was stupid.
Rachel Scott and these reporters on that dais, they knew that Trump was going to come into this interview aggressive and that he was going to demean them, that he was going to criticize the venue. He tweeted or used Truth Social and sent out a message suggesting as such, before he even landed in Chicago.
[20:15:03]
So, we know that about Trump. But I also think that what was revealed about Trump tonight was that he hasn't changed. Not many, 70 something-year-old men do. But there's been a suggestion from his campaign that a number of things have happened, that the assassination attempt has changed him, that being president once has changed him.
What we saw today at NABJ was the same Donald Trump that we saw in 2015 and 2016 and now it's up to voters to answer the question, do they want that again? And every time the voters are reminded, often of Trump and the parts of Trump that make them want to turn off the TV and make them want to turn the page. That's a problem for the Trump Campaign.
That's why they tried so hard to frame the RNC as a turn of the page. They know that that image of Donald Trump is not to their benefit and they've been trying to change it. Trump undid a lot of that work today.
COOPER: It isn't interesting to, Bakari, on Abby's point, which is Kamala Harris rallies they've started chanting this, we're not going back -- not going back. It is talking about the politics, but it's also I mean, you see the former president today. It's going -- if you have him in the White House again, it is going back to that chaos, it is going back to these daily harangues and daily dramas and rude comments and things like that.
The former president also gave a less than going endorsement of his own running mate when asked about JD Vance's readiness for the job. I just want to play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you look at JD Vance, is he ready on day one.
TRUMP: Does he what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready on day one? If he has to be.
TRUMP: I've always had great respect for him and for the other candidates,too, but I will say this, and I think this is well documented. Historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I mean, if you're the vice presidential nominee with Donald Trump that's got to be sort of rumblings of a future earthquake. I mean, there's been questions about how upset is Trump at picking JD Vance. He apparently was convinced to do it by his two sons, and kind of late in the whole process. I'm not sure if they're in the doghouse over this, but does it surprise you to see him so publicly, I mean, he often says the quiet parts out loud, so maybe it's not surprising, but to be already publicly kind of undercutting his vice president.
SELLERS: No, it's not surprising at all. In fact, you know, I affectionately refer to JD Vance as the Sarah Palin of Dan Quayle's. And I don't think that JD Vance was brought on this ticket for geographical pick, right? He's not going to bring you a state.
And lot of people think or compare JD Vance to Al Gore, which I think is fundamentally unfair to Al Gore. But Bill Clinton shows Al Gore to double down on this Democratic centrist from the south -- young, new- age type of leader and doubled down on that messaging and a lot of people believe JD Vance was chosen to double down on MAGA and be 2028, 2032, the leader who can take this to the future.
JD Vance was brought in to overturn an election, point blank, period and he answered a yes or no question, by not answering it at all. And I expect Kamala Harris on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, as they're probably rocking to freedom right now in Houston. I'll be quick, I expect her to be able to say that her vice president is ready on day one.
COOPER: Yes. Bakari, thank you. Vice President Harris, speaking now in Houston, let's listen.
HARRIS: Oh, it is so good to be with all the leaders who are here. I want to thank the international president, Rasheeda S. Liberty, I thank you for your friendship and your leadership and for the warm welcome this evening. Thank you so very much.
And to the international board of directors, to the council of presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and to Congresswoman Robin Kelly, it is my great honor to be with everyone this evening and I -- please have a seat. I thought everyone is standing. If you have a seat, please have a seat. Thank you all.
And to all the members of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority incorporated it is so good to be with you this evening. And I say that as a proud member of the Divine Nine and when I look out at everyone here I see family.
And you know, we all, we share a vision for the future of our nation. Ours is a vision of the future in which we realize the promise of America, and aren't so many of us empirical evidence of the promise of America? A promise of freedom, opportunity, and justice not for some, but for all.
[20:20:21]
Since 1922, the members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated have helped realize that promise. Generation after generation, the members of this sorority has shown that greater service brings greater progress. I know.
In the 1920s and 30s, you created college scholarships for young Black women. In the 1960s and 70s, you launched a nationwide program to help folks get a job. In the 1990s, you formed a partnership with St. Jude to fight childhood cancer, and in 2020, you continued your leadership when during the height of a pandemic you helped elect Joe Biden, president of the United States and me as the first woman vice president of the United States.
And for all of those reasons, I'm here to thank you for your longstanding service to our nation and to declare in this moment that our nation needs your leadership, once again.
In this moment, we face a choice between two very different visions for our nation one focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and we in this room are fighting for the future. A future with affordable health care, affordable childcare, and paid leave, and we fight for our future with equal pay for women because we know when we lift up the economic status of women, we lift up the economic status of children, of families and all of society benefits.
We here work for our future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead, to build a business, to own a home, and to build intergenerational wealth. We here see a future where we bring down the cost of living for hardworking Americans, which is why we are fighting to ban more of those hidden fees and surprise late charges that banks and other companies used to pad their profits, to take on corporate landlords and cap rent increases and take on big pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans.
All of this to say, we are working to build up, to build up, not tear it down and to build up Americas' families and Americas' middle-class because we know when our middle class is strong, America is strong. But as we work to move our nation forward, let us be clear there are those who are trying to take us backward.
You may have seen their agenda, they call it Project 2025, right? And it is a 900-page agenda of extremism. Project 2025 would raise taxes on middle-class families and cut taxes for billionaires, eliminate the Department of Education and end programs like Head Start, which of course would take away preschool from hundreds of thousands of our children, all of this to build on what Donald Trump did in his first term.
When he was president, he gave tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. He tried to cut Social Security and Medicare every single year and he and his allies have tried more than 60 times to end the Affordable Care Act and to take us back to a time when insurance companies had the power to deny people with pre-existing conditions.
Remember what that was? Denying children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes, and you know America has tried these failed policies before and we are not going back. We are not going back.
[20:25:15]
We all here remember what those four years were like and today, we were given yet another reminder.
This afternoon, Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists and it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect and let me just say the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better.
The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences, do not divide us. They are an essential source of our strength.
So, I say to Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated, ours is a fight for the future and it is a fight for freedom. Across our nation we are witnessing a full-on attack on hard-fought, hard, won fundamental freedoms and rights. The freedom to vote, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to live without fear of bigotry and hate, the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride, the freedom to learn and acknowledge Americas true and full history and the freedom of a woman to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do.
A fight for almost fundamental freedoms and to this room of leaders I say, bring it on. Bring it on, those who would dare to attack these fundamental freedoms, because we here, we love our country.
We love our country and I believe it is the highest form of patriotism to fight for the ideals of our country. So we, who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will finally pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
We who believe that every person should be free from gun violence will finally pass universal background checks, red flag laws, and an assault weapons ban, and we who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for a woman's right to choose because we know one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree, that government should not be telling her what to do. Because we know faith and freedom can co-exist.
And understand when he was president Donald Trump handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court. The court of Thurgood and RBG, because he intended for them to overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade. and as he intended, they did.
And now, in the south where the majority of Black women live every state except for Virginia, has an abortion ban. Many with no exception, even for rape and incest. And now he intends to pass a nationwide abortion ban, to ban access to fundamental health care in every state. But I will not let that happen. I promise you, when I am president of the United States and when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, I will sign it into law.
So in this, you're welcome -- so in this moment, our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot and so is our democracy.
[20:30:03]
This month, and it really bears just with all that's been happening to just for a moment, pause and think about it. This month, the Supreme Court basically just told the former president, who has been convicted of fraud that going forward, he will be immune for activity we know he is prepared to engage if he gets back in into the White House.
Recall, Donald Trump has openly vowed, if reelected to be a dictator on day one that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies. That he will round up peaceful protesters and throw them out of our country and even "terminate" the United States Constitution.
So in conclusion, I say to the incredible members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated --
(CROWD CHEERING)
HARRIS: -- there is so much at stake in this moment. Election Day is a 97 days and in this moment, once again, our nation is counting on you, to energize, to organize, and to mobilize, to register folks to vote and get them to the polls because when we organize, mountains move.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history.
(CROWD CHEERING)
HARRIS: So, let us continue to fight with faith, with optimism and with hope. And when we fight, we win.
(CROWD CHEERING)
HARRIS: God bless you and God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Vice President Harris tonight speaking live in Houston. Back with Bakari Sellers, joining us is Astead Herndon from "New York Times" and Erin Perrine, who served as Director of Press Communications for the Trump 2020 campaign. Bakari, we just saw Vice President Harris responding to former President Trump's comments in the way you kind of predicted she would, not getting dragged down into kind of a tit-for-tat in the muck he is kind of playing in.
SELLERS: Yeah. I mean, Kamala Harris, the identity of who she is, I mean, you can see that. It's a lot like 2008 with Barack Obama. You don't have to articulate who she is or her identity at every visit, every single visit. But she can do something Donald Trump can't do. Donald Trump is the oldest candidate in American political history for president of the United States. One of the things that I used to say Donald Trump and Joe Biden were unable to do and I believe it was a product of their age was give a vision for the future.
And so look, people know who Donald Trump is and for a long period of time, Democrats were stuck in this mud where it was subject for Donald Trump. We don't have to do that anymore. Allow Kamala Harris to articulate what a future looks like under her administration, because people are tired in the (inaudible) again, sick and tired of being sick and tired. This is -- the dystopian view of this country is not one that I recognize, but the racism, the race card that Donald Trump plays, is still a tag line from our Republican friends. I think America just doesn't buy it anymore, but we're 95 days away or so, so we shall see.
COOPER: Erin, I mean, do you think it's wise that the former president is doubling down on these kind of comments the way he is?
ERIN PERRINE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: I think any opportunity that Republicans are not using to define Kamala Harris when it comes to her policy positions, when it comes to the fact that you are seeing her record change through spokespeople and not through her own voice at this point, is a missed opportunity.
Policies are what are going to help Republicans win the White House and wind down ballot races, not attacks and trying to litigate the race of a different candidate. Republicans need to stay focused and on-message. I know that seems a monumental task some days, but those policy positions that helped drive the economy forward, that were securing our southern border, that made sure geopolitical catastrophe was not at our doorstep previously, are what we need to be telling the American people and not trying to litigate the noise that you're hearing right now.
COOPER: But, Donald Trump, I mean, does have a sort of -- I don't know if it's like a feral sense of people's -- of what appeals to some people. Clearly, he believes there is an advantage to doing this.
PERRINE: I don't speak for Donald Trump anymore, but I can tell you what I believe works best for Republicans here. And that's going to be defining Kamala Harris on her record.
COOPER: Yeah.
PERRINE: Most American people do know her name, but they don't know her policy positions. She ran as an extreme left candidate in the 2020 cycle, before she dropped out. She had to moderate but under Joe Biden and now is the opportunity for Republicans to say, well, which version are we getting because we are talking --
COOPER: But, the problem with that, of course, is that Donald Trump has completely flip-flopped on many issues and his vice president has completely flip-flopped from calling him America's Hitler to a great guy.
[20:35:00]
So, that message might be a little bit harder to make this time. Astead, we haven't heard from you. You were at the Convention hearing this. What was it like? What was the response from the audience? Because it's hard to tell -- it sounded like some -- there was like a smattering of applause from like a handful of people at some point. And then, I couldn't really tell what the audience was doing.
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I would say the audience was mostly journalistic. The audience was mostly saying nothing. There was a smattering of people who were there and seemingly in support of Donald Trump. I would say, there was only like three or five people. There was a lot of people who were there who were kind of mocking Donald Trump. Some folks laughing at the things he was saying.
I mean, but I think my biggest response to what the room gives me is a sense that this is not something that's happening outside of Donald Trump's own volition. This is happening because Donald Trump believes these things about Kamala Harris. No one made him say these kinds of attacks about her. No one made him to Birtherism 2.0. He's doing it because this is something that is consistent in who his kind of public appeals have been throughout his political career.
And so, I don't know what Donald Trump was expecting in that room, but then that room, you have a lot of accomplished journalists who are looking for facts, who are looking for contexts, who are looking to press people on questions, who are going to ask some things that other people don't ask. And so, when I was in that room, I was proud of Rachel Scott, I was proud of Kadia Goba, who were asking him pressing on those questions.
And I think that's the reason we got some of these answers from Trump, is because that kind of DEI hire question that some people are afraid to ask, Rachel read the riot act and send it to his face. And I think that's the reason we got those sort of answers. But the room wasn't, I would say, pro or anti-Trump. That's largely a room of journalistic voices. You only had a smattering of people who I think were there may be because they knew who will be there. That was a small group of people, but the majority of people were there listening.
And I think, frankly, if I have a critique, I wish we were able to ask more questions from the audience.
COOPER: Bakari, I mean, does it seem to you that the Trump campaign has figured out how to how to deal with Kamala Harris? I mean, it is a whole new race for them.
SELLERS: Yeah. The answer to that is hell no. Like, this is what we're seeing in real time and the weird part about this is, I think that as much great work as Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, and Jason Miller. And I'm a Democrat saying that the first four, five, six months of this campaign, they legitimately ran circles around the Biden campaign. I mean, they just did.
They had a candidate and although they were very disciplined in their messaging, in the way that they were maneuvering, the way they prepared him for the debate, et cetera, it was just -- they had some sense of control. They had a decent convention. I thought it was a weird convention and I'm kind of sick and tired of using that word, but that's the only one I can come up with. But they were able to kind of stake a claim. It's what they were trying to present with Donald Trump.
With Kamala Harris, she presents to them what is just a nemesis. It's been a thorn for Donald Trump for a very long period of time, which is an articulate, successful, powerful woman, particularly of color. He cannot respond to that for some reason and we're seeing that now, and what I believe is that, and Astead probably will text me later about this and say I'm decently naive -- but I just -- I believe in what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature. I do not believe that the underbelly of this country is going to win again.
I just can't fathom someone going and praying on our least common denominator. In sitting up there and questioning whether or not a black woman is black, the audacity to question whether or not an a.k.a. from Harvard University is a black woman is some of the most audacious -- my twins are in the other room, so I'm not going to curse -- stuff I've ever seen in my entire life. And if that's what they are going to do, then I just -- let me please believe and have my dreams that America is better than that.
COOPER: Erin, some Republicans are responding to the former president's comments, and our Kevin Cramer dismissing it as satire. I just want to play this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. KEVIN CRAMER, (R-ND): The fact that Donald Trump uses satire to point that out, it is misunderstood by a lot of people. It provides an opportunity for people to attack him. He shouldn't do it. It would be better if he didn't probably.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You've worked for him. Did he ever appear to you to be a great satirist?
PERRINE: You know, honestly, my interactions were kind of limited. I was on the campaign side and he was at the White House. But to the point there, the Senator did say he'd be better served in not doing that. And I think that that's probably the message that most Republicans, if they're not willing to say it out loud, are saying behind closed doors.
[20:40:00]
That's not the kind of language that's going to win this election. The kind of language is going to be putting Kamala's feet to the fire about the border crisis. Let's talk about fentanyl overdoses. Let's talk about the direction of this country. Let's talk about economic policy. Let's talk about fracking in Pennsylvania and the economic situation regarding the Midwest. These are messages that can win and can win voters across the country.
But getting into these kind of personality fights is not what serves Republicans best. We have strong policy proposal; that's how you win. You don't do it by doing things like this.
COOPER: Erin, thanks very much for being with us. Bakari as well and Astead as well. By the way, the top of the program, we played some video of the chaos in the seconds before Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot, trying to break into a secure part of the capital. We incorrectly identified a person on the left of the screen whose face could not be seen as Ms. Babbitt. In fact, this is a screenshot which actually showed Ashli Babbitt hunched --the hunched-over figure circled on the right side of the frame with her head near the door just before she was shot and we apologize for the mistake of the video.
Just ahead, tonight, we'll be joined by Illinois Democratic governor and potential Harris running mate, J.B. Pritzker. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:16]
COOPER: We're talking tonight about the fallout from Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention, especially this remark about Vice President Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now, she wants to be known as black.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Vice president did not address that comment in her live speech directly tonight, but she did say this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: This afternoon --
(CROWD CHEERING)
HARRIS: -- Donald Trump spoke at the Annual Meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect, and let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Joining us now is Democratic governor of Illinois and potential Harris running mate, J.B. Pritzker. Governor, thank you for being on the program. I'm wondering what you thought when you heard the remarks by the former president as well as what Vice President Harris said.
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER, (D-IL): Well, think back to the Central Park Five accusations that Donald Trump made, think back to the birther conspiracy that he started about President Obama. And back in 2017, when I was running for governor, I consistently called him a racist because he is and today, he proved it once again.
COOPER: Do you think Vice President Harris handled it as you expected, as you -- as you -- the most effective way?
PRITZKER: I think she was respectful when Donald Trump, of course, was not just disrespectful, but showed his true nature. And I think the rest of us can see the racism coming through him. This guy is a homophobe, a xenophobe. He's a racist, a misogynist, and he shows it every day. But here, it was just a perfect example of it for the American public to see. She doesn't need to take him on directly; the rest of us can see it for ourselves and we're going to talk about it.
COOPER: It does seem like the former president is somewhat flummoxed about how to deal with Kamala Harris. Does that -- does that strike you?
PRITZKER: Of course. And you saw it today, he isn't sure about how he wants to respond. He doesn't know how to say things without revealing his racism. And frankly, every time he talks about her, you see a little bit of it come out in the language that he uses. I think you may have also noticed today that he was supposed to answer questions from these three black journalists for an hour. He only lasted about 38 minutes.
His staff pulled him. I start to wonder whether he's got the stamina to actually get up on a debate stage with Kamala Harris for 90 minutes. He couldn't last today and he was sitting down, imagine him standing up for 90 minutes against, frankly, a real grilling by a real prosecutor.
COOPER: The former president also downplayed his vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance's role in the campaign, saying that the choice of VP makes no difference, that ultimately, people are voting for the president. Do you believe that it's possible he won't stick with J.D. Vance?
PRITZKER: So revealing, isn't it? That he doesn't even defend his own nominee for vice president? I think Bakari Sellers earlier referred to him as the Sarah Palin of Dan Quayles, and I think he is the worst choice for vice president since Sarah Palin, no doubt about it. And you've seen over and over, really, he doesn't stand the scrutiny. J.D. Vance is somebody who has changed his positions just from four or five years ago, when he called Donald Trump America's Hitler.
Now, he thinks he's a great guy and talks about him in a glowing light. What will he say two years from now? What will he be if he had to actually, as a heartbeat away from the presidency, if he actually had to step up and be president of the United States? Is that what people want? I don't think so.
COOPER: Vice President Harris and her as yet unnamed running mate, they are expected to kick off a series was a campaign events starting at Philadelphia this coming Tuesday. What does your schedule look like next week?
(LAUGH)
PRITZKER: Well, I think all of us are excited about the choice that Kamala Harris will make because she'll make a great choice and we're all going to be out there campaigning for the ticket, whoever is on the ticket. I honestly think you heard her today, just in her remarks at the Sorority today, talk about I think three very important topics. And it's the way I would define this election. It's about freedom and opportunity and justice.
[20:50:00]
And there are a lot of us who are, whether we're on the ticket or just out their campaigning for her, we're going to repeat that over and over and over again because this is a fight for American families, for their freedoms, for opportunities for them, and making sure that we have true justice for everyone.
COOPER: Immigration and illegal immigration, that's obviously been a big attack on the vice president and, obviously, her administration, President Biden. She's basically now focusing on the deal that Donald Trump killed, the bipartisan deal that could have passed this year, but was killed by Donald Trump. Is that enough, do you think, to blunt that attack? PRITZKER: I do. Because you have to remember that when Donald Trump was president, he did nothing about immigration reform. He did nothing to shore up the border or support the border patrol. And it's been the Biden-Harris Administration that tried to find and the border patrol and tried to make sure that we had actual border security. You know, I think one of the hallmarks of the administration has been, they've been willing to work in a bipartisan fashion.
Working with Senator Lankford, a true conservative, coming up with a bill that nobody loved, but everybody understood what was necessary, and then having Donald Trump blow that deal up, it was on the verge of being passed. It was Donald Trump that told the Republicans to walk away from it. And that's exactly what they did.
You know, that he doesn't care about the American people. He doesn't care about solving problems. He cares narcissistically about what's good for him and his politics.
COOPER: Governor Pritzker, appreciate your time. Thank you.
PRITZKER: Thank you.
COOPER: Coming up next, the dire warning reportedly from Iran's supreme leader after the assassination in Tehran of Hamas' political chief, also how his killing may affect hostage and ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. We have a live report from our Clarissa Ward ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:30]
COOPER: Tonight, "The New York Times" citing three Iranian sources report that Iran's supreme leader has issued an order for Iran to "strike Israel directly." This following the assassination of the political leader of Hamas while he was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iran's new president.
There is also concern this could hurt ceasefire and hostage talks between Hamas and Israel. Hamas blames Israel for the early morning attack. Israel has not said whether it's behind the strike. Just yesterday, the IDF did claim responsibility for this strike in Beirut, Lebanon that killed one of Hezbollah's top military commanders and several others. Israel blames the commander for the rocket attack on Saturday that killed 12 children at a soccer field in the Golan Heights.
Joining us now from Tel Aviv, CNN's Clarissa Ward. So, what does this assassination mean for the hostage and ceasefire negotiations?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you talk to a lot of people here and in the region, Anderson, there are real fears that for the 115 hostages inside Gaza, for the more than 2 million civilians who have been living through this hellscape inside Gaza, that the negotiations that so many had worked so hard for, for such a long time, could well be dead in the water, or certainly, temporarily, are not going anywhere because Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas' political wing, was the negotiator who was at the table.
Could he be replaced? Yes. But who would replace him? Within the context of Hamas, Haniyeh was seen as being a somewhat moderate force, then you add to that the fact that all the other interlocutors such as Qatar are also very angry about this situation. And we actually spoke to a family member, Yifat Zailer, she is the cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is the mother of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who have been held in Gaza since October 7. She told us a little bit about what her reaction was to these two very prominent assassinations. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YIFAT ZAILER, COUSIN OF SHIRI BIBAS: I feel frustrated that they feel, that I'm losing my legitimacy to speak about (inaudible) to the world.
WARD: Why do you feel that?
ZAILER: It's ten months now of war, a horrible war with a lot of casualties. I lost my aunt and uncle. Civilian died, innocent civilians on both sides. There's a lot of children who died in Gaza and I feel that speaking about two Israeli boys you were kidnapped ten months ago, it's irrelevant to a lot of people.
WARD: Given the strike on Hezbollah and the strike on Haniyeh, are you scared?
ZAILER: I am terrified. I'm terrified truly. I know it will have an effect on the talks, but I don't know how.
WARD: Do you worry that it could jeopardize the talks?
ZAILER: Of course, the talks and jeopardize the hostages as well. My worst fear is to find out that the 115 hostages are all died because they decided to have nothing to gain out of them. And they just, OK, they just killed them all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARD: Tomorrow marks 300 days since October 7th, since those hostages were taken. There is going to be another mass gathering, as increasingly, so many of these families, Anderson, really feel very frustrated that the actions of the Israeli government do not, in any way, help try to facilitate the quickest, safest return home for those hostages.
COOPER: I sat, I think, on that same bench, talking to Yifat Zailer shortly after October 7th, and I will never forget her and her family -- that she and all the other hostage families are still waiting for any kind of sign or word. It's just -- it's incredible. Iran's public reaction, what does it tell us about what might come next?
WARD: Anderson, it tells us that there is going to be a strong response. It is likely to be a direct response. It may well be in conjunction with Hezbollah. Previously, we saw what happened back in April, 300 projectiles fired towards Israel --
