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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Harris To Meet With Top Contenders This Weekend; Trump's Election Interference Case Now In Judge Chutkan's Hands; Women Voters In GA: Now That Pres. Biden Has Dropped Out And VP Harris Is Running, It's "Going To Get Crazy"; Defense Secy. Revokes Plea Deal For Accused Sept. 11 Plotters; Three Freed Americans In San Antonio For Medical Evaluation After Prisoner Swap; U.S. Sending Aircraft Carrier, Warships And Fighter Squadron To Middle East As Region Braces For Iranian Retaliation. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 02, 2024 - 20:00   ET

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

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: ...when I was sitting with her and when I wasn't cracking up, she was telling me that the reason why she wants to impersonate Kamala Harris is not just for entertainment value, she also wants to put a spotlight on her.

Alison told me that she is a queer Black woman and to see Kamala Harris be in the position that she is in as vice president and now likely running for president, she said it has a profound impact on her.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you, and thanks for watching. AC360 start now. Have a great weekend.

[20:00:36]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Tonight on 360, Kamala Harris makes history as her party's presumptive nominee and gets ready to make more history by picking her running mate.

Also tonight, after a Supreme Court detour the election interference case against Donald Trump is now back in front of Judge Tanya Chutkan. Look at how quickly she could move and how the case may change to please the High Court.

Later, our Gary Tuchman in Appalachia, talking with people who know JD Vance, not just as Donald Trump's running mate, but also as the kid next door.

Good evening, everyone. John King in Washington tonight, in for Anderson tonight. Just 12 days since President Biden decided not to seek a second term, his vice president is now in all but title the democratic nominee for president.

Today, Kamala Harris went over the top in virtual balloting, securing enough support from Democratic delegates to win her party's nomination. Meaning when Democrats convene later this month in Chicago, she will become the first Black woman and first Asian- American, yes, both, to lead a major presidential party ticket.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are excited about the future, but we also know that we got a lot of work to get there, and we have a lot of work to do. It's good work, we like hard work. I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KING: President Biden meantime, marking the occasion on social media posting this, "One of the best decisions I've made was picking Kamala Harris as my vice president. Now that she will be our party's nominee, I couldn't be prouder." Now, a big consequential weekend for Harris, settling on a running mate.

A source familiar with the vetting process tells us she will interview the six top finalists you see right there. With Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described as the top recommendations from her team.

The official rollout, next Tuesday in Philadelphia, some see that as a clue. Others just stay smart, battleground state for the first stop. We will know soon.

The campaign today also announcing it had raised $310 million last month compared to $138 million for the Trump campaign. That is proof, real proof of new Democratic optimism.

But also some worrying news today on a different money front.

Stocks plummeting following anemic jobs numbers to an economy is just what the Federal Reserve wants right now to tame inflation. But for Harris, talk of a slowdown may not be helpful. As voters think about issue number one, the economy and consider whether they think Harris or Donald Trump would do a better job on it.

Perspective now, from Trump 2016 campaign official, Bryan Lanza, 2016, Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, and Tolu Olorunnipa, White House bureau chief for "The Washington Post."

Robby, you've been through this. She has the book as they call it. Eric Holder, the former attorney general led the vetting process. She has the book. Now, she has to go through staff questions first, interviews this weekend, you've been through it. What do you think should be criteria number one? This person can get me a swing state. We think or I'm comfortable with this person, I like this person, I'm relaxed around this person, let's go.

ROBBY MOOK, FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: You know, it was really surprising to me when we were setting this up for Hillary, I talked to a lot of people, how do you go about doing this?

And there were three criteria in this order. It was, do-no-harm, do they bring something? But then the number one, the most important thing, do you get along with them? Do you think they'd be a good president? Is this someone who you could see as a partner?

So, that's why I actually think these interviews are important and that chemistry is really essential. So, they could be well going into this weekend, not actually knowing yet who it is. It's maybe down to one or two and that chemistry is probably the final step in the process.

KING: That's an interesting and a very important point because the staff might have recommendations. The candidate, this is her first big executive decision as the Democratic nominee.

So, I was just in Arizona, a lot of Democrats say, please, please, pick the astronaut, and pick Senator Kelly. Last week, I was in Pennsylvania. Pick Governor Shapiro, please, pick Governor Shapiro.

So, you'll hear from the activists, you look through the polling. Again first, you have to decide, what's your criteria before you get to who is my candidate?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, that's exactly right. And I think, the good thing is, is that Vice President Harris has a plethora of riches to choose from. I think every one of these candidates will come into this job ready to do it on day one, right? God forbid anything happens, I think that is also a very important criteria.

But to Robby's point, I think this is critical because I don't think this is something that we talk about enough. And I'm sure you talked about it a lot with Hillary.

[20:05:11]

This is a dynamic that has never been seen before. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, right, for Hillary. So, we still have yet to see a woman as president and a male vice president. And I think there's even more of an overlay with the first Black woman president and the first vice president who is going to be a White man. A lot of dynamics there.

So, even more so, it's going to be critical for her to feel at her core, at a gut level, with instinct, and with intuition not just who can I get along with, but who is going to back me up even if they might not agree with where I'm going.

KING: So Tolu, it's a fascinating question, because what do we know about how she thinks on this. This was not an issue. This was its not a question until 12 days ago. It was not who would Kamala Harris pick because we thought she was the running mate for Joe Biden.

What do we know about how she thinks about this? So, do we know anything?

TOLU OLORUNNIPA, WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, she knows the job just as well as anyone else because she's doing the job. She knows what it means to be vice president. She knows the importance of chemistry. She's also looking at the electoral map and that's an important thing when you have an election that is only a hundred days long, you have to really be focused on how do you actually win this race.

And so, she's looking at the poll numbers just like everyone else. She knows that, as she has said, that Democrats right now are underdogs. And so, she is thinking about who will help me with the electoral map while also thinking about, who will actually be able to do this job. And she does have relationships with some of the people that she's going to be interviewing, but some of them she doesn't know as well as people like Pete Buttigieg who she's worked with, Josh Shapiro happens to be another attorney general, someone who has had a similar job, another lawyer.

And so, she has relationships with some of these people and some of them she's going to be talking to in-depth in this context for the first time. And so, she's going to be trying to think about how she can actually find someone who can do the job while finding someone that she can work with this role.

KING: All right, standby for just one second. I want to go first over to the White House, CNNs Kayla Tausche is there for us.

Kayla, a big decision for the vice president, but also first calculation as a candidate, right? Today's underwhelming Jobs Report. There's been good momentum for the Democrats since this switch it was announced. I was just on the road and I'm telling you the energy for Democrats is real.

However, you get an underwhelming Jobs Report, you know, that's issue number one, you know, Donald Trump right now has an advantage when voters are asked who do you trust more on the economy? How does she, how do they handle that?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, the Biden administration's message for years has been at the jobs market is one of the bright spots in the economy and they believe that it's the indicator that the economy is strong, but that message of course is undercut with the data that we've seen today.

And so, Vice President Harris has been refining her own message on the economy this week at a rally in Atlanta. She expressed her sympathy with people who are frustrated with the cost of living, saying, I get it. And in the coming days and weeks, we're expecting her to refine her policy proposals as well.

People who know her views very closely say that she's particularly interested in policies that benefit working families, small businesses and underserved communities around the country.

But John, the question is, depending on the path of the economy, between now and November and how much it cools. She could find herself playing much more defense than offense there.

KING: One big decision first and then we'll see what she thinks about the economic view as we go, Kayla Tausche at the White House. Thanks so much. back to our panel and the conversation. So, we don't even know if there'll be a vice presidential debate. We're not certain they'll even be another presidential debate. We had Biden-Trump. Will we get Harris Trump? We don't know, but listen here, Brian, just today, JD Vance, who we know is the Republican vice presidential candidate, trading insults with the Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who just might be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES NOMINEE: There's a lot of talk it's going to be this guy, Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania, who you know, I've seen just a couple of clips of him talking. He talks like Barack Obama. It's like if I did try to do a really bad impression of Barack Obama.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): I don't know. Barack Obama is probably our most gifted order of my time. It's kind of a weird insult, I guess, but look I'll say this about JD Vance. It is real hard being honest with the American people when you're not being honest with yourself.

JD Vance is a total phony baloney. He is the most inorganic candidate I think I have ever seen on the national stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: So we see, Bryan, number one, these Democratic prospects, they're auditioning. Every time they get a chance, they're out in public, they do it. Do you take Vance talking about Shapiro as some evidence they think it will be him.

BRYAN LANZA, FORMER DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL: Listen, I think from our standpoint, we sort of look at the one is that, that would be probably the most disruptive, especially from the progressive base of the Democratic Party.

They clearly made a decision and that Israel is sort of not where they want to be there, their confrontation with the party within Israel. And so, the governor of Pennsylvania been a Jewish, the first Jewish, one of the first Jewish voters, even in this realm, next to Liebermann several years ago.

It's going to cause rift and we want to sort of highlight the rift. I mean, for the last 12 days, there's been a rift within the Republican Party as the nomination has changed over to Kamala. But now, this is an important decision and it's a tough decision for her.

Does she alienate her base to have the broader appeal to the general public or does she go base person to try to sort of appease the anger there and hope that they hold their fire. I don't think they will because I think the progressive base of the Democratic Party is completely radicalized against Israel. And that's a tough choice for her to make.

[20:10:36]

KING: It is a tough choice. So again, take us inside the room and what we know about Vice President Harris and what we know from past experience. You can run from the polls. You can read data that says our base is really angry over Israel-Palestine. So let's not pick a strong supporter of Israel. Let's not risk picking a candidate who is Jewish.

Or you can run at the polls and say, we're going to pick Governor Shapiro because we like him and we think he's dynamic or Kamala Harris is viewed as more liberal than Joe Biden so you can't take the more progressive Tim Walz, because of some of the things that you can run away from that or you can run at it and say, yes, as he says, yes, kids are getting free lunches, kids are more healthy, women are getting more choices in their health care. Oh, I'm terrible. What do you do?

MOOK: Well, first and foremost, I think this is why the most important part of the decision is that chemistry. Is this person -- they're going to be a heartbeat away from the president, are they ready for this?

Josh Shapiro, I think is really special because Pennsylvania is must- win. I think it's fair to say whoever wins Pennsylvania is going to win this election. He won, I believe, by 20 points in this last selection. If you can get one extra point in Pennsylvania out of this, that could absolutely be the margin of error. It's been so close in both '16 and '20.

I think in general, we exaggerate how important these picks are. I don't think it's going to make a tremendous difference. But gosh, if he won Pennsylvania by that much, the idea that he could deliver a little, it's not trivial.

KING: It's a powerful argument in the room while she's making the decision. Tolu, a lot of momentum since this switch, the fundraising, the grassroots enthusiasm, you see again, I was just on the ground in Arizona, you see it.

However, if you look at the data Trump is still leading. Trump still has more paths to 270 than Harris does. She has to repair Biden's cracks with Black voters, especially Black men, with Latino voters, in places like Nevada, with younger voters, with -- does she get the same numbers she gets with seniors? Does that factor into the pick or is just I'm the candidate. I have to do most of that, this is something else.

OLORUNNIPA: I think she's thinking of herself as the person that people are going to be voting for. Pennsylvania, Arizona, those are states that she's thinking that maybe a vice presidential pick can help her. Maybe not on a national stage, maybe not in Georgia, maybe not in North Carolina, but specifically in those states where she's looking at people who are leading those states, who are very popular in those states.

That could potentially help her, but I think most of what she's looking at is that chemistry. Is someone who she could work with over the course of four years because she knows the job. She's in the job in the current moment and she knows that it's not a trivial old job. A lot of times when the president is not able to do something, they call on the vice president to travel the world, to meet with world leaders, to negotiate with Congress.

And so, she needs someone that not only has that executive experience, but someone who she can work with and she can trust, as Maria was saying. Someone who's going to be a number two, a loyal number two, not someone who is going to be looking over her shoulder, looking towards their own future. And so, that's the important part of that chemistry in addition to the electoral map, in addition to the polls as well.

KING: Jump in if you think I'm wrong, but there's no evidence in the data and academics have looked at this that this really matters that much, that people vote in the end based on who you picked as vice president. Maybe LBJ for Jack Kennedy back in 1960.

However, so much time, so much effort goes into it, including the rollout. Veterans of this process call this the prize patrol. A couple of advanced people, a communications person, the Secret Service gets looped in at the end. The prize patrol shows up and knocks on the door and say, hey, you're the sweepstakes winner. Why? Why does so much effort go into it if in the end it might not matter that much?

CARDONA: I think for her, this matters because of the timing of when all of this is happening, right? I mean, right now, Kamala Harris has caught lightning in a bottle and she has to find a way to continue that lightning in a bottle for, what is it 95 more days. I think it's absolutely possible because you're right. The excitement out there is palpable and it is not going away, if anything, it is growing day by day.

I think that this vice presidential pick is yet another way to excite the party and frankly not just the base. You have a lot of Independents who cannot stomach another four years of Donald Trump, but also were not excited about voting for Joe Biden. They are excited about voting for Kamala Harris and I think this additional pick, this additional way that she's going to announce it is yet another way to continue that excitement, continue that lightning in a bottle.

MOOK: And just to emphasize that, time is the most precious resource on a campaign. We've got a week between now and the convention, that might just be dead time.

By announcing this next week, she gets a whole week of free coverage and good coverage. You know what I'm saying? to continue that momentum if through the end of the convention and so I think it's a great timing.

CARDONA: And people see them the team as they go out to all these consequential battleground states.

KING: Does the prize patrol bring confetti or balloons?

MOOK: Both.

KING: We'll find out on Tuesday, everybody thanks.

Up next, brand new reporting on just how the 2020 election interference criminal case against the former president could proceed now, and how quickly? Now that is back in the hands of the trial judge.

And later, in an ongoing series, "The 53 Percent," how women voters in battleground Georgia see the race now that Joe Biden is out and Kamala Harris is in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:19:33]

KING: A big legal development today that could emphasis on 'could' become another twist in this suddenly dramatic presidential campaign. The federal election interference case against Donald Trump, now back in the hands of DC District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan. That, after a lengthy and precedent breaking detour that saw the Supreme Court greatly expand presidential immunity.

Judge Chutkan is known as no nonsense. And before the Supreme Court delays had made clear, she wanted a trial before the election. Now, we wait to see her new plans for a case that we also know faces some significant changes.

CNN's Paula Reid joins us with more. So, what's next?

[20:20:06]

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Judge, Tanya Chutkan has her work cut out for her because now she needs to apply this game changing decision by the Supreme Court to the case that was brought by the special counsel.

The first question is, okay, of the acts that have been charged, which ones are official? Because those they get tossed, he has immunity. So, of the unofficial acts that may or may not remain, are any of those supported by evidence that they could successfully argue what constitutes an official act? Because the Supreme Court not only said he had immunity for official acts, he also said that official acts cannot be used as evidence even to support crimes that are unrelated to your official duties.

Now, how does she do this? Well, she could have a brief trial to suss out some of these issues. A two or three-day trial, but right now we're still waiting for her to release her schedule, her much anticipated time line of how she plans to tackle this.

KING: We're inside a hundred days now. Is there any way on earth you could have the actual full trial one she refines the case before the election? I don't think so before the election, but it's interesting, our colleague Henera Benowitz, she did a great story today about Judge Chutkan as a jurist that talk to people who practiced before her.

And one of them said, that they believe that if Trump is reelected, that Chutkan could try to do that trial between election day and inauguration day. Now, John, I can guarantee you, if they want to try that, it would likely mean another trip to the Supreme Court.

KING: So before he would have the power to make it go away. Yes, that would be the supreme would get that, will understand it. You've also spoken earlier to a member of Trump's legal team about this case. What did they say?

REID: That's right. Earlier today, I spoke with Will Scharf. He's one of Trump attorneys, and I asked him, okay, what's your plan going forward on this case? Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL SCHARF, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: A part of the problem though is the use of immune evidence during grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment in this case. The Supreme Court was very clear that immune evidence can't be used even in cases involving non-immune conduct. So in all, we believe that this case has been struck a fatal blow by the Supreme Court, and that there is simply no way to disentangle immune from non-immune based on how the case has proceeded thus far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So he's really focused there. You heard him on the evidence portion of this and speaking with sources across the Trump legal teams, that is their focus and they believe that using the fact that you can't use official acts as evidence.

But whatever remains of these cases, right, in the coming weeks and months, they can get focusing on trying to get that evidence tossed out. Now, I think that's a very optimistic analysis, but they're trying it in New York. If the Mar-A-Lago documents case comes back, until they'll try it there. They're going to try it in DC and look, we doubted them on their delay, delay, delay strategy. That has been successful. So we'll see what happens.

KING: We will see what happens and we'll wait first for Judge Chutkan to tell us at least her first course forward. Paula Reid, grateful for your time. thank you.

Let's get some perspective now from our CNN political analyst and a "New York Times" senior political correspondent, Maggie Haberman.

Maggie, this is what the great political philosopher Donald Rumsfeld called one of the unknowns, how this case is going to proceed? What will the timetable be? What will the judge decide? Will there be fights even over that that delay it further?

But now that it's back in the hands of Judge Chutkan, we know the Trump legal team did not like how the trial judge was proceeding. Are they worried now or they think at least this will be after the election, we'll sweat it later?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he Trump team is feeling very good about the timeline on this because even if there is a hearing set to try to determine what would qualify as official acts and there could be an airing of evidence that the Trump team would consider problematic or potentially problematic at such a hearing.

They also think that they would have a chance to present things that would be helpful to them. They are very confident at the moment that this is not going to impact them legally ahead of the election. If at all and Paula is correct that they believe that they are going to chip away at all of these cases now will see. Manhattan is obviously a different story, that sentencing date is set.

There is some hope on the Trump team's -- among the Trump legal team that they can somehow try to impact that sentencing even with its new date. It seems unlikely, but we've said unlikely many times and things have happened.

KING: Yes, we have. You're part of a fabulous piece today in "The Times" about the debate inside the Trump campaign the Republican Party about how to run, how former President Trump should run against Vice President Harris.

And you noted in the piece, he does have a history, sometimes of letting his personal instincts take over when it's strong woman, when questions of race come up. What is the debate internally?

HABERMAN: So it's less of a debate internally than we've seen previously, John. I keep thinking back to 2020 when there were protests over the killing of George Floyd and Trump posted on Twitter, a line, I'm paraphrasing, but it was when the looting starts the shooting starts and it was echoing a racist Miami police chief from decades earlier.

There was an outcry inside the White House and a lot of consternation among his aides. What you saw here when he was at the NABJ conference earlier this week and he said something that he's been trying to inject into the bloodstream for a week, which is questioning the idea that Kamala Harris is really Black. His team rose right behind him and echoed it and posted about it on Twitter and there was something shown on the screen at his rally in Pennsylvania a short time later.

[20:25:29]

So, there's not much of a debate. There is some private concession from some people close to him that this is something they wish he hadn't said but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of fighting him on this one.

KING: The former president also saying this week and he's right historically vice presidential picks do not have any huge impact on the election. But there's been a debate about his own pick, JD Vance, who's had a bit of a rocky start. Trump saying, I will say this, I think this is well documented historically, vice president in terms of election does not have any impact, I mean, virtually no impact.

Do they still believe that? There are some Republicans outside of Trump world saying I might have made another choice. HABERMAN: Look who he was going to pick was a source of enormous contention as you know, in the weeks and even hours leading up to him finally announcing who it was going to be. So it's not surprising that this is getting picked over in hindsight.

I don't think that Trump, you know, and with the caveat, John, Donald Trump turns on almost everyone close to him sooner or later, and we have seen that over many, many years. So there is a countdown clock on everyone with him at a certain point.

But I think he is much more consumed, just based on all of my reporting by the new contours of the race he's facing, as opposed to all of the press and attention that JD Vance is getting. Would he rather not be dealing with that? There's no question. But I don't think it's his main source of concern right now.

KING: To that point, he has to watch the vice president make her decision now, picking a running mate. Will he stick to the point that, I don't think it matters, or will we see him detour over there once that choice is made?

HABERMAN: There is an awful lot of opposition research and attacks being logged on Josh Shapiro for people who don't think the VP choice matters. And we should be clear, we don't know who the vice president is going to pick as her own running mate for that slot.

But I don't think that they generally think it matters. I do you think that there is an enormous amount of focus on Pennsylvania for obvious reasons? It is a key piece of her path to winning the general election.

Donald Trump has a wider path, and that is why they're looking at the chances that Josh Shapiro could help her there.

KING: His chess hand becomes really stronger, Mr. Trump's does if he can hold Pennsylvania. Maggie Haberman, thank you for your time, really appreciate it.

KING: Up next for us, Randi Kaye heads back to make and Georgia to gauge the impact of the new Harris ticket on a group of women voters. All part of our continuing series, "The 53 Percent."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:31:58]

KING: On Saturday, former President Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance will campaign together at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia. It will take place in the same arena where Vice President Harris held that packed rally you see right there. That was on Tuesday.

The candidates zeroed in on Georgia, well, for good reason. Once again, a crucial battleground state. You might remember, just four years ago, took a few days to count them all, but President Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes. This week, our Randi Kaye went back to Macon, Georgia, to talk with a group of women voters for a third time to see what they think of the race now that Harris has replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket. This, all part of 360's election year series, the 53 percent. 53 percent is the average proportion of women voters in presidential elections since 2000.

Here's Randi's report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) what is this piece called?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Goddess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the motherhood and the --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ocean.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- ocean.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Show of hands here, who in the group is glad that Joe Biden dropped out of the race? All of you.

Kamala Harris has raised $200 million in one week. How do you feel about that? Has that energized any of you?

ANDREA COOKE, GEORGIA VOTER: To see young people so energized and registering to vote in huge numbers, it feels very similar to the energy that I felt when President Obama was running.

BRITNEY DANIELS, GEORGIA VOTER: I feel the same way.

KAY BELIVEAU, GEORGIA VOTER: But I wonder, is this a honeymoon period? Is it going to stay like this?

EMILY AMOS, GEORGIA VOTER: I think this is going to get, you know, crazy, like Kamala crazy.

COOKE: As a fourth grader, wondering if a black woman would ever be president, and now it's something that could actually happen is like realizing a dream.

KAYE HLAVATY, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: I think we are ready for a woman.

AMOS: Absolutely.

HLAVATY: I think we're ready for a woman of color. I'm not sure we're ready for Kamala Harris.

BELIVEAU: I don't look at their skin color, or if it's a man or woman, I want a qualified candidate. And based on what she has or hasn't done so far, I'm not seeing a very qualified candidate. KAYE: Some Republicans have been referring to Kamala Harris as a DEI hire.

AMOS: It's an easy dig. You know, it's like you can always go for the jugular instead of, like, you guys stated earlier, what she's done, what her record has shown, and what she stands for. I think it's just an easy dig.

DANIELS: I think it is amazing to have her at the top. If you look at her political career versus Trump, she trumps him.

KAYE: The fact that Kamala Harris is a big supporter of reproductive rights, is that a big draw for you?

COOKE: Huge plus for me. Having body autonomy is, we all should have, the right to choose what we do with our own bodies.

KAYE: How many of you think Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump?

DANIELS: Oh yes, I do.

AMOS: I'm halfway.

HLAVATY: When it was announced that this was happening, I went, oh darn, what now?

BELIVEAU: It's going to be close. I really feel like it's going to be extremely close. It could go either way.

AMOS: And if they can get our young black males out to vote, that's going to be, to me, the deciding factor, which pushes her over the edge.

[20:35:02]

HLAVATY: Because I thought, OK, I thought we were going to have a Republican, but now --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- who knows?

COOKE (?): Yes, it's a real fight now.

KAYE (voice-over): Do you think it's fair that the Republicans blame Harris for the problem at the border? In part, the border crossings have dropped to a three-year low in June.

HLAVATY: I don't know whether it's Harris's fault or whose fault it is, but it has definitely increased in the type of people who are crossing into the border and the damage that they're doing to our country.

KAYE: Harris has become more in line with some of Biden's positions on certain issues, in some cases even reversing where she stood in the 2020 race now. How do you feel about the evolving positions? BELIVEAU: Is that for real or is she just saying what she thinks people want to hear? Are they rebranding Kamala to be more palatable?

DANIELS: I believe it. I think with her having served as VP for the past four years, things have changed.

KAYE: What makes you nervous about Trump running against Kamala Harris?

HLAVATY: Because Kamala is a great spokesman. She's a debater. She's going to appeal to a wide range of Americans, regardless of color or even female. I just think people are going to like her.

AMOS: She's likable.

COOKE: She's very likable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very likable.

BELIVEAU: Trump, he's his own worst enemy with his ego, huge ego, and his huge mouth to match.

KAYE: Let's talk about the presidential debate that's supposed to happen in September. Kamala Harris is calling him out on this, saying that he's backtracking. Do you feel like Trump is sort of running from this second debate a bit?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

DANIELS: I think he's scared because he actually will have to come with some real --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fact.

DANIELS: -- facts and information.

COOKE: He would have to prepare a little bit more to debate her. Plus, he's argued in court.

AMOS: I think women from all across the board are going to really be paying attention to this debate because it's like, OK, we know your track record with a woman.

BELIVEAU: If he were well prepared, he would do well. But it's going to be tough because, you know, she's smooth. She really is.

KAYE: Last time we spoke, two of you, Kay and Kaye, had decided. You said that you had decided on a candidate, and it was Donald Trump. Are you still firm on that?

HLAVATY: I'm not still firm. I would love the Republican Party to win. But I think Kamala Harris has so much to offer that it could go either way. And Trump has accomplished a lot in the four years. What Kamala has to convince me of is that those things will return.

KAYE: Are you still firm on Donald Trump? BELIVEAU: Yes. And, I mean, it's not Trump so much as the Republicans. And I'm not convinced that Kamala is the one. I feel like she's got a lot of Biden baggage that's following her.

KAYE: I know the three of you last time we talked were still undecided. Are you decided now?

DANIELS: I am.

KAYE: You are?

DANIELS: Yes.

KAYE: And who are you going to vote for?

DANIELS: Harris. She speaks more to me. She's more likable, for one. Younger, I like that because she's going to be able to relate more to younger people.

COOKE: Definitely voting for Kamala Harris.

AMOS: I'm definitely leaning more towards Harris. Obviously, in the honest truth, it's because she's a woman. And I think the country is ready for a woman. And it's not because she's black, it's because she's a female. And I personally just think a female can actually do the job better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Randi Kaye joins us now. Randi, two of those women on the fence, that's my words. Tell me if you've got better ones for it. What's it going to take? How are they going to decide?

KAYE: No, they are definitely still on the fence, John. You're absolutely right. They want to hear about more policy. They want to hear more plans. They would really like to see Donald Trump debate Kamala Harris.

But as we both know, he has not committed to debating her in September. In fact, she's called him out on that at a recent rally, saying that if you have something to say to me, come say it to my face. So he hasn't committed. But now the DNC is sort of needling Donald Trump with this new strategy.

Starting today, they have newspaper ads going out in the cities where Donald Trump is holding his rallies. And these ads are basically calling him out, John, for his failure to commit to debate Kamala Harris. In fact, one of these ads refers to Donald Trump as a convicted felon, saying that he is afraid to debate. John?

KING: Randi Kaye, thank you so much. Fascinating reporting.

More on Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, in just a moment. Our Gary Tuchman speaks with residents from the Appalachian region he made famous in his best-selling memoir. Also, the latest on the medical care, those Americans freed and that historic prisoner swap, are now receiving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:43:39]

KING: Some breaking news now on the fate of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. We've just learned the Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, has revoked a deal announced earlier this week. That deal would have spared him and two others the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas. Secretary Austin also revoking authority over the case from the retired brigadier general who oversaw the Guantanamo Bay military court and signed that plea agreement.

Now to the landmark prisoner swap with Russia that freed three Americans. Today, President Biden was asked about an American still being held. That prisoner left behind, Marc Fogel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marc Fogel, the Pennsylvania teacher, still sitting in a Russian prison, what would you tell his family?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not giving up -- we're not giving up on that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what more can we do? What more can we do?

BIDEN: You want me to tell you ahead of time so he doesn't get out?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The exchange comes after these amazing images. You see them, that's late last night on the tarmac at the Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland. The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich greeting President Biden, then giving a big emotional hug to his mother.

Gershkovich was one of three Americans released in that exchange. Today, the Journal quotes, get this, a Vladimir Putin spokesman who, rather amazingly, says the Russian president is ready to consider an interview request by Gershkovich. This comes after the Journal reported Gershkovich, made that request in the blank space of a form as part of his official request for clemency.

[20:45:02]

Rosa Flores joins us now from San Antonio where those three Americans are receiving medical care. Rosa, what do we know about the type of care they need and will receive?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we were able to witness the first steps of that process as pretty much minutes after they landed here in San Antonio. Now, that airplane landed at about 3:11 a.m. local time at Kelly Field. We were there, our cameras were rolling.

Moments later, we witnessed as the three freed Americans exited the plane with their families. And moments later, members of the State Department and the White House handed them over to a U.S. Army colonel who explained to them that they would be transferred to the facility that you see behind me.

This is Brooke Army Medical Center here in San Antonio, Texas. And then they were told by some psychologists that their well-being was going to be the focus. Now, they will be undergoing a medical evaluation. And according to U.S. -- a U.S. government official, all three of them have agreed to participate in something called PISA. That is a reintegration program. And this is the gold standard for the Department of Defense that is retrofitted for a civilian population, for a civilian who has been detained abroad.

Now, once they begin these activities, they will be able to be evaluated both physically and mentally. And part of the key of this process is to reintegrate them with their families. And that is the key here, John. Not only are the freed Americans in the facility that you see behind me, their families are staying there too.

And the physicians will be incorporating both that medical evaluation and the reintegration with their families. John?

KING: And Rosa, did Paul Whelan have anything to say about his detention or his release?

FLORES: You know, one of the things that really stood out, and he said that he could not believe what was happening. And, of course, he spent more than five years in a Russian prison. He said it wasn't until they were over British airspace that he looked down and actually saw British soil.

And, of course, he's also a British citizen, that he says that it hit him. And then, of course, we know what happened later when he was welcomed to the United States in D.C. by the President and by the Vice President, of course, by his sister. I asked him about him hugging his sister. And he said that it was really nice and that he was really looking forward to coming here to recuperate and to spend more time with his family. John?

KING: Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

Now the tension is building across the Middle East. The United States has ordered more combat aircraft and warships there, including ships capable of ballistic missile defense. It's preparation for an expected Iranian retaliation for the killing of one of the most senior officials in Hamas earlier this week.

Funeral prayers held today for Ismail Haniyeh today. Sources tell CNN Haniyeh was killed in Tehran by an explosive device set in place in a place he was known to stay while in Iran. That device set there about two months before the actual detonation.

CNN's Clarissa Ward joins us with the latest. Clarissa, what do we know about how Israel and the United States are preparing now for this expected retaliation from Iran and perhaps also its proxies in the region? CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, of course, the U.S. has now announced that it is sending another carrier strike group to replace one currently nearby. But it's also sending a warship, a fighter squadron, additional warships. And this is coming as Israel is taking a slightly different tone. It's not urging anyone to change their daily plans.

The home front command hasn't issued any warnings, but we are seeing signs of preparations. We've spoken to a hospital today who said that they are moving their -- rather that they've moved all of the cars out of this underground parking lot to prepare it for patients potentially if there was some kind of a strike.

We've also heard from the municipality in Jerusalem issuing instructions to people to make sure that their shelters are ready, that they can be accessed within 90 seconds, and crucially to make sure that they have enough supplies to last if there's a potential power outage that could go for a few days, John.

KING: And what are officials saying publicly, perhaps a different perspective from sources privately about their expectations? We lived through a similar scenario back in April. Is the anticipation it will be similar or different and larger?

WARD: Well, they're not being drawn on the specifics, but a lot of analysts are guessing that Iran will have to do something even more than what we saw in April. Those 300 projectiles, almost all of them were intercepted.

[20:50:02]

So Iran has probably learned from that. Israel will have learned from it as well. The question becomes, does Iran go for another solo direct attack, or do they call upon the so-called access of resistance, that network of militias throughout the region who might also be called in to fire rockets, to use drones, to try to overpower Israel's air defensive and cause more damage, John?

KING: There have been, as you know, some disagreements between the Biden White House and the Israeli government over the ceasefire negotiations, over Israel's conduct in Gaza. But on this question, what to do if Iran responds aggressively, is there agreement between the United States and Israel?

WARD: Well, there seems to be some agreement and some disagreement. The agreement is that the United States will defend Israel if it comes under attack. But we're also seeing President Biden saying that he did not think it was helpful, the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political leader, in terms of those ceasefire talks. He underscored that he thinks it is crucial for those talks to continue.

Even here in Israel, there has been a lot of disagreement about what is the best tack to take going forward. Netanyahu coming under a lot more pressure to get back to the negotiating table. That obviously complicated by the fact that Hamas's lead negotiator has now been assassinated. But tonight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that he will be sending a team of negotiators to Cairo in the next couple of days, John.

KING: Clarissa Ward, thank you very much.

And still to come, J.D. Vance made the region famous in his 2016 memoir. Now our Gary Tuchman speaks with Kentucky residents in Appalachia about Vance's candidacy for vice president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:55:57]

KING: J.D. Vance is trying to change the subject to someone other than himself. His rollout as Donald Trump's vice presidential pick has been, well, rocky. In an interview today, he repeated the belief that VP picks don't really matter much when voters are choosing a president. And then he went on the attack against Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She is the border czar. She hasn't done anything about it, right? So if your job is to secure the southern border and you've been in power for three and a half years and you didn't do shit, you don't get a promotion. You should get fired, right?

What I've heard is that she's just like yells at people a lot. She's mean. She's kind of insecure. And you combine insecure with mean. Like you can do one of those two things maybe and be a decent boss, but you can't do both of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: More now on how Vance is seen in Appalachia, an area, of course, he made famous in his best-selling 2016 memoir. Here's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three little boys playing in a creek. Under the watchful eyes of their parents. Right across the street from a house where another young boy used to spend a lot of time.

TUCHMAN: You live near where J.D. Vance used to spend all the summers, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JOSHUA GROSS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Yes. Just pretty much right here.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is Jackson, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia.

TUCHMAN: How'd you feel when you heard that he's the Republican vice presidential nominee?

GROSS: I was actually proud of him. It came across really, you know, like a proud feeling, like you can accomplish something just from this little area. It tells me kind of, you know, one of my little boys could possibly grow up and become vice president one day. You never know.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): In J.D. Vance's book, "Hillbilly Elegy," he says he grew up in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, but also here in Jackson, where he would regularly travel with his grandparents to visit other family members.

TUCHMAN: Do you know who you're going to vote for?

GROSS: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sarah and David Fischer are among many other people we talk to in the city and elsewhere in Breathitt County who have made the same decision.

TUCHMAN: Do you like Vance?

SARAH FISCHER, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Yes.

DAVID FISCHER, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Oh yes.

TUCHMAN: You like the fact he's from here?

S. FISCHER: Yes.

D. FISCHER: Oh I love that.

TUCHMAN: You feel he's one of you?

S. FISCHER: Yes.

D. FISCHER: Yes.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But what about this political twist that Breathitt County and the nation are now well aware of?

TUCHMAN: Does it bother you that Vance had spoken out vociferously against Trump at one point?

D. FISCHER: Oh, no, I did in the beginning, too, until I started really listening to both sides.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Mackie Richardson hasn't yet decided who he will vote for.

TUCHMAN: He's talked about childless cat ladies. What are your thoughts about that statement? Should he stay away from that or is it OK to say something like that? MACKIE RICHARDSON, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: I believe I'd stay away from it. And there's so many people that have sacrificed so much for this nation in one way or another that don't have children.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The mayor of Jackson, Laura Thomas, prefers not to be public about who she supports for president, but --

MAYOR LAURA THOMAS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: If good things can happen because his name is out there and he's tied to our community, then great. That's exciting.

STEPHEN BOWLING, BREATHITT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR: I'm the director of the Breathitt County Public Library. I'm the public information officer for the Jackson Fire Department. I'm also a member of the Jackson City Council.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Stephen Bowling knows J.D. Vance and his family and says they have come in the county library frequently over the years. As far as the book that helped give J.D. Vance fame --

BOWLING: It certainly caused interest to be placed upon the mountain folks, but only time will tell if that is a positive or a negative lot.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): At the Studio 6 Salon in Jackson, owner Lloyd Roberts has watched the "Hillbilly Elegy" movie that came out in 2020.

TUCHMAN: Based on what you know about him, based on the movie, "Hillbilly Elegy," what do you think?

LLOYD ROBERTS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: I mean, I'll vote for him.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): His son's fiance, who is the salon manager, has also seen the movie, but feels differently.

TUCHMAN: So you haven't decided who you're going to vote for or even if you're going to vote?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

TUCHMAN: So it doesn't give you some extra pride that you say, I'm going to vote for him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it doesn't. No.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Salon customer Freda Banks is keeping her political eyes open.

FREDA BANKS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: Well, I'm undecided on what I'm going to do, but, you know, it's just feels kind of good knowing that somebody from this community or somebody that has been in this community is going to be running for vice president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (on-camera): John, many of the people we've talked to here are intrigued about the possibility of Kamala Harris picking the Democratic Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, to be her running mate. Now, people close to the process say he is not in the top tier of candidates, but he is still being considered.

But the potential of that happening of two men with Kentucky ties running against each other to be vice president of the United States is certainly the topic of conversation here in Jackson. John?

KING: Gary Tuchman, thanks.

And thank you for your time. Hope you enjoy the weekend. The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.