Return to Transcripts main page
The Lead with Jake Tapper
Soon: Harris & Walz To Speak At First Rally Together; VP Harris Picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz As Her Running Mate; Pakistani National With Ties To Iran Charged In Connection To A Foiled Assassination Plot Potentially Targeting Trump; Soon: Harris & Walz To Speak At First Rally Together. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 06, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMONE BILES, U.S. GYMNAST: Nobody forced me to be out there on that stage. I solely did it for myself and I'm in a really good spot mentally and physically. So doing this for just me, it meant the world.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORPTS CORRESPONDENT: And you overcame a lot to get here, we all know that. Did you feel any of those demons start to come creeping in the mind again? And if so, how to deal with them?
BILES: Yes, I dealt with them, obviously, you always have those thoughts coming in the back of your head, but just trying to stay as positive as possible. Going back to what I know, thinking about my therapy tactics and it worked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And she goes on tour next month with members of T Team USA. A lot ahead for Simone Biles.
JIMENEZ: A legend to all of them.
KEILAR: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You're looking live at Temple University, in the great City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, where in just minutes, Vice President Kamala Harris and her freshly picked running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will make their very first joint appearance as the Democratic ticket for presidents and vice president.
Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Philly zone, Jake Tapper.
Why are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz making their debut here in Philly? Well, because it is the biggest city in must win Pennsylvania, where Trump will overperform, if past is precedent, in the rural counties and townships, making it vital for the Democrats to rack up as many votes as they can here in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs, the so-called collar counties.
Vice President Harris, as of last night, had not decided whom she would pick to serve as her own vice presidential running mates. So were told she slept on it. She woke up, and went with Walz.
Moments ago, Vice President Harris posted a video of the phone calls she made to Walz to officially offer him the spot on the ticket. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want you to do this with me. Let's -- let's do this together. Would you be my running mate? And let's get this thing on the road?
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would be honored, Madam Vice President. The joy that you were bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that's out there, it'll be a privilege to take this with you across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Walz has had a fairly progressive record as Minnesota's governor. Before that, he was many things, a congressman with a more centrist record, an Army National Guard member, a teacher, a high school football coach. Now he is running to be America's assistant coach of sorts, despite being a dark horse for the veep slot, just a couple of weeks ago.
Walz, however quickly ascended to top contender status as Harris was reportedly impressed by his authenticity. And if you think about it, Walz has in many different ways has been front and center throughout this entire transition process. In June, after President Biden's, shall we call it, wanting debate performance, it was Walz who organize that meeting of Democratic governors to meet with Biden at the White House to express their concerns about his ability to win.
It was also Walz, that might be noted, who came out of that meeting and declared Biden perfectly fit for office. It was also Walz who seem to set the tone against the Republicans attacking President Trump and Senator Vance as weird, a trope that the Harris campaign seem to then follow.
Here's what Governor Walz told me about that just nine days ago on CNN "STATE OF THE UNION".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALZ: Listen to the guy. He's talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.
Have you ever seen the guy laugh? In that seems very weird to me that a -- that an adult can go through 6-1/2 years of being in the public eye. If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That -- that is weird behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Now that Walz is officially the running mate, Republican attacks on him are, of course, in full swing. They're labeling him a radical. The Trump campaign says Walz to be a, quote, rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda, unquote.
And here's one of many attacks on Walz's Republican counterpart, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Tim Walz's record is a joke. He's been one of the most far left radicals in the entire United States government at any level. But I think that what Tim Walz's selection says is that Kamala Harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party, which is what she always does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Go ahead and prepare to hear variations on this theme for at least the next 90 days as both parties tickets in the 2024 presidential race are now finally set.
Let's bring in CNN's Jamie Gangel in New York and Jeff Zeleny, who is also here at the rally site in North Philly, that they were both on the CNN political team that helped break the Walz pick news this morning and they're back with brand new details.
Jamie, let me start with you. Governor Walz is not exactly a household name. A new poll taken just in the last few days, asked Harris supporters about their impression of governor Walz, 64 percent were unsure if they'd ever heard of him or never heard of them.
[16:05:03]
You have some new reporting on why Vice President Harris went with this relative unknown.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Jake, first of all, the vetting team actually believes that he will help that he will play well across battleground states. I spoke to one person, a source familiar with the vetting team, who told me, quote, he hunts, he fishes. You want to have a beer with him? He will play well in Michigan, Wisconsin, western Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina. So they do think the most important thing is that they get elected and that he will help.
The other thing we now are learning key moments from his vetting when he met with the vetting team, I'm told it was a home run that he was fun, he was humble. Most important, he was loyal. One source said to me, when Walz was asked how he saw the role of vice president, he said he would be happy to do it.
However, Harris wants when he was asked, will you run for president someday? Do you have those ambitions? He said, no, that helps a lot behind the scenes. Sometimes presidents worry about vice president, palace intrigue.
On a lighter note, there was a great moment in the betting where I'm told he did turn to the team and said there's something I need to tell you about me if you pick me. I've never used a teleprompter for a speech. So if you pick me you need to find someone to teach me how to use a teleprompter.
And just finally, Jake, I think there's something we should all remember about governor Walz he was not on the campaigns list. He is, as they say, in sports, a walk on player and he won the veepstakes -- Jake.
TAPPER: Jamie, that's fascinating stuff.
Jeff, you're also learning new decisions of how -- about how the decision came down to Walz. And it's no secret that the other contender was the governor of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro. What are your sources telling you as to why Harris went with Walz?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, I'm told that the meetings on Sunday at the naval observatory, of course, the vice president's residence were remarkably different. Governor Shapiro had a meeting first, he had a one-on-one interview and conversation with Vice President Harris, and then later in the day on Sunday, Governor Walz had a meeting and I'm told that they -- their conversations were different.
Governor Shapiro, I'm told was asking some specifics about what he would like to do as vice president, asking specifically about some rules he would like to play until the Governor Walz was more not negotiating with the job, but asked him what he could do to help. It was a variety if things though that led to these decisions.
As Jamie was reporting there, Governor Walz was not on the list. However, there's a phone call that happened on the afternoon of July 21st. Of course, that is the day that President Biden stepped out of the race.
And Governor Walz, he is the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, he called Vice President Harris. They had early conversation. He agreed to be vetted and from there, the Harris team was impressed by what they saw on television, but it was that meeting on Sunday at the naval observatory has well as Speaker Pelosi, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a big proponent of Tim Walz, as well as former President Barack Obama. I'm told he served as a sounding board, did not tip the scales.
But a variety of those things lead to the fact that one Harris adviser told me today, it was a know it when you see it kind of moment and they believe that he would be a good governing partner, and she just thought he was fine -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Jeff and Jamie, we'll be checking back with you throughout the evening.
So, some of you at home might be wondering who exactly is Governor Tim Walz, despite his prominence in Minnesota as governor or his 12 years as a congressman on Capitol Hill.
Most Americans are mulling now, getting to know Tim Walz.
CNN's Whitney Wild was in Minnesota as the governor started his journey here to today's rally site in North Philly and Whitney now offers this closer look at the governor's resume and his rise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): I give you, our burly high school teacher from Mankato.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Minnesota, the national spotlight is shining on humble roots as Governor Tim Walz becomes Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate.
Before running for office, Walz was a geography teacher and public schools and a football coach from rural Mankato.
WALZ: A high school, geography teachers don't usually think that. Look, it is -- it is humbling, it's a privilege. It's surreal.
WILD: His resume also includes more than two decades in the Army National Guard, including a deployment overseas after the 9/11 attacks.
[16:1 0:07]
WALZ: I want to thank the gentleman.
WILD: The two term governor previously served in Congress for 12 years representing a rural district that voted for Trump twice. In 2006, he won his first congressional race, ousting a six-term Republican incumbent.
WALZ: They liked me. They trusted me. They said, Tim, I think you're trying to do it right.
WILD: His first term as governor saw some of the state's most turbulent times when riots broke out after the murder of George Floyd, prompting Walz to call in the National Guard.
WALZ: Let's be very clear. The situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities.
WILD: His record of progressive policies such as codifying abortion rights, adding protections for transgender people, passing paid sick and family leave, and implementing free breakfast and lunch programs in schools makes him appealing to some on the left and a target for Republican criticism, which he has begun to push back on. WALZ: What a monster kids are eating -- eating and having full belly so they can go learn and women are making their own health care decisions.
WILD: Earlier this year, Harris visited a Minnesota abortion clinic with Walz, the visit marking a big impact on her decision, a source close to the governor told CNN.
HARRIS: You've been a great friend and adviser to the president and me and thank you for all of that.
WILD: Walz joins the ticket, having already made his mark on the race, coining a new line of attack against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Republican allies with a single-word -- weird.
WALZ: We're not afraid of weird people. We -- we're a little bit creeped out, but we're not afraid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD: Jake, the minute that news broke, there was a crowd that came out here to the governor's residence in St. Paul.
And when I spoke with voters, they all had a similar idea about what it makes Governor Tim Walz special. They said he's authentic. He is steady, and they called him a fighter, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Whitney Wild in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thanks so much.
Our panel is here in Philly at the Temple University auditorium to discuss, let me start with Abby Phillip.
So, Harris picked Walz, but it really did come down to the wire this morning. We didn't I mean, it's possible that she decided six years ago, but as far as we know, she didn't make her decision until this morning.
What's your reaction and are you surprised by the pick?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSNIGHT: You know, obviously, it's not surprising because I think that the sense was she had a lot of good options. Walz really came out up out of nowhere are relatively speaking. I mean, you talked about how many voters just didn't know who he was.
A lot of people who follow politics, he was not on their radar until about 2.5 weeks ago. And so, I think what they've seen on the ground is Walz being able to generate some real authentic energy around him in a very short period of time.
One of the interesting things I think about Walz just observing how this has played out is that he both gets the politics of it from a geographic perspective. But also, it's been interesting to see him have cross generational appeal. I mean, he kind of gives off a dad vibes, but he's going viral on
TikTok with his daughter. So it's been an interesting moment for Walz because I think it shows and I think this is probably what the Harris campaign was looking at, somebody who can capture the energy of the progressive base, the Democratic base. While also giving them the opportunity to speak to the part of the country that they absolutely must win in, which is the Rust Belt, that blue wall of states.
TAPPER: Let me -- let me just also observe for anybody who doesn't know this, Tim Walz is only six months older than Kamala Harris, just that -- that point will be a lot more cogent when we say that.
PHILLIP: He's also younger than Brad Pitt.
TAPPER: Younger than Brad Pitt, yeah. He's 60-years-old. He's 6 -- 6- 0 years old, but yes, he -- he's an older 60. And Kamala's certainly a younger 59. Why do you think she picked him?
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can't know the answer to that. All I do know is that so much of this has been a semi-public process, right? She hasn't had a year. To think about it, or six months to think about it, it's a couple of days.
And you actually watch the various constituencies in the party speak up and speak out, whether it'd be Bernie Sanders, et cetera. And over time, someone like Governor Shapiro started to fall behind and the chatter of that conversation. So I anticipate there being a lot of news stories actually about how this pick actually happened.
And second guessing whether or not it would have been more meaningful to pick the person who had a closer connection to Pennsylvania.
TAPPER: Well, I mean, if Harris does not end up winning Pennsylvania, this pick will come down not as great decision, but we're not there.
But let me ask you a question, Kasie. If J.D. Vance was seen as Trump doubling down on the MAGA base, not comparing any of the candidates, but is this Kamala Harris doubling down on the progressive base?
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think that the jury's still out on that, Jake. I mean, yes, there is an element of it. Clearly, the progressives in the party are comfortable with Tim Walz in a way that certainly the Harris team felt there was some discomfort with Josh Shapiro, the main other contender here.
But the reality is, there is a record Tim Walz had in Congress and the connections that Whitney really nicely laid out with rural America. Parts of the country for that voted for Donald Trump that contrast a little bit with his record as governor.
Kamala Harris has the same issue, right? She has a record in San Francisco as, you know, someone that comes out of California and all -- everything, you know, what that means. And then she also has her record as a prosecutor. And we -- I think one of the challenges she has here is explaining to America kind of which version of her are we going to see as the presidential candidate, right? And that's part of his race to define her.
I think Tim Walz is going to have a similar you know set of questions, right? I mean, Republicans are going to try to tag him with everything that happened in Minneapolis, in the wake of George Floyd. I mean, there's going to be so much of that going forward.
But, you know, my sense from talking to sources today is that this really did come down to the issue of trust and that detail to Jeff Zeleny had about Josh Shapiro going in there in negotiating for the job. I mean, that really, really sticks out to me as a potential factor, especially considering some of the other conversations I've been having about why she made the decision that she made.
CORNISH: And also since Kamala already had to fight for her place in the Biden administration, right? She had to find a way to really come through and it was a struggled. So I think she doesn't want to do that again with her running mate.
PHILLIP: And, Jake, you would be hard-pressed to find a top of the ticket who's going to pick someone to be second on the ticket who was perceived in any way, shape, or form to be a political rival of theirs. That is not a thing that people are often willing to do. And for all intents and purposes, I read that Tim Walz pick as he's got great supporting character energy, he is there to kind of give her a boost when she needs it. Josh Shapiro, it gives off a lot of main character energy and that is just not something that we see --
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: You're saying Kamala is the main character. Kamala is the main character.
PHILLIP: She is the top of the ticket. She is supposed to be the main character.
TAPPER: So, can I just say, my favorite -- my favorite little detail of all this stuff is so Walz had a rather Trumpy congressional district. It was -- it was a Republican congressional district. He won it from a Republican. He won it the same year that Donald Trump won that same district in Minnesota. And then when he left, it went back to a Republican.
He was one of the more conservative Democrats in Congress, not as a governor, been in Congress to the point that he was actually one of only about a dozen Democrats who voted to hold Eric Holder the attorney general under Obama, in contempt of Congress for not turning over some documents.
And who ran -- who ran the veep search for Kamala Harris? Eric Holder. Eric Holder.
So I guess he didn't hold any grudges.
Abby, Audie, and Kasie, stick around. We've got a lot more to talk about. Republicans are rushing to try to define Governor Walz and they're trying out new attack lines ahead of his speech this evening, the latest Republican reaction. That's next.
And the program behind us is just getting started. The main attraction tonight, the newly formed Harris Walz ticket coming up in just minutes. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:22:42]
TAPPER: And we're live in Philadelphia awaiting the start of Vice President Kamala Harris's first rally with her brand new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Democrats are touting him as centrist in Congress and a progressive in Minnesota. Somebody with Midwestern appeal, but the Trump team is trying to portray Walz is dangerously liberal, extremist that includes, of course, Trumps running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who just finished his own rally here in Philadelphia.
CNN's Kristen Holmes was there.
Kristen, what did Vance, Senator Vance have to say?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Vance has been actuating the same narrative we've heard from Republicans across the board.
Jake, you mentioned that this centrist, moderate Republic -- or Democrat in Congress -- well, they are not looking at that at all. They are only pointing to his progressive record as governor. That's what we heard advanced doubling down on.
I will tell you the Trump team has had a hard time defining Vice President Kamala Harris. They are having no problem right now defining this new ticket. Donald Trump saying it is the most liberal duo in American history.
And this is an ad they cut moments after Walz was chosen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: Tim Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda, like allowing convicted felons to walk free, embracing anti-American green new deal policies, and giving up control of our southern border to criminal aliens and violent drug cartels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, as they continue to paint Walz as a radical liberal, saying he moves Democratic ticket to the left, I will tell you there are a lot of Trump allies who are breathing a sigh of relief that she didn't choose Governor Shapiro. They were worried that was going to give her some sort of an edge here in Pennsylvania. Obviously, Pennsylvania is still up for grabs the critical battle ground, but they were relieved that it was Walz over Shapiro.
TAPPER: All right. Kristen Holmes also in Philly, thanks so much.
Let's bring in a panel of political voices to weigh in.
Shermichael Singleton, you might remember last week, former President Trump was asked about his own vice presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance. He was asked this, is Vance ready to serve as president on day one this is what President Trump had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've always had great respect for him and for the other candidates, too.
[16:25:00]
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)
TAPPER: So that was obviously not the kind of ringing endorsement that I think Senator Vance would have wanted.
Do you think that this is a different kind of pick for Kamala Harris, Governor Walz, than J.D. Vance was for Trump?
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's a pick that was necessary for the vice president, Jake. So, I'll answer that question a little differently, and I think it was necessary for two particular points.
I think the vice president needs to make up ground potentially, with white men. I think she also needs to make up ground would non-college educated white voters generally speaking. Looking at someone like Governor Walz, and this is just me being an objective strategist, not necessarily a partisan one, I looked at him and I do see someone who's probably capable of competing with those demographics, but he has the visual look. He has the thematic and virtual rhetoric that I think would resonate very well.
So if I were advising the vice president, looking at Shapiro or Walz, I would have been on the side of going with the governor of Minnesota over the governor of Pennsylvania. I know some Democrats have said what she needed Shapiro to help win Pennsylvania. I actually disagree with that. I think Shapiro can stay in Pennsylvania and still give some type of an advantage competitively speaking, to Vice President Harris.
TAPPER: Yeah, I -- he does shoot and hunt. He does fish. I heard I saw a tweet Governor Walz described as an REI hire. A little joke there for people who are outdoors people.
Jamal, we're getting a sense of how Republicans are going to run against the Harris-Walz ticket.
Here's what Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance, said earlier today, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's interesting actually, they make an interesting tag team because, of course, Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020. And then the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Jamal, your reaction?
JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENATOR: Well, clearly, going just a full-on negative going after this ideological attack, but doesn't hold up, doesn't hold up weight underwater. Here's the problem, with Kamala Harris, you've got a D.A. who put people in jail for committing crimes for attacking, you know, take robbing older ladies and taken care of, you know, in burglarizing houses. She did that as D.A.
Kamala Harris carries a -- carried a gun. She owns -- the gun owner. Tim Walz is a gun owner.
These are not the kind of card carrying, you know, liberal tropes that it is that people want to portray. You know, I think what will happen with this ticket is they will present a level of strength. You know, Kamala Harris, the D.A., she's tough, she's a fighters and she's kind of a nail down Trump to the wall, the ever getting on a debate stage.
Tim Walz is -- it gives you kind of comforting feeling. He is somebody that lets, you know, if things are going to be stable. He's somebody let you know that he can go into any environment and have a conversation with anyone people use words like you know, reliable and, you know, he's somebody -- people I think really have a lot of confidence in.
So, the one thing about the choice that does concern me is that when Jamie Gangel said if it's true, when asked whether or not he wants to be president. And he said no, you know, I don't really trust politicians that don't want to go a little further ahead and hope want to like fight for the next job. I think most people in a job like this, you expect him to say, yeah, one day, you know, I might think about it.
I liked that kind of energy. I like that kind of like going-get-it- iness and that's something that I hope is not a fact that proves to be true, but it is something that he puts on the shelf for a while he's vice president and will come out and keep fighting for Kamala Harris.
TAPPER: Kate Bedingfield, other Republican, former presidential candidates are weighing in.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis posted, quote, Harris-Walz, most left- wing ticket in American history. Minnesota was ground zero for the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020 Harris egged it on and Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn, unquote.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley posted, quote: Democrats doubling down on the progressive movement. Walz is a win for open borders, socialism, and Iran.
In 2020, we should note, Governor Walz did deploy the National Guard after the riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul. He was criticized for not doing it sooner, but he did deploy them.
Kate, what do you -- what do you make of the attacks? And do you think the Harris campaign needs to pivot more to address these?
KATE BEDINGNFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: See, I actually think this is going to be a losing argument for the Republicans because I think if this race is going to be fought on the question of who is more extreme, that is a fight that the Democrats are going to win because you've got in Trump and Vance. You've got, you know, they're arguing that women shouldn't have control of their body is you have them, you know, continually questioning the stability, the legitimacy of our democracy.
[16:30:01]
I mean, you know, you have J.D. Vance out talking about childless cat ladies are not -- shouldn't be full participants in our -- in our society. They don't have the same stake in our society as people with children do.
So, I think if the Republicans think that making this race a referendum on who is more stream, when they're running against Kamala Harris and now, Tim Walz, who have, you know, records of moderate accomplishment. I mean, look at Governor Walz, this is somebody who for all of their attacks on him being a progressive peel back the layers on the substance of what he did that they're calling him progressive four. He gave hungry children in Minnesota. He codified Roe in Minnesota so that women can make their own decisions about their bodies.
I mean, I think that the Walz-Harris camp -- Harris-Walz campaign, I should say, has an excellent case to make here. And if this is where the Republicans want to take the fight, I think this is a fight, they're going to lose.
TAPPER: All right. Thanks to all of you. Appreciate it.
There is some breaking news in our law and justice lead connected to one of the presidential candidates, a Pakistani national was charged earlier today in a foiled assassination plot that may have been targeting Donald Trump.
Let's get right to CNN's Alex Marquardt.
Alex, what do we know about this alleged plot? And I thought I had read that this Pakistani national at ties to Iran? ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's what the DOJ is alleging him of, Jake. And these are disturbing new details about a murder for hire plot in details revealed in court documents in Brooklyn today that say that this Pakistani man with these ties to the Iranian government wanted to carry out political assassinations here in the United States. And that caused the U.S. government, according to our sources, to raise the security level around Donald Trump and other officials.
So the FBI did include that those people on his list could have included Donald Trump and other officials. That's according to us, a U.S. official speaking with our colleagues.
Now, Jake, we should note that according to the DOJ, this did not have any connection to that July 13th plot when Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to assassinate Donald Trump. Instead, this was a man named Asif Merchant who was arrested the day before he had come to the United States. He was trying to hire a hitman who were actually undercover law enforcement and they arrested and detained him as he tried to leave the United States last month -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much.
What will the message be when we hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in just a few minutes on this stage right behind me. I'm going to ask somebody close to the Harris campaign next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:36:37]
TAPPER: We're back live in Philadelphia as we await the start of Vice President Kamala Harris's very first rally with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, here at Temple University in Philadelphia.
If you're hearing that rapturous applause, it is for the very first woman mayor we've ever had in Philadelphia. Cherelle Parker, Mayor Cherelle Parker, who is speaking right now and we will bring her and talk will bring up here and talk to her in a second.
But no slouch herself is Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, one of the stars of the progressive world.
Thank you so much for being here.
REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): Absolutely.
TAPPER: What are we going to hear from Harris and Walz? And what are you think of the pick?
CROCKETT: Listen, I think it was a great pick. I think it was a pick for America. What we see is that the vice president has done a lot better than Donald Trump did for sure when it came down to picking a vice presidential candidate. Number one, we know that he brings things to the ticket, that she doesn't necessarily rile up.
This is a guy who has a military background. That's something that's helpful. He has a strong record when it comes to supporting our children as a former teacher, as a former coach as someone that made sure that children wouldn't go hungry in his state. And he has stood by the very thing that she made the center of what she was campaigning on, which is reproductive access.
We know that this governor protected reproductive access in his state, but he's also qualified. He's also been to Congress. He knows what its like to be in those halls.
So I think this is a great pick and you hear the energy behind us. I think we are ready to make sure that we have a more hopeful future instead of what we're getting out of the other side, which is something that is so negative and so hurtful, also known as Project 2025.
TAPPER: So let me ask you, it does -- the energy does feel very different than it did a month ago when President Biden was still running. I know you're probably reluctant to be critical of President Biden, but it does seem day at night. It does seem like day and night.
CROCKETT: Listen, President Biden has done a fantastic job. I will never ever say that he hasn't. The fact he was over 80-years-old and some people can't jabs about an 80-year-old. But as I was out on that campaign trail, I used to say, name an old person or a young person that has the record that he has, and no one could do it.
Listen, he just did something that had not been done before unless you say that the Cold War was the last time that it'd done, by bringing those Americans home. This is a man who rules it is with a heart of gold. That is what we need.
But guess what? Our vice president has been there every step of the way. And she also has a heart of gold. So not only do we have qualified people, but we have good people, and I think that that's something that the other side is missing. They lack qualifications, but more importantly, they like a heart of the people and people can see that.
TAPPER: So, the conservatives, the Republicans are already attacking Harris and Walz, saying that it is dangerously radical ticket. It is empirically probably the most progressive ticket that Democrats have put up there since maybe McGovern-Schreiber, I mean, which is before you were born, but I'm sure you've heard about it.
But I mean, it is a very progressive ticket. What do you make of the argument that it might have been better if shed picked a more centrist Democrat?
CROCKETT: You know what? I think that they're wrong. I mean, we're talking about someone who grew up in Nebraska, who understands these areas that I think people will be concerned about, right? Like who's going to talk to the people in Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania where we are today? It's going to be Governor Walz. He understands that Midwestern kind of
areas. So for those that have concerns about her being from California, we've got somebody from Minnesota. So I think that when it comes down to what a progressive is, it means putting people first. There is nothing wrong with putting people first.
Right now, we don't have a farm bill, which I need rural America to understand the reason we don't have a foreign bill, it's because of the Republicans, but I can tell you this is a guy that knows how to work across the aisle because he's done it because he was there before MAGA took over and ruins everything.
So he understands what it means to get things done. And I think that that's what matters most. I don't think that people are going to get bogged down and by titles of progressivism, what they're going to get bogged down are your policies going to make sure that I've got a roof over my head, make sure that I've got money in my pocket and make sure that my kids are all set when it comes to getting their education. And that's what this ticket will do.
TAPPER: Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, thanks so much for being here.
CROCKETT: Thank you.
TAPPER: Really appreciate it.
In the end, it came down to two or three names. So why did Vice President Harris go with Tim Walz and not for instance, the governor of the battleground, commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where we are today, the panel is going to weigh in, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:21]
TAPPER: We are live in Philadelphia, moments away from the very first joint appearance by Democratic presidential candidate and presumptive nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her brand new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The panel is back with me.
And, Abby, we're sitting here in battleground Pennsylvania. And Josh Shapiro was the runner up here. In the contest to be the running mate for Vice President Harris and he's very popular in Pennsylvania, 61 percent approval rating, which is hard to come by.
PHILLIP: Hardly anybody has popularity.
TAPPER: Yeah. Why not pick him?
PHILLIP: You know, I mean, that's between Kamala Harris and herself. I mean, these vice presidential picks are so intensely personal. This is somebody you have to spend a lot of time with, not just the next 90 days, but if you're elected four years in that White House, and I think that that's really critically important.
I am up the school of thought that vice presidential picks as Donald Trump said don't have a huge electoral impact. I don't necessarily think that you can just say, okay, this person is going to give hand you the state. Sure.
Would it help in Pennsylvania? Absolutely. But there's more to this than that.
And I think, ultimately, Shapiro I think fit is important but, you I also think that when you look at the principle of do no harm, maybe they did say it in a state like Minnesota. Do we want to those 100,000 on I'm committed voters who came out about the Gaza war. Do we want to antagonize those voters? Those are all parts of, part of the questions as well.
TAPPER: So can I just say?
CORNISH: Tim Walz also spoke conciliatory towards those people. He said, look that uncommitted vote is significant and those people should be heard so having that kind of response, I think is probably more of an open door to the parts of the party that had been very frustrated with the Democrats.
TAPPER: So, but just to -- just one point on the -- on the -- on the Gaza War, Shapiro has the same position on Israel that Governor Walz, that Senator Kelly has. He's actually been more critical of Netanyahu, then the other two. But he is Jewish.
And --
CORNISH: He's also the face of the crackdown on the protests, right? He spoke very vehemently about those campus protests as being antisemitic.
TAPPER: Not all of them. The ones that were antisemitic he criticized as being antisemitic.
CORNISH: Of course, but he was out front on the issue. So I'm wondering if that's the kind of thing that again, for the activist wing of the party --
TAPPER: Sure, absolutely.
CORNISH: -- they thought was a slap in the face.
TAPPER: Yeah.
HUNT: Yeah, but I also think there are a lot of similarities in their actual positions, Tim Walz and Josh Shapiro, towards all of what you are talking about, the Israel-Hamas war, Netanyahu that point to challenges based around the Pennsylvania governor's faith. And I think that that's been something.
Certainly I've talked to Democratic members of Congress who have kind of said that in a straightforward way. I think that -- I think the thing about Shapiro, if -- if this election comes down to Pennsylvania and Kamala Harris loses the election because she loses Pennsylvania, she's going to have some real -- not necessarily buyer's remorse for Tim Walz, we'll have to see how he acquits himself, but some -- some wishes that maybe she picked Josh Shapiro in this moment.
I think it does say something about how Kamala Harris makes decisions. There are a lot of Republicans out there who are breathing a sigh of relief that she did not pick Josh Shapiro and there was a reason for that.
I think I completely understand why -- again, we talked about Zeleny's reporting. He's in there kind of negotiating for the job that seems like a mistake. There's all these questions swirling about his personal ambitions.
I understand that. But deciding to pick somebody like that in this kind of a moment demonstrates a level of fortitude that I think a lot of people might have brought a lot of respects to the table for. And I think there are definitely some Democrats. I have spoken to today who see this as a missed opportunity.
TAPPER: You're talking about, by the way, your interview with Congressman Auchincloss from Massachusetts --
HUNT: Yeah, Auchincloss, yeah.
TAPPER: -- who said, people credit so I think Shapiro for the same thing and the same positions that Kelly and Walz had is in his view, antisemitic.
Everyone, stick around.
If you haven't heard much about Minnesota Governor Walz before the last few weeks, you are far from alone. Coming up next, what vote voters across the country said when asked about Governor Walz and the importance, of course, of a good first impression.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:53:53]
TAPPER: We're live in Motown Philly, just moments away from Vice President Kamala Harris introducing her newly-selected running mate, the governor of Minnesota, a gentleman by the name of Tim Walz. Here now is CNN's David Chalian.
David, a lot of voters are going to be seeing Walz for the very first time in just minutes. How important is this speech, do you think?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, really important. As you know, first impressions matter, but also because there's huge opportunity here for him to define himself, because he's largely unknown.
Look at this new poll that we got from NPR and Marist, 70 percent of Americans say they are unsure, were never heard of Tim Walz. They don't have an impression of him. Only 17 percent favorable, 13 percent unfavorable, Jake, even more than six in ten Democrats in this poll say they don't have an opinion of him.
So, obviously, over the next 92 days, that 70 percent number is going to come down. And the goal of the Harris-Walz campaign is to make that favorable number go up. Not that unfavorable number, and that work begins with this debut speech in Philadelphia as the running mate.
TAPPER: All right. David Chalian, thank you so much.
So just how important will Pennsylvania be in November?
[16:55:03]
And what does the Trump campaign, what does the Harris campaign, what do they need to do to win over these battleground voters?
I'm going to ask Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: This is CNN breaking news. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper live at Temple University in North Philly.
In just moments, Vice President Kamala Harris is going to take the stage for the very first time with the man she just selected to be her running mate. The pick is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
