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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Harris Speaks On Economic Policies During Pennsylvania Campaign Event; Harris & Trump Lay Out Dueling Economic Plans; Israel Intercepts Hezbollah Missile Aimed At Tel Aviv; Concerns About Israel's Use Of U.S. Weaponry In Hamas War; House Passes Government Funding Deal. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 25, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: From our earliest days America's economic strength has been tied to our industrial strength.
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And the same is true today so I will recommit the nation to global leadership in the sectors that will define the next century. We will invest in biomanufacturing and aerospace, remain dominant in A.I. and quantum computing, Blockchain and other emerging technologies, expand our lead in clean energy, innovation and manufacturing --
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HARRIS: -- so the generation of breakthroughs from advanced batteries to geothermal, to advanced nuclear are not just invented, but built here in America by American workers.
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HARRIS: And we will invest in the industries that, for example, made Pittsburgh the steel city by offering tax credit for expanding good union jobs and steel and iron and manufacturing communities like here in Mon Valley.
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HARRIS: And across all these industries of the future, we will prioritize investments for strengthening factory towns. This is so important -- for strengthening factory towns, retooling existing factories, hiring locally and working with unions because no one who grows up in America's greatest industrial or agricultural centers should be abandoned.
And understand what that means for real people, people we know, people we care about. We don't have to abandon a strength we've known to achieve a strength that we plan.
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HARRIS: And here's what else we will do when I'm president, we will double the number of registered apprenticeships by the end of my first term.
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HARRIS: Because I almost made it a goal of mine. I am -- I think I'm going to fall short, but trying to visit every IBEW local in America, because I'm going to tell you, those apprenticeship programs, those are tough duty, man, and women, and everyone. They're tough duty.
I mean, you talk about the skills that are about engineering and science, and math, and just the most highly skilled folks who are in those apprenticeships and teaching there. And so, one of the things we must do, understanding that and understanding the nature of that part of our educational system is, let's eliminate degree requirements while increasing skill developments.
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HARRIS: And let's start with something I can do as president was ensured that we do that for the half million of federal jobs that are within our ability to make it so, showing what is possible and then challenging the private sector to make a similar commitment to emphasizing skills and not just degrees.
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HARRIS: And we will reform our tax laws to make it easier for businesses to let workers share in their company's success and I will challenge the private sector to do more, to lift up workers through equity profits, and benefits, so more people can share in America's success and prosperity.
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HARRIS: And not only must we build the industries of the future in America, we must also build them faster.
You know, there's the time for patients and there's the time for impatience. That's not an Ecclesiastics, but, yeah. Just went off script for a minute, Mayor.
But the simple truth is in America, it takes too long and it costs too much to build, whether it's a new housing development, a new factory, or a new bridge, projects take too long to go from concept to reality.
[16:05:12]
It happens in blue states. It happens in red states, and it's a national problem and I will tell you this: China is not moving slowly. They're not and we can't afford to either.
If we are to compete, we can't afford to either. As president, if things are not moving quickly, I will demand to know why and I will act. I will work with Congress, workers and businesses, cities, and states, community groups, and local leaders to reform permitting, to cut red tape, and get things moving faster because -- look, as I said, patience may be a virtue, but not when it comes to job creation, or America's competitiveness.
Many of you know, the Empire State Building -- you know how long it took to build that? One year. The Pentagon, you know how long that took? Sixteen months.
No one can tell me we can't bill quickly in our country.
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HARRIS: I've got empirical evidence.
Now, look, my opponent, Donald Trump -- well, he makes big promises on manufacturing. Just yesterday, he went out and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs and if that sounds familiar, it should. In 2016, he went out and made that very same promise about the Carrier plant in Indianapolis. You'll remember, Carrier then offshored hundreds of jobs to Mexico under his watch.
And it wasn't just there. On Trump's watch, offshoring went up and manufacturing jobs went down across our country, and across our economy. All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing.
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HARRIS: Donald Trump also talked a big game on our trade deficit with China, but it is far lower under our watch than any year of his administration. While he constantly got played by China, I will never hesitate to take swift and strong measures when China undermines the rules of the road at the expense of our workers, our communities, and our companies, whether it's flooding the market with steel, inferior, or at all, unfairly subsidizing shipbuilding or hurting our small businesses with counterfeits.
Recall, Donald Trump actually shipped advanced semiconductor chips to China which helps them upgrade their military. Understand the impact of these so-called policies that really are not about a plan for strengthening our prosperity or our security. I will never sell out America to our competitors or adversaries, never.
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HARRIS: Never. Never.
And I will always make sure we have the strongest economy and the most lethal fighting force anywhere in the world.
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HARRIS: So, at this pivotal moment, we have an extraordinary opportunity to chart a new way forward, one that positions the United States of America and all of us we're blessed to call this home, for success and prosperity in the 21st century.
You know, there's an old saying that the best way to predict the future is to invent it.
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Well, that is the story of the Steel City. That is the story of Steel City.
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HARRIS: The city that helped build the middle class, birthed America's labor movement, empower the rise of American manufacturing, and the city where Allen Newell and Herbert Simon launched the first A.I. research hub at Carnegie Mellon.
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HARRIS: And created entirely new fields like machine-learning, and Carnegie Mellon is now home to the largest university robotics center in America.
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HARRIS: So, the proud heritage of Pittsburgh I so strongly believe reveals the character of our nation, a nation that harnesses the ambitions, the dreams and the aspirations of our people, seizes the opportunities before us because we see them, because we believe in them, and then invents the future. That is what we have always done, and that is what we must do.
And I know we will. I thank you all for inviting me. My God bless America and may God bless the United States of America.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
And you've been listening to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, giving remarks on her economic plan in Pittsburgh, saying that pragmatism will be her guiding economic principle, while focusing on growing the middle-class.
It's obviously a timely subject to top concern that poll after poll says for the American people is the economy. It's the focus today for both Harris and her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, as they both take your economic messages to voters in two crucial battleground states, you saw Harris there in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Trump is in the state of North Carolina.
Earlier today, former President Trump held a campaign event in Mint Hill in North Carolina. It's a swing county outside Charlotte. There, he went after his opponent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris is a one woman economic wrecking ball, and this November, the people of North Carolina are going to tell her we've had enough.
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TAPPER: Trump also took credit for saving North Carolinas furniture industry while he was president.
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TRUMP: And I stood up to China like never before, including by imposing a 22 percent tariff on all Chinese furniture imports, saving the North Carolina furniture industry, what was left of it.
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TAPPER: Harris, of course, taking on Donald Trump's economic record and his policies as well with just 41 days left until the election. Vice President Harris is going to do her first solo network interview of the campaign tonight.
Let's bring in our political panel of experts and talk about what we've just heard from the candidates. Here's a little bit more of what Vice President Harris said in her speech, just now contrasting her economic policies with that of her Republican rival. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I intend to chart a new way forward and roll America's middle class. Donald Trump intends to take America backward, to the failed policies of the past. He has no intention to grow our middle-class. He's only interested in making life better for himself, and people like himself the wealthiest of Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Ron Brownstein, let me bring you in.
Now, you have Harris here saying, quote, I'm a capitalist, talking about proposals, specific ones for first-time homeowners, for young families, for small business. Obviously, she trails with polls in terms of the public being asked who they trust more on the economy. What do you think?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, she's not likely to completely eliminate that gap because it's based on the perception among voters that cost of living was more affordable under Trump than it has been under Biden, but she is narrowing that gap.
And what this speech did, I think was really kind of lay out the depth of the divergence here. I mean, Trump is offering, in essence, a fortress. America economic strategy, of unprecedented tariffs that we haven't seen since before the depression massive deportation and immigration restrictions, and low taxes. That was essentially the Republican agenda of the 1920s before the Depression.
[16:15:01]
Harris, I think, as you saw in the speech, linked herself to Lincoln and Eisenhower, just kind of railroad interstate highway system, partnership between government and industry to a greater extent than we've seen really for most of the last 50 years, although Biden has moved in this direction to nurture industries of the future and to steer it towards specific places that place-based economic strategy very significant as well.
So the divergence between the two of them in the kind of economic future they are offering and the role of government, the role of U.S. interaction with the rest of the world, it could not be more profound. And I think this speech when a long way toward giving people a better sense of how big that differences.
TAPPER: And, Alencia, one of the things that Vice President Harris said is that for Donald Trump, the economy works best if it works for those who owned big skyscrapers not the people who build them, not the people who wire them, trying to paint him as a friend of the plutocrats.
ALENCIA JOHNSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yeah. I mean, that's the reality of it, like his tax policies benefit corporations, the wealthy and not the middle-class. I mean, she said over and over that if you make anywhere between under $400,000, your taxes will not increase, which that is majority of Americans. And to this point, Ron is making her policies are about growing the middle-class, it's about making sure that Americans have the jobs and opportunities in the home ownership and the resources that they need to define opportunity for themselves that works for them economically.
I also loved in the speech, so she talked about how, you know, independent economists were looking at the two policies and majority of them say that her policy is the one that will work for the American people, the trickle down economics of like cutting taxes for the billionaires and businesses doesn't work. And so, she is laying this out and I think the American people over the last presidential cycles have been paying attention to those differences.
TAPPER: Marc?
MARC LOTTER, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, AMERICA FIRST POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, I mean, I think she failed to do what the American people want to hear from her. She has no policy to cut grocery prices of event who blamed price gouging and installed government price controls. She's talking about government handouts for housing as opposed to bringing down --
JOHNSON: That's not a handout. That is helping American people.
LOTTER: It's a handout to cover the fact that because mortgage rates are off the charts because of their sky-high inflation, they're not bringing down gas prices. People knew that there had more money in their pockets. Things were more affordable, gas, groceries, everything was better off when Donald Trump was in office and government price controls and more high tax increases for big business is not going to create jobs and grow the economy.
TAPPER: Shira, she obviously like her career in California and you're from her hometown newspaper, was focused much more. She was a district attorney then an attorney general, then a senator, and only for a few years before she became vice president. She really hasn't been focused on the economy in her career. She's been focused on law and justice issues.
SHIRA STEIN, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, SAN FRANSCISCO CHRONICLE: That's absolutely correct, Jake, but I think the point that I would make and she would probably make is that she has taken on some economic issues and his work in her work as attorney general. I think price gouging sort of speaks to that although the problem that were encountering with all of these is were getting a vision of her economic agenda, her policy agenda.
We're not getting specifics which maybe a gamble that works. I'm working on a story right now for the chronicle about the specific things that would actually -- like voters don't want to hear specific. They just want to hear the vision. They want to understand that the person who is running for office understands then and is speaking to those issues.
And so, while it may frustrate people here in Washington, it may actually work on the ground with swing voters.
JOHNSON: Can I just ask really quickly? I just want to know what are the specifics that people want. She's giving these numbers, she's talking about the ways that she's going to have this public/private partnerships. She's talking about ways to work with Congress, talking about ways that she can work as the president.
So I keep hearing this question, specifics. She keeps giving specifics. The American people know these numbers.
TAPPER: All right. Stick around. We're going to keep talking about this. There's a lot more to discuss. We have another rare take on the race, on the economy and leadership, billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban and endorser of Vice President Harris is going to join us on THE LEAD next.
Plus, lessons learned in the 2016 election and the Russia investigation. We're going to talk to a prosecutor who worked on the case alongside Robert Mueller, coming up.
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TAPPER: In our world, a stunning new escalation in the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military says a rocket fired by the group Hezbollah, which the United States considers to be terrorist, was intercepted near Tel Aviv today. This as one of Israel's top general says, the military is perfect parents for a possible ground incursion into Lebanon.
CNN's Nic Robertson reports now from Israel.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Close to a million people woken by the sound of Hezbollah's escalation, its first ballistic missile capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of explosives intercepted just north of Tel Aviv.
Hezbollah said it was targeting Mossad, Israel's intelligence headquarters, it's deepest strikes into Israel yet.
JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: One of the key areas that we've been trying to prevent escalation is between Israel and Hezbollah, up along that border with Lebanon. So, obviously, we woke up this morning to these reports deeply concerning.
The IDF quickly destroying the Hezbollah launcher, the missile itself, which caused no casualties taken out by Israel's fast high-altitude, David sling interceptor.
Other shorter-range Hezbollah missiles falling closer to the Lebanese border. Two men injured in this house, one seriously.
Across the border in Lebanon, Israel continuing its pressure on Hezbollah overnight airstrikes hitting a suspected Hezbollah ammo dumps, bombing continuing Wednesday. Dozens of people killed, among them civilians, hundreds dead already this week.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese on the move, warning to get out of harm's way.
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Israel warning them to stay away from their homes until it gives them the all clear. This as Israeli commanders consider their coming moves, but the northern border does strongest signal yet, Israeli readying to deploy troops into Lebanon.
MAJ. GEN. ORI GORDIN, IDF COMMANDING OFFICER, NORTHERN COMMAND: We need to change the security situation and we must be fully prepared for maneuvers and action.
ROBERTSON: Their ability for action, enhance late Wednesday. The IDF calling up two reserve brigades, a few thousand additional troops.
KIRBY: If you start to see ground force forces moving, you know, then it definitely takes -- takes the fighting up a notch and we're trying to prevent exactly that outcome.
ROBERTSON: No decision yet if or when troops will cross to Lebanon. If it happens, that to another escalation.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTSON (on camera): And this -- and this evening, another escalation of sorts, and Iran backed militia in Iraq claims responsibility for firing two drones at Israel southern city, Eilat. The IDF saying that one of those was intercepted, the other one came down. Two people were injured. The French president meanwhile, saying an end to the escalation, he says is sending his foreign minister to Beirut tomorrow to try to de-escalate everything -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thanks so much.
The Israel-Hamas war is taking a toll on U.S. agencies tasked with supporting the Biden administration's policies. A new inspector general's report shows that the U.S. State Department office responsible for arms transfers to Israel is currently understaffed and is not receiving adequate communication from the White House.
This all comes as the administration continues to face criticism that the State Department ignored evidence that Israel intentionally blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza which would amount to a violation of international law.
CNN's Kylie Atwood takes a closer look.
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KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Concerns about Israel's use of American weaponry is in the spotlight once again, as a military conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has dramatically increased. A State Department report earlier this year found it reasonable to assess that U.S. weapons used by Israeli forces in Gaza have been used in ways, quote, inconsistent with international humanitarian law, but stopped short of saying that Israel violated the law.
The final report contradicted findings of U.S. officials with extensive expertise in the humanitarian space.
STACY GILBERT, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I was shocked by the conclusions and decided that day that I would resign. It is not the opinion of experts in the U.S. government, experts on humanitarian assistance. It is not the opinion of organizations on the ground in Gaza. So, to see that in the report stated so clearly that we assess that Israel is not blocking humanitarian assistance was -- it was appalling.
ATWOOD: Gilbert, who worked at the State Department for more than 20 years before resigning, concluded with her colleagues at the department's Bureau for Population Refugees and Migration, that Israel was impeding humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza.
GILBERT: Clearly, it was a political decision if the conclusion were that we believe Israel is blocking humanitarian assistance, that triggers other consequences that would require us to suspend security assistance to Israel. ATWOOD: USAID, which leads all us government humanitarian efforts globally also concluded that Israel deliberately blocked food and medicine from getting into Gaza, according to a memo obtained by "ProPublica".
Alex Smith resigned from USAID because of the final report spoke to CNN.
ALEXANDER SMITH, FORMER USAID OFFICIAL: Under international humanitarian law, it has never permissible to starve the civilian population or to target the civilian population, or to collectively punish civilians under any circumstances.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ATWOOD (on camera): Now, Jake, the State Department report so that they didn't have complete information to verify whether U.S. weaponry by Israel was used in violation of international humanitarian law. But this report came out four months ago now and I spoke today with Senator Van Hollen who said that Congress hasn't received updates in terms of the these incidents, the State Department said they were looking into and he said that there's even more evidence. Now for months later that this report, quote, did not -- that the administration did in fact sweep aside expert opinions and compiling this report to come to an outcome of political convenience -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
We're going to come back with THE LEAD and billionaire Mark Cuban, his take on the race and why the candidate he supports is not a dominant leader on the economy with only 41 days left before Election Day.
Stay with us.
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We'll be right back.
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TAPPER: Our law and justice lead. Now we hear a lot from Donald Trump about what he calls the Russia hoax, such as this during his debate with Vice President Harris.
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TRUMP: They're the threat to democracy, with the fake Russia, Russia, Russia investigation that went nowhere.
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TAPPER: We also hear it from other Republicans such as Congressman Mike Turner, the head of the House Intelligence Committee on THE LEAD last week. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): With their allegations that Trump had colluded with Russia, which were completely false and baseless, and we had a huge Mueller investigation, special prosecutor appointed. I mean, those accusations are the nightly news were reported every day. And, of course, they were completely and totally false.
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TAPPER: His brand-new book that goes into the investigation at length, interference, the inside story of Trump, Russia, and the Mueller investigation written by key members of the Mueller investigation. It details of the many ways that Russia did try to interfere in the 2016 election with the aim of helping Donald Trump win and Hillary Clinton loss.
Andrew Goldstein is one of the authors and he joins me now. Here's the book.
So, first off, what is it like to hear Mr. Trump, Mr. Turner, and others say that this whole investigation was bonus -- bogus.
[16:35:04]
What are the facts?
ANDREW GOLDSTEIN, CO-AUTHOR, "INTERFERENCE": Look, it's frustrating from an investigator's perspective but the real downside here is that in the wake of our investigation, I think the fact that Russia tried to interfere and did interfere in the 2016 election and such sweeping fashion, sending Russian military intelligence to hack into Democratic campaign emails, releasing them to damage Hillary Clinton, to help Donald Trump, all of that has gotten lost in the last five years.
And the problem is that Russia is interfering again, using some of the same techniques that they used in 2016 and now using A.I. to be even more powerful.
TAPPER: Give us an example.
GOLDSTEIN: So right now, we know that the Department of Justice just actually arrested some people and brought a case involving the use of social media launched by Russians to try to affect the way that Americans think.
TAPPER: Uh-huh. So Robert Mueller wrote the foreword to this book and he writes in part, quote, it is also evidenced that Americans have not learned the lessons of Russia's attack on our democracy in 2016, what lessons would you like Americans watching right now to learn, to know?
GOLDSTEIN: Number one, that with a foreign adversary launches an attack and this was an attack on our democracy that we need to know about it. We need to pay attention. We need to do things to make it not happen again. Number two, I think the way that the president handled our investigation and took steps to interfere with our investigation when bottom -- what we were trying to do is to figure out what did this foreign power that's an adversary of the United States what were they doing to affect our elections? And the way that the president interfere in that that investigation I think is something that we don't want future presidents to do.
TAPPER: Yeah, you could argue that the alleged obstruction of justice charges were actually more damning than anything he did in terms of actually conspiring, correct?
GOLDSTEIN: In some ways, yes. I mean, the part of it is how you look at presidential conduct that the -- from our perspective, we were trying to get to the truth. What had happened between Russia and the Trump campaign and the efforts to interfere and to have the president takes steps to help prevent witnesses from meeting with us for himself not to cooperate with the investigation. All of that made it harder for us to get to the truth.
TAPPER: It gets to the truth of what the Russians were doing, correct?
GOLDSTEIN: Correct.
TAPPER: We now have Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into January 6, the recent us Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, which granted him at least some immunity for acts deemed official.
You write that that opinion would have eliminated multiple lanes of your investigation? We never would have learned the American people all that we did about Russia or president Trump. How do you see the impact? Of that going forward in terms of what the public will learn about any presidents conduct in office especially if any foreign power is trying to help Democrats or Republicans.
GOLDSTEIN: There's -- there's a real risk that going forward a president abusing their power regardless of its about foreign interference or its about some other issue, not only were they not be able to be prosecuted under the Supreme Court's recent decision. But an investigation like ours, designed to uncover the truth that may not be able to go forward because you can't investigate things that aren't criminal.
And if the Supreme Court is right that there was a whole swath of official conduct by the president that can't be prosecuted, it may never be able to be investigated. And so, efforts to find the truth like our investigation wouldn't be able to take place.
TAPPER: All right. Andrew Goldstein, thank you so much, really appreciate it.
Again, the book is "Interference: The Inside Story of Trump, Russia, and the Mueller Investigation". It's available in stores now.
Breaking news, we now know if the U.S. government will be funded. Stay right here. We'll tell you.
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TAPPER: We have some breaking news on Capitol Hill for you.
The House has just voted to pass a bill to fund the U.S. government for the next three months.
Let's get right to CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju.
Manu, this vote was once again something of a test of Speaker Johnson's leadership ability for his rather unruly Republican caucus.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and he had to rely on Democrats to do just that. In fact, this bill just pass the House by a vote of 341-82. All 82 "no" votes were Republicans, 132 Republicans voted in favor of it.
Now, that is an important benchmark for Mike Johnson because a majority of his House Republican conference did vote to advance this measure. And ultimately, we had to lie on more Democrats though, to get over the finish line, 209 Democrats voted for it.
Now this came in the aftermath of Donald Trump calling for Republicans essentially to abandon an approach to keep the government open without any new voting restrictions. Specifically, Donald Trump wanted proof of citizenship language for anybody going to vote in federal elections, all an effort they say to try to target undocumented immigrants from voting in federal elections. Of course, it is illegal currently under U.S. law for undocumented immigrants to vote in federal elections.
But Mike Johnson initially tried to go that route, do a down. Trump had asked for, but face resistance not only from Democrats, but also Republicans, too, who voted against the initial measure because they simply don't want to vote on a short-term measure to keep the government open. They supported that immigration ever, but they didn't support keeping the government open.
So, Johnson was left with a choice. He could have done what Donald Trump wanted, essentially, let the government shut down because they couldn't advance that immigration provision, or he can rely on Democratic votes to keep the government open for a short period of time and ultimately kick this can down the road until after the November elections.
[16:45:12]
And that latter decisions, what Johnson ultimately made here allowing this to pass Congress and now its going to go over to the Senate later tonight, whereas expected to clear very easily by a big bipartisan majority. And they'll fight it out after the elections to try to figure out how to fund the rest of the government for the rest of the fiscal year through the fall, which will be yet another big fight. But this has been a problem time and time again, particularly for this
House Republican majority. Remember, Jake, just a year ago, Kevin McCarthy, then the speaker of the House, agreed to keep the government open and do this pretty much the same mechanism of short-term maneuver rely on Democratic votes. And he was ousted by the -- for the first time in American history, a speaker was ousted because of that maneuver.
Johnson essentially do the same thing here, but he's not facing a backlash now, now Republicans say, let's take you to the polls. Let voters decide -- Jake.
TAPPER: More kicking the can, any elementary school playground at recess.
Manu Raju, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Speaking of the economy, Vice President Kamala Harris is in battleground. Pennsylvania, right now, taking a jab at her opponent, former President Donald Trump, as she delivered a wide ranging speech on the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You see, for Donald Trump our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Some of what Vice President Harris vowed to do if she is elected is to cut taxes for more than 100 million Americans, lower- income ones, build 3 million new homes and rentals and double the amount of apprenticeships, she says.
Let's bring in one of the worlds most recognizable entrepreneurs and investors, Mark Cuban.
Mark, thanks for joining.
So a recent CNN poll shows there remained doubts among voters about how Vice President Harris will handle the economy. Among likely voters, 50 percent trust former President Trump more to handle the economy. Only 39 percent trust Harris and for all the concerns that are top of mind for voters, 41 percent of voters say the economy is the most important issue.
This is one of the reasons why this race remains so close. Why do you think she is struggling so much to close the deal on this issue?
MARK CUBAN, ENTREPRENEUR & INVESTOR: I don't think she's struggling at all. It just takes time. She's been in the race, what, 45, 50 days? She went from having horrible favorability polling to, you know, lack of recognition. But in those 45, 50 days, she's turned to completely around. Donald Trump really is the one that should be worried. When it comes to the economy, she was 20, 30 points behind 45 days ago. Now, the trend is her friend and she's catching up.
And I think her speech today went a long way to really convey to voters that she is pro-business, that she wants to partner with businesses, that she wants to incent businesses.
Look at Donald Trump. He's threatening one of the most legendary companies in America, John Deere, with 200 percent tariffs that would make buying from China cheaper than buying from John Deere. That's insane.
So he's looking to just throw just beat down how an American companies while Vice President Harris is saying, look, we want to work with you. I want to talk to you. I want to learn from you. I want to incent you to continue to grow.
I wanted to help you incorporate new technologies like A.I., and Blockchain and others so that we can compete better. I'm a big fan and I think as more people learn that she truly is pro-business and about more of her policies. I think that 39 percent that will grow considerably.
TAPPER: So you circulate with a lot of people who are probably Trump voters, I would guess, with your ties to Texas and you're wallet, there are a lot of people who are in Trumps camp. What do you say to them? What did they say to you about why they are voting for Trump?
CUBAN: Well, the first thing now -- I talked to a lot of friends who are Trump fans and they initially would say, well, I haven't heard her speak. I don't know if she can stand up to scrutiny. I don't know her policies, and what I've always told hold them is be patient, right? As long as you know, is she -- as long as you hear from her, what you need to hear before you walk into the ballot booth. That's all that matters.
You've got 40 days and I think she's going to do a lot more communicating like she did today to explain to them that she's pro- business, that she can think on her feet. That's responsive. That she's thorough. She's not impulsive like Donald Trump. She thinks through her policy. She's very deliberate and I think businesspeople and I think voters in Texas and across the country are going to start to really recognize that that's a huge positive over somebody who just invents new tax policy because he thinks it'll get a good share out -- out of a crowd.
TAPPER: One of the areas where Trump is doing better than Harris and doing -- doing better than most Republicans is when it comes to connecting with young male voters. Trump goes out and he plays golf with Bryson DeChambeau.
[16:50:02]
He shows up on the Theo Von's podcast. He meets up with Jake Paul, the boxer and former -- what was that called? Vine? Vine guy. How can Harris go?
CUBAN: Yeah, Vine, yeah. Vine, yeah.
TAPPER: How can Harris go after a young male voters, not just white men, but Black and Latino men, young male voters with whom Trump is really making gains?
CUBAN: Remember, the goal is to get the most number of votes and win the Electoral College. There's no trophy or participation trophy if you win male voters or any specific the demographics. And I think what she's done to go out there and to communicate with people, it's working.
As I mentioned earlier, she went from being miles behind to, you know, on par or if not ahead across the country. So what she's doing is working. I don't think she has to win every demographic.
Now that said is she capable of winning those demographics -- demographics? Absolutely. When she -- one of the things that really resonates with young man, and I have a 15-year-old son, is crypto. And she talked specifically about encouraging Blockchain innovation and that that was important to her and that she was going to be supportive of it.
That's really important to young men and I think as she does that message starts to get out more and more. It'll start to resonate with young men even more.
TAPPER: On a recent Harris campaign call, you compared policy proposals made by Trump to those from independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who's a socialist.
What do you mean?
CUBAN: Well, it's a race for socialism, right? Bernie said that credit card companies should cap their rates, their interest rates at 15 percent. Donald Trump being the socialist that he is had to beat Bernie. So Donald Trump won out and recommended that interest rate caps be set to 10 percent.
That -- I mean, the fact that he's even suggesting price controls and price caps is socialism 101. You haven't heard that from the vice president. You have heard that from Donald Trump. Well, I mean, he should change. What can I say?
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: Well, why do I say, how do you interpret what she's doing in terms of price gouging, taking on price gouging by food companies because a lot of critics have said that that is a form of price controls?
CUBAN: I'm glad you asked me that check because price get -- taking on price gouging is not price controls. She's not saying what the price of tomatoes should be, what she's saying is when there's a crisis and there will be other crisis, there'll be hurricanes, there'll be tornadoes, there'll be floods, there'll be other disasters. And when those disasters happen, she wants to be in a position to be able to say, no, you can't jack up those prices by 40 percent. You have to stay within a particular realm, a particular guideline.
And by the way, there are already 37 states that have similar guidelines. All she's doing is saying were just going to make that a national law. So, that's certainly not price caps or price controls at all.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is the king of price caps.
TAPPER: All right. Mark Cuban, always good to see you, sir. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
CUBAN: Thanks.
TAPPER: Now, to our series, "Homeless in America", closer look now at the connection between being incarcerated and formerly incarcerated and homelessness. People who have spent time in prison in the United States are nearly ten times more likely to experience homelessness once they are released, that's according to the Prison Policy Initiative. And it's because after getting out of prison, prison before they can reenter society, before they can find a job, these people need a place to live.
I recently sat down with a woman who's found it difficult to break out of this vicious cycle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE, FORMER EXPERIENCED HOMELESSNESS: In 2017, I remember driving by homeless and locking my door. There are just so many resources now, how can they be homeless?
TAPPER (voice-over): Michelle grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, seeing homelessness is a problem that other people faced.
MICHELLE: I had a preconceived notion that they had lost their fortune. They were on drugs.
TAPPER: That is until she began living in her car. After spending 3- 1/2 years in federal prison for tax evasion and then finding herself in an abusive relationship.
MICHELLE: I thought that prison was the most dehumanizing thing. It wasn't. Homelessness was worse because in prison, at least you have a bed, you know where your first meal is coming from, you know, where your last meal is coming from. You have a place to use the restroom.
TAPPER: Here in Washington, D.C., a city study found nearly three out of five of those who lost their homes have been incarcerated, and 55 percent say serving time in prison was the cause of their homelessness. 13 percent of homeless people in D.C. do work according to a survey earlier this year.
Michelle drove for Uber and DoorDash. But working while homeless is complicated.
MICHELLE: It was very the dehumanizing to have to rely on a business to open to go use the restroom, or to wash up in the sink.
TAPPER: Were there any people that were sympathetic?
[16:55:02]
MICHELLE: No, I'm sorry. No.
TAPPER: There weren't people that said, oh, this woman's down on her luck, she needs to use her bathroom.
MICHELLE: Absolutely not.
TAPPER: Today, Michelle has a full-time job and is in temporary housing, but even with assistance, she says she's still priced out of the market in her hometown.
MICHELLE: I am with inclusionary zoning program, but I can show you on my phone for reduced rent is 2,500, $3,000.
TAPPER: Three thousand dollars a month.
MICHELLE: And that's reduced to the point that I thought it was a mistake. There's no way people can afford to pay the rent.
TAPPER: Michelle says the issue is the social safety net which only goes so far.
MICHELLE: It has to be everyone working together because it's just not one issue. It's not just homelessness. Because if you give people home and they don't have a job, how do they pay the rent?
TAPPER: Yeah.
MICHELLE: It is not a homeless problem more than it is a people problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: You just heard Michelle say more needs to be done to strengthen the social safety net. That's something we've heard a lot during this series, that it isn't one issue leading to homelessness but a variety of different factors causing so many different people to fall through the cracks.
In this case, Michelle did receive health through a program for formerly incarcerated people that led her to a full-time job, and temporary housing, but this issue is still brings the question forward. What is the solution when permanent housing is too expensive and the rent is still too high?
A brand new forecast is coming in right now for Hurricane Helene, our weather team has all the new details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
