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GOP Makes Pitch to Black Voters; Usha Vance Will Introduce Husband at RNC; Ian Ward is Interviewed about JD Vance; Navarro Released from Prison; Fact Checking the RNC Convention. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 17, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Former senior adviser to the Trump 2016 campaign.

Hello, friends.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hello.

JASON OSBORNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN: Hello.

BOLDUAN: Good morning. Thank you for waking up early.

Let's start with what Priscilla was talking about and what she was - and what she was highlighting. We're that - we're hearing from President Biden in his appeal to black voters. But every night here at the convention, every theme, you've seen a very direct appeal to black voters here at this Republican convention.

FINNEY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What - how much does that concern you? Is it to a - is there a level of freakout that even losing a, you know, a fraction more of black voters, which are so key to the coalition -

FINNEY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What it could mean?

FINNEY: Well, look, I think we understand that you can't take anything for granted. And we saw the president - former President Trump, I should say, made a run for black voters in 2016, made a run for black voters in 2020. And we also saw that in 2016 Hillary was not actually able to pull together the - the full coalition that she needed.

BOLDUAN: Right.

FINNEY: And so we've got to make sure that doesn't happen in 2024.

The challenge is, it's sort of asymmetrical because former President Trump doesn't have to do much and he gets a lot of credit for doing outreach to black voters. And he's looking to really add like 2 percent in the right places. And that is a big deal.

BOLDUAN: That could - that -

FINNEY: That could.

BOLDUAN: Two percent could be a big deal.

FINNEY: But I will say that the - I've been really pleased to see the Biden-Harris campaign, I mean they started outreach to black and brown voters last year. And it has been - and part of building the ground game means you have the opportunity to have an ongoing conversation rather than what Democrats in the past had done, which is show up close to the election and say, well, hello. So, I think that's also been really important.

BOLDUAN: How much are you - how much hope are you putting - you've bet - are you like betting the house on winning over - this being the deciding factor for Trump this time?

OSBORNE: Well, I think it's very telling the fact that we're in mid- July and the Trump campaign is actually looking out at all the different demographics that traditionally haven't been with Republicans, whereas the Biden campaign is still going back to solidify their base. So, the Trump campaign, I think, has done an incredible job of just getting his message out there, explaining that under his administration - previous administration that black unemployment went down. Yes, I get it that Biden's unemployment rate for black Americans have - have gone down even further. But the point is, is that Donald Trump made a concerted effort to appeal to all Americans. And he's going to do that again here. And the speeches that you've heard have been pretty impactful. I mean these are Americans from all walks of life that have been impacted by the policies of the current administration.

FINNEY: But I have to tell you, I very much agree with what President Biden said yesterday at the NAACP. As a black American, I was more terrified during the Trump administration then in many times in my life as a person who has lived in the south and, you know, has experienced racism because the language that former President Trump uses, poisoning the blood - well, that actually comes from Jim Crow and the sort of one drop of blood.

Even last night from the stage when you heard people talking about immigrants, you know, illegal aliens, and sort of the nature of that language, it's harsh and it hits people's ears very harshly. And, you know, you've got the president today speaking at that Unidos conference where, again, when we talk about immigration reform, it does matter to a majority of Americans that you're talking about humane immigration reform. Yes, be tough at the border, but we're not talking about mass deportations. We're not talking about separating families. We're not talking about some of the harsh rhetoric that we've heard from president - former President Trump.

BOLDUAN: One thing that was also noteworthy in the speeches last night is that speaker after speaker took time and - time and attention to going after Kamala Harris specifically in attacking the Biden administration.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM EMMER (R-MN): Kamala Harris encouraged and enabled the criminals and the rioters.

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have spent your tax dollars trashing America's finances.

RANDY SUTTON, POLICE LIEUTENANT (RET.): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, well, they stand with the criminals.

NIKKI HALEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris.

Kamala had one job, one job, and that was to fix the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Is this a just in cases type of thing? Like, I want to lay the groundwork if she ends up being the nominee if something happens? Is that - is that what this is?

OSBORNE: Well, absolutely. I mean I think we've been - we've had this discussion over the last couple months about what happens if Biden drops out or if he gets pulled out. And I've been pretty consistent, and I think many of my colleagues have as well, as like, it's got to be the vice president. I mean how can you not pick anybody other than the vice president?

[08:35:03]

So, reminding people that, hey, there is that high likelihood that Joe Biden does not finish the rest of his term if he was re-elected. And - and so I think we're making sure - Republicans are making sure that we're - that we're actually talking about who could actually be president.

FINNEY: But she's been kind of, I would say, the butt of many of Trump's jokes for years. I mean we saw this pretty aggressively in 2020. And a lot of those attacks on her never went away. They sort of went to the dark corners -

BOLDUAN: It's working - it's working with - it's worked with Republican voters.

FINNEY: Yes. However, some of the attacks are, you know, typical racist, sexist tropes. The sound of her voice, her laugh, she is not smart enough, she didn't earn it. We hear those kinds of tropes about women a lot.

Instead, I think what you're going to hear from Democrats, obviously, is, real excitement about Kamala Harris and what she's done. She has brought a lot of excitement to our ticket. Actually, she is also doing - she has very broad support among the Democratic Party base -

BOLDUAN: Yes.

FINNEY: Particularly among young voters, African American, Latino voters. And the work that she's done to lift up reproductive freedom, from IVF, to access to contraception, to access to abortion has really given her a unique opportunity to talk to women voters, particularly those suburban women voters that Trump is trying to reach.

OSBORNE: What I would say, I don't think she is that appealing to all those different groups that you're talking about. If we're actually having a discussion right now about who else could be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party.

FINNEY: Well -

BOLDUAN: I think -

OSBORNE: And I think some of the criticism of her is somewhat well- deserved because you have gaffes all the time. I don't know who writes her speeches, but clearly she's not talking as -

BOLDUAN: Well, I'll say what I've seen crystallized since I've been here is, you can really - you can focus on appealing to - and broadening your base and being big tent when you've got unity and everyone is unified behind one candidate. And that's the problem that Democrats are having right now. They've got a conversation of, like, well, you're not talking about Kamala Harris. You're talking about other people.

FINNEY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Because the - what's going on with the Democrats right now is they've got to get their house in order and do it real quick, which, I mean, it's apparent in the polling and it's apparent in the conversations that we're clearly having. But stay with me. Stay with me. Good to see you. Thank you, guys, so much.

All right, so, coming up for us, the wife of Trump's newly minted running mate has now been put in the national spotlight right along with her husband. What we know about the potential second lady and why her husband says she is such a great ally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:40]

BOLDUAN: So, she could be the next second lady of the United States. And this just in, we have the breaking news. We've just learned that Usha Vance will introduce her husband, JD Vance, tonight on stage at the Republican National Convention, where he is set to give the biggest speech of his career.

CNN's Brian Todd is learning more about Usha Vance. He's here with us.

It's good to see you, Brian. Along with JD Vance introducing himself to the public, to the country,

reintroducing himself to many, so will be his wife.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kate.

What we can tell you about Usha Vance, she is a 38-year-old mother of three young children who seems to have effectively balanced that role with some impressive professional accomplishments.

She grew up in a suburb of San Diego. She was raised by parents who are Hindu by faith. She married JD Vance in 2014 in the state of Kentucky. The couple has three young children. Again, she is the daughter of Indian immigrants who are Hindu in their faith.

She met JD Vance when they both attended Yale Law School. They graduated from there - he did, at least, in 2013.

Now, Usha Vance also has clerked for two Supreme Court justices. She clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts and for Brett Kavanaugh, when he served on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Now, from 2015 until just recently, she was an associate at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, where she handled civil litigation and appeals in sectors that included education, local government, entertainment, and technology.

I spoke with a historian named Kate Anderson Brower. She's the author of several books on first ladies, presidents and vice presidents. She said Usha Vance's ability to be comfortable appearing with her husband in public, that contrast with Melania Trump, who rarely appears with the former president in public.

Here's what Kate Anderson Brower had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, AUTHOR, "FRIST WOMEN" THE GRACE AND POWER OF AMERIA'S MODERN FIRST LADIES": We don't see Melania Trump humanizing her husband. That's really not the role that she's ever played. And so perhaps Usha could be a really big advantage to this campaign, just like her husband is. She's young. She's well-spoken. She's successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, in interviews, JD Vance has actually joked about how tough it is for him to win an argument with his wife at home, saying that she uses so many facts and so much logic that he simply can't win a debate with her at home, Kate. It might prepare him well for a debate with Kamala Harris.

BOLDUAN: Brian Todd, thank you so much.

Much more to learn and see of JD Vance and his wife.

TODD: Right.

BOLDUAN: John.

[08:45:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, political reporter Ian Ward. Back in March he profiled JD Vance for "Politico" magazine and just released a new piece titled, "Are Republican Voters Ready for the Nerdy Radicalness of JD Vance?"

And, Ian, great to have you here.

IAN WARD, REPORTER, "POLITICO": Good morning.

BERMAN: These are great articles. And what I liked most about it was the nuance. You spent a lot of time with Vance back in December, January of last year. When you talk about the nerdiness, what do you mean?

WARD: Yes, I mean, JD Vance, it's easy to forget this now that he's a star on Fox News and has developed this pugnacious attitude online. But this is a guy who came to national prominence as a memoirist, right? He was spending his own personal life into political stories, right? He - he hit the national circuit as lecturer. You know, he fancies himself as an intellectual and he's a smart guy. He's engaged with ideas. He reads these niche conservative journals. He's going into the buzzy conservative conferences. He said himself, I like to engage with people on intellectual level. When you talk to him, he's got this sort of cerebral attitude that's a bit unusual for an elected politician.

BERMAN: And the stuff he was willing to go back and forth with you on. It was like railroad cars, you know, obscure European history.

WARD: Yes. Yes. Yes.

BERMAN: Things like that.

WARD: He's - he's got a pretty astounding range of interests. And he's willing to sort of tee off on niche areas of - of - of inquiry that you wouldn't expect from a politician.

BERMAN: So, how much of it comes from the core of who JD Vance is and has always been, and how much of it is, what appears from the outside to be this transform JD Vance who wanted to become a U.S. senator, needed to get in with Trump world to do so?

WARD: Yes, I mean, I think you've seen different identities for Vance, right? As you said, he can be the attack dog when he needs. He can toe off with mainstream media to defend Trump. He can - he can talk smack online, but then he can turn around on a dime and go into these rooms with conservative writers, conservative intellectuals, and hold his own. He's earned respect and admiration among those people.

I think a big question for the campaign is which version of him we'll see - we will see. Will we see the attack dog or will we see this sort of more cerebral, intellectual JD Vance?

BERMAN: And it might be that you see both at different times.

WARD: Yes, absolutely.

BERMAN: One of the things that's most interesting, you asked him about being Trump's running mate back in December, January. It was a different time, but what did he tell you then?

WARD: Yes, he told me then that, you know, if the opportunity arose to help Trump, he would. But he was enjoying his life in the Senate.

I mean, remember, he's only been in the Senate for about 18 months. This is his first elected position. I mean that is a truly meteoric rise for someone as young as he is. He'll be 40 on Election Day. So, I think back then it seemed kind of like a long shot. We hadn't winnowed the field down to - to what it was earlier this week. But, you know, I think it's been clear over the past couple of months that he was positioning himself to take that role if it was offered to him.

BERMAN: How ambitious do you think he is? And I ask this because one complicating factor for JD Vance, if Trump wins and he becomes vice president is, he is immediately the heir apparent. We saw on the stage last night a whole lot of people who think they should be the heir apparent. I'm not so sure Trump wants an heir apparent. So, that could get complicated in a hurry.

WARD: Yes, I mean, I - I've been hearing from prominent conservatives for six months that they see him as the heir of the movement, even before the vice president was on the table. I talked to people like Steve Bannon, who said I have no doubt he will run for president one day. People like Tucker Carlson. People like Kevin Roberts, the head of the Heritage Foundation. These are all people who, since Vance entered the national scene, have seen him as an heir apparent, even before Trump even floated (ph) him as a VP option.

BERMAN: Ian Ward, great to see you here. Everyone go read these articles. The first one is really telling because it was so far before this, you know, version of what we're seeing now. So, it's good history. Greatest to see you here. Thank you so much.

WARD: Thanks very much.

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you both.

There were dozens of claims about crime, immigration, and President Biden's record at the RNC last night. How many of those were actually true? Our Daniel Dale bringing his fact checking power to the table, next.

Also, Elon Musk is moving all his X's to Texas. Why he says it's time to reload SpaceX and X out of California.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:34] BERMAN: All right, we do have breaking news. Former Trump White House adviser, Peter Navarro, has been released from prison. He'd been serving a sentence for contempt of Congress.

CNN's senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz is with us now with the details.

Katelyn, what are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: John, Peter Navarro is out of prison after spending for months at a prison camp in Miami. This is a former Trump White House adviser who had written in a book, spoken publicly about his interests in helping Trump overturn the election results.

And then when Congress subpoenaed him to testify and to provide records, he blew him off. He didn't do it. And so he was prosecuted. He was convicted by a jury. And he was sent to prison for contempt of Congress. He always said that he believed Trump didn't want him to share the information with Congress. And since then, he has positioned himself - since his conviction, he was positioning himself as essentially a martyr for Trump. A person who was caught in this overreach of Congress.

He is now traveling to Milwaukee, or at least we expect him to show up in Milwaukee after leaving that prison in Miami today so that he can speak at the Republican Convention and further discuss this issue that he has been caught up in, he says, this issue of separation of powers and Congress and people going after Donald Trump and others.

[08:55:03]

But I have spoken to his prison consultant several times about what it was like for Peter Navarro in prison. He did do his time, all four months of it. He worked as a law library clerk. And from what I have heard, other inmates would high-five him. He was quite liked inside.

John.

BERMAN: It'll be interesting to see if he speaks at the convention and what he says,

Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, speaking to the convention. Speakers at the Republican Convention made false and misleading claims throughout last night. Many focused on three things, crime, the economy and immigration. Things very important to the American public.

CNN's senior reporter, Daniel Dale, is here with the facts and the fact check.

Let's start with some of the claims made by House leadership on violent crime. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): To Biden's violent crime crisis, fueled by Democrats, pro-criminal, sanctuary cities, and defund the police policies like we have seen in my home state of New York.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We can't survive the dramatic increases in violence, crime, and drugs that the Democrats' policies have brought upon our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right, what are the actual statistics, the actual numbers here when it comes to crime?

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: The actual numbers show that violent crime and crime in general have declined under President Biden. They have not increased, as Speaker Johnson and other speakers claimed or suggested. We have official data from the FBI that shows violent crime fell 6 percent in 2023 and another 15 percent in the first quarter of 2024. There were even bigger declines in murder at 13 and 26 percent respectively. And here's the key fact, violent crime and murder are both now clearly lower than they were in 2020, President Trump's last year in office.

Now, Congresswoman Stefanik's claims of a Biden violent crime crisis, I guess is subjective what constitutes a crisis. But she certainly did not say that there was a violent crime crisis under President Trump, when violent crime numbers were actually higher.

SIDNER: Yes, it's a great fact check.

All right, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake made this claim about elections and immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA SENATE CANDIDATE: These guys, they are full - they're full of bad ideas. Just last week, Ruben Gallego voted to let the millions of people who poured into our country illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Is that true?

DALE: That's nonsense. It's not even close to true. There was no House vote on whether to allow people who crossed the border illegally to illegally vote in this election. Non-citizen voting is illegal in this country already. It is punishable by possible prison time, possible deportation. And it - it very rarely happens. We're talking a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of votes.

What the House of Representatives actually voted on was whether to add a proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration. And Gallego and other Democrats voted against it because they said, look, this is already illegal. It already basically never happens. So, a proof-of- citizenship requirement would just be adding additional burdens on people trying to register to vote for essentially no clear benefit.

SIDNER: All right. We also heard from Lara Trump, Trump's daughter-in- law. She talked about the state of the country under the Trump administration. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA TRUMP, CO-CHAIR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Let's not forget what life actually looked like under President Donald Trump.

Record-low unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: What do you say to that?

DALE: I say that those claims aren't wrong, but I think there's some important context here. So, there was a record low in black unemployment under President Trump, fell to 5.3 percent in 2019. What his daughter-in-law did not mention there though is that that record was beaten under President Biden. It fell to 4.8 percent, a new record low in 2023. It's a similar story for women's unemployment. Yes, there was a low since the 1950s under Trump. It fell to 3.4 percent. Very good. Well, it hit 3.3 percent under Biden in 2023. For Hispanics there was a tie, a record low of both 3.9 percent under both administrations. Now, for Asians, President Trump can still claim the record. It was 2 percent at its low, though the Biden era did come close, falling to a low of 2.3 percent.

SIDNER: OK. Then you had House Majority Leader Steve Scalise focusing on American energy in his speech last night. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCALISE: Let's talk energy. They've eroded the American energy dominance that President Trump delivered.

We will end the Democrats' assault on American energy once and for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And you say on that claim?

DALE: I say that the data shows that the United States, under President Joe Biden, is producing more crude oil than any country in the history of the world has ever produced. There was a world record of 12.9 billion barrels of crude per day in 2023, easily beating the Trump era high of about 12.3 million barrels per day.

[09:00:06]

U.S. crude exports also hit a record high.