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Trump Falsely Claims Kamala Harris Happened to Turn Black; Hamas Political Chief Killed; Fears of Wider Conflict Grow; Katie Ledecky Wins Gold Medal in 1,500-Meter Freestyle. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 31, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Serve him politically and whether this was a mistake for him to attend. We'll be right back with more.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We've been following breaking news this afternoon, really controversial remarks from former President Donald Trump at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago. He went after Vice President Kamala Harris' ethnic makeup and her heritage and said that somebody should look into her, in his words, turning Black.

[15:35:04]

We should note that his appearance at the convention is something that was controversial, and a co-chair of the convention actually resigned before the event even took place.

Apparently, Karen Attiah is unhappy with what unfolded because she actually posted this soon after the session wrapped.

She wrote, quote: I am so angry right now. N.A.B.J., this was a colossal mistake.

I want to turn to Shermichael Singleton, who has been very patient with us, sticking through all afternoon.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's been quite the day, right?

SANCHEZ: Do you think that from N.A.B.J.'s perspective this was a mistake?

SINGLETON: No, no, I don't think so. I mean, they're an organization that represents Black journalists across the country, and I think they have an obligation because of their role to interview presidential candidates, individuals who want the highest, most powerful job in the country, arguably the world if you're American. Other countries might disagree with us on that. So I think it was an important moment.

My analysis, you know, we talked earlier. I was pretty emotional because the racial stuff, I always draw a line there. That's just something where I just think no one should really go, regardless of what ethnicity you are, in terms of discussing the heritage of someone else. That's just something that I think is just, you just don't go there.

On the policy front, I thought his comments about the cost of goods, that was pretty good. I thought talking about how inflation, generally speaking, has impacted Black people, the Black community writ large, was pretty good. And if I was advising him, and Brianna, you and I were talking about how he could have pivoted. There were moments.

We all know who Donald Trump is. We know that Donald Trump doesn't really like tough questions. I get it. It's his personality. There are certain things about my personality that I know I've got to check sometimes, even when on air. And I'm consciously reminding myself of that.

But I would have said, Mr. President, when those questions are asked, you don't like them. You get a little pissed off a little bit. You're an entertainer. You can charm the audience. Pivot and say, look, I don't really like the question. I don't like the way it was phrased. But let me talk about what a lot of Black Americans are experiencing in terms of how the economy has impacted them. Let me pivot and talk about this or that.

And so I just think strategically speaking, there were a lot of moments that he could have used to his advantage, in part because of his background of being an entertainer, that I just don't think he did enough of.

KEILAR: I wonder, though, when you say there were some good moments about the economy, when we watched the last debate and I would talk to Democratic operatives and they would say, but Joe Biden made some very good points on X, Y, Z. And I would say, yes, but, I mean, it just doesn't even matter.

SINGLETON: But in totality, did it really matter?

KEILAR: Well, because a lot, you know, it is eclipsed by something sort of that ends up larger. And in this case, do you see whatever he said just being eclipsed by his temperament, which becomes just this, again, just a central issue in this election?

SINGLETON: Yes, I think, Brianna, it depends on how you view this. And by that I mean if you're a Democrat, you're going to look at this and say, see, this was an S show. This is exactly why this guy can't return back to the White House.

But if you're a Republican, and I've been texting folks, looking at some of the posts on Twitter, and they're saying this was a great moment, you know, he talked about the economy.

KEILAR: But he's got them. He's got them.

SINGLETON: He does.

KEILAR: So talk about the folks that maybe are on the fence that he maybe doesn't have and if this helps with that.

SINGLETON: So that's a great question. You're right. People on the left are going to be critical automatically. People on the right are going to praise automatically.

So let's talk about that 4 percent to 5 percent of folks in the middle, right? We know this is going to be a very close race. We know in 2020 you're looking at 81,000 votes across just four states. And so for the Trump campaign, I'm looking at low-propensity voters. I'm specifically looking at men.

And I'm looking at younger men because if you look at 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the former president performed exceptionally well. He had an 11-point advantage with men writ large. That mathematically makes a difference across a national election.

You fast-forward to 2020, President Biden was able to improve his odds. It was almost split evenly among men. So if I'm looking at Vice President Harris' campaign, I know this is a weakness for her.

So if I'm looking at Donald Trump and I'm thinking you're improving somewhat with young men of color, Latinos and Black men, do I want to put my candidate in a predicament or a situation where you may potentially diminish the outreach, the targeting, the engagement, the penetration of voters who fit in those categories? I personally as a strategist would not advise that. But some may look at this differently.

SANCHEZ: As a strategist, as we await Kamala Harris speaking later in Houston, how do you think her campaign should respond?

SINGLETON: Look, I don't want to necessarily help my Democratic friends, Boris. But, you know, I got a good feeling the way I think she's going to respond. I was texting with my girlfriend, and based on some of her replies to me, I think Vice President Harris is probably going to likely reply similarly.

Look, I think she'll come out strongly, fiercefully.

[15:40:00]

She's talking with a lot of Black women, I believe, tonight. I think they expect the vice president to show what we call in the Black community her Black girl magic. And I think we're going to see a little bit of that tonight.

I think, though, generally speaking, if I'm advising Trump, and I want to just go back to this, I really, really want to focus and hone in my message on things that matter. I think if you get caught up in issues of race, Republicans will never win on this. They just will never win on this. There are a lot of Black Republicans who have tried to advise the Republican Party for decades. You need to be more open. You need to be more understanding. There needs to be some cultural awareness here in terms of differences. Some have been open to those suggestions. Some have not been open to those suggestions. But there is decades' worth of skepticism from African Americans about the Republican Party on this issue. So to me, knowing that this exists, my thought process is let's talk about the things where you may find some agreement with people who are different. This could have been such a great opportunity to do that and pivot in front of all of those Black journalists and then go and report.

Look, you know, Trump didn't do well on this or that, but he had some great responses on tackling the economy. He had some great responses on the fact that about 49 percent of African Americans work in low- wage jobs. He presented a plan to help elevate that 49 percent.

Those would have been exceptional moments for him, and I just think he didn't quite meet that mark.

KEILAR: It does seem that some cultural understanding is the basis for which those other topics might be absorbed. And without it, you aren't able to get to that next step. We see that time and again.

Shermichael, thank you so much.

SINGLETON: Thank you, guys.

KEILAR: If we can convince your girlfriend to let us, maybe we'll read your texts.

SINGLETON: You know, I don't know about that, Brianna.

KEILAR: Maybe too coarse of language, as I put it, ahead. But thank you so much, Shermichael.

SINGLETON: Thank you, guys.

KEILAR: And still ahead, we are following the latest developments in the Middle East. After the killing of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, there are serious concerns this could lead to an escalation between Israel and Hamas and Iran. We'll have that after a quick break. Stay with us.

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SANCHEZ: We're following breaking news in the Middle East as fears of a full-blown regional war escalate. The world is watching for Iran's next move after the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Hamas and Iran are blaming Israel and have vowed retaliation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained quiet so far, but he did acknowledge that Israel has delivered blows to enemies in the last few days. Haniyeh's death marks the second assassination in the region in fewer than 24 hours. Hezbollah is now confirming that one of its senior commanders was killed in a strike in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday, which the IDF has taken credit for.

Let's discuss with former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Michael, thank you so much for being with us. I want to get your response to the supreme leader in Iran promising harsh punishment for the death of Haniyeh.

How and when does Israel expect Iran to respond?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Great to be with you, Boris. Well, as you see, I'm doing a stint of reserve duty, and I'm up on the northern border, and we're braced. It's almost 11 o'clock at night tonight. You see we're all in our uniforms and our boots, though it has been a quiet day so far, but it could be very well the quiet before the storm. Israel is prepared.

And Israel had to take a very essential response to the massacre of 12 children, Israeli children on the Golan Heights several days ago by Hezbollah that could not go unpublished.

And the fact of the matter is there has been a war here. There's been a war here for 10 months with Hamas, with Hezbollah firing 7,000 rockets and drones at Israeli communities up here, and almost 100,000 Israelis have been uprooted and displaced from their homes. So it's really an impossible situation.

Just up the road yesterday, a 28-year-old Israeli near Popko was killed by a Hezbollah rocket in his backyard.

SANCHEZ: Michael, I notice you didn't directly address the death of Haniyeh in Tehran. I'm wondering what message you think it sends to Iran that Hamas's top political person was killed in their borders.

OREN: Again, Israel hasn't taken responsibility for that, but I think there's been a message sent nevertheless that any terrorist who kills, you know, tens, hundreds, and in our case more than 1,000 Jews, is going to pay a price for it no matter where he is located. And since Hamas is fully backed by Iran, it's also sending an unequivocal message to the Iranians themselves.

SANCHEZ: The way that he has been described by experts and by folks close to the situation is as a moderating force. He reportedly, quote, saw the value in reaching a ceasefire deal for the Palestinian armed group and had pushed for breakthroughs in ceasefire talks. That's according to "The New York Times."

If he's been assassinated, what does that do to the hostage and ceasefire negotiations?

OREN: Well, as for "The New York Times" ran an obituary of Mr. Haniyeh today that actually didn't use the word terror or mention the many, many hundreds of Israelis he has massacred, and in fact the many hundreds of Palestinians he's massacred.

[15:50:02]

It's an extraordinary act of journalistic betrayal as far as I'm concerned. "The New York Times" is not going to be a good and accurate source here. But let's say this. This man was a terrorist. He's a mass murderer. There's just no way you can sort of paint that over and make him into some type of peacemaker. And whatever happened to him, certainly he had it coming many hundreds, if not thousands of times over.

Now, what does it mean for the negotiations for the hostages? Of course, we're all desperate to get the hostages back, 111 hostages. Not, of course, all of them are alive, but whether alive or dead, we're desperate to get them back.

And the only proven means we've had of actually moving the needle with Hamas is through ramping up military pressure and proving to Hamas leaders that there is no escape from Israel. And the only way they can get to a ceasefire is by releasing the hostages.

And let's be very frank about this. There's another party to this. And I have not heard, not once. I've not heard the Hamas people say yes.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador, I'm also wondering, as we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he sort of sent a tacit message to the United States. At least that's how some of our folks that we were speaking to at the time interpreted it, saying that Israel will not bend to any outside pressure in the way that it conducts its war in Gaza.

As you know, there's been international condemnation over the deaths of civilians in Gaza. I'm wondering what you think he was trying to tell the United States and how it might shape the response from the U.S. if there is a potential response from Iran.

OREN: I think that Israel is a sovereign, independent country with a very specific past and is facing threats that are really not confronted by any country in the world where our national existence is literally being threatened. We're facing enemies who don't want to change the government. They want to wipe us off the map.

And at the end of the day, Israel has to make the decisions that are going to ensure not just our long-term security, but indeed our survival. I know from someone who has fought in Gaza, you see I've been in uniform, I've been in uniform off and on for many, many years. Israel goes to extraordinary lengths to minimize civilian casualties.

But we're dealing with an enemy in Hamas who not only hides behind the civilian population but hides under the civilian population in 400 miles of tunnels. So it's actually a combat situation that no army in history has ever confronted.

And if you actually look at the amount of civilian casualties, even according to the Hamas records, and you deduct the number of terrorists who have been killed and even the number of Palestinians who die from natural causes, you're going to get close to a one-to-one ratio, one combatant to every civilian death.

Every civilian death is a tragedy, is one death too many. But to say that, you know, Israel is causing civilian casualties in a rate that any other army has chosen, this is a quarter of the rate that was registered by the United States of combatant civilian deaths in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador Michael Oren, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate you sharing your perspective with us.

OREN: Thank you very much, bye.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead, the U.S. is leading the pack in total Olympic medals. And American swimming star Katie Ledecky is breaking records along the way. We'll take you live to Paris in just moments.

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KEILAR: I love this canned music. It's so good.

Breaking news from the Olympics. Get excited. American swimming legend Katie Ledecky just won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle, marking her eighth Olympic gold medal. She's now tied for the most Olympic gold medals ever by an American woman.

SANCHEZ: Let's go to CNN's Coy Wire, who's live for us in Paris. Coy, it's not just that she's dominant. It's that she's been dominant for some time.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, about as long as we can remember at this point, right, Boris and Brianna? But first of all, welcome to Palais Brongniart. It is the original French stock exchange built in 1808.

But for these Olympic Games, it's the official Team USA house for the Games. It's for the first time ever, they're allowing fans to join in with the Olympians and former Olympians to help party and celebrate Team USA. Incredible energy here, as they have just witnessed one of the most dominant swimmers in the world, 27-year-old Katie Ledecky winning another Olympic gold in the 1,500-meter free. The world and Olympic record holder has not lost a race, Boris and Brianna, in this event in more than 14 years. And she extends her streak here at the Paris Games.

She is now tied, Jenny Thompson, with the eighth career Olympic gold medal, further cementing herself as the greatest female swimmer of all time. This place absolutely erupted. It's a party here in Paris.

Now, also, just coming through, one of the cool things is after Olympians win a medal, they bring them through here to celebrate. And we caught up with the women's rugby sevens team. They won the first ever medal for the U.S. in the event. They're more than just athletes, though.

They have been inspiring an entire generation, uplifting women. And we caught up with Ilona Maher. She's been really the champion for change when it comes to how we see women, from body image to social norms.

We caught up with her to ask her what this moment meant for her to win that first ever medal for rugby sevens for the U.S. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILONA MAHER, TEAM USA RUGBY PLAYER: I was just thinking about that today. It was like, why me, why me? And it's kind of a scary burden at times, but I'm excited to get to carry it.

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But just trying to stay grounded, and I think it's why me is that I feel comfortable sharing myself, and I hope that other people resonate with it.

I think it's kind of like if you can see it, you can believe it. I get to see it every day with my teammates around me, Naya Tapper, Nicole, and they help me to see it. So if I can just spread that to them, it's hard to be confident. It's hard to be that. But if you can see somebody else do it, maybe it'll help you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Inspiration abound, Boris and Brianna here at these Olympic Games in Paris.

KEILAR: Go Team USA. Coy, thank you so much for that.

And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.