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Tropical Storm Debby Expected To Inundate SE With Historic Flooding; Anti-Immigrant Riots Break Out In Cities Across Britain; Harris Campaign Launches Programs Aimed At Republican Voters; Harris VP Pick Imminent Ahead Of Battleground Blitz; Olympians Compete In Seine River Despite Athletes Falling Ill; Simone Biles Taking Home 4 More Medals, "Most Decorated Title"; Caeleb Dressel Fails To Metal In Individual Swimming Events. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 05, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Parts of the southeast are bracing for when Tropical Storm Debby slows to a crawl and is likely to dumped historic amounts of rainfall for days on Georgia and South Carolina.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And it already dropped a-month's-worth of rain on much of western Florida after it made landfall in the state's Big Bend area this morning as a category one hurricane.

Now the storm is being blamed for the deaths of a truck driver and a 13-year-old boy.

Listen to how the city manager in Savannah, along Georgia's coast, is warning residents there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY MAIDER, CITY MANAGER, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: With what's been forecast and what the National Weather Services has called historic or unprecedented rainfall totals for our area, with a probability of less than 1 percent happening on any given year in our area, this is a once-in-a- thousand-year potential rain fall event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is in Steinhatchee, Florida, where Debby made landfall.

Elisa, can you tell us what's going on there?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Guys, we've had pretty relentless rain and wind pretty much all day here. It's not until now that the winds have eased just a little bit as Debby continues to push inland.

And we've been able to come out and kind of see if there's any damage around. And we did find a tree that totally snapped here. You can see where it just got caught. The bark totally shredded. And it's laying down on this house here. All of the branches that even took down a piece there some of the metal and the shingles there, some of the gutter from this home.

We had some intense winds this morning because we had the category-one landfall with 80-mile-per-hour winds. This storm was able to rapidly intensify right before landfall because these ocean temperatures are just so warm.

But really the story here is that the residents are at least happy that this is not as bad as Idalia was. Idalia hit just nine miles away from here last year. It was a category three storm.

We've even found some pictures of some homes, businesses and buildings that have been hit by both. A lot of this area here has been hit by both, seeing some of the flooding from a Debby this morning and getting hit by Idalia.

A lot of the docks that we were at this morning, we're brand new, just put in place after they were destroyed last year.

Now, as we go through the rest of the day, we're really looking at a flash flood threat. Let's take a look at the radar. You can see the intense heavy rain bands continuing to push north, getting into northern Florida and parts of Georgia.

As we continue as we go through the day today, we will continue to have a tornado threat. We have a tornado watch in effect for much of north Florida going into Georgia until 4:00 because we still have these outer bands that are twisting and spinning and can drop some brief tornadoes.

After that, the track is concerning because it doesn't go anywhere. We lose all steering currents. This thing slows down. And that will prompt some prolific rain totals.

We're looking at 10 to 20, even 30 inches of rain possible parts of the low country of Georgia and South Carolina, which would be unprecedented and can again be catastrophic -- guys?

JIMENEZ: Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

Now in the United Kingdom, a false story claiming an immigrant was responsible for killing three young girls at a dance studio last week is stoking really the worst social unrest the country has seen in years.

Now, at one point, anti-immigrant rioters broke into and set fire to two hotels believed to be sheltering asylum seekers.

And the violence over the weekend prompting Britain's prime minister to call an emergency security meeting earlier today.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us from where the hotels were set on fire.

So, Nada, I mean, the weekend saw massive riots. What are you seeing where you are? What's the latest?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, of course, the situation is a lot calmer right now. But over the weekend, we had hugely troubling scenes across parts of the country, including here in London.

And this is one of the hotels reportedly sheltering asylum seekers. There are many hotels like this across the country. They are meant to be safe havens, providing vital shelter for asylum seekers, many of whom are fleeing war and persecution.

But over the weekend, this became the target of violent and racist attacks by far-right rioters.

Now as you mentioned, these riots we're triggered by the killing of those three young girls last week in Southport. There has been a huge disinformation campaign claiming the attacker in that incident was an immigrant. He was, in fact, born in the United Kingdom.

But far-right groups have seized on those false claims and have used these false claims to really spur on these riots that we've been seeing up and down the country.

And of course, this is a huge concern for the government. We've been hearing from government ministers throughout the day. Harsh words from the prime minister saying that they will be taking a tough action.

Take a listen to his statement earlier today following that emergency security meeting at Downing Street.

[14:34:57]

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest. It is pure violence. And we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities. So the full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, Brianna, Omar, over the weekend, on Sunday, in fact, this hotel behind me was surrounded by far-right protesters. Some of the windows have been smashed, boarded up now.

Protesters, rioters, rather, attempted to torch the building at one point. And there is a huge amount of concern around the safety and security of Britain's minority ethnic communities.

The government has pledged further support for these communities. They've announced further protection for mosques, for example. We've seen a lot of Islamophobia being expressed at these riots.

But of course, the government has said that has already carried out a number of arrests, hundreds of arrests, in fact, as some have appeared in court earlier today.

But that they are still continuing to look for those involved. But this is a priority for the government. That being said, we have seen signs of support as well for minority communities, community members, volunteers showing up to clear the debris following the unrest over the weekend.

We've seen people coming out in support of immigration, of asylum seekers and refugees coming to the United Kingdom.

But on the flip side, we are also hearing from far-right organizations calling for further riots throughout the week, including in the capital, London.

So this will be a huge concern and a huge focus for the government over the coming days.

JIMENEZ: And this dynamic, not unique to this story. Something happens, and the way the information spreads across social media leads people to do things that are not always based in reality.

Nada Bashir, thank you for the reporting.

All right, coming up for us, the Harris campaign launches a new program targeting Republicans who don't want to support Donald Trump in November. We're going to tell you their plan to win over disenfranchised GOP voters, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:35]

KEILAR: Right now, Vice President Harris is in the final hours of her self-imposed deadline to choose a running mate. And the selection will kick off a new whirlwind phase in her bid for president.

Part of which includes the launch of a group called Republicans for Harris, which is going to hold kick off events in key states today, trying to rev up support from Republicans who are iffy on Trump.

JIMENEZ: And they're touting a number of former cabinet members, governors, Congress members, even ex-Trump White House officials backing Harris, despite being staunch conservatives.

Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan is one of them, part of Republicans for Harris. He joins us now. Along with Lee Carter, former Republican pollster and president of Maslansky and Partners.

Good to see you both.

All right. Geoff, I want to start with you because Donald Trump went after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp over the weekend.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your Governor Kemp and Raffensberger, they are doing everything possible to make 2024 difficult for Republicans to win.

Kemp is very bad for the Republican Party. He wouldn't do anything. He could have ended the travesty with a phone call, because I did nothing wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And I think, you know, as well as many, Brian Kemp has not always seen eye-to-eye with Donald Trump. But bottom line, is this opening up a lane for Kamala Harris to be competitive?

In Georgia, not just with Democrats, but also with anti-Trump Republicans?

GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR & MEMBER, REPUBLICANS FOR HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. I mean, the volume of text messages and posts and phone calls of folks trying to play word salad as Republicans sitting in that room trying to defend Brian Kemp against Donald Trump, I mean, it won't take very many more of those around the country for this to be a landslide win.

I mean, Republicans are right on the razors edge wanting to support Donald Trump. They want any reason in the world that did not have to support somebody that's guilty of felonies and moral -- just all types of stuff.

And so I think, at the end of the day, this is making our job as Republicans for Harris easier. And he's going to continue to be our best weapon.

KEILAR: Lee, what do you think? Because after the Republican convention, there really seemed to be this feeling of unity in the GOP, despite the thousands of people who voted for Nikki Haley and against Trump in the primary.

Do you see Harris as having a real opportunity to interrupt that?

LEE CARTER, FORMER REPUBLICAN POLLSTER & PRESIDENT, MASLANSKY PARTNERS: Here's a real opportunity to be sure. And I think it has surprised the Republicans in a very meaningful way.

I think most people looked at Kamala Harris as someone who was not a big threat. I think she had very unfavorable numbers. And for the last two weeks, she has done nothing but close the gap where Trump was really weak.

And I think -- I think she's done that for a number of a number of reasons. One, she's run a very smart campaign. We haven't really heard a lot of conversations, we haven't heard a lot of interviews with her, but she's done some really smart campaigning.

And number two, we're watching the Republicans, in many ways, just hurt themselves more than anything. With J.D. Vance, with Donald Trump's comments about Kamala Harris and now about the governor of Georgia, it's just unfortunate. Instead of acting and talking about what's important to most Americans, which right now is the economy, which is immigration, which is women's freedoms and women's rights, those are getting totally left to the side as people are trying to defend or explain away some ridiculous comments that have been made by the former president and his V.P. pick.

KEILAR: And you mentioned the economy, Lee.

[14:45:01]

I mean, Geoff, we have seen stocks taking a nosedive today. There was the disappointing jobs report last week. And Trump has hit Harris for this.

What does she need to do on the economy? And how vulnerable is she on this issue?

DUNCAN: I think the most important thing she needs to do is just be a steady hand. This country is so desperate for just a steady leader that is able to act like a president, talk like a president, tweet like a president.

I really feel like that's going to be a huge opportunity for her as these markets continue to go back and forth. You know, I think just acting like a president is a big deal.

And this has really been interesting to watch. This -- I guess, Donald Trump's the latest illustration of Mike Tyson's famous quote, "Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face."

The last two weeks, Kamala Harris has punched Donald Trump in the face with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of fundraising, with incredibly strong momentum and energy and messaging. She's quite -- she's quite -- she's on a roll.

JIMENEZ: And we look -- we're all waiting to see who Kamala Harris will pick as a vice president. But we also heard a, what I would call gleeful, Nancy Pelosi talk about the Vance V.P. pick this weekend.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY STAHL, CO-HOST, "60 MINUTES": Did Donald Trump make a mistake when he chose J.D. Vance?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I think it was a great choice.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So obviously, she's a fan of that pick.

But if you were advising Harris, who would you suggest for V.P. so that someone on the other side doesn't have the reaction that Pelosi did?

LEE: Look, I think there's two really great picks in Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Mark Kelly and Arizona. They have different appeals.

I think Shapiro really helps with that Blue Wall/Rust Belt. Really would help shore up Pennsylvania, given that he's got 61 percent support in his state. He's very, very popular.

And then Mark Kelly brings, I think, that table in Arizona and that whole Sun Belt that is really critical to the race.

So I think both of them very, very favorable figures. People really like them. I think they could bring a lot to the table and balance out in some meaningful ways.

JIMENEZ: And, Geoff, before you go, you wrote a new opinion piece, "The Harris Presidency Will Give the GOP Time to Purge Trumpism."

If they had the chance to move on during four years of Joe Biden's presidency, why do you feel like this is different?

DUNCAN: Well, I think the biggest go-to excuse for a lot of Republicans, tens of millions of Republicans, like me, that are just completely done with Donald Trump, we see through his -- his thin layers.

Look, the fact that Joe Biden was elderly, and we've now eliminated that. We've got a 59-year-old energetic, smart woman that is ready to rock and roll.

And for me, I think the most important thing we can do is give air cover for Republicans all across the country to say, look, just because you're going to vote for Kamala Harris doesn't mean you're going to become Democrat.

It just means you're going to do the right thing, to give us the airtime, the break to create a GOP 2.0 that is conservative, but just not angry.

KEILAR: Geoff Duncan, Lee Carter, thank you so much for the conversation. We appreciate it.

CARTER: Thank you.

KEILAR: And next, despite multiple athletes falling sick after swimming in the Seine, the mixed relay triathlon -- I know. I know you're thinking --

JIMENEZ: I was going to say it fuels --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Oh, it does -- that was a go this morning. And the risky swim, well, paid off for Team USA. So go, for them.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: We're live at the Paris Olympics, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:52]

JIMENEZ: Diving into uncertainty in the quest for gold --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Uncertainty.

JIMENEZ: Uncertainty --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Is that we you'd call it?

JIMENEZ: That's my sanitized version.

KEILAR: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

JIMENEZ: But, hey, I'm not the one doing tests in the river.

Hours ago, in Paris, Olympic athletes from around the world took the plunge into the Seine River for the mixed relay triathlon. The race was a big source of concern going in because of pollution in the water.

KEILAR: In fact, Belgium withdrew and Switzerland actually had to reshuffle its roster after athletes from both countries got sick after races last week.

We have CNN's Coy Wire in Paris.

And, Coy, today's event got the green light after officials said, you know, the water quality is actually within acceptable limits.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: That's right, Brianna and Omar. This uncertainty has been so much added stress to the biggest moment of his athlete's careers.

Australia's team doctor said they've been using prophylactic antibiotics, skin washes, ear washes, eyewashes on their triathletes on their marathon swimmers after each swim.

Germany, one that mixed relay event ahead of Great Britain and USA, who took the bronze in a photo finish. Still, two more events to come, though, in the river Seine, the swim marathon at the end of the week.

And Simone Biles finishing out her 2024 Olympics with a silver to add to the three golds she's already won here. She missed on medaling in beam today, but her floor routine was jaw dropping. She stepped out of bounds a couple of times, likely costing her the gold.

But her difficulty level was on such another level that it still won the silver. Tom Brady was there in the stands. At one point, he said that is ridiculous.

Brazil's twenty-five-year-old start, Rebecca Andrada won her first gold of these games in that event. And incredible moment afterwards with Simone and fellow American, Jordan Chiles, bowing down to Andrada on the podium. That's a framer.

Five gymnastics medals and opposition to Biles here for an American record. Eleven in her career.

American swim star, Caeleb Dressel, racked up three more Olympic medals. He was full of smiles and positivity here at our WBS house studios after what may have been his last ever Olympics.

He was also heartbroken after missing out on the final for one of his best events.

And I asked him how tough that moment was. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:55:01]

CAELEB DRESSEL, TEAM USA SWIMMER: You train your whole life for a race that boils down to a couple of seconds. Yes. And then when it's over, it's over. So it's devastating. It's heartbreaking.

You put all that effort to something and you want a different result, and then, all of a sudden there's -- there's guys that are better than you on that day. And there's nothing you can do about it.

So, yes, I was -- I was heartbroken. I needed -- I needed to cry. Yes. And I'll probably have a couple when I get home. I'm reflecting on the me and then hoping it'll subside and I can enjoy my friends, my family when I get home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, Caeleb did win two more goals here, making nine career Olympic golds, tying with Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, Katie Ledecky for second. Most of any American ever.

And you can see there in that moment there with his wife, Meghan, his baby boy, August, who got a nickname, by the way, from Snoop Dogg. He's called an Agi Dog.

So incredible moment there for the Dressel family here in Paris.

KEILAR: That's a good one.

JIMENEZ: Agi Dog? Yes, that's solid.

KEILAR: Yes. JIMENEZ: I like that. I'm not going to -- I'm not going to beat out Snoop Dogg for nickname. So we'll take it for now.

(LAUGHTER)

JIMENEZ: Coy Wire, appreciate it.

All right, coming up, we're following a lot of news, including closely watching the markets as analysts see an increased risk for a recession. We'll tell you what has investors most concerned as we explore the numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)