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Soon: Harris-Walz Rally In Key Swing State Wisconsin; Second "Squad" Member Targeted By Pro-Israel Group Defeated. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 07, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:00:25]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Battleground blitz, Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate hit the ground running in Wisconsin and Michigan, and they won't be alone. The GOP nominee for Vice President, Senator J.D. Vance, holding events at the same time in the same places, making the Republican pitch to voters.

And taking down the squad, pro-Israel groups helped defeat one of the most prominent critics of Israel's war in Gaza, but after Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush lost her primary, she's making it clear she will not go quietly.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And catastrophe on the coast. After Debby dumps historic amounts of rain on the southeast, the storm is back over the Atlantic and gaining strength. We're following these major developing stories and more, all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

KEILAR: Two presidential campaigns, both in the critical swing state of Wisconsin. Soon you have Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, rallying Democrats in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is the second stop in their tour of battleground states after last night's kickoff in Philadelphia.

And then at the same time, just three miles away, we expect to see soon Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance, holding his own event in the very same western Wisconsin town. Former President Trump will not be there, but in a new interview on "Fox," he had this to say about the new Democratic ticket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Let's say my reaction is, I can't believe it. I never thought this was going to be the one that was picked. He's a very, very liberal man. And he's a shocking pick. And I'm -- I'm thrilled. I could not be more thrilled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And let's begin with CNN national politics correspondent Eva McKend, who is live from the Harris-Walz rally. What are we expecting there? Eva?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon to you, Brianna, from beautiful Wisconsin. This crowd really filling out here. You've got teachers in this crowd, veterans as well. And listen, Harris and Walz will try to make their case today to these critical voters in the blue walls. So they are -- they have a message here for Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania voters, and it is ultimately that a Midwesterner on the ticket can speak to other Midwesterners, their argument that another Trump administration would translate to tax cuts for the rich, would translate to weakening unions.

And they'll also make an affirmative case for themselves, maintaining that a Harris administration would be principally concerned with lifting up all Americans. You have to really look at some of the policies that the governor was able to advance in Minnesota, expanding generously, the child tax credit, free college tuition for families making under $80,000 and he was able to do that in a swing state.

And so they are hoping that he can replicate that on the campaign trail. Speaking to folks here, young people, teachers, college students, they tell me that he is a good pick because he has reached outside of Minnesota. We're not far from his state, but there are college students here, for instance, at Eau Claire, that come from throughout the region. And so they think that he is a unique and appropriate messenger for this time, things will get kicked off here in just about an hour. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right, Eva McKend, thank you so much.

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about all of this with former Biden White House Director of messaging, Meghan Hays. She's a consultant for the Democratic National Convention as well. Also with this is Republican strategist Matt Mowers. He's a former official in the Trump administration and President of Valcour LLC. Hello to you both. All right, let's start with where Eva just left off, Harris and Walz hitting the ground running, Wisconsin and Michigan today. Megan, 90 days until the election, first event with Harris and Walz outside of, I guess, the -- the kickoff. Where do you start messaging wise?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGING PLANNING: I think they start to introduce to the country what their vision is for the future. I mean, the Vice President has a record that she can run on with, you know, that she had with the former or with the President, excuse me. But this is -- this is a new ticket. This is a new day for the Democratic Party. And they need to get out there and get in front of the messaging. And they need to make sure that folks know what their vision is moving forward.

KEILAR: There's now a new line that J.D. Vance is using. Of course, you have two veterans, right, who are the running mates here, and he's using this line about Walz's military service. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: When the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do. And I did it honorably. And I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he's been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with.

[13:05:16]

I think it's shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you're going to follow through and then to drop out right before you actually have to go. He said, we shouldn't allow weapons that I used in war to be on America's streets. Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this -- what was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq, and he has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: I wonder what you think about that Matt. There -- look, there are some questions. The -- the question of the -- the weapons comment, we should also mention there's been reporting that J.D. Vance did not see combat in his role, I would argue, it doesn't matter, they both served. But what do you think about this kind of getting some swift boat vibes here?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, look, it's a potentially very effective line of attack. When you look at the fact that there's, I -- I believe it's almost a million veterans in the state of Pennsylvania, about half a million in the state of Michigan, who do take very seriously claims of service and down to, you know, making sure you -- you identify the right unit you were in at any various given time, whether you saw combat or you were near combat, they care about that quite a bit.

I think more importantly, it ties into a larger narrative arc that the Trump-Vance campaign is putting out there, which is, these are two folks who are out there actually way to the left of the -- to -- of the Main Street, reminds me a lot of the 2004 campaign. And when bring up the swift boat attack, talking about John Kerry, wasn't just that John Kerry, you know, might have overstated or understated service, but it was, what did he do when he got back?

He was part of these left wing protests out there. They're going to tie it back to the fact that he had Kamala Harris, who says it's not illegal to cross the border to be here, and then you have Tim Walz trying to give them a driver's licenses. Ties into all of the conversation around what happened Minneapolis in 2020. You have Tim Walz's wife, saying that the two of them had, you know, the windows open at night so they could smell in the tire fires.

And so this was some sort of cultural experience like Woodstock, when, realistically, it was primarily black and brown businesses that are being burned down and shut down as a result of the mayhem that we saw in the streets of Minneapolis. All ties in this larger narrative arc that's going out there right now. And that's among the reasons you're seeing J.D. Vance kind of level this attack.

JIMENEZ: And look, one of the things Meghan, as far as you know, lines of attack that -- that we've seen is one that I think even some Republicans were divided on -- on how much they should pursue, and it was around questioning Harris's racial identity. Take a listen to J.D. Vance, sort of explaining, I guess, where they are on the issue right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANCE: I was not bothered at all by what President Trump said, and I didn't take it as an attack on Kamala Harris's biracial background at all. What I -- what I took it as was an attack on Kamala Harris being a chameleon. She pretends to be one thing when she's in front of one audience. She pretends to be something else when she's in front of another audience. And I think he was observing the basic foundational reality that Kamala Harris pretends to be something different depending on which audience she's speaking to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: So clearly, they've -- they've nailed down the communications on it, I think a little bit more than the initial aspect of it, chameleon versus questioning the -- the identity. But Trump has since doubled down on the comments as well. How could this help Harris's campaign since that was the talk initially? Do you see it as an issue that continues to help her campaign?

HAYS: Yes, yes. I don't think that throwing personal attacks at people is going to win these independent suburban women that they need to win the election, right? Nobody wants to be questioned on their race. She -- she has never run from being black or Indian. I just don't -- I just don't think that that's like a logical attack for Trump to be -- to be its baseless. And I just -- I think that people are just based what they see in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is optimism and hope.

They are looking towards the future. They are not lodging baseless attacks on people. They're not sitting out there lying. They are talking about what they want to do for this country. And I think that's what people you see in this excitement moving forward in the Democratic forward in the Democratic Party. And I think that people in the swing states are going to -- that's going to resonate with them.

JIMENEZ: And look, Matt, Vance also pointed out there that Harris hasn't taken questions from the press, which I think is fair. You know, she's welcome to come on anytime. I'm sure we'd love to have her. But -- but if you're running that campaign through these initial phases with the amount of fundraising momentum that they had. They were trying to start up a campaign, really, in the matter of two weeks. You get to your running mate. Did you really need to face questions from the press in those initial stages when, if you're running the campaign, it really was probably only an opportunity to mess up. MOWERS: Look, when you're running a campaign, you played your strengths and try prevent your weaknesses. Kamala Harris is very well on teleprompter. We saw her last night in the speech, did remarkably well on the teleprompter. The question has always been, what about when she doesn't have that script right in front of her?

And -- and look, I think any presidential campaign usually, if this were a traditional campaign and you're not installed by a Politburo last minute, three months before an election, the way the Vice President essentially has been right now, you go and you launch your campaign, you sit down for a series of interviews that day, or maybe the next day throughout that week. Vice President hasn't done that. It's now been over two weeks. She has no issues page on our website. She hasn't really announced all that much policy.

[13:10:12]

I keep talking -- seeing her surrogates talk about vibes. Well, that's great. Vibes are great. The vibes right now though, that we have unemployment reaching some, you know, four year highs right now. We saw the stock market take a really dangerous dip this week. We're seeing a global, regional conflict growing into a global conflict in the Mideast. We need more than vibes right now.

We need to actually see what is she going to do on these -- to answer these tough questions and answer for the fact that she's now saying she doesn't support a number of the very liberal policies that she espoused in 2020. Voters have a right to have -- hear those answers. She hasn't put herself in a place where she has to be asked those questions.

HAYS: But she does take questions. She talks to the press every day on the plane. She's on -- she talks them under the wing. She has not gone down for a formal interview, but it's not like she's hiding from press. And also unemployment is at record lows, but.

KEILAR: OK. Yelling over the roar of a plane engine.

HAYS: I hear you, but it's not like she's not there.

KEILAR: I'm not -- I'm not giving someone full credit for a three word answer, but I hear -- I hear what you're saying. Does she need to sit down for an interview, also knowing that sometimes they don't go well? I mean, that's true. We of course want to see her sit down for an interview, because there are so many questions that -- that could be asked of her, and so many that need to be asked of her. Should she sit down for an interview?

HAYS: Yes, I think she should sit down for an interview. But we also have to recognize that people get their news in different ways, and she is reaching people and reaching her -- these voters in the swing states, on social media, on TikTok, on all these different platforms. Should she sit down for an interview? Yes. Does she take questions from reporters daily? Yes. So all these things still can be true and still need to sit down for an interview. MOWERS: I mean, look, Meghan and I answer more questions sitting here in the last five minutes than Kamala Harris has since she launched her campaign for president of the United States. She owes it to the American people. Sit down, answer questions. Say what you want about Donald Trump, love him, hate him. Think his answers are great. Think they're awful. He does engage with people he disagrees with. That's part of the reason we had a controversy last week is because he was talking to reporters who would challenge him on certain issues.

KEILAR: I don't think that's why there was a controversy, because of the reporters. I think it's because of what came out of his mouth, Matt.

MOWERS: But we should -- we should give some credit for sitting down with journalists who are going to ask you tough questions.

KEILAR: Sure.

MOWERS: Some of the Vice President and her team are not willing to do right now. And it really begs the question of why. The reason why is because, any time she's done it, you go back to Lester Holt interview when she said --

KEILAR: That's right.

MOWERS: -- well, you know, I -- I haven't visited Europe, so I'm not going to visit the border. Those are the types of answers that make the American people cringe at elected officials, because it shows you're dismissing their concerns. That's why the Harris campaign has not had her sit down for an interview. Hopefully that will change soon.

JIMENEZ: Yes. I agree. Hopefully it does change soon, like I said. I mean, she's welcome to come on anytime. Would love to -- to make that happen. But until then, we've got what we're seeing on the campaign trail right now. And Meghan Hays, Matt Mowers, appreciate you guys being here.

MOWERS: Thanks so much.

HAYS: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thanks for answering our questions.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes. It does. Yes, yes.

All right, still ahead, another blow to the so called squad. Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush loses her primary. We're going to talk to the candidate who ousted her and talk about what his win means for the Democratic Party heading into November.

Plus, Tropical Storm Debby, refueling and getting ready to dump even more rain that's expected to put even more pressure on waterways up and down the East Coast that are being pushed to their limits already.

[13:13:14] KEILAR: And what goes up must come down eventually, right? This is some deja vu on this tease here another setback for the two astronauts whose return to Earth has been delayed for two months now. What we're now learning ahead on CNN News Central.

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KEILAR: Another progressive member of the so called squad has lost a seat in Congress. Democrat and St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell defeated Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush last night in the second most expensive primary in American history. And the win in Bell's sales was really an $8 million infusion into the race from AIPAC, which is America's largest pro-Israel lobby. That's the same group that helped secure the defeat of another squad member back in June, Congressman Jamaal Bowman. During her concession speech last night, Bush railed against outside spending and directly went after AIPAC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down. Because it's now it has about some strings that I have attached as much as I love my job, but all they did was radicalize me, and so now they need to be afraid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Wesley Bell is joining us now. Mr. Bell, thank you for joining us after your big night. I -- I should mention you are favored for the general election. And of note, in this race, the issues really didn't come down to Gaza, Israel, but the money sure did. Progressives, of course, usually askew that kind of outside money. So as a self-described progressive, how are you reflecting on your win, considering that?

WESLEY BELL, DEFEATED "SQUAD" MEMBER CORI BUSH IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY: Well, you know, first of all, I want to thank all of the supporters and staffers and just so many folks that got us through the finish line. But this race on the ground wasn't about who was funding who and negative ads. This race was about the -- the issues that matter to the folks right here in this district.

And I sat on polls all day, in -- in the hottest day of the year, I might add. And folks were continually coming to me and saying, hey, I saw the ads, whatever. We want to know what you're going to do for us? And as the former Ferguson city councilman, as the current St. Louis County DA, folks around here know what they're going to get from me. They know I'm going to show up. They know I'm going to represent the interests of this district. And that's ultimately what brought this win home for us.

[13:20:10]

KEILAR: So what -- what issue then do you think it really came down to between you and the congresswoman?

BELL: You know, I think it's about priorities. And I think that her priorities seem to be more about things that outside of this district, as opposed to things that matter to folks that matter to folks in this district. We have, you know, we have really serious issues here. The number one killer of young black boys in this district is gun violence, and that's not OK with me. We have to push for common sense gun safety laws.

In Missouri, we have the most archaic abortion laws in the state. Women have absolutely no autonomy over their body, and it's important that we codify Roe versus Wade. We have healthcare and food deserts in this region. This region has been dying a slow death, losing population around the metropolitan area. And those are the things that matter to everyday folks in this region.

KEILAR: I mean those were also issues she focused on as well. Do you think that the outside money played no role in this?

BELL: No. I'm not going to say money didn't play a role, but on from both sides, there were -- there were attacks made for and against. There's no one in this district that wasn't aware of both of our positions. The difference is, is that the congresswoman's message was based on division, and our message was based on a vision for this region and how to move this region forward. And so at the end of the day, folks are -- voters are more savvy than we give them credit for.

They care about what we're going to do for them, and they know I've been an elected official now here for 10 years. So folks know me. They know that I'm a progressive prosecutor, and they know I'm going to be a progressive member of Congress. And but we're going to get things done and get results for the folks in this district.

KEILAR: Now on to the general and as I said, you are favored, but in a statement about their spending in your race, AIPAC said, AIPACs grassroots members are proud to support strong pro-Israel progressive Democrats like Wesley Bell, do you consider yourself a Zionist?

KEILAR: You know, here's the thing, I believe it's important for us to stand with our allies. If we want to avoid broader scale wars, that is what history has taught us. That it's important that we are reliable partners to our reliable partners. At the end of the day, we don't want to see one innocent Israeli or innocent Palestinian harmed. I hope to be a part of the coalition that helps to bring a lasting peace to that region.

But these are the national narratives. The folks at home in this district, they're worried about jobs and job opportunities, they're -- they're worried about public safety, they're worried about healthcare. And so, yes, I know that -- that's something that plays around the country.

KEILAR: OK. OK. But this narrative, put the $8 million in outside money into your race, and you're coming here to Washington, D.C., to the nation's Capitol. Do you believe in Israel's right to exist?

BELL: Absolutely. Israel has a right to exist. Israel has a right to defend itself, and we're going to stand -- KEILAR: Then what about that label, Zionist? Is that, I mean then to you, because that isn't one you accept when I ask you, is -- is it -- do you see it as a problematic label? Is it loaded? How do you see it?

BELL: What I see is, is that you're asking me about an issue. And I'm an African American man, and I live in a predominantly African American district. And so I -- we stand with our partners, and we stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters. We stand with Israel's right to exist, and we stand with all of our democratic partners, including Ukraine. And we have a large Bosnian community here. And -- and if Bosnia was ever to face any atrocities as they faced before, we would stand with them as well.

And so, yes, we stand with our democratic partners. We stand against terrorism. And we want to see a lasting peace in that region, and I think everyone feels that way.

KEILAR: I do you -- I want to move on to your record. You mentioned, of course, you are the county prosecutor. And -- and like Bush, you first gained prominence following the protests in Ferguson, Missouri over the police killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. Your decision as prosecutor not to bring charges against the officer who shot Brown frustrated some in the community. Others said that it was the right call and that it was a difficult one you made. Hard to believe Ferguson was a decade ago. What progress do you see having made -- having been made since then?

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BELL: Well, let's clarify. I wasn't the DA at the time.

KEILAR: That's right.

BELL: I was elected six years later, and we did re-review the case. But as you know, the depart -- the investigative body with the most resources in the world is the Department of Justice, and they investigated it in real time, and also concluded that they could not issue charges. And so it's not about right or wrong, the evidence simply isn't there, unfortunately and, you know, it -- it's hard in this -- in this job, when you can't bring justice to a family.

So we wrap our arms around any of our families who have lost a loved one -- lost loved ones. But we're always going to follow the law. But I will say this, I think that as the Ferguson city councilman, we brought community policing, court reforms, body cameras for every single officer. As county prosecutor, we expanded treatment programs for people struggling with mental health and substance abuse.

We created a conviction incident review unit where a wrongfully convicted man 20 years ago is now free as a result of that work, along with our community partners. So I'm very proud of the work of the men and women of this office and of this region. We have moved this region forward, but there's always more work to do.

KEILAR: What issues have you worked on there in -- in your county, in Missouri that you want to bring to Washington and also maybe that you want to build upon if you win in November?

BELL: You know, first and foremost, when the Dobbs decision was handed down, my office announced that we would not be prosecuting abortion cases. We joined DAs around the country in a letter refusing to prosecute those cases. And so we want to codify Roe versus Wade. Also at home, we created a diversion advisory committee where we get community partners that can help folks struggling with mental health, substance abuse, opioid abuse, and so that we can take those low level, non-violent offenders, connect them to the treatment that they need.

And when we -- when those folks get the help that they need to address the underlying root causes, they are significantly less likely to reoffend. And I think that that's something that we could look at nationally, because DA offices are uniquely situated to help in these situations, because once someone is charged, you have the ability to say, hey, if you work this program in good faith and get the help you need, then we perhaps we won't charge or reduce the charges. And I think that some -- those are resources that DAs across the country could use.

But -- but -- but also healthcare and in jobs and -- and job opportunities, so many things we need to work on. And I'm -- and I'm excited to stand with my fellow Democrats, but also reaching across the aisle when we can to get things done for this region and this Country.

KEILAR: Wesley Bell, thank you for being with us. Congratulations on your win.

BELL: Thank you. Thank you -- thanks for having on.

KEILAR: So welcome. Thank you.

[13:28:09]

And still to come, breaking news on the Boeing Starliner astronauts who have now been in space for more than 60 days. We did just get an update. It could be much, much longer we are learning. So we'll talk about what we found out from NASA, next.

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