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Harris Lays Out Economic Plan In First Major Policy Speech; Harris: Bringing Down Costs Will Be Top Priority of Presidency; Stage Set, Security Ramped Up As DNC Begins Monday in Chicago; Secret Service Beefs Up Trump Security, Including Bulletproof Glass; Israel's Foreign Minister Says If Iran Attacks Israel, He "Expects" U.S., Britain, France To Counter-Attack Iran. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 16, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Breaking news into CNN, we've been watching Vice President Kamala Harris wrapping up her first major policy speech in North Carolina. She's now working the rope line, shaking hands with folks as she laid out new details on her economic agenda. She touted the Biden administration's work bringing the economy back from the COVID pandemic.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: She said she wants to build what she's calling an opportunity economy with bringing down costs of living as her top priority as president. And that includes her proposal to ban federal price gouging on groceries, lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs, and taking down barriers for home ownership.

We have CNN's Eva McKend in Raleigh for us. Eva was there for this speech.

How's it being received, Eva?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Jess, it's being received very well by this crowd. It is a smaller crowd than her typical campaign rally. And these are invited guests from the community.

But the Vice President basically outlined two very different visions for America. This was the first time that we heard her give a concrete policy address. But it was also significant because you could see she was really intentional about trying to connect with everyday Americans. She says that she knows what it's like when the prices add up for clothes, for food, for groceries, for everyday living expenses.

She talked about working at McDonald's as a young person in college and then seeing some of her co-workers at that time trying to make that salary work while raising a family. So, here are the actual concrete policies that she laid out: A federal ban on price gouging for food. She pledged to build 3 million new affordable homes. Homes that she underscored would, in fact, go to the working class.

And perhaps the loudest applause line came when she talked about helping first-time homebuyers, $25,000 for first-time homebuyers. You saw people get up on their feet and just applaud loudly. That was something that is very well received.

And no doubt, Jess and Boris, that is something that I repeatedly hear on the campaign trail. So many people are worried about the ability to buy a house and the ability to afford rent. And so this economic vision is really speaking to the needs of everyday Americans. Republicans are characterizing it as just a wish list.

They are, in fact, policies that would require working with Congress and are very difficult to get over the finish line. But at least now, Jess and Boris, we have a vision, a concrete policy vision, for what a Harris presidency would bring.

SANCHEZ: Eva McKend live for us in Raleigh. The question now becomes, how will voters absorb this vision of the economy? Let's discuss with our panel, Ameshia Cross, Matt Gorman, Jeff Zeleny and Julia Chatterley is with us as well.

Jeff, on the politics of this, there were two things that really struck out to me with this speech. And I think they were pretty obvious and deliberate. On the issue of tariffs, which Donald Trump has sort of made his namesake going back to his first run for the White House, Kamala Harris here describing it as a Trump tax on imports, essentially saying that Donald Trump wants to tax consumers.

And the second thing, she's spent this speech contrasting herself with Donald Trump. And I think the most clear contrast was the fact that yesterday Donald Trump is giving a press conference outside of his private golf club.

And then you have the Vice President here talking about how excited she was to see her mom save up for 10 years to buy a house. And then how she worked at McDonald's to put herself through college and watch people around her struggle to make ends meet, work multiple jobs to do that. So it gives a sense of legitimacy to this populist argument that she's trying to make.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORREPONDENT: I mean, the contrasts in every respect could not have been more clear. In terms of the Trump tariff, she really broke it down. She said it's a Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food.

So what this is doing by having her finally give a policy speech, it's shining a broader light on his policies. And there are gaps in both of them, no doubt about it. One thing she did not say is how any of this would be paid for. Of course, that is not uncommon in a presidential campaign. This is an aspirational level. He never says how he would pay for his plans either.

But what I did think - and this is the point of it, obviously - is to draw a contrast, obviously with him, but on the middle class and help explain herself. She still is not introduced that well to the American people. She's been in the public eye. She's been vice president. But allowing her to sprinkle in her biography, I thought was so interesting.

[15:05:04]

And we are going to hear more of that at the convention next week.

The housing crisis: I hear it constantly as I travel around the country talking to voters. You may ask, why didn't the Biden administration do more on this. It's a, you know, good thing to ask. They've done some, but she's focusing on that with a specific of $25,000. That would be certainly not paid for, but that is something that voters can get their minds around.

So I think drawing a sharp contrast here is exactly what she wants to be doing. The details, you know, they don't quite all add up. But again, we don't know the makeup of Congress, and they don't add up for either side. I mean, the campaign is about laying out your vision, and she's starting to do that.

DEAN: Yes, it's about laying out these lofty goals, and then you got to see where Congress lands and if you can actually get what parts of that you might be able to get done.

Ameshia, Jeff makes such a great point, which is there was so much personalization woven into what is an economic policy speech. And it struck me as when she would talk about - you know, she's talking about the feelings that she had when they moved into their first house, and what it feels like to be an American right now that's struggling.

She's trying to make that connection with voters that she sees them, that she hears them. It's a tale as old as time in politics, but not everybody can do it.

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Exactly. Well, you can't do it if you didn't live it. I think that the narrative she's able to build is one that comes from personal experience. And honestly, it's one that millions of families across America have in that same way, where they've watched their parents, they've watched their grandparents, caregivers have to save for years. Some of them make it to where they're able to buy a home. Many of them, quite frankly, do not.

I think that her having that conversation showcasing how she also had to work in college, working a low-wage job, setting up that dichotomy that many people still don't understand. The majority of folks in low- wage jobs have families at home. These are not teenagers who are trying to, you know, save some extra cash. These are folks who are paying rent, who have to buy school supplies, who have to ensure that everything is taken care of at home, utilities and all of that, off of the cost of what you're going to earn flipping burgers. That is a very tough thing to do in this society.

But I think that what she also did in outlining the policy platform she did was pay attention to what Americans are seriously concerned about. We know housing is one of those. We know that being able to afford simple cost of living is one of those. We also know that it matters to have someone who has lived that, who has watched their family live it, have that conversation. Because at that point, it shows not only a heart, but it also shows that you understand what that means in everyday life.

Back to school is just a minute around the corner. For some people, it's already started. They already know what that cost is.

SANCHEZ: Matt, we had to interrupt you before you were ...

DEAN: I know, and I wanted to hear your answer.

MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: It's all good. That was so intelligent, I already (INAUDIBLE) ...

SANCHEZ: Well, yes, it was a great response that unfortunately we had to cut away from. But now that you've heard the speech ...

GORMAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... what stands out to you as the most clear and effective line of attack that we're likely going to hear from Republicans as a response?

GORMAN: Two things. I think, number one, she had took a lot of far- left positions during her first run in 2019 and 2020. She has, you know, temporarily kind of moderated these through some anonymous quotes from aides saying, well, she doesn't really want to ban fracking anymore. She doesn't want to do this, she doesn't want to do that.

This new program that she's kind of doing is pretty far left, $25,000, price controlled essentially. That's number one. But the other thing is, you know, kind of conveniently forgot she was vice president for the last four years when a lot of the housing market crisis was at its worst, when inflation was at its worst. So there's a lot of memory holing that.

But look, when it comes to the $25K, I mean, you just added $25,000 into every price - in - on every home price in the country, because if you're giving that away essentially for free, people will add it into the price. And obviously price controls have come under criticism from The Washington Post, Catherine Rampell, whom this channel's talked to earlier.

So you're going to see a lot of that in the messaging over the next couple of days, if not weeks, as we go into the convention.

DEAN: And Julia Chatterley is with us as well, monitoring all of the economic pieces of these economic policies, how they would actually work.

And Julia, I think people are watching this and absorbing this and wondering to themselves, okay, maybe that sounds interesting that would it actually work, will these things actually do what Vice President Harris wants them to do. JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: I think this was a master class in sticking to the script, keeping things very voter friendly, keeping the details incredibly light and not talking about how you have to pay for it all. If Donald Trump is sort of Harry Potter in terms of the magician for his policies, this was a bit Hermione Granger. It wasn't even just about not paying for it. She said she was going to reduce the deficit despite all these giveaways as well.

And I understand that's politics at this moment. But I think your point is so accurate when she was talking about all of the things that are impacting people, whether it's high prices. And we know prices have soared over this administration, unaffordability crisis in housing.

I mean, house prices, the medium house price is up 20 percent over the past three years. So she did a great job, I think, of changing the narrative, which is reflected so poorly on President Biden, to try and make it more optimistic about what she's going to do.

Just to give you a snapshot of some of the things that she said in the price gouging comments, I just don't know how that federal ban is going to work.

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If they're talking about directly targeting prices, it will require some form of act of Congress, isolating how and where price gouging is taking place is very difficult. She talked about the profits of grocery stores. Their margins are incredibly thin for every dollar sale. They make profits of around $0.01 to $0.03, just try proving that their price gouging is going to be incredibly difficult beyond anything else.

On housing, she said, at the end of her first term, she hopes to have those 3 million houses built. But in order to do that, a lot of these home builders and they are saying that they'll provide incentives, they're going to have to borrow money and we know interest rates are really high. So a lot of that's going to depend on mortgage rates coming down, which could end up fueling house prices even higher if people start buying. But also home builders are going to want to be able to borrow at lower rates as well.

I mean, I can pick out a whole host of other things where the devil's going to be in the detail, and it's all going to be about the execution. But I will say very quickly, I like the way that she compared and contrasted with Trump over what his impact will be. And I have to say, it's inflationary in many of these cases.

SANCHEZ: That is something that we've heard from a variety of economists. And Ameshia, I'm wondering, as Julia is laying out, the fact that the details are incredibly light when it comes to these plans. There were allusions to cutting red tape, to lowering the deficit. Not many details on exactly how they would do that, what the cost of these proposals would be. At some point, when you're talking about a potential ban on price gouging or offering this relief to first-time homebuyers, you run into the reality of Congress and what would actually pass. She even mentioned breaking down red tape at the state and local level to enhance home building, to build up inventory.

Which of these proposals do you think actually will get to Congress and then pass?

CROSS: Well, some of this is going to be dependent on the makeup of Congress. What we do know that Kamala Harris has done extremely well is be able to play across the board. Her fundraising strategy, the sheer, you know, historical fundraising she's been able to do in a categorically very short amount of time, is not only for her at the top of the ticket, it's also for those down-ballot races. The makeup of Congress is going to really make a difference here.

But I would also argue that she is utilizing things that, in some ways, we saw from Build Back Better and expanding them. So Congress, and what it looks like, is going to, again, throw this to the Republicans. Tell them that the American people are demanding these things. They want affordable housing. They want to be able to pay rent. They want to be able to ensure that they can buy their kids' school supplies and be able to feed them at the same time.

These are things that matter no matter what political or partisan stripe you happen to be a part of. What she's doing is laying this out to the American people. American people honestly don't care how the sausage is made. They want to be able to take care of their families.

DEAN: Matt, I want to end the way we began, which is to finally get your answer on what I was asking you like an hour ago.

GORMAN: Yes.

DEAN: But just reminding everyone the fact that we are seeing Republican - the Republican ticket and the Democratic ticket in some cases, not in all. Obviously, this is very different. There are a lot of contrasts. But on some of these issues, like expanding the child tax credit, like getting rid of taxes on tips, we're seeing Trump and Harris align on some of those. Why do you think that is?

GORMAN: I think they see in the numbers in the polling that the more populism (ph) is more popular. And one of the more popular things among both parties, and I think one of the most likely things you're going to see continue, no matter who's president, is one of the things she attacked, the policy towards China.

It might be differences on tariffs here and there. But in large part, over the last, you know, eight, seven, eight years going into the next administration, China policy has been relatively unanimous among both parties with some things here or there. That was likely to continue no matter who's president.

DEAN: All right. Our thanks to all of you for being here and to Julia, who is with us from New York. We appreciate it. Still ahead this hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the Secret Service beefs up security around former President Donald Trump. The visible measures they're putting into place after last month's failed assassination attempt.

Plus, a senior Biden administration official says ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are now in the, quote, "endgame."

SANCHEZ: And as we were just discussing, North Carolina is in the spotlight for both presidential campaigns this week. It has not gone blue since 2008, but Democrats see signs that this election could be different.

Those stories and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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DEAN: Just three days now until the Democratic National Convention gets underway in Chicago, and the DNC is giving us a first glimpse of what the main stage is going to look like. The city also bracing for mass protests that could upend the party's show of unity.

SANCHEZ: Now, Barricades and fencing are being set up around the arena, where Vice President Harris and other high-profile Democrats are set to speak. CNN's Whitney Wild is live outside the United Center in Chicago.

Whitney, what are you seeing in terms of preps right now?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing more and more fencing. This is one of the key tools that law enforcement is going to look to as they're expecting 10s of thousands of people to descend on the United Center and McCormick Place, those two host locations for the Democratic National Convention.

It takes several days to get this fence up. As you see, there's some folks here trying to get it up and running here. The United Center has been shut down for a month. That is how long it takes to get all of these different layers of security up and running. But again, what you'll see, the most visible signs are going to be these blocks and blocks of fences surrounding these two host locations.

This is what is securing the hardened perimeter. This is the inner perimeter where you cannot get in unless you have a credential for the Democratic National Convention. But then there's this soft perimeter around the outside, and that's where pedestrians can come. It's really just closed off to vehicle traffic.

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But regular people can come and take part in the DNC, even if they don't have a credential in that exterior zone.

This is a massive undertaking, and it comes at a really fraught time. This is, you know, just a month after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. An intelligence bulletin about the DNC obtained by CNN said that law enforcement is on high alert for retaliatory attacks against Democrats as a result of that attempted assassination.

In addition, law enforcement is always hyper-concerned about a range of threats, a mass casualty incident, a lone wolf attack. So they're really trying to balance all of these different security scenarios while also making sure that people can have, you know, a calm and secure experience, protesters, regular civilians. Here's what the Secret Service told us about putting a security event like this together at such a highly tense and fraught time.

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DEREK MAYER, U.S. SECRET SERVICE DEPUTY SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: So I mean, I think the world is a very dangerous place nowadays. I can tell you for the DNC specifically, the whole-of-government approach, we've been planning for the DNC since last April.

The Secret Service, along with the FBI and FEMA, have been developing a plan for over a year, and the whole-of-government approach, we also rely heavily on our local partners, and that's Chicago PD. Secret Service could not ask for a better partner in this than Chicago PD.

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WILD: Law enforcement's going to have support in the air. There's going to be, you know, helicopters up, military planes up. They're also going to have support from the water. So this is really a multifaceted approach. Again, in addition to all of the law enforcement that's going to be boots on the ground here, there are more than 500 mutual aid officers expected to come down to the DNC, and those are officers that would be coming from beyond the Chicago area in addition to the thousands of Chicago police officers who are going to be boots on the ground here, guys.

SANCHEZ: It is a massive effort. Whitney Wild from Chicago, thank you so much.

Meantime, the Secret Service says it's stepping up security for Donald Trump, including using bulletproof glass to surround him at rallies.

DEAN: These changes are coming after Trump was nearly assassinated at that outdoor rally last month in Butler, Pennsylvania. Of course, the agency was heavily criticized for failing to protect him.

Joining us now to discuss is CNN Chief Law Enforcement Intelligence Analyst John Miller. And John, the FBI has said the individual who shot Donald Trump in Pennsylvania appeared to be acting alone. And if that's the case, if this was an isolated incident, what can we draw then from this increase in security?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it makes sense, Jessica. First of all, you've got the Iranian threat, which had existed before the Pennsylvania shooting. But since then, an individual has been charged with trying to recruit assassins on U.S. soil, allegedly for the government of Iran, with Donald Trump as one of the targets. So that threat doesn't go away. If anything, it's now heightened because of the increasing tensions in the Middle East.

Then, of course, you have the theory that if that individual who shot at Trump and hit him in Pennsylvania was a lone wolf, we know from the school shootings, we know from these other mass shootings that one of those crimes usually inspires or inspires an existing planner to accelerate their plans and join the momentum.

Some of the studies they've done into these offenders show that when they see the notoriety the person before them gets, that they want that notoriety for themselves, which is one of the very reasons we talk about him as the shooter, as opposed to repeating his name and adding to that fame. So all of these factors play into it.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right, John Miller, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

Up next, we'll go to Venezuela, where ominous black exes have begun appearing on the doors of Nicolas Maduro's opponents, as the contested leader promotes an app where citizens can snitch on those who do not support him.

SANCHEZ: Plus, an update on the bizarre failed foreclosure of Elvis Presley's estate, a woman now being charged in this alleged scheme to steal Graceland.

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SANCHEZ: A comment from one Israeli official is now sparking fear about the Israel-Hamas war spreading to more countries. Israel's foreign minister says he expects allies like Britain and France to counter-attack Iran if Iran attacks Israel. This was at a meeting set up to discuss preventing regional escalation.

DEAN: Iran's supreme leader has already promised, quote, severe revenge on Israel after some top Hamas officials were killed, including one inside Tehran. Let's go now to CNN's Fred Pleitgen, who is live in Tehran with the latest. Fred?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Jessica. Well, first of all, you're absolutely right, those remarks by the Israeli foreign minister essentially saying that he expects the United Kingdom and France to attack Iran if Iran retaliates after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh here in Iran, of course, on July 31st.

I've been asking some sources on the ground here in Iran about that. Essentially, all of them were laughing those comments off by the Israeli foreign minister. The Iranians are saying that it's going to be up to them whether or not they retaliate. They certainly do say that they're not going to allow comments like that to derail any sort of retaliation if that were to happen. [15:30:01]