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Biden to Pass Torch to Harris in Speech; Trump Hits Battleground States; Cedric Richmond is Interviewed about the Harris Campaign; Security at the DNC; New Polls Show Harris with Edge. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

PRISCILLA FORSYTH, IOWA VOTER: On track?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A loyal Explorers fans and a loyal Republican in a solid red county and state. But at the moment, she thinks her candidate is struggling, just like her team.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: John King always has such insightful reports. Thank you to him.

Kate, over to you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

Breaking overnight, Hamas is claiming responsibility for a deadly explosion in Tel Aviv. Video geolocated by CNN shows the moment of the explosion on Sunday. One person was injured after being hit by shrapnel in what the Israeli government calls a terror attack.

This happening as Secretary of State Tony Blinken is in Israel right now trying to push ceasefire negotiations forward. Blinken has called it maybe the last opportunity to finalize a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Sources say George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman from New York, is expected to plead guilty today to federal fraud charges. This is related to his 2022 midterm campaign. Santos, who was, remember, expelled from the House last year, had initially pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including illegal use of campaign funds and also falsifying personal financial information.

And new this morning, a nightmare situation unfolding in Italy. A powerful tornado off the coast of Sicily struck a yacht, killing one person. Fifteen people were also rescued, but six more are still missing. Italy's coast guard said the yacht was carrying mostly British passengers. It was anchored about a half mile from the nearby port. The yacht's captain is among the survivors. But, man, what a situation unfolding there. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Kate Bolduan is in New York.

So, in just a few hours, this room behind us, it will be full of Democratic delegates. Screaming Democratic delegates. And we are told very, very happy Democratic delegates. They like -

SIDNER: Joyous even.

BERMAN: Joy.

SIDNER: Joyous even.

BERMAN: That's exactly right. What was the phrase that Bakari used?

SIDNER: Apostles of joy.

BERMAN: Apostles of joy.

They are all happy, they say, about where this campaign is this morning, compared to where it was, say, four weeks and one day ago. That is when President Biden dropped out and Vice President Kamala Harris jumped in. The main speaker tonight though will be President Biden.

And a few minutes ago, the White House communications director told us what the president will be discussing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN LABOLT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The president has focused his presidency on defending democracy at home against the threat posed by Donald Trump, who wants to be a dictator on day one. And he's going to call on Americans tonight to defend democracy one more time in November by voting for his close governing partner, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Kevin Liptak is leading us off this morning.

Kevin, look, the week clearly all about Kamala Harris, but tonight is President Biden's night. What are you learning about his moment, what he is planning to say and, of course, what we're going to see the week ahead?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and it's clear he's taking this speech very seriously. He spent the entire weekend up at Camp David with two of his senior most aides, revising exactly what he wanted to say.

You know, I don't think the weight of this moment is lost on President Biden. He came to his first Democratic National Convention in 1972. Back then he was a long shot candidate to become the youngest member of the U.S. Senate. Tonight is really the end of that political arc. He is now the oldest sitting president, the incumbent, handing off the baton to his vice president.

You know, this isn't the speech the president would have wanted to give. It wasn't the speech that he was hoping to give. And I think in some ways he is still processing the decision to remove himself from the top of the ticket.

But when you talk to the president's aides, they do say that he really does want to make the case for Kamala Harris as the most natural inheritor of his legacy, as the best person to carry on what he started in office.

Kamala Harris will be in the arena tonight when the president is speaking. That was a very important thing for her. But afterwards, the Bidens will head off on vacation in California, essentially handing the keys of this convention to Kamala Harris.

And when you look at the program that Democrats have organized for this week, you really do see two key objectives. One is to introduce Kamala Harris to an American public that may have not just been paying attention up until now. And she'll have a lot of help on that front. Two former presidents, former first ladies, a number of high high- profile Democrats here to really sing Kamala Harris' his praises.

The other objective, I think, is to lay out the stakes of this election and really make the case against Donald Trump, argue that he's a threat to democracy.

[09:05:04]

And we are learning this morning that the Democrats do plan to feature some high-profile speakers, members of the January 6th Committee on Capitol Hill. Also, a police officer who was injured in the Capitol riot really sort of laying the stakes about Donald Trump in their programming.

Of course, the highest profile moment will come Thursday evening when we hear from Kamala Harris herself. She did just yesterday speak about her preparations for that big speech. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Essentially it's much of what you've probably heard me talk about before in terms of just what I believe to be the promise of America. And the fact that we're all in this. And there's, obviously, a lot at stake. But there's also a lot to feel good about in terms of the future of our country.

So, there will be a lot that is about what I believe is a way forward, a new way forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LIPTAK: So, there's no question, Kamala Harris is coming into this convention riding an enormous swell of momentum. Polls show her with a slight lead. But it is still a close race. And when you talk to Harris aides, they make clear that the real work will begin once this convention is over.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, we just heard, not taking anything for granted.

Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for your reporting.

All right, while Democrats are enraptured in a joyous and historic convention here in Chicago, Donald Trump will be making his way through five swing states this week, starting with Pennsylvania today, hoping to get some eyeballs. The Trump campaign is fighting to stay in the spotlight, even as the DNC takes center stage. But can he do what his allies are begging him to do, stay on message?

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now.

The Trump campaign, the organization, is very, very busy this week. But that idea of him staying on message hasn't happened quite yet. Tell us more.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And even this week they are planning these specific events to be, quote/unquote, messaging events. That is the internal term that they use. That means smaller crowds, smaller venues, and a chance for him to focus on one topic. It's kind of like what you saw in North Carolina. Obviously, Donald Trump did veer off the economy at that point, attacking personally Kamala Harris, but this is the runway that the campaign is setting up.

So, let's talk about where he's going to be this week because they're all battleground states. He's going to be today in York, Pennsylvania. That is going to be a speech focused again on the economy. On Tuesday he's going to be in Howell, Michigan. That is a suburb of Detroit. It's going to be focused on crime and safety. Wednesday, Asheboro, North Carolina. Thursday, it's going to be just south of Tucson, on the border there. Obviously, talking about immigration. Friday, he's going to be in both Vegas and Glendale, Arizona. Now, Glendale, Arizona, that is going to be a rally, but the rest of these again are going to be called messaging events.

Now, Donald Trump himself, as you said, his allies have been begging him to stay on message, but it appears harder for him to do and something we've seen for the last eight years, it is harder for him to do. This was him this weekend at a rally in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Crooked Joe have - what happened to Biden? I was running against Biden. All of a sudden I'm running against somebody else. It's true. You know, it's interesting, I said, who am I running against? Harris. I said, who the hell is Harris?

I believe she will be easier to beat than him because she's a truly radical left lunatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, whether or not he believes that is true, yet to be seen. But his campaign certainly is dragging the fact that the polls have tightened, that there is a new enthusiasm around Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.

And just one other thing to note here, he's still talking about Joe Biden being at the top of the ticket, not necessarily talking about Kamala Harris. So, clear where his head is at this point.

SIDNER: It sounds like regret there when you listen to him covech (ph) about that he's now up against Harris.

Kristin Holmes, thank you so much.

HOLMES: Getting - getting what you wish for, Sara.

SIDNER: Getting what you wish for.

All right. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is former Congressman Cedric Richmond, the co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, who was the co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign.

And I guess before I get to what we're going to see here tonight, that's sort of my first question is, what's different in your mind working with and for the Harris-Walz campaign than the Biden-Harris campaign?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, CO-CHAIR, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Well, they're certainly two different people. But I will say, the common theme is that they both put people over politics, and that they wake up every morning trying to figure out how to make people's lives better as opposed to what's in it for them. And so I think the best example of that is watching President Biden pass the baton, because it was in what he thought was the best interest of this country. And so, I think that's the common theme.

Now, they approached things a little bit different. But I think that -

BERMAN: How? How would you say?

RICHMOND: Well, they're both very demanding. And Vice President Harris looks at things through the lens of probably a prosecutor, and President Biden through a person who's been in public service his entire adult life. And so, it's different.

[09:10:02] But the good thing is, I think that they had a great partnership when they were in the White House. And she was a real partner. He included her in his decisions. She had a chance to watch. She had a chance to experience the White House. And I think that that has made her, one, will make her a great president. But two, it's making her a great candidate also.

BERMAN: How much do you think she will embrace every decision that was made in the White House this week, and how much do you think she'll say, you know what, that was then, this is now, I'm taking a step forward.

RICHMOND: Well, she's her own person. And you see that with some of the proposals that she laid out. She goes further than President Biden did on the child tax credit, which lifted half of kids out of poverty. She's going to go further on the building of new homes so that we can bring housing costs down in this country. So, she embraces what the president was able to do. But some things she wants to go further. Some things she will have a different opinion, as she rolls out her policy. But I think the difference are smaller than the consistent similarity, which is, they care about people.

BERMAN: You said pass the baton, which is a phrase that Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, used with us twice. So, obviously, I guess that is a theme, a deliberate theme tonight. What will that look like? I know it literally won't be the passing of a physical baton, but how do you think the president will frame that passing?

RICHMOND: Well, look, I think - I hope, and I have not talked to him about his speech, but what I hope he focus on and what I hope the American people see tonight is that politicians worry about the next election. Statesman worry about the next generation. And when he came off the sidelines four years ago, he came off the sidelines to beat what he thought was an existential threat to this country, and that was Donald Trump. And he was so concerned about America's future that he ran for president. And he beat Donald Trump. And this time it - I think it was the exact same, that he was so concerned about our future, he was so concerned about the division that he once again said, this is not about me, this is about the country. So, I am going to remove myself from this process. I am going to pass the baton over to a very qualified, brilliant, legal scholar and political - public servant, Kamala Harris. And that's what I hope he talks about tonight.

But the other thing I want him to focus on is his historic accomplishments and how we got to this moment. Kamala Harris is vice president because he picked her. Ketanji Brown Jackson is on the Supreme Court because he picked her. And he has been so forward leaning into uniting this country and using the talent of everybody, regardless of what they look like, who they love, of anything else. And I hope that that brings us together and I hope that it doesn't just bring Democrats together, but that it unites the country.

BERMAN: We just had a report on what - what former President Donald Trump has been saying on the campaign trail. One of the things he said a few times this weekend, I think, was that I'm better looking then Vice President Harris. What does that tell you about how he's thinking right now?

RICHMOND: He's stuck in a terrible threes. I mean, everything he says is I, I, I, mine, mine, mine. And it's all about him. And so he has - he doesn't talk about policy. Project 2025 is the closest thing he has to policy, but he's distanced himself from that.

But if you ask him what is it that he's proposing for the American people, he doesn't have an answer. And if - I hate to always go back in the past, because this race is about tomorrow. But if you ever want to know what someone's going to do, look at what they did in the past. And his handling of Covid, coming on TV saying drink bleach or one day it's just going to magically go away was irresponsible. He wrecked the economy and cost peoples jobs and it costs so many millions of - so many hundreds of thousands of Americans their lives.

And so, I'm very concerned about what a Trump presidency would look like. But a Trump campaign also hurts this country because he just divides and pits people against each other. And so I hope people see that difference. But he doesn't have the discipline. It's just not in him. It's the same reason a mule can't win the Kentucky Derby. It's not in him. And he cannot stay on task. He cannot stay focused. He cannot talk about issues because everything he does goes back to schoolyard bullying of calling names, and just degrading and dividing people.

BERMAN: Former Congressman Cedric Richmond, great to have you here with us. Thank you so much.

RICHMOND: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, as Democrats meet for the first day of the DNC, the Democratic Convention, they're all - they are also preparing for protests. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are headed to Chicago. What all went into preparing to keep this massive gathering safe and secure, and how those plans now look as they kick things off.

Some big names are heading to Chicago to support the Harris-Walz ticket. A look at what celebrities are there and why people are holding out hope for Beyonce and/or a Taylor Swift surprise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:19:41]

BOLDUAN: This morning, the Illinois National Guard is on standby and law enforcement officers are out in force in Chicago for the Democratic Convention. Thousands of protesters are expected there throughout the week.

We're going to show you video from this week's first demonstration that was permitted. They had a permit in the Chicago loop (ph).

[09:20:01]

It happened last night. Pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. That's the beginning of what is likely to be much more than that.

CNN's Whitney Wild is outside the convention site.

You've been tracking kind of the preps and the massive operation leading up to this to prepare for the convention. What are you hearing and seeing about the preps, now that really the convention is getting underway?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a massive presence here, Kate. And what law enforcement is anticipating is that tens of thousands of people are going to descend on the city. Today is the day of the major protests. As we have said several times, this area, Kate, is home to the largest Palestinian population in the United States. And for months we have seen thousands of people take to the streets in Chicago in protest of the war in the Middle East. And certainly we are expecting that these protest groups are going to use the DNC spotlight as an opportunity to bring more awareness.

They - the major protest group is the coalition to march on the DNC. That's a group of around 270 organizations that have come together to try to, again, bring tens of thousands of people to the city of Chicago to protest.

This is a very hard security perimeter here at the DNC. Let me show you, Kate. What you see for several blocks outside the United Center is this non-scalable fencing. And this is actually what they have at the McCormack Place as well, which is that other DNC location. Again, this goes on for blocks. It is complemented, Kate, by thousands of law enforcement on the ground. Thousands of Chicago police officers, hundreds of mutual aid officers. They're also getting support from the air, as well as on the water.

And then, Kate, in addition to this massive law enforcement presence, Illinois' governor says that around 250 members of the Illinois National Guard have been authorized. So certainly law enforcement is looking at the potential for huge protests and saying that they need to have enough staffing to try to mitigate any problems.

As far as making sure that peoples' First Amendment rights are protected, Chicago police have gone through extensive training to make sure that that First Amendment protests can be respected and remains peaceful. But they say they have zero tolerance for criminal activity, Kate. And so (INAUDIBLE) Chicago Police Department.

But again, they say that they are leaning on their months of training to try to make sure there are no problems in the surrounding neighborhoods throughout the city, and that this protests can happen peacefully, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and putting that training into practice right now.

Thank you so much, Whitney. Really appreciate all your reporting on this.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

The race for the White House has tightened but also shifted dramatically since President Biden withdrew from contention. CNN's Harry Enten breaking down where the polls stand now.

And Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Israel. Part of the latest attempt that a ceasefire and hostage release deal. But things just got far more difficult. We'll discuss, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:27:26]

BERMAN: All right, welcome back to the Democratic National Convention. Behind us is the hall where it will all be kicking off in just a few hours. Now traditionally, candidates get a bounce out of the convention, picking up a point or two in the polls. Where do things stand right now before what Democrats hope will be that bounce? CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten is somewhere in this room behind me, although I can't see him no matter where I look.

All right, Harry, where do things stand in these national polls? A bunch came out this weekend.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, a bunch came out this weekend. And if you're a regular viewer at home, sometimes you might see a poll like a Fox News poll last week that had Donald Trump up by a point but within the margin of error. Then, of course, you see the ABC News/"Washington Post"/Ipsos poll that comes out this weekend. The CBS News YouGov poll that had Harris up.

So, I decided to compile all those polls. And I want to make it just really simple. Who led in a national poll in this month in August. And what we see here, I think it's pretty straightforward in - we have ten polls that meet CNN's standards for publication. Eight of the polls showed Harris ahead. Just two of the polls showed Donald Trump ahead. So, I think it is fair to say on aggregate that Kamala Harris leads nationally.

And what a change that is from a month ago when Joe Biden got out of the race, where more than - than more than 50 percent of the polls, Donald Trump was ahead nationally. Kamala Harris with clear momentum heading into this Democratic National Convention, which starts in a few hours, I believe, John.

BERMAN: It starts in a few hours. And that, what you just laid out right there, is a clear difference from four weeks and one day ago. So, what are the risk rewards? Sort of the upsides downsides for Vice President Harris as she tries to use this week to re-introduce herself to the American people?

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, you know, one of the big chief complaints from Republicans, right, is that she hasn't really put out much policy, right? And we don't necessarily know what she stands for.

And it turns out that that is something that I think a lot of Americans would agree with. So, you know, CBS News/YouGov came out yesterday and essentially asked, yes, I know what they stand for. Look at that, less than two-thirds of voters say they know what Kamala Harris stands for. Compare that to Donald Trump, where it's 86 percent.

Now, you could look at that and say, that's a bad thing for Kamala Harris, right, because the fact is Trump could potentially define her. But maybe it's a good thing for Kamala Harris because as we head into this Democratic National Convention, she can take control. She can say what she stands for. And more than that, maybe in this day and age in which you're trying to be everything for everybody and win those voters in the middle, maybe it's not such a bad thing, that maybe there's a little (INAUDIBLE).

[09:30:01]

But I think this week in particular could be a good chance for Kamala Harris to take that ball, take that talking point away from Republicans and say, this is where I am, this is what I.