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Democrats Kick Off Four-Day National Convention In Chicago; Trump Campaign Hits Swing States As Democrats Hold Conversion In Chicago; First Lady Jill Biden To Pay Tribute To Husband, Will Call On Americans To Get Behind Harris. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:22]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN News Central. I'm Brianna Keilar. at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Boris Sanchez is in Washington.

And here at the convention, it is opening day as Democrats rally in support of their presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. In just hours, delegates from across the country will begin gathering at the United Center here, this week long event capping off a whirlwind month for Harris who rose to the top of the ticket after President Biden's decision to step aside from this race. He will be giving tonight's keynote address, passing the torch to his running mate from four years ago.

The president expected to focus on their achievements together and argue that the Harris-Walz ticket is the natural successor to carry the party's agenda forward. Then there is First Lady Jill Biden and also Hillary Clinton who will be taking the stage tonight as well.

Here with me now is CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny, waiting for tonight, to quote J.Lo. What are we waiting for?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we're waiting for President Biden to walk into this convention hall. And I am imagining is a lot of applause that Joe Biden has ever received.

These Democratic delegates and party officials are grateful to him for what he's done as his record, but also his decision to step aside. And that is really what is really framing this entire convention here. When you talk to people, they are grateful and thankful, but also wondering how he's doing.

So there's this kind of subtext of this. But for the Biden speech, I'm told is going to be forward-looking. He is not going to be dwelling on the past. And he is using this moment to lift up Vice President Kamala Harris. His legacy will be defined in large part by the outcome of this election. There's just no question about it.

He may still have some sore feelings for other Democrats and party elders, but I'm told not for Vice President Harris because she was a loyal vice president during that role. She still is, obviously still, she's very much still in the role. But I think that is going to be the thing tonight.

And also, Hillary Clinton, she's coming home to Illinois. She's from Park Ridge, Illinois. If you know well, she's just north of Chicago here. So this is a moment for her as well. She wanted to crack those glass ceilings. You and I covered that campaign back in 2016. She didn't quite get there. So this also is a big moment for her, I think, as well.

KEILAR: Yeah, such an interesting point there. And Harris has momentum that is building behind her. What do you expect to hear from her when she is formally accepting the nomination later this week?

ZELENY: Look, she's going to be in the hall tonight. It's going to be the first time that Democrats see her. She's not expected to speak, but she'll be watching President Biden.

But when she does speak on Thursday, and really every speech is going to be given to the service of identifying her, filling in some of the blanks about what Americans may not know about her. And, you know, when you look at surveys, it's actually a fact. People aren't that familiar with her background and some of the details of what she's done. So every speech will be given for that.

But for her, she will be presenting herself as a contrast to Donald Trump. I'm told there's not expected to be much red meat or as much red meat from her as just a more optimistic hopeful look than it probably would have been a month ago.

But this speech from President Biden tonight after he addresses the convention, he's leading. And from this point, the convention will not be about him. So it is every superlative we can use to describe it, I think, as apt in this case, he didn't get a convention four years ago because of the pandemic. Tonight, he will, but in a very different way.

KEILAR: Yeah. And we should note just moments ago, President Biden arriving there at Joint Base Andrews with the First Lady as he will be making his way to Chicago for this big night, as he's going to keynote the first night of the convention. Jeff, thank you so much for your reporting. We appreciate it.

And as the Democratic National Convention kicks off, two new major national polls show Vice President Harris with a slight edge over Trump in a head to head matchup that is nationally there.

Joining us now to break this all down, we have CNN Political Director David Chalian. All right, David, let's take a closer look here at some of the key voting blocs, independent voters, young voters, black voters. Where does Harris stand now against Trump compared to how Biden was doing among those same key groups?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Exactly, Brianna. I mean, watching President Biden move to the helicopter there to come here for this past the torch moment tonight and look at the numbers on how the torch torches being passed among independents in that ABC News poll, what you see there is that back in July when it was Trump versus Biden, Trump had a 2 point advantage among independents, 10 point swing now towards Harris.

[14:06:02]

She has an eight point advantage, 48% to 40% among independents in this new ABC News poll. Look among younger voters, voters under the age of 40. so between 18 and 39, this was a group that Biden did have a little advantage of over Trump, seven points. Kamala Harris now has a 25 point advantage in this ABC News poll, 59% to Donald Trump's 34% with voters under 40 years old. And you see a similar thing going on with black voters here. Again, that was a group back in July. Donald Trump was obviously not winning them. It was a big Joe Biden group. 64 points was the edge that Biden had over Trump among African-Americans.

But look now, Kamala Harris has a 72 point edge over Trump, 83% to 11%. So some of these key constituencies are coming home in a big way for Kamala Harris, which is positioning her, as you noted, at the top in these polls with that slight national edge.

KEILAR: And she just unveiled her economic plan, David. But what does the polling show when it comes to who voters trust the most with the economy?

CHALIAN: Brianna, this is why I think we're going to hear a lot about her approach to the economy, the opportunity economy that she talks about, because right now, it is a Donald Trump category. And it's issue number one for voters. Look in this Washington Post poll that came out this weekend, again, this is national. We know this is a state by state race. But 46% Donald Trump is trusted to handle the economy, 37% Kamala Harris. That's a 9 percentage point advantage on the issue that most voters say is their top priority in this race. She's got to close that gap. And that'll be some of the work they do over the next four days here.

KEILAR: A new electoral outlook is showing multiple pathways to victory for Trump and also for Harris. David, take us through this.

CHALIAN: This was not the case. Just four weeks ago when Joe Biden was the nominee, there was basically one very narrow path, potentially to reelection for him. That's not the case now. We now have moved in our electoral outlook. Seven states are in the toss up battleground category. You see them in yellow there. It's not just that upper Rust Belt tier of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, but the Sun Belt now, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, these are all competitive states, newly competitive with Harris atop the ticket. Part of why, because of what I showed you in those polls, she has coalesced pieces of the Democratic Party here and the key coalitions that are part of the Biden victory from 2020, for instance. And she has snapped this race back into real competition here.

So what you see here, Harris right now has 225 electoral votes either leaning or solidly in her corner. Donald Trump has 219 electoral votes leaning or solidly in his corner. You know, you need 270 to win. It's those yellow states that are up for grabs. And I -- you know, this is going to be where they spend all their time and all their money. You see what Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail this week. And no doubt, Kamala Harris will be out there in those states right after this convention as well, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yeah. David Chalian, our olitical Sherpa in this very changing political landscape. Thank you so much for that.

CHALIAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: Let's talk more now with our panel. We have Ashley Allison, who is National Coalitions Director for Biden-Harris 2020. Shermichael Singleton is a Republican Strategist and a CNN Political Commentator. And we have Alex Thompson. He is a National Political Reporter for Axios and a new CNN Contributor. Welcome.

I do want to ask you, Ashley, because this is a historic moment for so many reasons. What we're going to see tonight, what we're going to see this week, what does Harris need to achieve at this convention?

ASHLEY ALLISON, NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR FOR BIDEN-HARRIS: Well, I think she needs to talk about the future and communicate with Americans. Like, everybody in this arena, they support Kamala Harris. They want the Democrats to win. So her job is to use the energy from inside here and speak to people who are not in Chicago right now and say, I want to build a future for America that you can thrive, that you can be a part of. And let me tell you how I will do it. You know, we talked about the economy being an important issue. And people like to talk about it through a couple of words like inflation or prices.

But when you talk about the economy to everyday Americans, it means childcare, it means healthcare, it means paid family leave. It means a lot of different -- it means access to reproductive freedom, all these issues that play into how you have an economically stable environment for yourself and your family. And I think she can paint that picture. She's uniquely poised to do it.

KEILAR: Shermichael, I wonder, we just heard moments ago from republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance. He was in Pennsylvania, as we see Vance and Trump bracketing this ticket here. And he was addressing Vice President Harris's momentum. Here's what he said.

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J.D. VANCE (R) VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: Well, I don't think that we have to blunt her momentum. I think we just have to tell the truth to the American people. I mean, our message is really simple, that Donald Trump delivered peace and prosperity. There was peace all over the world. He delivered rising take home pay for American workers. And Kamala Harris's administration, which is now 1,300 days and running, has delivered higher prices, unaffordable housing, and a chaotic situation all over the globe.

[14:10:08] We just really have to contrast those two visions and those two records of accomplishment. I think we do that. The American people are going to give Donald Trump another chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Saying they don't need to stop her momentum. They just really need to bring a contrast. Is that how you see it, or do they need to do both?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I mean, I think the momentum is going to be what the momentum will be. To Ashley's point, Democrats are excited. They were nervous about the possibility of losing in November.

So I'm not surprised that a significant number have sort of come home because Vice President Harris has invigorated them. But it's the folks in the middle that I think both candidates will have to appeal to. David Chalian talked about the economy being the number one issue where the former President leads by, I believe he said, nine points.

And so if you're talking to those folks in the middle, what is the restorative effort that you're affirmatively speaking forward-looking about in terms of increasing pay? Ashley talked about some of these issues. I think Republicans do have a great opportunity to talk about the fact that Republicans understand the importance of the family, generally speaking. And we want dads to be proud to be able to provide for their families. We're seeing that gap, the gender gap, because a lot of men, for example, do not feel that their needs have been addressed appropriately.

I think there are a lot of Americans, particularly those of color who are younger, who believe, you know what, I voted one particular way for a very long time. I was promised certain things over the last three and a half years, and nothing has happened. So I'm at a minimum interested in hearing a different message. And so Republicans need to make appeals to those individuals.

KEILAR: Alex, you have a new story out for Axios, where you're talking about tonight, which is -- or really the President, President Biden. He's going to keynote tonight. It's really, as you describe it, a bittersweet moment. Tell us what you learned.

ALEX THOMPSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: Yeah. I mean, Jeff Zeleny sort of put it earlier that he's going to get a hero's welcome. Everyone is going to be cheering. But how would you feel if everyone is cheering you for something you didn't want to do? Joe Biden did not want to get out of this race. He made it very clear to every single person that he really believed that he was the person to beat Donald Trump. He's even said in interviews afterward that his polling still showed that he could have won.

And so you're going to have him go out there and everyone's going to be like, thank you for quitting. And that's a bittersweet feeling. Now, that being said, he is not going to, I think, show sort of that disappointment. Or if he does, it's not going to be willing because Joe Biden knows that Kamala Harris winning is key to his legacy now.

And so he is going to be full throated in support for -- he's going to do anything he can because Joe Biden's entire legacy, and Nancy Pelosi has articulated this too, is all caught up in whether or not Donald Trump returns to Oval Office.

KEILAR: And what about the first lady? She is someone who -- I think you see her emotions displayed often in a subtle way, but I do think you see them. And so I wonder how we are going to see that tonight.

THOMPSON: Honestly, it's the speech I'm most fascinated by because --

KEILAR: Me as well.

THOMPSON: Yes, because she does not hold her emotions. And not just that, she is known to be the grudge holder in the family. She often promotes it. There was back in 2020, even you may remember, when Kamala Harris of all people, basically attacked Joe Biden's record on busing. It was Jill Biden that held onto that grudge for a long time.

KEILAR: Yeah. So interesting. Shermichael, we just learned that in addition to these guests that we're going to see tonight, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you're also going to be hearing from women who were affected by the Supreme Court overturning the Roe decision. And I wonder what you think about how impactful that is going to be.

Singleton: I mean, look, I have always long believed, Brianna, that that is the single most consequential issue where Vice President Harris performs the best. I don't think she's very great on the economy. I don't think she's strong on immigration. I don't think she's strong on foreign policy. But when she's connecting with women on this issue about rights, about choice, it really does invigorate a lot of women. And Republicans have seen over the past two years, we've lost a lot of suburban moms. Many of those moms previously voted Republican. They were reliable Republican voters. And so that is a point of contention for the former President. It's why he has attempted to moderate himself as much as possible, because I think even he recognizes, holy smoke, the dog has caught the car, what in the world do we do?

And so I expect tonight, for those women, Secretary Clinton, Congresswoman AOC, to speak not only to older women who've experienced what it was like 30, 40, 50 years ago, but also to younger women who had a right that is now taken away. I think they'll do well delivering that message.

KEILAR: It's interesting because last week, Ashley, you had J.D. Vance, who was asked about Democrats seeing abortion as a motivating issue, which we know it has been. I mean, we've just seen that. Laura Ingraham was the one who asked him about it, as she put it, marinating in propaganda was how she put it about suburban women in this issue.

[14:15:08]

But he said he seemed to indicate that most suburban women, what they really care about is economic issues and crime. And I wonder what you think about that assessment.

ALLISON: Well, abortion is an economic issue. Whether or not a woman has a right to have bodily autonomy and create a family or for whatever -- for health reasons needs to not -- doesn't want to have the child, that's an economic issue, and we've said it over. And I think women understand that, like, having ownership over the decisions you get to make is how you can become a thriving person.

Now, J.D. Vance, I feel bad for the Republicans because it seems like he keeps --

SINGLETON: Do you?

ALLISON: I do, because I'm a true American, you know. I mean, you know, I think it's like when you think you're going to get a shiny car and you get a lemon, right, like, they polished it up, but when you start it, it, like, cuts out on you every week. And it seems like every week, he's having a cutout moment because he's saying something that just doesn't relate.

People do care about crime. But what they don't want to be a crime is when they make a decision about their body. And that is what J.D. Vance wants to do. J.D. Vance wants to criminalize doctors, and medical students, and women, and their friends, and their families, and the people in the surrounding communities that might help women have access to abortion care. That is not what women want. And I think that will fall flat on.

And J.D. Vance's position on reproductive freedom is so extreme, so aggressive, so a throwback to, you know, a time that we should never want to go back to again. When the American people learn about that, they won't support him.

SINGLETON: And see, that's the debate that Democrats want to have, as we just heard so eloquently stated by Ashley, because they went on that argument, which, again, is why Republicans have got to go to the two things that we do have working in our corner, immigration, the economy.

I do believe suburban moms care a lot about the cost of goods when they're going to the grocery stores. I do believe they care about whether or not their children are being raised in safe communities. And I do think republicans can make a cogent argument on those two points.

THOMPSON: Well, and what you both just said is why both campaigns are spending over $300 million on television and digital ads, basically just this month alone, because there is an arms race in order to, you know, define Kamala Harris. And they're trying to define her as, you know, a protector of freedoms. And the Trump campaign is trying to focus on border czar or immigration, inflation, the economy. And that's why this convention is so much more interesting than it was going to be four weeks ago.

I can tell you, people that were working on the convention, it was a lot -- it was going to be a lot of Trump. There's going to be a lot of Trump bashing. There'd be a lot of negative Trump. They have revamped a lot of the messaging to be much more positive and much more biographical about Kamala Harris.

KEILAR: And if any night is going to look different, I think it's going to be tonight.

ALLISON: Tonight.

KEILAR:" Thank you all so much. I really appreciate the conversation. And still ahead, Chicago police say, they're hoping to avoid any dust- ups with DNC protesters. But they will not tolerate any violence. And police are out in force as our protesters. We have more on the security preps across the city.

And as Hillary Clinton gets set for her big speech tonight, we're going to speak to her former campaign manager about what he expects to hear from the 2016 democratic presidential nominee.

Stay with us for more special live coverage of the DNC. When we come back.

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[14:23:11]

KEILAR: Four hours and counting until the start of the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. Tonight's featured speakers include 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, First Lady Jill Biden, and President Joe Biden, who will be delivering the night's keynote address.

We have Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell here with us to talk about that. You obviously have been a very big supporter of President Biden as he came to this tough decision to step aside. What are you expecting to hear from him tonight?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): You know, this is a very important night in his life and in his career. I think he's going to look forward as he has always tried to do. The last time I was with him, I spent about an hour with him a couple of weeks ago. We talked about everything, looking back and looking forward. He's got a great legacy.

He has a -- was one of the greatest presidents we've seen in our time. Too many people do not know what he got done or accomplished. Too many people take credit for the work that got done by him and his leadership, and don't talk enough about things they're seeing in their communities are a direct result of his work. He's going to walk into a hall that he's going to be loved tonight. And I'm sure what a bittersweet night for him.

KEILAR: Well, to that point, I was going to use that word. Is some of this going to be difficult? It sounds like there are going to be not many dry eyes in the hall. I mean, what are you expecting?

DINGELL: Look, I love the man. You know that. He and Jill have been friends for 40 years. He's been there for me and all the good times and the bad times. When John almost died, he's the one that was at his bedside and said, come on, fella, you can't. When I got sworn in and John was still recovering, he and Jill came so I'd have family there when I was sworn in.

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When John died, he and Jill were there. So this is a man I love. But I also know he's always been there for Americans. He operates from his heart. I can have tough discussions with him. He's always asked me, what do I need to know, Debbie? And I tell him the truth, be it autos or the Arab-American community. We talk honestly. He's a man that really wanted to serve his country, has spent his lifetime doing it. And it's not his swan song. He's got several more months of work ahead of him. But tonight is a night for him to be with people who help get him elected and love him.

KEILAR: And tonight, we'll hear from Hillary Clinton. And I covered that campaign. And there are a couple moments from it that I reflected on the night that she lost. One was in the primary when Bernie Sanders won your state of Michigan, which made me think of a time in the spring of 2016 where I was talking to you at an auto industry event sort of a campaign event for Hillary Clinton, and you were anxious. You had a lot of concerns about Michiganders and whether they were getting behind Hillary Clinton. I saw that moment sort of with fresh eyes.

I mean, you're very much -- you send off an alarm bell when it needs to be sent off. And I wonder what you think right now about how this ticket is faring in Michigan and what Kamala Harris needs to do to win over folks there.

DINGELL: So I want -- nobody listened to me in 2016. But --

KEILAR: They didn't but they should have.

DINGELL: (Inaudible) thought I was (inaudible). The Vice President does. I want to say that to you. Four years ago, she wouldn't leave Michigan until she told her team she looked in the whites of my eyes and I told her what I really thought. So that -- I can give you that story from four years ago. Michigan is a purple state. I'm not on the sugar high that a lot of other people are.

I'm excited. There's renewed energy. When we're doing the volunteer kickoffs, there's more people than you've seen. That's all there. But I'm in the union halls, I met some of the members of the Michigan militia last weekend. Donald Trump is going to Michigan tomorrow for a very deliberate reason in an area. I think we should all be asking why he chose since they had a Ku Klux Klan march there exactly three weeks ago, spreading his division and his hate. He plays to anxiety and fear.

But we got to get in the union halls. I've told every union leader, I'll go in your union hall between now and the election. We got to get those union hall members. They're just not sure. They've got to know who she is. Too many of them. Do you know how many teamsters don't know Joe Biden saved their pensions? Grown men that were in my arms sobbing as we fought to get that done. We need to tell the story. That's our job. We got to help her do it.

KEILAR: There are member -- so many uncommitted voters in the democratic primary, something we are watching in Michigan closely. And members of the uncommitted movement have requested a speaking slot here at the DNC. Should a representative of the movement have that opportunity to address the convention?

DINGELL: I think it is very important that all voices be heard. I was pleased that Julie Rodriguez, the Campaign Manager, I was the one that first brought her out to Michigan months ago when she met with Rashida Tlaib and a number of other members. More people came out. She returned to the community, had meetings, which you've read about, or I wouldn't have said it at the end of last week.

You know, there are people hurting on both sides. I think that we need a ceasefire. And I want -- I know everybody wants a cease fire on all sides. And the hostages need to be released. They need to come home. We are rapidly almost at a year of this horrific of what happened.

But, you know, more than 40,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza. Lebanon is about to explode any moment. We need peace. I know the -- I've talked to the President, I've talked to the Vice President and pulled me aside. The Christmas party got me in a corner for 30 minutes and just wanted to talk about what my constituents were telling me, how they felt. We need a ceasefire. We do not need the Mid-East to explode. It's one of the most important things we must address. And I pray that somehow, that is one of Joe Biden's legacy, peace, an end to this war.

KEILAR: Congresswoman, thank you so much. Really appreciate you joining us this week.

DINGELL: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you. And ahead, much more from here in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. And another story that we're following closely, catastrophic flooding in the Northeast. It has already killed at least two people. Forecasters say, the region is dealing with what they call a once in 200-year storm. We'll take a look at that next.

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