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Biden to Jubilant, Emotional Crowd, America, I Gave My Best to You; Hillary Clinton Jabs Donald Trump in Return to DNC Stage; U.S. Concludes Iran is Behind Hacking Attempts Targeting Trump, Harris Campaigns. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 20, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning, I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner in Chicago. Kate Bolduan is in New York a huge day to planned at the Democratic National Convention Day one wrapped up just moments ago, for reals, as the kids say, though, the kids might not have been awake for what was a very, very emotional moment.

President Biden wiping away tears as he took the stage, telling the screaming crowd here and the country, I gave my best to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: America, I love you.

It's been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job. But I love my country more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: There was a room full of love there as he passed the torch to Kamala Harris. But there was also a heck of a lot of fire as he repeatedly ripped into Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: He never built a damn thing.

Donald Trump calls America a failing nation.

He's the loser. He's dead wrong.

Trump continues to lie about crime in America, like everything else.

And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.

Who in the hell does he think he is? Who does he think he is?

(END VIDEO CLIP) SIDNER: He was on fire. Let us bring in CNN White House correspondent Priscilla Alvarez.

Priscilla, this happened really, really late. But what has been the early reaction to this big moment for Biden that was both filled with sorrow and filled with passion?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, you've both used the word emotional, and that is exactly what I have been hearing. A lot of aides emotional seeing him on the stage, especially those staffers who a month ago were trying to get him re-elected.

But, look, earlier in the day, the president said that he was going to pass the torch to his vice president, Kamala Harris, and that is exactly what he did as he was greeted by applause and cheers, ticking through his accomplishments on the domestic front and on foreign policy, talking about infrastructure, taking a moment to reflect too on the Israel-Hamas war, and stressing the need to get a deal.

But while he was doing that, the cheers were saying, thank you to Joe, and he would say, thank you, Kamala, again, sort of showing that he is now passing the torch on to her, and really trying to zero in on how critical it is to get her elected. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became, when I became our nominee. And it was the best decision I made my whole career.

She's tough, she's experienced, and she has enormous integrity.

She'll be a president we can all be proud of. And she will be a historic president who puts her stamp on America's future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, that praise was also mutual earlier in the day. The vice president surprised attendees by giving remarks and she too talked about the president's leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.

This November, we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, we are moving forward. Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear and let us always remember, when we fight, we win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, of course, this was still a bit of a bittersweet moment for the president, who not long ago was planning to leave the Democratic National Convention as the Democratic nominee. But he said during his remarks that while he loved the job, he loved the country more. Now, while it may have sounded like a farewell speech, aides say that that is more likely to happen in January. The focus yesterday was on the vice president.

SIDNER: So, we saw the vice president. A lot of people weren't expecting to see her on the first night, but they won't see her much today, not in this place.

[07:05:04]

She's leaving Chicago. What's going on?

ALVAREZ: Yes, this is something that we've seen with candidates before, leaving, having an event before they give their address later in the week. This is going to happen with the vice president. She's going to be in Wisconsin. This is the third trip to that critical state since she became the Democratic presidential candidate. And she's going to have a rally in a location we may all be familiar with. That is where former President Donald Trump accepted the nomination during the Republican National Convention last month.

So, this might be a way to get under Trump's skin because Harris too has been bringing out large crowds.

SIDNER: All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for your reporting.

BERMAN: So, tonight, in this hall behind us, we will hear from former President Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. You know, I had an exclusive with Doug Emhoff last night.

SIDNER: I saw.

BERMAN: I asked him how he was feeling, and the answer, if I remember correctly, was great, right? It was an extensive exclusive.

Let's get more of a sense of what we will see tonight on this floor. CNN's Kevin Liptak is with us. Kevin, what are we will see.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It was a great interview, John. I loved it. I do think when you look at the roster tonight, yes, President Obama is really the speaker that Democrats are looking to make the affirmative case for Kamala Harris, in part because he's one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party alongside his wife, Michelle Obama.

But also he has known Kamala Harris for quite a long time. They have a relationship going back 20 years. And of all the national politicians who are going to hear from at this convention this week, he is perhaps the one who knows her the best.

You know, back in 2004, Kamala Harris was a delegate to the convention in Boston. She was inside the hall when then-candidate Obama delivered that keynote speech that essentially thrust him into the national spotlight. Back then, he described himself as the skinny kid with a funny name. Tonight, he comes on the convention stage as something of an elder statesman.

He has a couple of tasks One, I think, is to make this case for Kamala Harris. You know, we're talking to his advisers. They say he really wants to make the case that she and Tim Walz represent the best Democrats going forward, making the affirmative case for their candidacy. Certainly, he also wants to honor Joe Biden. We heard plenty of that last night as well, but it will be important to hear from the man who Joe Biden served for eight years as vice president. Theirs is a complicated relationship to be sure made more complicated by the last month or so.

But this is something that is very important to Barack Obama, and, in fact, he just tweeted yesterday, what I admire most about Joe is his decency, his resilience, and his remarkable belief in the purpose of our country. Those values are the ones that America needs most, Obama says. He says he's proud to call Joe Biden his president, and that he's grateful to call him his friend.

Now, according to a senior Obama adviser, he does view this as an all- hands-on-deck moment. He is prepared to do whatever he needs to do to get Kamala Harris elected. And in some ways, he's returning the favor. Back in 2008, Kamala Harris trekked to Iowa before the Iowa caucuses to make the case for Barack Obama. She knocked on doors. She handed out pizzas to people in line at the caucus stations. I don't think we're going to see Barack Obama handing out pizzas to anyone this fall, but certainly he wants to help her get to the White House.

BERMAN: Yes. Talk about a home court advantage. The former president will not only have a room full of Democrats, but it's in Chicago, his hometown. So, this will be something to see.

Kevin Liptak, great to see it, thank you very much. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's good to see you guys. Good morning. We've got much more ahead, including Donald Trump is spending the week in battleground states, attempting to counterprogram the Democratic convention, including posting about a fake endorsement from none other than Taylor Swift.

Also breaking overnight, the Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of six more hostages from inside Southern Gaza. What we know about the military operation now.

And divers are back in the water today searching for six people missing after a yacht was hit by what's been described as a freak storm. A British billionaire and his 18-year-old daughter are among the missing.

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[07:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It is no surprise, is it, that he is lying about Kamala's record, he's mocking her name and her laugh. Sounds familiar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a speech that really did light up the audience here at the United Center. Tonight, they will hear from several prominent Republicans who have endorsed Vice President Harris. Donald Trump, for his part, is trying to break through where he can today. Is he in -- he is, not a question. He is in Michigan as part of a week-long swing state tour.

CNN's Alayna Treene is with us. Talk to us about what we will see today, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, today, John, Donald Trump will be in Howell, Michigan. It's a suburb of Detroit. And the focus for those remarks will be on crime and safety. And, look, all of his speeches this week are quite different than the rallies that we typically associate with Donald Trump. They're not these big, you know, thousands of people coming to these events. Instead, they're at smaller venues with smaller crowds, smaller crowds.

[07:15:01]

And that's by design. What they want to do is really try to label each of these as a messaging event. Yesterday in York, Pennsylvania, he was talking about the economy. Later this week, he'll be in Arizona, at the border, to focus on immigration. Today, he's talking about crime. All of those, we know, are the top three issues that Donald Trump's campaign really wants the former president to focus on. And these smaller venues are kind of a way of them trying to keep Donald Trump on message.

Now, we actually did see Donald Trump show some of that restraint yesterday. It did seem that he is cognizant of all of his allies as well as many of his advisers on his campaign urging him to do away with the personal attacks to resist that personal impulse that Donald Trump has and instead try to keep the focus on the issues.

However, though he did stay on message during that event, he later did an interview with CBS News, where you did see kind of the old Donald Trump and his impulses to attack Harris directly come back. Take a listen to what he told them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I don't think she's a very bright person. I do feel that. I mean, I think that's right. I think I am a very bright person. And a lot of people say that. I don't think she's a very bright person. And you know what? Our country needs a very smart person. And I don't think she's a very smart person. So, I'm not looking to -- I don't consider that an insult. That's just a fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So there you have John Donald Trump saying that he doesn't think of that as an insult, but a fact.

And, look, part of the reason they want him to stay away from this is they are very wary of their campaign being viewed as a light on policy heavy on insult-type of outfit that will alienate swing voters. But that is how Donald Trump responds to these. I actually asked about this directly last week at a press conference, and he said, I think I'm entitled to personal tax, before going on to mock her intelligence.

And so we'll see how much you can stay on message today.

BERMAN: Yes, we'll see. All right, Alayna Treene, great to see you. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. It is the clearest sign yet that Iran is trying to influence the 2024 election. New details on the FBI's investigation into Iran's efforts to hack the Trump and Harris campaigns.

And there's been a lot going on inside this convention hall in Chicago, and a lot going on outside as well. President Biden's message to the thousands of anti-war protesters who have been in the streets, some of whom, by the way, arrested after trying to pull down the fence outside the convention, that's ahead.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Iran is rejecting a new U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran is behind the hacking operation targeting Donald Trump's presidential campaign and also attempted to hack the Biden-Harris campaign. U.S. officials believe that this marks the clearest sign yet that Iran and other nations are trying to influence the 2024 race.

CNN's Zach Cohen has this new reporting for us, and he's joining us now. Zach, tell us more about what you've learned about your new reporting.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, the U.S. government is publicly calling out Iran for trying to interfere in the 2024 presidential election and the FBI and several U.S. intelligence agencies putting out a joint statement yesterday saying they believe the Iranian government is both behind a hack and leak operation targeting Donald Trump's campaign and also attempts to hack the Biden Harris campaign, so really going after both political presidential campaigns in both parties.

In part, this FBI joint statement with the intel community said the I.C. is confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts, sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties. Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process.

Now, we know Donald Trump was briefed by the FBI after some documents that were believed to come from a senior campaign official were released and were brought to different news outlets. The news outlets reported having been approached with these documents.

Those documents are believed to come from and be the result of a hack of a senior campaign official on Donald Trump's campaign. And actually, they came from, first, a breach of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone's personal email account. The Iranian hackers then used that account to get access to the senior campaign official's account, thus leaking the documents after they got access to that.

Look, this is part of a broader, persistent effort by Iran to sow discord and interfere in U.S. politics and U.S. elections. We've seen them do this back in 2020 and in 2016, this statement from the FBI and the intelligence community reminding us that this is nothing new. But we are seeing more ramped up activity from Iran. That's the warning the FBI and the intel community has for Americans going into the last home stretch of this 2024 election.

BOLDUAN: Despite the rejection coming from Iran publicly, of course. It's good to see you, Zach. Thank you as always for your great reporting.

Coming up still for us, new security measures are going into place in Chicago after protesters breached a security barrier near the side of the DNC. We have more on that.

And the fiery speech from Hillary Clinton on day one of the Democratic Convention, her attacks against her former rival, Donald Trump, and the moment the crowd chanted their own twist on a familiar refrain that Trump leveled against Clinton in 2016.

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[07:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: This morning, Chicago police are reevaluating the security fencing around the United Center where the Democratic National Convention is being held. This is because four people were arrested for tearing down part of that barrier. Take a look.

CNN's Whitney Wilde is outside the United Center where part of that fence was yanked down. Whitney, what has changed? What are they planning on doing now after that incident there?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: In the short-term, Sara, they're putting up another layer of fencing. So, if you look over my shoulder here, this third layer of fencing is going up here just outside the United Center.

[07:30:05]

We are about a block from where the breach of this fence.