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Blinken Meets With Leaders In Egypt, Qatar Ahead Of Ceasefire Talks; Interview With Gov. Jared Polis (D) Colorado: Obamas To Make Case For Harris Tonight At DNC. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 20, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're following developing news out of the Middle East. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with officials in Qatar. He arrived there this afternoon, part of an urgent effort to finalize a ceasefire deal for Gaza.

Blinken also met with Egyptian officials today, trying to gauge Hamas's interest after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a U.S.-backed bridging proposal on Monday. Blinken says this could be the last chance to strike a deal, and all Hamas has to do is say yes.

Negotiations could resume sometime this week. Let's go live to Tel Aviv with CNN's Jeremy Diamond. And Jeremy, Secretary Blinken is in Doha right now. What's the latest you're hearing on negotiations?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Secretary of State is in Doha, and one of the key things that he's going to be looking to gauge is where Hamas currently stands. That's because the Qataris are the key interlocutors with Hamas, and so far, the United States is suggesting that the ball is now in Hamas's court.

Yesterday, we heard the Secretary of State say, after meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, that Netanyahu had indeed accepted the U.S.'s bridging proposal, aimed at trying to narrow the gaps between the Israeli and the Hamas position. But Hamas, for its part, has not accepted that bridging proposal, and they are accusing the United States of caving to several key Israeli demands as part of that proposal, including one of the key demands, which is maintaining Israeli troops along that Philadelphi corridor between the Egypt-Gaza border.

[15:35:00]

Now, we don't know exactly how likely a deal is. I mean, you talk to different parties, and they're going to give you varying levels of optimism, but it does feel like the United States is perhaps more optimistic than anyone else. And in some sense, it seems like they're almost trying to will this ceasefire deal into existence.

But what is clear right now is that there are still major, major gaps, and it's not exactly clear how the United States will get Hamas to get on board with this, and frankly, whether the Israelis are entirely on board with this proposal, despite the public rhetoric that we have heard from the United States and Israel.

But today, we saw that the Israeli military in an overnight operation recovered the bodies of six hostages, and the families of those hostages are talking about how much that shows the urgency for a ceasefire agreement, urging the Israeli government to reach a deal, and some of them expressing anger as well, saying that they believe that their loved ones could have been rescued from Gaza alive, rather than coming back dead in body bags. How those hostages died is also a major question right now. The Israeli military says that it is investigating whether or not its forces may have been responsible for their deaths -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy Diamond, live for us from Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for the update.

All eyes will be on what comes of these negotiations, especially in Gaza, where reports indicate more than 40,000 people have been killed in this conflict.

Let's get the view from Gaza right now. Joining us live is the founder and president of the International Network for Aid, Relief, and Assistance, former CNN senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, is live there. Arwa, what are you seeing on the ground where you are?

ARWA DAMON, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, INARA: It's a complete disaster. I mean, how do you describe scenes that look like something from an apocalyptic Hollywood zombie movie, only the scenery is not desolate. It is jam-packed with people trying to live on the rubble, on top of the rubble. There's no sanitation. There's no hygiene. There's no nothing.

And you really get a sense of just how bad it is when you go and visit some of these hospitals, because things that are very basic, like bandages, are not available. And what this means is, for example, when I went to the Al-Aqsa hospital ICU, a 13-year-old boy with 50 to 60 percent burns on his body ended up having a blood infection and early signs of sepsis because there weren't enough bandages to give him the frequent cleaning and bandage changes that he needs.

What this means is a little girl also in the Al-Aqsa ICU hospital, she's a year and a half, she is not stable enough to be moved to another location for surgery that she desperately needs. The reason why she's not stable is this tracheotomy tube for pediatrics, so in her size, is not available. This tube is like a tiny piece of plastic. They don't have it.

And this little girl, when she wakes up, is going to find out that she's been orphaned. Her siblings and her parents are dead.

Earlier today, I went down to a Nasser hospital. They are also in desperate need of basic things, but also stuff that, I mean, you don't even think about, because they don't have paper, like paper to write notes on, to fill out the patient charts, to write prescriptions on. I mean, when you talk about nothing being available, it's really nothing being available. And people are trying to come up with all of these innovative ways to, you know, utilize what little it is that they do have.

But I mean, it's absurd. The situation feels absurd. And if it weren't so dire and dark and deadly, I mean, it's almost comedic.

SANCHEZ: Arwa, with the conversations that you've had with folks in Gaza, I'm wondering if anyone has shared with you how they view these potential ceasefire negotiations and whether they would want Hamas to accept a deal now.

DAMON: They 100 percent want Hamas to accept a deal. They want Israel to accept a deal. They just want a deal. They just want this to end. It's just about the first question that anyone asks somebody who has come in from the outside. When do you think this is going to end? What do you think about these talks? How much longer are we going to have to live like this?

People here have reached, I mean, they've reached a breaking point. And there's a lot of talk about the resilience of Gazans and how it is that they've been able to survive for this long. And while that is something that is just to be admired, when you talk to Gazans themselves, they don't want to be referred to as resilient, at least the vast majority don't, because they say this situation has been forced on them and they have no choice but to somehow keep moving forward. But they are completely and totally crushed.

They are psychologically crushed and they are physically crushed. I would venture to say, based on people I've been talking to, that right now, they don't really care all that much about the details.

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They really just want this over. They want it to end. They want to stop dying. They want to be able to breathe. They want to be able to live. They want to be able to wash.

SANCHEZ: Arwa Damon, thanks so much for the view from inside Gaza. Appreciate it. Stay with CNN. We're back in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And we are back live from the convention floor in Chicago today marking two weeks since Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz to be her running mate. The Minnesota governor going from being a relative unknown to a major party vice presidential nominee in record time and tomorrow he will be taking center stage here at the DNC.

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And joining me now here on the floor is Democratic Colorado governor and also friend of Tim Walz, we should mention, Jared Polis. Thank you so much for being with us.

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Great to be with you.

KEILAR: And so first I want to ask you about the big headliner tonight which of course is former President Barack Obama. What do you want to hear and what do you think is important for maybe some voters who are on the fence to hear?

POLIS: Well first of all I haven't seen this level of enthusiasm since the first time Barack Obama ran and that happened to be the Denver convention. I hail from Colorado 2008. So much enthusiasm.

I think that Barack Obama is, you know, whether you agree with him or disagree with him, particular issues respected. He's clear. He's an incredible messenger and he's super enthusiastic about Kamala Harris and what a great opportunity for him to be able to impart his wisdom not only on the crowds here but really speaking to America from his heart.

KEILAR: So you are friends, as I mentioned, with Tim Walz. You actually served together for how many years?

POLIS: Ten years in Congress and we played on the congressional baseball team together and I want to make sure you know that of the 10 years that we were on it together, Democrats, we Democrats play Republicans at Nationals Field. We Democrats won nine out of ten games.

KEILAR: Because I was giving you a hard time in the break. I said don't you guys normally lose to the Republicans and you said not while we were there.

POLIS: I'm not saying there's a connection but ever since Tim and I left Congress, it's been pretty dismal for the Democrats over there.

KEILAR: OK, so what, you know, you've been talking to him recently, I know. This is quite a whirlwind as he has been announced and then has to prepare for a speech in so little time.

How is he doing that?

POLIS: Well, you know, he has not only experience in Congress, but he and I came in as governors at the same time, him in Minnesota, me in Colorado. He really draws from that experience, delivering on making housing more affordable, delivering on meals for kids in schools.

And look, this is somebody who at his heart is a coach, is a teacher. This is really in his element, really being able to excite and motivate people. And that's what his candidacy is all about. He's going to be a great partner, not only to elect Kamala Harris, but as a governing partner for her, really reaching out in new and different ways that are exciting to people.

KEILAR: You've watched the Trump ticket try to define him, including trying to malign his military service. What do you want people to know about Tim Walz?

POLIS: Well, look, I mean, the failure of those efforts shows how ridiculous it is. I mean, somebody who serves 24 years in the National Guard, the only proper response is thank you. Thank you for your service, Tim. Thank you to every member of the National Guard, the U.S. Armed Forces. We're grateful for protecting our freedom every day.

Look, Tim is somebody who's worked in the classroom, and he's worked protecting American interests overseas, served in Congress, and delivered as governor.

And he's really going to excite people here tonight. He's going to be a great partner for Kamala Harris, and a great way to compliment what she brings in terms of a new approach, new way of looking at things, and the leadership that America needs for our future.

KEILAR: Polls show that a lot of Americans, they don't really know much about Vice President Harris. They don't know where she stands on the issues. What do you think that she needs to do to change that?

POLIS: Well, we're all excited about her remarks tomorrow. I mean, this is, you look, first of all, she draws from her life experience. She's put criminals behind bars. She's protected consumers as Attorney General of California. She served in the United States Senate and alongside Joe Biden as Vice President of the United States. Nobody is more ready for the presidency day one than Kamala Harris.

And I'm excited by her agenda to support economic growth and make sure that we build a stronger middle class and spread opportunity to more people, help make education more affordable, child tax credit, reduce child poverty. I mean, these are really important measures that will make life demonstrably better and put more money in people's pockets.

KEILAR: It's pretty interesting as we're watching the lineups being rolled out that we're seeing there are a lot of Republicans who are going to be speaking actually throughout the course of this convention. Jeff Duncan, Adam Kinzinger, that's just to name a few. Kinzinger has a pretty plumb spot on Thursday. That's some prime real estate. Who do you think this is going to draw?

POLIS: Well, this is really important because what I think it shows is you don't have to agree with Kamala Harris on every issue. In fact, you're never going to find a candidate you agree with on every issue.

But you know what? This is about the integrity of our republic. It's about the existential threat that Donald Trump represents. These are principled, conservative Republicans who are really saying, look, I may not agree with Kamala Harris on every issue, but I put a premium on making sure we can maintain our republic and our democratic institutions. Kamala Harris will do that. She's smart. She's an attorney.

Donald Trump tried to bring it down last time. And what's to say he won't try to bring it down again?

KEILAR: Some of them will also say that Democrats need to do a lot to address the issues of the economy, inflation, immigration, some of the issues that Trump polls better on, abortion, obviously, an issue that Democrats do better on. How do you see those kind of interacting with each other in terms of how they draw voters? And what more do you think the Harris-Walz ticket needs to do on that? POLIS: Well, look, people are looking at Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for leadership on all the issues that we care about. And the truth is, we had a bipartisan border security package that would have shut down the border, stopped the flow of illegal immigrants.

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Guess who shot it down? Donald Trump. Congressional Republicans were working with Democrats to do it. Donald Trump didn't want to solve the problem.

Kamala Harris does. I think she views the border as something to be solved, views immigration as something to be solved, not something that should be kept alive for political purposes like Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Governor Polis, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

POLIS: Thank you, Brianna. Good to see you.

KEILAR: Good to see you.

And we have much more ahead from day two, going into evening two at the Democratic National Convention. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Night two of the Democratic National Convention features some big names. But does that star power ultimately drive voters to the polls? CNN's Harry Enten joins us now.

Harry, walk us through the numbers.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: I feel like I could be a singer with this, Mike. I could belt one out for you, Boris.

[15:55:00]

Look, here's the situation. You can't have two bigger stars. Then we'll start off with Barack Obama as the number one big star talking tonight. You know, you ask folks, who was the best president over the last 40 years?

Number one, according to all Americans. You look at Democrats. Look at that. The clear majority rank him at number one at 58 percent on the overall. Reagan comes in second, but 11 points behind Barack Obama. But of course, he's not the only one in the Obama family talking tonight.

How about Michelle Obama also talking? And it turns out that Michelle Obama might actually outrank Barack a little bit. If we look at the favorable ratings for both of these folks, what we see is that they both come in with a 55 percent overall rating.

But of course, they're going to be talking to Democrats in the hall tonight. And among Democrats, Michelle Obama is actually more popular than Barack, with a 94 percent favorable rating. Barack ain't too bad at 90 percent.

But last I checked with the math, Boris, 94 is a little bit greater than 90 percent.

SANCHEZ: And Harry, 12 years ago, Bill Clinton is thought to have given the speech that helped catapult Barack Obama's reelection odds against Mitt Romney. Could he have the same impact tonight? He's also set to speak.

ENTEN: I don't think so. If there's one figure who has seen his popularity truly decrease over the last decade or so, it's Bill Clinton, right? You know, back when he gave that speech in 2012, look at that. Overall, a 66 percent favorable rating. You look just last year, it was 41 percent. Even among Democrats, it's dropped from 87 percent to 63 percent.

There are multiple reasons for that, not the least of which was his popularity really declined when Hillary Clinton ran for president back in 2016. So Bill Clinton, not so popular. Barack and Michelle Obama, quite popular.

SANCHEZ: Harry Enten, we'll have to save your crooning for tomorrow, my friend. Thanks so much.

Stay with CNN. Our special coverage continues on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper. It starts after a short break.