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Emotional Night As Tim Walz Accepts Democratic Nomination For Vice President; Biden Speaks With Netanyahu At Critical Moment In Gaza Talks; Harris-Walz Ticket Secures Support Of Labor Union Leaders. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired August 22, 2024 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:32:26]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won't go away. He has spent the last four years spinning the block trying to get back into a relationship with the American people. Bro, we broke up with you for a reason. Donald Trump can spin the block all he wants but there's no reason for us to ever get back together. Been there, done that. We're not going back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I did not have Donald Trump boyfriend on my bingo card during the DNC but that did happen last night. The warmup acts have had this arena rocking.
But it is tonight that is the most important night of the convention because tonight, the woman who wants to be president will make her case to the entire country. Tonight is Vice President Kamala Harris' night.
Last night, with all the star-studded cast, it was ultimately Tim Walz's night. Governor Walz talked about his military career and his political career, but it was his family who really showed America why Harris chose him to be her running mate.
Our CNN political commentators Scott Jennings and Maria Cardona are here to discuss. Scott is hot and ready and bothered this morning.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.
SIDNER: Wow.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Alrighty, then.
SIDNER: Did I say that on TV? I'm sorry.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm not bothered.
SIDNER: OK, he's hot and ready.
BERMAN: A smoke show.
JENNINGS: That's better.
BERMAN: He's smoking.
SIDNER: OK.
JENNINGS: That's true. I'll allow that.
SIDNER: I'm going to -- I'm going to see myself out because that was just too much.
Maria, let's talk about -- I finally made John laugh. This is the best day of my life.
The moment where you saw Tim Walz talking, you know, and he was doing a political speech, and then his son stands up as he recognizes his family. Can we -- can we show that? It was one of those moments where anybody who is a parent is going to cry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you.
GUS WALZ, SON OF GOV. TIM WALZ: (Applauding and crying).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARDONA: Oh.
SIDNER: Oh gosh, here's my tissue. Can I come hug you? That's what people felt like seeing that.
What did you make of that, and what did it do for trying to get --
CARDONA: Yeah.
SIDNER: -- votes? Because that's what this is all --
CARDONA: Yeah.
SIDNER: -- about, ultimately.
CARDONA: I think it was incredibly effective, and it was incredibly effective because it came from the heart. It was authentic. It was spontaneous. Clearly, it wasn't planned. This young man I think stole the show. I think he stole the hearts of everyone who was watching.
[07:35:10]
But I think more than that it really fundamentally shows why Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz. Because through his son -- through his family, frankly, it is showing that this is a man who has fundamental, small town, American values. And he is going to speak to so many of the voters that Democrats I think have had a challenge in speaking in the last several years.
The coach Walz. The fact that he is a hunter. Last night, I loved the fact that he was saying that he's a better shot than so man of the Republicans that he serves with in Congress. You know, again, rural values.
Those are all things I think that a lot of people don't necessarily connect with the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris coming from San Francisco in California. So the connection that he can made with all of those voters in the Midwest and those specific states that are so critical from an Electoral College standpoint I think is critical.
But even more so, it didn't just speak to those voters; it spoke to all of America. It spoke to I don't even think just parents. I think if you are human and you have a heart, you had tears in your eyes after that moment and really felt it. The way that people felt it inside this forum, people felt it outside as well.
BERMAN: I promise I will let you get your points in. But you are also a dad of --
JENNINGS: Yeah, it's cool.
BERMAN: -- four young men. And, you know, I'm a dad. I've got two 17- year-olds, the same old (sic) as Gus. And all I kept thinking was my God, if my sons ever --
JENNINGS: Oh.
BERMAN: -- looked at me like that, I just would have lost it.
JENNINGS: So my -- all four of my boys are in the car with mom this morning on their way to school. One of the four thinks anything I do is cool. The rest are like boring. So I just -- I just -- that was a cool moment.
BERMAN: Yeah.
JENNINGS: And yeah, it's neat.
Like, look, these -- sometimes we turn these politicians into, like, non-human entities.
SIDNER: Yeah.
JENNINGS: Like, we treat them like commodities --
SIDNER: Yeah.
JENNINGS: -- almost. But you've got to remember they are spouses, they are parents, and they do go through the same kind of human relationships that we do. So it's neat when the -- when the kids are involved. That's cool.
BERMAN: I do feel like there was a moment -- that was a moment outside of politics.
JENNINGS: Yeah.
BERMAN: I mean, he was --
JENNINGS: Yeah.
BERMAN: You know, Gus was tearing up during the video, you know. He couldn't keep it together --
SIDNER: Yeah.
BERMAN: -- during the video.
All right. I watched you last night respond to the night in general.
JENNINGS: Yeah.
BERMAN: It seemed, Scott, you think that something was missing. What is it that you think the Democrats owe tonight here?
JENNINGS: Well, I think Harris is going to have to articulate what kind of a president she would be. What would she do as president? And I think this whole convention has really been built on trying to get people to get comfortable with the presidency without really knowing how it would operate.
I mean, a lot of what we know about Harris comes from her own record -- her voting record in the Senate, liberal. Her statements when she ran for president, very liberal. And her actions as working for Joe Biden, which resulted in a mid-30s approval rating for the Biden- Harris administration. Now, through anonymous spokespeople, a lot of that's been -- attempted to be walked back.
Nothing we've heard this week and nothing we heard last night would tell you what they would do if they got elected president. So I want to -- I -- as a voter, I think we need to hear a little bit more about that.
All the things we heard last night from Oprah to everything else is about hey, she's got the right vibe so let's just vote for it and see what happens. To me, that's not quite good enough.
I mean, she's obviously come a long way in the polls from where Biden was. But to get over the hump I really do think you've got to tell people what would your actions be. The one policy she has unveiled has been panned across the board by economists and media alike. She did it on Friday. So I think she's going to have to get a little more serious about what would you do as the president.
SIDNER: Let me ask you about that because this is not a policy speech, obviously, for this crowd anyway.
CARDONA: Right.
SIDNER: But America will eventually, if not now --
CARDONA: Um-hum.
SIDNER: -- want some answers and specifics.
What do you make of what Scott is saying that you really aren't hearing a lot about the border or the economy?
CARDONA: Um-hum.
SIDNER: You are hearing almost, like, a cultural phenomenon. Like, come with us and we will --
CARDONA: Um-hum.
SIDNER: -- we will take you down a very good path.
CARDONA: You are hearing a lot of that --
SIDNER: Yeah.
CARDONA: -- but I disagree that you're not hearing about what she would do and what her administration would do. And I disagree with Scott as well.
I don't think she needs to present her 20-point plan tonight. I think that she needs to talk about what she has been talking about. What she will do because she has talked about that.
She's going to lower costs for middle-class and working-class families. She's going to make sure that we have continued and expanded access to health care, especially reproductive freedom. She's going to protect those rights and freedoms. And she is going to make sure that we are all able to grow up -- that our families are able to grow up in an environment, in an economy, in a social structure where we can meet what we all came here to do at some point -- we're all immigrants -- the American dream.
[07:40:08]
And people here have talked about the border. They talked about immigration. In fact, last night, what I was struck most as an immigrant, as a Latina, so many people talked about the values of this country where we can have and we should have, and Kamala Harris will have strong border security, strong law enforcement.
But we can also be a nation that embraces our immigrants. That understands that it's because of immigration that we are the strongest economy in the world. Seven trillion dollars are what immigrants have brought to this country, according to economists. And so that was front and center last night. I don't think we talk about that enough because that is an attack that Republicans are going to continue to use against her, and she has great solutions, which is what Republicans lack. BERMAN: Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings smoke show, thank you both so much for being with us --
CARDONA: Thank you, John.
SIDNER: I'll get you the t-shirt.
BERMAN: -- this morning. Appreciate it.
All right.
SIDNER: The Scott Jennings smoke show.
BERMAN: Kate.
SIDNER: All right.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, guys, so much.
Let's get to some breaking news overnight. A new Israeli strike in Gaza as the negotiations -- as negotiators continue to try and push forward a ceasefire deal and push it across the finish line. A Gaza hospital official says that 12 people, including two women and six children, were killed in that strike.
Just hours before, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone stressing the urgency of getting a deal done, according to the White House.
And at the Democratic convention last night it was a powerful moment when the parents of Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin took the stage. Hersh has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 320 days now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON POLIN, FATHER OF HOSTAGE HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region -- a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza.
DNC ATTENDEES: Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: CNN's Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv tracking the latest on all front here. What is the latest, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, heart- wrenching for those parents because he has been used in a propaganda video by Hamas some months ago, so they have been able to see him and been able to see the effects that his horrible captivity is having upon him. And that is really for all the families, ramping up the pressure on the Israeli government to get the talks done.
And that was something President Biden and Kamala Harris put to Prime Minister Netanyahu in that phone call overnight -- the need to get the talks done and concluded, according to the White House, saying that there were expected to be a bigger round of peace talks coming up in Cairo. Now, that had been floated last week as something that would happen either Thursday or over the weekend. And at the moment, I have to say there's no indication that -- those big peace talk summit to get this over the line is going to happen in Cairo or anywhere anytime soon.
Hamas has yet to say whether or not they agree to the U.S. bridging proposal. All indications, so far, is that they are objecting to it, and they will give it -- they will give it a complete rejection.
And here in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu already contesting and his office contesting elements that Secretary of State Antony Blinken thought Israel had agreed to -- the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from along the border with Gaza -- the so-called Philadelphi Corridor. The prime minister's office issuing a statement to contradict what's being reported in Israel, saying that Israel is not going to pull the troops out.
And that just gives you an idea of how far apart these peace talks are. No finishing line in sight at the moment at all.
BOLDUAN: Yeah, and hard to see even, you know, as we've been -- as we've been talking about as a bridging proposal -- hard to even see that. These whispers of optimism and hope that you continue to report on only so quickly to flounder once again.
Nic, thank you so much.
Coming up for us, why the world is taking a moment to pay tribute to a New Zealand penguin that just died.
And Kamala Harris preparing for her big night. Will she take the same advice that she gave Tim Walz before his big night?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But just feel the love there in the room. It's just -- it's -- you know. We've been seeing it everywhere we go. Enjoy the moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:45:03]
(COMMERCIAL)
SIDNER: This morning, Democrats are going full steam ahead with their appeal to American workers and their families. The Harris-Walz ticket has secured a wave of support from leaders of some of the country's largest labor unions. And VP nominee Tim Walz making his promise last night. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALZ: If you're a middle-class family or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. If you're getting squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on big pharma. If you're hoping to buy a home, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable. And no matter who you, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead because that's what we want for ourselves and it's what we want for our neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Here now is Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.
Liz, on Monday, you said the election is about two economic visions and called Trump's plan "a CEO's dream, but a worker's nightmare." How so?
[07:50:05]
LIZ SHULER, PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO: Absolutely, it couldn't be more stark because we've seen four years of Trump and what he did in terms of his approach to worker policy and his economic policy. Because just recently, we've even seen the continuation of he laughs with Elon Musk when workers want to go on strike -- when workers want to stand up for themselves. He crosses picket lines, where we've seen Kamala Harris walk with workers on a picket line.
So these are two very different realities and different futures.
BERMAN: I was speaking two nights ago with an IBEW local leader who was wicked enthusiastic to be here, which maybe is a tipoff to which state he was from.
SIDNER: Wicked.
BERMAN: But he did say within the membership there is a divide. I mean, Donald Trump does do well with union rank-and-file. Why?
SHULER: Well, he was a -- his economic messaging was good. He knew the right words to say but he never followed through. He talked about building infrastructure. He promised it year after year after year -- we're going to do this. It made perfect sense. Did he do it? No.
What did Joe Biden do when he came into office? He delivered and put -- and created millions of jobs for working people -- high-road, high- wage jobs, union jobs where people can support their families.
And I think Trump's messaging lures people in in a way that they think that he's for them but really, he's just a billionaire who is cutting taxes for his rich friends and enriching corporations at the expense of working families.
SIDNER: It's interesting you've taken a different tact than the UAW president Shawn Fain, who I think started Monday with a bit of a Hulk Hogan moment where he takes off his shirt and it says, "Trump Is A Scab."
Do you think that messaging works for the rank-and-file and for Americans who may or may not be in unions? Many Americans are not members of unions.
SHULER: Well, I think the word "scab" obviously is a storied word in the labor movement. And when you're speaking to working people, especially those in unions -- which we have 20 percent of the delegates here in the room -- it is something that is very clear. You know who stands with you.
SIDNER: Right.
SHULER: Who is going to show up for you. And Donald Trump obviously has not done that.
But I think what we're looking at is union popularity across the country. Seventy-one percent of the public is supportive of unions -- at an all-time high. Young people under the age of 30, nine in 10 support unions.
So I think people are finally seeing if we come together collectively, we have more power. We don't have to just sit back and take it when our workplace isn't working, or is ignoring our voice, or we don't feel respected. That we can come together. There's this thing called a union that gives us leverage and strength across the table from our employers.
SIDNER: We've seen that with Amazon. We've seen that with Starbucks.
SHULER: Yeah.
SIDNER: Those were big stories these past few years.
SHULER: Absolutely.
BERMAN: What do you think the Teamsters are going to do? I mean, Sean O'Brien spoke at the Republican convention and says he wasn't invited to come speak here. What do you think they'll do?
SHULER: Well, his Teamster members were very powerful speakers about the fact that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris saved their pensions. They have -- they can retire with dignity.
But I think the Teamsters are taking an approach that many of us do, which is an issues-based approach. We want to evaluate candidates based on where they stand on the issues. It's not just oh, you're a Democrat or oh, you're a Republican.
So I think he was trying to show his members and working people that we should decide who we support based on who supports us.
SIDNER: Liz Shuler, thank you so much for coming in. We appreciate you getting up early -- SHULER: Thank you --
BERMAN: Nice to see you.
SIDNER: -- this morning.
SHULER: -- so much.
SIDNER: I'm sure you've had as little sleep as we've had.
SHULER: You're right, but --
SIDNER: Working on it.
All right. This morning, Chicago police and the FBI are investigating maggots were intentionally -- whether they were intentionally placed into food at a breakfast related to the Democratic National Convention -- ew. Officials say on Wednesday morning, multiple people entered the Fairmont Hotel and began placing unknown objects onto tables where there was food.
CNN's Whitney Wild is joining us now with more. This is disgusting, OK -- just the thought of it. What more are you learning about this?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's not much information at this point, Sara, but the leading theory is that, yes, these were placed intentionally. One law enforcement source telling CNN that the maggots were likely placed there by activists -- at least that's the information that law enforcement is working with right now. Again, as you mentioned, this was at the Fairmont at a DNC- related breakfast yesterday.
It is one in a long list of challenges that the Chicago Police Department has been dealing with this week, although it is pretty small compared to what -- some of the other issues earlier this week.
The big question, Sara, throughout this week is how have these protests manifested? And what we've seen over the last several days is arrests Monday, arrests Tuesdays.
[07:55:00]
Last night, though, there were peaceful protests -- no arrests. So the Chicago Police Department very pleased with that peaceful protest last night. Unlike Tuesday night where there were clashes between protesters and police, there were no clashes last night. No clashes between protesters and police. No clashes between protesters and counter-protesters.
So, Sara, today is the last day Chicago police and all the law enforcement here are hoping to end this on a high note. There is one more protest tonight. It could be just as big as Monday's protest. The hope, of course, is that remains peaceful as well, Sara.
SIDNER: All right, Whitney Wild. Thank you so much.
The -- oh, maggots. Just thinking about it just gives chills down my spine.
I'm going to move on and see something much more lovely --
BERMAN: Kate.
SIDNER: -- our Kate Bolduan.
BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
BOLDUAN: The bar is low when I'm compared to maggots, but I'll take it.
SIDNER: Oh, God. I'm just messing up today. I've got --
BOLDUAN: No, you're not.
SIDNER: -- foot in mouth syndrome.
BOLDUAN: You're being great and I'm going to -- I mean, we can -- we can talk. You're being fabulous. Just -- we'll just get --
SIDNER: I'll get you a present.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
SIDNER: I'll fix it.
BOLDUAN: We'll be right back. We'll be right back to you.
We've got this also today. New this morning, Taylor Swift is now speaking out about her shows that were canceled in Vienna after a terror plot was thwarted, saying she was devastated to cancel the shows. In her first public comments on what happened and the threat that was uncovered around it, she posted on Instagram the cancellations filled her with "a new sense of fear and a tremendous amount of guilt." But also, that she was grateful they were grieving only the loss of concerts and not lives.
Great perspective there for sure.
There's also this. Italian officials are still trying to recover the final person missing from a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. But search and -- search and rescue has clearly become a recovery mission now. This morning, a fifth body bag was seen being brought to shore.
The superyacht sank Monday after it was hit by what's been described as a freak storm so powerful it broke the superyacht's mast in half.
The victims have not been formally identified but a British tech tycoon and his 18-year-old daughter were among those reported missing, along with a prominent banker, an attorney, and their wives.
And one famous penguin now being honored today. Sphen, a penguin who became an unlikely international symbol for equality, died earlier this month from natural causes at the age of 11. But back in 2018, Sphen partnered with a fellow male penguin named
Magic at the Sydney Aquarium in Australia. The two were inseparable and raised two chicks together. Their partnership became a worldwide sensation.
After Sphen's death, the aquarium says that they took Sphen to Magic to help him understand the loss, and they say that Magic and the whole penguin colony then broke out in song in mourning.
This morning, a major U.S. company is battling tech issues after reportedly being hit by a cyberattack. We're talking about Texas-based Halliburton. And Reuters reports the apparent attack is causing major headaches for this huge oil company.
CNN's Matt Egan has the details. He's here with us now. What are you learning about this, Matt?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, Halliburton and, really, all oil companies -- they are obvious targets for hackers, and Halliburton is clearly dealing with a problem right now. Reuters is reporting citing a source that Halliburton is the victim of a cyberattack and it's impacting business operations at its Houston campus and some of its global networks.
Publicly, for now, the company is being vague about the nature of the problem. They are not confirming or denying to CNN that they are the victim of a cyberattack. But they did acknowledge an unspecified issue.
Let me read you what the company said in a statement. "We are aware of an issue affecting certain company systems and are working diligently to assess the cause and potential impact."
Halliburton went on to say that they have activated a response plan and they're working with experts internally and externally to address this -- all things the company would do if they suspected cyber here.
We've reached out to U.S. cyber officials and to the Energy Department, and they're not commenting at this point.
But clearly, an actual cyberattack on Halliburton would be very significant. This is one of the largest oil field service companies on the planet, right? It operates --
BOLDUAN: It's a -- it's a -- it's a name that is -- it's a household name.
EGAN: It is. I mean, it's in 70 countries --
BOLDUAN: Yeah.
EGAN: -- 48,000 employees.
And oil field service companies like Halliburton -- they play a central role in the supply of energy, right? They provide the technology expertise to drill for oil, to drill for natural gas. They work with Exxon and Chevron.
And cyber officials had even classified the energy sector as critical infrastructure, right, because it is so vital to the U.S. that a major disruption would harm not just national security but the economy as well.
BOLDUAN: Yeah.
EGAN: And listen, Kate, this is all just another reminder of how companies and the economy are so vulnerable to the cyber threat.
Remember earlier this year there was that hack at CDK Global, a software company. It caused chaos at thousands of auto dealers. They had to resort to pen and paper.
BOLDUAN: Yes, right.
EGAN: People couldn't get their license plates.
And most famously, three years ago, there was that ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, right?
BOLDUAN: Yeah.
EGAN: It shut the vital pipeline. It caused panic-buying and shortages at gas stations.
So clearly, cyberattacks on energy can have real world consequences.
