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Harris & Walz Holding Several Campaign Events In Southern GA; Special Counsel Files New Jan. 6 Indictment Against Trump; At Least 3 Student Players Dead After Incidents On Field. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 28, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz kick off a bus tour through Georgia today, and perhaps even more importantly, they will sit down with CNN's Dana Bash for their first interview of the campaign that airs tomorrow night.

With us now Democratic strategist Matt Bennett and former public policy director for Mitt Romney, Lanhee Chen. Lanhee, let me start with you. This is a big interview, first of all, A, because Dana is doing and it will be great. But second of all, because we have not heard really, from Vice President Harris in this forum. What are you looking for, Lanhee?

LANHEE CHEN, FORMER MITT ROMNEY PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR: Well, I -- I think there's a number of things we're looking for. Obviously, on the policy front, there'll be a lot of questions. There'll be questions about her changes in positions on key issues like fracking. There'll be questions about the policy she has rolled out, for example, her plan on housing and how much of that she actually thinks is feasible.

And -- and then we're going to want to know about areas where we have not heard as much substance or detail, areas of policy that I think could be determinative in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and other places where this race is very tight. So I think for all those reasons, this is going to be an incredibly important interview. And just her demeanor, how is she going to react to being pressed by Dana on these issues? I -- I think these are all things that we should be looking for.

BERMAN: Matt, how much will these answers matter?

MATT BENNETT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS & CO-FOUNDER, THIRD WAY: Well, obviously, if she makes a big mistake, it'll matter a lot. I think if she answers it well and kind of put some of these questions to rest, I think it won't have a huge impact on the campaign. But these moments, you know, can pop up. And so far, one of the most remarkable things about the Harris campaign since it became a Harris campaign, just over a month ago is that she hasn't really made a mistake.

[09:35:02] She has performed brilliantly in basically every forum that she's been in. Her campaign is hitting on all cylinders. And so there is risk here, and everybody understands that, but it's also part of the process, and you have to do it. And I think they were smart to go to CN -- CNN and do a hard news interview with both candidates.

BERMAN: And Matt, what about the debate? And -- and I'm not focused so much on the -- the gamesmanship, muted microphone or not muted microphone, because that will get settled one way or the other. But when they take the debate stage together, what are the stakes there?

BENNETT: Again, for the most part, people don't remember that much about debates when they go to vote, unless there's a huge mistake or a huge blow landed. I mean, people can remember the big lines from past debates from decades ago. And they can remember how Nixon looked, you know, 60 years ago.

So there is some risk and there is some possibility of reward in debate. But I think what you're going to see here is that this is Harris's strong suit. She is a prosecutor. She stands up in court and, you know, prosecutes the case against bad guys, and she's up against the felon. I think this is going to play to her strength.

BERMAN: Lanhee, I saw you shaking your head on debates, remembering probably how in 2012, it was widely considered that Mitt Romney did beat Barack Obama in that first debate, ultimately did not go on to win the election. The -- there's a trade of journalism out there right now, an analysis Lanhee which suggests that -- that Kamala Harris and Democrats now, not two months ago when Biden was running, have somehow figured out how to beat Donald Trump. Talk about him as being laughable, the meme campaign that's going on out there. Lanhee, how much validity do you see in that?

CHEN: Well, I think the direct contrast that the Harris campaign is willing to draw, you know, it strikes me that they have been much more willing to confront the Trump campaign on all sorts of different issues. I do think that their reaction time has gotten better. I think there's a number of ways in which the campaign is -- is being run with a little bit more pep in its step, and I think that matters.

But certainly the direct contrast of seeing those two candidates, Harris and Trump, on stage together, talking about, hopefully, issues, we'll see. I think that will be really impactful for voters, just in terms of creating an image. I -- I agree that the specifics of the debate probably get lost with time, but it really is about the imagery, the contrast, the degree to which they're able to confront one another, how they react when they're confronted. These are the sorts of things that I think do stick, and they do matter, and that's why I think this debate is going to be very widely watched.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting now that I both of you here, you know, a -- a Romney Republican and a Democrat who's worked for years to -- two pull the party a little bit more toward the middle. Lanhee, Harris and Walz are -- are taking a bus tour through red counties in Georgia today. A lot of the rhetoric from the convention. There was plenty of -- of -- of red meat for the progressives there, but a lot of outreach to the middle, a lot of talk about tone in neighborliness. So Lanhee, how much of an impact does that have with -- with maybe some more moderate Republicans that you talk to?

CHEN: Well, I think we'll have to see. I mean, I -- I think obviously the -- the rhetoric and the themes are the right ones, talking about, for example, freedom, the kind of optimism and hope we saw that -- that mirrors what we've seen from past Republican nominees, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush. I think there's a -- there's a similar tone that's being struck.

I -- I do think where the rubber will hit the road on this, John, is, do Republicans, do Moderates, do they actually believe Kamala Harris's conversion on key issues? Do they actually believe that she's going to be moderate on issues of energy exploration? Do they actually believe she's going to cut taxes for the middle class? That's really where I think voters are going to have to make a decision?

The outreach makes sense. There's no question from a demographic perspective, it makes sense. But the substance we'll see, and that's why these interviews and debates become so important, to see how legitimate and how real her conversion on these issues really is.

BERMAN: Matt?

BENNETT: Yes. I pretty much agree with that. And look, I think it's important to emphasize that she has spent three and a half years as Vice President, traveling the country, traveling the world, talking to Americans, and learning a lot about what works and doesn't work legislatively. So I think that her kind of evolution policy wise makes perfect sense. You know, she hasn't changed her principles at all. If you look at J.D. Vance, he's changed a whole bunch of his principles.

What she has changed instead is the kinds of policies she wants to pursue to reach the ends. And I think that will make sense to voters. And I also think to your point, reaching out to voters in these red counties makes enormous sense. She may not win them, but if she loses them by a lot less, she has a real chance of winning the state as Joe Biden did.

[09:40:02]

BERMAN: All right. Matt Bennett, Lanhee Chen, great to see both you. Thanks so much for coming on CNN News Central. And of course, everyone can watch Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz their interview with Dana Bash airs tomorrow night at 9 o'clock Eastern right here on CNN. This will be important to see.

We've got new reporting this morning on Special Counsel Jack Smith and his efforts to revive the classified documents case against Donald Trump.

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[09:45:07]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump reindicted or indicted once again, the former president and current Republican presidential nominee hit with a superseding indictment by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Smith pared down his initial indictment after the Supreme Court ruling that granted president's broad criminal immunity. CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Jennifer Rodgers, is joining me now. What -- what is the difference in these two indictments, the ones that everyone saw and passed through and the new one has now been filed?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So what Jack Smith has tried to do is remove the parts that the Supreme Court said in its presidential immunity decision in July couldn't stand, right? They weren't constitutional. So they took out the references to the DOJ part of the conspiracy where Trump was trying to use DOJ to say that there had been election fraud when there hadn't, took out all of that.

And then took out evidence that included conversations between Trump and other federal employees, like his advisers, the White House counsel and so on, to comply with the court's decision.

SIDNER: How much does this weaken his case? I mean does he still have a strong case at the end of this?

RODGERS: He does still have a strong case. I would say it's 85 percent of what the case had been. There certainly was very good evidence there that DOJ conspiracy was actually one of the most egregious things that happened here. But it's still a strong case. You still have all of the fake electors scheme. You still have the rest of the scheme. So I think it will still hold together.

SIDNER: I think Trump's lawyers are trying to invoke a -- a rule about having this happen so close to the election. What -- what are they trying to do in this instance?

RODGERS: Yes, so they're referring to what's called the 60-day rule. It's a policy that DOJ has, that they don't do things within 60 days of election that will interfere, influence the election. It doesn't apply here because the indictment was already in place. This is just a superseder. It doesn't add any new charges. There's no new evidence coming to the fore. So the rule doesn't apply in any case, and it's just guidance in any event.

SIDNER: I have to learn now the word superseder. So I'm getting I'm -- I'm -- I'm going there. This also, though, means that a lot of people will not, if -- if it -- it does indeed go to trial, will not be able to testify, correct? Because that was one of the big things the Supreme Court did, which is say you don't have complete immunity. But anything you did while in the White House, anybody you talk to, those people, those potential witnesses are not allowed, right, or not -- don't have to testify.

RODGERS: Yes. So they've taken out of the indictment a lot of evidence. So for example, during January 6th, when Trump was watching what was unfolding on television and making comments to his aides, all of that is now out of the indictment, and those aides who previously under the first indictment, may have testified about what Trump was saying and doing, will now not be able to. So that's why it does take some of the evidence out of the case, weakening it a bit. But again, there's still a lot of evidence left.

SIDNER: There's still a lot there as we creep up to the election. There is no chance, I'm assuming, that this goes before the election.

RODGERS: No way. Judge Chutkan has to say whether or not she agrees that they have properly excised everything that needs to go. Trump, of course, will object and say, no, there's still more that needs to come out. And then after that, there almost certainly will be an appeal to the D.C. Circuit and perhaps to the Supreme Court.

SIDNER: This is going to go on and on. We will see what happens with this and with the election, which would completely change what's going on with this particular case. Thank you so much Jennifer Rodgers, appreciate it.

RODGERS: Thanks.

[09:48:24]

SIDNER: All right. Ahead, another young football player, this one, only 13 years old, has died because of what happened on the field. What his father is saying now about this little boy's football dreams and life?

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BERMAN: This morning, a family in West Virginia is mourning an eighth grader who died after a collision during football practice. The father of 13-year-old Cohen Craddock, tells CNN, his son died from an injury that caused his brain to bleed and swell. Cohen is one of least three student football players to die this month after incidents on the field. CNN's Brynn Gingras is here with the latest. Brynn, this is so sad.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so sad. And this is so sad that we talk about this at this time of year, but this is what we have been seeing, right, because particularly when we talk about football, 16 deaths related to heat or some sort of collision last year, and now we are already at three. So let's talk about these three incidents that happened just within this last month, like you just mentioned, 13- year-old Cohen Craddock, an eighth grader, collided with another player during practice. Was only at school for a few days practicing football, and then fell to the ground, and his father said, had a brain bleed, and then it just spiraled from there.

Mr. Personality, is what his father called him. And then really that happened last Friday. On that same day, there was a quarterback, a -- a 16-year-old in Alabama, who, in the first game, the season home opener, actually also had some sort of collision. He was the quarterback. His name was Caden Tellier, and also fell to the ground, hitting his head, causing some sort of, again, something to do with his brain, and then passing away as well.

And then earlier this month, there was a heat -- possibly heat exhaustion, we're not quite sure, but it was some sort of medical emergency that happened with Samaj Watkins, a 14-year-old freshman. His mother says that there was a memorial after his death from all of his teammates. So just so sad. But I do want to hear from some of these family members who are experiencing this tragedy, trying to prevent it for other players and their families to go through this kind of trauma. Let's hear from Cohen Craddock's father.

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[09:55:02]

RYAN CRADDOCK, LOST SON FROM FOOTBALL INJURY: I can't stress enough for the parents to overt children. Our kid had a heart of gold, loved, make other people happy. He like to, you know, joke. And you're in disbelief. You wish it was a bad dream to wake up from. It's -- it's agony inside that I just, I can't put words to it. It -- it's terrible. I want to take the loss of my boy to maybe try to protect these other guys. I don't want anybody else to experience this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: I mean, this is not what you guys are thinking about when you send your kids out in the field, an eighth grader, but this is something, of course, that has been talked about all the time it comes to football, certainly in the NFL, there's that debate about whether or not to wear those padded helmets. There's obviously the guardian caps now being mandated for certain positions with the NFL. That's new this season, and now it's optional.

Also, there are some players who actually wore some of them, about six of them in the preseason games. There was some debate about what they looked like. But you know what? When it comes to your health, when it comes to your life, no debate.

SIDNER: Who cares what it looks like?

GINGRAS: Yes.

SIDNER: You know what I mean? Poor kid.

BERMAN: It's so hard for those families. All right, Brynn, thank you so much.

GINGRAS: Yes. All right.

SIDNER: Appreciate you. And thank you for joining us. This is CNN News Central with John Berman. Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, CNN Newsroom up next.

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