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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to Face Off in First Debate on Tuesday; Kentucky Police on Manhunt After Sniper Opens Fire on Interstate; New Details Emerge about Apalachee School Shooting. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 09, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: -- over the course of the past several weeks. So, again, it all adds to that sense of tension and violence, which from day to day seems to be ratcheting up here in this region, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Alright, Matthew Chance for us live in Tel Aviv this morning. Matthew, thank you very much. Stay safe. A brand new hour of CNN News Central starts right now.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: It's about to go down, perhaps the most consequential moment so far in the 2024 election cycle. The debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Says (sp?) tomorrow we're here. And to make the stakes even higher, the latest polling indicates they are tied.

The public being warned now as an intense manhunt is underway for a shooter taking shots at people as they drive down a busy interstate in Kentucky. Five people have been wounded. What police are saying now about the suspect's potential whereabouts.

And an important change for women and breast health. What doctors say you need to look out for. I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

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BERMAN: It is the morning of Debate Day Eve. Happy holidays to those who celebrate. All eyes on Philadelphia for a moment that could change everything, or at a minimum, shake things loose, because as Harriet has noted, this is the closest election season we have to ever seen.

New polling from the New York was Times and Sienna College reflects that. Also, 28% of likely voters say they feel they need to learn more about Vice President Harris. 9% say that about Donald Trump. Let's get right to CNN's Eva McKend, who's in Pittsburgh this morning, which is where Vice President Harris has been preparing for the debate. Preparing how and for what, Eva?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: John, with just one day from what could be the most consequential moment of the campaign, we know that the Vice President has been closely monitoring the six past debate performances of the former president, combing over briefing books with his past comments, combing over what he has said about her, how he has insulted her.

She's also been in close conversation with Hillary Clinton and President Biden, who both, of course, have extensive experience debating the former president. Additionally, she has been in these intense mock debate prep sessions with someone standing in for the former president. Ultimately, her goal here is not only to make a forceful case against the former president, but also really make the argument that it is time to move on from this Trump era style of politics, John.

BERMAN: And Eva, I do understand that they already have a rollout plan for after the debate.

MCKEND: That's right. They're already building out the week here and they're branding it as a new way forward. She has debate stops -- I'm sorry, event stops this week, both here in Pennsylvania as well as in North Carolina. Governor Walz, though, will campaign in the Midwest and their respective spouses will be out on the circuit as well. Essentially, the campaign will have a footprint in every battleground state.

You know, this idea of a new way forward, Republicans have sort of poked holes at that, arguing that the Vice President can't credibly make that argument given that she's currently in the administration. Still, they're very much trying to maintain this argument and they're really focused on making the case to voters, the voters in these battleground states, John, that they say will ultimately decide this election.

BERMAN: Yes. Both want to be the candidate of change here. Eva McKend, thank you so much from Pittsburgh. We appreciate it. Sara?

SIDNER: This morning, new threats from Donald Trump are alarming election officials. If he wins in November, the former president went on Twitter and said he's promising to throw those workers in jail if he thinks they cheated. He is also calling on the FBI to investigate mail in ballots in Pennsylvania without giving any evidence that there is major fraud there. CNN's Steve Contorno joining us now with more on this. What's he saying?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Sara, over the weekend, Donald Trump who has spent the last four years attacking the 2020 election, is already setting his sights on undermining the 2024 election before any ballots have been cast. Take a look at this post on Truth Social that he put up over the weekend where he said, quote, those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught and prosecuted at levels unfortunately never seen before in our country.

He went on to say that those that he believes cheated in the election will have lengthy prison sentences. And just in case you're thinking that he's only talking about the small minority of people in this country that file legal ballots, you know, a very minuscule population every election, he actually specified that he's talking about lawyers, political operatives, donors, and even election officials, as you said. [09:05:00]

He also attacked mail-in voting in Pennsylvania with more fraudulent or unsubstantiated claims about fraud. It's interesting he's doing that because right now his campaign is trying aggressively to encourage his supporters to vote by mail, vote early, vote absentee, even as he is seeking to undermine it.

He is also talking about this upcoming debate he has with Vice President Harris. You know, he has someone who has debated more than anyone in presidential history, at least in modern times. And he talked a little about what he expects this weekend. Listen to what he said.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're run by stupid people, stupid, stupid people.

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TRUMP: And we found that out at the debate with Joe. How did that work out? And we're going to find it out again on Tuesday night. Is anybody going to be watching?

(CHEERING) TRUMP: She's a defunder of police. You know, when somebody on the far left is in charge of defund the police for twelve years and then they switched, you know, three weeks ago or something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CONTORNO: Just a preview of what you can expect tomorrow, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Steve Contorno. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Joining us right now to talk about this is Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the Democratic Whip in the House. Congresswoman, thank you for coming in. Let's talk about the debate in just one second. But the New York Times poll that has come out showing that there's no clear leader, has Jason Miller of Donald Trump's campaign, declaring that the honeymoon is officially over is how he put it for Harris. Is that it?

KATHERINE CLARK, REPRESENTATIVE FROM MASSACHUSETTS: OK. Thank you for having me on. And let me tell you, the poll that matters is what happens on Election Day. But just coming off of being in five different congressional districts in Michigan and Ohio, I can tell you that Kamala Harris' message is resonating because she is focused on lowering costs, expanding ability to get into housing, growing the middle class, and protecting our fundamental freedom.

And what I heard from voters in purple, red and blue districts over the last few days is that that matters to them. They don't trust J.D. Vance to order donuts, they certainly don't trust him to order American families on if, when and how they can have children. So, we're seeing a surge of volunteers, a surge of first time donors, and we know that Kamala Harris is the underdog going into this, but momentum remains on her side.

BOLDUAN: One thing we're also hearing from voters through this polling, once again, is there is a sizable share of voters that say they still need more information from her to form an opinion. 28% of likely voters said that they feel -- that they feel like they need to learn more about Kamala Harris. Just 9% say that about Donald Trump. Does that concern you?

CLARK: You know, again, we know that she has only been the presidential candidate for weeks and not years. People do know Trump and they are alarmed at Donald Trump. They are alarmed at the policies that are rigged against the middle class, that are just about tax policy that only rewards the extremely wealthy in this country. I met with small business owners in Michigan, and they are so excited that Kamala Harris's has proposed tax policy that is focused around them because they know and see in her policies that she understands that our economy is built on our main streets, not on Wall Street.

And this is the type of policy that is resonating. I went into union halls and heard from them that not only are they so grateful for the Infrastructure Bill and the work building good paying jobs that the Biden-Harris administration did, but her continued focus on making housing available and affordable for families.

This is a concern of working families across this country. This is the moment, and what Kamala Harris is meeting when she talks about an economy that doesn't just let people get by, but get ahead. That's an opportunity economy. That's what people are seeing in her campaign.

BOLDUAN: But there is an affordability crisis that is still setting in this -- in this country, and on the economy from poll after poll, we've got the new national poll from New York Times. It has Trump holding a 13 point advantage on the economy. In the CNN poll of the battlegrounds, Trump is more trusted than Harris on the economy by eight points on average. If what you say is true, why is he leading?

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CLARK: You know, again, we are at the very start in some ways, and also in the middle and the end of her campaign. But let's take one of those affordability issues. Let's take child care, which is an issue I hear everywhere I go, as an extreme cost for families that prevents them from being able to get by. Kamala Harris has put forward a plan around child care.

She has worked her career to try and get universal pre-K to help parents and employers meet the needs of their children while being able to go to work and know that they have found quality, affordable, accessible child care. What have we heard from J.D. Vance and Donald Trump? From Donald Trump, a complete word salad. He doesn't understand the needs of working families, and from J.D. Vance, at the same time, House Republicans in the budget they're going to put forward this week are cutting Social Security administration.

He's saying that grandparents should just do more to help their children. You really cannot even make up how out of touch Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are. And as we go back to Washington this week and look at the budget ahead of us, who do they harm in this budget? Seniors, our veterans. Those communities that are facing natural disasters. This is a GOP that is out of touch.

BOLDUAN: The way that J.D. Vance and Trump's way they talked about child care over the weekend has been described as struggling to answer questions on it and incoherent has also been one way it has been described, no question. But when it comes -- This is gets back to my economy question.

I keep hearing you said that this is the beginning or middle of the campaign. I keep hearing that from Democrats that he's leading only because voters haven't turned their attention fully to the election. They haven't really grasped yet what Kamala Harris is going to do for them when it comes to the economy. When is the expiration date on that? Because early voting is about to start in places like Pennsylvania.

CLARK: Well, I'm going to push back on that, Kate, because I've just been in swing states. And what I'm hearing from voters and seeing is an understanding that we have Donald Trump over here proposing a national sales tax that would just completely hurt American families who are trying to make their budgets balance.

And on the other hand, they're seeing Kamala Harris addressing what they need to address. How are we going to bring down the price of groceries? How are we going to make housing and child care more affordable? How are we going to protect our fundamental freedoms? Like if, when, and how we have children in this country. So, we can look at polls. But what matters is what's happening with voters.

What matters is, and every single campaign comes down to this, do you see my family? And are you going to fight for me? And the answer with voters in these critical states is Kamala Harris does and Donald Trump does not, so we'll see different polls. We've seen polls where she's leading. We're seeing polls where she is gaining on the economy. And what matters is the turnout and turning that momentum into action. That's what I'm seeing around this country. That's why I am very optimistic going into this fall.

BOLDUAN: And you've definitely been out there campaigning with Kamala Harris to send that message. A key opportunity for her to spread that message again tomorrow on that debate stage. Congresswoman Katherine Clark, thank you for your time. John?

BERMAN: All right. This morning, an urgent manhunt. Police racing to find the suspect that opened fire on a busy interstate, shooting five people. We've got new details on a call from the Apalachee School shooter's mother warning of a, quote, extreme emergency just minutes before the attack. And one of the biggest stars in the NFL detained just hours before kickoff. At least one police officer now put on administrative leave.

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BERMAN: This morning, classes are canceled in parts of Kentucky as police are urgently searching for a man considered to be armed and dangerous. Police say Joseph Couch opened fire on twelve cars on a busy highway, seriously injuring five people. I want to bring in CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem with us now. They've resumed the manhunt this Morning. What are the challenges facing law enforcement this morning?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, well, the challenge has always been the darkness. I mean, in other words, it's just hard to do this kind of at search in a forested and sort of dense, densely forested area as compared to, say, an urban area or even a suburban area. So, that's always been their challenge. The morning brings new light and a new opportunity to find him. So, that's the first challenge.

The second is they have no idea how much he prepared for his exit or his ability to go dark. I mean, was he preparing food and water and other things that would have made it -- him able to stay put for some period of time?

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Because in a lot of these instances, you know, someone needs gas, they need to use their credit card, they get on their cell phone. Well, he may have prepared to hide. And I think the third thing, John, we've done this enough in terms of, you know, Maine and the Maine active shooter and here and in Boston where I live, with the Boston Marathon bombers, is how long do you shut down society based on these threats?

So, we know some of the schools are closed, we know the highways were closed. That's going to, you know, if you get into day four or five, you've got to get kids back into school, you've got to get people back on the street. And I think that's going to be a challenge there if they don't catch him.

BERMAN: You talk about the unknown, which is how much he prepared for this. There was a weapon found. It's an open question, does he have more weapons? Did he prepare and, you know, hide away some weapons just in case? What does history tell us about how much of a threat to others people on the run like this are?

KAYYEM: Yes, so this is an interesting one in a sort of bad way in the sense that there is no, it's not sort of like an active shooter situation that we saw in Maine in which, I don't want to say there was a reason for it, but there was some sort of hint of what was to come. Or you have sort of a terrorism incident as we've seen in European cities and in Boston and elsewhere where there's an incident and it's quite planned and targeted.

Here you have a true sniper. We haven't seen this in a long while and we saw it in D.C. more close to two decades ago, where we don't know what the motive is, the targets are completely random. And what you have is a highway sniper, which is not only scary in terms of the bullets, but also scary in terms of what the response is going to be on the highway. That is why they closed both sides of the highway.

No one got killed yet, but you could get killed in an automobile accident trying to avoid a sniper. And that's -- that's the challenge right now is there's no -- there seems to be no plan by him about why he chose that highway and therefore he could go to another highway in another state even.

BERMAN: Yes. The randomness poses it's own type of challenge in this case. Juliette Kayyem, great to see you. Hopefully this resolves safely in the next few hours. Thank you.

KAYYEM: Yes.

BERMAN: Sara?

SIDNER: All right, this Morning, students at Apalachee High School gathered with staff and relatives of the victims at a makeshift memorial at the school today. They will be allowed to recover their belongings left inside after last week's school shooting there. Two students and two teachers were killed. Nine others were injured after the suspected teenage gunman opened fire in school.

We are also learning new details this morning about how the suspect's mother tried to warn the school of what she called a, quote, extreme emergency just before the attack unfolded. CNN's Rafael Romo is in Winder, Georgia for us. Tell us about how his mom sort of figured out what was going on and then tried to get in touch with the school.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, good morning. The family of a 14 year old suspect has confirmed to CNN the boy's mother called to warn a school counselor just before her son allegedly went on a shooting rampage that killed two of his classmates and two teachers. This is according to Annie Brown. She's the suspect's aunt. And Marcee Gray broke her silence over the weekend when she told The Washington Post she is so sorry for what she calls the absolutely horrific shooting. This is what we know. The teen suspect's grandfather, Charles Polhamus

confirmed to CNN that Colt Gray sent his mother an alarming text message the morning of the shooting. The text simply said, I'm sorry, mom. That's when Marcee Gray, the suspect's mother, decided to make a call to the school that lasted ten minutes. After the call she placed at 9:50 in the morning, she decided to drive 200 miles from Fitzgerald, Georgia to here in Winder.

But by the time she arrived, the tragic shooting had already happened. In other words, Sara, we're talking about a span of roughly 30 minutes from the moment the mother called the school to when the shooting here at Apalachee High School was reported to police. We have spoken with many people here who still can't believe such a horrific shooting happened -- could have happened at all here in Winder.

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SAMIRA BARNETT, FOMER APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Winder's eleven (sp?) commune (sp?). We're small, man. We're all like close. This just shouldn't have happened. And I just really feel for everyone, like, you know, going to the school, you know, we went to school with no worry in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:25:00]

ROMO: The Barrow County School system has sent a letter to parents telling them that students are allowed to pick up their belongings here at the school between noon and for the next three or four hours. But classes, we don't know when they're going to resume. Sara?

SIDNER: It's such a tragic situation. And I'm sure, legally speaking, that text message to the mother shows that he knows right from wrong. I'm sure we will see some of these text messages again potentially in court. And again, we're looking at the pictures of the memorial as people were praying and remembering the four victims of this case. Thank you so much for your great reporting throughout this tragic incident. Rafael Romo there in Georgia for us. Kate?

BOLDUAN: The presidential candidates are about to face off and face each other for the first time on the debate stage. Meeting in battleground Pennsylvania. And meeting just as new polling highlights how important the debate could be, will be for both campaigns. And it has been a rough year for Boeing. But some good news for the company as the aviation giant reaches a deal to avoid a massive labor strike.

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