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Just Hours from Debate Day, New Poll Shows Razor-Thin Race; Harris Studying Trump's Comments, Positions, Insults Ahead of Debate; Trump has Met with Advisers, Policy Experts, Allies Ahead of Debate; Trump & Harris Doing Final Preps for Tomorrow's Debate; Judge Grants Change of Venue to Man Charged with Killing Four University of Idaho Students; Princess Catherine: In "New Phase of Recovery" After Chemotherapy. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 09, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:45]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It's got the potential to be an election- defining debate. Americans will see the first time Vice President - will see for the first time Vice President Harris and former President Trump coming face-to-face. And we're getting new details on how they'll take each other on.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students will go on trial in a different city. A judge just ruling prejudice in the community could keep potential jurors from being impartial in the case against Bryan Kohberger.

And the Princess of Wales finishing chemotherapy treatment. In a rare video, she reveals what's next for her in the coming months.

These major developing stories and many more we are following right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: It is the top of the hour, and all eyes are on the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where tomorrow we'll see Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump facing off on stage in Philadelphia for the first, and it's entirely possible, the only debate of this election cycle. And that makes the stakes sky high for both candidates.

SANCHEZ: They arrive at the debate with new polling showing them locked in a virtual neck-and-neck race with just 57 days until the election. A New York Times/Siena College poll shows there is no clear leader in the race for the White House. CNN's Kristen Holmes live for us in Philly covering the Trump campaign.

But let's start with Eva McKend in Pittsburgh, where Kamala Harris has spent the last several days hunkered down and prepping for this showdown.

And Eva, we know that she has been watching some of Donald Trump's previous debate performances. What do we know about her strategy? EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris and Brianna, in a radio interview this morning, the Vice President seemed to suggest that the former president lacked integrity and that he has a propensity to lie. Take a listen to how she's thinking about this debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He plays from this really old and tired playbook, right, where he - there's no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that. And ultimately, you know, what I intend to point out is what we - what many people know as - and certainly as I'm traveling the country and this campaign.

He tends to fight for himself, not for the American people. And I think that's going to come out during the course of the debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So Boris and Brianna, her commentary there seems to be informed by the strenuous debate prep that she has engaged in over the last several days at the hotel just behind me here in Pittsburgh. She has gone over the former president's six past debate performances. She's been in conversation with Hillary Clinton and President Biden, who know well what it is like to debate the former president. She has engaged in these mock debate sessions. She's had briefing books with the former president's commentary and criticisms of her so that she can be ready to respond to those attacks.

Ultimately, the goal for the Vice President is not only to forcefully make the case against Donald Trump, but also to try to convince America that it is time to move on from the era of Trumpism. And the campaign already has their sights past the debate, Brianna and Boris. They are going to engage in this battleground blitz this week. She's going to be campaigning in North Carolina and here in Pennsylvania, while Gov. Tim Walz campaigns in Michigan and Wisconsin.

KEILAR: All right. Eva, thank you for that.

Let's bring in Kristen Holmes. Now she is in Philadelphia.

Kristen, what do you know about how Trump is prepping?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say that Donald Trump is doing everything, and that counts as preparation. They are not talking about any specific mock sit-downs, or someone plays the moderator, or someone plays Kamala Harris. But the campaign says that all the events that Donald Trump has done for the last several weeks, which include town halls or going and talking to the economic club in New York, all of that counts as debate prep.

[15:05:08]

Getting those questions that he's not prepared for, not briefed on beforehand and answering them in front of a live audience. But, of course, there are still questions about what exactly is going to look like when Donald Trump takes the stage on Tuesday. A big concern among Trump's allies is how he handles being up on a stage with a woman, controlling his temperament, controlling his tone, and that, of course, is going to be left up to Donald Trump alone.

Now, in addition to these wide range of events that we just mentioned, the town hall, he does have these things called policy time or policy review time on his schedule where he sits down with various lawmakers or various senior campaign staff and get briefed on the various policy issues they want him to focus on, like immigration, like crime, they - like inflation, for example.

Then, they ask him questions. They try to pivot on other topics like reproductive rights to go back to issues like immigration and the economy, the things that they think Donald Trump can win on in November if he keeps focus on it.

But, of course, Brianna and Boris, a big question is whether or not Donald Trump can remain focused. They point to the fact that he did well in that debate against President Joe Biden, but this is an - ultimately, a completely candidate that's going to be up on the stage and we're in a completely different race. And at the end of the day, they can say that he is prepared, that he is ready to go, but it's going to be up to him how he behaves on that stage.

KEILAR: Yes, it certainly is.

Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

Let's talk now with Scott Jennings. He's a CNN Senior Political Commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush. And Maria Cardona, CNN Political commentator and Democratic strategist.

Scott, last week, Trump was saying that his plan was he's going to, quote, let her talk. So he's just going to let her talk like he did with Biden in their debate back in June. Is that what you're expecting?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, if she does, she's going to have a lot of explaining to do. And that's really what Trump has to do as part of his strategy, try to let her unwind all of her past positions that she ran on before and let her unwind on all the things she helped Joe Biden do, which, of course, caused the American people to sour on this administration.

Look, it's a change election. And so if you're Trump and you're looking at some of the recent polling, like in The New York Times, you're already seen as the change agent. The goal of this debate is for people to turn off the TV and say, yep, I want change. And Trump represents that change that I need on the economy, on immigration or whatever your most important issue is. Those will be the top two that he should be focused on.

So it's really staying focused on that core mission. She's more of the same. I'm change. And however he gets from A to B, that's the strategy he needs to go for.

SANCHEZ: Maria, whether because of muted microphones or not, we did see a far more disciplined Donald Trump in the most recent debate than we had seen ...

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... previously. If that same Donald Trump shows up, how should Kamala Harris deal with that?

CARDONA: Well, I think what she's doing, and he - we've heard some reporting on this, is that she is prepping for whatever version of Donald Trump shows up. But you're right, that disciplined, focused Donald Trump might very well show up. Let's remember that this will be his seventh presidential election debate. This is Kamala Harris' first.

And so while I believe that she will absolutely have the chance to offer her ideas a massive and stark contrast with where she wants to take the American people with her administration versus what Donald Trump has done in the four years that he was in the Oval Office and what he will do, given that we know the extremism of Project 2025, I still think that this is not going to be a slam dunk for her by any means. And they are prepping for that.

Look, you know, we know the various versions of Donald Trump that have shown up. And we know that he will lie. We know that he will do insults, conspiracy theories. You know, he can't focus on one line of inquiry or one line of questioning, one line of answering. And that's what I think his folks are afraid of.

But at the same time for Kamala Harris, it is tough to be there and be somebody who's going to have to fact check every single time. So she's going to have to focus on making sure that she has the opportunity to lay out her vision, not get baited into a back and forth on insults, which we know that he will try. And she is - that's exactly what she's prepping for.

But look, he can be crazy and it is tough to prep for crazy.

KEILAR: So what if he does - you said insults - what if he does that? Because the last time that he took the debate stage with a woman, 2016 Hillary Clinton, he calls her nasty on stage. This time you're looking at New York Times' polling that shows women are breaking for Harris by 11 points. Men are favoring Trump by 17 points. He'd certainly like to make up some ground with women.

Maria, what happens if Trump does insult her and in a sexist way? What happens then?

[15:10:05]

CARDONA: I think you will see a version of what she used in her interview with Dana Bash. Because Dana presented one of the biggest insults that Donald Trump has used against her up until now, right? During the National Association of Black Journalists conversation where he apparently, right, slammed her for just, you know, becoming black.

I think what she'll do is she won't get baited. She might do a version of looking him - looking at him in the eye and saying, Donald, please, right? Let's not use that tired playbook. I'm going to take the opportunity to talk to the American people about what I'm going to do for them, about how I'm going to wake up every day and focus on making sure that they're able to provide for their families, that they're able to not just get by, but to get ahead and focus on those policies.

She can't get baited into that because that's exactly where he will flourish. You can't outrump Trump, but what you can do is get under his skin. And if he does that, that is going to be a huge failure for him. And I think it will be easy for him - for the Vice President to get under his skin, because we know already that it's so hard for him to maintain discipline.

SANCHEZ: Scott, after Donald Trump made those comments at NABJ, the Vice President effectively said, say it to my face. Do you think Donald Trump is going to question Kamala Harris' race to her face in this debate?

JENNINGS: I would have no way of knowing, but I would advise him not to do that. And I would just advise him to answer all questions going back to one core issue. If you want change, I am the change. If you want change on the economy, I am the change. If you want change on the border, I am the change.

And she's out here to take - the only change she is, is changing all of her positions in a craven effort to try to make you think she's not some kind of radical liberal. So I wouldn't take debate from a question. I wouldn't take debate from her. I would just bring it all back to one core issue.

This is how he wins. People are not happy with the current administration. She is in the current administration. She represents a continuation of the same. So anything that you do that gets off that track is really a lost minute or a lost 10 minutes or however long it takes you to do it. So my advice is stick with change and you'll be all right.

KEILAR: Scott, I want to ask you, because over the weekend, Trump threatened to prosecute election workers. He suggested essentially they could cheat in the November elections. Obviously, no - without proof there. And he did it just a few days after AG Merrick Garland detailed what an alarming number of election workers had been facing since 2020.

I mean, he really laid out some pretty stunning stuff last week, where he was saying that there were election workers who had to be assigned body armor. Their families were concerned for their safety. And this was obviously something that the Justice Department is moving forward on with their task force.

Do you have concerns that Trump is making election workers vulnerable with these comments? JENNINGS: Well, I'm concerned that we have a lot of stress on the system. I'm concerned that this election is high anxiety. I'm concerned that emotions are running high across the board. And, you know, of course, the election workers from the volunteers at the local level, to county clerks, to secretaries of state, they're the ones who make our diffuse system of elections work and the diffuse system is what protects it ultimately.

So I would hope that we respect the system, respect the people who make the system work and that we understand a lot of these people aren't getting paid to do it, but they do it out of the goodness of their heart and out of the obligation they feel to have a role in public service. And there can be no higher public service than making sure our democracy is functioning correctly.

So I have a high degree of confidence in the system, honestly, from the constitutional system all the way down to the grassroots system of people who count the votes and make sure we get a free and fair result. So I just - I want everybody to respect those people, because having been around politics for a quarter of a century, I can tell you they're absolutely necessary. And most of them are absolutely salt of the earth, who are all in it for the right reasons.

CARDONA: But the problem is that Donald Trump does not respect those people. The problem is that Donald Trump doesn't care if he put those people's lives in danger, because that's exactly what he did in 2020. That's exactly what he's doing, underscoring that he still believes that that election was stolen.

If he does that in the debate, I think that is a wonderful opportunity for the Vice President to underscore just how extremist Donald Trump is, just how much he lies, just how much the American people deserve much better. One of the key things that I - that was a takeaway for me in the CNN poll was that the vast majority of Americans already believe that Donald Trump's policies are way too extremist and that it's the Vice President's policies that are much more mainstream and in line with what the majority of the American people value and believe. That is what she needs to continue to focus on and how her policies will match that.

SANCHEZ: Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate you both.

JENNINGS: If that were - if that - can I just say, if that were true, if people believe he's an extremist, then why isn't she winning?

[15:15:04]

Why is he winning in The New York Times poll? Why is this race tied nationally?

I mean, you and I both know ...

CARDONA: They - yes.

JENNINGS: ... that if it's a tied race nationally ... CARDONA: And you know ...

JENNINGS: ... there's a hundred percent chance he's going to win the Electoral College.

CARDONA: Oh, but see - wait ...

JENNINGS: If that's - what you said were true, why isn't she winning by 20 points?

CARDONA: ... but see we don't necessarily know that, Scott, because see in 2022 the poll showed that Republicans are winning.

JENNINGS: You just said it was a fact. You just said it was true.

CARDONA: The 2022 election showed that Republicans were winning and there was going to be a massive red wave. There was no red wave because after Roe v. Wade, the polls are underreporting and they are not showing this massive mobilization of women and men that believe that women should have bodily autonomy, that believe that our democracy should be protected, that believe that a commander-in-chief should not be a liar-in-chief ...

JENNINGS: So you believe pollsters are not (INAUDIBLE) ...

CARDONA: ... and should not be a conspiracist-in-chief. No, see, you said that to me the other day on air. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that women can go into a polling booth ...

JENNINGS: What are you saying?

CARDONA: -- with more than one thought in their head, Scott. They can tell a pollster that the economy is their number one issue while they go into the polling booth and think to themselves, because I've heard them say this to me, you know what, the economy will come back. And I know that Vice President Kamala Harris is working for to make sure that that economy comes back.

But Republicans want to steal my bodily autonomy and the right for me to make decisions about my own body and my family, and I don't want to grow up, I don't want my kids to grow up, I don't want to raise my daughter in a country where she's going to have less rights than I did. That is a massively what - a hugely potential, potent issue, Scott, that Republicans don't understand. They're not counting on it. Donald Trump knows that and he's afraid of it. And all of you all should be afraid of it. That I think is not showing up in the polls.

JENNINGS: But you're ...

SANCHEZ: Now, Scott, now we have to leave the conversation there.

JENNINGS: So your position is ...

SANCHEZ: Scott, but we look forward to having you both on next time. Appreciate it. Very lively discussion.

CARDONA: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

CARDONA: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, Princess Catherine says that she's completed chemotherapy treatment and has a renewed sense of hope and appreciation for life. What's next for the princess?

Plus a judge granting Bryan Kohberger's change of venue motion over concerns he wouldn't get a fair trial for the killing of four University of Idaho students. We'll tell you how the victim's families are now reacting.

KEILAR: And later, thousands forced to flee their homes in Southern California after this. A wildfire exploded in size. We'll have those stories and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:21:56]

SANCHEZ: We're following a new development today in the Idaho college murders trial. A judge has granted the defendant, Bryan Kohberger, a change of venue motion.

KEILAR: Last month, his defense team raised concerns of a biased jury after reading survey results. One said the town - one person - a survey respondent - said that the town would, quote, "burn the courthouse down if Kohberger were acquitted in these murders."

Kohberger is charged with killing four University of Idaho students back in 2022. CNN's Jean Casarez has been following the story closely.

Jean, we're now hearing from the family of one of the victims. How are they responding?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very upset. Extremely distraught because they believe that this trial should be in Latah County, Moscow. It's where those four students went to school, and they believe it's deserved to be there.

But the judge had to look at the totality of the circumstances, fundamental fairness, right to a fair trial. John Judge is his name. So, Judge Judge determined that the small community could not have a fair and impartial jury based on this pretrial publicity.

But one other thing, it's not determined where it's going to take place because in his order, he's allowing the Supreme Court of Idaho to determine where it takes place and what judge will preside.

Now, here is the Kaylee Goncalves' part of their family statement, incredibly disappointed about this ruling. Quote, "The only good thing about this decision is that it will be Judge Judge's last decision in this case. As victims' families, you are left to just watch like everyone else and really you have little rights or say in the process and at the same time you are the most vested in the outcome. We have always felt that a fair and impartial jury could be found in Latah County and still believe that is where the trial deserves to be held to help the community heal."

But one other thing that the judge looked into was the practicality that Moscow, Latah County Courthouse, it's very small. And the amount of law enforcement that would have to secure the safety of the judges and the jury and personnel that they would not be able to police the community as they are supposed to. So now, at this point, we will wait and see where the Supreme Court, most likely Boise, it is believed that was the other alternative. The capital of Idaho is where this trial conceivably could be held.

KEILAR: All right. We'll be looking to see where it turns out that it's held. Jean Casarez, thank you for the latest on that.

Today, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, giving a significant update on her health, revealing in a new video message that she has completed her chemotherapy treatments and is now focusing on staying cancer free. Here's part of it.

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CATHERINE, PRINCESS OF WALES: Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes. I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.

[15:25:06]

Despite all that has gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life.

William and I are so grateful for the support we have received and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time. Everyone's kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with CNN Business Anchor, Julia Chatterley.

Julia, this is a rare inside look from the royal family, which is typically very private.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Absolutely, we should correctly call her Catherine, Princess of Wales, but for me, this is pure Kate, willing to be seen at her most private as a wife and as a mother. There's real intimacy in this video. And I think what we're seeing is palpable royal relief in the form of an emotional, heartfelt, quintessentially British English summertime video, where she describes the past nine months as being incredibly tough, as anyone who's been touched by cancer can imagine for the family.

She described the cancer journey as complex, scary, unpredictable for everyone. But as you heard her say in her own words there, also what it's given her is this renewed sense of hope and appreciation for life. And I think that's in direct contrast, if you remember to that lone Kate video that we saw back in March when she announced she actually had cancer. This, to me, is Catherine, Princess of Wales who feels like she's back on top.

And again, what we saw in that video was the intimacy of the future king and queen. I mean, this is the king and queen lying in sand dunes, laughing on the floor. It's about prioritizing, I think, what matters most in life, which is family love and laughter, according to this. And it might just be me, but there's one scene in there where a hand is going through the grass, and it reminds me of the movie Gladiator. And I think we all know gladiators out there, guys, that are facing this fight and she made the choice to point out those people, too, which I thought was important.

KEILAR: Yes, very important. And she says she's planning, Julia, to return to public life gradually here in the months ahead. What might that look like?

CHATTERLEY: A good question. You heard her, again, say it there, she's just going to take this day by day. We hope to see her, I think, for the Remembrance Day celebrations in November. She has a beloved Christmas concert, a carol concert in December. Other than that, I think we still have to expect that if she's not feeling up to it, she'll cancel at least until the end of the year. This is a slow process, but it's also a day, I think, of great optimism as well.

So fingers crossed we see her as much as possible and the kids, of course, because they're fun.

KEILAR: And cute - super cute.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

CHATTERLEY: Yes, they're very cute - super cute.

SANCHEZ: A great development in this story. Julia Chatterley, thank you so much for the update.

Still to come, House Republicans and Democrats releasing dueling reports on the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. What we're learning in those documents?

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