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Private Space Walk; Louisiana Flooding; Interview With Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI); Harris Campaign Enters New Phase Post-Debate. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired September 12, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:35]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: On the road again and shifting into high gear, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hitting the campaign trail for the very first time since that fiery debate.

The Harris campaign says it's moving into a new, more aggressive phase, and we have got the details.

Plus: She feared the worst. For the first time, we're hearing from the pilot who was flying that Alaska Airlines plane that lost a door plug and a door mid-flight. She describes the chaos in the cockpit and her relief when she learned no one had been sucked out of the plane.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And boldly going where no civilians have gone before. A tech billionaire and an engineer become the first nonprofessional astronauts to conduct a space walk.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: It's go time.

The Kamala Harris campaign is entering what her team calls a more aggressive phase following that fiery debate with former President Donald Trump. At any moment, the vice president is expected to head to North Carolina to kick off her New Way Forward Tour through swing states.

Former President Trump is on the trail too, targeting two critical battlegrounds today. A few hours from now, Trump will hold his first post-debate campaign event in Tucson, Arizona, while his campaign launches a new ad in Pennsylvania attacking Harris on fracking, a major industry in that must-win state.

Let's take you now live to Charlotte, North Carolina, where CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is covering the Harris campaign for us.

Priscilla, what is going to be new about this last effort approach as we get closer to election now?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can certainly expect now that her pace of travel is going to get more intense.

Remember that, just before the presidential debate, it had slowed down enough for her to get in those preparations. But with that now behind them, they are hitting the battleground states, and not only the vice president, but also surrogates across the country.

Now, of course, they did choose North Carolina to be their first stop after the debate, which is telling, because this is a state that they are trying to make inroads in with voters, particularly those who are undecided and those who may not be die-hard Democrats, but are also uninterested in former President Donald Trump.

They also see an opening here, given what is happening with the governor's race and with the issue of reproductive rights. In fact, the campaign today releasing a new ad, a new abortion-related, - focused ad that it seizes on one of what the campaign thinks was one of the strongest moments by the vice president. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it. And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have talked with women around our country. You want to talk about this is what people wanted, pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage being denied care?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, look, Boris, there's no question that aides and allies felt pretty good about what they saw from the vice president on Tuesday, but they are under no illusions that means that they won the election.

Aides that I have spoken with have made it very clear that they know there's a lot of work to do ahead. The message from the vice president today is one that we have heard before, that she maintains that they are the underdog and that they need to continue this campaign with intensity and with focus.

But, again, Boris, they are trying to seize on whatever opening they have in a state like North Carolina that Joe Biden won -- or -- I'm sorry -- lost in 2020. Now they're trying to seize it yet again.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the last time a Democrat won North Carolina was Barack Obama back in 2008.

Priscilla Alvarez live there, thank you so much.

Let's get the Trump view of things with CNN's Steve Contorno, who is live force in Tucson, Arizona.

Steve, what are you expecting to hear from Donald Trump today?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Boris, we saw Donald Trump at the debate on Tuesday try to emphasize the issue of immigration over and over again. And this is certainly a state where they believe that message will resonate with voters.

[13:05:00]

A recent CNN poll showed that, on the issue of immigration, Trump holds a lead by 17 points over Harris when asked who they thought would be better at handling that issue.

And that's why you're seeing Trump and his allies hammer the airwaves here with an immigration message. Several of the ads show migrant crime issues and attacking her over her stances on the border and her actions with the current administration and what they have done under Joe Biden. They have matched Democrats here dollar for dollar on the airways.

But, interestingly, going forward, Republicans are not keeping up with Democratic spending here. Democrats are going to spend about $35 million on the presidential race over the next two months. Republicans, meanwhile, have only reserved about $22 million worth of airtime.

Instead, they are focusing a lot of their money and investments on Pennsylvania, including with this new ad attacking Harris' past position on fracking. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Will you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking your first day in office?

HARRIS: There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking.

NARRATOR: That will immediately put tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians out of work and send utility bills skyrocketing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, we know Trump's campaign wants him to focus on contrasting her positions back in 2020. That fracking ad is certainly one of the areas where they have highlighted the most.

However, Trump at the debate missed several opportunities to do just that. We will see if he takes those chances today when he is speaking to this crowd here in Arizona -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Steve Contorno, thanks so much for the update from Tucson -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So this election is all about the battleground states, of course. And Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, the Democrat from Michigan, has a serious reality check for her party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): I think Michigan is a dead heat. People know, but there's just a lot of people in the middle. I don't understand at times what people see in Donald Trump. They know what will happen to this country if he's president again, but they believe strongly. And it's just closer than people realize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And joining us now is Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee, also of Michigan.

And, OK, we hear the warning from Dingell. We see the latest CBS News poll and it shows Harris up one point in Michigan. That is, though, well within the margin of error. So this is very much a toss-up in your state. It's very close.

As Debbie Dingell is sounding the alarm. Are you that worried?

REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): Yes, I'm worried. I'm concerned because there's so much at stake. The outcome of the election in Michigan could be the outcome of the election for the whole country. We have got a lot riding on this.

And so I think whether we believe this poll or that poll, I think it's correct to be concerned and to act on that to concern, whether we think we're behind or not, to campaign like we're behind every single day. We don't want to have a repeat of the overconfidence of 2016, which itself contributed to that loss. We can't let that happen again.

KEILAR: Are you more or less worried than you were a month ago?

KILDEE: I'm less worried than I was a month ago.

KEILAR: Tell me why.

KILDEE: Well, because things have really come our direction.

Obviously, with the decision that President Biden made, it opened the door for Kamala Harris to become the nominee. And the increase in enthusiasm by the measures that we look at -- if you're trying to run a campaign, you have got to have people to knock on doors and make phone calls.

In Michigan alone, 35,000 new volunteers since Kamala Harris became our nominee, 35,000 people coming in voluntarily to work on this campaign because they know how much is at stake, and they feel that, in this case, we have a chance to win.

Whether it's fair or not to President Biden, and I don't think it was, there was a concern that maybe we didn't have a path to victory. Now we know we do, and it's bringing a lot of people to this campaign. Small donors and volunteers are how you overcome the margin.

Somebody in Wisconsin said it, but I have stolen the idea. It's not the margin of error. It's the margin of effort. If we have the people and the resources to carry this campaign to every house in our state with the message that we saw Kamala Harris deliver during that debate, then I think we're going to be in OK shape.

KEILAR: So when you see Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris, and it gets a lot of attention. The question is, what is the impact going to be? What do you think the impact could be in Michigan, depending on what, say, a Taylor Swift or Beyonce does to raise enthusiasm there?

Could it actually make a difference?

KILDEE: I think it could make a difference if it means that younger people who might be disinclined to participate, younger Swifties, for example, might say, you know what, I guess I will get engaged. She's opened this door for me to walk through.

And if they come to the polls, they're going to vote disproportionately for Kamala Harris. We know that. The question is not who they're for, but whether they are going to act on who they're for, they're going to act on that belief.

[13:10:05]

And what Taylor Swift and Beyonce and others do is invite people who don't think about politics every day, like people in my line of work do, invite them to the table, say, you know what, you actually are a part of this. If you listen to what I have to say, if you think it's important, maybe you will invest some of your time in this.

So I think it does create some possibilities. And, lookit, these elections are won on the tiniest of margins in the swing states. And so while it might not have a massive effect, it doesn't have to have a massive effect. If it has a marginal effect on the number of younger people coming to the polls, it could be -- it could make all the difference in the world.

KEILAR: So you're talking about people who could be activated to...

KILDEE: Precisely.

KEILAR: ... get engaged, to cast their ballot.

There are some people who could be deactivated, and that is specifically in your state, because of what's happening in Gaza. Without a cease-fire in Gaza, does Harris have a pathway to victory in Michigan?

KILDEE: I think she does, but this is a hurdle for us to overcome.

And this is one of those areas where I have had some differences with even the current administration on our position relative to Israel. I do think President Biden has been more clear and Vice President Harris has been more clear that we're -- we are sensitive to, we need to be more sensitive to the aspirations of the Palestinian people to determine their own future.

And I do think, and I would encourage her to say that. Even if it's a nuanced distinction between the current policy and what her view is, I think that makes a difference.

KEILAR: She dodged some questions on the economy, and eight in 10 Michiganders in this recent poll say income is not keeping up with inflation.

Was that a missed opportunity for her?

KILDEE: Well, I think we need to lean in on this. So when I think we answer those questions, it's by talking about the things that we are doing to correct the problem.

And we're doing a lot, and I think what you will see in Michigan are some announcements coming soon that are going to be about the new jobs that are coming back as a result of the Biden/Harris initiatives. That, a job, is the most important element of the economy.

And we see new jobs coming back to places like Michigan, and we know that it was the Biden/Harris administration that delivered it. We need to tell people that, and not allow them to just sort of think that these jobs are falling like manna from heaven. They're coming as a result of intentional policies that the Biden/Harris campaign have brought to us.

KEILAR: Congressman Dan Kildee, thank you so much for joining us.

KILDEE: Thank you.

KEILAR: We appreciate it.

And coming up: water rescues in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Francine. We will have the latest on the storm's track and the damage left behind next.

Also, those suits were made for walking, and that is just what the SpaceX astronauts did. What their historic space walk could mean for a future landing on Mars.

And, later, for the first time, a view from the cockpit, an Alaska Airlines pilot describing what it was like when that door plug blew off.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[13:17:19]

SANCHEZ: Space isn't just for astronauts anymore. Civilians got a chance to explore the final frontier.

And you're looking at the first space walk by a nonprofessional astronaut. Billionaire Jared Isaacman was one of two crew members on the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission to venture outside the Dragon capsule around 7:00 eastern this morning.

There was just about nothing, a space suit, between him and the vast expanse of space at an altitude as high as 400-plus miles above Earth. Look at that view.

And listen to Isaacman from the perspective of his helmet cam as he took it all in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED ISAACMAN, CIVILIAN ASTRONAUT: Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do, but, from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And what you're hearing there is a giant cheer from those eagerly watching from here on Earth.

With us now is CNN space and defense correspondent Kristin Fisher and CNN aerospace analyst Miles O'Brien.

Thank you both for being with us.

Kristin, NASA's been doing space walks for almost 60 years, but this was obviously different and a giant leap, you could say.

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes and that's what the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, was saying when he congratulated SpaceX for what it was able to pull off, because up until just a few hours ago, the only people that had done space walks were professional government astronauts that had the backing of big, powerful countries like the United States, China and Russia.

This was a spacecraft and a brand-new space suit designed and manufactured by a private space company, SpaceX. And the people going out into the vacuum of space were private astronauts, your everyday citizens. Granted, they'd trained quite a bit.

And the reason that's so significant is because the private sector is typically able to do things faster and for a lot less money. Just take these space suits. NASA's been -- for its astronauts for about 20 years. SpaceX was able to design and develop these in just 2.5 years.

So the reason this is a big deal is because this is the first generation of the space suit that someday SpaceX hopes will allow astronauts to walk on Mars.

SANCHEZ: Man, just look at that image and the seeming vastness of that darkness. It's intimidating, no question.

And, Miles, there were a lot of risks going into this. Success was not guaranteed. How difficult was this a feat to pull off?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: Well, it is clearly the most risky commercial mission ever, Boris. There's no doubt about that. In addition to that space walk, which is right at the top of the list, the crew flew to an even higher altitude than it's at right now, but double where it is, right into the Van Allen belt, which is chockful of radiation.

[13:20:10]

Part of that is to really become guinea pigs to see what that radiation exposure is like. If you're going to go to Mars, you have to contend with that. How do you protect a crew from radiation exposure over a trip that could take many months?

The idea of the risk is not unlike the way NASA approaches it. You break it down, put it into increments, and sort of manage the risks step by step, which is what -- the process that you saw unfold here so well earlier this morning.

So it's -- I think about what happened 60 years ago, for example, Boris, when the U.S. had its first space walk, Ed White, 1965, about a few months after the Soviet Union did its first space walk. And what we're seeing is kind of the commercial version of that milestone being replicated, but the commercial enterprise seems to be moving so much faster.

So we're kind of going back to the future, but I think things are going to accelerate much faster going forward.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and that is a fascinating idea.

Kristin, take us through step by step what we saw with this space walk. It started with something called a pre-breath?

FISHER: Pre-breathe.

SANCHEZ: Pre-breathe.

FISHER: And it actually started about two hours after lifting off. It's similar to what scuba divers do to avoid decompression sickness or the bends.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

FISHER: That's why scuba divers, you have to rise to the surface slowly, so that the nitrogen doesn't bubble up in your in your bloodstream.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes.

FISHER: Well, that's what the pre-breathe was for these astronauts today.

And on the International Space Station, they have a special airlock, a decompression chamber. All these astronauts had was the Dragon spacecraft, and the whole thing was opening up to the vacuum of space. So they had to -- that was essentially their decompression chamber. That's where this pre-breathe took place.

Then they put on their space suits, checked out the space suits for any leaks. You see Jared Isaacman opening the hatch right there, and then he ventured out for about 10 minutes, followed by mission specialist Sarah Gillis. She's a SpaceX engineer.

And the other big thing is this was the first time that any SpaceX employees have actually gone to space, allowing them to have better insight when they're training other astronauts to go to space.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes.

And, Miles, I noticed that Sarah and Jared made some small movements with their arms when they were out there. Help us understand what they're doing with that.

O'BRIEN: Boris, you can think of those suits as the world's smallest spacecraft.

And, basically, everything that sustains human life has to be inside them. And so you want them to be very capable of protecting human life. But on the other side of it, you want to be able to do useful things, like do some work, whether you're on the surface of a planet or outside a space station.

And so you have -- as engineers design them, they want them to be very protective, huge temperature swings, hundreds of degrees plus, hundreds of degrees minus in the course of a few minutes. And you want them to be protected against micrometeorites and so forth. So they had to be kind of armored and yet very pliable.

And you can imagine a pressurized suit, just the act of closing your gloved hand can rub it raw. So what they were trying to do was just see -- kind of doing a little bit of a Macarena up there, trying to move the arms, see how they -- whether they're pliable enough, whether the design is such that an astronaut could do some real work if you could take a few moments not to be looking at the Earth below.

I never understand how they do any work up there, frankly.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's got to be daunting. But we made history, the first Macarena in space. Love to see it.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Kristin Fisher, Miles O'Brien, appreciate you. Thanks so much -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Francine is now a tropical depression, but the storm made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday and unleashed a torrent of rain, powerful winds and devastating flash flooding across Southern Louisiana.

In New Orleans, our affiliate WDSU captured on live television the dramatic rescue of a driver whose pickup truck got completely submerged in high water. The storm dumped over a month's worth of rain on the city and the flood threat is actually not over. Right now, close to 400,000 customers along the Gulf Coast still are without power. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is surveying more of Francine's damage

from Morgan City, Louisiana.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Brianna.

As Francine pulls away from Southern Louisiana, we still have flooding to contend with as the water slowly starts to recede, just like here in Morgan City. And New Orleans, they got hit particularly hard, receiving over a month's average worth of rain just in a few hours.

[13:25:07]

That, of course, overtook some of the city's pumps, causing some localized flash flooding in New Orleans as well. The good news is, Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans now operational. They had several cancellations occur yesterday during the height of the storm.

Speaking of the height of the storm, this is actually where my crew of photojournalists and producers rode out Hurricane Francine as it strengthened upon its final approach into Southern Louisiana, catching many people off-guard.

We actually had to leave this location because water started to overtop a sand berm that was protecting our live shot location. Winds got nasty as well, clocking over 80 to 90 miles per hour, making conditions extremely treacherous.

But it was the drive back and the flooded roadways within Morgan City that made it so treacherous. And that's just a drop in the bucket at what some of these perishes in Southern Louisiana have had to contend with as some of the storm surge and the flooding rains really inundated this very low-elevation part of the state of Louisiana.

Now, this storm isn't done yet. We know that the remnants of Francine are now moving into portions of Mississippi, Alabama, even Georgia and Tennessee. So there's a lot of pent-up energy associated with this kind of dying storm system. There is a flash flood ongoing threat really centered across Alabama. So, heads up, Birmingham.

But we can't excuse the tornado threat that is ongoing across perhaps the Florida Peninsula, as we draw in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. You can see here's a bulldozer behind us going to assess the situation. There are some down power lines behind this flooded park where we are located.

But this is the effort now for people as they try to get back to normal and clean up after what was a powerful Category 2 hurricane that came ashore -- Brianna, back to you.

KEILAR: Attorney General Merrick Garland has a powerful message for critics that claim the Justice Department is playing politics, that they will not bend or break to pressure.

We'll have more on that just ahead.

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