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Instagram Moves to Protect Teens; Record-Low Number of Undecided Voters; Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) is Interviewed about the Presidential Election; Wilmer Valderrama is Interviewed about His New Book. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 17, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:23]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Brand new this morning, Instagram changing their rules for young users. The platform is rolling out new rules that give parents more oversight to control what their children see.

CNN's Clare Duffy is with us now.

Instagram has faced pressure for a long time to try to protect young users. I suspect the parents are probably going to be happy about this. The kids, I don't - I don't know. What will some of the changes be?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH WRITER: Yes, so next week Meta is going to start applying these new teen account settings to all users under the age of 18. So, here's what that's going to look like. All teen users, new and existing, will have their accounts reverted to private. So, even if you're like a teen influencer, your account is going to be automatically moved to private. There will be new restrictions on who can message teens, who can tag them or comment, add them in comments to only people that they follow. New limits on the types of sensitive content that teens can see in their feed. So, for example, fewer posts about promoting cosmetic procedures.

Teens will also be automatically reverted into sleep mode, which means that overnight their notifications will be muted, messages will receive an auto response and teens are going to receive a reminder after they spent an hour on the app each day.

But here's what I think is the biggest part of this announcement. Teens who are 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to go in and automatically change these settings back if they want to. But teens who are 13 through 15 will have to receive parental approval through the app. So, that means that if they don't already have parental supervision set up through the app, their account linked to a parents account, they're going to have to set that up and receive parental approval if they want to have less restrictive settings. So, potentially giving parents more oversight in terms of what their parents - what their teens are seeing on the app.

SIDNER: OK, so 16 and 17, they can change it. But if you're younger than that, then the parent has to be involved and go on to the app.

When will this set in? When will this start?

DUFFY: So, for teens, they're going to start seeing today notifications letting them know that this is coming. And starting next week, in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, these automatic changes will start to go into effect, and then the rest of the world later this year and into next year.

And I think it's worth mentioning that this is something that Instagram has rolled out, you know, menial changes, procedurals, sort of policy things, but this is a really comprehensive approach here.

SIDNER: All right, I know parents have been waiting this for a very, very long time.

Clare Duffy, thank you so much for the reporting. We appreciate it.

DUFFY: Thanks.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, a new warning from health officials on what they are calling deadly superbugs. Why they say nearly 40 million people could be at risk.

And flood watches in place for more than 10 million people as heavy rain - look at that - just slammed parts of the U.S.

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[08:38:31]

SIDNER: All right, a record low number of Americans say they are still undecided and - on how they plan to vote in November. That as the clock is, of course, ticking for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to try to win those voters over. Less than 50 days.

CNN's senior data reporter, Harry Enten, is joining us now.

How many are there? Because it's kind of hard to believe.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: It's kind of hard to believe. But the bottom line is that 4 percent, 4 percent in the average of polls, 4 percent of voters say that they are undecided. That is just half the level that we saw in 2020. Well less than the 10 percent we saw at this point in 2016.

So, the bottom line is, in this particular election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are focusing their attention on this tiny, tiny sliver. Much lower than we're used to. In fact, it's the lowest level of undecideds that we've seen in polling at this point this entire 21st century.

SIDNER: You know what, that is not surprising at all, that that number is so low. But within the margin of error, all the polls that you've been looking at -

ENTEN: Yes, could make it -

SIDNER: That number's extremely - exactly that.

ENTEN: Exactly. It could make all the difference in the world.

SIDNER: Right.

So, what do these undecideds care about? What are their big issues?

ENTEN: What are their top issues?

SIDNER: Not a surprise.

ENTEN: Well, perhaps not surprisingly, 30 percent say the economy, inflation. That's number one. But number two, they actually don't have a top issue.

SIDNER: Wow.

ENTEN: Twenty-eight percent say there is no top issue, which perhaps isn't so surprising given that they're probably not as tuned into politics, they might care more about the characteristics of the candidates themselves rather than the issues that they represent.

[08:40:02]

But I think that you get this large chunk of undecideds, right, that - the large chunk within the undecideds who say there's no top issue. That, of course, makes it difficult for the campaigns to go after them because what exactly are you going to talk about to the folks who say, wait a minute, we don't have a top issue.

SIDNER: Right. That's - that's a hard thing. But, obviously, the economy, the economy, the economy, that is the issue that seems to be over -

ENTEN: Across - across (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Across all.

So, there are a lot of people - we just sort of mentioned this, that don't really understand how anyone could be undecided at this point in the election cycle and with this particular election. So, what's the deal?

ENTEN: What's the details? Well, I think this might sort of get at it. 2024 is the most important election of my life. Seventy-two percent of Trump backers say it is, 70 percent of Harris backers say it is, but just 24 percent of undecideds say it is.

SIDNER: Yes.

ENTEN: So, the bottom line is, they don't actually think there's that much on the line going on here. And that is, I think, part of the reason why they're willing to stay back and just say, you know what, I don't really necessarily like either of these folks. I don't think this is the most important election. So, you know what, I'm going to continue to be undecided. Of course, there's just 4 percent of them. But that 4 percent is going to make all the difference in the world come November.

SIDNER: They very well could. But if they're not paying attention, like you said, they might start paying attention as we get very, very, very close to the election.

ENTEN: Exactly. But at this point, they just don't really think 2024 is that important. So, that's why they're not paying attention.

SIDNER: All right, Harry Enten, we know we think is important, but there is that.

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: All right.

Kate,

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, joining us right now is Republican congressman from Florida, Trump campaign surrogate, Byron Donalds.

Congressman, it's good to see you. Thank you for coming in.

Bouncing off the conversation that Harry and Sara were just having, how undecided do you think the diminishing number of undecided voters really are this election at this point?

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): I believe they're somewhat undecided. I think they're juggling through the realities of America. Number one, the economy. This massive inflation created by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. The immigration problems in our country are real. They're looking at that.

But then I also do believe they're - they're having to juggle a - with also a lot of the rhetoric that's out there in terms of where the country is going and who's going to protect the country. And I think if you look at the facts, the facts are very clear that Donald Trump addresses the issues that concerns Americans, the economy, our borders and our foreign policy.

And what Vice President Harris is talking about is not those issues. She's talking about wanting to look forward, or, unfortunately, there's still a lot of negative rhetoric coming from her campaign basically saying, her and her surrogates, that Donald Trump is some threat to democracy, which is a flat out lie. And that lie can be proven to be a lie because he was already president of the United States, the country was thriving when he was president of the United States, and there were new no - there were no new wars when he was president of the United States.

BOLDUAN: In terms of rhetoric, do you think - do you think Donald Trump, and the Trump campaign, do you think they have a problem with rhetoric as well?

DONALDS: No, and - and I don't. And I think especially in light of the fact that there has now been a second assassination attempt on the life of President Trump, I do not believe so.

What we are seeing now is that you do have radical elements of the Democrat Party, people who have been radicalized by the hateful rhetoric from Democrat officials talking about how he's a threat to democracy. But that's simply not true. Talking about how he wants to bring in Project 2025. We know that is not true. That is a lie. Donald Trump has distanced himself from that. The Heritage Foundation has said he has nothing to do with it, but they say these things anyway.

What Donald Trump has been talking about is, we're going to fix our borders. We're going to have a great economy again. We're going to get out of these conflicts. We're going to make America great again. That is his rhetoric.

So, I think if you compare the nastiness from Kamala Harris' campaign and from the Democrat Party, compared to what we've been talking about really for the last nine years, but specifically the last year-and-a- half in this campaign, no, I do not agree that it is the same rhetoric. There's no - there's no - there's no moral equivalency in the rhetoric between these two campaigns.

BOLDUAN: I think any serious person would also say, Congressman, that Donald Trump is a source of heated and dangerous rhetoric over months and years. I mean even Republicans who support him and are voting for him this election have basically begged him to tone it down.

So, if Republicans who even support you say that you've got to probably, you need to tone it down, you've got to mayor in Springfield, Ohio, saying, you guys need to tone it down because we now have bomb threats on schools in our area, there's a problem also, you know, in the general rhetoric of the campaign that for - a term that is never - is often criticized but that - if you want to say both sides should address, but, right, logically?

DONALDS: Well, actually, let's - let's dig into this a little bit more. And thank you for bringing this up.

[08:45:01]

Yes, we've heard from the Springfield mayor. And nobody wants bomb threats or anything like that. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have been talking about reports coming out of Springfield. J.D. Vance represents the state of Ohio. He's talking about things that his constituents have brought to him.

Well, let's compare that to the fact that Kamala Harris, in the debate last week, she lied about Donald Trump's bloodbath comments. Why did she say that? Because she wants to invoke a negative energy around the campaign of Donald Trump, frankly, to affect these undecided voters that we talked about at the top.

BOLDUAN: There can be a lot of fact - DONALDS: What does she always talk about, the same -

BOLDUAN: I mean, Congressman, you and I have gone back and forth a lot about like fact checking that can happen.

DONALDS: Hold on - but, Kate, hold on, the same lie about Charlottesville.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

DONALDS: Hey - hey, Kate - Kate - and you acknowledged that Kamala Harris lied about the Charlottesville comments again. Something that even Snopes has debunked and said his fake news, that it is wrong, that his statements were taken out of context. Those are the direct lies coming from Kamala Harris.

So, if you're going to talk about the invective put into this campaign that Kamala Harris and her campaign has done, trying to invoke - invoke a negative response from voters in our country versus Donald Trump talking about issues, whether it be in a city or, quite frankly, you could bring up Aurora, Colorado, or you could bring up Denver, Colorado, that have been overwhelmed by illegal immigrants in our country. You can't compare the two.

BOLDUAN: There are lots of - Congressman, there are lots of things that can be brought up, which is also, if you're talking about lies and you're talking about comparisons, you can talk about a long list of lies. We could walk through it. I don't think it is to the benefit of voters right now for me to walk through to remind them of the lies that Donald Trump has told in the past, case in point, eating dogs and eating dog and pets, or lots of other things.

I want to move on, because I do want to ask you about something that could be coming and happening, because I'm interested in your take.

We've talked about you and - we've talked about endorsements in the past. The spokesperson for the teamsters says that union's long awaited endorsement decision could come as soon as tomorrow. Harris met with the teamsters yesterday. The president of the teamsters spoke at the Republican Convention this summer. Do you think that Donald Trump needs the teamsters endorsement to win? How important would that be?

DONALDS: I'm not quite sure, to be honest with you. I think - I'll put it to you this way, if the teamsters endorsed Donald Trump, he is going to win. But you have union members - forget union leadership for a moment. Let's put them to the side. Union members across this country are supporting Donald Trump. Why? Because their wages are up slightly, but inflation has crippled those wage increases. That's the fault of Kamala Harris.

These union members are Americans like everybody else, and they're witnessing the damage of illegal immigration brought to us by Kamala Harris. These union members, they have relatives who serve in our armed forces. They witnessed the terrible withdrawal from Afghanistan by Joe Biden and, yes, Kamala Harris. They've seen that as well. So, union members across our country are supporting Donald Trump for

president. If the teamsters came out and supported him too as a - as an organization, well, then this whole thing will be game, set, match as far as I'm concerned. The election would be finished. We would love to have their endorsement because you - whether you're a union member, non-union member, union shop, union organization, the one thing is clear, America needs sound leadership so we can have a sound economy, so every worker in our country can thrive and succeed.

A Harris economic agenda is not going to be good for the union movement or any other economic movement in our country because we will continue to stagnate, we will continue to decline as a country.

BOLDUAN: With a million plus members seeing what - which candidate the union decides to endorse in the coming days will be very interesting.

Congressman, thanks for coming on.

DONALDS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a new study found nearly 40 million people could die from antibiotic resistant infections between now and the year 2050. The new, global analysis by Lancet found antimicrobial resistant cases are exploding. These are viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that become resistant to drugs typically used to treat infections they cause. Scientists say this study highlights the critical need to reduce antibiotic use when necessary and to research infection prevention and the need for new antibiotics to bring down the number of deaths predicted.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, a sheriff in Ohio is under fire this morning after asking people to write down the addresses of all the homes with Harris/Walz signs in their yard. Find out why he's doing that.

And, breaking overnight, Sean "Diddy" Combs has been arrested in New York. An indictment is expected to be released this morning. We are waiting for that to happen shortly.

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[08:54:06]

BERMAN: This morning, a pipeline fire near Houston is still burning. This fire melted cars,, damaged homes, forced dozens of evacuations. The cause of all this, you can kind of see it right there, an SUV drove through a fence and hit a natural gas pipeline. That set the whole thing off. Crews have now stopped the flow of gas to the line. It is all expected to burn itself out soon, hopefully.

This morning, parts of North Carolina are trying to clean up after a monumental rain event. The National Weather Service says Carolina Beach got 18 inches of rain in 12 hours. Flood watches remain for more than 10 million people across North Carolina in eastern Virginia. They are expected to begin to expire today.

Olympian Jordan Chiles is appealing the decision that stripped her of her bronze medal. She filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, trying to overturn the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS.

[08:55:02]

Attorneys for Chiles say the CAS violated her right to be heard by refusing to consider video evidence.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, the immigrant experience coupled with the American dream. It is a unique and personal journey that millions have made throughout the nation's history. And today my next guest is opening up about his own unique journey from Venezuela to Hollywood superstar. In his new memoir, it's called "An American Story: Everyone's Invited," and the author, actor, Wilmer Valderrama joins me right now.

Thank you so much for getting up early, being here.

WILMER VALDERRAMA, ACTOR AND AUTHOR, "AN American STORY: EVERYONE'S INVITED": Thank you. It is. No, thank you for having me.

SIDNER: This is a quintessential American story. I've read the book. OK, I admitted to you that I didn't finish the last few pages. I fell asleep. I'm sorry.

VALDERRAMA: You got the gist. Then you got the gist, yes.

SIDNER: I'm, you know, I have to get up early.

But you talk about being born in Miami. And then your father deciding, you know what, I want to go back to Venezuela where I'm from.

VALDERRAMA: Yes.

SIDNER: He had a farm. You had animals. It was a beautiful life. And then what happened?

VALDERRAMA: Yes. So, we work in the agriculture industry. In the early - in the early 80s, as you remember, you know, being the third larger, you know, producer of all - in the world in the - in the number one reserve and the economy was booming in the early 80s.

SIDNER: Right.

VALDERRAMA: So, we moved back to Venezuela, in Wabini (ph), Venezuela. My dad started (ph) the agriculture industry. And, you know, and then, you know, during the - in the early 90s, you know, a young, you know, general by the name of Hugo Chavez decides to, you know, try to coup on the government. And it didn't succeed. But that was a sign of things to come. And I don't know how my dad had the foresight, but he had the foresight that we - that we needed to go. SIDNER: You talked about him having to sell some of his farm equipment and eventually this fantastic Cadillac that everybody was, you know, ogling at.

VALDERRAMA: Yes. Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: You get to the states and you - this is - this is where the immigrant story really matches up with a lot of people's, you know, stories. You get to the states and you're going - driving from one place to the other across the country. But you end up sort of in - not homeless, but you're with family.

VALDERRAMA: Yes.

SIDNER: And then you get kind of -

VALDERRAMA: We didn't have a home, so we were quite homeless, yes.

SIDNER: What was that experience like? And tell me about some of the difficulties and how the family dealt with that? Because it's something that a lot of people experience.

VALDERRAMA: Yes. Well, it's a tough thing. You know, I think, ultimately, you know, we were very grateful to be in this country. We were like, wow, this is - this is a place where anything really can happen. We - my dad had a brother in Los Angeles. We stayed with him for a couple weeks. That didn't turn out too well. To - really quickly. It was just a small house. It was too many of us in it.

SIDNER: Yes, too many people, yes.

VALDERRAMA: But, you know, my dad had to kind of, you know, kind of hustle and try to find any jobs he could, you know? So he was, you know, he was driving mechanic parts from, you know, from shops to shops. He had a for sale sign in his car, you know, all year round. He would sell that car for a little profit, buy another one, put a for sale sign. And, you know, while he's using the car.

But, you know, it's - it's a story that I feel like can really connect with most of - anyone in this country, no matter where you come from. There is a story that, you know, that we had to overcome in order to be sustainable, to be - to keeping the light on.

And so, yes, they were - it was a really - it was a really tough, you know, time. But at the same time, you know, we felt things were going to be OK. You know, you look outside the window and you see the American flag and you know that anything is possible as long as you pay it back and you give it back to this beautiful country.

SIDNER: You're absolutely an example of anything is possible. You played Fez in "That '70s Show."

VALDERRAMA: Yes.

SIDNER: You were also - I want to roll the tape because this is what I remember you from, "Yo Momma," which - VALDERRAMA: I love it.

SIDNER: You remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALDERRAMA: Right now this is to show yo momma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALDERRAMA: Oh, my - how can I forget.

SIDNER: Oh, the early -

VALDERRAMA: I talked to - about a lot of people's moms. A lot of people's moms.

SIDNER: But, no, what made me laugh about this is in the book you say, you would not let anyone talk about your family.

VALDERRAMA: Yes.

SIDNER: Like, that was the only time that you would fight.

VALDERRAMA: That's right.

SIDNER: And it's very much a cultural issue as well. And when you got to the states, the evolution.

VALDERRAMA: Yes. No, I mean, I - the growth on the kid. The growth, you know? No, and, you know, and the truth is, I had to learn so much in American - about American culture.

SIDNER: Yes.

VALDERRAMA: When I realized that - that, you know, you could have this humorous takes on - on mom jokes and that people never thought it was like this - this elevated version of just like roasted each other that was just supposed to be funny. It's not supposed to be insulting. And I thought, well, what a - what a unique show idea. And I went to MTV and MTV was like, hey, that is a great idea.

SIDNER: And you end up doing it.

VALDERRAMA: You know, and they put it on TV.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about politics. I know you're involved. During the debate, Donald Trump said Harris' immigration policies will lead to the United States becoming Venezuela on steroids. When you hear these sorts - this sort of rhetoric, what do you think? How does that impact you?

VALDERRAMA: Yes.

SIDNER: And what do you want to do about it? VALDERRAMA: Well, thank you for asking that question. Obviously, as

someone who - who live the truth of Venezuela and see how it all turned out for Venezuela. Look, Venezuela has a perfect storm of horrible things happening, right? The coup and, you know, miss leadership, terrible leadership, corruption, you know, and the destabilization of that country economically just kind of destroyed the - the shot that - that the people had.

You know, I would say that every single day Americans wake up to, you know, to closer to the truth, you know. They get closer to what it is.

[09:00:01]

And the truth - you know, we'll let, you know, Donald Trump's words speak for themselves.