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Harris' Favorability Rating; Gov. Steve Bullock is Interviewed about the Presidential Race; Wight-Loss Drugs Could Reduce Cardiac Events; Ben & Jerry's Court Voters. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Into the Andrea (ph) door, into the wreckage. And this was with passengers. He said that they - the - the passengers got so panicked, everybody got so panicked on board. There was a PlayStation controller. Lockridge, who was an experienced diver and knew the, you know, the business, was trying to get the controller from Stockton Rush, and he kept putting it behind his back, farther and farther, until one of the passengers screamed at him and he threw it at - at Lochridge.

Here's a little bit of Lochridge's testimony during this - during this hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LOCKRIDGE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MARINE OPERATIONS FOR OCEANGATE: I believe that if OSHA had attempted to investigate the seriousness of the concerns I raised on multiple occasions that tragedy may have been prevented. As a seafarer, I feel deeply let down and disappointed by the system that is meant to protect, not only seafarers, but the general public as well.

I sincerely hope that no other family will have to endure a similar tragedy in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: It is just stunning how many problems there were. Lochridge also said that, look, in dealing with Stockton Rush and OceanGate, at one point Stockton Rush wanted to put people in submersible, train them for one day before they were able to take others down into the submersible and - and take others onto trips. Basically, he was concerned that they were more concerned with making money than safety.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Coast Guard holding this hearing. A lot to be - sadly, so many lessons that need to be learned from this before this - before anything like this goes ahead again.

MARQUEZ: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Miguel. Thank you so much.

MARQUEZ: You got it.

BOLDUAN: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new reporting that the popular weight loss drug -- drugs helping people drop pounds could also save them from heart attacks and strokes.

And for the first time ever, New York City officially hosts a rat summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:23]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, polls since the debate haven't really moved a whole lot, but we had our senior data reporter, Harry Enten, run the numbers and take a deeper dive into favorability ratings for Vice President Kamala Harris and how former President Donald Trump is fairing with Republicans.

Harry, let's start with Harris. What's been the biggest sign that Harris has been statistically a good candidate so far?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, like I just think that this is such dramatic movement. My goodness, gracious. You know, when Harris entered the race, when Joe Biden dropped out all the way back in mid-July, I know it was months ago - it was only two months ago, folks, she had a net favorability rating of minus 14 points. Just by getting into the race, look where she jumped to a month later, at minus three. And this week, for the first time, she popped a positive net favorability rating. That is more people viewed her favorably than unfavorably.

If you had asked me two months ago whether I thought Kamala Harris, in the aggregate, would ever, during this campaign, pop a positive net favorability rating, I would have said you were crazy. But the fact is, you weren't crazy. I was just not thinking creatively. Kamala Harris has come into this campaign. And the more voters have gotten a look at her, the more they have liked her.

SIDNER: That's interesting.

Now, compare her standing to the last two presidents when it comes to favorability.

ENTEN: Yes. So, you know, the idea that you would have a candidate at this point, in this environment, having a net positive favorability rating is part of the reason why I didn't think it was possible. Because look at Donald Trump's net favorability rating. This is actually higher than he was in the last two campaigns at this point, but still underwater at minus nine points.

Joe Biden at minus 14 points here. And this, I think, Harris' initial net favorability rating was kind of tracking that Biden's, right, because she was the vice president. But as she has gone out on the campaign trail and become her own candidate, she has been able to pop this net positive favorability rating. And she is the only one of these three who are in positive territory, Sara.

SIDNER: You just mentioned this, but it sounds like this negative 14 points was also what she had before. So, they saw them as a - as a team, as they should.

ENTEN: Correct.

SIDNER: She was being judged on what Biden had been doing and what the economy was like, et cetera, et cetera.

ENTEN: Correct.

SIDNER: All right, is there any sign that another Democrat, because there's this - always this - you know, some - would someone else do better?

ENTEN: Yes.

SIDNER: What does the polling tell you?

ENTEN: So, this, to me, is a great data point because it just sort of gets at the idea that maybe Kamala Harris is actually slightly outperforming what a generic Democrat would be doing. So, we have the generic House ballot here, Democrat versus Republican. And we see that the Democrats lead on that generic ballot by a point.

Right now, in the national popular vote polls, we see Kamala Harris up by three points. So, she is actually outperforming, slightly but still is, outperforming the generic House Democrat. So, this, to me, is an idea that as she has gotten on the campaign trail, she's not just met sort of the generic benchmark, she's actually doing slightly better than the generic benchmark, which kind of goes into this whole thing that maybe Kamala Harris and her campaign know what they're doing, despite the fact that folks don't like the economy, and I think that's part of what's keeping this campaign close. Folks remember what they believe was a good economy under Donald Trump. That's keeping things close.

But Kamala Harris has taken the ball and run with it and turned a campaign that Donald Trump was leading against Joe Biden and turned it into quite a competitive one. One in which she has a real shot of winning.

SIDNER: It is very interesting. And these are aggregates. So, they're a bunch of polls put together.

ENTEN: Correct.

SIDNER: And this is what the number comes out. So, a better look at what's happening across the board.

ENTEN: Exactly.

SIDNER: Harry Enten, it's always a pleasure.

ENTEN: The pleasure was mine. SIDNER: Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is the former governor of Montana, Democrat Steve Bullock.

And I look at those numbers, Governor, and I see that Kamala Harris is outrunning generic Democrats. And you're going to hate this question - my first question goes to Montana. When is she going to go campaign for your friend Senator Jon Tester out there?

[08:40:02]

STEVE BULLOCK, FORMER MONTANA GOVERNOR: You know, I don't think, a, it would make sense for the vice president to be out there, and, b, Jon Tester will run about Montana. Like, look, the way that you always win - I won in Montana when Trump won by 20, I won by four, back in 2016. And what we'll see from Jon Tester over the next 50 days is getting out among people, because people know him and people like him. This isn't about what happens in Washington, D.C., this is about what happens at home.

BERMAN: "The Cook Political Report" just shifted their rating on the race from toss up to lean Republican. And I know what you did in 2016, but it seems to be getting harder to run as a Democrat in Montana every four years. Why do you think that is?

BULLOCK: Yes, look, I think in some ways that politics is becoming more nationalized. And there are places like Montana that always don't necessarily feel that Democrats are watching out for them. But think about last time Jon ran six years ago. Trump came to Montana four times, had these big rallies, left Montanans with nothing more than unpaid bills, and Jon Tester still won.

So, I think what you'll see - it's been tight. It's been margin of error. Races in Montana are always sort of the margin of error. And -

BERMAN: Like, dozens or hundreds is separate at the end of the day.

BULLOCK: Yes. Yes, I think I won by 3,753 votes the first time I got elected, or something like that.

BERMAN: Yes.

BULLOCK: But I think what we'll see is Tester out there doing what he does, protecting veterans, talking about public lands, talking about - actually, we also have this time a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights.

BERMAN: So, you just saw Harry's analysis there and you saw that Vice President Harris as a net positive favorability from a very net negative favorability.

BULLOCK: Yes. BERMAN: So, I'm going to ask this question two ways. What is it you think her campaign has done right or is doing right?

BULLOCK: Yes. Yes, John, I think you saw, even from when she started, that talking about not just the threat that Donald Trump could be to democracy, but what can be done for folks. Then also she hasn't just - she and - or Tim Walz hasn't just campaigned in the urban areas. They've been in the rural areas as well.

So, I think that they're giving a positive reasonable to vote for, not just against.

BERMAN: What aren't they doing enough of? Because at least up until now we haven't seen any dramatic shift in the states that seem to matter most in the Electoral College.

BULLOCK: Yes, I think what we see in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, again, all margin of error, but Harris. So, I think we'll see them spending a lot of time in those three states, but also expanded the map. Like, North Carolina is getting to the point where Democrats and Harris and Walz can win. So, being out there, you know, if you even compare their travel schedules to J.D. Vance and former President Trump, actually getting out among people over the next 48 days, I think that's really important. And you're seeing Tim - Tim Walz and Kamala Harris all over.

BERMAN: Vance is out. I mean Vance is out campaigning in all the swing states. Donald Trump is coming to New York tonight, which is a whole other thing. Although you were a onetime New York resident.

You did use the phrase before with Donald Trump "threat to democracy." And you are a guy who, I think, has tried to campaign and live in the middle of politics now. J.D. Vance has accused Democrats of using rhetoric that has stoked the assassination attempts on Donald Trump. What, if any, language from Democrats have you heard that you think crosses a line?

BULLOCK: No, I - I think - and it's funny because people don't look at what Donald Trump's been saying time and time again. And it is - look, there is no place for violence in our elections. But the notion when still 171 members of Congress deny the results of the 2020 election, when just last week during the debate former President Trump wouldn't say he won, like, this is a 250 year experiment called representive (ph) democracy. And democracy is on the ballot.

I look at - I would love for everything to be toned down a bit, but I don't think it's the rhetoric coming from elected officials and former elected officials that necessarily is causing the fears.

And, look, as I said, there should be no place for violence. But enough individuals can get radicalized by watching all of this that it may not be surprising in these days that someone like this comes up.

BERMAN: You - you mentioned what Trump tried to do four years ago. What concerns do you have this time after Election Day? The House speaker, this time, who can control quite a bit of the - what happens in Congress, is now Mike Johnson.

BULLOCK: Yes. Look, Chris Sivita (ph), the day that Trump got nominated, said this isn't over on Election Day, it's over on Inauguration Day. When President Trump still is denying the results of the election, saying he won't necessarily count this one. I think this is one of those that it's got to be bigger than any individual. It's like all of us can be disappointing in election results. But the answer isn't to undermine the election integrity, it's actually the fight harder the next time.

So, I do have concerns. And I'm glad that people are paying attention to the fact that, look, I hope that Harris and Walz blows him out, blows them out, and that way, you know, there'll be a lot fewer questions.

[08:45:06]

But we have to make sure that we're supporting our local clerks and recorders, the election administrators. That red states and blue states, which say we're not going to undermine the integrity of elections. And we have to be ready ultimately for litigation if that occurs.

BERMAN: Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, thanks for coming in. Really appreciate seeing you.

BULLOCK: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, those popular weight loss drugs that everyone's talking about have - are - could have an added health benefit. A new study showing some positive impacts when it comes to preventing heart attack and stroke. That's what CNN's Meg Tirrell has been looking into. She's got the details on it. She joins us now.

What are you learning from this study, Meg?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, this is a super interesting study. So this group of drugs known as GLP-1s, it includes drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy.

We know from a recent study that in people with obesity or who are overweight, who already had a heart attack or a stroke, or have a high risk of heart disease, they are helped by these medicines in reducing the possibility of having another heart attack or stroke or any heart- related death. But what we haven't seen is whether people who haven't had a heart event would also be helped by these medications.

Now this new study uses AI and real-world data to estimate that people who haven't yet had heart event would also have a 15 to 20 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke with a GLP-1 versus not using one.

And they did this in a super interesting way, Kate. They used artificial intelligence and applied it to real-world health records, specifically looking at ECGs, or electrocardiograms. They used this AI algorithm to essentially predict the risk somebody might have a heart attack or stroke, and then they used that algorithm to compare people on these medicines versus off these medicines. And then they saw that risk reduction. This translates, they say, into potential reduction of 34,000 heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. per year if these folks were able to take these medicines.

BOLDUAN: Access to getting these medicines continues to be a challenge, especially when you hear that there's added health benefit for potentially so many. What is the effort in trying to expand access?

TIRRELL: Yes, it is real difficult right now. I mean for one reason, it's supply.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

TIRRELL: There is still a shortage of some of these medications. So, that can be difficult. Of course, not everybody who might qualify for one of these drugs is going to want to take one. But the main hurdle we hear about is paying for the medications. Without insurance they cost about $1,000 a month. You can get coupons from the companies. That might take about half of that off. But they're still quite expensive out-of-pocket.

For the Medicare population, there was one estimate in the journal "Health Affairs" that even if five percent of eligible patients got these weight loss drugs, it would add an additional $3 billion per year in spending. And so, you can imagine that's just 5 percent. If you really ramp that up to a lot more, that's a lot of spending.

But these drugs, at least Ozempic, are expected potentially to join Medicare's list of drugs that get negotiated in future years. So, we'll see how much that might affect the cost.

BOLDUAN: Fascinating. Great reporting. Great to see you. Thank you, Meg.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, a heart-stopping moment for parents. A tree - you see it there - falls on top of some little leaguers. Say that three times. We will tell you how they are doing this morning.

And Sean "Diddy" Combs heads back to court today to try to get out on bail. What his lawyer is saying about the horrific 2016 surveillance video that is expected to be part of the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:59]

SIDNER: On our radar, breaking overnight, Ukraine claims it has destroyed a large Russian ammunition depot during a drone attack. The warehouse is in the Tiber region of Russia. A source says it was storing tactical missile systems, guided aerial bombs, and artillery ammunition. Ukrainian secretary - security forces, excuse me, tell CNN the attacks are aimed at reducing Russia's missile potential.

Startling new video shows the moment a tree came crashing down on a dugout full of children during a little league baseball game. You see the parents rushing over there, and the coaches as well. So, what happened there? Two - several of the children were trapped. The tree came dangerously close to crushing some of the kids. Thankfully, nobody, amazingly, was seriously hurt.

And here in New York, Mayor Eric Adams says he's winning the war on rats. The rats are like, what are you talking about? He's - to ensure the work continues, city agencies across five boroughs will meet today in what is being called the first ever National Urban Rat Summit. You heard it right here, folks. Experts will discuss best practices to ensure they're able to keep the rodents at bay.

Kate and John.

BERMAN: You're not talking about us.

SIDNER: Nope.

BERMAN: Just so you know.

SIDNER: I -

BERMAN: I just want to be clear. I felt like you were taking it personally. She wasn't talking about us.

BOLDUAN: That's not what I was going to say anyway.

OK, let's go on to this. GOTV, short for get-out-the-vote. It's those tried and true efforts to increase voter turnout in any election. It is the backbone of a successful campaign in every election. It's traditionally things like phone calling, door knocking, ad-buying. And then there is the non-traditional, as John just said, to be GOTVIC, as in ice cream. That is where ice cream icons Ben & Jerry are coming in. They've - they are launching a limited edition flavor called Kamala's Coconut Jubilee, and are teaming up with moveon.org to try and turn out voters and win support for Kamala Harris and down ballot Democrats.

[08:55:00]

BERMAN: With us now, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founders of Ben & Jerry's. And Rahna Epting, Executive Director of MoveOn.

Ben, Jerry, to you, first of all, because you are in Vermont. And Vermont always gets precedence here. How can ice cream change the world?

BEN COHEN, CO-FOUNDER, BEN & JERRY'S: Well, we're going to help people register to vote and actually vote. I think that, you know, sometimes the idea of going out to vote is a little dry. And, you know, we find that when you add ice cream to most anything, it's a lot better and more fun. SIDNER: Now that you have a mouthful, I'm going to ask you a second question. I do wonder, do you ever worry about getting involved in politics? You guys have been involved in politics for decades and have been very clear who you're voting for. Do you ever worry about your brand when you get behind a specific candidate?

COHEN: Well, first of all, this brand is Ben's Best. It's not Ben and Jerry's. It's my personal brand. And, no, I don't feel any problem with it. I think that's what you're supposed to do.

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: I think you're enjoying that way too much.

BOLDUAN: Jerry, has it ever been bad for business over the years? I'm just thinking of how toxic the current political environment is, different than years past. How us versus them it is more so than years past. And if that has ever had an impact. Not that that would deter you, but has it ever proven to hurt business?

JERRY GREENFIELD, CO-FOUNDER, BEN & JERRY'S: You know, I think Ben & Jerry's has taken stands on issues that are really humanistic issues. And there are probably some people who don't agree. But overall, the company's sales keep improving every year. So I think that that sort of tells you right there.

BERMAN: All right. First of all, Ben if --

COHEN: You know, I just wanted to say --

BOLDUAN: Is Ben can first --

SIDNER: I'm like looking at Ben and understanding that I'm --

BERMAN: Well, that's what I'm saying. Ben is proving what we've long known, which is that these are single serving containers, right? When you get a Ben & Jerry's container, it's meant to be eaten at once.

GREENFIELD: Ben has long been in control and he takes his job very seriously.

BERMAN: All right, Rahna, let me ask you, as we watch, again, proof of concept here. What have you found works the best that MoveOn, you -- you're -- what you do more than anything is try to get people out and voting. What do you find works best?

RAHNA EPTING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOVEON: Look, I'll say in this cycle, joy is on our side. And we know every presidential election these days has been super close. And it's very, very possible that this election is won and lost on the margin. So it's going to be super, super close. So we have to earn every vote. And voters, let's face it. They're inundated with political ads, text messages, phone calls. And there is a good chunk of folks that are just tuning out. It's too much.

And so we're taking the scoop of the vote tour on the road to leverage that joy and turn vibes, like good vibes we're seeing in this election cycle, to votes. And that's super important.

SIDNER: I'm just still staring, sorry, at Ben. How far have you gotten down in that? And it's called Kamala's Coconut Jubilee, which she had talked about the coconut falling out of the tree and that became sort of the tree. Oh, my God. (OFF MIC)

COHEN: You know, ice cream for breakfast at the International Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers has been pushing for about 40 or 50 years. And I'm a believer.

BOLDUAN: So are Kate Bolduan's daughters. They do agree with you. And they will watch this clip and hold it against me for years. Thank you both very much.

One person that we know in politics adores -- one person in politics adores ice cream more than any other politician we've known in many years, Joe Biden. You guys have never done a Joe Biden flavor. Why?

COHEN: Because Rahna never asked.

SIDNER: The honesty is real when you eat an ice cream.

EPTING: Yeah. I mean, we've noticed as soon as Kamala Harris stepped into the race, the Democratic base has been electrified. Folks are super excited. And that is what that joy, that joyful warrior energy that she's bringing to this country, the vision, the inspiration, the motivation. That's what inspired us to move on, to reach out to Ben & Jerry and say, hey, let's play into this.

[09:00:04]