Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

New Report Shows Secret Service Failures in First Attempt on Trump's Life; Kamala Harris Speaks on Economic Policies During Pennsylvania Campaign Event. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 25, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: -- the responsibility for the many, many failures. You know there was the fact that there were visual barriers that could have been put there. There was a discussion of putting up farm equipment or other barriers. Sometimes, you know, Trump is not a fan of things that look ugly on television, but there could have been something put there, and essentially nobody made a decision on what to do. There was no plan to really secure that building, the roof, where the shooter actually posted up.

There were resources that were denied on that day, and you know again, part of this discussion that should have been made, given the threats. One of those threats, of course, was the threat by Iran to try to assassinate the former president. It turns out even some of the people who were key to defending the former president there that day, to protecting him that day, did not know the details of that, and so a lot of decisions that could have been made just were not.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: And Betsy, you've been talking with current and former agents about some of these issues. What are they telling you?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Jim, one former agent suggested to me that both assassination attempts on President Trump really were symptomatic of a deeper-rooted problem with the Secret Service, and they really underscore the strain on the agency. It's a high-intensity, high-stress workplace and a very serious threat environment. And just talking to our sources, we are talking to current and former agents.

We are getting a picture of an agency really racked with low morale, high burnout, staffing and retention issues, poor management. Just to take you through some of those, on staffing, the agency, its former director said they need 9,500 employees. Right now they have about 8,100.

And they are having a really hard time keeping the agents they do have. Really retention remains a really big problem. There's a lot of travel, long hours, little balance, and a lot of frustration with management.

Another issue that consistently came up in my conversation was pay caps. There is a cap on overtime, and if you go over that cap, you are not getting paid. You are working without pay. And because of all of those issues together, and these staffing shortfalls, it's a high-stress environment. Agents are required to stay in these high-stress positions for longer. These roles -- and if you just think about what being on high alert like that does to your body, the physical stress of that, it is really contributing to a lot of burnout.

ACOSTA: Yes, and I remember from working at the White House with you Betsy, those agents, they put on a lot of long hours, they are very dedicated, and it's just hard to hear the agency going through all of this.

And speaking of that, Evan, I mean, we're also learning a Secret Service agent has been put on leave over alleged sexual misconduct against a Kamala Harris staffer. This is just developing today. What can you tell us about that?

PEREZ: Right, well, the Secret Service is acknowledging that there is someone who has been put on administrative leave after they received this allegation of alleged sexual misconduct against a staffer for the Vice President. Now, the question is, you know, there's a lot of details that we don't know about this, but they've taken the proactive step here. The Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating this, and you know, until that is cleared, the person who is responsible or is being investigated will be sort of on administrative leave.

We got a statement from the spokesperson for the Vice President's office, and they say that there's a zero tolerance on sexual misconduct, and they take this obviously very, very seriously. But really, it adds to some of the picture that we've been seeing, a lot of hits coming to an agency that's beleaguered at this point, and, you know, you want to see it, see things turn around. Hopefully, with the new leadership, that can happen.

ACOSTA: All right. Absolutely. All right, Evan Perez, Betsy Klein, they do important work. That agency has got to get these things worked out. We appreciate it very much.

In the meantime, right now, we want to go to the rally, the speech that Kamala Harris is delivering right now on the economy in Pittsburgh. Let's listen in.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: ... forward to recover from the public health and economic crisis we inherited. Inflation has dropped faster here than the rest of the developed world. Unemployment is near record low levels.

We have created almost 740,000 manufacturing jobs, including 650 at the battery manufacturing plant over in Turtle Creek.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And we have supported another 15,000 jobs at Montgomery Locks. So, these are local great examples of the work that we have achieved thus far. And last week, for the first time, of course, in four and a half years, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, which will make it just a little easier for families to buy a home or a car or just pay down their credit card bill.

[15:35:00]

But let's be clear, for all these positive steps, the cost of living in America is still just too high. You know it, and I know it. And that was true long before the pandemic hit. Many Americans who aspire to own a home are unable to save enough for a down payment on a house and starting to think that maybe home ownership is just outside of their reach. Folks who live in factory towns and in rural communities who have lost jobs are wondering if those jobs will ever come back.

Many Americans are worried about how they'll afford the prescription medication they depend on. All of this is happening at a time when many of the biggest corporations continue to make record profits while wages have not kept up pace. I understand the pressures of making ends meet.

I grew up in a middle class family, and while we were more fortunate than many, I still remember my mother sitting at that yellow Formica table, late at night, cup of tea in hand, with a pile of bills in front of her, just trying to make sure that she paid them off by the end of the month. Like so many Americans, just trying to make it all work.

Every day, millions of Americans are sitting around their own kitchen tables and facing their own financial pressures, because over the past several decades, our economy has grown better and better for those at the very top, and increasingly difficult for those trying to attain, build, and hold on to a middle class life.

In many ways, this is what this election is all about. The American people face a choice between two fundamentally very different paths for our economy. I intend to chart a new way forward and grow America's middle class.

Donald Trump intends to take America backward, to the failed policies of the past. He has no intention to grow our middle class. He's only interested in making life better for himself and people like himself. The wealthiest of Americans.

You can see it spelled out in his economic agenda. An agenda that gives trillions of dollars in tax cuts to billionaires and the biggest corporations, while raising taxes on the middle class by almost $4,000 a year.

Slashing overtime pay, throwing tens of millions of Americans off of healthcare, and cutting Social Security and Medicare. In sum, his agenda would weaken the economy and hurt working people and the middle class. You see, for Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floor.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Well, I have a very different vision. I have a very different vision for our economy. I believe we need to grow our middle class and make sure our economy works for everyone.

For people --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: -- like the people in the neighborhood where I grew up, and the hardworking Americans I meet every day across our nation. So I call my vision the Opportunity Economy. And it's about making sure everyone can find a job and more, and more.

Because frankly, having a job, I believe, in our ambition and aspiration should be baseline. And we should aspire and have the ambition and plan to do more. I want Americans and families to be able to not just get by but be able to get ahead.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: To thrive. Be able to thrive. I don't want you to have to worry about making your monthly rent if your car breaks down. I want you to be able to save up for your child's education.

To take a nice vacation from time to time. I want you to be able to buy Christmas presents for your loved ones without feeling anxious when you're looking at your bank statement. I want you to be able to build some wealth. Not just for yourself, but also for your children and your grandchildren. Intergenerational wealth.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And here's the thing. Here's the thing. Here's the beauty of it all. We know how to build an economy like that. We do know how to unlock strong, shared economic growth for the American people. History has shown it. Time and again, when we invest in those things that strengthen the middle class, manufacturing, housing, health care, education, small businesses, and our communities, we grow our economy and catalyze the entire country to succeed.

I have pledged that building a strong middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. And the reason --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: -- but let me tell you, the reason is not about politics and it's not about ideology. From my perspective, it's just common sense.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: It's just common sense. It's actually what works. When the middle class is strong, America is strong. And we can build a stronger middle class. The American economy, we know this here. The American economy is the most powerful force for innovation and wealth creation in human history. We just need to move past the failed policies that we have proven don't work. And like generations before us, let us be inspired by what is possible.

As president, I will be grounded in my fundamental values of fairness, dignity, and opportunity. And I promise you I will be pragmatic in my approach. I will engage in what Franklin Roosevelt called bold, persistent experimentation.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Because I believe we shouldn't be constrained by ideology and instead should seek practical solutions to problems. Realistic assessments of what is working and what is not. Applying metrics to our analysis. Applying facts to our analysis.

And stay focused then, not only on the crises at hand, but on our big goals. On what's best for America over the long term. And part of being pragmatic means taking good ideas from wherever they come.

Listen, you all know my career, Andrea shared it with you. I am a devout public servant. I also know the limitations of government.

I've always been and will always be -- and be clear about this -- I've always been and will always be a strong supporter of workers and unions.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And I also believe we need to engage those who create most of the jobs in America. Look, I'm a capitalist. I believe in free and fair markets.

[15:45:00]

I believe in consistent and transparent rules of the road to create a stable business environment. And I know the power of American innovation. I've been working with entrepreneurs and business owners my whole career. And I believe companies need to play by the rules.

Respect the rights of workers and unions. And abide by fair competition. And if they don't, I will hold them accountable. And if anyone has a question about that, just look at my record as Attorney General.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Look at my record in California taking on the big banks for predatory lending. Taking on big health care companies for conspiring to jack up prices. Taking on a big for-profit college for scamming veterans and students.

At the same time, I believe that most companies are working hard to do the right thing by their customers and the employees who depend on them. And we must work with them to grow our economy. I believe an active partnership between government and the private sector is one of the most effective to fully unlock economic opportunity.

(APPLAUSE)

And that is what I will do when I am President. I will target the major barriers to opportunity and remove them. We will identify common sense solutions to help Americans buy a home, start a business, and build wealth. And we will adopt them.

So let's start then with the first pillar of an opportunity economy, which is lowering costs.

So I made that our top priority for obvious reasons, because if we want the middle class to be the growth engine of our economy, we need to restore basic economic security for middle-class families. To that end, the most practical thing we can do right now is to cut taxes for middle-class families and individuals.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And that's what we will do. Under my plan, more than 100 million Americans will get a middle-class tax break that includes $6,000 for new parents during the first year of their child's life.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: To help families cover everything from car seats to cribs. We'll also cut the cost of childcare and elder care.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And finally, give all working people access to paid leave, which will help everyone caring for children, caring for aging parents, and that sandwich generation, which is caring for both.

(APPLAUSE)

So I have a personal experience with caregiving. I remember being there for my mother when she was diagnosed with cancer, cooking meals for her, taking her to her appointments, just trying to make her comfortable, figuring out which clothes were soft enough that they wouldn't irritate her, and telling her stories to try and make her laugh. I know caregiving is about dignity. It really is.

And when we lower the cost and ease the burdens people face, we will not only make it then easier for them to meet their obligations as caregivers, we will also make it more possible for them to go to work and pursue their economic aspirations. And when that happens, our economy as a whole grows stronger.

Now, middle-class tax cuts are just the start of my plan. We will also go after the biggest drivers of cost for the middle class and work to bring them down. And one of those, some would argue one of the biggest, is the cost of housing. So here's what we will do. We will cut the red tape that stops homes from being built and take on, in addition, corporate landlords who are hiking rental prices.

[15:50:02]

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And we will work with builders and developers to construct 3 million new homes and rentals for the middle class, because increasing the housing supply will help drive down the cost of housing.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: We will also help first time home buyers just get their foot in the door with a $25,000 down payment assistance.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Because the goal is clear, let's help more Americans afford to buy a home, which we know is a critical step in their ability to grow their wealth and intergenerational wealth. And we will work to reduce other big costs for middle class families.

We will take on bad actors who exploit emergencies and drive up grocery prices by enacting the first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging. (APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: I had the experience of dealing with that when I was Attorney General. We will take on big pharma and cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans, just like we did for our seniors.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Now, by contrast, Donald Trump has no intention of lowering costs for the middle class. In fact, his economic agenda would actually raise prices. And listen, that's not just my opinion.

A survey of top economists by the Financial Times and the University of Chicago found that by an overwhelming 70 to 3 percent margin, my plan would be better for keeping inflation low.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Objective economists have been very clear.

The second pillar of an opportunity economy is investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship. So for the last century, the United States of America has been a beacon around the world. And as your Vice President now for almost four years, I've been traveling the world, meeting with world leaders, meeting with foreign leaders, meeting with businesspeople in various countries with which we have partnership.

And I will tell you, America remains a beacon for what it means to inspire and invest in innovation, not only for our ability to come up with some of the most breakthrough ideas, but also our ability to turn those ideas into some of the most consequential innovations the world has ever known. I believe the source of our success is the ingenuity, the dynamism and

enterprising spirit of the American people. To paraphrase --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: -- yes, it is. It's our nature. It's our nature. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, since the founding of our nation, there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. And we need to guard that spirit.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: We have to guard that spirit. Let it always inspire us. Let it always be the source of our optimism, which is that spirit that is so uniquely American.

And let that then inspire us by helping us to be inspired to solve the problems that so many face, including our small business owners. So as I travel the country, what I hear time and again from those who own small businesses and those who aspire to start them is that too often an entrepreneur has a great idea -- not too often. That's good. And they have the willingness to take the risk, but they don't have access to the capital that they need to make it real. And as Andrea said, not everybody was handed on a silver platter $400 million and then filed for bankruptcy six times.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Oh, I said that. I actually said that. Well, we can make it easier. We can make it easier for our small businesses to access capital. On average, it costs about $40,000 to start a new business.

[15:55:00]

But currently, the tax deduction for startups is only $5,000. So currently for startup costs, the tax deduction is $5,000. Well, in 2024, it is almost impossible to start a business on $5,000.

Which is why as president, I will make the startup deduction 10 times richer and we will raise it from $5,000 to $50,000 tax deduction.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And provide low and no interest loans to small businesses that want to expand. All of which will help achieve our ambitious, some would say, but that's OK, let's be ambitious. Our ambitious goal of 25 million new small business applications by the end of my first term.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: I know this is very achievable. And for anyone here who is a small business owner, works for a small business, or has a small business in your life, you understand what I'm talking about.

In terms of when we build up our small businesses, what that does to entire communities to lift them up economically, civically, culturally, and in every way. Small businesses, the point being, help drive our economy. And they create nearly 50 percent of private sector jobs. And they strengthen our middle class.

And if we can harness the entrepreneurialism of the American people and unlock the full potential of aspiring founders and small business owners, I am optimistic that no one will be able to outpace us.

By contrast, Donald Trump, when he was president, has been described by one of the nation's leading experts on small businesses in a piece he published in a major paper as not being good for small businesses.

In fact, the title, the title, wait, because I'm burying the lead right now. One of the leading experts on small businesses published a piece in one of the major newspapers, and the title, I'm going to quote: Does Donald Trump Hate Small Businesses?

And their answer was yes. Their answer was yes. Because at the same time that Donald Trump was giving a tax cut to big corporations and billionaires, he tried to slash programs for small businesses and raise borrowing costs for them. Instead of making it easier, he actually made it more difficult for them to access capital.

And that's not surprising because Donald Trump just does not prioritize small businesses. He does not seem to value, frankly, the essential role they play.

But look, when I look at small business owners, I see some of the heroes of our economy, not only entrepreneurs, but as I said, civic leaders, community leaders, part of the glue that holds communities together.

The third pillar of our opportunity economy is leading the world in the industries of the future and making sure America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century.

(APPLAUSE)

One of the recurring themes in American history is that when we make an intentional effort to invest in our industrial strength, it leads to extraordinary prosperity and security, not only for years, but for generations. Think of Alexander Hamilton having the foresight to build the manufacturing capabilities of our new nation. Think of Lincoln and the transcontinental rail.

Think of Eisenhower and the interstate highway system. Kennedy committing America to win the space race and spurring innovation across our society. From our earliest days America's economic strength has been tied to our industrial strength.

And the same is true today. So I will recommit the nation to global leadership in the sectors ...

END