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Melania Trump Supports Abortion Rights; Biden Travels to Florida and Georgia; New Evidence Against Trump Unsealed; Tim Parlatore is Interviewed about the New Trump Brief. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired October 03, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's how I put it together.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It is pretty incredible and I love that you've sort of looked into this vitamin thing because everyone would say take your vitamins and I was like, ah, that doesn't matter. It's not a big deal. But now the evidence is starting to show that actually it might have a serious impact.

So, write all these down. We're taking pictures of it just so that I can remember myself.

We've got another one. This is from Teri in Ohio. She asks, how much does genetics versus environmental factors play in reaching 100 years of age or older?

GUPTA: You know, so, if you had to put a number on it, so nature versus nurture, genetics versus your lifestyle factors, you'd say genetics is around 20 percent. That's putting a number on it. These are probabilities. There's not an exact sort of number here, but it's around that number. This was based on a large study of 400 million person meta analysis around the world sort of trying to answer this question. And where they landed was somewhere around 20 percent of your overall longevity is based on genetics.

To put two finer points on it, there's about 20 longevity genes now that have been identified. And these represent potential targets for scientists going forward. It's why we're likely to continue to improve longevity and even get far more centenarians in the next few decades.

But also, it changes a bit throughout your age, throughout your life. So, the first seven to eight decades of your life, that's going to be far more lifestyle. But then when you get into your last couple of decades of life, that's where genetics may start to take on an outsized sort of role there.

And case in point, take a look at this picture, Sara. These there my own parents who are living a really healthy lifestyle. And my dad actually turned 80 this week. That's them at the gym. And they're pushing some iron. And I think resistance training in particular makes a huge difference. So, that's something they do as well. SIDNER: Oh, my God, the Guptas are so adorable. I see where you get

your looks and your brains. Thank you so much, Dr. Gupta. Appreciate it.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And biceps.

SIDNER: And biceps. John is looking at the biceps. I - I don't know what we're going to do with him, but he's - he's working out because his memory sometimes fail him.

GUPTA: Happy birthday, dad.

SIDNER: John.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BERMAN: All right the surprise appearance on the campaign trail this morning. Kamala Harris bringing Republican Liz Cheney to Wisconsin. How it all came together.

Moments ago Melania Trump released a new video declaring a major break from her husband on one of the most critical issues of the campaign.

And breaking news. CNN hears several large blasts in Beirut. We've got new reporting now also on what Israel has planned for Iran.

Kate is out. I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner. And this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: New this morning, they're on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but today former top House Republican, Liz Cheney, and Democratic candidate for president, Kamala Harris, hitting the campaign trail together. The two will be in the critical swing state of Wisconsin, appearing at a schoolhouse known as the birthplace of the Republican Party. The unlikely duo teaming up in a push to win over Republicans and independents in battleground states.

BERMAN: So, also this morning, Melania Trump breaks with her husband on one of the most critical issues of this campaign, abortion. Really one of the most critical issues in the country.

So, "The Guardian" - this happened after "The Guardian" first reported that Melania Trump was supporting - was expressing support for abortion rights. And just moments ago, she put out a new video.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER FIRST LADY: Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguards. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth. Individual freedom. What does my body, my choice really mean?

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right, to be clear, the black and white choice and the music was part of the video that Melania Trump just released there.

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: With us now, CNN senior political commentator Van Jones, former Trump administration official, Matt Mowers.

Van, so that's the first time I saw that video.

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BERMAN: And it just came out a short time ago there.

JONES: Uh-huh.

BERMAN: And it begs - it really does beg a lot of questions.

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: I mean, number one, is this - is it, a, to sell books, is it, b, some grand break in your face to her husband on a key campaign issue?

JONES: Uh-huh.

BERMAN: Is it nine-dimensional chess where she's trying to present this case to voters that, hey, there can be disagreement on this issue?

JJONES: I - I have no idea.

First of all, why is he - maybe she's trying to come out of the shadows. I mean, just - you have this - the music in the background, her face is like half - half shaded.

[09:05:04]

It's getting us talking about the book. It's definitely good for book sales. This is either one of two things. This is a big break with her husband in saying, I just don't agree and I have my own book and my own standard, I don't care. Or it is 27 dimensional chess. And people will say, well, maybe she will soften Trump on abortion. So, maybe some suburban housewives and women and voters will change our position.

But this is bizarre. I don't think we've ever seen, in the history of American politics, a former first lady, or the spouse of a candidate, come out with a book and a video saying, I don't agree with my husband's party on a key issue. It's never happened before, ever.

BERMAN: And just - the language she used there was the language that Kamala Harris used on the stump, or Tim Walz the other night in the debate.

JONES: Freedom. She - Beyonce music could have been in the background talking about freedom. I don't - hey, listen you've got Cheney coming out today. Maybe Melania comes out tomorrow with Kamala Harris. It could happen.

SIDNER: OK. Now you're just talking crazy.

JONES: It's 2024. It's 2024. Anything is possible.

SIDNER: Matt Mowers is losing it. I can hear him spiraling right now listening to all this.

Matt, I do want to ask you about Liz Cheney.

MATT MOWERS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I just want to know what Van had with his cereal this morning, that's all. I want to know whether it was milk or something else in those Cheerios.

JONES: It was the same thing that Melania had this morning, apparently.

SIDNER: Vodka Cheerios. It's a new thing. You've got to try it out.

Matt, I am curious about, you know, what you think about Liz Cheney joining Kamala Harris on the stump. Have we ever seen anything like this before? Because before this, obviously at the DNC, you had a few Republicans, a couple of Republicans, well-known, coming out and speaking to back her. But now you're seeing Liz Cheney, one of the most well-known conservatives, come and stand with her and campaign with her in a swing state.

MOWERS: Yes, we - we've seen it before. We saw it about a month ago when we had a Kennedy campaigning with Donald Trump. You know, I think this is just showing another way how the two parties are shifting right now.

I mean if you go back, you know, even just a decade ago, again the Republican Party was largely, you know, the college degree, largely white, largely upper class party, and the Democrats were doing quite well with blue collar voters across the spectrum, whether they were white, black, Latino, et cetera.

That's changing, right? We are seeing that change before our very eyes most dramatically right now. And it's the reason you're seeing a Kennedy campaign with Trump and a Cheney campaign with Kamala Harris.

And so, you know, I think, ultimately, though, I think the bigger test here is, why are they in Wisconsin? I mean if you go back a month-and- a-half ago, every Democrat was saying Wisconsin was almost off the board. Public polling was showing high single digit leads for Kamala Harris. And the fact is that both Wisconsin and Michigan have now closed in tight. They're looking at about a half point margin in the polling average for Kamala Harris. Not to mention the fact that Wisconsin, more than any other state in 2016 and 2020, had a big polling miss. It was almost six points in '16, I believe, seven to eight points in 2020. And so I think it's really telling that of all places that's where they decide to go. But all I'll say is, you know, I wonder if Van will be passing around what, you know, all the fun - fun stuff he's been having this morning over at the campaign bus over there in Wisconsin.

JONES: We'll - we'll see.

SIDNER: Wow.

BERMAN: Well, look, first of all, you just answered why they're in Wisconsin. And Hillary Clinton and Robby Mook can tell you why they're in Wisconsin right now from, you know, Hillary Clinton didn't go there in 2016. Look what happened. I mean you go to places to help shore them up.

Matt, I don't - I want your take on the Melania Trump thing. You know, still. And I can't get the black and white and the music out of my head there.

What impact do you think that has? It's jarring.

MOWERS: Yes. So, I think there's two things. There's why it was done and then there is what impacted it has. And they're two separate things. I mean sometimes, you know, folks think that everything on a campaign is very calculated and very precise. You know, as having worked on presidential campaigns, as having run for office myself, sometimes, you know, it's, you know, in this case, Melania Trump probably just want to make her position known. And so that is where I think the reason she did it.

If you look at the impact it has. I mean, I think it could actually, in some ways, helps Donald Trump. It makes him more relatable. I mean I can tell you, I don't agree with my wife on every issue. She agrees with me on even fewer issues. And so I think, you know, this is actually pretty common.

In fact, there's been some studies coming out lately about the difference of like men and women going to vote this year, or spouses, I should say, going to vote this year, compared to 2020. 2020, there were all sitting at the kitchen table looking over each other's shoulders filling out the ballots. This year they're going into the polling place on their own. And what impact that may have.

So, I think this actually helps broaden Donald Trump's appeal, potentially.

JONES: Well, could be. I mean, I do think that he's trying to say what's happening with the parties as a kind of education versus non- education income shuffle.

[09:10:07]

There's some of that.

But I think what I'm seeing is, there's a different dimension of politics now It's not just left versus right. It's pro-democracy, pro- Constitution versus a more authoritarian direction. And I think that what unites an AOC, the Cheneys, Taylor Swift, like, the Kamala Harris coalition is so big and so broad, it's because it's deeper value at play here. There's a deeper sense that Donald Trump doesn't seem to care about facts, doesn't seem to care about the Constitution, and that's scaring a lot of people. So, you've got a coalition of hope around the future of democracy that can include the Cheneys. It's not just a demographic shuffle. There's a psychographic shuffle hear about, do you care about democracy or not?

BERMAN: And where does Melania fall into it?

JONES: Hey, listen, she's coming out of the shadows. She's coming out of the shadows. She's coming into the light. She'll be with - this time next week she will be on that same stage with Kamala Harris singing of freedom. That's where we're headed.

SIDNER: OK.

JONES: I'm - I'm - that's my prediction. That's my prediction. That's where we're headed.

SIDNER: OK. We're going to write that down, Van. You might regret it. Just saying.

Coming out of the shadows. There it is, that new video.

MOWERS: Right, I don't think that will happen (ph).

SIDNER: All right, we're having a lot of fun with politics there aren't we? Yes we are.

Van Jones, Matt Mowers, thank you both so much. Appreciate you.

JONES: That was awesome.

MOWERS: Thanks a lot.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, President Biden heading to Tallahassee, Florida, as he continues to tour the destruction left behind from Hurricane Helene. The death toll from that storm rising to now 191 people. From Florida he'll head to Georgia.

During his visit to hard hit North Carolina on Wednesday, the president approved more federal funding for areas impacted by Helene. And about a million people still without power across six states this morning. Hundreds of people are still missing and struggling to get basic supplies.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Perry, Florida, for us this morning.

What can we expect from - from the president's tour today, where he will go and what he will see?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, President Biden is spending his second day in a row touring the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene as he and his team are seeking to highlight the federal response to help these communities recover. The president is following his trip to North Carolina yesterday with

stops here in Florida and in Georgia. The president will be heading here to the big bend region of Florida. He will take an aerial tour to see the damage from up in the skies before landing here in Perry, Florida, where we are right now.

Perry is where Hurricane Helene hit very close by to hear one week ago. And President Biden will make his way down to Keaton Beach, Florida, where he's expected to receive an operational briefing and also see the damage firsthand there. Keaton Beach is one of those residential communities that was devastated by Hurricane Helene, with many of the homes simply destroyed in the aftermath of that storm.

The president is also planning to head to the Valdosta, Georgia, area a bit later this afternoon.

Now, at this time, it seems unlikely that Biden would be accompanied here by Governor Ron DeSantis, who was actually holding his own press conference several hours south of where Biden will be. We'll see whether he is joined by Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp, a little bit later afternoon in that state.

But President Biden, yesterday, as he was in the North Carolina area, he had held that aerial tour to see the damage. They were unable to drive the motorcade of the entire apparatus that follows a president into that hardest hit area in western North Carolina. But he saw the devastation from above, and then tried to assure the community that the federal government would be there for the long haul to help them recover.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States, the nation has your back. The nation has your back. We're not leaving until you're back on your feet completely.

In a moment like this, we put politics aside. At least we should put it all aside. We have here. There are no Democrats or Republicans, they're only Americans. And our job is to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, and as thoroughly as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this all does come at a time when Hurricane Helene has emerged as a political flashpoint. Former President Donald Trump has tried to criticize the administration for their response, falsely claiming at one point that the Georgia governor was unable to reach President Biden as this storm was unfolding. That is something that is simply not true. Something that Governor Kemp had said he spoke with Biden and had appreciated his outreach and the administration's efforts.

But President Biden, really in this moment, is trying to show that the federal government has their hands around this situation, is going to continue to pour resources into this community. Of course, Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, has said that funding could be running short. That is something the president has said that Congress may need to act on sometime soon.

SIDNER: Yes, and you're standing there with all the places, the stores boarded up, and we're seeing the destruction is just terrible.

Arlette Saenz, thank you so much.

[09:15:00]

Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right.

SIDNER: Hey, John.

BERMAN: YMCA versus hail to the chief. New evidence that could reveal how music choice may play a role in the election subversion case against Donald Trump.

And then breaking news out of Beirut. CNN crews hearing new explosions as Israel strikes at the heart of the Lebanese capital. And the daughter of one of Donald Trump's closest advisors now endorsing Kamala Harris. Rudy Giuliani's daughter warning, quote, "Donald Trump took my dad from me. Do not let him take our country too."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Today, former President Donald Trump hitting the trail for the first time since stunning new details were unveiled in special counsel Jack Smith's election interference case against him. Smith says this evidence proves Trump was acting as a private citizen and a candidate when he, quote, "resorted to crimes to stay in office" and, therefore, Trump's actions were not covered by presidential immunity.

[09:20:13]

Zachary Cohen is joining us now with more.

Give us some sense of what the evidence is that prosecutors are laying out here.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Sara, this is the most detailed picture we've seen so far of Jack Smith's case against Donald Trump. And it lays out why prosecutors think Donald Trump should still face criminal charges even after the U.S. Supreme Court granted him limited immunity for those actions deemed under the official capacity of his job as president.

Now, Jack Smith is arguing in this filing that Trump was acting as a private citizen, not as president when he, quote, "resorted to crime to try to stay in office." And specifically Jack Smith writes in his filing, "the executive branch has no authority or function to choose the next president. He," meaning Trump, "sought to encroach on powers specifically assigned by the Constitution to other branches to advance his own self-interest and perpetuate himself in power, contrary to the will of the people."

This filing goes on to lay out some additional evidence that we had not seen before. It includes private conversations witnesses say Donald Trump had with - with Republican legislators with different political operatives, campaign advisers, really making the case that Donald Trump was directly involved in various efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election leading up to January 6th. And it also includes new details about Donald Trump's actions on January 6th itself, and specifically his interactions with then Vice President Mike Pence that prosecutors said they have evidence that Donald Trump himself is the one who sent that now infamous tweet on January 6th essentially saying that Mike Pence didn't have the courage to overturn the election results and they accuse him of trying to stoke anger amongst that mob that was already outside the U.S. Capitol. And it's really underscored by what one witness said when Trump was told that Mike Pence was being evacuated from the Capitol that day. Trump's alleged response was, quote, so what.

So, prosecutors, again, making this case that a private citizen, Donald Trump, was acting on his own to enrich himself when he tried to overturn the 2020 election results.

SIDNER: All right, Zachary Cohen, thank you so much.

We're looking at that video of Pence having to be ushered out of his office on that day.

Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, former attorney for Donald Trump, Tim Parlatore.

Counselor, great to have you here.

And Zach did a really good job explaining this filing. I just want to read one quote, which I think encapsulates what Jack Smith is trying to do here. He's talking about Donald Trump's rally on The Ellipse on January 6th. He says, "in the manner in which the defendant took the stage at the rally was also consistent with his campaign rallies, instead of entering as a military band played "Hail to the Chief" as he might at an official presidential event, the defendant entered and exited The Ellipse speech to the songs he had used through the campaign, "God Bless the USA" and the Village People's "YMCA." Smith also noted that this was paid for by outside sources, not paid for, this event, by the U.S. government.

Why, in Jack Smith's mind, is this distinction so important?

TIM PARLATORE, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: You know, what he has to do here is to try and paint everything that happened there as purely being under his role as a candidate, as opposed to the president. So, you know, he's using that, he's using, you know, meetings where he had his personal attorney, but not White House counsel present. He's doing all that to try to shade everything in the light that would allow him to get around the Supreme Court ruling. So, it does make sense that he would use the music.

And, you know, look, this is something, when I was involved in the case, we were, you know, constantly dealing with, was to try and figure out, there are portions of this that were under his role as president, portions of it that are under the role as candidate, and those, you know, in some cases it's clear. But in some cases it's kind of blurry.

BERMAN: And, frankly, I'm not sure the Supreme Court helped so much in trying to distinguish between the two. In your mind, can you explain what you think is clearly a campaign event or political related as it pertains to this case?

PARLATORE: Oh, no. Look, when we were there, we were very clear there are certain things that he did that are absolutely campaign-related. And so, you know, I never, you know, tried to advance the argument that everything here was presidential. And so - but the thing is, when you look at that campaign rally, you know, he is - this is a perfect example of how prosecutors will cherry pick the things that are favorable to their case, and then ignore the things that aren't. And so I'm sure that my former client is probably beating the drum shortly on, you know, he didn't put in there that I said "peacefully and patriotically," things like that.

So, yes, there's no question that that was a campaign related rally, but was that something when he says things like "peacefully and patriotically" that led to the riot. When the DOJ has already charged and put people in jail for having pre-planned the riot in - in the - you know, the Proud Boys cases, they're already down there.

[09:25:04]

They didn't need to hear this speech.

So, you know, its - I think it is campaign, but the question is whether it's criminal.

BERMAN: A phone call with Steve Bannon. Phone records with Steve Bannon on January 5th, not long before Bannon, you know, put out tweets saying that all hell was going to break loose or something to that effect. I'm paraphrasing there.

Again, a conversation with Steve Bannon, presidential or political?

PARLATORE: I'm pretty sure that that would be political.

BERMAN: Right. And so then -

PARLATORE: And he - you know, Steve Bannon was no longer - he was no longer with the - with the White House at that time. Yes.

BERMAN: So there are - just - just to - there are - and I - this is a hard case at this point and it's going to be hard for Judge Chutkan to unravel this. But you, you know, as someone who has lived through a lot more of this than we have, do you think there is enough, just campaign related activity, for charges to stand and survive?

PARLATORE: I think that there's - there is certainly enough, you know, that you can present a case based on the purely campaign related stuff. I don't think that the case that Jack Smith has laid out in this filing is, you know, has been narrowed enough based on the Supreme Court's ruling, I think that the, you know, biggest place where he's going to run into trouble is with Mike Pence, because he's kind of taken contradictory positions at different points within the litigation, but there is certainly enough on the campaign side that you could at least present a case.

Now, whether all of those facts end up to being able to sustain a criminal charge is a different story.

BERMAN: All right, Tim Parlatore, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, we've got some breaking news for you out of Lebanon. New explosions in Beirut. Israeli officials, just moments ago, saying the terrorist headquarters for Hezbollah's intelligence was struck.

And she was once one of the top Republicans in Congress. Now, Liz Cheney he is hitting the trail with Kamala Harris for the first time since her endorsement of the Democratic candidate at the birthplace of the GOP. We'll talk all about it coming up.

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