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Biden Says, Death of Hamas Leader Sinwar a Moment of Justice; Harris and Trump Campaign in Battleground Michigan With 18 Days to Election; Judge Clears Release of Documents in Trump's Election Subversion Case. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 18, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: An opportunity to seek a path to peace. Moments ago, President Biden talking about what he hopes is next after Hamas' leader Yahya Sinwar is taken out.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in Michigan today. Trump is making his first appearance in Detroit since trashing Detroit.

And single during an election year? Some dating apps are making it easier to lean right or left on love or maybe even just a casual hookup.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: Happening now, President Biden with a new message for Israel and the Middle East, moments ago saying that now is the time for a ceasefire deal, now less than 24 hours after the world learned that Israel killed Hamas's leader, Yahya Sinwar. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The death of the leader of Hamas represents a moment of justice. He had the blood of Americans and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans and so many others on his hands. I told the prime minister of Israel yesterday let's also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas. And I look forward to discussing Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An opportunity to change the course of history is basically what he's describing.

With the mastermind of the October 7th attacks now dead, what role will the United States now play? In the coming days, Secretary of State Tony Blinken will be heading to Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials are said to be meeting today on the fate of the hostages, the war's future, and what to do about Iran.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Tel Aviv. CNN's Kayla Tausche is in Berlin. That is where President Biden is today.

Kayla, let me start with you. Tell us more about what we heard from President Biden.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it was a relatively brief statement that the president delivered to the press. He mentioned the situation in the Middle East, the desire for renewed push for a ceasefire. That desire echoed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also spoke this morning.

But President Biden really took the opportunity to hail the alliances and the shared values of the U.S. and Germany. That was really the underpinning of this visit that was supposed to be a state visit and got downgraded after it was rescheduled for this week following Hurricane Milton.

And President Biden also referencing the need to continue supporting Ukraine, which is also going to be toward the top of the agenda for both his meeting with Olaf Scholz and his team, as well as with other European leaders set to take place a little bit later today, with Ukraine's success stalling out on the battlefield and another treacherous winter at war approaching.

We've learned that the U.S. remains opposed to a key element of Zelenskyy's victory plan, which is to use U.S. or U. K.-made long range missiles to strike territory deeper inside Russia. The rationale being that the U.S. believes that there's limited chance for success of that strategy with many of those targets outside current long range capability and the likelihood very high for collateral damage. So, I'm told expect no concrete policy decisions on Ukraine from that meeting that is expected to happen today.

But, of course, they will also be discussing the situation in the Middle East. That had been one of the discussion points already on the agenda, of course, with renewed urgency, given the death of Yahya Sinwar. There is shared belief among allies that there could be a diplomatic off ramp that is within reach now more than ever. The question, of course, Kate, is how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees it.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. That is definitely a key question. Kayla, thank you so much, following President Biden's travels. We'll have a run throughout the show. Thank you.

Let's get over to Matthew Chance with this question on what does this mean, what is the next move and what are the conversations happening amongst Israeli officials, and what signs are there, if any, that this is the moment of change in the war, Matthew?

[07:05:03]

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it's certainly a tactical victory that the Netanyahu government here in Israel is celebrating, as are very many Israelis. I mean, Yahya Sinwar is the man who is blamed for, you know, contriving this terrible attack on October the 7th last year against so many Israelis, more than 1,200 people killed. And so there is jubilation amongst many Israelis that he's dead. And that's something that, you know, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government is taking credit for.

But Netanyahu is also saying that this is not the end of the war. It may be the beginning of the end. He said, but it's, it's not the end. He's called on Hamas to lay down their weapons and to release the hostages and he's issued guarantees to Hamas fighters who do that. But there's a sort of sense of wishful thinking about it in the sense that Hamas has within the past few hours released a statement, a senior official, basically saying they will be eventually victorious and offering no sense at all in that first statement after the death of Yahya Sinwar, that they're prepared to back down, release the hostages or compromise on any future negotiations.

And so, yes, it is a possibility that this death of or this killing of Yahya Simua will be a turning point. It could make a difference in terms of the structure of Hamas, in terms of getting those hostages out. But it's not a certainty. And so we'll see in the hours ahead and in the days ahead what actually happens on the ground, whether this will be a pivotal moment or whether it's just, you know, another milestone along the long and bloody conflict that we're currently engaged in.

BOLDUAN: As President Biden was describing it today, an opportunity, what they do with this opportunity. That is why everyone is talking about the next 72 hours is absolutely critical.

Matthew, thank you so much for being there, Matthew Chance in Tel Aviv, Kayla Tausche traveling with the president of Berlin. John?

BERMAN: All right. Today, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigning just miles apart from each other in Michigan, as Politico reports this morning that Trump has canceled some interviews, some media appearances because his campaign said, and this is in Politico, said that he was exhausted.

Potentially explosive new information coming today in Trump's election interference case, why a federal judge declined to wait until after the election to release some of the evidence.

And a former Olympic snowboarder is accused of murder and running a transnational drug cartel. And this morning, he is on the run from the FBI.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Right now, we have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have mental faculties of a child, there's a person that has nothing going, no intelligence whatsoever, but enough about Kamala Harris.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't say anything negative about Catholics.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would never do that, no matter where I was. That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, those are some of the jokes at the Al Smith dinner here in New York City last night. Donald Trump was there. Kamala Harris was campaigning in Wisconsin. You heard one joke there from Kamala Harris at the end about Donald Trump criticizing Detroit in Detroit. Both candidates will be in Michigan today.

And let's just talk for a second about Detroit. This was the 2020 election, President Biden versus Donald Trump right there. This is Michigan. You can see Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 100,000 votes. Let's focus on Detroit, though, for a second. Wayne County, all right. In Wayne County, Joe Biden won big, 38 points, but Donald Trump won 30 percent of the vote, 260,000 votes. That was actually better in 2020 than he did in 2016. He had 29 percent of the vote there and 228,000 votes. So, Donald Trump actually improved in Wayne County and Detroit there. We'll see how insulting Detroit impacts that going forward.

I want to tell you about where both candidates will be today, though, because a few hours apart, they're both going to be in Oakland County, sort of the suburbs of Detroit. This is important. This may be where the 2020 election was decided in Michigan. It might be where 2024 is as well. You can see President Biden won in Oakland County, the Detroit suburbs, by about 14 points, okay? Go back to 2016 and you can see Hillary Clinton won there, but just by eight points. So, that increase for Joe Biden is what helped him push ahead in Michigan State that Trump won in 2016, but Joe Biden won in 2020.

All right, let's bring in CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny for the excitement that we're getting in the mitten today.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. Since you're at the wall, this is a great time to show another thing. Can you go to Grand Rapids? That is Kent County, Michigan, right there. Let's look at this. This is where Kamala Harris is starting her day, and this is why.

Look at 2020 there. Joe Biden won over Donald Trump. But go to 2016. This is Grand Rapids, Michigan, a fast-growing, look at that, Donald Trump won Kent County in 2016. So, for all of the Michigan talk, it is at the center of this race, the center of the blue wall. Kent County and Grand Rapids, it's going to be so interesting because that is an example of someplace Donald Trump won in '16, lost in '20.

[07:15:04]

It's a suburban county where, you know, some of these moderate Republicans are leaning against him. That is why Michigan is so important today. You mentioned Oakland County. It is the second biggest county in Michigan. Kamala Harris is going to be there, Donald Trump also going to be there. It's right outside of the metro area. It's about 30 percent of the population in the Detroit metro area. This is where all the marbles are.

However, so interesting, she's also going to visit some union workers. She's been struggling in Michigan. John, we talk a lot about the blue wall. It's often gone together. This year could be an example of a place it may not, because of all the unique factors in Michigan. Of course, the Middle East, a big domestic political factor there as well. That is why the former president is trying to reach out to some Arab-American voters.

So, all eyes on Michigan for this reason and early voting is starting tomorrow. So, that is why both candidates are there today, John.

BERMAN: Both there today. I know they will both be back again before Election Day.

I'm getting new information, Jeff, today about Vice President Harris appearing with both Obama on the campaign trail.

ZELENY: We are learning this, this morning. Michelle Obama will be making her debut on the campaign trail. She will be in Michigan next Saturday, because that's when statewide early voting is. She'll be with Kamala Harris on the campaign trail, the first time we have ever seen Vice President Harris with Michelle Obama, the former first lady, campaigning together. They will have a stop in Georgia next week before that on Thursday, I believe.

So, look, the bottom line is we all remember when Michelle Obama at the Chicago Democratic Convention urged people to get out there and to do something. Well, she is actually doing something herself, and she's going to be campaigning to try and get that early vote in.

But, John, there is no doubt you can just feel the intensity here increasing. This race is deadlocked, both sides pulling out all of the stops. All-hands-on-deck moment, and now Michelle Obama is included in that roster

BERMAN: Really interesting. Every day, both candidates trying to accomplish something, they need to do something to try to improve their chances.

Jeff Zeleny, great to see you, thank you so much.

ZELENY: Good to see you, John.

BERMAN: All right. A federal judge says the American people should be able to learn more about Jack Smith's case against Donald Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 election, and they should be able to hear it today.

And love and politics, how dating apps are helping singles swipe right to find love in the lead up to the election. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Happening today, you could get a ton of new detail coming out about the case that special counsel Jack Smith has built against Donald Trump. Now, this is the federal election subversion case that we're talking about. And the judge overseeing the case rejected a request from Trump's team, legal team, to block the public release of the documents for now an appendix we're talking about related to Special Counsel Jack Smith's expansive immunity filing. What Trump wanted was to have it all held and delayed and be released after the election. So now what?

CNN's Zachary Cohen is tracking all of this for us. Bring us up to speed. What should people be looking forward to possibly learning more about today?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, we could get a sense of what Jack Smith has to back up his criminal case against Donald Trump, the receipts, if you will. You know, these are things like grand jury transcripts, things like notes from FBI interviews that Jack Smith and his team have conducted over the course of their investigation. That's what we're looking for to come out publicly today.

And it remains to be seen exactly what will be allowed for the public to read, right? We do expect a good portion of this to be redacted, because that was negotiated beforehand between Trump and Jack Smith's team, but we are looking for new details about Jack Smith's investigation, whether or not he has the goods to back up those allegations that Donald Trump leaned on state officials and that he spread widespread narratives of voter fraud and knowingly as a political candidate to overturn the 2020 election results. That's really the crux of Jack Smith's case against Donald Trump.

And as you mentioned, Donald Trump and his attorneys really did try to keep this appendix from coming out before the 2020 election. They argued that releasing this now would amount to election interference and was politically motivated, at least it would be seen that way by the public.

The judge, Judge Chutkan, the judge overseeing this case, actually decided the exact opposite. She said that not releasing this information would be perceived as election interference. She wrote, it is, in fact, Trump's requested relief that risks undermining that public interest. If the court withheld information that the public otherwise had a right to access solely because of the potential political consequences of releasing it, that withholding could itself constitute or appear to be election interference.

So, ultimately, we're going to have to see what exactly is in this appendix. But remember that filing two weeks ago that Jack Smith did file under seal or did release in this case outlined how he alleged that Donald Trump was pressuring Mike Pence, conversations, details about their conversations in the capacity as running mates. It detailed his conversations with different state officials. So, we'll have to see exactly what this reveals, new details about those conversations and the evidence that Jack Smith has to bring criminal charges against Trump.

BOLDUAN: All right, standing by to stand by. Thank you so much, Zach. I really appreciate it.

Ahead for us still, President Biden speaking out today about speaking this morning about the death of Hamas' leader and why President Biden hopes that this is now a, quote, opportunity and why his focus today shifts to Iran.

And a fancy charity dinner where friendly roasts are the tradition. What could go wrong when this dinner lands at the tail end of the 2024 presidential election, just as both candidates are basically going to cross paths today in battleground Michigan?

[07:25:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Breaking this morning, President Biden is in Berlin at this moment. He's been pushing to get a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I told the Prime Minister of Israel yesterday, let's also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas. And I look forward to discussing Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:30:00]

BOLDUAN: All right, with us now, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

I want to look forward on what this might mean, but, first, General.