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Soon Biden and Harris Appear Together for First Time on Democratic Ticket; Interview with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) on Harris as Candidate; Pelosi Says People Will Die If Stimulus Talks Drag into September; Laid Off Airport Worker Needs the $600 Stimulus Check to Continue. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 12, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

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BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: The eyes of political pundits, democratic voters and likely more than a few Republicans are all on Delaware today where soon the newly minted Democratic ticket of former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris will hold their first joint appearance of the campaign.

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CNN will bring that event to you live when it happens. But with me now, Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. Congresswoman, a pleasure to have you back. Welcome.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): It's good to be with you. Pleasure to be with you.

BALDWIN: I want to go -- sorry, say again Congresswoman.

LEE: Hello to all of your viewers.

BALDWIN: My goodness, yes. Hello to all the viewers and let's go back to and your -- I want to talk about your tweets.

Because you wrote in part, quote, I have tears in my eyes but joy in my soul. I am so overwhelmed as I know that women around the nation, women of color and yes, black women, can see their equal status in this nation finally.

You know, we have lived through the election, Congresswoman, of the first black president. We could see the election of the first black and first South Asian-American woman vice president.

I know you told Anderson Cooper that Kamala's Harris' selection takes women of color to the mountain top that Martin Luther King preached. Is this something you actually thought you would see?

LEE: Well, I know that Joe Biden is a good man. I know that there was an enormous amount of advocacy and emphasis and I've used the word "pressure" in a good way from African-American women and African- American men around the nation in a good way to suggest that this was the time.

But did I expect so, not after the treatment of our friend and ceiling breaker Hillary Clinton in 2016. Most women were saying, when, but we're also saying if not now, then when? We couldn't think of a moment like this bypassing us again.

And one of the reasons why I use the mountain top is because that is always been the pinnacle of liberation for us. Those of us who admired the movement, were in the movement, of any kind and certainly admired the secular prophet which was Dr. Martin Luther King and those were his last words. That he had been to the mountaintop. He had seen the promised land, but he might not get there with us.

And now, knowing that black women still statistically, Brooke, still are at the lowest ebb of numbers, whether it is the amount of money they make per dollar, 51 cents in some places, it's poverty. Whether or not it's the responsibility of raising children. We know black women or -- unemployment, we know black women face these obstacles. And to be able to say -- we also know that our grandmothers worked in the homes of others, washed dishes, cleaned houses to provide for their families and also provide for us. That's what black women did.

And now, to say that a black women is now part of the unity ticket of Joe Biden and Senator Harris to run for the presidency and vice president of the United States, yes, she has grabbed us and taken us to the mountaintop.

BALDWIN: What do you say to those who say, ah, Senator Harris was a safe pick for Vice President Biden?

LEE: What I say to them, she was a smart pick because of the seemly oversight, everyone saw her very calm but pointed testimony. A very organized in terms of what she's trying to secure, and I say questioning of both Justice Kavanaugh of course Mr. Barr and Mr. Sessions as well. She was a strong pick on her credentials, safe is never the word when you're running in the public eye for the highest office in the world.

We recognize that the Trump machine will begin opposition research that we've never seen before. He used his favorite definition of black women that we are offended by, but we're not stopped by and that is "nasty." She was a nasty woman. Absolutely just untenable in how he will approach this.

She is smart but she is a wife. She is a mother and she also has compassion. You know, Brooke, when she came to the United States Senate, we began working together on criminal justice issues. I was then senior on the Criminal Justice Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Had been on that committee for a very long time and we began the sentencing reduction work. We began the work dealing with bail reform, prison reform. She jumped right in with ideas and success.

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And a strong fighter for the justice in policing act. And she knew these issues and still was very much an advocate. But she believes that we can get this done because she understands law enforcement and understands the criminal justice system and criminal justice reform.

BALDWIN: I know she and Joe Biden are hoping to get it done on November 3rd. But let me ask you about the former vice president. Because listen, we know he's made headlines throughout his campaign for controversial comments about the black community including recently suggesting it is not as diverse as the Latino community.

Yes, he walked that back but that wasn't the first time. Congresswoman Lee, do these continued remarks at all concern you with respect to getting black voters out to vote and do you see Senator Harris playing a role intentional or not in blunting criticism of these remarks?

LEE: Well, I listened to both Joe Biden's heart and Senator Harris' heart, she said I believe in Joe Biden. And I think it's going to be important for all of us who believe in Joe Biden to really be part of the messaging. I believe in Build America Back Better or Build Back Better. We have got to do that. We have to restore the international prominence of this nation. We have to deal with COVID-19 in a humanitarian and scientific and medically safe way. I think that Joe Biden's basic core values and his message is about that he's going to be a doer and he's going to be a listener.

Yes, all of us in the realm of the spotlight may have a moment, but I think together as a team Senator Harris and Vice President Biden will get the message out that I'm for you. I'm for you, America. Whether you're rural or urban, whether or not your suburban. How about that?

Trying to provide a schism with suburban women. Trying to play to this opposition to the divisiveness of Confederate statues. We're not going to do that and I think the American people will listen to the message -- we may see a bump in the road, they may see something that gets walked back. But the overall message, we're going to unify, we're not going to leave you out, you're going to have a seat of the at the table.

That's the infusion of excitement I have, and I say to young black women who are getting this in lifetime and may take this for granted by saying, well, this is what happens here. I want to give them my history and say to them that this is so unique, listen to the real message. Build America Back Better but also you will now have a seat at the table. Brooke, I think that's going to be the overriding message no matter what may occur.

BALDWIN: Yes.

LEE: October surprises and otherwise --

BALDWIN: Yes.

LEE: -- I think the message is America you've got a seat at the table and we care about you. That's the Biden/Harris ticket. We care about you.

BALDWIN: We honor Shirley Chisholm and the notion of bringing the folding chair but this may be a building an entire, entirely longer table depending on which way the future goes. I do want to end on the note about sororities.

I think this is such an amazing part of this whole sorority, right. So, like Senator Harris, you are a member of Alpha Cappa Alpha incorporated. Is the oldest black sorority in the entire country and voting, voter registration, you know, has always been a central focus but this connects AKA to the political process in a different and I imagine quite a personal way, Congresswoman Lee. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

LEE: Well, you are great. She is my soror and we are the oldest, but we are generous, and kind and we expect to embrace all. But I can tell you the pink and green is waving. We were on a call at midnight last night and we want to thank our Supreme Basileus, Madam Glover. We are excited about where we're going with all of this. And frankly it is to wake up all women. But this oldest sorority was organized before, on the edge of World War II -- excuse me, World War I. And it was organized when women were in those kitchens, black women, they were in those homes cleaning up, it was in the midst of Jim Crow-ism, it was in the midst of the hanging fruit. It was a tough time.

We had just been emancipated from slavery but things had not changed. And these bright woman organized themselves at Howard and around to say that we, too, are America and that we as black women want to create a sisterhood that will create opportunity. And I guess that message will be one that we'll use as we advocate for Senator Harris and as we advocate for the president, the next president of the United States.

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We care, we want to give Americans opportunities, we want to build it back better. What a perfect unity ticket. And I must say, Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan, Madam C.J. Walker, Sojourner Truth, just a whole bunch of women that are now smiling, Maya Angelou, just smiling down on this occasion. And I think their whispering in the winds. I can't forget my brother John Robert Lewis. We're all going against the wind and this is going to be the time for us.

As I speak to you, I get chills. I'm emotional about this because, no, I couldn't believe it, but I believe it now and I'm so proud of this ticket with the assets that each of them brings to the table for America. Build it back. And build it back better.

BALDWIN: I so appreciate all of your time. And just everything, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, thank you.

LEE: We're going to get this done. Thank you.

BALDWIN: You got it.

And make sure you watch CNN special live coverage of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of course, all of the biggest moments, the most important speeches and insight, and what it means for Joe Biden and the future of the Democratic Party. That is starting Monday night at 8:00 Eastern.

And live pictures, here's the scene where we will see the two of them momentarily here. Folks getting ready to set up. We'll see the former vice president along with his new pick Senator Kamala Harris happening soon in Delaware. We'll be right back.

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BALDWIN: We come out of break. Let me show you some live pictures here. Wilmington, Delaware, where we will momentarily be seeing -- you can see the press there social distanced.

We are waiting for the very first appearance of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris. So, stick around for that.

Of course, the two will appear together for the first time there in Delaware. Senator Harris made history just about this time yesterday when we all learned that she became the first black and South Asian- American woman to be nominee on a presidential party ticket.

Meantime, nearly two weeks have passed since millions of unemployed Americans stopped getting that $600 bump from the government to help ride out this pandemic. And Congressional leaders are still fighting over how to extend the CARES Act, a stimulus plan that included a federal eviction moratorium protecting workers who couldn't quite pay their rent or their mortgages. Manu Raju is up on Capitol Hill for us. And dare I ask, where do discussions stand today?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're actually not even discussing anything at the moment. The two sides are still arguing about the size and scope about the package and negotiations aren't even happening.

A statement that just came out moments ago from Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Leader and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi contended that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made an overture to meet. And they essentially said according to the Democrats, they said the White House is according to Secretary Mnuchin, is not budging from their position concerning the size and scope of a legislative package.

Now, recall these talks broke down on Friday. Democrats initially put forward a $3.4 trillion package. Republicans came back with a $1 trillion package. Pelosi and Schumer came back and said you increase your offer by a trillion dollars, we'll decrease ours by a trillion dollars, and then perhaps we can meet in the middle there.

Now the White House did not want to go anywhere near a $2 trillion package. But they wanted the Democrats to pare back some of their demands. Including pull back from the amount of state and local government aid, roughly $1 trillion that Democrats sought. They wanted that pared back.

They also wanted a compromise of the $600 in weekly jobless benefits that expired in July. The Democrats said they were not going to move forward on a compromise on that. So where do we stand right now, Brooke?

The House is on recess right now. The Senate has been in session this week for only a couple hours per day. Senators are mostly all gone back in their home states throughout the country. The two sides are not talking.

Democrats in difficult race in the House are nervous about what this may mean come November. Senate Republicans in difficult races are also concerned about what that may mean for their constituents, and it may mean for their own electoral future.

And so many people waiting for aid, jobless aid for what will happen to money that could go to schools to help them reopen. So much is riding on this. But the two sides not talking and concerns that this could roll into September when Congress returns back to deal with a funding package. And Nancy Pelosi warning today that if it rolls into September, she's concerned that people could die -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: They need to talk, they need to figure it out. Manu Raju, they need to compromise. Thank you, this is so personal for so many millions of Americans, unemployed workers who are already getting eviction notices.

Like my next guest Robert Davis, he's a single dad, has worked at a bar inside Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Robert, thank you so much for being on with me today.

ROBERT DAVIS, FURLOUGHED BARTENDER, WHO'S RECEIVED AN EVICTION NOTICE: Hey, thank you, Brooke. Thank you very much for having us.

BALDWIN: You got it, sir. Let's start with your story, and then I want to get your reaction to some of what Manu said that they're not even talking.

But so, the story is you appealed to your landlord, you got an eviction notice, you appealed to your landlord. And then after a call from CNN, the management company said, you know, all right, we're going to work with you.

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But, you know, prior to August 1st, you had just about always paid your rent on time, and the fact that you even had to go to your management company. Just emotionally, Robert, how tough was that for you?

DAVIS: Well, there was a misunderstanding with that because the Braden Fellman Group has been fair to us and to many other people that's been shortcomings on their rent.

There was a true misunderstanding with that because they just didn't reply back to my request to work with me during this hardship. So they did get back to me, it just wasn't in a matter of time. And I received a letter that was a response that was a general letter.

But we worked it all out. And there's a lot of people here that they are working with. But besides that, there is a serious issue with the $600 stimulus that has been discontinued with the workers here at the Hartsfield-Jackson and across the country as well.

BALDWIN: I mean you're basically -- you are banking on that $600 or somewhere around that amount of money, right, at this moment, because you're obviously not at the airport working. So you're needing that amount of money to be able to pay your rent. And so, I'm just curious when you hear our Capitol Hill correspondents say, you know, that neither side is even literally talking to one another about that, you say what?

DAVIS: I say that the idea that the Republicans think that taking away the $600 takes away the people's incentive to go back to work, means that if the CARES Act offers more than what corporations pay, that is a serious problem.

Because if you do just basic math, and let's just say that minimum wage is $10 an hour, let's just say that minimum wage is $10 an hour, that means a mother of two making $10 an hour -- and this goes on at my place of employment -- that she makes $400 a week after tax, that's like $320 a week, times two, that's $640 biweekly. A month, $1,280 a month. OK.

Now that's living on a poverty level. $600 is what we've been fighting for -- $600 a week is like $15 an hour what we've been fighting for the past five years. I've been campaigning for the $15 an hour for at least five years. And this fight has been going on much longer than that.

So, there's a problem here if the CARES Act offers more than what corporations are paying. And that opens up a whole other conversation for us. That opens up a dialogue that corporations need to look at themselves and understand that if someone is making less than $24,000 a year, they are living on a poverty level.

BALDWIN: I feel you, I see you, I hear you. I also do want to be fair to both parties. Yes, the Republicans weren't offering up 600, they were still offering up a couple hundred dollars and the Democrats are essentially, you know, go bigger, go home and they haven't found this middle ground. Therefore, you are not getting at the moment a dime. And as you heard Manu say, this could be kicked on into September.

We'll stay in contact with you, Robert. Be well, stay healthy, stay strong. Thank you so much for coming on. We'll stay in touch.

DAVIS: And also, the Braden Fellman Group was fair to me --

BALDWIN: I hear you. I appreciate that. And that is a good thing to hear amidst all of the negative out there. Thank you.

And we will bring you, thank you, we'll bring you Joe Biden and Kamala Harris shortly. Coverage continues after a quick break.

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