Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Today, Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) Push Forward on Battleground Blitz; Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Kenya as New Cabinet Sworn In; Austria Police Stop Alleged Terror Plot Targeting Taylor Swift Concerts. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 08, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin with Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, pushing forward on their nationwide battleground blitz this afternoon. They're holding a campaign event in Detroit before heading to Arizona.

Harris and Walz are fresh off of two huge rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan, where they received an energetic welcome from a massive, raucous crowd. But while the new campaign continues to enjoy a shot of momentum, the Democratic ticket is still facing familiar challenges as pro-Palestinian hecklers once again tried to interrupt a rally in Detroit. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm here because we believe in democracy. Everyone's voice matters, but I am speaking now.

You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I'm speaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: We should note, Harris spoke to leaders of the movement backstage before that rally, but also in Detroit, the campaign capitalized on a familiar ally. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain praised Governor Walz as one of us, he said, and made clear how he sees the choice in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN FAIN, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: This is a simple question in this election, because on one side, you got a billionaire that serves himself and his billionaire buddies.

And on the other side, we got a strong, intelligent, and I'm just going to put it bluntly, a badass woman, a badass woman who stood on the picket line with striking workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right, let's go live to Detroit and CNN's Arlette Saenz. Arlette, it's getting lively out there in Michigan. What do we expect to hear from the Harris-Walz ticket today?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are really trying to focus today on engaging and earning support of working middle class voters. The two are expected to appear at a UAW Union Hall a bit later this afternoon, where they will speak to rank and file members here in this critical battleground state of Michigan.

Now, the Harris campaign has earned the endorsement of UAW leadership. You heard the president, Shawn Fain, there speaking and praising both Harris and Walz for their support for unions and the working class.

But one key task for Harris ahead will be trying to convince the rank and file members to also support her candidacy. You've seen former President Donald Trump really trying to make inroads with that community as well in key states like here in Michigan, but also those other blue wall states, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Now, I'm told there will be about 100 rank and file members on hand for that event at the Union Hall this afternoon. This is a much smaller gathering than the massive rallies we've seen Harris conduct since launching her presidential campaign. So, perhaps this will give her a smaller setting, more intimate setting as she's looking to drum up support among the rank and file members who will be key in a state here like Michigan, which is home to a very large auto industry.

This is all part of Harris' effort to also introduce her running mate, the Minnesota governor, to Americans, as they have now solidified the Democratic ticket heading into the Democratic National Convention in just a few weeks.

ACOSTA: All right. Arlette Saenz live for us in Michigan, Arlette, thank you very much.

ACOSTA: Let's discuss more now with one of the attendees at that rally in Michigan last night, Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit, where Harris and Walz will be speaking again later today. Mr. Mayor, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

MAYOR MIKE DUGGAN (D-DETROIT, MI): Thanks for having me, Jim.

ACOSTA: Mayor, I do want to jump right into this. Your thoughts on what you saw last night from the Harris-Walz ticket, how things, how the race is shaking up in Michigan, and how she handled those protesters last night, what did you make of that?

DUGGAN: Well, I got up on the stage to do one of the preliminary speeches and I couldn't believe the size of the crowd. Democrats aren't used to these kinds of large energetic crowds, at least not in recent years. And it is very exciting. But, you know, in Southeastern Michigan, we have a huge Arab-American population. We have a lot of people here who have lost family members. And it's become pretty common to have these kinds of activities, but I thought the vice president handled it well, which she said to him to keep saying that Donald Trump's going to be elected, they quieted down. So, maybe she found the right way to deal with it.

ACOSTA: And, Mayor, I mean, you have a much better sense of the politics on the ground there than perhaps we do. I'm just wondering, what is your sense of how the battleground has shifted a little bit in Michigan? Has it shifted a little bit more in Kamala Harris' favor than from when President Biden was at the top of the ticket?

[10:05:05]

And how is that Palestinian vote going to play out, do you think, in Michigan?

DUGGAN: Well, we'll see what happens there, I think what happens the next three months of the Middle East will drive that. But it's just like all the Democrats just finally just exhaled. And I don't think we realize how much stress we felt. But for those of us who believe that Joe Biden has been a good president, with what he has done and bringing jobs back, certainly Detroit has prospered under him, but we're always being told the recession's coming on. And then we got into the age issues.

And I don't think we realized how concerned we were what was going to happen next. But since Kamala Harris has become the nominee, she's out reminding us of all the good things that have happened in this country, from what they're doing on climate change, infrastructure, and the like. And now it feels like celebration. It is a whole different feeling. And the president did this country in an enormous service by saying, I think Kamala Harris is the right one to take us forward.

ACOSTA: And the president of the UAW was at last night's rally? Let's listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAIN: Donald Trump doesn't know (BLEEP) about the auto industry and he doesn't give a damn about the working class in this country.

The working class has been left behind, and I don't know how you feel. But I'm (BLEEP) angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Mr. Mayor, I assume those are our beliefs and those were not the beliefs at the rally last night But let me ask you this. We know that President Biden had the strong support of union workers heading into this campaign. Do you think Kamala Harris will have that same level of support or she going to have to do some work there?

DUGGAN: Well, yes, you never have any trouble understanding what Shawn Fain is thinking. And he is a hero here in Detroit. There are a lot of auto workers who are having to work a second job for their families. And after the last round of contracts with the pay raises they got are in substantially better economic circumstances. He's got enormous credibility. And, of course, he's going to make the case today at a UAW hall with the vice president. But I'm very confident with that kind of support. We're going to make inroads.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you this. Former President Donald Trump is going to be holding a news conference, he says, down at Mar-a-Lago later today. Vice President Kamala Harris has not held a news conference in a little while now. I'm just curious, what do you think? Does she need to go out there and start taking some questions? What do you think?

DUGGAN: You know, her strategy, the first 11 or 12 days has been pretty good. But I find this really interesting. You know, you had Trump saying Joe Biden isn't getting out in the country because he's too old. Now you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in state after state, two, three, four a week holding rallies, and Donald Trump is saying, I'll do a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

The energy in this campaign has shifted dramatically. But I promise you when Kamala Harris does a press conference, people will feel very comfortable. She'll actually answer the questions she's asked. She won't wander off onto other subjects. She won't be attacking different groups of people. So, I'm not at all concerned about the vice president's ability to handle a press conference.

ACOSTA: All right, we'll be waiting for that to happen. Mayor Duggan, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

DUGGAN: Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: All right. Also in the Midwest, a highly unusual tarmac encounter. After arriving for a campaign event yesterday in Wisconsin, Republican Vice Presidential Nominee J.D. Vance made a beeline over to Air Force Two, admiring the aircraft and searching for the vice president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I just wanted to check out my future plane.

I saw her car. I did not see the vice president. The windows are tinted.

I did not speak to her, no. I don't -- I think she was trying to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Moments after that bizarre stunt, Vance had posted this image on X, formerly known as Twitter, confidently claiming Air Force Two as his future call sign. He also said that he's going to be starring in some sort of entourage reporters. I guess he made a joke that might be coming along and that he would fit into that just fine. Let's talk about this with former director of strategic communications for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, Marc Lotter. Marc, I do want to ask you about what J.D. Vance was doing there on the tarmac in just a moment, but we understand that Trump is going to be holding a news conference later on this afternoon.

[10:10:03]

Is this a sign that Trump is trying to reset this campaign, that he's worried about the direction of this campaign, he's a little bit worried about all the attention that's being paid to Kamala Harris?

MARC LOTTER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS FOR TRUMP'S 2020 CAMPAIGN: I don't think he's worried about the direction of the campaign. I think the honeymoon has gone on long enough and so it's time for him to reassert the narrative and start talking about the real issues that affect the American people, because Kamala Harris is no different than Joe Biden. If you don't like inflation, grocery prices, gas prices, the border, the wars that are going on overseas, none of it's changing. Whether it's Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Tim Walz, they are all the same bad policies.

And so I think when Donald Trump starts talking about that again and reminding people of that, he'll obviously, you know, continue to talk and take the lead in this race.

ACOSTA: And where is Trump this week? Why is he not holding any news conferences? He's holding a news conference, I should say, in a couple hours. Why is he not holding any campaign events around the country? He's got one in Montana later this week.

LOTTER: Well, I think right now he's got the vice presidential candidate and Senator Vance going out there bracketing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz with their campaign events, making sure that, at least in the local media cycles and a little bit here in the national media, that the truth is getting out, that the counter to what the message that the Kamala Harris campaign is selling is met with reality and facts. So, I think right now it's a good opportunity for J.D. Vance to get out there, get some miles on Trump Force Two. And for President Trump, always makes sure that everyone knows what's on his mind, and I'm sure he'll do that this afternoon.

ACOSTA: And what did you make of what was going on that tarmac, J.D. Vance out on the tarmac? You used to work for Mike Pence. Wouldn't that be a little odd if, you know, Joe Biden had been searching around on the tarmac for J.D. Vance? Isn't that a little strange?

LOTTER: Well, I think it's great bracketing, and I think it was a brilliant troll. Obviously, the media that are there that travel with the vice president covering her campaign, they haven't been able to answer any questions or ask any questions of Kamala Harris. So, J.D. Vance went over there and offered the opportunity to do it.

And as you referenced, Jim, I'll tell you one thing, having spent a lot of time on Trump Force Two and Air Force Two, when J.D. gets to Air Force Two, it's a definite upgrade. ACOSTA: Let me ask you this part. I mean, yesterday, we heard J.D. Vance going after Tim Walz's military record. I mean, you worked in politics for a long time, worked in communications, worked as a press secretary for a long time. Is that a good idea for J.D. Vance to go after Tim Walz's military record when Donald Trump avoided the draft in Vietnam? He claimed to have bone spurs. The daughter of the doctor who said that Donald Trump had bone spurs told The New York Times once that he gave that diagnosis to help Donald Trump avoid service in Vietnam. I mean, is this a fight that he really want to have?

LOTTER: Well, I think there're two different things here. Number one, I don't think anyone's questioning Tim Walz service to our country. He served 24 years and went and we thank him for doing that. I think the question is, has he embellished his record, whether he actually carried a weapon in an area of war, whether he was a command master sergeant or retired as a master sergeant, or even a release that came out prior to his retiring serving in the military, who admitted, he said, I want to go to Iraq with my team if it's called up, and then he quit when those men and women needed him most, when they got called to service in Iraq, he retired.

ACOSTA: But, Marc, but you know that he made it clear he was going to run for Congress that year, and he started the process of getting out of the National Guard.

LOTTER: Well, there was a news release that I've even seen or a media account where he actually said, I intend to serve my duty with my team and I don't know how it will affect my campaign, but I'm going to serve. And then he changed his mind a few months later. So, I mean, again, all of these are legitimate questions.

ACOSTA: He's been in the National Guard for 24 years. Isn't that long enough?

LOTTER: And I honor that service. But, obviously, when you're, when the men and women that served with you needed you most, you chose to leave, that was your choice. But if we're going to call out and whether he was embellishing the record, I think that's absolutely appropriate.

ACOSTA: Could you say that America needed soldiers like Donald Trump during Vietnam? Donald Trump claimed he had bone spurs. Nobody believes that.

LOTTER: There are a number of people who did not serve in Vietnam. There were a number of people who had very, very opposite views on that war at that time. Obviously, the men and women who served in that era should be honored for their service, and I do honor their service.

But this isn't about whether you served or not, because no one questions whether Tim Walz served. It's a question of, did you inflate your record, or did you inflate your accomplishments after the fact for political gain? And I think that's a very legitimate line of questioning for people to ask themselves.

[10:15:00] ACOSTA: And there's also the issue, Marc, as you know, I mean, Donald Trump once described veterans and soldiers who had died in combat as suckers and losers. That's been reported and established. Again, it just escapes me why you would even want to have this conversation.

LOTTER: Well, everyone else -- there have been dozens of people, I think at least 18 people who have debunked that theory. They've said that never happened. I think that President Trump's record, whether it was investing in the military --

ACOSTA: John Kelly said that.

LOTTER: And there were at least 18 other people who were there -- 18 other people who were there who said it didn't happen, weren't trying to hock books, weren't trying to get themselves on network television.

But when I look at what Donald Trump did, whether it was the largest investment in our military since the days of Ronald Reagan, whether it was keeping us out of endless wars, whether it was fixing the V.A. and making it actually better to serve our veterans --

ACOSTA: Marc, you would agree, though, when J.D. Vance says something like Tim Walz is guilty of stolen valor, that's going too far?

LOTTER: Well, I think we've got -- that may be a legal term, but I do think we have to question whether he has embellished his record. I mean, he was on C-SPAN. He was in other places talking about carrying a weapon in war when there is no record of him being in combat, whether he retired as a command master sergeant or a master sergeant. He was a master sergeant, but his bio said otherwise, or whether --

ACOSTA: National Guard for 24 years. That's -- a lot of Americans would take their hat off to that. I mean, a lot of people salute that.

LOTTER: And I do as well. But if you're going to inflate your record or misrepresent your record after the fact, then I think we can call that part out without tarnishing the rest of his service.

ACOSTA: All right. Marc Lotter, thanks very much for your time.

LOTTER: Good to see you, Jim.

ACOSTA: We'll talk again soon. I appreciate it.

All right, now to some breaking news, violence and chaos erupting in Kenya. Our reporter there, Larry Madowo, we should note, he was caught in the middle of the crossfire. We want to show you the video of what happened.

We do want to note before you look at this video that Larry is okay, but he was struck during some of this chaos in Nairobi that was erupting earlier today. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Masking their plates are on the streets applying excessive force on largely peaceful protesters. And then as we were just speaking, as they're leaving, they fire even more.

That was aimed directly at me. He's aiming directly at me. He's aiming directly at me. He's shooting directly at me. Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me? Why are you shooting at me?

There's a flash bang there. Watch out. He is still shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. CNN's Larry Madowo joins me now from Nairobi. Larry, first of all we're glad you're okay. That is some pretty harrowing stuff that we just looked at there a few moments ago. Can you tell us a little bit more about what happened, how that all went down?

MADOWO: So, Jim, we were covering the protests that are going on across the country today against the government of President William Ruto, corruption in his government, and police have been extra aggressive today. We've been covering these protests for the last two months. And today they've made sure that most of the city is deserted. There's been trucks like these all over the city. It's supposed to be rush hour now, but it's almost entirely empty. Because anytime two or three people gather, police have been quickly breaking them up with flash bangs, with tear gas shooting in the air.

But we're clearly marked as journalists. And I was just talking about one of the issues the protesters are angry about, which is police blocking their plates, because then you can't trace where they're from, which police station, which police department. And the same truck that I was talking about that drove ahead of us, parked in front and then aimed at least twice directly at me when I'm clearly marked as a journalist.

CNN has reached out to the police to understand why we've been targeted. Other journalists have was complained about being targeted today, even though, Jim, the right to protest is guaranteed in the Kenya Constitution and the freedom of the media is also guaranteed in the Kenyan law.

ACOSTA: And give us a little bit of context, Larry, as to why all of this chaos is erupting right now.

MADOWO: We've seen these protests, like I mentioned, over the past two months. It began with a controversial finance bill that would have raised taxes, and President Ruto was forced to withdraw that. He was forced to fire his entire cabinet. But then people are angry because he reappointed half of the ministers back into the cabinet. In fact, they were sworn in today.

These people say they're not anti-government. They're pro good governance and accountability. And they worry that so much money that Kenya has, what they're raising taxes, what countries like the U.S. donates to Kenya ends up getting stolen. It's simply people in government pilfering from the public purse. And they're saying they're fixing this country once and for all, they're draining the swamp and they want President William Ruto to go, and that's why they've been on the street Tuesday and Thursday for most of the past two months, Jim.

[10:20:07]

ACOSTA: All right. Well, Larry Madowo, please stay safe. You're always doing brave reporting over there. We always appreciate it. Larry, thanks so much.

And we are following more breaking news right now. Police say they have stopped an alleged terror plot aimed at Taylor Swift concertgoers. What we are learning about the suspects and how it came very close to reality, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Breaking news, we are learning more this hour about the suspects in the alleged terror plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts at this venue in Vienna.

[10:20:02]

Officials say they found chemical explosives, detonators, and ISIS propaganda at the main suspect's home. All three of Taylor Swift's performances there are now canceled.

Joining me now, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, you've been tracking this investigation all morning. This was a serious plot, it sounds like. What more are you learning?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it is quite stark and horrifying, frankly, the details we're learning from Austrian investigators.

Now, the prime suspect in this is a 19-year-old Austrian-borne teenager here, one of three teenagers who the police have detained or are questioning. He appears to have quit his job late July, said he had something big planned, changed his appearance, and at his home, which police combed extensively for hours yesterday, seems to have had chemical precursors for bomb-making, detonators, 21,000 euros in counterfeit cash, knives and even to a police blue flashing light for a car.

Now, the suggestion is that he perhaps intended to put that onto his vehicle and use it to gain easier access to the periphery of the Taylor Swift concerts that were due to start tonight and last until Saturday night. Remember, there're 65,000 people in the venue in Vienna specifically, but then also possibly tens of thousands looking to overhear and just hang out around that sort of significant spectacle.

It seems, according to investigators, that the 19-year-old intended to access that area and attack people in the periphery. In fact, they allege that he wanted, indeed, to kill himself during that particular attack, whether that's in the blast or in altercations with the police or anyone else around. So, a horrifyingly stark plot, which seems to have originated, they say, through his radicalization through ISIS channels on social media platforms. In fact, they say some of the messages he was exchanging were encrypted.

There's another suspect, a 17-year-old, also Austrian-borne teenager here who appears to have been in contact with this 19-year-old, and also recently broke up with his girlfriend is one of the things investigators are looking at. Is this a trigger, this sort of mood? It's unclear how involved he was in this specific execution, but it certainly seems to be involved in parts of the plotting, they allege.

And then this 15-year-old who is more being subject to questioning now, rather than necessarily arrest, they seem to suggest, also Austrian-borne, may have known about the plot, but may not necessarily have been involved.

So, a stark moment here where it's really three teenagers that Austrian police are looking for, nobody else. They may have been radicalized online. But the extent and the development of their plotting here really chilling, Jim, and part of a pattern we've been seeing recently of teenagers recruited online, getting in contact with ISIS, and now being caught in the later stages of plotting extraordinarily horrific attacks. Jim?

ACOSTA: Yes. And tens of thousands of people were expected outside that concert venue. I mean, if they just gotten close to pulling this off, this just could have been devastating.

Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much for that reporting. We appreciate it.

Coming up, Georgia is changing its election rules just 90 days out from November 5th and a move that could delay the certification of the results. It's not the only state that's doing this. We'll discuss the impact of that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]