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Biden Opens Up About Decision To Drop Out And Pass The Torch; Harris Makes Progress In Swing States, As Trump Loses Ground; Israeli Defense Minister Says Iran Plans Significant Attack Against Israel; Ukrainian Troops Advance Nearly 20 Miles Into Russia; J.D. Vance Answers Questions On Hot-Button Issues For 2024 Election; Olympic Summer Games Wraps With Stunning Closing Ceremonies. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 11, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:40]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And I'm Wolf Blitzer here in Tel Aviv.

Tonight, new uncertainty around the upcoming ceasefire and hostage talks between Israel and Hamas scheduled for this coming Thursday. Hamas officials are now casting doubt on whether they will even attend. All this comes with tensions running very, very high here in the Middle East as Israel is now bracing for a retaliatory attack in the coming days, potentially from Iran.

We've got our reporters across the Middle East and we'll have updates throughout this hour.

In the meantime, Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: Wolf, we'll see you soon. Thank you so much.

Back here in the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris just wrapping up a fundraiser in San Francisco where she talked to donors and reminded them what's at stake in this election, telling them the campaign's momentum cannot be taken for granted. The campaign saying the event brought in more than $12 million.

Also tonight, we're hearing new details from President Biden about his decision to suspend his reelection campaign. In his first sit-down interview since dropping out of the race exactly three weeks ago today, Biden opened up about the pressure he was feeling in those final few days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate just thought that I was going to hurt them in their races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race that would be the topic. You'd be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say, why did so on -- and I felt it'd be a real distraction. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joining us now.

And Kevin, the president also talking about his age and once again just dismissed concerns about his ability to finish out his term in office. What else did he say?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's really saying that that poor debate performance didn't reveal anything larger about his mental state, about his health condition, saying that he had a really, really bad day in that debate because he was sick. So trying to tamp down on those concerns. But it really was fascinating to listen to President Biden in his own words sort of spell out exactly why he decided to drop his bid for president.

We really hadn't heard him in this fulsome way talk about that yet and certainly it was a painful decision for him to make. What he says in this interview is that he was concerned about Democrats further down the ballot, those running for Senate, running for House. He isn't necessarily revealing any second thoughts about pulling out of the race, but certainly he is putting some more details about what went into that decision-making.

We also heard him explain a little bit about why he decided to run for reelection again in the first place, talking about President Trump in the imperative to prevent him from receiving a second term. He talks about white supremacists who support Trump. He recalled the Charlottesville rally in 2017, and he also raised concerns about this transfer of power if Trump were to lose the election. Listen to what he said there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you confident that there will be a peaceful transfer of power in January 2025?

BIDEN: If Trump wins -- no, I'm not confident at all. You can't love your country only when you win. Mark my words. If he wins this nomination -- I mean, excuse me, this election, watch what happens. It's -- he's a genuine danger to American security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, in the interview, President Biden also addressed this pledge that he made back in 2020 to act as a bridge to a new generation, to act as a transition candidate. In his words, he said things got moving so quickly it didn't happen.

DEAN: And Kevin, he also talked about potentially about hitting the campaign trail with Vice President Kamala Harris. What else did he say about that?

LIPTAK: Yes. And this will be interesting to see just how much President Biden is actually on the campaign trail in the months ahead. He said in the interview that he was planning a tour of Pennsylvania. That's his home state. He said he had been coordinating it with the governor there, Josh Shapiro. He said he was going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help the most.

Now we will see the both of them, President Biden and Vice President Harris, this week on Thursday in Maryland. They'll be holding an event on the economy, talking about their efforts to bring down prices for Americans.

[18:05:05]

This will be the first time that we see them together since President Biden withdrew from the race. And it will be something of a significant moment as he passes the torch to his vice president.

DEAN: Absolutely. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for that reporting.

Joining me now is pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz.

Frank, always great to have you on and talk through some of this stuff. I first want to get your thoughts on this new polling we got from "The New York Times" and Siena College over the weekend. It's those critical battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and we saw some movement for Harris. To be clear, it's still too close to call, still within the margin of error there.

But is it fair to say, Frank, in your opinion that this enthusiasm that we've seen anecdotally and in the crowds, donations, is translating into actual support?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST: It's more than fair. It's accurate that the change over the last 17 days has been significant. It's meaningful and measurable. And it's being led by younger women who had opted out of this campaign. And now see someone that they can relate to and someone who they want to vote for. It's being led by those who I call paycheck-to-paycheck voters. People who literally have challenges at the end of the week or end of the month making ends meet.

By the way, don't call them working class. They resent that. These paycheck-to-paycheck voters really do want to make a difference and they really do see in her campaign someone they can relate to. And third, and probably equally important, Donald Trump has not had two good weeks since Biden pulled out. He's been off message. He's been very negative and very hostile, and clearly he's kind of lost his balance.

He absolutely emerged from the convention with a clear and convincing lead but what has happened, he stopped talking about immigration. He stopped talking about inflation. And instead he has been so personal with his attacks that voters are starting to recoil and it's not been a good -- it's been really an awful two weeks for him.

DEAN: Yes. It doesn't sound like based on what you're hearing that that personal attack and getting away from any of the issues is helping him. LUNTZ: Exactly. And we see it because we're doing focus groups now,

trying to measure those who are coming over to Harris, who did not support Biden. And make no mistake, they are issue voters and nothing matters more to them than either inflation, which I call affordability, because they simply can't get the food and the housing and health care and the fuel and all the things they want to live. And it's also immigration, which is a broader issue to them because that's a sense of safety and security.

Trump has the advantage, and this is what I do not understand as a pollster and someone who's been doing this for 35 years. Trump has the advantage on these issues by 10, 15, even 20 points and yet he's not talking about them. She's on message. He is not.

DEAN: Yes. I want to listen to one of your focus groups. We have a clip. This is a Republican voter who's considering Vice President Harris. So let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC, VOTER FROM NEW YORK, CONSIDERING VOTING FOR HARRIS: For me it's more of an issue with Donald Trump and the options that are now available. I would not have voted for Joe Biden. I'm a Republican, but I'm not a Donald Trump supporter. And I did not like Joe Biden. With him gone, Harris is a better option than Donald Trump in my opinion.

LUNTZ: Why, sir?

ERIC: As much as I disagree with some of her policies, I think that the country is headed in the right direction and under Donald Trump, it would not be headed in the correct direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: It's really interesting. I don't know enough about that voter. Maybe he was -- what we would consider a double-hater, Frank, the people that didn't like Trump and didn't like Biden but we have seen movement in Harris' direction in those types of people. But his particular sentiment that he was just talking about, did you hear that often?

LUNTZ: Yes. Let me clarify this. If this is an issue-based campaign, Trump still has the advantage. Not only they're not calling him out, she is winning right now. She is absolutely ahead. But we have ups and downs. This lead will go back and forth. But remember, this is happening before the convention. She's going to get a bounce from that convention. She's just getting pre-convention bounce.

If it's about issues Trump is much more likely to be successful. If it's about attributes, Harris is much more likely to be successful because, quite frankly, people like her more than they like him. It's something that -- if he's watching this right now, his head is exploding and that's part of the problem. It's he has lost touch with the people that he needs and she is in perfect touch.

[18:10:06] Look at the rounds, look at how she relates to them. The challenge is what happens when she has a press conference, what happens when she faces people like you, asking questions like yours. That's significant. She hasn't had to do it and eventually she'll be forced to do so. But as it's happening right now her attributes versus Trump's issues, she's got the lead.

DEAN: Yes, and it is kind of remarkable because you do see her making a lot of ground and for all the reasons you're laying out there. Trump could also very well, as you just said, win this race, too, for all the reasons you've laid out, that when it comes to issues, he continues to win. And yet he continues to choose to focus on the personal attacks which don't work according to you.

LUNTZ: We have never had a situation where the country was more believing, more universally believing that we're off on the wrong track. Believing that it's harder to make ends meet today than it was three and a half years ago, believing that we're worse off today than we were four years ago. Donald Trump should be winning based on those beliefs. And they are widely held and the spread is significant.

And yet he's not, and the reason why in the end is Donald Trump the persona and it's fascinating as a pollster because this is going to determine who wins on election day and that's why messages and advertising and shows like this and press conferences and all matters. Four weeks ago, Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee. Today, life is completely different and who knows how it will be two weeks from now.

DEAN: That is absolutely true. We are going to all watch as it unfolds. And then the voters are going to decide in the fall.

Frank Luntz, thank you so much.

LUNTZ: Thank you.

DEAN: More news straight ahead. But for now, let's go back to Tel Aviv and my colleague Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jessica, thank you very much.

Just ahead, the Middle East continues to brace for an attack on Israel by Iran as Hamas cast doubt on whether it will participate in this week's crucial ceasefire and hostage talks. Our analysts and reporters will help us better understand the very, very dangerous and delicate politics at play right now, and the lives clearly that are at stake.

Plus, Ukraine continues to push its military forces deeper and deeper into Russian territory. Hoping this surprising move can change the war's momentum.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:18] BLITZER: We're back with breaking news. Axios' Barak Ravid is now reporting that Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier today, warning that Iran is preparing to launch a large-scale attack against Israel, citing a source familiar here with the call.

CNN's diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is joining me here in Tel Aviv right now.

So what could this mean? I mean, obviously Iran launches a full scale attack against Israel. That's the beginning of a new war.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's the worst- case scenario. This is what all the diplomacy over the past week has been about to avoid. It had seemed until this point that Iran was contemplating a lesser strike, something calculated within the sort of rules of international law not to hit civilians. To strike at military targets the same way that they did in Israel in April that wouldn't trigger Israel into a retaliatory response to that.

But if this buildup is as Barak Ravid is hearing from his sources, then that calls it into question and perhaps it's why the intelligence assessment that Israel is having at the moment that there could be a strike by Iran or Hezbollah, or a combination of both before these all-important talks later this week about the Gaza ceasefire, et cetera. This puts all that in doubt and into question.

BLITZER: And Barak Ravid, who's also a CNN analyst, is also reporting that all of this could happen within the next few days.

ROBERTSON: And that analysis seems to be based on the fact that Hamas is now quibbling over the talks that it would -- that it was going to get it into on Thursday this week, the 15th, which was supposed to be a de-escalatory set of talks for everyone, for Hezbollah in the north who are threatening to strike because one of their military commanders was killed a week and a half ago. For Iran to step back from the brink because of the Hamas leader that was killed in Tehran a week and a half ago.

All of these things pivot on the talks happening on Thursday. But if they're not going to happen because Hamas is saying, no, this deal that seems to be coming up is not the one that we want, has been embellished by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's testing the diplomacy. But I would caution and just say this. Other diplomats I'm talking to in the region are saying there is still time for diplomacy.

We're four days out from Thursday. There's a lot of talking that can be done in that time. We have to understand that what we're hearing from all our different sources represents potentially positioning saying that Iran is ready for a big strike, is potentially positioning on their part.

[18:20:04]

Hamas saying we're not going to go to the talk is potentially positioning on their side. There is still time for talks to unwind some of this. The tensions are still going to be really, really high. And a mistake is really possible still.

BLITZER: Tensions are really, really high right now where we are here in Tel Aviv. We'll see what happens in these next few days.

Nic, thank you very, very much.

Also tonight, Ukrainian forces have pushed nearly 20 miles into Russian territory. That according to a new report from the Russian Defense Ministry. Russia says its troops engaged Ukrainian forces in the Kursk Region. Videos shared online appear to show Ukrainian troops capturing several areas, taking down Russian flags there, and putting up there Ukrainian flags.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has more on what is now the largest incursion by Ukraine into Russia since the start of the war.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Russia is clearly racing to try to stem the Ukrainian advance into its territory now, almost a week since it begun. The Ministry of Defense putting out this video purportedly of a strike on a Ukrainian military convoy and five armored vehicles on Sunday. Well, CNN has geo-located this to about 14 kilometers from the border near where the Ministry of Defense claimed to have thwarted Ukrainian advances last week.

Now it's unclear at this point whether Russian efforts have slowed the advance, but the question for Ukraine as Russia amass its forces and evacuates tens of thousands of civilians is how long they can hold on. And if holding on even occupying pockets of Russian territory is part of the plan. Videos like these have started to surface online. Ukrainian troops replacing Russian flags with Ukrainian ones.

Now after days of silence, only dropping hints about the operation, President Zelenskyy addressed it directly for the first time on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-chief Syrskyi regarding the frontlines and our actions to push the war on to the aggressors' territory. I'm grateful to every unit of defense forces ensuring that. Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, that pressure not enough to prevent another bleak chapter in an increasingly deadly summer for Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine's air force Sunday saying that Russia fired four North Korean ballistic missiles, part of a combined overnight missile and drone attack that killed a father and his 4-year-old son in a suburb of Kyiv, Ukraine.

Now grappling with a new front inside Russia and an evolving enemy likely intent on hitting back harder.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

BLITZER: Clare Sebastian, thank you very much. Clearly a very, very worrisome development.

I want to go back to our colleague, Jessica Dean, who's in New York tonight -- Jessica.

DEAN: Wolf, thank you very much.

Still ahead, what J.D. Vance told CNN's Dana Bash about the way the Trump administration would handle the abortion drug mifepristone with reproductive rights rising up the list of voters' concerns.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:36]

DEAN: The 2024 campaign trail beginning to heat up with former president Donald Trump rallying in North Carolina Wednesday. His running mate, J.D. Vance, headed to battleground state Michigan this week. And in a brand new interview with CNN's Dana Bash, Vance is speaking out about a wide range of topics, including one of the most hot-button issues of this year's election, reproductive rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: My question for you is whether or not a Trump-Vance administration would allow mifepristone want to continue to be sent around the country?

SEN. JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, President Trump won the nomination of the Republican Party. He said it to you and he said it repeatedly that his goal is not to block mifepristone. It's to let states make the decision on abortion policy.

Now, of course that does mean, Dana, we have to be honest about this, that California might have less restrictive rules than Ohio, which might have less restrictive rules in Alabama. I think what President Trump has really tried to do on the abortion question is really admirable and I wish the press was a little bit more honest about it.

He's saying we've had a 50-year cultural war over abortion where unfortunately this issue has just divided the country and he wants to provide some ground for us to come together, for states to make these decisions, for voters to make these decisions, and for us all to respect one another. That's all he's proposed.

BASH: On that issue, on that issue, a few months ago on the question, his position.

VANCE: Yes.

BASH: Which you have adopted as it is up to the states. I spoke to a woman named Kate Cox. She lives in Texas. VANCE: Sure.

BASH: She was 20 weeks pregnant. Her fetus was diagnosed with a disease called -- it was a deadly genetic condition called Trisomy 18. She said that carrying the pregnancy, she was told this by her doctors, to term if the fetus even survived would hurt her chances for having more children, which she in her husband desperately wanted.

Why is not allowing her to end that pregnancy helpful or supportive of expanding families like you want it to be?

VANCE: Well, first of all, Dana, my heart breaks for this woman. I don't know her personally. I've certainly heard the story and our heart breaks for her, and we want people to have healthy, happy families. And it's extremely unfortunate that sometimes, you know, medicine, the act of God, whatever happens, it just doesn't work out.

What the president has said I think very clearly is that he is not trying to prevent women who have non-viable pregnancies from getting access to the medical care that they need.

BASH: But allowing the states to decide, a place like Texas, which has very strict laws now, doesn't allow a Kate Cox to end a pregnancy that is fatal and could potentially hurt her ability to have more kids.

[18:30:12]

VANCE: But what President Trump has said is that we are going the let voters make these decisions. And again, Texas might have a view that President Trump disagrees with. They might have a view that President Trump agrees with, but you've got to let the voters make these decisions and ultimately --

BASH: And so you're comfortable with that law in Texas?

VANCE: I'm not comfortable with anything, Dana, because I'm not passing judgment on what these law should be. And you asked me my own personal view, I campaigned against an Ohio referendum, but I think that we have to let voters decide and when they speak their mind, you have to be respectful. Agree or disagree with whatever voters decide they're going to make these decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Vance also trying to turn the tables on his vice presidential opponent, Governor Tim Walz after Walz called the Republican ticket weird.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I want to move on to something that Governor Walz has called you and Donald Trump, and that is weird.

VANCE: Sure.

BASH: And it has taken off. "The New York Times" reports that when Donald Trump was asked about it, he said, not me, they're talking about J.D.

VANCE: Well, certainly they've levied that charge against me more than anybody else, but I think that it drives home how they're trying to distract from their own policy failures. I mean, look, this is fundamentally schoolyard bully stuff. They can accuse me of whatever they want to accuse me of. As Harry S. Truman once said, if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen, and I'm doing this because I think that me being vice president will help improve people's lives.

So I accept their attacks, but I think that it is a little bit of projection, Dana, if you think about, you know, just take a couple of days ago. Tim Walz gives this big speech. He's been announced as the VP nominee. And I remember when I had just been announced as a VP nominee, I gave my big speech and I saw my wife and I gave her a big hug and a kiss because I love my wife and I think that's what a normal person does.

Tim Walz gave his wife a nice firm Midwestern handshake and then tried to sort of awkwardly correct for it. So I think that what it is two people, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who aren't comfortable in their own skin because they aren't comfortable with their policy positions for the American people. And so they're name-calling instead of actually telling the American people how they're going to make their lives better.

I think that's weird, Dana, but look, they can call me whatever they want to.

BASH: You're saying Tim Walz doesn't have affection for his wife? I don't even understand that.

VANCE: I said that he acted weird, which he did on a national stage in front of his wife and in front of millions of Americans who presumably were watching at home. And I think that is projection, Dana.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, that report with Dana, thank you, Dana, for that interview.

Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, this week's high-stakes ceasefire talks and what Hamas says could keep the terror group from attending.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:31]

BLITZER: Returning now to the Middle East, CNN analyst and Axios reporter Barak Ravid is now reporting that Iran has indeed decided to directly attack Israel. And though it's not clear when that might happen or what form it would take, the attack could come he reports as soon as in the next few days.

With us now, CNN military analyst, retired lieutenant general, Mark Hertling, and former State Department Middle East negotiator, Aaron David Miller.

General, starting with you, what do you expect from Iran as compared to the drone and multi missile attacks, some 300 rockets and missiles that were directed towards Israel back in April from Iran, directly from Iranian territory? Do you expect something similar or something different?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: You know, Wolf, you can't really say. It could be a spectrum along that line, anything from a massive attack, not only from Iran, but also in coordination with Hezbollah and with other forces in the area, the PMF forces in Syria and Iraq, as well as the Houthis in Yemen, or could we see just a kinetic strike that's precision and surgical in nature to show Israel and for Iran to show their own population that they are doing something about what struck in Tehran.

So it could be anywhere between those two extremes but I think they have to do something just to appease their own population, but also to show Israel that they are ready to confront them. But anything that they do could certainly expand this region into a catastrophic conflict.

BLITZER: And that's certainly what Israeli military officials are bracing for right now, as I can tell you, based on briefings that I've had over the past few days.

Aaron, there's been some confusion today, as you know, over how Hamas is treating Thursday's scheduled ceasefire hostage release talks. What's your read on the statement they put out earlier today?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: You know, the worst thing in a negotiation, Wolf, is to tell your negotiating partners that you're in a hurry. And I suspect part of Hamas' calculation is they know that Biden's clock, Netanyahu's clock, and their own clock are not really in sync. The administration wants this done yesterday and they're evidencing all sorts of signs which are completely understandable given how fraught the situation for the hostages and the prospects of an escalation on the northern front.

[18:40:06]

They know if they could get a ceasefire it would also calm down the north. The problem is that the Biden clock is not synched it seems to me, either with the Netanyahu clock or the Sinwar clock. And Yahya Sinwar in some tunnel somewhere is making decisions based on what he considers to be Hamas' needs and requirements. And those require a cessation or a true cessation of military activity by the Israelis and Benjamin Netanyahu, for his own understandable reasons, are not prepared to agree.

So I think on this one, Wolf, that Hamas ultimately will show, will show for Thursday's meeting if the whole thing is not undermined by a major Hezbollah or Iranian strike sometime in the next 72 hours.

BLITZER: Which is certainly possible. General Hertling, is there a scenario you can foresee where Iran

launches its retaliatory attack against Israel in the coming days and the region still manages to avert a much wider regional war? What needs to happen for that to be how this goes?

HERTLING: Yes, certainly, Wolf, there is that potential and it would be dependent on Iran holding their fire, literally not conducting the kind of large scale attack they held last time where a lot of Israeli citizens could be hurt or killed. If that happens, what I'd say is Katy, bar the door. If Israel is struck to the point where there are multiple casualties or a lot of deaths, I think we're going to see that conflict spin out of control.

That's the part where I'm very concerned because it has to do with not only what Iranians -- Iran's action will be, but as Aaron David just said, also what Hezbollah and Hamas will do to contribute to this. But it could certainly rise into a regional conflict or beyond in my view. And I don't think Iran is ready for that or has the military or the diplomatic capability to do something of that scale. So they should be very careful in what they do next.

BLITZER: Yes. I think you make a very important point, General, because based on the briefings I've been having here, if Iran were to do a direct assault on Israel and wind up killing a lot of Israeli civilians, especially destroying a lot of buildings in Tel Aviv where I am right now, attacking military bases, Ben Gurion Airport, the international airport outside of Tel Aviv, Israel would respond with enormous, enormous military force against Iran, something the Israelis believe the Iranians would deliberately desperately try to avoid, but they won't be able to do so. So we'll see if this explodes into that type of regional war.

Aaron, this forthcoming attack from Iran, as is now expected against Israel, is in response to the killing of a top Hamas leader who was into Tehran. Obviously there's more to come here. But how has that already impacted the region altogether?

MILLER: You know, I think it has in several ways. Yahya Sinwar. Wolf, has now been elevated to the head of Hamas, which is something frankly we all knew from the beginning that he's the major decision-maker. I will say, though, that Mark -- General Hertling raises a critically important point and that is the Hezbollah piece of this. You know, it takes 12 minutes for a cruise missile to impact in Israel, assuming it's not intercepted launch from Iran,. We're talking a minute and a half, Wolf. Probably less time for Hezbollah's high-trajectory weapons and its precision guided munition to strike Israel proper.

The real damage here, frankly, is not going to come from Iran. It's going to come from Hezbollah. But I really do believe that both -- and again, General Hertling is right. I don't think Hezbollah nor Tehran is interested in the kind of strike that would trigger a massive Israeli response, a response I might add, Wolf, and Iranians know this, that could easily draw in the United States.

The question is, will there be able to (INAUDIBLE) the fine line between doing something that is significant but not triggering a regional escalation that would create something the Middle East, Wolf, has never seen before. A genuine multi-front war involving Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Israel, and perhaps even an Israeli and U.S. military involvement against Iran.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a really, really dangerous situation right now.

General Hertling, before I let you go, I want to close with a quick question on Ukraine right now, which is seeing some serious deterioration as well. The Ukrainian government claims that Russian troops set fire near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine. What's your read on that situation? How dangerous is it unfolding right now?

[18:45:05]

HERTLING: Yes, I've been watching the Ukrainian front for the last seven days and had been amazed, Wolf. This fire that's occurring at the Zaporizhzhia power plant I believe in all intelligence, at least all open source intelligence, is saying it's the result of a tire fire inside or near the smokestack or the stack of the nuclear power plant. That is to distract and it's a Russian way of doing distraction.

Remember Russia has control of that power plant. They have forces in the area. There are IAEA members there as well, saying what's happening. They say all radiation is safe still, but they are very concerned. They've been saying that for months. But the fact Russia would start a tire fire to envelope smoke into the area and indicate that something is going on is just another approach by Mr. Putin to conflict what's going on in this area and cause more danger to not only Ukraine, but also the entire region.

BLITZER: Let me follow up, General. What do you make of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia? We're now told some 20 miles Ukrainian forces have moved inside Russia.

HERTLING: It's been fascinating for me, Wolf. First I thought this was a raid. They have conducted these kind of cross-border raids with small forces in the past. It now appears to be more of a demonstration. I certainly wouldn't call it an offensive yet. The key is going to be, can they sustain this fight? When you put that many forces and there's apparently two brigades or more of Ukrainian forces have gone across the border, not just Kursk but also in Belgorod, you need a lot of logistics for an armored force that goes 20 kilometers.

They've been there seven days. They need water, fuel, ammunition, supplies, parts. So we'll see how long they are in there. They have taken a lot of prisoners. Estimates are over a couple of hundred Russian prisoners that have already been taking and there are some indications of movement of Russian reinforcements into the area to counter it. There's no proof of that just yet. The fighting has not been intense other than beyond the border guards and the forces that were in the area. So this is Ukraine saying we can do the same thing.

The other thing that I'd point out, Wolf, is indications are that it's Western style vehicles, the ones that have been given to Ukraine, they are conducting most of this tack and one of the things that I find most fascinating is having been a striker brigade commander, it appears that strikers are in the areas. They move fast, they're very mobile, they're very quiet, and they're exactly fitted for this kind of operation that would be a quick strike inside of a country and then a pullback very quickly without the need for a lot of logistics.

BLITZER: It's potentially a very, very dangerous situation unfolding between Ukraine and Russia as well.

General Hertling, Aaron David Miller, to both of you, thank you very much for your analysis.

Let me get back to Jessica Dean right now. She's joining us from New York.

DEAN: All right, Wolf, thank you so much.

And just like that, Paris saying au revoir to two weeks of crazy Olympic action but not before a few last-minute gold medals were handed out. That's next/

You're on the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:53:08]

DEAN: As Paris 2024 comes to a close, U.S. Olympic says it does plan to appeal the decision to strip U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal. Chiles initially got fourth place in the floor exercise last week before her coaches challenged that score which then netted her third place instead. But a special sports court says that challenge came four seconds after the one-minute deadline and therefore doesn't count. And now the bronze, as a result, will go back to her Romanian competitor, Ana Barbosu.

The Olympic Games themselves wrapped up today with a stunning and sometimes strange ceremony.

CNN's Coy Wire has more from Paris, including a last-minute gold for U.S. Olympians.

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COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: What an incredible ending to the Summer Olympics here in Paris. The U.S. women's basketball team going down to the wire with host nation France in the gold medal game. The Americans entered with an Olympic winning streak that dated back to 1996, but they win by maybe the tip of a tow.

France hitting a buzzer beater as time expired, the crowd erupted, thinking the host nation had just shocked the world, sending it to overtime. But Gabby Williams' foot was on the line. It was only a two- pointer. So heartbreak for France, elation for the U.S. claiming an eighth straight Olympic gold.

And with that, Team USA dominates total medal count, but it ties China at 40 gold medals each. On the very last event of these Olympics, a tie for gold has never happened in the history of the summer games.

Now at the closing ceremony, to show respect to all the athletes and their people from around the world, it was a celebration for the ages. Snoop Dogg, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Her, and others performing marking the official handover to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and the end of these incredible and unforgettable summer games here in Paris. The Olympics once again showing that perhaps sport better than anything else can bring people together from all over the world no matter their differences to embrace and celebrate one another.

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[18:55:10]

DEAN: I do love that sentiment. All right, Coy Wire, thanks so much from Paris.

And this could be the last time Paris hosts the Summer Olympics. A new CNN analysis of data from the climate non-profit group Carbon Plan says past who cities like Rome, Atlanta, Tokyo, and Athens, of course, where the Olympics originated, will all be too hot by 2050 to ever host the summer games again.

CNN senior meteorologist Elisa Raffa is here.

And Elisa, the extreme heat and humidity a growing threat to elite athletes.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN SENIOR METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it causes heat stress. You physically can't function. It becomes too dangerous to exert yourself outside. Now, we know Paris also hosted the Olympics 100 years ago in 1924. Since the last time they hosted, look at how much it's warmed. A fever of 5.5 degrees since 1924, adding so many more sweltering days and overnights as you just don't get any relief at night.

Now, when you look towards the future, here's that study you were mentioning. A look at wet-bulb globe temperature, which is a way to look at heat in combination with humidity and wind and shade and sun angle. And basically, all of those factors tell us how our body reacts to the heat. So they did that analysis and decided that the threshold of where it becomes too dangerous for our body is 82 degrees or 27 degrees Celsius.

Look at how many cities reached that threshold by 2050, Beijing, Rio, Athens, Atlanta, all looking like their temperatures will be too dangerous to exert yourself outside and have these athletes performing. When you look at the map, I mean, look at how many dark red dots that we have. Most of the eastern U.S., a couple of spots in Europe, India, and a lot of cities there also in Eastern Asia. All look like they'll be too hot to host the Olympics.

So what do we do? Well, our options are you host in cities that are in higher elevations because it's cooler. We don't have the Olympics in summer, or we host only in cities in the southern hemisphere because in June, July, and August, that's their winter -- Jessica. DEAN: All right. Elisa Raffa, thanks so much. And we'll be right back.

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