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Trump Lashes Out at Harris in Conversation with Musk; Gaza Ceasefire Talks Due to Take Place this Week; Israel Preparing for Potential Attack from Iran; Situation with Wildfire Near Athens Improving; Heat Alerts in Place Across Parts of Europe; Gymnast Jordan Chiles's Bronze Medal Appeal Rejected. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 13, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's a radical left lunatic. But if you vote for her, you ought to have your head examined. We cannot have a Democrat. We cannot have her. She's incompetent. She's as bad as Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to focus. That's the word of the day. Focus. Chasing all these rabbits down these rabbit holes, that is a pathway to defeat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chiles is no longer the bronze medalist. But this isn't the end of it. They will appeal the appeal of the appeal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Max has the day off.

And it is Tuesday, August 13th, 9 a.m. here in London. And we begin in the U.S. as former President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk held a friendly and public conversation for more than two hours on Monday.

They spoke live on Musk's social media platform X. They covered a broad range of topics including energy policy, climate change and immigration. With Trump promising the largest deportation in the history of the country. He also recounted the assassination attempt he survived last month.

The event started more than 40 minutes late due to technical problems. Musk said they were caused by an online attack that overwhelmed the company's servers.

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SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It's an embarrassment for Musk. They're trying to make this the video platform of choice, but they can't get a live stream up and running.

BRIAN STELTER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: This actually does show that streaming can struggle, especially when someone like Musk fired most of the technical staffers at the company formerly known as Twitter. He kind of had this coming. Musk says he had been testing the servers ahead of time, trying to make sure this would work.

We'll find out later what actually went wrong here. But it is embarrassing for Trump because every day he's been attempting a reset lately to try to take on Harris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Trump also lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her names and slamming Harris's stance on the economy and immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They're doing it right now while this third rate phony candidate. Don't forget, I beat I beat Biden. He failed in the debate miserably.

We cannot have a Democrat. We cannot have her. She's incompetent. She's as bad as Biden. No tax on tips and all of a sudden she's making a speech and there will be no tax on tips. I said that months ago.

All of a sudden for politics, she says, you know, she comes out with, with what I said, which I think is terrible. And I think it's also hitting them very hard. These people are fake.

Kamala wouldn't have this conversation. She can't because she's not smart. You know, she's not a smart person, by the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: At several points in the interview, it sounded as though Trump was slurring his words. Trump and his team have been struggling to cope with the soaring momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris. And recent polls showing Democratic presidential nominee is leading by four points in three key states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on Trump's attempt to improve his poll numbers by attacking Harris.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the momentum around Kamala Harris continues to build. Donald Trump promoting far right conspiracy theories around his Democratic challenger. Falsely claiming on social media that the crowd size at Harris Detroit rally was AI generated.

Writing, quote: This is the way Democrats win elections by cheating. And they're even worse at the ballot box.

Adding that anyone who is willing to fake their crowd size, quote, will cheat at anything.

Recent polling showing Harris improving on President Joe Biden standing in several battlegrounds with a close race in the critical states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump's allies imploring the former president to focus on policy, not personal attacks.

KEVIN MCCARTHY, FORMER U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: You've got to make this race not on personalities. Stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position when it comes to what did she do as attorney general on crime.

TRUMP: And I will never, ever let you down.

HOLMES: Trump trying to get back on message, releasing a series of videos on X, including one painting Harris as a, quote, San Francisco radical.

[04:05:00]

The former president also expected to hit the campaign trail Wednesday with what's being billed as an economy focused speech in the crucial state of North Carolina.

Harris has promised to put out details about her economic policies this week as Republicans hammer away at the lack of details around her policy plans. Over the weekend, Republican V.P. nominee J.D. Vance taking on the role of attack dog, sitting for interviews as Trump campaign aims to highlight Harris' decision so far not to take a lot of questions from the press.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think that what it is, 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 their 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, like, they can call me whatever they want to.

HOLMES: Now, Kamala Harris is also expected to be back on the campaign trail on Thursday with President Joe Biden. It's going to be their first joint campaign appearance since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Now, it's going to be interesting to watch how Kamala Harris navigates this. Because, on one hand, she, of course, is going to want to stand next to the man who essentially put her at the top of the ticket, who made her vice president.

But yet, at the same time, she has already tried to distance herself from some of his more unpopular policy decisions, particularly around immigration or inflation and crime. We also know Republicans are seeking to tie her to Joe Biden in a negative way, so she's really going to have to walk this fine line as she figures out how she's going to campaign with Joe Biden in this now very tight race.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings says Trump's recent attacks on Kamala Harris are not the way to win the election.

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SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: People are still in a sour mood about the country. People think the country's off track. They're still mad about food prices. They're still mad about the economic anxiety in their lives. They don't really care about the size of the crowds of any of these candidates. They care about, can you fix the problems that I'm currently having?

You've got to focus. That's the word of the day, focus. If he focuses, like he was against Biden, like he did against Hillary in 2016, he can win the race. But chasing all these rabbits down these rabbit holes, that is a pathway to defeat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, new details are emerging about some of the heavy hitters at next week's Democratic National Convention. Former U.S. President Barack Obama will take the stage on Tuesday, and we're hearing both Clintons are also in the lineup. Hillary Clinton will speak on Monday, eight years after she herself accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

And former President Bill Clinton will speak on Wednesday. The Clintons were quick to endorse Kamala Harris after President Biden bowed out of the race.

Israel says its military is on high alert as the country prepares for a potential attack from Iran. Both Iran and its most powerful proxy, Hezbollah, have been vowing to retaliate after the recent assassinations of two Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

Amid the escalating tensions, the U.S. is strengthening its military forces in the Middle East with a guided missile submarine and carrier strike group expected in the region soon. The U.S. has also released previously approved funds of $3.5 billion to Israel to spend on weapons and military equipment. The Israeli military says it's taking the threats seriously and is at the highest level of readiness.

U.S. President Joe Biden, along with the leaders of France, Germany, the U.K. and Italy, are calling on Iran to stand down on its threats of an attack against Israel.

And the U.S. and its allies are also expressing their full support for efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza just days ahead of those expected negotiations. The source says Hamas is planning to attend those talks on Thursday, although the group hasn't made any official announcement just yet. And over the weekend, Hamas issued a strong statement urging mediators to implement the ceasefire plan put forward by President Biden in July. We'll see now as Paula Hancocks here to discuss this. And, Paula,

let's get to the ceasefire discussions in just a minute. First, the IDF say they are at peak readiness. We know that the U.S. has sent some serious military hardware to the region. How is Israel preparing for this? What more are we seeing in terms of their readiness and their response in the region?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what we're seeing at this point and what we're hearing from the IDF is that they are at the highest point of readiness and they have not just a defensive posture but also offensive as well. So they're not just sitting waiting for this potential attack. We know there have been more flights over Lebanon, more than they have done recently, targeting Hezbollah on their northern border.

And we also know they've actually cancelled some of the vacation flights, they call them, for their permanent personnel. So they're making sure everyone is set, everyone is in place for any kind of retaliation.

Now, the White House has said that they are in lockstep with Israel, saying that they have concerns, but they are expecting some kind of retaliation.

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And there's a huge amount of diplomatic negotiation ongoing at this point. Many countries speaking to Iran's president, trying to convince him not to go too far in this retaliation. Iran's made it very clear they have to retaliate, but the concern is how significant that retaliation will be and then will Israel feel the need to retaliate itself.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and how strongly. The ceasefire talks, as we understand, are due to go ahead on Thursday. Hamas have said they want to return to the terms of the deal that was proposed in July. We are now hearing that they may be at the table, which is a shift from yesterday. What can you tell us?

HANCOCKS: So, yes, we are hearing from a source familiar with these negotiations that they are expected to be there. We know that, obviously, the mediators, the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, will be trying to bring out this final bridging proposal, is the way they put it. But what Hamas has said is that they have agreed to what was agreed upon last month.

The proposal that the U.S. president was very vocally supportive of, that the U.N. Security Council was very supportive of as well, and they're calling on Israel to step up and to agree to that particular proposal. I think from this statement we've seen over the weekend from Hamas, they don't want to go back and rehash the entire deal. They are saying they are happy with the proposal as it is.

We also have a source telling us that they believe Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, is ready to sign up to a ceasefire. But, of course, we're hearing both sides blaming the other for this not going any further at this point. So we'll have to see what happens on Thursday.

Israel has said that it will send a delegation. We'll have to see if Hamas comes to the table as well and if they can actually push this forward after those key assassinations.

MACFARLANE: Yes, Paula, thank you.

Now, firefighters in Greece say they have made progress containing a wildfire that was approaching the capital, Athens. This fire started Sunday and spread rapidly, burning homes, businesses and leaving at least one person dead. More than 700 firefighters have been working non-stop to put out the flames. But the danger is not over. New evacuation orders were issued Tuesday morning for residents in one area.

Eleni Giokos is joining us now from Greece, just outside Athens. And that is quite a sobering scene behind you, Eleni. Tell us what you've been seeing there.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is indeed, Christina. You know, we've been driving around. We've been seeing so many decimated homes and businesses.

Now, you can see the wind is picking up and that's one of the reasons that you saw this fire that just spread through southeastern Attica, which, of course, is very close to the city center. To give you an idea, we're around 11 miles from the center of Athens.

But behind me, one resident here told me that this was all greenery and she described it as it was her breath. It was something that she looked at on a daily basis. You can see a burnt house further down. And if you just walk with me a little, just to see the devastation so close to homes.

We're seeing these images consistently, the aftermath of this raging fire. You know, people describing it as a furnace, very difficult to contain. It was a 47 knots fire, Christina, that was one of the biggest culprits. You've got an extended heat wave that has been hitting Athens and various parts of Greece.

I want you to take a look at this car. This was a Peugeot. And if you just take a look at the tires, there's absolutely nothing left. That is the extent of the heat of this fire.

Now, firefighters today tell us that there are no active fronts right now within this region, but they're watching very closely because the big risk is that you've got sort of small areas that are still sort of alight and, of course, it's going to take many days for it to be completely, you know, doused down, that they're watching very closely.

The only thing that's helping today is that the wind has subsided. Now, one expert tells us if you look at it collectively in terms of the amount of hectares and specifically forest that has been burned in Greece since 2021, that is actively changing the climate of Athens and Greece as a whole, and it is expected to just get worse on a yearly basis. This season alone, authorities tell us that 100,000 hectares have already been burned. You're talking about forest areas.

What makes this particular season a lot more difficult is that it's just so close to Athens. It's hit suburbs, it's destroyed homes. Many animals have been caught in the middle of this. Dogs and cats have been killed. One woman has lost her life as well. It's really tragic to see.

They're still collating a lot of the data, Christina, but right now it's just a lot of, you know, alerts. You've got thousands of people that are still under evacuation orders, and the big fear is that it could start up once again.

We also saw so many efforts, Herculean efforts, as it is every single year, to try and put these fires out, not only from the firefighters on the ground working through the night, but also you have the air assistance through helicopters and also airplanes bringing water in to douse out the flames.

[04:15:02]

Today, it seems a bit better, calmer. A lot of residents returning to their homes and describing the devastation and, you know, wondering what will happen next. A lot of people losing their livelihoods as well as businesses have been razed to the ground.

MACFARLANE: And, Eleni, we're so used to seeing this now, sadly, in Greece in the more rural areas, but nothing ever, I think, is close to, you know, a major city, a major holiday destination like Athens. And you mentioned, you know, you mentioned there the people were really taken by shock and by surprise with the speed of how quickly this wildfire has fled. What are the residents there saying and feeling now about how safe they are in their homes, whether they indeed need to think about contingency plans?

GIOKOS: Yes, I know it's such a good question because a lot of the residents say that, look, you've got risks everywhere. You've got plots like this and land like this and just, you know, waiting to catch a light where they say government hasn't cleaned up enough ahead of the fire season, which because, you know, we've been seeing every single year has become an annual phenomenon.

But residents here are frustrated with the government. A lot of people say that not enough has been done. But the other reality is here that you've got this fire that started around 40 kilometers outside of Athens, sped rapidly because there wasn't sort of assistance initially when it was daylight, the sun goes down, and then there's very little that people can do on the ground, and that's when the fire spread into the suburbs. I mean, people were absolutely shocked.

What the government is really good at, though, Christina, is evacuating people, but a lot of people choose to stay behind because they want to protect their homes. And we've been seeing the images of people just using hose pipes to water down their homes. And funny enough, that actually does work.

It does put people's lives at risk, but they're thinking about how they can take their own, you know, efforts forward. A lot of people help on the ground. I mean, it's really incredible to see the community side of things.

But at the end of the day, they know that come the season, you've got high winds, you've got an extended heat wave, and then you've got the fire hazard as well. And experts say, it tells us, that this is going to become not only an annual thing, but it's also going to be exacerbated on a yearly basis as the climate changes in Greece because so much forest has been burnt.

MACFARLANE: Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures for those residents, don't they? Eleni Giokos, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

Well, meanwhile, nearly two dozen countries are under heat alerts as the heat wave sweeps across Europe, too. The extreme heat is being felt in Central Europe, including Germany, with minimum temperatures in the low 30s Celsius, around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Experts say some relief is on the way for Western Europe, but it will not impact high temperatures in Southeast and Central Europe. That includes countries like Italy, where 17 cities are under a red-level alert until Wednesday, including Milan, Rome and Naples.

Our Barbie Latza Nadeau is joining us from one of those cities in Rome. Barbie, tell us how the authorities have been coping to respond to this, especially given, you know, we are in peak tourist season right now.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, it is a really, really difficult balance for all these tourists that come to cities like Rome and Naples, Florence, Milan, even Venice is having extremely high temperatures. You know, because the advice is, that they're giving the residents, is stay out of the sun between the hours of 10 o'clock and 6 p.m. Now, that's prime tourism time, and so you see long lines outside the Colosseum, you see people throwing their coins into the Trevi Fountain, and you see people trying to, you know, share any tiny little bit of shade they can find.

You know, the cities put up palm trees at the bus stops to try to give some respite, but at the end of the day, it's almost as hot in the shade as it is out in this incredible sun. One of the things about these heat alerts, though, you know, there'll be 22 cities on Wednesday that'll be under heat alerts, is that the heat doesn't subside during the night, and so many people don't have air conditioning in their homes, and a lot of people are, especially the elderly, especially the vulnerable, if you have respiratory problems and things like that, you know, you're seeing those people showing up in emergency rooms with heat stroke symptoms.

So, you know, we talk about this every year, it always gets hot, but it seems to be getting hotter, staying hotter longer, and those long, you know, the nights are not cooling off, and that really makes it difficult for anyone who suffers from any sort of heat-related, you know, ailment -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: This is a recurring theme now, isn't it, every summer? Barbie Nadeau from Rome for now. Thanks very much, Barbie.

Now, people in California were left shaken after a 4.4-magnitude earthquake hit Los Angeles Monday.

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(SCREAM)

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MACFARLANE: Now, the quake was not very deep, but was felt widely as it was directly under populated areas of Los Angeles. Earthquakes of this magnitude generally only bring light-shaking, and fire officials say there were no reports of injuries or structural damage. In the past few weeks, there have been two other earthquakes in the area of similar magnitudes.

[04:20:00]

Now, planting their flag, Ukrainians forces turn the tables on Russia. The latest on their surprise incursion.

Plus, the Paris Games may be over, but the U.S. and Romania are still battling over a bronze medal. We'll tell you where the court ruling stands.

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back. USA Gymnastics says the Court for Arbitration for Sport has rejected their appeal on Jordan Chiles' Olympic bronze medal. It's the latest chapter in the U.S. and Romania's battle over the medal.

World Sports' Don Ruddell breaks it all down for us.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: The joy of the Paris Olympics might be over but sadly the controversy is not. Over the last few weeks many athletes have told us that the greatest single moment of their games was standing on the podium receiving their medals and this was arguably the most iconic shot for the first time ever an all-black podium in the sport of gymnastics. Brazil's gold medalist Rebeca Andrade being praised by the U.S. athletes Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles.

But everything has changed since then. Chiles is no longer the bronze medalist.

[04:25:00]

Instead it's Romania's Ana Barbosu who initially thought she'd won the bronze until the Americans appealed to the judges. A successful appeal resulted in Chiles scores being adjusted and promoted up into third hence that iconic podium scene. Romania though were furious and it sparked something of a diplomatic incident with the Romanian Prime Minister promising to boycott the closing ceremony.

But then the Romanians launched an appeal of their own taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and they won the medal back for Barbosu. The reason that they were successful well because apparently the Americans had taken too long with their appeal. So now Jordan Chiles is devastated. She's removed herself from social media as she tries to cope with the crushing disappointment.

But this isn't the end of it. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee say they will appeal the appeal of the appeal saying they firmly believe that their original appeal was actually done within the allocated amount of time and they say they now have the video evidence to prove it.

Their statement said quote: We firmly believe that Jordan rightfully earned the bronze medal and there were critical errors in both the initial scoring by the International Gymnastics Federation and the subsequent CAS appeal process that need to be addressed. We remain dedicated to supporting her as an Olympic champion and will continue to work diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly.

But it's not going to be easy. On Monday afternoon USA Gymnastics said that the Court of Arbitration for Sport told them that their rules don't allow for any reconsideration even when new evidence is presented. So they're now considering an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. For now the gymnastics floor routine bronze medal is in limbo but everybody will be hoping this can be resolved as soon as possible.

But I'll leave you with this scene from the Paris Olympics. American figure skaters finally being handed their disputed gold medals from the Winter Olympics two and a half years ago. Chiles and Barbosu can only hope that it doesn't take that long to sort all of this out.

We shall see. For now though, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: On such a technicality, it is so heartbreaking really for Jordan Chiles, isn't it? And she has, however, had an unexpected supporter and that's in the form of rapper Flavor Flav. He's been in Paris as a sponsor of the U.S. women's water polo team and a huge Olympics fan.

On Sunday he posted on social media vowing to make the young gymnast a one-of-a-kind bronze clock necklace, the symbol the rapper is known for. And it turns out he made good on his promise. Flavor Flav unveiled a bronze medal clock meant for Chiles. Pretty cool, actually, isn't it? Now all she has to do is meet him to pick it up. That's very sweet.

Now, meantime, the Olympic flag touched down in Los Angeles on Monday. That's Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waving the flag. The next Summer Olympics is still four years away, but the mayor says organizers need to put their foot on the gas. This will be Los Angeles' third time hosting the Games. Now, still to come, another tropical storm is on the move in the

Atlantic. We'll have the latest forecasts and show you which areas are in its path.

And smoke hangs over the horizon in a part of Russia now controlled by Ukraine. We'll have the Russian president's reaction.

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