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Democratic National Convention To Kick Off In Chicago; Antony Blinken To Renew Push For Gaza Ceasefire; Iran Weighs Cost Of Retaliation Against Israel; Ukraine's Foothold In Russia's Kursk Oblast Is Growing. Blinken's Middle East Mission; Democratic National Convention Begins Monday in Chicago; Iowa Republicans Put Aside Reservations to Rally for Trump; Indian American Muslim Group Withdraws from NYC Parade; Quest Begins for Man City's Fifth Straight Title. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired August 19, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM this hour, a reinvigorated Democratic Party kicks off its convention in just hours from now, with the U.S. president expected to formally pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.
America's top diplomat is set to meet with the Israeli prime minister in hopes of securing a ceasefire deal that Hamas says Israel is trying to undermine progress and later, the reigning Premier League champions Man City are off to a fine start in search of a fifth straight item.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: Well, the Democratic National Convention is set to kick off in the coming hours, just one month after vice president Kamala Harris launched her bid for the White House, setting off a wave of enthusiasm among Democratic voters.
Delegates from across the country have gathered in Chicago for the four-day event. On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver the keynote address at the convention as he passes the torch to Harris, who is expected to be in attendance, obviously.
The Democratic presidential nominee spent Sunday on the campaign trail in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania alongside her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. During one stop, Harris appearing to call rival Donald Trump a coward without mentioning by name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Frankly, over the last several years, there's been this kind of perversion that has taken place, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down when what we know is the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up. Anybody who's about beating down other people is a coward. This is what strength looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Trump is set to counter program the DNC with events in several battleground states this week. He's expected to focus on the economy, immigration and crime. Members of his party want Trump to stick to the key issues and stay away from his usual personal attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLI)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins. Donald Trump, the private tour, the showman may not win this election.
CHRIS SUNUNU, NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: The message is very clear, if you stick to the issues, if you stick to what matters, this should be an easy race for Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The race for the White House remains tight. The latest CNN poll of polls, which includes most recent national surveys shows no clear leader, Harris, 50 percent, Trump 48 percent. CNN's MJ Lee is following developments and has more now from Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We are about to see a very different convention than the one that we would have seen four weeks ago. Some of the biggest changes of course we have seen so far have been to the programming and the speaking lineup. While the biggest names that we would have seen speaking before President Biden dropped out, they are still going to be speaking. Some of the timing of when they are going to actually speak throughout the course of the week have changed, including, of course, President Biden now speaking on the first night instead of the final night.
One other person that is going to be speaking Monday night is Hillary Clinton, who, of course, eight years ago, accepted the party's nomination for the presidency at a convention in Philadelphia, and speaking with somebody who is familiar with her thinking, I am told that in her remarks, she is going to be speaking about the proverbial glass ceiling that she failed to shatter eight years ago, and what she believes is possible if and when Kamala Harris breaks that ceiling herself.
Now we are told that Harris and Clinton have actually been in regular touch since President Biden dropped out of the race, and that Hillary Clinton was actually one of the first people that the Vice President called that Sunday that the president dropped out. That's really interesting, speaking to some of the convention planners who say basically that switch at the top of the top of the ticket from President Biden to the Vice President, happened just in the nick of time that a lot of things had been already fully baked in, but those final touches, including even the printing of signs and some of the videos that had to be recorded, but those had not yet been executed.
So what we are about to see this week again, very different from what we would have seen four weeks ago, before President Biden dropped out of the race. MJ Lee, CNN in Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:05]
HOLMES: Joining me now from Chicago is CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. He's also a senior editor at The Atlantic. Good to see Ron out of your normal habitat there in Chicago. All right, so what does Kamala Harris need to do to make this weaker win for her campaign, and what are the possible mistakes which she could make?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, this convention has the potential to be more consequential than they usually are, for the simple reason that Harris is the first nominee since Hubert Humphrey in 1968 who either was not an incumbent president or had not gone through the primaries for a year and a half to win the nomination. Even Humphrey was a much better known figure after decades in the Senate, and his stint as Lyndon Johnson's vice president.
Harris is more of a blind Canvas than we have typically reached this point. You know, with a candidate Dean, which means she has enormous opportunity, as Jeff said, to fill in especially about her story, her bio, who she is, what her commitments are, and much the way that Bill Clinton did in 1992 to try to connect her agenda to her life story.
Tremendous opportunity because people don't know a lot about her. Tremendous risk because people don't know a lot about her, and if she doesn't fill Candace, she's leaving a lot of room for Republicans to do so.
HOLMES: Yes, yes, of course, it wasn't that long ago, you and I both old enough to remember that Joe Biden was going to be the headliner. Now he's a support act. What role do you expect him to play, and is his involvement likely to help or hinder the Harris campaign, not just at the convention, but for the remaining months.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think there's going to be enormous affection at him in the hall tomorrow night, but in many ways, that affection, of course, is because he accepted reality, which was that he was not on a trajectory to win, and so kind of the intensity of the applause tomorrow night will be the answer to your question.
I mean, Democrats, in many ways, are applauding so loudly. Yes, they consider him a very successful president, but they also believe that he, you know, had support and his ability to press the case both had deteriorated to the point where he was unlikely to be Trump.
So on balance, I do not think that Kamala Harris wants him to be hugely visible. You know, his approval rating has been stuck in the low 40s for a year and a half. Presidents in that position, incumbent presidents have tended to lose reelection. It really is an example of one who won reelection with an approval rating down there.
So I think they very much want this convention to be about her stepping out and essentially offering Americans a chance to turn the page with something new and different after this kind of, you know, extended period of polarization and intense partisan conflict.
HOLMES: So you're there in Chicago, one big criticism of the Biden administration, particularly among young people, has been the unbridled support for Israel in its war in Gaza, some mild rebuke for the scale of Palestinian deaths, but not enough to mollify that criticism. There are protests in Chicago. What impact is that issue still having under the Harris candidacy as the death toll passed 40,000 in the last few days?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, look, I mean, it could be substantial protests over the next couple of days. I know they are bracing for them, but the people running the convention. It would seem to go back to my Hubert Humphrey example, in 1968 Hubert Humphrey has succeeded, of course, Lyndon Johnson is the nominee after Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June '68 and the party picked Humphrey over Gene McCarthy. Humphrey trail the whole race until he broke from Johnson at the end over Vietnam and then made it much closer against Richard Nixon before finally losing.
Harris isn't in exactly that position, but there's no question that Biden's position on Gaza reinforced, intensified his problems among young voters. She has rhetorically taken, what, a half step, a quarter step further away from Netanyahu, then Biden did nothing substantive. Yet, I don't think she feels pressure to go much beyond that, but we will see what happens in the next few days.
HOLMES: Yes, yes, yes, Incremental, as you say, there will be Trump counter programming Tuesday. How worried do you think his campaign is about the Democrat convention and overall the impact of the switch to Harris?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look, they felt they had this race in the back, right? I mean, the central contrast in the race had become the idea of Trump as strong versus Biden as frail and weak. Harris creates all sorts of new contracts. Suddenly, Trump is the old guy in the race. He's about 20 years older than her, and as we both discussed, he's been showing. It at times with all sorts of verbal floods on the campaign trail, you know, from confusing Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi to getting the state that he was in wrong over the weekend.
[01:10:10]
And the enthusiasm gap has closed where Republicans were, you know, at despite after initial reluctance, quite enthusiastic about returning Trump to the White House, Democrats were feeling kind of despondent and depressed about trying to drag a clearly diminished Biden over the finish line. That's gone. Democrats are now as enthusiastic and Harris is regaining brown among some of the constituents that are drifted away from Biden, black and Latino voters, especially women and young voters. The one thing that's still true is that the vast majority of Americans
feel like they are worse off since Biden took office because of the cost of living, and that is still a cross that Harris has to bear. It's not as if all of the discontent over the Biden years are erased with her replacing him, and ultimately that will be Trump's strongest card, along with the Republican case that she is soft on climate, immigration. If they can make that case, kill away enough white voters in the Midwest, Trump can squeeze out another win. If they can't, he's going to have a very hard time.
HOLMES: Ron, thanks so much. Ron Brownstein there on the spot for us in Chicago.
Well, not all of the delegates have formally pledged to back Harris's nomination at the convention. Doesn't say they will withhold that support until she addresses their concerns about the civilian casualties in Gaza. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan caught up with some of them in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBAS ALAWIEH, MICHIGAN UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: We've got 30 uncommitted delegates that are representing over 740,000 uncommitted voters nationwide who voted uncommitted as a pro peace, anti-war vote in the Democratic primary.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: This is a meeting of uncommitted democratic delegates here in Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.
ALAWIEH But it's not sustainable for our own government to fund the mass killing of civilians.
JEREMIH ELLISON, MINNESOTA UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: Folks become delegates at their state party, and then they come to the National Convention, and they're either committed to the candidate, to one of the candidates, or not. In our case, we're not committed because we haven't heard what we've wanted to hear. Looking for a cease fire. We're looking for a strong commitment on a cease fire. We're looking for an arms embargo for us to stop sending weapons that are contributing to the genocide there.
ALAWIEH: I represent some of the over 101,000 voters in Michigan who voted uncommitted as a pro-peace, anti-war vote.
LEXIS ZEIDEN, CO-DIRECTOR, LISTEN TO MICHIGAN: Nobody wants to see Trump in November. We are a very anti-fascist movement. We are actually doing what we can to save the Democratic Party by saying, listen, VP Harris, there is a key base of over 730,000 anti-war voters who are telling you that we want to turn the page on Gaza policy and save Palestinian lives.
O'SULLIVAN: What do you want to hear from Harris in Chicago this week?
ALAWIEH: I want to hear from Vice President Harris how it is that she's going to turn a new page on Gaza policy, from the destructive and disastrous policy of the last 10 months to one that saves lives.
O'SULLIVAN: You got to meet Harris briefly in Michigan.
LAYLA ELABED, CO-CHAIR, UNCOMMITTED NATIONAL MOVEMENT: We wanted to be able to speak to her directly. The fact that Michigan voters would want to support her in the November election. But we can't do that right now while our family members, our friends, our loved ones are being killed with U.S. funded bonds.
I told her that we need a policy shift that will save lives in the Gaza. My community is telling me that they're losing tens and hundreds of their family members, and she said it's horrific. She's been incredibly empathetic. I do have to say that more -- we have seen more empathy and compassion from Vice President Harris. But that is not enough. Palestinian children can't eat words.
O'SULLIVAN: Is there more hope in this movement right now with Harris at the top of the tickets than there was when Biden was there?
YAZAN KADER, WASHINGTON UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: I think that in general, we would all say we're cautiously optimistic. There is a little bit more wiggle room we feel like with Vice President Harris, we've already seen her change the rhetoric a little bit, but words are not enough.
O'SULLIVAN: You heard some cautious optimism there, those delegates, those activists, they're going to be in here. They're going to be in the convention most of this week, working the room. Of course, there's expected to be thousands, potentially tens of thousands of demonstrators outside the convention for the pro-Palestinian cause.
And look, a question these activists get a lot is, could this uncommitted movement this saying we will not vote for Harris unless she changes policies on Gaza? Could that potentially help Trump win the election? Those activists that we spoke to said that's not their problem. That is for the Harris campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is in Israel right now hoping to push forward ceasefire talks. He's currently meeting with the Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv. The U.S. says he'll hold separate meetings with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the coming hours,
[01:15:00]
At a Sunday Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel will not give in to demands to end the war in Gaza as a condition for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Hamas says the latest proposal does not include a permanent ceasefire. The group also says Netanyahu is obstructing a possible agreement by continually adding new conditions.
On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris stressing the need for a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: I will tell you that these conversations are ongoing, and we are not giving up, and we are going to continue to work very hard on this. We got to get a ceasefire, and we got to get the hostages out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: In Gaza hospital, officials say an Israeli strike on Sunday killed six children and their mother and wounded their father. Since the start of the war last October, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and much of Gaza reduced to rubble.
CNN International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson with more now on the talks and the sticking points.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, there's no doubt this is a very high stakes visit for the U.S. Secretary of State, and it's going to be a very tough one as well. We've already heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here saying that there are some things that Israel can be flexible on and there are other things that they can't and there are other positions that they will absolutely insist upon.
The Israeli prime minister is saying that all the pressure right now to get this bridging proposal that the United States has put forward, to get that agreed, the pressure must be put on Hamas, but barely was Secretary of State, Antony Blinken in the country here in Israel. And Hamas released its own press release about its position, saying that after meeting the mediators in Doha, it is clear that once again, they say it is Prime Minister Netanyahu who is placing obstacles in making progress, and they list some of the contentious issues.
Israel wants to be able to control the movement of people in Gaza from the south back to the north. It wants to make sure that they don't have weapons. Hamas is objecting to that. It's the issue around, as they describe it, and then the Netzarim Junction, that's a big contentish issue. Who should control the border between Gaza and Egypt, the so called Philadelphi Corridor. Israel wants to keep its troops there because it believes that Hamas uses tunnels under that border to resupply and will rearm and reequip unless the IDF control controls that border.
Hamas says no way on the Rafah border crossing, the actual crossing for trucks and goods between Egypt and Gaza. Again, Hamas wants to be able to control that Israel is saying, no, that's not acceptable.
So these are just a few of the contentious issues, not to mention about prisoners, the hostages and prisoners, the numbers who will be released, how much advance information each side should have. So the bar is set very high here for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, to really make any progress.
And if you listen to the opposing sides, both the Israeli government and Hamas, they're both blaming each other already. So it does seem that these hopes of some positivity around the talks in Doha are really meeting hard reality right now. Nic Roberson, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Iran still vowing to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, leading to serious concern over the potential for a wider conflict in the region. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran and has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Iran says its drones and missiles are ready for an attack against Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, but as tensions remain at a boiling point, Iran's political transition continues.
The new president, Masoud Pezeshkian's cabinet appointees going through confirmation hearings in Iran's parliament. The Majlis (ph).
PLEITGEN: Once Masoud Pezeshkian's cabinet is approved by Iran's parliament, the new government will have its work cut out for it. The Middle East, of course, is in severe turmoil as the region awaits Iran's possible harsh retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): While Iran's response appears delayed, parliamentarians here say, make no mistake, revenge is coming and will be harsher than Tehran's last strikes against Israel after Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria was bombed in April.
This time they attacked our mainland, the world will witness a serious reaction by us, the time, the place, and the type of reaction is to be decided, he says, and then adds you saw the first example. You can multiply that as much as you like.
[01:20:05]
We will teach our enemies a lesson so they will not attack us anymore, this parliamentarian says. We are seeking peace and calm in the region, and are not warmongers at all. The U.S. says it's seeking a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas also in the hopes a deal to end the violence in Gaza could persuade Iran not to launch the retaliatory strikes against Israel.
But Washington has also deployed substantial forces to the Middle East, a senior Biden administration official warning Iran could face, quote, cataclysmic consequences if it attacks Israel. Iranian parliamentarians brushing off that warning. If they attack or threaten us, the Iranian response will be jawbreaking, he says. Iran has showed in practice it will do so, and has the means to do so. The capabilities we have are not what the world knows about they are far beyond.
But when, where and how Iran plans to use those capabilities remains shrouded in secrecy, keeping the Middle East on edge. Fred Pleitgen, CNN Tehran. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Coming up on the program, Ukraine says it's gaining ground inside Russia while trying to fend off Russian advances inside its own borders. We'll have the latest from the battlefield after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country's forces continue to make progress inside Russian territory gaining a stronger foothold and reinforcing their positions in the Kursk Region. They also say they destroyed a second bridge in the past few days, using air strikes, likely further disrupting Russia's supply lines.
It's been nearly two weeks since that surprise incursion, and Ukrainian forces say they now control more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory inside Southwestern Russia. Meanwhile, Russian forces are having more success in eastern Ukraine. They've launched a massive assault around the city of Pokrovsk, a key supply hub for Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region, civilians near the front lines being urged to evacuate.
CNN was among the first news organizations to go into this part of Russia's Kursk Region, now controlled by Ukraine. We were accompanied by Ukraine's military, which reviewed the video you're about to see for operational security reasons, but the military did not hear the sound and they did not have any editorial input. Here's Nick Paton Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was never in Putin's plan, but still into Russia, we cross with Ukrainian forces moving forwards. Through the border post they destroyed in their surprise assault 10 days ago.
WALSH: As we get closer towards Sudzha, we can see more smoke on the horizon, but still, it's bizarrely calm on this road.
[01:25:08]
WALSH (voice-over): And pause a moment in his open field, and remember this is the Cold War superpower, unguarded, open and never expecting when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war of choice two years ago to be invaded back. A Russian dead soldier still in the road. Ukraine only claimed here a day ago.
Well, not even the statue of Lenin is unscathed here, this Ukrainian assault so persistent and Russia, despite its sense of history, it's sort of passed as being so impregnable, completely unable to push the Ukrainians out here, the sound of small arms fire, we can still hear so clearly there is a bid for the Russians to push back, but simply isn't working. And humiliation for Putin endures.
WALSH (voice-over): Days ago, locals had honored their war dead, but none since the Nazis led Russia to face occupation. WALSH: You see the damage that's been done to this street here, from
the intense fight that race to. Still clearly active fighting happening here.
WALSH (voice-over): A sign in the basement here live peaceful people, no soldiers. Ina, 68, says 60 civilians are there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Ukrainians brought a lot of boxes. There is food.
WALSH: Just like we've seen in multiple Ukrainian towns over the last two years here, the locals trying to find some shelter from the war around them.
WALSH (voice-over): Danislav (ph) shows his gray.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is isn't living. It's existing. It's not a life.
WALSH (voice-over): In the dark, hunted like so many Ukrainians now the infirmed isolated begging for calm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know how it will end. At least a truce, so we can live peacefully. We don't need anything. I have a crutch, I can't walk. It's very hard.
WALSH (voice-over): Day, night, light, dark, news or blackout will blur into one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No news, we don't know what's happening around us.
WALSH (voice-over): Yefimov (ph) is over 90 and wants to live to Ukraine, But there is no root out, he says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're the first to come here. My daughter, niece and grandkids are there. I'm Russian but they are married to Ukrainians.
WALSH (voice-over): Again, ordinary streets that never guessed of their destruction or newfound fame days ago, vacant in the storm around them. Normal life here vanished in a hurry, leaving store floors as barracks and Nina, 74, out looking for a pharmacy for her medication.
NINA, SUDZHA RESIDENT: If I wanted to leave, I would have. Why leave? I've lived here 50 years. My daughter and mother are buried here. What about Ukraine? I live on my own land. I don't know whose land this is. I don't know anything anymore.
WALSH (voice-over): It is a war that keeps turning the world order on its head where wreckage that lined Ukraine's fields now haunts Russia's. Ukrainians learn to paint over their road signs to confuse the invaders, but still here, the signs ask God to protect and save Russia. That was Putin's job, yet it's not clear when he's coming back. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Sudzha, Ukrainian held Russia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is accusing Ukraine of massing tens of thousands of troops along their shared border. Here's what he said in an interview with state media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Belarus Ukraine, there are over 120,000 Ukrainian troops on the Belarusian, Ukrainian border. They are keeping them near our border. Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points, in case of war, they would be defense our military along the entire border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Lukashenko says the border is heavily mined and warned Ukrainian troops not to cross it. But Ukrainian officials deny his claim, saying the situation at the border is unchanged and that the Belarusian president is just escalating the situation to appease Moscow.
[01:30:00]
Still ahead, we'll ask an expert how much impact the U.S. Secretary of State could have on the American push for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel right now, hoping to push forward ceasefire and hostage release talks. He was welcomed by President Isaac Hertzog and will hold separate meetings in the coming hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Blinken, stressing the importance of getting a deal in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.
I'm here as part of an intensive diplomatic effort on President Biden's instructions to try to get this agreement to the line and ultimately over the line. It is time for it to get done. It's also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process.
And so were working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line. Or for that matter escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity. I know this is a fraught moment in Israel with deep concern about the
possibility of attacks coming from Iran, coming from Hezbollah and other sources. And as you heard the president say, the United States is taking decisive action to deploy forces here to deter any attacks. And if necessary, to defend against any attacks.
But the focus of my visit is intensely on getting the hostages back, getting the ceasefire done. It is time for everyone to get to yes. And to not look for any excuses to say no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, Israeli police are investigating an explosion in Tel Aviv that killed one person and injured another. The person who was killed is believed to have been carrying the explosive. The city on high alert amid regional tensions but it's unclear whether this act is related to the wider security situation or the criminal world.
[01:34:50]
HOLMES: Let's discuss more about the chances of a Gaza ceasefire deal with Ronen Bergman, who's a staff writer for "The New York Times Magazine" and author of "Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations".
He joins me now from Tel Aviv. And good morning to you.
These talks were based on a proposal from July that Hamas agreed do but Hamas is saying Israel and specifically Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly added more and more conditions including to these latest proposals.
What's your impression of that and the odds of getting a deal done?
RONEN BERGMAN, STAFF WRITER, "NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE": Thank you, Michael.
So as we have already shown in a "New York Times" story started together with my colleagues, Patrick Kingsley and (INAUDIBLE) indeed Netanyahu, Prime Minister Netanyahu has added some new conditions to the Israeli proposal.
The proposal that Israel made in May 27 and just two weeks ago in a meeting in Rome, the Israeli chief of Mossad handed over to the chief of the CIA and the representative of the other mediating countries between Israel and Hamas have new conditions.
This was put, I would say on top of demands that Hamas has made to change some of the phrasing of the draft that was adapted by the United Nations Security Council.
So the bottom line, we have a big pile of hurdles and obstacles and contradictory between Israel and Hamas yet to be solved and were not solved in the last summit in Doha during the weekend.
However, it seems that there is a -- there is a connection between the Iranian decision -- Iranian and Hezbollah decision to delay the revenge strike following the two assassinations, the one Israel has executed in Beirut to the one that you just reported that describe (INAUDIBLE).
They have been keeping delaying the retaliatory strike. The latest intelligence that Israel and the U.S. received was that Iran decided not to strike and leave the revenge only to Hezbollah and that strike will not happen as long as this round of negotiation happens.
HOLMES: Right.
BERGMAN: It's interesting because much happening in negotiation but there's something connected throughout the Middle East between the attempt to reach ceasefire in one place and I would say the lack of motivation in another place to destroy the ceasefire.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes. And no, interesting.
There are many people including in Israel, who believe Benjamin Netanyahu for his own political survival, doesn't want a ceasefire agreement. How strong, how widespread is that belief in Israel?
BERGMAN: I think I will not be betting with too high risk to say that if you run a poll, secret poll among the leaders of Israeli defense military and intelligence establishments you will have the vast majority of -- even 100 percent.
I have talked with many of these saying that Netanyahu is deliberately trying to sabotage the agreement because he fears that such an agreement, that agreement for a ceasefire will disassemble his coalition, his government.
HOLMES: Yes.
BERGMAN: And this is the reason why he -- he keeps on -- I mean there's a fierce clash between the leaders of the negotiation teams, of the defense establishment and military and intelligence and Mr. Netanyahu, they told him yesterday in a cabinet meeting with the prime minister, if you do not give up on some of the new terms that you have added, we will not have an agreement and the hostages will not survive for too long.
They are in dire condition. He said there are some things I'm willing, some things not, but basically he did not change anything to being stubborn on some of those you could --
HOLMES: It seems extraordinary that, you know, with so many senior people in his own intel and defense establishment, as well as the public pressure that he's getting away with doing this.
I wanted to ask you though, from the onset of this war Netanyahu --
BERGMAN: -- to democracy he said. That's the rules of democracy. He has 64 -- unfortunate for the vast majority of Israelis who support the deal. But now he has a majority of 64, 120 seats in the cabinet --
HOLMES: Yes.
BERGMAN: He's a part of it -- he gets away with it.
HOLMES: Yes. And he wants to keep that together desperately.
Ronen Bergman in Tel Aviv, really appreciate you making the time. Thanks so much.
BERGMAN: Thank you. Good morning.
[01:39:48]
HOLMES: Still to come, we'll hear from Republican voters in Iowa, why they are supporting former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Plus a controversial float for Sunday's India Day Parade in New York was withdrawn. We'll have details on why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the Democratic National Convention is set to begin in Chicago in the next few hours. The party will formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House after President Joe Biden, of course, bowed out last month.
Mr. Biden will speak on opening night, security tight across the city as tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march on the convention, protesting U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza. The Illinois governor says around 250 members of the National Guard will be on standby.
The speaker lineup is set to feature prominent Democratic names and key Harris allies including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, and former President Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile to find out how former U.S. President Donald Trump is doing among voters, CNN's John King went to Iowa to see why Republican voters once critical of Trump are comfortable supporting him now.
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JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Shanen Ebersole cherishes her maverick streak, not afraid to wander a bit from the herd.
There were head butts going on.
SHANEN EBERSOLE, IOWA VOTER: Like little boys wrestling. That's their version of it.
KING: But now it's time to line up and bring things home.
EBERSOLE: I think it's an easy Trump choice because we have to put the American people first. I think that the policies that have been put in place in the Harris-Biden administration, they hurt this. They hurt our land and they hurt the people in middle America the most. KING: Ebersole supported Nikki Haley in the Iowa caucuses. a rare
voice of Republican dissent in conservative Ringgold County.
She then gave some thought to voting third party because she cringes sometimes at Trump's combative tone. But her family and her farm come first and Ebersole sees backing Trump as the best path to reverse Democratic trade and climate policies she says punished family farmers, filled supermarkets with foreign beef.
EBERSOLE: I can tell you that that cow right there is better at carbon sequestration than anything else on the face of the earth. And when she does it, she turns it into the most nutritious meat that we could ever offer.
When cattle are raised the right way, they help the earth. They don't hurt the earth.
KING: And Washington doesn't understand that.
EBERSOLE: They don't at all. They don't live here. You know --
KING: They don't ask.
EBERSOLE: They don't.
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KING: If you want to see a 2024 race up close in Iowa, the state fair is your best shot.
There are debates over food here and games but the presidential campaigns are nowhere to be found. Their time and money is for the swing states. That's because Trump is strong here and not just in rural farm country.
This is Cedar Falls in eastern Iowa. Midwest Solar is busy in part because of Biden administration clean energy tax credits.
But owner Chris Mudd is as loyal a Trump voter as they come.
CHRIS MUDD, MIDWEST SOLAR: I think if all I was selling was government incentive. I don't think business would be very good, but that's not what we're selling. We're selling the power to help people save money.
KING: Mudd sees Trump as off his game a bit since the switch to Harris atop the Democratic ticket.
MUDD: I think he spends too much time bashing and complaining. You know, I don't know. I think he'll catch his stride and I think that he will get back on his horse. And I think he will say what needs to be said.
KING: Mudd thinks the media is too easy on Harris. And like Trump, he sees no way Harris wins an honest election.
MUDD: I just don't believe it's possible, John. I really I really don't. Yes, I would think that. And I would think many like me would think that same thing.
If Kamala Harris gets 81 million votes something, something really went haywire.
KING: Betsy Sarcone (ph) sees such talk as a waste of time.
BETSY SARCONE, IOWA VOTER: I don't buy the stolen election if she went, she wins. I'm not I'm not getting on that bandwagon.
But that Sarcone plans to vote for Trump is a big change. She backed Haley in the caucuses. And when we first met a year ago.
SARCONE: they're not running Kamala.
KING: Sarcone said she would vote for Biden if 2024 ended up as a 2020 rematch. But grocery prices are still high, she says, and her real estate business is slow.
SARCONE: I would describe myself as being resigned, I suppose to voting for Donald Trump. Again I just I can't vote for the status quo. And I was absolutely better off during Donald Trump's presidency than I am today.
KING: Right. I say Kamala Harris, you say --
SARCONE: I'd say far-left. I'd say woke. I'd say sidestepping. I'd say not truthful.
KING: Sioux City is to the west where Iowa meets Nebraska and South Dakota. Attorney Priscilla Forsyth is happy to vote for Trump a third time. Even though she too, began the campaign hoping for someone new.
PRISCILLA FORSYTH, IOWA VOTER: I started with Ramaswamy.
KING: Right. Right. Started with Ramaswamy.
FORSYTH: Then I went to Nikki Haley.
KING: Now, back to Trump.
FORSYTH: I see Kamala and I see Walz has been so far left that it concerns me.
I'm comfortable with Trump. I wish we had four years of Trump. We know what Trump is. I'm not voting for him to be my valentine. I'm not voting for him to be my best friend.
KING: Forsyth isn't worried about Iowa, but the past few weeks do have her worried Harris might win the White House. In lawyer lingo she says Trump at the moment is presenting the wrong case, focusing on his grievances instead of her record.
FORSYTH: I think he can win on the issues. She doesn't seem to want to own anything, you know. She doesn't own the border. She doesn't own anything.
I think right now he's off balance. Now, will he get back on track?
KING: A loyal Explorers fan, and a loyal Republican in a solid red county and state. But at the moment, she thinks her candidate is struggling, just like her team.
John King, CNN, Sioux City, Iowa.
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HOLMES: Ernesto is a hurricane once again, the storm regaining category one strength on Sunday. But conditions will likely change as it moves towards Canada.
Forecasters say the center of Ernesto is expected to pass near the southeastern Newfoundland sometime late on Monday. Dangerous swells caused by the storm still impacting the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. and Canada and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions will likely continue this week.
Turkish officials warn there is a high risk of wildfires this week in parts of the country due to dry weather and high temperatures.
Crews have contained more than 200 fires since Thursday morning, including a large blaze in the western province of Izmir.
Other fires are still burning, but Turkey's forestry minister says, none of them are cause for concern right now. Turkey has seen intensifying wildfires in recent years, which experts attribute to climate change.
Manchester City has won four straight Premier League titles. We'll see how their quest for a fifth begins with the English football season now underway. We'll have the highlights after the break.
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HOLMES: All right.
This was the scene in Germany after Ferris wheel caught fire at a music festival near Leipzig. More than 20 people were hurt.
Police say the fire started in gondolas at the top of the ride. You can see that there. Some of the victims have burn injuries, others were hurt after falling.
The rapper Ski Aggu was on stage when the fire started. He stayed on stage to help direct people to safety. A post on his Instagram said he was dismayed and shocked.
Terrifying.
Now a group representing Indian American Muslims withdrew its float from New York City's annual India Day Parade on Sunday saying another float depicted anti-Muslim bias. CNN's Gloria Pazmino explains why.
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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The India Day Parade celebration has been held here in New York City for 42 years. But there is a particular float that was included in this year's parade that has upset members of both the Hindu and the Muslim community.
This is supposed to be a celebration of Indian culture, Indian independence and the people of India. But some have said that the inclusion of this float shows an anti-Muslim bias.
Now the float in question depicts a Rahm temple. The temple was recently opened in India and it is built on the ruins of a 16th century mosque.
That is part of what has created all of this controversy around this float. The mosque was destroyed back in 1992 by Hindu Nationalists mobs. And it led to one of the darkest periods in India's history.
More than 2,000 people were killed as a result of violent outbreaks around the entire country, the majority of them Muslims. So Muslims here in New York who are members of the Indian community say that the inclusion of this float is disrespectful to Muslims and meant to send a threatening message to their community.
We spoke to some of the groups that happen called for the removal of this float in the parade in this year's celebration. Take a listen at what they had to say.
AFAR NASHER, EXECUTIVE DIR., COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Having a symbol of hatred and division and of supremacy, not only not only underplays a current of Islamophobia, but it's really a threat to all of us living civilly with one another.
AJIT SAHI, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, INDIAN AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCIL: There are Hindus in the United States and in India who oppose this temple and the politics that it brings.
This temple is politics. This temple is not culture. This temple is not faith.
PAZMINO: Now we reached out to parade organizers who decided to include the float. It went along the parade just a short while ago. And while there were some protesters that was following it along, there were no real disturbances. And for the most part the crowd was peaceful.
The parade organizers told us they believed that the inclusion of the float celebrates many of the Hindu members of this community as well.
Still, some members who had planned on participating at this grade decided to cancel their participation at the last minute, saying that they could not join the braid as long as this controversial float was included. Still several thousand people have gathered here throughout the day. For the most part, the event has been peaceful and without incident.
In New York -- Gloria Pazmino, CNN.
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HOLMES: Well, the Premier League is back and the defending champions have started their season with a win.
World Sport's Don Riddell has more on Manchester City's quest for a fifth straight title.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: The reigning Premier League champions back in action on the first day of the new season, Manchester City have won the last four league titles, and there'll be fancy to make it five in a row. And they certainly began, as I'm sure they mean to go on.
On Sunday afternoon, Man City traveled to Chelsea in West London and their megastar striker celebrated what was a milestone occasion on his 100th appearance for his club Erling Haaland scored his 91st goal, City won the (INAUDIBLE) and they doubled their advantage in the second half when the former Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic sailed (ph) one in from just inside the area. Two-nil the final score, and his manager, very happy.
PEP GUARDIOLA, MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER: For me it's an immense privilege. So I cannot be more honored to be a manager of these guys. So they gave me everything to me, everything -- the joy, the happiness, the commitment to defend, you know, the club they represent and I'm so fortunate. I could not say more.
ENZO MARESCA, CHELSEY MANGER: We don't like to lose for sure but definite the performance was there. We compete against probably the best team in this moment. For large part of the game we were (INAUDIBLE) we will go even better. We create chances.
I think the big difference between us and them today was just inside the books. They were much more clinical than us. But the important thing at the end is to create chances and we're going to score.
RIDDELL: I think Chelsea have a lot of work to do. The first round of games in the league this season has been spread over four days.
We've had nine games played so far. The last of them, the tenth, will be in Leicester on Monday night between Leicester City and Spurs.
Back to you.
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HOLMES: Thanks to Don Riddell there and Spurs will win that.
Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma has won this year's women's Tour de France in a thrilling finish. The 29-year-old fought off a late surge by defending champion Demi Vollering winning just by four seconds on Sunday.
This is Niewiadoma's first Tour of France win and her first major stage race victory since 2017. Much more on her victory coming up in "WORLD SPORT" a little later.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on X and Instagram @HolmesCNN.
Stick around. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague, Rosemary Church after a break.
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