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DNC Kicks Off in Chicago with "For the People" Theme; Harris Calls Trump a "Coward" Without Saying His Name; Trump Doubles Down on Personal Insults; Harris Beats Trump for First Time in Polls; Trump and Vance Head to Key Swing States. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 19, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: And, Jim, you hear that cautious optimism there. I will say one of the delegates also told me that the difference in the engagement between when Biden was in top of the ticket versus when Harris was night and day in terms of how the campaign is engaging with these activists. Also, a lot of folks -- a lot of Democrats saying to people like this, well, you know, if you don't vote for Harris, you might help Trump and that's not going to be good for Arab-Americans or for Gaza for this cause, your cause. And those folks say, that's not our issue. That is for the Harris campaign to answer those questions and to change their position.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And I hate to ask you an impossible question to answer, but I'll ask it anyway, which is --

O'SULLIVAN: Thank you, Jim. Make my life easy. Thanks for that.

ACOSTA: What are the expectations that things will remain peaceful, that things won't get out of control? Are you getting any sense of that from these activists you're talking to?

O'SULLIVAN: I mean, every -- all the activists that we've spoken to very much say they want things to remain peaceful. They want their voices to be heard. They want to remain peaceful. But of course, like this -- like any demonstration, particularly on this issue, particularly also with the idea of potentially counter protests and also there could be agitators in these crowds outside the next few days, we'll be outside as well, our colleagues be. But yes, hope -- they are hoping, as everybody here is, that things remain peaceful.

ACOSTA: Yes, you have to assume that outside agitators are going to try to infiltrate some of these demonstrations, try to see what kind of trouble they can stir up. All right. Donia O'Sullivan, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

O'SULLIVAN: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Coming up, for the people tonight, Democratic leaders will show what Kamala Harris will do for Americans versus what they say Donald Trump will do. Will they be successful? First day of the Chicago Democratic Convention. We'll be right back.

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[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: We're hours away from the start of the Democratic Convention here in Chicago, but Democrats are already on the attack against Former President Donald Trump. Last night, the DNC, perhaps you saw this on social media, was lighting up in social media, the Trump Hotel here in Chicago with messages sure to get under the former president's skin such as Project 2025 HQ and weird as hell.

Meantime, Vice President Harris ripped Trump without saying his name. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Frankly, over the last several years there's been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: While Trump is leaning into personal assaults, his allies are warning him yet again that it could cost him the election, and yet again, he's making it clear that he has no plans to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Donald Trump, the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You don't mind if I go off teleprompter for a second, do you?

I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her.

This woman is nuts. Have you heard her laugh? That is the laugh of a crazy person. That is the laugh of a crazy person. It's the laugh of a lunatic. I'm a better-looking person than Kamala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Let's discuss with CNN political commentators Ashley Allison and Scott Jennings and CNN political analyst Zolan Kanno-Youngs. Ashley, let me go to you first. We just ran that little montage there. Maybe some thoughts come to mind. What do you think?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND NATIONAL COALITIONS DIRECTOR, BIDEN-HARRIS 2020: I don't think the presidential race should be a beauty contest perhaps, and if it were, I don't even think it would be as close as it was right now. I think --

ACOSTA: The polls would be a little --

ALLISON: The polls would be much, much different.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ALLISON: You know, the one thing that I noticed about when the vice president was speaking, she didn't say Donald Trump's name. And I actually think that's really important because there are a lot of folks that people feel like are bullies out there, corporations, that feels like they're raising prices to make it harder for the working day people.

And so, a lot of folks can fit into that. We don't want to beat people down. We want to lift folks up, which is very in line with the, when we fight, we win. It's not about her, it's about the broader sum of us as Americans trying to move this country forward. So, I like that attack, and I think it should -- she should stay on the attack with him, like talk about who he is and then he just can't help himself.

ACOSTA: No. Yes.

ALLISON: Like, should I go over off prompter? No. Like, let me give you that free advice. It doesn't work for you.

ACOSTA: Yes. Scott, what was the thought bubble coming out of your head during that?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, he talks a lot. You know, all of his engagements, whether they're rally speeches or the press conferences or the thing with the groceries, you know, it's not just a tight in and out. Here's my message. Let's call it a day. He talks a lot.

So, anytime you're filling 90 minutes, you know, I mean, there's -- you got to come up with a lot of -- as you know, you got to come up with a lot of content. Some of it's better than others. And so, I just would -- my advice is, I don't know that he even needs a teleprompter, because sometimes when I hear him on the prompter, it seems half hearted.

ACOSTA: Yes.

JENNINGS: But what I think they need is just a little more like shorter and more focused, like, so pick your topic, do it for 10 minutes. Let's not pick a topic and then talk for 90 minutes, making 10 minutes of it. What you want it to do, because the rest of it kind of dilutes a little bit.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Don't we go through this almost every --

ALLISON: Every day.

ACOSTA: Wait a minute. I've been going through this for eight years.

ALLISON: Yes.

ACOSTA: Why won't Donald Trump stay on message, it has been a headline for eight years.

[10:40:00]

KANNO-YOUNGS: I remember midterm elections, hearing from Republicans on the Hill who were saying, if you could just stick the message to the Biden administration's economic policy, to inflation, to the border, then you can make the gains here. But at that time, the former president could not stop talking about the previous election as well, and false statements about that previous election.

You know, for the past couple of months, it's been, hey, if you could just focus on the political vulnerabilities of this White House, the economy, immigration, but we're seeing him go into personal attacks. Discipline and the former president particularly when it comes to messaging, don't really go together.

JENNINGS: I'll tell you where this matters is because independence, if you look in the polling, they've swung. You know, they were with Trump, there seem to be migrating to some degree. These are not hyper partisans of they don't love either party necessarily. And so, what they need to under -- what they need to believe is that one of these two candidates is actually focused on the things that are bothering them.

The things that are bothering them are actually bad for Harris because she's in the White House right now. So, he needs to communicate to them like listen, I get it. I understand your -- what you're going through, I'm also focused on that and I will do something about it. So, when you talk about other things it gives them the idea that maybe you're not focused on them.

ALLISON: But you know, again, he will talk about it perhaps, but it is all about him when he talks about it. I do think he needs more -- look, as a Democratic strategist, I'm like, go ahead, Donald Trump, be out there every day, all day, talk for 90 minutes, actually talk for two hours if you want, because it does help the vice president draw a contrast of what could -- what you could get versus what you could also have.

But I think that he will make it about himself and not -- he -- I feel like Donald Trump has a really hard time. connecting with people about telling a holistic story. As long as he's the main character in the story and they can like be a supporting cast member, he's OK. But as long as -- if he's like playing equal with folks, it doesn't really resonate well with them.

ACOSTA: And that's why I have a question about the polling numbers and I'm glad you were talking about this because I'm curious, you know, this big swing that Scott referenced on, how much of that is the so-called vibe shift in the race and how much of that is a reaction to Trump just being kind of unhinged? Not kind of, he has been unhinged the last couple of weeks. I think as a reaction to Kamala Harris getting into this race.

KANNO-YOUNGS: I think that's right. And also, how much of it could be the fact that you have something new here, you've had a change, you've had a switch on the ticket. There was so much sort of frustration when you had, you know, President Biden at the top of the ticket going up against the former president, which very much represented the same. You know, it was a repeat of the last election cycle. You had people at that point frustration.

Now, you have something new. And the big question here, is this enthusiasm that's specifically tied to Kamala Harris or is it enthusiasm about the fact that the Democratic Party just had an injection of energy because of something new here? And that's where this convention is really important for the vice president. Can you continue to sort of build the momentum here or do we enter a phase where you're going to see additional scrutiny on whatever her policy platform could be and how much it could change or pivot from the Biden administration?

JENNINGS: You're being nice about it, but the reaction in the polling is that they got rid of a boat anchor. And his name is Joe Biden. He's going to speak tonight and we'll never hear from him again. But that's it. Now, she's basically back to occupying the avatar of generic Democrat.

Generic Democrat does pretty good in polls. You know, it's basically half the country. Joe Biden was less than that. And that's the challenge for Trump. He has to make Harris something less than a generic Democrats. So, what is that radical Democrat, progressive Democrat, you know, something that's not just a generic avatar for one of the two parties, which I think is what she's occupying right now.

And for. Harris, they need Trump to be something worse than generic Republican. That's --

ACOSTA: That's a little bit more than generic Democrat.

ALLISON: I would say that. I would say history making Democrat, you know, potentially glass shatter -- ceiling shattering Democrat.

ACOSTA: But we're not coming into a convention here, Ashley, if I can interrupt.

ALLISON: Yes.

ACOSTA: With the party bitterly divided --

ALLISON: No, we're not.

ACOSTA: -- over a sitting president handing off the nomination to his vice president.

ALLISON: Here's what I would --

ACOSTA: It's pretty remarkable.

ALLISON: It is pretty remarkable, and I think, Zolan, to your point, it's both. Some of it is the excitement of just her. I feel more energized, I feel more excited about Kamala Harris being the candidate. Some of it is, oh, there's something different. Let me explore that more. Both are great.

The thing about coming in and not having a divided party right now is that it also gives an opportunity to draw a contrast to what is going on in the Republican Party. You have the president handing and passing the torch to the vice president. You have Donald Trump who doesn't even speak to his former vice president because he tried to send people to the Capitol to hang him and overturn the election. That is a strong contrast.

And I think Joe Biden can talk about that tonight. Talk about how we have every sitting -- former sitting president speaking, how we have people from the whole -- the big party in the tent of our coalition and how this is a place where all Americans can fit in, whereas like, in the Democratic Party, your former boss didn't even come to the RNC. I'm talking about President Bush.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ALLISON: Mitch McConnell was there, but he got booed.

[10:45:00]

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Zolan, I mean, Scott called President Biden a boat anchor. I mean, part of the reason why they're having the president speak tonight is to pull up the boat anchor.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Sure. Sure. I mean, look, he was a historically unpopular president. I mean, you can look at the polls and see that as well. And, you know, when I talk to Democrats, I mean, one, they want the rest of this week to be about sort of the described change that they say the vice president would amount to. They want it to be about moving forward.

But at the start of this convention, you have to -- at least for these Democrats, the strategy is you have to also pay respect to kind of who paved the way as well. And you're going to see other public officials as well that are speaking today. The thing I'm going to be paying attention to when it comes to President Biden's speech, how much does he actually emphasize the -- his legislative record, right? Because we know that messaging that legislative record was a significant problem. So, how much do you emphasize that and sort of take a victory lap in a way? And how do you balance that with drawing a contrast with your political opponent, but also now amplifying your vice president as well?

JENNINGS: It's very dicey. I mean, this has all the feel of someone who got fired, but has to come back to the office next week with the box and like get their stuff. I mean, how -- I mean --

ACOSTA: I think he'll be feisty tonight, the president.

JENNINGS: She can't -- but here's the thing, for her, she cannot run as a creation of him, or as an enabler of him, because if she does, everyone will remember, oh, yes, I really don't like what these folks did while they're in the White House right now. So, it's -- I know why they have to put him on tonight. He's a sitting president of the United States. They did fire him. They did run him out of town. They did make him leave his profession of 50 years.

ALLISON: I think that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' relationship is excellent, and I think he understands this moment. I also think she deserves the opportunity to run as a new candidate because vice presidents definitely yield to the president, the number one versus the number two. That's why we have order. And so, she deserves this opportunity to reintroduce and talk about her agenda.

ACOSTA: And we're going to see all of that all week long. Scott, Ashley, Zolan, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Great discussion.

Coming up next, the Trump-Vance campaign looks to cover some ground in some key swing states this week. CNN's Kristen Holmes is tracking that story this morning for us. Good morning, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim. Yes, we are going to have all the details of where exactly Trump and Vance plan to be, what that's going to look like, and how they are trying to seize or at least hold on to a little bit of that media spotlight.

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[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: Donald Trump is trying to steal the political spotlight from the Democrats this week with a series of stops in several battleground states. As some national polls show, Kamala Harris now has an edge over the former president.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now. Kristen, we knew that the Trump- Vance campaign was going to try to steal some of that spotlight. They've got a lot of campaign events this week. Walk us through their plan.

HOLMES: Yes, Jim. And part of this is just trying to get any of that media attention on them. For example, one of the things they're doing in these various events they're holding this week, they're being held at 3:00 p.m. Knowing full well that they would not break through with those evening speeches like President Joe Biden, like Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton. So, instead, they are trying for the earlier side to try and get him on television.

So, what you're looking at now is a map of all the places that Trump and Vance will be. And I'm just going to run through Trump's schedule. He's going to be in York, Pennsylvania, talking about the economy. Tuesday, he's going to be in Howell, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit, talking about safety. Wednesday, he's going to be in Asheboro, North Carolina. Thursday, he's going to be just south of Tucson, on the border, in Arizona. And then, Friday, he has a rally in Glendale, Arizona, as well as a small event in Las Vegas.

Now, all of these, other than that rally on Friday, are being called internally messaging events. That means they are smaller crowds, smaller venues, and they are set to focus on one topic. Obviously, this coming, as allies themselves have encouraged Donald Trump to stay on message.

And you can see up there, those are the themes of each various day. Make America wealthy, make America safe, make America strong, secure, make America great again. Whether or not Donald Trump can do it. That, of course, is the big question.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Kristen, you've been reporting his allies have been basically begging him to stop with the personal attacks, that did not happen this past weekend. So, I have to think that it's not going well.

HOLMES: Yes. And it's not just even privately. I mean, publicly they are pleading with him on various cable news shows not to go out there and use these personal attacks, to just focus on these issues, particularly inflation, immigration, and crime. But of course, it is Donald Trump. And this is what he said over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She breaks everything that she touches, but soon, we're going to fix every single problem. We are going to defeat a communist known as Kamala Harris. Kamala went full communist. You heard that? She went full communist. She wants to destroy our country. Her father, a Marxist. He was a Marxist. It's what her father taught her from a young girl growing up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK. And just to be clear, that actually was a little bit more on message, not the Marxist part, but the part about saying she breaks everything she fixes. There were also moments where he said she was a complete lunatic. He said that he was more attractive than she was, that her laugh was crazy. I mean, he went on and on with the personal attacks as well.

So, as you look here, Donald Trump, again, straying away from the complete messaging that they want, which is the issues, immigration, inflation, crime, and really doubling down on some of those personal attacks. We'll see if this week, again, in these smaller venues, with these smaller crowds, can help him kind of try and hone his message.

[10:55:00]

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Kristen, with the Trump campaign bringing in Corey Lewandowski, who once wrote a book, "Let Trump Be Trump," it's hard to see how they're going to try to really get back on message. It seems like the personal attacks are the message. Kristen Holmes, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

And some sad news to report this morning. We're learning that legendary talk show host Phil Donahue has passed away. Donahue became a household name in the 1960s with his daytime talk show with Phil Donahue. It ran for almost 30 years and pioneered a new format for daytime TV. Donahue was known for covering hot button topics and interviewing major world leaders. Donahue was married to actress Marlo Thomas for 44 years.

According to a statement from his family, Donahue died last night following a long illness. He was 88 years old. Just a legend in the television business. We'll have more news after a short break.

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