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CNN International: Obamas Jab Trump in Passionate Convention Speeches; Harris and Walz Take Side Trip to Wisconsin During DNC; Blinken Leaves Middle East With Gaza Ceasefire Still Elusive; 209 Israeli Hostages Still in Gaza, Including 36 Believed to Be Dead; Iran Says Response to Israel Must Be Carefully Calibrated; Ukraine Goes on the Offensive in Russia; Russia Launched a Barrage of Drones, Missiles at Kyiv, Other Cities; Chinese Premier Meets With Russian Pm in Moscow; Crews Continue Search for Six Missing People From the Sunken Luxury Yacht Off Sicily; Trump and Vance Campaign in Asheboro, North Carolina; Trump Says He Might Consider RFK Jr. For Role in Administration; Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Call It Quits; Taylor Swift Spends Time With U.K. Families Affected by Stabbing; European Leg of Eras Tour Ends With London Shows. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired August 21, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:07]
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everyone. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, it was Obama night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Michelle and Barack Obama making the case for a Harris presidency. We will bring the highlights and the reaction.
Also, Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves the Middle East without a Gaza ceasefire. And the search for six people missing after a yacht sank off Sicily enters day three. We will be live near the search site.
Day two of the Democratic National Convention felt more like a house party than a political event. It began with the roll call of states, an often traditional affair, but the Democrats turned it into -- well, have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER (voice-over): Yes, that is hip hop star Lil Jon, helping his state of Georgia to cast its vote for Kamala Harris who, of course, won the roll call. Yeah, it looked like more of a concert than anything, right? And the night ended with perhaps the Democratic Party's two biggest stars, Barack and Michelle Obama. Their speeches carried a serious message about the power of hope and cooperation as well as a call to do the hard work necessary to win the election. But they also had some fun and they took some stinging shots at Donald Trump that set the Democratic crowd into a frenzy.
MICHELLE OBAMA, (D) FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: His limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working and highly educated successful people who happen to be black. (CROWD CHEERING)
M. OBAMA: I want to know -- I want to know who is going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?
(CROWD CHEERING)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala.
(CROWD CHEERING)
B. OBAMA: There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.
(CROWD CHEERING)
WALKER: Well, in an unusual move, Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, left the convention on Tuesday and they were in nearby Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And where they were may have carried a more significant message than what they had to say. In a not so subtle jab at Donald Trump, Harris and Walz held a rally in the exact same building where the Republicans had their convention just a month ago.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not just about us versus Donald Trump. This is about two very different visions for our nation. One, ours focused on the future. The other focused on the past. And Wisconsin, we fight for the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Let's talk more about all of this. Let's welcome CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson. Hey there, Stephen, good morning to you. We've got to start with, of course, the Obamas and their star power, and the emotions that they elicited from the crowd, the things that they said. Just talk to us about the atmosphere last night and the impact of Michelle and Barack Obama's speeches.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, every word and gesture of the Obamas during their time in the White House came under extreme scrutiny because of their status as the first black first family. Those constraints now have fallen away, and the Obamas are speaking in public in the way you imagine they are speaking in private about Donald Trump.
They had the searing experience of handing the White House to Trump in 2017. And it's clear that they're going to do everything they can to stop what they see as that nightmare repeating itself. The Obamas were effective not just because of their indictment of Trump, but the way they leverage that, they are avatars of hope in the Democratic Party, but they also created, I think, a frisson of fear. The idea that Trump could come back, that this is going to be a very close election, and that voters need to get out if they support the Democratic Party and the Kamala Harris campaign, and really vote and work every day until November's election.
[08:05:00]
'Do something' was what the former first lady said and she had the whole crowd in here chanting that, and I think that's something that will delight the ground operatives in these Democratic campaigns in the swing states.
WALKER: And looking ahead to tonight, Stephen, Kamala's VP -- Kamala Harris' VP pick, Tim Walz will be the headliner. What do you think we'll hear from him and what does he have to do to kind of continue with the momentum?
COLLINSON: I think he has to introduce himself to Americans who are seeing him, many of them, for the first time. He's the governor of Minnesota, he has not been a major national figure. Other vice presidential picks in the past, thinking of people like Dick Cheney or Joe Biden were well-known national figures when they joined presidential tickets. So he has that. He must show that if the worst happened, he would be ready to serve his commander-in-chief and he must do nothing to distract from the ticket topper, Kamala Harris.
We've seen how Republican Vice Presidential pick J.D. Vance has struggled a little bit following his announcement speech. But this marks a critical new phase of the campaign. The Democratic Party elders have elevated their presidential nominee and their vice presidential nominee. It's now time for Walz and Harris to prove that the feeling of joy and euphoria and momentum they've created in their first month together as the Democratic Party candidates, that they can translate that into votes.
This is going to be a very close election, notwithstanding the enthusiasm that we've seen at this convention, and it's going to play out in thousands of votes only in a handful of swing states. And that's what they have to start worrying about right now.
WALKER: Yeah. And perhaps that is why they were in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on day two of the convention with their rally, with their group. Stephen Collinson, good to have you. Thank you very much.
Well, outside the Democratic Convention, there was a second in day of protests calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Police and protesters engaged in some pushing and shoving near the Israeli Consulate, but no arrests were made. It came after police installed extra security fencing around the convention site on Tuesday morning.
America's top diplomat is heading home after a Middle East trip aimed at securing a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage release deal. Antony Blinken visited Egypt, Qatar, and Israel to push a bridging proposal aimed at narrowing gaps between Hamas and Israel. Now Blinken says, Israel agreed to the proposal despite reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had cast doubt on a key sticking point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Israel has now accepted that proposal. I heard that directly from Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday and we hope and expect that Hamas will do the same. Time is of the essence, time is of the essence because with every passing day, the well-being and lives of the hostages are in jeopardy. Time is of the essence because every single day, women, children, men in Gaza are suffering without access to adequate food, medicine, and at risk of being wounded or dying in fighting that they didn't start and they cannot stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All these efforts are underway as Israel keeps up its strikes on Gaza. Gazan officials said Tuesday that 50 people have been killed across the Enclave in the previous 24 hours. As you can see there, Nic Robertson is joining us now from Tel Aviv. Nic, we heard Antony Blinken there saying, how urgent a ceasefire is but there's still seems to be quite a gap between Israel and Hamas.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and I think we also got a sense of how big the reality of that gap is, even though secretary Blinken thinks that it got agreed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in comments Secretary Blinken made after those ones we we're just listening to there, just before he left the region. He was responding to comments made according to a group of hostage families, hostage families in this particular group quite supportive of Prime Minister Netanyahu's position.
And the prime minister had, according to this group, told them that the Israeli troops would not be leaving the Philadelphi Corridor, the Gaza to Egypt border. It calls this a sort of a strategic gain for Israel. And that appears to be contrary to the understanding that Secretary Blinken thinks that he got from the prime minister within the bridging proposal. The United States has put forward a bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel, because Secretary Blinken, just before leaving, said that there was specificity in this agreement that it was very clear and I'm reading here his words, very clear on the schedule and location of the IDF withdrawals from Gaza and Israel has agreed to that.
[08:10:00]
And he goes on to say there is nothing in the agreement Israel -- there's nothing in the agreement that will and the United States has not endorsed leaving Israeli forces inside of Gaza. So, there's daylight apparently already between what Secretary Blinken thinks he got from Prime Minister Netanyahu, what Prime Minister Netanyahu is telling a small group of hostage families about. So that creates doubt. Where things are supposed to stand at the moment is it's a pause and wait for Hamas to agree to the proposal -- the U.S. proposal.
But, we heard from a senior government official, U.S. government official yesterday, also speaking about Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments saying, these not conducive to trying to get the talks going. So, Hamas has not signed up to it yet. They've indicated that they think that the bridging proposal is in fact too pro-Israel, that the United States has taken the side of Israel. So, although there is some technical level meetings going on to discuss technicalities of how things could be implemented if there is agreement from both sides substantially about the bridging proposal, it's really still up in the air and not clear if the momentum is going to carry this through at the moment, Amara.
WALKER: Yeah, constantly feels like one step forward and then two steps back each time there are talks. Let's switch gears, Nic, and talk about this emotional day for the families of the hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza earlier this week. Some are holding funerals. Have those families had much to say, Nic?
ROBERTSON: They have and I think one family in particular, the family of Avraham Munder, he was 79-years-old, not in the best of health, but he was the only one of those six bodies who was recovered by the IDF day before yesterday, that the family thought there was a chance that he might be still alive, that there wasn't confirmation of his death. And he's being buried today in Nir Oz, the kibbutz very close to Gaza where he was captured, where by the way his wife and daughter and grandson were also captured but released back in November in that hostage deal then. And he's being buried next to his son and his son was killed on October 7th by Hamas.
So, there's some solace for the family there, but I did speak to his niece and she told me that there is some positivity about getting his body back. But they feel very disappointed, angry even at Prime Minister Netanyahu, this is how she explained it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERAV MOR RAVIV, NIECE OF AVRAHAM MUNDER: The values I was raised in Israel where life and the holy -- can you say the holy of life?
ROBERTSON: Yeah.
MOR RAVIV: -- of being alive and the friendship, and that you don't leave your friend in the battle or whatever. And suddenly, those values just went away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Like so many hostage families, they really believed that the prime minister could have made a deal, could have saved lives, could even have saved Avraham's life. But that didn't happen. So today, his funeral, the funeral of those others were covered in the last 48 hours. Amara?
WALKER: Nic Robertson, appreciate it. Thank you very much. Live for us there in Tel Aviv.
We're also hearing from Iran which says its response to Israel must be "Carefully calibrated." In a statement to CNN, Iran's permanent mission to the U.N. says, it wants to avoid adversely impacting a possible ceasefire deal. Now, this comes one day after the foreign ministry in Tehran said any deal was unrelated to Iran's plans for responding to Israel for the death of a Hamas leader in Tehran. Now, keep in mind, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the killing of Hamas' political leader.
The Iranian parliament meantime has been vetting cabinet nominees proposed by the new president. And CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is inside the parliament in Tehran, joining us live from there. Fred, you've been given rare access inside the parliament in Tehran. What is the feeling there in terms of a potential response to Israel?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, certainly Amara, that is on everyone's mind here, but it is also a really big day here in parliament as well. I'm actually not in the plenary of the parliament anymore. I'm not in the lobby of the parliament because the special session to approve the government of the newly-elected President, Masoud Pezeshkian, that is now over and all of the government ministers have been approved.
[08:15:00]
So Iran now, once again, has a fully functioning new government in place, obviously coming at a very important time, first and foremost, because of all the reasons that you were just mentioning because of the turmoil that is going on in the Middle East. And you're absolutely right on that account that over the last 24 hours, we have seen not necessarily a shift but maybe somewhat of a clarification coming from the Islamic Republic where they are now saying that when their strike occurs, there could be a prolonged period of waiting.
Before that, they've also not said what exactly that strike is going to look like. But, one of the main things that we discern from a message that came from Iran's U.N. mission is that they said that a strike must not jeopardize a possible ceasefire in Gaza. So for the Iranians, that is something that they say is very important. But we were speaking to members of parliament here inside the Majles, the Iranian parliament, and they are not optimistic that such a season fire deal could be reached. I was able to speak to the head of the national security and foreign relations committee, and here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EBRAHIM AZIZI, HEAD OF IRAN'S NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE (through translator): I believe the Israeli regime will not accept a permanent ceasefire. They will not feel committed to any principles, rules or decisions. We wish that the U.S. would not support a regime that violates international principles and does not feel bound by commitments and agreements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: That was Ebrahim Azizi, the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran's parliament, speaking to me just a little bit earlier, and that's something that we've heard from several Iranian politicians, Iranian officials, over the past couple of days, Amara, where they don't feel that the Israelis are serious about a ceasefire, that they keep moving the goalpost. They are also not confident in the mediation role that the U.S. has been taking. At the same time, you do hear from the Iranians that they want a ceasefire to happen. And the other key thing that sort of we've heard today is the fact that the Iranians are no longer saying that the issue of a ceasefire and their retaliation are not linked at all. They are now saying that they are linked, but the Iranians still say they're not saying when they're going to strike and how they are going to strike out.
WALKER: Right, but even though they say that they're not linked, I mean, do you get the sense that the longer these ceasefire talks go on, that that would potentially delay an Iranian retaliation if Iranian officials are saying that they don't want to adversely impact a possible deal?
PLEITGEN: I think that that is very possible and one of the things that we have heard from the Iranians over the past couple of days is, while they're not involved directly in the talks for a ceasefire, they obviously weren't at the table in Doha. They're not going to be on the table in Cairo either. They are being informed by the mediators of those talks. In fact, every day that in Doha those negotiations took place, at the end of the day, the Qatari prime minister called the Iranian acting foreign minister and informed him about how those talks were going.
So, the Iranians certainly being kept up-to-date, these talks obviously very important to them as well. But they themselves, of course, that Iran is also a big factor at those talks because, of course, the United States does believe that if the ceasefire agreement can be reached, that maybe Iran will not retaliate against Israel. The Iranians are saying that they will retaliate at some point in time, but they are not saying how exactly that is going to happen. The language right now from the Iranians is that there will be an appropriate response, but they've also said it could come from the air, it could come from the ground. At this point in time, it simply isn't clear at all. At the same time, you do notice how those ceasefire negotiations, the possibility of a ceasefire have become very, very important here to the leadership of this country, Amara.
WALKER: All right. Fred Pleitgen there in Tehran with a really rare access inside the Iranian parliament. Thank you so much.
Still to come, a vacation on the Mediterranean turned tragic when a storms sank a luxury yacht. We'll have the latest on the search for the missing. And it's been another night of tit-for-tat battles nearly two weeks after Ukraine's surprise offensive into Russia. We'll bring you the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:21:13]
WALKER: Ukraine has taken the fight against Russia to Vladimir Putin's doorstep. Russia says it shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight, including 11 aimed at Moscow. The city's mayor calls this one of the largest drone strikes aimed at the Russian capital ever. Meanwhile, in the border Kursk -- Kursk border region, this drone footage shows Ukraine taking out key bridges during Kyiv's two-week old assaults.
Now, earlier today, one Ukrainian drone killed a woman in Kursk, that is according to the governor there. Russia in the meantime launched a barrage of drones and missiles aimed at Kyiv and other areas. These attacks happened as China's Premier Li Qiang visits Moscow. Here, you see him meeting with Russia's prime minister.
Clare Sebastian joining us now from London with more. Clare, first on Russia's response, what has it been to this drone attack from Ukraine?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, they are claiming to have averted all of the drones, 45 of them, as you say, targeting different regions, including 11 over the Moscow region. No real political response beyond that, what we see from President Putin is this attempt to portray business as usual in Russia. But interestingly, as we see, Ukrainians are showing off its efforts there in the Kursk region, what we're hearing is that there appears to be a more organized, more coordinated Russian response taking shape thereafter, the sort of chaos of the first couple of weeks.
A Ukrainian commander of a battalion that's active in Kursk has told CNN on the phone today that he has seen as sort of shift in behavior that Russian units are starting to storm the Ukrainian units in his words, and that they're no longer surrendering, he said, in their hundreds, although some are still surrendering when attacked he claims. So, it's interesting that perhaps we're entering a new phase where Russia is going to try to put up more of a fight to that Ukrainian ground offensive.
As for President Putin, while he, as I say, is meeting with the Chinese premier today, not saying much at all about Kursk. But yesterday, we saw an interesting event. He was meeting and greeting with people in the southern Russian city of Vladikavkaz, very reminiscent of the sort of post-crisis playbook that we saw from him after the Prigozhin Mutiny in June of last year. You can see the split screen, it is startlingly similar, an effort it seems to sort of reassert his popularity, reassert the sense that he is in control of things even though, at this point, it is not clear that he is and Russia trying to show that he is close to the people at the same time, as it's possible that he is still prioritizing, attacking and taking ground in Ukraine over actually protecting his own territory.
WALKER: And tell us more about this meeting as Vladimir Putin is welcoming China's premier, China's number two. Obviously, they are trying to deepen ties that there's a strategic significance behind this.
SEBASTIAN: Yeah. Like a long-planned meeting, but it comes as he is -- as Russia is very much prioritizing its relationship with China as it sort of shifts its focus to the east and tries to create this new sphere of influence to counter what it sees as U.S. and western dominance. It was long planned, we're told. It's sort of an annual thing that the Chinese and Russian heads of government meet, but it is convenient timing, right now. One, because it helps with that sort of effort to show that it's business as usual despite the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk. And I think it's also useful counter programming because we are expecting to see the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is another key ally as Russia sees it, of Russia going to Ukraine on Friday.
So, this will help Russia to sort of reassert that its key allies are not essentially switching sides in this conflict, Amara.
WALKER: Clare Sebastian in London, thank you very much.
[08:25:00]
Well, it is day three of the search for six missing people after a luxury yacht sank in violent weather off the coast of Sicily. Divers are looking for two Americans and four Britons, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch. At least one person was killed when a tornado hit the area early on Monday. 15 people we're rescued and a newly released grainy image from Monday morning shows what appears to be the moments just before the yacht sank.
CNN's Barbie Nadeau joining us now from Porticello, Sicily. What's the latest on this third day of the search?
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. You know, they've been able to get inside. These divers -- these special cave divers have been able to get inside the sunken vessel and what we understand (inaudible). They've made a sort of a shift change. We saw both come in and change the divers for more to go out. They can't stay submerged very long while they're searching and they're trying to have to figure out how they're going to get inside the vessel as (inaudible) the first try as we understand today, didn't turn up anyone that they were looking for, Amara.
WALKER: And Barbie, what more do we know about local authorities opening an investigation into what happened?
LATZA NADEAU: Yeah, we understand, you know, this investigation, this is pretty standard here in Italy. Obviously, it gives the local prosecutors and investigators (inaudible) to especially a foreign flagged ship like this.
But we do know that they're going (inaudible) they are going to be questioning all the crew and all those who survived understand (ph). If there was something maybe that contributed in terms of human (inaudible).
WALKER: OK. That's Barbie.
LATZA NADEAU: -- is sunk at the bottom of (inaudible) right now.
WALKER: Yeah. We -- our apologies for the hits there on Barbie's audio. Obviously, you can see it's quite windy there off the coast of Sicily, but we did get the gist of that. Barbie Nadeau, thank you for your report.
Still to come, Kamala Harris' husband introduces himself to the country, his message about the kind of president his wife would be. And some cynics said it wouldn't last unfortunately, for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, they were right. Coming up, the end of the road for Bennifer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Let's get back to our top story now, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Today is the day the U.S. and the world will really be introduced to Kamala Harris' VP pick, Tim Walz, a politician, little known outside his state, just a few weeks ago.
[08:30:00]
His speech tonight will cap an evening that also includes people like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Former President Bill Clinton. On Tuesday, it was Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, who took his turn at center stage. It was his job to humanize Kamala Harris, which he did by telling the story of their courtship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG EMHOFF, HUSBAND OF KAMALA HARRIS: Now, for generations, people have debated when to call the person you're being set up with, and never in history has anyone suggested 8:30 a.m.
(LAUGH)
EMHOFF: And yet, that's when I dialed. Kamala save that voicemail and she makes me listen to it on every anniversary.
(LAUGH)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Let's bring in CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Tell us more, what did you think about how Doug Emhoff did? I mean, you know, I've heard a lot his self-deprecating humor whenever he talks about their courtship and it seems to land pretty well.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. I would love to hear that voicemail, I'll have to say.
(LAUGH)
LIPTAK: And I think your anniversary is coming up this week, so maybe we will hear it. Someone's just got to get the aux cable and plug-in her phone. But you know, the self-deprecating humor is really kind of his trademark and he has used it so effectively to humanize the candidate, which is of course, the typical role of a political spouse. Conventions, going back decades have featured that.
But what is unique, of course, here is that it's coming from a husband, it's coming from a man and in an election in which gender has played such a large role even before Kamala Harris became the Democratic standard where it's such an interesting dynamic to see how he handles that very typical political role. He talks about Kamala Harris as a wife. He talks about her as a prosecutor as well. But in his own description, in his own biography, you hear about a man who has essentially put aside his own ambitions for now to support his very powerful wife.
And you heard that in the video introduction from his son, Cole Emhoff, who made a mentioned that Doug Emhoff gave up quite a lucrative and successful career as an entertainment lawyer to act as a trailing political spouse. And that's something of a sacrifice for him, certainly. But it does demonstrate the kind of partnership and dynamic that they have, and that they want to show the country that they have as they -- as voters look to see who they'll vote for in November. And it was -- I thought quite an effective speech.
It was funny. You know, people we're very into it here in the crowd. His lines really did land among delegates who sometimes aren't paying attention, and they're chattering, they're walking around. His speech had them a pretty rapt when he was speaking and I think that just goes to show the kind of first gentleman, if he makes it to that role, that he would be. It's a role that doesn't have any definition. It doesn't have a salary. It doesn't come with any set staff in particular, no budget.
So, it is up to the person in the job to make of it what they will. And I thought from that speech, you did have a good sense of at least thematically how he might approach it.
WALKER: Yeah, it would be interesting to see, if Kamala Harris does win, what kind of role he would carve out as being the first first gentleman. So, day three of the convention will feature Tim Walz, as we were saying, former President Bill Clinton, Pete Buttigieg. Give us a preview of what to expect tonight.
LIPTAK: Well, the keynote is going to be from Tim Walz. He's the vice presidential nominee, the governor of Minnesota. He's not very well- known among the American people and it has been funny walking around, just chatting up some of the delegates, a lot of them were not all that familiar with Tim Walz and these are people who are pretty plugged into Democratic politics. So, his task will be to introduce himself to the American people.
I think we can bet he'll use some humor, that folksy sensibility that he has brought to the campaign trail. He's a joyful warrior and Democrats very much appreciate that aspect out on the campaign trail. We will also hear from former President Bill Clinton delivering his 12th convention speech. He has delivered these dating back to the 1980s. There have been some good ones; there have been some very bad ones. And I'm thinking back to 1988, when he spoke for twice as long as he was allotted, delegates began walking out and he later described it as 32 minutes of total disaster.
In recent years, his role has been something of an explainer-in-chief particularly on economic issues. That's actually something that Democrats could use at the moment. A lot of Americans just don't understand what the Biden-Harris agenda has been on the economy. He is still something of a rockstar in the Democratic Party, but I think it's also fair to say that some views on him have shifted over the last several years. Just in general, the party has moved more to the left on issues like crime or trade that he espoused when he was president. [08:35:00]
The scandal that engulfed the end of his presidency has also kind of taken on a new light in recent years, but I still think it's safe to say he will receive a very warm welcome when he walks in here this evening.
WALKER: Absolutely. Kevin Liptak, good to see you. Thanks so much.
So, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, I should say, spoke to CNN just a short time ago. Jaime Harrison says he is looking forward to vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz's message for the convention tonight. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAIME HARRISON, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The coach is going to coach tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
HARRISON: He is going to deliver a great, great speech and he's going to show folks why he's so beloved in Minnesota, why I have loved this guy for over 20 years. I was the executive director of the House Democratic Caucus when use a freshman (ph) member the House, and Tim Walz is just a good and decent man. In many ways, what we saw and what we loved with Doug Emhoff on the stage, is what we're going to see, similarly, with Tim Walz.
I mean, he's that uncle that you just want to hang out with and just -- he's always there and whenever it comes over to the house, you just get so excited because you're like, what's next?
(LAUGH)
HARRISON: He is a great guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right, Larry Sabato is the Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He's joining us now from Charlottesville, Virginia. Larry, Kevin Liptak in his report was mentioning rockstar status when he was referring to Bill Clinton. I think that status clearly goes to the Obamas from last night. Let's listen again to some of the highlights of what Michelle and Barack Obama had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
M. OBAMA: The limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working and highly-educated successful people happen to be black.
(CROWD CHEERING)
M. OBAMA: I want to know. (CROWD CHEERING)
M. OBAMA: I want to know, who is going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?
(CROWD CHEERING)
B. OBAMA: It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala.
(CROWD CHEERING)
B. OBAMA: There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: All right. Larry, how did they do?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: This was an incredible one-two punch. No one else could have delivered it the way the Obamas did, and it was in the right order. It was focused on the right things. And you know, in watching them, it's important for people to know, they really haven't done a lot of them. They have had a relatively low public profile since leaving the White House and this was intense compared to their prior appearances.
I think a lot of the resentments toward Trump had been building up over the years because, of course, Trump never hesitates to go after them, and this was really revealing and they got to Trump's vulnerabilities. And you can be sure, first of all, Trump was watching. You know, him. He was watching and he was going nuts. So, they got under his skin. It will be interesting to see how he responds. But I think the Obamas helped Kamala Harris considerably.
WALKER: I do want to play sound that our Kristen Holmes got with Trump before the Obamas took the stage on Tuesday. And this is what Trump said about the Obamas, listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like him. I think he's a nice gentleman, but he was very, very weak on trade. If you take a look at what happened to our country trade-wise, it was a disaster. The -- take a look at Japan, take a look at China, take a look at what happened with some of these countries, what they did. But I happen to like him. I respect his wife.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: I happen to like him, and I respect him. I mean, clearly, that's obviously a 180 from the birther conspiracy theories that he used to perpetuate. But again, to you, it seems like the Obamas helped Harris with these speeches?
SABATO: Oh, they absolutely did. And believe me and you know this, Donald Trump is going to pivot again about the Obamas. He listened to what they said. Now, he liked him because they haven't been speaking out against him all that frequently. But that has changed. It was really the kind of night that you remember many, many years into the future.
You remember certain moments from each convention, if you are political at least, and the Obamas really where the heart of the key moment on that night and maybe for the whole convention.
WALKER: So, what do you think happened to that 2016 warning from Michelle Obama that when they go low, we go high?
[08:40:00]
Do you think they finally realized that, you know, when you're fighting a bully, you've got to meet fire with fire?
SABATO: Yes. The -- well, basically, I think the peak of Mount Everest has been bulldozed and it was bulldozed by Donald Trump. Let's be very clear about that. We have reached a low that I personally never thought we would get to. And we're there and we sink lower every year. Donald Trump is more responsible than any single person for that. I thought Obamas -- Michelle Obama's best line by far was, maybe the job that Trump is seeking again, the presidency, one of those black jobs.
Remember, that was a reference to what Donald Trump said at the National Association of Black Journalists, that there are certain black jobs that are being taken by immigrants. Well, you know, I thought every job was a black job and a white job and an Asian job and it's out of time. He's really -- it's back to the future as far as he's concerned.
WALKER: Well, what a way to use Trump's words against him once again. Lastly, Larry, as we look forward to tonight, day three of the convention, Tim Walz will be the keynote speaker. Obviously, hard to follow the Obamas. But, what does he need to do tonight? SABATO: He needs to be himself. He needs to listen carefully to Doug
Emhoff's speech because Americans 999 out of 1,000 wouldn't have recognized Doug Emhoff before last night. I'm not sure that it is that many more now, but he gave an endearing speech because he isn't known, he needed to define himself.
Well, Walz is kind of the same person as Doug Emhoff. He's a regular fellow from this -- that you'd run into in the street and have a pleasant conversation with. He needs to come across as himself. He is normal and believe me, I've spent my whole life in and around politics, and you don't meet many normal people in politics.
WALKER: That is true. That is something to behold the -- how normal he is. Larry Sabato, good to see you as always, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Thanks.
SABATO: Thank you, Amara. WALKER: All right. Still to come, Donald Trump and his running mate are doing their best to draw attention away from the DNC this week. We're going to talk about why they are campaigning today in North Carolina.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance are taking their DNC counter programming show to North Carolina today. In just a few hours, they will talk national security during a stop in Asheboro, North Carolina, and they hope it will steal the spotlight from the Democrats who are gathered in Chicago. Meanwhile, Donald Trump says he is open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. having a role in his administration, that is if Kennedy ends his presidential campaign. And according to RFK's running mate, that is a very real possibility.
[08:45:00]
Alayna Treene joining us now from Washington. Alayna, hello, so we saw earlier the momentum that Democrats are creating this week at their convention. What is Donald Trump focusing his attention on?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, this entire week, Amara, is about counterprogramming this. They recognize how much attention that Harris and her campaign are going to be getting this week and they're trying to steal some of the limelight. Now, when I talked to Donald Trump's advisers, they acknowledge that that's going to be difficult to do. But still, they are doing their best to try and draw contrast between their campaign and the campaign of Harris.
And today, you're going to see the former president Donald Trump as well as J.D. Vance travel to Asheboro, North Carolina. Now, what I find really interesting about this is, this is actually Donald Trump's third visit to the state since Joe Biden ended his campaign last month. That's three visits in roughly a month. And I think that just emphasizes and underscores how important his campaign sees this state. And remember, this isn't typically North Carolina, a state that has gone for Democratic candidates for president in the past.
So last time, we actually saw a Democratic candidate win was 16 years ago when Barack Obama in 2008 was able to secure the state. But, I will say Biden came very close in 2020 and so, the Trump campaign is really investing millions in new advertising, trying to build out their battleground strategy in North Carolina in an effort to prevent Harris from closing in on him even further.
Now, the goal today with that speech in North Carolina is to talk about national security and we know from what we've seen this week that every single day, all of his visits to these different battlegrounds are focused on a specific issue. On Monday, Donald Trump was in Pennsylvania talking about the economy. Yesterday, he was in Michigan talking about crime and safety. Today, as I mentioned, it will be a national security focus. And tomorrow, Donald Trump will be talking about the border and immigration when he visits the border in Arizona. And you'll also see him in Las Vegas and Arizona again on Friday. And all of this is designed to keep Donald Trump on message, talking about the issues where they recognize he polls higher or at least polls better than Harris. Now, just to quickly talk about the RFK thing, our colleague Kristen Holmes caught up with Donald Trump yesterday in Michigan and asked him, you know, Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr.'s running mate had mentioned that he would consider dropping out and endorsing him. Donald Trump told our Kristen Holmes, I would welcome that endorsement. He also said that he would even consider him for a role in his administration.
So, very newsy there in his interview to CNN. Amara?
WALKER: Super interesting. Alayna Treene, good to see you. Thank you. We're going to take a quick break, more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: So they say the third time is a charm, but unfortunately, for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, this was their second time around and yes, it just ended. Lopez filed for divorce Tuesday, just two years after they wed. The two first met more than 20 years ago on a movie set and the relationship blossomed and then it wilted, and then it blossomed again. And now, it seems like it has wilted once again.
CNN's Lisa France joining us with this story. You've been following this, I mean, is anyone shocked by this split?
FRANCE: Amara, I feel like the only people who are shocked are hopeless romantics who have not been paying attention.
[08:50:00]
I mean, we went through months of, are they going to get divorced, are they not? They didn't spend her birthday together. The rings weren't on; the rings were off. So finally, we know that on the second anniversary of their wedding at his palatial estates in Georgia, Jennifer Lopez went ahead and she has filed for divorce. And so Bennifer 2.0 is no more and I feel like people really were pulling for this couple because we have more than 20 years of, you know, they got together more than 20 years ago. They did not get married and then they finally ended up getting married.
And so, people we're really, really hopeful that this time around, they we're going to be able to make it work. But it looks like they weren't able to and there were some clues actually, if you watch the documentary for her latest album, you saw where they talked about how she is a very public-facing person. Ben Affleck is gone on the record to say that he does not love being a celebrity. He loves the work, but he does not love being a star. So, it appears that they just could not work out whatever differences, which may or may not have been there more than 20 years ago when they tried this before.
WALKER: Yeah.
FRANCE: So now, unfortunately, it looks like it's coming to an end.
WALKER: Yeah. And let's not say maybe third time is a charm. Maybe it's not.
(LAUGH)
FRANCE: Yes. I don't -- I don't think so. I for one don't think they're going to try this again.
WALKER: Yeah.
FRANCE: I think there was so much and even like I said in the documentary, Jane Fonda warns her like, maybe you don't want to do this project, which is all about self-love and feels like it's about your relationship with Ben Affleck. But Jennifer Lopez, like she says in her doc, she's an artist. And Ben even says, you know, this is what artists do. He understands, he's a writer, he's a director. He understands that celebrities and artists, they pull from their personal vibes, a lot of time for their art. And it's just very unfortunate, because we know how difficult married life can be. But when you're a celebrity and you're in front of the public eye, it feels like all the time, it's even more difficult.
WALKER: You would have to be a hopeless romantic to keep trying, hopeless.
FRANCE: Hopeless.
WALKER: Emphasis on that.
(LAUGH)
FRANCE: Absolutely.
WALKER: Lisa France, good to see you. Thank you.
FRANCE: Good to see you, thank you.
WALKER: Well, switching gears now and two young survivors of last month's horrific knife attack in Southport, England got a chance to meet their heroin when Superstar Taylor Swift performed in London recently. Hope Foster and her sister Autumn were invited backstage after one of Swift's shows at Wembley Stadium. In a TikTok video of the night, the girl's mother, Sami, sent a big thank you to the singer and her mom for making it all possible.
Swift had said the attack in which three girls died left her in complete shock. The European leg of the Eras Tour is now over and Swift can enjoy a two-month break. Our Anna Stewart has been speaking with some of her fans in London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lights, camera, fans, smile. With August slipping away, Taylor Swift's European tour is coming to a close, leaving behind windfall profits. Swift has dazzled fans in Dublin, shaken it off in Warsaw, and styled it out in Stockholm, all to the tune of millions of dollars in sales and a boost to retail, travel and hospitality businesses. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got to be tired, because if I obviously is going to be tired to.
STEWART: How much Taylor Swift have you played in the last few days?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, hours, countless (ph). It's (ph) my whole life.
STEWART (voice-over): In the U.K., the average fan is spending $1,100 all in. According to analysis from Barclays Bank, they estimate $1.27 billion boost for the British economy. Gelsenkirchen, Germany hosted almost as many Swifties as the city's population, giving the hotel sector a Swift lift. Fans say it's all worth the hype.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've spent a lot of money, it's not good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) spent it last year, so it's like it's not real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Craze, craze (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've forgotten all about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
STEWART (voice-over): I love that, (inaudible).
STEWART: Eras is the highest grossing tour of all time according to Pollstar, eclipsing $1 billion in sales before the 2024 concerts in South America, Asia, and Europe even began. And it's had no shortage of viral moments in Europe, from celebrity appearances to fans without tickets clamoring to get a view. And the guy on the chiefs (ph).
London had to bolster security after three Vienna shows were canceled due to a terror threat. But even then, Swifties in the Austrian city rallied with fans singing her music in the streets.
[08:55:00]
After more than 40 sold-out shows across Europe, 'Miss Americana' is heading back to North America. Swift gets so two-month break until she hits Florida, Louisiana, and later Canada.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The adrenaline probably keeps her going. I'm sure when she finishes the tour, she will sleep for about (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she must be knackered, like they say in the U.K.
(LAUGH)
STEWART (voice-over): But for now, it's 'So Long, London'.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WALKER: Of course, she must be knackered. That's our time. Thank you so much for being with me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Erica Hill is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:00]
