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Interview With State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-TN); Interview With Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX); Interview With Former Atlanta, Georgia, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired August 21, 2024 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Yes, I mean, it was kind of a shocker that Joe Biden was able to capture Georgia last time around.
How is it feeling on the ground there?
KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), FORMER MAYOR OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA: It's feeling great.
I was not surprised that we were able to get Georgia last time around. And that momentum continues.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BOTTOMS: Georgia is a part of this equation that gets us to 270 votes. The vice president has made multiple trips to Georgia. I believe there were two within one week in June.
So she's not new to the state. She has a great group of supporters there, very personal, close connections there. So she's been in and out of Georgia the entirety of her term as vice president and even before that. So she's family.
I saw her one time in Georgia, and I said, "Welcome back home." So I'm hoping and I believe that's what voters will remember in November.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Yes, I think no one will forget what happened last night. No one will forget this moment.
ACOSTA: Yes. Yes.
PHILLIP: Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIL JON, MUSICIAN: Yes!
Ladies and gentlemen, we are here tonight to officially nominate Kamala Harris for president!
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: Every time -- I have watched this video too many times. I will not admit how many times I have watched it, but I watch a different person in the crowd every time.
ACOSTA: Yes.
PHILLIP: And it is so funny to me, but, Georgia, you guys won last night. I'm going to give it to you.
(LAUGHTER)
BOTTOMS: Well, thank you very much.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BOTTOMS: Someone on social media said Atlanta is going to always Atlanta. And I will say Georgia is going to always Georgia.
And this -- we're in the season of authenticity. You saw it last night with Michelle Obama on the stage. We talked about Kamala Harris being able to run towards the fullness of who she is in the season. And that's what voters are looking for as we get to November and those 270 electoral votes that we need.
PHILLIP: Jim, you will remember this.
ACOSTA: Yes.
PHILLIP: I mean, look, celebrities don't win elections, but it does say something about an energy level, right, that was here.
ACOSTA: It definitely does.
And, Dan, you know. I mean, Kamala Harris has just immediately changed that dynamic in this race, yes.
DAN MORAIN, AUTHOR, "KAMALA'S WAY: AN AMERICAN LIFE": It's the -- she's the Kamala Harris I saw campaigning in California for attorney general, U.S. Senate. She's having a good time.
ACOSTA: Yes.
MORAIN: She's gotten better, but this is not surprising, if you watched her in California. She's a pretty good politician.
ACOSTA: Yes, not too bad. Look where she is right now.
All right, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Dan Morain, thank you very much.
We will see more dance moves tonight from Keisha Lance Bottoms possibly?
BOTTOMS: Absolutely. (CROSSTALK)
BOTTOMS: A-town down.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: All right, there you go.
Still ahead, Eva Longoria among the native Texans claiming their traditionally red state is in play for the Democrats this year. I will speak with Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro about that heavy lift and what Kamala Harris will have to do to turn the Lone Star State blue.
That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:37:35]
ACOSTA: Actress Eva Longoria introduced her home state of Texas during the roll call at the Democratic National Convention last night.
And she's one of the most prominent members of the Latino community to endorse the Harris/Walz ticket. Kamala Harris has seen a boost in support with Latino voters since President Biden stepped aside. A new poll shows her 17 points ahead of Trump in that category. Compare that to Biden's seven-point lead back in July.
And this week, the Harris campaign launched a WhatsApp channel tailored to the Latino community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ, HARRIS/WALZ CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Learn about what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are doing to deliver for our Latino families and so much more. So we hope that you will join us today.
And please tell your familia, tell your tias, your tios, your primos, everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And joining us now is Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas.
Congressman, I want to show you this little graphic right here. It says, according to the Hispanic Federation, about 36 million Latinos are eligible to vote this year. That's about 15 percent of the electorate.
I had Domingo Garcia on the program from LULAC.
REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Yes.
ACOSTA: And I was asking him, is the Harris campaign doing enough outreach? Are there enough Latino speakers at this convention? Are you satisfied with the role Latinos are playing in the Harris/Walz ticket?
I know they have only gotten started here, but what's your sense of it?
CASTRO: Yes.
No, I mean, listen, from top to bottom -- the campaign manager is a Latina...
ACOSTA: Yes.
CASTRO: ... whose family -- who grew up in California, but her family is from Texas.
And you see that Kamala Harris' lead with Latinos has expanded to about 20 points, according to the polls. And I think, most of all, you have a Latino community that cares about the bread-and-butter issues of being able to educate their kids well, of being able to afford health care, the price of groceries and gas.
And Kamala Harris is the one with a plan. I think people realize that, for all of his bluster and all of his talk, Donald Trump really has no plan. What he has is 25 random tweets about wild things every other day.
And so the Latino community, like other Americans, they want to go with a person who actually has a plan. But, also, Jim, the last seven or eight years for the Latino community has been one of being scapegoated, being blamed for a lot of ills in American society.
And so I think people want to turn the page on that. And Kamala Harris has talked about the joy of being American, the joy of being part of this country and unifying people. And I think the country's going to turn the page on Donald Trump.
[11:40:06]
ACOSTA: Well, on that note, I do want to show this video.
This is a video. On the left is the crowd during the DNC holding signs of "USA." We can jump to that element. And on the right is last month's Republican National Convention, the crowd waving signs that say "Mass Deportation Now."
I know I have you on the show a lot, Congressman, but I don't know if I have gotten your reaction. You can see it on the right side of the screen. Those are Texans from the Republican delegation in Milwaukee holding "Mass Deportation" signs, "Mass Deportation Now" signs at the RNC.
What was your response to that when you saw that?
CASTRO: I mean, that was chilling, because the last time a president in this country carried out mass deportations, not only were some folks who were undocumented deported to Mexico. There were literally over a span of years hundreds of thousands, if not over a million Latino Americans, in other words, Latino American citizens who had every right to be in the country, who were deported to Mexico.
So I don't know if those people who were some of them hatefully holding those signs, if they know the significance of that. But that meant a million American citizens deported to Mexico before.
ACOSTA: And I want to jump to foreign policy and talk about the war in Gaza.
You have been very critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
CASTRO: Sure.
ACOSTA: ... the way the Israelis have prosecuted that war.
Outside of the DNC this week, we have seen Palestinian protesters, anti-war protesters voicing their strong opposition to the war in Gaza. They also showed up at Stephen Colbert's "Late Show" during an interview with Nancy Pelosi. Let's take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Hold on a second. Would you like to respond to what they're saying?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): No, what I was saying is...
COLBERT: Hold on. Will you listen to her response? Will you listen to her response?
PELOSI: But they're screaming. I can't hear them, but to those who have that question...
COLBERT: They have said that the United States should not have any role in supplying Israel arms to kill the people of Gaza now. That's what they're saying.
(CHEERING)
PELOSI: Well, Israel has a right to defend itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Congressman, I know you have a different take on all of this, and you have been somewhat critical of the Biden administration on this. You would like to see them get a little tougher with Bibi Netanyahu.
CASTRO: Well, and they have gotten tougher, to their credit.
This is obviously...
ACOSTA: Does Kamala Harris need to go further?
CASTRO: Well, I think that she needs -- she and President Biden need to do what they're doing, which is, they need to press Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas very hard for a cease-fire.
But I have said, yes, I question sending over offensive weapons at this point to Israel. A lot of those weapons have been used not only to take out Hamas fighters and terrorists, but also on innocent civilians, including a lot of kids. And I think that's what you're seeing a lot of Americans concerned about.
I do think Kamala Harris is leading on this issue. She's spoken up very clearly, and they're trying very hard. You have got Benjamin Netanyahu, who so far has put his own political survival above everything else.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CASTRO: Because, if he doesn't politically survive and stay in place, there's a chance he's literally going to prison.
ACOSTA: Well, we heard Bernie Sanders the other night talk about this issue. Has this issue gotten enough airtime at this convention, in your view?
CASTRO: That's right.
I mean, you heard one of the most prominent speakers last night, Bernie Sanders, talk about it. And so the delegates are talking about it. I think it's on people's minds.
And you're going to hear, obviously, conversation. But what matters most is the diplomacy that's going on.
ACOSTA: All right, Congressman Joaquin Castro, thanks very much. Appreciate it.
CASTRO: Good to be with you.
ACOSTA: All right, in the meantime, they made history last year after protesting in their Tennessee Statehouse calling for more gun control. The Tennessee 3, you might remember them, they will now take the stage at the DNC tomorrow.
We will speak live with state Representative Justin Pearson. My colleague Abby will have that.
But, first, here's a look at who's coming up at "INSIDE POLITICS" at noon. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:48:23]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STATE REP. JUSTIN PEARSON (D-TN): From the bluffs of Memphis to the peaks of Mountain City, the movement for justice, rooted in love in Tennessee, is still strong. It is a movement where kids are free from gun violence, a movement
where women have the right to choose, a movement where working people get access to economic opportunity, a movement where those who have been pushed to the periphery are brought to the center, a movement where those who have been pushed down are lifted up.
It is alive in Tennessee, because we believe that justice will roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, which is why we are so proud to have been the first state in the union to have pledged all of our delegates to Kamala D. Harris.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
PEARSON: We cast 72 votes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: That there was my next guest, Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, delivering his state's roll call vote at the DNC last night.
You might remember him, because he was part of a group known as the Tennessee 3, a trio of lawmakers who faced backlash in 2023 for encouraging gun control protests in the chamber of their state legislature.
Pearson was expelled for his actions, but later voters put him back into the job. And that incident, though, it garnered national attention. Vice President Kamala Harris, she visited Nashville to address that controversy.
Here's a photo of Harris hugging Pearson at that event at Fisk University. The two then met again during a meeting at the White House with President Biden.
[11:50:00]
Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, he joins me now.
Representative Pearson, great to see you. Thank you for coming.
So what was that moment like for you on the national stage to lead that roll call vote, with Dolly Parton playing in the background, no less?
PEARSON: Yes, thank you so much, Abby, for the opportunity.
It was electrifying. I'm always so humbled and honored to represent District 86, Memphis and Tennessee. And to be able to do the roll call vote, to share that Tennessee was the first state in the union to cast all of our votes and pledge all of them to Vice President Harris really just shows how powerful we believe in democracy, how much we believe in opportunity and the possibility that a Harris presidency will have to creating justice in this country. PHILLIP: You and two of your colleagues are set to speak at the DNC.
Can you give us a preview of what you're going to have to say to these delegates in this hall tomorrow night, I believe?
PEARSON: Yes.
Well, we are really fortunate to have been asked by Vice President Harris and the DNC to help address the issue of gun violence, the issues of authoritarianism, the worries that we have about democracy, because we see what is happening in our state legislature as a canary in the coal mine.
If we continue to have politicians misuse and abuse their power to expel lawmakers, misuse and abuse their power like they're trying to do even with our district attorney, we are going to lose the democracy that is so important and so vitally essential in this moment to end the gun violence epidemic, to ensure that we do something about our environment and climate, and to provide economic access and opportunity.
And so we're looking forward to bringing that message to the stage and let everybody know that we have to keep fighting, we have to keep building this movement together.
PHILLIP: Your moment in the national spotlight came in the wake of a really horrific shooting in your home state.
How important is this issue of gun control to the voters that Vice President Harris needs to reach? And are you hearing enough about it at this convention this week?
PEARSON: I mean, gun violence is one of the most important issues to the electorate.
The Covenant School shooting was the worst mass shooting in Tennessee history. Three 9-year-old children, three adults who served those children lost their lives. But gun violence is something that is also pervasive in our district almost every single day. And families are being shattered, communities are being shattered across our country, from homicides, from suicides, from mass shootings.
And more needs to be done at a legislative level and also with us using our voices to raise up the problem of gun violence, so that we can do more to end this epidemic. I think this convention is addressing that need.
I was talking with a youth council yesterday. This is one of the most significant issues for young people under the age of 36. And in this election, young voters are going to decide who wins and who loses. And this is the most -- one of the most important issues for our generation.
We're tired of having to go to schools and practice for mass shooter drills. We're tired of having to live in the fear that we currently have to live in because of the proliferation of gun violence. And we know that Vice President Harris leading the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention is committed to ending this epidemic.
And I know that the delegates that I'm here with in this convention is ready for us to do something, so that we can stop the tears, we can stop the heartache, we can stop the pain of those whom we love, include my own classmate, Larry Thorn.
We can end this epidemic. And now is the moment, and this is the time to have that moral vision connected to our political vision and future as a country.
PHILLIP: Last night, former President Obama gave a rousing speech in this hall, but the message that he had was actually directed at the Democratic faithful.
And he was trying to say, it seemed, that the way that you talked to the other half of the country that does not support you or your chosen candidate, that matters. As someone who lives, works, you represent people in a state that is very heavily Republican, what do you think is the importance of what President Obama had to say? Is he right that people need to be given more grace and spoken to without as much judgment?
PEARSON: Yes, I loved President Obama's speech. I loved first lady Michelle Obama's speech. They are superstars and strong supporters for democracy and the values that make America the great nation that it is.
And I believe that that message really does resonate. And it is a message that is for Democrats, it's for Republicans, it's for independents, that, if we are going to have the future that we know we can live into, one free of gun violence one, where we do something about our environment and our climate, one where health care access is for everybody -- I serve in a state where our Statehouse has refused to expand Medicaid.
Once we actually have those values and those visions aligned, I am certain that we are going to have a better Tennessee, we're going to have a better Memphis, we're going to have a better country.
But it is also so important that we realize in those dialogues that we have an obligation to one another to listen, to engage, to be thoughtful, to be kind.
[11:55:03]
And it is important to know, for me as a person who serves in a majority Republican Statehouse represented my district that I am not willing to compromise to be thoughtful, to be kind, and it is important to know for me as a person who serves in a majority- Republican Statehouse representing my district that I am not willing to compromise my community.
I'm not willing to compromise those who are made poor. I'm not willing to compromise the LGBTQIA community. I'm not willing to compromise black folks and indigenous folks and immigrants in order to placate folks who are on the other side of the aisle.
But I am very willing to find common ground with any and everybody who wants to see our state, who wants to see our nation be better.
PHILLIP: Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, thank you. Great to have you on the show today.
PEARSON: Thank you so much. I appreciate you. God bless you. Let's keep going.
PHILLIP: And thank you for joining us this morning. I'm Abby Phillip.
"INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts right after a quick break.
