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CNN International: Israel Launches Major Operation In Occupied West Bank; Harris, Walz Set Sights On Battleground Georgia; Fake MAGA Accounts Promote Trump Re-Election. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 28, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, an Israeli operation in the West Bank leaves many Palestinians dead. We are live in Israel to hear what the IDF says they were targeting. Plus, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz set off on a bus tour through battleground Georgia, ahead of their first interview of the campaign with CNN. And CNN obtaining new behind-the- scenes video of Nancy Pelosi during the January 6 Capitol attack. Hear her real-time reaction to the chaos and her fury at Donald Trump.

Israel's Foreign Minister calls it a war. We begin with the biggest Israeli military offensive in the occupied West Bank in years. Using tanks, drones and bulldozers, Israel carried out coordinated raids and air strikes in Jenin, Tulkarm and other towns today. Palestinian authorities say that at least 10 people were killed. They also say that the lives of patients and medical staff and hospitals are under threat, accusing Israeli forces of blocking roads to some medical facilities and obstructing the movement of ambulances.

Israel's Foreign Minister says that the operation is meant to combat what he called Islamic Iranian terrorist infrastructure. He accuses Iran of trying to establish an eastern front against Israel, and says that Israel must deal with a threat just as it deals with, quote, "terrorist infrastructure in Gaza." According to a Palestinian news agency, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia to return to the West Bank.

Now, for its part, Hamas is calling for, quote, "general mobilization against the Israeli occupation." In an advisory opinion last month, the UN's top court said that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, calling for it to end.

Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv with more. Jeremy, obviously, a lot of moving parts here. All indications seem to suggest this was a pretty significant operation. What more can you share with us?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's right. It certainly does appear to be one of the most significant Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank in years. As we have already seen, the death toll rise to 10 people killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli troops as well as border police officers storming two key Palestinian cities in the West Bank, the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, which the Israeli military says have been hotbeds of militant activity over the course of the last several months.

The Israeli military pointed to two key reasons why it is carrying out this operation, which it says is only in its first phases. They say that Iran has been trying to flood the West Bank with weapons, which the Israeli military is trying to seize. And also, they say that a number of attacks have originated from these two cities, attacks against Israeli troops, as well as against Israeli civilians over the course of the last several months. We have already seen that there are still ongoing clashes in both cities, with reports of gunfire there, D9 Israeli military bulldozers tearing through streets to try and protect troops from potential IEDs in those areas.

But, the Palestinian Ministry of Health also says that there are several key hospitals that appear to be being blocked or surrounded by Israeli troops. The Israeli military acknowledged that it has surrounded at least one of those hospitals in Jenin. It said, though, that it was doing so to prevent militants from entering that hospital and trying to seek refuge there or carrying out operations from those hospitals.

One thing is clear, though, is that this operation is certainly not happening in a vacuum. We have seen a significant uptick in Israeli military activity in the West Bank since October 7. At least 652 Palestinians, that civilians as well as combatants, have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. And we've also seen a number of raids on a near daily basis in the West Bank that have resulted in the arrest of some 4,500 Palestinians so far. We have already seen condemnation from the Palestinian Authority to these raids and calls from Hamas as well as other militant groups for a general mobilization, an uprising, effectively, against Israeli forces, but also Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Jeremy, talk to us a little bit about the development that we first learned yesterday, this hostage who was rescued. He has now been released from the hospital, Farhan Al-Qadi. What happens next for him?

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DIAMOND: Yeah. Joyous scenes this morning at that Soroka Medical Center in southern Israel, as Farhan Al-Qadi walked out to a hero's welcome, effectively, from that hospital where he spent the last 24 hours or so after he emerged from a tunnel in Gaza where Israeli forces rescued him after 326 days of captivity. He gave some comments to reporters today, saying that he was enjoying being out in the light after having spent so much time in darkness. He was greeted by his family members in the village of Tarabeen in southern Israel, where his Bedouin Arab community lives, and where they have been hosting a celebration for him to celebrate his return. But, he also had a message about the hostages who are still in Gaza.

We know that yesterday, he spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and urged him not to forget about the other hostages, to bring them all home. Today, he called for a deal and the end of the war in Gaza, in order to end that war, but also bring back all of the remaining hostages. We know that there are some 108 hostages still in Gaza. About a third of them are confirmed dead by the Israeli government, and the clock is ticking for those who are still alive. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, just unimaginable. You think about the 326 days that Al-Qadi spent in captivity. Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

Well, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz are kicking off a bus tour today in battleground Georgia. It comes on the heels of the Democratic Convention, and they hope to carry some momentum into the southeastern part of the state from the convention. This is a region that typically leans Republican. But, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, well, he had success there in the 2022 Senate runoff. And then on Thursday, CNN will host the pair's first interview since they launched their campaign. Our Dana Bash will be asking the questions. That's tomorrow night at 09:00 p.m. Eastern.

Now, Harris had been facing criticism from her Republican rivals for not doing a formal news conference or interview since her candidacy began about 38 days ago. So, we will watch and see what comes from that interview. A lot of people will be watching, but they'll also be watching the Republican ticket who has been repeatedly attacking the Vice President's record on the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris is the candidate of American decline. She casts the tie- breaking vote for the Inflation Explosion Act. She cast the tie- breaking vote to send interest rates and mortgages through the roof. Stop talking about what you're going to do. Stop -- start talking about what you are going to do right now because you're the Vice President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And then there is the matter of the September 10 presidential debate on ABC News. After raising complaints, Donald Trump now says that he will participate in the debate against Harris, but Harris' campaign maintains that discussions are ongoing over the muting of microphones when the other candidate speaks. So, the debate, the debate continues, at least for now.

For now, let's bring in CNN's Eva McKend. So, talk to us a little bit about this interview with Dana Bash. Obviously, this was a coveted interview, certainly by journalists. What are we learning about these plans?

EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, this is going to be an opportunity for the Vice President to set the record straight, as she sees it, on some key policy issues. In the last couple of weeks, we have learned, for instance, on the vital issue of fracking, which is so important in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, that she no longer supports banning fracking. As a 2020 presidential candidate, she did. On immigration, she talks very affectionately about immigrants in her memoir, a real concern she had under the Trump administration for the fate of undocumented immigrants, parents being deported. She now supports a bipartisan border enforcement bill that does not include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

So, there are a lot of policy issues that she has to be asked about. But, this is her opportunity to kind of quell this criticism that she can't handle herself in unscripted settings. And then also, Rahel, she'll have the opportunity to connect with voters. That is something that she has really been intentional about, that we have seen over the last several weeks. She wants to relate to voters that she understands their economic pain. She is from a working class background, and she is uniquely suited for this moment because she sort of understands this experience.

SOLOMON: And talk to us a little bit about, Eva, the types of voters and the types of people she is going to be meeting in Georgia. I mean, certainly a lot of focus on this very important state, it's always very important, perhaps even more so this year, but who she is going to be trying to reach in a way that some have said Democrats haven't tried to reach actively in a really long time.

MCKEND: It's telling that they are moving beyond Metro Atlanta, that they going to Savannah, that they're going to southern Georgia. Voters in this part of the state often lament that candidates don't go there.

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Well, they're speaking directly to those concerns. And they're also testing her running mate a bit, Governor Walz. He is from this type of background. He grew up in rural America. He grew up in farm country. And so, they're seeing how he does there, speaking to rural Georgians, and if ultimately they can deploy him solo, separate from the Vice President, in effort to really speak to the voters in those communities. Remember, Rahel, they don't have to win some of these rural areas outright, but even doing better than previous Democrats could be really significant with such tight margins.

SOLOMON: OK. Eva McKend, lot to watch. Thank you, Eva.

And by the way, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, as we said, will have their first interview since they launched their campaign right here on CNN with Dana Bash. That is Thursday at 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Well, some European social media fashion influencers were caught in a fake promotion of Trump's reelection bid. The suspect accounts are being used to target young women with disinformation.

CNN Investigative Reporter Katie Polglase reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): Debbie is heading home from work in Luxembourg, northern Europe, crossing the border into Germany, she races back to her son, and of course, Lou. But, Debbie's day doesn't end there. She is also a professional model, her image not only her identity, but her source of income, helping support her and her son, but it's been stolen, used in a pro-Trump account on X, attracting nearly 30,000 followers in less than six months.

POLGLASE: Here is Yuna (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. That's very crazy.

POLGLASE: And when you see these views, it's saying "Vote for Trump in 2024." What's your reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My - to be honest, what the (BEEP), was my reaction. That was my reaction because I had nothing to do with the United States. It was Trump, the political things over there.

POLGLASE: And if people following this account believe that this is you, what do you want to say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That it's definitely not me, definitely it was never me, and it will never be me, and they have to unfollow please.

POLGLASE: In fact, Debbie is not alone. In partnership with the Center for Information Resilience, CNN found nearly 60 fake Trump supporting accounts, and from these, we identified nearly a dozen women, real women from across Europe, from Denmark to the Netherlands and as far away as Russia, whose identities are being used in accounts telling voters, American voters to vote for Trump in the upcoming U.S. election.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Let's take a look at some of these accounts, like Alina (ph), 33, and voting for Trump. But, she is not. She is really Kamilla from Denmark.

KAMILLA BROBERG, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: I think it's weird. Anything that can discriminate other people on my account, because it's my little universe, I don't think it's fair.

POLGLASE (voice-over): And this one, Eva, she even has a verified blue tick, which is supposed to weed out fake accounts.

NERIAH TELLERUP, INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER: You feel very taken advantage of, also because it's kind of my image. I don't want to think people think that I do what those profiles sometimes are promoting.

POLGLASE (voice-over): We ran the suspicious X photos through a reverse image search engine and found they were lifted from Instagram posts, certain patterns emerged. The fake accounts repost each other. It's a sign of a coordinated campaign. Here, several of the fake accounts post the exact same wording, if you're voting for the man who survived an assassination attempt, I want to follow you. It's another sign the accounts are linked. And that's not all. Some of the accounts manipulated the images of these women. Have a look at Debbie's post, the original on Instagram, and now the fake one on X, her hat now reads, "Make America Great Again." Look at this t-shirt, before and then Trump 2024.

For now, we don't know who is behind all these accounts. But, the former U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman, who also used to investigate fake accounts for Twitter, told us this.

EMILY HERNE, FORMER GLOBAL HEAD OF POLICY, TWITTER: I don't think it's unreasonable to ask questions about could there be a state actor involved. We know that there are multiple state actors who have been using social media to try to sow disinformation campaigns in the run- up to the 2024 election.

POLGLASE (voice-over): But, regardless, the accounts are reaching influential politicians. We found the official account for Doug Mastriano, the Republican Senator for Pennsylvania, follows Debbie's fake account.

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CNN contacted the Senator about the account, but has not heard back.

Back in Germany, Debbie is shocked and upset that her image is being used in this way. With President Trump now back on X, and Elon Musk, the owner of X, throwing his weight behind him, fake pro-Trump content appears to be flourishing, silencing the real women affected, once again, women's rights at the very heart of this presidential election.

Katie Polglase, CNN, Trier, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Now, CNN did reach out to X regarding these accounts. We did not receive a response. But, in the last 24 hours before publishing, X did take down the majority of the accounts. There is no indication that the Trump campaign was involved.

All right. Turning back to 2024, let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene. So, Donald Trump says that he has now accepted the rules. He will participate in next month's presidential debate, now less than two weeks away. Walk us through this.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes. So, he had said that the rules have been set and they're going to be the same rules that were agreed to for the CNN debate in June with Joe Biden. Essentially, that means, the rules of that debate were, there will be no studio audience. The microphones will be turned off when a candidate is not speaking. And they'll be standing. There is no notes, those types of rules.

However, we have heard from the Harris campaign arguing, actually, we are still working out some details for this debate, including the issue of the microphones. And so, it's unclear exactly what's going to happen with these rules. The debate over the debate continues. It is not over, but it does seem like they are still both set to show up on September 10 in Pennsylvania for that ABC debate. The question still is, exactly what will the parameters around it be?

Now, I think this whole issue of the microphones I know, Rahel, that this seems very (inaudible), I'm sure, to all of our viewers that this seems very in the weeds, but it is important. And the reason I think they are harping on this so much is because both campaigns recognize the stakes of this debate. They remember that that CNN debate in June was really what set off the chain of events that led Joe Biden to ultimately end his campaign. And so, they recognize how important this is, and both campaigns are trying to get any sort of advantage and edge over their opponent that they can.

And I will say, from my conversations with Trump's campaign, part of the reason that they care so much about the microphones in particular is because one of the things I know that they are focusing on the most, as they prep Donald Trump for this, is his demeanor. They want his tone to be right. They don't want him to be coming off too aggressive. They don't want him to seem like a bully. They recognize that Harris is a completely different opponent than Joe Biden. She is a woman, which has a whole other host of things that they have to consider in whether or how -- and how aggressive Donald Trump may be. And so, that's one of the calculations that I know the Trump campaign is viewing this from.

From the Harris side, they are saying, we are not the Biden campaign. We did not agree to those CNN debate rules. And so, we have every right to try and work out and negotiate some of this. And they believe having the microphones on for the entire -- for the debate will only help them and help Harris. And so, we're still waiting to see exactly what exactly will happen, but you will see both candidates on September 10th. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, it just gives you a sense the fact that there is so much focus on the mics and the muting and the non-muting. This gives you a really a good view, I think, into how important both sides view September 10th and that debate.

Speaking of interviews, at least, Trump sitting down with Dr. Phil, and Alayna, his tone on the assassination attempt changing. He is now placing some blame on Biden and Harris.

TREENE: That's right. And this is actually something we had heard, Rahel, from Donald Trump and his -- and some of his supporters and other high-profile Republicans in the past that both Joe Biden as well as Kamala Harris bear some responsibility for that attempt. They're arguing that their rhetoric toward Donald Trump, particularly their criticism that he could be a threat to democracy if reelected. There -- Donald Trump was arguing in that interview that he thinks that contribute to it. He also, though, had a line about Secret Service protection. I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When this happened, people would ask, whose fault is it? I think to a certain extent, it's Biden's fault and Harris' fault. And I'm the opponent. Look, they were weaponizing government against me. They brought in the whole DoJ to try and get me. They weren't too interested in my health and safety. I would be if I were in their position, but they weren't very interested. But, they were always making it, from what I understood, and I could feel it, they were making it very difficult to have proper staffing in terms of Secret Service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:20:00]

TREENE: OK, Rahel. So, that last part there, I just want to be very clear, there is no evidence or any indication that President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris have done anything to try and impact the type of security, particularly when it comes to Secret Service protection that Donald Trump has. However, it is known and it is clear that this is an unprecedented election. First, it was a President going against a former President. Now, it's a Vice President facing off with the former President. There were different events that day in Pennsylvania, including the former -- excuse me, including First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Harris, who were also in Pennsylvania.

So, Secret Service was, without a question, stretched thin. But, there is no evidence at all that they had any involvement in what had happened that day or that were at all responsible for this. So, definitely a little bit of politics happening in that interview. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. We've also seen Republican lawmakers say that they raised the alarm about that location initially, that that may not have been the right location for a Trump event because of infrastructure issues and because it's a small town.

Alayna Treene, good to see you. Thank you.

Well, coming up, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says that he has a victory plan. Coming up, details on what it is and who he is going to show it to. Plus, we're bringing the latest on the arrest of the founder of Telegram in France, why he has been released from police custody and transferred to court. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that an incursion into Russia's Kursk region is just the beginning of a much larger plan to bring the war to an end. He calls it Ukraine's victory plan, and he says that he will present it to U.S. President Joe Biden next month when he goes to the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking in Kyiv on Tuesday, Mr. Zelenskyy said that the U.S. is crucial to his plan to put an end to the war. The fighting continues on several fronts in a week when Russia launched what's being described as its biggest ever aerial attack on Ukraine. Monday's massive bombardment was followed by more strikes on Tuesday.

Meantime, in France, that's where Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, has now been released from police custody. We are told that he was being taken to meet with an investigative judge. Durov has been held since his controversial arrest, as he arrived in Paris on a private plane on Saturday.

Let's go to CNN's Matthew Chance, who joins us live from London with more. Matthew, give us a sense of what's the latest here.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, to be clear, I mean, we don't know yet whether Pavel Durov has been released or not. I mean, his police custody has come to an end. He was held in detention for 96 hours, which is the maximum under French law, pending these sort of investigation against him.

[11:25:00]

But, he is now been taken in those cars you can see on your screens to a French court where a judge is deciding whether he will be indicted, charged with crimes of allowing his social media platform Telegram to be used to promote terrorism and child pornography and political extremism and things like that, or whether he will be set free. Essentially, those are the two ways this can go.

And I've been speaking to my contacts inside France over the course of the past several minutes, and so far, it's not clear even when he is going to appear before that judge, though, it's expected to be sometime today. But, yes, an extremely high-profile case. Pavel Durov is one of the world's richest men. He is one of the most influential figures, being the founder, of course, of the Telegram social media channel, which is immensely popular around the world. It's got something like 950 million users. He is also the founder and the owner of the VKontakte, which is a huge social media platform which operates in Russia, in the former Soviet Union. It's like the Russian version of Facebook.

And so, he has got enormous media holdings, and it is his arrest, his attention, rather, is the subject of scrutiny by the Russians, by the United Arab Emirates. He is also a passport holder from there as well. He is also, of course, a French citizen, which is one of the reasons why the French authorities have decided to take it upon themselves to detain him in this way. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Matthew, how much has the Kremlin weighed in on this? What have they said?

CHANCE: Well, they've weighed in quite significantly. I mean, they've cast this as an attack by France on freedom of expression. The irony of that won't be lost on the fact -- on people who know that Russia and the Kremlin has been cracking down hard over the past several years on the free press in that country. And they've been lobbying for consular access as well, access that they say has not been yet given. The United Arab Emirates have also been criticizing the detention of Pavel Durov as well, as to say he is a citizen then of that country as well.

But, it's not just autocratic regimes that are expressing their concern about this detention. You've got libertarian groups. You've got people like Elon Musk who have also come out against his detention and other groups as well, because Telegram is broadly used because it offers basically monitoring free kind of access to the internet, into social media, has that huge social media reach, and that is exploited, of course, not just by terrorism groups and criminals, but also by autocratic kind of regimes as well. And so, it's brought together this extraordinary sort of coalition of supporters for Pavel Durov, which is, highly unusual.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Really interesting to watch, as we continue to learn more about his actual status.

Matthew Chance live for us in London. Matthew, thank you.

And coming up, new documentary footage, let's just listen in, on Nancy Pelosi, as the January 6 insurrection unfolded and forced lawmakers to run for their own safety. Plus, criticism from angry conservatives is changing the way some of America's biggest companies do business. We'll explain just ahead.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York.

Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are back in the spotlight with just weeks ago to the next election. The Special Counsel in the election interference case has filed a brand new indictment. Now, while some of the arguments supporting Jack Smith's first indictment have been removed, Trump is still charged with four counts of conspiracy and obstruction of official proceedings. The former U.S. President will again need to enter a plea in court. We are still waiting for proceeding date to be set.

But, let's bring in CNN's Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz, who joins us live from Washington. So, Katelyn, take us through the changes here and how they impact the case against Trump.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Rahel, there are nips and tucks in this indictment. But, the four charges against Donald Trump are the same as they were a year ago when this case was first filed, alleging that he conspired to obstruct the election and disenfranchise voters.

So, the criminal charges are the same, but the things that back up those charges, the allegations, the wording in the indictment, even the evidence that could be brought into this case as the prosecutors want to present it to the jury, that has been changed. It's been shortened because everything that Trump was doing while he was President with that hat on as the President after the 2020 election up to and on January 6, that can't be part of the supreme of the case, because the Justice Department is following what the Supreme Court decided at the beginning of July. So, the things that are taken out, things like Donald Trump talking to

Jeffrey Clark and wanting to install him as a Justice Department official, as Attorney General, to try and find election fraud and investigate things there, how he was being briefed by people that there was no widespread election fraud and that there wouldn't be further investigation by the federal government into that, and also what he was talking to and hearing from aides around him in the White House, even including his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. All of that a red line is through it, and we have this new version of the indictment that, Rahel, focuses on Donald Trump as the candidate and working with private advisors, campaign officials and private attorneys to do his bidding after the election.

SOLOMON: So, Katelyn, with a new indictment, I mean, it's virtually impossible that this goes before trial, before a jury, with less than 70 days ago until the election. So, what happens next here?

POLANTZ: Yeah. No. It's not going to trial anytime soon. But, what is going to happen, Rahel, is we're going to hear from the prosecutors and the defense team for Trump on Friday about how they want to look at this indictment with the judge and talk through, argue over the questions of presidential immunity that remain. There is scheduled to be a hearing next Thursday where they will go before Judge Tanya Chutkan in court. She is the trial-level judge. All of this is very likely to go through appeals courts as well.

One crucial question, though, in the coming weeks and months is, how much of Mike Pence, the Vice President at the time, how much will he remain part of this? He is still in this indictment. The prosecutors say he was operating as President of the Senate, not as the Vice President in the executive branch, and is Donald Trump's running mate, and that should remain part of the case, something Trump is very likely to challenge.

SOLOMON: Really interesting. Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

Well, CNN has obtained new footage shot inside the U.S. Capitol as it came under attack on January 6, 2021. The video shows then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted to keep the focus on Donald Trump, who was still President, and on getting him out of office. The footage was shot by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, as part of an HBO documentary, and was turned over to Congress. It also shows Pelosi's evacuation from the Capitol once the riots started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I do not appreciate this. I don't support this, my leaving the Capitol like this. We cannot let them disrupt what we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Let's bring in CNN's Sunlen Serfaty in Washington, who joins us now. So, Sunlen, talk to us about the timing of this. Why is this just being released now? SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It's such a good

question, Rahel. The House Administration Committee, they have requested that HBO turn over all video footage that was unaired in that documentary. It originally aired on HBO back in 2022, but these are, in essence, the clips that were on the cutting room floor.

[11:35:00]

And HBO, which notably is owned by Warner Bros., this is the parent company of CNN, turned over about 50 hours of new footage, and there are just fascinating looks at behind the scenes. And you really can tap into the anger and the frustration of Speaker Pelosi at the time, lamenting the lack of security, saying, how could not more have been known about this, and really lamenting the fact that more was not done in real time. She says multiple times, why hasn't the National Guard be called -- was called in? Here is more of what she had to say in those moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: We have a responsibility, Terri. We did not have any accountability for what was going on there, and we should have. This is ridiculous. Why weren't the National Guard there to begin with?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They thought that they had sufficient --

PELOSI: It's not a question if -- they don't know. They clearly didn't know, and I take responsibility for not having them just prepare for more. Because it's stupid that we should be in a situation like this. Because they thought they had what? They thought these people would act civilized? They thought these people gave a damn?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And there is also part of the video. It shows her on the morning after January 6, on January 7, sitting in her office. There is a mirror over her fireplace, and it smashed up from the rioters who got into her office. And later in the video, she is discussing with staff some strategies for the upcoming press conference that day, what message she wanted to deliver, and one of her staffers suggest calling for the resignation of the Capitol Hill police chief. And she basically cuts off that staff and says, no, no, no, let's keep this focus on President Trump. Rahel, just a remarkable behind-the-scenes look at the chaos of that moment, the energy of that moment, the emotion of the moment, and certainly how the House Speaker tries to rein in everything and craft the messaging coming out of Capitol Hill.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, even years later, it's still just really insightful to sort of watch how it all was unfolding behind the scenes.

Sunlen Serfaty in Washington. Sunlen, thank you.

SERFATY: Thanks.

SOLOMON: Well, the world's largest seller of farm equipment says that it's backing off some of its diversity and inclusion initiatives after facing public pressure from angry conservatives. Right-wing activist Robby Starbuck, who ran an unsuccessful House election campaign in Tennessee, appears to be leading the criticism of John Deere and a handful of other companies. Deere & Company, as it's known on Wall Street, is a brand set to be popular with politically conservative customers in the U.S.

Let's bring in CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn, who joins us with the details on this. So, Nathaniel, this is just one example. But, why does it seem like companies are pulling back on not just DEI, but also climate goals?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: So, Rahel, brands are pulling back on some of their DEI and climate goals and LGBT-inclusive policies because the political and the legal environment around these policies has rapidly changed over the past couple of years. The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action and higher education. We've seen brands like Bud Light and Disney be targeted by conservatives for some of their inclusive policies.

And so, over the past couple of months, we've seen a line of brands, there on your screen, John Deere, Tractor Supply, Lowe's, Harley- Davidson, Brown-Forman, which owns Jack Daniels, pull back on some of their DEI programs. And as you noted, at the top, these are brands with primarily customers in right-leaning areas, some rural areas, and that's where we've seen kind of the most opposition to diversity and inclusion programs. And so, these companies are pulling back both in response to pressure from customers and a changing legal and political environment.

SOLOMON: And then talk to us a little bit about who seems to be leading the charge. Is it just customers? Or we mentioned Robby Starbuck. I mean, how much does he have to do with this?

MEYERSOHN: So, Rahel, Robby Starbuck, a couple of months ago, nobody really knew who this guy was. He ran for Tennessee for a House seat a couple of years ago, lost. He was a former kind of Hollywood music video director, commercial director, but he has really caught fire online by kind of focusing on individual companies, targeting individual companies to -- particularly on social media platform X, where he has more than 500,000 followers, and then calling attention to the brand's policies, their executives, some of the executive statements. And so, he is kind of channeling energy on the right to go after these companies. And it's not entirely clear kind of how much of the company's changes are in response to Robby Starbuck, or how much is in response, more broadly.

[11:40:00]

Starbuck is certainly taking credit for this. But, experts that I spoke to, they say that it really shows how thin these companies' commitments were to diversity, to begin with, where if somebody can -- like Robby Starbuck, who is little known, can come along and kind of take down these companies, these enormous public companies, it really shows how kind of weak their commitments to DEI and these other issues were, to begin with. SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, I think there is a larger conversation. I've

certainly done some reporting on this in the past, but just with these companies, and they're making these commitments to really think about what is authentic to them as a company, just in terms of real brand power, so that customers understand, regardless of where you stand, who you are as a company. So, it's really interesting, really fascinating.

Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you.

Well, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are hitting the campaign trail in earnest today. Coming up, we will hear about their plans in Georgia, right after this.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are targeting the battleground state of Georgia with a two-day bus tour that kicks off later today. They will roll through southeastern Georgia, an area that leans Republican. Joe Biden won the state in 2020, the first Democrat to do so since Bill Clinton in 1992, and Harris is hoping that she can do it in November. The campaign has 24 field offices in Georgia, including seven in the southern part of the state.

And Georgia voters, meantime, say that the economy and reproductive rights will be two of the biggest issues, as they cast their ballots for President.

CNN's Nick Valencia spoke with residents of a critical bellwether county just north of Atlanta.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can see some other states were doing it a little bit more -- I mean, they --

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Demere (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

VALENCIA (voice-over): For Veronica King, the DNC was everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm texting. I'm like, Oh my Gosh, like, Lil Jon is coming down.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Sitting under a canopy of trees in Georgia's bellwether of Cobb County, King says she is most excited to see the influence the DNC had on her 19-year-old son. In November, he'll vote for the first time.

VALENCIA: That makes you excited to see your young son excited.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, and to see people his age want to actually vote and be engaged.

BROOKLYN WATSON, UNDECIDED GEORGIA VOTER: I'm not necessarily thinking that it's supposed to be trendy.

VALENCIA (voice-over): But, not every voter here shares that enthusiasm. 22-year-old Brooklyn Watson voted for Biden in 2020, and although she is leaning Democrat this time around, she says she is still undecided.

WATSON: I don't think I'm looking necessarily for fun, again, just something that is successfully going to help the economy and the community.

VALENCIA: The enthusiasm from the DNC didn't affect your decision and make you sort of grounded or solidify your vote for Harris?

WATSON: No, not necessarily solidified but intrigued, yes, to learn more still about her.

[11:45:00]

VALENCIA (voice-over): Looking at his checking account the last four years is enough for Charles Seamster to have already made up his mind. This November, the Republican said he will be voting for a better economy, something he thinks Harris cannot deliver.

CHARLES SEAMSTER, REPUBLICAN GEORGIA VOTER: The issues that she talks about now, that's -- she has not proven. She has not proven. So, I don't know if she is trusted.

VALENCIA: Do you think Trump is proven?

SEAMSTER: The economy was definitely proven when he was in office.

KATHY SLOUGH, MODERATE DEMOCRATIC GEORGIA VOTER: Her background is phenomenal, coming in as a prosecutor, and I think she is for everyone, and in particular, the middle class, and we need diversity.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Kathy Slough is the type of Georgia voter that both Harris and Trump are trying to win over. A moderate Democrat, Slough has voted for Republicans in the past, but not this time. She loved the messaging and tone from the Vice President at the DNC.

SLOUGH: As a human being and as an individual, I think she is looking out for all of us, no matter what background.

VALENCIA (voice-over): For the self-described centrist Mike Wilkenson, the thought of Trump getting a second turn is scary. It is also deeply personal.

MIKE WILKENSON, MODERATE DEMOCRATIC GEORGIA VOTER: When the time came for me and my partner at the time to decide about an abortion or not, we chose not to have an abortion, but that was hers and my choice, and it shouldn't be -- there shouldn't be anybody in that room besides the patient and the doctor. VALENCIA (voice-over): 2020 was decided by less than 12,000 votes. Now that Harris has voters' attention here in the Peach State, can she count on getting their votes too?

VALENCIA: The two big issues on voters' minds here, the economy and a woman's right to choose. It was interesting to see the mixed reaction among younger voters. I spoke to a group of 20 something year olds off camera, all of whom told me they were undecided, but there was one who did tell me that she voted in 2020 for Joe Biden, but plans on voting for Donald Trump in 2024 because of the economy, another issue that voters are passionate about here, a woman's right to choose, and that's an issue that Vice President Harris could use to pick up some votes in an election that is expected to be close here.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.

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SOLOMON: For more now on Harris and Walz's trip to Georgia, let's bring in Lisa Rayam. She is the host of NPR's "Morning Edition" on WABE radio in Atlanta. Lisa, great to see you. Thanks for being on today.

LISA RAYAM, HOST, "MORNING EDITION" ON ATLANTA'S WABE RADIO (NPR): Oh, what a pleasure, Rahel. It's quite a day here in Georgia today. And in Nick's report there, I heard a very important voice a few seconds ago, the Gen Z voter. And all eyes are on that Gen Z voter here, because they are playing a critical role in the election here in Georgia.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And talk to us a little bit about -- I mean, we have the pleasure of having an international audience, and so we have people watching from all over the world. Talk to us a little bit about the state of Georgia and not just the attention, obviously, that will be played on and placed on what Harris says, but where she is going and what that signals to you about her strategy?

RAYAM: Well, what signals about her strategy today, going to South Georgia, is that she is really concentrating on one. Savannah is a -- it leans Democratic for the most part, but it's surrounded by this sea of red. And this is a really strategic move by this campaign, one that they've been practicing for a couple of weeks now. They're going into these Democratic areas, these strongholds that are surrounded by Republican areas that they're trying to woo as well. But, the strategy is not necessary to win the -- those red states, those red pockets, over to a strong blue but to decrease the gap some, because, as you know, every percentage point is critical in this race. So, that seems to be the strategy at this point, with the Harris campaign coming to southern Georgia.

SOLOMON: And talk to us a little bit about it. As you pointed out, it was interesting to hear from that Gen Z voter. And I think what was really interesting is next question about, did the DNC sway you? And she said it intrigued me, right? I mean, she is still clearly trying to decide who she will vote for in November, beyond Gen Z, which both candidates obviously would love. What are the other voting groups you think that Harris is trying to reach in this visit? RAYAM: Well, here in Georgia, black male voters played a critical role in 2020 and getting President Biden over the hump. 85 percent voted in favor of Biden, and that bloc is being wooed again by Trump and Harris very, very critically, especially black business owners, black male business owners. So, they certainly have a voice in this election, probably more so than they did in 2020.

[11:50:00]

SOLOMON: And Lisa, when you're talking to listeners or you're interacting even, I mean, not even just professionally, when you're at the grocery store, when you're at the hair salon, I mean, what are you hearing from folks there in Georgia about how they're viewing the candidates in front of them and the next 70 days?

RAYAM: Well, what you're hearing from a lot of people is, here we go again. The nation, the world is watching Georgia. All eyes are on Georgia. This is one of the battleground states that isn't clearly decided yet. For example, a recent poll came out today, and I believe it had Harris at 46 percent of the vote to Trump's 46.6 percent. This is a state that really, really can make or break either Harris or Trump. Both candidates know that. And that's what people are talking about now, that excitement of being watched internationally is the conversation of a lot of people here because Georgia is that all- important state right now.

SOLOMON: And then, what does that actually sort of look like? I mean, we've done reporting on how many field offices the Harris-Walz campaign have opened in the state of Georgia, I mean, just the -- clearly, the push from the campaign to physically be on the ground there. I mean, is it ads non-stop? I mean, walk us through sort of what it's like being in Georgia these days. And I should say, I'm from the state of Pennsylvania. So, I do know what it's like to be in one of those states.

RAYAM: Right. 24 field offices they've opened up, the Harris campaign here, and you feel the presence. I mean, you've got so many outside groups forming. You've got a lot of women's groups. You've got the sororities. You've got business groups who are kind of mobilizing and helping in these campaign offices. So, you feel it. You see it. People are talking about it. They still have those phone conferences, and people are meeting.

Trump, however, is playing it a little differently. I don't know if you know that recently he and Governor Kemp kind of mended fences, so to speak. The two were at odds since 2020 because, as you know, Trump said that the election was stolen in Georgia. The two have since sort of made up. They both extended the odds branch. And one important reason is that President Trump knows he needs Governor Kemp. Governor Kemp has a 65 percent approval rating. He is still on a honeymoon years after the election. He needs the support of this governor. So, you're seeing him woo this state a little differently through the eyes and the work and the reputation of Governor Kemp.

SOLOMON: Yeah, a very popular governor there, as you lay out. Lisa Rayam, so great to have your insights, both professionally and

personally as a resident there of Georgia. Great to see you. Thank you.

RAYAM: Thank you. Thank you.

SOLOMON: And still to come, getting a fashion fix at Flushing Meadows. Naomi Osaka earns rave reviews with her racket and her outfit at the U.S. Open. Details ahead.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Before we go, one more thing.

[11:55:00]

Tennis star Naomi Osaka beat Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday. But, it wasn't actually her performance that was the only thing turning heads on court. Osaka's outfit features a giant green bow there. The two-time U.S. Open champion says that she was embracing being, quote, "more flamboyant", and that her outfit gave her what she calls a different kind of strength. It was Osaka's first win over a player ranked in the world's top 10 in more than four years. She looks great, tennis star, fashion star, all-around star.

All right. We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.

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