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CNN International: Harris-Walz First Interview Since Launching Campaign; Trump Hits Campaign Trail For First Time This Week; Today: Harris, Trump Hit The Trail In Key Swing States. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 29, 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]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York.

Ahead right here on CNN Newsroom, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz hit the ground in Georgia, hoping to reach key pockets of voters ahead of their interview on CNN this evening. Plus, you're looking at live pictures from the occupied West Bank, where five more people have been killed on day two of a major Israeli military operation. We are live in Israel with the latest. And with the founder of Telegram under formal investigation and unable to leave France, new questions are being asked about the limits of free speech on social networks. We will discuss ahead.

And we are just hours away from the first joint interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, right here on CNN. Harris will take part in her first major interview since ascending to the top of that Democratic ticket. CNN's Chief Political Correspondent, Dana Bash, will be asking the questions. She'll have follow-ups, and it is all happening from the battleground state of Georgia. Now, on Wednesday, Harris and Walz kicked off a bus tour in that Peach State, traveling through rural areas in South Georgia. Later today, Harris is expected to hold a rally in Savannah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, on election time, it's important to people that literally, this is the beauty of our (inaudible) and our democracy, everyone's vote actually and we have to remind people of that. Don't listen to anyone who is suggesting other never want to take yourself out of the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: On the Republican side, Donald Trump will hit the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump is expected to focus on the economy, inflation and manufacturing.

CNN's Omar Jimenez is standing by for us in Wisconsin, where Donald Trump will campaign today. But first, we want to get straight to Priscilla Alvarez, who has been tracking the Democratic ticket now in Savannah, Georgia. Harris has a busy campaign schedule there in Georgia, in places that may surprise people, not Democratic strongholds.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not at all. She has been going to rural counties that typically lean Republican. It is part of an aggressive strategy that the Harris campaign is trying to employ, using a Democratic playbook from 2022. That's what Senator Warnock during the 2022 runoff was able to basically shave off Republican votes in those rural counties, while also winning big in Metro Atlanta. That's what helped him secure the win, and that is what they hope they can do with Vice President Kamala Harris by, again, losing by less in these counties, while losing -- or, sorry, winning big in areas where they have that strong Democratic base.

And so, it is notable that she and the Vice Presidential nominee, Tim Walz, have chosen to come to South Georgia to kick off their bus tour, the first time they're in the state together, and the first time after the Democratic National Convention, to try to shore up those votes. Now, yesterday, they were in -- they visited a high school, and they went to a barbecue joint, talking to voters. But, take a listen to what the Vice President had to say to the students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I was in band when I was your age. So, I know a little bit about -- a coach knows about the players, right? And all that you all are doing, it requires a whole lot of rehearsal, a whole lot of practice, but all that practice makes for beautiful music, and that is a metaphor that is symbolic for everything that you all do in your lives.

Everyone's vote actually matters, and we have to remind people of that. Don't listen to anyone who is suggesting other never want to take yourself out of the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, that stop, in some ways, was playing to the roots of Tim Walz, who was a public school teacher. He was also a football coach. And Democratic strategists tell me, it's important to keep an eye on how he is resonating with voters, especially in that part of the state, given his rural upbringing and his background in football and the military, and seeing whether he helps boost the ticket, especially in this area of Georgia, in Southeast Georgia.

Now, of course, again, it is a crucial battleground state, one that polls show that she has a slight edge on Donald Trump but within the margin of error. So, there is no leader. And when Biden won the state in 2020, it was only by less than 12,000 votes. So, the campaign giving a glimpse of what their strategy is going to be in this state, simply by spending time in South Georgia.

[11:05:00] NEWTON: Yeah. 12,000 votes. Think about it, folks. That is far less than you see on any given weekend or weeknight, for that matter, at college football in Georgia. So, that is key perspective. Priscilla Alvarez for us on the trail, really appreciate it.

I want to go now to Omar Jimenez, who is in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For me, a reminder. Omar, well, you don't need any reminding. This is the blue wall, right? The Rust Belt way. Trump is taking his campaign directly there. These are states he needs to win.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are states he would need to win. And the former President is starting his day in Central Michigan, before he makes his way here to western Wisconsin, where he is expected to have a town hall moderated by Tulsi Gabbard. You remember, she formally ran for President as a Democrat, but now registers as an independent. And of course, as you mentioned, these are critical states for this election, and also, Michigan and Wisconsin are states that Trump won in 2016, but then President Biden took back in 2020. So, it remains to be seen if Trump can claw these back on this year in 2024.

Behind me, this is the line that's already -- I mean, you can't even get in for the next few hours, and you can already see folks already in line, some, at least two of them, made it seem like they were camping out overnight. I want to bring in one of those people who I don't think camped out, but at least was in line early. You did camp out. Alright. Let's bring in Jeff Johnson here. Jeff, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Look, I'll take the compliment. But, you've been in this line for a long time. Why did you want to come and why are you so excited about being here?

JEFF JOHNSON, FROM KINGSTON, ILLINOIS, DROVE IN FROM ILLINOIS: It's a love fest. It's a love fest. Great people, and it's a great opportunity to meet friends and great folks.

JIMENEZ: And you came in from Illinois.

JOHNSON: 125 miles.

JIMENEZ: This is obviously a state that Trump would need to win, in theory, to --

JOHNSON: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: -- take back the White House. What do you think his chances are here, and do you think he is going about his campaign the right way?

JOHNSON: Well, if he can just get a fair shake from the media, if the media reports the truth and shows all the evil things that have been happening with the Democrat Party, I think the general public needs to know that. I mean, it's just obscene what is happening with Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and how the media just polished him. That's unbelievable. All we want is the truth. We want the truth. We want the true reporting, not biased, opinionated, and we just want a fair shake. And is it true that 87 percent of the mainstream media is liberal Democrat?

JIMENEZ: Well, I will say --

JOHNSON: I believe conservative Republicans are in the mainstream media.

JIMENEZ: There is a good amount. There is good amount. But, I will say just -- one thing I want to ask about --

JOHNSON: Yeah.

JIMENEZ: -- because you've got hat, you've been following these candidates around for a while. Tell me about what has motivated you to follow these folks around like this?

JOHNSON: These are all big names that have been in the news for the last eight years. It's a time capsule of history.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: This -- I got this hat at a Kennedy event a year ago in --

JIMENEZ: RKF.

JOHNSON: -- Tennessee. RFK --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: -- he autographed this hat. And now, what, a week ago, Friday --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: -- he is national news.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: So, this was a hat I started. Larry Elder, I love that guy. There is a lot of just great conservatives on here.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: So, it's a collection of all these names that have just been in the news. Some have gone sky high, some have crashed --

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

JOHNSON: -- and six have died already. So, just -- but I just love coming here. Great people, and it's an honor to meet you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

JOHNSON: Hopefully in the future, you'll hear a little bit more of this story here. JIMENEZ: Yeah. Well, we'll keep an eye. Jeff, really appreciate it. Good luck in there.

JOHNSON: Thank you, sir. Thank you. God bless you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Same to you.

JOHNSON: And you guys, thanks for -- just we want the truth.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

JOHNSON: We just want a fair shake.

JIMENEZ: Of course. Of course. He is -- of course. And he is among the members that will be inside the town hall as it gets going a little bit later this afternoon. And of course, it comes as we're expecting to hear for the first time from Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in an interview format, a situation of which a Trump campaign spokesman has said they are excited about to sort of hear the policies that come out of that interview, or at least they expect to come out of that interview, Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah. And of course, the criticism has always been they have not sat down for tough questions yet. Omar Jimenez and Jeff Johnson there at the so-called love fest of the Trump campaign, appreciate it. We will keep an eye out there for that rally in Wisconsin. Appreciate it, Omar.

We now want to bring in our panel. Maria Cardona is a CNN Political Commentator and Democratic Strategist, Scott Jennings, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. He is also a conservative columnist. We see you working hard on those columns. So, I'm sure you are belting them out now. This is your bread and butter. I do want to go first to the state of the race. OK? A new Fox poll

tells us the Sun Belt -- so, we were just in the Rust Belt states, this is the Sun Belt swing states like Georgia, they could be back in play to the Democrats.

[11:10:00]

You're looking at the numbers there. I do want to point out, they are -- it's a toss-up, right? This is within the margin of error.

Scott, do you have confidence that the Trump campaign can do what it takes now on the ground? Because that's what I want to talk to both of you about. So, Scott, to bring out some of those votes in those states, what are you hearing about the ground operation?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, these states are all incredibly close. Either candidate could win them. I think it's a different race than it was when Biden was in. But, they all look very swingy to me. I mean, these are all margin of error races, and just a small movement one way or the other could change the outcome. So, if you like exciting political campaigns, you're about to get one. On the ground game, I think Trump's ticket to victory has always been,

can they turn out these low propensity voters, people who aren't all that connected to either political party, people who don't vote that often, maybe some people who have never voted or aren't even registered? If you look at in the surveys, people who are less connected to politics tend to like Trump more. So, their ground game efforts, really, in my opinion, should be focused on those folks. That's how he changes the game. You can change the composition of the electorate by putting people in the pool who usually don't participate. So, yeah, I do have confidence he can do that. It's why they've joined forces with someone like RFK. I mean, he is not my cup of tea. But, if you're thinking strategically about who he has to turn out, you understand why he is doing it.

NEWTON: Yeah, for that -- those supporters and also those that were supporting Nikki Haley, the former candidate there.

Maria, the field offices, the thousands of volunteers, they continue to be touted by the Harris campaign. But, you're going to forgive me for saying, this sounds a lot like 2016 to me. What's different this time?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh, what's different is the energy, the inspiration, the mobilization, the joy, the -- frankly, what voters saw, not just in the Democratic National Convention, but what they're seeing now on the road, in terms of Kamala Harris being on the top of the ticket, with Tim Walz as -- at her side.

And look, Paula, I think a big difference between the Kamala Harris campaign and the Trump campaign are what you're seeing on the ground. Kamala Harris has raised over $0.5 billion. $540 million have come in in the last month, and that money is going to go to, on top of the ground game that the Biden campaign had already had, is going to go to increase the field offices, the ground operators that are knocking on doors, the call centers that are going to be calling all of these voters that have registered, newly registered voters, a record amount. Ever since Kamala Harris was at the top of the ticket, Paula, we've seen an increase of young black women of 175 percent voter registration over what it was in 2020, Latinas, 150 percent registration over what it was in 2020, the vast majority of them registering as Democrats.

Now I agree with Scott, this is going to be close. The Harris campaign cannot and is not taking anything for granted. She is running like she is 10 points behind, which is super smart. She talks about how they are the underdog out there, which is true. And so, as long as she continues to talk about what she is going to do for middle class, working class voters, make the contrast with Donald Trump, a 34 times convicted felon, who is only in this for himself, I think that is a winning formula --

NEWTON: OK.

CARDONA: -- for the Harris campaign.

NEWTON: Scott, Maria, forgive me and standby, as we bring you some breaking news.

The U.S. Army is rebuking Donald Trump's campaign for an incident at Arlington National Cemetery. It says "Participants of a ceremony on Monday were made aware of federal laws which clearly prohibit political activities on those cemetery grounds. But, it says "An employee who tried to enforce those rules was abruptly pushed aside."

We want to go straight to Oren Liebermann for details. I mean, suffice to say, Oren, this is an incredibly rare kind of rebuke, especially to the campaign of a former President.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It is, and it's careful in its wording here, but you're absolutely right to point out that the statement from the army is noteworthy because of the event it covers and because of the reason it appears that they put this out. They don't explicitly mentioned former President Donald Trump or the Trump campaign, but they clearly refer to an August 26 ceremony and a visit to Section 60. That is the date Trump visited the cemetery, and that's exactly where he went.

And they say here that, first, Arlington National Cemetery and the Army Military Cemeteries conduct 3,000 public ceremonies a year without incident. That, of course, is not what happened in this particular case. The army says in a statement that the visitors were made aware of federal law, army regulations and DOT policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An Arlington National Cemetery employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside, consistent with the decorum expected at Arlington.

[11:15:00]

This employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. It goes on to say that the Army considers this matter closed because that employee decided not to press charges. Now, the relevant part of federal law, and I'll read this to make it clear as well, falls under conduct of memorial services and ceremonies. It says memorial services and ceremonies at Army National Military Cemeteries will not include partisan political activities.

Let's be clear here. There is no problem at all in visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That can be a very public wreath-laying ceremony. The issue is with the visit to Section 60 itself. That's where many of the fallen from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the fallen from the Abbey Gate bombing, are buried here. And that's where former President Donald Trump visited. He was invited by several of the Gold Star families from the Abbey Gate bombing. But, that doesn't allow essentially the activities that went on there, and that's what this statement makes clear.

The statement from the Army goes on to say, this incident was unfortunate, and it's also unfortunate that the Arlington National Cemetery employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. Arlington is a national shrine to the honored dead of the armed forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation's fallen deserve. A staff member from the Trump campaign had over the course of the last several days said the employee was a quote, "despicable individual", and several have called on that employee to be fired here. So, the Army very clearly saying, look, federal law prohibits what the Trump campaign did in Section 60. Then the Army also standing by the employee at Arlington National Cemetery.

NEWTON: Yeah. Oren, I do appreciate that exhaustive explanation, especially as we are bringing you the breaking news, but I'm sure you, like me, just spare a thought for these families who are caught in the middle of this and really only want to honor their loved ones in the most respectful way.

Oren Liebermann for us, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

And back to our panel now. Scott and Maria, look, there is a certain coarseness to this campaign on many levels that I'm sure disturbed so many Americans and no doubt disturbs the two of you. Let's try and get this to a point where we were talking about before, right, the fact that both parties need to bring in those segments of the voter populations that are a bit turned off, perhaps by both sides and all of this bickering.

I want you to listen now, though, to J.D. Vance, who is trying, trying to get this back on track to talk about a big tent party. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The President just got RFK's endorsement. He just got Tulsi Gabbard's endorsement. And on the other side, he has got Nikki Haley's endorsement. He has got Brian Kemp's endorsement. And it's important that Donald Trump, despite the fact that he has disagreements with a number of people who have endorsed him, he is willing to say, we are the big tent party. We stand for common sense and sanity, and we've got to kick that insane politician named Kamala Harris out of the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Scott, the point was made, again, with a certain amount of coarseness. But, do you see that migration happening? We just had Jeff Johnson on there with Omar Jimenez. He takes off the MAGA hat. He has got an RFK Jr. hat underneath that. Do you think that has a good shot at working?

JENNINGS: Yes. I mean, I do think it has a good chance of working. But, again, when races are this close, remember, go back to 2020, 44,000 votes in three states could have changed the outcome of the election. It's at least that close, maybe closer this time around. So, when you think about campaign tactics, will this work? Will that work? A few thousand people here and there, it absolutely makes the difference.

J.D. Vance there mentioned Brian Kemp in Georgia in the recitation of politicians who were supporting Donald Trump. That was important when Donald Trump finally made up with Brian Kemp. They don't want to love each other and golf together on the weekends, but they do need to get along if they intend to win the election and cooperate. And in Georgia, where Brian Kemp is like the most popular politician, his organization, the people who are loyal to him, working for Trump, that will matter.

So, I think the Vance message there is exactly the message that most Republicans want to hear, which is, are we going to be at each other's throats, or are we going to work together for the purpose of defeating the Democrats? And Trump would do well to listen to that message, because sometimes he gets off of it a little bit. But, Vance has it right, I think.

NEWTON: And Maria, I don't have a lot of time. If you want to take that on, especially in light of -- in a few hours, the -- certainly the Vice President Harris and her Vice Presidential candidate will sit down here at CNN, have a chance to appeal to their own big tent.

CARDONA: Right. Absolutely. And that's exactly what they will do, Paula. They will play addition and they will talk to all of those voters about what it is that they are going to do for them and their families, middle class families, working class families. But, the problem with what J.D. Vance just said is that he says that on the one hand, and then on the other hand, he insults vast majorities of voters in this country, the childless cat ladies, teachers unions, and then you have Donald Trump, who posts sexual slurs on his Truth Social.

[11:20:00]

And so, you have a candidate who is playing addition (ph), Kamala Harris and Walz, and you have a candidate in Donald Trump who is demonstrating his unfitness for office, his politics of division, of hatred, of fear of retribution, as he insults so many coalitions of voters, and I think that ultimately is going to be his downfall, because he is not playing addition there. He is telling voters, we hate you. We don't want you, and that's not how you win an election.

NEWTON: Maria Cardona, Scott Jennings, we will leave it there at least for a few hours. Thanks so much.

CARDONA: Thanks, Paula.

NEWTON: Appreciate both of you.

Now, as we were saying, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will have their first interview since they launched their campaign, right here on CNN with Dana Bash. That's today at 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

And straight ahead for us, France places the founder of Telegram under formal investigation. What the move means for the Russian-born billionaire, and how the Kremlin is responding?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: We have breaking news out of Ukraine. A Ukrainian defense source says a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet has crashed in the country. The source tells CNN, a top Ukrainian pilot was killed in the crash Monday. It happened as he was quote, "repelling the largest aerial attack Russia has launched against Ukraine." Now, overnight, Ukraine says Russia has launched a third aerial attack on Kyiv in the past four days, describing the latest air assault as massive. The Ukrainian military says it destroyed more than a dozen drones flying toward the capital. No casualties were reported, but drone debris damaged several buildings.

Meantime, Ukraine is claiming to have attacked oil and field artillery depots deep inside Russia. One attack on Wednesday caused a fire at an oil facility in the southwestern Rostov region. And CNN has also learned that Ukraine will directly press the U.S. to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons inside Russia. Ukrainian lawmaker tells us, two Ukrainian officials will present the Biden administration this week with a list of Russian targets.

We now turn to Nick Paton Walsh, who joins us now from London. I mean, look, Nick, these jets, the F-16s only just arrived in Ukraine in the last few months. How significant is this?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, to some degree, it's not entirely unexpected that F-16 jets, the rare part, it seems, of Ukraine's Air Force, modern on the frontlines the first time would experience, in this case, it seems, a crash during combat, from what we can make out from this statement or some defensive measures employed by Ukraine.

But, at the same time too, it's a symbolic moment, certainly, because these F-16 jets, small in number in terms of the six that have already arrived inside of Ukraine, but potentially a game changer if the full 80 pledged by European allies and allowed, because they're made in the United States, to be delivered by those European allies, by the Biden administration, after much wrangling, they could potentially transform the skies over Ukraine, giving Ukraine control air superiority on frontlines where Russia has enjoyed the ability to bomb Ukrainian forces at will, devastatingly.

[11:25:00]

What do we know about this particular incident? It appears to be a crash, but a crash that occurred during a bid to repel the huge aerial onslaught we saw earlier on this week, one of the largest, frankly, 400 plus aerial projectiles in the past four days fired at Ukraine. Minimal details, though, about exactly how the crash or the incident did occur.

But, we do know that the pilot was known as Oleksiy Mes and the call sign "Moonfish", someone CNN interviewed previously, a very experienced pilot chosen because of those skills to undergo the enormously condensed training course that F-16 pilots are having to go through. Normally, it would take years. Remember, these Ukrainian pilots have to get fully versed in English, and then in English, learn how to fly an F-16, a complex task for Western pilots over years. They compress that into six months.

And so, Ukraine's officials have said they will be inviting international experts in to probe exactly the instances around this crash. It does appear, they say, to be -- suggesting this was involved in their bid to repel the aerial assault from Russia. But, many questions will be asked about whether this is an impact of a compressed training regime, or how viable the F-16s or effective they'll be in the months ahead. But, be in no doubt at all, if 80 get into the skies, that will hugely turn things in Kyiv's favor. Paula.

NEWTON: Yeah. Again, though, just the loss, not just in terms of the jet, but of course that very experienced pilot.

Nick Paton Walsh for us. Thanks for the update.

Now, French authorities have placed the founder of Telegram under formal investigation in a probe over organized crime on the messaging app. Pavel Durov must remain in France under judicial supervision and is required to report to police twice a week. He has not yet been formally charged. The detention of the Russian-born billionaire has been criticized by Moscow as political. France denies that allegation.

We want to get the latest now from Matthew Karnitschnig. He is POLITICO's Chief European Correspondent. He joins us now from Austria. And I thank you for weighing in on this story, given its significance even beyond French borders. And when we talk about the fate of Telegram or Durov himself, what impact could this have on other social networks, how people use them, and the billionaires that run them?

MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CHIEF EUROPE CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, it can have a lot of impact on any social network that uses cryptography, which would also include WhatsApp, Signal, other kinds of programs like that, because the French are basically saying that if you don't comply with our French rules around cryptography, these companies could get into trouble, because sometimes we know from authorities these programs are used for drug trafficking. They're allegedly used for child pornography and that type of thing. And this seems to be what the French are really going after here. So, it could have a chilling effect.

And I think there is a lot of unease in the tech industry right now, especially among tech executives who like to travel to France, because France has made it clear that, if you travel there, you could be exposed here. Now, Durov is also a French citizen, which probably raised the risk for him. And this is one of the big questions, big mysteries sort of surrounding this whole affair, is that he appears to have known that the French were looking into him and decided to travel to France, to Paris, from Azerbaijan anyway. But, this is definitely going to have a chilling effect across the entire tech industry when it comes to cryptography.

NEWTON: And I want to -- it's that chilling effect that I want to probe a little bit more. I mean, obviously, many, even the users will bristle at this, right, in terms of what is the difference between overstepping your bounds in terms of censorship and suppressing speech, but also trying to protect people in the name of security. And at issue here was whether or not Telegram is a different case, because we have heard again and again that other social networks, perhaps, are cooperating with French and EU officials. KARNITSCHNIG: That's absolutely right. There is -- there are all kinds of indications that other (inaudible) are cooperating. We don't necessarily know the details of all of that, and that appears to be part of the problem here that the French government had with Telegram, was that they weren't even getting responses to their queries. And in this specific case, they were investigating a child pornography case and were trying to track down a suspect in that case, and they weren't getting any responses at all from Telegram. So, it really seems like they are using this as kind of the tip of the spear to deal with this problem, but I think it could open the door to other jurisdictions also following suit here.

[11:30:00]

It's interesting that this happened in France, at the national level in France, and not at the EU level, and the EU has recently passed new rules that would allow them to pursue similar cases going forward.

NEWTON: Yeah. And I have to say, when it comes to the child pornography, having seen a lot of these teams work behind the scenes to try and crush what is incredible abhorrent harm being done to children all over the world, it is shocking that the allegations that they were not cooperating, as they should be.

I want to turn now, though, to Russia's defense of Durov, given -- he was also once in the Kremlin's crosshairs, right, by allowing the opposition to spread its opinions on Telegram. How do you see Russia's defense of him right now?

KARNITSCHNIG: Well, I think it's slightly disingenuous, because everything that we know about Durov suggests that he was sort of driven out of Russia some years ago because he refused to turn over proprietary data on a social network that he ran at the time, which is similar to Facebook, or was actually a copy of Facebook, essentially, and he decided to leave the country, and then started Telegram. So, it does appear that he has not been really in the best favor of Russia in recent years, and he settled in Dubai, and has been running the company from there.

So, it's not really clear why the Russians all of a sudden are defending him, except for the fact that they do use Telegram in Russia, especially in the military, to communicate, and this could be a big factor in their sort of shock and horror over this arrest, because it's going to make it more difficult, potentially, or more risky, for the Russian military to continue to use this service if they're worried that Durov might be forced to hand over some encryption keys or something like that to French authorities, which is something that the Russian Foreign Minister mentioned yesterday.

NEWTON: Yeah, incredible turn of events, really, a story we will continue to follow. Matthew, really appreciate your insights.

Now, still ahead for us --

KARNITSCHNIG: Thank you. NEWTON: -- the UN Secretary-General warns dangerous developments in the West Bank are fueling an already explosive situation. We'll have a live update on the major Israeli incursion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: And welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom.

The death toll is rising in the West Bank, as Israel presses ahead with its largest offensive there in years. Troops backed by helicopters and drones are raiding Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and other areas in what they call a counterterrorism operation.

[11:35:00]

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 15 people have been killed in the incursion so far. Today, Israel says it killed five militants, including an Islamic Jihad commander, in a firefight in and near a mosque. Bulldozers are ripping up some streets, and widespread damage is being reported to civilian infrastructure, including water and sewage systems. The UN Secretary-General is calling on Israel to immediately halt its offensive. Antonio Guterres warns these, quote, "dangerous developments are fueling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank."

We want to go to Nic Robertson now in Tel Aviv, who has been following all of this. I mean, look, Nic, at the center of this has been this battle that happened in the mosque, apparently. But, how does it fit into what seems to be a much larger project on the part of Israel?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. In and around a mosque, is how the IDF is now characterizing that. They say that all those 15 people killed were all terrorists. That's how they characterize them, that they've used airstrikes. They've had gun battles with them, and one of those battles took place in and around a mosque where they killed a group, they say, were terrorists. They also say that they've killed the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Tulkarm. Now, Palestinian Islamic Jihad have admitted that their commander there was killed. They praised him as a martyr, and saying, this is not going to defeat them.

What is clear, and it's a very unclear picture, what is clear that is happening, civilians are being caught up in this. The Palestinian Red Crescent, for a time, have lost communications with their headquarters in Jenin. The internet, the phone lines were all down. The cellular service was down. People can't get out to get food or medicines. That's what we're hearing from Palestinian officials in those affected areas in the north of the occupied West Bank.

But, how does this fit in with a bigger picture of what Israel has been doing? Well, since October 7th, Israel has focused some of its efforts and energies on stopping Hamas and other groups forming and getting stronger inside the West Bank. And to that end, more than 637 Palestinians have been killed to date, according to the UN, and that is just a massive, massive increase in what we've seen over recent years. And that also includes 100 -- more than 135 people now killed in airstrikes within the northern -- within the occupied West Bank. There were no, or very, very few airstrikes in that area before last year.

So, again, all of this fits into a picture of a much bigger security operation going on in that area. And we heard today from the spokesperson of the UN human rights body being very clear about Israel's obligations, even seeming to imply that Israel was breaking some of its international obligations.

NEWTON: Nic, we continue to have this delicate dance with ceasefire talks. No one still, at this point, has really pointed to having any evidence that there is much optimism there or much hope. And yet, how do you think the latest operation in the West Bank fits into those ceasefire talks?

ROBERTSON: As you were mentioning, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has said this just fuels an already incredibly volatile situation, but he also says that this undermines the authority of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. They are the governing body. Their grip on those northern areas has been weakening, as groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have taken greater hold in those areas. And of course, that's triggered the IDF, Israel's border police and other forces, to focus efforts more in those areas, because they think that they're areas that the Palestinian Authority doesn't control.

But, what the UN is saying is, these attacks, meaning the Palestinian Authority won't be able to get control there. Why is it that way? Simply because, for the people in the West Bank, they will see that their only way to try to get some protection from the IDF is through groups like Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which means -- because they don't believe that the Palestinian Authority can provide them with security. It's all sort of undermining and fueling, as the Secretary General says, a worsening situation.

[11:40:00]

But, adding to that, of course, what's happening in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority is supposed to be part of the picture of working to resolve that and provide a sort of a post-Gaza war scenario for stability there. It just makes it so much harder.

NEWTON: Indeed, it does. Nic Robertson for us. Appreciate the update.

Still ahead, former staffers and Republican politicians are throwing their support to Kamala Harris. We'll take a look at why they're endorsing the Democrat for President. Plus, Donald Trump could soon have access to his Truth Social fortune. It is a fortune. We'll see if the billions could be used to pay off legal fees or finance his reelection campaign.

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NEWTON: And welcome back. Former staffers of high-profile Republican politicians are now supporting Vice President and Democrat, Kamala Harris. The group is made up of more than 200 staffers who worked for former President George W. Bush. They also worked for Senator Mitt Romney and the late Senator John McCain. The group says that they want to stop a second term of the Trump presidency. The open letter acknowledges the many ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris, saying, their dream President, but it also says that Donald Trump, the alternative, is, quote, "simply untenable." A similar letter was signed and published supporting Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.

Joining us now is Attorney Chris Truax. He served as the Southern California Chair for John McCain's primary campaign in 2008. He is also the author of this piece in The Hill entitled "This is not your mother's Democratic Party." We start by asking you please to explain that, because I am intrigued by this statement, though, that you made after the Democratic National Convention. You said perhaps the most impressive thing about the convention was what was missing. What does that mean?

CHRIS TRUAX, ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAIR FOR JOHN MCCAIN'S 2008 PRIMARY CAMPAIGN: Good morning, Paula. It's -- the Democrats have actually gone out of their way to be very inclusive this cycle, and I'm naturally skeptical as a conservative, but the Democrats need to be walking the walk. That convention would not have been out of place for Republican convention in the before times. It was very inclusive, very patriotic, hitting all of the big themes of America, none of the niche identity politics issues that Democrats or progressives, rather, sometimes get involved with. Kamala Harris made a real effort to walk the walk with that convention. And I was impressed.

NEWTON: And I want to ask you, in terms of the people that signed the letter with you, or even you right now speaking to us, do you have any concrete evidence that geo peers can have this kind of influence on this campaign, because people seem to be very hardened in their positions on the conservative camp?

[11:45:00]

TRUAX: Well, I think first we have to differentiate between more traditional conservative Republicans and the newer breed of MAGA Republicans. Kamala Harris has made a real outreach for conservative, traditional sort of Reagan conservatives, to give them a home in the Democratic Party, at least certainly for this cycle. I mean, politics is a -- I wouldn't say it's a marriage, but we can certainly date, they have -- they made a real effort. If you listen to Kamala Harris' acceptance speech, I mean, she even promised a tax cut. It was -- I was -- it was quite extraordinary to me how far she went in terms of really basic issues about protecting our alliances, protecting our democracy, sort of basic American themes.

And for me, that kind of capstone was she gave Adam Kinzinger, probably one of the most, well, definitely one of the most important spots in the whole convention. She was -- he was right before Ray Cooper. Everybody heard Adam Kinzinger's speech, and he is a conservative's conservative.

NEWTON: But, I am trying to talk about people who can be swayed, because you know as well as I do, when people saw Adam Kinzinger on the stage, anyone from the conservative camp would be looking at that fairly skeptically. It's just like you said in the conservative nature, why is he there? What are they getting at? And to that point, what is the end game of electing a Democrat this time around? Is it really just to make sure that MAGA, the MAGA movement, doesn't have influence on the Republican Party going forward?

TRUAX: Well, certainly that's a big part of it. The question is, if you're a conservative, you want to conserve things, things that are important, and you have to ask yourself, what are -- what's the sort of cost of four more years of Donald Trump versus the cost of Kamala Harris? Kamala Harris is going to do some things that I won't like, but those are relatively unimportant things. They're not big things. Donald Trump may destroy some of our alliances that we've worked on since World War II. He may significantly damage our democracy. He is unpredictable. Many of the people who worked in his cabinet are refusing to endorse him, and they know him better than anyone else.

So, if you're a conservative, it is sort -- the concern -- the Republican Party has always been a sort of a big tent party, and it has been -- there have been uncomfortable alliances, even in the old days, between social conservatives and economic conservatives. So, Republicans have never -- conservatives have never had the perfect party, because everybody has a little bit of a different attitude toward things. But, Kamala Harris' Democratic Party, at least for this cycle, is really making an effort to say, let's concentrate on the basic things that we all agree on and put some of that other stuff to the side.

NEWTON: And in terms of trying to do that, obviously, Vice President Harris and her VP candidate are sitting down with CNN in just a few hours. What advice would you have for the Harris and Walz campaign during this interview? And I ask this with some polling in mind, right? If you look at how Donald Trump is doing on the issue of the economy in the Sun Belt states compared to Harris, he is doing actually quite well. So, in light of all of that, what would you say to Harris and Walz, as they sit down for this interview?

TRUAX: Well, I think the key here is, be authentic. Don't pretend to be something you're not. I don't know how centrist Kamala Harris is. But, it's -- there is no question that being in government for almost four years now has made her extremely pragmatic. She is probably the most pragmatic candidate, Democratic candidate since Bill Clinton. And if you're a pragmatic -- if you're a pragmatist, you say, I'm going to fix the things I can. I'm going to concentrate on the problems that I can fix, and some of my other things that I might like to do, those go farther down the list. I'm not going to push ideological things when I have basic things to fix. It's sort of like, if you're a mayor, you fix the roads.

Well, America, nationally, has a lot of things like that, not so much the infrastructure, but sort of the infrastructure of democracy, our alliances, things like that that a pragmatist can fix. And it doesn't matter whether you're a liberal conservative. There is basic things we should all agree on. We need to do. And I think Kamala Harris should concentrate on that. NEWTON: Yeah. Well, I hear you, concentrate on things that all Americans can get behind. Kim Truax, pardon me, Chris Truax, thanks so much. I appreciate your time. And noted, this is a date, not a marriage. I get it. Thanks so much, Chris. Appreciate it.

TRUAX: Thank you very much. Thank you. Paula. Bye.

NEWTON: Bye.

Now, Donald Trump has a huge stake in the Truth Social platform and can tap now $2 billion. That's $2 billion from it next month. Trump Media is treading water, in fact, right now. On Wednesday, the stock tumbled four percent and it has lost 70 percent of its value since it launched. But, the lockup period for Donald Trump to actually be able to sell or borrow against that fortune expires on September 25th.

[11:50:00]

Matt Egan, you've been following this story for such a long time. So, what are the obstacles that remain, because that date is fast approaching?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: It is, Paula. And look, I have been covering this for a long time, and it has been a fascinating story. And one of the most intriguing parts of it is the fact that former President Trump is sitting on this multi-billion dollar social media fortune, a fortune that he probably would like to use to try to meet some of his financial needs, but he hasn't been able to touch it because, as you mentioned, those shares have been locked up by those fairly typical restrictions. Well, that is going to change very soon, as soon as September 20th. If the stock price stays above $20, that's when these lockup restrictions will go away. And even if the share price falls further, the restrictions are still going away on the 25th.

And so, at that point, he would be technically free to sell his shares and use the proceeds for whatever he wants, to pay lawyers, to fund his campaign. However, from a practical standpoint, this would not be so easy, because large shareholders like Trump, they always face obstacles when they try to exit their stake. And it would be even more complicated here, because Trump isn't just the dominant shareholder. He is the most popular user on Truth Social. The company's stock ticker symbol is even DJT. So, if he hit the exits, it would create a crisis of confidence. That's why NYU Law Professor Michael Ohlrogge, he told me that it would be all but impossible for Trump to liquidate his whole stake, or even a third of it, without completely tanking the stock price.

And look, the stock price, it's already been tanking, falling another four percent yesterday, falling below $20 for the first time since the merger close last spring. The share price is actually down 70 percent since March, and that sell-off has accelerated as Vice President Harris gains in the polls, and as these lockup restrictions loom, as far as the end of them come, this sell-off in the stock price, it has really taken a hit to Trump's stake in this company. It was worth over $6 billion back in May. Now, it's worth $2.3 billion, still a lot of money, but not as much as before. And one other point here, Paula, there is another way that Trump could

possibly monetize this stake if he was able to borrow against the shares. Of course, to do that, he'd need to find a bank or a wealthy individual or some other entity to lend to him, and that would not be simple either.

NEWTON: Yeah, fascinating just to see how this is all tied as well to the electoral polls and what his fate will bring us in November.

Matt Egan, thanks for keeping track of this. Appreciate it.

EGAN: Thanks. Paula.

NEWTON: Now, there are bobbleheads in baseball. What else could you ask for? I know it. What about the first pitch being thrown out by the star player's dog? This is so cute. You have to see this. We'll have it next.

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NEWTON: So, before we go, one more thing, and it's so good. Baseball fans flocked to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for Shohei Ohtani. Bobblehead night. Bobblehead night. Many of them waited, look at this, in line for several hours in the sweltering heat before Wednesday's game. A few lucky fans received a gold version of the bobblehead. Now, as you can imagine, a hot item for collectors.

[11:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are selling these gold ones. We've seen up to $17,000. Would you sell it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, no. I'm going to keep it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's good to know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. I keep it for my collection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTONL So sweet. $17,000. OK. Stealing the show, though, was none other than Ohtani's dog Decoy. Oh my Gosh. He is so adorable. Instead of the honorary first pitch, Decoy, you can see there, trotted from the pitcher's mound, the home plate, with the ball in his mouth, delivering it right down the middle to his waiting owner. Now, the bobblehead of Ohtani featured him posing with his beloved pup. Decoy has, of course, become a fan favorite since Ohtani joined the team before the season. I mean, come on, that is just adorable. And you know what else was adorable? Shohei Ohtani just lit up when he saw his dog. Can't get enough of that.

All right. I want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is next.

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