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CNN International: Donald Trump says no, it's Tim Walz Who's Weird; Hariss Discusses War in Gaza in Exclusive CNN Interview; CNN Speaks to Republican VP Nominee J.D. Vance; Vance: I'm Sure Trump will say What His Position on Abortion Ultimately is; Lion Rescued from Ukraine Takes Timid Steps Outside. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 30, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Hello, warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Max Foster. This is CNN Newsroom. Just ahead U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz sit down with CNN for an exclusive interview. This Harris's first since her historic nomination for the presidency. Harris reiterates her call for a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas and she says she'll support and sign a bill aimed at securing the U.S. border with Mexico.

Well, in measured tones Kamala Harris completed her first major TV interviews, the Democratic Presidential Nominee with relatively little drama, calling for what she described as a new way forward. Sitting alongside her running mate, Tim Walz Harris, fielded numerous questions from CNN's Dana Bash as she spelled out for the American people, how her presidency would differ from another Donald Trump term in the White House.

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: If you are elected, what would you do on day one in the White House?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, there are a number of things. I will tell you first and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class.

When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward, in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by hope and by optimism.

I think sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president, someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that.

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FOSTER: Although Harris was critical of Trump's policy, she didn't spend much time responding to his personal attacks on her.

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BASH: What I want to ask you about is what he said last month. He suggested that you happened to turn black recently for political purposes, questioning a core part of your identity.

HARRIS: The same old, tired playbook. Next question, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Harris spoke about the importance of being a president for all Americans. She said she would absolutely consider putting a Republican in her cabinet.

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HARRIS: Traveling the country extensively. I mean, I'm here in Georgia. I think somebody told me 17 times since I've been vice president, in Georgia alone. I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems.

BASH: On that note, you had a lot of Republican speakers at the convention. Will you appoint a Republican to your cabinet?

HARRIS: Yes, I would. I have spent my career inviting diversity of opinion. I think it's important to have people at the table and when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican

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FOSTER: Harris's running mate fielded his own questions and was pressed about how he once described his military service. The campaign has said Tim Walz misspoke in 2018 when he said he carried weapons in war. The Minnesota Governor served 24 years in the Army National Guard, but didn't deploy to a combat zone Walz suggested being imprecise in his language.

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BASH: And the idea that you said that you were in war, did you misspeak, as the campaign has said?

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yeah, I said we were talking about, in this case, this was after a school shooting, the ideas of carrying these weapons of war, and my wife the English she told my grammar is not always correct. But again, if it's not this, it's an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it's an attack on my dog, I'm not going to do that, and the one thing I'll never do is I'll never demean another member's service in any way. I never have and I never will.

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FOSTER: Donald Trump campaigned at a town hall event hosted by Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard in Wisconsin, and he took the opportunity to go on the attack. The Democratic Vice-Presidential Candidate Tim Walz has called him weird. Trump countered by saying, Walz is weird.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, see, they come up with sound bites every they always have sound bites. And one of the things is that J.D. and I are weird. OK, so straight J.D. is so -- he's doing a great job, smart top student, great guy, and he's not weird and I'm not weird.

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FOSTER: Let's get more on Harris's interview then joining me is Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics the University of Virginia. Thank you so much for joining us. It's the interview -- the interview was interesting, wasn't it's? One of those you need to watch all the way through, because it wasn't really about sound bites.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: No, it was conversational. That's what made it interesting. And I think there was more insight to them as people, as individual, maybe then breaking new ground on policy. Most of that we had either guessed or we had heard before.

But I thought it was -- it was well conducted, and for the candidates, it filled out some questions that voters have had, because after all, Vice President Harris was not followed as Vice President under Biden and Walz was completely unknown outside of Minnesota.

FOSTER: The tough part of the job, presumably, is the economy is always the biggest issue in U.S. elections. She admitted herself, grocery prices, for example, are too high. The economy isn't where she wants it, but she is partly responsible for where it is now. How do you think she did with her argument that actually they were dealing with a post COVID economy, which Donald Trump didn't handle very well?

SABATO: Well, it is partly true, but it's not the whole picture. When was the last time candidates presented the whole picture? They present the side of whatever question is on the table that benefits them. What was interesting to me again, though, was that instead of focusing on the fact that she would be the first woman president, the second black president, the first president of Asian descent.

She sidestepped that entirely. It was as though she was saying, we've already done that. We did that under President Obama. I'm running on the issues Americans care about. And again, that's the right approach. I think it will help her if people focus on what she wants to do on the economy, or what she wants to do on the border situation. Because, after all, she's running to be president, not vice president.

FOSTER: It was interesting because I spoke to a counterpart, another university, and she said the opposite. She said she -- it's an opportunity for her to lean into her background. Because for many people that what that is -- what makes her unique. But as you say, she completely sidestepped it, and she's going to be all about policy.

SABATO: Yes. Well, remember, Donald Trump is just sitting there waiting for her to bring up the subject of gender or race, and that will be the green light for him to go much further in that direction than he has already. He's already been there.

She changed positions on a number of things in the economy and the border and this and that. You know, welcome to politics. The one I remember is Donald Trump saying to a Sunday Host, I'm 100 percent pro- choice on abortion. 100 percent pro-choice on abortion. He's been all over the lot. Politicians usually are -- it's kind of what we accept as a cardinal rule of politics. Politicians are going to change their mind based on what the polls suggest the public believe.

FOSTER: Yeah, but it's also -- it shows a sign of listening, doesn't it, if you change position a bit? But she was very much batting those questions away. I know a lot of viewers are pretty frustrated that she wasn't answering those flip flops, as you might call them, in a direct manner, just saying, well, I -- you know I may be -- I did have that position, but I've listened to people and want to represent everyone.

SABATO: Yeah. She was running as a liberal in California to be U.S. Senator. She ran as the understudy to Joe Biden as Vice President, and took all of his positions. So right there you have conflicts, and now she's running on her own to be president, you're going to have another layer of conflicts.

You have to listen to every word they say. And by they; I mean politicians, whether it's Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, you listen to every word and they can turn on a dime. We all know that, and internationally, it's true too.

FOSTER: OK. Larry, thank you so much. We'll be speaking to you a bit later in the show as well. Thank you for joining us. Kamala Harris repeated her call for a Gaza ceasefire during her exclusive interview with CNN. She's trying to differentiate herself from President Joe Biden, whilst also largely reiterating the current Biden Administration policy. When asked if she would do anything differently, such as withhold weapons to Israel, here's what Harris said.

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HARRIS: Let me be very clear, I'm unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself and that's not going to change.

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But let's take a step back. October 7th, 1200 people are massacred, many young people who were simply attending a music festival. Women were horribly raped, as I said. Then I say today, Israel had a right, has a right to defend itself we would, and how it does so matter?

Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed, and we have got to get a deal done. We were in Doha. We have to get a deal done. This war must end, and we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out. I've met with the families of the American hostages. Let's get the hostages out. Let's get the ceasefire done.

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FOSTER: Let's bring in Nic he joins me live from Jerusalem. I'm just wondering if you saw anything different language there away from Biden policy and this idea of -- you know getting a deal done. I mean, a lot of people are blaming America for not getting a deal done, but they're not using their leverage over Israel firmly enough.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and it's really in that very short line within that statement you just heard there where she says it's how they do it, how Israel uses the weapons essentially. The United States supplies, absolutely the support is there for Israel, absolutely, they have a right to defend themselves, implying the weapons that Israel needs to do -- to do that will keep coming.

The question is that she raises there, and I think perhaps this is where she aims to differentiate herself, without differentiating herself, but appeal to that base of perhaps younger, more progressive Democrats who otherwise just may not show up to vote. It's how Israel does it.

And of course, the question for the Israeli government, should Harris win the election, will be how, and if she decides to apply pressure to try to modify because that's what she's implying, that all those deaths, there has to be a better way. She's framed it as the importance of getting the hostages released. That's concurrent with what President Biden has said.

But this will be where to look if she were elected, and for the Israeli government, to ponder how that position, that diplomatic position, what the diplomats, what the Secretary of State would say coming here to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu? What President Harris, if she were elected, would be saying on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu, if he was still the Prime Minister, then?

About how he is setting about achieving that right to deterrence, that right to protect the Israeli population? But at the moment, we're really passing words here. And again, when you listen to what she had to say, and we're going to hear it right now, what she had to say about a two-state solution, again, sounds very similar to what President Biden has been saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We have to get a deal done. Dana, we have to get a deal done. When you look at the significance of this, to the families, to the people who are living in that region, a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war, but will unlock so much of what must happen next.

I remain committed since I've been on October 8th to what we must do to work toward a two-state solution where Israel is secure and in equal measure, the Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So that point security and self-determination, that they know that they will get that. Those words some Palestinians may feel aren't really quite strong enough. They don't say part of a deal, there should be immediately a two-state solution. It's the language here seems to imply there should be a path towards it.

I think what the aspiration was, even under the Biden Administration, earlier during the Gaza war, and this was certainly the way that it appeared to be being framed, was the hope that out of a ceasefire in Gaza, you take an immediate step to a two-state solution. And she's not offering that.

FOSTER: OK. Nic, thank you so much. Well, after the break, we'll be hearing from the Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee, J.D. Vance. That's a live interview coming up here on CNN, where you'll get the Trump perspective, possibly on that interview, I'm sure will be asked -- responses.

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FOSTER: Immigration just one of the many issues where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump disagree. A few minutes ago, right here on CNN, Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, talked about what Harris did and didn't say on that in last night's interview. He and John Berman talked abortion and Israel and Kamala Harris's record. We're joined by Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. I mean, what stood out for you from that interview?

SABATO: That was a tough interview, good questions. What stood out? You have to say the headline was abortion. And it's -- the reason he could not give a cogent answer, is because Donald Trump has been all over the map even recently. And here's the -- here's the nub of it.

At first, he claimed full credit as he deserves, whether you like it or not. He deserves full credit for the overturning of Roe V Wade and the end, effectively, of abortion rights in many, if not most of the states. Then he found out how unpopular it is.

In fact, support for abortion rights and reproductive rights increased a good 10 percent if not more. So now it's a question of backpedaling and trying to get the issue off the table. And of course, Harris and the Democrats are not going to allow that to happen.

But you saw, I couldn't see the interview. I just listened to it sitting here. My guess is he looked like a pretzel at the end of the interview, because he had to stretch here and stretch there and stretch all around. The other thing that stood out to me from the interview Max is that nobody's told him, I guess what a vice president actually does?

A vice president is standby equipment. They do not make the decisions unless they become president for one reason or another. So, Kamala Harris didn't make the decisions in the Biden Administration. Her job as vice president was to support the president. That's what the modern vice president does.

Yes, there was an earlier era when vice presidents often disagreed publicly with the president, but that's long gone. And he's not going to be making any of the key decisions either if he and Donald Trump are elected.

FOSTER: It's interesting the abortion debate, isn't it, because -- you know, Kamala Harris does have a very clear policy on it. Donald Trump has moved and flip flopped on that issue.

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And we are seeing in the polling that it's not as you know, the right to choose is more popular clearly, than it is within Donald Trump's base. And that's sort of how he got here.

SABATO: That's exactly right, and that's why he can't explain and J.D. Vance can't explain how he's going to vote on that referendum on abortion in Florida, where Trump now resides and is a registered voter. Because if he admits that he's going to vote to enshrine abortion rights, he's going to lose a big piece of his base.

He has over 80 percent support among White Evangelical Christians. If he indicates that he is not going to support enshrining abortion rights, thereby sticking with the six-week rule, you must have an abortion by six weeks, even though a lot of women don't even know they're pregnant by the end of the six-week period.

Then he's going to lose a lot of the moderate support that he may or may not have. I don't think he has any liberals, but he's going to lose a lot of people in the middle because they simply don't agree with him.

FOSTER: Yeah, interesting. Larry, appreciate it. Thanks for joining us again after that interview with J.D. Vance.

SABATO: Thank you.

FOSTER: Now Ukraine is making a new push for conducting strikes deeper inside Russia using American made weapons. Kyiv plans to make its case in a face-to-face talk in the U.S. in the next hour, that's when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Pentagon.

At the same time, new Russian attacks overnight have killed at least two people that injured 30 others across Ukraine. This comes in a week when the country has endured some of Russia's biggest aerial attacks since the war began. It was during one of those attacks and F-16 fighter jet donated by the West went down, killing the pilot.

Ukraine says it's appointed a special commission to investigate what is seen as a major blow to Kyiv. I want to take you live to Kyiv and CNN's Fred Pleitgen, this pilot as well. He was -- you know he was a revered figure.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He certainly was. He was absolutely legendary. His call sign was actually Moonfish. His real name is Oleksiy Mes, but it was never really used because, of course, the Ukrainians very secretive about their air force. It is, of course, a prime target for the Russians.

But this pilot Moonfish, together with another pilot whose name was call sign was juice, they were really more instrumental than I think anybody could ever imagine, actually getting these F-16s to Ukraine. He's one of the pilots who was lobbying for the West to donate F-16 to the Ukrainians, one of the pilots who started learning how to use the F-16 well before the training programs even started.

And one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that these Ukrainian pilots who are now flying the F-16, there's only a handful here in the country. The training that they received is really condensed. It's a couple of months of training that normally would take years. And so, the loss of this specific pilot of Moonfish is definitely a big blow for the Ukrainians.

At the same time, though, of course, the program of the F-16s is now well in place here -- in here with in Ukraine. And I think one of the interesting things about this incident, which of course, is a huge issue for the Ukrainians, is they're trying to find out what exactly happened? Why this jet went down?

They don't believe that it was some sort of enemy hit in the jet. They don't believe it was pilot error. But of course, right now, they say an investigation is ongoing. And this happened on Monday as this large missile barrage was hitting Ukraine, the biggest the Ukrainians say, in the entirety of the war, more than 120 missiles used, more than 100 drones used by the Russians.

And of course, the F-16s were up there trying to shoot a lot of those missiles down. That's what these aircraft are being used at, at the moment. And it was in all of that that all of a sudden, the Ukrainians say they lost communication with the F-16. It later turned out that it had crashed and that the pilot was killed.

The Ukrainians are saying that they are inviting international help to try and look into this or to try and conduct this investigation, because, of course, they want to know exactly what happened and how something like this can be prevented in the future?

These jets Max obviously invaluable for the Ukrainians. They believe that these jets, the F-16s, are the future of the Ukrainian Air Force as their Soviet era, jets become older and older, and of course, get more depleted. But even more so, of course, the pilots who fly these jets absolutely key for the Ukrainians now shooting missiles down, but they also hope in the future, taking the fight to the Russians as well Max.

FOSTER: Just briefly, when we look ahead at that meeting in Washington, is this about convincing America that going further into Russia won't escalate tensions with Russia, between the U.S. and Russia?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, I think to a certain extent, yes. I think on the one hand, it's going further into Russia, but specifically also striking deeper within Russia. The Ukrainians are essentially saying they want to present the U.S. military and the U.S. government, of course with an array of possible targets that they could hit deeper inside Russia than they are allowed to right now with U.S. weapons.

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The U.S. has given the Ukrainians weapons that can fire quite a long distance, like, for instance, the attack of surface-to-surface missiles, but also some air to surface missiles as well that are launched from jets that can shoot really deep into Russian territory.

Right now, they're not allowed to do that. They can hit areas in Ukrainian territory occupied by the Russians, but not very deep into Russian territory, the Ukrainians say that is absolutely key for them to do that, and they don't believe that this would further escalate the situation Max.

FOSTER: Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much for joining us from Kyiv. Now, a female lion rescued from war torn Ukraine, taking her first steps outside at a big cat sanctuary here in the UK. A lioness known as Yuna lived inside a private home in Ukraine. She suffered from shell shock and concussion after explosions near her home.

When the war broke out, Yuna was evacuated in a journey through Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Her new home in Southern England, the big cat sanctuary, says Yuna is showing signs of emotional well-being, including playing and exploring her surroundings as you can see.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster. Up next, CNN's exclusive interview with U.S. Democratic Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz in its entirety.

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