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CNN International: Harris, Walz Sit Down For Exclusive CNN Interview; Harris Campaign Announces Reproductive Rights Bus Tour; Trump To Speak In Battleground State Of Pennsylvania. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 30, 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)
ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to viewers from around the world. I'm Zain Asher in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, the first interview with the new Democratic ticket. Kamala Harris is facing questions on her past positions and how she might handle her future role. Plus, Donald Trump out on the trail, trying to fend off Democratic criticism over his positions on abortion and now calling for free IVF treatments for women. And Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft is finally set to return home from the International Space Station, but without its crew. My guest is a retired NASA astronaut.
All right. The first interview is in the rear-view mirror, and now Kamala Harris is setting her sights on the September 10th debate with her opponent, Donald Trump. On Thursday, with her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, by her side, Harris answered questions in a CNN exclusive interview. Dana Bash asked the Democratic nominee key policy questions, including what she would do on day one in the Oval Office. Here is how Harris responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Day one, it's going to be about one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy. I've already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we're going to do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we're going to do to invest in America's small businesses, what we're going to do to invest in families, for example, extending the child tax credit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The Vice President says she would offer down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers, and that she would consider appointing a Republican to her cabinet. Harris insists Americans want to move on from Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: In poll after poll, voters continue to list the economy as one of their biggest issues ahead of the November election. In response, Harris is defending what the administration has done so far and talking about what exactly comes next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: So, you have been Vice President for three and a half years.
HARRIS: Yeah.
BASH: The steps that you're talking about now, why haven't you done them already?
HARRIS: Well, first of all, we had to recover as an economy, and we have done that. I'm very proud of the work that we have done that has brought inflation down to less than three percent.
BASH: So, you maintain Bidenomics is a success.
HARRIS: I maintain that when we do the work of bringing down prescription medication for the American people, including capping the cost -- of the annual cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000, what we have done to improve the supply chain so we're not relying on foreign governments to supply American families with their basic needs, I'll say that that's good work. There is more to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Reactions are pouring in from CNN's exclusive interview.
I want to bring in Eva McKend, who joins us live now from Washington, D.C. So, I think the big question is, I mean, how well did she do? She doesn't do many interviews. Obviously, this was a major test for her. Donald Trump called it boring. But, is there anything really that Republicans can run with here?
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, she had to thread the needle on a whole host of policy issues that she has moved to the right on in recent years, whether it be on immigration and on climate, and what she aimed to do and what she may have effectively done with at least some voters is say that even if she doesn't agree with the mechanisms that she did before to achieve some of those policy aspirations, her values are still the same on many of these issues. Take a listen to how she talked about fracking, Zain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Do you still want to ban fracking?
HARRIS: No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking. As Vice President, I did not ban fracking. As President, I will not ban fracking.
BASH: In 2019, I believe in a town hall you said -- you were asked, would you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking on your first day in office? And you said, there is no question I'm in favor of banning fracking. So, yes. So, it changed in that campaign?
HARRIS: In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024, and I have not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MCKEND: And Zain, if you read her book, she was a strong advocate for undocumented immigrants when she first got to the Senate, and she now advocates for a bipartisan border enforcement bill that doesn't include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. So, no doubt she has moved to the right on a key number of policy issues, and it might be politically beneficial, but conservatives are still not giving her credit. They are pushing back against her performance last night, arguing that she can't credibly characterize herself as being part of a new path forward, given that she is currently in the administration.
ASHER: And speaking of politically beneficial, we know that the Harris campaign has essentially announced a reproductive rights tour, a bus tour across several states. I mean, just walk us through what we know about this, especially when you consider the backdrop of J.D. Vance's childless cat lady comments and also some really vulgar comments that Donald Trump himself, really vulgar sexual comments that Donald Trump himself made about Harris this week.
MCKEND: This is a key issue for Democrats. They view it as a political winner across the board. I think they're all the more confident, or it really illustrates how confident they are that they're beginning in Florida, which is not a battleground state, which is a red state, but they think that they even have a case to make on reproductive rights, reproductive justice there.
They are going to set off on this tour in 50 battleground states. Governor Walz and his wife will be on the tour, Senator Amy Klobuchar, as well as a whole host of celebrities, basically making the case and trying to draw this contrast between them and the former President, who, no matter what he says now and how he tries to moderate on this issue, it is because of him that ultimately three conservative Supreme Court justices ascended to the High Court and overturned Roe v. Wade, which has made abortion inaccessible in many states across the country.
Take a listen to how Governor Walz is addressing some discrepancies about how he has spoken about how IVF in his own family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The one thing I'll tell you is I wished in this country we wouldn't have to do this. I spoke about our infertility issues because it is hell, and families know this. And I spoke about the treatments that were available to us that had those beautiful children there. That's quite a contrast in folks that are trying to take those rights away from us. I think most Americans get it, if you've been through that. I don't think they're cutting hairs on IVF or IUI. I think what they're cutting hairs on is an abortion ban and the ability to be able to deny families the chance to have a beautiful child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: Zain, just to give you a sense of how worried Republicans are about this, the former President announcing last night at a rally that he thinks that insurance should actually cover IVF treatments, so suggesting a mandate, which Republicans have forcefully campaigned against mandates for many, many years. That is how worried they are about, how passionately so many Americans feel about reproductive choice.
ASHER: All right. Eva McKend live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Many of Harris' comments have been criticized by the Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance. Earlier, Vance told CNN that if Harris wants to tackle issues like inflation or illegal border crossings, she should be doing it now as Vice President. But, Vance said that Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump can agree on at least one thing. Both would appoint a member of the opposite party to their cabinet. Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got Democrats who are actively on the team, Tulsi Gabbard, who ran against Kamala Harris in the 2020 Democrat primary, RFK Jr. These guys have all come on board the Donald Trump ticket. And why have they done that, John? Because our party is the party of common sense. We don't agree on everything. We may disagree about tax policy or environmental policy, but we think we should have a closed border. We think American families should be able to afford housing and food, and we want calm and peace all over the world, not the world in constant conflict that Kamala Harris has delivered.
So, we've got a great big ticket with Democrats, Republicans and independents on the Donald Trump team, and we're going to keep on running that way, and then we're going to govern that way when we win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Vance also said that Trump could soon announce how he'll vote on a Florida amendment that would protect abortion rights, insisting he hasn't explicitly stated his intention. This comes after Trump appeared to take a much more moderate stance on reproductive rights. Not only did he announce a proposal to have IVF treatments paid for by the government or by insurance companies, as Eva McKend was just talking about there, he also signaled that he is leery about Florida's six-week abortion ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This has to be more time. And so, that's -- I've told them that I want more weeks.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you'll vote in favor of the amendment?
TRUMP: I'm voting that -- I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. Let's get more now from CNN's Jason Carroll in Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump is expected to be today. Obviously, Donald Trump's really sort of intense focus, Jason, is capturing back the states that he lost in 2020, and part of that is, of course, to win back a lot of white working class voters. Just explain to us the strategy to do that.
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first and foremost, what the former President is going to do is tell these Pennsylvanians, when he takes the stage at this rally, why he says he is the best candidate on the economy, why he is the one who can preserve jobs. Some of those jobs that he is talking about preserving have to do with fracking here in the state of Pennsylvania.
And just to give you some perspective, Zain, in terms of ranking, Pennsylvania is second only to the state of Texas when it comes to natural gas development. So, you can understand why so many jobs here in the state rely on that particular industry. And this is something that Vice President Kamala Harris has waffled on. In the past, you remember back in 2019, she said that she supported a ban on fracking. Now she has since explained why she has evolved on that position and no longer supports a ban on that. But, expect President Trump to, when he addresses folks here in Pennsylvania, to say, look, this is a candidate that simply cannot be trusted on this issue, cannot be trusted when it comes to preserving jobs here in the state.
In fact, yesterday, he posted on Truth Social, when Harris was asked about her change in position on fracking, the former President said her answer rambled incoherently. He then went on to say that she is someone who would keep borders open here in the United States, and there will be no fracking under a Harris administration. So, these are some of the key points we expect the President to outline when he takes the stage at 04:30.
ASHER: I think it's really interesting how both candidates are really trying to win over women. It's going to be a major issue come November 5th. You've got Kamala Harris doing this sort of reproductive rights bus tour across several states, and then on top of that, you also have Donald Trump shifting his position when it comes to IVF, talking about the fact that the government, maybe even insurance companies, should be paying for IVF treatment, and then saying that he is leery about the Florida six-week abortion ban. Just explain to us how evangelicals are reading into that.
CARROLL: Well, good question, and we're going to have to see. I mean, there are clearly some of those who are in the Christian community and the evangelical community who have very strong opinions when it comes to reproductive rights.
Having said that, this is a group that has traditionally supported former President Trump. But, when it comes to the general election, and you're trying to carve out just about every single vote that you can, and when you're looking at swing states like the state of Pennsylvania, where there is no clear leader within the margin of error, you've got to try to appeal to as many votes as you can. Many of those votes are in the center, and that is why I think you've got some folks who are looking at this proposal by Trump, this IVF proposal, to appeal to those particular voters who have somehow turned away from the GOP because they feel as though the GOP and perhaps even Trump himself are not sympathetic to those who support reproductive rights, right?
And so, it's going to be a question that's still outstanding, how evangelicals feel about this latest development. But, one point is clear, both of these candidates have to appeal to as many as they can. The races are just too close in too many swing states. Zain.
ASHER: Jason Carroll live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Let's discuss this further with Amie Parnes, Senior Political Correspondent for The Hill, and Jackie Kucinich, CNN Political Analyst and Washington Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe.
OK. I'm going to ask both of you the same question. The interview yesterday with Kamala Harris on CNN, did she do fine, or did she knock out of the park? Jackie, let me start with you.
JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE, & CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think she did any harm. This was an interview that they sort of let be boosted to new heights because she hasn't done any interviews. So, the stakes were high because kind of what the campaign is making, and there is nothing here that really you could see -- Republicans are grabbing on to things because, of course, they're going to do that. But, there was nothing -- there were no big mistakes. There were no big wins. This was pretty much a -- I don't know that this is going to move the needle.
ASHER: Amie.
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AMIE PARNES, SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE HILL: I think she did. I agree with Jackie. I think it was possible. I think what you saw her try to do, Zain, is you tried to -- she knows she has the base kind of locked up, but I think that interview was mostly made, obviously, to tailor to moderates and independents and people who are still undecided. She tried to remain above the fray. She didn't want to take the bait on Trump on going after him in any way. She had that quip of, next question, please. This was all very intentional, obviously. And she wants to show that the Democratic Party has -- is under her control, that they can remain above the fray, that they're not going to get into the mud and fight on this stuff. And she is talking more like a centrist and not like a progressive in the way that Republicans have tried to define her.
ASHER: And speaking of the sort of next question, please comment. I actually want to roll that for the audience. This is the part where Dana Bash asked her about Donald Trump basically saying that you only just became black, right, and just getting her response. Let's roll that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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: Yeah.
BASH: Any --
HARRIS: Same old, tired playbook. Next question, please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So, here is the thing. I mean, as a black woman myself, I can certainly say that for a lot of people who are minorities in this country, representation matters, and the fact that she is a black woman absolutely matters. Obviously, it helps her in certain corners in this country, but it is a liability in other corners. Was it smart politics for her to sort of distance herself from the question, Jackie?
KUCINICH: It wasn't only that question that I thought was very telling. It was her -- the final question Dana asked about her grand niece, that photo of her grand niece watching her speak on the convention stage. She took it and asked what it could mean for people watching and that it meant a lot to people. And she really took a step back and kind of assessed it clinically, rather than emotionally. And she has done this throughout the campaign, has chosen not to go into the fact she is a woman, not to really go into her race, other than describing her background, which, of course, she has made a critical part of the campaign.
And it really stands in contrast to someone like -- someone who, Amie has written quite a bit about, , who really leaned into the whole I'm with her glass ceiling breaking way of her campaign. So, there really is a contrast here as to those two candidates who both were trailblazing in their own right. ASHER: And not only Hillary Clinton, Amie, let me bring you into the
conversation, because I remember back in 2007 listening to Obama talk about the fact that he is equal slave and equal slave master. And these words were so moving, not just to black Americans, but also white Americans as well, this idea that as the first black President, he would represent all people, and he really lead into his race. And a lot of people, regardless of their race background and religion, found that extremely inspiring. Why do you think it worked for Obama back in 2007, but obviously, Kamala Harris, there is a certain part of her that feels that it might not work for her this time around?
PARNES: That's a very good question. I mean, I agree with Jackie too. I mean, she has stayed far away from these issues. I think she took notes, obviously, from 2008 and 2016. She saw what worked and what didn't. I think it might have worked for Obama. I think it didn't work for Clinton, obviously, to talk about the history-making piece of her campaign. But, I think she is smart in that. She knows that she needs to reach out to people who might still have questions about her, who don't really know about her, these people and these few voters in these key swing states that we talk about, and they might not have concerns about that. They want to know about their bread and butter issues, about the economy, about the issues that are facing their family.
And so, she is taking kind of the very middle of the road approach here. We might still hear her talk more about that later, certainly if she is President, but I think she is smartly learning. She is taking notes from previous campaigns and what she needs to do to run her own successful campaign.
ASHER: It's interesting because, Obama was black, obviously, is black, but he is a man. Hillary Clinton is a woman but she is white. And Kamala Harris has both of those things. She is a black woman, and it might be a hard pill to swallow both of those things for certain Americans. I do want to ask about Tim Walz, because obviously he has come under a lot of fire for perhaps exaggerating details about his time in the National Guard.
[11:20:00]
I want to play a soundbite about what he said -- with what he said in response to Dana's questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And the idea that you said that you were in war --
WALZ: Yeah.
BASH: -- did you misspeak, as the campaign has said?
WALZ: 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 teacher, told me 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: So, that was a quick, quick pivot. Amie, was that a satisfactory explanation, do you think?
PARNES: I think so. I think right now, in this very moment, Democrats are winning. They feel like they're winning. They are trying to -- you see the Republican side, and they're on the defensive, and I think they're not trying to make headlines on the Harris team. And so, I think that was a possible response, and I think they're happy with the way that went and the way the whole interview went in general.
ASHER: All right. Amie Parnes, Jackie Kucinich, live for us there. Thank you both so much. We appreciate it.
All right. Still ahead, Russia's attacks -- Russia attacks, rather, multiple regions of Ukraine overnight. We'll have the latest on that. Plus, today's meeting between Ukrainian officials and the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Plus, Israel's West Bank offensive marks its third day, the latest in a he live report from Jerusalem. And we'll hear what Kamala Harris said about the Israel-Hamas war in her exclusive CNN interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. And we have got to get a deal done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ASHER: All right. Let's get back now to last night's exclusive interview with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, her first since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. In her remarks to CNN's Dana Bash, Harris addressed the Israel-Hamas war, saying that her position mirrors that of President Joe Biden. She repeated her call for a ceasefire deal to be made and for hostages to be released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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. But, let's take a step back. October 7, 1,200 people are massacred, many young people who were simply attending a musical festival. Women were horribly raped.
[11:25:00]
As I said then, I say today, Israel had a right -- has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. 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 --
BASH: And in the meantime --
HARRIS: -- 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Right now to what's happening on the ground in the conflict, Israel's military says it killed three Hamas members, including a commander in Jenin. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades confirmed the death. This comes as the IDF's offensive in the occupied West Bank marks its third day. Curfews remain in place in parts of Jenin, as operations continue.
Meantime, Israel and Hamas have agreed to humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccinations, after the territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century. That's due to start this Sunday, September 1, and will be split into three phases across Gaza. The campaign aims to vaccinate around 640,000 children. With news of an Israeli strike on another humanitarian vehicle in Gaza, questions remain about how any polio pause might work.
Nic Robertson joins us live now from Jerusalem. Nic, what more can you tell us about the mass vaccinations plan and also about the pause in fighting.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. What the UN originally was asking for was a seven-day complete pause in fighting across the whole of Gaza. What they got instead were these three phases that you described, and each phase will be three days. They'll start in the center and then move to the south and then move to the north. And on each of those days, there will be seven hours pause in the fighting allowed. So, if you multiply that out, you get to 63 hours to vaccinate across all those days, to vaccinate 640,000 children, all those under the age of 10. And the UN says it really has to hit a target of 90 percent to be effective.
So, that is a big lift. I mean, that's -- if you just do the raw numbers, that's about 10,000 children an hour. There are about 2,000 people who have been trained now to hand out or provide -- give these vaccines to the children. But, it's a very, very big lift at a technical level, because you have to record who has got it. You have to organize people who are coming in there. They don't all have transport. It's a finite amount of time. People don't feel safe.
And then you have, as you say, these unexpected components, well, the WHO vehicle that was hit just -- World Food Programme vehicle that was hit mistakenly a couple of days ago, a convoy -- aid convoy hit within the past 36 hours. If you get incidents like those, all of that is going to eat time out of the available vaccination window. So, it's a huge challenge, and then you have to do it a second time in four weeks. This is a double dose vaccination, but it's imperative, because polio is already proven to be there in Gaza, and it's in the water, and the water is not clean, and people are drinking this water. It's affected by raw sewage. So, it's -- it is a vital, vital program that has to happen. But, as you say, it's terribly difficult to achieve it with the time and space available.
ASHER: Absolutely. Nick Paton Wash -- Nic Robertson, excuse me, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. The U.S. Secretary of Defense is meeting with two top Ukrainian officials. Just a short time ago, Lloyd Austin met at the Pentagon with Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Ukraine is trying to get the U.S. to lift restrictions on using American weapons for long-range military targets inside Russia. An F-16 fighter jet was lost on Monday in a mission to destroy Russian missiles and drones. The crash also killed one of Ukraine's top pilots. An investigation is now underway into what caused the crash. And today's meeting comes after overnight attacks across Ukraine. The attacks resulted in three fatalities and dozens injured. One person was killed in the Donetsk region and two others in attacks in northeastern Ukraine.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more on that high-level security meeting and what it could mean for Ukraine. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For these top-level Ukrainian officials who have traveled to the U.S., the meetings that they're having are absolutely key, especially the one with Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The Ukrainians are saying, essentially, they want to present the U.S. with a list of targets inside Russia that they want permission from the U.S. to be able to hit with some of the weapons that the United States has given to the Ukrainians.
[11:30:00]
Of course, the U.S. has given the Ukrainians some weapons that can travel a considerable distance. But, so far, the Ukrainians are only allowed to use those weapons to strike Ukrainian territory that's occupied by the Russians and some territories very close to the border between Ukraine and Russia. The Ukrainians clearly want to open that up. They believe that that is key to their effort to try and stop Russia's advances in certain places, but also for their own troops to be able to advance further into Russian territory. Right now, we have a situation here in Ukraine where Ukrainian military is still advancing further into Russian territory in the Kursk region. There have been some gains that the Ukrainians say that they have made overnight.
On the one hand, it's also still remarkable that the Ukrainians are able to advance even more than three weeks into the beginning of that incursion into Russian territory. On the other hand, the Ukrainians are having serious problems in the east of Ukraine, in the Eastern Front, as they call it, especially in the region around the key town of Pokrovsk. The Russians in that area are not making huge gains, but they're definitely making steady gains, and the Ukrainians say the biggest problem that they have down in that area is that their forces are simply outmanned. The Ukrainian General Command has said that they want to beef up their forces in that area to try and at least stop the Russians and maybe even push them back.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still ahead, next steps in the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump, as Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to file an update with the federal judge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Zain Asher in New York.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to lay out the next steps in the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump. Smith's office is expected to file with a federal judge today, following last month's ruling by the Supreme Court on presidential immunity. Jack Smith resurrected the case. This time, the prosecution is focusing on Trump, the candidate, not as President.
Let's go to Washington where CNN's National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen joins us. This is really key because, because of the Supreme Court ruling, Jack Smith is having to make severe edits, and the focus is now on the fact that he was acting as a political candidate, not as President. Walk us through it.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Zain. That's exactly right. And today's joint status report will give us really the first indication of how attorneys for Donald Trump and Jack Smith's team see this case playing out going forward, and what the timeline might look like for this case to proceed, potentially to a trial scenario.
[11:35:00]
Now, it's become very clear in the wake of that Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that a trial before the 2024 election is almost certainly not going to happen. And Jack Smith has essentially, tacitly acknowledged that through the pace, a shift in pace, our sources say, since that ruling was handed down, for a better part of a year, if not more than a year. We've heard that Jack Smith was working as fast as he could to try to bring this case to trial. But, when that decision came down from the Supreme Court, the pace has slowed dramatically.
Instead, Smith and his team have been focused more on being very deliberate and how they've pored over this indictment, trying to revise it for the last eight weeks to carve out some of those details and some of those -- some of that conduct that the Supreme Court said Trump was immune from being criminally prosecuted for, and what they're going to have today is basically their proposal for how Judge Chutkan should carry out this case going forward. And look, the focus has shifted in that timeframe from getting to a
trial as fast as possible to really preserving as much of the case as they can, while also removing the parts of the indictment that are covered under presidential immunity, that new standard from the Supreme Court. We know Trump's attorneys are going to continue to try to delay this case for as long as possible, because really the biggest threat to this case, as it stands now, is a political one, and if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, this case all but goes away.
I want to note one more thing too. There had been a proposal or an idea that had been floated about Jack Smith potentially wanting to hold a mini trial of sorts, calling witnesses like former Vice President Mike Pence and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to testify, an opportunity to present some of the evidence that he has accumulated over the course of this investigation before the 2024 election. But, for now, it seems, according to our source, that he is keeping his powder dry for if and when this case ever does go to trial, so we could present it to a jury.
ASHER: All right. Zachary Cohen live for us there. Thank you.
Donald Trump is defending his recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery to honor American service members killed in fighting in Afghanistan three years ago. Monday's visit sparked controversy and led to the U.S. Army issuing a stark rebuke to Trump's campaign. An Army spokesperson says, participants in Monday's ceremony were, quote, "made aware of federal laws regarding the banning of political activity within army, national military cemeteries." The U.S. Army also says one Arlington employee was abruptly pushed aside during the incident. While campaigning in the battleground state of Michigan Thursday, Trump denied the use of Arlington photos for political purposes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They asked me to have a picture and they say I was campaigning. I don't need -- the one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don't need that. I don't need the publicity.
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ASHER: On the social media platform X, Trump's campaign manager Chris LaCivita reshared a video of Trump's visit, saying he hoped to quote "trigger the hacks at the office of the Army Secretary."
All right. Just ahead, Wall Street is reacting to a key U.S. inflation report, which happens to be the Fed's go-to index. A live update for you next. Plus, it turns out heat is actually bad for ice cream sales. Mister Softee has been around for decades, but sales are down for the once popular ice cream truck business. We'll tell you why after the break.
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ASHER: All right. The U.S. Federal Reserve's go-to inflation report is just out, and it's better than expected. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index, or PCE for short, held steady at 2.5 percent last month, unchanged from June. Some economists were expecting it to move higher. Here is how Wall Street is reacting. This inflation report is also closely watched by investors, along with the U.S. central bank, which recently signaled a likely September interest rate cut.
I want to bring CNN's Matt Egan now. So, Matt, obviously, just in terms of what everyone is expecting, we know that a rate cut is imminent. Based on these numbers, though, from this inflation report, what are we expecting in terms of how far and how fast the Fed may cut?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Zain. An interest rate cut at the next meeting in September looked like a slam dunk before this report came out and it still looks that way right now. Investors are pricing in about 100 percent chance of an interest rate cut, but the big debate remains, how big of a rate cut will the Fed opt for? And right now, there is about a 70 percent chance that the Fed does a smaller cut of 25 basis points. This would still be the first time the Fed has cut interest rates since COVID. But, there is also a chance that the Fed does a bigger rate cut of 50 basis points.
Now, what the Fed ends up deciding here is going to be based on how the economy looks when they meet in just under three weeks and that's going to be decided on not just one more month of inflation numbers, but really how the jobs market looks, because in exactly a week, we're going to get the latest reading on jobs. And right now, that is where the Fed is more concerned. They are more focused on the weakness, some of the cracks in the jobs market, than they are on the inflation front. And so, if there is a weak jobs report for August that we learn about a week from today, you know what, Zain, maybe that ends up forcing Jerome Powell and his colleagues to go with a bigger rate cut.
ASHER: And talk to us about market reaction in terms of what we are seeing here.
EGAN: I think that this report today was largely in line with expectations, 2.5 percent year-over-year for PCE, which, as you mentioned, is the inflation gauge that the Fed puts the most stock in. And that was slightly better than expected, depending upon which estimates you're looking at. Some real context, though. This is the lowest, tied for the lowest reading since February of 2021, which, by the way, was the first full month of the Biden administration. That chart shows you how this metric has really improved.
I mean, two years ago, this PCE index was above seven percent. That was alarming. That is why the Fed had to step in and act like the firefighters by significantly raising interest rates, right, moves that we are still feeling the effects of today. The fact that inflation has come down so much shows that a lot of that tough medicine from the Fed, it has worked.
One thing I want to stress, though, is the fact that the inflation rate has come down, it doesn't mean that prices across the economy are falling, right? They're not. It doesn't mean that life here in America or most countries around the world is suddenly cheap again. It's not. The cost of daycare and groceries and rent, all of that, of course, is so much higher than a few years ago. But, Zain, this is encouraging because it shows that prices, they're no longer skyrocketing. They're going up at a more gradual pace, and that is good news.
ASHER: All right. Matt Egan live for us there. Thank you so much.
EGAN: Thanks, Zain.
ASHER: Have a great weekend.
All right. Ice cream is a symbol of summertime around the world, and for decades, Mister Softee ice cream trucks have brought joy to neighborhoods across the United States, but inflation, competition and even hot weather could be threatening its business.
CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn has this story from New York.
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NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER (voice-over): The Mister Softee ice cream truck, it's the sound of summer, bringing back memories of childhood in a simpler time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run down the stairs. Ice cream van is coming.
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MEYERSOHN (voice-over): Since the 1950s, Mister Softee has been part of the fabric of some. It's no wonder people travel from all over.
[11:45:00]
The taste may be sweet, but selling it is harder than ever. Inflation and competition now threaten franchise owners.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy. Easy. Is low. Is low.
MEYERSOHN (voice-over): When Carlos Vasquez started 10 years ago, a vanilla cone cost $1. Now it's up to five bucks, well beyond the rate of inflation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's part of the war. Gas go up. Milk go up. All the parts of the mix go up.
MEYERSOHN (voice-over): The price isn't the only thing that's going up. The temperature has been rising. You'd think people want ice cream when it's hot, but surprisingly, they're staying home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It melts. You get dirty and you ask for the extra napkin. If the weather is really hot, it's not really good for business. It's weird. MEYERSOHN (voice-over): Ice cream is best shared with a friend, whichever toppings you like.
RICHARD QUEST, CN HOST: I want the famous standard vanilla cone.
MEYERSOHN (voice-over): To talk economics and ice cream, I invited along my friend Richard Quest.
QUEST: You got to sprinkle on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm traditional.
QUEST: No. That's not traditional.
MEYERSOHN: Oh, that looks good.
QUEST: Why did you want to tell me about this?
MEYERSOHN: It's a symbol of New York, but it's also changing. And the future, I think, is very much up in the air. We have to look at it as a small business that is very much could go extinct at some point.
QUEST: No. We know.
MEYERSOHN: No?
QUEST: We have to look at it. That's bloody good ice cream on a hot, sunny day. Cheers.
MEYERSOHN: Cheers.
(END VIDETOAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still ahead, the Boeing Starliner is set to head back from the International Space Station, but NASA's crew will not be on board. We'll speak up with retired astronaut Leroy Chiao on what to expect. Plus, tragedy for ice hockey fans. Winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau has died at age 31.
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ASHER: All right. You are looking at pictures of the Starliner launch back in June. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were on board headed to the International Space Station. We've now learned the Starliner is scheduled to return to Earth September 6, however, without its two-person crew. NASA recently announced concerns over gas leaks and other problems with the Starliner's capsule propulsion system. Because of those safety concerns, Williams and Wilmore are now scheduled to return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule no earlier than February of next year.
Let's bring in retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, and get his insight into what his fellow astronauts may be dealing with. So, this idea of two astronauts scheduled to go to the International Space Station for a week or so and ending up there for about eight or nine months, how common is that?
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I mean, is this something, obviously, they prepare for ahead of time?
LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: No. This is unusual. It was unexpected. Certainly, as you said, they were expecting to spend about seven or eight days aboard the ISS doing this shakedown or flight test of the Boeing Starliner. Because of these problems they've had in the propulsion system, NASA has lost confidence in it for bringing them home unless it's -- there is an emergency. And so, in that case, the September 6, the Starliner will undock and come down with nobody on board.
But, the Butch and Suni are going to be up there until February. That's because, two of the crew, the four-member crew that was going to launch here in a few weeks, they were taken off the flight. And so, basically, Butch and Suni have been swapped in with the next crew that's going up. So, they will fly that entire mission and come back down in February. And that's why it's going to be such a delay. So, obviously, a big impact to their personal plans. But, they're consummate professionals. They know that things -- unexpected things can happen, and they're rolling with it, and I think they're doing great.
ASHER: So, based on what I've read, the International Space Station is essentially the size of a very, very large six-bedroom house, most of it is filled with equipment, though. It's really cozy quarters for the astronauts. I mean, what is that like living up there, day-to-day living? What is that like for nine months?
CHIAO: Sure. No. ISS is a large structure. I mean, when I was up there, for the long haul, there were only two of us, but it was also probably around less than half the size it is now. So, it's relatively the same experience. But, it felt, at the time, to me, subjectively like a large three-bedroom apartment. And so, for two of us, it was fine. We could stay out of each other's way. Everybody had their own schedule to work. Sometimes --
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ASHER: Everybody got along? Everybody got along, Leroy?
CHIAO: Everybody got along. Everybody trains together for a long time. And part of the crew selection is up to the commander. The commander is asked, OK, well, of these people, who are people that there is just no way you don't want on your crew, and who are the ones that you definitely want on your crew, right? So, the commander has a lot of say into the crew composition. And so, basically, everybody who trains together and does all these things for a long time, it's fine. You do have to be careful about it, though, because when we were flying space shuttles, those were two-week missions, and you get along with anyone for two weeks, right? Six months is a different story.
(Inaudible) learned in the early 70s. They actually had to end a couple of missions early because the crews, they just threw people together, and the crews were ready to kill each other.
ASHER: I mean, it is real life, right? It's like having a roommate back here on earth. I do want to talk about some of the problems that have plagued both the Starliner and the Polaris Dawn mission, just in terms of helium leaks. What can you tell us on that front?
CHIAO: Well, helium is tricky. The only thing harder to contain is hydrogen. That's the only smaller molecule that we know of. And so, it's difficult. Then these valves and the joints and all that, they have seals on them with Teflon seals, generally. And so, the helium leaks are actually a pretty minor part of this. The helium leaks that Starliner is experiencing is really small. NASA said at the time they could tolerate leaks that were 100 times larger. The bigger issue were the thrusters. The -- basically, they were getting hotter than NASA or Boeing had predicted, and that was causing some problems with the seals.
In the case of the SpaceX, the rocket, the helium leaks are not on the rocket's side. They're on the ground side. So, it's a support side that's having the issue. They got all that figured out. They were ready to launch again. Then the weather, recovery weather was going to delay them. And now -- then they had a mishap landing, the first stage booster of a separate launch back on the drone ship. They had one of the legs collapsed and the booster tipped over. So, the FAA has to investigate. They consider this a mishap for the whole vehicle. So, they ground the whole vehicle, even though it had nothing to do with the launch. Hopefully, that will get resolved in a couple of weeks.
ASHER: All right. Retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
All right. Before we go, one more thing. NHL ice hockey player Johnny Gaudreau has died after what is being described as an unimaginable tragedy. His team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, confirmed that Gaudreau and his brother were killed after being hit by a car while out cycling last night. He was nicknamed Johnny Hockey. Since he was first drafted in 2011, Gaudreau has scored 243 career goals and earned 743 points.
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U.S. Hockey paid tribute to the brothers, tweeting "Our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, whose lives ended way too soon. Words cannot appropriately express the sorrow the hockey community is feeling today." Tributes have also come in from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was really shocked and saddened by that news. Johnny Gaudreau was 31-years-old.
All right. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Zain Asher in New York. Stick with CNN. I'll have more with One World next.
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