Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Today, Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) Launch Reproductive Rights Bus Tour; Marines Assaulted in Turkey, 15 Suspects in Custody; At Least 47 People Killed in Russian Strike on Central Ukraine. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 03, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: It is crunch time now just two months until the election. The first votes will be cast in just days. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump sharpening their attacks, hammering issues they think will give them the upper hand, including abortion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, for 52 years, they've wanted to bring -- it's Roe v. Wade. They wanted to bring it back to the states. And now it's up to the will of the people in each state.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When Congress passes a bill to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, I will sign it into law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Good morning. You're live in the CNN newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Today, the Harris campaign hitting the road with its reproductive rights bus tour, as they're calling it. Senator Amy Klobuchar is leading it, and she will join me in just a moment.

Also today, a defiant prime minister and growing anger in Israel. Protesters demanding a ceasefire deal from Benjamin Netanyahu after six hostages were killed, some of them yelling, you are the leader, you are guilty. Former Defense Secretary William Cohen will be here to discuss that.

My first guest this morning is Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She's in Palm Beach, Florida, where the Harris bus campaign tour is about to get rolling. Senator, good morning, thanks for being with us.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Hey, Jim. It's great to be on. Thank you. Hello from Florida. Thank you very much. I'm sure it's a little steamy down there this time of year. ACOSTA: But let's jump right into this. You're in Trump's backyard, traditionally red state, in recent elections. Why start the tour there?

KLOBUCHAR: I think it's pretty obvious. Number one, Florida is so focused on this because of the extreme abortion ban. Six weeks, a lot of women don't even know they're pregnant at that point, Jim. And there's an amendment on the ballot, Amendment 4, that can change this. But what can really change this is by electing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

And this is ten miles from Mar-a-Lago. And I'm a former prosecutor like Kamala Harris. And I view it pretty simply. Exhibit A, he said he was going to overturn Roe v. Wade. Exhibit B, he put the justices on the court that did it. And Exhibit C, he said he is proudly the person responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. He said that in the last year.

So, that's where we are. The people of Florida are very, very focused on this. And this tour is going to go to over 50 stops across the country to make the case that the voters have already made in Kansas, in Wisconsin and in Ohio, that they care about this, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, or independents.

ACOSTA: And Senator, I mean, you were alluding to this. Trump has flip-flopped on the abortion rights measure that's on the ballot in Florida this election. On Thursday, he was for it. Then on Friday, after some backlash from conservatives, he opposed it. What do you make of the changing positions he's had on this issue?

KLOBUCHAR: It's just more Trump drama. The Democratic Party clearly is on the side of freedom. We're on the side of freedom because we think that women should be able to make their own decisions about their health care and not politicians.

And it doesn't surprise me that Donald Trump was messing around with this last week, but in the end, his position is very clear. He said he would vote against this amendment on the ballot in Florida and that makes it clear. That means that he is leaving the six-week extreme ban in place. It's pure and simple, that's where he is.

Kamala Harris, on the other side, and I can't wait to see this debate on September 10th, because you're going to see clearly two different people on the split screen. One guy overturned Roe v. Wade, and then you have Kamala Harris, who protected these rights when she was attorney general of California, who then came into the Senate and had the number of these justices and cross-examined them and called it out for what would happen, and then as vice president, has been the lead in making sure that women's rights will be protected.

ACOSTA: And I do want to ask you a follow up on this ballot question. Do you think it puts the state of Florida in play on the presidential ballot?

KLOBUCHAR: Oh, I think it does. We have a very key Senate race here with Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, our candidate who clearly stands up for reproductive rights. We've got a number of other issues, including protecting Medicare that people in Florida care a lot about. I think you're going to see Florida in play.

[10:05:01]

And Amendment 4 puts it on the map in a big way. Because what we have seen in places like Kansas, where that was the first test state, people turned out in droves to vote to protect a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. Then you go to Ohio, by 13 points, that ballot measure in Ohio, Wisconsin Supreme Court, Kentucky governor's race. Look at these states. These are red states. Virginia in the state legislative races, Alaska in a congressional race.

It doesn't matter where you are in the country, including Florida, people at margins of 70 percent, 80 percent are on the side of women being able to make their own healthcare decisions, even if they may have their own views on abortion. They don't think that they should be putting them on somewhere else. One out of three women are now living in states with extreme abortion bans. You have women bleeding out in parking lots. You have states that are looking at Texas in a court case tried to do limiting Mifepristone, IVF is at risk, birth control. All of this will be on the ballot in November.

ACOSTA: And I do want to ask you about this. Vice President Harris has called for restoring Roe versus Wade, but that requires a Congress that is able to do that. If Democrats lose the Senate this election, or you don't take back the House, doesn't that get complicated?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, that is exactly why we have to keep the Senate. And we're feeling so good about all our races across the country. We are ahead with our candidates, with all the incumbents in places like Wisconsin with Tammy Baldwin and Nevada with Jackie Rosen, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jon Tester in Montana, Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, and then you go to the next step, which is the races in Texas and in Florida, where we're getting closer and closer and closer as every single week goes by.

And then in the House, I think most odds are with us for winning the House of Representatives. So, of course, this is close. It's an election. It is months, just a few months away here and we think we can get this done.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, I'm sure you saw this. Donald Trump has introduced a proposal that would offer universal coverage of IVF, which is obviously, you know, a procedure, a lifeline to families who want to have children. The Republican Party has come under some pretty heavy criticism because it's been viewed that they are a threat to IVF in addition to abortion rights. What did you make of Donald Trump putting that out there, and should Kamala Harris announce a similar plan?

KLOBUCHAR: First of all, Kamala Harris had made very clear that she's on the side of IVF. And when I look at this, it were Republicans in the state of Alabama that started this rolling when they work to limit IVF. It is actually a vote in the Senate. So, I always think you can promise whatever you want, say whatever you want, as Donald Trump always tends to do in election time. Look at what happened with the Republicans in the Senate. With the exception of two people, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, there was a vote on IVF, and you could see where they voted. They did not vote to make sure that insurance policies will cover IVF, which is the simplest and most straightforward way to do this. They voted the opposite. And that includes J.D. Vance, who is Donald Trump's running mate.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Senator, I do want to ask you, I mean, you did mention the debate that's coming up in a week from today, and Democratic Strategist James Carville wrote this in The New York Times. He's got an op-ed there today saying, if there's one thing Americans love, it's a train wreck. Just over two months ago, we witnessed one in real-time, and it led to the humane revolt against a sitting president's reelection campaign by his own party. I guarantee a lot of voters are salivating for a second round, only this time, Mr. Trump must be the train wreck, and it's on Ms. Harris to lay the tracks.

Do you think that's the right approach? The last time around, you know, we saw the president have some mental lapses in that last debate. That obviously led to him leaving the Democratic ticket. But it really overshadowed the fact that Donald Trump had falsehood after falsehood in that debate and President Biden sort of got in the way of that. Does Kamala Harris need to do the opposite of that next time around, in a week from now?

KLOBUCHAR: So, first of all, and I love James Carville, but Americans want a little more than a train wreck right now. They want someone in the presidency who's going to have their backs and look out for them. They want to go forward and not backwards.

Secondly, when you look at a debate, yes, Kamala Harris is a good debater. I was with her on the stage many, many times when I ran for president. And we got to be closer friends coming out of that. That gives you a little sense of my belief in her. But she is going to, I think, uniquely be able to make that difference.

[10:10:03]

She's a prosecutor. On one side, you're going to have the rule of law. She's a prosecutor, put people in jail who violate the law. On the other side, you have Donald Trump with his over 100 felony indictments. On one side, you have Kamala Harris standing up for freedom and women's healthcare. On the other side, you have Donald Trump who said he is proudly the person responsible for overturning Roe V. Wade. On one side, you're going to have Kamala Harris making the case. That was the Biden-Harris administration that actually took on the pharmaceutical companies, and with Donald Trump, it was all talk.

So, you're going to see a clear difference and I think she will be uniquely able to do that. And if you want to call it setting the tracks, but setting the tracks to a victory in November.

ACOSTA: All right, Senator Amy Klobuchar, live for us in Palm Beach, Florida, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.

KLOBUCHAR: We're excited about the bus tour. People are pretty psyched up here in Florida. So, we're ready to go. It began here with Donald Trump's decision and now we're going across the country. Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Got to love a bus tour. All right, thanks a lot, Senator. I appreciate it. Thanks so much.

We want to bring in CNN's Alayna Treene now. Alayna, I mean, this abortion issue is obviously going to be a complicated one for Donald Trump. And as Senator Klobuchar was saying a few moments ago, it is going to motivate Democratic voters, women voters to go to the polls in droves and states all over the country. I mean, there's some talk that, you know, that Democrats would love to see Florida put in play. Maybe that's not the case. How is the Trump team responding to that right now?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: I mean, look, the Trump campaign recognizes how potent of an issue this is across the country, particularly for women. And remember, right now, we are seeing the gender gap really widen with Harris now at the top of the ticket, being the Democratic nominee. And it's something that there is concern about.

And that's part of why you've seen Donald Trump struggle so thoroughly over the past year beyond with this issue over abortion. And when it really came -- you know, I think last week was a bit of a misstep before the Trump campaign. You saw them scrambling to clarify some of his messaging on this when he was asked about the Florida abortion referendum, something that Donald Trump has said he was going to address.

He did one interview where it kind of seemed like he was, you know, arguing that he might vote against, or for it, excuse me, and to remove some of the current laws in place regarding abortion in Florida, and then he clarified that. I want you to take a listen to exactly what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I think the six-week is too short. It has to be more time. And so that's -- and I've told them that I want more weeks.

REPORTER: 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.

REPORTER: Are you voting yes or no on Amendment 4 in Florida?

TRUMP: So, I think six weeks, you need more time than six weeks. I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries when I heard about it. I just disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation where you can do an abortion in the ninth month. So, I'll be voting no for that reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Okay. For a few things there, one, of course, Democrats, it's legal -- it's illegal, excuse me, in every single state to have an abortion after nine months or once a baby is born.

But Donald Trump has struggled with this for many reasons. One is that he has taken credit for the -- you know, putting the three circumstances in place Conservative Supreme Court justices on the bench that helped overturn Roe versus Wade. But he also has, recognizes the political nature of this and how it could hurt his campaign.

And you're going to see this next week on the debate stage, because this is going to be a huge issue. I know that he is preparing for it behind the scenes particularly when it comes to abortion, because he does believe, as he said, he thinks it should be a state issue for now. But that hasn't ended this debate over what do you actually believe.

And he continues to struggle with at what point is should an abortion -- you know, how does he not anger his base and many of the people who put him in office back in 2016 without also, you know, alienating so many women who care so much about this issue?

ACOSTA: Absolutely. Our Alayna Treene, thank you very much, a big issue in the next several weeks of this campaign, thanks so much.

Coming up, caught on camera Marines assaulted in the streets. CNN's Oren Liebermann is tracking that story from the Pentagon. That's coming up.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: These two U.S. Marines were on shore leave in Izmir, Turkey when they were attacked by a mob. One of the Marines was killed. Even calling for help, and it's not the first time this has happened. I've got a story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: Two Marines are back on their ship this morning after a mob assaulted them on the street of a Turkish port city. It was caught on camera. You see several men holding a Marine when another man throws a plastic bag over his head. Another Marine then rushes to his defense.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon. Oren, this is some pretty stunning stuff. What do we know about this?

LIEBERMANN : It is, and it's not the first time we have seen this particular group try to attack and put bags over the heads of U.S. service members. So, this all occurs on Monday afternoon. The USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, had pulled into Izmir, Turkey, one day earlier for some shore leave, and that's when these two U.S. Marines were wandering about town as their certainly allowed to do on leave.

That's when local authorities say they are attacked and assaulted by this mob. They hold and grab the two U.S. service members. One of them you can hear in the video calling for help. The second, a bag is placed over his head and then. In a short bit later on in the video, you can hear this mob chanting, Yankees, go home.

Local authorities say this was the Turkish Youth Union, a nationalist anti-American group that has attacked and assaulted U.S. service members in the past.

[10:20:06]

We saw a very similar incident in Turkey back in November in 2021. And this goes back some ways. There was another incident of this group, according to authorities attacking U.S. service members in 2014. So, this is a position they have taken, and these are the sorts of protests they carry out.

According to the Navy, other Marines came to the rescue here, got these Marines out of there, got them checked out in a local hospital, where the Navy confirms they are doing okay, and then back to their ship, back to the USS Wasp.

Local authorities are now investigating, along with NCIS, though those authorities, according to the Izmir Governorship, took into custody 15 people from this incident, and that investigation, as of right now, is continuing. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, very disturbing video. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much for that update. We appreciate it.

We're also following breaking news in Ukraine this morning where the death toll is climbing after a Russian strike there. We're going to have more on this after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: We're following breaking news this morning out of Ukraine. At least 47 people have been killed, hundreds more injured after Russian missiles hit a military educational facility in nearby hospital in the central part of the country. It's one of the deadliest single attacks since the invasion began.

And CNN's Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us now. Fred, what's the significance of this target?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very significant, Jim, and certainly a huge blow for the Ukrainians, this military educational facility. The Ukrainians are saying that they believe that it was two ballistic missiles that struck this place. And they say one of the reasons why there're so many casualties in all of this is that, apparently, there was a missile that went off.

However, the time between those sirens going off and the missiles impacting was so short that people were actually still making their way to underground shelters to try and get out of the way of any sort of impact. But that is when those missiles did impact. The Ukrainians are saying that it was at least two missiles that appeared to have hit that facility, and obviously people didn't have the time to get away. And that's why there are so many casualties.

You just mentioned it. The Ukrainian president earlier coming out and saying at least 41 people were killed. The first lady of Ukraine actually then later coming out and now speaking of 47 people killed and more than 200 people wounded on the ground. As you can imagine the emergency services there still very much working, trying to get people freed from underneath the rubble. In fact, the Ukrainians say that 25 people have already been rescued and 11 of them had to be pulled from the rubble. So, big blow to the Ukrainians and certainly something that has really shocked this country, as you can imagine.

And it does come, Jim, as we have seen a big uptake in Russian missile barrages, air raids that we've seen around the country. In fact, just yesterday, on the first day of school here in Ukraine, you had a big missile strike that took place on the Ukrainian capital using both ballistic and cruise missiles. The Ukrainians saying they managed to shoot most of those missiles down, but some of them did, in fact, impact and hit their targets.

Ukraine's president coming out just a little earlier and he's obviously extremely angry about the situation, once again, called for more air defense weapons to be delivered by western partners, of course, meaning also the United States, and to lift restrictions on the use of longer distance weapons. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much for that update. We appreciate it.

Now to the growing fury in Israel, thousands of protesters in cities across the country poured into the streets for the second straight night.

Those demonstrators are demanding the government secure a ceasefire deal that would free the hostages held by Hamas. Protesters carried empty coffins past the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The growing anger comes just days after the bodies of six murdered hostages, including one U.S. citizen, were recovered in Gaza.

Joining me now is William Cohen, who served as defense secretary during the Clinton administration. Mr. Secretary, always great to see you, thanks, as always.

What do you make of Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly announcing that he will not budge on conditions for a deal? It sounds like he's digging in and it doesn't sound like these protesters are going to be satisfied by this at all.

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER CLINTON DEFENSE SECRETARY: I don't think they will be. It's very clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu is listening to his right wing and his government that's been formed. They have threatened to abandon him, and as such, bring down the government should he, quote, negotiate with Hamas, so, as a practical matter, no negotiations, no discussions, no resolution. And the beat, unfortunately, that of the bullets and bombs will go on and more people are going to die.

So, it's very frustrating. We all can feel the rage, the sadness, the grief of the Israelis who have lost their family and friends, but it doesn't seem that their protests are going to prove productive in the sense of changing anything that Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to do.

The problem is he has never laid out a situation where there is a political solution to what's going on. He has never committed to having, quote, a two-state solution. So, if you're the Palestinians, they have very little to lose. And if you have nothing to lose, then you resort to the kind of tactics they're using now.

[10:30:00]

Hamas cannot be regarded as a partner in negotiation. That is clear.