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CNN International: One Day Until Harris-Trump Debate Showdown; Harris And Trump Take Vastly Different Approaches To Debate; Harris Says She's Preparing For Personal Attacks From Trump. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 09, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, the clock is ticking closer to Tuesday's crucial debate. We will look at how each candidate is preparing for the big night. Plus, the death toll is rising in Syria following an Israeli airstrike over the weekend. We are live in Tel Aviv with fallout from the attack. And Venezuela's opposition leader is in ocean away after the country's contested election. What this means for the future of the already imperiled country.

Well, we are just one day away from the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a showdown that could be a game changer. Now, Trump appears to be preparing in part by threatening to jail election officials if he wins. In a social media post, he once again suggested, without evidence, that the 2024 election could be stolen from him. At a Wisconsin campaign stop, he launched a flurry of personal insults directed at President Biden and the Vice President.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- communication, nothing. We're run by stupid people, stupid, stupid people. And we found that out at the debate with Joe. How did that work out? And we're going to find it out again on Tuesday night. Is anybody going to be watching?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Harris is taking a different approach. She has been holding mock debates with the Trump stand-in, and she has spoken with Hillary Clinton and President Biden about debating Trump. Her campaign also released this ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now, those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be President again. Here is his Vice President.

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His Defense Secretary.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again?

MARK ESPER, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's dive deeper into all of this with CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson, and CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere.

Isaac, let me start with you. Kamala Harris spending the day in debate prep for tomorrow's matchup. We just saw that new ad against Trump. Talk to us a little bit about what she is focusing on.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Look, for her, this is a debate that is a debut in a lot of ways, on the national stage. Obviously, it had been a lot about her at the Democratic Convention, the interview that she did on CNN a couple weeks ago. But, this is her in an unscripted moment that goes on for 90 minutes, and that, as we saw in the debate between Biden and Trump, can lead to unexpected things. It's going to be a chance for a lot of people to take a measure of her and see whether they like what she has to say and how she goes at Donald Trump, at the same time, of course, as they'll be looking at Donald Trump.

But, what we see from the polls is that many people have made up their minds on Donald Trump, for or against, wherever they are in him, not surprising after eight years, but Kamala Harris, who has only been in this race since the end of July as the presidential candidate, a lot of people still making up their minds what they think of her.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I think that poll that we're showing there really says it all, that 28 percent of people say they still need to know more about Kamala Harris.

Stephen, let me bring you into the conversation. What do we know about how Trump is preparing for this debate tomorrow?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Trump doesn't like to stage mock debates. He is not a real conventional candidate, as we've seen for eight years. He has been huddling with aides, thinking through some of the issues and the answers he'd like to give. He has been helped by Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic member of Congress that ran against Kamala Harris and took part in debates, presidential debates against the future Vice President. So, he has that going for him.

But, generally, Trump is Trump. You see what you get. The brand that you see in the debate stage is exactly the same as the person he is in real life and in his campaign appearances. Trump's entire political persona is built around his conception of winning. That means he always needs an enemy, be it immigrants, China, Democrats, the deep state, the Justice Department, etc. So, that is who Trump is. So, there is no real difference between how he would behave in a debate and how he behaves as a normal presidential candidate.

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So, he believes that he is his best spokesman, and that's why he is just going to come and be himself on the debate stage. I think the question for Tuesday is whether he can rein in some of the more volcanic aspects of his temperament and avoid playing into the Harris campaign contention that he is -- might be an unserious man, but that he poses an extremely serious threat to democracy and the American way of life.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, one thing we do know, at least for now, is that the mics will be muted when the other person is speaking. We'll see how that plays into things.

Stephen Collinson, Isaac Dovere, thanks so much.

DOVERE: Thank you.

SOLOMON: Let's continue the conversation now with our panel. Maura Gillespie served as an Advisor to former House Speaker John Boehner. She is also the founder of Bluestack Strategies, and Democratic Strategist Mark Longabaugh. He is a former Senior Strategist for Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. Good to see you both. So, this is the first time they're debating. It's also the first time they're meeting at all, and the debate comes as this new polling, as we just showed, shows a razor thin race, but with Trump holding a one point lead.

Maura, what's Trump's greatest advantage coming into this debate, and his greatest weakness?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FMR. PRESS ADVISOR TO FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: Well, it's interesting when you phrase it like that, because I think there is both strength and weakness to be able to hit on the Harris campaign about things that have happened in the Biden-Harris administration that have largely been viewed as a failure, in terms of talking about Afghanistan. That's a clear one. We were going to have this meeting here this week. This -- Speaker Johnson is bringing in the families of the 13 fallen during that Afghanistan withdrawal. And this report from Congressman McCaul came out. So, it's really a skating time for this instance.

What I think then is a weakness for Trump is, on that same issue, Harris campaign could hit on the fact that Donald Trump invited the Taliban during his presidency to Camp David. He negotiated this terrible peace deal that really put a time cap on when the U.S. and allies would withdraw from Afghanistan. So, really telling our enemies our plans, which again -- so, I think there is a way there that the strengths that he thinks he has in his back pocket. The Harris administration or the Harris campaign would be smart to hit back on those things and pointing out what Trump did, because the American people have a very short-term memory in a lot of ways. And so, this is something to remind them of what actually happened during Trump administration.

SOLOMON: Mark, same question, but for Harris walking into that debate tomorrow, what's her greatest advantage and what's her greatest weakness?

MARK LONGABAUGH, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, & SENIOR STRATEGIST, BERNIE SANDERS 2016 CAMPAIGN: Well, I think number one, she will be one of the toughest debaters Donald Trump has ever faced. And I think the real goal, and I agree with Isaac Dovere in your previous segment here, I think the real objective for Harris is to talk to the American people about who she is and what she wants to do in her first term as an administration. I think she wants to talk about her economic -- her opportunity economy in terms of tax cuts for the middle class, not for billionaires, $6,000 tax credit for -- to cut child poverty, investments in our American economy like the CHIPS Act.

So, I think she is going to talk to the American public about where she wants to go. I also think she is going to prosecute the case against Trump, but I think she is going to be smart to do this on abortion and on the economy, and not back too much.

SOLOMON: And Mark, what about her greatest weakness? I mean, Trump is infamously unpredictable. He can be quite unpredictable. I mean, going into this, sort of what is the area that you sort of are bracing for that maybe you are concerned about?

(CROSSTALK)

SOLOMON: Actually, Maura, give me one second. I just wanted Mark to answer that in terms answer that in terms of Kamala Harris.

GILLESPIE: Sure.

LONGABAUGH: Yeah. I mean, look, I think we've talked a lot about some of the challenges she has had as Vice President. I think she has got to keep her answers short and crisp, stay away from the word salad kind of stuff. And I think she has got to put some real agenda on the table. She has got to have some real substance in the debate.

I also think, what we all do in these -- when we practice for these debates, we're looking for big moments. And I think she has been pretty good at that over the course of her career, going all the way back to when she ran statewide, straight through her presidential debates, her debate with Mike Pence. I think they're going to be a couple big moments she is going to have.

SOLOMON: Maura, I actually want to let you listen to this interview that Harris released this morning, that she is preparing for attacks on her being a woman and attacks on her being a woman of color. Take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he is going to lie, and you know, he has a playbook that he has used in the past, be it, you know, his attacks on President Obama or Hillary Clinton. So we should expect that some of that might come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Maura, are you concerned about that type of approach, and is that the type of strategy that gets Trump votes beyond just his base? Is that the type of thing that you think attracts additional voters to the Republican side?

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GILLESPIE: I don't know who is advising him to continue to do these attacks on women, but it's really -- they should be fired. I mean, this is not going to help him. He is largely losing that chunk of the population, which women make up more than 50 percent of the population now. And so, for him to go after women's rights and to talk about women in disparaging ways, as he has done repeatedly, that is not going to help him appeal to an audience that he needs to win over. And especially on Tuesday night, this is a really big opportunity.

You showed the polls earlier in the show. This is really important that people are paying attention and that the candidates themselves are speaking to the demographics that they need to win over, because they have their base, right? Trump has his MAGA base kind of locked in. They're not going to go for Harris. They're not going to go for anyone else but him. So, he needs to find a way to talk policy, to talk compassionately, which, again, is really hard for him, because he does go by a certain playbook that has won him the 2016 election. So, I don't know that his manner of speaking to women is going to help him win anyone over, truly.

SOLOMON: Mark, early voting begins in Pennsylvania and four other states this month. It began last week in North Carolina. This debate tomorrow may be either candidate's largest audience before the election. What do you think undecided voters are hoping for? And I guess my question is, at this stage of the election, are you tailoring your message as the candidate to these critical battleground states? Are you talking more, for example, about energy policy, because Pennsylvanians are listening? What do you think?

LONGABAUGH: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think this race is probably going to come down to the three blue wall states, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. And I think you've got to tailor your message to those states. And I think you got to talk about kitchen table issues and how you're going to improve the lives of people in those states. So, I think you've seen both candidates have terrible (ph) schedules tremendously towards the battleground states. And listen, I -- Democrats are going to win the national electoral -- or the national vote. We're disadvantaged in the Electoral College, and that's where the Republicans have a slight advantage.

SOLOMON: And Maura, talk to me a little bit about what you think undecideds are hoping to hear from Trump, for those 10 to 15 percentage point of people who, with 57 days out, are saying still haven't made up my mind. What are they listening for?

GILLESPIE: They want to hear how he plans on doing the things that he says he can do. He talks largely at rallies about everything is going to be fixed. It's going to be better. It's going to be great. And then I get in there. I'll make one call. It's all fixed. OK. But, how? I think that's a really big issue here is that people want to understand how will it get better. And that's for both candidates, truly.

But, I think when it comes to Trump, something that people are going to have to realize is that, if you thought it was better in 2016 and you thought that things were going well then, the people who were in charge at his -- in his administration have largely abandoned him and not wanted to be anywhere near him. And of those people who are no longer in his orbit, they're speaking out against why he shouldn't be in the White House ever again. And so, it comes to a question of, how do you plan on doing this, and who do you plan on putting around you to make this go forward?

So, talking policy, getting into the nuts and bolts of it in this debate is going to be important, because not only does he need to explain how he plans to do things, he has also got to talk to women, talk about child care issues, and actually talk about issues that women care about, and not just attacking. And I think that's hard for him, because it's easier for him to attack than it is to lead from the front with policy plans and a proposal of forward looking, not backward craving.

SOLOMON: Yeah. The child care issue last week in his speech in New York was an issue that he seemed to sort of struggle with. He couldn't really quite find his words there when he was talking about child care.

Mark, last point to you, Harris' campaign has pointed out repeatedly that this debate will be Trump's seventh presidential debate. That is true. But, is there an effort here to try to lower expectations heading into this?

LONGABAUGH: Oh, sure. I mean -- but both sides will do that to some degree. But, I think, listen, as I said earlier, I think Kamala Harris is a very accomplished debater. She has got a very good team prepping her for this. And unlike Trump, she is taking her preparation seriously. She knows this is a big moment for her, her biggest moment, really, since the convention. And I think she is going to have a very good debate. I think she is going to have some big moments, and I think she is going to lay out an agenda for the American people that I think is going to be very appealing.

SOLOMON: And it all goes down in the quite important city of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Good to see you both. Maura Gillespie, Mark Longabaugh, really appreciate your time. Thank you. And tune in for special coverage of the ABC News presidential debate

simulcast right here on CNN. It will air this Tuesday at 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and we will replay the debate on Wednesday at 02:00 a.m. Eastern. That is 07:00 a.m. in London, and then again at 02:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.

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That is 07:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi.

And as I just said, there, Pennsylvania is hosting the presidential debate. It is also a key state in the 2024 election. Find out why both Democrats and Republicans are trying to court its voters, and how. Plus, a deadly attack at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan. We're going to have a live report on what happened and when the border could reopen.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. More than a dozen people have lost their lives in northwest Syria. This is after multiple Israeli airstrikes there. Reports have surfaced that a military installation targeted was allegedly a chemical weapons research facility. Neither Syria or Israel have commented on those reports. Meantime, Israel says that it will soon reopen the Allenby Bridge. Three Israeli civilians were reportedly shot and killed at the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan. Israeli police report that the gunman was, quote, "neutralized".

Let's bring in CNN's Matthew Chance, who joins us from Tel Aviv, Israel. Matthew, let's start with the crossing between the West Bank and Jordan where that shooting took place. What more do we know about the timeline for that to reopen beyond soon?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That we don't know. I mean, first of all, the Israelis who are in charge of that area of the West Bank, as it butts up against Jordan, have said that it would be open today, but that has been put back pending, a security assessment of the scene. There are all sorts of consideration. It's a crime scene. Remember, three Israelis were shot dead there as that Jordanian truck driver yesterday crossed over in his commercial vehicle, got out of the truck, walked over to Israeli civilian workers operating at the sort of cargo port area of the checkpoints, and opened fire, killing three of them. He was himself shot dead by an Israeli security guard.

Jordanian authorities, in their preliminary investigation, confirmed it was a Jordanian truck driver. They confirmed his identity. They said they believe he acted alone. Jordanian authorities have also condemned the assault and the attack as well, but said that the underlying issues, the underlying reasons for it, the war in Gaza, Israeli action in the occupied West Bank should be addressed.

Israel, for its part, has reacted obviously furiously. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has said the killings of the three Israelis were carried out by a despicable terrorist, is how he described the truck driver. And the whole issue has done more to ratchet up tensions in this already very volatile area, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And Matthew, how about the deadly Israeli airstrike into Syria?

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What more have you learned there?

CHANCE: Well, again, that's another example of just how violent, just how tense and volatile this entire region has become. Yesterday evening, according to reports on Syrian state media, Israeli airstrikes carried out on military targets in the central area of Syria, there were civilian casualties, according to local media reports and the Syrian state news agency. We're looking at approximately 18 people killed and a couple of dozen injured, at least, according to the latest reports that we have, and those figures are constantly changing.

State media has confirmed in Syria that there were military installations that were targeted. But, CNN has spoken to an eyewitness on the ground, who said that one of the buildings that appears to have been hit had previously been alleged to have been involved in chemical weapons production. That's not been confirmed, of course, by the Syrian authorities. And the Israelis, for their part, have refused to comment on the entire incident. But, nevertheless, again, another example of just how tense the atmosphere is and how violent it is in this region around Israel.

SOLOMON: Yeah, as we come up on one year since October 7th in the next few weeks. Matthew Chance live for us there. Matthew, thank you.

And there are dueling reports out on the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. House Republicans and Democrats have both released reports about the exit from Kabul. 13 U.S. service members were killed as U.S. troops tried to leave the country. A Republican report from the House Foreign Affairs Committee blames the Biden White House for the chaotic evacuation. House Democrats called the timing of the report politically motivated.

I want to bring in now CNN's Kylie Atwood, who joins us from Washington, D.C. So, Kylie, share more what we're learning about these new reports.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this new report out from specifically the House Republicans is not revelatory. It does have some new details about the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, which obviously took place more than three years ago at this point. But, one of the things that they focus in on are the public comments that spokespeople for the administration were making at the time, and juxtaposed that to some of the things that the committee has learned from officials from the Pentagon about the actual assessments with regard to what was happening on the ground at the time, making the case that the administration was misleading and lying to the public about what was actually going on.

There is also some other details about the negotiations back and forth with the Taliban, the Afghan government that was led by Zalmay Khalilzad, who was the top negotiator for the United States with the Taliban at the time, though, that agreement actually never came into fruition because the Taliban, of course, overran Kabul. The Democrats, for their part, are saying that what the Republicans are doing here is purely political, and they are saying that it was actually Trump's fault for making that agreement with the Taliban before he left office that initiated the withdrawal and made it, in their words, irreversible.

So, we've seen this back and forth between Democrats and Republicans for quite some time, Rahel, trying to cast blame on the other side for how the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. It's coming back to the fore right now, as we are two months from the presidential election, of course, on the eve of the presidential debate, which will be tomorrow.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And Kylie, Congress is back after a pretty long recess, getting back to work on the Hill there. Talk to us about what another group of Republicans is now doing on the Hill, now that they're back.

ATWOOD: Yeah. That's right. So, the Speaker of the House is actually hosting an event tomorrow focused on Afghanistan. It's with Gold Star families, the families who, excuse me, the Gold Star members of the military, 13 of them, who lost their lives during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. We should note that there are some Democrats on the Hill who are attending this event, but it is clearly a politicized event. Some of these family members have already spoken out in opposition of the Biden administration. Some of them attended the RNC back earlier this summer. So, we'll be watching to see how that unfolds.

But, we should also note, Rahel, that Kamala Harris' campaign isn't completely ignoring the issue of Afghanistan. We saw over the weekend, they actually put out a statement commemorating the fact, reflecting on the fact that this is the five-year anniversary this week of former President Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David. So, they believe that they also have reason to be critical of Trump in this space, even as the Republicans see this as valuable for them, as they head into the final stretch of the presidential campaign.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It's interesting. We heard Republican strategist Maura Gillespie, just a short time ago, say you might hear Kamala Harris talk about that tomorrow night at the debate, if that topic becomes part of the conversation.

Kylie Atwood live for us there in D.C. Kylie, thank you.

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Now to Kenya, and a horrific story raising global concern about violence toward women. The murder of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei is the third killing of an Olympian in Kenya in recent years.

CNN's Amanda Davies takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A grieving mother struggling to come to terms with the unthinkable.

AGNES NDIEMA-CHEPTEGEI, MOTHER (Interpreted): She was a good child, very polite, and she didn't have a lot of issues. I just don't know.

DAVIES (voice-over): According to police, Rebecca Cheptegei, Ugandan athlete based in Kenya, was attacked by her boyfriend, who doused the 33-year-old in petrol before setting her alight at their home near the city of Eldoret. Sadly, though, this is not an isolated incident, just another that highlights the ongoing issue of gender-based violence and femicide in Kenya. According to government data, from 2022, 34 percent of women in the country report having experienced physical violence after the age of 15 committed by anyone, with married women at particular risk, and a number of athletes have been victims.

JOAN CHELIMO, ATHELETE: We didn't know that there was gender-based violence.

DAVIES (voice-over): Joan Chelimo competed against Cheptegei in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, and is one of a group of athletes who co-founded Tirop's Angels in 2022 in the wake of the killing of Kenyan Olympian Agnes Tirop.

CHELIMO: Agnes was my friend. You could not tell what she was going through, because every time you could see her, she was just smiling. We felt like it was a wake-up call for everyone.

DAVIES (voice-over): Tirop's Angels provides counseling and support to victims of GBV and aims to educate and empower young women in the region.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As more people came to us and report issues of GBV, we realize that it is a pandemic that is affecting everybody in our community, and especially -- and then the whole country.

CHELIMO: Iten is a very small community. It has around 10,000 people. About 2,000 of them are athletes. And what happens is young girls come here after school, after high school, or after primary school, and they end up being taken advantage of. We knew -- we heard about GBV all over the world, but setting up the foundation, more women came up speaking up about what they are going through in their lives, not only athletes, but also the community.

DAVIES (voice-over): Amnesty International Kenya launched a campaign in January calling for the country's government to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of femicide cases, a campaign that goes on, but sadly, not enough to prevent the death of Rebecca Cheptegei, as her family and the distance running community come to terms with another of their members taken too soon.

Amanda Davies, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

SOLOMON: All right. We want to get straight to some breaking news that we are following out of England. Kensington Palace is giving an update on the health of Catherine, the Princess of Wales. Catherine has been undergoing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer since the beginning of the year. She made a public announcement via video of her diagnosis back in March.

I want to now bring in CNN Royal Historian Kate Williams to just help us understand what more we have heard from the palace and what more we're learning right now.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes. Well, we've had a very significant update. We've had the update that Kate has said she has finished her chemotherapy treatment, and that really is wonderful news. So, she says she starts -- obviously, she started the chemotherapy treatment in February. She has now finished it, and what -- she has given the statement really about how she sees her life in the next few months to come. So, what she said is that she is going to return to some public engagements, a light schedule of public engagements at the moment, and next year where we'll see what happens. And she gives this very personal statement. She says the cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, and it brings you face-to-face with your own vulnerability.

So, this is a very heartfelt message from Kate, thanking people for their support, talking about how they've been through as a family, she, William and the children, and yeah, she says looking forward to the future with hope because she has finished the chemotherapy, and as she says, her focus now is on remaining cancer free and continuing her progress of healing.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And Kate, if you can stand by for a moment, because I think we now actually have that video statement that we'd like to watch together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life, as you know, it can change in an instant, and we've had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown. The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you. With humility, it also brings you face-to-face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you've never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is just filming. Hello. Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This time, has above all, reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted as simply loving and being loved. Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long, and I must continue to take each day as it comes. I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.

Despite all that's gone before, I enter this new phase of recovery with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life. William and I are so grateful for the support we've received, and have drawn great strength from all those who are helping us at this time, everyone's kindness, empathy and compassion has been truly humbling. To all those who continue their own cancer journey, I remain with you side by side, hand in hand, out of darkness can come light. So, let that light shine bright.

[11:35:00]

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Let me bring Kate back into the conversation. Kate, my takeaways in just watching it, obviously very heartfelt, also extremely vulnerable. Your reactions from watching it.

WILLIAMS: So heartfelt, so vulnerable, talking about her vulnerabilities, talking about how hard it's been and how much they've all suffered as a family, and what they've been through. I think that this is filmed in Norfolk, near their home, and the hall, that's my guess, it looks to me as if it's that coastline. And I think this is where Kate spent a lot of her time in recovery, spent a lot of her time during the summer, being together as a family. And really, this is unprecedented. This is unprecedented.

We have this senior royal (ph) who has come out and been so honest and transparent about their health, and also honest and transparent about how hard it is, how hard healing is, and really it's very -- it's just so touching to read her saying to everyone else, on your own cancer journey, I'm still with you, and her expressing this honesty that it is a long road ahead, even though she has finished chemotherapy, as so many people going through cancer treatment or just finishing chemotherapy, that's not the end of the story. There is much more, lot of a process after that. And we really will be delighted to see her return to public events. But, obviously, as much as she can manage.

SOLOMON: Kate, is it clear sort of when that might happen, or what event that might look like?

WILLIAMS: Well, we haven't been given any particular dates. She said she is taking it day by day. That's what the palace is also saying. We have seen her briefly over the summer. We saw her at Trooping of the Colour. We saw her at Wimbledon, and I think we may see her at a few local engagements in the next few months to come. We certainly expect to see her on Remembrance Sunday in early November, but certainly, we will not be seeing her in any foreign trips. William will be doing his foreign trip alone, and big engagements, big receptions, probably unlikely to see her there. And it may be that by Christmas, she feels strong enough to embark on

a full program of engagements next year. It may not. The palace really are saying here that they're going to take each day as it comes. It's hard to predict. And although Kate has been working from home, it's going to be a big step going back into engagements, because they can be very exhausting.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Kate Williams, great to have your insights and perspective today on this big news, obviously, for the royal family. Thank you.

Let me now bring in from CNN, Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard. Jacqueline, she said that it's been nine incredibly tough months as her family, as she has now finished her chemotherapy treatment. Talk to us a little bit about medically what chemotherapy does to your body and sort of how significant it is now after nine months that she appears to be finishing her treatment.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Oh yeah, Rahel. Well, this is great news to hear that she has completed her treatment. But, like you said, Rahel, the story does not end here. We do know that for many patients, there can be short term and long-term side effects with chemotherapy. Short term are the ones that we often think about, like hair loss or nausea.

But, long term, some patients can experience neuropathy. That's feeling a nerve tingling, nerve -- sometimes nerve damage. We know that some patients continue to feel some fatigue. We know that some patients can even sometimes experience changes in their weight. Sometimes they may experience heart problems or even mood changes. So, these are sometimes the long-term effects that we often don't see so frequently when we think about chemo treatment and some of the side effects patients may experience.

Now, we still don't know much information as far as Kate Middleton's cancer type, but we still also don't know the stage, but we do know the news that she did share with us today about finishing her chemo treatment and then moving forward. What we can expect is, I'm sure her medical team will do some follow-up appointments with her, will continue to monitor over time. And like I said, for some patients, Rahel, we sometimes see those long-term side effects.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And Jacqueline, I wonder too just in terms of managing any potential fatigue or exhaustion. I mean, as your body sort of recovers from this, how that factors into, I mean, she clearly said in the video, it's going to be a more reduced schedule in terms of public appearances --

HOWARD: Yeah.

SOLOMON: -- but how that factors into how you move forward.

HOWARD: Absolutely. I'm sure -- I'm curious the conversations that she may be having with her medical team as far as just the schedule, the workload that she is willing to take on at this time. We did hear, like you mentioned, she has been working from home. We can imagine that, because of the fatigue, we may see a shift in the amount of appearances that she may have moving forward.

[11:40:00]

But, overall, it does appear like this is a moment that she seems to be really celebrating and highlighting having completed this treatment course. And again, we have to wait to see how much of a public schedule she will have moving forward.

SOLOMON: Yeah.

HOWARD: Yeah.

SOLOMON: Very good points. Jacqueline Howard, thank you.

All right. And joining us now from London is CNN's Royal Correspondent Max Foster. Max, what else are you hearing from your sources in terms of what this means for the Princess, Princess Wales?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she has completed her course of chemotherapy. You've got to remember, she announced she had cancer back in March. It was -- we're expecting her to go through a few months of this chemotherapy, but it actually has gone on until around now. I don't know specifically where it is, but it is great news that she has completed that. It is shown under other treatments, that hasn't been confirmed. We also asked, does this mean she is cancer free? And the palace wouldn't be drawn on that because this is a question that we need to ask cancer experts. But -- so, I don't want to say she is cancer free, but certainly she has completed the course of chemotherapy, and it suggests that she is physically much better than she was.

She does -- she is in good spirits, I'm told, but she doesn't feel she has fully recovered physically, I think emotionally as well. This has taken a huge toll on her and her family. So, they're going to return to light duties until the end of the year. She won't be going on big foreign trips. She was due to be going to South Africa in coming months. That won't be the case, but she will be going to remember the fallen soldiers at the Cenotaph ceremony, for example. But, there does come a caveat that this is going to be flexible. So, it depends how she feels. They may cancel things at the last minute. We shouldn't read too much into that. She just wants to focus on a full recovery, and she doesn't want to put any risk to that.

She has a huge amount of gratitude for the support she has had from cancer survivors, from cancer sufferers, from the families around those. She has really connected with that journey. And obviously, this is a very positive journey, which is why she is sharing it right now. People who get this diagnosis, it can go either way, but there is hope as well that you can recover, at least to the extent that she has recovered up to this point. She talks about how having a relatively normal life, going to school with the kids, trying to look after the kids as much as possible, has been really important to her recovery, but also spending time in nature, connecting with nature.

So, I don't know if you had a chance to show the video just yet, but it does show her in Norfolk. That was filmed last month near their family home, and I think that really reflects that, and she looks well in it. So, they've made a big decision to say she is going back to work, but we'll wait to see how much we actually see of her. I think there'll be glimpses, rather than the big formal engagements that we expected to see her last year, for example.

SOLOMON: And Max, I know you don't have a monitor. So, you can't see. But, we're playing sort of the video, that video statement sort of in a different box, as we also look at you. So, you're right. It's a lot of nature. It's a lot of smiles with her and the family and the children.

Max, talk to me a little bit about sort of the significance of her even announcing her diagnosis or announcing as much as she has about her diagnosis, announcing that she is returning. King Charles, if I'm not mistaken, also dealing with cancer as well. And so, this has obviously impacted this family tremendously.

FOSTER: It has. And one of the ways they cope with this, I think, is by talking about it and showing that they're as vulnerable as other people, and trying to raise awareness, really, of cancer and how important it is to talk about. On the other side of that is this fierce protection of their privacy as they feel it, which is just sharing the information that really speaks to that. They understand that the public needs updates on the future queen, on the current king. So, they are sharing as much information as they feel is necessary, also very well aware that they don't give all the details about the exact cancer, for example, about other treatments they may be on, because they feel that can't be kept private.

But, in that vacuum of information, conspiracy theory has erupted. They're aware that a lot of that has come out of America, and they're very keen to send out the message as well. The palace, at least, let's not speculate too much around this statement we've given. They feel they've shared a lot. They feel that the princess has been very authentic in that and really shown herself to be quite vulnerable, and that should be enough for the public and updating the public and also just raising awareness about this big issue.

So, they are talking about flexibility. We may not see her when we are told we're going to see her.

[11:45:00]

But, she is in a positive place, and she is trying to move on. She does take her work very seriously. She has been working from home as much as possible on her key causes. She is going to continue doing that. She is aware that she has to be seen. This was a great phrase the Queen used to have, you have to be seen to be believed. She is aware that the monarchy needs her. But, she knows that she has to be strong in order to represent that monarchy as well. So, I think we'll be seeing her in strong moments. We won't be seeing her when she feels weak. I'm sure those weak moments will be there.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It was really interesting in the statement, Max, her comments to other cancer survivors. She said walking hand in hand, side by side. I just thought that was really remarkable. We'll leave it here. Max Foster, thanks for hopping on.

And we'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are preparing for tomorrow's debate in Pennsylvania. The state is important beyond the debate. It's also key to getting enough electoral votes and winning the election. Now, if Trump wins Pennsylvania and Georgia while holding North Carolina, that could push him past the 270 electoral votes that he needs. Pennsylvania is also important in the Senate race, where a Republican challenger is threatening to flip the seat. The Democrats need to maintain the state's Senate seat to keep its slim majority.

Joining us now from Washington is Jonathan Salant. He is the Assistant Managing Editor of Politics for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. So good to have you today. You've been covering the Harris-Walz campaign around Pennsylvania. I'm curious what you've heard from voters there on the ground.

JONATHAN SALANT, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, POLITICS, PITTSBURGH POST- GAZETTE: Well, it's excitement just nationally. Pennsylvania is not alone since Harris replaced Biden on the ticket. I wrote a story (inaudible) Biden said goodbye at the Democratic National Convention. It was all his enthusiasm. That wasn't there when he was the candidate, and that's really changed the contours of the race.

SOLOMON: Are there any sort of specific issues you think that are more important to Pennsylvania than perhaps the national stories or the national polls suggest, for example, whether it's energy policy? I mean, what do you hear in terms of specific issues?

SALANT: Energy is the big issue. The western Pennsylvania, it's always coal country. They have natural gas. They fracked there. When Harris was running for President in 2019, she came out against fracking. She since changed her mind. Governor Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, said she showed a willingness to listen to the people in western Pennsylvania, and he told her how important that energy was, that industry was to that area.

But, that's still -- Trump has been hammering Harris on fracking since the campaign. He -- even in 2020, he was up in Pennsylvania hammering Biden on that. He is hammering Harris on that as well. Josh became a big issue. Again, you have Harris saying, OK, I've changed my mind, basically. You have the Democrats in Pennsylvania saying, yes, she is with us now on fracking. In fact, even the Democrats support fracking, and that's how important this is to western Pennsylvania.

[11:50:00]

SOLOMON: So, early voting begins on Pennsylvania in one week. This debate tomorrow is the largest audience that either candidate will have before then. Jonathan, what do you think undecided voters in Pennsylvania want to hear from each candidate? So, we sort of touched on it there with Harris. So, let's talk about Trump. What is it that he could say that you think would really appeal to Pennsylvania voters?

SALANT: Well, he has appealed to Pennsylvania voters in the past. You have a huge area of the coal country. I mean, Trump promised to bring back coal jobs. It didn't happen, but at least he addressed their concerns. He has had an appeal to lower class, or working class, is a better word, voters who don't no longer can go out of high school and get a degree, again, a job that pays for a house, that pays for a car that lets them raise a family that whole area. He spoke to those people very eloquently in 2016. It was why he carried Pennsylvania and carried Michigan and carried Wisconsin, the blue wall states, states that usually vote Democratic in presidential elections, but in 2016 voted Republican for the first time in years.

And Biden switched them. Biden comes from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Those are his people. Harris comes from California. So, one of the things that Trump has already talked about the San Francisco liberal works against Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, and he is using that against Harris now.

SOLOMON: Yeah, you know, who is also from Pennsylvania, of course, Governor Josh Shapiro. I'm from Philly. I'm from PA. So, I know his sort of popularity standing quite well. People tend to like him there. How do you think, Jonathan, Kamala Harris' decision to choose as her running mate the governor of Minnesota instead of Josh Shapiro? How do you think that -- how do you think that matters to voter? Does it matter at all?

SALANT: I don't know that it's ever made a difference in the running. It doesn't make that much of a difference. But, people told me that they think that Harris would have -- that Harris picking Shapiro would have guaranteed of her winning Pennsylvania. Then again, Al Gore couldn't carry Tennessee. In 2000, he was the presidential nominee. If he had carried Tennessee, he'd be President -- he would have been President. The thing was Shapiro was the only candidate that people objected to. The head of the United Auto Workers went on Sunday morning talk show. So, I don't remember it was yours or another talk show, and said, we're opposed to Shapiro because he supports the use of taxpayer funds for private schools. Environmentalists didn't like his support of fracking. So, you had issues like that.

And John Fetterman, the Senator of Pennsylvania, reportedly his age, reportedly cast aspersions on Shapiro. POLITICO reported. You didn't hear that with anybody else, and that I think may have made the difference.

SOLOMON: Wow. So interesting. Well, it all goes down tomorrow night in Philly. We certainly will be watching, Jonathan Salant, Great to have Salant. Great to have your perspectives and insights today. Thank you.

SALANT: Thanks for having me on.

SOLOMON: All right. Surfing competitions are usually pretty tough, but we'll take you to one where the competition is very rough, the doggone details after the break. So cute, just so cute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SOLOMON: We'll always have Paris. The spectacular fireworks show

illuminated the sky above the Stade de France on Sunday concluding the Paris Paralympic Games. Meanwhile, inside was a closing ceremony to remember. The athletes paraded to the tunes of French classics before the DJs took over. Now, the only wrinkle was that the rain prevented the Olympic cauldron from being flown into the stadium.

[11:55:00]

And before we go, one more thing. Surf is up for some lucky dogs in California on Sunday. If you are not looking at your screen, look at these cute dogs. Dozens of dogs hit the waves in Del Mar, California. This is just north of San Diego. It saw part of the Helen Woodword Animal Center's 19th annual dog Surf-a-Thon, the dogs clearly wearing costumes, enjoying themselves and protective goggles while their owners cheered them on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENTUCKY GALLAHUE, CONTESTANT: it's all about just hanging out with your best friend out on the open water, just having a good time. It's amazing. You know what? But, I don't look at it. For me, it's for this guy right here, because he is the one that brings everybody here. If it was just me out there, no one be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: It's the fact that the dog looks like he is having a great time, but also so confident while doing it that I love.

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

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