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NFL Season Begins; Nevada and California Battle Wildfires; Princess Catherine Completes Chemotherapy Treatment; Harris and Trump Set to Debate. Aired 11:30a-12:00p ET

Aired September 09, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You know, Julie, I thought it was interesting that Trump also is pledging again to go after his political enemies if he's reelected, saying those that cheated -- his word -- cheated in the 2020 presidential election will -- quote -- "be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

[11:30:13]

How should Kamala Harris address these threats which I'm sure he will be making repeatedly tomorrow night?

JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, again, to the point that was just made, he's not talking about the economy. He's not talking about health care. He's not talking about all the various issues that actually affect Americans as they sit around the kitchen table thinking about how to structure their lives and how government can or can't help.

He's talking about himself. He's talking about his grievances. And, yes, that really appeals to the MAGA base, but to the people that he needs in suburban Philadelphia, for example, in Bucks County, in Northampton County, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in Cuyahoga County, in Ohio, places like that, they're not sitting around thinking, poor Donald Trump, he got ripped off.

They're thinking about how their lives are going to be improved or not improved by the next administration. And so to the extent that he goes off on this tangent tomorrow, I think Kamala Harris needs to just revert back to saying, look, I'm focused on you. I'm here to help you. He's here to help himself. My campaign is about all of you. His campaign is about one person. It's always been, and that's Donald Trump.

When you present it in those kinds of stark terms, people begin to understand what this election's all about.

BLITZER: There's a new poll out, and I'm sure you saw it, Lance, that voters think Trump is more centrist than Kamala Harris, despite his continued lies, his falsehoods, and all these charges that he's leveling.

LANCE TROVER, FORMER BURGUM PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: Well, I think that's not the only thing that in that poll, that he's not just centrist. He's viewed as a change agent in that poll. I mean, if you look at it, he's beating her by double digits also on

the economy. And there's a lot of warning signs in there for Kamala Harris. And so I think tomorrow night's going to be more and more about Kamala Harris. Again, everybody knows Donald Trump. They know what comes with him, the good and the bad and all that said.

If you look at that poll, it also says voters just don't know a lot about her. And I think she has a heavy lift, because she's trying to walk this fine line versus the left-wing person that she's been in the progressive policies that she's pushed over the majority of her career versus now trying to position herself as a moderate.

So Donald Trump really has to call her out for that tomorrow night.

BLITZER: I'm sure he will.

Julie, the poll also says that voters view Trump as a riskier candidate than Kamala Harris. But that number is way down from 2016, which was, of course, before the insurrection on January 6. How do you explain that?

ROGINSKY: I think people's memories are shot. Look, in the same way that George Bush's numbers have gone up since the Iraq War and since he left office, this is the same way that effectively Trump's numbers have gone up.

And so, out of sight, out of mind, to some extent. People begin to have rosy ideas about you. Kamala Harris' job, and it's a tough one, tomorrow is to not just talk about her own record, because she does need to introduce herself to the nation, but to also remind people what life was like when Donald Trump was in office, the most loss of jobs under any president since Herbert Hoover, the craziness on a daily basis with respect to our allies abroad and to the majority of Americans at home.

And so these are the kinds of things that she needs to hone on over and over and over again, while at the same time introducing herself to the public.

BLITZER: The race is now, as you know, Lance, neck-and-neck in this "New York Times" poll that just was released over the weekend, the latest poll showing no clear leader at all.

Could tomorrow night's debate tip the scales one way or another, you think?

TROVER: There's no question it could. I mean, we are a divided nation. I mean, if there's anything that poll says, that we're a divided country.

But, again, there are some warning signs in that poll that I think Kamala Harris has to address tomorrow night. I think most people are coming to see where she stands on some of the issues and how she positions herself.

And, again, I think it's -- the heavy lift that she has is trying to balance this past progressive posture that she's taken over the last 20 years versus how she wants to be as a candidate now. So it could. But, again, Republicans are with Donald Trump. Democrats are with Kamala Harris. It's going to come down to those swing votes right in the middle.

BLITZER: We will see what happens.

All right, thanks very much, Lance Trover and Julie Roginsky. Appreciate it very much.

We have some breaking news coming into the CNN NEWSROOM right now. Six months after she announced she was undergoing treatment for cancer, the princess of Wales is giving an update on her health.

CNN's Max Foster is joining us right now from London.

Max, what can you tell us?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's good news, I have to say.

The princess has confirmed that she has now completed her course of preventative chemotherapy. Remember, Wolf, this goes back to March, when she started that. So, it has been a significant part of the year when she's been undergoing chemotherapy, but she's completed that course of chemotherapy.

I have asked if that means that all her treatments are over, is she cancer-free? They won't confirm whether or not there are other treatments ongoing, but in terms of the phrase cancer-free, we'd have to speak to experts about that.

So we will come back to Dr. Sanjay about that. But it's good news. She is going to return to work, but very light duties up until the end of the year. So it'll mean she won't be able to travel to South Africa with the prince of Wales, which was the plan, but she will be at the Cenotaph, for example, remembering the fallen. So they're going to take each event as it comes.

[11:35:01]

She's focused on a full recovery, so it's clear she doesn't feel fully recovered yet. So there will be events in the diary coming up. But they're going to take each one as it comes. And they could be canceled at the last minute if she doesn't feel well enough.

But I -- hopefully, we can play a video that they have just released which was shot in Norfolk, which is their country home, last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MIDDLETON, PRINCESS OF WALES: I'm 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 have 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So, as I say, Wolf, that was shot last month in Norfolk, so she looked well in that video, didn't she?

And I'm told that she's in a positive place. They haven't given us any more detail, but they do have a country house in Norfolk. And I have been told that this process of healing, she feels, has gone pretty well. And it's all been about spending time with the kids, trying to live a normal life as normal, as possible anyway as it is for a royal, but also spending time out there in the countryside connecting with nature.

There's a big part of that in this journey for her, I'm told. And she just wants to give out her heartfelt support to cancer survivors, cancer sufferers, the people around them, because that's where she's found a lot of comfort as well.

She really wants to highlight what it's like to have cancer, to go through the journey. She's not out of it fully yet, emotionally and physically, but she certainly wants to share word that people can get through this. And we will be seeing her a bit out and about, which I think a lot of people will be looking forward to.

BLITZER: And we, of course, wish her a very, very speedy, complete recovery.

Max Foster, thank you very much for that update.

Right now, there's another important story we're following. A wildfire is so enormous it is generating its own weather conditions.

CNN's Camila Bernal will join us live from the burn zone in California right after this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're starting to see some progress, but only 3 percent containment, and still a lot of challenges, among them, the heat, the wind and possible thunderstorms, meanwhile, thousands still under evacuation.

We will have the latest coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:38]

BLITZER: A shocking scene in Miami yesterday, the Miami Dolphins star wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, on the ground in handcuffs just out of the team's season opener.

The team says he was detained by Miami-Dade police following a traffic incident on his way to the stadium. Just hours later, Tyreek Hill capped an 80-yard touchdown dash with an end zone celebration featuring a pair of handcuffs.

Speaking to reporters after the win, he will tell reporters he's still not sure what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYREEK HILL, MIAMI DOLPHINS: No idea, man. It's crazy. No idea. I wasn't disrespectful, because my mom didn't raise me that way. Didn't cuss. Didn't do none of that.

So, like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Tyreek Hill's agent says they are not ruling out legal action. Police announced an investigation is under way, and one officer involved in the incident has been placed on leave. They have rejected CNN's request for an incident report and body camera footage of the incident, citing the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, evacuations are under way in several parts of California right now and in Nevada, as well as people flee rapidly spreading wildfires. The largest of them, the Line Fire in San Bernardino, California, has already burned more than 20,000 acres and is currently 3 percent contained.

[11:45:02]

This morning, several California school districts were forced to cancel classes.

And officials are now warning that extreme heat conditions and incoming thunderstorms could cause new ignitions.

CNN national correspondent Camila Bernal is near the largest fire in Southern California.

What's the latest, Camila?

BERNAL: Hey, Wolf.

So, finally, the first time that I'm hearing some optimism from these firefighters because of lower temperatures and because of the amount of people they were able to bring in addition to what they already had, so a lot more resources to fight this fire. About 1,800 firefighters and personnel are now in this area.

But they're still very cautious because they say there's still a number of challenges that they're facing, including the terrain. You see as I'm walking here, I'm walking uphill. And that's because this terrain is very mountainous. So what you see is a lot of steep hills. And these firefighters are having to either walk in or get flown in.

And that's if they can fly. Over the weekend, some of the aircraft were not able to get up in the air because of the conditions. So they're hoping that they're able to do that today. But you mentioned the weather and the weather that this fire is creating.

First of all, it's the hot temperatures, three-digit temperatures and even lows in the 80s. It makes firefighters just fatigued and tired. And it's hard to deal with physically. Then you have the possibility of those thunderstorms. We're expecting more later this afternoon.

And, yes, you may get some rain from that. But the problem is, there's also lightning and that starts new fires. And then you also have the wind that comes with these storms. And it blows the flames in directions that the firefighters are not able to predict.

So, they told us: We don't really know where to place the crews because we don't know where the fire could spread. So, what they're doing is placing those crews near the homes in this area that they believe are threatened. And what happens then is that they're doing everything they can to protect the homes.

And, so far, they have been able to do that. No homes have been destroyed yet by this fire. So the destruction is really here in the National Forest. They're working around the clock. You see them going up and down. These are crews that are essentially just going and going and going without stopping, and, so, again, some optimism, but still some concern from Cal Fire.

Take a listen to what they told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENT PASCUA, CAL FIRE BATTALION CHIEF: Each night's going to get cooler and easier for our crews to get in there and get some containment. We still have the threat of thunderstorms this afternoon, so we still have to maintain our situational awareness for that.

We have not only the fuels and the steep topography and the heat to deal with. We have thunderstorms. So, again, we're just really prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And they want people to be prepared as well. Thousands are under evacuation warnings or orders.

And the people that are under those warnings are being told to be ready to pack their bags and be ready to leave at a moment's notice, because that can happen, and they want people to be able to leave before firefighters need to get into these areas, so that it makes it easier for them.

So, again, they expect some progress. We're now at 3 percent containment. That's a lot different from zero since this fire started, small, but it's still some progress. And that's some optimism from the firefighters here on the ground, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, just be careful over there, Camila. Thank you very much.

Camila Bernal reporting for us.

Coming up: Football is back, big time. And the NFL's final game last night was an overtime thriller.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:58]

BLITZER: From a star-studded final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to a thrilling finish on the gridiron, it was a huge weekend for those of us who are sports fans, as the U.S. Open wrapped up and the NFL season got under way.

CNN's Coy Wire is joining us right now.

Coy, catch us up.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, lots of excitement, Wolf.

The U.S. Open drew a crowd of more than a million fans for the first time, Aryna Sabalenka, of course, winning women's title on Saturday, and, yesterday, the men's final, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce there among a slew of celebs in attendance.

Taylor Fritz was looking to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, but world number one, Jannik Sinner, just too much, winning in straight sets. The 23-year-old Italian won the Australian Open in January, making him the third man in first since 1977 to win his first two Grand Slam trophies in the same season.

Our Andy Scholes caught up with the champ.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANNIK SINNER, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: I think it's nice for tennis to see some new champions, some new favorites of tournaments. And, yes, so I'm happy to be part of this, at least this year. So let's see what's coming next year.

Obviously, it's -- they're all big, big challenges coming up. But I'm just looking forward to improve as a player and then we will see what I can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: And the NFL saved an overtime thriller for yesterday's final game.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford found his team down by a touchdown at halftime to his former team, the Detroit Lions, but L.A. then came storming back, touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp in the fourth, taking a 20-17 lead. Kupp had 14 catches for 110 yards.

But the Lions jabbed back. And from 32 yards out, Wolf, rookie kicker Jake Bates sends the game to overtime. Detroit won the toss, and then it was David Montgomery show, running for 45 of his 91 yards on the final drive, including that game-winning score. Lions win 26-20.

And, tonight, Wolf, it's not over, Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers hosting the Jets and Aaron Rodgers on his comeback tour.

BLITZER: And I will be watching that for -- to be sure, of course.

[11:55:00]

I know it's early at the crown in MVP in the NFL, at least early right now in the season, just one game. But, in your opinion, and is it the same opinion that I have, that the best player in the league is Josh Allen?

WIRE: Oh, absolutely. I think it was the rapper Big Daddy Kane who once said, he jumped in the ocean, swallowed a whale, and then he handcuffed lightning and threw thunder in jail.

Josh Allen, 4,000 yards passing the last four seasons, now just 10 rushing touchdowns shy of Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas' franchise record of 65. And watch this play here, one of his two rushing touchdowns leaping up and over six-time Pro Bowler Budda Baker for two of his rushing touchdowns.

He had two passing touchdowns; 6'5'', 240-pound quarterback should not be able to do that. But thank goodness he does it for our Buffalo Bills, Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: And go, Bills, as we always say, Coy a former Bills himself.

Thank you very much for that update.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the CNN NEWSROOM. I will be back later tonight, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts after a short break.