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Harris and Trump Face Off in Pivotal Debate Tonight; Soon, Republicans Present Congressional Gold Medal to Families of Service Members Killed in Afghanistan Withdrawal. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 10, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You are live in the CNN newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Tonight, perhaps the most important 90 minutes of this year as a polarized nation comes together for the only scheduled debate in this bitter race for the White House. This is the stage where Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will meet face to face for the first time. With less than two months until Election Day, both candidates are determined to find an edge. Here's why. This New York Times/Siena college poll, like some of the other polls out there, showing no clear leader with both Harris and Trump locked in a statistical dead heat. Tonight, a chance to pull away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He plays from this really old and tired playbook, right, where he -- there's no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Trump's team planning to treat Kamala Harris as the incumbent tying her to the president's record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MILLER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: It's very clear that Kamala Harris is the one who's been running the country the entire time.

Another opening I do want to point out here that Harris has clearly created with all the flip flops with them. The ill-fated interview with Dan a bash is Kamala said that her values haven't changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And joining me now are CNN political Commentators Maria Cardona and David Urban. Maria, I'll start with you first. The polls have been showing that a lot of voters say they need to know more about Kamala Harris. They want to learn more. What does she need to do tonight?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that is a terrific opportunity for the vice president to continue to present herself to the American public. She's only been The Democratic nominee for president for a little bit over a month, right? And so she has been to rallies. She's been doing interviews. She's been doing events with voters. I think tonight is her biggest opportunity to continue what is essentially an interview for the highest job in the land.

And tonight's audience will be the biggest that she has had this far, probably the biggest that she'll have during this campaign, so she should treat it as such. She should treat it as a continuation of an interview. She needs to present what she wants to do, what her administration would do, a continuation of all of the successes, the economic successes of the Biden administration.

A lot of the economic policies that she was part of with President Biden are incredibly popular, but she also has to talk about what people are feeling now, the costs, which she has talked about, how she's going to lower those, that is going to be what her plan is going to be moving forward.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, David, I mean, this is different from the last debate between Donald Trump and President Biden. Democrats are pointing out Trump is now the oldest of the two candidates by nearly two decades this time around. And voters may be focused on his age and mental acuity. Last week, he gave a rambling response to a question about child care policy, and it's not the first time we've heard him rambling about. Let's listen to some of what he said on the campaign trail recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner.

This is inflation. This is Tic Tac. This is Tic Tac. This is inflation. This is what's happened.

But you know what I'd do if there was a shark? Or you get electrocuted? I'll take electrocution every single time. I'm not getting near the shark. So, we're going to end that. We're going to end it for boats. We're going to end it for trucks.

You can do it, baby. I love you so much. And it's bad news. Bad things are happening. Mom, I'm sorry. Mom, I didn't do a poem, didn't do it.

They've only got 17 seconds to figure this whole thing out, right? Boom, okay, missile launch.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Yes. David, I mean, what do you think we're going to see tonight? Are we going to hear about Hannibal Lecter and sharks? What's going to happen?

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, that's great. I love that montage. I used to play that, paid for by Donald Trump for president. People like his authenticity. Listen --

ACOSTA: Was that weaving?

URBAN: Yes, that's weaving. Look, people like his authenticity. Polls have shown that the American people really aren't concerned about Donald Trump's mental acuity or age, but polls are concerned about -- the polls reflect it.

[10:05:01]

They're concerned about the failures of the Biden-Harris administration and they want change. They want change. 61 percent of people in this most recent New York Times/Siena poll say they want change, and Donald Trump represents change in that poll. 53 percent of people said, who would you vote for radical change? Donald Trump. Only 24 percent said they'd vote for Kamala Harris for change.

So, it's very tough for her to separate herself from the current administration when her name's on the door. You know, it's the Biden- Harris administration. As much as she might not want that to be tied to the failed policies of this current administration, she's stuck with it and she's tagged with it.

So, Maria's pointing out how she needs to introduce herself to people. She has been the incumbent vice president for three and a half years. I'm not so sure what she has to present to people. What she does have to do to people is explain, is this the most liberal senator? Kamala Harris, you know, ranked in the last time she was in Congress. Is this the more progressive candidate who ran for president in 2019 and 2020, whose positions were all over the place? Or is this some new form of conservative Democrat that we've not seen to date. And so, I think she's going to have to present.

ACOSTA: Trump has changed some positions over the years, here and there.

URBAN: Yes, okay, sure, absolutely. He has changed his position on abortion. He's evolved on abortion. But, listen, she's evolved on every issue she has. She's been on both sides of literally every issue, fracking, guns, reparations --

ACOSTA: Is he going to evolve on whether he lost the last election? Is he going to finally admit that he lost?

URBAN: Listen, Jim, you know, I said he lost the last election.

ACOSTA: I don't mean you. You're not going to be debating.

CARDONA: He doesn't say that. URBAN: Well, he did. I think he did acknowledge that recently.

So, listen, Jim, you know, I think that this debate, Kamala Harris is very capable. She's a smart woman. I think the key here for Donald Trump is he's going to have to attack her policies, attack the policies of the Biden-Harris administration without attacking the woman and come looking across mean spirited.

ACOSTA: Yes, and that's important. And, Maria, I mean, the Trump campaign is going to go hard. They're saying he's going to go hard on immigration. This week, some right wing politicians and I guess folks on social media, including J.D. Vance, we should note, are spreading this bizarre conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants are eating pets, cats specifically. Obviously, not true, belongs in the litter box. But, Maria, what's your response to all this?

CARDONA: I think that this is an opportunity for the vice president to show just how extremist Donald Trump's policies are. And one of the other things that she needs to do tonight, in addition to talking about her bio, her background, and continuing to present herself to the American people, is show the stark contrast between her policies, what she will do, and what Donald Trump not only has done, but will continue to do, vis-a-vis Project 2025.

The American public already sees Project 2025 as this amalgam of incredibly extremist policies. Our own CNN poll showed that the majority of voters believe that Donald Trump's policies are extremist and not in line with the values that Americans care about.

So, Kamala Harris needs to underscore that she is the one that is in line with the values that Americans care about and that she is the one who will wake up every single day working for them, trying to find solutions for the problems that the American people face every day versus Donald Trump, who is only in it for himself. That montage that you showed, that's just weird and crazy and completely out of touch with what normal American people, centrist voters, Republican voters who don't want that crazy anymore.

I think they will look at Kamala Harris and say, look, she is going to be focused every day on letting my family make ends meet, have a great future for my children. And that's what Kamala Harris needs to underscore.

ACOSTA: Yes. David, I do want to ask you about this. We haven't seen much from the former first lady, Melania Trump, out on the campaign trail, but she's now raising questions about the assassination attempt on the former president.

We just got this in to CNN. Let's take a listen to this. This is about surrounding the promotion of her book. That's coming out soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: The attempt to end my husband's life was a horrible, distressing experience. Now, the silence around it feels heavy. I can't help but wonder why didn't law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech? There is definitely more to this story and we need to uncover the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: David, I mean, you've been around the Trump campaign for a long time. This feels not accidental that this is being raised on the day of the debate. Why is this coming up today and what's going on here? I mean, is there a conspiracy happening? What's going on?

URBAN: I don't think there's a conspiracy. I think she's asking legitimate questions. Her husband, the father of her child, almost, you know, came within, you know, about a quarter of an inch of having his head blown off by a shooter who, by all accounts, should have been -- you know, was wandering around the event site for hours beforehand, seen by many people, you know, is a complete failure on so many levels. I don't think it's conspiracy. I think she's asking --

ACOSTA: You don't think it's a nod to conspiracy theorists?

URBAN: No, I don't think it's like -- I think she's asking, you know, what -- how the hell could this have happened? This is this person, right? I mean, there were local law enforcement who did their job. There were failures up and down the chain of command in the Secret Service. There are a lot of answers. There are a lot of answers that people want.

ACOSTA: Yes, a lot of answers, absolutely. We should get answers. But why put that out today?

URBAN: I think it's reminding the American public that Donald Trump almost gave his life for pursuit, you know, to be president of the United States. He stood up there and somebody wanted to kill him because of what he believed in and what he stood for.

So, I think it's worth noting that, you know, the guy, you know, puts his life on the line every day in doing this. And I think that's what she was reminding. She obviously loves her husband. You know, Barron loves his father. And I think that she's trying to humanize him. Maria?

CARDONA: I think that it's -- you know, and obviously as a wife of somebody who, what did go through an attempted assassination, she's absolutely entitled to say whatever she wants about that. I think she's irrelevant, frankly, and I don't think this will matter. I do think that it does kind of feed into conspiracy theories that we've heard out there.

But at the end of the day, what people are going to pay attention on tonight is what Kamala Harris says about what she wants to do with another four years. And if she does her job right, and I believe she will, though it is hard to prep for crazy, which is what she's going to get from Donald Trump, but the contrast between what she's going to offer the American people, which are a way to move forward, for a way for people to not just get by, but to get ahead versus what they've already seen for four years, the chaos, the crazy you know, the politics of revenge, the politics of retribution. People don't want that. Swing voters don't want that. Women don't want that. URBAN: You know, Jim, I think it's -- real quickly, I think it's important what Maria said. She's going to explain what she'd do if she had another four years, right? Donald Trump said this, you know, Kamala Harris says, I'm going to be ready on day one. Her day one was three and a half years ago. Do not reelect Kamala Harris. If your life isn't better than it was four years ago, that's the question Ronald Reagan (INAUDIBLE) --

CARDONA: But you know well, David, you know well, David, that vice presidents don't make policies. And so don't pretend you don't know that. If you don't know that, then you don't know how a White House works. That is the reality. and so what Kamala Harris needs to do tonight is to say what she will do with the Harris-Walz administration, which are very clear policies that will help Americans continue to move forward.

ACOSTA: Sadly, we don't have 90 minutes for this debate, but --

URBAN: Great. But, Jim, you know, everybody wants you to believe that Kamala Harris is this strong, powerful, kick ass woman, and at the same time, they wouldn't believe she was a potted plant during the Biden-Harris administration. It's either one or the other. Either she was at the table in the room or she wasn't present. You can't have it both ways, Maria.

CARDONA: The contrast tonight will be something that Kamala Harris, I think, will make very, very strong and clear to the American people.

ACOSTA: And we'll be watching. Thanks to both of you. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

Still to come this hour, Miami-Dade Police released body cam video of what went down during that traffic stop with NFL star Tyreek Hill.

What Hill is saying about it in his own words.

Plus, launching into history. Why SpaceX's latest mission is one of the boldest and riskiest yet.

You are in the CNN Newsroom.

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[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will be face to face for the first time when they take that stage for tonight's presidential debate in just hours from now. So, how are they preparing with so much at stake?

Republican debate coach and media strategist Brett O'Donnell may have a good idea. Brett, I know you've helped prepare former President George W. Bush, Mitt Romney for their debates. What do you think is the most important thing going into tonight's debate and I guess your observation of how both candidates have prepared? BRETT O'DONNELL, DEBATE COACH: Well, they've each done what they think is best to get them ready. I mean, that's what you have to do with the candidate. We adapt our preparation method to what will get the candidate feeling most ready to be -- step on that stage and performed at their dead level best.

So, for Trump, it's been doing interviews and doing policy reviews. For Kamala Harris, it's been doing mock debates. Both of them though have a challenge. For Harris, she's done but one interview since she's become a candidate. And so she has to be ready to walk out on that stage under the bright lights and face attacks and be interviewed by moderators and be ready to handle all of that and think quickly on her feet.

For Donald Trump, it's a matter of can he remain disciplined and go after Kamala Harris at a policy level rather than a personal level.

So, I think the job is different and the job is different in terms of how they need to frame the debate tonight as well. Kamala Harris wants to make this debate about personality and a choice between her and Donald Trump.

[10:20:02]

Donald Trump wants to make this a referendum on her and the Biden Harris administration, tie her to all of those policies and make her into a weak, failed, dangerously liberal candidate. Those are the jobs for both of them tonight.

ACOSTA: And, Brett, the mics will be muted again when a candidate is not speaking during the debate tonight. Let's play a moment from the Biden-Trump debate in 2020 when the mics were left on. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The question is -- the question is --

TRUMP: -- radical left --

BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?

TRUMP: Listen, who is on your list, Joe? Who's on your --

BIDEN: This is so unpresidential.

TRUMP: -- going to give a list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Brett, based on that unmuted moment during that 2020 debate, I mean, what is your sense of this, a muted mic issue, and the fact that the Trump campaign wants their own candidate to have a muted mic at times?

O'DONNELL: Well, I think it will force him to be more disciplined because he knows that he's only going to be heard when it's his turn to speak. And that led to a much more disciplined Donald Trump, particularly in the first 40 minutes, which is when these things are won or lost of the debate against Joe Biden back in June, and Joe Biden ended his candidacy.

So, you know, I think the wise choice for Donald Trump would be to do more of the same, let Kamala Harris try to explain her inconsistencies in her policy positions, point those out and stick to policy. Don't attack her on a personal level and don't interrupt her. He's got to look more likable. He's got to try to connect. And he's got to stay disciplined in that first -- particularly that first 30 minutes to 40 minutes of the debate.

ACOSTA: Yes, you're absolutely right, Brett. That is so crucial. The first half hour of the debate is when a lot of people are really paying attention. Brett O'Donnell, thanks so much, great to talk to you. I really appreciate it.

O'DONNELL: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. And stay with CNN for complete coverage and exclusive analysis before and after the debate. You can catch the ABC News presidential debate simulcast tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up, putting Afghanistan at the center of the election, the blame game being played out in the halls of Congress that could have a ripple effect at the ballot box, coming up.

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[10:25:00]

ACOSTA: The United States' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is back at the center of the election and probably tonight's debate as well. In moments, top Republicans will present the congressional gold medal to the families of the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan as that war was winding down. House Republicans have released a years in the making report that blames the by the administration for the operation's failure.

We should note that while the withdrawal did happen on President Biden's watch, former President Donald Trump did make the deal and set a deadline with the Taliban.

Joining me now to talk about this is Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of Florida. He sits on the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees, also served in Afghanistan. Coming up, I'll be talking to Congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts.

But let me go to you first, Congressman Waltz. The State Department is saying -- the Biden administration is saying that this House Republican report on the Afghanistan withdrawal, quote, and we put this up on screen, issued partisan statements, cherry-picked facts and withheld testimonies from the American people. Your response to that? REP. MIKE WALTZ (R-FL): Yes, they're saying it's politicized and questioning the timing. I would point out that Democrats were in charge of the House of Representatives for all of 2021, all of 2022, no investigation, no interviews, barely any hearings. They had one. So, what was politicized, I think, was basically trying to sweep this thing under the rug.

This was worse than Saigon in many ways, because there wasn't necessarily an expectation that the Viet Cong were going to attack the homeland. Al Qaeda is back. ISIS is back. Americans were abandoned. And I would hope that we would just seek for lessons learned and get to the bottom of what happened.

What the report shows, and these are from State Department interviews, DOD interviews, this is in their own words that the generals repeatedly, three four star generals advised Biden not to do it this way. Yes, President Trump entered a deal, but it was a conditional deal. And at the end of the day, what the Democrats are ignoring is that he left Bagram Airbase, he left 2,500 troops. He left NATO in place. He left our contractors because the Taliban didn't live up to six of the seven conditions of the deal. And then it was how the withdrawal was done. You pull out your assets, your embassy, your allies before your military, not the other way around.

So, for the families, they just want someone, Kamala Harris, who was the last in the room, was she either a wallflower and had no part in this major decision, or was she at the table, they just want someone from this administration to say we did a lot of things wrong. Here's accountability. Here's transparency. We've learned our lessons that this will never happen again, but they've gotten nothing, not a call, not a meeting, zero from Biden or Harris, which is a real disservice to them.

ACOSTA: And perhaps we'll hear more on that tonight. Perhaps it will come up tonight. But this -- I mean, do you do fault former President Donald Trump for entering in this deal with the Taliban? I mean --

WALTZ: No more than I fault President Bush who negotiated with the Taliban, President Obama who negotiated with the Taliban. Actually, if you remember Bo Bergdahl and that trade, that was a confidence building measure in negotiations with the Obama administration and the Taliban.

[10:30:04]

Where I applaud President Trump is where he said, hey, deals off Taliban haven't lived --