Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) Spar on Policy But Remain Civil at V.P. Debate; Trump Appears to Confuse Leaders of Iran and North Korea; Israel Vows Iran Will Pay for Unprecedented Missile Attack. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 02, 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: A clarifying but mostly civil clash on the issues. One key moment was over January 6th and the 2020 election. Both the Harris and Trump campaigns are declaring victory after last night's vice presidential debate. I'll speak to surrogates from both campaigns.

Plus, we are following breaking news out of the Middle East. Israel is ramping up its ground war in Lebanon. We'll go live to the region as fears of a wider war intensify.

And later today, President Biden will head to the storm ravaged Carolinas to get an aerial tour of the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.

Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

All right, let's get straight to reactions from last night's vice presidential debate. I'm joined now by Michael Tyler. He is the communications director for the Harris-Walz campaign. Hey, Michael, good morning, good to see you.

I just want to jump right into it. There was some criticism from progressives last night that Governor Walz was not aggressive enough and going after Senator J.D. Vance. What was Vice President Harris' reaction to the debate?

MICHAEL TYLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Yes, listen, good morning. Thank you for having me. I think Vice President Harris' reaction is the same as voters across the country, Independent voters in particular, and those undecideds who saw Governor Walls lay out a very clear vision for where he and the vice president want to take this country and saw that opposite the dangerous, chaotic, dark vision that J.D. Vance was propagating.

Yes, he was a slick debater on the debate stage, but on all of the issues that came up, whether it be abortion and the guilt that Donald Trump has on that, whether it be taxes and Donald Trump's desire to provide a middle class tax increase versus the vice president's middle class tax cut, or the ultimate test that came up, whether or not Donald Trump and J.D. Vance would be willing to uphold the Constitution, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump failed on Independent voters, whereas Governor Walz clearly articulated the case in a plain spoken way, in a way that, as your flash polling and everybody else's, demonstrates, resonated with undecideds, the voters that are going to ultimately decide the pathway to 270 electoral votes.

So, we're excited coming off of last night, but we're focused on the task at hand over the course of the final 34 days of this campaign.

ACOSTA: Yes. Michael, and the campaign also is saying this morning that Governor Walz is set to ramp up media appearances following the debate, more interviews, that sort of thing. Can you speak to that a little bit? And he hasn't done many of those since being tapped as Harris' running mate. Do you think that more interviews might have helped the governor be better prepared for last night's debate?

TYLER: No. listen, again, I think last night, the governor was able to lay out a very clear vision for where we want to take this country over the course of the next four years. I think what you will see him and the vice president continue to do over the course of the final month of this stretch is use every tool that we have at our disposal to continue to reach the voters. Yes, that will be inclusive of more media appearances, more interviews.

Governor Walz is, of course, headed on a bus tour in Central Pennsylvania, making sure that we're hitting all communities, not just the big cities, but getting into suburban and rural communities as well. And, hopefully, it will also be inclusive of a final presidential debate on CNN, on October 23rd. The vice president is, of course, ready to do that. The question remains, will Donald Trump show up to Atlanta on the 23rd?

ACOSTA: And Governor Walz was pressed on his time in China back in the late 1980s, specifically his claim that he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests. He says he misspoke. Does he need to go further in clearing that up?

TYLER: No, I think he was pretty clear. He said he misspoke. He was there in August. I think he'd earlier said it was June. This is a matter of months, 35 years ago. He was there during the summer of protest. He misspoke on this issue while on the other side of the stage, J.D. Vance continued to uphold the lie about the 2020 election, the fact that Donald Trump lost and then tried to overturn a free and fair election.

I think that's what voters, particularly the undecided voters are going to be paying attention to coming off of last night, rather than anything that happened 35 years ago. They're far more concerned with the direction of our democracy, on what these candidates are going to do for them and their families moving forward here.

ACOSTA: Yes. You mentioned that moment on January 6th.

[10:05:00] I just wanted to ask you, I mean, going into this debate, is that something that Governor Walz wanted to talk about or was that something that just happened in the moment? What kind of background can you give us on that?

TYLER: Yes. Listen, I think the governor was prepared to make sure that the voters understood that Donald Trump remains a risky bet for the American people moving forward here in 2024. You saw the harm that played out during his presidency, whether it was on abortion. As he laid out, we now live in a country where one in three women live under a Trump abortion ban.

But we know moving forward that he would have banned abortion nationwide, with or without Congress, whether it's on healthcare, the fact that this is a guy who, when he was in office, tried to terminate the Affordable Care Act every chance that he got, ultimately was unsuccessful to do so because of Republicans like John McCain, whether it is the threat that he posed to democracy in 2020 following the election there.

But, again, we know, November 2024, he's making it very clear that if he is elected, he will rule on a dictator as a dictator on day one, if he's able to, he will rule without any checks on his power. This is clear in his project 2025 agenda. We now have a Supreme Court that has basically given him carte blanche to enact his dangerous extreme agenda.

And so that's what the governor was focused on presenting on the debates. And I think he did a very good job of articulating exactly what that threat is while simultaneously reminding the voters that it does not have to be that way in 2024. We can turn the page on the Trump years as the vice president, he talked about we can provide the Americans with a new way forward that is actually focused on them in solving the challenges that they face in their lives.

ACOSTA: And, Michael, I do want to play a bit of what Senator Vance had to say about Vice President Harris, get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris is not running as a newcomer to politics. She is the sitting vice president. If she wants to enact all of these policies to make housing more affordable, I invite her to use the office that the American people already gave her.

She's been the vice president for three and a half years. Day one was 1,400 days ago, and her policies have made these problems worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Michael, your response to that?

TYLER: Yes, we're not going to take civic lessons from a guy who can't even accept the fact that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and failed the biggest test of the night, right, which is promising to uphold the Constitution. That's the entire reason why he was on the debate stage last night, and Mike Pence was not because he's demonstrating to Donald Trump every single day that he's willing to do what Mike Pence refused to do, which has put Donald Trump over the Constitution, over the rule of law, right, over the interest of the American people.

As it relates to the vice president, she's very clear that she's proud of the progress that we have made over the course of the past four years but she is continuing to lay out her vision for where she wants to take this country, right, continuing to lower costs for Americans, continuing to spur a small business growth, making sure that American manufacturing is robust moving forward. All of that stands in stark contrast to what Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are offering, which is no solutions for the American people, only solutions for themselves.

ACOSTA: All right. Michael Tyler, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

All right, let's get some perspective from the Trump campaign. Joining us now, senior adviser to the former president, Corey Lewandowski, he used to serve as campaign manager for Trump's 2016 White House run. Corey, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

Let's get right into this. Last night, Senator Vance refused to answer whether Trump lost the 2020 election. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would just ask that, did he lose the 2020 election?

VANCE: Tim, I'm focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?

WALZ: That is a damning non-answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Corey, why is this so difficult for the Trump campaign to answer? I mean, it's 2024. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? Can you answer that?

COREY LEWANDOWSKI, FORMER TRUMP 2016 CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Jim, I think it's very simple. The American people have passed the 2020 election. They're focused on an election which is just under five weeks away. And what we have an opportunity to do now is to talk about two different visions for America. And what J.D. Vance laid out last night is a very different vision than what Tim Walz and Kamala Harris want to say.

So, look, we can go back and re-litigate the 2020 election, or we can look at what we can do to make America better for the everyday Americans who are struggling under Bidenomics.

ACOSTA: Yes, it's not re-litigating. It's just a simple question. Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? I mean, that's an easy --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, why are we talking about 2020 anymore? Does the American people care about the 2020 election anymore? Do they care about being able to put food on their table, gas in their car?

ACOSTA: I think one reason why it's coming up, Corey, is because the former president has said on the campaign trail repeatedly that there was all this widespread fraud in 2020. That was not the case. And he's also teeing up the same kinds of challenges after this election. It hasn't even happened yet. So, it is a very --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, we know there was fraud. There's no question there was some fraud that took place in the 2020 election. There's no question about that.

ACOSTA: No widespread fraud. No widespread fraud.

LEWANDOWSKI: What does widespread mean, Jim?

[10:10:00]

Is one vote that's illegal enough or is -- how many do you determine is widespread? What is that number?

ACOSTA: There were instances of voter fraud from Trump supporters. I mean, you know, that from the 2020 campaign. But I guess the question is -- I mean, I'm sure there was, but, Corey, I mean, every expert people from inside the Trump administration who have come out since then have said, no, no widespread voter fraud. And I guess the question is, Corey --

LEWANDOWSKI: Why are we focusing on 2024 is my question.

ACOSTA: I guess, Corey, so, I guess what you're saying is that Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election? Is that what you're saying?

LEWANDOWSKI: What I'm saying is Joe Biden is the president of the United States. You recognize that. And I recognize that, but let's talk about the 2024 election, which is less than five weeks away. And let's look at the two visions for America that Trump --

ACOSTA: Will Donald Trump honor the results of the 2024 election? Will he do that?

LEWANDOSWKI: Jim, did Hillary Clinton honor the results? No. Did Democrats honor the results?

ACOSTA: Yes, she did. She called and conceded the election. Corey, I was with you guys on election night in Manhattan in 2016.

LEWANDOWSKI: She said the election was stolen. She said there was Russian interference.

ACOSTA: She called the then-president-elect and conceded the election.

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, why are we talking hypotheticals? Why aren't we talking about the policy matters that matter to the American people?

ACOSTA: I know. But, Corey, it's a simple question. Will the former president --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, why are we not talking about the 13,000 murderers who've been let into this country under the Biden-Harris-Walz administration? Let's talk about things that people care about. Let's talk about the crippling economy. You know, you want to talk about a hypothetical in five weeks. I'm talking about every single day right now.

ACOSTA: Let's talk about immigration. All right, last night, J.D. Vance said immigrants have, quote, destroyed Americans lives in Springfield before having his mic cut. But all of this got started when Trump falsely claimed at last month's debate that Haitian migrants were eating pets. The governor of Ohio, the mayor of Springfield have both come out and said this is not true. Corey, can you say that Haitian migrants are not eating pets in Springfield? Can you say what?

LEWANDOWSKI: You know what I can say, Jim? I can say that 13,099 murders were led into this country. 16,000 rapists, 425,000 people in the last four years have been led into this country by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's own Customs and Border Protection that are running around this country, Jim.

ACOSTA: The other thing too, it's Kamala Harris, I don't know, is there -- why do you guys say Kamala? That is -- it's Kamala Harris. I just --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, we know that they're committing crimes against Americans? Why can't these individuals talk about the individuals who have been killed by illegal immigrants? 13,099 murderers have been led into this country by this administration's own accounting, and you guys don't want to talk about it. To put that in perspective for your viewers --

ACOSTA: Corey, we talk about immigration all the time. We talk about this all the time.

LEWANDOWSKI: Yes, but admit it, Jim. Jim, admit that 13,099 murderers have been led into this country. That's four murderers for every single county in America. You don't think that that's a problem?

ACOSTA: Border crossings are down and crime is down in this country, but, you know, I do want to ask you at the beginning of this interview, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? I just asked you whether Haitian migrants are eating dogs and cats in Springfield. You won't admit the truth on either of those questions.

I want to ask you about something that --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, would you admit that 13,000 murderers have come into the country?

ACOSTA: 13,000 number is false, by the way. The 13,000 number is false.

LEWANDOWSKI: Why is it false? If the government's own data says that CBP's own data put this out last week. So why do you say it's false if the government put out? By the way, this is the Biden-Harris administration put out. It was also false.

ACOSTA: The government also said border crossings are down. Do you --

LEWANDOWSKI: But, Jim, you just said that was a false number. How do you get to that? What data do you have that says Customs and Border Protection is wrong?

ACOSTA: Yes, I also want to ask you about something that Trump said --

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, you just said it was wrong.

ACOSTA: That is over several administrations, Corey. That number is over several administrations.

LEWANDOWSKI: How many?

ACOSTA: Corey, well, why don't you tell me, since you seem to have command of that fact?

LEWANDOWSKI: I have command of what they put out, which is 13,099 murderers have been led into this country. That is a fact.

ACOSTA: But the administration has also said that border crossings are down. Isn't that also true?

LEWANDOSWKI: Well, Jim, which facts are you going to go with? Are you going to go with some of the fax from CBP or all the facts from CBP? Which ones are you going with?

ACOSTA: Well, we're going with the facts, Corey. I don't know about you, but I do want to ask you about something Trump said at a campaign stop in Milwaukee last night. He apparently confused the leaders of North Korea and Iran. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We had planned an outdoor rally, and it would have been amazing, and Washington would not get us. They said that we have to guard the United Nations, which meant the president of North Korea, who's basically trying to kill me. So, they want to guard him, but they don't want to guard me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Corey, what is the former president talking about there? Why is he getting confused about that?

LEWANDOWSKI: Well, I think the president was very -- he meant to say the president of Iran, which is trying to kill him. We know there are credible threats against this president. We know that for sure. It has been widely publicized. And we know that until recently, this administration refused to give him the Secret Service protection that he should have been entitled to, and that's why there've been two attempted assassinations on his life.

So, look, we need to do a better job as a government.

ACOSTA: The Secret Service thwarted the second one. They thwarted the second one.

[10:15:00]

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, he took a bullet in the ear. He took a bullet in the ear because the U.S. Secret Service wasn't communicating with the people on the ground. Don't you think that is an epic failure? And when additional resources were asked for --

ACOSTA: We reported it was an epic failure.

LEWANDOWSKI: But, Jim, additional resources were asked for from the campaign and they were denied by this administration until this man took a bullet for this country. I think that's an epic failure and it goes to show you the politics of the top of the administration, whether it's Mayorkas or it's Kamala or it's Joe Biden, Donald Trump should have had additional resources.

ACOSTA: What is this Kamala? It's Kamala Harris. Corey, you've been in this business a long time. I think you're a mature grownup. It's Kamala Harris. Can you just say Kamala or you cannot say Kamala?

LEWANDOWSKI: Jim, can you admit 13,099 murders that have come into the country? You said you haven't.

ACOSTA: Well, Corey, you know, I appreciate you coming on. Maybe we'll have you back. Thanks for your time.

All right, coming up new strikes in Lebanon this morning as the world watches and waits for Israel's next move after Iran's unprecedented attack. CNN's Jim Sciutto is live in Tel Aviv. Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, vowing to retaliate. Israel is now weighing its next move after Iran's unprecedented attack. This as the Israeli military sends more troops into Southern Lebanon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:00]

ACOSTA: Vowing to retaliate, Israel weighs its next move after Iran's historic attack as the Israeli military sends more troops into Southern Lebanon.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is live in Tel Aviv for us. Jim, what are you hearing? SCIUTTO: Well, deliberations now as to how Iran -- how Israel's going to respond. It's just after 5:00 P.M. here in Tel Aviv, much of the world waiting and watching Israelis as well. Israel says that it will retaliate against Iran for what was the largest ever aerial assault by Iran on the Jewish state.

This morning, Iran says it fired some 200 missiles over the course of just about an hour.

Israel and the U.S. say they were able to intercept most, in fact, the vast majority of those missiles, yet at least one person was killed, several were injured. Iran says it was responding to Israel's recent attacks on its proxy force, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.

I want to bring in now, CNN Global Affairs Analyst and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us.

MARK ESPER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be with you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: There's a great deal of speculation now in this country as to how Israel responds to this attack. They have vowed to do just that. I wonder, in your view, is there a response that can reestablish Israeli deterrence, that phrase we hear so often, without sparking a broader war between Israel and Iran that might draw the U.S. in? Is there a middle ground that you might advise if you were in the room with the Israeli prime minister?

ESPER: It's a good question, Jim. And, really, in many ways, only Tehran can answer that question based on how Israel responds. I think the deterrence objective is one way to take a look at it. Another one is to look at what objectives you might achieve with this counterstrike that might aid you either in the near term or in the long-term.

So, for example, a strategic target may be to take out their nuclear facilities and set them back quite some time from their pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Another option at the operational level would be to take out their air defense sites and basically strip them of the ability to see not just the current attack but any future attacks. Because as Israel gets into the longer campaign against Hezbollah, there may be at some point the interest of Iran coming after them.

Another set of targets may be economic targets, so, for example, their oil refineries and such. That may be a way to knock off the flow of money that the regime brings in to supply the terrorists, the proxies and their own military, so just a different way to look at it in terms of how you might stack up those and prioritize those targets.

SCIUTTO: There is open discussion now of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. And as you know, there have been some in this country who've been pushing for that for some time. Militarily, can Israel do lasting damage to Iran's military sites without U.S. assistance?

ESPER: Well, I'm not going to get too much into that. The challenge -- the word that is important there is lasting damage. What you can certainly do is set them back, but then it's only a matter of time before they use their various supply chains, their own knowledge to rebuild their facilities and to reestablish them. But I think knocking them off their timetable is very useful in this framework in terms of what we're seeing right now in the region.

SCIUTTO: You'll often hear from Donald Trump and others in his campaign that if he were president, none of this would be happening, whether that's the Russian invasion of Ukraine or this war now in the Middle East. And I just wonder, is this war, is this conflict arising from the strategic interests of the parties involved, Israel, Iran, as well as the other players here, such as Hezbollah, or is it somehow all a response as to who's sitting in the White House?

ESPER: Well, I think you have to rewind the clock back to October 7th and recall that Hamas attacked Israel on that day. They went into Israel. They killed 1,200 innocent people. They captured 250-some. And the belief at that time, and I argued this, was that Hamas was, first of all, concerned about their own legitimacy and that they want to strike against Israel.

[10:25:07]

But I think the bigger one, maybe another major driver was the fact that we saw a coming together of Israel and Saudi and possibly a normalization talks that would have certain conditions, but at the end of the day would bind the Saudis and Israelis closer, and then ultimately the Arab world. And if you had the Arab world and Israel aligned against Iran, that would be a big -- very counterproductive for Iran.

Interestingly, the precepts, the foundation of that, of those talks between the United States and Saudi Arabia were established under the Abraham Accords in the end of the Trump administration, so which I give the Trump administration credit for.

So, look, it's hard to say who was in the office, would or would this not happen if that person, but it's interesting that the foundation of what was going on between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and I hope it gets back on track, it's a rapprochement, a normalization that would ultimately bring Arab states and Israel together to -- as a standoff, as a deterrent ultimately against Iran that has much bigger ambitions in the region, and has for many decades.

SCIUTTO: Let's hope for a peaceful path, no question. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, we do appreciate you taking the time. Jim, I'll send it back to you in Washington.

ACOSTA: Thanks so much, Jim. We appreciate it.

Coming up in just hours, President Biden will be in the Carolinas to get a firsthand look at Helene's devastation. But for those in the hardest hit areas, the scope of what was lost is still not even fully known.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETER O'LEARY, CHIMNEY ROCK VILLAGE, NORTH CAROLINA: It's just -- it's hard to wrap my head around it, to be honest. I'm seeing the -- I saw the pictures before I got here. I see the damage when I'm here. And I just -- it's just hard to comprehend it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]