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Idalia Gaining Strength; Busy Labor Day Travel Weekend; Trump's Rivals Won't Attack Him. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 28, 2023 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:47]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Florida's Gulf Coast is on high alert this morning as Tropical Storm Idalia churns toward the state. A White House official telling CNN that FEMA is pre-deploying emergency personnel to Florida today. The storm is expected to intensify into a category two hurricane before directly hitting Florida Wednesday. Hurricane and storm surge watches are in effect along the state's West Coast, including Tampa Bay.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now.

Derek, the time to prepare has to be now, is that right?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Yes, without a doubt, because we anticipate the earliest arrival of tropical storm force winds across the southern Florida peninsula roughly about 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday. And as you head a little further north, north of Tampa Bay, into the big bend area, we're talking about roughly 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. So, you don't want to be setting up your hurricane-proof shutters, for instance, in the middle of tropical storm force winds. So now is the time. It is your last full day for that opportunity to prepare your property.

Sixty-five-mile-per-hour winds. It's basically splitting the difference across the Yucatan Channel. And this is important. It is now moving north at eight miles per hour. And that's actually increased in forward speed since the 5:00 a.m. Eastern Standard update.

Now, we do have a major hurricane in this forecast. That's important. If you're just waking up this morning, that wasn't explicitly in the forecast yesterday, but now it is. So, we know the waters are extremely warm over the eastern sections of the Gulf of Mexico, so anything can happen. We've seen this story unfold time and time again. There's some explicit wording from the National Hurricane Center for rapid intensification, so we'll be monitoring that closely.

So, how will this impact the storm surge? Keep in mind, we have a full moon that will be impacting this and the potential there for inundation of up to 10 to 11 feet, right near that big bend area. The other concern is inland flooding because the potential for four to eight inches, perhaps up to a foot of rain is possible. And notice, this is not just a Florida storm. This moves across the Carolinas and into southern Georgia as well.

Timing this out, latest information from the global model, from the American model, look at that. That's Wednesday morning across that catcher's mitt, the big bend area that's going to push up a lot of water but also a lot of wind. So, this is a very interesting way to kind of diagnose the threat for wind across the Florida peninsula. And particularly throughout the Tampa Bay region. We want to, obviously, see that trek further west, but that's just not the case. The potential there for tropical storm to up to category one hurricane winds exist.

And then look a little further north, towards Cedar Key. That's where we anticipate the potential at least for winds of 110 miles per hour. Any jog to the west or east could have major implications.

And this is very important, too, Phil. Notice the wind swath going right through the Florida peninsula. So, Gainesville to Jacksonville, Tallahassee, you also have the potential for destructive winds from this storm.

Phil.

MATTINGLY: All right, keep us updated on all of those important developments, Derek Van Dam.

We also want to note that Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management, will be holding a press conference at the top of the hour with the latest updates. We'll keep you posted on that, as well.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, experts are warning travelers to brace for a very busy Labor Day weekend. That traditionally marks the end of summer, of course, and that's the end of the travel season, and international travel is expected to be much higher this year.

CNN's Pete Muntean is joining us live from Washington Dulles International Airport, where I'm pretty sure you live. We know this is the end of the summer travel. What should travelers do? I don't know what bracing for anything means, but it feels like you just stop in your tracks. What should travelers be expecting this Labor Day weekend?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, Sara, I was even a bit surprised by this because Labor Day is kind of a driving road trip holiday, but even the road trip kings, AAA, say that international air travel is through the roof for Labor Day. These are the numbers from AAA. Up 44 percent in international bookings compared to last Labor Day weekend. Maybe not a fair comparison. A lot of people were still discouraged by international travel, the international testing mandate was in place until June.

But look at these numbers from United Airlines. United says that international bookings are up 35 percent compared to 2019.

[08:35:03]

Kind of the last normal year before the pandemic. Here are the top destinations.

Vancouver. A lot of people just trying to get to cooler temperatures. Also a big surge in bookings in Europe, Rome, Paris, Dublin, London. A lot of people just trying to go across the pond for the long weekend.

So, the big point here is just expect really big crowds. And there are a lot of big tips that you can do here from travel experts. They say make sure that you build in a buffer day if you are still booking. A lot of people still concerned about cancellations and delays. You heard the warnings about a potential hurricane hitting Florida.

And then also, make sure that you think about getting the app from the airline. That's the best way to get that information about cancellation and delays.

My big tip, sign up for global entry when you come through the airport. The line here for customs at Dulles have been huge. You don't have to make an appointment if you come through customs and go straight to global entry. You can do the interview there without an appointment, typically.

You know, it's been a mad house here, Sara, especially in the evenings when people are leaving for those international flights. So, you've really got to do everything you can to try and make it easy. And book a morning flight, too. That's the other big one. If you book a morning flight, it makes it less likely to get canceled and delays. That's my big tip.

SIDNER: Hey, Pete, can you go ahead and tell the bosses in D.C. I'm probably not going to make it to work on Wednesday, you know, because I'll be flying. So, just let them know. I'm sure they're not watching me.

MUNTEAN: Yes. Yes. You're also going to Vancouver, like everybody else.

SIDNER: Yes.

Thank you, Pete.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Well, this morning, President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are offering their condolences to the families of three Marine killed in an Osprey aircraft accident in Australia. President Biden writing, quote, "Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the Marine who lost their lives in this deadly crash. We are praying for those who also suffered injuries."

The U.S. military says 23 U.S. Marine were flying in an MV-22B Osprey when it crashed. U.S. and Australian military rescue crews worked together to transport the injured from a remote island to a hospital in the northern part of the country. Five Marines were seriously injured. The cause of that accident is being investigated.

SIDNER: On Friday, three Ukrainian pilots died in a plane crash about 90 miles west of Kyiv during a combat mission there. One of those pilots was Andriy Pilshchykov who went by the call sign "Juice." That is what he was famous for. He told CNN that his friends gave him that nickname during a trip to the United States because he does not drink alcohol and was always ordering juice instead. The Ukrainian pilot appeared on CNN many times in the early weeks of Russia's invasion, talking about his efforts to protect Ukraine's skies from Russian strikes, always obscuring his identity for security reasons.

Listen.

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ANDRIY "JUICE" PILSHCHYKOV, UKRAINIAN PILOT: It was the first day. We are trying to hold our skies. Trying to defend our cities, our families, our hospitals, and our critical infrastructure. So, as for me, as for fighter pilot, I'm sitting in a (INAUDIBLE) ORVT (ph) anti- intercepting Russian targets, Russian strikes.

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SIDNER: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the crash a, quote, "disaster" and praised Juice for his really great service to his country.

A Ukraine air force spokesperson said of the Juice, that - "was not just a pilot - he was not just a pilot, he was a young officer with mega knowledge and mega talent. He dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky."

The U.S. has just announced that it would start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets that they have been asking for, for months now in October.

The Ukrainian air force remembered the three fallen pilots in this special ceremony where they inscribed the names of the deceased pilots on a piano, played a brief melody, and then the piano is set on fire as the, quote, pilot's soul takes off into an eternal flight.

MATTINGLY: Well, despite four criminal indictments and a commanding lead over his fellow Republican candidates, former President Trump has somehow largely avoided criticism from his opponents. Harry Enten, well, he's here to show us why Trump's rivals aren't attacking him.

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[08:43:29]

MATTINGLY: Well, polls show Donald Trump leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, his nearest rival for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, by, you know, give or take 40 points. So, you would think, some would think, it would cause the former president's GOP rivals to attack him in an attempt to eat into that support, which stands at north of 50 percent for the primary vote. Yet most of his opponents seem hesitant, if not totally unwilling, to do so.

It has been my biggest question, Harry Enten, over the course of several weeks. If you're losing by a lot, go after the guy who's beating you by a lot. And yet, Harry, what's today's number?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: All right, you know, what Phil says makes a lot of sense.

MATTINGLY: That's a first.

ENTEN: That's a first for him.

This morning's number is minus 44 points. That's Chris Christie's net favorability rating among Republicans. That is the worst on record for any presidential candidate within his own party dating back since at least 1980 at this point in the primary. Minus 44 points. That's why you don't attack Donald Trump because if you attack Donald Trump, you become unpopular with Republicans.

And it's not just Chris Christie here at minus 44 points. How about Asa Hutchinson, minus 18 points net favorability rating. Far more Republicans have a unfavorable than favorable view of the former governor of Arkansas.

How about Mike Pence? Minus 17 points. Will Hurd, who most people haven't even heard of, wasn't even on the debate stage, even he has a net negative favorability rating at minus 7 points.

MATTINGLY: Did you have the pun intended with the Hurd and the heard there?

ENTEN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: That's why I said it. You didn't, but I see it just natural out of.

ENTEN: It's natural.

MATTINGLY: OK, so who's gained?

ENTEN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: Who's actually done well or boosted their favorability?

[08:45:02]

ENTEN: Yes, who are the two people who have seen the biggest gains in their net favorability ratings? Look at Tim Scott at plus 41 points. He really is sort of running in his own lane, running on this positive message, not attacking Donald Trump, but not praising him necessarily either.

How about Vivek Ramaswamy, who is basically praying at the cult of Donald Trump, plus 30 points. So basically, you can't go against Trump. You can go down the middle, try not to mention him, or you can praise him. Either one of those pathways work. And the other thing I will note, what do Republicans want? OK, GOP

voters, the case Trump's rivals should make at debates. Against Trump, look at this, just 9 percent say they should make the case against Trump. Make the case for themselves, 91 percent. So, the fact is, why they're not attacking Donald Trump is because, Phil, it's simply put, doesn't work. It's not what Republicans say they want from the candidates besides Donald Trump.

MATTINGLY: Oh, well, it's working for the people who aren't attacking him, because they're also down by 40 plus points.

ENTEN: Yes, you know.

MATTINGLY: Harry, can we hang out a little bit more with other people on set?

ENTEN: Yes, let's go hang out.

MATTINGLY: Sara.

SIDNER: So, this is how you do it? All right. Joining us again, they've been so patient with us, Sarah Matthews and Philip Bump are also here with Harry, who has an unlimited amount of energy so - oh and --

MATTINGLY: You -- are you for real right now?

SIDNER: I'm really, really tired.

MATTINGLY: You were going to -- just because he's not on set doesn't mean -- Astead, we're going to start with you.

SIDNER: I'm sorry, Astead.

MATTINGLY: Because you -- as somebody who, a, listens to -- has always listened to the pod and reads your reporting and doesn't forget that you're here just because you're not on set with us.

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you, Phil.

MATTINGLY: But also I actually deeply respect your reporting and opinion on these matters. The idea of not attacking versus attacking versus -- nothing is working right now to some degree if you're a Republican primary opponent of the former president.

HERNDON: Yes.

MATTINGLY: When you talk to campaigns, do they have some grand plan to at some point launch something that changes the dynamic?

HERNDON: Yes, I do think there's a little bit of a circle I can help square from Harry there because the numbers really make no sense, to his point. It is increasingly clear that there is a group of Republicans who are looking for an alternative that's not Donald Trump. And you still have these candidates who are very unwilling to go there. Now that slightly points to the numbers that he speaks to. But at the other thing that happened, when you talk to these

campaigns, is there was an assumption coming into this year that the legal problems of Donald Trump and the combination of the midterm results would kind of do the work for them. These campaigns thought that he would just naturally drop off in terms of favorability and support because of -- there was such a kind of universal cry from Republicans after the midterms that they didn't see the gains that they wanted and they knew that these indictments were coming down the pike. Now, that is not necessarily the floor that we've seen or the - the clarity of evidence that we've seen. But the idea was that some of these would drop off that support.

And I think for some of the candidates, the feeling was that once Donald Trump was a diminished figure, then they could go attack him more frontally and see more better returns from it. The wild part is that that's just not born out from any scope of the imagination. And you still have candidates kind of sticking to that message. When you go back to them and say, hey, is it going to be this time, is it going to be this time, they always punt the ball further down the line.

I asked this last at the debate, hey, why aren't people going for Donald Trump? And the thing was, oh, you still want to be this alternative, you want to be the number two before you do it. They keep punting the kind of responsibility down the line. And in doing so, they have not really created a permission structure for the voters to find an alternative or coalesce around someone else. It was a kind of idea that was based on a hunch but has never actually been borne out in the evidence. They were looking for others to do the work for them.

SIDNER: Sarah, I want to go to you. I remember there's this wonderful analysis by Zachary Wolf, who writes these great pieces that gives you some insight, and he talked about the interview Bill Barr did. And this just sort of gives you some sense. He was on a mission to stop Donald Trump from, you know, ruining democracy. But he said that he may still vote for him.

What's going on there? And is that sort of the sentiment of those who worked around Donald Trump who want nothing to do with him, but if he's the nominee, they say, all right, I'm going to go with the party.

SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Yes, it's really disappointing to see a lot of Republicans who have come out and said that. I mean even on the debate stage the other night they did a show of hands of, if Donald Trump is convicted would you still support him as the nominee? And nearly everyone on stage raised their hands, except for Asa Hutchinson, to his credit, and Chris Christie kind of waffled, not sure what he was doing there.

But it is disappointing to see because I'm someone who believes that, you know, Donald -- obviously he'll have his day in court, but if he's convicted of these crimes, then I do not want him to be the standard- bearer of the Republican Party. But he still is deeply popular with Republican voters. So that is what these, you know, rivals of him are going to have trouble with is making the case for why voters should support them over Trump without alienating his supporters. SIDNER: Hard to do.

MATTINGLY: You know, Phil, to Astead's point, as an Ohio State guy, we don't know much about punting, right?

[08:50:04]

We don't - all we do is (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: Wow.

MATTINGLY: I'm sorry. It's - it's almost football season.

But the idea, they keep punting, they keep punting. Like, is there going to become a tipping point or is everybody just running to be vice president and cabinet secretary at this point?

PHILIP BUMP, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, well, I think this last number that Harry pointed out, about how only 9 percent say, oh, you know, you shouldn't - you shouldn't actually go after Trump. If there was something that worked people would be piling on.

MATTINGLY: Right.

BUMP: Absolutely, right, you know. But to Harry's point again, the fact that nothing is working is that disincentive.

I think part of the challenge too is the one thing that we saw worked, after the 2022 midterms, we saw a lot of people coming out and saying, Donald Trump is tanking this party. We are losing and losing and losing. We are not regaining power. We could be in this great position running against Joe Biden. And that was the point at which Ron DeSantis actually came up and tied with Trump. But that's a hard message to carry over. It's especially hard to say, this guy's a looser when you're losing to him by 40 points. I -- like, how do you make that case? I think that's part of the challenge.

MATTINGLY: Right.

ENTEN: I think the loser part is a key part. Right now all we have are these indictments. What happens if there's actually a conviction? If that occurs and it occurs before actually votes are cast or during the primary, then it will be a very interesting situation going on in the Republican primary. The problem is there may not be a conviction until midway through 2024, if there is one at all.

SIDNER: Right.

MATTINGLY: Right.

ENTEN: And by that point the primary votes are cast, and counted, and Donald Trump is the nominee. It's like Harry Houdini or nailing Jello to a wall. I don't know how you do it, but the way they're doing it right now clearly isn't working.

MATTINGLY: Harry Enten, Philip Bump -

SIDNER: That was a good analogy, nailing Jello to a wall.

MATTINGLY: That is pretty good.

SIDNER: He's good.

MATTINGLY: Sarah, and Astead Herndon.

SIDNER: Hello, Astead. We're so glad you're here.

MATTINGLY: You will never forget.

Thank you, guys, very, very much. We appreciate it.

Well, a Little League World Series for the ages. The dramatic game tying at-bat and the walk off. That's next.

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MATTINGLY: I have been waiting two hours and 54 minutes for this, our "Morning Moment."

A Little League World Series for the ages. El Segundo, California, was up four runs against Curacao in the fifth ending when Nasir El-Ossais got a hold of one, right there, for a grand slam.

[08:55:06]

Look at his teammates, soon, they will be swarming him at the plate. Coaches, they're going wild, too. Tie game. America crushed. My children crushed. In the bottom of the sixth, this happened.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Challenged him. And this game is over!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: America redeemed. That was Louis Lappe becoming an instant legend, hitting a walk-off home run to win the Little League World Series Championship. El Segundo became the eighth team from California to be crowned champs. The team got messages of support from LeBron James, several Los Angeles Dodgers players.

But this is the reason we love Little League. The team from Japan, who was eliminated on Wednesday, but they still stuck around to give high- fives and take selfies with the winners. I love it.

SIDNER: Adorable.

MATTINGLY: I love Williamsport. I love the Little League World Series. Louis Lappe is 6'1" and just drops bombs.

SIDNER: It's crazy. But -- just for the fact that it was California, I'm going back to Cali, to Cali. I'm literally going back to -- never mind.

MATTINGLY: I appreciate you.

SIDNER: I'm going back to Cali next week.

MATTINGLY: I appreciate you, but I also appreciate the U.S. winning the Little League World Series Championship.

SIDNER: Fair enough. Thank you.

MATTINGLY: Hey, thanks for doing this.

SIDNER: And you - listen -

MATTINGLY: Yes.

SIDNER: I will come back tomorrow.

MATTINGLY: Yes, you will.

SIDNER: As long as there's coffee.

MATTINGLY: We'll bring coffee.

SIDNER: Excellent.

MATTINGLY: I promise.

SIDNER: OK. And just to remind everyone, we are watching Tropical Storm Idalia. We are waiting for the governor, who is also a presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, to have a press conference on that. That is ahead.

Stay with us.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL," my people, start in just a bit.

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