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Harris Hits The Trail As Biden Prepares Address; Today: Netanyahu To Address Congress; Delta Travel Meltdown Persists. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 24, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:40]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, July 24th.

Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:

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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And when we fight, we win! God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The Vice President Kamala Harris makes her campaign trail debut as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Plus, President Biden to address the American people for the first time on his decision to bow out of the 2024 race.

And, dozens of congressional Democrats steer clear of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's joint address to Congress tonight.

(MUSIC)

HUNT: All right, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington. A live look at the nation's capital on this Wednesday morning. It is going to be a long day in politics today.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt.

It's wonderful to have you with us.

With just over 100 days until Election Day, Kamala Harris trying to keep her momentum rolling as the Democratic nominee.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

HUNT: The vice president leading her first event as the presumptive nominee in Milwaukee, and offering her pitch to voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This campaign is also about two different visions for our nation. One where we are focused on the future. The other focused on the past.

We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity, not just to get by, but to get ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, while Harris was making her case against Donald Trump, President Biden returned to the White House and announced he'll address the nation from the Oval Office tonight. It will be the president's first formal remarks, since telling the country that he's not running for reelection. He is expected to explain that decision and tell us what lies ahead.

Joining me now, Julia Manchester, national political reporter at "The Hill", and Nicholas Johnston, the publisher of "Axios".

Good morning to both of you.

NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS: Good morning.

HUNT: Nick Johnson, I want to start with the Harris event yesterday.

JOHNSTON: Yeah.

HUNT: The Biden campaign actually putting out -- Biden campaign -- the Harris campaign, formerly the Biden campaign. It's like the platform formerly known as Twitter at this point, putting out that this was the biggest crowd that they've had at a campaign event, which probably stings a little bit if you're President Biden, but underscores kind of the enthusiasm, the enthusiasm moment that they have.

JOHNSTON: There was a big sense of energy here. Like, if you talk to Democrats for the last month, there was just a touch of despondency after the debate, they were sad about defending Biden. They were sad about trying to figure out what to do about Biden. They were struggling through what was going to happen next.

And you call them now, they're excited and they're happy, like they're having fun again, talking about Kamala Harris as a happy warrior, like there's -- I think that keeps coming to my mind is the big mo. This is for some of the more seasoned viewers, who might remember this, when George H.W. Bush talking about his after winning Ohio, this sense of momentum.

Now, will that translate into polls? Will that translate an actual movement in the race? But we've seen hundred, I think almost a quarter billion dollars in the first three or four days into the campaign, campaign donations and the Democrats like they've got a little momentum energy behind it, seemed that in the big crowds, there just hitting more fun again.

So we'll see if that translate into the poll numbers.

HUNT: Well, Julie Manchester, you, this is what you're reporting, too. We're in a much better place than we were even yesterday, one Democratic operative said, calling the show of unity a pleasant surprise and comparing it favorably to what happened in 1968 when Democrats had a pretty crazy convention.

JULIE MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Right. So we've heard last week and I think over the past few weeks, we heard that 1968 comparison. One comparison I've been hearing since Biden dropped out and since Harris took place at the top of the ticket informally, is that this is a lot like 2008, there's that feeling of energy momentum going into this.

I mean, I think a lot of Democrats I talked to were dreading the convention, not knowing what to expect, but now that everyone has fallen in line behind Harris, including her potential challengers, some people who were thought to be challengers, the Josh Shapiros, Mark Kellys, Andy Beshears -- they've all fallen in line behind her as well.

So after we saw that unity last week at the Republican national convention, we're seeing so much unity from Democrats.

[05:05:01]

JOHNSTON: Yeah, the speed of all this, I think is really interesting. Even when it became clear that Joe Biden was going and to step out and that Kamala Harris would be next, like, how long would it take for the party to coalesce? Those are 32 hours? That was quick.

Like I said, a couple weeks ago, gradually, then suddenly, this happened very suddenly and Democrats run in good mood.

HUNT: Well, Senator Joe Manchin was here on Monday, maybe going to run for president and then it took him I think --

JOHNSTON: That lasted, what, 90 minutes?

HUNT: Yeah. Like he went down the street to another network afterward, clearly got some sort of phone call in between and got a message that no, no, this is not where Democrats wanted to be.

JOHNSTON: Nick, one of the other things is we're starting to get some other polling data in here and the Trump campaign in pollster Tony Fabrizio put out basically a preemptive memo trying to say, yes, we're going to see the Harris honeymoon, insisting it's going to go away.

But look, here's the new Reuters/Ipsos poll out this morning. It shows Kamala Harris at 44, Donald Trump at 42. Our official characterization of this here at CNN is that there's no clear leader.

But let's throw up what this looks like compared to July 16, which, of course, came right after the assassination attempt. That's what the Reuters/Ipsos poll. That's the difference, right?

So on July 16, it was Trump plus two. Now, it's Harris plus two. That's a swing of four points.

Obviously, these national polls are not at the end of the day what matter most, but they do offer us a little bit of insight into how things are shifting.

JOHNSTON: That is exactly what I'm waiting for. I'm talking about the big mo before, like is it actually going to move the needle? We have lived through a lifetime of political events in the last 30 days, but if you look at the polls, 45 days ago, and then now they're kind of in the same place, you know? Donald Trump, a slightly big, durable lead right on the edges of the margin of error. Now there's Reuters poll is coming out.

I think what's really interesting is he has this moved the needle. Is Kamala Harris, this momentum, this excitement in the party enough to kind of change this race, I think well know that the next couple of days.

HUNT: Yeah. I mean, look, I think the smart strategists that I talk to will say if Democrats are going to win an election, they need it like a five or six point lead in the national polls for that to actually translate down into the swing states. So we're going to have to see how, how that works. And it's also interesting what happens when you add third-party candidates into the mix. It shows maybe Harris, RFK may have a different effect against Harris.

JOHNSTON: In a poll yesterday, Kamala's lead with tirelessly with much bigger over Trump with RFK, absolutely.

HUNT: Yeah. Julia, this is obviously a race to define Kamala Harris as well. I mean, she's got -- and they know this. I mean, I think both the Trump campaign and the Harris campaign know this, right?

They've got a couple of weeks here to reintroduce her. If you're -- if you're the Harris campaign, to the American people in a way that's on your terms, the Trump campaign is going to be scrambling to do it on their terms.

Donald Trump, the former president, who hasn't had, you know, event in the spotlight plan for this string of days went so far as to call in to a press call yesterday, which to be clear is very unusual as one who has been on many of these types of phone calls over my years covering campaigns and he wanted to talk about Kamala Harris in the border.

Let's listen to a little bit of what the former president said on this call.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As a result of her dangerously extreme immigration policies, the largest invasion in history is now taking place at our southern border and it's getting worse, not better. They gave it a band-aid a few weeks ago, but the best today it has not been working at all.

In her entire time as vice president and borders czar Kamala has reportedly never spoken to the chief of the Border Patrol.

She visited the border only a single time, far away from the epicenter of the invasion.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HUNT: So that's what Donald Trump sounds like when he's reading. I mean, clearly like this was a prepared thing, and I also will say the Biden team didn't declare her the border czar. They wanted her to work on kind of the root causes of immigration policies in Central America. That said giving her that job didn't do her any favors.

MANCHESTER: Right, right.

HUNT: Right? This is a place where the Trump campaign pain feels confident.

MANCHESTER: Absolutely. I mean, they've been zeroing on immigration for quite some time. I think my question is, though, over the past few days, we've seen Democrats work to define Kamala Harris, obviously in a very positive light and it's working particularly with young voters with millennial voters, with Gen Z voters.

We hear about brat girl summer, we hear about the coconut tree three memes, et cetera. That's all working in her favor. You know, we saw these clips prior to her becoming, you know, the likely nominee, and oftentimes Republicans would use them to attack her as, being sort of putting out this world salad, not making sense, et cetera. But now, if you open up TikTok, if you open up social media, she's being portrayed as so relatable, and you see young voters who weren't energized really under a President Biden, now they seem to be energized.

HUNT: Is Kamala Harris brat?

JOHNSTON: It's fun again. I don't know. The one question I would say before I get out of here though is remember, George H.W. Bush had the big mo in 1980 and went on to lose. So this is a story that's still being figured out.

HUNT: I mean, as you pointed out, we live through what felt like decades history in a month or less, and we have over 100 days left pretty --

JOHNSTON: Exactly, let's see what the next week will bring.

HUNT: Like, oh my goodness.

Okay, Julia Manchester, Nick Johnston, thank you guys both very much for being here.

JOHNSTON: Thanks.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his long awaited address to Congress tonight. But a number of lawmakers are not planning to show up.

[05:10:00]

Plus, prominent Palestinian foes sign an agreement of unity. We'll explain that.

And Republican leaders grow rarely of their colleagues' DEI attacks against the vice president.

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HUNT: With war raging, 14 Palestinian factions, including the rivals Hamas and Fatah, have agreed to join forces. The reconciliation talks hosted in Beijing comes as the future governance of the Palestinian territories remains in serious question after Israel's repeated vow how to eliminate Hamas in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks.

[05:15:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER (through translator): The most important consensus reached during the talks of Palestinian factions in Beijing is achieved, granted reconciliation and unity among the 14 factions. The core outcome is to make clear that the Palestine liberation organization is the sole, legitimate representative of all Palestinian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: CNN's Max Foster joins us live now from London.

Max, good morning to you.

Big picture, I mean, I am fascinated by the fact that these talks took place in China, and very interested in what that says about the region and the various push and pull.

But this is a significant agreement because these factions have not been able to get on the same page in the past, what happened here and what does it mean for the future of Gaza?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Palestinian authority is being control of Gaza and the West Bank get lost control of Gaza when there was a vote and Hamas got voted in. It's also become much less popular in the West Bank since the war began. And Hamas has become more popular in the west bank because of the way they resisted Israeli attacks in Gaza.

So that's the sort of domestic view, very briefly. They're in a position now where, you know, Fatah and the Palestine Authority are weakening. They've got to find a way forward.

There's lot of pressure, obviously, from local Arab countries, but also European countries in the U.S. to try to come up with some sort of authority that would oversee Gaza and the West Bank going forward when this war is finally finished. So they're trying to find some sort of solution to that.

On the China angle, I mean, it is interesting because Chinas asserting itself on the world stage, getting involved in this conflict. But this still wouldn't have happened in America because America wouldn't agree to Hamas being part of this future, and that's where we're getting the resistance now.

HUNT: Yeah, it's -- it says a lot about how things are aligning in sort of the new world order, if you will.

Max, let me ask you, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is here in Washington. Quite frankly, the way that they have to secure him hat means that if you live in this city, you cannot miss his presence because the roads are a total mess.

But there's a reason why it is that way, because there are so many protesters here. The tensions are so high. That's why the security around him is so high and he's going to give this address to Congress. The Vice President Kamala Harris is not going to be there at this joint session.

Mike Johnson, the House speaker, was asked about that on Capitol Hill by our colleagues. Let's watch that.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It is outrageous to me and inexcusable that as the leader mentioned, that Kamala Harris is boycotting this -- this joint session. This is an historic moment. It's an important moment for the country, for all the reasons we've said. The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated.

And yet Kamala Harris will abandon her seat. As you all know, as the vice president and has serving as the president of the senate, she is supposed to be seated next to me at the rostrum. She will not be there because she refuses to attend. She needs to be held accountable for that.

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HUNT: So we should be clear that the Harris team had a previously scheduled event, but what do you make of this dynamic, Max?

FOSTER: Well, the -- what, with Kamala Harris?

HUNT: Just the idea that all of these Democrats are boycotting this speech. Kamala Harris, who he's right, she's technically the president of the Senate, as the vice president of the United States.

But this is also a situation where the Republicans control the House. They've invited him. This -- this has been done before, where the Israeli prime minister has been invited and given an address. What it has been very controversial. It says a lot about the domestic politics going on here.

And I also think it's interesting that Netanyahu is set to go on after this speech down to Mar-a-Lago.

FOSTER: Yeah. I mean -- I mean, so many people are asking why Netanyahu was going there because the deal, a peace deal hasn't been signed in Israel, priorities are there. He's going into Washington when politics is very divided, he's facing protests there. And this is a protest, isn't it, as well, by some members, you know, politicians in the U.S. as well.

So, you know, the idea that he's presenting himself prioritizing this alliance with the U.S. is one thing. You might argue that's a good thing for Israel. But if it just shows how divisive he is, he could do more damage than good by going to the U.S.

I think in Israel, frankly, there are lots of questions about why he's even there, what he's going to get from it. And of course, some tension between him and Donald Trump as well. So let's see if he sort of resolves that, you know, that could blow up as well.

So, you know, the whole premise of this visit is being questioned by so many from outside and its a big test for him really.

HUNT: Very interesting.

Max Foster for us this morning, Max, always grateful to have you, thank you so much.

[05:20:00]

All right. Coming up next here, Kamala Harris hits the ground running.

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(CROWD CHANTING)

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HUNT: The VP campaigning as Democrats presumptive presidential nominee after a record fundraising haul.

Plus, Delta is still trying to recover from Friday's tech outage. We'll try to let you know how long these cancellations might last.

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HUNT: All right. Twenty-four minutes past the hour.

Here's your morning roundup.

Delta's travel meltdown is still messing up plans for millions of travelers. The air carrier has now canceled more than 6,000 flights following last Friday's global tech outage.

[05:25:04]

The problems expected to last through at least the end of the week.

The FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify on Capitol Hill today about the bureau's investigation into the assassination attempt against Donald Trump. This comes on the heels of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle submitting her resignation after an intense hearing on Monday. Wray will present his most in-depth comments to date on the shooting.

So you may have heard of the cocaine bear. Well, now, we have cocaine sharks. Scientists tested 13 Brazilian sharpnose sharks living near Rio Janeiro and found cocaine in all of them. Research say -- researchers say increased cocaine use and poor sewage is to blame.

Okay. That's not terrifying or anything.

All right. Time now for weather, another day of heat, alerts and drive storms out west, increasing the threats of wildfires today, a cluster of light and cause wildfires and started Monday have prompted evacuations in northern California and Nevada.

Let's get straight to our weatherman, Derek Van Dam.

Derek, very concerning. I mean, at least they don't have to deal with cocaine sharks. But this is not great.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, they track the shark. It was on the coast of Brazil and two hours later was on the coast of North America. I mean, it was amazing how fast this thing moves.

HUNT: You know, cocaine will do that to you.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN DAM: So, what we're working with here is another day of heat records and this is interesting because we saw this earlier this week, the global average temperature across the planet on Sunday actually reached its highest temperature ever recorded. So we're feeling in the heat over some locations including western North America.

Here's the 30 million Americans under these heat alerts. And then of course with the dry conditions, we have well very rapid fire growth potential, at least look at this. We have red flag warnings in place, Montana through Idaho, parts of Oregon, 69 active large wildfires burning out of control.

And we talked about this yesterday. There are these dry thunderstorms, they produce rain, but it evaporates before it reaches the ground. So, those lightning strikes, right within this area. So you can see that Boise to Helena and the Great Falls area, that's where we potentially have these dry lightning storms producing more wildfires.

Now there's a lot of smoke associated with this, degrading the quality of the air yesterday, this is what it looked like downtown Denver. They had at one moment in time, the eighth worst air quality in the entire planet in terms of large cities.

So, yeah, that was the sun trying to poke through wildfire smog -- Kasie.

HUNT: Yeah, really tough.

All right. Derek Van Dam for us -- Derek, thank you. Always appreciate it. VAN DAM: Okay.

HUNT: Coming up next here, how Republican leaders are trying to rein in attacks against Kamala Harris coming from their own conference.

Plus, Democratic donors rushing to support Harris as her campaign kicks off.

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