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Prime Minister Netanyahu to Address U.S. Congress Today; Biden to Address Nation Tonight on His Decision to Exit Race; J.D. Vance's 2021 Comments Calling Kamala Harris a "Childless Cat Lady" Goes Viral. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 24, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

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AVIVA SIEGEL, FORMER HOSTAGE WHOSE HUSBAND IS STILL HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA: I think that he wants the war to continue because he wants to win the war, and it doesn't go together with coming -- with getting Keith and the hostages out. He needs to stop the war and get Keith out.

I want to thank Biden. I love him for all what he's doing. He's given me the feeling that he's doing everything he can, and I want to ask him that if Bibi doesn't get Keith out, I want to beg, Biden, please, get him out of there.

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KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: So emotional. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address Congress later today. His goal is to put the focus back on the war in Gaza. Netanyahu's trip to Washington comes as U.S. officials have voiced some optimism about a hostage deal that could potentially end the war.

But not everyone here in the Congress is planning to attend his speech. CNN reporting that Vice President Kamala Harris will not be there. Her team cites a previously scheduled event. The Vice President now presumptive Democratic nominee will instead meet with Netanyahu individually later this week.

The House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Harris for this decision.

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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It is outrageous to me and inexcusable, that as the leader mentioned, that Kamala Harris is boycotting this joint session. This is a historic moment. 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 as 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: All right, joining me now, host of the "Call Me Back" podcast

and the co-author of "The Genius of Israel", Dan Senor. Dan, very grateful to have you, and I'm really interested in your perspective on the way this speech fits in to what's going on globally in terms of trying to get this hostage deal and also what Netanyahu is dealing with at home politically in Israel.

You heard that emotional testimony basically there, from a woman who was held hostage, her husband is still being held hostage in Israel -- excuse me, in Gaza after being taken from Israel on October 7th. What does this -- what does this moment mean for those hostage families? What is Netanyahu doing here?

[06:35:00]

DAN SENOR, AUTHOR & PODCAST HOST: So, first of all, I -- a week doesn't go by Kasie, that I don't speak to hostage family members, and it's about the most excruciating, emotional experience one could imagine. So, and the sentiments and emotions about what Israel should do right now range from within the community of hostage families.

I don't -- I don't pretend to speak for them. What I think the Israeli government, specifically Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to do is A, Israel at the negotiating table, they have in the past accepted previous proposals, including the one President Biden laid out in May, and that Hamas has repeatedly rejected, in fact, the administration -- specifically Secretary Blinken has repeatedly said that Hamas keeps rejecting the deal.

What Israel has learned, I mean this is just the reality -- what Israel has learned in these nine-plus months of war-fighting is that Hamas' willingness to actually come to the table and actually negotiate tends to occur when two things are in place. One, Israel is putting immense military pressure on Hamas, which it has been doing over the last few weeks.

And two, when the U.S. and Israel seen shoulder -- standing shoulder- to-shoulder, and there's impression that the U.S. has Israel's back, when Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas sees those two factors, that is when he's been willing to negotiate. Now, Israel, as I said, is having extraordinary success over the last few weeks after a few really bad months, somewhere between January and March, Israel really slowed down the military pressure.

I think it's not surprising that Hamas was not willing to really come to the table at that time, and at the same time, the Biden administration was putting enormous pressure on Israel. So, there was a sense, including withholding some ammunitions as you -- as CNN has reported extensively, in fact, I think that story was broken on CNN. So, the impression from Hamas' leadership is, wait a minute, there's a breach.

There's some space between the U.S. and Israel. This is the time for us to stand back and not negotiate. So, I think Netanyahu being in Washington, standing before the Congress, thanking the United States, which he's going to do, he's going to thank the United States for all it has done for Israel since October 7th, and make the case for Israel's position in this war.

HUNT: Given what you're saying about that, that Hamas pays close attention to the American posture. I mean, how do you see President Biden's decision to step aside, and Kamala Harris stepping in here, especially since she isn't going to attend the speech. How does that factor into all of this?

SENOR: I have heard from senior Intelligence officials in Israel, and very senior Intelligence officials here in the United States, that they believe that Yahya Sinwar, the architect -- one of the two architects of October 7th, the other one, Mohammed Deif is now presumed dead.

Follows events here extremely closely, right down to when there were campus protests in the Spring and the encampments that they were following those protests and assumed that, that reflected U.S. public opinion, I think they were wrong. I have been told by senior officials in some of the non-Israeli or non-U.S. mediating teams, meaning the Arab governments that are involved in mediations, that they have conveyed to Hamas that politics are changing in the United States.

And to the extent that they think they've gotten a softer ride, Hamas, with the Biden administration, they need to be prepared for the possibility that A, the administration is -- their attention is going to shift. They're going to be distracted because of the circus-like political cycle we're in right now, including the one over the last ten days or so.

And the possibility that Donald Trump will succeed President Biden and Kamala Harris. And that if Trump succeeds Biden-Harris, Hamas is in a whole new world. That is what the Arab governments are conveying through channels to Hamas' leadership. So, if you have an opportunity to negotiate, do it now because things could very much change.

HUNT: Very interesting, and how do you think, I mean, we're expecting Netanyahu to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, which is --

SENOR: Yes --

HUNT: Certainly an interesting turn of events. What is the motivation there? I mean, Trump has talked extensively about being unhappy with Netanyahu over the course of the Soleimani situation. Is there repair work that needs to be done here?

SENOR: Yes, look, I think Prime Minister Netanyahu believes, and he has said that no president has done more for the U.S.-Israel relationship than the Trump administration, between the Abraham Accords, between moving -- and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

And I can go on and on and on. Things clearly got rough between Trump and Netanyahu specifically because the manner in which, according to the Trump people, Netanyahu congratulated Biden after the election so quickly. And then obviously, Trump has this narrative about the Soleimani operation and Israel's role in it.

[06:40:00]

I -- they have already begun the repair process. They have been in touch already. And I think an in-person meeting was inevitable. I think any leader coming over, any national leader -- any government of any leader of any national government coming to the U.S. now, at this point, given the kind of uncertainty in American politics, would be wise to meet with the nominees of both parties.

You just don't know if you're the leader of a foreign government, it's in your interest to have a relationship with both -- with both leaders, both nominees. And so, I think Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing that.

HUNT: All right, Dan Senor for us this morning, Dan, very grateful to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

SENOR: Thank you.

HUNT: All right, still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk to Congressman Pat Ryan ahead of President Biden's historic address tonight. And the controversy around the resurfaced video of J.D. Vance calling Kamala Harris and others I think, "a childless cat lady", that's ahead.

And from cats to the d-o-g-g, they wrote that for me, OK, just saying that. Snoop Dogg taking on the Olympics.

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(PLAYING DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT BY SNOOP DOGG)

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LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON, LATE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Accordingly, I shall not seek and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president.

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HUNT: Tonight, Americans set to hear something they haven't heard since 1968. What you saw just there, a sitting President turning down the opportunity to seek re-election. After finishing his COVID isolation, President Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office tonight to explain his decision to bow out of the 2024 race, and make the case for a legacy that is now Kamala Harris' to defend.

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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe's legacy of accomplishment over his entire career and over the past three-and-a- half years is unmatched in modern history. In one term, think about it, in one term as President, he has already surpassed the legacy of most presidents who served two terms in office.

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HUNT: All right, joining me now is Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan of New York. He was one of the first lawmakers to call on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 campaign. Congressman, thank you so much for being here.

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): Good to be here.

HUNT: Let me start with this decision that the President made to step aside. One of the big reasons why there was so much pressure is that Democrats were really concerned. They were going to lose the House of Representatives, including in seats like the one that you hold, swing seats. Does it make it easier for you to win your race with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket?

RYAN: What she is able to do, and we've seen this to great effect in the last 48 hours, is draw such a sharp, clear, and energizing contrast, and remind people of the choice, the stakes, the consequences, the existential nature of the choice. So, in a seat like mine, in seats across the country and at the top of the ticket, we are now -- I think she is really taking command of a campaign of the race in a way that I think scares the heck out of her opponent.

HUNT: Appreciate your politeness this hour in the morning --

RYAN: It's early, it's early, yes, almost want it --

HUNT: Some people -- some people who are willing to go farther than you --

RYAN: I was thinking aloud --

HUNT: You are in the 6:00 a.m. hour -- look, the race is on to define Kamala Harris. I actually interviewed her back in 2018, and it was in that interview when she expressed openness to abolishing ICE. The border is one of these issues that the Trump campaign is going to seize on to criticize her.

And I know it's an issue in races like yours. She has since walked that back, but do you have any concerns about how she handled border policy during the Biden administration?

RYAN: Well, you know, I always start listening to my constituents what's happening at the border, which is a crisis, and I've been saying this since day one that I've been in Congress, has to be addressed. I called out President Biden aggressively in a way that, you know, very few of my Democratic colleagues did, and we pushed him to take action.

And I want to see, you know, the Vice President, should she hopefully take the reins soon, continue to push on that. And we've seen by the way in the last month, illegal border crossings, we have a lot more work to do, lower now the last month than they were at the end of the Trump presidency at the same month. So, we are making progress, but we have to restore order at the border. And I think the VP gets that.

HUNT: Do you think it was a failure on the part of the Biden administration not to take the actions that he took, that may have led to some of that earlier in his term?

RYAN: We should have -- the President was in charge -- is in charge including securing our border, which is a foundational responsibility of any nation state, and failed to act quickly enough. And that is something that I think shouldn't even be political. That's just the facts on the ground, and on the kind of person right on that, I think right.

But calls that out when I see it regardless of who is in charge and that's what the American people really want right now.

HUNT: Let's talk briefly about the address that we're anticipating to Congress from Benjamin Netanyahu. You plan to attend?

RYAN: Yes.

HUNT: Can you sort of give me a sense of how you feel about the fact that, I mean, Kamala Harris is not planning to attend, she has a prescheduled event. Do you think she should be in attendance today?

RYAN: Well, I think the more important piece rather than who is there and who is not, is -- are we going to hear from Netanyahu a plan to bring home hostages, to bring last and both immediate peace and cessation of the hostilities and a ceasefire, but also lasting peace to the region.

[06:50:00]

And are we going to hear some appreciation for -- are sticking with him as I think the alliance between the U.S is critical, even more critical now. But I have been very critical of President Netanyahu and the way he is, not only his rhetoric, but some of the actions that he's taken.

So, I hope we hear some -- what I really hope we hear from him is speaking on behalf of all the Israeli people, not himself and his own sort of political and personal calculations, which is what I think a lot of us worry is driving some of his actions.

HUNT: Interesting way to think about it. All right, so, very briefly as we wrap up, Kamala Harris has to pick a vice presidential running mate it seems very quickly here, who would you like to see her pick? I've heard Mark Kelly and Josh Shapiro possibly at the top of the list now.

RYAN: I am and have forever been a Pete Buttigieg fan. I think he is just knocked it out of the park in delivering on infrastructure, calling out airlines when they fail --

HUNT: He's currently very mad at Delta -- (LAUGHTER)

RYAN: As are millions of Americans, having recently flown myself, and he's just shown an ability to actually unify the country when that is just what people are desperately looking for. So, I'd love --

HUNT: All right --

RYAN: To see him.

HUNT: Right, you're going to stick around for our panel, which you'll see in a second, you're very good support for doing so.

(LAUGHTER)

HUNT: Thank you, congressman.

RYAN: Of course.

HUNT: I really appreciate your time. All right, 50 minutes past the hour, here is your morning round-up. New body camera video showing investigators and local law enforcement on the roof where the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump was killed. The short clip posted to social media by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

It shows officers grappling with the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Very chilling stuff. The Secret Service is asking the Trump campaign to stop scheduling rallies at large outdoor venues following that assassination attempt. That's according to the "Washington Post".

This is just one day after Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle announced her resignation. Multiple lawmakers telling CNN that Senator Bob Menendez should have resigned immediately. He is instead staying in Congress for another month despite being found guilty on 16 counts in a federal bribery and corruption trial.

And this story --

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(SNOOP DOGG RAPPING)

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HUNT: Snoop Dogg, rapper, businessman, now Olympic torch bearer. He will carry the flame just ahead of the opening ceremonies for the games in Paris on Friday. And unofficially, the Olympics start today, preliminary events in soccer and rugby. Just minutes ago, the International Olympic Committee announced that Salt Lake City, Utah will host the 2034 games, they last hosted the Winter games back in 2002.

Somebody call Mitt Romney about that. All right, turning back now to the 2024 race, and this recently resurfaced video of Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance, it has re-stirred an uproar and is raising questions about how sexism will play into the campaign now that Kamala Harris is leading the Democratic ticket.

This was Vance speaking to "Fox News" in 2021.

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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made.

And so, they want to make the rest of the country miserable too. And it's just a basic fact. You look, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: "Childless cat ladies". Harris does in fact have two stepchildren, we should note Buttigieg welcomed twins weeks after that interview was whatever -- after that interview aired. Let's just -- you know, remind everyone who else is a very powerful "childless cat lady" quote, unquote, because the internet really likes Taylor Swift in this particular moment.

There she is with her cat, you know, hasn't endorsed a presidential candidate yet. I'm the only woman at this table, this is clearly a mistake.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes --

HUNT: But what is --

BRAD WOODHOUSE, SENIOR ADVISER, DNC: Yes, please ask all the whitemen where --

(LAUGHTER)

HUNT: Would you like to defend your Vice Presidential nominee?

JENNINGS: Well, first of all, he didn't say it as vice presidential --

WOODHOUSE: No clip that. That's right, he's a sitting candidate for Ohio.

JENNINGS: No, I mean, I think that -- there's no -- this is not part of the campaign's messaging, number one.

WOODHOUSE: We're going to make it for him.

(LAUGHTER)

JENNINGS: And number two, if I may pivot, I think the old videos, if you want to play the game of resurfacing old videos of people who are now thrust onto tickets, I suspect you're going to see plenty of Kamala Harris videos that are going to be far more politically damaging than going after J.D. Vance today. That's my -- that's my view.

RYAN: I mean, what it speaks to though, is the values and the disregard for a huge number of people that he brings at a moment when in my district and across the country, people feel like politicians are not caring about them, are not listening.

[06:55:00]

And I can also say as the husband of a cat lady with children --

(LAUGHTER)

RYAN: She's pissed, and people are rightly -- it just hits as true because he's so vile and so much of his rhetoric, and I think it will be and should be soundly rejected.

HUNT: Well, look, I will say I'm glad -- I'm glad that you sort of brought it back to the serious questions here, because the reality is, this is such a personal thing for people as well. I mean, to -- you're writing off -- there are many reasons why any person may or may not have children in their lives. And this is something for women and men.

And in fact, Pete Buttigieg, who we were just talking about earlier, he and his husband Chasten adopted twins, but he was asked about this on CNN on Tuesday, and he had this to say, let's watch.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, UNITED STATES: The really sad thing is he said that after Chasten and I had been through fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey. He couldn't have known that, but maybe that's why you shouldn't be talking about other people's children.

And it's not about his kids or my kids or the Vice President's family, it's about your family, people's families whose well-being will depend on whether we go into a future led by somebody like Kamala Harris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And Jeff, I will just say also, this really underscores how different this race is. But go ahead, you have something to say --

JEFF MASON, REUTERS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It does. I was just going to say, I wrote a story on Sunday about sexism and racism being a part of this race because of the challenges that Vice President Harris has faced her entire career and will now face at the top of the ticket.

There's a lot of room for policy debate and there will no doubt be a big, robust discussion about that. But racism and sexism in the United States is history of never having elected a woman, only having elected a black person once, the presidency is absolutely one of the things that she will have to face, and I think you're seeing that in comments there. HUNT: Yes, let's talk about J.D. Vance a little bit more broadly as

well. And Scott, because I mean, we've gotten a glimpse into his early campaign style, I'm asking my team to see if they can dig up the "Diet Mountain Dew" moment from yesterday, I'm not sure if we're going to be able to get it before the end of the show.

But this is what the "New York Times" wrote, Mike Bender, who was a long-time campaign reporter who was on the plane with Vance, right? And he writes this, "briefly uncertain how to start. He, Vance, furrowed his brow and looked from side-to-side. He is in this account, walked to the back of the campaign plane to talk to the reporters, we always ride in the back, the candidates ride up front.

His -- Vance's unease was understandable. The utilitarian design of airplane seating does not exactly facilitate group discussion, but it was also revealing a more seasoned politician might have leaned against a seat. Mr. Vance in his initial confusion" -- I'm sorry -- yes, "in his initial confusion, he hinted at the inexperience of a 39- year-old embarking on his maiden national campaign.

Because when a flight attendant approached and urged everyone to fasten their seatbelts before landing, Mr. Vance plopped into an empty seat in the press cabin and quickly buckled up as if he were just another passenger, and not the only one inside the plane with his name on the outside of it too."

JENNINGS: Well, is that a problem that he follows safety protocols on an airplane?

WOODHOUSE: I'm glad --

HUNT: Did not state it was a problem, I'm just saying --

(LAUGHTER)

WOODHOUSE: You know, let me say something, I think you've already -- you've already heard, you've already seen rumors, Tim Alberta reported, there's some bias remorse here. I mean, you know, Donald Trump picked a mini-me, he picked a MAGA mini-me, somebody that, you know, he didn't need to help, he didn't need help in Ohio.

He didn't need help with MAGA, but he -- you know, somebody that would do what Mike Pence didn't do. That was probably the major criteria. I don't think -- I don't think J.D. Vance is adding anything to Trump's coalition.

RYAN: Are we going to raise the dialogue in this country, are we going to lower? And unfortunately, I think we've seen in that choice that Trump wants to lower it with Vance, and I think Kamala Harris will continue to elevate and inspire and give hope and give optimism, and that will win the day.

HUNT: Well, we're all about to find out. OK, I am going to leave you with this. This is one of my favorite sort of ongoing things that we here at CNN have been enjoying as well with President Biden set to address the nation tonight. Do you remember where you were when the news broke that he was ending his re-election bid? The country thinks that Wolf Blitzer does.

Wolf posted this photo of himself enjoying a Wolf Spritzer cocktail. He posted this just hours before Biden dropped the bombshell news that he was exiting the presidential race. This of course prompted Wolf to race to the D.C. bureau, and this very anchor desk that we are sitting at now.

Since then, social media has had a field day, one X user joking, "never check your work e-mail on a day off." Another post, "born to dilly-dally, forced to lock in." The cocktail getting so much attention. This X user anticipating the bar rush at "El Presidente(ph), that is where the Wolf Spritzer is being served. Cheers to you, Wolf."

I will say, apparently, we did learn he wasn't actually at brunch before the coverage.

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