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Netanyahu Visits Congress Amongst Protests; Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) is Interviewed about Biden. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 25, 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]

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is not just the western U.S. impacted by wildfire activity. I want to get right into the western parts of Canada, where we're following a story that's breaking overnight about a wildfire that has encroached on the tourist town of Jasper.

There were mandatory evacuations for this area. Google Search shows just how much trees surround this particular tourist town. And many of the buildings here have suffered significant damage. Here's just the scope of what has happened in the Jasper National Park region in Canada. We are already seen a total area of burned acreage far surpassing the average year to date, with more wildfire activity anticipated across the Pacific Northwest. And you can see the greatest threat areas for the day today.

Kasie.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Our weatherman, Derek Van Dam. Derek, thank you. I really appreciate it.

Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROTESTERS: IOF, KKK, MPD they're all the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Violent protests on the streets of D.C. as the Israeli prime minister addresses Congress.

Plus, the timeline. It's a compressed one for Kamala Harris to make her VP pick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Hear me out. No more ideas. This is it. Glen Powell becomes Harris' running mates. I guarantee - I guarantee, he will attract suburban women. And I already have his slogan. Yes, we Glen. For more abs. For more abs.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:39]

HUNT: All right, welcome back.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing a joint session of Congress yesterday, appealing to Americas lawmakers for continued support of Israel in the war with Hamas.

Outside the Capitol, protesters scuffling with police and each other.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, leave her alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No violence. No violence. No violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Scenes like this one playing out across the nation's capital. A tussle between those protesters broken up by police officers, and there was that tug of war over an Israeli flag. Protesters marching toward the Capitol were met with pepper spray by a line of officers. It stopped some of them in their tracks.

At one point, protesters even entered the Watergate complex, where the prime minister is staying, dumping maggots and other insects inside a conference room with Israeli and U.S. flags.

And then, outside of Union Station, protesters ripped down the American flag, set it on fire. A Palestinian flag was raised in its place, while an effigy of the prime minister burned.

At that point, somebody tried to rescue the flag from the flames, but it was quickly chased from the scene.

And one act of protest from a member of Congress in attendance at the speech itself. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan held up a sign during Netanyahu's speech that read, "guilty of genocide" and "war criminal." Netanyahu said this about the protesters outside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers.

You have officially become Iran's useful idiots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Jonah Goldberg, I would like to ask you to weigh in on this because, you know, watching those people - these flags or on public property. They belong to Union Station. The American flag has since been replaced. We saw Mike Johnson, the House speaker, out there talking about it, but they were ripped down. It was burned. And combined with - I mean, putting bugs where he is staying is disgusting.

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean, first of all, who has like a magnet connection? Like - like - it doesn't really speak well of you and the circle you travel and is, oh, I got a maggot guy.

But, more broadly, look, I think everybody who hit a cop on January 6th should have been investigated, prosecuted, and found guilty in a fair trial, sent to jail. You hit cops at this stuff, this should be the same standard. I'm just a law and order guy. And I think this is a real missed opportunity for a lot of Democrats, just in this political context, of trying to sort of draw that line because it's not like the people who are writing Hamas is coming on a public statue are voting for Harris either. It's easy to throw them under the bus. You can make these distinctions and, you know -

HUNT: There it is.

GOLDBERG: Rashida Tlaib, if she wants the hold up her war criminal ping-pong paddle, good for her. But like, this is one of these things where the vast bulk of the American people are either Fetterman adjacent or more pro-Israel than that. And you can - you don't have to sort of mollycoddle the pro-terrorist crowd.

[06:40:02]

This - I think this is a good opportunity for Harris to sort of make some distinctions.

HUNT: There are also - there were also these - if we can put up on the screen these - these triangle symbols, which is one of - its supposed to reference a - that triangle there, it means that - that that's the next up, Hamas' next target for violence.

GOLDBERG: Right.

HUNT: Yes. Right. I mean that is like -

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, you should be arrested.

HUNT: It's - yes, that's -

ZELENY: I mean the reality is, that's right outside Union Station. There were officers there. I don't know why they weren't arrested. Obviously, they were controlling the crowd. But that is clearly what should happen. You shouldn't be afraid of arresting people like that.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I just - I - I spent a week in Israel with J Street and we met with peace activists, we visited one of the kibbutz that had been attacked, we spoke with Palestinian peace activist in Hebron (ph). And the one thing that I am convinced is that actually when you talk to the people on the ground, what they want is peace. That is not their message. And that is actually not helpful to the cause of peace and to trying to find a resolution to this situation.

I personally don't think that Netanyahu is doing a good job of moving towards that. But I think, more importantly, when you are defacing public property, that's not acceptable. And again, that message is not actually the message of the people who were there on the ground who want peace and want to figure out, how do we have two states for two people who can live side-by-side in peace.

HUNT: Yes. The White House said this about it, quote, "identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag, or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another is disgraceful. Antisemitism and violence are never acceptable. Period."

I'm interested to see the campaign statement. When I went to bet last night, there wasn't one yet. I guess we'll watch out for that.

All right, coming up here, Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell joins us. We're going to get her thoughts on President Biden's speech and the way forward for Democrats.

Plus -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COCO GAUFF: Oh, this is cool.

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HUNT: Quite the Olympic honor for tennis star Coco Gauff. Your morning roundup, up next.

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[06:46:16]

HUNT: All right, 45 minutes past the hour. Here's the morning roundup.

The U.S. intercepting two Russian and two Chinese bombers that were flying together near Alaska Wednesday. The bombers did remain in international airspace. They were, quote, "not seen as a threat."

And this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the honor of wearing this jacket during the opening ceremony and being the flag bearer with LeBron James.

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HUNT: Coco Gauff will carry the American flag for the U.S. Olympic team during Friday night's opening ceremony in Paris. She will be joining LeBron James. The 20-year-old tennis star becoming the youngest flag bearer in U.S. Olympic history. A big change coming to Southwest Airlines. The low fare carrier is shifting to assigned seating for the first time in its history. That will allow it to begin charging a premium for some seats. Southwest says the number one complaint from unhappy passengers is their open seating policy.

Fellow regular, often airline travelers, what do we think about this?

FINNEY: That was the whole reason you flew Southwest. It was the shorts, the perky attitude. You, you know, the fighting for your seat.

HUNT: The race for the seats.

FINNEY: Yes. Come on.

GOLDBERG: The Darwinian struggle.

FINNEY: Exactly.

GOLDBERG: It was the whole point of Southwest. I mean, like, you -

FINNEY: Exactly.

GOLDBERG: As an early arriver at airports, like, I like the - I like the incentive structure of claiming your territory.

HUNT: I am - I am not an early arriver. I always found it very stressful.

Jeff, do you wish to weigh in on this question?

ZELENY: I don't. No peanuts. No choice of seats. I mean, what's to come?

HUNT: Well, we'll ask - Congresswoman, we'll ask you about this here in a second. I want to introduce you.

We want to turn back now to this. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": President Biden gave a primetime address from the Oval Office about his decision to drop out of the race. Now, basically on Sunday he broke up with the country over text, and tonight he met us for coffee to explain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: President Biden delivering his first remarks last night since this historic decision to end his re-election bid. Flanked by his family, the president defended his record, outline his plans for his remaining six months in office, sought to define his legacy. A legacy that when he first ran for the office in 1988, he envisioned this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (July 16, 1988): We said that the key to restoring confidence in our traditions and our institutions was public officials who would stand up and tell the American people exactly what they thought. And to paraphrase what I said that day in 1972, I mean to be that candidate. And with the grace of God, and the support of the American people. I mean to be that kind of president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now to discuss, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

Congresswoman, always grateful to have you on the show. Nice to see.

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): Thank you. It's good to be with you.

HUNT: As you watched this speech, what were your reflections?

DINGELL: You know, it has been such a hard three weeks in so many different ways. You can't forget the human momentness of last night and what a difficult three weeks this has been for this man who's loved his country, who has done public service. So, there's a certain - you know, look, I was sad. It was a poignant night.

At the same time, I think he laid out very clearly what the future is. What - it's the difference between hope and hate, unity and division. And I hope everybody in America heard that. I think he laid that out. He clearly passed the torch. Clearly also, six more months of his presidency, a lot of work to be done. I'm not - this isn't a goodbye yet, folks. We've got work to do.

[06:50:01]

I know I'm in a Congress that doesn't want to do the work, but -

HUNT: I heard you're leaving down today.

DINGELL: I'm coming back next week.

HUNT: Congresswoman, were you surprised or did you think it would have been helpful if the president had talked a little bit more about why he did what he did? I mean he didn't touch on his age or any of the things that people clearly know were a factor in his decision.

DINGELL: OK. So, can I ask a question? Have we talked about it enough? I mean they're - the country knows what happened. They saw it play out in real time. He made it clear that he thought he could still serve, but he wanted to bring the party together.

I am not somebody who appreciated the circular firing squad the last three weeks. I think there are ways to communicate things to people without doing it in some of the ways that were done. He has passed the torch. I want to get home. I want to see what people are really saying. I want to get out of the bubble of Washington, no offense to all of you, and get in my union halls and my VFWs and my farmers markets.

But will the press ever stop criticizing? And what we've got to start doing a little more on Donald Trump. I think it was a very poignant evening. He talked about what was ahead, what we needed to do, why he was doing it.

HUNT: Yes.

DINGELL: And here we are.

HUNT: Well, let's - let's talk about what happens next. I mean, Michigan, where you're from, what you know so well, is clearly one of the most critical battlegrounds for Kamala Harris. How do you think that her candidacy changes the race for the state of Michigan?

DINGELL: I want to get home. I'm - I - I can hear talking to some people that there's some excitement. And we got to go out and we got to sell it. We've got to show people what she stands for. Donald Trump's going to work very hard to try to define her one way. We're going to work very hard to define what the future is about.

We are a purple state. You know that. I'm the one in 2016 who told you all we were going to lose and nobody believed me. I think we can still -

HUNT: I believed you.

DINGELL: I'm not so sure you (INAUDIBLE).

HUNT: I did.

DINGELL: But I think we can win. I think we've got a - I want to roll up my sleeves and go home. But I - I want to get in to where real people are and hear what they're saying. I know what we've got to do.

HUNT: We saw some pretty ugly scenes outside the capital, outside of Union Station yesterday with protesters, graffitiing, you know, "Hamas is coming" on the statue, clearly with the - the triangle - upside- down triangle symbol that it's really an indicator of violence, as opposed to seeing protests that were focused on peace in Gaza.

Kamala Harris has a chance here to define herself in terms of where she stands on this conflict. She has an opportunity to potentially distance herself from President Biden. She also has an opportunity potentially to - to hug him if she thinks that's where more voters are going to be.

How do you think she should navigate this issue?

DINGELL: So, first of all, I want to, like, it was horrific what happened yesterday. I, unfortunately, was by Union Station when that flag was burned. It is never acceptable to burn the flag of the United States of America, period. I'm just disgusted by it.

I'm not so sure, I'm probably going to get in trouble here, we didn't have paid people yesterday trying to cause trouble. And I think we need to be paying attention to that.

I think - I have talked to the vice president multiple times. I think she's like a whole lot of us in this country. What Hamas did was a terrorist act, and we can never, ever, ever walk away or understand what happened to those hostages. But we have seen - you know, people are documenting these figures. It's tens of thousands of innocent people have died in Gaza.

You know what we all want? Peace. We don't want to see anybody else die. What's happened on both sides is horrific and ugly, and I think she wants to bring peace. And I think the president, a wise man who's dealt with this in a long time, I hope that she's going to listen to everybody, which I think she's already shown she will do. It's a tough issue. I think she wants peace. Just what I want.

HUNT: The White House, of course, currently led by the president, put out a statement condemning those protests yesterday. Should Kamala Harris, as the person at the top of the ticket, put out a statement today condemning those protesters?

DINGELL: I've - I think what we all - everybody's got a right to free speech. Hey, come home with me sometime. I guarantee, if you spend a day - two days with me, you'll get protested. You'll see me protested. I'm used to it. But violence is never OK. And we are normalizing violence in this country. We cannot accept it, any side, any place.

The (INAUDIBLE) tried (ph) assassination, thankfully, that fail on Donald Trump was not OK. Burning flags, the kind of ugliness and yelling and screaming, it scared me. It absolutely scared me. They -

HUNT: Were there yelling at you?

DINGELL: No, I wasn't (INAUDIBLE) out there because I was smart enough to try to avoid it yesterday because I didn't want to see it.

[06:55:04]

I mean, I saw it, but I just did not want to be the target.

HUNT: Yes.

DINGELL: But my colleague, Dan Kildee, was. I mean they tried to break into his office. They were pounding at his door. His kids are traumatized. This is not OK. We are normalizing violence. We are normalizing vitriolicness. And every last one of us in this country should be standing up to that.

HUNT: Yes. All right, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, very grateful for you.

DINGELL: Thank you.

HUNT: Thank you very much for being here today.

All right, let's turn now to this story. Mark your calendars for August 7th. That's when Democrats are hoping

to announce Kamala Harris' running mate sources tell CNN, and one of the most accelerated vice presidential searches in American history. The top of the ticket, Kamala Harris, reportedly narrowing down the search with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper emerging as top contenders. Also in the mix, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Everyone has been playing their cards pretty close.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Again, this is not about me. This is about the future of this country.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): That is a deeply personal decision that should be made free from any political pressure.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: She's going to make a decision that's the right decision for her, for the party and for the country.

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): I'd be reluctant to make a change, but it'd be hard to resist a call and consideration if the nominee called me to ask to be considered for vice president.

REPORTER: You are on the list - on the short list for vice - for VP (INAUDIBLE)?

GOV. TIM WAL (D-MN): That I don't know. I've seen it out there, and it's a little weird.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, look, I appreciate Pritzker's candor, quite honestly. Like, just to actually say, well, yes, OK, I'm a politician. You call me to be vice president, I'm probably going to take the job.

FINNEY: Yes.

HUNT: Congresswoman, who would you like to see Kamala Harris pick?

DINGELL: You know what, I want to see somebody that she can get along with, she's going to have good chemistry with. And I am not going to weigh in publicly on this because I think she should be able to pick who she wants.

HUNT: Fair enough.

Karen, can you bring us kind of inside these deliberations? I mean the timeline is because of this virtual roll call situation with the DNC.

FINNEY: Right.

HUNT: What do you think the considerations are? Because Josh Shapiro, for example, extremely popular in my home state of Pennsylvania. I think there's really a feeling that he could maybe change things there. Then again, Mark Kelly of Arizona has a lot of expertise and experience on national issues, particularly the border, which is something that she's going to have a lot of challenges on.

FINNEY: Well, I think it's a couple of things. I mean having worked on VP selections previously, sure you're looking at the polling. But to what the congresswoman said, you're looking for, who do you have chemistry with? Who - because at the end of the day, this is the person that you're going to turn to in tough moment and you want to make sure that is someone who's going to give you their best advice and that you feel comfortable with the kind of advice they're going to give you and the - and the way that conversation's going to go.

Also, obviously, the vetting. And people forget that these days, in addition to the financial, it's social media It's everything you've ever said. It's everything you've ever thought of saying somewhere on social media. So, there's a lot that goes into it.

What typically happens, as you know is, there's a book on everybody or a folder and everybody and you kind of see pluses and minuses. But then a lot of it really just comes down to the personal chemistry and less as much as people think about, I could win this state or that state.

HUNT: Yes, well, Jonah, I mean, look, to certain extent people vote for the top of the ticket. The VP choice doesn't always make or break, but it can. There does seem to be a little bit of buyer's remorse going on in the Trump campaign right now over J.D. Vance.

GOLDBERG: Yes.

HUNT: What do you make of that?

GOLDBERG: Look, J.D. Vance has been an elected official for 18 months. He wouldn't, but for Donald Trump's endorsement in Ohio, he would not have been - he would not have won his primary. He was not a great campaigner. He was bailed out at the last minute by Mitch McConnell and the normie establishment Republicans. And he's not necessarily - what you hear from people is, he's just not necessarily the VP pick you'd pick if you knew you were going to be running against Harris, right? And it was a confidence copy (ph) move. He'll get better. He's very smart. But that convention speech, when the crowd is chanting in unison, you know, "Joe must go" and, I agree, that is not the sign of a guy who's spoken to a lot of big rallies, right? And I think that he is - his sea legs are not great yet, and - and we're going to hear more of it.

ZELENY: And she has the opportunity, when she makes her pick, to kind of base it off that, which it's not going to be based off that entirely, but someone who can respond to him and all of that. So, I think she knows what it's like to be vice president, obviously, since she is vice president. So, that's so fresh in her mind. But it's all about the connection and relationship. And she has the longest one with Roy Cooper from North Carolina.

HUNT: Yes, it's interesting. Congressman, I - on Vance, what do you think the opportunities are for him?

[07:00:01]

I mean we've - we're kind of excavating the archives, the childless cat lady thing very briefly.

DINGELL: That was absolutely another horrific thing that he said. And the women - I wish you could see the woman's (INAUDIBLE). We have a lot of very blunt things to say about -

HUNT: Feel free to send us screen shots.

FINNEY: Oh, I'm sure there must (INAUDIBLE).

DINGELL: I mean it's - it's - J.D. Vance - and, by the way, I just wish to say, this is going to be a replay of Michigan versus Ohio State. Michigan won last year and we're going to win this year too.

HUNT: Go Blue.

FINNEY: There you go.

DINGELL: Go Blue.

HUNT: Michigan, to be clear, not the Democrats. That's not coming from me.

All right, thanks to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.