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Trump Backpedaling on Debate; Swing Voters Weigh in on Harris; Michael Smerconish Talks About the Presidential Race; Olympic Opening Ceremonies Today. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 26, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:32:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON" (September 16, 2020): But what about debating President Trump? You think you could deliver the goods against the commander and cheese puff?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (September 16, 2020): Well, Jimmy, if I do debate President Trump, I'm sure it'll be a competitive face-off where either one of us could end up on top.

FALLON: Really?

HARRIS: No. I'd wipe the floor with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: As far back as five years ago Kamala Harris said she was ready to debate Donald Trump. Now she may actually get the chance. A deal's not done yet, though. Trump's campaign has refused to commit until Harris is officially the nominee, even though, of course, their candidate debated President Biden before he was the official nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I haven't agreed to anything. I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden.

REPORTER: If Kamala Harris does end up being the Democrats' nominee, will you commit to debating her at least one time?

TRUMP: Oh, yes, absolutely. I would be willing to do more than one debate actually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Harris says Trump is backpedaling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, many of you have been asking me about the debate. And I'll tell you, I'm ready to debate Donald Trump. I have agreed to the previously agreed upon September 10th debate. He agreed to that previously. Now it appears he's backpedaling. But I'm ready. And I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage. And so I'm ready. Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Kayla Tausche, where are we on - on this? There was, of course, supposed to be a debate on ABC early in September. Trump seems to be saying, yes, he'll debate her, but won't agree to that place and time.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donald Trump does things on his own terms. And if there's an opportunity to change the terms, then he will try to do that.

I mean the first debate that took place was done on terms the Biden campaign thought would benefit their candidate. We obviously have seen how that turned out.

HUNT: Whoopsie.

TAUSCHE: But in this situation, most of the terms were brought to the Trump campaign, and they had very little input on them. And so, I see this as, having covered Trump's presidency before, as him trying to get a better deal out of it, whether it is a deal over how much time each answer is, or trying to pick the moderators for the debate. This is him saying, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to give you the ratings bonanza unless you come and meet me on my terms.

HUNT: Yes. And, of course, he - we knew he - he loves an audience, for example. We didn't have one in the - in the debate with Biden.

[06:35:00]

That might be something else they're going to be talking about.

All right, let's turn now to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like the younger generation, they are more likely to vote for Harris over Biden. Like, that's just the vibe that I get based on what's being posted online and based on what's being shared on social media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just feel like it would be like a breath of fresh air. I feel like it would be like a new beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's quick-witted. She's funny. She has personality. Obviously being a female, there are people out there that don't want to vote for a female president. I think those same people are ones that would not vote for Biden either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: These voices from a focus group conducted by Republican Voters Against Trump. They are sounding off about Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee. That group also running their first major ad campaigns since President Biden left the race. This is targeting conservative leaning voters in swing states.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: Former Trump voters explain why they won't support Trump in 2024.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a two-time Trump voter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2020, and I voted for Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will never support Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not going to vote for him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burn down our democracy and rule over the ashes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's putting Donald Trump first, and to hell with democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will never vote for Trump again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll never get my vote, ever, ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. So, Sarah Longwell is here. She's a part of that, of course, in charge of it, I should say.

Sarah, I think the question that I've had, as we've watched this week unfold, and it's been a fast one, so we're all still trying to catch up.

SARAH LONGWELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Sure.

HUNT: But I'm wondering, for a lot of these conservatives, perhaps people that have pulled the lever for Republicans, have to be convinced, not just to, you know, go to the voting booth and not vote for Trump, but pull the lever for the Democrats. Is it harder to convince those people with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket than it was with Joe Biden, or is it easier?

LONGWELL: So, look, I had assumed I think for a long time that it would be harder. That Joe Biden, back in 2020, I was so glad when the Democratic Party came together and nominated him because I knew that he was the only one in that field that we were going to be able to move these right-leaning independents, soft GOP voters, and get them to vote for the Democrats and not Trump. And those kinds of voters make up the margins. And I've been very worried about whether or not they would go for Kamala Harris.

But you know what's happened in the intervening time is that these voters have increasingly become so frustrated with this choice, so down on Biden. I mean we were seeing a ton of backsliding in swing group - voting groups of people who had voted for Trump - I'm sorry, who had voted for - no, voted for Trump in '16 and then voted for Biden in 2020. A lot of them were moving back to Trump.

And now, as we've been talking to swing voters, you hear that breath of fresh air. They're just - the contours of this race changing are exciting to them. And that is being helpful. And also, a lot of it depends how she runs and what her vice president looks like. I think that if she can pivot somewhat to the middle - and, look, if J.D. Vance can go from calling Donald Trump America's Hitler, to being his vice president, there's room for her to pivot to the middle of it. And so I think if she does that and doesn't run like the progressive Californian that she did in 2020, and runs more like an AG who is a tough prosecutor, I think she can pick up a lot of these swing voters.

HUNT: Yes. So, we have a little bit more sound from some of these voters talking about the - their reservations about Harris, if you will. Let's listen to a little bit more of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I just don't know her well enough. The positive part is, I assume her being a woman, she's going to be looking out for women's rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really think that far more people were racist and sexist than they let on. And that that's going to be how they vote. That it's just going to be - they're going to vote because, oh, I'm going to vote for Trump because I can't vote for a woman. It's going to be the, oh, but what happens if, you know, she has a bad day and she gets really emotional?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Ashley, what is your sense of how they plan to deal with all of this? I mean, because this had been a big part - I mean especially among many black voters who tend to be very pragmatic, they're worried about putting her up because it can be harder to run - it is harder to run as a black candidate and as a woman.

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: Yes, I mean, I think what we've seen over the last four, five days, or however many days it's been, is that America is bigger than these two issues. That America wants to move past these issues. And you see that in, again, not only the grassroots support, but you can hear it in the tone, in the tenor of what those swing voters are saying. You can see it in the money that she's raising.

But what I think is - what we should focus on is the internal polls within the - now Harris campaign is showing that not only is she outpacing Donald Trump among that big, broad coalition that Biden built to win in 2020, but that she's also in a position to expand that - that coalition.

[06:40:11]

She's plus 19 with white educated voters. She's plus 19 with voters over the age of 65. And that's incredibly encouraging.

And to add onto that the previous point that was made, she now has an opportunity to clear the slate, dropped Joe Biden's baggage now and re-introduce herself to the world, because she has been in the shadows. She has been in the shadows. And now she's on the -

HUNT: By nature of the job, yes?

ETIENNE: Yes. Now she's on - now she's on the - on the national and global stage.

HUNT: Let's -

ETIENNE: And people are getting a sense of who she is. And clearly they want more of it.

HUNT: Let's put up "The New York Times" poll, has a little bit of a breakdown of how voters in various camps see this race. And I - Kayla Tausche, when we get a chance to look at it, you see there white voters with Trump, fairly - you know, by - with a majority. But these black voters, 72 percent, 19 percent for Trump. That 19 percent, still higher than I think Democrats really need it to be but going in the right direction for Harris.

TAUSCHE: Yes, but certainly that is a real opportunity for her because that is messaging about the economy. And that is an area where President Biden did not succeed for the majority of his presidency in identifying with Americans who felt like life was too expensive.

And by enlarge you've seen in those polls, black voters saying, groceries are too expensive. My housing is too expensive. Yes, I have a job, but I don't make enough in that job. And when you hear President Biden, having continued to harp on, well, we created 15 million jobs, but voters saying, but I'm not making enough, this is an opportunity for Harris to come out with a stronger economic message to try to turn the tide of those numbers.

Again, I mentioned the call that her campaign held with donors earlier this week, but I think it's really instructive because they asked, again, what is her message on the economy? And those donors were told, again, we're still working on it because they know that that's a - that's an area where they have to change what's been happening.

HUNT: Yes, for sure. All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, malicious arson acts aimed at disrupting travel in Paris. But we've now learned the opening ceremonies will go on as planned regardless.

Plus, Billy Joel's historic run at Madison Square Garden coming to an end.

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[06:46:50]

HUNT: All right, 46 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

Coordinated sabotage the morning of opening ceremonies in Paris. There were several malicious acts of arson on French train lines overnight aimed at paralyzing travel in the city according to authorities. Cables on the tracks were set on fire and taken apart. Tonight, over 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the opening ceremonies.

California Governor Gavin Newsom ordering the removal of homeless encampments statewide. There are an estimated 180,000 homeless people in California. It's the largest population in any state. In a statement, Newsom said, "no more excuses. We've provided the time. We've provided the funds. Now it's time for locals to do their jobs."

And this. Billy Joel moving out of Madison Square Garden after a ten year residency featuring 150 shows. The late night host Jimmy Fallon presenting Joel with a banner that will live in the rafters at the iconic New York City arena. Very cool.

All right, let's turn back now to the presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Vice President Harris is less than two weeks away from naming her running mate, setting up one of the fastest VP searches in modern history.

ROB LOWE, ACTOR: All right, fine, Jimmy, I'll do it.

FALLON: Wait, wait, Rob.

LOWE: I'm Rob Lowe, and I am auditioning for the role of vice president of the United States.

And remember, when they go high, we go Lowe. Spelled with an "e".

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: OK. Lowe with an "e".

With Kamala Harris' vice presidential vetting well underway, a short list of candidates shaping up. Some of the top contenders, of course, hail from swing states, and they are already trying out their ability - trying to demonstrate their ability to go after there would be Republican counterpart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Of all the people in the country that Donald Trump could have chose, this reflects his judgment. He chose J.D. Vance. This is not somebody who is a normy. He's not a normal person.

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Some of the tapes that have come out on him talking about childless parents, those - those kinds of things are not going to play well in North Carolina or anywhere across the country.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): He has exploited and attempted to attack my fellow Kentuckians. And it's my job as governor to stand up when that happens.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): What I really worry about is what he would do being one heartbeat away from the presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: If it's Friday, you know what it means. Joining me now, Michael Smerconish, host of CNN's "SMERCONISH," also CNN political commentator.

Michael, always wonderful to see you.

Let's - let's start with - with Harris' picks, and then I do want to spend some time talking big picture and talking about J.D. Vance in particular as well.

We're both from PA. Is Josh Shapiro the guy for her? Is Mark Kelly the guy for her? These are the two names that have kind of floated at the top of my list, but I want to know what you think.

[06:50:02]

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes and yes. I think she's got two solid choices in both Kelly and in Shapiro because it's been a phenomenal week for the vice president. Such a turnaround, Kasie, from the two of us, a week ago today, talking about what I thought was a near flawless Republican National Convention. Donald Trump came out of that with a head of steam, leading in the national polls, leading in the battleground polls, and look at where we are now.

But, in the end, where can she move the needle in those seven states? So, you look at Kelly and you look at Shapiro, the margin that Donald Trump enjoyed before this whole change was larger in Arizona that it was in Pennsylvania.

I think Josh Shapiro brings her the opportunity to put Pennsylvania back in the Democratic column. And I have to believe that behind closed doors right now they are focus grouping and polling the bejesus out of how these two in particular move their respective states.

HUNT: Yes, very interesting. Michael, Harris - one of the reasons why Harris has had such a great

week so far is because she does seem to be popping on social media for all the right reasons, while J.D. Vance, the Republican running mate, seems to be doing it for, many seem to think, the wrong ones.

This soundbite has been making the rounds. You may have heard it, but just as a reminder, this was J.D. Vance with Tucker Carlson. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats via - 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 at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: This prompted Jennifer Aniston to weigh in. Someone who we do not hear from on political issues very often. But she has been public about her own struggle to have children. "All I can say is, Mr. Vance, I pray your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day, I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option because you're trying to take that away from her too."

This seems to - these comments seem to have really broken through. How big of a problem do you think they are? And what's your sort of overall way of looking at this?

SMERCONISH: I think it's not playing well in Mar-a-Lago. I don't know how it's playing in middle America. I assume not well. But I'm sure it's not playing well in Mar-a-Lago, because the last thing that former President Trump wants is to have J.D. Vance become a drag on the ticket when he's got other issues that he's got to deal with.

There's also a tone question here that this brings to my mind in terms of, how does the Trump campaign, and I think they're wrestling with this and so far coming to the wrong answer, how do they deal with Vice President Kamala Harris? What are they going to say about her? In my view, to say that she's a progressive from San Francisco and to regard her as the most liberal member of the United States Senate, that's all appropriate. That's all debatable. That's all fair game. To talk about her as a DEI hire and to say anything that smacks of misogyny or racism, I think is going to have enormous blowback. So, they've got to get their act together and decide now how they're going to handle her.

And what I'm seeing in his Truth Social responses so far, meaning President Trump, tells me he's taking the wrong approach. He should have been more dignified. He should have come out of that convention as the victim that he was of an assassination attempt and continued to try and maintain that level of dignity. HUNT: So, Michael, I absolutely take your point. I mean we've - we've seen Trump on the stump once since this all unfolded, and he seemed to mostly stick to policy-based attacks against Harris. He did warn that he wasn't going to be nice.

Do you think Trump himself is capable of doing what I'm sure Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, who are running the campaign, want him to do, which is what you are suggesting? Do you think Trump, the man, can actually pull that off?

SMERCONISH: No. And the reason that I say probably not is because I think of the convention speech. For the first 25 minutes, for the first 30 minutes or so of the convention speech, I thought it was - it was really compelling, really convincing. He was recounting what it was like to be on the receiving end of that bullet.

And then you could almost see him - not almost. You could see him deviate from the teleprompter, go off script, as he so often does. He's very good at reading the crowd and knowing when he needs to enthuse his base. But that's also what gets him in trouble.

And what - what Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both need to be considering now is that the primary and nomination process is over. She's no longer needing to worry about progressives. And she didn't have a fight anyway. And he's got his base. It's time now to think if they can move anybody who's a centrist, anybody who's an independent, or at least alter the enthusiasm of the party's respective basis.

HUNT: Yes, really interesting.

All right, Michael Smerconish, thank you, as always, my friend. Always wonderful to have you.

SMERCONISH: See you, Kasie. Thank you.

HUNT: And remember, tune in tomorrow, 9:00 a.m., for "SMERCONISH" right here on CNN.

[06:55:02]

I'm actually filling in for Chris Wallace right after that tomorrow as well. So, I hope you'll stick around for that too.

All right, Olympic organizers in Paris announcing tonight's opening ceremonies will go ahead as planned despite disruptions to the French train system and the possibility of rain. The stars will be out for opening night.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Lady Gaga just one of the headliners for tonight's opening ceremonies at the Paris Olympics. According to multiple reports, she's going to be performing a duet with Celine Dion. Before the opening ceremonies even begins, Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch on its final leg through the streets in northern Paris. And carrying the flag for team USA, LeBron James, along with tennis star Coco Gauff. Gauff spoke to our Coy Wire about what that honor means to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COCO GAUFF, U.S. FLAG BEARER/OLYMPIAN: It took a while for it to sink in. I still haven't really sunk - like sunk it in. I mean so many people are coming up to say congratulations, not just from Team USA, but from other sports and countries as well. So, I don't think it - I don't think it will until maybe honestly like a year from now or something because I think it's just going to be one of those things that you're like, I can't believe I just did that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, the Olympic countdown is on. Lets' go live to Paris. Christine Brennan is there.

We've had some news this morning, but set the scene for us, Christine, in preparation for these opening ceremonies, which are going to look different than any that we've seen before in recent memory.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kasie, this has never happened before, an opening ceremony that's not in a stadium. I think for people watching the Olympics over the last years and decades, you know, you think of the stadium, you think of the flame coming in, the athletes coming in behind the flags. This time the athletes will be on boats on the Seine River. And the fans will be along the river on the bridges as the athletes, as the performers, as the entertainment comes along on the Seine. It's an incredibly ambitious undertaking by the French. Fingers crossed they're going to be able to pull it off. Of course the disruptions with the trains earlier today. But I - as we are standing here, we hear the police going by all the time. The security is incredibly tight. And here's hoping if the weather holds, rain has stopped for now, that they can have the celebration that will be really a once in a lifetime event for the Olympic games.

HUNT: Yes, Christine, what do we know about that arson attack on the train lines at this point?

BRENNAN: You know, we're reporting, and we continue to report, as everyone else is, Kasie, and I have talked to my sources in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and they say all the athletes are fine, all the family members. Everyone has - has been alerted. They're all on the international SOS system. So, they're getting the same updates that we are.

And the U.S. OPC will have all of their athletes on buses. So, no one's taking a train to an event anyway.

But, of course, the great concern is hundreds of thousands of people, according to various reports, that are now being impacted, who are trying to come into Paris for the opening ceremonies and for the actual competition, which, of course, women's soccer and others have started. But the big events, of course, tomorrow, swimming, right off the bat Saturday morning, Katie Ledecky, the Chinese, all the issues that we've been discussing, and people have tickets for that. And they bought those tickets, in some cases, months, even years ago. And now they are, of course, caught in this same, you know, the issue of, can they get here on the trains?

And so kind of surprising that this is what's happened. But we know the Olympics are a target, Kasie, for possibly anything, knock on wood, that this will be as bad as it gets here. And let's hope that's the case, that this is all it is.

HUNT: Fingers crossed. Christine Brennan for us. Christine, thank you very much.

You guys have favorites? Olympic favorites. What are you watching?

ETIENNE: Oh, I'm a track and field kind of girl. So, I'm watching all the sprints. I used to run the 400 and the 800 mile relay.

HUNT: Look at you.

ETIENNE: Yes. Come on. I'm like - I'm Team USA. I think this is a - I also think this is a great opportunity. I'm curious to see how Kamala Harris is going to lean in on the Olympics. It really creates an opportunity to -

HUNT: Oh, man, bring it right back to your thing today, every single moment.

ETIENNE: Yes, I mean, like, full circle.

HUNT: You - what are you watching?

LONGWELL: Soccer.

HUNT: Ah, yes, of course.

LONGWELL: Women's soccer. Come on.

HUNT: Of course. Of course.

All right, I will leave you with this on a Friday, because I've got to tell you, I love this. Chevrolet rolling out the most powerful Corvette that they have ever produced. The Detroit automaker says the new ZR1 packs more than 1,000 horsepower. No Corvette has ever eclipsed that mark before. The pricing details aren't out for this one just yet. Previous years have gone for over $120,000. That is too rich for my blood, but I will take my classic. This is my 1989 C4. Let me tell you, it cost a fraction of what this new super-fast Corvette will have.

[07:00:03]

It only has about 245 horsepower. But let me tell you, it's still a blast to drive. I can't wait to see those out there.

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.