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CNN This Morning
Today: Harris To Hold Campaign Rally In Georgia; Trump Attacks Harris On Age, Record, And Laugh; 2 Children Killed In UK Knife Attack; Extreme Heat In Paris With Severe Storms Possible. Aired 5- 5:30a ET
Aired July 30, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:37]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, July 30th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
Vice President Harris preparing to head South for her first visit to the battleground state of Georgia as the presumptive nominee.
Plus, this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would rather run against her than him. I think she's easier than he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Donald Trump trying out a new attack lines against Harris, even once again, going after her laugh and her age.
And lawmakers set to grill the new head of the Secret Service on the attempted assassination of the former president.
(MUSIC)
SCIUTTO: Five a.m. here in Washington. That is a live look at Capitol Hill.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Jim Sciutto, in again today for Kasie Hunt. It is great to be with you.
Vice President Kamala Harris is taking her campaign to the battleground state of Georgia today. This will be her first visit to Georgia since Joe Biden dropped out of the race. Her campaign says she is focusing on rebuilding their winning coalition from 2020.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MICHAEL TYLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, HARRIS CAMPAIGN: The vice president will continue to lay out a vision for an America where we move forward, not backwards. She'll prosecute the case against Trump and his project 2025 agenda and she'll call on Georgians to take action to make their voices heard in November.
DAN KANNINEN, BATTLEGROUND STTES DIRECTOR, HARRIS CAMPAIGN: We have multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes. The vice president is strong in both the blue wall and in the Sun Belt and we are running hard in both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Pop star Megan Thee Stallion also set to perform at the rally in Atlanta tonight.
Other celebrities rallying for Harris, too. Last night, a white dudes for Harris Zoom call attracted actors such as Jeff Bridges, Mark Hamill, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Also on the call, several potential vice presidential picks, such as the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: How often 100 days to get to change the trajectory of the world, how often 100 days do you get to do something that's going to impact generations to come? And how often in the world do you make that bastard wake up afterwards and know that a Black woman kicked his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and send him on the road?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: That's the language there. The white dudes say the Zoom call raised more than $4 million for the Harris campaign.
Trump is trying to blunt her momentum, deploying a number of attack lines against his new opponent in an interview with Fox News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And she was for defund the police. She was for open borders. She was for having anybody come in.
I think she's a worse candidate than him. She's far more radical left. She is younger, but I mentioned she's 60-years-old. A lot of people -- I didn't realize she was 60. I though she was only younger.
She got rid of the laugh. I noticed haven't seen that crazy laugh that she gets crazy. That laugh -- that's a laugh of a crazy person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I mean, I don't know what that means, but Matt Brown, race and politics reporter at "The Associated Press" joins us now.
You had a new story about how Black voters feel excitement, hope but also a lot of worry about Harris taking center stage here, not dissimilar from what black voters felt about Barack Obama candidacy in 2008.
Explain.
MATT BROWN, RACE AND POLITCS REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Yes, absolutely, Jim. So over the last week, I've been spending a lot of time going all around metropolitan Atlanta and talking and speaking with Black voters and a lot of other parts of what was traditionally considered the Democratic base here and do you have to say that the shift from President Joe Biden's candidacy to Vice President Harris's candidacy has been fascinating to watch, really, on the ground here. You see a lot of people who have suddenly tuned into the race really, a lot more energy and engagement.
People find Harris accessible a lot, especially folks who are under 30 here, in communities of color, in the diverse and dynamic metropolitan Atlanta area. But people don't necessarily know her I think is really important thing here, which is giving the campaign, they both see on both sides here the opportunity to really reset and redefine who Harris is.
SCIUTTO: Understood.
And you -- I mean, when you talk about the worry, but you're also talking about excitement there. But both in terms of accessibility, but also her -- I mean, what is a groundbreaking presidential campaign?
BROWN: Yeah, it would be groundbreaking, but also I think I want to stress that when speaking to all of these different communities, the anxiety, especially on Black voters, is that she is going to be painted potentially in a light that would focus on her, her race or her vendor. A lot of people expressed to me that they feared that a black woman could not be elected president of this country.
[05:05:03]
But that they were optimistic, potentially that their community could mobilize for her and that other communities would find and her would be receptive to her basically.
SCIUTTO: You heard similarly about Barack Obama in 2008. Of course, he overcame that.
Do they hear in some of Trump's early attack lines on Kamala Harris something that fuels that fear as well? I mean, talking about her laugh, for instance, which is not dissimilar from the way Trump has attacked other female politicians, if you think of Hillary Clinton and make quite personal -- he goes very personal, sometimes quite offensive.
Are they already hearing something to fuel those worries in the way Trump and others are attacking Harris?
Well, we will remember for years, Trump called Nancy Pelosi crazy as well, and regularly I'm used this exact same attack as you said on woman politicians.
So I do think that when voters hear a lot of Trump workshopping, shall we say, when it comes to women candidates, candidates of color, they are hearing a lot of the same things that we've heard for the past nine years when it comes to Trump, if not before, when it came to birtherism with Barack Obama.
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
BROWN: So there are echoes of that and there are anxieties around that. But I think the question is, has politics changed enough around the vice president and the vice president define herself instead of being defined by other people?
SCIUTTO: Yeah. But if people think this is going to get a highly personal offensive nature true of politics, particularly the Trump brand of politics is new -- I mean, birtherism is a great reminder of that. That's going back close, you know, close to 20 years now.
So tell us about the political strategy then of the Harris campaign here, they're saying focused on blue wall states and Sun Belt states. Not surprising, they need that Democratic candidate needs -- needs that to win.
I mean, is there a particular focus among those states for them?
BROWN: Yes. So I think that what's really important to note here with the Harris campaign is they're just from all of the memos and strategies that we've been seeing coming out of the campaign at the moment, this shows that they are again bullish on the Sun Belt, states like Arizona, states like Georgia, and they want today in Atlanta to be somewhat of a show of force that they are really back on the map in this state here.
SCIUTTO: But I wonder because there had been -- there had been some talk that because they felt somewhat weaker in the blue wall states, that they saw some advantage going to the sunbelt states because for instance, minority voters, also younger voters there.
I mean, do they feel equally strong in both areas where when you look at this map here?
BROWN: So, so far, the campaign won't admit that they feel stronger with Harris as the candidate in North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia. They will say that they're fighting for all of the battlegrounds and whatnot. But what we do know is that Harris inspires and has potential to energize certain parts of the base that are more common in more diverse states such as Georgia and Arizona.
SCIUTTO: Now, Roy Cooper taking his name out of the vice presidential veepstakes, whatever you want to call it here, that had been a North Carolina play to some degree.
Does that impact their view of North Carolina as a potential win for them?
BROWN: So the campaign has not taken off the North Carolina from the map just because Roy Cooper did not step down, but I do think that it is an interesting play there given that, you know, Roy Cooper has the club one of the closest relationships actually with Vice President Harris. They were attorney general at the same time in their respective states.
He is, you know, championed a lot of the same policies as Harris and whatnot. So it's interesting that he took himself out specifically because of some constitutional issues in North Carolina, basically I do think that you're going to be seeing a lot of still organizing and energy there.
And it's going be interesting to see if how soon Harris is going to be returning back to North Carolina now that she's the nominee.
SCIUTTO: And you just briefly, the constitutional issues was about who would be appointed. Is that the idea?
BROWN: No. So, North Carolina actually has a clause in their Constitution that says that if you leave North Carolina as governor, the lieutenant governor will then after --
SCIUTTO: Will have that, exactly.
BROWN: And the lieutenant governor is currently a Republican who is running for the office.
SCIUTTO: And quite, from quite a right-wing perspective, one might say.
BROWN: Yeah.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, Matt Brown, good to have you on. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
Coming up next on CNN THIS MORNING, the latest on a deadly knife attack and a yoga class in the U.K.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: She's not only ready. She's damn ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: We were talking about the veepstakes, VP hopefuls rallying behind Kamala Harris, making their case, as one of the front runners as we just noted, it has removed his name from the race.
And the acting director of the Secret Service about to get grilled filled by lawmakers on the shooting of Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): I do not want to hear the phrase we're still investigating so we can't talk about it. This is a public hearing for a reason, the American public deserves to know the facts. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Two children are dead, nine others injured in Northern England after a knife attack at a Taylor Swift inspired yoga and dance class on Monday. Police says 17-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene in Southport, was just near Liverpool. Six other children and two adults remain in critical condition.
Condolences are pouring in, including this message from the UK prime minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Our thoughts and condolences with the victims, their families, their friends and the wider community, and it's almost impossible to imagine the grief that they're going through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Exactly right.
CNN's Max Foster joins us now, live from London.
And, Max, just a horrible, awful attack. Do we know anything about this suspect? And a potential motive here?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's just a kid himself. He's 17-years-old. He's a male.
He's been arrested, so we can't give a lot more detail, but we don't have any sense really of the motive here. It does seem like a real mystery. And the police very quickly said it wasn't terror related.
So, no great ideology behind it, we assume. But I have to say, Jim, you know, there was a press conference yesterday. We've also seen lots of images of emergency services after this.
It's very rarely that we see police so traumatize by an event, they described the attack as ferocious and certainly the police that initially went into that center and had to discover the scene. You know, they're getting lots of help right now as well as, of course, the families and everyone in that community.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Listen, I mean, it reminds me of the way police officers here talking about going into scenes after -- after a school shootings. I mean, is there any sense that the suspect was known -- known to police prior to this?
FOSTER: No, we're not getting any more detail because he's under arrest and they are forming their case against him. He was living in a village nearby. I have to say, you know, I mean, part of the shock here is that the Southport is typical seaside British town is on the coast. It's quite a sleepy place, so I mean, its busier in the summer because people go down there on holiday.
But typically, people move there to bring their kids up by the sea. And this was this was a family area, as you can see, I've been hearing lots of stories about people that go to this center all the time. And these kids were they were young children, all girls dancing to pop songs, Taylor Swift, you know, like they do all over the world, you know?
And this is the -- this is the thing that's really -- everyone's finding really difficult to decompress and the tributes coming from prime minister, but also King Charles very quick also to respond to this, to try to reflect really how the whole nation feels about what happened.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, I mean, listen, I can imagine those groups so, so excited to be there to sing along to Taylor Swift. I understand you mentioned King Charles posted on social media saying, quote, my wife and I have been profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in Southport. And I know other -- other condolences have been pouring in happens from here and where does the investigation stand this morning.
FOSTER: So they're building their case will appear in court, is charged with murder and attempted murder as well, because you've got to remember that you had the two died, but as I understand it, as several more critical condition including two adults who a lot of people are assuming a teachers of this class, but the police went out of their way to pay tribute to them because they were injured whilst trying to protect the children.
The home secretary who oversees law enforcement in the UK is visiting the area today. Perhaps well get some more details as well. There are reports in the British tabloids of images of some of a man who they think it is, wearing a hoodie and a mask. One of those COVID masks. I mean, you know, the scenes that the adults and the children must have seen in that room has been frightening when he went in.
SCIUTTO: There's two poor children and their families.
Max Foster, thanks so much.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JACK CAMPBELL, SANGAMON COUNTY: We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya's family and friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: A local sheriff speaks out as one of his former deputies now faces murder charges.
Plus, Olympians in Paris dealing with a new obstacle for the gold, Mother Nature.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:43]
SCIUTTO: There's 22 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Today, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is expected to tell lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he is shame of what he saw during the assassination attempt of Donald Trump, who's likely to face intense scrutiny from the likes of Republican Josh Hawley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAWLEY: So they have a lot to answer for. And I also want to see some accountability. I want to see some people take responsibility, which so far nobody has in one of these hearings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Protests in Venezuela following the reelection of Nicholas Maduro, the U.S. and several nations of the region are questioning the official results. This marks Maduro's third six-year term as president.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JACK CAMPBELL, SANGAMON COUNTY: We failed Sonya. We failed Sonya's family and friends. We failed our community, and I stand here today for you in my arms wide open and I ask for your forgiveness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Asking for forgiveness nearly a month after the fatal police shooting of Sonya Massey in Springfield, Illinois. The Sangamon County sheriff is acknowledging his office's failures. The unarmed Black woman called 911 for help before being fatally shot in her own home. The former deputy who shot her now faces murder charges.
Athletes and spectators in Paris are bracing for a day of extreme heat at the Olympics and the threat of severe thunderstorms, too.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking all of this.
I mean, this has -- this has a big impact in a number of areas. Of course, the heat starting to compete, when it's all that rain and also affects the Seine, right? I mean, that's been a pollution problem there for the triathlon events?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. There's -- there's so much to this situation, but we're focusing really on the heat today because it is likely the hottest day of the year in Paris, of course, a lot of the Olympic events happening in Paris. There are other Olympic events happening throughout France, of course, and we'll touch on that in just a moment. But it's already 87 in Paris where the large majority of the event spaces are taken place. We'll get to 97 by this afternoon. It's just after 11, 30. They're approaching 11 30 local time.
So the peak heating of the day between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. That's when we'll see the mercury in the thermometer climbed. And by the way, we've only seen temperatures so far this summer reach about the lower 90s. So to see 97, that's quite a difference.
[05:25:01]
So Meteo France, which is the local weather forecasting agency within France, who also advises the International Olympic Committee on potential heat waves and severe weather for the events has actually issued a level two of four. That's a yellow shade of color.
That means take vigilance on the approaching heat wave that will impact the events that means spectators as well as the athletes and you can see just the day part forecast and how warm it will get. The good news is that this is a short-lived heat wave.
So by tomorrow, we'll start to see the break and then certainly by the end of the week, things will change and become cooler. Of course, with all of this heat throughout central France, it doesn't take much for thunderstorms to bubble up. We could see heavy rainfall and large hail.
Yes. Jim, that could impact the River Seine.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, men's triathlon already postponed.
Derek Van Dam, good to have you. Thanks so much.
VAN DAM: Right, saw that. Okay.
SCIUTTO: Coming up next, new CNN reporting exposing how long J.D. Vance has been trashing childless Americans.
Plus, a dark horse contender enters the Kamala Harris veepstakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, TV HOST: When they vet you, did feel it? Is it -- is it a physical sensation? You're being vetted?
PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: You know. Yeah, you know?
STEWART: You know when you're being vetted.
BUTTIGIEG: Yeah.
STEWART: I'm going to bet. I'm going to bet you right now.
BUTTIGIEG: Please don't (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
