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Trump Falsely Suggests Harris "Happened To Turn Black"; Memorial Service For Hamas Political Leader Underway; UAW Endorses Harris For President. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired August 01, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:41]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, August 1st.

Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't know she was Black, until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Donald Trump questioning Kamala Harris's racial identity claiming, she, quote, happened to turn Black.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people deserve better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Harris brushing aside in Trump's crude attacks about her race, putting the spotlight on his character.

And the coffin of Hamas's political leader killed in Iran is being carried through the streets of Tehran as his funeral services get underway.

(MUSIC)

DEAN: It is 5:00 a.m. here in Washington. This is live look at Capitol Hill.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean, in for Kasie Hunt today. It is great to be with you this morning. Donald Trump is getting called out for making false and misleading claims about the ethnicity of his 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris.

In front of a group of Black journalists, Trump was asked about how summon his party have attacked Harris, derisively calling her a DEI hire, and it brought on this response. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly, very much, and she was always of Indian heritage. And she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black.

So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And those remarks during up a firestorm of criticism. But Trump allies like vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance quickly rallied to his side, even doubling down on the comments.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he said I thought was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris.

(END AUDIO CLI)

DEAN: Vice President Harris herself has dismissing Trump's the newest outburst, calling it the same old show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, and it was the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better, the American people deserve better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The White House also weighing in on the divisive remarks during the daily press briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It doesn't matter if it's a former leader, a former president, it is insulting, and we have to put -- she is the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. We have to put some respect on her name, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: With me now, "Axios" publisher, Nicholas Johnston and national political reporter with "The Washington Post," Sabrina Rodriguez.

Good morning to both of you. Good to have you here.

Sabrina, let's go first to you. You were with the vice president at that event in Houston, where we heard her just speaking a moment ago. What was the response to her rebuttal of what Donald Trump said about

her? Because she really thought, like really intentionally made it about the American people, not about her in that moment.

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Absolutely, Jessica. I mean, we saw in that room, it was thousands of Black women, part of the sigma gamma rho sorority. I mean talking to them even before she took the stage, they expected her to address it, but they expected her to address it that way because they were saying Kamala Harris is used to these attacks.

This is not something that comes as a surprise to Harris. And frankly, most people that have heard Donald Trump's speaking over the years.

I mean, for him to make racist and sexist attacks is something we expected, especially with Harris now being at the top of the Democratic ticket. But really it's seeing how she's maneuvering and it really just plays into the strategy that we're seeing her -- her play on the campaign role. She's really focused on this type message about how, you know, she's focused on the future. She doesn't want to be someone that's focused on the past. She's trying to draw that contrast.

And by Trump doing things like speaking before a group of Black journalists and making comments like that, it just really helped its her hone in that point of, look at this man who is focused on being disrespectful on divisiveness, when I'm the first one that's focused on the future of this country and uniting people.

[05:05:08]

DEAN: And, Nick, look, the House Speaker Mike Johnson really cautioned people.

NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS: Yeah.

DEAN: Don't do this, don't make this about a DEI hire.

We've really seen Republicans using that as almost -- it's like a slur in a way without being able to say it out loud.

And you heard Kamala Harris there, this is the same old show. We were promised a new Trump after the assassination attempts, someone that was going to bring everybody together with unity, and yet we have these comments.

JOHNSTON: I think we can take that those stories were off the mark that halfway through his convention speech, a lot of publications including "Axios" were wrong because people were telling him to Trump and release and changed by this. This is not wrong.

Look, we shouldn't be surprised by this. We've been at this for nine years. Remember, Donald Trump rose to prominence on racist attacks on former President Obama and whether he was even born in this kind of country.

DEAN: Right, like, go back to the beginning, right?

JOHNSTON: Exactly. So, we shouldn't be surprised about Trump being Trump, I guess.

I think it does speak to some of the political issues here, the way Mike Johnson tried to tamp down these kinds of comments in his caucus when some of his members started coming out. It is not a conversation that Republicans we've been talking to want to have a lot of folks that we've called yesterday said it was a disaster, were very upset about this being the topic of conversation.

Of course, they said all of this off record. They didn't want their names in the stories because they played this game before. We've all played this kind of vein before.

I think the real thing to answer is, is this the time when they're real political implications? But now, we've seen a lot of polling in the last couple of days does lead is nationally had been erased.

The Bloomberg swing state tracking poll the other day had Kamala Harris up and some of these states. Are there political consequences for that? Is that momentum for Democrats are going to continue. We'll take a look, but like we can't be surprised.

DEAN: Right. Absolutely, and Sabrina, you wrote a piece, is the headline is Trump's attack on Harris is racial identity moves contest into new the phase

And I just want to read a clip, a little snippet from it. The vice president's aides and supporters, some speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy during a delicate moment stressed that her response both on Wednesday and in the coming days does not have to be dramatic and forceful to be effective.

Tell us more about that.

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I mean, I think one of the things we're seeing and I mentioned before, but Harris is really focused on. I mean, she's not going out on the campaign trail and giving these hour-long, hour-and- a-half long speeches. I mean, she knows that especially as Democratic base, lots of surprise by a lot of the actions that they're seeing from the Republican Party.

So, really, she's trying to turn things. She's trying to turn this narrative and we've seen it over the last week, not just with the racist and sexist comments from Trump, but we're seeing it with just Democrat sort of uniting over a more concise message when they're -- when they're being critical Republican. I mean, we've seen how much Democrats have now adopted, calling Republicans weird, and how that seems to have really triggered a nerve with Republicans.

So it seems like as we head into these final months, she's trying to focus in on okay, they want to attack her for her identity. They want to see Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, focusing on, oh, if she lived in Canada for part of her teenage years or wants to focus on all these intricacies of, oh, well, her identity this or if she's a chameleon or she faked a Southern accent -- I mean, they're trying to grasp, but these different things.

And what the -- what the Harrison this campaign and her allies are saying is, okay, let them do that, let them do that while were actually on the road doing events on an almost daily basis, let them do that while we just say, look at what they're saying, we don't have to give a descriptor for what they're saying. Most people that are listening to it can see it for what it is.

DEAN: Yeah. And, Nick, what do you make of that strategy?

JOHNSTON: I mean, I think it's definitely a sort of pivot, right?

DEAN: Yeah.

JOHNSTON: Like what it is even something that's the way you look at weight. Kamala Harris versus runs her campaign versus Joe Biden, Joe Biden making it a lot about January 6th, all about democracy commonly Harris campaign more about the future. We won't go back.

I don't think they want to have these kind of debates again because on for nine years, it's been Trump says something outrageous and we all spend two or three days reacting to it, and the Harris campaign has seen that that didn't work very well. And I think you got people, as Sabrina said, let's move forward.

DEAN: Yeah, it is interesting to see how Hillary Clinton went after him, Joe Biden, and now, we -- Kamala Harris is doing --

JOHNSTON: I mean, what are the political consequences of statements like this? Remember I was running a breaking news desk nine years ago when Trump came down the golden escalator and he said a bunch of things and I was like, this isn't going to work. It's clearly not going to be winning elections the same those kinds of things and I thought that over and over and over again, years and years and years, and there was no political consequences of that.

And so I'm wondering, will this really move needle at all? I think with the Harris campaign is saying that's not have that argument again. Let's talk about something else.

DEAN: Let's keep looking forward.

All right. Nick Johnson and Sabrina Rodriguez, our thanks to both of you this morning.

Up next on CNN THIS MORNING:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In the last few days, we have dealt crushing blows to each of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to keep fighting as the Middle East teeters on the edge. Plus, Vice President Harris getting a big endorsement in her race for the White House.

And the bait and switch scheme one ticket website is being accused of.

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[05:14:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's urgent that all parties make the right choices in the days ahead, because those choices are the difference between staying on this path of violence, of insecurity, of suffering or moving to something very different and much better for all parties concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: That was Secretary of State Antony Blinken in just hours ago, urging all parties in the Middle East to stop taking escalatory actions.

It comes as thousands of gathered in Tehran for a memorial service for Hamas's political leader, Ismael Haniyeh. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading today's service, which kicks off three days of public mourning. Haniyeh was assassinated by a strike while visiting Tehran Tuesday. And the militant group is blaming Israel.

[05:15:02]

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind that assassination.

The White House also unwilling to confirm the reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMS ADVISER: I'm not in a position to confirm the reports coming out of Tehran. I've seen a statement that Hamas put out. I can't confirm or verify. We have no independent confirmation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is joining us now from London.

Salma, tell us more about today's memorial service, what we know about the state of play between Israel and Iran this morning.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You very much have a region on the edge, Jessica, people waiting with beaded breath to see what the response, what retaliation will look like if I can just pull up those images, again, of this massive funeral procession, this massive service held in Tehran today with Ismail Haniyeh's casket being carried through the crowds right in the main city center. And I want to show you those pictures once more because there is a

message in those images from Tehran. Iran is clearly saying, you did not just kill Haniyeh, because remember, they are accusing Israel, which has neither confirm nor denied this assassination. It is saying you have messed with Iran at large. You have violated the sovereignty of this country, and Iran supreme leader has promised, has vowed to fight back, to retaliate.

But what does that look like? What are Tehran's options? It could directly strike Israel. But as you can imagine, that only escalates things further as you heard the warnings there from the United States dates saying, look, we have to be cautious. This could cause the region to spiral deeper, further into violence.

The other option is that Iran could indirectly strike Israel, that is via its proxy militias. It could activate its tentacles in the region from Yemen to Syria, to Iraq to begin launching their own attacks. But that only expands the conflict which already has reached to Lebanon and across the region.

So you are seeing a movement in time now, when there are serious fears that this only begins to rise, this escalation only begins to rise. And if you ask, well, how do we cool this down? How do we bring down the temperature?

It's very difficult to see how that can happen when the mediator for Gaza himself, Ismail Haniyeh, is the one who was assassinated.

DEAN: All right. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

Up next, firefighters out west stretched thin. The National Guard now called help out.

Plus, Carrie Underwood is returning to his roots.

(MUSIC)

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[05:22:04]

DEAN: It is 21 minutes past the hour. And here's your morning roundup.

Vice President Kamala Harris receiving a big name endorsement. The United Auto Workers rallying behind Harris after formally endorsing Biden back in January. Harris plans to hold a rally with UAW members next week.

StubHub has been accused of bait and switch pricing method. Washington, D.C.'s attorney general accusing the company of hiding the true cost of tickets until right before purchased by deploying pricing tactics that trick consumers. The lawsuit alleges the company has generated over $100 million in hidden fee revenue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN SEACREST, TV HOST: The winner of "American Idol" 2005 is Carrie Underwood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: "American Idol" royalty, Carrie Underwood returning to the show that made her famous. A source telling CNN the former Idol winner will join the competition as a judge in the new season, replacing Katy Perry.

Some dangerous heat building across the west today that's creating poor conditions for firefighters, as crews in Colorado, are battling several wildfires, including the Quarry Fire in Littleton. The governor has deployed the Colorado National Guard to assist the Central Plains around of severe storms and wind gusts in Omaha up to 90 miles per hour.

Let's go now to meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

Derek, what are you tracking this morning?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Jessica, we're tracking that line of thunderstorms, this kind of diminished overnight, but there's still the severe weather threat for the day today.

Here is a Ring cam from someone's backyard in Omaha, Nebraska, just showing the powerful winds that move through on this straight line wind event, very common during this time of year, is it kind of rides over a bowl of -- an area of high pressure. So it basically follows that path.

You can see it right about there, and some of the resulting wind storm reports that have been in place now. There's been over 500 reports of wind, hail, and even for tornado reports included in that. These are impressive numbers. Look at Omaha clocking in a 90 mile per hour wind gusts yesterday, that's equivalent to a category one hurricanes.

So, powerful stuff, enough to knock down some power lines. And, of course, trees he saw that a moment ago. That means 2,000 or 280,00 people, customers, I should say, without power this morning.

So here's our severe weather threat today, encompassing a large population density, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, to Paducah, large hail damaging winds, all the possibility. Again, as we continue to track this line of thunderstorms, that's now just moving into central Illinois, heads-up Champagne. You've got the potential for some stronger wind gusts, this morning.

Now to the fires out west, this is amongst a 90-day drought that's occurring across parts of the front range of Colorado. There were four reports of wildfires that started within a 75-mile radius of Denver yesterday. Here's one in Boulder County.

[05:25:00] And of course this is amongst excessive heat that continues to build for hundreds of thousands of people across the Eastern and Western parts of U.S. -- Jessica .

DEAN: Those are some high temperatures.

All right. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

VAN DAM: All right.

DEAN: Up next, Donald Trump's apparent slight against his new running mate.

Plus, the U.S. reaching a plea deal with the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: It is 5:29 a.m. here in Washington, D.C. Here's a live look at New York City this morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm in for Kasie Hunt and it's great to be with you.

Donald Trump slighting, appearing to slight his own running mate, telling reporters --