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CNN This Morning
Three Freed Americans Back In U.S. After Historic Prisoner Swap; Harris Campaign Doubles Trump July Fundraising; Simone Biles Wins Second Career All-Around Gold. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 02, 2024 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:31:50]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 5:31 here in Washington. This is a live look at New York City. Good morning, everybody. I'm Jessica Dean in for Kasie Hunt. It is great to be with you this morning.
And breaking overnight, three Americans back on U.S. soil following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris there to greet the freed prisoners when they landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late last night. And their release a major diplomatic win for the Biden administration.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan getting emotional while reflecting on the prisoner exchange.
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JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: From the president on down we've stayed in regular and routine in touch with them. I spent a lot of time with the families of Evan and Paul, and Alsu. And most of the time, as you can imagine, those are tough conversations, but not today. Today -- excuse me -- today was a very good day and we're going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Joining us now, CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd. Phil, good morning to you.
PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERRORISM ANALYST, FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL, FORMER FBI SENIOR INTELLIGENCE ADVISER (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.
DEAN: You listen to Jake Sullivan talking about that and you hear the catch in his voice. And you have to think with so much going on around the world that he has his hands -- and talking to these families over a period of months and months when things maybe weren't going to go this way. Today -- yesterday was so significant and such a good day for those families and for those who had been wrongfully detained. MUDD: I think that's right. I mean, you look at this and you look at what the West -- that is, America and its partners -- traded, and you might have some questions. I don't, but I could see people having questions about the individuals that we sent back to the Russians and our partners sent back to the Russians, including a murderer.
But the bottom line question is you're the President of the United States is bringing Americans homes. And it's a tough environment out there if you look at what's happening in Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine. But, man, yesterday was a good day. And this morning I'm having a terrific cup of coffee. It is a great day.
DEAN: It is. And it's interesting you mention kind of weighing the pros and cons and what America had to do --
MUDD: Yeah.
DEAN: -- to get these Americans back.
I want to listen to what John Kirby said about that yesterday. Let's listen to him.
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JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: Nobody's delighted or doing back flips over here because Mr. Krasikov is now a free man. That's what negotiations are all about. They require tough decisions, tough calls. The president was willing to make that tough call in order to get these -- all these individuals, not just the Americans -- all of them released.
In the end, Bret, when you weigh it, yes, these are all criminals on the Russian side and, yes, they're all innocents on the West side. But in the balance, I think we could all agree that it's better to have innocent people no longer rotting in Russian prisons for the rest of their lives.
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DEAN: And Phil, it sounds like -- and we're looking at those who were freed in exchange for the Americans. But Phil, it sounds like based on what you were saying you agree with John Kirby and the broad strokes of that -- that it's better to have these Americans who were wrongfully detained back in the America.
[05:35:07]
MUDD: I do. When you go into a difficult situation, whether it's intelligence, which is what I did -- law enforcement -- I did that as well -- or in this case, diplomacy, you have to have what we call mission focus. Is the mission focus to bring innocent Americans home, some of whom -- Paul Whelan had been there for years, or is the mission focus to try to do it without giving up something significant in exchange?
If you go in with mission focus saying you've got to bring Americans home, that's going to be extremely painful, but the pain is worth it. You can't get these people out without giving something in return that's more -- in some cases, more painful than what you got. As I mentioned, giving away a murderer. But that's the story. Go in saying you've got to get them, and they got them.
DEAN: Yeah.
And we're also learning all of these details about how intricate, and delicate, and difficult this was to get done.
The New York Times reporting that "Quiet negotiations between the U.S. and Russia over a possible prisoner swap had dragged on for more than a year. But the June meeting changed things," according to accounts from American and Western officials.
They go on to say, "The Russian spies took the proposal back to Moscow, and only days later the CIA director was on the phone with a Russian spy chief agreeing to the broad parameters of a massive prisoner swap The deal between longtime adversaries -- negotiated mostly by spies and sometimes through secret messages hand-delivered by couriers -- secured the release of Mr. Gershkovich, Mr. Whelan, and 14 other Americans, Russians, and Europeans."
It is -- when you read it, it kind of sends a chill up your spine. It's kind of amazing that in 2024, spies and couriers, and diplomacy, and Biden calling on his allies -- there was so much here that had to go right for this to happen.
MUDD: That's true, but there's a kernel in here that I think most Americans will miss. Again, it's a proud day for America. It's a kernel you can be proud of if you're an American.
And that is look at the name of the CIA director, Bill Burns, one of the most remarkable not just CIA directors, diplomats. His background is diplomacy. One of the most remarkable diplomats in Washington. Highly respected and one of the most remarkable people I've ever met.
So if you look at all that spy business, there's a great book in here somewhere. I'd like to write that book. But you've got to look at the (INAUDIBLE) that is the CIA director and understand that he's trusted by the White House and by the Secretary of State, and he is, at his origins, a diplomat. So think of it that way. It's spies but it's also diplomats.
DEAN: Yeah, and years of -- all of those years of experiments -- of experience doing his work, and also with Russia --
MUDD: Yeah.
DEAN: -- it all -- it all came into play here.
Phil Mudd, thanks so much. Good to see you.
MUDD: Thanks.
DEAN: And as the end of President Biden's time in the White House gets closer, he's cementing his legacy with Thursday's historic freeing of Americans detained in Russia. He had one clear message after that deal was sealed.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So for anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter. And today is a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world.
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DEAN: Vice President Kamala Harris saying the two never stopped fighting for this.
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over many years, President Biden and I, and our team have engaged in complex, diplomatic negotiations to bring these wrongfully detained Americans home. We never stopped fighting for their release. And today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is finally over.
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DEAN: Joining us now, Axios senior contributor, Margaret Talev. Margaret, great to have you. Good morning.
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Thank you.
DEAN: You know, it strikes me as interesting that President Biden has hung so much of his tenure and what I think he hopes, his legacy, will be on foreign policy. On his relationships with American allies, bringing them together to protect and try to back up Ukraine, but also Israel when Iran was striking and really, bringing together these coalitions. And he leaned on that once again to get these Americans home.
Do you think that he will be remembered ultimately for that sort of thing?
TALEV: Well, absolutely, Jessica. You know, this is certainly a case for multilateralism when you have all these countries involved. And it's just -- it is such a moment to try to imagine that as President Biden was contemplating what was going to need to be his announcement that he was not going to go forward with the re-election campaign --
DEAN: Right.
TALEV: -- he is, like, hours earlier closing the deal with Slovenia to make this thing happen. It's extraordinary.
DEAN: Uh-huh. TALEV: I think this certainly will impact his legacy. It will impact the history of the United States. It also may impact the presidential race, which will be Vice President Harris' race to run.
[05:40:00]
But it does set up politically now a contrast where you are making the case for NATO, long-term multilateral alliances. The idea that every arrangement with an ally is not transactional in the moment. That there are -- you kind of -- different countries have different stakes in the game. Sometimes you need to lean on one country and you kind of get -- you get to call your chips in later. That's certainly the case that they're going to try to make.
I don't think this is top of mind for most voters. I think it's still the inflation.
But I will say, like, as a journalist, I'm trying to be very dispassionate and watch something like this and you analyze what are the long-term consequences of prisoner swaps and all this. As an American and as a human being, I stayed up all night long watching this.
DEAN: A lot of people did.
TALEV: Watching the live feed. Watching these Americans and the Russian American journalist step off the plane to be reunited with their families.
The fact that it came just hours after Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky --
DEAN: It felt like a great day for Americans.
TALEV: It was, kind of, an America day.
DEAN: Yeah.
TALEV: And I think we're going to see the Biden-Harris team try to take that and run with it --
DEAN: Um-hum.
TALEV: -- as any -- as any candidate would who were running for president.
But I think in this moment, more important for that, this was a deal that was years in the making and weeks in the closing of the deal. And I think the impetus to get it done was not for the re-election campaign or the election campaign; it was to bring these Americans home.
DEAN: It was to get them home.
TALEV: And they've done it.
DEAN: Yeah.
I want to play some clips of President -- former President Trump and -- about talking about this.
TALEV: Yeah.
DEAN: Just talking about that contrast. So let's listen to what he said about this.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I heard that. I heard he said this, "Why didn't Trump get them out," and he was taken during their time. You know, I got out 59 different people -- 59 -- and I didn't pay money. I didn't pay money. You know, once you do that, these deals are going to happen more and more because the amount of things, including cash, that we give up is so astronomical.
This is a big deal. And they allowed some really rough people. You know that, right? And they did in the first case of Brittney Griner also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Just to note, no cash. But also, he posted -- and it's long, but it launched into essentially what he was saying there. When are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap and just kind of questioning -- there it is. "Our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us. I got back many hostages."
You know what I didn't hear or don't see in any of that is I'm so glad these Americans are home.
TALEV: Yeah.
DEAN: It is -- to just be -- you know, to just call it, it's very -- two different very approaches -- two very different approaches here.
TALEV: Well, for sure. But there used to be an old saying in America that politics stops at the water's edge. That has not been true for a while. You're seeing the sort of extreme version of --
DEAN: Yeah.
TALEV: -- this now.
It's just important for Americans who are reading, or watching, or hearing these comments to understand that there is a lot of misinformation in the statements that the former president has made, both on social media and in his media appearances.
There were prisoner exchanges during his presidency. This was not a financial transaction yesterday. And it's really important for people to be clear-eyed. What happened yesterday is not about whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden would have done it better. It was about getting the Americans home. CNN has a very good fact-check on how Americans were brought home
under the Trump administration, and you can read all that. I can't do justice to it in 30 seconds. But I --
DEAN: You can find it on cnn.com. Don't worry.
TALEV: But I think what we've seen in the last day or so by the former president and by Sen. Vance -- by his running mate -- is just throwing a lot of arguments --
DEAN: Um-hum.
TALEV: -- at the -- at the wall, I think to see what will stick politically.
But they are really conflicting messaging because one of the arguments is -- was that Putin would not give Gershkovich back except for if Trump was president. And the other was that Trump would have done it better. And the other was that Trump wouldn't do prisoner exchanges -- but, of course, he has. And there are a lot of these arguments that kind of bounce against each other when you examine them.
I think it is difficult as an -- as an analyst to watch these conflicting arguments and not hear a message that's unified around welcoming Americans home.
DEAN: Um-hum.
TALEV: But I think it shows you the stakes of this election --
DEAN: Um-hum.
TALEV: -- and how cutthroat it's going to be between now and November in terms of messaging.
But the facts are available for anybody who wants to know them about how prisoner exchanges have worked across many decades of administrations, including the previous one and this one that we're in.
DEAN: Margaret, always great to see you.
TALEV: Yeah, thank you.
DEAN: Thank you so much.
Up next, Donald Trump doubling down on his controversial comments about Vice President Harris -- Vice President Harris' race.
[05:45:03]
Plus, the GOAT adding another gold medal to her storied legacy.
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SIMONE BILES, 6-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: It is crazy that I am in the conversation of greatest of all athletes because I just still think I'm Simone Biles from Spring, Texas that loves to flip.
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DEAN: We now have the July fundraising totals for both Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump. Harris' numbers released just moments ago showing the campaign raising $310 million in July. That is more than double Trump's total for that month. The former president's political operation raising $138.7 million last month. They now have $327 million in cash reserves. Harris' cash reserves sit at $377 million.
[05:50:00]
Most of the whopping total for Harris came in just the first week of her candidacy, which remember, was toward the very end of July, bringing in $200 million on that time. And two-thirds of those donations made by first-time donors and were small-dollar amounts, meaning they can go back to them.
Joining me to discuss this further, Reese Gorman, political reporter for NOTUS. And Farnoush Amiri, congressional reporter for the Associated Press. Good morning to both of you.
FARNOUSH AMIRI, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Good morning.
DEAN: Great to have you here.
Reese, let's start first with you. These fundraising numbers -- what are they telling us? What is the story that you find in these?
REESE GORMAN, POLITICAL REPORTER, NOTUS: I think it shows just the kind of excitement around Vice President Harris and, especially, kind of right when she was announced. Obviously, there was -- in July, especially, there was a lot of skepticism about Joe Biden's political campaign and about his political future. And obviously, that skepticism was warranted as he did drop out of the race.
And then right when Harris kind of announced, there was a lot of excitement going her way. There was a lot more excitement from the Democratic base. Obviously, first-time donors -- people that did not feel comfortable donating to Joe Biden felt comfortable donating to Harris.
And so I think this kind of does just show that she does have more excitement and that people are excited about getting out and voting for Harris as opposed to what they were with Joe Biden.
DEAN: And Farnoush, as we see this moment around the vice president, the Trump team -- the former president himself, his vice presidential pick -- they're still trying to figure out exactly how to define her, how to attack her.
We saw him sitting down with the National Association of Black Journalists this week with those comments that she "turned Black."
I want to play what my colleague Steve Contorno -- he interviewed J.D. Vance, and this is what J.D. Vance said. They're doubling down on those comments. Let's listen to what he said.
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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: As a father of three biracial children, do those comments give you pause at all?
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They don't give me pause at all. Look, all he said is that Kamala Harris is a chameleon. She goes to Georgia two days ago. She was raised in Canada. She puts on a fake southern accent. She is everything to everybody and she pretends to be somebody different depending on which audience she's in front of. I think it's totally reasonable for the president to call that out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: They really do want to make her other. It seems like where they've landed is let's make her other to anyone who might be afraid of something like that.
AMIRI: Yeah. And I think, like, as a person of -- who is an American and an Iranian, code-switching is a part of your daily life. I think it's something that a lot of Americans -- you know, America is a melting pot of a bunch of different identities and backgrounds, and most people have to switch when they go into work, when they go into a family -- to a family party. This is like a normal part of the identity of people of color and people of different nationalities.
I think it's really interesting, obviously, the divide between J.D. Vance -- how he's describing Trump's comments and obviously, Trump doubling down on his own comments. It's very clear that he's saying that Kamala Harris is using her Blackness now that she's going to be a presidential nominee in a way that she hasn't done, which is obviously false.
DEAN: Yeah. All right. Well, unfortunately, we are running low on time, so we'll have to leave it there. But Reese and Farnoush, thanks to both of you.
AMIRI: Thank you.
DEAN: We appreciate it.
GORMAN: Thank you.
DEAN: And turning to sports now, Simone Biles making history with her second all-around Olympic gymnastics title eight years after her first.
CNN international sports anchor Amanda Davies is in Paris with the latest. Amanda, everyone back home is so excited to see this happen. AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: And rightly so. I mean, eight years after the first time she's done it just puts -- that is an unbelievable amount of time in gymnastics world and there's not many who can get away with celebrating with a diamond-encrusted GOAT necklace round your neck. But if anybody can, Simone can.
And that's a pretty apt saying when it comes to her gymnastics performances as well, isn't it? I mean, I felt really, really privileged to be there last night. The atmosphere was everything you've been hearing about. The game has changed with the likes of Vogue and Vanity Fair there -- Seth Rogin, Steph Curry, Kim Kardashian. Everybody wanting to get in on the action and see history play out.
And she overcame a wobble on the uneven bars, which brought a huge intake of breath. But she put in a great performance on the beam and floor as you can see, ultimately stepping up and doing what she does to become the first woman to win non-consecutive all-around titles. The first woman to win two since 1968. Her sixth Olympic gold medal and well and truly cement her status in that GOAT lineup.
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BILES: My GOAT necklace is just kind of an ode because the people love it, and then some people hate it. So it's like the best of both worlds. And I was, like, OK, if it goes well, we'll wear the GOAT necklace. I know people will go crazy over it. But at the end of the day, it is crazy that I am in the conversation of greatest of all athletes because I just still think I'm Simone Biles from Spring, Texas that loves to flip.
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DAVIES: And deservedly wears a GOAT necklace.
[05:55:00]
So it was a double celebration, of course, within the team. Tokyo gold medal winner Suni Lee finished in bronze position as well, with Rebecca Andrade of Brazil taking silver.
And from the most decorated U.S. gymnast to the woman with the title of the USA's most decorated female Olympian across the board. Katie Ledecky, who racked up an incredible 13th medal last night in the pool, helping Team USA to silver in the four by 200 relay behind an Australian for -- to set a new Olympic record enroute to their gold.
For Ledecky, it completes her set of medals for this Games, each in one color -- or one of each color, I should say. And later this evening she's got a chance of another in the event she dominated for so long, the 800 freestyle.
Meanwhile, Canada's 17-year-old sensation Summer McIntosh with her second gold of the Games last night in the 200 fly. Even her mom swam in the L.A. Games in 1984. And worryingly, she declared she is not done yet. And somebody who is just getting started as well, Sha'Carri
Richardson, finally making her Olympic debut after she missed out on Tokyo having tested positive for marijuana at those 2021 Olympic trials. She is the favorite. She's the reigning world champion and ran the fastest time of the year at this year's trials -- 10.71 -- and is determined to end the Jamaican dominance of this event.
Sha'Carri is -- in days gone by, has always gone big and bold with her hair and nails. You can see the nails are still there, but she's gone more low key, and she's determined that it's her performances that are going to do the talking.
DEAN: Amazing. We'll be watching.
All right, Amanda. Thanks so much.
In our next hour on CNN THIS MORNING --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WHELAN, FORMER U.S. MARINE: Getting off the plane and seeing the president and the vice president -- that was nice. It was a good homecoming.
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DEAN: A hero's welcome as three freed Americans land in the U.S. and are greeted by the president and their families.
Plus, a tough decision for the Harris campaign. Who will be her running mate? It's a decision now just days away.
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