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CNN This Morning

American Prisoners Back on U.S. Soil; American Prisoners Reunite with Families; How President Biden and Key Allies Got Historic Prisoner Exchange; Trump Hitting Back at Democrat Attacks. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired August 02, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, August 2nd, and right now on "CNN This Morning." Americans, finally, back on U.S. soil following the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: -- how President Biden and key allies got the historic prisoner exchange across the finish line. And --

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody's ever called me weird. I'm a lot of things, but weird I'm not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: -- Trump hitting back at Democrat attacks on his campaign being weird.

Then top vice-presidential hopefuls scrapping their weekend plans ahead of Kamala Harris's expected announcement on Tuesday.

It is 6:01 here in Washington on a summer Friday. This is a live look at the White House. Good morning, everybody. I'm Jessica Dean in for Kasie Hunt today, and it is great to be with you.

From Russian prison cells to U.S. soil, three Americans reunited with their loved ones this morning, freed in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, all walking off a plane at Joint Base Andrews just before midnight Eastern last night, greeted one by one by President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and then, most importantly, their families. Tears of joy. An amazing moment to watch unfold.

It was Turkey playing the role of mediator in that deal. The prisoner swap involving the release of 16 individuals previously detained in Russia in exchange for eight individuals held in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Great satisfaction and a feeling of relief for the family. To me, this is about the essence of who we are as a country. It really is about personal relationships, it's about family, it's about being able to have access to your own, the people you love and you adore.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The freed prisoners and their loved ones just arriving in San Antonio in the last 90 minutes. They will be evaluated at the Brooke Army Medical Center there. And Paul Whelan just speaking to reporters about the moment he realized he was going home.

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PAUL WHELAN, FREED AMERICAN: It didn't feel real until we were flying over England. I'm a British citizen, Irish citizen, Canadian, and American. So, as we came over England I looked down you know, that's when it became real. We flew over Ireland, then Canada and into America. And then, I knew I was home.

So, getting off the plane and seeing the president the vice president, that was nice. It was a good homecoming. So, looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months, and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Let's bring in Jonathan Franks, spokesman for the Bring Our Families Home campaign. Jonathan, good morning to you. It is a good morning. Wonderful to have these Americans back on U.S. soil. I know you've been playing such a role in all of this. What went through your mind? So, many of us staying up, watching them come off that plane. It was very emotional.

JONATHAN FRANKS, SPOKESMAN, BRING OUT FAMILIES HOME CAMPAIGN: It sure was. And thanks for having me, Jessica. I mean, watching, for me personally, getting to see Paul come down those steps after, you know, it's been about two years since Trevor Reed came home and we've been working every day to bring Paul home since, it was great to see Evan walk down so confidently. [06:05:00]

And having spent some time last week with Alsu's husband, Pavel, and their two daughters, getting to see her come down the steps, and getting to see her daughters hug her for the first time was -- made it all worthwhile.

DEAN: No question about it. And the families in all of this, of course, they've been wrongfully detained and stuck in these Russian prisons, which is awful. The families in a kind of a prison of their own as well with their loved ones stuck there and not knowing when they're coming back. This has been really difficult for them as well. They have to be feeling tremendous relief this morning.

FRANKS: I have to say, Pavel and his daughters yesterday look like the weight of the world had been taken off them compared to when I saw them last week. And it was great to see. And I think the president is right in the sense this is -- you know, this is who we are as Americans. And you know, this should be -- you know, whether or not the former president's on board with it or not, this should be a fairly unifying thing for us all to watch. And I think for most of us, it is.

DEAN: Yes. And I want to play a clip from the president about how important friends are and allies in a moment like this. This is what he said.

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BIDEN: Today's a powerful example of why it's vital to have friends in this world. Friends you can trust, work with, and depend upon. Especially in matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this. Our alliances make our people safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And it was -- it's amazing, Jonathan, because as you well know, there were a number of countries and allies that were involved in getting this over the finish line. President Biden couldn't deliver this on his own. He needed the help of those allies. And it really underscores how many nations had to come together and the diplomacy that had to be used to get something like this done.

FRANKS: Absolutely. And I think this was a big step for the German government in particular to take. And, you know, I'm glad to see so many German nationals going home. But certainly, you know, that unlocked, you know, this -- what we saw yesterday, their willingness to let Mr. Krasikov go back to Russia.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Well, it is a good day indeed, Jonathan. And I know, again, you're happy for the families that you've worked with for so long to let them have this moment with all their loved ones back. We really appreciate it.

FRANKS: Thanks for having me, Jessica, DEAN: And let's bring in our panel now. Molly Ball, senior political correspondent at the Wall Street Journal and a colleague of Evan Gershkovich, former DNC communications director Mo Elleithee, and Republican strategist Sarah Longwell. Good morning, all of you.

Molly, I want to start first with you, because let's -- just if we can show everyone, this is The Wall Street Journal and it's Evan Gershkovich is Free with a huge photo. It has to be -- we all know newsrooms are a tight place. And it's a -- it was hard for all of the journalists to see that, but for you all especially, it had to be a special day yesterday.

MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, WSJ: Incredible. And I can hardly express how elated we are, how relieved we all are. We have been so thinking of Evan every single day for the 16 months that he was unjustly detained in that Russian prison. We've been working for his release, and we're all just incredibly grateful and relieved to everyone who got this done.

And I think it needs to be said, he never should have been in that prison. He did nothing wrong. Journalism is not a crime. He was doing his job. And this trend of autocratic leaders taking innocent prisoners as pawns in this type of games really has got to stop. It's a big problem in the world.

But most of all, we're so happy and relieved for Evan, for his family. He's an incredible journalist, an incredible colleague, and we're so glad he's home.

DEAN: Yes, and we -- the note at the end of the evaluation or the paperwork where he asks Putin for an interview.

BALL: Isn't that amazing?

DEAN: A journalist -- you know, you never lose the instinct.

BALL: It's in his soul. It really is.

DEAN: That's right. It is. It's amazing. Mo, we heard from the president in some of those clips I was playing earlier, he has really hung his hat and wants his legacy to be foreign policy and bringing together these coalitions of western democracies for a variety of reasons. This is just another incident of that happening, but do you think that he -- when the story is told that will be what he is in part known for?

MO ELLEITHEE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DNC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE OF POLITICS AND PUBLIC SERVICE: I mean, I certainly hope so. I mean, it's something he said when he was running for president. He said it from day one of his presidency, and here we are in the closing months of his presidency. And we've seen time and time again his ability to pull together international coalitions to great, you know, effect.

[06:10:00] I mean, pulling everyone together to support Ukraine and now, this. And it will give, I think, not just a boost to his legacy, but a really strong contrast with Donald Trump in the fall. And you heard it yesterday when he talked about this shows the importance of having friends and allies. And you heard the vice president echoing that on the tarmac overnight. It -- this is, I think, going to help amplify and underscore that difference between this administration and Donald Trump when it comes to foreign policy.

DEAN: Yes. And so, we come to Sarah for the politics of all of this. As Mo was alluding to, we have Trump's post. It's long, but I think one part that kind of gets at the heart of what he -- we really heard from him yesterday, our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us. I got back many hostages and gave the opposing country nothing and never any cash.

Just to remind everyone, this was not a financial transaction that occurred yesterday. But what we didn't hear from the former president, at least I didn't, was we're so glad Americans are home. Just kind of step one.

SARAH LONGWELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, HOST, THE FOCUS GROUP PODCAST AND PUBLISHER, THE BULWARK: Like, first of all, I don't know, between the Olympics, Simone Biles' floor routine, the hostages coming home, like the vibe right now should be like tattooing an American flag on your chest and running through the streets. But what does this guy do? He sits there on his phone, grumpy that the hostages are home, mad that he doesn't get to feign like he and Putin have some special deal so he's going to be able to negotiate this. He's always Trump first, America last, despite his rhetoric.

And people should be more offended by things like this than, you know, a lot of the other crazy stuff Trump does. Because these are the points where he really shows how he does not love America, right? Donald Trump -- this is where Republicans have lost the plot on who they were and who I felt like, you know, we were for the 20 years that I cared about being in the party. One of the reasons I became a Republican was that they were -- they felt like they loved America, felt like they thought America was a good place, that we were often in the right. But Donald Trump describes it as a dark place, isn't excited when we bring the hostages home. He's not even being cool about the Olympics.

And so, yes, I think this is a stark contrast. And people who are out there doing their jobs for America, and somebody who's sitting on his phone sending out nasty tweets about America.

DEAN: Yes. And so, Molly, how does that start? I mean, it certainly does create quite a contrast. There are two very different views of this situation, but also, more broadly, two different views of which direction they want to take America and when it comes to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

BALL: Well, and as has sort of been said, I mean, this was really a test case for two opposing ideas of how you get things done in foreign policy. There is the model, the Biden model, that says friends, alliances, multilateralism, institutions, and that has been the way that Biden has run his presidency with, I think we can say mixed results, right?

And then, there is the Trump model, which is, my buddy Putin is going to do things for me because we're friends, and he was really sure that this was going to be a case that proved that his model was right and the Biden model was not. Instead, it was the opposite. And I think, you know, you have Biden somewhat justifiably taking a victory lap and saying, this was a test of my approach to foreign policy, and it did eventually get results after, you know, a very long and difficult and rocky process to get there, all of that delicate negotiation, all the many, many, many countries that were involved in this.

And, you know, the fact that it was not just Americans that were released, it was Russian political prisoners as well. So, this was about standing up for democracy and freedom around the world on the part of a bunch of different freedom loving nations who are all able to come together. And so, for Biden, that proves his point.

DEAN: All right. Stay with us. We have much more to discuss. Coming up on "CNN This Morning," Donald Trump responding to claims by Democrats that he and his running mate are weird. Plus, the race to be Kamala Harris running mate entering its final hours. And --

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SEN. J. D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's totally reasonable for the president to call that out.

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DEAN: -- J. D. Vance defending controversial comments by Trump about Kamala Harris' race.

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[06:15:00]

DEAN: It's getting weird. Donald Trump says he's not weird and neither is J. D. Vance. After Kamala Harris and other Democratic leaders trotted out weird to describe the GOP duo.

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TRUMP: Nobody's ever called me weird. I'm a lot of things, but weird I'm not. And I'm up front. And he's not either, I will tell you. J. D. is not at all. They are. It's always soundbite, and the press picks it up. You notice the evening news, every one of them is talking -- you know, they introduced the word weird and all of a sudden, they're talking about weird. No, we're not weird people. We're actually just the opposite.

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DEAN: OK. Our panel is back to talk more about this. Let's talk about weird. I want to play a clip. This all started Tim Walz, who is potentially a VP pick for Kamala Harris, just said it very plainly, but a lot of Democrats have picked up on weird. So, let's listen to them.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): These guys are just weird. That's who they are.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): It's the weirdest thing. He'll go in like literally hug an American flag. Now, I love the flag, but I mean, it's like weird what he does.

GOV. JB PRITZKER (D-IL): I mean on the other side, they're just weird. I mean, they really are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Kamala Harris has used it as well. Sarah, this seems to be sinking -- it's rare you see messaging like that just take off and they've all adapted to it or adopted it pretty quickly. How is it landing with voters and kind of -- it is very plain spoken, but do voters kind of get that?

[06:20:00]

LONGWELL: Yes, totally. And here's the thing. For a long time, I would say the way that people talked about Donald Trump, because he is a very dangerous person, they talk, you know, dictator, strong man, authoritarian, and that stuff voters oftentimes will say like, you know, what do you think about Trump being authoritarian? And people will be like, author-what? What are you talking about?

DEAN: What is that? Yes.

LONGWELL: Whereas weird, people are like, I know what weird is. And J. D. Vance has really helped to define the weirdness, right? The cat lady stuff. The fact that he has done a full personality transplant. So, it's funny, they're trying to brand Kamala Harris as a chameleon. But everybody, when I talk to swing voters and focus groups, I haven't seen as negative a reaction to a candidate as I have seen from swing voters to J. D. Vance since Mike Pence was in the primary to Trump voters.

Like the swing voters do not like him, and they do think he's weird. They think he's inauthentic. They think he's a phony. And so, that like -- it's like if the weird shoe fits, like that's what's happening right now.

DEAN: Mo, what do you say to all of this?

ELLEITHEE: No, I think that's right. And, you know -- Sarah is so right. Like when you listen to words that are often used in politics, right, authoritarian, dictator, dangerous, extreme, like everyone has been using the word extreme for so long on both sides of the aisle that the word has kind of lost its meaning to a lot of voters. But weird? That's something that people just get, and I think it does reflect their feelings. And you know what? It's been a weird cycle. DEAN: Yes, it has.

ELLEITHEE: It's been a weird campaign. And it's been a really bad and weird week for the Trump campaign. And, you know, even that response. I think a lot of people are like, really? Like --

DEAN: I'm not weird, you're weird.

ELLEITHEE: Like, that's weird for an adult to say, right? Like, am I a toddler? Sure. A kid? Maybe. But -- so, I just think it's one of those things that's going to stick a little.

DEAN: Yes, it seems to have caught on. And, Molly, we're getting these fundraising numbers, Trump raising $139 million in July, the Harris team raising $310 million in July. And it's worth noting, of course, she entered late in the month once Biden stepped aside. These numbers really indicate that enthusiasm that we were talking about on the Harris side.

I mean, this was Trump. Obviously, Trump has made real gains in fundraising. They were really lagging before and they have caught up in a lot of ways. But this is a huge haul for the Harris campaign.

BALL: Yes. Well, and it should be said that the campaign's cash on hand is much closer to parity because the Trump campaign hasn't spent as much so far. But look, as you say, it's -- there is a lot of momentum behind the Democratic ticket now that was not there before. And I want to say I'm a proud weird American. I'm not here to stigmatize weird people. It's OK not to conform with the dominant culture.

But I think that it's part of the same thing where you have the Democrats suddenly seeming to be in the driver's seat being able to say, you know, we're where the regular people are. We're where people who just want to live their lives are able to feel at home. And that's what this weird attack is about.

I mean, every campaign is trying to find new ways always to say, my opponent isn't like you, right? My opponent is different. My opponent is not someone who you relate to. And so, this is another way of saying that. But what Democrats really like about this that I've spoken to, is also that it has a dismissiveness to it. Where when you call Trump a strong man or an authoritarian, in a lot of ways you're elevating him. And what voters hear from that is he's strong. He's tough. He can get things done.

And so, what Democrats like about this weirdness idea is instead it sort of marginalizes him and says he's not serious.

ELLEITHEE: Yes. I mean, one of the things about Trump, I think, ever since he burst onto the scene is for a lot of people, he just doesn't sit well with them, right? Like that -- and that's what I think this does, is it reminds people, like, are you sure this -- does this guy sit well with you? Does this feel right to you? And as long as voters are going into the voting booth thinking that, asking themselves that question, that helps the Democrats. DEAN: OK. We have -- I know you want to talk -- we're coming right back. Hang on one second. We're just going to take a quick break.

Up next, Kamala Harris is poised to pick her running mate. Michael Smerconish is here to analyze those options. Plus, dangerous heat rising across the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:00]

DEAN: Dangerous and widespread heat across the U.S. This morning, in Florida, could see some heavy rain as the tropical system is brewing in the Atlantic. Let's get over to meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, a lot of people going to be in some extreme temperatures today.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Jessica. And there's a climate influence to this as well. The heat and humidity that we will feel as we step outside today will be made three to five times more likely across the U.S. due to the effects and impacts of climate change, that according to Climate Central. They're stating that nearly half of the U.S. population experiencing heat, that was influenced by climate change today. That is just impressive.

I mean, look at these heat alerts stretching from coast to coast. We're talking over 100 million Americans under heat alerts, including many locations along the East Coast. These are the actual temperatures forecast for today, but of course you factor in the humidity, that's when it becomes unbearable and very uncomfortable.

On top of that, baked into this equation is the fact that we're still battling 93 active large wildfires. And with all those extra heat, there's more ability to hold water vapor in the atmosphere, right?

So, the National Hurricane Center monitoring this tropical wave moving across Cuba that will enter the Eastern Gulf of Mexico through the early parts of the weekend, overspread heavy rain into the Florida Peninsula, eventually impacting --

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