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CNN This Morning
Trump Goes After Top Republicans In Swing State Georgia; Harris Pulls Closer In Nationwide Polls; Noah Lyles Winds 100M Gold In Thrilling Photo Finish. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 05, 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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[05:31:55]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just after 5:30 a.m. here on the East Coast.
This is a look at the radar for Hurricane Debby currently sitting just off the coast of Florida. The category 1 set to make landfall any moment now. We're getting these images coming in from Fanning Springs, Florida. It shows the intense rain and strong waves as many across the southeast bracing for possibly historic flooding.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Wonderful to have you with us this morning. We're going to bring you the latest on that hurricane throughout these upcoming hours.
But we do want to get to politics. Donald Trump feuding with top Republicans in a key swing state. The former president going after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at a rally that he held in Atlanta over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your Gov. Kemp and Raffensperger -- they're doing everything possible to make 2024 difficult for Republicans to win. Kemp is very bad for the Republican Party. He wouldn't do anything. He could have ended the travesty with a phone call because I did nothing wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Hmm. Which one won Georgia? Which one lost Georgia? Hmm.
After losing the last election to President Biden, Trump, of course, pressured Brad Raffensperger in that now infamous phone call to try to locate more votes as they tried overturn the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So look, all I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: Of course, he did not win Georgia.
Now, Kamala Harris, the vice president, looking to take advantage of the rift to try win over swing voters and get more African American voters out as well. She is launching "Republicans for Harris." And this includes a lengthy list cross-party endorsement, and that group is holding kickoff events today in several battleground states -- Arizona, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Among those endorsing her, former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan. He joins me now. Geoff, always wonderful to have you.
And, of course, you were very much involved and present for, and witnessed what happened with Donald Trump in the state of Georgia. You also, of course, worked very closely with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp who, again, won in Georgia and has proven that Republicans can win statewide in Georgia where Donald Trump, of course, lost.
Your reaction to Donald Trump renewing his attacks on these two men, your former colleagues, over the weekend?
GEOFF DUNCAN, (R) FORMER GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I couldn't help but think when Donald Trump was saying his speech, if Brian Kemp would have just taken a phone call. What he really means is that if Brian Kemp would have just committed a felony everything would have been OK. That's really what Donald Trump is trying to say.
The real story here is what Republican leadership has done in Georgia over the last eight years -- almost eight years -- and really seen Republican principles and policies really work and grow the economy and to continue to improve education. It had nothing to do with Donald Trump.
[05:35:03]
But look, this is his game. He walks down the street and he finds somebody to sucker punch so he looks big, he looks strong. And the problem has now really shifted to the Republican Party because they sit there and cheer him on from the other side of the street instead of doing something about it. It's almost like they're more addicted to the blood sport than they are the actual party.
HUNT: So, Geoff, one of the other things we've seen kind of unspool here with Donald Trump is the way in which he has been attacking Kamala Harris. And we saw, of course, him questioning her identity in a way that was very offensive to many voters, especially of color, at the NABJ event that unfolded last week.
Sen. Lindsey Graham was on the Sunday shows over the weekend. He was asked about whether this was the right way to go about things. I want to show you what he said and then we'll talk about it. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Here's what I would say to President Trump. The problem I have with Kamala Harris is not her heritage, it's her judgment. She has been wrong about everything. Every day we're talking about her heritage and not her terrible, dangerous, liberal record throughout her entire political life is a good day for her and a bad day for us. So I would encourage --
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: It seems though, Senator --
GRAHAM: -- President Trump to prosecute the case against Kamala Harris' bad judgment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Can you just kind of explain how you think about this because, I mean, Graham there saying look, every day we're talking about this we are losing, essentially.
And if you think about what Kamala Harris would need to do to win Georgia over Donald Trump, it's two-fold, right? It's winning over people like you -- suburban -- especially, moms -- who are uncomfortable with Trump. It's also energizing Black voters in Atlanta, especially. And this line of attack from Donald Trump, it seems to me, potentially does some damage there.
But I'm curious as to what your assessment of it is.
DUNCAN: Well, Donald Trump could not be more self-destructive, obviously, over his career, but especially the last couple of weeks. I mean, it's almost like this guy wakes up trying to lose this race, watching the things he's doing, the things he's saying.
But, you know, when I listen to that statement by Lindsey Graham, I can't help but think that's the problem. It's Lindsey Graham and all these other Republicans that just kind of like, well, maybe he shouldn't be doing this. No -- call him out. He should not be doing this, and you don't endorse him even though --
Look, I'm playing a bankshot here. I'm support a Democrat even though I'm a lifelong Republican because I want to restructure the company. I want to rebuild the Republican Party because you cannot just walk into these statements and just kind of -- well, maybe he shouldn't do that. Maybe he shouldn't say that.
What he's doing is being racist by picking on somebody's heritage, right? Like, if you did that in any business across America, that's what it would be called. But yet, we keep giving him hall pass after hall pass after hall pass.
There's no policy Kamala Harris is going to support or pass that's going to be more destructive than Donald Trump's tongue and his threat to democracy.
HUNT: Yeah.
All right, Geoff Duncan. I always appreciate kind of the way you look at things and having your perspective on the show. Thank you so much for being here. DUNCAN: Have a great day.
HUNT: All right.
While Donald Trump is reigniting old feuds in the Republican Party, Kamala Harris is closing the polling gap. The most recent CNN Poll of Polls shows a virtual dead heat in the national race with Harris two points behind Trump. It is closer than where Biden was when he left the race two weeks ago. And in those battleground states we see, of course, no clear leader. That's the parlance that we use here.
In the most recent CBS News/YouGov statistical model, seven states are tied or within the margin of error.
Again, the point here -- this is closer than it was when Joe Biden was at the top of the ticket.
There are also signs of Harris' campaign closing the enthusiasm gap with Republicans. Since the last poll before Biden exited the race, there's been a four-point rise in registered Democrats who now say they will definitely vote while that same measure for Republicans has dropped by two points.
Joining me now, Julie Manchester. She is national political reporter for The Hill. Julia, good morning. Always wonderful to have you.
You have been looking at kind of this polling broadly, as well as the VP --
JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Right.
HUNT: -- selection race and how all that kind of plays together.
The bottom line here, we are seeing more and more evidence of what you can sort of see and feel anecdotally --
MANCHESTER: Right.
HUNT: -- among Democrats.
How different is this race now? And also, what risks are there for Harris going forward as she is set to make what is going to be her most consequential decision so far?
MANCHESTER: Yeah. Look, it is night and day with Harris at the top of the ticket. I mean, you have the Democratic base activated earlier this week. And last weekend, we saw the Harris campaign release a memo talking about the uptick in volunteers through these weekends of action the Harris campaign has been doing, really, across the country.
[05:40:00]
But what's interesting is that you have Harris galvanizing enthusiasm not only in that blue wall -- that Rust Belt area -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin -- but also in the Sun Belt. I feel like under President Biden, when he was at the top of the ticket, there was this feeling that in a state like Georgia, the chances of him winning were much lower. But Harris has been able to galvanize the younger, more diverse population within the Sun Belt, and I think that's coming across in the polls.
Now, in terms of the risks she faces going forward and in terms of the veepstakes, I think there's a number of risks. No Democrat is going to be 100 percent happy with whatever candidate she chooses.
But what's interesting is that in Pennsylvania, we see it very tight. A lot of signs right now are pointing towards Josh Shapiro. He's someone who has won multiple times statewide in Pennsylvania. So it will be interesting to see whether he rallies in his home state with her tomorrow.
HUNT: Yeah, for sure.
To your first point, one of the things we're seeing -- we can put up on the screen how Black voters have kind of shifted --
MANCHESTER: Right.
HUNT: -- with Harris at the top of the ticket as opposed to Biden. So likely, Black voters were with Biden -- 73 percent with. With Harris, they're with 81 percent. And then look at this. Trump had 24 percent of Black voters against Biden; 18 percent now with Harris.
That's an inroad that, as you say, could put different states on the map.
MANCHESTER: Absolutely, and I think you see it particularly in the Sun Belt, like in Georgia. Harris was there last week. We saw Trump there this weekend.
Watching Trump there this weekend, though, was really fascinating because he said on Friday that he was going to unleash hell on Harris at that rally. And he obviously criticized and attacked her and President Biden, but he seemed to make Gov. Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of that state, sort of a target of his wrath instead of talking about the economy. Instead of talking about these issues in the markets where there could be an argument where he could attack the administration on that and make inroads with some of these voters.
But instead, he's talking about that. Talking about Harris' race and ethnicity. That's likely not going to do anything to help him with this group.
HUNT: Yeah. I mean, it's like who are running against --
MANCHESTER: Right.
HUNT: -- right?
MANCHESTER: Right, yeah.
HUNT: Are you running against a Democrat or are you running against your own party? Let's dig into -- for a second to the questions around Shapiro because I know you've been doing some reporting there. Sort of, my sense was -- well, I should say in the folks that I was talking to there was a sense that Shapiro was really at the top --
MANCHESTER: Um-hum.
HUNT: -- and that now there have been these sort of attacks aimed essentially at undermining his selection. It does seem like there's a risk for them with progressive voters with --
MANCHESTER: Right.
HUNT: -- Josh Shapiro. Why?
MANCHESTER: So, Josh Shapiro has been pretty vocal and outspoken about his views on the Israel-Hamas War. And also, he's worked with Republicans in Pennsylvania on the issue of school vouchers. So there's a couple of issues there.
However, I would say that Josh Shapiro holds a very similar view to the other candidates in this race on Israel and Hamas and that war. In fact, we saw Sen. Mark Kelly attend Netanyahu's address to Congress a few weeks ago.
So what this shows, I mean, is that he's under a lot of scrutiny, I think first of all, because he's been outspoken. But also, there's real questions about the fact that he is an observant Jew. He wears that on his sleeve and he talks about that. So there's questions about antisemitism.
But what's interesting, Kasie -- I was talking to one progressive last week and I essentially asked them look, are voters going to stay home if she picks Shapiro? And he says if this is against a Trump versus Vance, no.
HUNT: All right, Julia Manchester for us this morning. Julia --
MANCHESTER: Thank you.
HUNT: -- thank you very much.
All right. Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, Hurricane Debby bringing dangerous rainfall and wind as it slams into Florida. We'll have the latest.
Plus, American Noah Lyles capturing gold and the title of world's fastest man in a dramatic photo finish. We'll show you all of that coming up next.
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HUNT: All right. We're looking live now at Lake DeSoto, Florida as Hurricane Debby inches toward making landfall. This storm could bring catastrophic flooding to the area. We're going to update you on this throughout the morning.
But let's continue with politics now. Donald Trump struggling to do what he sometimes does best -- attack a political rival. When it comes to Kamala Harris nothing seems to be sticking quite yet and it may be backfiring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: 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)
HUNT: Of course, what he's engaged in is known as othering -- trying to label an opponent as not like you.
Joining me now to discuss, CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali. He joins us live from Atlanta. Tim, good morning.
I saw your comments --
TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.
HUNT: -- in The New York Times over the weekend, which was part of why I wanted to talk to you today. They looked at what happens when this tactic, othering, is used. We have seen it used in our politics.
Honestly, Donald Trump has been one of the most aggressive forces in engaging in this. He has done it in a much more blatant way than other politicians in the past. It started with Barack Obama and the birtherism accusations that Trump really kind of ran with.
[05:50:00]
What do you see going on here? How do you understand this? And how should voters be thinking about what they're hearing from Donald Trump as he tries to do this with Kamala Harris?
NAFTALI: Well, first of all, voters should be appalled but not surprised. What makes Donald Trump a particularly poisonous user of othering is that he's the first top-of-the-ticket in our presidential history to engage in this practice.
We've seen in the past (audio gap) when the country is on the verge of breaking or shattering a cultural or racial glass ceiling, we've seen othering. That's basically allies of a presidential candidate saying that the opposing candidate is not like us. They're alien. They're different.
In our history, race has been used in that way. There were rumors spread by opponents of Abraham Lincoln that Abraham Lincoln had Black heritage. Similarly, many years later in 1920, opponents of Warren G. Harding, who ultimately became president, spread rumors that he had Black ancestry.
In the 20th century, for the most part, what you saw was the discussion of people's secret Catholicism. That glass ceiling opportunity for the first -- for the first Catholic to become president became a source of division.
In 1928, the Democrats nominated a Catholic, Al Smith. He doesn't win. But if you look at the language used to described why he shouldn't win it wasn't about his policies. It was about his heritage.
The difference now is the top of the ticket is doing it. Herbert Hoover didn't talk about the fact that Al Smith would be beholden to the Pope and the Vatican. Some of his allies did, certainly. But now we have the top -- we have the presidential candidate himself engaging in othering, and that's the big difference.
Think about John McCain. John McCain --
HUNT: I was just going to ask you exactly that because I am --
NAFTALI: -- had allies who --
HUNT: -- flashing back to that. Yeah, continue. I'm sorry.
NAFTALI: The point -- think about John McCain. John McCain had allies who were othering Barack Obama. They were saying that Barack Obama was a secret Muslim. And John McCain actually faced a voter who said that and asked him about it. And instead of playing along, he said "No, ma'am."
Now, some of the language he used gave the impression that being a Muslim would be a problem, but the thrust of what he was saying was "No, ma'am." Barack Obama is who he says he is. I don't think --
HUNT: Yeah.
NAFTALI: -- he should be president because I disagree with his policies, but let's not talk about his heritage.
HUNT: Right.
NAFTALI: Contrast that with Donald Trump.
HUNT: For sure.
Tim Naftali, I'm sorry we're so short on time this morning. I hope you'll come back. I think this is going to be a conversation we're going to have kind of ongoing for the next few months until November. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
NAFTALI: Thank you, Kasie.
HUNT: All right, time now for sports.
American Noah Lyles stakes his claim as the fastest man in the world with a thrilling photo finish in the 100-meter dash. Amanda Davies joins us now with more from Paris. Amanda, good morning
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning.
"America, I told you I've got this." That was Noah Lyles with a shot to those who doubted him. By my goodness, it was close. The doubles sprint world champion adding Olympic gold to his resume. He'd not been the fastest man this year. He'd not been the fastest on the day. He actually said he spoke to his therapist between his semifinal and final and whatever they said -- well, it worked.
He came from behind, as you can see, to take it ahead of young Jamaican hope Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second. We actually can't put that into context it's so small.
The first American to win the 100 meters in 20 years. He's still got his strongest race to come as well, the 200-meter heat later on Monday.
There was a massive gold for the U.S. from Bobby Finke in the pool, retaining his 1,500-meter freestyle and shattering a 12-year world record in the process.
The U.S. were in danger of not winning a men's individual gold in the pool for the first time since all the way back in 1900. He said he'd been motivated by the negativity and comments and became the first American male swimmer to go back-to-back in swimming's equivalent of the marathon since 1972.
No such issues for the women, though. A really dominant win for Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske in the 4x100 medley relay. It means Huske goes home with three golds and two silvers. A real breakout Games for her.
And while there's often been some criticism of some of the big professional sports and their place here at the Olympics, there was no missing what claiming gold meant for both Scottie Scheffler and Novak Djokovic.
[05:55:00]
Everything that Scheffler has been through over the last few months -- becoming a dad for the first time, that arrest ahead of the PGA Championship -- it all came pouring out as he took golfing gold ahead of England's Tommy Fleetwood by a single shot.
Le Golf National (INAUDIBLE) -- they're describing this as the cherry on top. Isn't enough. It's like 14 cherries on top of the cake for Scheffler. It's amazing.
HUNT: Yeah.
DAVIES: Brilliancy.
HUNT: For sure. So amazing. I love the Olympics so much.
Amanda, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
All right. Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, Kamala Harris down to her final three contenders in her vice presidential selection. An announcement set to come at any moment.
Plus, Democratic Congressman Auchincloss joins us live to discuss heightened fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East that are popping up this morning.
And, of course, we're going to keep you posted on the latest with Hurricane Debby. It's nearing landfall in Florida bringing potentially catastrophic rainfall and flooding.
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