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CNN This Morning
Trump Allies Urge Policy, Not Insults; Putin Promises To "Kick" Ukraine Out of Russia; Tropical Storm Ernesto Forms In The Atlantic. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 13, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:39]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, August 13th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need smart people and we need people that have an ability to lead. And she doesn't have that ability.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HUNT: Some policy, a lot of insults. Donald Trump's allies have been begging him to stay on topic, but he just can't seem to do it.
Plus, this --
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JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: If it's making him a little uncomfortable, then there's an easy solution. He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Ukraine claims control of hundreds of square miles of Russian territory. Could this force Putin to the negotiating table?
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's so unfair. It's so cruel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Appeal denied, but it's not over yet as the U.S. fights to keep Jordan Chiles bronze medal.
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HUNT: All right. Five a.m. here in Washington. A live look at Capitol Hill on this Tuesday morning.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Donald Trump's latest attempt to wrest the spotlight from Vice President Kamala Harris are returned to the platform formerly known as Twitter, and a, quote, conversation with billionaire owner Elon Musk. The livestream conversation on X last night got off to a rocky start. It was delayed for nearly 40 minutes because of what Musk calls a denial of service attack, such an attack has not been independently confirmed.
During the delay, the Harris campaign boosting a Trump Truth Social post, making fun of Ron DeSantis' campaign Twitter launch last year.
In the lead-up to the interview, Trump's allies practically begged their candidate to stay on topic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: You've got to make this race not on personalities, stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position.
PETER NAVARRO, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Trump doesn't need fees now, he needs votes in the current rally formula is simply not sufficiently focused on the very stark policy differences -- policy differences between him and Kamala Harris that will swing voters in key battleground states.
LARRY KUDLOW, FOX BUSINESS ANCHOR: Don't wander off, don't call her stupid and all kinds of names. Stay on message.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: The winning formula for president Trump is very plain to see its fewer insults, more insights, and that policy contrast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Fewer insults, more insight. That was Kellyanne Conway's advice.
Here's how Trump answered that call last night.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HANNITY: Kamala wouldn't have this conversation. She can't because she's not smart. She's not a smart person.
She's a radical left lunatic. But if you vote for her, you to have your head examined. She's terrible, but she's getting a free ride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Kamala, you pronounce her name, Kamala. Joining me now to discuss, Stephen Neukam, congressional reporter for "Axios", and Jackie Kucinich, Washington bureau chief for "The Boston Globe".
Welcome to both of you. Thank you for being here.
Jackie, this whole thing was almost entirely derailed by the tech problems at the top, not lost that, you know, Donald Trump had mocked Ron DeSantis for a very similar issue, when he rolled out his campaign on X.
What do you make of this conversation -- conversation last night?
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This was -- I mean, this sounded like a rally speech punctuated by questions, softball question by Elon Musk, but listen what this was. I mean, if you just step back, they're trying to regain any sort of momentum that was lost since Biden pass the torch to Harris, who has been really feeling a wave of the last three weeks.
Did this disrupt it? I don't think that it did last night.
HUNT: Stephen, what stood out to you from this conversation?
STEPHEN NEUKAM, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AXIOS: I mean, what really stood out to me was just the general lack of focus from the former president. We know that the campaign had sort of built itself to beat President Biden. That was the way that it was constructed.
So, yes, the attacks on Kamala, the vice president but also the lack of focus on who he's running against. He's talking about Joe Biden a lot for a person who is not running against Joe Biden in November.
HUNT: Well, it's kind of a wish -- a wish casting.
KUCINICH: Totally. And there was a moment there where he was talking about -- he was reciting his attacks against Biden and then it was like, oh, yeah, on her, too.
[05:05:08]
And so it's like -- it's like it's trying to tie. It was about not being able to answer questions, that the Trump campaign has been trying to pressure Vice President Harris into who doing more interviews and to sitting down with journalists and they're anything that's more extemporaneous.
That said, the -- she can't answer questions, how they would field them with Biden, it doesn't land the same way.
HUNT: Yeah. So, one of the policies that was actually discussed is this taxes on tips question. This is this is a policy that Donald Trump has been out campaigning on. We saw signs about it at the RNC. You see them at certain events.
Here's what Trump had to say about that policy because Harris seems to also have started talking about it. Watch.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRUMP: No tax on tips. And all of a sudden, she is making the speeches and they will be no taxes on tips. I said that months ago.
And, by the way, they had just the opposite. They had a policy. They were really going to go after you and were really harassing people horribly. And then, all of a sudden, for politics, she says, you know, she comes out with what I said.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HUNT: So I will say, Stephen, there hasn't yet been a Harris economic platform broadly. We're expecting that to come this week. Is there a merit to these criticisms from the Trump team that she's taken -- ripped off something that he said first?
NEUKAM: I mean, it is an interesting decision from the Harris camp, but also at the same time, they must have polling that shows that this is an incredibly popular policy, especially in places like --
KUCINICH: Like in Nevada.
NEUKAM: Yean, in Nevada.
HUNT: Right?
NEUKAM: And that's where she was, right? That's where she was when she made the announcement and they made it in Las Vegas. So, that is a state that I think that Democrats for the last few months have been increasingly concerned about. So that's a policy that they must know plays really well in that state.
HUNT: Yeah.
Stephen Neukam, Jackie Kucinich, very grateful to have you guys start us off this morning. Thank you so much.
All right. Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING:
Ukraine moving in, claiming control of parts of Russia. The threats this morning from Vladimir Putin to kick the enemy out.
Plus, Trump is seeking $100 in damages, claiming that a search of Mar- a-Lago hurt his reputation.
And as we count down to the DNC, how Kamala Harris could echo her 2020 speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're at an inflection point. The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. We can do better and deserved so much more. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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[05:12:09]
HUNT: All right. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening to kick the enemy out after Ukraine's surprise movement into Russian territory, Ukraine claiming to be in control of hundreds of square miles of Russian territory.
Russia now evacuating some 180,000 people from the area. These new offensive efforts have been described by Putin as just a negotiating tactic for Ukraine but president -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees it as a way to try to force Russia to make peace.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorist where they are, where they launched their strikes from -- Russian military airfields, Russian logistics. We see how useful this can be for bringing peace closer. Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So here to discuss more about this incursion is CNN correspondent Clare Sebastian, who joins us now live from London.
Clare, good morning.
These offensive efforts are the first time that we have seen Ukraine pass into Russian territory. The Kremlin has vowed a strong response.
What do we think that's going to look like?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we have to be a little bit cautious with those kinds of threats, Kasie, the Kremlin is constantly threatening revenge somewhat, perhaps I want it given that they are the aggressor in this war to begin with.
But we are watching out for a response. We have seen drone attacks overnight. Drone attacks last night, there were even some 38 drones launched at Ukraine according to Ukraine's air force. And, of course, there was a fire this week at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant which is much more unusual, of course, then those drone attacks, we don't know the cause. The International Atomic Energy Agency says, its still hasn't determined that, but that certainly is worth watching as we watch out for a response.
But for now, we really see President Putin in damage control mode. He met on Monday with his top officials and the heads of the regions affected by this. We see him blaming the West, threatening revenge.
But we also see him trying to gloss over just how bad this is. I want to play you a little clip from that meeting that really shows this. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, the enemy controls 28 population centers. The depth of its penetration into the Kursk region is 12 kilometers, the length of the front is 40 kilometers.
PUTIN: Listen, Oleksiy Boristovich (ph), this is something you report to military agencies, what the width and depth is. You tell us about the social, economic situation and aid for the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So that was President Putin interrupting the acting head of the Kursk region where, of course, this is all happening, as he tried to explain just how bad this is, how much of his territory is under Ukrainian occupation, and refocusing him on the social and economic elements of this.
You can see how awkward this is when now a week in, Ukraine is occupying, it says, some thousand kilometers of Russian territory -- the first time that a foreign power, by the way, has occupied part of Russia since the Second World War.
[05:15:11]
HUNT: Clare, really interesting that you played out and really highlights the politics that Putin is dealing with internally.
I -- this, of course, obviously, is something that has significant political repercussions here in the U.S.
Obviously, Zelenskyy is relying very much on money that's coming from the U.S. government, money, arms, et cetera. Hear was how Lindsey Graham was talking about this. He, of course, a Republican senator who's been a strong supporter of Ukraine. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): What I think about Kursk -- bold, brilliant, beautiful, keep it up. Putin started this, kick his ass.
Bottom line is to the administration: I appreciate your support. Let these people fight give them weapons they need to win a war they can't afford to lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Really kind of interesting semiotics there.
Clare, what does this mean for Zelenskyy on the world stage, considering he is relying so much on the support, a political support of Western allies?
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, Kasie. It is really interesting. I think this is part of the balancing act that Ukraine is engaged in here. On the one hand, of course, its partners and, in particular the U.S., have invested tens of billions of dollars so that they can win this war.
And, of course, they want to see them do that and having the past been praising highly the ingenuity that Ukrainian forces have shown, which we now see again in this -- in this action in the Kursk region across the Russian border. But, of course, there's a difference, right, between seeing and we do see evidence of, for example, Bradley -- U.S. made Bradley armored vehicles on the ground, you know, rumbling across the country side. Of course, because there's a difference between that and seeing the missiles made in the U.S. and European countries hitting Russian cities.
Ukraine is still calling for more restrictions to be lifted on using Western long-range missiles inside of Russia. But they are still waiting on that. And I think that is part of the picture here. There are still red lines for Ukraine's allies.
HUNT: All right. Clare Sebastian for us this morning -- Clare, very grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
All right. Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, Israel bracing for a strike from Iran. How the U.S. is preparing while also so urging new ceasefire talks.
Plus, Greece dealing with raging wildfires near Athens. That's coming up in our morning round-up.
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[05:22:05]
HUNT: All right. Twenty-one minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Donald Trump's lawyers filing a claim with DOJ seeking the $100 million in damages over the FBI's Mar-a-Lago documents search. They claimed that it was inappropriate and that it hurt Trump's reputation. A search was approved by a federal judge after months of negotiations with Trump's lawyers.
A measure aiming to support the, quote, fundamental right to abortion will be on the ballot in Arizona in November. It received about 200,000 more signatures than what was needed. The measure would make abortion legal up to 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Right now, a 15-week limit is in place.
The wildfires situation in Greece improving this morning. Right now, officials focusing efforts on smaller hotspots that developed from the main fire on Sunday. More than 156 square miles have burned, sparking evacuations and towns near Athens. At least one person has died.
All right. The fifth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is now here. Ernesto closing in on the Caribbean's Leeward Islands where storm warnings are now in effect. Closer to home, millions dealing with brutal heat and humidity.
Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is here this morning. Derek, good morning.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kasie.
Yes. So, Ernesto is starting to get its act together. We're starting to see a little bit of spin and the cloud cover here. So that's indicating that it's trying to get a bit more organized.
Right now, still 40 mile per hour winds where the center of the circulation is with the latest 5:00 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. So it is the Leeward Islands. There's the Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands.
And you could see Puerto Rico here. So, greatest impacts for Puerto Rico will be heavy rainfall and that will commence later this evening and move through the day on Wednesday as well. Lots of precipitation, two to four inches could cause some localized flash flooding.
There's a tropical storm warnings on the intensifying tropical storm within the next 48 hours or so. It quickly moves to the north and east. It eventually it's got its eyes set on Bermuda as a strong category two hurricane. It's kind of moving between what we call subtropical high and a trough that will allow for this northerly movement over the next several days and away from the East Coast of the U.S. That's the most important part of this weather forecast, of course.
Hot weather though, that's dominating the forecast for much of the Deep South. Look at Oklahoma City, all the way to Houston and Dallas and other stifling day. Heat and humidity, that's the name of the game for this August afternoon, Wednesday's high temperature will actually reach the triple digits in Dallas. You factor in the humidity levels and it's just downright balmy -- Kasie.
HUNT: It sounds like it.
Derek Van Dam for us this morning -- Derek, thank you. I appreciate it.
All right. Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING: a potential breakthrough for peace talks in Gaza. Hamas reversing its position, agreeing to return to the negotiating table.
And if Olympic officials won't give a medal to Team USA's Jordan Chiles, apparently, rapper Flavor Flav will.
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[05:29:51]
HUNT: All right, 5:29 a.m. here in Washington. A live look at New Orleans, where later today, President Biden will deliver remarks at a Biden cancer moonshot event.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
The White House preparing for a potential attack against Israel from Iran as soon as this week. Israel's defense minister.
