Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Obamas Deliver Speeches at DNC; Second Husband Doug Emhoff Speaks to Personal Side of Kamala Harris; RFK Jr. Mulls Dropping Out, Supporting Trump. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 21, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Wednesday, August 21. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.

[05:59:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Don't just sit around and complain. Do something!

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, let's get to work. God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Barack and Michelle Obama return to rally Democrats around Kamala Harris and warn about what a second Trump term may have in store.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG EMHOFF, SECOND GENTLEMAN OF THE UNITED STATES: She's always been there for our children, and I know she'll always be there for yours, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff takes the stage, revealing the more personal side of Kamala Harris.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE COX, DNC SPEAKER: Because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: We'll speak with the Texas woman who fled her home state to receive an emergency abortion as reproductive rights remain in the spotlight here at the DNC. And then --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would if something like that would happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Donald Trump, open to having RFK Jr. in his possible second administration, if RFK Jr. drops out and endorses him.

It is 5 a.m. here in Chicago, Illinois; 6 a.m. out on the East Coast. A live look at the United Center right here in Chicago, home of course, of the Democratic National Convention.

At this early hour, they're still cleaning things up here to get ready for night three.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

This morning, Democrats riding high into day three of the convention after two of the, quite frankly, most famous people on the planet took the stage, one after the other, to rally their party faithful behind Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. OBAMA: Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it? Yes. America, hope is making a comeback.

B. OBAMA: I -- I am feeling ready to go. Even if -- even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Michelle Obama, she who once declared, "When they go low, we go high," tore into Donald Trump, who let's remember, is not just Kamala Harris's opponent but also the man who, for years, promoted the racist and false conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. OBAMA: So, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his -- his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly- educated, successful people who happen to be black.

I want to know, who's going to tell him -- who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: The former first lady then introducing her husband, who passed the torch to Kamala Harris by invoking his own famous "Yes, we can" campaign slogan, adjusting it for her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

B. OBAMA: Yes, she can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she can! Yes, she can! Yes, she can!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she can! Yes, she can! Yes, she can!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she can! Yes, she can! Yes, she can!

B. OBAMA: Yes, she can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The 44th president also directly attacking Donald Trump, casting his successor as a chaotic figure, dividing Americans and mocking him for insisting that he has the biggest -- crowds?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

B. OBAMA: It has been a constant stream of -- of gripes and grievances that's actually been getting worse, now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. It -- it --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Joining me now to discuss, Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political correspondent for Axios; Mo Elleithee, former coms director for the DNC; Shermichael Singleton, Republican strategist and a CNN political commentator; and Kate Bedingfield, CNN political commentator, former Biden White House communications director. Welcome, all.

It might be a little too early for this Obama -- thing.

MO ELLEITHEE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR DNC: I don't think it's ever too early to have --

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Never.

ELLEITHEE: This discussion.

HUNT: OK. Who would like to take it first, then? Mo, I mean, first of all, I did think -- yes, there it is. There's a still of what he's doing. OK.

He -- look, Barack Obama, to his credit, acknowledged, like he's -- he's the only one stupid enough to follow Michelle Obama. Because it actually really was her night, in many ways. The way that the crowd was up for her last night.

ELLEITHEE: Yes. It really was. And, I mean, the energy on that floor last night was unlike anything I have ever seen at a convention.

[06:05:07]

Look, what they did last night, I felt, was really -- was really interesting. Not only did they charge up this crowd, a crowd that has just been hungry for a while now to feel really charged up. We've been feeling it all week. Last night just took us to a whole new level.

But what they did effectively last night was almost recalibrate how Democrats think and talk about Donald Trump. For a very long period of time, we elevated him to the status of demagogue. And what they did very effectively last night was paint a picture for the American people of Donald Trump as just a small man.

And -- and I'm not just referencing the Obama hand gestures, right? I'm talking they made him out to be small and petty and almost diminish his standing as yet just another rich guy trying to look out for him and his buddies, who has no depth, no substance, and is just full of gripes.

That was a different way that Democrats talk about him and, I think, one that will resonate very well with people who are still making up their minds.

HUNT: So speaking of a, quote unquote, "rich guy," one of the other ways that Michelle Obama criticized Donald Trump -- and again, when you think about this in the context of her previously saying, "When we go" -- "When they go low, we go high" -- was in talking about generational wealth and how he got to his position.

Let's take a look at what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. OBAMA: She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Alex Thompson, of course, she was saying that Kamala Harris understands most of us will never have this, the escalator. She also referenced -- you know, there was an escalator Donald Trump came down when he was first announcing he was going to be president of the United States.

What did you hear in that speech from her? And what are you hearing now about the reaction?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, this highlighted that this isn't just about two different world views. There is a personal edge and a personal fury to how the -- both of the Obamas feel about Donald Trump, in a way that sometimes I feel they thought they could not express. Because whenever the Obamas talked about race in a full -- a full- throated way during their presidency, there was often backlash. And so, what you really got is this is what they have been wanting to say since 2011, since Donald Trump became the chief birther agitator.

I talked to Bill Daley, who was chief of staff to Obama during that time, and he says you cannot underestimate the personal sort of fury Obama had during that moment.

And both of them sort of addressed this in their memoirs. Obama said that Donald Trump had become an elixir for people's racial anxiety.

Michelle Obama said in her memoir that she could never forgive Donald Trump.

But this is the most full-throated way in which they said, Listen, Donald Trump was being a race baiter and putting us and our children in danger.

And to Mo's point, you know, not just saying that -- they didn't say that he's necessarily clear and present danger to the country now. But they're saying he is -- he is not that scary. He's actually sort of sad.

And in terms of the -- you know, measuring contest, you know, history is full of such measuring contests. And now we just have the latest one.

HUNT: Fair enough.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Kasie.

HUNT: Yes, go ahead.

SINGLETON: You know, I think both Obamas are just exceptional people, particularly the former president. A lot of adoration for Mrs. Obama.

I thought the speeches were -- were great. However, there were still some things that were left unanswered for me.

The gender gap and divide still persists. And I was a bit dismayed that President Obama, which I thought was going to come, was perhaps going to speak to some younger black men, 40 and under, where we have seen a lot of them moving away from the Democratic Party. I thought he was going to touch on maybe some economic issues, or maybe he would touch on some of the educational gaps there, to speak forward for those who fit that category. We -- we didn't see that.

I also thought the former president would perhaps speak to the disillusionment that we have seen from working-class whites, who were a part of his coalition. He was able to turn out working-class whites to a pretty substantial degree. I thought he was going to speak to that.

And so those two issues still remain unanswered as far as I'm concerned, strategically speaking, looking at the speeches that I have seen thus far.

Vice President Harris still has to shore up groups or individuals, rather, who fit in those two groups. Maybe that will come tonight with Governor Walz and former President Bill Clinton. I'm not certain yet.

But these are still hurdles that she's going to have to figure out how to overcome that are still advantages for the former president.

[06:10:04]

BEDINGFIELD: I think, in some ways, what Barack Obama was doing last night, and Michelle Obama were doing last night, though, kind of undermined some of Trump's strengths in those place by contributing to the notion -- by contributing to the notion that he's not strong, right?

There's absolutely a gender gap in this race. And we see that men, especially young men, are a key pillar of Trump's support. Some of what I think the Obamas were doing last night was sort of trying to erode that by, you know, to -- to Mo's point and Alex's point, you know, painting him as not this strong man. He's not this big, scary threat. He's actually sort of -- you know, he's -- he's sort of sad, pathetic. He only cares about himself.

So, I take your point that there, there was less of the kind of, like, affirmative layout. But I actually think that what they were doing was kind of eroding some of Trump's strength.

And -- and on the -- this question of working-class whites, I mean, you know, you had Michelle Obama painting, you know, Donald Trump as somebody who doesn't know the value of a hard day's work, doesn't understand what it's like to be a working person; has -- you know, has this benefit of generational wealth; has had things handed to him.

So, in some ways, I think what they were doing was quite smart and subtle, you know, but kind of going at some of those strengths that we see that Trump has with the electorate.

SINGLETON: But I think the Obamas were aware of this. I mean, even at the tail end of -- of her speech, Mrs. Obama acknowledged the fact that there's 77 days left, and there's a whole lot of work remaining for the vice president, right?

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. No question.

HUNT: And she -- I mean, she was very clear to -- to say, because look, it's a close race, right?

SINGLETON: Yes.

HUNT: And as - as much celebration as there is here, she, it seemed to me, was making the argument like, Hey, if we don't actually get out there and do this, we're likely to lose.

I want to bring into this conversation something that Donald Trump said yesterday about the Obamas, because it -- it frankly contrasts pretty dramatically with what he has said in the past about the Obamas. Here was Donald Trump saying that he respects them. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I like him. I think he's a nice gentleman, but he was very, very weak on trade.

But I happen to like him. I respect him, and I respect his wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, this is quite different from what Donald Trump has said in the past about Barack Obama. We put together a -- a litany of the various things he has previously said. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Did you ever hear of Barack Hussein Obama? Have you heard of him?

He was so ineffective, so terrible.

I did a much better job than Obama did by far for African Americans.

I watched him speak today. He had a very small crowd.

I think I did a great job and a great service, not only for the country, but even for the president, in getting him to produce his birth certificate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Clinton.

TRUMP: He was perhaps born in Kenya. Very simple. OK? He was perhaps born in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Alex Thompson, what is with this sudden change of heart, where he's now saying rather meekly, it seemed, in that clip, that he respects Obama?

THOMPSON: I mean, I think this is like the -- the very rare or intermittent instance of disciplined Trump, right? Where I just disagreed with him on issues. It's not personal.

But you know, you didn't even -- you only showed one of the clips. Frequently on the trail, when I've been on there, he does this whole bit of Barack Hussein Obama, and he really emphasized the "Hussein."

And everyone there knows what he's doing, which is basically to try to "other" Obama; try to, you know, tap into Islamophobia. Other, other things like that.

So, you know, I -- I think this is -- we've seen over the past month, especially, especially since the assassination attempt, Trump has tried to do the -- the final pivot to normal Trump or to, you know, disciplined Trump. And then he goes back. So, I -- I'd be surprised if this is the tone he's going to take for

the rest of the campaign, but who knows?

BEDINGFIELD: I think sometimes --

SINGLETON: But Kasie, can I touch --

BEDINGFIELD: Go ahead. Go ahead.

SINGLETON: No, no. Kate, OK.

BEDINGFIELD: I was just going to say, I think sometimes we try to ascribe a sense of strategic thinking to Donald Trump. I do it, too. I'm guilty of it. You -- you see him say something, and you sort of just want to understand, like, why does this man talk this way? Why does he say these things?

I think he was just caught in a moment. He kind of hadn't thought about it. He threw out an answer. He moved on. I cannot fathom that we're going to see a shift in the way that Donald Trump talks about Barack Obama when he spent the last decade plus questioning whether, you know, the president -- former president was born here in the United States.

I think he just had a camera in his face. He hadn't really thought about it. He said something and he rolled on.

ELLEITHEE: And that was before the Obama speech yesterday, right?

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. True.

ELLEITHEE: Let's -- let's see what he's saying today out on the trail.

SINGLETON: So -- so how persistent this is going to be, we don't know. But -- but I -- I don't think strategically speaking that you can undercut the reality that we have seen some movement with younger men of color.

I think it would be absolutely absurd, if you're Trump, to go attacking Barack Obama, who did very well with men of color when he ran. I think -- I think Trump recognizes that and is trying to pivot. Whether or not he can --

BEDINGFIELD: No chance, Shermichael. I appreciate -- I understand what - what you're saying makes complete strategic sense. Of course.

I don't think we've ever seen Donald Trump adhere to a sensible political space.

SINGLETON: No, no, I'm not -- I'm not disagreeing whether or not it will be persistent. I'm simply saying, I think I understand, if you're Trump and you recognize like, wait a minute, here. I may be performing fairly well with a certain demo group. [06:15:07]

It's crazy to me, and nonsensical, to be on the attack of someone who does very well and is viewed very favorably among individuals of that group. It just wouldn't make sense.

HUNT: Yes, I have to say, I mean, I -- you know, we'll see. Maybe there'll be another instance of this.

SINGLETON: We'll see.

HUNT: But I feel like attacks against Barack Obama from Donald Trump have been more -- the more consistent,

SINGLETON: No, I don't disagree with that. But -- but it would be smart -- but it would be smart, Kasie, for him to get away from that, to try to continue to appeal to those groups that he will need.

He will need young, black and Hispanic men. And it would be suicide to turn them off by going after the former president, who a lot of young, black and Hispanic men do respect.

HUNT: Have you seen a lot of evidence, Alex, of Trump failing to respond when he is attacked by especially the Obamas?

THOMPSON: Yes, I've never really seen him. I think they call it a counterpunch, right? I've never seen him really do -- do that.

I -- I think it was notable that the Truth Social was quiet for quite a while during the speeches last night. I just don't think next time he's at a rally, he's not going to be able to help himself, but who knows?

HUNT: We'll see. All right. Maybe we should -- I don't know. I haven't looked at Truth Social this morning. Maybe I should.

All right. Coming up now, next on CNN THIS MORNING, RFK Junior's campaign hints at the possibility of him dropping out of the race and potentially joining forces with former President Donald Trump.

Plus, we're going to speak live with the Texas woman, Kate Cox, who shared at the DNC last night how the reversal of Roe versus Wade changed her life.

And the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, draws on his marriage to Kamala Harris in his pitch for her presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMHOFF: My mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:22]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMHOFF: I'm so proud of how you're stepping up for all of us. But that's who she is. Wherever she's needed, however she's needed, Kamala rises to the occasion.

And she did it for me and our family. And now that the country needs her, she's showing you what we already know. She's ready to lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: That was how second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, describes the woman who could make him the first "first gentleman" in history in a matter of months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC: NEW RADICALS, "YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Emhoff, called on by the Democrats to present the personal side of Kamala Harris at the DNC last night. That of course, you're listening to the New Radicals there, "You Get What You Give."

He described his wife of 10 years as a fighter with a softer side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMHOFF: Thank you.

She finds joy in pursuing justice. She stands up to bullies, just like my parents taught me to. And she likes to see people do well but hates when they're treated unfairly.

She believes this work requires a basic curiosity in just how people are doing. Her empathy is her strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Vice President Harris was returning to Chicago from Milwaukee while her husband was on stage. And according to the White House, she had Air Force Two circle for about 10 minutes before landing so that she could watch his speech.

Alex Thompson, I -- it was interesting to me that they were so into the song ahead of this speech that he gave, like emphasizing this is the song he's going to walk out to. Like, I'm not a normal dad. I'm a cool dad. But like --

THOMPSON: Cool and funny.

HUNT: Yes. The "Mean Girls" line, you know.

What -- what was your -- what were your takeaways from his kind of presentation last night?

THOMPSON: His whole thing was not really about, you know, issues or substance. His thing was trying to introduce Kamala Harris, cause as we're seeing, there's an arms race among both sides right now, trying to define her in the eyes of the public that know who she is, but actually don't really know her exactly. She's famous, but not known, I think is the phrase.

So the -- him going through the story of their -- of like, how they fell in love and his -- that's always sort of been, I think, his biggest strength, or people -- thing that people mention the most, is just sort of his very public sort of gushy love for her.

I still remember like to say the union, then when she sat down, you saw him in the stands going [KISS KISS NOISES] to her. And she's like blushing, and it's sort of like it -- it's a cute romance. And I think that was really what he's there to do.

HUNT: Yes. I mean, Kate, this is a different profile for someone. Obviously, Bill Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who was the first female nominee. But he's cut such a different figure in this role.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes.

HUNT: And obviously was very known, well known as the former president. This is something different.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. And I -- what I will say is Doug is very true to himself. Like, the Doug that I saw speaking last night, I can tell you from my time working in -- in the Biden-Harris White House, I mean he is -- he is just -- he's an incredibly effusive person. He's an incredibly kind person.

And so is she, by the way. When he talks about empathy, I thought about, you know, like when I got COVID, when I was White House communications director. She called me; she checked in. She said she'd had it not long prior and gave me her -- like her tea recipe to help your throat.

I mean, so when I saw him last night, you know, in this role that could be, you know -- you could see a man in this role feel kind of threatened and feel that he, you know, has to kind of prove his own kind of sense of toughness and qualification.

[06:25:00]

And what is, I think, so effective about Doug is he's just totally comfortable as himself. He doesn't feel the need to, you know, try to kind of prove some level of -- I don't know -- that, that, you know, he has to also kind of shine as bright.

And I -- I -- and I think he's dedicated his time as second gentleman to kind of spreading this idea of -- of like supporting women, being supportive to his wife.

He's done substantive work. And I think that that's -- that is unique. And that's powerful. And I think it resonates.

But it was just -- I -- he was very comfortable as himself on a, a big stage and, you know, on a night when Barack and Michelle Obama were speaking. And I thought he just did such a terrific job. HUNT: Mo, I mean, to that -- to that point, it's almost this way of

presenting masculinity in being supportive of -- of your female spouse.

ELLEITHEE: Yes. I -- I remember in 2016, Tim Kaine often talking about how excited he was to be the first man in history tapped to lift up and support a woman at the top of the ticket.

And you see a little bit of that here. Right?

Look, one of the things -- and -- and I think this speech is always one of the most important speeches at a convention, because we have a -- we tend to turn our political figures into caricatures.

And so, it's important to have somebody come out there and humanize them for all of us. And who better to do that than the candidate's spouse?

And Doug Emhoff did that so beautifully last night, for all the reasons everyone else has already spoken about. He showed a human side of her that -- that a lot of us haven't seen, right? That a lot of us have only seen her, you know, in Judiciary Committee hearings when she was in the Senate or as the attack dog out on the campaign trail, or being a very serious stateswoman as vice president.

He got to show Kamala the person. And I think when we see that at Republican conventions with spouses. We've seen that in the past with -- at Democratic conventions with spouses. This was a memorable one for me.

HUNT: Interesting. I mean, and -- and that sort of -- the warmth and the humanity of Kamala Harris is something that, you're right. It doesn't often translate on television.

ELLEITHEE: Right.

HUNT: But it is something that is very definitional for how she operates in Washington. I mean, in -- if you go to an off-the-record event with her, I remember she remembered when I had a baby.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. Yes.

HUNT: And, you know, wanted to ask about --

BEDINGFIELD: Very much.

HUNT: -- when she ran into me in the Senate one day after, you know, months of -- of COVID. That's definitely a part of her persona. I think it -- it's an interesting point that you speak to.

All right. Let's turn now to this. RFK Jr.'s running mate. Nicole Shanahan says that their independent presidential campaign is weighing its options this way. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NICOLE SHANAHAN, RUNNING MATE OF RFK JR.: There's two options that we're looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala -- Kamala Harris and -- and Walz presidency.

Or we walk away right now and join forces with -- with Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Shanahan said that they're concerned about taking more votes away from Trump and Vance than from Harris and Walz.

Trump was asked about a potential RFK Jr. endorsement and whether he would consider offering Kennedy a spot in his administration, if he wins in November. This is what he told our Kristen Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would if something like that would happen. He's a very different kind of a guy, a very smart guy. And yes, I would be honored by that endorsement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: "Honored by that endorsement."

Alex, I mean, they seem to say the quiet part out loud here. At least Nicole Shanahan did. Like, well, we're concerned. There's a risk that we might actually elect Harris and Walz. Which, you know, I -- I interviewed RFK Jr. And he -- the concern from his family was -- is that he was going to get Donald Trump elected by doing this.

And he's been trying to insist, No, no, it's really about me. It's about the fact that I should be president.

But how do you think -- I mean, he's -- he's also clearly playing both sides here. He's gone to the Harris team, as well, behind the scenes. The Harris team has not responded publicly. What's he playing at? And -- and what impact does it have?

THOMPSON: I mean, I think he's playing at staying relevant after this election. And the way you do that is you get a job in the next administration, which is why he was trying to meet with both sides.

Now, Kamala Harris's team has made clear, no, we don't want -- want this. And Trump has been quietly and behind the scenes trying to court RFK Jr for over a month now. And even like the -- the team even sort of courting him for a bit.

And if he does drop out and endorse Donald Trump, you know, that is not a huge portion of the vote, but it's -- it's part of it. And it could actually make a difference.

And in some ways, this could be the Democratic Party almost doing too good of a job against RFK Jr., where they no longer see a path. They have been very aggressive at challenging his ballot access in

every single state; filing lots of lawsuits, to the point that RFK Jr. may no longer see a path and say, well, if I only -- if I want to try to stay relevant --

[06:30:00]