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Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) is Interviewed about Tim Walz; Oprah Urges Voters to Support Harris; Harris to Accept Nomination Tonight. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 22, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: "It's time to take the big dog off the porch and let him run. Bill Clinton should return to the campaign trail this fall and do what he does best: articulate to Americans why they should vote for Democrats."

MARK MCKINNON, CREATOR, "THE CIRCUS": I think it's - this is sort of an all hands on deck party right now. And they're like - the tent is big, bringing them in. And, you know, he's a - he's a hall of fame first ballot. Bring him in, you know?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

MCKINNON: And - because I think to your point, Bakari, you know, he wants part of his legacy to be - I mean, he wished it were Hillary.

SELLERS: Yes, of course.

MCKINNON: But I'd be great if it's - if it's Kamala. And then he wants to be part of that.

I mean, he's always been and about the history and making history. And so he wants - he wants to (INAUDIBLE).

SELLERS: And there's a - and there's a question, Mark, that - that I want to answer affirmatively. And - and there - I love SE Cupp, and she asked the question. She said, is there - is there a voter out there - who does - who does Bill Clinton talk to? And I'm like, there are people in this country over 60-years-old who still adore Bill Clinton. And I know he comes with a certain level of baggage or whatever the word -

HUNT: Is that was the Harris people are worried about, the quote- unquote baggage that he brings (INAUDIBLE).

SELLERS: No, I don't think they worry about any of that.

HUNT: OK.

SELLERS: It's all hands on deck. We're trying to assemble the Avengers. And also, like, let me just say this. Let me - let me just - let me be

like very superficial for a moment. He's old. Bill Clinton is old. I want to live that long one day. He looks old. And I think that when people realize that Donald Trump is literally the oldest man - like, you talked about George Bush. Bill Clinton served two terms. He's younger than Donald Trump. Barack Obama served two terms. He's younger than Donald Trump. The only president that is older than Donald Trump is Jimmy Carter. And think about the fact that at 82-years-old, will Donald Trump still be able to do the job is a fundamental question that Republicans have their answer.

HUNT: Yes. All right, coming up next after the break, Democratic Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan joins us live. What she thinks of the military service accusations facing Tim Walz.

Plus, the one and only Oprah making a visit to the DNC in an effort to appeal to a specific group of voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: Now there's a certain candidate says, if we just go to the polls this one time that we'll never have to do it again. Well, you know what, you're looking at a registered independent who's proud to vote again and again and again because I'm an American, and that's what Americans do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:36:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL BONNIFIELD: Seeing Governor Walz going to Congress and then becoming governor, I see the guy that was a first sergeant. I see a guy that's full of energy, always busy.

Governor Walz, in our unit, always would say - his - his catchphrase was, we'll get it done. And we always did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Democrats leaning into Governor Tim Walz's military service record with testimonials last night from those who served with him, despite accusations from Republicans that he misled Americans about his military record. Walz and several other veteran Democrats nevertheless touted their military service throughout DNC speeches and tried to use it to push back against their Republican critics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Everybody has a responsibility to contribute. For me, it was serving in the Army National Guard. I joined up two days after my 17th birthday, and I proudly wore our nation's uniform for 24 years. GOV WES MOORE (D-MD): I joined the Army when I was 17. In fact, I was

too young to sign the paperwork. I had to ask my mom to sign the paperwork for me because I don't have bone spurs.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: When I deployed to Afghanistan, I didn't have kids then. Many of the men and women who went outside the wire with me didn't have kids either. But let me tell you, our commitment to the future of this country was pretty damn physical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who herself is an Air Force veteran.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here.

REP. CHRISSY HOULAHAN (D-PA): Thank you for having me.

HUNT: So, there has been this push against the vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz, around his military service that Republicans have tried to keep - keep going even as Democrats have tried to dispense with it. The most recent was this letter from 50 veterans in the GOP conference, in the House. They say, "until you admit you lied to them, there's no way you can be trusted to serve as vice president."

Can you just put in context for us and give us your view as a veteran yourself of what Tim Walz has said about his own record and whether you feel there's anything there.

HOULAHAN: There is no there there. And it's really disappointing that anybody who has served in uniform would malign another person who has done the same, because so few of us in this country actually do put on the uniform. It's, I think, supposed to be around 1 percent of us. And it is a commitment of service, no matter what you do. Whatever you job description is, you're still in uniform and you're still of service.

And I think it's abhorrent, literally abhorrent, to malign a fellow veteran. I think it's also an indication genuinely of what they think is your strength. When I started running for Congress, having never run for any office before, what Tammy Duckworth actually told me was, think of the things that you're most proud of, and those are the things that they're going to go after. And so I think that this is an indication that they're running scared.

HUNT: Do you think - how do you view the number of attacks and the way that they're continuing to attack Walz? Sometimes it seems to me, and we've - we were talking about this a little bit on the panel - more aggressively than they're going after the top of the ticket in Kamala Harris. I mean what does that say about Tim Walz's potential strength for the Democratic ticket?

HOULAHAN: I do think they're running scared. And I do think that they're kind of on their heels because I think that they're surprised at how rapidly the Democratic Party and independents and reasonable Republicans have coalesced around this ticket. And so I think that they don't know what to do with themselves. And so they're kind of going at the tried-and-true - true success stories, which have historically been after the vulnerabilities that they perceive, such as military service.

[06:40:07]

HUNT: Let's talk a little bit about your home district, which is - happens to be where I grew up as well. Chester County, really the - kind of the heart of Pennsylvania - the Philadelphia suburbs, right? John King likes to talk about it a lot.

HOULAHAN: Yes.

HUNT: I've seen the map of Chester County several times in our coverage this week.

HOULAHAN: Yes.

HUNT: This is - the entire election could come down to Pennsylvania, right? Certainly the Republicans are treating it as such.

How do you think - what kind of job has the Harris-Walz ticket done so far in appealing to those voters? Which strands from this convention do you think are going to resonate the most there? And what are the challenges that you face?

HOULAHAN: So, I do come from Chester County, and have lived there for about 30 years so years. And I think that what my message has been for the last five or six years, since the election of president - former President Trump has been the resonating message of this convention, which is civility and decency and a restoration of pride and - and joyfulness. And I think that that's literally been the message that I've tried to lead with for the last five or six years.

So, the folks of Chester County and Berks County, my district is roughly 40/40/20, Democrats, Republicans, and independents. And yet we have been successful in electing a Democrat for the first time in 163 years. Because I hope that the message is a positive one. It's one if unity. It's one of pragmatism and practicality. And it's also one which I think you've seen here at the convention, which is one of hope and forward-looking happiness.

HUNT: Yes.

Mark McKinnon, you have a question?

MARK MCKINNON, CREATOR, "THE CIRCUS": Well, yes.

Congresswoman, Josh Sapiro, your governor, is obviously very popular in Pennsylvania.

HOULAHAN: Yes.

MCKINNON: And a lot of, you know, very political people like me thought that that was - would have been the best pick. Is there a fall off? I mean what - what's the - what's the Shapiro factor that he's not on the ticket, and can Walz make up for that?

HOULAHAN: Sure. I think, you know, Pennsylvanians are enormous fans of Governor Shapiro. I am an enormous fan of Governor Shapiro. And he would have been a very strong pick. But they had an embarrassment of riches in terms of the number of people that they could have picked to be at the - the second on the ticket. And I think Walz is an amazing pick as well.

He's - he's a veteran, as we've talked about. I am as well. He's an educator. I am as well. He kind of hits and ticks a lot of the things that people are looking for, hope, optimism, humor and pragmatist. He served in a district similar to mine, which is a district, as I understand it, that was red for 100 and something years as well.

MCKINNON: Yes.

HOULAHAN: So, the parallels are kind of eerie in that way. And I think that it's a great pick. I think he was a great pick.

MCKINNON: And Shapiro's going to be a pretty strong surrogate (INAUDIBLE).

HOULAHAN And clearly, you know, he's come out swinging. You know, Shapiro, from the minute that that selection was made, I got the chance to be in the audience at the - at the rally. And he was enthusiastic about that.

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Congresswoman -

HUNT: Well, hold on a second. Follow up and then we'll go to -

SINGLETON: Oh, Congresswoman, first of all, thanks for your - your service.

I'm curious to get your thoughts on - there are several counties in your state where the number of new registered Republican voters have increased. I was just reading something from "The Pittsburgh Courier" I think yesterday that was stating the number of Republicans that have requested absentee ballots is also at an all-time high.

What are your thoughts on that in terms of the implication for the state?

HOULAHAN: So, hey, you know, we are the underdogs still. And I think it's really important for Democrats and those of us who'd like to not see the return of former President Trump to recognize that we have a lot of work to do. And I hope that's a message that we're taking away from - from this convention.

We should take nothing for granted. We cannot take anything for granted. The numbers are sometimes not there for us in the sense of raw numbers. But I'm a Democrat serving in a district that's 40/40/20, and I've been successful in my election and re-election because I hope that I'm speaking to everyone and serving everyone. That's my job.

MCKINNON: The - Republicans are going after Walz on his military record because they've done that before. And Chris LaCivita, who's run that campaign, did the Swift Boats for Veterans against John Kerry.

HOULAHAN: Yes. Yes.

MCKINNON: So, they - they know this playbook. Is there - is there any vulnerability there on the stolen valor notion and - and this notion that he said that he carried weapons of war in battle that the campaign has come out and said that was a misstatement. But is that - is there something problematic there at all?

HOULAHAN: I don't -

MCKINNON: You think that's enough that the - does he need to address this?

HOULAHAN: I actually think that we, hopefully, are turning a page on the way that we treat each other in campaigning even as well. You know, I think it's tired. I think we've seen this play before. And I think it's done (ph).

MCKINNON: And how do veterans feel about it generally, just the notion of attacking somebody's record as not being perfect or exactly what you said.

HOULAHAN: I think that that's kind of what part of the issue is, is I think it's an old tried and - and failed attempt. And I think that veterans see it for that. And I think that - I know that I and my father, who is also so veteran, former Republican, see right through those kinds of attacks.

HUNT: All right, Chrissy Houlahan, thank you very much for spending some time with us.

HOULAHAN: Thank you for having me.

HUNT: You're going to stick around here to - as we continue our conversation.

Let's turn now to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (September 4, 2000): Despite fading poll numbers, that core support behind Nader's candidacy is making some liberal Democrats unhappy.

[06:45:06]

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., ENVIRONMENTAL ATTORNEY (September 4, 2000): There's a political reality here which is that his candidacy could draw enough votes in certain key states from Al Gore to give the entire election to George W. Bush.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Well, that was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 24 years ago, sounding the alarm about third-party candidate Ralph Nader, who played a role of spoiler in a presidential election. Sound familiar.

New reporting into CNN shows the independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this time getting ready to end his campaign for the presidency this year. The announcement could happen as soon as Friday. It may include an endorsement for Donald Trump. He is in talks with the Trump campaign to possibly gain a role in a second administration.

Where Kennedy's voters go may have an impact in swing states. One famous independent voter made a surprise his appearance at the DNC last night with this plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: I'm calling on all you independents and all you undecided. You know this is true. You know I'm telling you the truth, that values and character matter most of all. You know this is true, that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, we only have a minute here. But, Congresswoman, where do you think - what do you think the impact of RFK's decision here could be?

HOULAHAN: So this guy clearly is just shopping around, you know, for the best offer because he's got to throw in the towel. And it's kind of pretty disgusting. And I don't know what the overall impact will be. In Pennsylvania, as an example, I definitely see some folks who were supporters of his. I just don't know which way they're going to go.

Clearly, he's leaning towards Trump, but that's literally because he thinks he's going to get the right deal from that. It's clear he's also looked for a similar deal from the Harris campaign too. And that's kind of disingenuous and I don't think that will resonate with my voter certainly.

HUNT: Interesting.

Briefly.

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's important to note that part of the reason we're seeing this happen is because since Kamala Harris has gone to the top of the ticket, his support has dropped. I mean people - voters who were potentially looking at just some third-party option because they were, you know, the double haters who didn't want to see Trump or Biden, his share of the vote has dramatically declined. That's part of why he's doing this.

So, it's - you know, I think it's a sign of - it's a good sign for Democrats because it shows that some - that some slice of those independent voters or people who were - were looking for a third-party option are moving to Harris.

HUNT: (INAUDIBLE). All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, the DNC makes its

curtain call tonight with Kamala Harris set to take the stage and accept the historic presidential nomination in the convention's keynote address.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:53:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (January 27, 2019): And we know what the doubters will say. It's the same thing they've always said. They'll say it's not your time. They'll say, wait your turn. They'll say the odds are long. They'll say it can't be done. But -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: That was Senator Kamala Harris, formerly - formally launching an unsuccessful campaign for president at a 2019 rally in Oakland. It's really interesting to listen to that now because things have gone really, really well for her. Tonight, the vice president is going to be called on to deliver the most important speech of her lifetime. Democrats are ready to embrace someone who has evolved and grown as a candidate. She is a more seasoned and polished candidate, and she is set to accept the nomination and wrap up the convention tonight.

Perhaps we'll hear something like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just yesterday, when he was asked if he has any regrets about ending Roe v. Wade, Donald Trump - Donald Trump, without even a moment's hesitation - you would think he would reflect on it for a second -- said, no, no regrets. We will make sure he does face the consequence. And that will be at the ballot box in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, running up against the clock. But quickly, what does Harris need to do tonight?

BEDINGFIELD: So, I'm actually so glad we set this up with the 2019 clip, because what I wanted to say is, more than policy, more than message, in many ways, I am eager to see her with the confidence that she has put on display over this last month. I'm eager to see her deliver a speech that feels like it meets the moment.

It's a huge task. It's a gargantuan task. But I think she's up for it. And I'm interested to see tonight.

SELLERS: One of the unique things is that I believe Nikki Haley was right. I know it's early in the morning. I can't believe I said that on national television. [06:55:00]

But - but - but the first party that kind of got rid of that older candidate was going to be the party that won. And I think tonight is the first night that either party, in 20 some odd years, can say we're turning the page. Like, it's turning the page from people we love, the Obamas, the Clintons. We're just kind of turning the page for fresh and family.

And I'm excited for this moment. I was there with her back then and she deserves this day.

SINGLETON: I mean, look, this is the battle of definitions. The person attempting to be defined is the vice president. Republicans are spending a lot of money to define her. This is her opportunity to tell her story. This is her opportunity to let the majority of Americans who are saying, you know, I don't quite know who she is or where she stands. It's her time to reach out to those voters and tell them this is who I am, and this is what a potential America could look like if you were to vote for me.

MCKINNON: I was with George Bush at his inaugural, which was almost 25 years ago. He's younger than Donald Trump today. So, that is - the turn the page component is so important and people are so anxious for change.

The joy components made, but so is strength. The most important perception that voters have of a - of a candidate for president as a perception of strength. That's why Biden had a problem because of his age primarily.

HUNT: Yes.

MCKINNON: But the thing about - about Harris is, she's got the joyful component down. You combine that with strength, happy, with a warrior. That's a hell of a combo.

HUNT: All right, thanks to all of you for joining us this morning.

And thanks to all of you for being with us as well. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" is up next from right here in Chicago.

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