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CNN This Morning
Trump Backtracks On Florida Abortion Amendment; Israeli Protesters Demand Deal After Six Hostages Killed; Former Hostage Aviva Siegel Joins CNN This Morning. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 02, 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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[05:30:40]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: Five-thirty a.m. here in New York. This is a live look at St. Louis, Missouri. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in for Kasie Hunt today. It is great to be with you this morning.
Donald Trump and his allies now clarifying exactly where he falls on several issues surrounded --surrounding reproductive rights. Over the past several days his shifting positions on an abortion referendum in Florida have angered his conservative base. In a span of 24 hours he seemed to backtrack though on how he would vote in Florida.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think the six week is too short. It has to be more time. And so that's -- and I've told them that I want more weeks.
REPORTER: So you'll vote in favor of the amendment?
TRUMP: I'm voting that -- I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.
BRYAN LLENAS, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you voting yes or no on amendment four in Florida?
TRUMP: So I think six weeks -- you need more time than six weeks. I've disagreed with that right from the early primaries when I heard about it. I disagreed with it. At the same time, the Democrats are radical because the nine months is just a ridiculous situation that you can do an abortion in the ninth month. So I'll be voting no for that reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Trump's position surrounding IVF treatments also surprising some allies. During a town hall last week he pitched a plan to cover the cost of IVF treatments either by the government or by a mandate on insurance companies. And Republican senators seem to be unsure about paying for that proposed plan. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): And I'm open to -- that most Republicans would be open to. I think we'd have to evaluate the fiscal impact -- whether the taxpayer can afford to pay for this. What impact it would have on premiums.
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: You voted against it.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): No, I wouldn't because there's --
KARL: Yeah.
GRAHAM: -- no end to that. Yeah, there's no end to that. I think I tax credit for children makes sense -- means tested, and I think let's look at that concept for people trying to have a child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Joining me now to discuss all of this, Cheyanne Daniels, race and politics reporter for The Hill. Good morning to you. Great to have you on this morning.
Let's talk a little bit more about where Trump is and where he's been kind of all over the place on this, staking out different positions around these reproductive rights issues.
How will voters take all of this in -- him swinging kind of from one direction to another?
CHEYANNE DANIELS, RACE AND POLITICS REPORTER, THE HILL, CREATOR AND HOST, "THE SWITCH UP" PODCAST: You know, I think this is the former president really trying to figure out what he has to do to win over those voters who are extremely concerned about abortion and reproductive rights this year, right?
He's spent so much time talking about how he -- it was because of him that the Supreme Court was over -- able to overturn Roe v. Wade. And then the response to that, as we now see, is 10 states, at least, have abortion literally on the ballot in November.
And so he's trying to find this middle ground to speak to his base while at the same time grabbing the attention of those who are maybe saying you know what, I don't agree with that. So it's going to be really interesting I think to see where voters sort of align with his, especially when looking on the other side to where Democrats are and Democrats wanting to restore Roe v. Wade. It's going to be a very interesting play, I think.
DEAN: Yeah. Well, there was tremendous conservative uproar when he said that he would not -- would be supporting overturning that six- week ban in Florida. He since has gone back, as we just played in that clip, and said that he will not be doing that.
But it is striking to think about how he has bragged and said I'm the guy that got rid of Roe v. Wade and now is trying to figure out politically how to almost moderate on that position.
DANIELS: Yes, that's exactly right. And I think voters, at this point -- there's been a lot of shakeup on the Democratic side, right? I don't think anybody can deny that. They're going to need somebody who can stay steady right now, especially after everything that we've seen over the last couple of months.
So again, not sure exactly what he's hoping to accomplish here other than possibly speaking to those voters who are a little bit concerned about reproductive rights. But again, voters are really hoping and looking towards somebody who can have a stability -- a stable campaign at this moment.
DEAN: And let's talk about the campaign more broadly because we got that new polling from ABC News-Ipsos yesterday. And it shows Harris leading Trump 52 to 46. What's interesting is that pre-Democratic Convention it was Harris leading Trump 51 to 45, so not a ton of swing there.
[05:35:00]
We, in the past -- you know, historically, you'd get these bumps coming out of conventions. I was talking to Larry Sabato. He made the case that she got her bump before the convention.
What do you make of those numbers?
DANIELS: I think it's really interesting. I think it goes to show that while voters are paying attention, we already knew that President Biden wasn't polling that well. We know that there is some concern obviously around him. And so that bump that she got actually ahead of the convention was that enthusiasm that we see come from voters and excitement around a switch up, not a repeat of 2020.
What I think is really interesting from that poll was the gender gap actually widened between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. And so I think this is going to be really interesting, especially in November, where we see men versus women come out and who they're voting for in November.
DEAN: Yeah, that gender gap just keeps getting wider and wider.
All right, Cheyanne Daniels. Thank you so much. Good to see you.
DANIELS: Thank you.
DEAN: Still to come after the break, outrage over the killing of six hostages. We're going to talk one-on-one with a former hostage whose spouse remains in captivity.
Plus, college football is back. We'll have that and more coming up on the Bleacher Report.
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[05:40:40] DEAN: The discovery of six murdered hostages in Gaza further complicating already fragile ceasefire talks with Hamas. Israel believes 101 hostages remain in captivity, including 35 who are feared dead. Tens of thousands of Israelis protesting in the streets this weekend demanding those remaining hostages be brought home.
We have more now from CNN's Nic Robertson.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): With the real hopes of their release until so recently, Hersh Goldberg- Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, Ori Danino found by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. Forensic evidence showing they were executed less than three days prior.
REAR ADMIRAL DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON (through translator): They were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short while before we reached them.
ROBERTSON (voiceover): American-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, happy-go- lucky, according to his family -- a hero on October 7 losing part of his arm trying to save others from Hamas gunfire and grenades at the Nova Music Festival.
HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, HOSTAGE: (Speaking foreign language).
ROBERTSON (voiceover): Becoming an international icon of the hostages' horrific suffering, forced to perform a propaganda video for the terror group.
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTIONGOERS: Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home!
ROBERTSON (voiceover): His oh so hopeful parents, at the Democratic National Convention less than two weeks ago, telling him to hold on until a release deal reached.
JON POLIN, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S FATHER: The time is now.
RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN, HERSH GOLDBERG POLIN'S MOTHER: Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong, survive.
J. POLIN: Bring them home.
ROBERTSON (voiceover): Horrible truths piling on the pain. Israeli officials telling CNN Hersh, and Eden, and Carmel all slated for the first phase of releases in hostage negotiations.
Heartbreak, anger, and anguish at Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's failure to make a deal to save Hersh and the others. An emotive cocktail surging unprecedented numbers of anti-Netanyahu protesters onto the streets across the country. An outpouring to get the other hostages home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need a deal now for his future and for our future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened.
ROBERTSON: Eden Yerushalmi was just 24 years old, a bartender at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas attacked. Calling her two sisters, her last words, "they've caught me."
Carmel Gat, a 40-year-old occupational therapist, was visiting her parents at Kibbutz Be'eri next to the Nova Music Festival. Saw her mother killed before she was snatched by Hamas.
Twenty-seven-year-old Almog Sarusi was at the music festival with his girlfriend. When she got injured in the Hamas attack, he stayed with her, trying to staunch her fatal wounds before he was captured.
Alexander Lobanov was the bar manager at the festival, 32 years old, a Russian Israeli. His wife Michal gave birth to their second child this year, a son. He will never meet his father.
Ori Danino was another October 7 hero. The 25-year-old fled the music festival taking friends to safety in his car, then returned to help Maya and Itay Regev. The three got captured. Maya and Itay released last November.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Hamas is continuing to steadfastly refuse all proposals. Even worse, at the exact same time, it murdered six of our hostages. Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal.
[05:45:00]
ROBERTSON (voiceover): The prime minister insisting Hamas, not him, responsible for the untimely deaths.
ROBERTSON: And the prime minister's message just not cutting it on the streets here at all. There are growing tensions within his government. The anger on the streets here is growing. This city -- the municipality is threatening to go on strike on Monday. Some of the country's biggest labor unions threatening to do the same. This country could be on the cusp of change, but no one here is going to take that for granted.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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DEAN: And among those still being held hostage in Gaza today, U.S. citizen Keith Siegel. Siegel was kidnapped from his home by Hamas terrorists, along with his wife Aviva, on October 7. Aviva was released last November as part of that temporary ceasefire deal that was brokered by Qatar and the United States.
Aviva Siegel joins us now live from Tel Aviv. Aviva, good morning -- good afternoon to you where you are. First, I just want to say how sorry we are for the trauma you and your
entire family have endured and continue to endure nearly one year after October 7.
I just want to get your initial reaction to the news that we've gotten over the last 24 hours and now these massive protests that we're seeing there in Tel Aviv.
AVIVA SIEGEL, FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE, HUSBAND STILL HELD BY HAMAS (via Webex by Cisco): Yes. So, six hostages were murdered in such a brutal way, and they were alive three days ago. And they should have been back in Israel months ago when it was possible. Their families are in so much pain.
Rachel and Jon are like my family. I love them. And I so much wanted to meet Hersch, their son that they've been talking about for nearly a year.
It's just beyond what happened to them and things like that should not happen. Keith is still there with all the other hostages, and I want him back alive, not in a box.
DEAN: Of course, of course. And so what -- how does that happen? I know you and other hostages who have been released and family members of hostage currently in captivity have been pressuring the Israeli government, the American government -- anyone you can to get them back home.
Do you see that changing in the next couple of days? Do you feel an increased sense of urgency, if that's even possible to be more urgent about this?
SIEGEL: It's urgent. It's been urgent for nearly a year. What they're going through and the stories that I have been telling everybody of what I went through and knowing that Keith and the hostages are still there going through what I went through is cruel. It's just so cruel.
So I do not want to lose my hope, and I want to hope that in a couple of days something will change because it has to change. And it should have changed months ago. It's too cruel that we all know what they're going through and just leaving them there.
The whole world should be with us and scream and shout for them because Keith is there crying. He's lying on a mattress just like a rug with no human rights and begging and crying get me out of here, and nothing is happening.
I can't even think about if Keith heard about the six hostages that were killed in such an easy (PH) way what he feels. If he feels that maybe he's going to be the next one to be killed. If he feels that he's going to die. If he feels that he'll ever ever come back and see me.
We've been married for 43 years. I've always known everything about Keith. And now I don't know anything.
DEAN: Yeah, that's just -- it's unimaginable.
What -- have you gotten any sort of update on your husband? Do you have any idea -- have they been able to tell you anything?
SIEGEL: You know that I've learned in these last couple of days that it doesn't matter if you've heard. We could hear something that Keith's OK now and five minutes later the Hamas terrorists will just turn around and kill Keith. So it doesn't mean anything -- it just doesn't. It means nothing.
DEAN: And -- go head.
SIEGEL: And the hostages are in such danger.
DEAN: And so what do you hope happens? Do you hope -- are you hopeful that Benjamin Netanyahu will agree to a deal, that Hamas will agree to a deal? Do you have hope that this can be resolved?
SIEGEL: I want to tell you that I feel that Bibi Netanyahu is killing Keith and killing the hostages by leaving them there. He needs to push. He was chosen to lead -- to lead his country, and he's not doing that now.
[05:50:07]
What he's doing is breaking everybody up into pieces. Everybody is just sad and crying and had enough, and that's what we saw last night. Five hundred thousand people came to be with us to shout for the hostages to come out.
If that's not enough I don't know what more needs to be done because I feel that we've been doing everything we can -- everything. That's all I do. I've been back for more than nine months without Keith and screaming aloud please, please, please bring Keith home, and all the hostages, but nothing helps.
DEAN: Yeah. Well, I hope that Keith is home very soon with you. Aviva Siegel, thank you for joining us this morning.
SIEGEL: Thank you so much, and thank you, everybody. I love Biden. He's just got such a big heart and I know that he wants Keith out. And everybody that's with us, thank you. Thank you for being with us and helping.
DEAN: I hope he's home soon. Thank you, Aviva.
SIEGEL: Thank you.
DEAN: All right, let's turn to sports now. USC opening its college football season with a thrilling win in the final seconds over LSU.
Coy Wire has this morning's Bleacher Report. Good morning, Coy.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Jessica Dean.
Nearly 64,000 fans set an Allegiant Stadium record in Vegas to see 23rd-ranked USC take on number 13 LSU. That's more than the Super Bowl, any Raiders game, or concert that were held there.
And the Trojans are back bringing a revamped defense and some highlight reel plays like this. Kyron Hudson -- out of this world catch, reaching into the lower stratosphere for this one. And one thing is for certain -- they've got themselves a heck of a quarterback, too. Miller Moss just second career start, 75 percent completion, 378 yards passing. But how about Hudson?
Moss also orchestrated the game-winning drive. Tie game -- Woody Marks leaving his mark with a 13-yard run -- eight seconds to go. Twenty- seven to 20 is the final.
Coach Lincoln Riley's USA Trojans in their first game as a member of the Big 10, taking down an SEC power.
And afterwards, LSU Coach Brian Kelly leaving his mark with a table- pounding presser.
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BRIAN KELLY, HEAD COACH, LSU: Some guys played their butts off tonight. And we're sitting here again -- we're sitting here again talking about the same things -- about not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away. But what we're doing on the sideline is feeling like the game's over. It's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It's ridiculous.
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WIRE: All right. Coco Gauff's quest to repeat as U.S. Open champ is over. The 20-year-old falling in three sets to familiar foe, fellow American Emma Navarro. This is Navarro's second consecutive win against Gauff, and it comes at the same point in the tournament as the pair's previous meeting at Wimbledon in the fourth round.
Navarro advances to the quarters where she will face Paula Badosa of Spain.
Angel Reese keeps adding her name to the WNBA record book. The Chicago Sky rookie broke the league's single-season rebounding record yesterday, pulling down this miss in the second quarter for her 405th board of the season. Reese would finish with 19 rebounds giving her 418 for the season to go with 17 points in a 79-74 loss to the Lynx.
Afterwards, the 22-year-old said she knew she'd adjusted quickly to the pro game and evidently, she passed.
All right. Meantime, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have been playing lights out since the return from the Olympic break. Not only do they own the league's best record in that time span, but they now have a winning record for the first time in more than five years.
Clark dropping 28 points to set the franchise rookie record for points in a season in a 100-93 win over Dallas. That's Indiana's sixth win in seven games with their playoff chances looking strong. All right. You may think you had a great weekend, but it might not have gone as well as Scottie Scheffler's. He capped off one of the best seasons by winning the biggest prize in golf, the Tour Championship's $25 million FedEx Cup payday. It pushes his season earnings to just over a cool 62 mill.
In the span of a year, the first-time father collected a Masters green jacket, an Olympic gold medal, and his first mugshot after being arrested outside a PGA Championship. Charges were all dropped and life is good.
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SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, 2-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: I really don't know how to put it into words. It's been a very eventful year, but it's been a lot of fun. You have the really -- just the one weird spot there at Valhalla which -- I just don't really know what to say about it. But yeah, everything else has been pretty special.
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[05:55:09]
WIRE: Jessica, Scheffler's $62 million in PGA Tour earnings this year works out to about $830,000 per round, $12,000 per shot. That is not bad.
DEAN: That's not bad. He's had a pretty good year all things considered.
WIRE: That's really good.
DEAN: All right, Coy Wire. Thank you so much.
WIRE: You got it.
DEAN: Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, in a matter of hours, President Biden and Vice President Harris will meet in the Situation Room as demands for a hostage release deal reach new heights.
Plus, they'll be together again when President Biden makes a return to the campaign trail rallying key swing state voters for Kamala Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to win in Pennsylvania, my original home state, and I'm going to be campaigning in other states as well. And I'm going to whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most.
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