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CNN This Morning
Protests Continue Across Israel after Hostage Killings; Biden Says Netanyahu Not Doing Enough for a Deal; Harris and Walz Court Union Workers in Blue Wall States. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired September 03, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAUL REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, September 3rd. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[06:01:07]
REID: Fresh fury in Israel, following the murder of six hostages by Hamas. Hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding a ceasefire and hostage deal now.
Plus, President Biden echoing sentiments -- President Biden, echoing sentiments of protesters, claiming Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to move negotiations in the right direction.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When unions are strong, America is strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Kamala Harris's Labor Day message for the working class in key Blue Wall states.
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Comrade Kamala Harris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Donald Trump's allies latching onto this new nickname for Kamala Harris and using A.I. to get their point across.
It's 6 a.m. Here in Washington. Here's a live look at New York City.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Paula Reid, in for Kasie Hunt. It's great to be with you.
Israeli demonstrators are flooding the streets for another day as part of one of the largest nationwide protests since the start of Israel's war with Hamas.
The protests fueled by anger at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to secure a deal to release hostages and grief over the recent killings of six of those hostages, including Israeli- American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Netanyahu, staying defiant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I'm asking for your forgiveness that we didn't manage to bring them back alive. We're very close, but we couldn't make it.
Hamas will pay a heavy price for this, a very heavy price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: And joining me now CNN international correspondent Paula Hancocks.
Paula, what is the latest in Israel?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are seeing the Israeli prime minister digging in and being defiant, as you say. When you see hundreds of thousands of protesters on the streets of Israel, according to organizers, for the second day in a row, calling for him to sign up to the hostage ceasefire deal that is on the table.
He is saying, though, it is not Israel that should be making concessions. It is Hamas that should be making concessions, digging in and saying he will not change his mind.
Now of course, this does throw into doubt the talks that are ongoing at the moment. But when you listen to the fury and anger on the streets of Israel, you wonder how much longer this could go on, putting pressure on him, although he has withstood this pressure and criticism for months now.
Let's listen to some of the voices of those protesters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They need our voice. They need us to stop everything and make sure there's a deal on the table. This is the only way they can hear us, if we stop everything. That's the problem with the Israeli government that nothing -- they don't care about anything. I hope they care about them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: So, the main sticking point at this point is the Israeli prime minister saying that there has to be an Israeli military presence along the border between Egypt and Gaza to ensure that Hamas cannot rearm itself and be a threat to Israel in the future. Now, sources close to these negotiations say that this is an
additional condition that the Israeli prime minister is putting forward. He has been adamant that this has to happen, and we're hearing from those even within the cabinet, the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as well, saying that -- that this will scupper a deal.
[06:05:04]
We know that Hamas will not agree to it, which puts this deal in jeopardy.
REID: Paula Hancocks, thank you.
And the deaths of the hostages leading to a renewed push by the Biden administration to get a hostage release deal. When asked by reporters Monday, President Biden had a short answer on whether Israels prime minister is doing enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he's doing enough?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: There you go.
National security advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke with Israeli and Qatari officials to push negotiators toward a final deal.
Joining me now to discuss: Annie Linskey, reporter for the Wall Street Journal; Brad Woodhouse, senior DNC adviser; and Erin Perrine, former director of communications for the Trump 2020 campaign. Thank you all for being here.
Look, we're seeing Israel on the front page of almost every major newspaper here. Clearly also becoming a campaign issue, and it's a divisive issue, we know, for -- for Democrats in particular. One Republican-supported PAC is really leaning into it.
I want you to take a listen to an ad that they are pushing out in Michigan, which is of course, home to the country's largest Arab- American population. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, when Netanyahu came to D.C., Harris hosted the prime minister at the White House. And when supporters of a free Palestine stood up for Gaza, Harris put them in their place. And supporters of free Palestine, they hate her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Michigan a key part of that vital Blue Wall. What is your response to this, this ad?
ANNIE LINSKEY, REPORTER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Look, I mean, I think that -- just first of all, the deaths of the hostages in the last few days has been -- you know, is putting this conflict right in the center of the presidential election.
And just to kind of rewind to the DNC. Hersh's parents spoke so movingly at that event. I mean, I was there. I mean, you -- Brad, you were there, I'm sure. I'm not sure if it was there.
But I mean, there were tears in that room and -- and he, in many ways, has become the face of the attempts to -- to free these hostages.
So, for him to be, to be murdered, executed I think is, you know -- as this election goes into a new phase, this conflict, which is not really America's conflict, is becoming, you know, a centerpiece.
So, to putting out ads up, I think -- I think, you know, the Republicans have, you know, an issue here to -- to push on. And it doesn't surprise me at all that they are going to start to shift and make this a conflict that they want to put at the feet of Kamala Harris.
REID: And Erin, clearly, Republicans have an opportunity here, but it's a sensitive issue. What do you think about the strategy?
ERIN PERRINE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: It is a sensitive issue, but it's also a large issue that the United States is facing. Geopolitically, this world is much different than it was four years ago under Donald Trump's leadership.
And so, drawing that contrast -- contrast is critical, especially in a state like Michigan, when you're looking at the Blue Wall states here and you look at a large Arab-American population who is already very upset with Joe Biden and the direction he was heading with his geopolitical strategy.
When you look at that, and you saw them vote non-committed during the primary, because they were upset about this Israel-Hamas war.
This is an opportunity for Republicans to depress Democrat turnout and a fracture their base a bit going into the general election.
And to say Kamala is running as a change agent. That is why you're seeing momentum for her in the polls, whether it's about labor; it's about the economy; it's about geopolitical people right now, believe she will be different than Joe Biden.
Her not only campaigning with Joe Biden, but think she would pursue the same geopolitical strategy, is one that Republicans can use as a wedge issue for Democrats.
BRAD WOODHOUSE, SENIOR DNC ADVISER: That ad --
REID: Yes, go ahead. WOODHOUSE: That ad is cynical. It's disgraceful, and it's -- and it's untrue. And it is -- it is -- the Arab-Americans in Michigan shouldn't be played by a Republican front group for Trump.
Because if they're concerned about what's going on in the Middle East to solution is not to put back in the White House the author of the Muslim ban. The solution is not to put back in office someone that will let Benjamin Netanyahu do whatever he wants without a single check and without a single balance.
REID: And there seems to be some inconsistent see in the messaging, because during an event in New Jersey, a few weeks ago, Trump said something that actually contradicts part of that ad. Let's take a listen to what he said about Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The toxic poison of antisemitism now courses through the veins of radical Democrat Party.
And instead of expunging this hatred, Kamala Harris is pandering to it. He [SIC] wouldn't even meet Bibi. He [SIC] wouldn't talk to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: What is your reaction?
WOODHOUSE: Well, I mean, we're either too pro-Palestinian or too anti- Israel. I mean, they can't -- there is no message here.
[06:10:08]
I mean, this is Donald Trump. I mean, he can't sit on a consistent message attack strategy to say -- to save his life. I mean, we've seen just this last week -- week on abortion. I mean, look, they -- they have an issue here.
This is the incumbent administration dealing with the tough situation in the Middle East. They're going to prosecute it.
But this group in -- in Michigan is not to be believed. That is a cynical ad. It's untrue, and it -- and it's meant to help someone who Arab-Americans can't trust to be back in the White House.
REID: Annie, do you want to weigh in?
LINSKEY: Look, I mean, I think at the bottom -- the bottom line here is this -- this terrible, terrible weekend, this terrible news event puts chaos back in sort of the -- in the centerpiece of American politics.
And it takes a war that's not America's war and is -- makes it more about America. That's an American citizen who was executed.
And I -- you know, I think that it does put in -- as the campaign is kind of going into a new phase, it's putting a new issue just right back up in the forefront.
REID: And Erin, quickly, I'll give you the last word.
PERRINE: I think that this is one that's going to have to be handled with great sensitivity. It is really difficult. And to every family, you know, America mourns the loss of our own and everybody who's been lost in this war.
The people -- the parties need to come together and get a solution. But right now, unless there is a solution, this will be a huge issue for Kamala Harris going into the November election.
REID: All right. Thank you all for joining us.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we'll continue to follow developments out of Israel as Israel's special envoy for combating antisemitism joins me live to talk about where Netanyahu goes from here.
Plus, two U.S. Marines attacked in Turkey, and it was all caught on video. That's coming up in our morning round-up.
And next, President Biden flexes his Pennsylvania roots as he rallies beside Kamala Harris in that must-win state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Kamala believe, as I do, the unions are the spine of this economy. She'll be a historic pro-union president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:16:47]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: When union wages go up, everybody's wages go up. When union workplaces are safer, all workplaces are safer. When unions are strong, America is strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: There, Vice President Harris reaching out to union workers on Labor Day. She and her surrogates laser-focused on the backbone of America, blue-collar workers in the so-called Blue Wall states.
The vice president campaigning in Pittsburgh with President Biden by her side. Her running mate was stumping in battleground Wisconsin, echoing the same theme.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Folks, start thinking about running. I can remember -- and this was one -- Republicans came up to me in one of my campaigns. And they said, "Tim is in the pocket of organized labor."
I said that's a damn lie. I am the pocket. I am the pocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Those battleground states are up for grabs. In a recent Quinnipiac poll, Harris leads Trump by three points among likely voters in Pennsylvania, but that's just outside the margin of error.
So, our panel is back with us. Clearly, the Harris-Walz team making the case that they are the best team for working Americans.
Let's take a look at this new ad, actually, that just dropped an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She'll make groceries more affordable by cracking down on price gouging. And she'll cut housing costs by taking on corporate speculators.
Middle-class families built America. We need a leader who has their back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: Effective messaging?
LINSKEY: Yes, it's effective messaging, but in -- the journalist in me is looking at that ad and sort of feeling like the polling team has taken over the policy.
Because, I mean, if there's this price gouging going on that she's talking about in the ad --
REID: Yes.
LINSKEY: -- my goodness. There's somebody who's in the White House right now who could be doing something about it.
So, you know, when I -- when I hear these -- and then that's the tricky thing that Harris has. The tricky walk that she has to walk is distancing herself a little bit from the president or saying that she's going to solve some of the problems that Americans are feeling.
But she's also in power right now. So is it the time to kick the pollsters out of the kitchen?
WOODHOUSE: No, not at all. First of all, this -- the events yesterday were incredible. And I think the one thing that people underestimate, with the change at the top of the ticket, just how powerful Joe Biden is in these blue -- in Blue Wall states.
If you win the Blue Wall states, you win the presidency. And there's nowhere that Joe Biden has a more effective message to help Kamala Harris than in those -- in those blue -- in those Blue Wall states. But this -- this issue of her position on price gouging and lowering
housing costs is pretty incredible because, you know, about 90 percent of people probably want to see the cost of housing lowering. They want to see the cost of groceries lowered.
As soon as she comes out and says, I have a plan to take on price gouging, the Republicans came out and say, well, you can't do that. That's -- that's price controls.
They said the same thing about prescription drug costs. Again, 90 percent of Americans want a lower prescription drug cost. Biden and Harris got it done. I think she'll get this done.
It also speaks to her biography that she is the prosecutor, wanting to take on people like corporate -- corporate grocery stores, and speculators in the real estate market.
[06:20:08]
REID: But Erin, this is of course, a weakness for her. Not everyone is happy with the economy. It presents an opportunity for the former president. How should he approach this issue, especially in next week's debate?
PERRINE: This isn't -- this is, I think -- is actually an easy one for Donald Trump. I think that she's in the White House to your point. She's there. If you can get this done, get it done.
Democrats are going to say, well, Donald Trump stopped the immigration bill, because he put his hand on the lever. He stopped progress. This is Kamala Harris stopping progress. This is Kamala Harris stopping progress.
If she's sitting in the White House -- and she is there right now. Why aren't they working to get things done? If you can deliver today, why wait until tomorrow?
That's -- that's ineffective leadership at best. And Republicans absolutely have every reason and ability to say you want to look at what direction the country is going in? It's because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
You want to know why things are more expensive today? It's because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
You want to know why you feel less safe? It's because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
And so, the more they put Joe Biden out there with Kamala Harris -- and to your point, if Joe Biden was so strong in these Blue Wall states, the Democrats wouldn't have booted him off the top of the ticket. They would have kept him up there to keep running.
So, I think that we can all say that that's not necessarily a fact.
WOODHOUSE: He -- I will tell you how strong he was in the Blue Wall states. He beat Donald Trump in all of them last time.
PERRINE: And he wasn't about to this cycle, which is why Democrats gave him the old heave-ho.
WOODHOUSE: He -- he beat -- he beat him in all of them last time.
Look, one of the key elements of winning election is turning out your base. The base of the Democratic Party loves Joe Biden. At the -- at the Democratic convention, they gave him a four-and-a-half minute standing ovation.
PERRINE: After they took him out back like Old Yeller.
WOODHOUSE: OK. All right. But this -- but also, this issue that this administration has worked on junk fees. They worked on airline fees. They lowered the price of prescription drugs.
So, to say that we -- that no one's doing anything in this administration to lower costs is just not -- it's just not true.
Now she's got -- she's a new plan. And -- and God bless her for having a new plan. She's had a plan to deal with price gouging.
But Donald Trump and Republicans want grocery prices just to stay high.
LINSKEY: I think sort of the issue here is that when you talk to economists, price gouging doesn't actually seem to be the problem with high-pressure prices.
Grocery prices have gone up, and that's absolutely true. But this is sort of a solution in search of a problem. And it does -- it does poll very well.
And it also gives Democrats a new villain. I mean, everybody -- every election, you need a villain. And pointing to big corporations is a place that Democrats tend to point to. And so, look, I mean the-- the sort of -- the sort of reporter in me when I hear price gouging, that's where I say like, look, this is not actually the root cause here of the increase in prices.
There are many other issues --
WOODHOUSE: Look --
LINSKEY: -- that have contributed to increase the prices.
WOODHOUSE: The week she announced this policy, Kroger's CEO admitted in a -- in a case that Kroger had raised prices far in excess of just accounting for -- for inflation. So, it might not be the entire problem, but it certainly is an issue, and it's certainly a political issue.
PERRINE: And to her point, it polls well, so it's a good message.
But grocery store margins right now, as a business, sit anywhere between, like, 1.5 and 3 percent on the high-end. So, to say that there is, like, rampant price gouging in your grocery store just doesn't hold water, in fact.
REID: All right. We're going to have to pause for just a second. Stay with us. We will be right back, because still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a hotel workers' strike is dragging on.
Now, thousands walking off the job over the busy Labor Day weekend. What they're hoping to get in the standoff.
Plus, and is -- in Israel, protests continue, and outrage grows over the killing of six hostages by Hamas in Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:28:13]
REID: It is 27 minutes past the hour. Here are five things you have to see this morning.
First, picket lines across America as hundreds join the more than 10,000 hotel workers already on strike. Workers are speaking out against low pay, poor working conditions, and short staffing.
Dozens of hotels have been affected by the strikes, which are expected to end tomorrow morning.
And a museum heist in New South Wales caught on camera. Thieves with sledgehammers smashed into cases, stealing 27 historic handguns.
The guns, some of which are still operational, could be worth up to $200,000.
And two stranded sailors are now safe after a daring rescue in choppy seas near -- nearly 200 miles offshore. Their yacht was adrift after a mechanical issue and waves almost 20 feet tall delayed a rescue for several hours.
Australia's Navy and Air Force managed to safely grab them when conditions finally improved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, someone put in the air (ph) on top of a freaking whale!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REID: And take a look at a snorkeler being launched into the air by a whale off -- where else? -- Australia's Gold Coast. The group was swimming with humpbacks when their tour guide got a little too up close and personal and wound up being launched.
And Japan defeating Team USA to win Wheelchair Rugby gold at the Paris Paralympics. The result means the U.S., which has medaled at every Paralympics in this event, finished in the silver medal position for the third straight games.
And temperatures in parts of the Southwest forecasted to hit triple- digits while the Eastern U.S. is experiencing an early dose of fall.
Let's go to meteorologist Derek van Dam. Quite the contrast across the country today.
