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Harris Puts Trump on Defense; Harris Campaign Challenge Trump to Second Debate; Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala Harris for President; Biden and Harris Attending 9/11 Ceremonies. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 11, 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]

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She was big on defund the police. In Minnesota, she went out -- wait a minute. I'm talking now. If you don't mind, please. Does that sound familiar?

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Lies.

TRUMP: She went out in Minnesota.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump attempting to use that famous Kamala Harris line, I'm speaking, against her. That was from her 2020 debate, of course, against then-Vice-Presidential Candidate Mike Pence. But even as some of his allies acknowledge it, it was Trump who ended up on the defense for most of the night.

The former president, though, felt quite confident about his performance. So confident, in fact, that he is saying a second debate might not be necessary.

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TRUMP: I thought it was our best debate ever, like my best debate ever, I think. And we had a -- it was very interesting. It showed how weak they are, how pathetic they are, and what they're doing to destroy our country and the border, with foreign trade, with everything that I think was the best debate I've ever personally that I've had. She wants a second debate because she lost the night very badly. So, they want -- they immediately call for a second debate because they lost.

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HUNT: All right. Joining me now is senior adviser to the Trump campaign, Jason Miller. Jason, very grateful to have you on the show this morning. Thank you for being here.

JASON MILLER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Good morning. Thank you. HUNT: I'd like to start with this issue, can you put it to rest? Will Donald Trump participate in a second debate with Kamala Harris before November 5th?

[06:35:00]

MILLER: Well, Kasie, I thought this is a bit perplexing because President Trump has already said that he is going to do three debates. We had the September 4th debate, which was going to be on Fox, and Kamala Harris was a no show. We had last night. And President Trump already said that on September 25th we would do a debate on NBC.

But now, Kamala Harris seems to have memory hold that, and rather than just saying, we'll see you on September 25th on NBC, is now throwing out some fictional day in October. So, very clearly, we're going to have to go back to the drawing board. We've already committed, September 25th against NBC, but Kamala Harris --

HUNT: Will do it --

MILLER: -- because last time she had two goals --

HUNT: -- on NBC? If she agrees to show up on NBC on September 25th, will you be there?

MILLER: Oh, we've already committed to September 25th with NBC. But here's the thing, the reason why Kamala Harris is doing it is because she had two goals last night and she didn't land either one. Number one, she had to find a way to break free from Joe Biden. When the wrong track in the country, you have two-thirds of the voters saying, go to the wrong track, one-third right track, it's not enough just to lay out a policy position. You have to say how you're going to change direction, how you're going to break free of Joe Biden.

The second thing that Kamala Harris had to do, which she didn't, was explain after three and a half years of being there, why she hasn't done it already. So, of course, Kamala Harris is going to come back to clean those two things up. It's not enough to give some platitudinal answer, you have to say how you're going to change direction, especially on the economy and immigration. She failed to do that.

HUNT: I hear the points that you're making. I just want to circle back one more time. If Kamala Harris agrees to the September 25th NBC debate, will Donald Trump be there?

MILLER: Well, again, you heard what I said, President Trump agreed to three debates, September 4th against Fox, which Kamala Harris is already no showed. So, she was 0 for one. We had last night's debate. President Trump said in a press conference and then via social media that on September 25th, we would do it on NBC.

You can't give Kamala Harris credit for saying that she'll do some fictional debate a month, a month and a half, two months down the road, maybe on election eve, because Kamala Harris is not going to show up.

HUNT: Yes. I'm not trying to give her --

MILLER: Kasie, I'll say this right now definitely --

HUNT: I'm not trying to give her -- OK. Go ahead, sorry.

MILLER: No, just President Trump agreed to three debates, the next one being September 25th on NBC. Kamala Harris clearly refuses to do that, saying that there'll be some fictional date in the future, September 25th. The onus here is on Kamala Harris to quit playing games, quit running, show up on September 25th. She's not going to do it.

HUNT: OK. But again, if she were to do it, would you?

MILLER: Well, again, we've already said that September 25th on NBC --

HUNT: And you'll stand by that even after the events of last night?

MILLER: Well, hold on. Kamala Harris last night refused to say this year is going to join us. So, you can't give her credit, again, from some fictional date. We're already on the books, September 25th, call NBC right now. They will tell you, go back and watch the tape, whether it's the press conference or social media, we're ready to go. She won't show up. And the reason is because she couldn't explain in 90 minutes last night -- actually went a bit more like an hour 45, couldn't say how she'd go any different direction from Joe Biden. They're effectively conjoined twins on the policy matter, and she couldn't say why after three and a half years, she hasn't done it already.

HUNT: All right. Let's move on. Jason, one of the moments that has obviously been replayed quite a bit this morning, as well as last night after the debate was this moment where Donald Trump talked about people in Springfield, he didn't mention which Springfield, but people in Springfield eating their pets. I want to watch that moment briefly and we'll talk about it on the other side. Take a look.

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TRUMP: A lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Now, the officials in this town have said that this is not true. This is not happening. And even The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote overnight that Harris won the debate, and they say it was because she came in with a strategy to taunt and goad Mr. Trump into diving down rabbit holes. They say he always takes the bait. Ms. Harris set the trap. So, he spent much of the debate talking about the past, about Joe Biden, or about immigrants eating pets, but not how he'd improve the lives of Americans in the next four years.

Why was Mr. Trump unable to resist going there?

MILLER: So, a bit of a compound question there. So, I want to go and unpack each one of those, Kasie. Specific to the pet question, if you go to thefederalist.com, a very well-respected research organization, if you go to the -- and a news outlet, thefederalist.com, you will see that months before all of this controversy popped up, there was 911 call, there was a police report filed on somebody saying that they saw this, which were illegal immigrants from Haiti who are abducting pets. So, I'm going to set that aside for a moment.

[06:40:00]

What upset me about this was that the moderators, and it was a three on one, (INAUDIBLE) get in them individually. I'd -- that -- let's put that aside for a moment. Also, this issue of illegal immigration that there is many of as 20 million Illegals been brought in the country, many of them airlifted to the middle of America, making every community a border community, that that was the issue that we should have been talking about. We should have been talking about these airlifts are continuing even after Kamala Harris, after 20 million illegals --

HUNT: Right. So, why didn't Mr. Trump do that though? I mean, he could have.

MILLER: Well, he did. Over and over.

HUNT: I mean, Republicans are more trusted on immigration, I take your point.

MILLER: Yes, but over and over he did bring it back to immigration, but we got a little bit, I'd say, put into this box with the moderators obsessing, again, The Federalist says that it's accurate, and they've posted the 911 call in the police report on their website. But what we should have been focusing on here is the fact that these fly-ins of illegal aliens to different countries happening all over. And it's not just at the border, it's the fly-ins.

And after 20 million illegals in Kamala Harris didn't say last night. And this is the important thing. Two-thirds of the country think we're going the wrong direction. Kamala Harris didn't say what she would do to stop that, didn't commit to stopping the fly-ins, didn't commit to what we do about the 21 million illegals already here.

Here's why it matters. When they're here, Kamala Harris has said in the past she wants blanket amnesty for everyone. That'll bankrupt entitlements, it'll bankrupt health care with everyone getting free health care. And of course, we see with the housing crisis, where are you going to put another 20 million people? That's what Americans care about. It's not enough for Kamala Harris to come in and give the platitudes, she has to say where she's going a different direction. She simply failed to do so last night.

If you're an undecided voter or someone who's on the fence, you had to see a willingness to a change in direction. Kamala Harris didn't do it. President Trump, over and over, said how he would stop that crisis and turned it around.

HUNT: Jason, quickly before I let you go, the other issue that I was left a little bit unclear on was whether or not President Trump would veto a national abortion ban in the event one landed on his desk as president. Can you say now, would he or wouldn't he veto such a ban?

MILLER: Well, I mean, he made it very clear last night. He said, number one, that's not going to come forward. But number two, that's not something that he's in support of. He's very clearly said that's going to be sent to the states. He's very adamant that any laws as states need to have the exceptions, very strongly rape, incest, life of the mother. And he also pointed out that how a number of states, including Minnesota, allow late term abortion up to the moment of birth, abortions in the ninth month.

Now, here's a thing --

HUNT: But would he be for it if it came to incest?

MILLER: But, Kasie --

HUNT: OK.

MILLER: -- hold on. I do have to take issues with the moderators on this point. There was a false fact check against President Trump with regard to Minnesota. If you go and look, there have been eight instances, since 2019, where a baby was born and whether it's because of a botched abortion or because there's some other reason after there -- maybe the attempt to revive or resuscitate the baby after they were born happened, eight instances where that baby then died.

So, there have been cases where after the baby was born that, unfortunately, there are eight lives that perished. Ralph Northam, and again, anyone can Google this, the former governor of Virginia said in the case of an abortion gone wrong, that they would be born, they would bring it in front of the doctors and then the parents along with the doctors would make a decision if they would keep that baby alive.

I have the video clip pinned -- excuse me, not pinned, but on my social media timeline @JasonMillerinDC. You can see Ralph Northam on video saying that literally after a baby is born, they would decide if they would keep the baby or if they would terminate the baby. That's barbaric.

HUNT: All right.

MILLER: Tim Walz is such an extremist on this. One of six states that allow abortions into the ninth month. I think Democrats are extreme at that issue.

HUNT: OK.

MILLER: Most people know this is a very personal issue, but they're more worried about the economy and immigration.

HUNT: And in these -- in cases like the ones that you are raising, they are -- if there is something that is happening, many of these cases, and I do not know the details of these ones that you have raised, but they are often very tragic, very difficult situations, often very wanted children and that is how the parents would frame this. I still am not clear on whether he's going to veto a national abortion ban or not, but I do very much appreciate your time, Jason. Thank you very much for coming on the show this morning.

MILLER: Hey, thank you as always.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next here on CNN This morning, after a strong debate performance from Kamala Harris, Democrats are riding high, but will Kamala Harris be able to convert this to a win in November? Harris' deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, joins us live next.

Plus, look what you made her do. Taylor Swift just throwing her endorsement behind Kamala Harris. Why the superstar said she needed to make her support known.

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[06:45:00]

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JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: I just want to say after surviving the PTSD of the last presidential debate how unbelievably refreshing it is to go back to the same old, nobody's going to answer these -- questions. This is unbelievable. We're back. American is back.

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HUNT: What a different debate we saw last night for Democrats. Kamala Harris now at the top of the ticket. And the way she presented herself was much stronger than how Joe Biden performed on that CNN stage back in June. But the question remains, was it enough to sway crucial moderate independent voters who were tuning in last night? This is what former presidential hopeful, Trump critic, Chris Christie, had to say.

[06:50:00]

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CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Vice President Harris, I think, would help herself, Byron, if she would admit what the country knows, which is they were too late on the actions on the border and that's hurt our country. She should admit that Afghanistan withdrawal did not go well. And I think she would gain a lot of credibility with those moderate, independent voters. Those I think were missed opportunities by her tonight.

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HUNT: And joining me now is Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Harris campaign. Quentin, very grateful to have you on the show. Thank you so much so much for being here.

I'm going to circle back to what Chris Christie had to say and the debate last night in a moment. But I actually want to start with what Jason Miller just said here on our air a few moments ago, and that is this question about a second possible debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. I want to play for you what he had to say, just in case you haven't seen it, remind our viewers of what he said, and then we'll talk about it on the other side. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: President Trump agreed to three debates, the next one being September 25th on NBC. Kamala Harris clearly refuses to do that, saying that there'll be some fictional date in the future. September 25th. The onus here is on Kamala Harris to quit playing games, quit running, show up on September 25th. She's not going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Quentin, is she going to do it? Is Kamala Harris willing to debate Donald Trump on September 25th on NBC?

QUENTIN FULKS, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER, HARRIS 2024: Look, I think that both campaigns are going to have to agree to a time. But I think that the vice president is open to a debate in October as she said last night. But I think that is just spin.

Look, if I was Donald Trump, I would not want to debate Kamala Harris. Last night, Americans saw Kamala Harris command the stage on every single issue that matters most to them, and put Donald Trump on the defensive. She was presidential. She held him accountable for his record. And so, his team is just playing games. But as the vice president has said, she's willing to explore a second debate in October, and I think that the American people deserve to see that.

HUNT: So, October, but not September?

FULKS: Look, I think that the two campaigns are going to have to agree on a date. The same way that they agreed on a date for the first one. But at the end of the day, after that performance last night, Donald Trump's team does not want him to debate Kamala Harris again.

HUNT: All right. Quentin, one question that's been raised from some sources that I'm talking to, you've heard Chris Christie articulated it there, was that perhaps Kamala Harris obviously got under Donald Trump's skin. We've talked quite a bit on this program.

Our panelists have all weighed in, in terms of how she had such a dominant performance. There were those 30 percent of Americans in The New York Times poll who said they wanted to know more about what she would do. And I have had some sources and some voters that Phil Mattingly talked to after the debate raised questions about, hey, we do need to know a little bit more about her.

Would a second debate give her an additional opportunity to do more of that? And how do you feel about the job she did on that score?

FULKS: Look, I think a second debate would absolutely give her an opportunity to do that. But the campaigning that we're going to do as an -- as a campaign over the next several weeks is also going to give her ability to do that. We are launching our New Way Forward tour, where we're going to have the vice president and principals and surrogates of our campaign all across this country and every single battleground state and every single market.

And look, last night, the vice president was very clear on all the issues that matter most, while Donald Trump was angry and rattled and incoherent. The vice president was not only holding him accountable for the lies that he continued to spew. She was also telling Americans about her vision for this country, how she would be a president for all Americans, how she would offer a new way forward, how she is a new generation of leader, and that the same tired old games of demeaning America and trying to drag our country back are no longer going to play. And I think that came through very clearly.

So, when it comes to the score and where the vice president stands on the issues, I think she was very clear.

HUNT: Quentin, in the meantime, while the campaigns work out whether or not Americans will have another chance to see these two meet on a debate stage, does Vice President Harris plan to schedule additional media interviews, whether national media interviews or with local stations in some of these critical battleground states?

FULKS: Look, I think the vice president is going to be out and doing interviews. We know that is a part and we want to make sure that we are speaking to the press. But look, we have 50 something days here. Our priority has to be the American voters.

Last night on the debate stage, she spoke directly to the American people about how she was going to govern as president, about what her administration was going to look like, about the fact that the middle class would be a priority. And the fact that, I think, it showed she's willing to stand up to anyone. If it means strengthening American democracy, if it means standing up for middle class families, and that is where her focus is going to be.

And over the next several weeks, we have to campaign. There's a lot of work to do between now and November. One debate is not going to define who this campaign is, who the vice president is. We feel exceptional about her performance last night, but the work must go on and our campaign is going to double down and continue to put across the work -- put in the work all across this country.

[06:55:00]

HUNT: Very briefly, our panel is going to talk about this next. But I'm curious, has Kamala Harris been in touch with Taylor Swift since the endorsement came out?

FULKS: Look, I think it was a late night last night. And look, we're honored to have the endorsement of Taylor Swift. Because I think that Taylor Swift saw what millions of Americans saw last night on the stage. She saw Donald Trump refuse to say if he would sign a national abortion ban. She saw him continue to demean America. And that's not the kind of America that Taylor Swift wants to be in. And so, we're honored that somebody who has a platform like that would use their voice to speak out on that.

HUNT: All right. Well, if they end up connecting on the phone, please feel free to let us know. Quentin Fulks, thank you very much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it.

FULKS: Thank you, thank you.

HUNT: And of course, as we were just discussing, Taylor Swift knows all too well about upsetting Donald Trump.

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TRUMP: Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, OK?

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HUNT: That was then Donald -- President Donald Trump six years ago. He didn't appreciate Taylor Swift's Democratic endorsements in the midterm elections. Possibly safe to say he may like her music even less now, because shortly after last night's debate, Swift posted to her 284 million Instagram followers that she's endorsing Kamala Harris for president.

Swift first got off the sidelines in politics back in 2018 when she endorsed Democratic challengers in Tennessee elections, and then again in 2020 when she supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Her post seemed to reference this fake A.I. image that was posted on Trump's Truth Social account. She says, at this moment, quote, "Brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter."

And Minnesota Governor Tim Walz last night. was more than happy to accept this endorsement.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Now, you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out, making that very clear. This would be the opportunity, Swifties. Kamalaharris.com, get on over there. Give us a hand, get things going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Harris stopped by a debate watch party after the debate. She did not address the endorsement, but she did give a nod to it as she walked off the stage. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And we will win. We will win. See you later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: That, of course, Harris walking off the stage to "The Man," which is an interesting choice of song, Kate. What do you make of all this?

KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Love it. It's -- as a diehard Swifty, I'm very excited about this. But in all seriousness, I do think it is a great thing for the campaign for a couple reasons. One, obviously, Taylor Swift has an enormous following of fans who care what she thinks and what she says, and we've seen her basically overtake the NFL over the last year because she is so popular and because her fans love her so much. They're all now like watching Chiefs games. You know --

HUNT: Taylor's boyfriend. Go, Taylor's boyfriend.

BEDINGFIELD: Yes. Go, Taylor's boyfriend. So, she actually has quite a bit of sway. The other thing I think is interesting and telling about the endorsement is, you know, she signed a childless cat lady, which shows you how completely this has permeated the culture and how completely J. D. Vance's kind of war on women has permeated the culture.

MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH AND JOHN MCCAIN: I have a suggestion for Taylor, how she can leverage this endorsement. Hear me out, Taylor. Have a series of free concerts in swing states and the way you get into the concerts, you're an unregistered voter and you register at the event. And that's the only way you get in, is if you're unregistered.

HUNT: That's an interesting idea.

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: And if you notice --

HUNT: Free (INAUDIBLE) for democracy.

WILLIAMS: If you noticed she did frame it, like, yes, I'm voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. However. I've done my research, and it's up to you, dear voter, to decide.

HUNT: I like that actually.

MATT GORMAN, FORMER TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: It was interesting --

WILLIAMS: That was new.

GORMAN: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Because -- and it was framed in terms of voter registration, not in terms of a full-throated endorsement.

GORMAN: It was rooted in humility, I think we'd often see from celebrity endorsements, which I think was refreshing. And look, she was -- I mean, she's a proud citizen. Go. God bless her. Vote whatever she wants. There's also some bullying. Variety did a piece yesterday, but if she doesn't endorse Kamala Harris, then there's some betrayal.

Like, I was very -- I noted the kind of the humility rooted in it, I thought it was refreshing in that aspect. But, yes, we'll see where it goes.

WILLIAMS: She's just really smart about her brand. And knowing that this is Michael Jordan and Republican Buy Sneakers Too.

GORMAN: Yes.

BEDINGFIELD: She also -- yes.

GORMAN: Yes.

WILLIAMS: And knowing that she has to appear --

GORMAN: It was a nod to that. I thought the same thing.

BEDINGFIELD: And she knows how to talk to young people. I mean, marketing to young people is often less fully aggressive. It's less the, you know, buy this brand. Like, think about, like, you know, the beer commercials that are like, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I drink blah, blah, blah. It's an effective way to talk to young people.

HUNT: Yes, really interesting. All right. So, we've spent a lot of time talking politics today, but we don't want to let this morning pass without remarking on the fact that it is today, September 11th. This is a live look at One World Trade Center in New York. It is the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks on that fateful day.

And later on this morning, President Biden and Vice President Harris will be in New York for the 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero before they will travel to Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Both President Biden and Vice President Harris released statements commemorating the day.

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