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Students at Service Academies Rise Above Partisanship; Mandela Barnes is Interviewed about Wisconsin Politics; Trump Plans to Visit Springfield. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 19, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:36]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.

New polling out this morning from "The New York Times" finding Donald Trump and Kamala Harris tied nationally among likely voters in must- win Pennsylvania, the state perhaps most likely to decide the election. Harris leading Trump by four points. That is just outside the margin of error. And it does include the third-party candidates that will be on the ballot there. Those polls were conducted in part after the apparent second assassination attempt against Donald Trump and the rash of bomb threats in Ohio.

And of course, with all of those events, we're reminded how divisive our politics have become. Still, there are a few places rising above for a higher cause, the United States Service Academies. Once our next guest recently spoke with a group of West Point cadets about how and why they're able to put aside political differences in service of our nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: West Point teaches you how to disagree with the people you have to work with because you're here for a greater purpose. And so you have to put aside your personal differences and find a solution.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: How does this place develop character and the kind of character that this country needs to fight successfully in the wars of the future?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we all talked about growths. But it's not just personal growth, it's growing together. And due to the four years here, we all grow together, we all learn together, we rely on each other. So, in taking that to the military then, in a broader aspect, it's not just sacrifice for ourselves, it's sacrifice for the people to our left and right. So, we have to be willing to say, for you, battle buddy, I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it requires for us to get the mission done.

There's also a hope for the future between all of us. So, there's the understanding that if we sacrifice for each other, we are enabling each other to create a brighter future for our country tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining me now is pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz, who you saw there conducting this group.

Frank, I'm so grateful to have you, especially on this topic.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: And this is the most nervous I have been this entire year, because this matters to me more than anything I've done possibly in my entire career. These young men and women are absolutely exceptional. And the institution of West Point is extraordinary. They teach sacrifice and service. But even more importantly, they teach leadership with character. A West Point cadette cannot lie, cheat, or steal, and here's the important part, they will not tolerate anyone who does.

Now imagine if America was filled with people like this with those values. The institutions - you learn this - it becomes who you are. And I see it articulated and I see it in everyday life, they help people. They are - they always have your back. And it makes me, not just proud for my country, but it makes me feel safe and secure knowing that they've got - they've got our backs.

I will say, in an age when our politics seems so deeply selfish a lot of the time, I think one of the things that I - I see in these clips that - that we're watching of these kids something that we can all aspire to, which is to think more about the people round us. And these kids are, obviously, actually doing that. Their actions are bearing it out.

You mentioned the institution, West Point, what it means to them. Let's watch a little bit more about what they had to say when you ask them that question.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUNTZ: Can several of you tell me what West Point means to you personally? Not describe the institution, but - but its impact on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the first thing that goes through my mind is the classic question, if not me than who? How can I expect there to be a military if I wouldn't want to sign up for it. We're lucky to have a volunteer force. That's something that a lot of Americans don't think about, that we, as a nation, have an all-volunteer force. That's not present in most of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me it's a calling. It's a sense of duty. Something that isn't tasked upon me, but something that I feel as if I need to do for my family, for my fellow Americans. And, most importantly, for my friends here. I wake up every morning being proud to serve and to be at this institution because I'm doing it for the people around me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:35:01]

HUNT: So, Frank, in an age where we see some of the way - the way that some of our leaders act, conduct themselves in public, and you contrast it with these kids and what they're able to say and do, I mean, can we get them to watch some of this and maybe help everybody get to a point that's closer to this?

LUNTZ: Over the last two days I met with seven senators, ten members of congress, an even number of Democrats and Republicans. They asked challenging questions because the institution teaches them how to do so. So, you can - you can say, wait, I don't think this is right, or I don't think this is fair, but you can do so civilly and decently. And you can do so without a shred of partisanship. It never comes up.

I watched the debate with them. I'll see the debate coming up October 1st. And they looked each other straight in the eye and they sit up straight. And their entire behavior is one they were trying to teach the U.S. Just as they model - model their behavior off of what's right and what's decent and what's fair, I wish America could learn more from them and do exactly the same.

HUNT: So, of course, the - you conducted this focus group in May. This was before these kids were about to graduate, which means that they are headed, you know, for training for a real-world that many others their age are nowhere near heading to. You asked them about what their goals are.

Let's take a look at how they answered that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUNTZ: What is the impact that you wish to have on the world, on the country, on your family based on you being here at West Point?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say being a role model, that's the main impact that I want to be. There's different divides and divisions all across the country, but I think one thing, at least at the academy, we can come together is understanding what being a role model looks like, what it looks like ethically, being a leader and being resilient, you know, physically and mentally. And I think that's what I would want to give the country, is that there is hope and there is leadership out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was President Lincoln that said if the United States ever falls it will be our own doing and not another country's. And I think West Point facilitates humility and it facilitates a purpose and a love for others besides - besides yourself. And I think it's the antithesis of that, which is pride, which is currently causing most, if not all of our problems.

So, I think the way that you inspire that shift in values is to do it yourself, lead by example.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: So, Frank, pride and patriotism have been a part of this presidential campaign, sometimes in very negative ways. But one of the kids, one of the - they're young - one of the young man that we heard from their, his personal story is one of great, remarkable patriotism. Tell us about it.

LUNTZ: He wasn't born here. He was born in Iraq. His father was a translator. And now he's a Rhodes Scholar. And that's what West Point does. It takes decent, young people and turns them into leaders of character and courage. And then the second gentleman talked about humility. When do you see young people actually sacrifice for others and respect others above themselves? And that's what makes West Point unique and exceptional with extraordinary cadets. But it's all a part of living. It's all a part of - it's - the air is different there. And I'm heading up there now. And I can't wait. Because when you're around them, you feel better about the country. You feel safe and secure. And you know that there's no reason for us to treat each other with disrespect, that this country is better than that.

They defend the Constitution, not a president, not a political party, not a government, the Constitution. And they all appreciate it because they're taught what that means.

HUNT: Yes.

So, how does knowing what you know about them, being able to work with them like this, how does it make you view when Donald Trump says things about how America's a declining country, he sometimes says things that make it sound - maybe it's not worth fighting for. It - what do you make of that language?

LUNTZ: Well, here's what West Point taught me. I'm actually going to not answer that question because there's not a shred, not an ounce of partisanship in them, and they will defend - whoever's the president, they will defend the Constitution. Whatever they're asked to do, they do. And they're prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. And I want to emphasize -

HUNT: Sure. But are leaders serving them when they talk about our country that way?

LUNTZ: They are prepared to put up with anything. These are young people who walk with backpacks of 90 pounds or 100 pounds, mile after mile after mile, carrying incredible weaponry, carrying each other up and down the hills.

[06:40:09]

And - and it's so heartwarming to know that there is still - I wish there were more than 4,400 of them. I wish that other universities could do what they do because it would change the direction of our country.

America is a great country because we have great young people. And we have great young people because of institutions that bring out the best in them. HUNT: True.

LUNTZ: The best professors. The most amazing people who serve. And it's - it's impacted my life.

HUNT: Well, thanks for giving us an opportunity to hear from them, Frank. I really appreciate it. Thanks for being here today.

LUNTZ: And I appreciate - yes, than you for - CNN for bringing them to the American people.

HUNT: For sure.

All right, ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, absentee ballots in the mail in battleground Wisconsin. We're going to look at the latest polling. We'll get the state of the race from Wisconsin's former lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes.

Plus, welcome or not, Donald Trump says he is planning to pay a visit to Springfield, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, they almost doubled their population in a period of a few weeks. Can you believe it. And, you know what, they've got to get much tougher. I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:45:38]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My home state of Wisconsin. How do you cast your votes?

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HUNT: Whether it was the RNC, or the DNC, Wisconsin - Wisconsinites stay true to their brand. Nothing says Wisconsin more than jumping around with a cheese head.

Today, in our battleground beat, the badger states still one of the few states that holds the keys to the White House. New polling shows it's going to be incredibly tight. Kamala Harris, just one percentage point ahead of Donald Trump there in this poll out this morning. Absentee ballots are being sent out across the state today, meaning both - both tickets have limited time to make their pitch to Wisconsin voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We all know he will sign a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every state, even in Wisconsin.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will ultimately eliminate the federal department of education and send education back to Wisconsin and back to the states.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She did exactly what she promised, and now Wisconsin and every other state is dealing with the consequences.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Let's not forget our history, America. The labor movement starts in Wisconsin. It's Wisconsin that does everything (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now, former Wisconsin lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes. He was also the Democratic Senate nominee in the badger state in 2022.

Sir, good morning. Thank you so much for being here.

MANDELA BARNES (D), FORMER LT. GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN: Hi. Good morning. Thanks so much for having me.

HUNT: So, I've got to tell you, these - these new polls, we've got one from Quinnipiac, one from "The New York Times" out this morning show the Wisconsin race incredibly tight. I have to say, the sources that I talked to on the Democratic side seem to feel better about Wisconsin than they do about Pennsylvania, for example. So, I was interested to see these numbers.

Now that said, you lost your race to Senator Johnson by just about 26,000 votes. Biden won Wisconsin by just about 20,000 votes. It is going to be very close.

What do you think Harris in particular, because you have a sense of what a Democrat needs to do to win there, what would she need to do to pull this out?

BARNES: Well, I'll tell you, these polls are all over the place. And they continue to show a tight and tightening race that grows in intensity and grows in importance with each passing day.

So, I want to tell folks to not pay attention to the polls, just focus on the work that needs to get done. Always act as if we're one point down. I think that brings the best in us as organizers. I think it brings out the best in people as candidates.

And you see these trips - multiple trips, over and over again from Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to Wisconsin because they realized how important things are.

And what's going on, what's important is the fact that they are talking about abortion access, they are talking about freedom, they are talking about fundamental rights, but also talking about economic opportunity through the opportunity agenda.

And I don't think it gets enough press that Kamala Harris talks about a path forward to improve quality of life for Americans, not just in the state of Wisconsin, but what is good for Wisconsin? It's good for folks all across the country. And people need to think about, you know, how much they're paying for groceries, how much they're paying for gas, all these things that are happening. And a lot of this is not necessarily consequential of the role of the president. However, a president that truly understands what people are going through and wants to work to hold corporations accountable, to hold drug companies accountable, as she has done as a prosecutor -

HUNT: Sir -

BARNES: Yes.

HUNT: No, no, I don't - I don't want to interrupt you, but I do want to kind of drill down on one thing because -

BARNES: Yes.

HUNT: One of the - one of the reasons why Wisconsin is a little different from Michigan and Pennsylvania is that it does have a lower share of minority voters than those other two states. That's clearly a place Democrats have done well in the past. But it also underscores that Harris doing well with those voters in Wisconsin is even more critically important for her.

And there has been some - some slippage among particularly black men for Democrats. Some of them have gone toward Donald Trump. Why is that? And is Harris doing enough to address it?

BARNES: Well, I can tell you, there's been a lot of disinformation out there. And it didn't just start with this campaign. This has been a pervasive issue for campaign cycle after campaign cycle. And, unfortunately, at a lot of campaigns, and a lot of parties across the country haven't paid enough attention to it because there's been this assumption that black people are just going to show up and vote for Democrats.

[06:50:01]

And we learned a tough lesson in 2016. And we have learned lesson over lesson with these increasingly close elections in Milwaukee. And I do think that Kamala Harris' campaign, her particularly as an individual, has been making a strident effort to appeal to black male voters. I think that she's been talking about the right things. I think that she's been employing the right surrogates. And I think that she is making the conversation and making the case as best as anyone possibly can.

HUNT: What do those voters see in Donald Trump, in your view?

BARNES: Well, Donald Trump had a very different profile before he decided to run for president. He was a person that some people, you know, sort of glamorize. He was a subject of many rap lyrics. And, you know, when you think about how Donald Trump sold himself, it was attractive to a lot of people. Not just black males. A lot of people across the entire country. People saw him as some shining star of achievement. But as we know, it was all a farce. It was all based on half-truths and mostly lies.

But as the wool becomes lifted over people's eyes, we need to make sure that folks in every community across this country know this scam artists for who he truly is. People need to know that he is a person who is not some self-made billionaire. He's a person who's had a handout that nobody - that most people in this country will never have access to. He has nothing in common with the people that he has made some sort of appeal with, whether it's white working class voters or a very small sliver of black male voters.

HUNT: All right, the former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes.

Sir, very grateful to have you on the show this morning. Thanks for being here.

BARNES: Thanks. Happy to be here. Look forward to coming back.

HUNT: Thank you.

All right, 51 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

The disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, pleading not guilty to a new sex crime charge. The alleged incident happened in New York in 2006. Weinstein remains behind bars on a 2022 sex assault conviction and is awaiting a November retrial in his 2020 sex assault conviction after that one was overturned.

And this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, mylanta (ph).

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HUNT: The search for the man who opened fire on a Kentucky interstate now appears to be over. A couple found a body in the forest where authorities have been searching for the past week. Officials say they're very confident that this ends the manhunt, which started nearly two weeks ago after five people were shot on I-75 with an AR- 15. Investigators waiting on a DNA test to confirm the identity.

The Trump campaign targeted by Iranian hackers. Those hackers sending stolen information to people associated with the Biden campaign. Law enforcement officials say there's no indication those people ever responded, and the Harris campaign says the material was never used.

Students now back in school in Springfield, Ohio, after bomb threats forced local officials to cancel classes there. The threats coming in the aftermath of Donald Trump's claims on the presidential debate stage claiming that Haitian migrants were eating people's pets in the city. Local officials have debunked those claims, and they are also asking national candidates to stay away from their city with resources now stretched because of all of the negative attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB RUE, MAYOR OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: If either one of the candidates decide - wanted to come to Springfield, it would be very, very difficult to have them here. It would be an extreme strain on our resources. So, it would be fine with me if they decided not to make that stop right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The former president seems unmoved by that request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to go there in the next two weeks. I'm going to Springfield, and I'm going to Aurora. You may never see me again, but that's OK. I've got to do what I got to do. Whatever happened to Trump? Well, he never got out of Springfield.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Trump there seeming to imply that the town is so unsafe that he won't make it back.

Ohio's director of public safety defending the migrant population.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY WILSON, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: The number one issue we have in the public safety space with the Haitians is not - is not crime, it's not violence, it's - it's the driving. That - that's the public safety issue. So, what we want to do is, we want to get drivers education to that population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: OK, our panel is back.

Mike Dubke, this one's for you.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes.

HUNT: No, but, seriously, why - why would he do this? I mean Ohio's not a swing state. The most valuable resource with 47 days left for any campaign is a candidate's time.

DUBKE: Time.

HUNT: He is showing up - or says he's going to show up in a place that is telling him not to come because literally their students are kept - being kept out of school because of the threats.

DUBKE: Well, I think it's in the president's DNA, President Trump's DNA to - to quadruple, quintuple down on things. I think if they said, please come to Springfield, he would then go to Wisconsin or Pennsylvania or Michigan, where I think the campaign it would be better served, frankly.

[06:55:00]

This reminds me of 2016 when you had Hillary Clinton, at the end, when she thought she was going to win the election, she didn't go to Wisconsin. You just had the former lieutenant governor on talking about the fact that she lost the vote in Milwaukee, and Trump won that and when the White House.

So, campaigns it is valuable to have their time there. He shouldn't be going to Ohio. But I think it's in his DNA, to answer the question.

HUNT: Kendra.

KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO JOE BIDEN: I mean, look, this is what he does. As Mike says, he doubles down, he triples down. But - but we know what the larger problem here, right? I mean, this is - he did it with birther and Obama. He finds something and he sticks with it and he goes over and over again.

I just - I feel bad for the kids and for the people who live in this city. The city is telling him not to come. But as long as they're going to tell him not to come, he's going to continue to go there.

HUNT: Sabrina, there's a headline on the front page of "The Wall Street Journal" today. It reads as follows, "told pet eating was untrue. Trump team spread it anyway. Springfield, Ohio, officials informed Vance's staff that rumors were baseless. It didn't matter. And now the town is in chaos. The by-line of Springfield, Ohio, says that the city manager, Bryan Heck, fielded an unusual question at city hall on the morning of September 9th from a staff member of Republican Vice Presidential Nominee J.D. Vance. The staffer called to ask if there was any truth to bizarre rumors about Haitian immigrants and pets in Springfield. He asked point blank, are the rumors true of pets being taken in eaten, recalled Heck. I told him, no, there was no verifiable evidence or reports to show that this was true. I told them that the claim was baseless. But, of course, by then, Vance had already posted the rumors."

Now, this "Wall Street Journal" reporter, Kris Maher, went to the home of a woman where apparently this rumor may have started. She had filed a police report about a missing cat. She had referenced Haitian migrants. The reporter found that the woman had actually located a cat in her basement.

This is how we got here. What is Trump doing here and what does it say about where our camp - where the campaign is?

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": And I would add, I mean, this woman, I recommend everyone reads this story, but this woman later says she apologize to her Haitian neighbors and - when she realized that, you know, that she found her cat.

And I think it just shows the power of disinformation and misinformation that we're seeing in this election cycle. I think to - to the point that - that we've brought home here today is sort of, this is Trump. I mean, Trump is not the person that's going to say, my bad, it was a debunked claim and I - I shouldn't have said it and you're not going to hear that from J.D. Vance as well.

But I just got back from being on the road in Pennsylvania and Arizona, and this is something that - that is coming up talking to voters. On the Democratic side you're hearing, you know, base voters kind of joke at it or, you know, show outrage about it and - or a combination of the two and saying, you know, well, at least we're not saying that we're like eating cats and dogs. But what I have heard is talking to Republican base voters that are really saying - that are saying this is true. That are saying, oh, yes, I've seen the videos. Oh, yes, I have - this is 100 percent true. It's just now the media saying that it's not true.

So, this is really just feeds into that relationship that Donald Trump has created with the media of saying that we're lying, that these are baseless claims and - and people sort of feeding into, oh, no, that it is true and really fueling the base, which is what we've seen him do so much of this cycle.

HUNT: Jeff.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "REUTERS": Just the irony of the former president calling out Democrats for their rhetoric and his view that that - had an impact on the assassination attempts, but not changing his own rhetoric on a town that is now really suffering as a result of - of elevating these discredited claims.

HUNT: One, I have to say, Mike, I mean these are J.D. Vance's constituents.

DUBKE: They are. That's a fact.

I - look, I come back to this. They - they're - if - if I had to put my campaign hat on and look at why the Trump campaign is doing this.

To your point about voters in different areas of the country. If your - if your goal is to turn out low propensity Trump voters and create an atmosphere where you can have something to talk about because now we're, what, how many days into this story we are, 10 days into this story. This is a perfect - this is made for TV, made for social media story that goes back-and-forth.

If that is your goal, rather than to convince undecided voters to come to your side, you're - you - you want to turn out low propensity base voters, that makes sense. I understand what they're trying to do here. I don't happen to agree with it because I think they've got a target rich environment within the seven states that we care about talking about the economy, talking about immigration, talking about international crisis.

HUNT: But all of what you said is coming at the expense of the people of Springfield.

BARKOFF: Well, and I was just going to say too that you see with Kamala Harris, she is out there talking about the issues. She's talking about abortion. She's talking about housing. She's talking about childcare. And she's talking about the issues that do matter to voters at the end of the day.

[07:00:02]

And so I - you know, I think as long as she keeps going out there and talking about this, she will expand the electorate and she will get more voters we hope on her side because she's talking about the issues that matter.

HUNT: Yes, well, and some of the issue polling that's out this morning is I think some of the most interesting because it may show that she's winning this kind of push-pull with Republicans.

All right, thank you guys for being with us this morning. I really appreciate your time.

Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.