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CNN This Morning
Kamala Harris Calls for a Second Debate; North Carolina's Robinson Omitted from Trump Rally; Israel Strikes Southern Lebanon. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 23, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: It's Monday, September 23rd, right now on CNN THIS MORNING. Slim margins, Kamala Harris gaining momentum, but the most pivotal states remain deadlocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Join me on the debate stage. Let's have another debate.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The problem with another debate is that it's just too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: A debate challenge, Kamala Harris accepts CNN's debate invitation. Why Donald Trump is still saying no to a rematch. And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been incredibly exciting newfound energy for the Harris-Walz campaign here in North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Carolina on the mind. Can the Harris campaign seize the controversy surrounding the GOP's nominee for governor in The Tar Heel State. All right, 5:00 a.m. here on the east coast, a live look at Capitol Hill on this Monday morning. Good morning, everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.
We are 43 days away from election day, and possibly 31 days from another presidential debate. Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris agreed to terms with CNN for another debate against Donald Trump. It would be on October 23rd in Atlanta.
But now it's up to Donald Trump to agree as well, something that he seems resistant to at this very moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Join me on the debate stage. Let's have another debate.
There's more to talk about and the voters of America deserve to hear the conversations that I think we should be having on substance, on issues, on policies. What's your plan? What's my plan? And we should have another one before election day.
TRUMP: The problem with another debate is that it's just too late. Voting has already started. She's done one debate, I've done two. It's too late to do another. I'd love to in many ways, but it's too late. The voting is cast, the voters are out there, immediately --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Harris is searching for another debate just as her campaign is seeing some more momentum in newly-released post-debate polling. According to CNN's poll of polls, Harris has a 3-point edge nationally. That's officially still no clear leader. But there does seem to be clear movement after five post-debate polls were added to the CNN average, three of them have Harris leading outside the margin of error.
This shift in national polling comes as North Carolina seems to be coming more online into play as a scandal continues to surround the Republican nominee for governor, Mark Robinson. On several -- on Sunday, several of Mark Robinson's top aides, including his campaign and deputy campaign managers resigned after that bombshell CNN report exposed Robinson's history of dozens of disturbing comments, including calling himself, quote, "a black Nazi" on a porn site more than a decade ago.
Some Harris allies believe that adding North Carolina to a column could secure -- would secure her path to victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): I'm not sure the impact that it will have at the top line, but it would be wonderful and almost ball game if Harris wins North Carolina, but she's made North Carolina competitive already. And then after Robinson now, it's -- we're in the best possible situation to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right, joining us now to talk about this is Michelle Price; national political reporter for "The Associated Press". Michelle, good morning, thank you so much for being here. The bottom line, it seemed like good news through the weekend for the Harris team, certainly, no single poll is something that we want to hang everything on.
But I will say when they saw the "NBC" numbers, I definitely heard there were -- there were -- there were some excitement about that. And it seems as though for right now, they think that things are moving in the right direction. What are you hearing from your sources about where this race stands?
MICHELLE PRICE, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Yes, I mean, this is an incredibly close race. This is one of the closest races we've had in decades. There's no question it seems now that the Vice President got a little bit of a boost out of that strong debate performance.
[05:05:00]
And that's clearly why she's asking for another one. And that's the same reason why we're seeing Donald Trump be very hesitant to have another debate. It didn't go well for him. This race is incredibly tight. Voting has started, and anything small that can move the margins could make or break this race, including questions about Mark Robinson in North Carolina, a state where they were feeling much more confident weeks ago.
And this was a state where they were -- they were feeling so assured that the Trump campaign was looking at expansion states, now, they have doubled back and they're really focusing on some of these swingiest of the swing states.
HUNT: Yes, let's talk about North Carolina for a second because of course, the continued fallout from what happened with this CNN reporting, what we've learned about the gubernatorial nominee there, Mark Robinson, the question of course, really, is this going to affect things at the top of the ticket?
And Republicans, I talked to will point to evidence that in the past, there has been a divergence from there who North Carolinians are voting for, for governor versus who they've been willing to vote for at the top of the ticket. What are you hearing from your sources on how much of an impact this may have?
PRICE: I mean, again, in an incredibly close race, every little thing, especially at the margins can make or break a race. So, it's clearly something that the Trump campaign is nervous about. You noticed on Saturday when Donald Trump was in North Carolina, he did not mention Mark Robinson.
You know, this is somebody at the -- who -- he'd had on stage before, he has praised him before. He's endorsed and they've endorsed each other. So, it's a clear sign of some distancing and some concern there. You know, the Republicans are right that this is a state where they've elected Democratic governors before, but Donald Trump has won the state.
It's not necessarily what we call a reverse coattails, but it could, you know, the comments that Mark Robinson has made, some notoriety out there and then offensive comments long before this latest CNN report. But they could be motivating enough that they could turn out people who might have decided to stay home, and that would be the concern.
And the difference this time is that Donald Trump had been linked to this man. He'd endorsed him, but he'd also endorsed him again after a record of some of these comments that we're seeing as very offensive, some things on abortion and race even before this blockbuster report.
HUNT: Yes -- no, when you talk to, when I talk to Democrats who are from the south in particular, they were all saying things like what you point out well before this CNN report, that he was already pulling in a place where they felt like the Harris team was in a much stronger position than maybe a lot of people had realized. Michelle Price, thank you for starting us off this morning, I really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.
PRICE: Thanks for having me.
HUNT: All right, up ahead now on CNN THIS MORNING, extensive strikes in Lebanon as Israel issues a warning to civilians to leave parts of the country. Plus, the House Speaker lays out his plans to try to avoid a government shutdown as the months and deadline quickly approaches.
And several top officials on Mark Robinson staff step down. Will the controversy surrounding the GOP candidate for governor in North Carolina boost Democrats in the presidential race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robinson exists because Donald Trump has lifted him up throughout, and candidates up and down the ballot in North Carolina need to have -- they need to be held accountable for supporting Mark Robinson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[05:10:00]
HUNT: Tensions in the Middle East reaching a boiling point. Over the weekend, Israel and Hezbollah involved in the most extensive, intense exchange of fire since the war in Gaza began nearly a year ago. And just this morning, the Israeli military urging Lebanese civilians to leave areas in which Hezbollah operates as they begin to launch extensive precise strikes against the militant group across the country.
This latest escalation happening just days after thousands of deadly blasts rocked Lebanon as pagers and walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah militants exploded across the country. CNN learned that Israel was behind the attack. All of this raising concern about the possibility of a full-scale war in the region.
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JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, WHITE HOUSE: We don't believe that a military conflict -- and we're saying this directly to our Israeli counterparts, George, we don't believe that escalating this military conflict is in their best interests.
It's certainly not going to be in the best interests of all those people. That Prime Minister Netanyahu says he wants to be able to send back home. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Joining us now, CNN international anchor Max Foster. Max, good morning to you, always good to see you. Very concerning signs here about this conflict potentially widening. What do we know this morning?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: I think the key thing is these messages, these phone messages that citizens in Beirut have received, telling to evacuate to these areas where Israel believes Hezbollah has strongholds. That's the first time we've seen that.
Previously, the attacks have been on military positions, but now clearly, they are targeting areas where there are civilians. So, we're starting to look at the potential of civilian casualties here if Israel goes ahead with these strikes and the civilians don't evacuate. So, it does take a completely different twists, this tension, this escalation between Hezbollah and Israel.
So, I think it takes a very different tone. Wait to see how people respond to this, but certainly, there's going to -- you know, it does feel as if things are really ramping up.
HUNT: Max, can you explain what Benjamin Netanyahu is looking at when he is considering his options here, militarily, but also politically at home in Israel.
[05:15:00]
And then we have also talked quite a bit over the course of this war about the challenges of having both the front in Lebanon as well as the war in Gaza ongoing. The military -- the Israeli military has been stretched out rather thin as this conflict is heading towards the one year mark. How does that impact what we're seeing?
FOSTER: Well, the shift in resources from Gaza up to the northern border with Lebanon. They feel clearly that they do have the resources to carry out their mission. So, Benjamin Netanyahu is talking about his determination to allow Israelis who have had to move away from northern Israel to move back into those areas.
He needs to make it safe. So, that's why he's carrying out this mission against Hezbollah because as you know, ever since the war with Hamas began, there have been constant tensions across the border between Israel and Hezbollah. And he wants to end that effectively, but he feels he has the resources, but there are two separate conflicts essentially. But inextricably linked because Iran backs Hezbollah and Iran also backs Hamas.
HUNT: All right, Max Foster for us this morning, Max, always grateful to have you, thank you so much. And coming up after the break here, multiple people are dead after a group of shooters opened fire in a popular entertainment district on Saturday night. Police investigating who could have been the intended target. We're going to have more in the morning roundup. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:20:00]
HUNT: All right, 20 minutes past the hour, here's your morning roundup. Four people are dead and 17 others injured after multiple people began opening fire at a popular night life area in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday night. Police say they now believe the incident was a targeted hit, but other victims were caught in the crossfire.
Currently, no suspects are in custody, and Birmingham police are working with the FBI to investigate the shooting. A judge in Kentucky who was killed in his own chambers is now being laid to rest. Over the weekend, funeral services were held for Kevin Mullins in Letcher County, Kentucky.
Police say he was gunned down by the county sheriff after an argument. Sheriff Shawn Stines will be arraigned on murder charges this week. The House Speaker Mike Johnson is unveiling a short-term spending bill and hopes of avoiding a government shutdown. The plan is to fund the government until December 20th, including spending $230 million on Secret Service funding.
The bill comes after Johnson failed to pass a six-month Republican plan that included targeting non-citizen voting. That was a move backed by former President Trump. All right, time now for weather, the National Hurricane Center monitoring a potential tropical storm system moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. Let's get straight to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek Van Dam. Derek, good morning. What are you looking at?
DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kasie. If you recall, we talked about this storm late last week that at least the potential of a developing storm. And now we've learned some new information through the course of the weekend, National Hurricane Center tagging this cluster of thunderstorms over the central and western Caribbean with an invest.
Which means this is an organized area of showers and storms that they're going to be monitoring the next couple of days for the potential of development. And you could infer a lot from this particular hashed area that's got a 90 percent chance of development over the next 70 days. Look where it heads between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, all the way into the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico.
So, all of our computer models honing in on a potential Florida strike later this week come Thursday into Friday. So, this is the area we're monitoring now, but there has been a trend to shift that track a little further east overnight. Of course, all the details need to come together. But one thing is for sure, there's a lot of warm water ahead of the storm system, so, it is likely that it will develop into a tropical depression or a tropical storm in the coming days.
Where it goes from there, still unclear, but we do anticipate at least a hurricane striking the U.S. coastline by the end of this week. Here's a look at the difference between the models, you can see the timeframe there as well, Thursday at noon --yes, the American model still a little bit stronger than the European at the moment, but often we play a little bit of catch-up once we get the information coming into the weather models.
Helene is our next-named storm, and that is the storm system that we'll be monitoring for this entire week. Kasie, back to you.
HUNT: All right, Derek Van Dam for us this morning, Derek, always grateful to have you, see you next hour, thank you. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, we are just about six weeks from election day, and a new poll shows a significant jump in the Vice President's popularity, how that might impact the race.
Plus, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon this morning, what Israel's Prime Minister is vowing to do next in the fight against Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY: We don't believe, continue to not believe that kinetic action, military action by either side, it's really in either side's best interest, certainly not in the interest of what the Prime Minister says he wants to do, which is get families back to their homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[05:25:00]
HUNT: Five-twenty-eight A.M. here on the east coast, a live look at Las Vegas on this Monday morning. Good morning, everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us. Less than two months out from the November election. CNN's latest poll of polls shows no clear leader in the presidential race. It is tight.
Kamala Harris up over Donald Trump by 3 points, 50 percent to 47, that slight edge still within the margin of error. Even so, there does seem to be some movement in Harris' direction. CNN's poll of polls takes the average of five recent polls, and in three of those five, Harris was ahead of Trump outside the margin of error.
This latest average taking into consideration polls taken after the last presidential debate earlier this month. Harris now challenging Trump to a second debate in just a few weeks, as mail-in and early in- person voting already underway in some states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): This election is going to be close.
