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Harris Vows To End Filibuster For Abortion Rights; Report: Security Failures "Preventable"; New CNN Poll: Harris Leads Trump Among Young Voters. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired September 25, 2024 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:35]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 5:31 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at Cincinnati, Ohio on this Wednesday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

Vice President Kamala Harris is making abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign, vowing to codify a federal right to abortion as president. But under current Senate rule she'd need 60 senators to go along with that plan unless the rules change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe and we need -- and get us to the point where we -- 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The vice president vow to end the filibuster for abortion rights not sitting well with some senators on Capitol Hill, including Democratic-turned-Independent Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): Shame on her. She knows that the filibuster is the holy grail of democracy. It's the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. You get rid of that and this would be the House on steroids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Now Harris' opponent is jumping on that non-endorsement. Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social. "Congratulations to Sen. Joe Manchin for not endorsing radical Kamala Harris because of her death wish for the filibuster.

Joining us now to discuss, Mica Soellner, congressional reporter at Punchbowl News. Mica, good morning. It's nice to see you.

Candidly, I was kind of waiting for Joe Manchin to find an excuse to not endorse Kamala Harris. This is obviously the one that -- it's something that he obviously has been very focused on in his career in the Senate, so it makes some sense. But this is also something of a litmus test on the left in the Democratic Party. This has become something that the left of the party really wants to see.

What was the reaction on the Hill from what Harris had to say yesterday?

MICA SOELLNER, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Yeah. I think that it was unexpected that she kind of -- you know, kind of came out of the blue really emphasizing her stance on how important it is to codify Roe v. Wade and so something substantive for abortion rights, which has been a huge issue this cycle for Democrats.

I think the reaction overall has been supportive of her stance, saying that there has been a lack of progress in the Senate because of the filibuster.

And I think Joe Manchin's comments are also not surprising given the fact that he left the party and this has been a major issue for him. And I'm not sure how much sway he's actually going to have given the fact that he has now left the Democratic Party and he's not running for re-election. So I think that it's questionable how much his opposition to it might have on actual voters.

HUNT: And here was what Kyrsten Sinema had to say. She, of course, also not running for re-election -- an Independent senator from Arizona. She says, "To state the supremely obvious, eliminating the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade also enables a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide. What an absolutely terrible, shortsighted idea."

And this, of course, kind of the big picture here, which is -- I mean, look, it's more than likely that Republicans are going to control the Senate next year. And if you do get rid of the filibuster -- the entire argument for keeping it is that it slows down the kind of dramatic change that can divide an already divided country. And if this were to actually happen and Republicans controlled the Senate then -- I mean, Sinema is right, no?

[05:35:07]

SOELLNER: Yeah, exactly. The pendulum always swings back and forth. So I think that that's the big warning that these members have been making for a long time, especially given the fact that we've gone through all these issues not just on abortion but voting rights and all of these other issues that the majority -- whoever is in charge of whatever issues, they prioritize and say that they can't pass because of this rule.

But as the members have argued, Sinema and Manchin have said that this is a pillar of democracy. And it really depends I think on which party is in the majority and what arguments they make for it. HUNT: And Mica, very briefly while I have you, what is the latest

with Speaker Johnson and the plan to keep the government open?

SOELLNER: Yeah. So we expect a C.R. to pass today. I think the question is how many House Republicans are going to vote for it. It's a three-month clean C.R. right now, which has been unpopular among conservatives. They've been a big sticking point for Speaker Johnson. So it should be ready to clear and up until the election, but we'll see what happens when it comes back in December.

HUNT: Indeed.

All right, Mica Soellner for us this morning. Mica, thank you very much.

All right, we've got some breaking news here out of Washington. This new bipartisan report from Congress was released just moments ago and it looks like the Secret Service failures around the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Secret Service and law enforcement officials who oversaw the rally security said the security lapses were "foreseeable and preventable." And many problems that the committee investigating the attack discovered remain "unaddressed" by the agency.

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SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): The American people are going to be appalled and astonished by what's in this report. The accumulation of gross incompetence that put the president in danger and put -- result in continuing insecurity.

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HUNT: All right, joining us now is CNN national security and justice correspondent Zachary Cohen. Zach, good morning to you.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HUNT: Thank you so much for being here.

I mean, I think it's important to note that was a Democrat we heard speaking there, right? Like, this is not a partisan thing. What are we learning in this report?

COHEN: Yeah, it's not often you have Sen. Blumenthal, a Democrat, and Rand Paul, a Republican of his own -- sort of a unique brand, agreeing that this was the result -- these (INAUDIBLE) were the result of incompetence on behalf of the Secret Service. And to be honest with you, I've been reporting on this story since July 13, and I didn't --

HUNT: Yeah.

COHEN: -- think it was possible for it to get worse for the Secret Service in terms of what we're learning about their culpability in all of this, but this bipartisan report certainly does that. It adds a new layer to those failures. In a series of them it points the finger directly at the Secret Service.

And what it includes is transcripts of their interviews with Secret Service agents who were at the rally and responsible for the security planning of Trump's July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and also local law enforcement officials.

And one of the biggest takeaways is that no one that they spoke to -- these lawmakers spoke to seemed to know who was actually in charge on July 13. So -- and that does fall to the Secret Service. They are the one --

HUNT: I was going to say shouldn't the Secret Service obviously be in charge of all of these events?

COHEN: They should -- you would think. And that's something actor director Ronald Rowe has said in public. He says that was the biggest failure on the part of the Secret Service is that ultimately the buck stops with them.

But these interviews really do shed new light on kind of the level of what Sen. Blumenthal called incompetence, right? This inability, even when they knew certain things posed a security risk, like the clear line of sight from that building where the shooter ultimately was perched on top of. They raised concerns about that building before the rally and then they did nothing to block the line of sight despite discussing possible ways to do that.

There was various examples too of decisions that were made to bring in a counter sniper team -- a team that ultimately shot the shooter but didn't prevent him from firing multiple rounds at Donald Trump. That decision was prompted by this intelligence related to an Iranian threat on Donald Trump, but that intelligence was not communicated with any of the Secret Service agents on the ground. So they learned about it from us when we broke that story. They told the Senate committee that they learned about it from the TV, and it raised a bunch of questions in their minds as to why more assets were not provided.

HUNT: So you're telling me that the counter sniper team was only on site because there was a completely separate threat from the Iranians, and they wouldn't have been there to counter this other threat absent that?

COHEN: It's remarkable. In this testimony, the Secret Service agents that did know about this intelligence talk about how they sort of relayed this vague warning about an unrelated threat to one Secret Service agent on Trump's detail. That message never got passed along though to anyone else that was responsible for the planning. And, in fact, most of the agents on the ground that day thought the counter sniper team was there because the rally was so big, right? They didn't realize that there was another layer of threat that also existed.

HUNT: Zach, briefly, the act -- the new acting director of the Service says he's been talking about this. One of the things he says -- he seems to be rather frank in acknowledging some of these failures, but he says the answer is not to put more on our people. I mean, it's clear that they need more people. These agents are exhausted.

[05:40:00]

Is there a plan to fix that between now and November 5?

COHEN: Not one that's been articulated clearly, and definitely not before Election Day. That's for sure.

Ronald Rowe has stepped into a really tough position as acting director. His former boss obviously was fired in the wake of the Butler rally -- or was forced to resign in the wake of that. And he has said that the solution is not to put more on our people but there's no way for them to resolve those really longstanding issues when personnel are involved before Election Day or really in the near future, and he hasn't communicated a plan to do so.

HUNT: Right. Staffing and training -- it takes months, not days.

All right, Zach Cohen for us this morning. Zach, thank you. I really appreciate it.

All right. Up next in sports, the MLB Playoff picture coming into focus. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING my Baltimore Orioles, thank the Lord, punching their ticket to the postseason with a win last night over the Yankees.

Plus, winning over younger voters. Does Kamala Harris have a big enough edge to put her over the top in November?

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[05:45:20]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so excited for Kamala Harris to be elected president on November 5.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking at inflation and everything right now in our economy, it's not looking good. I don't think Kamala Harris is going to fix that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that Kamala Harris is one of the best candidates this country has ever had.

TIKTOKERS FOR TRUMP.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Young voters from across the political spectrum taking to TikTok to voice how they will vote this fall and encourage each other to try to get out to the polls.

New data from CNN showing that while Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump among voters ages 18 to 30 by 17 points, they're also the age group most likely to change their mind with 18 percent of likely voters under 35 reporting they're less than fully set on their vote.

CNN's Danny Freeman recently spoke to some young Harris voters in the key swing state of Pennsylvania about why they feel that she's the best choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody in her position as an African American woman and as an Asian woman, it's amazing to me the feats that she has been able to rise to. That's so important to me. In my mind it's like what do you think is going to happen to the price of bacon when you deport that many people? What do you think is going to happen to the price of beans when you start a tax war with China?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the youngest candidate we've had since Obama. This is a new amazing breath of fresh air for leftist politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us now is Marc Morial. He is the president of the National Urban League. Marc, wonderful to see. Thank you so much for being here.

MARC MORIAL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me. Great -- uh-huh.

HUNT: So let's start with -- I mean, these young voter numbers are good for Harris in this new data that's just out from CNN this morning. It's showing that she has made significant improvement since Biden decided not to run. Biden was polling much worse with young voters this time. But it's not where Biden was in 2020, according to the exit polls.

What's the difference?

MORIAL: So let me offer these as personal comments. I think these numbers are going to continue to improve as Kamala Harris becomes better known, campaigns to and amongst young voters.

And I think what you saw in the clip is that those voters that are clued into issues like tariffs, like deportation, like reproductive rights, like economic opportunity, are far more likely to embrace a presidential candidate who is closer to them generationally.

And I think this is what's important. This is the first Gen X candidate and that gives her a relatability versus a Donald Trump who is nearly 80 years old.

HUNT: Indeed.

Let me ask you also. We have some new data about voters of color --

MORIAL: Um-hum.

HUNT: -- that we're releasing from this poll. And among likely Black voters we're showing that Kamala Harris has 79 percent while Donald Trump is at 16 percent. Now, I will say a lot of Republicans look at 20 percent as the over-under number for this here, but 16 percent of Black voters is still a significant bite out of a constituency that has been really solid for the Democratic Party in recent years.

And I'm sure some of this -- we don't have the breakdown but I'm sure a lot of this is among men, in particular, considering the gender gap.

What's going on here, and how dangerous is that for her?

MORIAL: So, Kasie, I think it's important to remember that we can't necessarily put too much stock in polling at this stage versus what will happen on Election Day. I think these numbers are going to shift as Election Day -- because African American voters and African American men can sometimes be challenging to poll accurately --

HUNT: OK.

MORIAL: -- as well as, let's say, certain Trump voters. That's what's important.

I think Black men are dealing with the most challenges in the American economy. Last hired, first fired. Difficulty in getting up the economic ladder.

For Kamala Harris, it's important to talk about minimum and living wages. It's important to talk about entrepreneurship and economic opportunity for those who want to build businesses. And I think it's important to talk about enforcement of anti-discrimination measures because Black men still face significant discrimination in the workforce.

And so this is really about appealing directly to Black men. And I would say to Black men remember, Donald Trump has no Black men in the leadership of his campaign. He had one Black man in his cabinet. He appointed almost no Black men to the judiciary.

What's important I think for voters -- and I'd say this to any voter, including African American men -- look at the record versus the rhetoric. There's a lot of cheap promises that are made in campaigns. Look at the record.

[05:50:00]

And the good thing here is Donald Trump's got a four-year record as president. He's tried to inflate that record. He's tried to suggest that Black men were better off. The unemployment rate is lower under the Biden-Harris administration than it was under Donald Trump.

HUNT: Sir, I also -- I know you also wanted to talk a little bit about the filibuster and what we heard from Kamala Harris yesterday because she made some news when she said that she wants to eliminate the filibuster to enshrine abortion rights at the federal level.

Do you agree? What was your reaction?

MORIAL: I took great issue with Joe Manchin suggesting that the filibuster is the holy grail of democracy. The right to vote is the holy grail of democracy. And there are over, Kasie, 100 exceptions to the filibuster. When Mitch McConnell needed to confirm Supreme Court justices and justices, he put aside the filibuster. The filibuster is not the holy grail.

And creating exceptions to the filibuster for issues of national importance I think is the responsible thing to do when necessary. But it's not like the filibuster is not in the Constitution, it's not in a federal statute. It's never been agreed to by the voters. It's an internal rule of the United States Senate.

So I think what she's saying is I am going to make the restoration of the principles or Roe v. Wade. And I would hope that the same thing can be said about the Voting Rights Act -- the highest priority -- and not allow just Senate tradition for the sake of tradition to stand in the way of something that's popular with the American people.

HUNT: Do you think that there is a risk at all because it goes both ways?

MORIAL: It -- there's always a risk. But, you know, politics is about risks. And you'd have to run the table in order to make the filibuster -- in other words, it only works if there's alignment between the House, the Senate, and the White House.

HUNT: Right.

MORIAL: Without that it's an academic conversation.

HUNT: All right, Marc Morial for us this morning. Always grateful to have you on the program.

MORIAL: Hey, thank you.

HUNT: Come back soon.

MORIAL: Appreciate you always.

HUNT: All right, time now for sports.

The San Diego Padres clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win over the L.A. Dodgers in the most thrilling way possible.

Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Andy, good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, Kasie, good morning.

We've had lots of first in baseball this season. You know, last week we had Ohtani -- the first ever to go for 50 home runs and 50 steals. And then last night the Padres became the first team ever to clinch a playoff spot with a game-ending triple play.

They were up 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers, though, two on. And Miguel Rojas is going to hit a sharp grounder to third. Manny Machado fields it, touches third, and fires to second. And San Diego turns the trip play to end the game. That was a huge play because Ohtani was on deck.

And then the party was on in the clubhouse. The Padres clinching a playoff berth. They will likely be the National League's top wildcard, but they are just two games back of the Dodgers for the NL West with five games to go.

The Astros, meanwhile -- they are AL West champs yet again after beating the Mariners last night. Houston with 10 games out back in June. But ever since they've been one of the best in baseball. This is the Astros fourth-straight division title, and they are looking to make it to a record-extending eight-straight American League Championship Series.

The Orioles, meanwhile, are back in the postseason parade stretch for a second-straight season. They beat the Yankees last night. And then once the Twins lost to the Marlins, they clinched a playoff spot, and the party was on in the clubhouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON HYDE, MANAGER, BALTIMORE ORIOLES: We got in so let's get it on. We've got five more games to go to improve, and then it's the playoffs. Let's go!

(Cheers)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Orioles star rookie Jackson Holliday -- he's only 20 years old. So his teammates made him his own non-alcoholic corner with birdbath water and champagne bottles, crayon-colored pics, and sign that said, "Baby's First Clinchmas." There were some baby bottles and pacifiers in there as well.

Kasie, Holliday doesn't turn 21 until December so your Orioles are hoping they get to do that to him a few more times this postseason.

HUNT: Let's get that man a real drink, I've got to say.

Oh, Andy, I need to know how many -- I really just hope we get home games at Camden Yards. I'm not sure that that's set in stone yet.

SCHOLES: No. Well, right now, you're a wildcard so you're probably going to have to go on the road. Well, you could be the top wildcard though so you would get some home games in that first wildcard series.

HUNT: Fingers crossed.

Andy Scholes, thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

HUNT: Love having you. See you tomorrow.

Coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, President Biden making his final address to the United Nations as fears of all-out war in the Middle East reach new heights. We're going to talk to Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss and ask if tensions in the region could have an impact at the ballot box this November.

Plus, Donald Trump questioning Ukraine's chances against Russia as the White House is set to unveil a new aid package in the coming days.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States he walks away with $100 billion. I think he's the greatest salesman on Earth. But we're stuck in that war unless I'm president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:55:00]

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HUNT: It's Wednesday, September 25. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING --

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HARRIS: I've named it an opportunity economy.

TRUMP: We're going to rebuild our manufacturing.

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HUNT: The fight for the working class. Harris and Trump both trying to pitch a better future, but new polling suggests they really have their work cut out for them.

And this -- "do not return." Israel warning displaced residents in southern Lebanon not to come back as Hezbollah launches a missile dangerously close to Tel Aviv.

And later --

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GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: We do anticipate that it will intensify before it makes landfall.

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HUNT: A life-threatening storm. Florida's entire West Coast bracing for a direct hit from what could be a major hurricane.

And a damning report. Boeing workers say they were pressured to put speed over quality when they were building the planes that we all fly in every day.