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CNN This Morning
Trump Tells Women: "I Am Your Protector"; Tonight: Walz, Vance Square Off In VP Debate; Pete Rose, MLB's All-Time Hit King, Passes Away At Age 83. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 01, 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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[05:32:13]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just after 5:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at New York City where we're going to see tonight's one and only vice presidential debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz. I'm heading up there right after the show to take part in our primetime coverage tonight.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
The storm that caused so much destruction and heartache in the Southeast also causing chaos on the campaign trail. Donald Trump claiming the Biden administration is not helping Republican states, like Georgia, that were ravaged by Hurricane Helene.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The governor is doing a very good job but he's having a hard time getting the president on the phone. I guess they're not -- they're not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive. But they're having a very hard time getting the -- getting the president on the phone. He won't get on it.
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HUNT: That claim about the federal government not responding is demonstrably false. It clearly angered President Biden.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's lying, and the governor told him he was lying. The governor told him he was lying. I've spoken to the governor, and I've spent time with him, and he told me he's lying. I don't know why he does this.
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HUNT: Here was Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp setting the record straight. All right, apparently, we don't have the sound of that. But again, that was Republican Gov. Brian Kemp trying to set the record straight here saying that the federal government is helping.
Let's go live to Los Angeles and bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron, good morning to you.
This --
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, SENIOR EDITOR, THE ATLANTIC (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning.
HUNT: -- of course, is Donald Trump politicizing what is going on here. Can you talk a little bit about how things like this tend to -- I mean, they can impact presidential campaigns in major ways. I remember Superstorm Sandy back in 2012 really having an impact at the end here. Trump clearly trying to take advantage of it.
What's going on, and how do you think this is ultimately going to impact the campaign with about 30 days left to go?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, as in so many cases with Trump, I mean, his accusation is projection.
I mean, he explicitly, during COVID, said he would be more responsive to governors who were nice to him basically and didn't criticize him than those who do not. Remember his attacks on Gretchen Whitmer at a point where Michigan was reeling in the initial stages of the -- of the pandemic.
I think this is a wildcard, you know? North Carolina is a state that is very much in play. Decided -- Trump won it more narrowly than any other state he won in 2020. If Democrats to do win it this time it would certainly narrowly.
[05:35:00]
And the amount of devastation that the state has experienced is I think an unpredictable factor and the Biden administration's response is -- could be important at the margin in a state where almost anything could tip the results. So, yeah, I do think this is -- this is a wildcard -- an unpredictable element in there.
You know, you haven't heard Harris talk a lot about climate change. She's more focused on convincing voters in western Pennsylvania she won't end their kind of fossil fuel economy. But it is an opportunity as well to talk about, as you were talking about in the -- in the previous segment, the way in which the climate is changing that is making terrible events like this more common.
HUNT: For sure.
Ron, we do actually have that clip of Brian Kemp. I want to turn to your piece but let's just play what he said to set the record straight -- watch.
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GOV. BRIAN KEMP, (R) GEORGIA: I just spoke -- the president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and I called him right back. And he just said, "Hey, what do you need?" And I told him we've got what we need. We'll work through the federal process. He offered that if there's other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.
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HUNT: All right. So just to be clear, Biden calls Kemp Sunday afternoon, per Kemp.
But Ron, let's turn to this because I think your new piece --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HUNT: -- is fascinating because the -- when we say the gender gap, it's different this time than it has been in previous campaigns. Usually we're just talking about primarily who women voters prefer. Oftentimes, men are referred to as -- you know, it's -- I guess it's kind of standard for how things are done but they're considered --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HUNT: -- the baseline -- the normal voter.
But let's put up on the screen the gender gap. It goes in both directions this time and it's among women but it's also among men. As you can see, men go for Trump. I mean, that's even wider than the Harris side for women. Fifty-seven to 45 men for Trump, 39 percent of men are for Harris. Fifty-three percent of women.
And you keyed in on what some of the sources that you talked to referred to as the paternalistic language that Donald Trump --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HUNT: -- is using to talk about this.
Let's play the bite where he talks about being women's protectors. Take a look.
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TRUMP: I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector. I hope you don't make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn't go oh, he wants to be their protector. Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector.
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HUNT: And in your piece, you write, "Trump is presenting himself in a very conventional "Father Knows Best" kind of frame. The strong many who provides protection that women need because they are inherently vulnerable. His problem is most voters outside the core GOP coalition are generally comfortable with the changes in traditional roles and family dynamics since the "Father Knows Best" era in the 1950s."
I think my question for you, reading this piece, is this language actually designed more to appeal to men than women?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah -- no. I actually think it is designed to appeal to a slice of women as well as men. I mean, the basic math of the campaign is more women than men vote, right. So if Democrats win women by as much as Republicans win men, Democrats will win the popular vote.
I think if you look at the messaging, the advertising, the campaign appearances, I would argue the single-highest priority of the Trump campaign is convincing older and blue-collar white women, particularly in those critical Rustbelt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, that he will keep them safe, and Harris won't.
They are doing this in language that is kind of -- that reinforces traditional gender roles. I mean, that has been a consistent theme from the convention where they had all these symbols of hypermasculinity, like Hulk Hogan, associated with Trump, and J.D. Vance and childless cat ladies, and musing the parents should get more votes -- the parents of kids should get more votes.
In a lot of different ways, he is presenting himself and they are arguing toward voters who are uncomfortable with the way family dynamics and gender roles are changing. And there is a big piece of the Republican coalition that feels that way, including on most questions, a majority of Republican women.
The challenge I think Trump faces is that this line of argument is inherently I think alienating for a lot of single, younger, college- educated, white women as well as Black women who question the very idea that they need a man to protect them at all, much less one in Trump who has faced so many allegations of sexual assault and abuse and is the architect of overturning Roe, which symbolizes I think a sense among women that their rights are being eroded and their autonomy being threatened.
So like many things Trump does, Kasie, I think this polarizes even among women themselves potentially helping him with older and blue- collar women, but at the risk of sparking greater turnout and bigger margins for Harris among those other groups.
[05:40:05]
HUNT: Yeah, it's really, really interesting. And it was abortion that Harris keyed in on in response to this saying well, women don't need someone to protect them. Women need --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HUNT: -- someone to trust them --
BROWNSTEIN: To trust them.
HUNT: -- to make their decisions. Yeah, OK.
Ron Brownstein for us this morning. Ron, always love having you. Really enjoyed the new piece. I highly recommend it. Thank you. BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
HUNT: All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING vice presidential debates rarely really matter. Could this year be different? Coming up next, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin explains why tonight's VP faceoff could have a bigger impact.
Plus, a doubleheader split. Both the Mets and the Braves clinching spots in the playoffs. It was a wild afternoon in baseball yesterday. The Bleacher Report coming up next.
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[05:45:05]
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GEORGE H.W. BUSH, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me help you with the difference, Ms. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon.
GERALDINE FERRARO, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I almost resent, Vice President Bush, your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.
LLOYD BENTSEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm up in the senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.
PAUL RYAN, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: It's been done a couple of time.
BIDEN, THEN-VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It has never been done before.
RYAN: Jack Kennedy lowered tax rates and increased growth. Ronald Reagan --
BIDEN: Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy.
RYAN: Ronald Reagan (laughing).
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HUNT: In vice presidential debates past candidates have, of course, come armed with their best zingers. Tonight we'll see what Tim Walz and J.D. Vance will bring to their first and likely only showdown. Neither candidate has appeared on a national debate stage before. The last time each of them formally debated was when they were running for their current offices in 2022.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. TIM WALZ, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Scott was very clear in May. He mocked me and said, "No kidding, Sherlock. I'm running for governor to get things done. We're going to ban abortion." Not on our watch. I trust women. I trust them to make their own health care decisions.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R), THEN-OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE: It's actually a pretty funny TV commercial, Tim --
TIM RYAN, (D) 2022 OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE: Thank you.
VANCE: -- credit to your team --
T. RYAN: Thank you.
VANCE: -- where he says that he only agrees with his own wife 70 percent of the time. Yet, he votes and agrees with Nancy Pelosi 100 percent of the time. It must make things a little awkward in the Ryan household, I suppose.
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HUNT: And joining us now to talk more about this is presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. We should also note she's got a new children's book out. It's called "The Leadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President." Doris, good morning. It's wonderful to have you.
DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, "THE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY: HOW FOUR KIDS BECAME PRESIDENT": Good morning to you.
HUNT: We'll talk a little bit about the book in a second, but I want to start with vice presidential debates because there's always this question of whether or not it matters. And I want to know what you think about this one. Do you think it's going to matter in the long run?
GOODWIN: Yeah, I think this one may be more consequential than just being remembered for a zinger that might happen, partly because of the age of President -- former President Trump. He'll be the oldest nominee for a party, and that means that people will have to envision the possibility of J.D. Vance being president.
And then also, you've got the shrunken time race. A lot of people don't know either one of these very well. As you say, it's their first national appearance, so that could play a role. And to the same extent, somehow, I think this closeness of the race makes it likely that this may be the last domestic momentum changer. Something else can keep happening abroad.
But I think for all those reasons this could be more consequential than just a bunch of zingers, even though they're fun to remember.
HUNT: For sure.
And, of course, J.D. Vance is someone who -- he's broken through the national consciousness I think in terms of the childless cat lady remark kind of really -- it has kind of penetrated the consciousness in a way that frequently things that vice presidential candidates just don't break through.
I want to play a little bit because I know you're interested in this clip of him debating in 2022. We played a little bit of it there, but this back-and-forth between Tim Ryan and J.D. Vance that may show us a little bit about how Vance is going to handle tonight. Let's watch.
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T. RYAN: In Youngstown, on the stage, Donald Trump said to J.D. Vance, "All you do is kiss my ass to get my support." He said that, and that's bad.
VANCE: I'm not going to take lectures on dignity and self-respect from a guy caught on video kissing up to Chuck Schumer and begging him for a promotion to his next job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: What do you think that clip tells us about what we might see tonight?
GOODWIN: Well, I think he's going to be pretty good as an attack dog, in many ways. That's what he's been doing in much of the campaign so far. Whether it's been effective or not for the general public is the number one question.
But there's a probability that -- and a worrisome thing that his likability score has not worked very well, and he may be trying to be more likable tonight. But then he has to still maintain that quality of being the person who can attack and be strong and smart that way. So he has to find a balance between those just as I think J.D. -- just as I think Mr. Walz has to find a balance between -- he's already likable and yet he can't be submissive. And he's got to be able to attack.
So they're both coming at it from different points of view.
HUNT: Yeah, and very sort of different ways of carrying themselves in the world, right?
And, of course, Doris, the big question. Will we get an unexpected moment? We may remember in -- when Mike Pence debated Kamala Harris. It ended up being that a third character got all the attention. There was this kind of the fly, like -- I think we can show it -- zoomed around Mike Pence's head. It lands on his head in the middle -- there it is -- in the middle of the debate.
How much of this is just something we can't conceive of right now?
[05:50:00]
GOODWIN: No, that's exactly right. What you keep wishing is more humor. I mean, in the old debates -- oh, you going to play that one first?
HUNT: We're just -- we're just watching.
GOODWIN: Oh, I was just hearing it in the background. OK.
HUNT: Yeah, we're hearing it in the background. Go ahead.
GOODWIN: So the great thing about humor, there was one moment when Vance was accused of being two-faced and he just answered in an ordinary way. When Lincoln was accused of being two-faced in a debate way, way back with Sen. Douglas, he said, "If I had two faces do you think I'd be wearing this face?" How I wish we could have that kind of response that's got humor as well as some response -- a counter- response.
HUNT: Yeah. Well, I guess you never know. We'll have to -- we'll have to watch and see.
And Doris, I also -- before I left you go, I want to ask you about this new book because you have spent so much time studying what makes a President of the United States and now you're trying to teach kids about it.
What did you -- what did you learn? What are you -- what are you trying to say to kids here?
GOODWIN: Yeah. I think the most important thing -- I'm thinking even about this debate -- more important than whoever has a zinger, whoever attacks more is who has the temperament and the character to be president. That's what we need -- a person with humility to acknowledge errors. I person with empathy. A person with resilience. A person whose word can be trusted. A person whose ambition is for something greater than themselves.
And the reason I wanted to write for young people right now and middle school is that they haven't seen leaders that they can really believe in and governments that can work. They're in a polarized turbulent time.
And I wanted them to see the guys that I lived with, whether that's Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, LBJ, developing these qualities when they were boys. They don't suddenly become presidents. They're not suddenly on Mount Rushmore.
And if they -- I need history -- I want history more in courses. I love history. I think it's so important. It gives us perspective. It gives up hope and solace.
So if they can identify when the -- when these guys were young and they didn't know what they were doing and they made mistakes and they acknowledged them, then maybe they can learn how to be leader not just simply on Mount Rushmore but in their classes, in their -- in their athletic endeavors, in their schools so that --
Leadership is such an important thing and what we want is compassion and kindness, and decency. I think we're all looking for that in the country and how great if --
HUNT: Yeah.
GOODWIN: -- our younger generation can begin to develop that.
HUNT: Great, indeed. And we love history on this program here. I think you can't really do what I try to do every day without having a deeper understanding of what's happened before -- the history that came before us. So part of why I'm always so grateful to have you on the show, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Thank you so much.
And, of course, don't forget to get your copy --
GOODWIN: Oh, thank you, Kasie.
HUNT: Yeah -- no -- of course -- of "The Leadership Journey" for your middle-schooler. It's out now.
All right, time now for sports. The sports world is mourning the death of baseball's controversial all-time hitting king, Pete Rose.
Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Andy, good morning.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, good morning, Kasie.
I mean, yesterday, certainly a tough day. We lost both Dikembe Mutombo and Pete Rose.
And, you know, known as "Charlie Hustle" Rose is baseball's all-time hits leader racking up 4,256 hits over his 24-year career. Rose also still the Major League leader in games played and at-bats. He was a 17-time All-Star and won three World Series titles but despite his incredible career Rose not a Hall of Famer. Rose was banned from baseball for life in 1989 after an investigation found he'd gambled on games, including his own team.
Pete Rose was 83 years old.
Now, Dikembe Mutombo, meanwhile, passed away from brain cancer yesterday. And Mutombo one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. He was known for his iconic finger wag after blocking a shot and for his big smile.
Now, off the court, Mutombo -- he was just larger than life. He was the NBA's first global ambassador and as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver put it, "Dikembe poured his heart and soul into helping others."
Dikembe Mutombo was 58 years old.
All right. We had a doubleheader on "MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" and Lions quarterback Jared Goff throwing a perfect game against the Seahawks. Goff, a perfect 18 for 18 passing in this one. It was the most attempts in a game without an incompletion in NFL history. Goff finishing with 292 yards and two touchdowns, and he also caught a touchdown, too. The Lions rans the Philly Special to perfection right there in the third quarter. Detroit would win 42-29 to improve to 3-1.
So did Goff get the game ball afterwards?
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DAN CAMPBELL, HEAD COACH, DETROIT LIONS: I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful right now.
REPORTER: He has a safety (PH).
CAMPBELL: Yeah. No, I -- well, I knew he played a heck of a game. I did not realize he was perfect. I did not know he was literally 18 for 18.
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SCHOLES: Yeah. The Dolphins beat the -- the Titans beat the Dolphins in the other matchup.
Now, the Mets and Braves, meanwhile, both got to have champagne parties yesterday in Atlanta. New York won the first game of the doubleheader in dramatic fashion to clinch, then the Braves got the second game to get the final spot. The reigning National League champion Diamondbacks -- they are out of the postseason.
[05:55:00]
And it starts today. Here's your wild card schedule. The Astros host the Tigers at 2:30 Eastern. Royals at the Orioles at 4:00. The Mets -- they're now in Milwaukee -- will play the Brewers. Then you've got the Braves. They flew out West. They will take on the Padres.
And Kasie, I know you're locked into that Orioles-Royals game one there at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. October --
HUNT: I am.
SCHOLES: -- you know, the start of October -- it's always a stressful time of year for us baseball fans.
HUNT: It is. I can't believe it's October already. But let me tell you, I am really glad that the O's are playing in October. And I'm bummed I'm not going to be able to go to the game today because I've got to go to New York to cover the VP debate. But --
SCHOLES: Oh.
HUNT: -- we still have another game tomorrow.
SCHOLES: Yeah, hoping they'll be playing for a while and you'll get to one, right?
HUNT: Please, yes.
Thank you, Andy. SCHOLES: All right.
HUNT: I really appreciate it. I'll see you later on this week.
And coming up here in our next hour on CNN THIS MORNING, later tonight, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance set to meet in the one and only vice presidential debate of this election. Donald Trump's campaign's senior adviser Jason Miller is here to talk about their expectations from Trump's VP.
Plus, breaking overnight, Israel launches a ground incursion into Lebanon hours after this warning from the U.S.
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REPORTER: Israel may now be launching a limited operation into Lebanon. Are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plan?
BIDEN: I'm more worried than you might know, and I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.
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