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Harris Picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Running Mate; "Swarm" of Drones Fired on Israeli Military HQ; Nikkei Rebounds after Monday Selloff; Walz Policies as Governor. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired August 06, 2024 - 10:00 ET
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): And welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD.
I'm Becky Anderson and straight to our breaking news this hour.
Decision made: Kamala Harris has chosen her running mate for the U.S. presidential election. It is Minnesota governor Tim Walz. We have just
learned that Harris has personally informed Walz of her decision.
This pick capping off a whirlwind few weeks, in which Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination, then dove into what was an accelerated
vetting process for a potential VP.
Sources say she had to sleep on a decision after narrowing it down to two choices, Walz and the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro. Pennsylvania, of
course, a swing state crucial to winning the November election. Kevin Liptak joining me now from Washington.
Kevin, who is Tim Walz?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a good question and I think it's one that a lot of Americans are actually going to be asking
themselves today as well.
He does not have a huge national profile. The task for Kamala Harris over the next several days is going to be to introduce him to American voters.
He is 60 years old. He is the governor of Minnesota.
One of the most interesting things about him, I think, is that he came to politics relatively late in his career. He began his career as a high
school social studies teacher. He coached the high school football team. Eventually, he went on to run for Congress in Minnesota.
He served six terms in Congress. He became the governor and he has had quite a progressive record while in office. He's overseeing things like
legalizing recreational marijuana, an expansion of abortion rights in Minnesota.
And what the real thing that I think clicked with Kamala Harris is this idea of chemistry. She interviewed him at her home here in Washington on
Sunday. She did not know him very well, until that moment.
They had met before but they hadn't necessarily interacted in this kind of way. And in that meeting, I think what you hear from people close to Harris
is that they shared something of a sense of humor. They shared a shared outlook about this race. Eventually she slept on it last night and she made
the final call this morning.
And she is in the process now, as we speak, of calling both Walz and also the other contenders in this contest who she didn't select, namely Josh
Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania. And I think this morning there will be some questions about why she didn't select Shapiro.
Pennsylvania is a much more critical battleground state than Minnesota. Democrats have won presidential elections in Minnesota dating back decades.
Pennsylvania is very pretty much a linchpin of any electoral strategy for Harris if she is to hope to win, in November.
But I think what were really came down to is this personal connection. And when you talk to people around Harris, they are confident in this choice.
They think that he will appeal to white, working class voters who have been folding away from Democrats for the last several elections.
Now the task will be to introduce him to voters and we will see them at this joint rally in Philadelphia later this evening.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Kevin.
Thank you.
Want to talk more about this with Mark Longabaugh, a Democratic strategist, who worked on Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign.
And Joe Walsh is a former U.S. republican House member and director of The Social Contract podcast.
Good to have you both.
Mark, why Tim Walz?
What does he bring to the ticket for Kamala Harris?
MARK LONGABAUGH, FORMER SENIOR STRATEGIST, SANDERS 2016 CAMPAIGN: Well, I think he brings a style. If you saw his video that he put out, I think it
was last night, there's just -- there's just an energy, a folksy kind of style that he brings to the ticket, which I think is going to help lift it
up.
I also think he brings a progressive record that going to be very effective in the Upper Midwest, Wisconsin and Michigan. as your -- as you guys
described just before here. You know, this is a guy who was a high school teacher from rural Minnesota. So I think he's going to connect very, very
with rural small-town, working-class voters.
He has a record in Minnesota of passing family and medical leave.
[10:05:07]
They passed a piece of legislation to require free school lunches so that every child could go to school and get a good meal.
I mean, these are the kinds of things that I think speak to middle-class voters.
ANDERSON: Yes.
Too progressive for middle-class moderates, for example, who are card- holding Democrats or indeed those independent voters, who Kamala Harris is going to need if she is going to win this in November?
LONGABAUGH: I don't think so.
I mean, I think he, you know, he's taken that on in several different interviews and he says, you know, what's so liberal about having a full
belly when you go to school?
And that's the kind of way he speaks, very, very folksy, very down home. I think this can be very hard for the Republicans to try and demonize him.
ANDERSON: Let me bring you in, Joe. Let's hear from the new vice presidential pick from the days before he was selected. Stand by.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are, these are weird people on the other side.
They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room.
Have you ever seen the guy laugh?
That seems very weird to me that an adult can go through 6.5 years of being in the public eye. If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone.
How often in the world do you make that bastard wake up afterwards and know that a Black woman kicked his ass and send him on the road?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Joe, this is the man who came up with this "weird" argument and I say that in inverted commas, "weird" argument against team Trump.
Is that going to be effective against a Republican candidate?
He has been a little bit like Teflon, frankly, isn't he?
JOE WALSH (I-IL), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I think it will be because I think it starts with weird and then it goes to how dangerous Trump is.
Look, I'm not a Democrat and -- but I think this is a good pick. Democrats have a huge problem. They've been losing white, blue-collar men without a
college education. They've been losing kind of like regular folks.
That's what Tim Walz is. I mean, you can put him in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania; this is a guy that can go into beer halls. He can go anywhere
and talk to just regular people. And I think he can do that better than anybody else she had on her list.
So I actually think it's a really -- it's a smart pick. Yes, he's got a progressive record, too progressive for me. But it doesn't come across that
way. It comes across as like an everyman, just a regular dude.
ANDERSON: Joe, the Trump campaign responding already, calling Walz a, quote, "West Coast wannabe" in a statement.
"It's no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris, wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as a running mate. Walz has spent his governorship
trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State while he pretends to support Americans in the heartland.
"When the cameras are off, he believes that rural America is mostly cows and rocks."
And so it goes on.
Any surprise to your mind about how the Trump campaign is responding?
The sense was that they were out to get Shapiro because that's who they believed she would pick.
WALSH: Yes.
Look, no, I mean, come on. What a -- what a joke. Right? You're going to call Tim Walz a West Coast elite liberal?
Good, good guy. That ain't going to work. This is how -- but this is how flummoxed Trump and his team have been since Biden got out. They still
don't know how to go after Kamala Harris.
I think they're breathing a sigh of relief because I think they believed the pick was going to be Shapiro. And Shapiro would have appealed to more
centrist voters. But they're not going to know how to go after Tim Walz.
Again, he may have a progressive record but you listen to the guy for five minutes, he doesn't come across as some wacky, progressive elite. You can
put him anywhere in the Midwest and he's going to attract regular voters. And that's what Democrats need.
ANDERSON: To both of you -- let's start with you, Mark. I mean, this was a supercharged, not just accelerated, vetting process. It was supercharged.
It was only 16 days ago that Biden stood aside and Kamala Harris was -- became the presumptive nominee.
And only, what, Friday that she got enough votes effectively online before they go to the convention to actually be the ticket, as it were.
I mean, you've been at the back end of all of this.
As strategists, would you be worried that anything comes up that could damage the ticket at this point?
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Just give us our viewers a sense of what's been going on behind the scenes here.
LONGABAUGH: Well, I mean, it could -- clearly there was a scramble and you had a lot of experienced lawyers and folks vetting these folks. But let's
just look at it this way. There were three choices she had on the table, Kelly, Walz and Shapiro. All of these people were experienced, solid,
elected officials with real records.
You put that up against who did Trump pick? A guy named Vance, who, two years in the Senate. And already we're seeing, to use Walz's term, so many
weird things in his background come out.
So I think the real folks that had the vetting problem here was the Trump campaign, not Kamala Harris. I think Walz is going to stand up just fine. I
agree with all of the comments that the congressman made about Walz and his plain speaking ability.
ANDERSON: Joe.
WALSH: And I agree with Mark. Look, the vetting process takes months. I have no doubt that they missed stuff on Walz that'll come out. But Mark's
right, man. Donald Trump made the biggest mistake in this campaign, doubling down and picking JD Vance.
And any of these three candidates that Kamala Harris narrowed it down to would have far surpassed Vance. And I can't wait to see Tim Walz on a
debate stage. He will eat up the inauthentic fraud that is JD Vance.
LONGABAUGH: Completely agree.
ANDERSON: Yes, that's fascinating. And we await to find out when -- if a tool that VP debate, of course, will be.
(CROSSTALK)
WALSH: One more thing --
ANDERSON: Please, absolutely.
WALSH: -- and I know Mark would agree. And he was making this point. JD Vance is utterly inauthentic. I mean, he felt like Trump was Hitler four
years ago. You cannot call Tim Walz inauthentic. You may not like him but he's the real, real deal. There's going to be a clear contrast.
ANDERSON: Does the VP pick matter?
I mean, after all, we've already had Donald Trump somewhat distancing himself from the importance of the vice president. Perhaps many people out
there wouldn't be surprised by that.
But ultimately, does the VP pick matter, Joe?
WALSH: I think it helps.
And here's how this will help. You're going to see Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for the next 90-plus days, out there campaigning together and they
will be smiling. They will be happy warriors. He's an affable guy. She's affable.
You're going to see Trump and JD Vance the exact opposite of that. So it really-- it helps on the edges.
ANDERSON: Mark?
LONGABAUGH: Yes. No, I agree.
I mean, it reminds me a little bit of Bill Clinton picking Al Gore in '92, where just the energy and the youth of the two candidates and the spirit,
their families -- and I remember those bus tours that they took, coming out of the convention.
Again I, agree with. The congressman. I just think you're going to see a lot of spirit and energy and uplift coming out of this ticket, contrasted
with a very dark, negative team on the other side.
ANDERSON: And contrasted with the atmosphere of what was the Democratic ticket just, what, 17 days ago.
Good to have you both on. Thank you.
This is breaking this hour. Kamala Harris has chosen her vice presidential pick. We are learning new information about what she said to Tim Walz in
that phone call that we reported on at the top of the hour.
Kevin Liptak back with us from Washington, Kevin.
LIPTAK: Yes, and I'm just going to read you, Kamala Harris has just sent an official text to her supporters. This is the first time that we've heard
her officially making this known. She says that she's picked Tim Walz to be her running mate. She calls him a battle tested leader.
She says he has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families.
And she says, "I know that he will bring that same principled leadership to our campaign into the Office of the Vice President."
So this is the very first moment that we've heard from Kamala Harris directly, announcing her selection. Before, she had been waiting for this
phone call to Tim Walz to officially inform him that she had made this choice.
That called just concluded within the last half an hour or so and, on that call, we're told that she told Walz that they were the underdogs in this
election, that they are going into this running behind, which, factually, I suppose is true.
If you take the fact that President Biden, when he was the Democratic candidate, was running behind Donald Trump, now polls have shown a much
more narrowing race.
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But certainly Kamala Harris wants to emphasize that this is not going to be a walk in the park, that this is going to be a tight election and it's
going to be a challenging election. And she is hoping that Tim Walz can come on this ticket and help maintain this level of energy and momentum
that she has been enjoying since Biden dropped out.
And since she became the Democratic standard bearer. And in that call, we're also told that she talked about the winning message that they hope to
bring to the campaign trail, which is about reducing costs and making life easier for middle-class families.
That is, of course, the Democratic message that President Biden had adopted but also that Harris will be maintaining. The real hope is that Walz will
be a credible messenger on that front to the constituencies that Democrats are really hoping to win back this election year. Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir.
More on our breaking coverage is just ahead. We'll get you to Philadelphia, where Tim Walz, the new vice presidential candidate on the Kamala Harris
ticket for the Democrats, will appear at a rally later with Kamala Harris. More on that up next.
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ANDERSON: Our top story, Vice President Kamala Harris has made her decision on a running mate. Minnesota governor Tim Walz is her pick for VP
and as she faces off against former president Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election in November.
The selection caps Walz's short but swift ascent from a relative unknown to Harris' partner on the campaign trail.
Walz, who is 60, is currently in his second term as Minnesota governor and chairs the Democratic Governors Association. He also served 12 years in
Congress and is a former educator. I want to bring in CNN's Jeff Zeleny in Philadelphia, where Walz is expected to join Kamala Harris at a campaign
rally later today.
And you are reporting, Jeff -- it's good to have you, mate -- that one Democratic operative told you that Walz, quote, "talks and looks like a lot
of the voters that we've lost to Trump."
Just explain what he or she meant by that.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Becky, what they mean by that is really the Democratic Party, if you look back just a couple
of elections, let's start in 2008 or 2012, when Barack Obama won and won reelection, he carried a lot of the counties in the central part of the
United States that have since turned red.
That in the Donald Trump era, he won over a lot of those rural and smaller town areas, if you will. So they believe that Governor Walz is someone who
can sort of expand the Democratic Party and can expand and reach out to some of those moderate voters.
He also had the support of a lot of progressives, like senator Bernie Sanders, who, of course, is largely seen as the leader of the progressive
movement in the country.
[10:20:00]
But there's also, no doubt, we are just getting our first look at the message that Vice President Harris sent to supporters. And let me read just
one key paragraph of it.
It says that, "Tim is a battle tested leader, who has an incredible track record of getting things done for Minnesota families. I know he'll bring
the same principled leadership to our campaign and the Office of Vice President."
Again, pointing back to his record in Minnesota and, indeed, 12 years in the Congress; focused a lot on veterans and military affairs. So really
they're trying to unite the entire breadth of this Democratic Party around this choice, Becky.
ANDERSON: And compare that with Donald Trump's pick, of course, JD Vance.
ZELENY: Well, look, JD Vance has talked and written a lot about a rural America and the decline and changing nature of the country. Of course, his
bestselling book, "Hillbilly Elegy," really rocketed him to fame.
But there are some questions about how deeply connected he still is. So look, the coming days will be a test, no doubt, for how Governor Tim Walz
stands up to the scrutiny that is about to be leveled upon him.
He has been successful in every race that he's won. His first elected office was in Congress. But this is a whole new ballgame. But speaking to
some of those same forgotten voters if you will, it's an essential part but also they say the full piece of the puzzle is that he has a progressive
record as well.
We will see if that is a benefit plus or a negative, a plus or minus for him here. But one thing we do know, this race is fully joined and the races
are often not about the running mates, either Vance or Harris (sic). This campaign will be won or lost by Harris or Trump.
ANDERSON: And with the support, one assumes, of Josh Shapiro, who is the governor of the state where you are at present, where Kamala Harris and a
new VP pick will be at a campaign rally tonight.
I mean, Josh Shapiro was a favorite in many people's eyes.
You have confidence that he will support this ticket, correct?
ZELENY: He will. Democrats close to him say he will.
But, Becky, there's no doubt it's a bit of tough medicine for him. He's a rising star in the Democratic Party. He has won statewide three times,
right here in Pennsylvania. But look, this is a choice that is made. So he will have to suck it up and support the party.
But how they sort of appear chemistry wise, how much he appears to work for them, of course, that will be tested here. But it's a reminder of how
important these decisions are for the long term.
I was thinking back just this morning to back in 2008, senator Barack Obama was weighing, should he pick senator Joe Biden or Virginia governor Tim
Kaine?
He went with senator Joe Biden. Of course, that set the course for really almost 12 or 15 years of politics. So Vice President Kamala Harris could
also be doing that. I mean, Tim Walz will now be also a leader in this party should they win.
But should they lose in November, Josh Shapiro, of course, will be front of the list to be campaigning for 2028. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
We still have about three months before this election.
ANDERSON: Ninety days and change. It's always good to have you, Jeff. Thank you very much indeed.
We have heard from the Trump campaign and I want to read you part of their statement.
It is, and they say, quote, "no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz has
spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State.
"While Walz pretends to support Americans in the heartland, when the cameras are off, he believes that rural America is mostly cows and rocks."
A whole bunch of questions out there.
How does Tim Walz stack up to, for example, as we've just been discussing, Donald Trump's pick for vice president, JD Vance?
That and more. Let's bring in Republican strategist, Doug Heye. He is in Washington.
Before we compare and contrast these two vice presidential picks, what do you make of her decision?
DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it tells me -- I was surprised by it, to be honest.
It tells me that it speaks very much about the chemistry that she had with Walz and potentially that he can reach out to some of those voters that did
go for Donald Trump.
I was, just this past weekend, Becky, in Iowa, which is a place where Democrats are talking about trying to gain some of those voters back. The
challenge for Harris is that's a very steep hill in Iowa.
And those other states, including Minnesota, for Harris to win because the campaign is not going to be about JD Vance or Tim Walz. It's going to be
about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ultimately.
ANDERSON: This is one of the most progressive tickets in history. Let's be quite frank about this.
And just in to CNN.
[10:25:00]
The House GOP chair, Elise Stefanik, has called this, and I quote her here, "the most radical, far left wing ticket in history."
Does she have a point and how do you think that will play with moderate voters?
I'm talking about moderate Democrats and independents, who, after all, Kamala Harris and the Trump campaign both need those on a path to victory.
HEYE: I think she's right. But ultimately, if you want to persuade voters, I think words like "radical" and "extreme" get used a lot. They're good for
fundraising and Elise Stefanik is a tremendous fundraiser.
But if you want to convince voters' minds, you talk about the issues that they care about the most. And I got an email, Becky, a little while ago
from the Republican Governors Association on Tim Walz.
And what did they say?
They talked about Tim Walz and the Biden-Harris economic agenda. Obviously, the economy, inflation, prices are so important in America right now.
What happened yesterday on Wall Street, what's going to happen today on Wall Street speaks to economic anxiety that voters have. And that's why the
contrast isn't going to be about Tim Walz or JD Vance though they may make headlines.
And I knew congressman -- or then congressman Walz a little bit when I worked in the House of Representatives. He's a very affable guy. He is very
fun to be around. There's no doubt about that and voters may like him.
But when they go in the voter -- voting booth, the decision they're going to make is about what's going on in their lives and which candidate for
president can best really address that.
ANDERSON: And you'll talk about how this ticket helps soothe the economic anxieties that so many Americans have. And I've heard you talk about this,
the anxieties that people have on Main Street when they go and fill up their car, when they go to the supermarket, when the bills come through the
letterbox.
And got their utility bills to pay. But this is about, surely, you'll accept, the Democrats actually crafting a message about an economy, which -
- and I caveat this by saying we don't know what's going to happen today on Wall Street.
But is this a soft landing or is this an economy going into recession?
On the flip side, Donald Trump is out there saying this is an economic disaster that Biden has overseen. That is simply incorrect. But it's about
how the Democrats are able to message that better to the man and woman on the street, correct?
HEYE: Yes, absolutely. Look, Donald Trump uses a lot of overheated rhetoric. I think we know that. But very clearly there's serious anxiety
and I hear it whenever -- not just here in Washington but whenever I leave D.C. The first thing people talk about is what things cost, whether it's in
a restaurant or a movie theatre, certainly gas prices as well.
And that's why this is going to be really the frameup of what this election is. We have the old phrase, "It's the economy, stupid."
I think that remains true in this election and, ultimately, if we look back at past vice presidential picks -- and Jeff Zeleny sort of referenced this
earlier -- Lloyd Bentsen eviscerated Donald Trump -- or excuse me -- Dan Quayle in a vice presidential debate in 1992.
What happened -- or excuse me, 1988.
What happened?
George Bush and Dan Quayle won because it wasn't about the vice presidential picks. And Becky, I was at the first rally in North Carolina
that John Kerry had with his running mate, North Carolina senator John Edwards in 2004.
John Edwards being from North Carolina, never put that race in play in the state and didn't really change the trajectory of that campaign ever. You
can do things on the margin.
But when you have well-known politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, that tells you that's the heavyweight matchup that the voters are
going to be deciding on.
ANDERSON: Yes. It's fascinating. And it's really good to have you, how big an impact this VP choice will actually make on the ticket is an open
question at this point. You are making some very good points and thank you for your insight and your analysis, important as we continue with our
breaking news this hour.
Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris has chosen her running mate. We take a look at Tim Walz's legacy -- and this is Walz on the right-hand of your
screen -- up until now. That is up next.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ANDERSON: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, and you are watching our breaking news this hour. Kamala Harris has chosen her
running mate for the U.S. Presidential election. He is Minnesota governor Tim Walz.
And a quick look at who he is. Before being elected to Congress in 2006, Walz was a high school teacher. He also spent more than two decades in the
Army National Guard. Recently the midwestern Democrat has gone from being a relative unknown to a leading driver of the party's attacks on the MAGA
agenda.
I want to bring in CNN contributor Elaine Kamarck, who is also an author and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
We've just seen -- and welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us.
We've just seen the Harris-Walz campaign page unveiled.
And as we show that, I do want to ask, what does Tim Walz bring to the Democratic ticket in terms of policy?
I mean, he's -- many are calling him a progressive.
But exactly how do you think he will shape a potential Harris platform or at least help shape that?
ELAINE KAMARCK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think the most important thing he brings to the ticket is military experience. Not only was he in the
National Guard for more than two decades, he retired from the Guard as a command sergeant major, the most senior rank an enlisted member can hold.
And in fact, the only member of the House of Representatives to ever hold that rank. What he does is he balances of Harris beautifully because the
one thing she never did was serve in the military. And so think of all the important issues before them.
Right?
What weapons should we be sending to Ukraine?
What should our negotiations efforts be like in Gaza and Israel?
What new weapons do we need?
How do we keep our -- take care of our veterans?
How do we, in fact, keep our enlisted men and women happy and efficient in their jobs?
All of these things, he can bring firsthand experience to and, therefore, he is a perfect balance to Harris' experience.
I know we've talked a lot about -- in the previous segment, you talked a lot about governor Shapiro in Pennsylvania but he was like Harris. I mean,
he was also an attorney general like Harris.
So what Harris has done is she said, what do I need here to govern?
And I need some balance.
ANDERSON: A person close, to the process tells CNN just in the past few minutes that Kamala Harris is impressed by what she calls his authenticity.
[10:35:00]
So tell us about that, what that could mean to American voters. I think that's certainly where you are at when you say he's definitely -- there's
something very different that he brings to the table here.
KAMARCK: Well, in fact, my daughter-in-law, a Navy veteran, texted me just a few minutes ago to say, wow -- and she's from Wisconsin.
"Wow, he's just like my dad," who was a high school football coach. As you said and Midwestern Americans, they're going to love him. And I think
that's what we mean by authenticity.
This is a guy who does not have an Ivy League diploma attached to his name. This is a guy who taught high school, who was the football coach, who was a
military man.
I think he's going to be great and we've seen already that he's really good at sticking it to Donald Trump.
ANDERSON: We have heard from the Trump campaign and I want to read you just part of their statement within the context of this part of the
conversation that we're having about Kamala Harris, talking about his authenticity.
That is not something that the Trump campaign, of course, is prepared to sort of work with here.
They say, and I quote here, "It's no surprise that San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris wants West Coast wannabe Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz
has spent his governorship trying to reshape Minnesota in the image of the Golden State.
"While Walz pretends to support Americans in the heartland, when the cameras are off, he believes that rural America is mostly cows and rocks."
Does any of what I've just read out surprise you from the Trump campaign?
KAMARCK: No, of course, because, look, it is their interest to paint the entire ticket is as liberal and out-of-touch as they can.
And all you can say in response to that is, well, why don't we ask -- look at the voters in Minnesota, who continually reelected Walz for the House of
Representatives and for the governorship?
I don't think that the voters in that state would have been quite as enthusiastic if he'd been some caricature of a San Francisco liberal, that
the Republicans are going to try to make him out to be.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you.
Thank you very much indeed, for joining us.
I want to bring in CNN's Whitney Wild in St. Paul in Minnesota, where, an hour or so into what many will say is a surprise pick -- because there are
many who thought Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, would win this.
What do you make of what, one, the decision that Kamala Harris has made and how that is going to impact this ticket?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, I, think what really sealed the deal here is what you were talking about earlier, which is his
authenticity. And we spoke to several voters out here today. They, say look, he's the real deal. He's empathetic.
He, as many people have said, he's a former football coach, he talks like a normal person. He seems very normal. But they also say that he is steady.
And make no mistake, just because he is authentic, normal, a regular guy does not mean he's a pushover.
They also say he's a fighter and it's that combination that has definitely one vote here in Minnesota and that is why the people that I spoke with are
so certain that he is the one who can take this all the way to the finish line.
This is quite a moment out here, Becky. There are -- there's a growing crowd here at the -- people in the neighborhood as well as people across
the river in Minneapolis are very excited. There's a lot of momentum here today. But we are still waiting to see if the governor is going to come out
and make any remarks, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you outside the residence of the VP pick on the Harris-Walz ticket. Now thank you for that.
We'll just move away from this story for a moment.
We'll keep you bang up-to-date as we get more detail in on Kamala Harris' VP pick ahead of, what, 90 days away from the U.S. Presidential election.
Meantime, the head of Hezbollah is speaking out. I want to get you more on that amid growing he fears of a wider war in the Middle East. We are live
from Lebanon for you just ahead.
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ANDERSON: Well, the head of Hezbollah is speaking right now amid soaring tensions in the Middle East and new fears of a full-blown war. Hassan
Nasrallah is marking a week since Israel killed the group's military commander, sparking fears of retaliation by Iran.
Now earlier, Israeli jets flew over Beirut and broke the sound barrier, causing buildings to shake.
Meantime, the Pentagon is blaming militia aligned with Iran for a suspected rocket attack on a U.S. base in Iraq. Several American forces were wounded.
U.S. President Joe Biden convened his national security team Monday to talk about the tensions and the U.S. has moved two destroyers to the Red Sea.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Lebanon, following developments for us.
As I reported, as Hassan Nasrallah started speaking, so, as I understand it, there were sonic booms, Israeli jets flying in the skies over Beirut.
Just explain what happened and what was said by the head of Hezbollah.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, this happened in the minutes before he began speaking.
There were two instances where there were multiple breakings of the sound barrier; total, I think, about six. Now I saw some of the planes flying
overhead. They seemed to be dropping flares as well. These were right over the heart of Beirut.
Buildings shook and, of course, given the current situation, many people are worried that those aren't breaking the sound barrier, those jets, but
they're actually bombing. Fortunately that wasn't the case.
Now what was significant is that they didn't break the sound barrier over the southern suburbs, where the speech has now been broadcast to a large
hall full of Hezbollah supporters but rather right over the heart of Beirut.
And my interpretation is that this is a message, not just to Hezbollah, a warning, but to Lebanon as a whole. Now at the beginning of his speech,
Nasrallah said that it may happen during his speech if they will do it again. And he called it a provocation.
Now the fact that he's referring to what happened just minutes before his speech would indicate that this speech is obviously being piped in live
from somewhere in Beirut. Of course Nasrallah hasn't been scene in public since 2006 and it's believed that he lives
well below ground in a very deep, deep bunker.
Now this has been a very busy day in terms of back-and-forth fire between Israel and Hezbollah. This morning, there was a strike on a town about 10
kilometers north of the border, killing five.
It was a drone strike that hit a two-story building. Now Hezbollah has subsequently announced that five of its fighters were killed. Normally in
their announcements, they give the name, the age, where they were born but they never actually say where their fighters were killed.
Now after that, apparently Hezbollah sent some drones, several drones. They called it a swarm of drones inside Israel. Now these appeared to be what
are known as Shahed-101 drones, which had -- which can fly.
[10:45:03]
Their attack drones, they can fly as much as 900 kilometers. Now they reached the Israeli town of Nahariya, which is 10 kilometers south of the
border, where it's not clear whether the drones actually struck targets or they were intercepted and then crashed onto the ground.
But they resulted in the injury of, at least at this point, we know of 19 people being taken to hospital in Nahariya. Now Hezbollah said the target
in that case was an Israeli base there.
Now later in the day, there was another strike on a town, a Lebanese town on the border, that killed one and injured another.
So certainly this has been a day that's perhaps the most tense day since a week ago, Tuesday evening at about 8 o'clock, when Israel -- an Israeli
drone fired three missiles into the Haret Hreik neighborhood in southern Beirut and killed Fuad Shukr.
And the reason why Nasrallah is speaking today, it's one week since that assassination, that Israel, of course, acknowledged. Now he's just begun
his speech so we don't know what he's said yet. But obviously, we're going to be following it very, very closely.
ANDERSON: Absolutely.
And so you should because, while these incidents have been deadly over the past week or so, I think it's fair to say that we haven't seen the
threatened shock and awe retaliation from Iran to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, of course, around the same time as the assassination of the
senior leader of Hezbollah.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran that, of course, was blamed on Israel. We do know that there's an IEC (ph) meeting in Jeddah tomorrow
called by Iran, alongside Pakistan. We wait to see what comes out of that.
As the region, as we've been reporting, is still very much on edge, the risk of escalation, significant at this point. Ben, always a pleasure.
Thank you very much.
Shared on the show.
The Democratic presidential ticket is complete with Kamala Harris' selection of Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate. I speak to a
senior political commentator for CNN, Van Jones, about that decision and its potential impact on the race. That is coming up.
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ANDERSON: Well, it's been an energized Democratic Party in the United States since Joe Biden stood aside some 16 or so days ago. But shifting
narrative around the U.S. economy could complicate Kamala Harris' bid for the Oval Office.
The world's biggest economy is under more scrutiny after Monday's massive stock tumble on Wall Street and the wider markets. Now U.S. stocks are this
hour bouncing back a bit.
Investors were spooked Monday by a combination of fears about potentially slowing U.S. growth, rising Japanese interest rates and crumbling tech
stocks. That all helped trigger what was a meltdown. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei has bounced back from its worst one-day percentage drop since 1987.
That was its close on Tuesday.
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And before we go, one final look at our top story, Kamala Harris' selection of Tim Walz to be her vice presidential running mate.
That decision ended two weeks of intense speculation, during which Harris quickly secured the Democratic presidential nomination. They'll appear at a
campaign rally tonight in Philadelphia as they kick off a week of campaigning in key swing states. Let's bring in CNN senior political
commentator Van Jones.
Good to have you, Van. Walz talks about growing up in a small town of, what, 400 people. He said that people -- that Trump and Vance get at their
rallies, quote, "felt like Democrats had spoken down to them, that we've not gotten them reached where they're at."
Will his selection as vice president or as vice presidential candidate, at least, fix that to your mind?
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, it might. But let me tell you this. This is the most extraordinary thing because nobody heard of this guy
two weeks ago. This guy was literally is the ultimate dark horse candidate.
How does this guy come out of nowhere and get this thing?
Here's how, because exactly what you said. He's a Democrat that talks like regular, everyday Americans. He is a populist but he's a positive populist.
He's not an East Coast elitist or West coast elitist. He doesn't have an Ivy League background, used to be a coach, a high school coach.
He talks like everybody's dad, everybody's favorite PE teacher. But his agenda is an up with the people agenda. He's unabashedly trying to use
government to help everyday people. But he doesn't talk in some weird way.
And he just set the grassroots on fire in the United States over the past couple of weeks. He also, he defined Donald Trump as weird. We have been
calling him a fascist, a dictator, authoritarian. It was actually giving him more power and scaring people.
He comes along and he punctures the Donald Trump balloon. He goes, this guy is just weird. And suddenly you had a way to frame Donald Trump that
actually deflated Donald Trump. They have not been able to deal with it.
And who was this guy?
And he comes out of nowhere. Only in American politics can somebody come out of literally left field and get this nomination, gets the opportunity
and extends the honeymoon in this party. People are -- people are in love with Kamala Harris and now they're in love with --
ANDERSON: Well, this is fascinating.
Donald Trump and his campaign, of course, have defined Tim Walz as a "wannabe West Coast liberal."
Just given what you've just been suggesting about who he really is, his authenticity, which Kamala Harris has absolutely spoken to, look.
And also, let me tell you that the Trump campaign accusing Walz are very specific policy issues. He's too progressive on climate, pushing a carbon-
free agenda, limiting emissions on cars. In the Trump campaign statement, he said he wanted convicted felons to vote.
Look, how will Democrats fight this?
We've already seen the beginning of what the Trump campaign is up to here.
JONES: I don't know how they can criticize the government for having convicted felon vote when the Republicans are running a convicted felon for
president.
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: So I don't think that punch is going to land this time, guys.
Listen. They're going to try to make him seem extreme. They're going to point to some of the unrest that happened in his state after George Floyd's
brutal murder. They will have their opportunity to punch at him.
But I'm going to tell you what, you put this guy in the same room and the same ring with a JD Vance, who is a complete phony, who the -- who's like a
weirdo, hates cat ladies and all kinds of nonsense.
You put him next to an actual Midwesterner, somebody who really comes from where he says he comes from. And it's going to be no contest. So they will
try and define him in a negative way.
But then you got to listen to the guy. And he is a breath of fresh air, not just for Democrats, for American politics. He does, he's not mad at
anybody. He's not trying to put down immigrants, he is not trying to put down transgender people.
He's just trying to make sure that everybody can see a doctor if they're sick, go to a good school, get a good job. This is going to be a tough
person for the Republicans to beat up on because he's a fresh face. He's brand new and he's bringing a new style of politics for the Democratic
Party.
ANDERSON: Not just authentic; huggable, I think is one of the lines that we've yet -- absolutely --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: -- we could all do with a bit of that, I guess, given what we've all been through, wherever we're living in the world.
We can show our viewers a list of some of the policies that Walz has championed. And just explain what you understand him to represent in terms
of something like economic policy.
We know that so many Americans have significant economic anxiety at the moment.
When we put these up on the screen, what is top of mind for U.S. voters?
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How are they going to cope on these policy issues?
JONES: Look, you know, we have this weird kind of politics in the United States where you have the economic agenda and you also have the cultural
agenda. And honestly, Democrats usually have the better argument in terms of having policies that would help regular people.
When you're talking about getting more childcare, better education, that sort of stuff. Where we slip on a banana peel and fall down the stairs is
on the cultural stuff. Somehow, we just sound weird. We sound like we all took some PhD in political correctness.
And people don't understand what we're -- and they don't trust us. They don't think that we are close to ordinary people, regular people. And
that's where a lot of populism in the United States is cultural populism.
It's saying these people have an agenda that is anti-family. It's anti- everyday Americans. And so what I think you're going to see is, for the first time, a real marriage with this guy of an economic agenda that's up
with everyday people but also a cultural agenda that just feels like this, you know, if you have a great public school teacher.
They're going to love all the students. They're going to hug all the students. And I think not only is he huggable, I think he's trying to hug
everybody and I think he's got -- look, we haven't seen this.
You've got to go back to John Edwards in 2008. And he had somebody who came from regular background and Democratic Party reached these heights.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. I'm going to take a break but it's super to have you on. Thank you for everything, Van. Your insight and analysis so
important.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD, stay with CNN. We are waiting to hear from Harris' pick for her running mate. This is the view outside his home in
Minnesota. More up next.
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