Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Discussing Negotiations with Leaders of Egypt and Qatar; Hillary Clinton Rallies Support for Kamala Harris at DNC; Young Democrats Energized for 2024 Elections; Four Arrested for Fence Breach at DNC; Tornado Hits Luxury Yacht, One Dead, Six Missing; Trump to Focus on Crime and Safety in Michigan; Coach Steve Kerr Strikes Patriotic Note at DNC; Trump Posts Fake Taylor Swift Endorsement. Aired 10- 11a ET
Aired August 20, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD.
I'm Erica Hill in for my colleague, Becky Anderson, today. Just ahead here, bodies of six hostages have been retrieved from Gaza in an Israeli military
operation. We're live with more of those details in Tel Aviv.
Meantime, here in the U.S., the Democratic National Convention now well underway in Chicago. Former president Barack Obama will take the stage
tonight.
And there, are new details, this hour about the yacht that sank off the coast of Italy. I'll speak with a maritime expert on what may have gone
wrong.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: We do begin this hour with the update out of -- out of the Middle East for the bodies of six Israeli hostages. We're learning they were
retrieved from Gaza during an overnight military operation in Khan Yunis. That's according to the Israeli military.
The deaths of all but one of the men whose pictures you see on your screen here had been announced in recent months. Following the news on Tuesday,
families of the hostages called for urgency in finalizing a hostage release and ceasefire deal.
All of this happening, of course, as U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken is wrapping up talks in Egypt about those ongoing negotiations. He'll then
be heading to Doha, where he'll meet with the Qatari emir.
Let's stay on this. Our Jerusalem correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, joining me now, as well as our chief U.S. security analyst, Jim Sciutto. Both are live
in Tel Aviv.
So Jeremy, first of all, just bring us up to speed on what we know about the recovery of the bodies, of these six hostages in that operation.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
Well, the bodies of six hostages were recovered in this Israeli military operation overnight. Our understanding is that Israeli troops actually went
into tunnels beneath the southern Gaza City of Khan Yunis. And that is where they found these six bodies.
Five of these individuals who were taken hostage on October 7th, had already been declared dead by the Israeli government. But one of them,
Avraham Munder (ph), had not yet been declared dead. And so today, his family finding out not only that his body had been retrieved but finding
out that he was in fact deceased.
So obviously a very difficult day for the families of these hostages. And we have a statement from the hostages and missing families forum, calling
for the Israeli government to take a deal.
Many others in Israeli politics, like Benny Gantz, a former member of the Israeli war cabinet, noting that this is an a reminder, he says of the
hourglass that these hostage families have, talking about the fact that time is really running out for these hostages to be recovered.
And for many of them to come out alive rather than dead from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli prime minister today telling the families of some of
these hostages at a forum of families, who actually, many of them, oppose a ceasefire deal, telling them that he is not sure that there will be a
ceasefire deal.
And saying that Israel needs to quote, "preserve our strategic security assets secured during the course of the war."
We know that there are still many disagreements and a lot of uncertainty in particular -- or including, I should say, from the Israeli prime minister
about whether or not a deal can actually be reached. But certainly today, a big reminder of why a deal is needed so badly.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. And just -- and Jim picking up there where Jeremy left off, in terms of that deal and where things stand, President Biden
last night making some remarks as he was leaving the DNC in Chicago.
Hamas pushing back a little bit on those comments.
Where do things stand at this hour?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Erica, it's hard to read these various public statements from the Israeli prime
minister, Hamas and the actual parties involved in these talks.
The actual parties on either side of the table here and find a lot of cause for optimism. You heard Jeremy describing the Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu speaking to hostage families, right?
Saying, listen, I'd like to get a deal but I've got to preserve strategic assets. That that's his code for saying he's not going to give up too much
in terms of security control to get those hostages home.
We had Hamas saying today that Secretary Blinken, as well as the U.S. President, President Biden, are sharing misleading claims about what Hamas'
position is here. When Blinken left Israel yesterday, he said that Israel had accepted the U.S. bridging proposal.
But that's an agreement between the U.S. and Israel. It's not an actual meeting of the minds between Israel and Hamas.
And that's where you need to have some overlap, right?
And we're just not seeing that overlap at this point. And there have been some accusations from Hamas and even some criticism from inside Israel that
the Israeli prime minister is adding perhaps new conditions.
[10:05:00]
Or hardening some of the Israeli positions, for instance, on who controls the border between Gaza and Egypt.
So you had some hope last week, some progress at those talks in Doha. But in recent days, Erica, you don't see from my vantage point here in Tel
Aviv, a lot of movement toward agreement. And in fact, some hardening of positions.
So I think if there was hope that later this week you'd have further announcements of progress toward a ceasefire and a hostage deal, I would
say the betting on that is more negative than it was just a few days ago.
HILL: Yes, those hopes definitely dimming, Jim.
Jeremy, appreciate it.
Thank you, both.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: I also want to bring you up to speed on this.
A fatal Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City. I'm showing some pictures of the aftermath here. People still searching for survivors
underneath that rubble Gaza's civil defense says at least 12 people have been killed following that Israeli strike which hit the second floor of the
school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILL (voice-over): That you see some of that, some of the aftermath here. A spokesperson says shelters, that school was sheltering thousands of
displaced people and that the majority of those killed are women and children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Here in the U.S., Democrats are looking to keep up the momentum moving into day two of their national convention. Former president Barack
Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama among those who will be taking the stage tonight in Chicago.
And there, of course, speaking after a rousing welcome on opening night for the current president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.
HILL (voice-over): A lot of cheering there for Joe Biden, taking in the moment. In this speech, of course, he had hoped to give on the convention's
final night as the Democratic nominee. But instead, after stepping down, the president was essentially the opening act for this major event.
Kamala Harris, his vice president, he praised her as a candidate with enormous integrity. Kevin Liptak joining me now from Chicago this hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: A lot of love, lot of cheering in that hall for the president last night. A lot of "We love Joe" signs out there and thank yous.
Where do things stand this morning following that moment?
The president has now left. He's not in Chicago the rest of the week. This is now really an event for the Harris-Walz ticket.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very much so.
He is in the central coast of California on vacation. We're not going to see him here in Chicago for the rest of the week. But certainly that was a
very emotional moment for the president last night.
And you saw him become overcome as he walked out on the stage to that raucous applause. It wasn't the night that he wanted to speak on. But I
think, when you listened to the actual speech, it was possible to imagine the same speech in an alternate universe being delivered as an acceptance
speech.
Except for the last 10 minutes or so when he turned to Kamala Harris. But it was not an extended testimony about his vice president and the
Democratic nominee. It was a lengthy recitation of his record in office.
He talked a lot about Donald Trump and the threat he poses to democracy. That is the campaign he wanted to run. It's a campaign that a lot of
Democrats didn't think was going to work. But certainly they were willing to indulge him last night in this high-profile moment and essentially his
swan song to Democratic politics.
You know, by the end of the speech, he did get around to talking about what this moment meant and what this moment meant for him as he stepped aside
and passed the torch to Kamala Harris. Listen to a little bit of what he said on that front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I made a lot of mistakes in my career but I gave my best to you for 50 years.
Like many of you, I'll give my heart and soul to our nation. And I've been blessed a million times to return to the support of the American people. I
really meant it, too young to be in the Senate because I wasn't 30 yet and too old to stay as president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So that little description at the end pretty neatly describes the arc of Joe Biden's political career. I think looking out from the stage at
all those "I love Joe" signs the president certainly has been around politics long enough to recognize that that can mean two things.
One, they wanted to thank him for his accomplishments in office but they were also thanking him for stepping aside and making a more competitive
Democratic ticket. He did say in the speech that he wasn't angry at anyone for, you know, essentially, booting him from the top of the ticket.
You know, it was an unhappy process for him. And as he was leaving Chicago, he did say that he still hasn't talked to Nancy Pelosi, who was one of the
people who was suggesting that he step aside, at least obliquely. So that was one passing of the torch.
There was another, you know, I thought, very high-profile passing of the torch moment last night, which was from Hillary Clinton, who was the last
Democratic nominee who was female, back in 2016.
[10:10:04]
Her speech was quite impassioned. I think she was really embracing this sense among American female voters, in particular, that she was wronged out
of something in 2016, that Donald Trump took from her, something that would have been so historic. She talked about the cracks in the glass ceiling.
At one point when she referenced Donald Trump's legal woes, the crowd broke out in chants of "Lock him up." And I don't think Hillary Clinton would
have written that line into her speech if she didn't know that that was the reaction she might get.
Of course, Donald Trump's own crowds have you know, for so long been chanting, "Lock her up," when he references Hillary Clinton. But you did
have an interesting moment when she talked about the glass ceiling. Listen to what she said on that front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Together, we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, tonight so close
to breaking through once and for all.
And you know what, on the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris, raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th
president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So tonight we are moving onto a more affirmative portion of this convention.
You'll hear testimony about Kamala Harris' character and record from her husband, Doug Emhoff, but also from former President Obama. Among all of
the national politicians that we're going to see this week, Obama is someone who's known Kamala Harris for quite a long time. They have a
history going back 20 years.
She was actually in the convention hall in 2004 when Barack Obama delivered the keynote speech that essentially thrust him into national politics. Back
then, he described himself as the skinny kid with a funny name. Now he is something of an elder statesman, working to elect Kamala Harris to the
White House.
HILL: And there will certainly be a lot of focus on what he says in that speech later tonight. Kevin, appreciate it. Thank you.
So where do things stand right now in this race for the White House?
The latest polls actually show Kamala Harris gaining ground in some of those crucial battleground states we talk about so much. And actually opens
up several paths to the key number of 270. That's a number, of course, of electoral votes needed to win the White House, a path that not long ago
seemed pretty unlikely for Joe Biden.
Here's CNN's John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This hall is full of excited Democrats. They see the polling in the last few weeks. This is our map
showing Vice President Harris with a modest, very modest advantage over Donald Trump.
But we know from the state polls that she has a path through the blue wall to 270. She has a potential Sunbelt path to 270. These Democrats are very
energized because they believe she has the ball right now, she has momentum in this race. And that's a fact.
Let's just go back and look at the COVID year. There were weird conventions but Joe Biden at his convention in 2020 was already on the verge of winning
at 268 electoral votes in terms of solid Democratic and lean Democratic.
He went on to win 305 electoral votes and sweeping. But I just I want to remind you, that first campaign against Donald Trump, when we were at the
Democratic convention in 2016, Hillary Clinton was favored. Again, that's a modest amount, 236 to 191.
But then the map just simply did not go her way. We had Pennsylvania, a tossup then. Donald Trump won Pennsylvania. We had Michigan leaning
Democratic that, no, Donald Trump won it. Same with Wisconsin. Donald Trump won it.
Donald Trump held Ohio, Donald Trump won North Carolina. Hillary Clinton did win Virginia but Donald Trump won Ohio. Hillary Clinton won New
Hampshire but Donald Trump won Florida. He kept Georgia. And Donald -- and Hillary Clinton did end up winning Nevada in the end. But that's how it
ended up.
So Democrats came into that convention in 2016, full of confidence as well. Different story, third-party candidates, the Comey announcement late in the
campaign, Democrats would take -- say caused that.
But just a cautious note. Kamala Harris in is such a better position than Joe Biden was when he was the candidate in Milwaukee by leaps and bounds a
better position. But we've still got two-and-a-half months of campaign to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And a lot can happen as we know in two-and-a-half months. There's a real focus on young voters in 2020. For some 52 million Americans under the
age of 30 will be eligible to vote in November.
But of course, like any demographic here, they're not going to vote as a bloc. CNN's Harry Enten spoke with a young Democrat from the state of
Georgia about his take on Kamala Harris and the 2024 election. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: As a young Democrat, how much do you feel the enthusiasm now versus just about a month ago?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. You know, I love to tell this story. I was at an office opening for Joe Biden, when he dropped out. I was opening an
office for him in Henner (ph) County. And the room broke into dismay. And I just stood up. I screamed, everybody, I'm like, hey, we got local Democrats
here we got to elect.
[10:15:00]
We've got congressmen in Georgia that don't believe in the results of our elections, that don't believe in expanding voting rights, that don't
believe in a woman's right to choose. In Georgia today, since Brian Kemp and Donald Trump came to power, a woman has less rights.
And I want my children to have more rights. I want my children to grow up in a better Georgia, not a worse Georgia. So the energy is truly electric
because we have a messenger at the top of the ticket that can really carry this torch, that has now been faster (ph) and tell the message that we have
so much at stake in this election.
You can't be a patriot and call the Republicans secretary of state of Georgia and tell him to throw out our election results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Joining me now from the Democratic National Convention is Rachel Palermo, formerly deputy communications director and associate counsel to
Vice President Kamala Harris.
It's nice to have you with us this morning. Quite a big night on night one, I know everybody is gearing up for a day and night to hear.
But one of the moments that I found really interesting last night on stage as we saw these union representatives, union presidents come out on stage.
And we know how heavily both the vice president and Governor Walz are courting the union vote, are touting their relationships with union
members.
A lot of excitement as Lee Saunders specifically taking the stage. I want to just show a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILL (voice-over): I know the vice president has agreed to sit down for a roundtable with members of the Teamsters. The Teamsters president, Sean
O'Brien, who of course, spoke at the RNC and has requested to speak at the DNC, has said he's essentially being ghosted by the DNC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Would it be helpful to have him speak?
RACHEL PALERMO, FORMER HARRIS DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE COUNSEL: What I will say is that, during the three years I worked for Vice
President Harris, unions were incredibly important to her. One of her biggest focuses was on creating good-paying union jobs.
And she's actually the chair of the White House task force on workers and organizing the taskforce that President Biden created focusing on unions.
And that's why last night, when we had such a union presence here, it was such a powerful response.
And he really focused on a message of fighting for unions and the middle class. And they talked about why the vice president is such a strong
advocate. And so I don't have anything to share about conversations about any other speakers here.
But what I will say is it's been really great to hear the excitement that we've seeing unions rallying around Vice President Harris.
HILL: To that point when we saw Sean O'Brien speaking at the RNC last month, he said that was about reaching across the aisle.
In terms of reaching across the aisle and reaching out to voters who may still be on the fence, is there a reason not to have Sean O'Brien there on
the stage?
PALERMO: Well, speaking of working across the aisle because that's something that I can speak on, I'm really excited about the strong presence
that Republicans for Harris is going to have at the convention this week.
And tonight, they launched a few weeks ago with this FEMA fighting for democracy because democracy is on the ballot. And longtime Trump aides,
longtime former, longtime conservatives are endorsing Vice President Harris because they're saying democracy's on the line.
And I think you have to look no further than a statement from Donald Trump's former White House press secretary, that she released when she
announced that she was endorsing Harris for president.
Where she said that she saw the lengths that Donald Trump was going to stay in power. And she saw the lies that he told the American people, the entire
time that he was in office. And that's why she's endorsing.
And tonight we're going to see Republicans for Harris speaking out about why they support her for president and why democracy's on the line.
HILL: When we look at what is and is not being addressed, I don't need to tell you, of course, about all the protests happening outside of the DNC in
that perimeter, there was some mention last night, a small mention from President Biden.
Also from representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said -- and I'm quoting her here -- specifically talking about the vice president that she
is, quote, "working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire."
Also noted, she's working to bring the hostages home. One of the leaders of this march for the coalition to march on the DNC of the executive director
of the Arab American Action Network, Hatem Abudayyeh, who's going to be with me later this hour, told Reuters -- and I'm quoting him here.
I'm going to put that up on the screen for our viewers at home, that, in terms of what's happening in Gaza, quote, "The Democrats are the ones in
power. It's their war. They're responsible for it. They're complicit and they can stop it."
How much can we expect to hear from Vice President Harris in terms of addressing both that criticism and also what her efforts are, that the
representative from New York referred to?
PALERMO: We've seen the vice president addressing what's happening over the region over the last few weeks.
And she's worked closely hand in hand with President Biden over the last few months on this issue. She's been tireless on it and it's why she's been
so forceful when she's been speaking about it.
And so it's an issue that's going to be continuing to being raised. The vice president cares a lot about it. As a Lebanese American, of course,
this is something that I care a lot about.
[10:20:00]
And I'm glad to see the vice president is speaking about the issues and how they're handling it and how they're fighting for a ceasefire deal and also
fighting to bring the hostages home.
It's incredibly important and the voters care about that.
HILL: That same organizer told the Associated Press using some very strong language, that with Harris at the top of the ticket, it doesn't change
anything, actually referred to her as "Killer Kamala."
What about in terms of outreach to some of these folks?
PALERMO: The vice president has engaged in this sort of outreach and they actually, the campaign just announced recently that they hired someone
who's going to be focusing on policy and outreach to Arab American communities.
It's a colleague that I worked very closely with in the White House named Nasrina (ph). And so it's something that, of course, they're working on.
And the vice president is dedicated to the issue.
HILL: Rachel, appreciate you taking the time to join us this morning.
Thank you.
PALERMO: Thanks.
HILL: Still to come this hour, the search continues for six people who remain missing after what should have been a dream vacation. A live report
from Italy just ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: For a second day now, a team of specialized divers is searching for six missing people onboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily when that
yacht sank in bad weather on Monday. One person has been confirmed dead, 15 others, including a 1-year-old little girl, were rescued.
Eight of those people who are rescued do remain in the hospital today. CNN's Barbie Nadeau is joining us now from Rome with the very latest.
In terms of this search teams of weather got in the way, where do things stand now?
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
You know, they're really struggling trying to reach this sunken ship. This is a very large luxury yacht and, you know, they reached the ship
yesterday. They got as far as the control room.
But then they were met with a sort of a maze of electrical cords and things like that. So they had to come back up. Now these specialized divers
usually work in caves rescuing people. They can only stay underwater about 10 to 12 minutes.
So 50 meters under the surface of the water, it takes a long time. But we took a closer look at the whole tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NADEAU (voice-over): A dream Mediterranean holiday turned deadly when a luxury yacht carrying VIPs was hit by a waterspout early Monday morning off
the coast of Sicily. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, at least 15 people survived. Divers searched through the night to recover those trapped
in the sunken vessel.
On board, tech titan Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Blumer and prominent attorney Chris
Morcillo and their wives, an official told CNN. Lynch's wife, whose company owned the 56-meter yacht, survived.
All the passengers were guests of Lynch, who was acquitted of fraud charges in the U.S. over the sale of his company.
A local fisherman who was waiting out the storm saw the ill-fated yacht.
[10:25:00]
FABIO CEFALU, FISHERMAN (through translator): We waited about 10 minutes to see the intensity of the tornado and we went out to sea. We were first
to give rescue but we found no one at sea. We only found cushions and the remains of the boat.
NADEAU (voice-over): The luxury yacht's 72-meter, 236-foot aluminum mast snapped in the storm, sending 15 people into the sea, including a one-year-
old girl whose mother carried her above her head in the waves, she told reporters. The survivors, including all 10 crew members, were rescued by a
nearby sailboat who found them in a lifeboat.
KARSTEN BORNER, SAILOR: 15 people inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 15 people inside.
BORNER: 15 people inside. Four people injured, three heavy injured and we brought them to our ship and then we communicated with the Coast Guard.
And after some time, the Coast Guard came and later they picked injured people and when we went, two hours later, they picked up the other people.
NADEAU (voice-over): The local prosecutor has opened an investigation to determine whether the tragedy could have been averted or if circumstances
were beyond anyone's control.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NADEAU: And, you know, when you listen to that, it's just a harrowing situation. Those rescuers saying that the vessel is largely intact at the
bottom of the sea, which actually is making it more difficult.
Had it broken open in some way, they might be able to reach those people thought to be in some of the six suites that were at the bottom of that
luxury yacht and they'll continue working around the clock until they can retrieve them.
HILL: Yes, it's such an interesting point that that does in fact make it more difficult to access those cabins. We will continue to follow this.
Barbie, Appreciate it. Thank you.
And please stay with us a bit later this hour. I'm going to speak with a maritime historian who also knows this type of vessel quite well. We'll
take get his take on what happened Monday in the Mediterranean.
Meantime, Boeing facing a new setback today in trying to get its 777X aircraft into service, pausing testing now of that plane, after finding
structural problems. Here's my colleague, Tom Foreman, to explain exactly what happened here.
And, Tom, what this could mean for the troubled aerospace company. This is yet another setback for Boeing.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, to paraphrase the old country song, the last thing Boeing needed the first thing this morning was to wake up to
headlines like these.
This is not a good thing. They had some kind of a problem with a structural element between the engine and the wings that they discovered during a test
flight. That's why they're suspending these test flights while they study this and figure out what's going on.
And it's yet another delay. The 777X was supposed to come out in 2020; the latest target date is 2025. And depending on the nature of this delay, this
could blow yet another delivery date for them in terms of getting this out there.
They were supposed to have sold hundreds of these planes already, delivered hundreds of these planes. They haven't been able to. This is a very big
thing for Boeing. As you know, Erica, they've had so many troubles lately. They had that door plug that blew out. They've had whistleblower
complaints, they've had investigations.
Since 2019, Boeing has lost $30 billion and their stock is down on this news, too. So Boeing needs some things to go right for it here. And
arguably any company can say, well, a lot's going right for us. But that's not what's making the headlines. Things like this are. So really another
bit of bad news for Boeing.
And I feel, Erica, like I have said that sentence many times in the past couple of years.
HILL: I think I can confirm, my friend, that, in fact, you have said that sentence a number of times. Appreciate the update. Good to see you.
FOREMAN: You're welcome.
HILL: Coming up here next, Donald Trump's spending the week in key battleground states across the U.S. as he attempts to counterprogram the
Democratic National Convention. Those details just ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Donald Trump and JD Vance continuing to make their push for battleground state voters as the DNC carries on this week. Michigan, the
scheduled stop today for team Trump, where they'll host a rally, just about an hour outside of Detroit. The former president expected to talk about
crime and safety.
Meantime, Republican vice presidential candidate senator JD Vance, sticking close to Kamala Harris, at least geographically speaking, set to make a
campaign stop in Wisconsin where crime and safety are also expected to be at the top of the bill.
CNN's Alayna Treene joining me now from Washington with more.
So lots for them to get to, lots of ground to cover here. And they're certainly looking to make the most of it this week.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are.
I mean, this entire week is really trying to paint a contrast with the Harris campaign as well as -- excuse me -- counter program the entire
Democratic National Convention. And we saw that kind of kickoff yesterday with Donald Trump visiting York, Pennsylvania, where he spoke about the
economy today.
He's going to be in Howell, Michigan, as you mentioned. It's a suburb of Detroit. Tomorrow, Trump will be in North Carolina and then Thursday and
Friday -- Thursday, he'll be at the border in Arizona; Friday, Las Vegas, hitting up in Nevada and then later that day also in Arizona.
But Erica, what I find really interesting about their counter programming efforts this week is they recognize that it's going to be difficult to try
and draw away some of the spotlight from Harris and the enthusiasm around her, given this week is the convention.
And normally you see Donald Trump hold these large scale rallies where thousands of people come. Sometimes they honestly appear like rock concerts
with the way that they have the stage and the music; they have smoke machines going off.
That is not the case with the events this week. Instead, they are small messaging events -- that's how the campaign is describing them -- in
smaller venues, smaller crowds. And all of that is designed to keep Donald Trump on message.
And so today the focus, as you mentioned, is going to be on crime and safety. Yesterday, he talked about the economy. Later when he visits the
border, Donald Trump will be discussing immigration.
These are the three key issues that the campaign as well as Donald Trump's allies are really pushing and urging him to focus on and to stay on
message. And you did see him really try to channel that restraint at that messaging event yesterday.
But of course, he did do an interview later in the day where he talked to CBS and he did continue some of his personal attacks on Harris. But the
goal for them this week is to really try and draw a contrast specifically on those three policies: crime, immigration and the economy, with the
Harris campaign.
Remember, Erica, these are the issues where Donald Trump polled better than Joe Biden on and they really believe if they can tie Harris to the Biden
administration on these policies, that it will only serve Donald Trump well come the fall.
So that is their goal. Another interesting thing just to talk more specifically about Michigan is that this is actually Trump's first visit to
the state since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee and really the upended a lot of the Trump campaign's plans as it relates to the
general election.
[10:35:00]
And about a month ago, when Donald Trump was in Michigan, the last time he was there, we heard from Chris LaCivita, one of his co-campaign managers.
And he had told reporters while in Michigan that they really saw the state as being the easiest to fall among what they consider the blue wall states
in the Midwest.
That's not entirely the case now with Harris at the top of the ticket. You've seen polls tighten. You've seen the race become far more competitive
heading into the fall.
And you've also heard Donald Trump sometimes hold on to the fact that he wishes Joe Biden were still his opponent, even though he says publicly
often that he believes Harris might be an easier opponent to beat.
You also hear him talk about how there was a coup, a claim that there was a coup to get Joe Biden off of the ticket and to replace him with Harris. Of
course, we actually had our colleague, CNN's Kaitlan Collins, ask Biden about that specifically yesterday.
And he told her that Donald Trump seemed unstable. And so that's how he's answering that. But I think today you're going to see Donald Trump again,
try to get up there. It will be a smaller crowd. He's going to be talking about crime and safety.
And I believe he'll most likely try to stick to the script, read the teleprompter closely, as we saw him do yesterday. I think where you'll see
him kind of go back and revert to the playbook we all know well, where Donald Trump kind of veers back into those personal insults, you'll see
that more in the interviews he does surrounding that event, Erica.
HILL: We will be watching for all of it. Alayna, appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Chicago for the opening day of the DNC on Monday, there to voice their opposition to the
war in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILL (voice-over): A sizable crowd of thousands, although smaller than what organizers had originally expected. The demonstrations mostly
peaceful. Four people were arrested though after they did break through security fencing around the state -- the site, rather.
Earlier today, crews installed an additional line of fences. A little bit more security there. CNN's Stephen Collinson joining me now from the
Democratic National Convention with more on.
This is, listen, this is a real shift as we know, in Chicago. And it became all the more official last night with President Biden's passing of the
torch to Kamala Harris. Hillary Clinton there as well, talking about this may be when the glass ceiling finally breaks and finally shatters. This is
when we break through.
In terms of setting up the next three nights, how did night one do?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think it was a necessary valediction for the president. He clearly doesn't or didn't want
to shelve his reelection campaign.
He wanted to continue. He wasn't able to do that. So he did give a decent impression, I think, of putting the party's control and his own legacy in
the hands of new nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. He gave her his blessing.
But there's only so much that the president can do. The reason he's not running for reelection is because he's popular. And Democrats judged that
he wouldn't be able to lift them to victory over Kamala Harris.
So the influence that he has on this race is somewhat limited. And I think the pressure is now on tonight and the next two nights after that for the
Harris campaign to create some vision of the future, for Americans to set up against what Alayna was talking about, the darker vision of former
president Donald Trump.
HILL: As we look at the push, too, for Democrats, the people, the voters who they want to reach, we know that there was so much leading up to this
in terms of what was anticipated with these protesters, a significant number yesterday. But again, much smaller and what had been broadcast and
what was expected initially.
Gaza, Israel coming up very briefly in comments last night from both the president and actually from representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I want
to play what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): And she is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Interesting comments coming from her specifically. And one could, I think, easily read those as trying to reach out to a number of voters who
have been very vocal and are very unhappy with the administration and the way it is approaching the war in Gaza and supported Israel.
COLLINSON: Yes.
And to some extent, she was giving the vice president cover with very progressive voters that typically like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. When you
hear what's coming from the pro Palestinian sectors of the party, they're not satisfied what they've seen coming out of this convention.
They want an arms embargo and an immediate ceasefire. And they want that enshrined in Democratic Party policy. And that is not the policy of the
Biden administration.
[10:40:00]
And while Kamala Harris has made some attempts to slightly finesse her position on Israel, she is still a member of that administration and she's
given no real sign that she would fundamentally change the U.S. position if she becomes president, at least other than rhetorically.
So the question is, does this convention give voters, especially in Michigan, where there are a lot of Arab Americans who are very important to
the Democratic coalition, does that at all ease the opposition to this Democratic Party ticket?
Lots of people saying they won't vote for Harris if there is not a big change. So that's a big political question to come. And I don't think it's
going to be resolved by this convention.
HILL: No, they likely don't have the answer.
It's interesting to note though, too, the polling, right?
Because there has been such a question of right. We've heard that it doesn't matter that the top the ticket has changed now for people who are
unhappy. That's not going to change how they feel.
But I guess the question is there's no firm number on how many of those people may, in fact, either sit out the election -- unlikely they would
vote for Donald Trump -- but likely sit out the election. I was struck by some of these numbers in a CBS/YouGov poll showing the most important
issues.
Economy right there at the top with 83 percent; 74 percent say democracy. The war in Gaza, just 37 percent said it is a major factor in their vote
for president. And in that same poll, it found that among voters under 30, only 34 percent. So even less say it's a major factor.
Is there a sense of how much this polling may figure into the Democrats' approach as they move toward November?
COLLINSON: Well, the issue here is -- and you're right.
This poll does suggest that it's not a huge concern for most Democratic voters. I think that's consistent with a lot of the polling we've seen.
But the issue is that Michigan, for example, is a state that could be decided by 20,000, 30,000, 40,000 votes. So it doesn't take that many
Democrats not to show up to vote for Harris for it to have a huge impact in what happens in November.
I think one mitigating factor for her is it looks like the enthusiasm that she has been able to drum up in the Democratic coalition, which Biden
wasn't unable to do, means she could potentially get far higher vote margins in the big cities, places like Detroit.
She may be able to sort of lower Trump's margins in some of those rural areas, bring over some undecided voters. So it's very fluid. But Democrats
can't really risk losing any votes. So I think you'll see them try to address this, at least thematically going forward, even if there is no
substantial policy change from the Biden administration.
HILL: Stephen Collinson, always appreciate it. Thank you.
Still to come here, Donald Trump touting a fake endorsement from the one and only global superstar Taylor Swift. The images he's using to claim that
he has Swift's support. That's just ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Continuing our coverage of the search now for six missing people after their luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily. Dive teams are going
to try to enter that wreckage again; it's some 50 meters underwater.
Again, six people still unaccounted for; 15 were rescued from the vessel. One person has been confirmed dead. The yacht itself was hit by violent
weather. It happened early Monday. Investigators say the storm broke its mast, the ship's mast, in half before the boat ultimately capsized.
Joining me now is Sal Mercogliano. He is a maritime historian, former Merchant Mariner.
And you know this well. It's good to have you with us. You know this type of boat very well in addition to the area where it's been and where it
spends most of its time there in the Mediterranean. First talk to me about the boat itself, its form, which actually can make it a little bit more
susceptible to high seas, as I understand it.
SAL MERCOGLIANO, MARITIME HISTORIAN: Yes, thank you for having me, Erica. This is a sailing yacht. So we're talking about a ship about 183 feet in
length. But what's unique about it is the sail feature. Its mast is over 236 feet in height. That's 50 feet larger than actually the length of the
vessel.
And since this ship is powered by sail, a windstorm, a waterspout, any kind of sea tornado would have an adverse effect against such vessel.
HILL: And what struck me, too, my colleague Barbie Nadeau reporting earlier, one of the issues that some of the divers had is the fact that the
boat is essentially still intact.
So be able to get in there safely and to access some of the cabins, where we think people may have been trapped, that's actually more difficult
because it's intact. Just walk us through why.
MERCOGLIANO: Yes. So this vessel got hit by that tornado at sea. And what probably happened is, because of that type of wind, a very hard burst of
water and wind at the same time, probably placed the vessel on its beam and basically pushed it over on its side.
And unless all the hatches had been secured and everything had been battened down, the vessel would have flooded. And based on that report, it
indicates the vessel probably took on a lot of water very quickly and went down to the bottom.
And that is nightmarish for the crew on board being asleep and then, all of a sudden, waking up to a ship and the room you're in being on its side and
flooding with water, heading down to the bottom.
HILL: Yes, it's just it's horrific to think of what people were going through. This area, too, of the Western Mediterranean, you said this can
actually be more prone to rough seas than I think probably a lot of people imagined.
MERCOGLIANO: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) operated in the Mediterranean has spent its time mainly in between Spain and Italy. And while we tend to think of the
Mediterranean as kind of flat and glassy and a beautiful kind of enclosed sea, it can be very rough and it is susceptible to storms like we saw took
place.
The ship sailed out of Palermo the early -- beginning of the month. It spent basically a few weeks along the northern shore of Sicily before
coming back in. And it's very hard to prepare for a storm like this because you really can't get underway and sail into the wind and waves like a
normal storm.
This hits you all of a sudden and the wind can hit you from almost any direction.
HILL: And so given, given that fact that the weather can come up so quickly, just as I'm sure people are watching this or other people are
thinking, what do I need to take into account if I'm going to be in that area, is there any way to avoid a moment like this?
I mean, in terms of the heads-up that you would get, how you can get to a safer space. It sounds like no in many respects.
MERCOGLIANO: It's one of the issues on a private yacht. This yacht spends most of its time tied up to a berth or an anchor. It's used for just a few
months during the year. A ship's master or the yacht captain would have been cognizant of whether you're getting daily frequent weather updates.
But you're kind of at the whims of the owner, too, where they want to be.
Do you want to do a storm evasion, set out to sea to avoid the weather?
Or do you want to try to ride it out?
And unfortunately, they found themselves in a position there, where the storm came in. And this would have been a very quick event on board the
vessel, from being everything fine to finding yourselves in extremis.
HILL: Yes. It's just a really terrible tragedy. Sal, really appreciate your expertise. Thank you for joining us.
MERCOGLIANO: Thank you for having me.
HILL: Just ahead here.
Donald Trump's spending a week in key battleground states across the U.S. as he attempts to counterprogram what's happening in Chicago at the DNC.
More on that just ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Sports and politics convening in Chicago with a patriotic rousing speech from basketball coach Steve Kerr, who, of course, won three NBA
championships as a player in Chicago back in the Windy City, where do you see him there on the stage Monday night to speak at the Democratic National
Convention.
He has been a little busy, of course, because, less than two weeks ago, he coached the U.S. men's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KERR, U.S. MEN'S OLYMPIC BASKETBALL COACH: I cannot think of a better metaphor for what this country is all about than the way Team USA
came together at the Olympics. We had players from across our wonderful country, players who have trained and fought relentlessly, shed tears,
trying to beat one another throughout their careers, joining forces to wear the red, white and blue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Off the court, of course, Steve Kerr has long supported the Biden administration. He's also spoken out for a long time when it comes to
curbing gun violence.
A number of celebrities of course are known to emphatically throw their support to the candidate of their choice and an endorsement from one of the
biggest stars on the planet is highly sought after, which is perhaps why Donald Trump reposted this fake image, suggesting he has the support of the
one and only Taylor Swift.
Important to note Swift has not endorsed either candidate. We do have some real images though of Taylor Swift to share with you before we go. The
superstar invited some of the survivors of that deadly knife attack at a children's dance class. It was a course a Taylor Swift-themed dance class
in England.
She invited them to join her backstage and, in a video posted to TikTok, Hope and Autumn can be seen here posing. I think my colleague, Elizabeth
Wagmeister, is with us now with a little bit more on what we're seeing.
Elizabeth, so good to see you and have you here in New York, even though we're separated by studios. So talk to me more about what Taylor Swift did
in those moments. I'm sure she wanted to have them there but that can also be tricky, I know.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely.
As we see, Taylor Swift is really always there for her fans. And after that tragic, tragic attack, she wanted to be there for her fans. But that brings
us to these fake AI images that Trump reposted of Taylor Swift and her fans, who, of course, are known as the Swifties.
Now if you look at those images there, they're not all fake. But the majority is fake. The image of the one woman, the blonde woman there, that
is actually a real photo. But the rest of them, especially the one of Taylor Swift, is fake.
Now as you said, Erica, it's important to note that Taylor Swift has not made any endorsement for any candidate this cycle. But also she has spoken
out about Trump in the past and her disdain for him, to be quite frank.
So it is peculiar that Trump is posting this. But the woman in the real photo has spoken out and she says that the media is missing the mark there
by putting all the focus on the fake AI images. They are missing out on the fact that there are many Swifties who hold conservative views, who are
there for Trump.
And yes, of course, while that is true, it does appear that the Trump campaign is now trying to capitalize off of Swift's major fan base because
we heard from Trump's campaign spokesperson. And I want to read you what they said, Erica.
They say, quote, "Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day."
So them giving an on-the-record statement there is interesting because, again, while there are certainly Swifties for Trump, I don't know if it's
correct to say that there is a huge movement.
What the huge movement is actually is the Swifties for Kamala, which is a group that organically formed the night after President Biden stepped aside
and endorsed Vice President Harris. That is a group that has around 60,000 followers on X.
[10:55:00]
They've been raising money for the Harris-Walz campaign.
HILL: It's fascinating because we always see there's always the question of how much did these celebrity endorsements, if you have them, how much do
they really matter?
And I know you've been you've been digging into that. And it turns out they can have an impact.
WAGMEISTER: They can, yes. I exclusively reported on a study from Harvard for us in the past few weeks and that Harvard study says that celebrities
can move the needle, particularly for young voters. And we know that young voters are going to be key this election because there are many first-time
voters now.
Taylor Swift specifically has proven that she has a big impact because, in the last election, when she simply just posted and said, "Go vote," this
wasn't even her endorsement because she did endorse the Biden-Harris campaign last time.
But when she simply said, "Go vote," the organization vote.org saw the biggest surge in a single day that they had ever seen with new voter
registration.
HILL: Well, I mean, that is that is saying something to the power of Taylor Swift. Elizabeth, good to see you appreciate it.
Thank you.
And thanks to all of you for joining me today on CONNECT THE WORLD. Be sure to stay with CNN. "NEWSROOM" with Rahel Solomon is up next.
END
