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Erin Burnett Outfront
Harris Up In Multiple New Polls, Enthusiasm Nearly Doubles; Ukraine: "Biggest Attack" On Russian Airfields, Putin Vows Revenge; Security Tight At Taylor Swift Show After Foiled Terror Plot. Aired 7- 8p ET
Aired August 14, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:44]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The Harris surge. New numbers tonight show the vice president's momentum is not waning as Trump struggles again tonight to stay on message.
Plus, a rush to register. Young voters are signing up to cast their ballots in mass. What is fueling the dash? The youngest state party leader in the United States is OUTFRONT tonight.
And Putin pleading for help as he watches Ukraine invade his country. There are job postings tonight in Russia offering thousands of dollars if you go build trenches in Russia for Ukraine.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Harris's power. Tonight, poll after poll coming out and showing the Harris campaign is surging and the momentum is real. Let me just show you some of the headlines from today's polls.
Harris tops Trump's -- tops Trump, Democratic enthusiasm nearly doubles after Harris enters race. And then this one Harris energizes Democrats. And then there's a new poll. So, all of those coming off of all of the momentum.
There's new poll tonight from Pennsylvania, which, of course, is absolutely must win for Harris, 82 days to go until the actual election. Early voting starts much sooner. Harris now has a lead over Trump in that state, 50 to 47.
And the highly respected Cook Political Report coming out with results from their swing-state project tonight, finding Harris is now leading or tied in every single swing state except one. The Cook Political Report, of course, well-known to political junkies incredibly solid record over decades of getting it right.
And while Harris continues to ride this momentum, Trump was doing a lot of talk getting and continuing to name call. Here's just a small taste of what we heard over 70 minutes of a speech that was supposed to focus completely on the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What happened to her laugh, I haven't heard that laugh at about a week. That's why they keep her off the site. That's why she's disappeared. That's the laugh of a crazy person, I will tell you, if you haven't -- it's crazy. She's crazy.
They told her don't laugh, don't laugh. No, it's -- her -- no, her laugh is career threatening. They said don't laugh, she hasn't laughed. She doesn't laugh anymore.
It's smart, but some day, it's going to come out. That's a laugh of a person with some big problems.
Her running mate is -- the beauty, isn't he? He signed a bill, he wants tampons in boys bathrooms.
She is not a brilliant person. She is not a smart person. She is not very smart.
The clown that she picked as a vice president, this guy is a clown. He was so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Trump obviously going after Harris's laugh, her intelligence, these are the very topics that advisers around him have clearly told him to steer clear of.
And then when Trump did talk about the economy, he did make a lot of promises and a lot of claims like this one on inflation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CL.IP)
TRUMP: She goes to work every morning in the West Wing. Her desk is ten steps from the Oval Office. She cast the tie-breaking votes that gave us record inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, here's the thing on the inflation issue. Trump couldn't catch a break on that today. That is an issue that has been a major issue for Americans. It is a major issue for Americans, but his rally today to focus on that happen to be on the same day that the consumer price index, which is a key measure of consumer inflation that you see at the grocery store, dropped below 3 percent for the first time in three years.
Now, it was 2.9. It is still too high. It is still a serious problem, but the improvement matters and could signal interest rate cuts that will help Americans.
And meantime, Harris's campaign is also about to hit the road to try to talk about the economy, trying to gain ground on the key issue that Trump thought he had locked up.
But tonight, her momentum is causing serious angst in Trump's inner circle. Just listened to this new line of attack that could almost be used at a Harris campaign ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: Everybody is making her whatever they need her to be. She's so good looking.
She is so smart. She is so wealthy. She's so funny. She's close to her mom. She goes on really cool vacation till never break your heart. Everybody's making her what they need her to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, maybe that's all you need to be to win, and maybe that is what you need to be to win.
It is perhaps an unguarded moment there from Kellyanne Conway where the truth came out, that there is deep fear in Trump world that Harris may be unstoppable for reasons that they can do nothing about.
[19:00:05]
Kayla Tausche is OUTFRONT live outside the White House to begin our coverage.
And, Kayla, I know you've got the reporting on the policy here that I mentioned, the central part of what the day was supposed to be, the economy.
What is Harris planning to do?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The economy, Erin, is going to be a focal point for Vice President Harris this week. She and President Biden will appear in their official capacity tomorrow for the first time, talking about lower drug prices.
But I'm told by sources who are close to Harris that when she rolls out her new economic plan later this week, that it's going to be additive and supplemental to what the Biden-Harris administration has already done, not wholesale reversals or revisions to any policies that they've already rolled out. In the words of one source close to her, she's going to toe the line between helping people build life and not interfering with people who have already done that. Notably, wealthier people.
This source suggesting that perhaps her policies to lower costs for middle-income people could be coupled with tax cuts elsewhere. Now, what's so interesting about this, Erin, is that as Harris tax toward the center to try to appeal to that independent voter, she's finding herself increasingly converging on the policy front with her Republican opponents.
Just this weekend, J.D. Vance, the vice presidential candidate on the Republican side, voiced his support for expanding the child tax credit to $5,000 per kid. Harris has publicly backed a returning to an expanded child tax credit of up to $3,600 per kid that Senate Republicans at various times have blocked.
And then there is, of course the policy on eliminating taxes on tips. Vice President Harris voiced support for that policy in Las Vegas over the weekend. The same place where President Trump, the former president, back in June, floated that policy see of his own.
Today at that rally, Trump said that she's just trying to rip a page from his playbook. But the Harris campaign today say that the former president is just distracted from his plans to raise taxes on everyday Americans, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. Of course, you know, political season, time to promise tax cuts to everybody.
All right, OUTFRONT now, Amy Walter, the Cook Political Report publisher and editor in chief.
And, Amy, I really appreciate your time. So I mentioned obviously some of the analysis that you've been doing. You've been looking at so many numbers and data from the all-important swing states.
This is part of the Cook Political Report. Swing-state project that you have been leading and you've got a brand new analysis tonight.
What does it show?
AMY WALTER, PUBLISHER, COOK POLITICAL REPORTER: Right. So this is surveys that were taken in the seven swing states by our polling partners. This is GS Strategy Group and BSG. It's a Democratic and Republican firm going into those key swing states.
And you're right, what it found is Harris has been able to consolidate the base of the Democratic Party, a base that was basically sitting on the sidelines for much of the 2024 election. They were frustrated with what they were seeing out of Biden. Many of them had put themselves into third party, saying they were interested maybe in supporting RFK Jr. Now, what we've seen, those voters coming home.
More important for Harris is the fact that she's doing well among independent voters. Trump was winning among those voters back in May when we last polled and today, Harris is up eight points, so its basically an 11 point shift in Harris's favor among independent voters, which as you know, are very, very critical to any one of these swing states.
I think the easiest way to explain where we are right now is we've kind of gotten to a point that before Biden dropped out, this was an election where Trump had the advantage both on enthusiasm, and on the fact that his base was just completely ready to go and vote for him. Now, Harris has brought that up for Democrats.
BURNETT: All right. So when you talk about all these areas, these are areas that for Biden had been at bashed, you had apathy, right? And at worse, you had people as you point out what they were going for RFK, or even considering going for Trump.
So what are the specific groups of voters that you're noticing, Amy, where Harris is just doing remarkably better than Biden had been doing when it comes to Trump?
WALTER: Yeah. I think women definitely are really key part of this, especially, as I said, independent women, women of color, as well. But it's -- I think of it really more in the category of people who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, but were not committed to voting for him in 2024. She's been able to basically narrow that significantly.
So she -- she doesn't have all of them back of that coalition. And it's a reminder that the Biden coalition really is more anti-Trump than it was pro-Biden. So, the fact that she's able to get all of those voters to come and say they're supporting her, even though they still don't really know that much about her.
[19:10:07]
BURNETT: Which is fascinating and maybe that's what the Kellyanne Conway point was, when people don't know that much about you --
WALTER: That's exactly what it was.
BURNETT: -- they want on to you. That's not necessarily a bad thing, that great power of politics.
Amy, just wade through some of the numbers, you mentioned that, you know, the base, right, Democrats, that she's doing significantly better than Biden. But also, I'm curious about suburban voters, that you've noticed a huge shift there in terms of Harris versus Biden. What do you see there?
WALTER: Yeah, that's a group of voters. I think we're going to be spending a lot of time with and not just those suburbs that we think of as well-developed sort of inside more metro areas. But going out into, especially in a state like North Carolina or Pennsylvania, where you have these fast-growing excerpts, those were places where Biden in 2020 had really improved on Clinton's performance and Harris needs to be able to show that same sort, that same level of support.
What we're also seeing as well, Harris has been able to bring back younger voters, especially younger voters of color. She's still not back where this was other polling that we've seen this week as well, among Latino voters, still not back exactly to where Biden was back in 2020.
BURNETT: That's interesting. All right, as a point there.
Okay. Thank you very much, Amy. I appreciate it. As I said, Cook Political Report doing that swing-state project.
Aisha Mills joins me now, along with her former Republican Congressman Scott Taylor.
So, Aisha, when you hear Amy going through this, Harris leading or tied in all but one of seven battleground states. Now, there are other polls that have showed this. This is a moment in time, that is true. But it is a momentum that now appears to be consistent, right? It wasn't just like a snap in a flash in the pan.
Are you worried them a minimal slowdown or no?
AISHA MILLS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Not at all. I'm gleeful and, you know, I'm just listening to the former president and I just want to laugh all the way through this campaign because it is absolutely joyful to hear about the momentum and to really just feel it as a voter, not as a Democratic strategists or operative, but as a voter who cares about the future of America, I'm not concerned that those numbers are going to fall back at all.
And let me tell you the other thing that is exciting. As I'm listening to the polling, what we're seeing is an uptick at this point of the Republican ticket trying to out progressive, if you will, Kamala Harris on a child tax credit.
And that's interesting because the Democrats, many of us were progressives have long lamented that the Clinton eras, which were then met by so really radical right-wing policy agenda, the Clinton era actually moved the Democratic Party more towards the center, right? So does neo-liberalism of being center in the center, setting us backwards for some of us, we thought.
And so, now, here we are fast forward and you're seeing that the progressives are actually moving the current Republican ticket further on the issues that matter to us. And that is progress and that's exciting, too.
BURNETT: So, these swing-state polls I mean, Scott Taylor, Congressman Taylor, you know, when you look at that and then you look at the independents and I know that's a crucial area, but I was just looking at that from Amy's analysis, independents over 45, Harris is at minus one, Biden at minus 25. Independent men, she's at minus eight, Biden at minus 33.
I mean, these moves crews are seismic in proportion. Do they worry you at this point, Congressman?
SCOTT TAYLOR (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Erin, great to be with you, of course, and your audience.
And obviously, it's great to be here with different opinions. I think -- I think it will fade the reality is, you said consistent. It has been consistent for about two, three weeks because she's had a tremendous amount of positive press. Of course, she hasn't sat down and talk to you and talk about policies or anything like that. So I think that if this was over months and months and months and there was momentum or it was consistent there? Yes, I would be a little bit concerned.
But here's the reality. I mean, I lost election. I was up by eight -- seven, eight points one week before the election, we have a long way to go and I don't think that these polls in August are indicative of what's going to happen in November.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TAYLOR: I will also submit to you in 2018, I was invited to the national NAACP convention in Baltimore. And at the time, it was right before the -- right before she launched the presidential campaign. And all the -- all the rumors were this is the next female Obama and with all the elites Washington in New York.
And I went there because I was very -- oh, well, I want to see -- I want to see her. She's going to run for president. I want to see her.
And in that audience, mostly all African American audience, mostly women politically in tune, it was horrible. She didn't connect with that audience. It fell very flat.
I went back to my staff that night and said, she's going nowhere in this presidential race. There's no way.
And why I say that is I believe in my opinion, the more the American people and certainly the independents which are crucial as you said, the more they see her in her own words, in her, in her own videos, the more I think that they will dislike her.
[19:15:02]
And I think that that momentum will come to a screeching halt.
MILLS: This is just comical and a joke that so many Republican operatives at this point are dragging themselves out claiming to have been watching Kamala Harris.
TAYLOR: Well, I'm not an operative. So --
MILLS: -- for years, and wanting to have -- you know, wanting to meet her and see what she's up to. And she wasn't up to anything back then.
Here's the reality, right? The numbers don't lie. We just saw them --
TAYLOR: She was.
MILLS: -- is that the momentum is absolutely on the Democrat side. And here's why is because even when we get to those really hard conversation, some will be difficult about policy where all Democrats may not even agree on the policy agenda of this administration. And certainly Republicans might not.
The big idea here though, is that we share the same value he was of who we want to be as a nation even if we don't agree on every single detail. And that is not complicit. That's not going to break this open and suddenly cause her to lose support. It actually reminds us that we are bigger than the sum of our parts.
And so I don't see this slowing down at all. I think that this energy certainly for the next 83 days is not going to dissipate and that's why the other side is struggling with what your strategies. BURNETT: So, Congressman, can I ask you about Kellyanne Conway --
TAYLOR: Erin, if I may, if I may, if I may.
BURNETT: Yeah, go ahead, yeah, yeah.
TAYLOR: I'm not a political operative, right. So let me first say that.
But second, look, I think that the Harris and Walz campaign agrees with me. They agree with me that the more the American people are independent see her in her own words, unscripted, that the more they'll dislike her, which is why she's not with you tonight, Erin, which is why she has refused to do unscripted interviews, which is why she's going to do one, one, a month from announcing.
What campaign that you've ever heard of has announced her candidacy for any office and not giving answer to question, like right away, like that night. It's incredible. So I think in my opinion, and again, we know it's great that we can have a difference of opinion of course, and I know that your audience is diverse.
And my opinion, I see President Trump and his policies and his people building a better future for the country. I see Vice President Harris and Governor Walz trying to build a narrative. And that's it.
BURNETT: So I should just point the Kellyanne made though. Do you think there's something to this?
MILLS: Absolutely.
BURNETT: In the sense of -- because -- because the congressman is correct that last time around, Kamala Harris's campaign when she ran, it did fall flat of expectations. Okay. It did.
And yet this is a very different situation. It is almost as if it's a different person.
MILLS: Yeah.
BURNETT: Kellyanne expressing it with frustration but maybe -- maybe that is the power. If someone's going to see you as good looking and someone else is smart and someone else is wealthy and someone else is funny, and someone else is close to her mom, goes on really cool vacation, she'll never break your heart. What -- what is there not to like?
MILLS: Maybe let's take a little bit differently. It's about being for the people, right? And so, the criticism that Kamala Harris roll out a campaign and decide to immediately just focus on sitting with the press is the fallacy here of this election cycle.
We are in a TikTok generation. We are going to win this campaign as Democrats through the culture and directly to -- with the people. Kamala Harris went to the people. So whether its moms or people of color, or whomever, everyone is
connecting with her because she's connecting directly with them, and that's why she's going to win.
BURNETT: She's not going to break your heart.
Final word, Scott. Yeah.
TAYLOR: Erin, I think that you're correct when you say that, like, like right now, that there is momentum. She's consolidated the base. You have to -- you have to give her credit for that, for sure. She has been able to hide from you and others in the press. That's -- that has been positive for her, but I think that time will end. I don't think she's going to be able to hide from herself, from her policies, from her own videos in the future. And I think the momentum will wane.
BURNETT: All right. Well, we will see, and I appreciate both of you being together and having this conversation.
Next, young Democrats are now registering to vote in droves to this point about what Democrats hoped was their base but now there's a big shift there and that is fueled by Biden's decision to step aside. So could this put key states that Trump won back in play?
Plus, Putin pleading for help, their ads now in Russia, literal ads are placed to pay you thousands of dollars to help you dig a trench in Russia because Ukraine is unleashed the biggest attack on Russian soil since the invasion began.
And the head of Project 2025 may have stepped down, but the controversial blueprint for Trump's second term is still very much alive and well tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:43]
BURNETT: All right. Breaking news, we've got new numbers in just now. That's just voter registration numbers and it's for Democrats and it shows a huge increase in at registration in two crucial swing states. I'm talking about North Carolina and Pennsylvania right now.
The jump in numbers in both states happening right after Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. This is according to the New York Times, which did analysis of the registrations. And it was the first time all year that Democrats outnumber GOP new registrations in the state of North Carolina. Could all this help Kamala Harris change the map and win North Carolina for the first time in four decades?
Jeff Zeleny is there for our voters OUTFRONT series.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's great to be back at this beautiful state. Donald Trump's back in North Carolina, a sure sign it's a battleground once again. Lines of Trump admirers stretched on the block in downtown Asheville,
a deeply enclave in a deep red swath of the state.
GABRIELLA CRUZ, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I miss.
ZELENY: You miss him?
CRUZ: I miss him, yes, the past four years? Yes.
ZELENY: Democrats worried North Carolina was slipping out of reach. But all that's changed with Kamala Harris at the top of it. Ticket is now a campaign.
DAVID BAILERY, DEMOCRATIC VOTER: Yeah, it's now a campaign. People are excited.
ZELENY: David Bailey has been making calls at Democratic headquarters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Democrats up and down the ballot.
ZELENY: Or old signs are now accompanied by new enthusiasm.
[19:25:01]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a volunteer with the Democratic Party here in Asheville.
BAILEY: You have to tap into peoples not only what they know is good for the country, but also what they feel is good for the country. And I think Harris and Walz have done that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think our volunteer inquiries quadrupled almost overnight as soon as we got news that Kamala Harris was going to be on a ticket.
ZELENY: They quadrupled?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
ZELENY: Harris has injected a wave of new energy and uncertainty to the presidential race, putting North Carolina and other states back in play.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Folks were feeling so downtrodden and didn't feel like we could win again. And all of a sudden, it was when -- we were on the upswing and they wanted to be a part of it.
ZELENY: Four years ago, North Carolina recorded the tightest margin of victory for Trump. He carried the state by 1.3 points or 74,000 votes out of 5.4 million cast.
GRAYSON BARNETTE, NORTH CAROLINA DELEGATE AT LARGE: They're tired of him. They really want somebody else. And that Democrats are offering that this year. They're offering somebody knew that often somebody that has a lot of energy around them I think people are noticing and they're willing to give Kamala Harris a chance. ZELENY: Grayson Barnette grew up in a family of Republicans to the
America. He supports Democrats and believes western North Carolina can help deliver for Harris by avoiding a blowout on his home turf.
BARNETTE: I'm not sure anybody is saying that we're going to get 40 or 50 percent in these counties overnight. But going from 25 to 35 or 20, or 30 to 40 really can make a huge difference.
ZELENY: Down the road at Burke County Republican headquarters --
ELISE NEGRIN, REPUBLICAN VOTER: All the Republicans won their primary.
ZELENY: Elise Negrin has a different take on the new Democratic ticket.
NEGRIN: She didn't run. She didn't have a primary. She has no platform and she can't put two sentences together. So how do you want that person as your president?
ZELENY: But since Harris became the nominee, the Trump campaign and a leading super PAC are investing more than 11 million here, trying to define her, after spending nearly nothing all year.
AD NARRATOR: Kamala Harris, failed, weak, dangerously liberal.
ZELENY: Three months until the election. Trump supporters like Cheryl Price are picking up signs to show their support.
CHERYL PRICE, REPUBLICAN VOTER: To have a spot for it already.
ZELENY: Do you have one last time or is this your first Trump flag?
PRICE: This is my first one. I'm, sort of, not scared body at any conflict because once you put a sign or anything out, oh.
ZELENY: For price, not only a first Trump flag, but her first Trump campaign event, we bumped into her waiting in line to see the former president.
PRICE: It will be exciting. I just hope I'll get in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: So, North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes are suddenly at the center of this race in ways that they certainly have not been much, like the blue wall states, of course, of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, actually more electoral votes here than Wisconsin and Michigan.
Erin, there is no doubt, this new excitement on the ground here certainly has gotten the former president's attention. That was clear here today in Asheville. It does not offer a guaranteed victory, of course. But as one Democrat told me here, it offers us at least a path for victory -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jeff, in Asheville tonight. I want to go now to Anderson Clayton. She is the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.
And, Anderson, I'm so glad to have you on tonight.
I want to get a sense of what's happening here. You saw Jeff's report, you know, of what's happening in your state. Just to -- you are the youngest state party leader in the entire country. And I think that's important to note. And obviously, you've been doing this for quite some time.
So, what are you seeing in terms of new registrations among young people under 30 in your state? And I know you obviously are 26.
ANDERSON CLAYTON, CHAIR OF NORTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, Erin, thank you so much for having us. We appreciate the opportunity.
You know, North Carolina Democrats are fired up right now, and I think that I was not necessarily to your point, I'm the youngest state party chair, so I was not around to see the '08 era of political organizing for the Democratic Party, but what I know that I've been told from folks across the state is that this field was like the 2008 energy that had Democrats winning at the presidential level for us then.
And also what were saying from young people is that this is to become our first historic election by electing the first woman president. And so, I feel it from every single parts from Wilkes County to Wayne County in North Carolina, the energy on the ground from Democrats, especially saying the vice president now at the top of the ticket for us.
COOPER: And when Biden got out, was it just an immediate and palpable thing? I mean, was age that central to it before?
CLAYTON: You know, I think that people were excited even before now. North Carolina has been for the last 13 years under Republican oppression and are general assembly, they have also controlled our executive branch, the council of state in North Carolina right now for the last four years.
And so what we're seeing is that the Republicans have stripped voting rights from folks in North Carolina from Republican takeover of the Supreme Court. They've restricted abortion rights at the states that urged state legislative level this year, they've taken away rights from people in North Carolina.
So, even before we saw the switch up at the top of the ticket, North Carolina Democrats and people across North Carolina, we're ready to see a change at the ballot box come November.
[19:30:07]
BURNETT: All right. So, let me ask now about the young folks in your state who feel differently and obviously supporting Trump from Jeff's piece just a few moments ago. There were two Trump supporters for the Trump rally that was happening today, and before the event. They spoke to him. Here's what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're too enthralled with the facade that the Democrats are putting up with Kamala. And it's a joke. It's a fake. All f that is just so fake. Trump is the real deal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This man that actually is getting shot for us is standing here where I grew up and he's coming to talk to us. We're all here for him, but he's here for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, both of those are not in the age range that you're in.
But there is a growing talking point among Republicans and they've been putting out there, Anderson, that Trump is the real deal. That Harris is some sort of a fake.
Do you see any of that? Does that feel like anything that has traction to you?
CLAYTON: No, honestly, I think that young voters right now see a candidate on the ballot that finally inspires us, gives us hope, gives us joy in politics allows us to feel something about a system that I think for the last, you know, honestly, few election cycles that we've not been able to see, someone that cares about providing to us the opportunity to say, this future is yours to be a part of and yours to claim. And I think that young people this year, especially in North Carolina in 2008, what won this state for Barack Obama was the under 35 demographic.
And if we do our jobs this year here which I know the coordinated campaign across my state is going to do. We've got a great college campus program effort that's going on throughout our system or our state this year and our UNC system.
So you can go to NCDP.org if you're a young person watching this right now on a college campus, or going to school this year in North Carolina. That would like to sign up and get involved with this campaign. We believe that and people need to be organizing young folks across our state this year. And that's exactly what we're doing as the Democratic Party and what Kamala Harris is ready to do.
But I also think we should give a mention too, the fact that someone that's been able to engage too many young people, through just her personality alone. I think a lot of people give Trump credit for being a personality politician. Kamala Harris has been able to show people that it's okay to laugh in politics, it's okay to really bring back joy that I think that we need to see right now and something that's sometimes can be so dark.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Anderson, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight. And next, we do have some breaking news. We've got new video into the
show tonight of Ukrainian forces right now, pushing deep into Russia as Putin panicking and actually putting out an ad for help. We'll show you exactly what this is. It's an ad.
Plus a secret video just made public, shedding new light on exactly what the people behind Project 2025 are hoping to accomplish if Trump returns to the White House.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:51]
BURNETT: And we have breaking news, the massive attack that Ukraine is unleashing on Russia, the biggest since the invasion started, a Ukrainian source tells CNN tonight that Ukraine is targeting four key sites, and these are deep inside Russian territory. All of them are Russian airfields.
And then just take a look at this incredible, these are ads literally posted in Russia for jobs to build trenches. They are offering between $1,600 and $4,000 to anyone who will help dig trenches and we have obtained satellite images of these trenches that they're working on. Russia tried to build these trenches and use them to keep Ukraine's forces from advancing even further.
But you're looking at a trench right here that is 28 miles inside Russia from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine has taken more land in a week than Russia has in eight months.
Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A humiliating scene for the Kremlin. Ukrainian troops sweeping through a Russian village behind a U.S.-supplied MaxxPro armored vehicle.
Kyiv soldiers taking down the Russian flag in another town -- with Ukrainian TV reporting from the scene.
Ukraine's top general telling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the advance continues.
Troops have advanced one to two kilometers in various directions, he says, and then adds, since the beginning of this day, we've taken captive about 100 enemy soldiers.
The Ukrainians say they want to create a buffer zone in this part of Russia to stop Moscow's army from attacking Ukrainian territory in the future.
But the blitz offensive is also a major morale boost for Ukraine, commander fighting side Russia tells CNN, catching the Russians off guard.
They were shocked by such a rapid advance, he says. They were in tactical encounters and willingly surrender to the defense forces. And then every warrior, every soldier who defends their homeland probably had a dream team of stepping onto Russian soil and destroying the enemy there. These feelings are impossible to forget.
While the Russians claim they are stopping Ukraine's assault, releasing this video of their jets dropping powerful glide bombs, Ukraine says it shot down a Russian warplane and a security source says it launched the biggest drone attack on Russian air bases since the war began.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has vowed a crushing response to Ukraine's incursion. But even Kremlin controlled TV acknowledging that won't be so simple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Unfortunately, I must say that in some settlements, the enemy is holding their ground and we will need to fight them out of there. That will not happen as fast and as easy as we wanted to.
PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians have said they will continue to push forward and fortify the gains they've made, hoping to withstand the massive counter attack the Kremlin has promised.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: All right. I'm here now with exiled Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar, an incredibly well sourced reporter on what's happening in Russia.
[19:40:01]
You were just sentenced by Russia in absentia, Mikhail, to 8-1/2 years in prison --
MIKHAIL ZYGAR, EXILED RUSSIAN JOURNALIST: That's true.
BURNETT: -- for criticizing Putin's army.
ZYGAR: Absolutely.
BURNETT: Given what we saw, we had a Vladimir Kara-Murza on the other day. You know, if you were there, what would your situation would obviously be?
ZYGAR: Yeah, I'm here.
BURNETT: But you're here.
ZYGAR: Thanks for having me.
BURNETT: Your new book "War and Punishment". Okay. So let me just ask you from your sources, this happens obviously
sudden, obviously unexpected. Does this change that -- you were telling me before we came back from commercial break that there were many in Russia and the Russian top circles who thought they would -- they would take -- Kyiv would fall this year and this changes that.
ZYGAR: You know, I was really, really sick and tired of that level of self-confidence. I've been hearing from my sources because a lot of people were telling me that by the end of summer, at least city of Kharkiv, the major, the second-largest city in Ukraine would fall. And they were connecting that with upcoming presidential elections in the U.S. And they were telling me, yes, there's going to be present for Biden administration that Ukrainian army with would be defeated a lot, specifically before November.
Now, we see that it changes everything, the morale situation in Ukraine is wonderful. It's a straw -- a real defeat for Putin's army. Putin doesn't have anyone to blame except for himself. His involvement is huge.
He has -- actually he appointed himself as his own minister of defense last May. So he is personally in charge of that.
BURNETT: So how does he -- how does he take this right now? Does he see this as a failure? Does this weaken him in his inner circle at all?
ZYGAR: Now, I was talking to different people and none of them says that he -- he might be in panic. But obviously, he made very important decision. He appointed his former bodyguard person named Alexei Dyumin who is considered to be one of the closest people to him, his personal military adviser.
Now, this person, Alexei Dyumin, is pointed to be in charge of the counterstrike on the country's -- so-called counterterrorist operation in Kursk region. And as we know, Alexei Dyumin has been named as potential successor to Putin for many years, that proves that somehow Putin acknowledges the fact that everything was wrong, that all of everything he has done, every decision he has made was wrong.
And he in a way removes general staff and ministry of defense from commanding this operation and pushes his most trusted guy.
BURNETT: So, which is -- which is really important, obviously when you put it that way. But when you're looking at Kursk region, you've got 100,000 people that have been forced now to evacuate. Does this change any public perception about Putin? And is there from what you understand the possibility of an incredibly large number of casualties as this plays out?
ZYGAR: You know, Russia -- as far as I see, Russian television tries to diminish the scale of what's happening there. My sources say that up to one-third of the region is not controlled by Moscow, which is a lot.
Obviously, people in Moscow are more than sure that Ukrainians won't be able to hold all those territories. But at the same time, they say that there is only one strategy in only one strategy available for Russian army. They can go and kill so everyone they see.
So probably a lot of casualties from civilians, from the Russian side, from Russian civilians has to expect it. So they won't care about people living in all those villages. They would go with like total fire, destroying everyone.
And there are jokes, but they don't seem like a joke about the possible nuclear strike from Russia on Russian territory, of course, region. That's something okay, if not nuclear strike, but they can strike their own territory in their own people that's not against their principles.
BURNETT: Which is really incredible to think about and to put that so bluntly and directly.
Mikhail, thank you very much.
ZYGAR: Thank you.
BURNETT: I appreciate your time.
And next, Project 2025, still a go despite its director slipping down and tonight, secret videos reveal the discussions taking place behind closed doors.
And a massive security presence, as Taylor Swift takes the stage for the first time since the terror scare forced her to cancel her concert, as we're learning more about a mysterious man radicalizing teens online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:57]
BURNETT: Tonight, former President Trump on why he's against wind energy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Darling, let's watch the president's state of the union speech tonight. I'm sorry, we won't be able to do it. The wind isn't blowing, darling. We have no electricity.
But perhaps some time during the week it will be blowing, it will be able to get our television on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right, it comes as he promises tonight to slash energy prices by 50 percent within a year to 18 months.
Now, tonight, though we are learning more about what a second Trump term and many details could look like. "ProPublica" has obtained over 14 hours, 14 hours of secret video. What this lays out is Project 2025 and its entirety.
You may have part of it. It's the blueprint for Trump's second term that had been put out by some close to him. Trump says he has nothing to do with it, but the videos obtained by "ProPublica" do feature 36 speakers 29 of whom, 29 of 36 have reportedly worked for Trump.
Here's one clip of them talking about climate change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I think of climate change, I immediately think of population control.
[19:50:00]
Don't you? I think about the people who don't want you to have children because of the impact on the environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Ryan Goodman is OUTFRONT now, co-editor in chief of "Just Security", former special counsel at the Department of Defense.
So, Ryan, you have gone through this -- gone through these hours of tapes, these individuals, as I said, 29 of 36 reportedly working for Trump in some capacity. His current national press secretary, current national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, even appears in one of the videos.
RYAN GOODMAN, CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JUST SECURITY: That's right. When she appears, I actually think of it as almost a smoking gun. It's just such a direct connection between what she's doing in the video is playing a starring role. For over 30 minutes, she talks about how to train a workforce to implement Project 2025 if Trump were elected.
And what is she doing right now? She is his national press secretary for the 2024 Trump campaign, articulating what his vision is for the country.
So, it's one and the same person. That's even kind of paradoxical because when "ProPublica" reaches out, the very person denying a connection between the two happens to be the national press secretary, Ms. Leavitt.
BURNETT: So she's literally denied the connection herself.
Which again, to emphasize the point this comes because Trump has said, oh, I don't have anything to do with this, right?
So it's not just the 29 of 36 and had some contact or relationship with him professionally. It's his current national secretary is important.
All right. So one of the things that there's been a lot of focus on is the issue of abortion. And in this video, they talk about global influence and abortion but just affecting us abortion policies not enough. Here's a former Trump administration official on those tapes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I worked on international issues and very closely followed the language presented at the United Nations. And I saw up close and personal how this indeed is true. Languages used to control culture. Now, let's talk about the word abortion.
The left got very creative years ago and started using different words to make abortion sound a little less like murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. Now to solid maybe you know, those are just words, but to you as international legal expert, you hear some alarming things in there. What?
GOODMAN: Absolutely. So I also have studied those U.N. documents closely and the words they use are like reproductive rights. And then later in the video, she actually boasts about attempting to remove reproductive rights from U.N. documents.
What do those stand for? They are protecting women's right to choose even in countries in which democratically they've elected for the freedom to choose or the courts have enforced it. This would do away with it.
Also, who else supports removing reproductive rights from the U.N. instruments? China, because China is trying to sterilize parts of its community and the fight is over reproductive rights. There she is saying it's not just about a national abortion ban, which is Project 2025 in the document, there for the first time we hear them talking about taking that national abortion ban and going global regardless of how democracies have chosen at around the world.
BURNETT: Well, an important, as you say in countries where it's literally been used for sterilization or one-child policy is just to put, that blood point on it.
All right. Ryan, thank you very much.
And next, Taylor Swift about to take the stage. This is the first time she will do so since the terror threat scare, as we're learning of a key person radicalizing teens on TikTok.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:46]
BURNETT: Tonight, massive security surrounding Taylor Swift's first show since she had to cancel part of our tour due to a terror plot. A 19-year-old who was allegedly planning a suicide attack at her concert in Vienna. Investigators say he was radicalized online, which renews concerns about radicalization happening on social media.
Salma Abdelaziz is OUTFRONT. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is playing "Fortnite" allowed?
Is Botox as sin?
Can you watch the World Cup?
This is Abul Baraa, the German-speaking TikTok preacher who is targeting and radicalizing young minds by answering seemingly innocent questions from his followers.
In light of a foiled terror plot on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, there is renewed concern about online extremism among youth.
The 19-year-old alleged mastermind of the attack was radicalized online, Austrian authorities say, that we don't yet know how.
Abul Baraa has repeatedly denied any connection to ISIS and never openly calls for violence. But he has always testing boundaries online.
If someone is, quote, bad, he says in this clip, then regardless if that person is Muslim or non-Muslim, this means death is better for them.
With his at times, lighthearted and relatable style, he draws teenagers in and then attempts to isolate them from society, says Kaan Orhon who runs a program to de-radicalize youth.
KAAN ORHON, DERADICALIZATION CASE WORKER, GREEN BIRD ASSOCIATION: He tries to get them to sever family bonds, distance themselves from parents, from siblings, from friends yeah.
ABDELAZIZ: Viewers may then be presented with more and more extremist content by social media algorithm built to fuel and feed their interests.
What makes him so dangerous?
ORHON: What makes him dangerous is that he is like a gateway drug. He lays the groundwork where other actors are picking his target audience up and leading them further into radicalization.
ABDELAZIZ: Germany security services have had Abul Baraa on their radar for years. A Berlin mosque where he was chief imam was shut down by authorities in 2020 and another affiliated group banned for extremist activity earlier this year.
But on TikTok, where he has more than 82,000 followers, he is undeterred and prolific, even responding to recent media reports linking him to the Taylor Swift concert terror plot.
There is a massive campaign against us, he says. Every time, they try to find something new so they can silence us. But those who follow up Abu Baraa may become ripe for the picking by radical groups like ISIS-K, which is actively seeking to recruit teenagers because it presents a challenge to authorities.
NICOLAS STOCKHAMMER, COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA: The calculation of ISIS-K and those people who are behind this dynamic is that they are not -- it's not so easy to prosecute them by law because they are too young.
ABDELAZIZ: Leaving vulnerable young minds susceptible to recruitment in corners of the Internet beyond the reach of authorities and away from the eyes of family and friends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: We have reached out to Abul Baraa for comment, but he has yet to respond.
Meanwhile, here in London, the city is preparing for five sold out Taylor Swift concerts set to begin on Thursday night, authorities have asked only ticket holders to make their way to Wembley Stadium. Fans will not be allowed to congregate outside the venue -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Salma, thank you very much from London tonight.
And thanks to all of you for being with us.
"AC360" starts now.
