Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Casting Doubt On Harris Debate; DOJ Tries To Revive Trump Docs Case Thrown Out By Florida Judge; Telegram CEO, "Mark Zuckerberg Of Russia," Arrested in France. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 26, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:40]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Trolling Trump. The Harris campaign tonight taking on the former president as he threatens to drop out of the upcoming debate. We have some new reporting this hour on what's happening inside the Trump campaign.
Plus, Carville and Begala together again, OUTFRONT. Why they both insist Trump is still going to dump Vance. But tonight, they actually have an idea for who the replacement for Vance would be.
And breaking news this hour, two major developments on the Trump legal front tonight as DOJ is trying to revive the Trump classified docs case.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, Trump threatening to drop out of the upcoming debate. The former president casting doubt about whether he will in fact debate Vice President Harris that is scheduled to take place on September 10th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you still plan to participate in the ABC debate?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, I watched this weekend and it's the worst of all networks. When I looked at the hostility of that, I said, why am I doing it? Let's do it with another network. I think ABC is really should be shut out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Trump was then later on its still using the word "if". Obviously, this is a debate that his campaign has already agreed to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They flew almost a million people in over the border. They flew. That stops all of that. I shouldn't say this because if there's a debate, it would be nice to surprise with that one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: If there is a debate, you heard that, the crucial word there.
Now, Harris's team when it comes to this debate, which is as I said scheduled, they are now asking that the microphones beyond throughout the debate, which is a change from the rules that the campaigns did agree to and from the rules of the CNN Biden-Trump debate, and Trump's campaign is saying, no, they want to stick with the agreed upon rules on this debate that may or may not happen. But Trump himself seems to be saying yes, open up the mics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't know. It doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have it probably on, but the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Now, that's true. But the Harris campaign is now open to a changing, so they're trolling Trump.
Here's the campaign communications director for the Harris campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL TYLER, HARRIS CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Unless Donald Trump allows his handlers to overrule him, we'll have a fulsome debate between the two candidates, with live microphones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And those words coming after a statement from the Harris campaign which said: Our understanding is that Trump's handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.
Just to be clear, obviously, using the word handlers is obviously just purely intended to get under his skin. And there's a reason why open mics have -- well, actually, you would think he said at times they could have gone badly for Trump. They haven't though. These moments that I'm about to play for you in the past have not done badly for him. Things may though have changed.
Here's what happens when the mics weren't muted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Donalds supported the invasion of Iraq.
TRUMP: Wrong.
CLINTON: That is absolute --
TRUMP: Wrong.
CLINTON: -- proved over and over again.
TRUMP: Wrong.
CLINTON: My Social Security, payroll contribution will go up as well, Donalds, assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it. But what we want to do is to replenish the Social Security trust fund.
TRUMP: Such a nasty woman.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Vote and let your senators know how strongly you feel.
(CROSSTALK)
BIDEN: Let -- vote now.
TRUMP: Are you going to pack the court?
BIDEN: Make sure you, in fact, let people know, your senators --
TRUMP: He doesn't want to answer the question.
BIDEN: I'm not going to answer the question because the question is -- the question is --
(CROSSTAK)
TRUMP: -- radical left.
BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. That's what has happened in the past when the mics have been opened.
Steve Contorno is OUTFRONT in St. Petersburg, Florida. He's covering the Trump campaign.
And you've got new details tonight, Steve. I know Trump has, you know, hinted there that he could drop out of the debate. You are reporting that he's aggressively ramping up his campaign schedule, which as opposed to let's just say preparing for the debate.
And I know you've been talking to your sources tonight. What are you learning?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Erin, this debate over debates is taking place in the context of a race that Donald Trump is very much struggling to adapt to. He, in many ways, is still running a campaign against President Joe Biden. And we sort of saw some glimpses of that today. He was appearing at
Arlington National Cemetery and in Michigan to mark the occasion of the third anniversary of the attack in Afghanistan, at the airport, there, that left 13 soldiers dead.
[19:05:03]
And this is a point that was a real focus of his convention last month. And there were some of the most emotional and effecting moments of that convention was when these gold-star parents were on the stage talking about what it was like to go through that, was what it was like that their children didn't come home, and really putting the blame on Joe Biden.
The problem is Joe Biden is not the opponent anymore. Donald Trump has had difficulties shifting his focus from Joe Biden to Vice President Harris, especially he's trying to basically run the same campaign he ran against Biden against her and today was another example of that. He's also tried to tie her to Biden his economy, to Biden's immigration policies, to Biden tonight inflation.
So all these examples, however, just further proof that he has not been able to find a way to that -- so far, has not yielded much results for him. And as we reported today, he is ramping up his schedule because his campaign is acknowledging for the first time really that they have failed to match the enthusiasm of Harris and they're going to be more aggressive in combating that going forward, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Steve, thank you very much. And obviously, that's an important detail.
Lulu Garcia-Navarro, I mean, obviously, anybody running against Kamala Harris would try to link her to the administration of which she is the VP. So, fair game on inflation and the border.
But to run the same campaign that, that he was running against Biden is sort of amazing. I mean, you would have thought that at least to go with the way he has been in the past, he would be more quick footed about adjusting it, but Steve's reporting shows no.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean he is really struggling with trying to figure out how to define her and the window is closing. I mean, we have I think only two to three weeks before people start early voting in mid-September in some of these key states, really only trying to persuade only a real -- a tiny amount of people when you think of the Trump campaign, and the Harris campaign.
And so, I think at this point this debate was going to be crucial. It was the next test. And the fact that he is, you know, saying he might not do it under what circumstances will they do? It really shows that this is hers to lose at this point.
I mean, if you think about them on the stage together, he is an almost 80-year-old man. He is going to suffer from the same thing that Biden suffered with him. She is 20 years his junior. He looks like the past and she looks like the future.
BURNETT: So, you know, former Congressman Scott Taylor's with us as well, Republican congressman.
You know, what do you make, Scott, of his inability thus far to define her and to shift his strategy? I mean, we've all seen it. I don't know. Have you been surprised as some of us have been about the kind of slowness with which he seemed to adjust?
SCOTT TAYLOR (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Erin, it's great to be with you, of course, as always.
Actually, no. I mean, I think that -- I think the president and Republicans knew that when Kamala came out, when the VP came out and announced her campaign, she was going to get a massive amount and barrage of positive media and that's exactly what's happened, of course. She was going to get a bump with the DNC, because all the attention was going to be there. I think that we understood this.
But in my opinion and many other opinions, she's peaked and I think the president understands that as well. I mean, listen, she's -- as we've talked about many times, and you've talked about, she's not here, is not meeting with Erin Burnett, right? She's not -- she's not sitting down in speaking with you.
I think when moving forward, what do we 36, 37 days now where she hasn't sat down and than any interview with anybody yet, that's a free pass. And quite frankly, it's an indictment on the media and journalism not to sit down and talk to her.
The American people deserve -- they shouldn't have to settle. They deserve to hear from her. They deserve to for her to answer tough questions just like President Trump is done, right?
BURNETT: But what -- what happens Congressman Rose, Democratic, former Democratic congressman, when Congressman Taylor's argument goes away on that one point? Because it's going to go away. She's going to do an interview.
She was supposed to do on by the end of the month. Now, tonight, they're saying they're going to schedule one by the end of the month. I mean, look, she should have done one already, but if she comes out and does it, then that's gone. Then, okay, she's done the interview.
MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Look, my Republican friends remind me of what my four-year-old looks like, blindfolded with their trying to hit the pinata at his birthday party, right? They're constantly swinging.
One day, it's about she's not doing in interview, which is ridiculous. The campaign's 30 days old and she's constantly out there and she will, of course, do an interview very shortly.
The next day, it's about inflation, but then the numbers are looking far, far, far better a smooth landing is obviously here. And so they move on from that, their flailing. And the reason why they are it's because there's one thing they do not want to talk about. And that is their actual agenda, their anti-freedom agenda that will have actually do nothing to provide economic opportunity for people.
And that's why you see this ridiculousness, but is the basis of their talking points.
[19:10:04]
BURNETT: Lulu, it's interesting though, at least to this point. I mean, you just mentioned something policy-oriented. Scott mentioned policy-oriented. That's not what this has been about, okay? Not at all, or whether that's an indictment on all of us. The American -- it just hasn't been.
It's been on a vibe and a feeling and what -- a very different thing. So now you have Trump ramping up as Steve's reporting, he is going to ramp up big time in the battleground states this week. She isn't. She has been really pulling back and hasn't been the campaign trail because he's been preparing for the debate.
Do you think that him ramping it up in rallies is going to make a difference?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I do. I actually we think this is what he needs to do. He is best person to person. He is trying to get the people that support him out. Ultimately, I think that this election is going to come down to who shows up at the polls and --
BURNETT: So you think it's a turnout?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think it's a turnout election. I think it's going to be extremely important to have people come that support him and he needs its to be showing up and doing what he hadn't been doing actually, up until now. And he needs to be everywhere all at once.
The fact that she's taking a break and sort of cutting into her momentum might not be the best strategy in the short-term, but I think what is going -- what you're going to see in the long term is that she's moving to Georgia. She's going to be taking her show on the road and she is going to have to sit down to talk to the media.
And I just want to just respond to something else. I mean, I don't think it is an indictment of the media. I think everyone in the media, all U.S. journalists have been saying, please come and have an interview with us. Please come and have an interview with us.
BURNETT: Yes, have been pounding that table on that, yes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Ultimately, we can't tire down and make her do it.
BURNETT: Right, right. And she will do it, and then it'll be was it to -- I mean, I understand where the conversation will go, Congressman Taylor, but there's also the -- you know, what Trump's doing where he's doing his interviews, you know, we'd love to talk to Trump, too.
I see him on Fox News. I haven't seen him here yet. I hope he will. The Harris campaign, Congressman Taylor, posted a video today, really,
it's all about getting under Trump's skin. It was about the debate and whether he's going to do it or not. Do you know? I just was laying out but he's now raising the specter that he won't.
They put the caption under this, you scared? Let me play it for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)
INTERVIEWER: Why not debate her?
(CHICKEN CACKLING SOUND)
TRUMP: Well, wait, because they already know everything. Because they're all -- Trump's, you know, not doing the debate, that's something that's right. I mean, right now, I say, why should I do a debate, I'm leading in the polls? And everybody knows her, everybody knows me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You heard the chicken track their, Congressman. Okay, you know, that it makes people laugh. It gets out there. Congressman Taylor, is it effective?
TAYLOR: No, I don't think so. I mean, it's just silly campaign stuff to be honest with you. I mean, listen, they dumped their candidate -- they tested their candidate, their president, our president, they dumped him, they dumped democracy, dumped millions of Democrat primary voters at the debate.
They saw the rules, they probably started debate prep with the VP and realize that she's not very good. So now they want to change the rules with the debate.
Listen, I understand the president would be skeptical of ABC. I just watched the interview with Senator Cotton and Jon Karl -- and Jon Karl was defending the policies of the VP, not the VP. Jon Karl, supposed to be a moderator and the debate. And there was a video that was that he said that she didn't take that position, which she, of course, she did.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: I may be speaking out of turn here. I first of all, think the world of Jon Karl, first of all. I also don't think he's the moderator. I don't think he's the moderator.
TAYLOR: I'm just saying he's wrong, that's all.
BURNETT: I think it's David Muir and Linsey Davis, if I'm correct but just to be clear on that.
But, Max, let me give a chance to respond.
ROSE: The Trump is so incredibly transparent, right? He's transparent about the fact that he's a virulent racist. He's transparent about the fact that he absolutely hates veterans, desecrates their service on the continued basis.
And now he is just transparent about the fact that he is afraid of debating the vice president. And he is a chicken. I'm sorry. I mean, there's no better way to describe it.
TAYLOR: Come on, man. Please.
ROSE: It's good to see you, my friend.
BURNETT: All right. We hit pause on that. Thank you. And we'll look for to having all of you back.
Next, Republicans laser-focused on Kamala Harris and the migrant crisis, right? So, should she at this point now visit the southern border and do it really soon? I'm going to ask the Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who state-based a surge of asylum seekers.
And Trump and RFK Jr. lavishing praise on each other. But CNN's KFILE has gone through history and has some new reporting tonight on how Kennedy has said he truly feels about Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., FORMER 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Donald Trump is a terrible president.
He's a bully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, a man called the Russian Mark Zuckerberg, almost 1 billion people use his app worldwide, central to the national security from Russia. And tonight, he is behind bars in France. We'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:19:03]
BURNETT: Tonight, Republican zeroing in on Kamala Harris and the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a secure border.
AD NARRATOR: Oh, boy. Kamala lies about the border. She lies about higher prices. Kamala lies a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It comes as even Democrats are urging Harris to visit the southern border, something that she has done once as vice president. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): If I were to counsel her, I'd say, yeah, let's make a trip down there and, you know, get that over with.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDNET: Should she do what Trump is doing, go and visit the border?
REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): I mean, I think that would be helpful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, the Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, he has, of course, seeing the effects of the border crisis firsthand, at least 47,000 migrants have come to Chicago seeking asylum in the last two years alone.
And, Governor, I really appreciate your time.
So, your two colleagues, I played there, Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia, and Dan Kildee, Democratic congressman from the state of Michigan, they both say: go ahead.
[19:20:02]
She needs to go. Just do it, get it over with, rip the band-aid off.
Do you think Vice President Harris should make a trip to the southern border and do it soon?
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D), ILLINOIS: Well, the important thing is that she ought to be addressing the issues at the border which, by the way, she and President Biden have been. And we've seen the effect of that in Chicago.
You know, when Donald Trump told Republicans to walk away from the Republican proposed bill that had bipartisan support for border security, that's a moment when, you know, we could have given up. But no, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris came out with a set of policies and executive orders that have helped a lot.
Now, you can't complete the job until you get Congress on board with comprehensive immigration reform or border security bill, and Kamala Harris said at the convention, she will sign that bill. You send that bill to her desk. And she will sign it.
So I think that we've got a real message on immigration and whether she goes to the border or not, that's what people want to know.
BURNETT: All right. So, you know, obviously, all of this took time and when the bill failed, then months went by, then an executive order. And over this time, Governor, you spoke out because you have been on the front lines of what this means as migrants have moved into many cities, including yours in Chicago.
You specifically said that the administration's response, the lack of action was, quote, untenable.
Now, of course, Vice President Harris, as vice president, right, the most senior person in the Biden administration tasked with border and migrant related issues. But she did only visit the border once as vice president, about six hours is what she spent on the ground in El Paso.
Do you think that has made her vulnerable now?
PRITZKER: Well, look, you don't have to be there to know there is a problem at the border that needs to be addressed in general. This is a 40-year problem. Republicans and Democrats have been unwilling to get together on border control and on comprehensive immigration reform.
And Joe Biden tried to get and people together to do something about it. In fact, he campaigned on it, and Republicans refused. And then, finally, put a border security bill on the table, a Republican written border security bill.
So, look, whether you're there or not there -- I mean, of course, visiting the border is one thing to do to draw attention to it. But the most important thing that she can do is have a policy that will actually make a difference.
And that's what she proposed shining when she was up there on stage giving her acceptance speech.
BURNETT: So you know, obviously, Trump's campaign and super PAC have been hitting her on this issue. They've been hitting her on the border, they've been also been hitting her on the economy. Trump himself though, has not done as much of that, Governor. He's actually resorted in many instances just a personal insult.
Here he is just today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Why does she do a couple of question? And why does she do something like I'm doing right now? She can't talk. We can't have another dummy as a president, okay? She's not a smart person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, Governor, Trump prides himself on his political instincts. So he obviously thinks talking like this is going to work. Do you think it will?
PRITZKER: You know, this is a guy Donald Trump who sits around all day watching Fox News and doesn't actually do much. He hasn't done many of these events. You know, these major addresses over the course of his campaign, and it's only now that it appears that he's either even or behind that he now is complaining.
He's got to go out and do some work and he's basically saying Kamala Harris needs to do more. The truth is that she's answered questions along the way. You've seen her do that when she's getting on and off of Air Force Two, or helicopter, or moving from one place to another. Has she done a sit-down interview since? By the way, she only got the
nomination the other day and has only been the perspective nominee for about 30 days. Does she need to sit down for an interview? Of course. And they've said they'll do that.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time, Governor Pritzker, as always.
PRITZKER: Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. And next, Paul Begala and James Carville reunited here OUTFRONT. They're back again, and they still say Vance should watch his back when it comes to Trump. And this time they actually have an idea of how this would play out when Vance goes away, as they think could happen.
And then the founder of the massive social media platform, Telegram, which is nearly 1 billion users arrested, the billionaire playboy, who was fathered more than 100 children, behind bars after a trip that landed him in the same foreign country as Vladimir Putin. Is Putin in on it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:29:01]
BURNETT: New tonight, Donald Trump showering his former 2024 rival, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with praise after his endorsement and not ruling out a cabinet position for Kennedy if Trump wins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you considering appointing RFK Jr. as your health secretary if you're reelected?
TRUMP: So, we haven't talked about it, a job but he knows a lot about the subject matter or any he's really been well received by the party, I will tell you. He's a great guy. Very well received by the party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. That comes though, as CNN's KFILE has just uncovered a long list of examples of Kennedy attacking Trump and no ambiguous terms. We've heard some of that criticism, in fact, right here OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For trying to overthrow the election clearly is threat to democracy. I'm not going to defend President Trump on that, that it was appalling, and there's many things that President Trump has done that are appalling. Trump does a lot of things wrong, and I call them on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski is here with more.
So, Andrew, we just played one of them. That was an appearance he did here sitting in that very chair.
[19:30:02]
But he has a long history that you found of going after Donald Trump, who has just endorsed for president.
ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: That's right. Erin. And this is a stark change from how RFK Jr. junior used to talk about Donald Trump. He called him a terrible president. He called him a threat to democracy. He even said that he brought the entire American experiment with democracy into disrepute.
And it wasn't like he was just saying this in 2015, 2016, okay, and then he came around to Donald Trump. He was saying this in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, and, by the way, last week or last month.
BURNETT: He can't even --
(CROSSTALK)
KACZYNSKI: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
And, you know, when he was endorsing Trump, he -- one of the things he said was that Trump was going to take on special interests when one of Kennedy's main criticisms of Donald Trump has been that he turned over his administration to special interests.
Take a listen to just a few of those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: You know, I think Donald Trump was a terrible president. He wasn't draining the swamp he was turning the government over to corporate pirates.
I think the problem is number one, he is a bully. And, you know, I don't like bullies, and I don't think America -- you know, the best part of America is for this (ph).
And the easiest thing for political leader to do is to appeal to our bigotry and hatred xenophobia and prejudice, and point to people who are unlike us, and to say they're the ones who are damaging our country.
(END VIDOE CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, turning the country over to corporate pirates, bully, terrible president, bigotry, hatred, xenophobic, prejudice. I mean, that's all very clear. And to your point, he obviously meant those things. He said them over many times.
But now, he's also praising the MAGA movement itself now that he's formally endorsed Trump's. So there was a tweet over the weekend, Andrew, make America great
again, this is RFK Jr., recalls the nation brimming with vitality, with a can-do spirit with hope and a belief in itself. It was an America that was beginning to confront its darker shadows could acknowledge the injustice in its past and present. Yet at the same time could celebrate its successes.
Is that consistent?
KACZYNSKI: No, Erin, and it is -- it is so different from what we just heard him say, too, right? Like he said, Trump appeal to bigotry hatred xenophobia, and prejudice. And in one of the comments, we found his, he said his father, RFK Sr. would be extremely disappointed in the direction that the country was headed under Trump. And, by the way, it wasn't just RFK criticizing Trump, one-way, Trump even called him. I think -- I think he called him the dumbest Kennedy was the term that he used on Truth Social.
And during Trump's presidency, RFK said that he thought that Trump was really harming the image of America around the world just with his presidency itself. Take a listen to a few more of those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: President Trump has not only brought this country into disrepute around the globe. I think he's also brought into disrepute the entire American experience with self-governance.
If you live in China today and you're looking at what's happening in the United States, why would you ever say we want to switch our system for that system, which can produce, you know, that kind of buffoonery at a high level.
And I think President Trump is purposefully and systematically encouraging tyrannical governments around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KACZYNSKI: So we did reach out to Kennedy's campaign. We said, how do you square those comments that he made then versus what he's saying now? And we didn't hear back from them.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Andrew Kaczynski, KFILE, thank you very much.
So, now, let's go to -- well, to a man, you know, more than anyone else about winning presidential campaigns, James Carville and Paul Begala. I'm sure you all were entertained by what you just heard there from RFK Jr.
So, Paul, last time, you were here with James and you predicted that Trump could jump -- dump, I'm sorry, J.D. Vance as his running mate. Today's ago, Trump actually shared a post on social media, and the post had a photo of him with Kennedy and it was the words, we're the strongest anti-establishment ticket in American history. And you are honing in on the word ticket and not just saying that he could replace Vance, but to -- he could replace him with Kennedy, Paul?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, watch your back, J.D. Yeah, I watched that whole thing and look, Bobby Kennedy had a parasitic brain-eating worm in his head and the worm died of starvation, okay?
So I just think that we ought to give him like a lot of leeway because I think he's -- he's a bit eccentric. I don't think he adds much to Trump, honestly. I mean, if you're already of that ilk, if you're -- if you're against vaccines and all the other conspiracies that you believe in to attract you to Kennedy, you're not going to go to Trump.
[19:35:04]
Bobby Kennedy started this race about 20 percent. He's about 2 now. So on current trajectory, by Election Day, he'll be about negative six. He's a diminishing asset, but I think Trump really likes him and J.D. Vance has really not. I think he's on milk cartons now. We just don't see him.
BURNETT: So, James, a Trump-Kennedy ticket. Do you feel have any difference of opinion here from Paul on what he said about it? Do you think as somebody that could worry Democrats?
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Not at all. And I really feel sorry for the Kennedy family because I'm going to remind them, you can pick your friends, you can't pick your relatives.
And if I were a Kennedy lived in a humane country, they would have him in a nice rubber room and three huts and a cot and take care of this guy. He has no business being out of the street mixing and mingling with people.
But this is where we are in this country. We have a mental health crisis and he is at the top of it.
BURNETT: Right, well, you know, I will say I mean, just because you are both saying this, I will say Paul, he does connect with people when he talks about chronic illness. I mean, I think that that's something that we know when I heard anybody say that. Okay. They might dismiss the vaccine stuff is total crazy conspiracy. They would hone in on the chronic illness autoimmune diseases, and other things he talks about. I mean, that was where at audience was.
Do you just think there's no one who finds that compelling at this point?
(CROSSTALK)
BEGALA: Well, I just think again, his --
BURNETT: Go ahead, Paul. I'm sorry, go ahead, Jim -- oh, the data shows his support just collapsing. And, you know Trump wants put them on the ticket. He can run for president of the island of misfit toys.
But Kamala Harris picked the most middle-class, Midwestern football coach, teacher, hunter soldier in Tim Walz, who he is -- he didn't put this in the speech, when President Clinton saw Tim Walz on the ticket. You know what he said? He looks like home. Isn't that great?
And he does look like home and I don't think Mr. Trump and his crowd looked like home to anybody.
BURNETT: So, you mentioned -- you mentioned President Clinton, so let me ask you something about that.
So, James, some Democrats have been pushing for Bill Clinton to go in a bus tour for Kamala Harris and that they think that this would be valuable, which by the way, is just interesting considering the woman history with Bill Clinton and all of that context that were now in the world where we could be saying that this could be great for Kamala Harris, but we are. So I'm curious what you think about it. Is it a good idea?
CARVILLE: Well, I think they have a good campaign speech. And are you I think anytime we can use President Clinton it's a good idea in any capacity whether a bus trip is to best use of him. I have no idea.
But he pointed out two most stunning statistic ever since the end of the Cold War, 50 million jobs have been created under Democrats, and 1 million under Republicans. I can't get enough of that statistic. I really can't.
I mean you know, when he's older and you'd have to use him kind of a judiciously I think. But I've -- he would love Joe, he would love to go out and campaign.
BURNETT: So, Paul, Kamala Harris's DNC speech last week, in some ways did sound like Bill Clinton's DNC speech back in 1992 to which you helped right. Here are just a few examples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: My mother had to support us.
HARRIS: It was mostly my mother who raised us.
CLINTON: I am a product of that middle class.
HARRIS: The middle-class is where I come from.
CLINTON: We will give you more incentives and more opportunity than ever before.
HARRIS: We will create what I call an opportunity economy.
CLINTON: Reach out and join us in a great new adventure to chart a bold, new future.
HARRIS: We are charting a new way forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: So do those word echoes resonate to you as someone who helped write the first -- the first speech we're talking about here, Clinton in 1992?
BEGALA: Yeah, very much so. And look, I spent a lot of time with him at the convention last week and he's very impressed with Kamala Harris and how she's conducted herself, but also with that biography. You know, he talked in his speech last week about how she worked at McDonald's.
Now that says a lot about somebody. First off, it's something like one in six Americans, one in eight Americans have worked at a McDonald's, probably one in four in fast-food. It shows a work ethic. It shows a heart for service. It shows that you've probably had to put up with some static from people. It shows that kind of all American drive.
And I do think that's very resonant that you have this child raised by a single mom. The same in many similarities to way President Clinton was raised and that forgotten middle-class is exactly who Kamala Harris had honed in on. And, you know, Donald Trump, God bless him, it's not his fault, but he was driven to his elite private academy in a limousine every day. I think he learned to poop in a gold toilet.
I mean, he is not a guy that comes from the heart of the middle class.
BURNETT: Maybe painted gold toilet.
Final word to you, James.
CARVILLE: Well, I think I care about -- Paul, we'd like to nitpick in second guess everybody and everything. I just don't see anything to nitpick a second guessed about them.
[19:40:02]
I'm sure that, you know to have some rough days ahead. But right now, her poll averages look very improved, a lot of enthusiasm in Democratic Party out there. I think people are determined and ready to go to work. And I think she's leaving us in a good direction.
BURNETT: All right. James, Paul, thanks as always, great to see you.
And next, the breaking news, two major developments on the Trump legal front just crossing here in the past hour or two, the Justice Department trying to revive the Trump classified documents case, which have been left for dead. And Trump's newest attempt at this hour to dismiss the Fani Willis case, which is crucial because if you lose this, it's a state case, no one can pardon you from that. And this time, his efforts may actually work.
And the Russian billionaire founder of the social media platform Telegram behind bars, just hours after he and Putin were in the same foreign country. Is there a connection?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:14]
BURNETT: Breaking news, major developments tonight in two of Donald Trump's criminal cases.
First, special counsel Jack Smith firing back at Judge Aileen Cannon's dismissal of Trump's classified documents case, so finally making a move here and move was this -- Smith arguing in a new filing that Cannon's claim that he lacked constitutional authority for the case was novel and lacked merit. Those are his technical words.
And then there's also tonight another filing in the Fulton County election interference case against Trump, where the former president's lawyers are pushing a new argument to get D.A. Fani Willis off the case. This one could actually work.
So let's go straight to Ryan Goodman, our OUTFRONT legal expert.
Let's start with the federal case, Jack Smith's new filing, which you've had a chance to read through. The case, have gotten dismissed and sort of his weighting. When is he going to respond? When he is going to respond?
So, he finally came out today, all the details are in there. What do you take away from it?
RYAN GOODMAN, JUST SECURITY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: It's a very strong response. I imagined that the 11th Circuit panel will, in fact, overturn Judge Cannon and reinstate him. It's very strong in so many ways. One, it basically says there's a unanimous Supreme Court opinion, United States v. Nixon, which the Supreme Courts said the attorney general kind of point, especially well, prosecutors.
Second, they say this is happened for over a century and that not only is that, but the regulations themselves, the attorney general regulation specifically say that an attorney general should in fact appoint somebody from outside the department, and that's the constitutional question that Judge Cannon raise that yes, the attorney general could do it from an existing Justice Department play, but not somebody outside.
And then the last point they also make is it is nonsensical to have her opinion because her opinion would mean it would be perfectly fine to have appointed Jack Smith in one minute and then the second minute didn't make him special counsel and then everything would be hunky- dory, and that can't be what the Constitution requires.
BURNETT: So you think that obviously very well could overrule her decision and this could move forward. Now, this federal case, so let's just say that happens and Trump loses Biden could pipe pardon him. I don't know that he will, but theoretically, right, somebody could. But that's not the case in the Georgia case because it's a state case, right? And that case could carry significant prison time if it goes ahead.
So I just him setting the stakes on why Georgia matters so much, Trump's lawyers have argued that Willis -- Fani Willis should be removed because of, Ryan, repeated public display of racial animus towards Trump and his co-defendants. What do you think of that?
GOODMAN: So, I think Trump's side actually has a pretty strong argument here. And in fact, it was kind of a close call by the trial court judge, who everybody mostly things is very reasonable judge. And there, from the same allegations in which Fani Willis made a public statement at a church about the claims against her, the judge said, quote, the effect of this speech was to cast racial aspersions at an indicted defendant's decision to file this pretrial motion. The court cannot find that this speech cross the line to the point where the defendants have been denied the opportunity for fundamentally fair trial, or that requires the district attorneys disqualification, but it was legally improper, end quote.
So he could easily imagine a court of appeal says, for us, it did cross the line. We do not want a district attorney standing up and publicly talking about the defendant's claiming that they're racist for their motions in court. That's improper.
And so I do think that this is a good argument that should be making and that there's a good chance that they'll win.
BURNETT: Right, which is obviously again, very significant in the context of if he loses. This was the one that there it'd be no pardon for, and so, it just to put that context on it.
All right. Ryan Goodman, great to see you.
And next, the CEO of a major social media company who has a history with Putin is tonight shockingly and bizarrely under arrest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:53:29]
BURNETT: Tonight, a billionaire entrepreneur who social media app Telegram has 900 million users worldwide is now behind bars.
Pavel Durov, nicknamed Russia's Mark Zuckerberg, was arrested in France as part of a probe and a criminal activity on Telegram. And there are now questions about whether Durov, who claims to have had at least 100 biological children and is seen by some as a Kremlin stooge met with Vladimir Putin just days before he headed to France and was arrested.
And this comes at a pivotal point in the war for Putin, who's on the defensive and his own country and now trying to retaliate in a major way.
Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A close call for these Ukrainian soldiers, filming a missile impacting in a reservoir close by. Part of the massive Russian rocket and drone blitz destroying
Ukrainian energy infrastructure and leaving residents scrambling for safety, some inside the Kyiv subway.
Kyiv says Russia launched more than 120 missiles and more than 100 drones, while many were intercepted, others struck areas across Ukraine.
Putin sticks to his style, Ukraine's president says. He's a sick creature, that's been obvious for a long time. But it's also clear that he can only do what the world allows him to do, weakness, lack of decisions fuel terror.
[19:55:08]
The strikes, possible retaliation for Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region in Russia, and Vladimir Putin's army still appears unable to stop Ukrainian troops advancing there, Kyiv saying their forces are making gains even three weeks into the operation.
And another possible blow for the Russian leader after Putin visited Azerbaijan last week, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France, revealing Durov was in Azerbaijan at the same time as Putin.
The Kremlin quick to claim Putin didn't meet with Durov in Baku.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator): We don't know yet what exactly Durov is accused of. We haven't heard any official statements on this matter yet. And before we say anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer, what exactly are they trying to incriminate Durov with.
PLEITGEN: French media reports Durov's arrest warrant is related to Telegram's alleged failure to moderate content, reportedly facilitating money laundering, drug trafficking, and the spread of pedophilic material on the platform.
Telegram says Durov has nothing to hide.
There have been questions about Pavel Durov's possible relations with the Kremlin. Telegram was once banned in Russia, but that ban was later lifted.
On Moscow streets support for the social media mogul some call the Russian Mark Zuckerberg.
It's connected to the fact that the man sticks to his principles, this man says, and his main prison simple is freedom of speech.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Erin, quite a lot of people in Russia actually pretty up in arms about Pavel Durov's arrest in France, including some pretty high level Russian diplomats. However, French President Emmanuel Macron came out today and denied any notion that this could be politically motivated. He said that Durov was arrested in France as part of a French judicial investigation -- Erin.
BURNETT: Thanks so much, Fred.
And OUTFRONT now, Anastasia Stognei, Russia correspondent for "The Financial Times". She has been covering this story closely.
And, Anastasia, I mean, the story is filled with intrigue, including why Durov was detained and whether he had just seen Putin before this actually happened. What do you know about this very figure in Russia and about his relationship with Vladimir Putin?
ANASTASIA STOGNEI, RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES: Thanks, Erin.
So, as you said, he is very important in Russia because first, he founded Russia's most popular social network, VKontakte, and then he founded telegram, which many Russians, I wouldn't say most, but many Russians to still use and those who use it include Russian military, who connects mostly through Telegram and normal Russians.
So, of course, this is not just brand him use, this is huge news for the whole country. But as you said, the whole story is just puzzling. And not only for the outsiders, for the foreigners, but for those who've been covering closely as well.
So there are many questions. So one of the first questions, as you said, is whether what happened in Azerbaijan, because as we know, Durov was traveling from Azerbaijan to France and he coincided in Azerbaijan with Vladimir Putin. So they were there at the same time and the rumors that the two of them met.
None of the journalists confirm that. And there are Russian journalists who, for the subject, for much longer time than I did they still have no intel. So we have just guesses.
But I guess that's the whole figure of Pavel Durov. We don't know much about him. We tried to learn much, but we don't know.
BURNETT: So there are then these questions from Azerbaijan, he goes to France. He -- there's an arrest for his -- a warrant for arrest for him in France. He knows that. He could have stopped in a lot of other places. And yet he chose to stop and France.
Why do you think he did that?
STOGNEI: That's an amazing question. I wish I knew. I can only guess.
So, I mean, there are so many hypothesis and I want to highlight, I don't know for sure. I don't think anyone except for Pavel Durov knows for sure. I think either it was a way of avoiding something more than jurors or he's trying to prove some point or his he says something in it. I don't know, but it's really hard to believe that he was just caught by surprise.
BURNETT: There's a French security researcher, Robert Baptiste. He's been doing a lot of research on this. He said Durov has been seen in the same place, including Azerbaijan with a 24-year-old who lives in Dubai. What do you know about her, Anastasia?
STOGNEI: Again, just -- just like Pavel Durov, we don't know much about her. So I think her name just appeared in the Russian news headlines only in the connection with the arrest. So she's young. She has account on to Twitch platform where people stream how they playing video games, among other things, and she's rather popular there. She invests in cryptocurrency and to use cryptocurrency and she advocates for cryptocurrency, but this is basically it.
So, also some Russian journalists, even propaganda journalist tried to reach out to her family and they said that she left Russia just two years ago and they maintain no connection with her. So she's the Russia and Russian national, but that's about it. It's unbelievable how little we know about something that they could have such amazingly important strategic implications for Russia and the world.
BURNETT: Thanks so much. Appreciate your time, Anastasia.
And thanks so much to all of you for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
