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Protesters on Capitol Hill Ahead of Netanyahu's Address; Netanyahu to Address Joint Meeting of Congress; Kamala Harris Makes Stop in Indianapolis for Sorority Convention. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 24, 2024 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:30:00]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We move this way and press toward the stage where the speeches are going on, and that's where the crowd kind of gets more dense.

Photojournalist Jonathan O'Beirne and I are going to kind of walk this way as we talk about what's been happening today. A protest organizer took to the stage not long ago and claimed that they have succeeded in blocking about six intersections of D.C. not far from here. They'll tend to block an intersection, get their message across, and then move along. That's the strategy that they're using. So that's been going on, as well as these central protests here at the foot of the Capitol.

Some of the other images we can show you, some very distinctive images are -- I want to stick to feature of this is that there are a lot of protesters here of the Jewish faith. There's a group called Jewish Voice for Peace. They are several hundred strong. They have come down here. You can see their t-shirts here. Several of them were arrested yesterday afternoon in the rotunda of the Capitol.

And we've talked to several of them as well. And I presented to them the question of, the potential ceasefire and how close we are possibly to getting a ceasefire. Well, several members of that group told us that they don't really believe that Benjamin Netanyahu is interested in a ceasefire. Some of them think it's an outright ruse by the prime minister. One of their central messages is they want the U.S. to stop funding Netanyahu's government. And that's what they're trying to get across.

They are here today after being arrested, a couple of hundred of them in the Capitol rotunda yesterday. Again, you've got speeches going on over here, over my right shoulder. Jon is going to kind of -- maybe Jon can raise your camera a little bit and kind of see the breadth of the crowd, very dense crowd up there, and they promise to be here at least through the time that Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Congress. Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it certainly is telling that there are people in a democratic country, the United States, who can use their voice to protest a democratically elected leader in another country and do so in a way that doesn't get them arrested or maybe sometimes, if they're arrested, if they're not breaking -- if they are breaking the law, but not get hurt by the people they are protesting. Thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Joining me now are two people who will be attending Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, Yael and Adi Alexander. Their 20-year-old son, Edan, is an Israeli American who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during their barbaric October 7 attack on Israel. Thank you so much to both of you for being here. I mean, nobody can imagine -- fathom what you have been going through for the last 291 days. Also hard to imagine it's been that long.

You know that there are some members of Congress, mostly Democrats, maybe even all Democrats who are going to boycott this speech, for the most part, not because they don't support the State of Israel, but because they don't support the way that Benjamin Netanyahu is prosecuting the war. You both will be attending. Why is it so important for you to be there? And what do you want to hear specifically from him?

YAEL ALEXANDER, MOTHER OF ISRAELI-AMERICAN HOSTAGE: Basically, I'm hoping to hear him to speak about the hostages and to say to everyone that a deal is coming and it's going to happen soon. Matter of days even, like it's 292 days since the last time I spoke with my son, with Edan, and it's been a torture for us, for the whole family. We are living in this nightmare. We are stuck in October 7 still, like we are doing whatever we can. But as a parent, we still feeling as a failure. Why? Because Edan is not home and we are hoping to hear Benjamin Netanyahu saying today that the deal is going to happen and we are going to start seeing it.

BASH: You were among the families of the hostages who met with the prime minister here in Washington on Monday. Did he say anything that gives you hope?

ADI ALEXANDER, FATHER OF ISRAELI-AMERICAN HOSTAGE: He didn't share any specific information about the deal, but something refreshing was that he talked about a deal that we never heard of him speaking about anything closer to that. He used to speak about winning the war and total victory, and he did spoke a little bit about the deal, but we will try to convey our message to the prime minister that now, it's today -- today. And enough is enough. Hamas lean forward and now, it's our turn to get it over the finish line.

Y. ALEXANDER: And that's why I came to D.C., to the speech, to say it. If he's not going to bring it up, the hostages and the deal, all the trip is a failure.

A. ALEXANDER: To us, it's a complete -- it's a complete failure.

[12:35:00]

BASH: It's hard to imagine he won't talk about the hostages, but the deal is obviously a different story. (inaudible) he is doing everything he can to get this deal? I'm sure you have heard some other family members of hostages have said, like Aviva Siegel have said point blank, they believe that he's dragging his feet on a deal because he's worried that that will mean, ultimately, that he will lose power. Are you there?

A. ALEXANDER: I hope it's a political posture and he is waiting for the right moment. One of those is actually that an Israeli parliament goes on recession tomorrow and they would not be able to shut down the government, so this is my hope. But again, we'll have the opportunity to meet him today and tomorrow after the meeting with President Biden. That will be more intimate meeting with him and with President Biden. And I hope to get some answers.

BASH: What do you hope to hear from President Biden? I mean, you are both American citizens and Israeli citizens. They are both your leaders.

Y. ALEXANDER: Yes. Biden met us. This will be the third --

A. ALEXANDER: Third meeting.

Y. ALEXANDER: -- third time -- the third meeting that he is meeting us, and I know he is really passionate about this. And he told us that this is like his main goal to help to bring the hostages, all the hostages home, and I'm really -- I'm thankful that he send us the invitation to meet him tomorrow with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I think it will be --

A. ALEXANDER: Very productive meeting.

Y. ALEXANDER: -- very productive meeting. I think we'll get answers.

BASH: Your son, Edan, graduated from Tenafly High School in New Jersey in 2022. He didn't go to college. He was waiting. He first went to volunteer in Israel and serve in the IDF.

Y. ALEXANDER: Yes.

BASH: As we end this conversation, what should we know about Edan?

Y. ALEXANDER: We know that he took them -- when they kidnapped Edan, they took him from his post. He was alive, on his legs and when people released from November release, they saw Edan inside the tunnels and they told us about the conversation that they had, and how he was looking and how is like is -- how was he and I'm so grateful for that because, for us, it's a sign of life. And as a mom and dad and his sister and brother, not to know anything, and suddenly to know that Edan is OK and he's waiting.

And you know what? He said to everyone. I'm American; I know that they're going to work and they will release me home. And it's everything for us, you know, to hear it, that Edan is still strong and he's like -- he knows he will come back home.

BASH: Wow, it's -- I know it's important to have that kind of hope and optimism and strength.

Y. ALEXANDER: Yes.

BASH: I can't even imagine how difficult it is. Thank you both for being here. Really appreciate it. Adi and Yael.

A. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Dana.

Y. ALEXANDER: Thank you.

BASH: And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on Capitol Hill. We are about to hear from him and House Speaker Mike Johnson. We are going to take you there after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:43:05]

BASH: We are standing by to hear from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson. This of course will be ahead of Netanyahu's address to Congress in about an hour. It is a speech that has divided lawmakers, about 50 of them have decided not to attend. That includes the Former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. I want to bring my reporters back in on all of this.

David Chalian, talk about the moment we are in right now, with regard to this speech.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, when Speaker Johnson scheduled this speech for Netanyahu to come here, I think if I look at it through politically, you'd like to say all the time, this is "Inside Politics."

(LAUGHTER)

CHALIAN: So I'll look it through the political lens here, but I think it was to continue to drive a wedge between Joe Biden and many in his party who were dissatisfied with his administration's policies as it relates to the Israel-Gaza issue. And I think we find ourselves in a different place right now.

Yes, there are the protests that we've seen and yes, we have members of the Democratic Party boycotting Netanyahu's speech. I'm not sure it is quite as debilitating a moment for the Democrats as it had been previously around this issue, maybe due to the change of the ticket. Kamala Harris has sounded slightly different notes on this topic. What I find fascinating is Netanyahu's ability over decades to inject himself into American politics, into big American political moments.

I mean, he's about to meet with Biden tomorrow after he addresses Congress, and Kamala Harris, and then go meet with Donald Trump, all in this one huge American political week. This is a man who understands how to sort of play the American political media game.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: I mean, the political director knows things about politics. (Inaudible).

(LAUGHTER)

MATTINGLY: I'm actually -- to David's point, just so much dynamics have changed. I think people are -- have accepted where some Democrats are going to be. I think four dozen at this point in time, they've accepted the very complicated nature of this for this administration, particularly on the political side.

[12:45:00]

I think David's right, and you've seen the vice president strike rhetorically different notes, but on a policy side, is very much supported where the president is on this. Will meet privately with the prime minister when she returns from her campaign event. The speech itself, I'm fascinated. I cannot stress how important this moment is for the prime minister who has so often found himself in the middle of American political battles in terms of how people in this country view the State of Israel going forward, not everybody, but there are a segment of people right now who want to hear something specific. And he, as we know and as he's demonstrated in the past, can take things very different ways.

BASH: And he's been there for so long that the view of the State of Israel and the view of Benjamin Netanyahu which a lot of people, particularly in Congress, used to be able to separate --

MATTINGLY: Yes.

BASH: -- are now -- it's now conflated, which is why you have a lot of very senior members of the Democratic Party saying they're not going to go. The interesting dynamic is among many of them who are going, who do try to separate --

SEUNG MIN KIM, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Right.

BASH: -- support for the notion of a Jewish State of Israel, and concern and opposition to many of Benjamin Netanyahu's policies. Let's listen to some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETE AGUILAR, (D-CA): I think members are going to make their own decision. I personally will be there. I'm looking forward to the prime minister's address, even if I disagree with some policies that the government is putting forward.

REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN, (D-MI): I've been open about my feelings about Bibi Netanyahu and that I don't agree with how he is prosecuting parts of this war. I am going to go. That doesn't mean I agree. And I hope to hear some sort of plan from Prime Minister Netanyahu on how we get from where we are to a better place.

BASH: I want to quickly move over to the former president. You mentioned him, David. This is so classic Donald Trump, something that he put on his social media platform yesterday. It's a handwritten note to Mahmoud Abbas, who is the head of the PA, the Palestinian Authority.

"Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good, best wishes. Donald Trump."

MIN KIM: What does that mean?

(LAUGHTER)

MIN KIM: And it is such a such a way of how he has conducted his foreign policy and how he has kind of sketched out his foreign policy while he's been a candidate again, and certainly when he was at the White House, when it -- for example, like when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, he'll just say, well, the war will end when I'm back in office without really laying out a comprehensive, detailed plan as to how he would do that.

And if you recall it, much earlier this year, while President Biden was taking so many political arrows when it came to the Israel issue, President Trump was actually staying pretty quiet. He wasn't really laying out what he would do in this particular conflict. So what that means, I don't really know. I don't know if you guys know.

(LAUGHTER)

CHALIAN: We should know it was in response -- the letter from the boss was --

BASH: Yeah.

CHALIAN: -- after the assassination attempt.

BASH: Yes.

CHALIAN: -- expressing to Donald Trump --

BASH: Sure.

CHALIAN: -- concern and denouncing political violence of this kind. It's just that Trump took that letter and turned it into a public display of his ability, his belief that he's the one that's going to be able to play peacemaker is, as you said, classic Donald Trump.

MATTINGLY: And that he posted it -- he is front running the meeting with the prime minister exactly.

BASH: Right.

MATTINGLY: -- who he does not have a good relationship with.

BASH: Right.

MATTINGLY: At all at this point, despite the administration, and like the gamesmanship there, I think --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: There is so many layers, so many layers of the classic Donald Trump headline that went with that. Thank you, guys.

Up next, Americans haven't seen a speech like the one they will see tonight in more than 50 years. We are going to preview President Biden's address to the nation tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:53:20]

BASH: We are going to go now to Kamala Harris speaking live at a meeting of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated at their annual boule. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he will talk about not only the work, the extraordinary work that he has accomplished, but about his work in the next six months. And so before he does and while I'm here with you, I want to just share with you a little bit about him based on what I know, based on personal experience.

Joe Biden is a leader with bold vision. He cares about the future. He thinks about the future. He has extraordinary determination and profound compassion for the people of our country. And I say that because I know that we are all deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: -- and to the sisters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: I thank you for your incredible service to our nation as well. You know, I know who we all are. I know who is here and I know, therefore, that we share a vision for the future of our nation, a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead, a future of social justice, health justice, economic justice. Just as you have laid out in this year's theme, ours is a vision of a future in which we realize the promise of America.

[12:55:00]

And I deeply believe in the promise of America, a promise of freedom, opportunity and justice, not for some, but for all. And for generations, the finer women of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated have fought to build that brighter future. During the civil rights movement, you marched for voting rights, economic justice, and an end to segregation.

For more than 50 years, you have worked with the March of Dimes to lift up the urgent issue of maternal health. And from the 1980s, you inaugurated Zeta Days and I will tell you, when I was a United States Senator, I would see this group of powerful leaders walking through the halls of Congress in white and blue, and I always knew I was looking at some of the most powerful advocates for justice in America.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: Truly. And of course, your leadership continued in 2020, when during the height of the pandemic, you helped elect Joe Biden president of the United States and me as the first woman vice president of the United States.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: And I thank you. And now, in this moment, our nation needs your leadership once again. In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past. And with your support, I am fighting for our nation's future. And let us be clear about what that future looks like. I know the leaders in this room and I know the future we believe in and we fight for.

We here believe in a future where, for example, everyone has affordable health care --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: -- which is why our administration capped the cost of insulin for our seniors at $35 a month.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: We believe in a future where no child has to grow up in poverty, which is why I helped pass the Child Tax Credit which cut child poverty in half and cut black child poverty even more.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: We believe in a future where the economy works for working people, that is why we forgave student loan debt for more than $5 million Americans.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: And if you or anyone, you know, benefited from that, please testify --

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And we are finally making it, so that medical debt can no longer be used against your credit score.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: And it is because of our collection vision for the future that we continue to fight for affordable child care, affordable elder care, and paid family leave.

(APPLAUSE) HARRIS: We here believe in a future where all women and all mothers are safe. That is why as vice president, I have elevated and took on the issue of maternal mortality, knowing that women in America die at a higher rate in connection with childbirth than women in any other wealthy nation in the world. And black women are three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth. And for too long, this has been a crisis in our country and it is time that we recognize the crisis it is.

In fact, when I took office, I challenged every state in our nation on this issue because you see, I said, look, we need to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from a measly two months to a full year.