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Harris Picks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz As Running Mate; J.D. Vance: Gov. Walz Pick "Highlights How Radical Kamala Harris Is"; Pelosi: "I Had Nothing To Do" With Biden Dropping Re-election Bid". Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 06, 2024 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:32:33]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Governor Tim Walz has racked up a long list of progressive wins in Minnesota. It's something that he has been bragging about over the past two weeks while campaigning for the VP slot.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): Our folks are investing in prenatal care. We're the ones that are there for universal pre-K. We're the ones that are providing school meals. We're making it more affordable to have children by having paid family medical leave so that you can go home when your kids are sick and take care of them. Or if you're a dad, I don't have to go right back to work five days later after my wife had a C-section because our insurance wouldn't pay for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips joins me now to dive into Tim Walz, someone you know quite well. Thank you so much for being here. I just want to show our viewers something that you put on social media this morning. "Tim Walz can fix a lawnmower, fire a cannon, and fiercely protect women's freedoms. All in one day."

You've known him for years. You've called him a mentor in the past. What should people know about what he will bring to the ticket?

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): Well, thanks, Dana. I am, first of all, let me say, I am so excited today. One month ago, it looked like Democrats were going to lose in a landslide, probably lose the Senate, not recapture the House. And it was like a funeral real culture in Washington.

Turn up the clock to now, and it is extraordinary what is going on. And I am excited. Tim Walz is a gentleman, competent, common sense, school teacher, national guardsman, and someone who just is a decent, outstanding guy. And I'm thrilled for him. I'm thrilled for Vice President Harris.

And, frankly, I'm just excited for the country. Those who might say that his work in Minnesota was uber liberal, I would say it's just downright normal. And I'm excited that his successes in our home state might now become the new normal in America, which is just taking basic care of children and families, our planet.

And Minnesota's a state that works. So I'm just thrilled that we're going to have somebody on this ticket that I think is going to really transform politics at a time that we need someone to express some decency and compassion and, frankly, some normalness. And that's what this country is demanding more than anything else.

BASH: You did run for president on the Democratic -- for the Democratic nomination back when President Biden was running. And when you did, you centered your campaign about bringing the whole country and bringing politics back to the middle.

[12:35:00]

Yes, you say what he is pushing is normal. But how do you think his record, his approach, his personality even, should be used strategically around the country, particularly in the states, the battleground states, that Kamala Harris needs to win in order to be in the White House?

PHILLIPS: Well, I've long thought, Dana, that Democrats have to start refocusing on the breadbasket of America, the Midwest, the central states, the plains. And there's no better messenger than Tim Walz, born in Nebraska, represented a deep red farming community in Southern Minnesota. He understands the issues, the challenges, the culture. And I think this is a grand opportunity for Democrats to reintroduce ourselves to much of America that has lost sight of what we stand for and what we represent.

And I have to also say when AOC and Joe Manchin are both celebrating this pick, I think that says a lot about Tim Walz who really embodies I think the best of America. And that's the beautiful story. Of course, he will be politicized. Of course, he'll be positioned as an uber progressive.

But the fact is, if you look at his record in Congress, if you look at his common sense approach to things, I think people are going to be awfully, awfully pleased at his decency and competency.

BASH: Before I let you go, as a Jewish member of Congress, I do want to ask you about the backlash within the progressive movement against Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania when it became very clear that he was a leading candidate to be Kamala Harris's vice presidential pick, particularly given the fact that Josh Shapiro's positions, his policy positions on the Middle East, on the war in Gaza, on Benjamin Netanyahu, and even about the way campus protests should and should not go, seem to be almost identical to that of Tim Walz.

PHILLIPS: And Dana, I'm concerned, and I would call on Vice President Harris and Governor Walz to prioritize the removal of anti-Semites from this party. There are some. I think we also have to be mindful of creating space and place for those who object to the leadership in Israel from the support of the state of Israel. I know Governor Walz supports Israel. I've spoken to him about it, his record. I surely supports that. But to all the viewers watching right now, there is anti-Semitism on both sides of the aisle, both are dangerous, and neither party can give space or place to that perspective.

Josh Shapiro is an outstanding governor, I would have loved to seen him as the VP as well. I don't think this decision was entirely predicated on religion, I hope it wasn't. But at the end of the day, anti-Semitism is real, and I have great faith in Vice President Harris and Tim Walz to acknowledge that and remove it from the national discourse because we are paying attention.

That means members of Congress and Americans on both sides of the aisle have to recognize that this is a really dangerous and uncomfortable time for America's Jewish community and the world Jewish community.

BASH: Thank you so much, Congressman Phillips. I really appreciate you joining me today.

PHILLIPS: Anytime, Dana. Thanks so much.

BASH: Thank you.

And coming up, a national co-chair of the Harris campaign, Mitch Landrieu, will be here to talk about why Walz, and what it means for their campaign strategy. Don't go anywhere.

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[12:43:04]

BASH: Welcome back. The Republican vice presidential pick just spoke about the new addition to the Democratic ticket. Listen to what he said.

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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Tim Walz's record is a joke. He's been one of the most far left radicals in the entire United States government at any level. But I think that what Tim Walz's selection says is that Kamala Harris has bent the knee to the far left of her party, which is what she always does.

Kamala Harris listened to the Hamas wing of the party. She selected Tim Walz, a guy who wants to ship more manufacturing jobs to China, who wants to give illegal aliens' driver's license, and who wants to make the fentanyl crisis that we just heard about so much worse because he refuses to do his job, and actually make it easier for American citizens and not illegal aliens to live a good life.

So I think what it says is that Kamala Harris is running as a San Francisco liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Joining me now is the national co-chair of the now Harris-Walz campaign, Mitch Landrieu. Thank you so much for being here. I'm going to give you a chance --

MITCH LANDRIEU, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIRMAN: It's great to be with you.

BASH: -- to respond to what you just heard from Senator Vance.

LANDRIEU: J.D. Vance is not real. J.D. Vance is not ready. And for a guy that's got a fetish for cats, I mean, you can't listen to anything that comes out of his mouth. Tim Walz, America's going to fall in love with Tim Walz. He's a real deal guy. He actually has experience. J.D. Vance has none of it.

He grew up on a farm, he was a history teacher, he was a football coach, and they won the state championship. He has been a veteran of the United States of America. He ran in a congressional district that Republicans used to hold, which means that he has to figure out a way how to cross across party lines.

And then, of course, as governor, he's got an excellent record. So he actually has something to talk about in his life, and J.D. Vance doesn't. And I think the Vice President -- and he share the values of wanting to fight hard for working families. That's what their records will show.

Of course, J.D. Vance and Donald Trump will say anything, and mostly when their lips are moving, they're lying. So we're ready to go.

[12:45:04]

BASH: Let's talk about strategy here. The -- it's hard to look at the map and see a way for Kamala Harris and now Tim Walz to win the White House without winning Pennsylvania. Do you think Tim Walz can do that? And how so? Which -- what kind of voters is he going to try to appeal to there?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, I don't think it's a surprise or unclear to anybody that there are certain states that are in play and other states that are not. There are seven swing states. And I think also that you have to not only secure your base, you have to secure the middle as well.

You couldn't have picked a better person to actually do that, whether it's in Pennsylvania, Michigan or in any other states that are in play. I mean, how many tickets have had somebody on it that actually grew up on a farm, that actually taught, that actually was a veteran? He checks all of those boxes.

He is a very common sense guy that brings people together and gets things done. That is really pretty much his entire life. And that's why I think the Vice President looked at him and said, we share values because our mission here is to fight for working families. And they have a great record to do that. The other side is going to try to paint them as extreme. They already occupy that space on the farthest (ph) of the far right in the country. And I think the middle is available. And I think Tim Walz is going to help us do that.

BASH: And what about the -- we've heard it from J.D. Vance now twice already today, and we've only known about this for, I don't know, four hours or so, that he -- that by putting this pic out there, that Kamala Harris is kowtowing to the Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.

Now, I should note that Tim Walz is not exactly, you know, he is somebody who also has some problems with people who are on the far, far left and are supporters of -- or against the war in Israel, I should say. But that is certainly a theme that we heard from J.D. Vance that we're hearing from a lot of Republicans and will continue to.

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, they're going to say whatever they think that they have to. And they are -- they have a distant relationship with the truth and with the facts. Kamala Harris has said many, many, many times that she reiterates our support for Israel and how important that is. Tim Walz has done the same thing.

Both of them have also spoken forcefully about October 7th. Both of them have spoken out about Hamas. Both of them have continued to understand the commitment that we have and spoke out, by the way, against anti-Semitism in a very, very, very strong way. That's who they are.

And they can say whatever they want about Tim Walz, but it's hard to paint a guy who's from the Midwest that is pro-gun and that actually does the things that he does and has gotten as much done as he's done as far left. And oh, by the way, I just noticed that Joe Manchin, my buddy actually came out for him too. So if you can unite the left and Joe Manchin, it sounds like you've hit the target where you need to.

BASH: How do you believe that the campaign should utilize Tim Walz? Sort of, you know, looking ahead to -- I know this just happened, but obviously you guys have been planning this for a long time, 16 days at least, but how do you expect the campaign or what do you want the campaign to be doing in terms of utilizing him to achieve what you just laid out?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, he and the Vice President share the values of fighting for working families. That's essentially what it is. And you want somebody who's got common sense, who can bring people together, who can get things done. That's Tim Walz's whole life. He's been a patriot since the time that he's been a young kid.

BASH: So where are you going to send him?

LANDRIEU: So he will -- so he -- well, he's going to go everywhere. We have seven battleground states. This is not a secret. That's where everybody is going to be playing because you have to make sure that, again, in terms of the electoral college, you win. And my best guess is that he is going to be crisscrossing, and he's actually going to be doing this with the Vice President this week, all of those battleground states, and we're going to continue to do that over and over. Remember, even before 16 days ago, we told you that we had thousands of offices across all of these battleground states.

We built this campaign so that it would be an on the ground campaign. We knew that it was going to be close. It's going to continue to be close, and it's going to be a razor thin election. We knew that, and we're going to get to work, and he's going to put his shoulder to the wheel and help make it happen.

BASH: Mitch Landrieu, thank you so much for coming on today. I appreciate it.

LANDRIEU: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Nice to see you.

We're going to be right back.

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[12:53:59]

BASH: Welcome back. I had a chance last night to speak with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Erin Burnett Out Front. We talked about her new book out today called," The Art of Power." We also discussed what role she played in persuading President Biden to abandon his reelection bid. She claims she didn't have one.

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BASH: The lawmakers who came out one, two, three are some of the lawmakers who are closest to you. Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, Zoe Lofgren, with statements saying that they respectfully thought it was time for the President to step aside. I've had people say to me, and I just, as a longtime observer of you, thought, oh, wow, those are all Pelosi allies. You had nothing to do with that?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: I have hundreds of allies in the Congress of the United States.

BASH: Oh, I know. But they're among the closest to you.

PELOSI: Yes. No, I had nothing to do with that.

BASH: OK.

PELOSI: And if you ask them, it's almost insulting to them because they're formidable figures in the Congress of the United States. They make their own judgment and their own statement.

[12:55:00]

BASH: Have you spoken to President Biden since he dropped out? PELOSI: No, I have not.

BASH: Do you hope to?

PELOSI: Yes, when -- I hope to.

BASH: Yes.

PELOSI: We're all busy.

[12:55:00]

BASH: Is everything OK with your relationship?

PELOSI: You'd have to ask him, but I hope so.

BASH: OK.

PELOSI: But he knows. Look, I have loved Joe Biden, respected him for over 40 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: She also said that she would be very excited to have really any of the vice presidential contenders to be on the ticket, but especially so Tim Walz, who of course was picked this morning. Pelosi served with Walz for 12 years in the House.

Thank you so much for joining INSIDE POLITICS today. "CNN NEW CENTRAL" starts after a break.