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Inside Politics
Mideast Braces As Israel, Hezbollah Exchanges Strikes; This Week: Harris Hit The Trail For New Phase Of Race; As DNC Dust Settles, Democrats Hard Work Just Beginning. Democrats Bullish on Senate Amid Delicate Dance with Harris; Schumer, Peters Predict Abortion Will Drive Turnout in Fall; Dems Try to Flip Script, Talk Tough and Blame Trump on Border; Comedian Brings Impersonations of Harris, Trump, Obama to DNC. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired August 25, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: -- a high surf advisory there.
[08:00:01]
You could see some of that surf getting up to about seven to 12 feet. So, still pretty high amounts there, just not quite as high as the big island. And even as Hone continues to now from this point on, starting to move away from the island, we have a couple more systems back behind it. Gilma is going to get awfully close to the big island as well, but skirt along the northern side. So, we'll keep a close eye on that one in the coming days as well.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you.
And thank you for being with us as we covered breaking news coverage of Israel and Hezbollah and Iran trading strikes. The coverage continues straight ahead on INSIDE POLITICS WITH MANU RAJU.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MANU RAJU, CNN HOST (voice-over): Inch by inch.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America, we are not going back.
RAJU: As the race enters its next phase --
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Should I get personal?
RAJU: Will Harris get a bump?
OPRAH WINFREY, CELEBRITY TV HOST: We can't wait to leave here and do something.
RAJU: Or can Trump take back the momentum, while an escalation Israel and Lebanon raises alarm in the U.S.? Plus, reality check.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): This is manna from heaven.
RAJU: We go one on one with Democratic leaders.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): I'm very confident we're going to have 50 seats.
RAJU: They're bullish on November. But is the map too difficult for them to overcome?
SCHUMER: We know how to reach average voters.
RAJU: And hearing voices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the middle of a sad speech. It's a horrible day.
RAJU: The comic, who's gone viral for his impersonations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, first of all, let me just say it is great to be with you.
RAJU: INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (on camera): Good morning. Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. I'm Manu Raju.
Welcome to the next phase of the campaign. They are now just 72 days until the election. And in just two weeks, some voters in North Carolina will begin receiving mail in ballots. And the next presidential debate is on September 10th, and before the end of next month, half a dozen more states will have kicked off in-person early voting.
Now, the big question at this moment, will this race emerge as a neck and neck slog across key battlegrounds, or where Kamala Harris capitalize on her party's star studded convention last week and keep her momentum going?
But, first, news from the Middle East this morning, with Israel saying it launched preemptive strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hezbollah launching a barrage of rockets into Israel.
And for more, we're joined by Nic Robertson, who is live for us from Tel Aviv.
Nic, how much concern is there at this moment about this spiraling into a larger regional conflict? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It remains a very
real concern. And it didn't cross that trigger threshold, the so- called red lines. Last night, it appears Hezbollah claimed to have targeted Israeli military sites. There have been no reports of big casualties or any casualties in Israel. The IDF isn't giving details on the strikes that happened, but they are also downgrading a little bit their early assessment preemptive they say initially because they thought they were going to be targeted by thousands of missiles. Now they say that was probably hundreds of missiles.
So within that sort of spectrum of does this particular incident overnight last night trigger a wider escalation? I think we're in a moment of pause, and the attention really does turn, therefore, to those talks in Cairo. And can they at least bring some agreement or get the sides closer around the conflict in Gaza?
It's not clear that that's going to happen, but absolutely, this country, I think last night and early this morning experienced the real possibility that that escalation could be around the corner. And let's not forget that some of Hezbollah's other friendly Iranian proxies in the region, like the Houthis, are praising Hezbollah for their attack and also promising that they will have an attack on Israel as well.
So both sides looking at what happened. But I think at the moment pause on that escalate potential escalation, focus on the talks.
RAJU: All right. Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thank you for the report, the latest on the ground there in Israel. Thanks for that.
And my panel is here with me to discuss all of this. And the political campaign as well, "The Wall Street Journal's" Molly Ball, "Reuters'" Jeff Mason, Cleve Wootson of "The Washington Post", and Marianna Sotomayor, also of "The Washington Post".
So before we turn to the political, everything that's happened in the past week and the fallout, Jeff, just what is your -- what are you hearing from the administration about the concerns about what we are hearing from Nic on the ground about the potential of this conflict in between Israel and Hezbollah spiraling out of control, getting into a larger war in the Middle East? Sure.
JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Well, I think Nic said it rightly. The concerns are there and the concerns are real.
[08:05:03]
I'm told that the Situation Room was monitoring this all night at the White House, that Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, kept President Biden up to date on it. He's on vacation right now in California that in general, there they are taking or they are interpreting this now to be over, and Hezbollah has said that it does not plan to launch additional strikes, that there weren't any major casualties on the Israeli side, but that the U.S. is also not standing down in terms of moving any of its assets that are in the region away. So they're ready and will continue to support Israel. But at least at
this point there, I mean, there are concerns about escalation, but that this particular conflict appears to be, for the moment, finished.
RAJU: Yeah, and look, I mean, obviously, it's another example of just what happens overseas. Can sometimes change what's happening on the ground and the debate here in Washington, we'll see what happens on the campaign trail.
And speaking of the campaign trail, just to assess everything that's happened in the past week, there's also news this morning, something that Jeff also reported last week about the first report, about the money that Kamala Harris has been raising. It is just a staggering clip this morning in the in the aftermath of her joining the campaign last month, they raised $540 million since the launch, clearly trying to keep this momentum going.
They're headed to southern Georgia this week. There's going to be a bus tour with Harris and Walz. There's going to have a tour, a rally in Savannah on Thursday. Trump and Vance are heading to the rust belt states, going to Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Cleve, you cover the Harris campaign. What are you hearing about? Look, they had obviously have had a strong month.
CLEVE WOOTSON, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Yeah.
RAJU: Things are going to get a lot harder, though. So what is their strategy in this next phase of the campaign?
WOOTSON: Well, the strategy is to just keep it going, right? But I think there's two things that are happening. One, the debate which was mentioned earlier, but also, you really can't overstate the importance of this interview that she's going to do the first interview unscripted, on teleprompter.
She's not going to see the questions that are coming ahead of her. Remember her? The first year of her tenure was largely defined by a bad interview. And so, I think both her opponents and her allies are going to be watching to see how she handles this.
RAJU: Yeah, I mean, that's going to be really I mean, this is this campaign is going to get a lot harder for her.
MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Yeah. I think the feeling is that the convention opened the door, but now she has to lock down the people who have maybe decided to give her a look, right?
I think the convention was about putting her over that threshold of believability. All of the optics of that speech, right? The dark suit, the wood paneling, the flags, it was all about the sense of sort of gravitas and seriousness.
She needs to -- she needs, you know, those undecided voters who may not have initially been open to her candidacy to see her as a serious candidate who is presidential and who is ready to walk into that job. But I think for a lot of those voters, they are they may be open to her candidacy, but she hasn't necessarily sealed the deal.
So I think Cleve is exactly right, it's those unscripted appearances that have the potential to either convince or put off those voters, and it's hearing more about these policy plans, she did start to lay out an agenda in her convention address, but it was much more about goals and values than it was about specifics. And I think a lot of people want to hear more about that as well.
RAJU: Yeah, it's really been light on policy. This whole campaign, both Trump and Harris, and Harris, as you mentioned, more values, more how we're different than Donald Trump and how they went after Donald Trump, which was notable about some of the way they tried to poke fun at Donald Trump or try to undercut his credibility through the course of the campaign. Curse of the convention. Just a taste of what some of the speakers said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day. Now, from a neighbor, that's exhausting. From a president, it's just dangerous.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won't go away.
HARRIS: Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You were in Chicago this week. What was your takeaway about that strategy and just about the way the convention?
MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Yeah, I mean, look at how Democrats have changed. Obviously, 2016, you had Michelle Obama saying we're going to go high when the Republicans go low.
2020, Biden would really never mention Trump by name. He really tried to make it focus on the issues.
Now this campaign is all Trump, Trump, Trump, look at Trump. He's weird right?
So, we've seen this evolution among Democrats just trying to take Trump, the MAGA movement head on. And I have to say, you know, there was that enthusiasm. But the Harris campaign is very aware that this hope, this feeling of hope and change that many Democrats were saying they felt from the Obama era has come back through Harris.
[08:10:09] They know that that doesn't necessarily move those disaffected voters, and those are the people that they're trying to turn out. And it's something -- it's part of their strategy to go to southern Georgia, because it's interesting hearing them say, you know, we know we're going to lose some of these areas, but we want to lose less.
And that is exactly what I hear from those very moderate swing district House Democrats in the midterms. We have to go to those areas where we know we're going to lose because it is very Republican. But if we can peel off some voters, that's going to make the difference to make sure that we can get reelected.
RAJU: Yeah. It's -- go ahead.
WOOTSON: It's also interesting just sort of the casual dismissal of Trump, like it's very rare for us to be able to compare two Democratic campaigns in the same cycle, right? But with Biden, it was existential threat and dour and very strong worded and with Harris, as Marianna said, it's weird, it's different. It's not like us and all that stuff.
And so, the thought is that they sort of take him down a peg by saying, you've seen this playbook before. You understand what Trump is and as Kamala Harris was saying, that he's unserious, unserious, and so they shouldn't take him seriously.
RAJU: Yeah, it's an interesting shift in strategy, a very subtle shift as well.
And meanwhile, Trump is obviously trying to stop the momentum from Harris out of the convention announcing this endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the race as an independent candidate. So what is actually does that mean for this election?
Just to look at the Pew Research poll that tested how Kennedy voters, how they have shifted over from July to August, 39 percent of Kennedy voters from July to August became Harris supporters. And it says, actually, it should be 20 percent of Donald Trump stick were Donald Trump supporters.
So it just shows that the more -- that Trump has more to gain with this Kennedy endorsement than with now that he's gotten behind him. But is that enough to change the dynamic of this race?
BALL: Well, we do see that in polls in a lot of these swing states that Trump has consistently done better in that two person head to head. So at least in the hypothetical, it does help him when there's not that third option on the ballot. It does also help Harris a little bit, as you say, because some of those were the proverbial double haters that were just looking for a place to park their vote because they didn't like the two candidates in the major parties. And that's why his vote share went down so much when Joe Biden dropped out, was because a lot of those third party voters were people who didn't like Biden or Trump.
But the feeling of a lot of Democrats that I spoke to at the convention while this was all happening, while we were hearing that RFK was in the process of getting ready to drop out, was that they didn't they weren't too worried about it, in part because they see him as part of this weird narrative.
They see him as sort of a kook, right? He's an anti-vaxxer with a brain worm who supported all kinds of conspiracy theories. And so, they -- a lot of Democrats say, you know, we don't want him in our coalition. We want to be able to say those types of voters who believe those types of weird things, they belong with Trump.
RAJU: And very quickly, is the Harris campaign -- they really engaged on this issue a whole lot. Is that a -- is that a risk by not engaging about this?
MASON: They say they're not worried, and they and they say that's basically because she has already changed the equation that the voters that, as molly was rightly saying, were a risk of going to him are now coming over to her.
Yeah. We shall see. Up next, the top Democratic pollster joins us. We'll ask her if Harris will get that fabled convention bump, and a comedian was roaming the halls of last week's convention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, first of all, let me just say it is great to be with you. It's about bridging that gap between red states and blue states and showing CNN that these are these United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:18:20]
RAJU: So just how big of a bump will Kamala Harris get out of the convention? And will it last?
There's no question that over the past month, Harris has rebuilt the coalition that was fraying under Joe Biden. But what about independents and those in swing states who think her politics are too liberal? And will the enthusiasm we saw in Chicago last week be enough in November?
Well, we have someone who can help answer some of these questions. And that's Celinda Lake, who is one of the Democratic Party's top pollsters, and of course, is knee deep in all the numbers.
Celinda, thanks for joining me.
CELINDA LAKE, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: Thank you for having me.
RAJU: I really appreciate it. So you're obviously a veteran of all these of these past conventions. There have been bounces in past conventions just to remind viewers about what it typically looks like.
There was not a bump back in 2020. That was the COVID year. Was it obviously a different type of convention back then? But Clinton, Hillary Clinton in 2016, about a seven-point bump out of her convention. So Trump did plus six, and then Obama, Romney small bump. Obama had a little bit of a bigger bump back in 2008.
How do you see this moment? Is Harris's support already baked in, or does she have significant room to grow?
LAKE: I think she has room to grow, but it's a very polarized race. It's going to be very close in some ways. She already got the bounce before she even went into the convention.
RAJU: Lots of Democrats were worried about, right?
LAKE: Right.
RAJU: I mean, maybe that's -- maybe that's the peak?
LAKE: Well, I don't know if it's the peak, but it's the consolidation. And I think Democrats came out very, very energized. So we're going to see base turnout totally different in the amount. It's illustrated by the number of volunteers, shifts, and the amount of money raised, 40 percent of it from new donors. So that's already a bounce.
[08:20:00]
But it's going to be a fight for independence. It's going to be a fight for white, non-college educated women. It's going to be a fight for Latino men. And she's doing well with them right now.
RAJU: But where are her soft spots right now? All right. We talked about some of them. Just look at the numbers here. Black voters under 30, Hispanic women. Those are all Harris has an advantage over Trump, some to bigger margins than some others.
Over 65, though, Harris is struggling 43 to 57. That is according to CBS/YouGov poll.
What explains that?
LAKE: Well, it was interesting. The coalition has shifted a little bit and older voters more resistant toward a woman, more resistant toward an African-American woman, more resistant if they don't know where the candidate stands. Older voters were more favorable toward Biden's position on the war in Gaza. So it's kind of a wait and see.
RAJU: But you also know you noted that there's some concern about women voters in particular, some non-college educated women voters in the suburbs. Is that where another key concern of Harris's at this moment?
LAKE: Well, I think the key to winning for any Democrat is to win women by more than you lose men. So we've got to pick up these women who are sitting in undecided like what they see, want change, but are worried there's good change and there's bad change. RAJU: Yeah. And look, one of the questions too is about whether or
not this is -- whether or not Harris can make the case of being a change candidate versus what Trump is trying to do, trying to paint her as the de facto incumbent, being the vice president over the last four years.
This is what Trump said in Glendale, Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The big message from their convention was that we need to turn the page from the failures of the last four years. Do you believe it? They forgot. They've run it for the last four years.
She was saying last night, we will stop the abuse. We will stop the high taxes. I said that you could have done it three and a half years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: So this is just what the CBS/YouGov poll said about whether voters see Biden and Harris as the same, similar, but not exactly alike, according to this poll. Mostly the same as Joe Biden, but not entirely, 64 percent of voters. Is that a concern for the Harris campaign?
LAKE: No, I think actually, I'm amazed at the number of voters who say, I want to take a look. I don't assume they were the same. And she has the benefit of people thinking she was in the room so she knows what she's doing.
But she has a very different background. She's a new person. She has a new direction, and I want to see what she's proposing. So voters are remarkably open to seeing what is she proposing, what's she offering? And I'm surprised it is true as much as it is.
RAJU: But when you look at just -- I mean, if you are, you know, you're looking at the numbers, you're diving into everything right now. What does Harris need to do with which part of the electorate in order to win in November? What is your biggest concern right now?
LAKE: I would say she needs to do three things, and she's doing all of them. One, she needs to introduce herself. It's a race she's not that well known with.
RAJU: Even after the convention.
LAKE: Even after the convention, although the convention had record high viewership and she did a lot, she's got to build on that.
And Trump is obviously trying to define her. Trump has already defined everybody knows what he's like, so it's a race to define her.
Secondly, she's got to establish an economic profile and she just launched an economic ad and she has the money to, you know, spell out her program. She said, I'm in touch with what you're feeling. She said she's going to take on price gouging. She says the middle class need a tax break, not another tax break for the wealthy people.
And then she needs to maximize turnout. And she's already well on her way to doing that. Democrats and core constituencies wildly enthusiastic about her.
RAJU: We'll see if she can deal with those first two questions in the next 72 days. Celinda Lake, thank you so much for joining me and sharing your insight. Really appreciate it.
LAKE: Thank you for having me.
RAJU: Absolutely.
And coming up, I caught up with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on what impact Harris will have down ticket, including in critical red states they need to win to keep their razor thin majority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You don't think it's a mistake that he hasn't endorsed her?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:28:38]
RAJU: Facing one of the worst maps in years, Democrats in the Senate will likely need to run the table in November in order to simply keep the Senate at 5050. And that includes in red states like Ohio and Montana.
So what does having Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket mean for their chances? While several Democrats in swing Senate states races took the stage at the DNC last week, others stayed away, including Ohio's Sherrod Brown, Montana's Jon Tester and purple state Democrat Jacky Rosen of Nevada. On the final day of the DNC, Tester even told reporters in Montana that he did not plan to endorse a candidate for president at all.
Now in Chicago, I caught up with two top Senate Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and the head of the Senate Democratic campaign arm, Gary Peters, to talk about what Harris means for their most difficult races.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: What does Kamala Harris do for red states like in Ohio and Montana?
SCHUMER: Look, the bottom line is we'll have a great Democratic program. She knows what average people think about.
Look at the brilliance of putting forward this $25,000 break for first time home buyers, 25 to 40 year olds who are doing pretty well. But one of their biggest problems is they still rent. And while they can afford the monthly mortgage payment, they can't afford the down payment.
This is manna from heaven. Sherrod Brown will campaign on that. Jon Tester --
RAJU: Tester hasn't even endorsed her yet.
SCHUMER: He doesn't. He's going to talk about issues that they both care about.
RAJU: You don't think it's a -- you don't think it's -- you don't think it's a mistake that he hasn't endorsed her.
SCHUMER: I leave it to Jon Tester. He's going to win. He knows Montana better than anybody else.
RAJU: Jon Tester has not endorsed Kamala Harris. Is that a mistake?
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): He knows how to run his race. he knows what's best for Montana. You know, I'm going to let him make decisions on all the stuff that he does, whether its endorsements are on issues. He's there representing the people of Montana.
RAJU: I mean, you have at least three of your Democratic incumbents, vulnerable members who were not here. I mean Tester, Brown, Jacky Rosen. Is that a good idea to keep their distance from the top of the ticket?
PETERS: I don't -- wouldn't take it as that they just believe that they should be in their state campaigning.
RAJU: So do you like someone like Jacky Rosen should be campaigning with Kamala Harris in Nevada.
PETERS: We'll see what she does. I expect she will.
RAJU: But I suppose you wouldn't want Kamala Harris stumping with Jon Tester and with Sherrod Brown.
PETERS: I bet -- that's going to be up to them to decide whether or not how they want to do the campaign. But again, you know, in some of the tougher states -- Montana, Ohio with both Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown. They've already proven that they can win in a tough state. And they are authentic, people know them.
They're good at retail politics and they're running against flawed Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: I mean, that's the interesting calculation that these candidates who are running in difficult races always have to make. How much distance to keep from the top of the ticket? How much to align themselves with the top of the ticket?
We saw several candidates stump for Harris at the DNC, people from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan even, but not so much Ohio, and even Nevada. It's interesting.
What do you think of Harris, what she means for the Democrats' chances to keep the Senate. Already there was such a difficult map, but does she help, does she hurt?
MARIANNA SOTOMAYOR, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes. It's an absolutely difficult map and they've known this for several years. I mean, when you talk to Democrats, they are very excited about the general enthusiasm, right?
Because that lacking of enthusiasm within the base, they were already thinking, that's not going to help turn out voters. There could be voters who sit at home. That is less of a worry now.
But I think to your point, I mean, there's always going to be your most vulnerable senators. Your most vulnerable House Democrats who just are going to keep their distance.
And we hear all the time from leaders saying they have to run the race the way that they're going to run the race, whether they endorse or not, that's up to them.
But it is interesting to me to see Congresswoman Slotkin, Tammy Baldwin, Senator Tammy Baldwin, they did not stump with Biden. They were purposely far away whenever they went to their states.
Not only have they stumped with Harris already, but they were on the convention stage. So that to me is a shift where some of those still vulnerable seats, those members and senators representing those vulnerable districts and states are now embracing Harris a little bit more.
RAJU: Yes, and split ticket voting though, doesn't really happen in the Trump era. Only one time on the '69 races has a candidate from an opposing party won a race that was the president -- presidential candidate from the opposite party carried. That's a challenge for people like Tester and Brown in Oshio and in Montana.
MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Absolutely. I mean, we can be almost certain that Trump is going to win both of those states, which means that Jon Tester cannot win without the support of a lot of Trump voters crossing over to vote for him.
The candidate I was most surprised to see onstage giving a speech at the DNC was Collin Allred. He's running in Texas. Another red state that Trump is almost certainly going to win although of course, Democrats always talk about how they'd like to put it in play.
But that tells me a couple of things.
Number one, that he gets so many donations from being up there on the national stage and saying, I'm running against Ted Cruz, that it's worth whatever hate he takes from being associated with the top of the ticket. And number two, that it's a different political calculation in a state
like Texas, where he is hoping thing that there's enough of an effect on the base.
There's enough of a mobilization effect from the energy behind this new ticket that that could be enough to put him in contention, particularly against a candidate like a Ted Cruz.
But you know, Politics 101, if you're a Sherrod brown, if you're a Jon Tester, you have to run your own race because you're not going to be able to win without those crossover voters.
JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: I would just add that the Kamala Harris campaign could care less whether it gets endorsement from Jon Tester or -- and I don't mean that as a dismissal.
I mean, you know, I spoke to somebody yesterday about this. They just want people to win.
RAJU: Yes.
MASON: So if that --
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: It was rather different than Trump. Trump wants loyalty.
MASON: Yes.
RAJU: The Democrats, they have a completely different view.
MASON: They don't care. The most important thing from their perspective is go out there and win and give her -- if she wins as well, give her majorities in Congress.
[08:34:49]
RAJU: Yes.
And one question is, what will give them majorities in Congress? The issue of abortion. We know that an abortion referendum on a number of ballots in some key states -- that includes Montana, that includes Florida.
It's a lead (ph) state the Democrats could pick up. Maryland is the state the Democrats are trying to defend. They're also trying to defend Arizona and Nevada -- all with abortion access issues on the ballot in November.
So I asked the Democratic leaders about that and about just the larger challenges. It's facing a daunting map to keep the majority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You have three seats in states that Donald Trump picked up. You have incumbents in purple states. You have very difficult pickup opportunities.
So how are you going to hang on to control the Senate.
PETERS: Well, we are going to hang on. It's -- you know, correct it's a very difficult map, but as you recall I did this job last cycle, which was very tough in a midterm. Everybody thought we had no chance to hold the Senate.
RAJU: This is worse. This is worse than last cycle.
PETERS: Well, yes. There's -- but its -- I'm just saying that it was very tough and we beat expectations last cycle. We're going to beat the expectations again this cycle.
RAJU: The fact that in Montana there's abortion on the ballot. Is that going to be decisive? Do you think that will determine Jon Tester's ultimate outcome here?
PETERS: Well, I think it will be a significant factor. I think ultimately it's because of Jon Tester's character and his proven track record standing up for the people of Montana.
But there's no question, reproductive freedom is a very powerful issue.
RAJU: Talk about having to codify Roe v Wade in a Democratic majority. Well, you know, you're not going to -- even if you managed to keep the Senate, you're not going to get 60 votes in the Senate. Does that mean that you may have to change the filibuster to do that?
SCHUMER: Look, the bottom line is, we looked at the filibuster once on voting rights and we're committed to doing that on other areas of the filibuster.
RAJU: Including abortion rights?
SCHUMER: In other areas of the filibuster. And we're going to talk to as a caucus and see where to go.
But let me say how potent an issue is an abortion? Jacky Rosen in the Cook poll, it's overwhelming. It's a little too optimistic, was up 18 points.
What was the number one reason in my judgment? She's been advertising about abortion since June. And the Republicans are getting clobbered. They have no answer. And to be against IVF, give me a break. I have a grandchild who was born through IVF.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Republicans will say they are not against IVF, but nevertheless, the point being abortion. Could that be enough to save the Democratic majority?
CLEVE WOOTSON, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes and no. I mean, Democrats have seen some success with abortion referendums, you know, in non-election cycles and all of that stuff.
But I think that one of the things that Democrats are doing relatively successfully is making it about abortion, yes, but also painting the Republican Party writ large as sort of anti-freedom, taking away your rights, you know. So every -- every Republican; every -- every race now becomes about whether you're going to give more power to Republicans who are just going to strip away more and more rights. And abortion is the linchpin of that argument, but it gets much larger.
RAJU: All right. We shall see. It's going to be a very difficult road for the Democrats, no question.
Coming up while Harris was in Chicago, Trump was at the border. How Harris is trying to take on one of her biggest weaknesses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Should she do what Trump is doing? Go and visit the border?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:38:05]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: Perhaps the biggest weakness for Kamala Harris and her party is the issue of immigration. Now Democrats at the DNC this week tried to take it head on.
The polls show it's not a top issue for many Democrats. It is a leading factor for the general electorate. And those persuadable middle-of-the-road voters were exactly who Harris and other Democrats were trying to reach this week.
Their hope -- convince voters that Trump is the cause of the border crisis and place the blame squarely on him for killing a bipartisan border security bill earlier this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: after decades in law enforcement I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border.
REP. TOM SUOZZI (D-NY): Let's be clear. The border is broken. But this year, when Democrats and Republicans worked together to finally write new border laws, we were blocked.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Trump killed that bill. And he did it because he knew that if we fixed the border, he'd lose his ability to divide us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: So will this work with voters? Just look at the ABC/Washington Post/Ipsos poll Trump versus Harris with registered voters, winning on several issues including on immigration, which has really been the case for Trump, advantage for some time, ten points, 46 to 36 over Harris on this issue.
But what do you -- what does the Harris campaign think about this strategy? (INAUDIBLE) They think is actually -- absolutely they think its effective, but in your reporting, what are you learning on this?
MASON: Well, I think number one, they absolutely want to emphasize blame and putting blame on Trump and showing that the Biden-Harris administration had a plan and that he torpedoed it.
That gives them something to lift up, but also to hide behind because as we were talking during the break, not all the Democrats in that room were super happy about that.
RAJU: Many on the left were very, very angry about that bill.
MASON: Exactly. But it gives them a chance to say, look, this has been President Trump's big issue. We tried to do something and he -- and he is the reason that it didn't happen.
I don't -- you know, I asked somebody yesterday if there were plans for the vice president to go to the border? No. No plans right now, but she does talk about immigration on the trail. It's not something she's shying away from. And I think that is a bid for those Independent voters.
RAJU: Should she go to the border. There's a perfect segue, no question.
(CROSSTALKING)
[08:44:50]
RAJU: I teed it up for you.
MASON: You did.
RAJU: And I asked some Democrats at the convention last week if it would make sense politically for her to do that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: 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, obviously. We think we have credibility on this issue where President Trump does not.
RAJU: Politically, would it make sense for her to just visit the border.
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): If I were counseling I'd say yes. Let's take a trip down there and, you know, get that over with. But I don't think she should do it in response to Trump. I think that shows weakness. When -- the occasion happens, you pop down there with, you know, local officials who know the situation instead of grand standing like Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Still struggling about how to deal with this issue.
BALL: Absolutely. And we've polled on exactly this question actually. We asked voters in our poll, which argument do you find more believable.
On the one hand, the Democratic argument that, you know, this is Trump's fault because there was a deal on the table and he killed it.
Or number two, this is Biden's fault because he undid a lot of Trump's policies when he came into office.
And the majority of voters chose the latter option. They do blame the Biden administration for the border crisis more than they blame Trump for spoiling the effort to fix it.
However, there's been a clear decision on Democrats' part that they cannot avoid this issue. They don't think they're going to win on this issue. This has been Trump's signature issue for a decade.
And as the situation has gotten more out of control, his argument has only become more credible but as Marianna was saying before, it's all about margins.
And if they can convince people that at the very least they are not ignoring this issue, they are not pretending it doesn't exist. They are not pretending as they did for so long that there is not a crisis, that they can gain some credibility on this issue and cut into those margins and get some of those undecided voters for whom this is an important issue.
RAJU: The spending (ph) has been staggering on this issue. Really just look at the numbers between Republicans versus Democrats in spending on immigration $72 -- $73 million Republicans on immigration ads. This is just over the past month. $11 million for Democrats.
So what exactly do those ads say? Here's a taste of what people are seeing in their living rooms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son Joshua was 18 years-old when he was murdered by an illegal alien.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I hear Kamala Harris making a joke about the border and just laughing it off, it's painful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was tough enough to take on transnational gangs as a prosecutor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He almost killed me right over here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was laughing as he fractured my skull.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala put violent illegals, convicted felons back on the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More lies from Donald Trump. The truth? On Kamala Harris watch, violent crime went down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Trump ordered MAGA extremists to kill the bipartisan border security bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And before you jump in Marianna, out of the $73 million that Republicans have spent on immigration ads, actually the total -- the total amount of ads they spent the last mother is $90 million. $73 million out of $90 million, a bid (ph) on immigration. That is what they believe they're calling card is in order to win in November.
SOTOMAYOR: They know that this is the issue. And I think it's pretty significant here that Democrats did leave a void for too long of a time where Republicans have been able to successfully frame Democrats, successfully, blame Harris as the border czar, even though she was assigned to deal with migration before getting to -- before migrants got to the border.
But still this is something that we should absolutely expect them to keep talking about even when we return on Capitol Hill.
I'm already hearing that the House Republican majority is going to be putting resolutions on the floor condemning Harris for a number of positions that she's taken on the border, on immigration.
So this is -- this not only motivates their base, but absolutely is front of mind as he's doing that for those Independent voters.
RAJU: Meanwhile border crossings have dropped, but it was in the aftermath of Biden putting over those asylum restrictions. That happened in June.
I guess, the question is, did the administration wait too long to really engage on this issue?
WOOTSON: Yes. I mean, I think the administration is trying to attack the issue, not necessarily, you know, help solely Kamala Harris.
I think a couple of things. One, I don't -- I don't think that she can avoid the issue of the border entirely, but I think that when she goes or if she goes, she's definitely playing to their -- you know, on Trump's terms. It's just -- it's his issue. He's better at it.
I also think that the left has been very silent, almost giving her a pass to move a little bit rightward and to talk more strongly about immigration.
RAJU: Yes. All right. That's a great point and great place to leave it at.
And next, stay tuned for some incredible political impersonations. From Harris and Trump to Obama and Mitch McConnell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT FRIEND, COMEDIAN: Let me just begin by stating what a privilege it is to be here with Manu -- and I like to call him Manu -- here at the DNC which is a -- just a collection of people whose work I've attempted to block.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:49:36]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAJU: Political conventions attract an eclectic mix of people from politicians to delegates, to people like Matt Friend. Friend is a comedian, who has gained popularity for his spot-on impersonations of celebrities and politicians.
I caught up with him this past week in Chicago, where he shared his impersonations of Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and a host of others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Matt Friend --
FRIEND: Yes.
RAJU: Who am I talking to right now?
FRIEND: You see failing Kamala Harris, who's giving an address. She is just telling blatant lies.
RAJU: What about Kamala Harris?
[08:54:49]
FRIEND: Well, I can't quite do Kamala. But I can do Tim.
When I win this election, I'm going to take a big thing of Gatorade and pour it right over Kamala's face. I'm feeling good about our chances.
Kamala's tough though. Just -- it's like that little I got to work on it.
RAJU: Can you do the laugh.
FRIEND: I can't. I'm going to figure it out.
I'm going to figure it out.
RAJU: Have you met J.D. Vance yet? FRIEND: Well, you know, it's such a weird thing. I was talking about
me mama, (INAUDIBLE) and they all said J.D., you're a great candidate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Friend has also had his fun take on some CNNers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Can you do me?
FRIEND: You ever going to have a thing going on here? A little bit like a Ray Romano thing going on. I'm trying to figure it out.
But keep talking, keep talking.
RAJU: I think it is a little, little gravelly than my voice.
FRIEND: But I can do CNN's Chris Wallace, Welcome back to Who's Talking?
And Jake Tapper. What's up? Take (INAUDIBLE) it's Jake Tapper.
Yes. I got -- I was working -- I was working on Axelrod, David Axelrod. Barack Obama is a great guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now Friend now has a podcast being produced by Bill Maher.
That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY. You can follow me on X @mkraju. Follow the show @INSIDEPOLITICS. If you ever miss an episode, catch up wherever you get your podcast. Just search for INSIDE POLITICS.
Up next "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER AND DANA BASH". Jake's guests include Senators Lindsey Graham and Cory Booker.
Thanks again for sharing your Sunday morning with us. We'll see you next time.
[08:56:18]
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