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Today: Dana Bash Interviews VP Harris And Gov. Walz; Trump Campaign Mocks Harris For "39 Days Of Hiding" From Reporters; New Poll Shows Harris Surging In GA As She Wraps Up Bus Tour; Army Rebukes Trump Staff Over Arlington National Cemetery. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired August 29, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

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MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: Today on Inside Politics, a virtual tie. New polls show Kamala Harris eliminating Donald Trump's edge in the critical sunbelt states. As the vice president spent a second day in Georgia, now prepping for today's pivotal interview with CNN.

Plus, the U.S. Army issuing a stark and remarkably rare rebuke of the Trump campaign for getting political at Arlington National Cemetery, and quote, unfairly attacking a cemetery employee. We have all the breaking details. And Joe Biden appointing a lot of federal judges, even more than Donald Trump. But he still won't be able to transform the bench the way his predecessor did. We'll explain why.

I'm Manu Raju in for Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

We start in Georgia, where hours from now, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will sit down for their first in depth interview with our own Dana Bash. It's an incredibly high stakes moment for the vice president, who stuck to mainly choreographed events over the past five weeks. As she's catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket and turned the race on its head.

And it comes on the heels of new Fox News polls, showing Harris gaining ground on Donald Trump in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, all states Biden was trailing in, and all within the margin of error.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is in Savannah, Georgia, where the Democratic ticket is about to sit down with our exceptional colleague, Dana Bash. Priscilla, you've been doing some reporting about what the Harris campaign is doing and how the vice president is preparing for this interview. What are you learning?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Manu. Sources have always described the vice president to me as someone who prepares extensively and intensely. That's exactly how she's approaching her interview with CNN later today, alongside vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. One former adviser telling me that her approach to major interviews has often included multiple prep sessions, including teams across the spectrum, communications policy and any subject matter experts as she gets briefed in on variety of policies. So, she is taking this seriously.

Of course, as you just mentioned, this is an opportunity for her to have an unscripted moment, a candid-responses to a set of questions on a variety of matters after having a pretty choreographed last month on the campaign.

Now, of course, she's doing that interview here in Georgia, a crucial battleground state, a state that President Biden won by less than 12,000 votes in 2020. And of course, what has been most notable about this trip is exactly where they have been targeting. That being South Georgia, an area that typically leans Republican.

They have been focusing on these rural counties in an attempt to try to stay -- peel off votes from Republicans. This is a strategy that they saw worked in the 2022 runoff with Senator Warnock. They plan to do that now. Now she went on multiple stops yesterday, including this one at a barbecue joint.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know election time, it's important to remind people that literally this is the future of our country and democracy. Everyone's vote actually matters. We have to remind people of that. Don't listen to anyone who is suggesting otherwise. You never want to take yourself out of the game, right? You have to stay in it, which means voting, being active, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now the vice president is going to conclude her time here in Georgia with a rally at the arena behind me. Our vice-presidential nominee heading to North Carolina, yet another state. They're trying to stay bullish on knowing, of course, from all the polls you mentioned, it's going to be a close race come November.

RAJU: Yeah. We'll see how the interview affects that close race. Priscilla Alvarez in Savannah, Georgia. Thank you for that. And there's just so much to discuss with this great group of reporters who is joining me today. Carl Hulse of The New York Times, Laura Barron- Lopez of PBS NewsHour, and CNN's Eva McKend. Nice to see you all.

Carl, you're a veteran of Washington for many years. You've covered a lot of big, high stakes interview. But you know, the reason -- this is about as big as it gets, right? In the large part, really, because she didn't go through a traditional primary process. She has not answered questions. We have -- don't really have -- we have a sense of how she would guide the country, but not really details yet, which is why the stakes are so high.

[12:05:00] CARL HULSE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Another big moment in this ongoing series of big moments in this campaign. You know, when you don't do a lot of interviews, you raise the stakes for the one that you do -- and that's what I think has happened here. But I mean, you know, there -- they've been through this before. She should be able to pull this off, you know, the criticism from the Republicans that, oh, she has to bring her vice president along is sort of a comfort animal.

I think, you know, I don't know that that is sinking in too deeply. There's a tradition of them doing joint interviews, of tickets doing joint interviews, but she's going to have to show her stuff, I would say, tonight, and we'll see how it goes.

RAJU: Yeah. And speaking of the criticism she is getting in the right. These are The Wall Street Journal editorial page. A conservative editorial board wrote about this, in writing, Harris gets an interview crutch.

He says, don't think Kamala Harris's handlers are shielding her from tough questions? Consider that in her first interview with the press this week, she's bringing along a crutch, running mate Tim Walz. Calling it a deliberate attempt to limit the potential exposure risks for the vice president. So, no matter how she does tonight? She's still going to be criticized for that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, PBS NEWS HOUR: Yeah. Republicans are always going to criticize her for that. But tradition, as Carl mentioned, is that following a convention, Republican candidates have done this as well. Trump has done this as well. You immediately do an interview with your running mate, and so she's following, you know, tradition in that sense.

And of course, soon after this, I'm sure she's going to try to line up an interview where she does one independently. But when it comes to policy details, I mean, she has displayed some of her policy details. She has said that she is aligned with President Biden on immigration and going to pursue his agenda there, including even signing that bipartisan border deal if it were to ever reach her desk.

She has said that she would expand the child tax credit. And so, some voters that I spoke to, especially in Milwaukee, around the Democratic National Convention, were paying attention to that, and saying that they wanted to hear a little bit more on the housing details and on the childcare details, but they liked what she had put out so far.

RAJU: Yeah. And of course, you know, they do traditionally sit down with their running mates. Of course, there's been anything but a traditional campaign, given that she just became a nominee and has yet to do a solo interview, typically, they do a solo interview earlier on given a normal presidential campaign cycle.

But Eva, you are on the campaign trail a lot. What do you hear from voters about what specifically that they want to hear. Laura talked about some of the issues that she's hearing. What about you? EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: I think that she's going to have to speak to their economic concerns. I was at that Milwaukee rally as well last week, and independently voters bringing up to me that they like this idea of the $25,000 for first time homebuyers.

So, I think it's helpful if she leans into that, but then she's also going to have to talk about how she gets these big economic policies over the finish line at times when Democrats have had majorities and they haven't been able to do so, like expanding the child tax credit, like raising the federal minimum wage.

But those are the issues that are top of mind for most voters, and then also reproductive rights as well. I hear time and time again from Democratic voters, well, what are they really going to do to protect my reproductive rights when they were in power and had all the majorities they didn't do so before. So, she has to speak to those concerns.

HULSE: I think she has to talk a little bit about how she's going to be different from Biden, right?

RAJU: Right.

HULSE: This is -- there has --

RAJU: Is this a continuation the Biden --

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HULSE: -- separation, though, of some sorts like, why are you going to be different? Now there's some obvious ways and reason she's going to be different, but I think she needs to spell those out.

RAJU: And how is she different than the Kamala Harris of 2020? When she was running in the Democratic primary, she was catering the Democratic wooing, those Democratic primary voters. And taking issues that -- positions on issues that may be different than now, such as on fracking, on Medicare for all and on dealing with the police.

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HARRIS: The idea is that everyone gets access to medical care. And you don't have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require. Who of us has not had that situation where you got to wait for approval and the doctor says, well, I don't know if your insurance company is going to cover this. Let's eliminate all of that. Let's move on.

There's no question. I'm in favor of banning fracking. Defund the police. The issue behind it is that we need to reimagine how we are creating safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RAJU: Now today, her campaign has put out statements, typically on background from a Harris campaign officials say, no, she doesn't ban fracking anymore. It doesn't support banning fracking anymore. No, she didn't support single payer healthcare. But we need to hear from her about why she's changing those positions. How do you think that she'll address this?

BARRON-LOPEZ: Well, I think that she'll talk about her time as vice president and that throughout the course of this administration, you know, she has become much more in line with President Biden on these issues.

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I mean, that was during a Democratic primary when so many of the Democrats were trying to differentiate themselves from a candidate like Biden by running to the left, even Pete Buttigieg was running to the left. And then he was became a moderate within that primary, the 2019 primary. So that -- this happens with a lot of candidates. You finally hold office. She's holding the vice-presidential office, and she now is realizing that her pathway forward is an agenda much like President Biden's.

And to your point, Carl, I mean, when you talk to voters, a lot of voters don't necessarily say they need to hear a difference from Biden. They feel like she already represents a very different path forward. But they do want to hear, you know, exactly how she's going to address housing or exactly how she will push forward on abortion rights, especially if she's facing a split Congress, or, you know, how she's going to work in a bipartisan way.

RAJU: Oh, go ahead.

MCKEND: I also don't doubt that some of those issues are still her core beliefs, because she spoke about those progressive issues even before she reached the Senate. But there is a difference between having those aspirations and then actually governing. And she can say that. she can say, I don't -- I don't -- I still want everyone to have healthcare.

RAJU: Yeah.

MCKEND: But I know that the reality in this country is that that policy mechanism is just not going to work. You know that I think would be the most effective way to skin this cat.

RAJU: Now we'll see how she says it. And let's just talk about where she is today, Georgia, of course, the state that Donald Trump lost by fewer than 12,000 votes to Joe Biden back in 2020. Georgia is central to the Republicans. Need to keep win Georgia in order for Trump to win the presidency. This is one of two paths for Kamala Harris. She was in big -- in rural counties that have major black populations. Over the last day, she went to two counties that Bill Biden carried by 24 & 19 points, respectively. And at the same time, there are a number of offices that her campaign is opening in Georgia in counties that Trump won overwhelmingly by 25 points, 26 points back in 2020, won by 12 points as well. It's an interesting strategy here because they need to keep the rural voters, you know, run those numbers up in the urban areas, stem their losses in the rural counties and potentially drive in -- and follow the same map that Joe Biden followed in 2020 by winning some of those --

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HULSE: It's Tim Walz's job too, right? He needs to be appealing to some of these rural voters, and he has experience in this area, right? He knows about agriculture. He was from a district that that was a big industry. I think that they really are learning the lessons of 2016, right?

We're not going to surrender any place. We need to be competitive. Georgia's got some big urban centers. If they can get the big vote there, but still pick off some of these votes in these smaller counties. I mean, that's a way to win the state.

I think -- I think what they're doing is showing their full on, and they're going to be full on in North Carolina to another state where there's significant blocks of black voters and there's a controversial Republican candidate for governor. And I think they see opportunities at some of these places.

RAJU: And in meantime, that Fox News poll has, Harris and Biden -- Harris and Trump basically neck and neck. She's up by two in that poll, really reversing what was the polls from just a few weeks ago when Joe Biden was in the race down by six in a similar poll. So, we'll see how it plays out in the weeks ahead.

And don't forget, tune in to CNN tonight at 9 pm eastern. Vice President Harris, Governor Walz, sit down with our own Dana Bash for their first joint interview. Coming up. The U.S. Army is scolding the Trump campaign over an incident in Arlington National Cemetery. We'll tell you why they're issuing a rare rebuke. That's next.

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RAJU: Breaking news this morning, the U.S. Army is rebuking the Trump campaign for inserting politics into a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and for an altercation with a cemetery employee. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Oren Liebermann joins me live from the Pentagon. Oren, so what is the army saying in this rare statement?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Manu, this is a fairly remarkable statement, both as you point out, because of the rebuke of the Trump campaign and then for standing up to the Arlington National Cemetery employee who was involved in this. The statement doesn't mention the Trump campaign or former President Donald Trump explicitly, but it's also very clear to what it's referring.

Here is a part of this statement. Let me read this to you. Participants in the August 26 ceremony and subsequent section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities.

An Arlington National Cemetery employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the armed forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with dignity and respect.

In that statement, the army basically says, the visit as it was carried out in Section 60, which is where fallen service members from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, was a violation of federal law. That law explicitly states memorial services and ceremonies at Army National Military Cemeteries will not include partisan political activities. That's where they say the visit violated federal law.

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But afterwards, a member of the Trump campaign also suggested the Arlington employee with which this altercation happened was, quote, a despicable individual and someone even suggested, she might have mental health issues.

Here the army stood by their employee, praising her professionalism and saying it's an incredibly important and sacred job she has at Arlington National Cemetery. Once again, Manu, an incredible statement in this rebuke of the campaign, and of course, standing up for the employee involved in this.

RAJU: Yeah, remarkable, rare. You don't see this very often. And Oren Liebermann, thank you for that from the Pentagon. My panel is now back to digest this. Laura, I mean, as we're saying here, the army does not usually weigh in on issues like this. But decided to do so here, saying that the Trump campaign violated federal law and disputing what the Trump campaign said publicly about what happened here at this grave site.

BARRON-LOPEZ: Yeah. The Trump campaign has tried to deny and say that this incident wasn't didn't happen the way that it was characterized, but whether it's Arlington National Cemetery or the army, now saying no. This is what occurred.

It was a violation of federal law. And you know, even news of a family who of a fallen soldier whose grave was right next to the grave that Trump took the photo at. And that they were also dismayed and upset, because they are an intensely private about the loss of their soldier.

RAJU: Yeah.

BARRON-LOPEZ: And, you know, it's a level -- the impact here is on these gold star families who are -- the reason that that rule exists in Section 60 is to protect these families, and because of the fact that that this is a sacred and honored ground. RAJU: Yeah. And protect our privacy. You mentioned the statement from one of the families of one of the soldiers here who was buried at that site, who apparently learned in the aftermath that this filming had taken place.

They sent a statement to The New York Times and said, we fully support staff Sergeant Darin Hoover's family and other families in their quest for answers. However, according to our conversation with Arlington National Cemetery, the Trump campaign staffers did not adhere to the rules. We hope that those visiting this sacred site understand that these were real people who sacrificed for our freedom and that they are honored and respected accordingly.

How do you think the Trump campaign is going to respond to all this? They haven't yet to this army rebuke, and so far, they've dug in. Will they continue to dig?

MCKEND: I would imagine they'll continue to double down, but it was a missed opportunity off the bat. When this emerged, they could have been immediately contrite. And this is such a sensitive issue, you're always going to be a risk when you're using people's pain to make a political point, and this perhaps was not the way to do it. And I think being immediately contrite maybe would have avoided this continuous fallout. But that is not certainly characteristic -- being contrite is not characteristic of the former president.

RAJU: No. I mean, could you -- I mean, they came on said, look, we -- there's such a difference of opinion. We disagree. You know, we're sorry. Anything like that. Things could have gotten -- perhaps would have been a lot better. But this is how they said -- what they said initially.

The Trump campaign, did a spokesman put out a statement right in the aftermath of this episode, saying, the fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises, and for whatever reason as unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump's team during a very solemn ceremony.

Chris LaCivita, a top adviser for the Trump campaign, also called that employee quote, despicable. The army basically said, they not -- they're not telling the truth. Saying that, the employee was just trying to adhere -- ensure adherence to these rules and was abruptly pushed aside.

HULSE: Yeah. It's amazing that that's where they went. I mean -- I think of all the things we should be able to agree on is that Arlington National Cemetery should not be a site for political spectacles. And this seems to have been quite a political spectacle, including, you know, I don't know if that's roughing up or whatever, pushing somebody out of the way.

I think a problem for the Trump campaign and the former president on this too, it's part of a pattern of the way he has talked about some veterans. I mean, going back to Senator McCain, and that, you know, people look at this and go. He just recently got in trouble for what he talked about Medal of Honor winners and provoked the VFW to put out a public statement, which was very unusual as well. So, you know, I think there's more to come on this.

BARRON-LOPEZ: There's also a pattern in that the official that tried to get them to stop, taking photographs said that they ultimately didn't press charges because of the fact that they were worried about retaliation from Trump supporters. That is a pattern where people, even lawmakers.

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Mitt Romney has said that he has spoken to Republicans that didn't want to stand up to Donald Trump around January 6, because for fear that they themselves or their family would face retaliation. So, it's a part a pattern with the Trump movement.

RAJU: Yeah. In meantime, this all comes as Trump is visiting Michigan and Wisconsin today, trying to turn things back around in this campaign. As you can see from the election margins on your screen, very close in 2016 and 2020 is expected to be close once again.

But meantime, he's doing things on social media that is taking him and his campaign off message, not focusing, as Republicans say, on the policy, but sharing a bunch of posts, including the really crude posts about Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton and the like. And once again, distracting over the message they're trying to push.

MCKEND: So, Manu, I actually am in conversation with a whole host of black female Democratic leaders, and I asked them about this. The sexist and racist attacks that we have seen targeted at the vice president. And they told me that these attacks sort of just speak for themselves, right? That the vice president, she doesn't have to engage with this, that it's actually politically beneficial if she does not. And that the more that he does this, he sort of just hurts himself and helps her.

RAJU: Yeah. And she has not really addressed it. We'll see if she does later today in that, of course, in very big interview. All right. President Biden in a race to finish with more judges appointed to the bench than former President Donald Trump. Will it have any real impact? We'll talk about that, next.

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