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Inside Politics

Trump Refers To Harris As "Mentally Disabled"; Aides: Walz Feels Contempt For Vance, Nervous About Debate, Worried About Letting Harris Down; Tonight: Senate Control In Play At Montana Debate; NYT: Virginia GOP Congressional Candidate Posts Photo With Friend's Wife And Children. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 30, 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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[12:30:00]

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Two years ago, I wouldn't have had a fly up here. Now I'm speaking from common sense. You see the Republican Party has really become the party of common sense. We need common sense here.

I had a hell of a life. Oh, those locations, those beautiful, I could have been sunbathing on the beach. You have never seen a body so beautiful. Much better than sleepy Joe.

We have to let the police do their job. And if they have to be extraordinarily rough, you know, if you had one day, like one real rough nasty day with the drug stores, as an example, one rough hour, and I mean, real rough, the word will get out and it will end immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: All right, my panel is back. OK. Astead, is this how -- you know, Trump is being Trump, this is what he's always been since he's been on the scene here, but this is a historically close race. Effective at this point in the race to do, to say things like this?

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean --

RAJU: And question her, Kamala Harris, whether she's smart enough to do the job?

HERNDON: Right, I mean, at some point, it stops being worthy, asking if it's affected because it's going to be what he does. This is going to be how Donald Trump either wins or loses this race because it's core to who he is.

Donald Trump is a bully. He -- the form of politics he knows how to do is to demean, is to kind of draw the opponent into the mud with him. And, frankly, if you go to those rallies, that is what those folks are there to do. But having seen it over a couple of years, I think we're seeing a version of Donald Trump that it's not like I would call more unhinged. But I would say is less focused on the type of issues that the folks around him want him to be focused on.

And so as we're getting more of these personal attacks, you are hearing, you're Nikki Haleys of the world, your other kind of forms of Republicans saying the version of Donald Trump that focuses more on Kamala Harris's personality rather than the issues is the one that loses.

Now, he is trying to create a coalition, though, that is really based around that type of motivation. When we see him doing better with men, for example, we should not discount with fact that part of it is because he has employed a style of politics that is a bully form of politics, right?

And so he's taking a road less traveled electorally, but there's one that is authentic to who he is because Donald Trump, as we know, is not going to switch up.

AYESHA RASCOE, NPR HOST, "WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY" AND "UP FIRST": I do think, though, that we really need to be very clear on what he's doing. I mean, he is dehumanizing Kamala Harris, he is talking about her in a way that is beyond degrading. He's degrading people who are mentally disabled. He's degrading migrants in a way that, I mean, that smacks of racism, saying that they're more violent than others.

I mean, so we have to call it what it is and whether it's successful or not. It is changing the shape of American politics, and it is bringing a nastiness into American politics, and that will be Donald Trump's legacy forever.

SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: Yes, let's just say that we're nine years into this, not, you know, just a year or two. Donald Trump signature move was to dehumanize and to degrade individuals from the second that he entered our national politics.

You know, he continually speaks about his opponents in ways that if a candidate for eighth grade school president used that language, they would probably be disqualified from the race. So let's say that. First of all, the thing that I've discerned that I think is, you know, represents something, you know, escalatory potentially, is his -- the specificity of his threats against both the legitimacy of this upcoming election and against his opponents.

He has now, over the weekend, repeatedly said that Kamala Harris should be both impeached and prosecuted, for what it's not clear. He did this before the 2020 election when he said that Joe Biden should be prosecuted.

He openly tweeted at his attorney general at the time, he should do so. He now says that election workers a very broad category should be prosecuted and will be aggressively gone after by a future Trump administration.

RAJU: And how do voters view it likely? The question about Trump's temperament. 62 percent of likely voters say that Trump's temperament is not what I'd like to see in a president. That's sizable number of voters, likely voters. Trump voters, or people who still vote for Trump, 23 percent say they'll vote for him despite they don't -- they're concerned about his --

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and watching that long clip of the former president from over the weekend, perhaps it is time for us to stop asking the question of is he capable of changing? Will he ever change? I mean, we talked about this a lot after the first assassination attempt because he himself said, I am a changed man and indicated that there have now been two.

And I think time and time again, we sort of get this reset moment where we realize like, oh, actually, no, you listen to the former president talking. He is always going to be to some degree, sort of this rambling. And perhaps in some ways, really lacking a clear focus attack still on Kamala Harris.

You know, when she first got in the race and then became the nominee, we were asking the question of, what is his clear message and attack message going to be on the vice president? I'm not sure that he has landed on one yet, and I don't --

RAJU: Yes.

LEE: -- think that he's that set on finding one.

[12:35:06]

RAJU: Yes, and we'll see -- that speaks to, perfectly to tomorrow night, the debate. What will be the line of attacks that come out of there? We probably expect J.D. Vance to be more on message than what Donald Trump has been about Kamala Harris.

But what about Tim Walz? This is what our reporting from our colleague, Isaac Dovere from over the weekend says that "Walz constantly comes back to how worried he is about letting Harris down. And aides insist that isn't just about setting expectation. The governors fears he won't make his case as well as he needs to."

It is expectation setting. They're trying to lower --

RASCOE: It is going to lower --

RAJU: -- lower the bar.

RASCOE: He's so nervous, he's scared.

RAJU: Yes.

RASCOE: And --

RAJU: But Vance is a good debater.

RASCOE: Yes. I mean, look, I think Vance is going to be a very good debater. He's nothing like Trump. He'll be very focused. And Walz will definitely have to be on his toes to push back on the idea that Harris is extreme and that she's been weak on the border and that, you know, they're extreme liberals. I think he will have to be on his toes about that, but I think that he's likely very well prepared because he does have that every man thing, which I don't think Vance really has.

RAJU (?): Yes.

RASCOE: Like Vance is very studied, but is he someone you want to get a beer with? I don't know.

RAJU: And Walz, you know, they used to be all over the airwaves. He used to be a regular presence on cable news everywhere. But since he became VP, he's really not done much.

HERNDON: I mean --

RAJU: Did the Dana Bash interview and then maybe a couple other poll size, but really has not been anywhere.

HERNDON: This has been a consistent feature of the Harris campaign, even after they chose Walz lightly because he did so well in some of those interviews. They have taken a media strategy that is first a do no harm one.

RAJU: Yes.

HERNDON: One that puts them in front of people that they know are kind of going to be more sympathetic. One that has not put them in more confrontational settings. And I think it has added to the kind of perception that maybe they are running from the story they have to tell about the change of values from then to now.

That is a choice that they have made. They could put people in front of more people, have them answer more questions. Now, I think what --

RAJU: Is that a risk? Is that a risk as we head into this high-profile debate?

HERNDON: I imagine it's a risk, but keeping them away is a risk, too. And I think that we are seeing some of the fruits of that right now. Part of the reason each one of these debates and moments has so much pressure on Harris and Walz when they come, is because they're doing so few of them.

One thing Vance has done over the last three weeks is go on a ton of podcasts, do a ton of interviews, do a ton of media things. And we haven't seen that reverse his favorability, right? We still know that he's underwater. Things like the childless cat lady comment are going to be held over his head.

But he has put himself in situations. And one of the things the Democrats have curiously not done for me is do that type of spreading the, you know, spreading the message all across the field. You have Harris today on things like, you know, All The Smoke podcast. They'll go on subway takes. They'll do stuff like that.

But that's not answering the core question people have of them, which is who are they and what they believe in. Going on those things does not do that job.

GLASSER: Yes, but if I just -- you know, we journalists are always, you know, we want people to do as many interviews as possible. I think it's important, especially with the change in the Democratic tickets so late in the election.

But let's be clear that, you know, the person who has the most to answer for in terms of policy flip flops is a guy who is running as the Republican --

RAJU: Yes.

GLASSER: -- vice presidential nominee who literally called the leader at the top of his ticket in a private message, America's Hitler.

RAJU: Yes.

GLASSER: So it's going to be, if the strategy of Republicans, which they've been telegraphing over the weekend, is that they're going to go after Tim Walz for being, I think the phrase was Gavin Newsom and a flannel shirt. You know, that's going to be a kind of a risky strategy because it's going to highlight J.D. Vance's remarkable shift in American --

RAJU: Yes.

GLASSER: -- public life over the last few years.

RAJU: Yes, just the last few years. And I suspect Walz will bring that up. And I suspect J.D. Vance will have a response. We'll see that plays out tomorrow night and that's could be a big night.

All right, next, can Jon Tester fight political gravity and win reelection for the Senate in Montana? Democrats fading hopes of keeping control of the Senate rests on that answer.

And later, the strange story of the congressional candidate who borrowed his friend's family for a campaign photo shoot. Stay tuned.

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[12:43:42]

RAJU: ?It's debate night in Montana. Democratic Senator Jon Tester versus Republican challenger Tim Sheehy. Now, if you don't live there, you may be thinking, well, does this matter to me? Why should I care? Well, this is a race that could very well determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in January.

My panel is back. You know, what's interesting is that this is a -- we're in a situation where split ticket voting really just does not happen anymore, which is why Jon Tester, the incumbent Democratic senator in a state that Donald Trump -- look at the numbers here, in 2016 and 2020, he won by 21 points -- in 2016, he won by 21 points. In 2020, he won by 16 points. Tester on the narrowest of margins, he won in his state. Just one point in 2006 in his initial race, and by three points in 2018. Which explains why he's distancing himself from Kamala Harris, the top of his ticket. He has not endorsed her yet, but the question is, can he separate himself enough from her to win in a red state like Montana.

LEE: Yes, and you know, this is -- we saw this dynamic a little bit in 2022 and there is polling suggesting that we're going to see this potentially again in 2024 just on the topic of split tickets. There are Republicans that are endorsed by Donald Trump who are not running as well as the former president.

[12:45:02]

I think it just goes to show you that obviously there are these voters. And I think for a lot of people, it might feel a little counterintuitive. You're trying to picture a voter who is supporting Donald Trump but is going to be inclined to support a Democrat in their Senate race.

There's no like perfect mold for the Donald Trump supporter. This is like the Obama, Trump, perhaps Trump again or Biden supporter. And there is a kind of appeal that Donald Trump can have even to somebody who might say, yes, I'm going to vote for that moderate Senate Democrat instead of whoever the Republican is.

RAJU: Yes. And just to take a step back to where the race for the Senate is the -- look at the map, it just really daunting map for Democrats. They really have very few pickup opportunities. The Senate right now is 51-49. The West Virginia almost certainly deflected the GOP, meaning Republicans really need to pick up one more additional seat beyond West Virginia to take the majority.

And there's just so few pickup opportunities for Democrats. Now you're seeing a shift. Democrats are hoping for some surprises. They're trying to move money into foreign Florida and into Texas. There's some ratings changes. You can see from our ratings experts thinking that Texas, yes, still likely Republican, but maybe a little less so.

But there's a Nebraska independent who's running there. That's still going to be difficult for the Independent to win there. But it just shows you how difficult it is for Democrats.

RASCOE: It's very difficult. And, I mean, are they going to flip Texas? Come on now. We're being serious. I mean, I know the people that look at this are, you know, they have to do their, you know, their guesses, but I think it's unlikely. And I think that they have a very difficult road, and I think Tester has a very difficult road.

I mean, I think it is true that in these races, even though it's the Senate, there's still a local feel to it, right? Where it's like they may feel like they know Jon Tester. So they will vote for him because they like him personally. And then they will vote for Trump because they like Trump. It's not really necessarily all policy driven, but I think that is difficult in this day and age where everything is so polarized. HERNDON: And the local kind of appeal has helped people like Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin --

RASCOE: Yes.

HERNDON: -- has helped Sherrod Brown in Ohio is the reason why this hasn't been -- the Senate map kit isn't maybe as much of a disaster as Democrats even thought. But the reality is, if they lose one of those seats, they're in that kind of same position.

This has big implications for what any, in terms of the next year and government's obviously going to look like. And I just think the tone and intent of the ambition of what a Harris campaign can offer if we -- if she knows that she's going into something that's going to look like a divided Congress or maybe a GOP controlled Senate, some of that is the reality that we're seeing that informs a lot of people saying that's why she's kind of trying to give a more centrist run from the center message.

It's because that's just based in a more reality of where things are headed. She's trying to speak to that more now, too.

RAJU: Yes. And very quickly, I mean, Senate Republican leaders are already telling me that if they get the majority, they're not going to necessarily give Kamala Harris a Supreme Court nominee.

GLASSER: Yes, that's remarkable, because that's not how it's supposed to work, right? You know, if there's an opening, the Senate is supposed to vote on the president's nominee for it. But Mitch McConnell --

RAJU: It used to be common that they would do something like that.

GLASSER: Well, I think that's how it's supposed to work. But, you know, Mitch McConnell really changed the politics of the courts and many other things in his long tenure as Senate majority and minority leader.

I think the reality is that even if Harris wins, you're looking at the prospect of a divided government, a very hard time for her to confirm not just Supreme Court nominees, but even run of the mill appointees to her executive branch offices. That's going to shape Washington very distinctly in a Harris administration if she wins.

RAJU: In a short word, gridlock. It can come again in Washington. Expect that to happen no matter who wins, really.

All right, coming up, check out this beautiful family photo released by a congressional candidate in Virginia. One problem, it's not his family. We'll explain next.

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[12:53:06]

RAJU: If you want to run for Congress, your spouse and your children are typically part of the package. But what if you don't have either? If you're Virginia Republican Congressional Candidate, Derrick Anderson, well, you borrow them from a friend.

This photo in the New York Times is of Anderson and his friend's wife and three children. Anderson is actually engaged, but currently lives alone with his dog, according to the Times. Anderson is running in a swing suburban district in Northern Virginia.

My panel is back. Interesting tactic. Perhaps not one, just to show viewers the photo here of the family that isn't actually his. Your reaction, sir?

HERNDON: I don't think it's a huge deal, but it's kind of funny. I mean, I think back to like the projections of politics that all folks have. I think about Senator Warnock bringing in that dog for that ad a couple years ago. I mean, I don't think it's a huge deal, but I do think it reminds people of just the levels of public performance a lot of these candidates go through.

LEE: Well --

RAJU: And just to read -- before you jump in, MJ, to read from the New York Times response to Anderson's spokesman saying that criticizes the Times decision to focus on the footage and said that "Derrick's opponent and every other candidate in America are in similar pictures and video with supporters of all kinds. A spokesman said the video simply showed Mr. Anderson with female supporters and their kids."

It didn't look like your typical shaking --

LEE: Right.

RAJU: -- hands photo or video that you would see on the campaign trail.

LEE: And obviously what he is trying to do here is no mystery. It is trying to be a little more appealing to women voters, particularly as you know, Republicans are getting a bad rap these days for just not understanding issues that are important to women.

I don't know about the idea of using fake families or families for your pretending like they're yours. But, yes, the strategy there is not yes up for a debate.

RAJU: I mean, it's softening their image amid all these attacks --

RASCOE: It is.

RAJU: -- and the gender gap.

[12:55:03]

RASCOE: But, I mean, he can make the argument, look, all these photos are fake because, you know, I got three kids. They don't stand there and just smile like that. Like that looks too perfect for anybody, right? Like, so he can just say, look, we're all putting on a performance. I'm doing it too.

RAJU: Yes. I'm not sure how that goes over so much with voters but, you know, it is --

RASCOE: And keeping it real.

RAJU: Yes. It is a cute fam --

HERNDON: As a single guy who lives alone, where's our reputations, you know? He should have come out with all the plants and dogs, and I would have felt --

RASCOE: With the plants and dogs, yes.

RAJU: Yes, yes. It is a cute family, but the people, according to the Times, are not their relatives. They're his wife and children of a longtime friend. So, there you go. I'm sure it'll play out in the campaign trail. Let's see what voters think.

All right, thanks for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after this quick break.

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