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Isa Soares Tonight

Growing Tensions Between Hezbollah and Israel; Growing Concerns for All-Out War; Harris Picks Governor Tim Walz as Running Mate; Trump Campaign Attacks Tim Walz; Closer Look at Gov. Tim Walz's Economic Policies; Global Markets Bouncing Back; Hamas Announces Yahya Sinwar As Head of Political Bureau. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 06, 2024 - 14:00:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, the veep stakes are over. Kamala Harris

chooses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Their whole, their first joint rally in just a few hours from now, and of course, we'll bring

that to you.

And wasting no time, the Trump campaign goes straight into attack mode following most dangerously liberal and the West Coast want to be. And the

Mid-East is on edge for possible Iranian retaliation against Israel, we're live at the Pentagon with what U.S. officials say they are seeing.

We begin, though, this hour with a new chapter and what's being one of the most turbulent presidential races in U.S. history. Vice President Kamala

Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running-mate. The decision of course, coming just 16 days after President Joe Biden ended his

re-election campaign.

Walz is a former U.S. congressman, high school teacher, a member of the National Guard. He skyrocketed up of the list of contenders to join the

Democratic ticket after going on the offensive against Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, describing them as weird. In just a few hours, Walz will appear

alongside Harris at a rally in Philadelphia, public unveiling of the new Democratic ticket.

To Washington now, and our senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak with the very latest there. I think Kevin, look, I think it's fair to say that

Governor Tim Walz started out as the darkest of dark horses here now, here we are. What was it about him that ultimately led to Kamala Harris choosing

him?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been a rapid rise for Tim Walz who really is not a very well-known figure among the American

populace. But I think what Kamala Harris and her team saw in him was a combination of a record, a progressive record certainly in Minnesota, but

also a more moderate record as a congressman, but also that biography that you were listing out that they really appealed to them as something that

could, you know, help bring in a type of voter that has really been lost to Democrats for the last several elections.

You know, he has not had a long career in politics. He started as a teacher, as a high school coach, eventually he ran for Congress and ran for

governor. But this is someone who has not made his entire life in Washington, and they do think that, that will help bring in voters, white

working class voters who have been voting for Trump for the last several elections.

And they do think that, that could help boost their chances in November. Now, whether he's able to do that or not remains an open question. And of

course, when Americans go to the polls, they're voting for the top of the ticket, not necessarily for the vice presidential choice.

But they do think that he will be an effective messenger on the campaign trail, particularly when it comes to J.D. Vance, the Republican vice

presidential candidate who is also a Midwesterner. They think that Walz will provide a credible voice and a incredible counter to Vance on the

campaign trail and put -- on a potential debate stage should it come to that.

The other thing that Harris advisors are really pointing to is the chemistry that these two were able to develop in their meeting just on

Sunday. You know, they didn't really have much of a relationship going into this. But when they sat down at the Naval Observatory, which is Kamala

Harris' residence here in Washington, they were able to develop something of a vibe between themselves.

You know, they are around the same age. They have, you know, that in common, but they just were able to share a sense of humor, a sense of

camaraderie that when you talk to people around the Vice President, it wasn't necessarily the case with some of the other contenders.

And at the end of the day, this is someone that Harris will both have to run with, and if she wins, will have to serve with for four years,

potentially eight years in a very close capacity. As a Vice President herself, she knows that, that relationship is going to be critical. It's

not something that she necessarily had right away with President Biden.

And I think she was looking for someone who could be trustworthy, who will be loyal and will help her advance an agenda if she were to win the White

House. Of course, before then, she will have to win this campaign. And what her task today will be introducing Tim Walz to the American people.

[14:05:00]

They will appear at a rally in Philadelphia. In fact, Tim Walz's plane has just landed in that city. He will then go on to a number of other states

with Harris, all in the hopes of trying to introduce himself to a populace that really doesn't know this man quite as well as they know Kamala Harris

at this point.

SOARES: Yes, and as you were talking there, Kevin, we see Tim Walz arriving there in Philadelphia. This just from few moments ago. And of

course, we'll get to see him a bit later alongside Kamala Harris. We'll be waiting to see what both have to say, but what a moment indeed. Kevin,

appreciate it, thank you very much.

Let's get more now on how Harris' pick is playing amongst Democrats. Meghan Hays is a DNC Convention consultant and a former special assistant to

President Joe Biden. Mark Longabaugh is a Democratic strategist and was a senior strategist on Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Great to have you both here as we've seen Walz Tim, Walz just arriving in the last few minutes in Philadelphia. Meghan, let me get to start with you

first. What do you make then of Kamala Harris' decision to with Governor Tim Walz, and do you -- and what do you think the appeal is here?

MEGHAN HAYS, CONSULTANT, DNC CONVENTION: I think that the appeal is that he is -- he is a middle -- he fights for the middle-class. He has a record

that's been fighting for the middle class, and I think that he is -- he resonates with everyday Americans who are out there just trying to feed

their families and to put their kids in good schools and get them a good education.

I think that, that really resonates. I also think that the relationship that -- and the connection that they built over, you know, her visits in

the past couple of years, but also the conversations it sounds like they had on Sunday went really well. I think she's going with her gut and

zinc(ph) on who's going to be a great governing partners.

So, I think that the pick is really exciting for the Democratic people, and it's really exciting to see them -- we'll be seeing them tonight.

SOARES: Meghan, as you were talking and Mark, as both are going to be talking now -- we're going -- we're seeing live pictures of Tim Walz in

Philadelphia, he just landed. That's his car, we are following that closely there. But, you know, Mark, just picking up with what we were talking about

with Meghan.

I mean, geography clearly is important, but so is biography here. And his story is pretty unique. I've heard that -- someone say that he is a

Midwestern dad that Americans need. I want to play what Democratic senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar had to say about him, and we can talk after

that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): What Kamala Harris has done in bringing in Tim Walz, a guy who grew up in rural America in a small town, joined the

service of the National Guard when he's 17, and then ends up as a high school teacher, completely humble beginnings. Has no money in his family

and ends up in Congress and as a governor, that is going to be -- she is picking someone that actually is adding something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And meantime, Walz has been endorsed by progressives, I should say, like Bernie Sanders. So, he can speak up for the working class now. We

know labor unions are very important in Midwest in battleground states. How can Walz deliver here?

MARK LONGABAUGH, U.S. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I mean, I just think you saw Senator Klobuchar, you know, describe some of his biography, and

biography and politics has a lot of currency. I think he's going to strongly help the ticket in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the key

battlegrounds of this election.

You know, and just to pick up on some of those points, I mean, this guy is a salt of the earth, former high school teacher, former football coach, he

joined the National Guard. It's going to be very hard for the Republicans to try and demonize him. And so, I think he's a fantastic balance ticket.

I also think your point about progressives being enthused is an important part of this puzzle too. He's got -- he's got a -- he's got a strong

progressive record in Minnesota, and I think that's going to accord him well.

SOARES: And you say might be hard for Republicans to demonize him, but Mark -- but to Meghan here, I mean, prior to the announcement, we heard one

Republican strategist say that Tim Walz doesn't even register on the fear meter. Since then, as you would expect, they've put out this reaction.

Let's play it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kamala Harris just doubled-down on her radical vision for America by tapping another left-wing extremist as her VP nominee. Tim

Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda, like allowing convicted felons to walk free, embracing anti-American green new

deal policies, and giving up control of our southern border to criminal aliens and violent drug cartels. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, they've

failed, weak and dangerously liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: How do Democrats then, you know, come --

LONGABAUGH: I mean, you just have to --

SOARES: Back from this liberal and out-of-touch -- go ahead, go ahead.

LONGABAUGH: Yes, well, see, I don't know how it's out-of-touch to fight for family and medical leave and implement --

SOARES: Yes --

LONGABAUGH: That in the state of Minnesota to fight for free and universal school lunches so every child has a -- as he describes it, a full billing.

[14:10:00]

You know, fighting for expanding a child tax credit and to cut poverty. I mean, these kinds of, you know, middle-class, working class kinds of ideas

or the agenda that he's pursued as governor, as a member of Congress. I'm more than willing to take on that battle in that fight.

SOARES: Meghan, do you want to respond to that? I mean, because it's something we are starting to see from the Republican side, this attack

against liberal progressive values here.

HAYS: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think that the Republicans are forgetting that this election is going to be in five or six days. And really battles

on, you know, 10,000 votes or so in these battleground states. And most of these votes that they are looking to get are these Nikki Haley voters, that

there's, you know, the suburban women and fighting for children to have lunches and for reproductive rights for women.

And you know, I just don't think that those are going to be lost on these independent women and these suburban women, they're going to make up these

undecided votes that you're going to need to win these battleground states. So, I think that they're sort of fighting to maybe fire up their base, but

I don't know that, that wins any votes for the election in November, which I think, you know -- I think they're losing sight, and that is the most

important thing to do here.

So, I mean, I think their attacks are going to fall on deaf ears.

SOARES: And Meghan, just staying on these attacks --

LONGABAUGH: She can --

SOARES: I mean, go ahead, go ahead.

LONGABAUGH: No, I was just going to add one other thing that -- I think there's a huge contrast in this election between Kamala Harris and Tim

Waltz. People who have -- or displaying energy -- it's -- look to the future. Their optimism versus a ticket on the other side with Trump and

Vance, which is just dark, negative and really has no agenda for moving this country forward.

And I just think over time, over the next three months, that contrast is going to become very stark.

SOARES: And that contrast is already being felt just in the last few hours in fact, just from what we're hearing from them, but also how really Kamala

Harris' team campaign has been able to re-energize, right? Reinvigorate the Democratic Party. But another line of attack, Meghan, I wonder if you can

pick up on this.

How the GOP today saying that the reason that Harris didn't pick Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro is because he's Jewish and she's caving to

anti-Semitism in the Democratic Party. I mean, how do you respond to that? First to -- first to you, first to you, Meghan.

HAYS: You know, those attacks are just false and baseless. The Vice President chose who she felt the most comfortable with, who's going to be

the best governing partner for her. Tim Walz is a stand-up person, he has a record of governing. He's been a member of Congress, he's been a governor,

he's been in the military. He was a high school teacher.

I mean, like his biography is outstanding. She went with someone that she had a gut feeling about, who is going to be her partner, who's going to

really help her and execute the vision for, you know, the next four years and potentially eight years.

So, I just -- those attacks are just baseless and senseless, and I don't think have any room in politics. But again, it's the Republican just

throwing things at the wall to see where they stick --

SOARES: Yes, and Mark, I saw you rolling your eyes. Do you want to respond?

LONGABAUGH: Well, I mean -- I mean, I just agree. I agree with Meghan. I mean, it just --

SOARES: Yes --

LONGABAUGH: Like they're throwing stuff at the -- at the wall to see what sticks because they are so off-balance, and they've been off-balance since

Kamala Harris emerged as the Democratic Party's nominee. Now, with this pick of Tim Walz, they just don't know what to do with themselves.

I mean, and they're stuck with a Vice President and vice presidential nominee and Vance, that to use Walz's words, it's just flat-out weird, and

you know -- you know, I think the Republicans are coming to regret having put him on the ticket. I think we have the whole upper hand here, and

remember, we've got a convention coming up in a few weeks, and --

SOARES: Yes --

LONGABAUGH: I think it's going to be a great opportunity for us to project to the -- to the -- to the country.

SOARES: Very briefly because we do have to go. Can you explain to our international voters, to our viewers here, Mark, why weird, they're weird -

- for Vance. And from why that picked up steam and really resonated with Americans?

LONGABAUGH: Well, I mean, again, I think it's part of -- you know, what's great about Tim Walz, right? Which is, he speaks like every person, and

like most Americans sit back and watch some of the behavior of Donald Trump and Vance, and they just seem flat-out weird.

So, that's -- I mean, I don't know -- I don't know how else to describe it, but they're just -- they're just bizarre.

SOARES: Yes, well, clearly he said what many were thinking and that clearly resonated. Mark and Meghan, really appreciate it. Thank you to you

both. And we are tracking -- we have some good news. We are tracking a really much better day, I think it's fair to say for global markets after

Monday's massive stock tumble.

Of course, that was our lead yesterday. And look how they're doing, it's like night and day, green arrows right across the board, the Dow has surged

as you can see, more than 500 points up, one and three-tenths of a percent.

[14:15:00]

The S&P 500 also doing pretty well, almost up 2 percent, a similar picture with the Nasdaq, which is actually faring slightly better of the three of

just over 2 percent. Monday's meltdown, if you remember, resulted from recession fears over the U.S. economy and concerns over crumbling tech

stocks.

If we have a look at Asia and how Asia fared, Japan's Nikkei has bounced back, and what a bounce back yesterday, of course, it was his worst one day

percentage drop since 1987, closed up 10 percent. We'll keep across the markets, of course. But we know the volumes are low because it's Summer,

but we will of course, keep across all the moments for you.

And still to come tonight, a new threat against Israel from the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Why some western officials are now even more

concerned about a response from Hezbollah, then from Iran itself, we'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: And we have some breaking news to bring you. Hamas, as in the last few moments announced that Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh as the

group's political leader. Sinwar, of course, is the group's leader in Gaza. The change comes after Haniyeh was killed, if you remember, last week in

Tehran. We'll have more on that. But this news just coming in, Hamas announcing Sinwar as the head of the political bureau.

In the meantime and staying in the region, U.S. officials tell CNN, Iran and its proxies are beginning preparations for retaliatory attack against

Israel. The entire Middle East has been on edge for days in fact, after a series of assassinations blamed on Israel including the depths of senior

Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

Two officials say fears are higher right now about a major response from Hezbollah rather than Iran. Today, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah,

you're seeing there, vowed his group will act whether alone or with regional allies. Hezbollah has already declared a new phase, what it calls

a new phase in its months-long cross-border conflict with Israel.

Today, it says it fired a swarm of drones at Israeli military targets. And a Hezbollah rocket barrage triggered fires near Qiryat Shemona in northern

Israel.

[14:20:00]

Adding to the tensions, the U.S. military is blaming Iran-backed militias for a suspected rocket attack on this air base in Iraq, calling it a

dangerous escalation. Seven, U.S. service members were injured. Let's get more on all these threats, and our Natasha Bertrand is following

developments for us from the Pentagon.

So, Natasha, we've heard Iran say they will respond, question now is when and how? What are you hearing from U.S. sources and U.S. officials, as to

what retaliation -- that retaliation may look like right now?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, U.S. officials don't seem to know exactly what that's going to look like. And

that's in part because they don't know if Iran even knows at this point what they're going to do. But they are more concerned now, we're told,

about what Hezbollah is going to do about than what Iran is planning.

We're told that in recent days, the fears have escalated about the idea that Hezbollah could actually act alone and not be coordinated with Tehran

in its response. And of course, Hezbollah is just right there on Israel's northern border. And so, this could be something very significant that we

see from Hezbollah, or you know, it could result -- all the diplomacy that we're seeing in the background could result in all sides kind of de-

escalating tensions.

So, does not seem necessarily like that is what is going to happen at this point. U.S. officials are bracing for some kind of retaliatory action, but

they're trying to essentially temper it and try to make sure that any kind of action will not result, of course, in a large number of civilian

casualties that it will be more largely symbolic and allow either Tehran or Hezbollah or both to kind of save face, you know, in light of these Israeli

strikes in both Beirut and Tehran.

And so, we know from U.S. officials that both Iran and Hezbollah have been making some kind of preparations for some kind of attack on Israel. But

again, you know, U.S. officials have declined to say what exactly that looks like. I will note, however, that before the attack, the Iranian

attack against Israel in April, U.S. officials saw very clear signs and very large movements by Iran, including the movement of, for example,

major missile launchers and things like that into position to prepare for a major attack.

They're not necessarily seeing those kinds of huge signs at this point, forecasting something potentially as significant as a massive missile

barrage, like we saw a few months ago. But of course, they're basically preparing for the worst here and engaging in this very frenetic diplomacy

behind the scenes to try to ease tensions even further. So, we'll have to see if that works.

SOARES: Natasha, appreciate it, thank you very much. Let's talk more really about the growing threat of a wider war in the Middle East. Joining

me now is Colin Clarke; director of Policy and Research at the Soufan Group, a well-known face here on the show. Colin, great to see you. Just in

breaking news that we've had in the last few minutes, I'm not sure if you caught it.

We've now heard that Hamas has issued a statement announcing that it's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh, of course, who

was assassinated in Tehran last week as the head of its political bureau. What do you make of this announcement?

COLIN CLARKE, DIRECTOR OF POLICY & RESEARCH, SOUFAN GROUP: Thanks for having me. I think the announcement could be quite significant, and it's

really interesting because you now see Hamas potentially attempting to bring closer the political bureau and the military wing, by having a

military leader like Sinwar, kind of dual-had-it, functioning in both roles.

It certainly points to a victory for the hard-liners within Hamas, some of the other names that have been mentioned, Khaled Mashal has some issues and

his relationship with some of the -- you know, kind of Hamas adjacent countries in the region, including the Syrians, the Iranians, and so, this

was likely a move to empower the more hard-line militants in the group. It could also have reverberations into the West Bank as well.

SOARES: Yes, I was going to say this doesn't bode well because of course, Ismail Haniyeh was part of the negotiations. We so thought was part of the

wing, the political side, the political bureau of Hamas. And of course, Israel has publicly accused Sinwar of being the mastermind, right? Behind

the terror attack against Israel on October the 7th.

So begs the question of where does -- where does this leave any sort of ceasefire, any hostage negotiations now with Yahya Sinwar as the head of

the political bureau for Hamas.

CLARKE: Well, I think what it does first and foremost is, it complicates the day after, right? We hear a lot of discussions about the day after and

how the Israelis haven't really been planning for that. They haven't strategized for the day after a lot of that, is because of the role of

Benjamin Netanyahu --

SOARES: Yes --

CLARKE: And his far-right allies. They refuse to kind of think about any kind of Gaza governance. This really complicates that, because let's say

the war was to stop this week and Sinwar was not captured or killed, he'd be the individual, you know, representing Hamas there. And there's no way

the Israelis are going to do business with Sinwar in any kind of post- conflict governance in Gaza.

[14:25:00]

SOARES: Yes, stay with us, Colin, I want to go to our Jeremy Diamond, who is in Haifa for this breaking news. And Jeremy, just as we bring our

viewers up-to-date, this breaking news that Hamas announcing Sinwar as the head of the political bureau. What has been the reaction from Israel to

this?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we haven't gotten any reaction yet, but this -- I can tell you what the reaction will be --

SOARES: Yes --

DIAMOND: And that is to say that Yahya Sinwar taking over as Hamas' political leader. First of all, increasingly blurs the lines between Hamas'

military wing and its political wing. Yahya Sinwar was viewed as very much the bridge between those two wings.

And in addition to that, he's also viewed as responsible for the October 7th massacre. The -- in the same way that Mohammed Deif was the leader of

the military wing, there's a belief, a strong belief that Yahya Sinwar would have been intimately involved, if not in the planning, then

certainly, in the decision-making about choosing to carry out such an attack.

And what this also does is, it makes very clear that Yahya Sinwar, despite more than ten months of war, is clearly alive, clearly still very

influential within Hamas, to the point that he is able to actually seize power here in the wake of Ismail Haniyeh's assassination.

And what that will do beyond what I've already mentioned is also, clearly, show that the hard-liners within Hamas are clearly being empowered. Ismail

Haniyeh was viewed in many ways as a more pragmatic voice within Hamas, as a voice who is pushing for a ceasefire, who is willing to make certain

concessions at the negotiating table.

And Yahya Sinwar, who has been consulted at every step in those ceasefire negotiations, was very much viewed as carrying the more hard-line of

position. And so, that obviously, I think is pretty clear what that means for the future of ceasefire negotiations, for how much more difficult it

may be to actually achieve a ceasefire, and obviously, this will have tremendous implications in Gaza itself, where we know that the lack of a

ceasefire is impacting Gazan civilians more than anyone else perhaps.

SOARES: Yes, and I assumed that Yahya Sinwar is in hiding in Gaza. Do we know what role he has played in these negotiations while of course, when

Haniyeh was still alive? Do we know how prominent his viewpoint, how influential he's been in these negotiations, Jeremy?

DIAMOND: It's been critical at every single juncture, Isa, because Hamas' political leadership outside of Gaza knew that it could not implement a

ceasefire. It could not stop the fighting without the agreement of Hamas leaders in Gaza, which effectively gave Sinwar a veto over every decision

that has been made at the negotiating table so far.

But now, he is empowered even further because we're not just talking about a veto, we're talking about actual decision-making power and authority. And

one other thing that we should note is that Sinwar, as he has been consulted at every critical juncture, that sometimes led to delays in those

negotiations, because of the fact that Sinwar is believed to be hiding in tunnels under Gaza, most likely under Khan Younis.

It was taking -- it could take as little as hours sometimes, but often times, it would take days for the messages to go from Doha or Cairo, from

the mediating -- from the negotiating table into Gaza to actually reach Sinwar in a covert manner without the Israelis discovering where he was

hiding.

And then for those messages to reach back to the negotiating table thereafter. And so, that is going to be clearly another factor in the

potential future of those talks. But we should note that for now, these negotiations are effectively dead for the time-being, at least in the

short-term following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, there has been no progress towards another ceasefire deal.

And instead, what we are talking about, particularly where I am now in northern Israel, is this possibility, very real possible of an Iranian

attack against Israel --

SOARES: Yes --

DIAMOND: In retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh as well as potentially attacks from Hezbollah, which is just about 30 kilometers north

of here at the border with Lebanon.

SOARES: Jeremy, I appreciate it, thank you very much for coming up with this breaking news. Let me go back to Colin, and Collin, just picking up

where really Jeremy has left off, because we have seen Iran just in the last what? Twenty four hours, Iran-backed militias attacking airbase in

Iraq.

Today, we've seen Hezbollah firing a barrage of rockets into northern Israel. Meantime, one U.S. official -- I don't know if you heard what

Pentagon correspondent was saying, saying that the fears are high and now that Hezbollah, they fear more Hezbollah taking action rather than Iran.

What do you make of that? Speak to Hezbollah's capabilities here?

CLARKE: Yes, and I wonder if that's based off of any concrete Intelligence slip.

SOARES: Yes.

CLARKE: Hezbollah is the cream of the crop when it comes to trans-national terrorist organizations. This is a group around since the early '80s,

they're the most battle-hardened, capable terrorist group globally that there is.

[14:30:00]

And, you know, this is a group with an arsenal of 150,000 rockets and precision guided munitions. If you look at what Hezbollah was able to do

against Israel in 2006 in the 33-day war, they're far more capable today. They've gained more battlefield experience fighting in Syria and they are

the tip of Iran's spear. So, it doesn't surprise me that they may lead the opening salvo.

Although, you know, I would also expect Iran to potentially join in the fray. Hezbollah could be used to kind of confuse Israeli missile defense

while the Iranians do something. And then, you've also got a number of other members of the so-called Axis of Resistance, the Houthis in Yemen,

various Shia militia groups in Iraq and others that could also jump into the mix here. So, you know, a fraught 24, 48 hours ahead.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So, you still expect Iran to retaliate whether it does it solo, whether it does it with the Axis of Resistance,

with its proxies. But what is clear -- what you're saying here, Colin, is that this is not it, right? You expect something bigger potentially from

Iran?

CLARKE: I do. And I'd be surprised if the Iranians didn't retaliate at all. Maybe not on the scale of what we saw in April, but something that

shows that they're not going to sit back and let the Israelis operate with impunity on Iranian soil. And, you know, this is a tough place for the

Iranians. They need to thread the needle between responding and not seeming weak. But also, not escalating the conflict further and potentially

dragging in the United States, which has increased its military muscle in the region.

It's brought in some F-22 fighter squadrons. It's changed out carrier strike groups. So, the U.S. is there. We're seeing a lot of the similar

moves that we saw in April. But I think the Iranian response might be a little bit more muted, and again, involving some of the Axis forces here.

SOARES: Yes, clearly tense moment in the region right now. Colin, always great to get your perspective analysis. Thanks for coming on, on this

breaking news as well. Appreciate it.

And still to come tonight, Trump's campaign isn't wasting any time attacking Harris running mate for vice president. We'll tell you why they

say Walz is worse than Harris and Biden. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Donald Trump's campaign is wasting no time attacking Kamala Harris' choice of Tim Walz as her running mate. They are

labelling Walz as someone who's more liberal than Harris and President Biden, telling CNN that Walz's record as governor of Minnesota is the

proof. One Trump adviser said Harris, quote, found a 60-year-old white guy who has the same crazy ideas she does.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins me now live from Washington. It's true, they have wasted no time going after a Minnesota governor. Just talk us through what

they're saying, what the strategy is here.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, I think for the strategy part, look, Donald Trump's team has really struggled over the last several weeks on how

to define Vice President Kamala Harris. They have been trying to workshop different lines of attacks to see what would stick against her. But now,

I'm told in my conversations with them that they do see an opportunity here with the announcement of Minnesota Governor Walz as her VP.

They have plans to try to paint him as more radically liberal than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They plan to really focus on his record

specifically as governor over the last four years, I'm told. Remember, he was also a Democratic congressman of Minnesota for 12 years, but they

really try to home in on what he's done as governor.

I do think, though, Isa, it's going to be difficult for them to paint him as a liberal as they are trying to make it out today, because if you do

actually look at his record, especially from before his time as governor, he was considered a more moderate leaning Democrat while he served in

Congress, he, you know, was pretty moderate on gun safety rights. He voted to impeach Eric Holder after some of the things that he had done. So,

there's some things that I think Democrats who are pushing for him to try to paint Walz as someone who is not super progressive, things that they can

point to.

But this will be the campaign strategy, that he's a liberal, that he stands for everything that the Biden administration has laid out, specifically the

policies that they believe Republicans pull better on things like the economy, immigration, crime, and tried to paint him as someone who would be

dangerous for the country, just like what they're trying to do with Harris.

I want you to take a listen, because we did hear from Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator J. D. Vance today addressing this. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Isa, just for that last line there about her bending the knee, one key way they plan to do this as well is to focus not necessarily

on her selection of Walz, but her decision to not select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. We know and we've been reporting for several days

now that Shapiro was also a top contender that Harris was focusing on. However, she, of course, ultimately went with Walz.

The argument that the Trump campaign is trying to make is that the more left-wing members of the Democratic Party have been arguing that maybe

Shapiro, who is a Jewish governor, was someone who wasn't selected because of his criticism when it comes to the handling of the war between Israel

and Hamas. It's something we've seen a lot of the Trump campaign surrogates try to push on social media today.

But I'll note that privately, Trump's team is actually very happy she didn't select Shapiro because they are very worried about Pennsylvania. We

know Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state, and they actually were very concerned that Shapiro could help her win that ultimately. And of

course, she did not select him. Isa.

SOARES: Alayna, thank you very much. Appreciate it. You take us nicely into our next guest really. Thank you, Alayna. Solomon Jones is a radio

host and he's also columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News. That's where he joins us now, live.

Solomon, welcome to the show. We understand that Tim Walz will join Kamala Harris in Philadelphia later today, where they are kicking off, I think

it's fair to say, a tour of battleground states. Give me first your reaction to the decision to go with Walz.

[14:40:00]

SOLOMON JONES, PHILADELPHIA RADIO HOST AND COLUMNIST, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: I think it's a good decision. I spoke a little bit earlier with

Sharif Street, who is the Democratic chair of the -- he's the chair of the Democratic Party here in Pennsylvania, and he felt that whether or not Josh

Shapiro was on the ticket that Democrats had done very well in statewide races here in Pennsylvania in the last few years, 2018, 2019, 2020, beating

Trump style Republicans over and over and over again.

And so, this gives Josh Shapiro the chance to be here in Pennsylvania and campaigning in Pennsylvania. That's Tim Walz and Kamala Harris campaign

across the country.

SOARES: And I saw, Solomon, on your X, on formerly known as Twitter, you are asking your followers and I assume these are conversations you've had

also in your radio show, who you think ought to be VP. Shapiro, I saw was among the favorites, and he is very much loved and respected.

Politically, as we heard from our correspondent, Alayna Treene there, I mean, Pennsylvania is -- it's critical for a win, right, in November. Why

do you think that Kamala Harris didn't go with Shapiro? And is it a missed opportunity in your view?

JONES: Well, I think that she went with who she was comfortable with. I think that there are some policy differences with Shapiro. Shapiro, of

course, a moderate, almost conservative in some ways, a Democrat, somebody who has supported school vouchers here in Pennsylvania, much to the chagrin

of many in the Democratic Party, someone who has supported some Republican ideas here in Pennsylvania, which I think would be a good thing here in

Pennsylvania for those who are on the fence, but I don't know how that plays nationally and I don't know how it plays within the party.

The other thing I think that might have been of concern is Shapiro staunch support of Israel at a time when many key demographics in the party are

looking at what's happening in Israel and saying we need a ceasefire. We need to consider what's happening on the humanitarian side and the

dissonance between those two points of views, I think, might have been a problem going forward.

SOARES: And we, of course, until recently, Tim Walz was recently unknown to many Americans. I think that's fair to say. We've heard as well that he

-- you know, Solomon, that he's affable, that he's the midwestern dad that Americans need, the guy you want to hug.

The question is, can this guy you want to hug, can he help Harris across middle America? Can he help convince Roosevelt states to back him? What are

you -- what is your feeling from the conversations you've had from the guests on your show?

JONES: Well, I think that people are happy that he's a teacher. That is a huge demographic within the Democratic Party. It is a demographic that, you

know, needed to be excited. And I think this is something that they can be excited about. Somebody who was a teacher, somebody who understands their

plight, somebody who would back education.

You know, on the one hand, you have Donald Trump and Project 2025 talking about, literally, dismantling the Department of Education and on the other

side, you have a teacher. It's a stark difference in message. I think it's a stark difference in personality. And I think it's something that can help

with that key demographic that goes beyond race or class. It really goes to that profession.

SOARES: Solomon, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. So, you were talking -- we were seeing Kamala Harris leaving D.C. moments ago,

as she departs, of course, for that rally where you are in Pennsylvania. Key rally where we'll see, of course, Tim Walz later on today. Solomon,

really appreciate you taking the time and breaking it all down for us. Important perspective. Thank you.

JONES: Thank you.

SOARES: And still to come tonight, more of course on this as the stage is set for American voters. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. This is Donald Trump

and J. D. Vance. We are tracking a busy, busy campaign trail with much more coverage just ahead. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

SOARES: While fashion is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, water pollution, as well as textile waste, to hold the industry accountable, a

group of I.T. friends from India are tapping into their software skills, as Lynda Kinkade now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHAMEEK GHOSH, CEO TRUSTRACE: When I was growing up, I had a personal relationship with the local tailor, and I knew where my garment was being

stitched. Nowadays, the supply chains are distant and opaque. We do not know where our garments are being made and under what conditions.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Eight years ago in India, Shameek Ghosh and three I.T. friends came together with a mission of

making supply chains more transparent, after seeing the effects of the fashion industry firsthand.

GHOSH: We come from a part of India where the water have got really polluted because of the nearby textile hubs. And we felt that we could

solve this problem by bringing data and transparency so that companies could improve their supply chains.

KINKADE (voice-over): Today, their company, TrusTrace, has developed software tools that allow brands to track their garments production in

real-time, offering visibility into material sourcing and labor practices and identifying areas of risk.

MADHAVA VENKATESH, CTO, TRUSTRACE: A brand can typically have tens of thousands of suppliers. And they might be producing billions of garments

every year.

KINKADE (voice-over): TrusTrace helps simplify all this data through digitization technology and A.I., which aggregates information from

suppliers and then validates it through third-party certifying agencies.

VENKATESH: As soon as a brand gets onboarded into the platform, the first thing that they do is invite the direct suppliers into the system. Then the

system can build what we call as a supply chain graph, which shows all the interconnections off this brand, which is also plotted in what we call as a

map view where the entire distribution of the supply chain is shown.

KINKADE (voice-over): From their brands can run risk analysis to flag any compliance or labor issues. And also see areas where they could reduce

waste and enhance production.

VENKATESH: Most of our customers have net zero target for by around 2030. And we already have helped our customers to at least achieve 30 percent of

their emission targets by 2025.

KINKADE (voice-over): On the consumer side, TrusTrace has developed a QR code technology so that they too can gain insight into a product's journey

to the shelf.

VENKATESH: If you scan the QR code, you get information about what is the material composition. So, this garment is made from organic cotton. And it

also talks about what are the different certifications that this product has. It has the entire supply chain information, and also it has

information about the circularity and sustainability.

[14:50:00]

Every customer will be empowered with the information about the product. Now, it is all up to us to make conscious choices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: And for more stories from this series, you can visit cnn.com/goinggreen. And still to come tonight, Donald Trump's campaign is

already trying to link Minnesota governor Tim Walz to the Biden administration's economic policies. We'll take a closer look at Kamala

Harris' running mate with Julia Chatterley after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: A news just in to CNN. The U.S. Justice Department has charged a Pakistani man with seeking to carry out political assassinations in

connection to a foiled plot that may have targeted Donald Trump.

Now, the suspect, Asif Merchant, you're seeing there, allegedly has ties to the Iranian government. A U.S. official says FBI investigators believe

Trump and other current as well as former government officials were the intended targets. Authorities have not found any evidence of any tie

between this alleged plot and, of course, last month's attempt on Trump's life. We'll stay across this story, of course, that's just coming in. As

soon as there are any more developments, we will, of course, bring it to your attention.

I want to return to a story that was leading our show this time yesterday, and that was the stock market drop that we saw. Now, we're seeing a bit of

a bounce back after that massive tumble. And what a day. Ahat a difference a day makes, right?

Green arrows right across the board, Dow Industrials there. And the NASDAQ is doing much better than they did yesterday. Same picture with the S&P

500. We also showed you how the Nikkei finished overnight -- this morning, I should say, much stronger as well.

U.S. Stocks are making a firm recovery. But of course, fears of recession remain. And now, of course, we have -- we're hearing concerns over by

administration, economic policies and what this means for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Just hours ago, in fact, Governor Tim Walz joined the presumptive Democratic ticket. And for more details on what his economic record could

be from, what we've seen from him so far, I want to bring in CNN Anchor Julia Chatterley, who joins us live from New York.

[14:55:00]

Julia, great to see you. I was just speaking, what, in the last five minutes or so, to Alayna Treene, pardon me, who is covering the Trump

campaign and J. D. Vance. And what we've heard so far is them starting to attack his record, right? Saying that he's dangerously liberal, that he's

dangerous for the country. Is there anything from his record as governor that we've seen to suggest that?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: If progressive is a dirty word for the Republicans, they're going to use it more and more with this,

certainly as far as his economic policy is concerned.

The focus is going to be -- and I think this helps in an economic slowdown, working families, labor, you can see that from the policies that he's

enacted in Minnesota. I can give you a look at some of the key ones. I mean, we see this from his background. He's a union man. He's a former

teacher. The unions there certainly have backed him.

Typical policies, support for Amazon workers, as an example, gig economy workers. I'm talking Uber and Lyft drivers. Then you look at some of the

policies for working families, child tax credits, free meals for school children, as another example, paid sick and medical leave funded by

employers.

So, this is the guy that you get on the campaign trail, one, to say, look, you may not believe and think that the administration's policies have

worked for you, but here's -- let me show you, as a governor from Minnesota, how they have worked. He's also, I think the guy to say, look, I

understand the concerns for working families.

He plays to that working class white vote across the vast belt, certainly, and he's been proven that. And we know Biden has struggled with that. The

challenge for me with some of these policies, Isa, is how do they fly with small and medium sized businesses across the country? Because, of course,

that's the backbone of the environment.

And we spoke to the chamber of commerce in Minnesota and here's a quick quote, many progressive policies signed by the government have limited the

private sector from reaching its economic potential. There is much more to be done here to improve our business climate. They're 37th across the

nation in terms of job growth and overall growth slightly below that.

Isa, it's a balance of practicality and policies that you would like to enact and what Congress will allow you to do.

SOARES: Indeed, that is critical. Julia, great to see you. Thank you very much. And we're going to leave you tonight's show, of course, with these

images we have of the rally in Pennsylvania. They're expected later on today.

Do stay right here. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is up next. Have a wonderful evening. I shall see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]

END