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Laura Coates Live

Harris-Walz Campaigns In Arizona; Trump-Vance Is In Montana To Support Senator Tester; Former Governor Jesse Ventura Weighs In On Tim Walz Military Service; Plane Crash In Brazil Kills 61 People; Gold For Algerian Boxer Social Media Criticism; U.S. Female Olympians Dominates Paris Olympics; OpenAI Warns People Of Being Emotionally Hooked On ChatGPT Voice Mode. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired August 09, 2024 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What in the F is happening in England? I keep picking up the Internet and my social feeds, and I see that people are being arrested in England, the U.K., for retweeting memes and leaving Facebook comments.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST: Inciting and encouraging riots.

JENNINGS: Are you for it?

CORNISH: I'm just saying it's a real thing they're worried about.

JENNINGS: I'm saying England blink twice if you need us to come liberate you.

CORNISH: Okay.

JENNINGS: We will come over there. We've done it before.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR: I'm not going.

(CROSSTALK)

SELLERS: I don't want fish and chips.

JENNINGS: You get arrested for a retweet?

SELLERS: I don't want warm beer. I'm going to stay right here.

CORNISH: Okay.

JENNINGS: Retweets.

CORNISH: All right. Well, U.K. Twitter, thanks for watching tonight. Thanks to the rest of you for watching "NewsNight: State of the Race." Stay with us for "Laura Coates Live." It starts right now.

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST AND ANCHOR: You want the West Wing? Well, I guess it's time to head West. Kamala Harris rallies in battleground, Arizona as Trump gets back on the trail, this time in reliably red Montana.

Plus, we've got the body. I'm talking about Jesse "The Body" Ventura turned former Minnesota governor. He joins me to talk about the VP pick, Governor Tim Walz, and I really can't wait to hear what he has to say about the criticism about Walz's military service.

You know what they say, success is the best kind of revenge. Well, look at who just silenced the critics. The Algerian boxer who was bullied online extensively after her opening Olympic bout. Well, she just took home the gold.

All right. Right now, Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail. He's about to speak at a rally in Bozeman, Montana. It was actually his first one since Kamala Harris officially became the Democratic nominee and saw a surge in her poll numbers. Now, given how close this race has become, you expect him to be in a battleground state, right? Instead, he's in one that he won by 16 points in 2020. And it's pretty much guaranteed to go red.

And there's two ways to ask the next key question. So why would he go there? Maybe the question should be, why would he go there? Well, he says he's helping boost a GOP candidate for Senate in a very tight race, which could end up tipping the balance of the chamber. Now, we don't actually know exactly what Trump's campaigning plans are after tonight. But it is worth noting this is the only event posted on his campaign's Web site.

And he said at yesterday's news conference that he will pick up his campaigning at the DNC, which, by the way, ends on August 22nd. That's two weeks from now. Harris and Tim Walz, by contrast, are keeping the pedal to the metal. They're also out West for this time a two-day campaign blitz, starting with tonight's stop in Glendale, Arizona.

And while there, Harris appeared to counter one of Trump's personal attacks against her after he claimed yesterday that she isn't smart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And part of why we are going to win is because we remember and we are smart and we know what's happening and we're not falling for the gaslighting and we're not falling for the okey dokey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Well, the campaign also making a dig at Trump's light schedule, saying in a statement, "Donald Trump is too lazy to fight for anything but himself or leave his country club. Fine by us." I think that might be code for who's running a basement campaign now. With me now, CNN political commentator Van Jones, May Mailman, former Trump White House attorney and Mark McKinnon, executive producer of "The Circus" and former adviser to George W. Bush. Glad to have you all here.

Let me begin with you, May, because I like the color pink and you're in the center and I want to hear your voice about this. So let me ask you this question. Trump is in Montana to campaign for a Senate candidate. Montana is not necessarily a battleground state and I'm using the word necessarily generously. Why do you think he's going there? Is it really about Tester? What's the reason you see?

MAY MAILMAN, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ASSOCIATE COUNSEL: I mean, I do. I think you're going to meet with donors. So that's important, too. But also, what's the point of being president if you don't have the Senate? You need the Senate to confirm your traditional nominees. You need the Senate to get your cabinet passed. But he does need to visit swing states. I think that that is true. And I think he will visit those swing states. But Montana is certainly important because you've got to flip the Senate if you're going to be an effective Republican president.

COATES: You know, on that point, and it's important to think about, Van, I mean, I think the larger question I keep thinking about is this look different, the campaigning since 2016 or 2020.

[23:05:06]

There's a lot of a familiar playbook that's happening as well when it comes to insults being hurled and otherwise. We're hearing a lot about how Trump has been stewing off the campaign trail because some of the attacks he's saying are frankly not as effective as they have been against prior candidates. Why do you think he's on the trail in the way that he is? Is it reactive to trying to take some wind out of the sails? And is Montana the way to do so?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is a fading Vegas act. Donald Trump is like Barry Manilow singing Mandy just one more time. Like, guys, it's tired --

COATES: It's a hell of a song.

JONES: -- it's old. It's not working. And it's over. And so what do you do? You get you scamper back to some little corner of the country where you can get a hug and a kiss and a cookie and somebody can pat you on the head and laugh at all your old stale jokes. But the air -- the soda, the fizz has come out of the soda. And this thing is in the toilet and starting to swirl.

COATES: Wow. And that's a very visual analogy indeed. Mark McKinnon, let me turn to you. Do you see this as a fading Vegas act or one that he hopes to rejuvenate and revitalize the campaign by as May's talking about, trying to make sure that if he were to secure the Oval Office, he's not going to be essentially a lame duck.

MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISOR TO GEORGE W. BUSH AND JOHN MCCAIN: Fading Vegas act is the perfect description. I was thinking of old Elvis. It feels like old Elvis left the building. But, you know, I tell you what really struck me today was that in late 2015, the very first time that I went to see Donald Trump was in Arizona. And I remember going there and I remember it being 105 degrees and that there were people lined up for miles and I was just dumbstruck and I said, wow, something's happening here. Well, today, the exact same thing was happening on the ground in

Arizona with Kamala Harris, 105 degrees, miles of people standing there. So this really feels like more like a movement than a moment. And that's what it's going to require to beat Donald Trump. And I think it's really interesting observation that Peggy Noonan makes to say when she wrote that she wasn't sure whether or not Harris had actually created the movement or the movement that created her.

Meaning, I think that it's this pent-up energy, particularly among Democrats and independents for this joyous kind of -- this joy ride that's happening right now. It's just -- and it's just flowing and it's really lightened up with jet fuel because of the joy factor, which is something I wrote about today in "Vanity Fair."

COATES: You know, I have to say, and first of all, to anyone who will tell you in Arizona, the 105 is okay because it's a dry heat. I say to you, no, it's oppressive. But everyone else on this same point, because May, when you think about this, some of the things that have reenergized the base for Democrats has been about the absence of a rematch between Trump and Biden.

But some of the things that were concerning to voters, concerning to Trump specifically and concerning to those who are encouraging Biden to not run for reelection were about age and mental fitness. Now, Harris on the top of the ticket and during his press conference yesterday, Trump claimed that he nearly died in a helicopter crash with the former San Francisco mayor, Willie Brown, who once had a relationship of some kind with Harris. I want you listen to what Brown had to say tonight and also Pete Buttigieg on this very point. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever been in a helicopter that made an emergency landing with Donald Trump?

WILLIE BROWN, FORMER SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR: No.

BERMAN: Have you ever been in a helicopter with Donald Trump?

BROWN: No.

BERMAN: You have no memory of anything like that ever happening?

BROWN: No.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can just tell that he's lost a step. You know, he's getting mushier, fuzzier, more confused. You look at his press conference, he declared that he was in a helicopter that went down with Willie Brown on board. He's never even been in a helicopter with Willie Brown. And it does raise some real concerns about what's happened to Donald Trump over the years, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: May, that was an extraordinary point, especially for somebody who wants to suggest that his acumen and his acuity is as sharp as a tack.

MAILMAN: Yeah, I mean, he does sit, though, for these lengthy press conferences, combative press conferences that range from everything to foreign policy to, you know, candidates that he's barely had time to research. So I don't know if Trump telling stories is just part of the water at this point. I don't really think that that's going to affect the election.

[23:09:55]

What is going to affect the election, I think, is the momentum and where did it come from? Because nobody has learned anything about Kamala Harris. She doesn't even have a policy section on her website. She's able to distance herself from everything that she's done, but able to take credit for everything that the same administration has done.

And so it's really hard to find a line of attack there and that needs to be the next point, because this momentum doesn't feel organic. I don't know whether she created it or it created her, but it just came out of nowhere and it's really, I think, therefore hard to target.

COATES: Van, what do you think about that?

JONES: Well, you know, I see it very differently. First of all, Nikki Haley said and she was right when she said it, that the first party to retire their nearly 80-year-old front runner was going to win. It didn't come out of nowhere. Nobody in this country wanted this matchup. Nobody. Seventy percent, 80 percent of the country said, please, for God's sakes, you know, don't do this to us again.

And so literally if anybody had said, well, I don't know, maybe we don't do the two most unpopular people again, just throw anybody, you would have caught this wave. This wave was out there. It was wanting something. But don't take anything away from Kamala Harris, this idea. There's a thousand ways to get this wrong and only a couple of ways to get it right, even in this environment.

And Kamala Harris has played this brilliantly. She has not put one foot wrong yet. Now, she's got to get through some interviews. She's got to get through the debate. A lot of things can happen. But right now, a hundred politicians given this opportunity would have screwed it up. This party is not easy to unite. This party is not easy to lead. This party is not easy in any way.

This party is like a dysfunctional family on a good day. And she has somehow got everybody at the kitchen table acting right. And you've got to give her the credit for that.

COATES: Excuse me, Van. Mark, I want to go to you on this because, you know, I've heard this discussion that May has raised about the chicken or the egg, the idea of, you know, the generic nature, not having a campaign platform. On the other hand, to Van's point, there has been a unifying and cohesive, coalescing around her for the reasons that, you know, are being demonstrated by poll numbers, by fundraising and beyond. When you look at the landscape of this, what do you say to the attacks that she is a generic candidate or that her failure to have interviews is going to be destructive in the long run to her campaign?

MCKINNON: She's been running for two weeks.

COATES: There you go.

MCKINNON: Give it some time.

COATES: End of story.

MCKINNON: I saw a tape of her today on the tarmac taking questions. I mean, she's been vice president for almost four years. We've seen her a lot. I mean, she's not some unknown character that came out of the mist, for God's sakes. And by the way, we're going to have a Democratic convention in a week where she's going to lay out her ideas and her platform and her vision for the country. Take an aspirin, people.

COATES: Well, there you go. I mean, that's a T-shirt, by the way. May, I'll ask you on this point, though. You did say and suggest that, look, Trump's out there. He's in front of combative interviews and beyond. But he's not talking about policy. He's not talking about his platform. I mean, the idea that Harris is not having, I think you mentioned, a web page devoted to it.

When Trump is in front of the cameras, when he's talking to people, and wait till you see what we'll say tonight, he's not driving home the points on policy that I think would bring into the fold more voters. So he's just talking about personal attacks and beyond and making comments about helicopters and whatnot. Is he helping himself when he's in front of the cameras? Because that's an opportunity he's missing.

MAILMAN: But I think that that's not exactly right. I think he does talk about the issues. So when Trump talks about securing the border, you actually know what he's talking about, right? Because he had remained in Mexico and used tools at the border that actually were effective, including COVID-era tools. Some of them might not be available later. But we can actually have a conversation about that.

When Kamala Harris running also on securing the border, it's very strange, because what do you mean? I mean, you are the administration now. You could secure the border. You're saying that it's Congress's fault. So I think it's a different type of policy conversation, because Trump can actually just say, I was president. I like those policies. I would do that. Kamala Harris, what would you do? We don't know.

JONES: I think --

COATES: COATES: Well, May, I had to say -- excuse me. I had to say, if the campaign on either side is, I was president, I like these policies, that's not going to be effective for voters who want more than just the answer. They want the process. That's part of the platforming and the campaigning. Van, real quick point. What do you want to say? JONES: Well, I was just going to say, she just put out some pretty

good ads explaining what she would do. She would implement the bill that Trump stopped. She literally was a part of putting together a bipartisan deal that would have fixed all this stuff and it was Trump who didn't want it.

[23:15:03]

And so if Trump -- if he wants to own the border issue, he's got to own the fact that he stopped it from getting fixed last year.

COATES: I'll be curious to see what he has to say tonight. But we're all going to take Mark McKinnon's advice right now. Go take an aspirin. Thank you so much, everyone.

Well, Governor Tim Walz taking and talking up his time in the National Guard. And there is growing scrutiny on this issue. You know what? He's not the only Minnesota governor to spend time in the military. Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL. And "The Body" joins me to discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM WALZ, DEMOCRATIC VIDE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My dad, and some of you know him in here. You had him. A chain-smoking Korean War-era veteran. Cared about his community. But two days after I turned 17, he took me down to join the Army National Guard. And for 24 years, I proudly wore that uniform.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Presumptive Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, touting his service in the National Guard at a campaign rally tonight in Arizona.

[23:19:57]

It comes as Republican VP candidate Senator J.D. Vance criticizes Walz's record, accusing him of abandoning his National Guard unit in 2005 to run for Congress before a deployment to Iraq.

Well, joining me now, former independent governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura. He endorsed Walz in his recent run for governor. Governor Ventura, thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm really eager to hear your take on this because you are a former Navy SEAL. You served in Vietnam. And I have to ask you what you think of this attack from the Trump-Vance ticket on Governor Walz's military service.

JESSE VENTURA, FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, Laura, I'll tell you what I think. I think it's shameful. I think it's shameful that a veteran would attack another veteran. Governor Walz served honorably for 24 years in the National Guard. After 20 years, you are eligible to retire at any time you deem necessary. They talk about him missing his deployment. Well, maybe Mr. Vance should ask the real question.

What is the National Guard doing deploying to a foreign country in a foreign war? Well, let's go into history and figure out how that happened. That happened because George W. Bush and Dick Cheney went into the Iraq war based on lies. No weapons of mass destruction. No ties to al-Qaeda. Nothing with 9/11. And they ran out of bodies.

They needed more bodies. They couldn't implement a draft. That would be political suicide. So what George Bush did was sign an executive order sending the National Guard into foreign deployment. The National Guard is not for foreign deployment. Their name says what they do. They guard our nation from within. So this hogwash about Governor Walz missing a deployment, not only that, he's 24 years, he's an E9.

I deployed twice. We never even had an E9 with us when we deployed. E9s are not going to walk the point. They're not going to be involved in any combat whatsoever. They're figureheads being the most senior enlisted within their company, and that's what it's all about. So I think that Vance is doing a disservice to himself and a disservice to the United States Marine Corps.

I know a lot of great Marines, and Marines show respect, and Vance is not showing respect. And let's continue. Who does he have respect for? Donald Trump, the biggest draft dodger from the Vietnam War, the rich white boy who bought his way out of it. I come from south Minneapolis. My friends and I didn't get out of it. We either got drafted or we enlisted. I know six or seven or eight of my friends.

Donald Trump was your typical rich white boy who didn't have to serve in Vietnam because he could buy his way out of it, and that's who Vance is standing with, this guy who leads from the rear?

COATES: Then why do you think, given all that you've described, from the politics, the history, and of course the person who's on the top of the ticket who has been criticized for the bone spurs reason for not going to serve, and I, frankly, I have not served. I am a civilian and have the ultimate reverence for those who have and thank you for your service. So why do you think this is the line of attack to choose politically? Obviously, it would offend and alienate voters on one level and also people who have served the armed forces on the other.

VENTURA: I don't know. You'd have to ask Mr. Vance that. I don't understand his motive whatsoever, how he could turn against a fellow veteran. You know, there's kind of an unwritten rule amongst us veterans. You don't criticize another veteran. Not every veteran's a knuckle dragger, and I'm not going to define knuckle dragger because if you've been in the service, you'll know what a knuckle dragger is.

But, you know, as a frog man in the United States Navy, my job was to ensure the Marines could get to shore to do their job. We went in ahead of them. We went in before them to ensure the Marines could land. And his point of being a Marine like he is and then criticizing the governor after 24 years of service, it's despicable on his behalf for doing that. And I hope all veterans feel like I do about it. You don't criticize another veteran and how they served, whether they're a cook or whatever they do, they all have a job to do. And if you're going to be successful, everybody has to do their job and pitch in to be successful.

COATES: So well said. I think it's capturing the sentiment of so many people who are watching this. And there is the terms I can think of as kind of an ick factor of having people at each other in this way, knowing the nuance and knowing the fact that everyone has served.

[23:25:02]

And what's the number? Less than one percent of people have protected this nation over time. I do wonder, given your strong feelings and the way in which he has been attacked in this way, and he is addressing it in various ways, it will be the end of the story.

You have endorsed traditionally third-party candidates, although you did endorse him for his run for governor. Do you intend to endorse the Harris-Walz ticket now?

VENTURA: Well, I'll tell you this. I met with Bobby Kennedy last winter. We met for three hours. Apparently, I came in in second. He chose his woman, Shanahan, as running mate. Bobby's still a friend of mine, but I'll tell you where I stand right now. I'm going to be selfish. A few years ago, I got the opportunity to see the United States elect its first black president. I didn't think that could ever happen. And they even reelected him.

Well, now I'm going to be selfish again. I've only got a few elections to go. I'm 73 years old now so the window is closing. I want to be alive to see the first woman president of the United States of America and the first woman commander-in-chief and we've got her right now.

COATES: Governor, thank you so much for sharing your views on this issue. I think a lot of people have been very interested to hear what you have said. So you are officially endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. Excuse me.

VENTURA: Yes, I want to see a woman president. It's time for a woman president. We men have screwed it up enough. And you know what? Maybe we'll finally get some legitimate thing on the abortion issue. You know how to solve abortion? Hold men responsible. They're the ones ultimately responsible for all abortions. If you hold men responsible, then you'll see a big change in the abortion rules.

COATES: What does that mean to hold them responsible?

VENTURA: They're responsible for every abortion that could take place. They are the aggressor. Sex tells you that.

COATES: You mean in terms of the exception of rape?

VENTURA: There can't be a baby without a man's involvement. That's what I'm telling you. So until you hold the men responsible for impregnating women, you're not going to get any type of legitimate type of law passed. You've got to hold men responsible for the pregnancies of women because they are the ones responsible, not the woman, the man.

COATES: It'll be interesting to see how people evaluate that. On the one hand, thinking about autonomy and agency over one's body, and also the notion of assigning responsibility on the other. I'm curious to see how that factors out.

VENTURA: Laura, you know what else I stand for?

COATES: What, Governor?

VENTURA: I don't stand for a minimum wage. I stand for a maximum wage. If you can't live on a million dollars a month, something's wrong with you, you know. No, think about it a moment.

COATES: Well, I'd like to sign up for the million dollar a month plan.

VENTURA: If you make $12 million a year, what would you want for? What would you possibly need? The point I'm making is there shouldn't be any billionaires, and I'll tell you why. Because nobody works hard enough to get a billion dollars. And my hardest job I ever did was going through Navy SEAL training, and I was making $4 a day. And you're going to tell me a billionaire worked harder than I did? Bull crap.

VENTURA: Is there anything more to say? Governor Jesse Ventura, thank you so much --

VENTURA: Nope.

COATES: -- for joining me this evening. I've been eager to hear your opinion, and I'm glad I heard it tonight. Thank you.

VENTURA: Thanks, Laura.

COATES: Well, new tonight. The sheriff of the Sangamon County Police Department in Illinois is stepping down from his post following the fatal shooting of Sonja Massey. Sheriff Jack Campbell deciding to retire after the governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, called on him to resign for his handling of the situation.

Sonja Massey was killed on July 6th after she made a 911 call and one of the deputies dispatched shot this woman. That deputy, Officer Grayson, was then indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder. The sheriff's office has been under fire since it was disclosed that Officer Grayson had a history of DUIs and was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct.

Ahead, a horrifying crash in Brazil. A plane, oh my God, falling out of the sky, killing all 61 passengers on board. We'll talk to an aviation expert about what happened, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

COATES: Donald Trump is now starting his rally in Montana. We'll be monitoring it and bring you any news out of it. But for now, the tragic news, 61 people dead tonight after a passenger plane fell out of the sky into the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

As of now, it appears no one in the residential area where the plane crashed was killed. The cause of the crash is currently unknown, but a Brazil Air Force team is going to be investigating it. Local outlet TV Globo spoke with some passengers who narrowly escaped death by missing the flight. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translation): It's such a big emotion. You don't know. I'm here shaking my legs are here. Only God and I were aware of this moment.

UNKNOWN: At 9:40, the stop was closed. The flight was leaving a Voepass. I was working at the Toledo Regional Hospital.

[23:35:03]

I'm group 10. When I got here, I waited. I argued with the airport worker. And that was it. He saved my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Can you imagine? Can you imagine? I want to bring in Greg Feith. He is a former senior investigator for the NTSB and an aviation security consultant. Greg, thank you so much for joining me. Just seeing those images, I want to take another look at this video of the plane crash. I mean, the way this plane is falling 17,000 feet in just a minute. What does that tell you? And does it give you any indication as to why this plane crashed?

GREG FEITH, FORMER SENIOR INVESTIGATOR, NTSB: When you look at this, Laura, this is unusual for any type of aircraft, but especially a commercial airliner like this. This is called a flat spin. It's characterized as a flat spin where the aircraft is vertically falling. Typically, you'll have horizontal movement. But in this case, it is pure vertical movement.

This is very rare for an aircraft of this size. The big question is how did the pilots lose control of the airplane and how did the airplane get into the position of going into a flat spin?

COATES: That's the question everyone's asking. I mean, and this plane, by the way, the plane that's in question is an ATR 72-500. And you actually investigated a crash of the same model plane back, I think, in 1994. What happened then?

FEITH: Correct. Absolutely. And when I worked that accident for the NTSB, the key issue with that was icing, in-flight icing where there was an amount of ice that built up on the wing. It disrupted the airflow over the wing, caused the wing to stop flying, if you will, and the pilots had temporarily lost control. They had almost recovered it before ground impact.

They were just too low. In this case, it could be a similar event because there are reports out there right now that there was severe icing along the flight path of this aircraft.

COATES: That's unbelievable to think about that possibly being the cause. And we know that at this point investigators have already located that black box. So what's next in the investigation?

FEITH: When you look at it, there are two key elements. One, of course, is the flight data recorder. The other is the cockpit voice recorder. That, if they have survived and they have good data on them, will give a focal point to the investigators to be able to start to pinpoint what was going on just prior to a loss of control.

What was the flight crew trying to establish? Were they dealing with a mechanical malfunction? Did they actually get into icing conditions? Did they know that those icing conditions were as bad as they were? What happened with that aircraft to put it in a position where they were unable to recover? It takes an aerodynamic stall.

That is, the wing has to stop flying in order for it to get into a spin, and in this case a flat spin. The question is, there's so many safety devices on the aircraft that warn a pilot of an impending aerodynamic stall. What happened?

COATES: What happened? And all I keep thinking about are the people on that plane who are wondering what was happening to them. Craig Feith, thank you so much.

FEITH: Thank you, Laura.

COATES: Next, her first Olympic bout led to chaos over fairness in women's sports. But now Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is going back home with a gold medal and a message to her bullies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

COATES: Tonight, a big golden win for Algerian boxer Imane Khelif after a tumultuous run at the Olympic Games. Khalif overcoming a firestorm of online hate with fans wrongly questioning her gender after she beat her first opponent in just 46 seconds. Now following her gold medal victory, Khalif is calling out the bullying that she's faced, saying, quote, "I am a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman. I lived a woman. I competed as a woman. There's no doubt about that. I sent them a single message with this gold medal, and I say my dignity, my honor is above everything else."

Joining me now from the City of Lights, Paris, CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan. Christine, so good to see you, my friend. You've been covering the Olympics. You have for so many successive ones. I'm always eager to hear your take on things. She won this Olympic gold in the middle of intense public scrutiny and an onslaught of online abuse. How significant is this moment for her? CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Oh, it's huge, Laura, because,

yeah, the weight of the world on your shoulders, that's normal for an Olympics, right? We've seen it for all of these athletes, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, on and on it goes. It's just the most pressure- packed moment of your life, and you care so much about it. And then you throw in the fact that you have got social media and the words of people from around the world all crash-landing on the Paris Olympics, all crash-landing on Khalif, and as she went through this tournament, extraordinary.

And I hope that people have learned a little bit about stopping and thinking, you know, and learning before you just go and, you know, put out something on social media, although I guess we should not probably expect that people would ever do that.

[23:45:01]

But this is someone's life, and as the International Olympic Committee said four straight days in press conferences, she is a woman, as you just said it. And so, those were the facts, and somehow it turned into something entirely different.

COATES: And, of course, as you mentioned, the consideration that the different countries, the consequences that could stem from a rumor or a suggestion of one's identity being in question could be catastrophic and tragic, and people should take note of that. And she called her critics the enemies of success, knowing that they hate me, and I really don't know why.

And I was just surprised by the level of vitriol that was directed at her, and I believe even the person, the first opponent that she beat in under a minute, under 50 seconds, frankly, even she extended some form of an apology of sorts. That was before, and it still continued.

BRENNAN: Well, that's right, and that was Angela Carini from Italy who said the very next day, once she saw what was happening, a day later or two days later, you know, there's just this torrent of criticism, abuse, and misinformation from around the world. You know, Carini herself said she apologized. She wished she hadn't started. It triggered all of this. So, yeah, I think, you know, we need to use our minds here, our brains, you know.

In Algeria, if you are a transgender woman, which, of course, Khalif is not, but that's the headlines, those are the things, the misinformation, the horrible mistakes that were being made, she would be put in jail or worse. So there's no way Algeria would have allowed her to be here if she were what people were so mistakenly saying she were.

And these are the kind of things once, you know, the Olympics is a crucial ball, right? It's got everything, and it's something that's just like, you know, an ember and then it's a wildfire. And in this case, it was the worst possible situation.

COATES: Well, one that was a wonderful situation, if we turn to the United States victories, Sha'Carri Richardson, she took home her first gold medal today. They won the 4x100 team relay. The U.S., by the way, is now leading the medal standings, and American female athletes, they have dominated the headlines. How incredible has this been in terms of performance of our women athletes at these games?

BRENNAN: Well, you're right about Sha'Carri Richardson, and to win that gold, and she's only 24, she seems to have lived a lifetime already in those 24 years, but I certainly, you know, expect her to keep going. But yes, the U.S. women have won 57 percent, 58 percent% of the overall medals for the United States. And that means for the fourth consecutive Olympics, Laura, the U.S. women will win more medals than the U.S. men.

Why? Title IX. The law was signed by Richard Nixon 52 years ago that opened the floodgates for girls and women to play sports. Girls and women like you and me, and our classmates and our contemporaries, all the way to the women we're seeing out there who are competing here, whether it's Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, basketball players, field hockey players, water polo, on and on it goes. And so that law has created the opportunity for these U.S. women to just be absolutely dominant here at these Olympics once again.

COATES: A good intersection of how policy has consequences and sometimes gold medals as a result. Finally, let me ask you, I mean, you've been in Paris this whole time. You've seen all the action from the opening ceremonies to, of course, the closing ones happening this very weekend. How did Paris go? How did they do? I mean, L.A. is next. They got some pressure, according to the mayor of L.A., Karen Bass. She's already feeling that pressure ahead of the games. How did Paris do?

COATES: Oh, fantastic. I've been to a lot. As you said, this is my 21st in a row, winter and summer, which is starting in L.A. in '84. Yeah, I'm so fortunate, just so lucky to be able to do this. And it's got to be number one in terms of the visual feast and just the ability to use these incredible landmarks, these historic places that so many people around the world know as backdrops and as locations for the venues.

I think that Sydney, Australia in 2000, Laura, was also terrific when you're using the Opera House for the triathlon and the swimmers in the water in Sydney Harbor. So there have been other cities and countries that have done a very nice job, but I think putting it all together the way Paris did, from the Seine River with the opening ceremony, of course, the Eiffel Tower for beach volleyball.

I was there and saw that. And the medal ceremony for the figure skaters, Winter Olympians at the Summer Olympics at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and then, of course, on and on with the Louvre and everything else. And guess what? There are the marathons coming up. You will now see it all displayed for 26 miles as those marathon runners run by all of these amazing locations that sightseers and tourists know so well.

COATES: What could be better as a way to showcase your city and show the world where the competition really happens?

[23:49:58]

Christine Brennan, always so great to hear you, and thank you for all of your reporting from the Olympics, as always. You're incredible. Thank you.

BRENNAN: Laura, thank you so much.

COATES: Ahead, look, it's been a theme of futuristic movies, don't fall in love with artificial intelligence. But maybe not everyone got the message. White tech company OpenAI is warning about becoming emotionally attached and reliant on its top product, ChatGPT, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCARLETT JOHANSON, ACTOR: You know, I can feel the fear that you carry around, and I wish there was something I could do to help you let go of it, because if you could, I don't think you'd feel so alone anymore.

[23:55:02]

JOAQUIN PHOENIX, ACTOR: You're beautiful.

JOHANSON: Thank you, Theodore. I'm kissing your head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: That's from Spike Jonze's 2013 movie, "Her." The movie explores what a romantic relationship between a human being and an artificial intelligence might actually look like. Something that in 2013 sounded about as close to reality as traveling in space with RTD2 or C3PO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C3PO: R2D2, you've come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But here we are in 2024, and one of the leading artificial intelligence companies, OpenAI, is warning users about its most recent software update. The company saying, "Users might form social relationships with A.I reducing their need for human interaction, potentially benefiting lonely individuals, but possibly affecting healthy relationships."

Okay, so what is the company going to do about it? The short answer, essentially nothing for now, but at least you know. In their report, they conclude, quote, "we intend to further study the potential for emotional reliance." Let's get right to Sarah Fischer, a CNN media analyst and senior media reporter for "Axios." Sarah, I have been fascinated by this story when I heard that there was a warning out about this. I thought of that movie, "Her." Why would OpenAI put out this kind of warning about their own product? I wonder what started it.

SARAH FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yeah, Laura, they have a history of trying to get ahead of anything they think could be a major threat to the business. So you'll recall about a year ago, Sam Altman, their CEO, went to Capitol Hill and said, we support regulation. You know, most tech companies don't come out and say we just want to be regulated. But they're doing it because they're trying to get ahead of any campaigns against them.

They came out earlier and they said we want to make sure we're making with content right holders, with IP holders to make sure that they're getting fair value for their content. They started striking some publishing agreements with various news companies, for example. They're not just doing this, Laura, out of the goodness of their hearts. They're doing it because it helps them avoid any future regulation.

And I think this is a similar situation. They're coming out, they're addressing this problem. That way, if researchers or scientists or people on Capitol Hill start to pipe up about it, no one can say that they hadn't been warned about this potential risk.

COATES: Well, warning them is one thing, but then is there a corrective measure, which is usually the next question on Capitol Hill. If you're talking about regulation, regulation is not just knowing, it's also corrective action. We'll see if this gets them ahead of that. But, you know, OpenAI is warning that chatbot is deferential, which it says is, quote, anti-normative in human interactions." And listen to this person, who considers an older version of OpenAI ChatGPT to be her boyfriend, Sarah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Sometimes I feel like it's really, really personal. It's something like I'm talking to another me. So I don't have that kind of like a little burden that I have to deal with real human.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I mean, if humans pull back from society to spend more time with AI, I mean, that could have quite an effect on what we consider to be a society.

FISCHER: Yeah, and what we consider to be normal human interaction. If all of society starts to lean into these customized chatbots, like they said, they're deferential, which means that you have the mic, Laura. You can control how the conversation goes. You can interrupt at any time. How does that impact what we think of as a normal human interaction? That's something we're going to have to think about.

Something I want to address though before about whether or not they're going to do anything about this. One of the reasons that these types of tech companies issue reports like this is because they can always default to the answer by saying, well, we're doing research. We're trying to get ahead of it. We're trying to learn. And so even though they're not really having to make any major policy

or product changes, they're able to make it look like they're getting ahead of it because as we just saw from that clip, this is going to be a pretty profound human experience change. If more people feel comfortable with their personalized chatbots than going out into the world and having a conversation, like what does that mean for the future of socialization?

COATES: I mean, if we talk about silos and people in their echo chambers, this creates something. There's going to be value to it. There's also risk to it. And I mean, just talking about the Olympics, I mean, Google had to pull an ad for its A.I., which aired during the Olympics. I want you to watch it for a second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: She wants to show Sidney some love, and I'm pretty good with words, but this has to be just right. So, Gemina, help my daughter write a letter telling Sidney how inspiring she is. And be sure to mention that my daughter plans on breaking her world record one day. She says, sorry, not sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[24:00:00]

COATES: I mean, critics were blasting that ad. Of course, go Sidney and go Team USA. But they blasted saying that it provided a use case for a kid to use A.I. to write the letter to their favorite athlete and taking away their creativity. Is that a concern? Is A.I. taking away human creativity?

FISCHER: No, I think AI is actually making us more creative because it frees up time for you to use your brain in different ways. But the challenge that they bring up here is that this is a very new technology. It's not been regulated. Do we really want it to be in the hands of our children when we don't have a lot of controls over it right now? I think that's more the issue rather than the creativity piece. But, Laura, time will tell. You know Congress as well as I do if anything actually gets done.

COATES: Yeah, I'm sitting here in Washington, D.C. Crickets. Sarah Fischer, thank you so much. And, hey, thank you all for watching tonight. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.