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One World with Zain Asher
Secret Service Head Resigns In Wake Of Trump Rally Shooting; Biden To Deliver Speech On 2024 Decision On Wednesday; Netanyahu In Washington, Prepares To Address U.S. Congress; CNN Poll: Two In Five Americans Worried About Paying Bills; How The Global Economy Helps Autocrats Thrive; Greek Islands Suffering Serious Water Shortages; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 23, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:23]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, live from New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.
And we begin with more breaking news. The director of the U.S. Secret Service has resigned. This comes one day after House lawmakers grilled
Kimberly Cheatle about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally 10 days ago.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called for Cheatle to step down after she seemed unwilling to answer many of their very simple questions at
times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): Have you provided all audio and video recordings in your possession to this committee as we asked on July 15th? Yes or no?
KIMBERLY CHEATLE, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: I would have to get back to you.
MACE: That is a no. You're full of (BLEEP) today. You're just being completely dishonest.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I just don't think this is partisan. If you have an assassination attempt on a president or former president, or a candidate,
you need to resign.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): You might want to but you have an answer. I don't think you've answered one question from the chairman, the ranking member or
me.
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We don't have confidence. Not just in Congress. I don't believe the American people tonight, when they go to bed, are going
to have confidence that the Secret Service is the best it can be.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation of the director.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, announced a taskforce to look into the assassination
attempt. Thirteen lawmakers will be tasked with hunting down the facts, ensuring accountability, and making such failures, making sure such
failures never happen again.
Let's get the details from Jessica Schneider who joins us now live from Washington.
I guess given what we saw transpire yesterday, this news shouldn't be that surprising, Jessica.
That having been said, what happens now? Who replaces Cheatle?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the question as we move forward. You know, we're less than two hours from this resignation.
It's a resignation of the Secret Service Director that does come 10 days after that assassination attempt on former President Trump. The criticism
was building.
And, of course, we're just about 24 hours after Director Cheatle came under that intense scrutiny and criticism for her failure to answer many of the
questions that congressional Republicans and Democrats had about what they viewed as many security failures leading up to that assassination attempt.
Now, our team has obtained the letter that Director Cheatle sent her staff at the Secret Service this morning which she announced her resignation. She
wrote this in part. She said, "The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we
felt short on that mission. The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As
your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse."
But as you heard from members of Congress, it's no doubt that Director Cheatle's resignation will not put an end to these questions and will
likely be a long line of inquiry for many different angles.
There are major questions about the Secret Service's failure to control access to that rooftop, where would-be assassin fired shots at the former
President Trump just a few hundred feet from the rally stage.
And then there are growing questions about how the agency handled communications that were actually passed along from local law enforcement
before the shooting when they did identify that shooter acting suspiciously around the rally grounds.
To that end, we've heard from Republican House Oversight Chairman, James Comer, commenting on Director Cheatle's resignation. And also putting out
this statement saying, there will be more accountability to come. The Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed historically on
Director Cheatle's watch. While Director Cheatle's resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full accounting of how these security
failures happened so that we can prevent them from going forward.
So, Bianna, now that Director Cheatle has handed in her resignation, we should expect to see really a multifaceted investigation probing questions
over this massive security failure.
At the same time, the questions are, who will step in to lead this agency? You know, Director Cheatle referenced it how they will be moving up in
their tempo, because we have a current President to protect, the likely nominee Kamala Harris. We have the former president to protect, all as we
move forward in this feverish pace toward the November election.
So the Secret Service facing all this scrutiny but also having to meet its mission as well in the coming weeks.
[12:05:01]
GOLODRYGA: Jessica Schneider, thank you.
We want to take a closer look at this now. CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. She is a former assistant secretary at the
Department of Homeland Security and teaches at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Juliette, it's good to see you. Listen, on the one hand, this may be the easiest decision to have made for the Secret Service director to have
stepped down.
That having been said, a lot of the questions, the important questions she was asked yesterday were not answered.
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: She then said that the focus was on the investigation right now and thus she couldn't give some of these very, you know, simple direct
questions that many lawmakers from both sides of the aisle asked.
Where does that leave the investigation process?
KAYYEM: So it leaves it in limbo for at least 60 days. There's now this independent review, which I support. It had -- it couldn't come from within
the Secret Service. They're going to have to talk to state, locals and, of course, the Secret Service, but also the FBI about sort of, you know, the
various pieces who decided what the security perimeter would look like and fail to protect that or to secure that particular building.
What happened in the moments leading up to and immediately after in terms of clear communication breakdown, clear lapse in terms of speed by the
Secret Service.
And then, of course, the dueling, that's, you know, are multiple explanations of what happened after.
It may be that Cheatle did not know the answers to some of these questions, that the investigation is ongoing, or there's lots of finger pointing.
But I think her resignation was absolutely necessary, not because of her -- of the failure of the Secret Service, which may be a good enough reason.
But as she said, and as I've been saying, like we are entering an election season like no other. And it changed dramatically on Sunday because you're
going to have an African-American woman with the -- with the nomination for the Democrats.
That threat environment changes because race will be a factor now. And we have to just admit it and that the Secret Service needs to look forward,
needs to be ready for the present, and Cheatle just couldn't do it. She was too hamstrung by what happened before.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I mean, and even going back to our testimony yesterday, aside from acknowledging that what happened on July 9th was a colossal
security lapse, she couldn't answer questions as to why Secret Service had been alerted about the shooter being suspicious --
KAYYEM: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- an hour before the shooting. She acknowledged that Secret Service had received several notifications of a person acting suspiciously.
We've all seen the videos of people who were there in the crowd pointing him out for --
KAYYEM: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- a few minutes before the shooting. I mean, this seems to be a security 101.
KAYYEM: 101.
GOLODRYGA: And the fact that she couldn't answer these questions, it does raise the specter of, you know, if she's not going to be in charge, who
will be able to address these really important concerns?
KAYYEM: Yeah. Well, I think her resignation now opens the door for sort of this independent review. There'll be a congressional review led by Fran
Townsend who we know at CNN. It's going to be rigorous.
So I think that it now opens the door for some other entity to look back. And now new leadership has got to look to the present and the future.
There's like time is of important. In some ways, maybe Cheatle could have survived this if this had happened last year, but not this year and not in
this threat environment that -- and then she is aware of that. I mean, you know, she went through a horrible hearing yesterday because she couldn't
answer the questions.
To your specific point, this is the question I have. I don't get what calculation the Secret Service is making at that stage to delay getting
Trump off the stage, even if it was just for a few minutes to determine whether the suspicious person was in fact a threat.
And that goes to the responsibility of the Secret Service to focus on the protectee, not on Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden. The protectee is
not named for a reason. It is because they have a constitutional position that needs to be protected for our democracy.
And some calculation went in that I don't -- I don't know what it was that has to be answered. The protectees have no opinions.
I mean, that is just basically they are not allowed to have thoughts about their own security. That is security 101.
And something happened where judgment calls were being made when they absolutely shouldn't. There were enough -- I mean, it wasn't just like one
person, as you know, Bianna. It was a lot of people saying --
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
KAYYEM: -- there's something up with this guy and look at -- look at the roof, you know.
GOLODRYGA: Directly in the line of sight as well. And the fact that the Secret Service kept the president on stage for as long as they did, not his
fault that he wanted to show that defiance and put his fist in the air. But there are questions about why they waited so long to take him off the
stage.
[12:10:08]
And they're also there's some ambiguity about what the Secret Service's response was when the Trump team asked for more security and whether or not
--
KAYYEM: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- that was denied. She was asked about that as well. We'll continue to stay on top of this story.
Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, after a whirlwind 48 hours that has led to a lightning- quick consolidation of support, Kamala Harris is taking her presidential campaign on the road.
In the coming hours, she will headline a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Now, it comes less than one day after the vice president secured
enough delegates to win the democratic nomination.
And two days after President Biden announced he's exiting the race, since then, Harris has shattered fundraising records according to her campaign.
And one-by-one, leading Democrats have endorsed her.
Meanwhile, we're getting a preview of what her message will be. Harris leaned into her experience as a prosecutor when she visited her campaign's
headquarters Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND UNITED STATES DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, hear me when I say, I know Donald
Trump's type.
And I specialize in cases involving sexual abuse. Donald Trump was found liable by a jury for committing sexual abuse.
I took on the big Wall Street banks and won $20 billion for California families. Holding those banks accountable for fraud.
Donald Trump was just found guilty of 34 counts of fraud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: We're now learning that President Biden will deliver a speech on his decision to drop out of the race on Wednesday evening.
And this just in to CNN Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, are expected to endorse Vice President
Kamala Harris during a 1:00 P.M. news conference Tuesday. It's today, according to two sources.
CNN's Arlette Saenz joins me now live from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
So things are moving rather quickly, Arlette. We heard that statement from the president. Actually, we saw the statement posted on X about the fact
that he will no longer be the nominee. That was followed by the endorsement of the Vice President Kamala Harris and also followed by news that he would
be addressing the nation later this week.
We now know that will be tomorrow night. And that really opens the door for Kamala Harris to kick off her campaign run too.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It really does, especially as we have seen such a lightning fast consolidation and support
for Harris since President Biden bowed out of the race on Sunday and then shortly after endorsed her for the democratic nomination.
Now, President Biden, in his letter, announcing his intents to bow out of the 2024 race. He has stressed that he wanted to address the nation about
this decision.
And just a short while ago, the president did reveal that he will be addressing the nation at eight o'clock Eastern Time on Wednesday from the
Oval Office, to talk about his decision as well as the path forward.
President Biden, in conversations with staff, has stressed that he wants to remain fully engaged in this campaign to help support Kamala Harris and get
her elected in November.
But this will also give the president the opportunity to reflect on his time in office, as well as what he wants to accomplish in the coming months
as he still has about six months left in his time in the White House.
Now, yesterday, President Biden dialed into a staff meeting at the Wilmington, Delaware campaign headquarters where Vice President Harris was
speaking.
And in that call, he stressed that he wanted his staff to embrace her, but also said he wants to get as much as he possibly can get done relating to
domestic and foreign policy during his remaining time in office.
He said, specifically, that he wants to focus on issues like child care costs, elder care costs, talking about guns as well as climate.
And then the president also identified that another key priority for him will be trying to find an end to the conflict in Gaza.
He said that he believes that they are on the verge of potentially reaching some type of an agreement to achieve a ceasefire as well as return hostages
back to their families.
The president will have meetings a little later in the week with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. But he's made clear that that is
something that he wants to focus on in these coming months.
Now, the expectation is also that President Biden, at some point, will join Vice President Harris out on the campaign trail.
Advisors to both sides has said -- had committed to planning joints event - - joint events for them in the summer and fall. It's unclear when exactly those could take place.
But for Vice President Kamala Harris, she's about to make her campaign trail debut in the battleground state of Wisconsin. This will really offer
her, her first opportunity to take her pitch directly to critical swing state voters in this election.
As you noted, she laid out a bit of a preview of how she plans to argue her case against Trump in this election. Really, leaning into her prosecutorial
abilities as she is taking on Trump.
[12:15:05]
But she's also in those remarks at that Wilmington headquarters yesterday, also talked about a forward-looking vision and talked about the need to
protect abortion rights, to expand economic opportunity for Americans.
These are all centerpieces of what would likely make up her campaign message in the coming days and weeks.
So many will be closely paying attention to how Harris begins to lay out her presidential campaign as she is in such a consequential moment, even as
she's secured this rampant wave of democratic support behind her nomination.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And let's just take another moment, Arlette, to just reiterate the lightning speed pace in which all of this had happened.
It wasn't even a week ago on Friday where the Biden campaign was defined and said that he would be out campaigning for his campaign for reelection
this week, and said he's going to be delivering a speech, a message for the nation highlighting, I would imagine, his accomplishments in this term, and
also his full endorsement of Kamala Harris taking over that role in her campaign in -- come November. Really just unbelievable times.
Arlette, thank you so much.
And Jeff Weaver is a former senior campaign advisor for Bernie Sanders, and he joins me now live in Washington.
Jeff, I think you would also appreciate just how quickly things have developed --
JEFF WEAVER, FORMER SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISOR FOR BERNIE SANDERS: Yes. Yes.
GOLODRYGA: -- and changed within a matter of just a few days, though there was a lot of pressure on President Biden to ultimately come to this
decision.
Here we are, and it is notable that Kamala Harris is kicking off her campaign with a visit to the key state of Wisconsin, a battleground state
there. And she will be speaking alongside as Senator Baldwin, Tammy Baldwin, will be speaking with her.
It's quite a contrast from what we saw a few weeks ago when President Biden was there, and Tammy Baldwin was nowhere near him.
WEAVER: No. It certainly is. And, you know, there's really been a burst of energy in the party since the president decided to step away from the race.
Kamala Harris has really energized a large constituencies in the party.
Obviously, the fundraising is going phenomenally. And there's a tremendous amount of hope now where there was a lot of despair before.
Now -- but there's a lot of hard work to be done. And it starts with this visit to Wisconsin. And it's really going to be important that the vice
president lays out her agenda for the future.
It talks about the needs of working people in the blue wall and across this country so that we can defeat this scourge of Trumpism.
GOLODRYGA: How does she do that without deviating too far from the current administration, her role as vice president and, obviously President Biden's
policies, even yesterday, when he spoke -- when you heard him on the call there with her campaign team, he said the name of the top may have changed,
but the vision has not?
WEAVER: Well, look, I think she should take credit for her role in the many of the accomplishments of this administration, because there's been a
tremendous amount of accomplishments.
But going forward, you know, one of the criticisms has been that this -- the president had not sufficiently laid out an agenda for the future
because ultimately, elections are about the future, not the past.
And I think this is an opportunity for Kamala Harris to fill in that void. And I think she can lay out her agenda where her priorities will be.
Obviously, there are going to be commonalities between her and President Biden, but there will also be difference in emphasis and, you know, which
will be the first item she's going to take care of, which you're going to have to wait a little bit.
And I think people are anxious to hear what her focus will be. And I think in many of these blue wall states and among working class people, you know,
there's been polling that's showing that working class African-American Latino men have been moving toward Trump.
You know, they want to hear what the vice president is going to do to remedy the problems of high prices, housing, and high interest rates.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And as we see how this candidacy will or will not shake up the Electoral College map, you bring up polls and she's still rather
unpopular with the majority of Americans.
Her approval rating is only 38 percent. That's not much better than President Biden's. I would imagine the argument is that there was concern.
His was only going down. And perhaps there's room for hers to improve.
What's the best way that she can do that with this constituency that you say that she needs to attract at this point, and some of which has already
been a bit Trump curious over the past few years?
WEAVER: Right. Well, you know, we have a -- we have a convention coming up. And I think it's important that the Democratic Party put on display, all of
the constituencies that make up of the party. And that includes, you know, blue collar people of all races.
And I think they need to be really centered in this convention. You know, we'll see what the vice president's choice is in terms of her vice
president. That's also going to be important.
[12:20:05]
But I do think, you know, in many ways, she's been tied to Biden so closely that it's not surprising to me that her approval ratings, you know, roughly
mirror his. And that -- but as she -- has an opportunity to, you know, step away from her role as vice president and as presidential nominee for the
Democratic Party, I think she'll have an opportunity to increase those as people get to know her better.
GOLODRYGA: It is interesting because Peter Hamby at "Puck" said that he spoke with a Trump advisor about how they plan to run against Kamala. And
the advisor has called her dangerously liberal and will also now associate her with and not the Biden inflation, but the Harris inflation. So we'll
see how her campaign now will be tackling those caricatures of her.
Jeff Weaver, thank you so much. Good to see you.
WEAVER: My pleasure.
GOLODRYGA: Well, coming up as a hostage and ceasefire deal remain elusive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington to address
Congress and meet the U.S. president and vice president. We'll have details ahead.
And you could call it a tale of two economies. The numbers show low unemployment and cooling inflation. So, why are many families worried about
their finances? We'll take a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Turning now to the Israel-Hamas War, the U.N. is condemning what it calls a confusing evacuation order from the city of Khan Yunis.
Authorities in Gaza say at least 89 people have been killed as an Israeli military operation around the city continued for a second day. Israel says
that it is targeting terrorist sites.
Video from the east of the city shows people many on foot or on donkey carts fleeing the area, carrying mattresses and other belongings.
One displaced Palestinian expressed his frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED SAMMOUR, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): We are tired. We are tired in Gaza. Every day our children are murdered. Every day, every
moment, this is the blood of our children. It has not yet dried. And this is not what remains under the houses and its pals. And no one told us to
evacuate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have signed an agreement in Beijing.
China hosted reconciliation talks involving 14 Palestinian factions to end divisions between the groups.
[12:25:02]
This as Israel's Prime Minister is in Washington. Talks on a ceasefire and the release of the hostages do remain stalled, but people are a bit
optimistic this time around. Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Joe Biden on Thursday as the president recovers from COVID.
And on Monday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu met relatives of hostages held in Gaza and vowed to bring their loved ones home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This is an important visit that will give us an opportunity to bring to the
representatives of the American people, as well as the American people, the importance of their support and the efforts we are making together with
them to bring about the release of all the hostages, both the living and the dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The Prime Minister addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. Now, normally the U.S. Vice President would preside over that
session, but Kamala Harris has declined to do so, citing a scheduling conflict. She is expected to meet him later this week.
So let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond to discuss the visit and other issues.
Jeremy, it appears that the Prime Minister's speech, I would imagine, also addressing those constituents back home as well. But it will be a bit
overshadowed now by the speech from President Biden occurring later on in the evening.
That having been said, what are we expecting him to say to Congress?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No doubt about it. A lot less fanfare around the -- around the Prime Minister's visit to Washington
than he might have expected, even just a couple of days ago, but still a very crucial visit coming at a very critical time.
The Israeli Prime Minister, as he addresses Congress tomorrow, he's going to be looking to accomplish a few different things.
First of all, obviously, he's looking to accomplish foreign policy goals in terms of rousing U.S. bipartisan support for Israel, raising the issue of
the hostages, trying to remind the world of why this -- how this war began on October 7th and trying to raise up support for Israel's fight against
Hamas.
He will also, of course, be looking to achieve domestic political goals for himself as well.
His trip to Washington, showing that bipartisan support, showing that he still has juice in Washington, is going to be something that he can use
back in Israel for his own domestic political goals, especially at a time when the majority of the Israeli public do not want to see him continue on
as Prime Minister.
But, ultimately, you know, it's also going to be about the message that the Israeli Prime Minister gets from U.S. officials.
You know, we are now at a time where it seems like Israel and Hamas are very, very close to a ceasefire deal. We heard President Biden yesterday
say that he believes that they can maybe achieve this in the short term.
The Israeli Prime Minister himself has also expressed some new optimism. But at the end of the day, this may come down to whether or not Benjamin
Netanyahu actually wants a ceasefire deal and whether or not he will take the leap in order to make that happen.
He's obviously not the only party at the table here, but we have seen that he has more to gain perhaps by this war being prolonged from a political
standpoint in Israel, especially given the threats of his right-wing coalition partners to topple the government if he agrees to a deal that
ends the war.
And so he's also going to be facing a lot of pressure from President Biden, from other U.S. officials, including Republicans, I would expect, to move
forward with the ceasefire deal and actually to make it happen.
It's very interesting, of course, that he's in Washington right now, including meeting with hostage families at a time when these negotiations
are still ongoing and where there are still question marks about whether or not he is actually committed to getting that deal done.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Question marks within Israel, question marks among allies in the West, too, as to what he prioritizes more, getting a deal done or
keeping his coalition together, a legitimate question to be asked at this point in the war.
Jeremy, also, nearly 100 people are dead amid this new IDF incursion in southern Gaza. What are you hearing about where they're evacuating to?
DIAMOND: Yes. A very deadly Israeli military offensive in Khan Yunis that has begun taking place over the last couple of days.
We are watching thousands of people being displaced from the area of eastern Khan Yunis. This is an area that was previously part of what the
Israeli military was calling this expanded humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi.
But now that area has been turned into a combat zone once again. The Israeli military said that it issued these evacuation orders yesterday, but
the United Nations humanitarian office says that the evacuation orders were confusing and it seems that they were happening at the very same moment
that Israeli military operations were intensifying in that area, raising questions about not only the confusion on the ground from people about
exactly what areas were covered by this evacuation order, where they should be going, but also the fact that it was happening at the very same time as
Israeli military operations were intensifying. And that may explain the casualty count that we are already watching, beginning to mount.
[12:30:09]
The Israeli military says that they went into this area because they say Palestinian militants had begun to use it to fire rockets into Israel. And
also to begin regrouping.
We should note, of course, that the Israeli military already carried out a very, very intense military offensive in the area of Khan Yunis withdrew
months ago.
And we're seeing once again in that area what has happened in so many other parts of Gaza, which is Hamas regrouping and the Israeli military going
back in.
But this time, it is coming as well, once again, at the expense of Palestinian civilians as well. Thousands of people fleeing this area,
heading many of them for this slimmed down humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi.
But just keep in mind the fact that of Gaza's two million plus population, almost all of them have been displaced from their homes. Many of them
multiple times at this point in the war.
And there was not only a lot of fear, a lot of grief on the ground from our Palestinian journalists who spoke with many of these people who were
fleeing, but also a lot of anger, not only at Israeli forces, also at the Arab world, who they say hasn't stood up for them enough as well as at
Hamas, with some people blaming Hamas militants for bringing this upon them and also for hiding in underground bunkers while they are facing the bombs
and bullets above ground.
Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: This has the wars approaching its 10th month. It's hard to believe.
Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.
Still to come for us, from the wallet to the ballot box. A look at how economic reality impacts elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:19]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Well, if you just look at the numbers, you would think the U.S. economy is soaring. Unemployment is at historic lows and the stock market is reaching
historic highs.
So how do we explain then this number? A new CNN poll finds two out of every five Americans worried that they will not be able to pay their bills.
Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan to help us figure out what is behind all of this.
And this issue alone, Matt, has been plaguing both the Biden administration, his campaign. And I would imagine it is something that now
the Kamala Harris campaign is going to be inheriting and have to deal with as well.
Walk us through why we see this disconnect.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Bianna, money is tight right now for a lot of people, groceries, car insurance, daycare. I mean, life is very
expensive.
And so we've found that 39 percent of U.S. adults say they worry all or most of the time that their family's income won't meet expenses, 39
percent. That's pretty high when you think about it. It's up significantly from late 2021. And it's basically right in line with what people were
saying in mid-2008, just as the great recession was getting started.
Now, of course, this varies. Many other Americans are feeling pretty good right now. They're going out to eat. They're going on vacation.
But what's interesting is that this CNN poll finds that nearly half of black Americans say they worry, all or most of the time, that their
income's not going to meet expenses. And just over half, 52 percent of Latinos say the same.
This is another reminder that even though we see those national economic statistics that you alluded to, low unemployment, cooling inflation,
millions of Americans are hurting from years of rising prices.
This really is the number one financial headache. Sixty-five percent of adults say that expenses and the cost of living is the biggest problem in
the economy that they face right now.
It is down a bit from two years ago, but obviously well above what people were saying back in 2021.
And, you know, I spoke to a woman in Ohio who works at the CDC and she told me, it's just outrageous what she's paying at the grocery store right now.
She said that's not it though.
The prices are astronomical everywhere, whether it's insurance or the cost to buy clothes. And people are not imagining this.
Moody's Analytics finds that the average American is spending $925 more per month than they were three years ago for the same goods and services, $925
more.
And listen, people are being forced to cut back.
This CNN poll found that 69 percent of adults say that they are cutting back spending on extras and entertainment.
The woman in Ohio told me that she used to have every streaming service out there. Now she's got one or two. She said that when she went to the movies,
she used to buy candy at the movie theater. Now, she's going to Walmart ahead of time to stock up on candy.
And a lot of Americans say that they are taking on extra work to get by. One in three say that they are finding extra income besides their main job.
So I think at the end of the day, Bianna, this is just another reminder that as much as we're focused on the latest swing state polls or the palace
entry, you get Mar-a-Lago or the White House, this is really the issue that is on the top of many people's minds. And this is what they want the next
president, whoever he or she may be, to address.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And this is one of the reasons, as you just heard in our previous segment, that the Trump campaign thinks that they can make a lot
of inroads with voters against Kamala Harris by calling it now Harris inflation.
Though worth noting, inflation definitely has cooled. For many people in this country, for one generation, at least, this is the first time they've
really experienced having to deal with inflation too. That's something also worth noting.
Matt Egan, thank you so much.
EGAN: Thanks, Bianna.
Well, elections and economics have been tied together for generations. It was Bill Clinton's advisor, James Carville, you'll recall, who famously
said, it's the economy stupid, back in 1992. That was more than 30 years ago.
And there's little question economic concerns will be a major factor when Americans vote for president in November.
But the modern global economy isn't just an issue for democracies. In her new book, Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Anne Applebaum, says, our
globalized world has allowed autocracy to thrive in ways never expected.
She says, rather than exporting democracy to autocratic nations, we are instead seeing tyranny spread thanks to the interconnected global economy.
And Anne Applebaum author -- Anne Applebaum author of Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World is just out today. She's also a staff
writer at "The Atlantic."
[12:40:59]
Anne, it is so great to see you. Congratulations on yet another crucial book for the times that we are in. And it is interesting as we are now
approaching a race, a very different looking race because whatever happens next, as you note, the frame has significantly altered.
And the focus is not on President Biden's age, but if anything, Donald Trump's age, and also what we can expect to see in a Kamala Harris campaign
and presidency.
And from a geopolitical standpoint, we know that foreign policy was a strong suit. For Joe Biden, he sat on the Foreign Relations Committee for
many, many years, was a chair for a few years as well. And that is definitely something that the world has come to know him for.
We don't know much about Kamala Harris's experience regarding foreign policy and what her own policies will look like in a Harris administration.
Can you just talk us through what you're hearing from allies abroad and in Europe, given what we've just seen the seismic shift here in the U.S. over
the past 72 hours?
ANNE APPLEBAUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Yes. Let me actually start by talking about the book because it's relevant. The book describes a network
of dictatorships, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, a host of others, Venezuela, others in Africa, who effectively now work together to help one
another stay in power.
The book isn't only about finances, it's also about an authoritarian narrative. It's about how they seek to push back against the United States
and against America's allies and against democracies around the world. They're not tied together by ideology, but by a set of common interests.
And one of the threats in this election, from the perspective of American allies, was that the United States, which has been a leader of the
democratic world for decades now, might cease to be.
Trump has talked about -- Donald Trump, when he was originally president, when he was originally president four years ago, spoke about leaving the
NATO alliance. He spoke -- he's spoken about it since then. He says positive things about autocrats as well.
And so that was the -- that -- that's the threat and that's what our allies talk about and what they are worried about.
And you are right that they will now look at Harris and ask what's her experience, what's -- you know, what direction will she go in.
And, of course, you know, I've had some experience talking to her about foreign policy, both about Russia and Ukraine and other things.
She's clearly somebody who's been in inner circles for a long time. She's - - you know, it's not her strong suit, it's not her background, but she's now met most of her -- of American allies. She's met President Zelenskyy of
Ukraine. She's met many European leaders.
And I think there's, you know, stipulations, very early days. I mean, I think there's some cautious optimism that she would be someone who would
continue to see the U.S.'s role as a leader of the democratic world in the broadest sense that the United States would remain allied to its historical
partners and that it would remain concerned about countering Russian, Chinese, Iranian influence campaigns when they -- when they -- when they
occur.
So, I mean, we've had a -- we've had a shift in the campaign and there's obviously a very different conversation now, but actually the structure of
foreign perception isn't that different.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
APPLEBAUM: The American allies still hoping that somebody wins the election who will -- who will -- who will keep American in the position that it's
been.
GOLODRYGA: And one would imagine that as she continues on as vice president and now candidate Harris, that she will continue espousing the same
policies in her campaign that Joe Biden has been.
And that is something that allies and alliances around the world, whether it's in Asia or in Europe, have been -- have been very thankful for. But
there are also a lot of concern given what we've heard from Donald Trump, as you've mentioned and now from J.D. Vance, his running mate at last
week's Republican convention.
And while there is trepidation, you do have world leaders, European leaders saying that they want to stick to protocol. They're not going to weigh in
on U.S. elections and they'll deal with whoever the winner is.
Minus one person and that is Viktor Orban, who has already shown and vocalized his support for Donald Trump. And we heard Donald Trump reference
Viktor Orban last week at the convention.
Why is there so much attention focused on? And I'm not here to disparage Hungary in any way, shape or form, but Hungary is by no means that one of
the strongest countries in Europe or in NATO.
Why is there so much focus on this man and the relationship these two leaders have?
APPLEBAUM: Orban is an important figure, not because his country is important. It's a country of 10 million people. It's very small and not in
good economic shape at all, I should say.
[12:45:07]
But he's important because of what he did. He's a democratically elected leader who after being elected sought to undermine his country's
institutions. He sought to politicize the judiciary. He changed the constitution. He altered the civil service.
And much of that program, you can hear echoed, for example, in Project 2025 in other programs proposed by and supported by people around Trump and
around the Trump campaign.
And so that idea that a democratically elected leader could change the nature of his political system is something that a part of the Republican
Party now finds very attractive and is -- and would hope to emulate.
I mean, I don't think it would work out the same way in the U.S. as it did in Hungary and there, you know, were a long -- we're still a long way away
from any of this happening.
But Orban has also made a bet. He's betting that -- remember, he's not just supporting Trump. He's also somebody who is very pro-Russian.
GOLODRYGA: Mm-hmm.
APPLEBAUM: He's the lone voice in NATO and the European Union against Ukraine. He's very close to China. He's a transactional figure. He's a
transactional leader who will do deals with whoever will help him stay in power.
GOLODRYGA: And one --
APPLEBAUM: And that is exactly what people are afraid Trump would be.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And one who's evolved. I mean, it is worth an important to note that he was democratically elected. He was seen at one point as a
progressive, leaning more left. And he really has had this shift over his time there as Prime Minister.
And last week at the convention, you know, for Donald Trump to have called him out specifically as a champion of, quote, a liberal democracy. Trump
quoted Orban as saying, there's only one way you can solve all the chaos in the world. You've got to bring President Trump back. Russia is afraid of
him. China is afraid of him. And he also went on to say the whole world was at peace when Donald Trump was in office.
What do you make of that narrative? That if for no other reason, it's worth bringing a Trump administration back to the U.S. because the world was at
peace and adversaries feared Donald Trump.
APPLEBAUM: So there were dozens of wars going on when Donald Trump was president. So that's -- I mean, it's kind of objectively speaking not true.
Secondly, you know, listen carefully to how the Russians speak about Trump. I mean, they clearly want him back in power.
And just today, some of the language coming out of Moscow about Harris, you know, openly racist and sexist, openly mocking her and making fun of her.
You know, the -- it's very clear who Moscow wants to win. And they want Trump to win because they think that if he's in power, he'll allow them to
occupy and destroy Ukraine and maybe other countries, maybe even U.S. NATO allies.
So the autocratic world is very much hoping for his victory because they imagine that, you know, it's a lot easier to win a war if you don't have to
fight it. And if nobody's helping your victim.
So I mean, it's a strange upside-down kind of narrative. And I mean, I know that he likes to present himself as some kind of bringer of stability. I
mean, that is actually authoritarian language. That's autocratic language. That's in my book I describe how Russia, China and other countries
collaborate on creating these autocratic narratives and how they find --
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
APPLEBAUM: -- echoes of that in the U.S. And that's we can see it in the Trump campaign.
GOLODRYGA: Well, let's see if that's a message that Kamala Harris will be able to effectively sell, as she now launches her own campaign as well.
Award winning author, Anne Applebaum, thank you so much for joining us. And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:55]
GOLODRYGA: Well, Kamala Harris isn't just getting support from Democratic lawmakers. George Clooney is the latest Hollywood heavyweight to endorse
the vice president in her bid for the White House.
And British pop star, Charli XCX, says also backing Harris. The singer posted quote, "Kamala is brat" to social media over the weekend.
If you're not quite sure what that means, you're not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE GANGEL, SNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Charli XCX, who I do know, quote, brat, you're just that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and
maybe says some dumb things sometimes, end quote.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So it's the idea that we're all kind of brat and vice president Harris is brat? I don't know --
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: I don't if you're a brat.
GANGEL: Right. Two of us --
COLLINS: I think you aspire to be brat.
GANGEL: Right. Right.
COLLINS: You don't just become brat.
TAPPER: Oh, OK.
GANGEL: You have to try. You can work at it.
TAPPER: I will -- I will aspire to be brat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: We were all Jake Tapper in that moment yesterday trying to make sense of what brat means.
The Harris campaign has signaled that they understood the compliment and are embracing it.
Meanwhile, Harris and her appearance at the Delaware campaign office on Monday walked out to a special song.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERS AND MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: That is Grammy-nominated "Freedom" by Beyonce. It was an anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
Beyonce is known for being very protective of her songs and the Harris campaign had to get permission to use it. Beyonce has not publicly endorsed
Harris yet but has back democratic candidates in past presidential elections.
Well, not only is Harris racking up early support for her potential campaign, there's also new Kamala Harris merch already for sale online.
The Biden-Harris campaign store now has those items under it's what's new section including t-shirts, stickers and a mug featuring a picture of a
young Kamala Harris.
We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:55:30]
GOLODRYGA: Well, tourist season is shifting into high gears on the Greek islands. But local leaders say that it could not come at a worse time. Hot
dry weather is creating a water crisis. As you see here on one island where two main reservoirs are only a third as full as they were a year ago. And on several other islands, rainfall totals
are down 40 percent. The drought problems are heightened during tourist season when water demand skyrockets.
Well, that is it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. I'll be right back with "AMANPOUR" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
