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Quest Means Business
Harris, Walz To Speak At Philadelphia Rally; Global Markets Bounce Back After Monday's Selloff; Sinwar Replaces Ismail Haniyeh As Hamas Political Leader. Kamala Harris Picks Minnesota Governor Tim Walz As Running Mate; U.S. Gymnast Simone Biles Wraps Historic Olympic Run; Harris Headlines Rally With New Running Mate Tim Walz. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired August 06, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:11]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": A lot of hullabaloo on the balcony of the Stock Exchange. The closing bell ringing
on Wall Street, the markets is higher, well off the top of the day, as you can see, it is barely holding on to its gains in some senses.
Oh, that was a weak gavel. In fact, it happened so quickly, I missed it. It was not terribly enthusiastic. I don't know really understand why the
market did give up its gains other than it didn't want to be short at the end, but there you are. The markets and the main events.
Kamala Harris is about to hit the trail with her new were running mate, the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Hamas says its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, will take over its political bureau.
And Olympic champion, Simone Biles speaks to us about her roller coaster week. Wonderful. You win with grace, you lose with grace, and so say all of
us because we are live from New York on Tuesday, its August 6th. I'm Richard Quest, and I mean, graceful business.
Good evening. A little more than an hour from now and the Vice President Kamala Harris will take the stage with her newly chosen running mate, the
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. They will appear at a rally in the swing state of Pennsylvania, and then they go on to visit other battleground states.
Harris has just posted a video of her calling Walz to offer him the job, telling him she admired his dedication to the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let's -- let's do this together. Would you be my running
mate and let's get this thing on the road?
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would be honored, Madam Vice President.
The joy that you are bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that is out there, it will be a privilege to take this with you across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: How convenient they happen to have cameras in both of those options at the moment. Oh, never mind.
Her pick for vice president is expected to boost support amongst midwestern voters. Walz is said to have won Harris over with his happy go lucky
attitude and his joyful presence, but who is he? Whitney Wild takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): I give you are burly high school teacher from Mankato.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Minnesota, the national spotlight is shining on humble roots as Governor Tim Walz becomes Kamala
Harris' vice presidential running mate.
Before running for office, Walz was a Geography teacher in public schools and to football coach from rural Mankato.
WALZ: High School Geography teachers don't usually think that. Look, it is humbling, it is a privilege. It's surreal.
WILD: His resume also includes more than two decades in the Army National Guard, including a deployment overseas after the 9/11 attacks.
WALZ: I want to thank the gentlemen --
WILD: The two-term governor previously served in Congress for 12 years, representing a rural district that voted for Trump twice.
In 2006, he won his first congressional race, ousting a six-term Republican incumbent.
WALZ: They liked me, they trusted me. They said Tim, I think you're trying to do it right.
His first term as governor, saw some of the state's most turbulent times when riots broke out after the murder of George Floyd prompting Walz to
call in the National Guard.
WALZ: Let's be very clear, the situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society,
instilling fear, and disrupting our great cities.
WILD: His record of progressive policies such as codifying abortion rights, adding protections for transgender people, passing paid sick and family
leave, and implementing free breakfast and lunch programs in schools makes him appealing to some on the left, and a target for Republican criticism,
which he has begun to push back on.
WALZ: What a monster. Kids are eating -- eating and having full belly so they can go learn and women are making their own health care decisions.
WILD: Earlier this year, Harris visited a Minnesota abortion clinic with Walz. The visit marking a big impact on her decision, a source close to the
governor told CNN.
HARRIS: You've been a great friend and adviser to the president and I thank you for all of that.
WILD: Walz joins the ticket, having already made his mark on the race coining a new line of attack against GOP presidential candidate, Donald
Trump and his Republican allies with a single-word, "weird."
WALZ: We are not afraid of weird people. We are a little bit creeped out, but we are not afraid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: David Chalian is with me.
David, a new poll shows the American public have yet to form an opinion about the governor.
[16:06:01]
Now, just look at this, 17 percent of respondents said they had a favorable impression, 12 were unfavorable, 70 percent said they are unsure, never
heard of him at all.
David, is that a plus or a minus? It means you have a blank canvas to paint upon on both sides.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's right. There is opportunity here for both sides.
Listen, that 71 percent number over the next 92 days is going to come down, and what is going to matter is, does the favorable go up or does the
unfavorable go up? And that will determine sort of how he is defined, Richard.
But let's be clear. This is a race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. I don't think most American voters are going to be voting on JD Vance
versus Tim Walz.
That being said, what Kamala Harris has done here with this pick is to identify someone and asked him to join her team, that will, she believes
help continue this pretty substantial momentum she has had in the last couple of weeks of sort of unifying the Democratic Party and enthusing the
Democratic Party, really closing that enthusiasm gap that Republicans had an advantage with.
And she thinks having Walz, who has some progressive credentials, but also an appeal to Republicans and Independents back in Minnesota may do the
trick to keep that momentum rolling.
QUEST: Yes. Okay, he is a classic, if you will, centrist Democrat liberal, my words. I mean, you know, woman's right to choose, schooling, all public
schooling, all of these classic sort of liberal, some would say issues.
Where is his conservative attraction other than he does like guns to go hunting?
CHALIAN: Well, yes, he was endorsed by the NRA, the National Rifle Association back in his 2010 run.
Listen, I don't think that the Harris-Walz ticket is trying to dominate with conservatives. I think the goal here is to have somebody who could
appeal to Independents and, you know, he won as you heard in that piece from Whitney, his congressional district in 2006, when he was elected to
Congress, he ousted a longtime Republican incumbent by five points.
And by the way, in 2016, he barely held onto that district while Donald Trump won it by 15 points. He was one of those rare breeds of a Democrat
winning in the same district that Donald Trump dominated in that year.
QUEST: So, then we come to the, if you will, the nasty bit of this that none of us like really talking about.
She has appointed a White middle-class, middle age to senior citizen who looks friendly and wonderful and he could almost make Father Christmas in
the holiday season. How much of that played into it do you think?
CHALIAN: We should note, he is only six months older than she is. He is 60 and --
QUEST: And me, by the way, and me.
CHALIAN: He is not a citizen. But, yes, clearly, I think what you're going to hear. Yes, I agree with you about Father Christmas and the like, how
about coach? They are going to lean hard into his history as a high school Social Studies Geography teacher, as well as the football coach. Given how
popular football is, high school football under the Friday night lights, how popular the NFL is, they think that kind of pedigree, somebody who
helped bring his high school football team to a state championship in Minnesota in 1999, they think that kind of biography is going to help
broaden beyond what they think perhaps Kamala Harris could do on her own.
QUEST: Okay, now, actually I need to apologize to the Minnesota governor. He is actually two years younger than me. So I am the elder here.
Finally, the dynamics of this, and I accept what you say, David, nobody -- no VP nominee or VP candidate ever won it as such. But Walz versus Vance in
the debate, assuming they do and they are more likely will, is that something you're relishing?
CHALIAN: Oh, without a doubt. First of all, I relish every debate. I think it is good for the American people to size up these people who are going to
be in these very important jobs.
But I do think, you know, Vance has had a bumpy rollout to date. He is trying to course correct here and be the one that frames the policy debate
on behalf of the Trump-Vance ticket and draw that contrast with now the Harris-Walz ticket.
So I do think that that's a debate that would be of great interest. Both of them, although they are from two different generations, it would be a
compelling argument.
I do think one thing -- and Whitney put this in the piece, Richard. Walz is going to have to speak to and come up with more compelling answers about
his time as governor when he was overseeing the unrest in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, how he handled that moment of
unrest in Minneapolis, I think is something that he hasn't yet fully explained to the American people and that is an area that the Trump
Campaign is going to focus on out of the gate here.
[16:10:13]
QUEST: David, we will talk more about all of them in the days ahead. I am so grateful, sir. Thank you.
CHALIAN: Sure. Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Now, Tim Walz was a centrist in Congress and he has a progressive record as we've just been talking about as the governor.
He signed a bill last year that provides free school lunch and breakfast to public school students, expanded medical and paid family leave and
increased protections for workers trying to unionize. It is one of the endorsements of large labor groups like the National Education Association,
and we are fortunate, the president of that very organization is Becky Pringle, and Becky is with me now.
Becky, all right, why do you like -- why do you like him?
BECKY PRINGLE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: It is good to be with you, Richard.
You know, I taught Science for 31 years and I understand the skills and the abilities and the experience that a teacher brings to a presidential ticket
and he is not just that, he is a coach. He is somebody who comes from rural America who understands the importance of public education.
You'll hear Governor Walz talk a lot about common good, and you know what, Richard, I talk a lot about that, too. I talk about public education as a
common good for this democracy and honestly for any democracy. And Tim Walz talks about that even in a larger context.
So when we talk about his appeal to, his ability to talk with, and what he has done for all Americans, we know that he is in addition to the already
capable Kamala Harris ticket.
QUEST: Yes, but you know the argument, he is a dangerous liberal. And in fact, to quote the Republican spokesperson, "He is a West Coast wannabe and
a dangerous liberal that when tied with Harris is out of step with conservative values in America."
PRINGLE: We know this kind of assault is going to come from Trump and the MAGA Republicans. But when we use the word "dangerous," really Richard? Is
it dangerous to make sure kids are fed? We know that Project 2025 actually calls for rejecting universal school meals. Is it worse to talk about
making that working class families can make a decent wage? No. This appeals to all Americans.
So no, he is working for people across this country, whether they are Republican, Democrat, or Independent, they know that he is authentic, and
he has a proven record.
QUEST: So Minnesota, where he comes from. Now, it is one of those classic states, isn't it? Because liberal in so many ways, and yet a grassroots and
as we say in my country, conservative with a small c, both from its heritage and the way it looks.
So what do you think a Minnesotan brings to this ticket?
PRINGLE: I talked to a Minnesotan earlier today, one of our educators in Minnesota and they could not be more excited about what Tim Walz brings to
this -- and to this country, because they've experienced it in Minnesota.
They saw him fight against vouchers, which are designed to take money out of public education, where 90 percent of our kids go to school. They saw
him fight for the working class. They saw him fight for a labor union. They saw him fight for everyday people, and that is why they know what he will
bring to America.
QUEST: Becky, finally on a much wider and bigger issue, as an educator -- I am not aging you, but as you gladly told us, of some decades in education,
how do we restore civility back into this political process if indeed it is possible?
PRINGLE: Richard, I am so glad you ask that question and it is one of the things that I heard, one of the words I heard used in the earlier segment
that Vice President Kamala Harris brings a sense of joy and enthusiasm, and she helps us all remember the poetry of our US Constitution. It is We, the
People -- We, the People.
It is all of us deserve that right, and that is what she is fighting for and you hear her say all the time. We are not going back. We are not going
back. We are going toward that more perfect union. We are going to keep fighting for what we know Americans need and deserve.
[16:15:10]
And for me and Tim Walz as educators, we know how important it is to ensure our students have what they need and deserve, so they can live and they can
grow and they can thrive.
QUEST: All I can say, Becky is, I wish I had had teachers like you when I was at school.
Many thanks for taking the time to join us on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Very grateful.
PRINGLE: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Hamas has chosen Yahya Sinwar as its new political leader. So now, everybody has to factor in what does this mean to the war in Gaza, in a
moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The markets have bounced back from Monday's global selloff. There is the triple stack.
The Dow did give up, frankly, a good portion of its gains, more than half its gains for most of the session. And the major indices, they are all up.
Asia's Nikkei in Japan gained about 10 percent of the 12 it lost and the others, only a fraction.
Julia is with me. Julia
Julia, not a dead cat bounce, but it was expect -- I don't know. You tell me. What do you make of this?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR, "FIRST MOVE": So, if it were 15 minutes before the end of the session, I would have said something
completely different, but when you pointed out there is really important that we lost ground there, didn't we, into the close and that's a slight
warning sign.
I think what we've learned in the last two sessions is when you see a session where its chaotic and choppy and it is particularly in a summertime
market, don't adjust your portfolio based on that day because things can turn around in an instant. Yes, we are seeing it there.
That selloff into the close is a little worrying to me.
Look, the problem is you are going to see big bounces after you've seen big selloffs. It doesn't give you a sense of the direction and Richard, we are
going to continue to watch all of the things we've been watching. The fact that Japan bounced is good because we didn't see blowback into the United
States, but that is not healthy markets, up 12 percent, down 10 percent -- these are not healthy markets, so you have to continue to watch that.
Tech bounced today, fine, that gave us some support. Will we continue to see that? Or do we continue to see selling pressure? We just have to watch
for a few more sessions, I think, and of course, the wildcard is the US economy. We need data.
[16:20:08]
QUEST: And the next day or two, we will have jobless claims and then we are going to hang inflation, but we saw them -- I mean -- well, I am going on a
limb here. Hold on to your hat.
CHATTERLEY: Hold on to the desk.
QUEST: We sort of know it though, don't we? We sort of know that things are slowing, it is sluggish and a bit drudgery, but in the absence of anything
exogenous, it doesn't look like it is going to turn turtle.
CHATTERLEY: Based on the information that we have right now on the US economy, I agree with you, and I think the one good data point could change
sentiment overnight and as quickly as Friday's jobs data changed it and that again is part of the sclerotic nature of the timing and all the other
issues that we are dealing with. So I do agree with you.
But anecdotally, and I am hearing from some big money managers that are saying that they think inflation is below where it is, that they don't
think that growth in the first and second quarter was quite as strong in the United States as it might have been, so I am just going to hang right
here and wait to see the data.
The Libran is back with you, Richard. For better or worse.
QUEST: Right, but is the Libran, I mean, starting to think that old wonderful phrase, buying opportunity. It is not buy on the tips per se,
although it is an element of buy on the dips, but a buying opportunity.
CHATTERLEY: Always, there is always opportunity in these markets, Richard.
But I go back to our favorite stock, NVIDIA. It is down a third. Is that a reason to buy? Yes. It is up a hundred percent year-to-date. Is that a
reason to sell? Yes. Both can be true at the same time.
As long as you're a buy and hold investor. There is opportunity here, just don't get chopped around. That's the key.
QUEST: Chopped around. Never. Very grateful to you. Thank you, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you, sir.
QUEST: Good to see you.
An update on some developing news, Hamas has announced that its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar will become the group's new political leader.
He Replaces Ishmael Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran last week.
Jeremy is with me, Jeremy Diamond is in Northern Israel.
So, all right, to those of us who are not as familiar with Sinwar, what's the significance of choosing him and what does it likely mean?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means a few things, Richard. I mean, the first thing I think is that over the last several
years, there has been this attempt to distinguish between Hamas as a political movement, as a political party and Hamas as a militant movement.
And Yahya Sinwar was kind of a key bridge between these two.
But more than anything, he was effectively Hamas' number one commander on the ground in Gaza and still is. And in this way, those distinctions have
effectively been absolutely abolished by appointing Sinwar as Hamas' overall leader.
Now, as it relates to those ceasefire negotiations, for example Sinwar is viewed not only as the mastermind or one of the masterminds of the October
7 terrorist attacks on Israel, but he is also viewed as a hardliner, as one of the more extreme members of Hamas, one of its more extreme leaders,
whereas Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated last week was in many ways viewed as a more pragmatic figure, one more interested in actually pursuing
a ceasefire agreement.
And so now, while Yahya Sinwar already effectively had veto power over those negotiations, at every critical juncture, given his position as
Hamas' leader on the ground in Gaza, this new appointment for him putting him as the overall leader in Hamas certainly will give him added influence
over the future of those negotiations.
So Israel for now, we are getting -- starting to get some acknowledgements, some reaction to Sinwar's appointments. One key reaction was from Daniel
Hagari, the Israeli military's top spokesman, who said that there is one place that they are designating for Yahya Sinwar, and they say that's right
next to Mohammed Deif and all the other terrorists who are responsible for October 7th.
Mohammed Deif was Hamas' military commander, the commander of its Qassam Brigades, he was killed in an Israeli strike several weeks ago, according
to the Israeli military. And so that just tells you that Sinwar, as he moves into this political position, but really as Hamas' overall leader of
its political movement, of its military wing as well, that he is still enemy number one for the state of Israel.
All of this, of course, as we are watching increased tensions in the region and Iran and its proxies in the region threatening to retaliate and carry
out attacks on Israel -- Richard.
QUEST: All right, Jeremy, thank you. Jeremy Diamond in Haifa tonight. Thank you.
And as we continue, the battle for the White House, so now we have four -- we do have the four that is necessary -- two presidential candidates, two
vice presidential candidates and the Democrat ones will be speaking in the next couple of hours.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:28:42]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, together, we will have a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. We will be in Philadelphia where the rally is taking place
this evening. Kamala Harris will appear with her vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz for the first time.
And the Olympic superstar, Simone Biles who spoke to Coy Wire just moments ago, only after -- well, you know before -- this is CNN and on this network
the news always comes first.
Israel says a rocket barrage by Hezbollah has triggered fires in Northern Israel. Hezbollah says it also filed a swarm of drones from Lebanon at
Israeli military targets. The group's leader is vowing an even bigger response to Israel's assassination that of the Hezbollah commander saying
it could act with allies or alone.
The British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is chairing an emergency meeting called COBRA because of recent anti-immigrant riots. The COBRA is a
group of UK national agencies that coordinate responses during emergency situations. There is more violence feared later this week.
Tropical Storm Debby continues to pound the southern and eastern United States. The emergency responders have now rescued hundreds of people from
flooded homes in Sarasota in Florida. More than 90,000 customers are without power in Florida and at least four people have died there, one in
the state of Georgia.
[16:30:15]
We're getting the most detailed explanation on the Alaska Airlines flight that had terrifying midair blowout from a door back in January. Boeing
workers have testified today to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB, and said they felt pressured to do their jobs too fast to
avoid mistakes.
And to our top story, the U.S. presidential race and the choice at the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the Democratic vice presidential candidate.
About an hour ago, that Harris campaign posted video of the VP calling Walz to let him know he'd gotten the job. The two are set now to hold a campaign
rally in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania about at an hour from now. It will be their first appearance together as running mates and the Trump campaign is
wasting no time portraying them as one and the same.
(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 nominees. Tim
Walz will be a rubber stamp for Kamala's dangerously liberal agenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, Walz has already been sharpening his own attacks on Donald Trump, including this comment on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: Listen to the guy. He's talking about Hannibal Lecter and shocking sharks and just whatever crazy thing pops into
his mind. And I thought we just give him way too much credit and I think one of the things is, is when you just ratchet down some of the -- you
know, the scariness or whatever and just name it what it is.
I got to tell you, Jake, my observation on this issue is, have you ever seen the guy laugh? That seems very weird to me that an adult can go
through six and a half years of being in the public eye, if he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior, and I don't
think you call it anything else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The reaction from both sides. Chuck Rocha is the Democratic strategist and former campaign adviser for Bernie Sanders. Evan Siegfried
is a Republican strategist and commentator.
We can see sort of how this all comes together. Let's start with you, Evan, and before we get into the nitty-gritty, before we get into the nitty-
gritty of it all, is there anything nice, just to start off with, that you can say about Tim Walz?
EVAN SIEGFRIED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND COMMENTATOR: I think he's very plain-spoken and he is a very nice guy. I have nothing against him to be
honest with you. What you played with the Trump campaign already out attacking him, I think that is the wrong strategy because Tim Walz is just
the nice older uncle, sort of ala Tim Kaine. He brings nothing think to the table.
And that really works with the 1 percent of the electorate that is needed to win this election. So I think it's sort of an inspired pick, which, yes,
it fits in the do-no harm, but it gets you nothing with the one key group of voters they need.
QUEST: Gets you nothing, Chuck. Gets you nothing. A wasted opportunity. I'm interpreting Evan, what I'm saying, but a wasted opportunity, get you
nothing.
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I would push back on that and say that he gets you exactly what Evan describes, a nice white guy from the
Midwest, and you know what you need to win Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, is a lot of old white man that looks just like Tim Walz, and
the number one thing in picking a vice president, and I've run presidential campaigns, to Evan's point, again, is do no harm.
Folks don't show up to vote for Walz. They show up to vote for either Trump or Harris, and you don't want to be like the Trump pick and in the press
every day was something else negative that you said 10 years ago. You want a boring white guy who can look like other boring white guys in the Midwest
and can deliver those blue wall states.
QUEST: Thart's not a very nice thing to say. Look, Evan --
SIEGFRIED: I'm sorry?
QUEST: He's right, though, isn't he? He's right, though. In a sense --
SIEGFRIED: Yes, I would just say --
QUEST: Well, let me finish.
SIEGFRIED: No, if you want -- if a boring white guy worked, if the boring white guy worked you'd be talking about the end of a second term of Vice
President Tim Kaine's time in office. You needed somebody more dynamic, and I just don't think when you go out and talk to these voters that you need
to win in the places like Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, that -- Tim Walz pushes them over the top.
QUEST: Right.
SIEGFRIED: It's just -- it's leaving it on the table, whereas Mark Kelly or Josh Shapiro might have been a better choice.
QUEST: If the goal here is almost a version -- the political version of the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm at its very minimum, Evan, do you think that
the Republican ticket needs to now tweak its strategy?
[16:35:15]
SIEGFRIED: It actually needs to tweak its strategy. Its strategy was for Joe Biden and to hammer home everything on Joe Biden. And about inflation.
Well, Democratic firms and other firms that I've spoken to have polled whether or not the inflation label that has really bogged down and the cost
of living label that has really hurt the Biden presidency is something that voters associate Kamala Harris with. And they don't.
QUEST: Right.
SIEGFRIED: Only 23 percent of voters do. I think that's a very good thing for the vice president going into facing Donald Trump. At the same time,
Donald Trump for the last 16 days has been on the defensive whether it be over J.D. Vance's comments about cat ladies to his own comments last week
at the NABJ, to just not getting that much attention from the media, and what attention he gets isn't positive.
From a strategic standpoint, forget that I'm a Republican, I think it's been a very bad 16 days and the campaign has not worked well and the
candidate has been (INAUDIBLE), it's just not a professional organization right now.
QUEST: On this question, Chuck, there is one, if you will, Achilles heel to Tim Walz and it is this business of the riots that took place in Minnesota,
and an interesting question of, was he too late to call the guard? Donald Trump says he came in and he was the one who called the guard. Now, let's
not, let's not get sort of bogged down. Oh, we've lost Evan, but you and I will continue regardless.
And let's not get bogged down on he said-she said. There is a perception that Tim Walz was behind the -- behind the curve when making the decisions.
ROCHA: I think that that's easily explained, but you're right. Exactly right. That he'll have to answer that question. But if that's the question,
that's the worst thing that they have, then I think he's in a good place because he, Tim Walz, is a command sergeant major in the National Guard and
joined when he was 19, to defend this country. Excuse me, when he was 17. So serving himself as military in the U.S. Military I think is a very big
deal.
QUEST: But interestingly, both vice presidential candidates have served with great honor and respect in the national forces, which is very
interesting and very different in many ways, isn't it, Evan?
SIEGFRIED: Yes, I think it is very interesting and I'm always thankful that we will have somebody on the ticket on both sides of the aisle who has
served and understands what it means to serve. We are seeing already today --
QUEST: We are having difficulty --
SIEGFRIED: If he has embellished -- we don't know the veracity.
QUEST: Evan, have you paid your electricity bill?
SIEGFRIED: I don't know the veracity of those claims.
QUEST: We're having --
SIEGFRIED: I think it's much more my internet and Verizon conspires.
QUEST: I guess I'm going to thank both of you because the line is poor. But before we do, Chuck, I started off by asking Evan to say something nice
about Tim Walz. Tell us something nice about Tim -- about J.D. Vance. Let's elevate this a little bit more than just your book. Anything nice you can
say about him?
ROCHA: I can and it's very personal for me. I grew up in a trailer house in rural east Texas and just like J.D., I had a Mamaw and a Papaw that
literally saved my life when I was a little boy by helping take care of me because my teenage mother had to work several jobs. So I know what it's
like and what J.D. went through. And I appreciate him and what he talks about with his Mamaw and his Papaw.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you both. Thank you very much indeed.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Always difficult when you got to have a dodgy line, but there you are, we do persevere.
Simone Biles has solidified her place as one of the greatest athletes of all time. She spoke to Coy Wire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMONE BILES, OLYMPIC GYMNAST: I would actually be a honey badger. Like honey badger in the gym, sloth outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:41:52]
QUEST: U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas is the new Olympic 200-meter champion. She took the gold with the time of 21.83 seconds. She's also now for her
accomplishments off the track. A graduate of Harvard and went on to get her Master's in public health.
The last game of the men's basketball quarterfinals underway and the United States is having an easy time against Brazil.
Simone Biles has been absolutely one of the brightest stars of the games. She's the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnasts with 11 medals, seven gold.
It's been a comeback story of the ages overcoming a disappointing showing in Tokyo, a calf injury at the beginning in Paris, and she proved that she
is a GOAT, the greatest of all time, and she celebrated, of course, with that diamond encrusted goat necklace.
During the floor final, she's stepped out of bounds, taking silver, gracious, even in second place, paying tribute with her teammates to the
Brazilian gold medalists Rebecca Andrade. The first all-black podium in Olympics gymnast history.
Coy Wire is in Paris. Some statistics that are of importance as we hear, as we get ready to hear your interview with her, you, Coy, are six-foot tall,
she is four-foot, eight inches tall. Now, unless you've got an apple box onto your left arm, that'll explain what you're going to show us.
COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, I don't know if I'm six-foot. I thought it was more like 5'12", Richard, but yes, I'm a little bit taller than Simone
and I was actually crouching down a bit to have this conversation but she called this the redemption tour, right, Richard. And I asked her about
these games compared to previous games. She seems so much more excited, so much more grateful for this moment. So I asked her, what made these games
so special. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILES: Nobody forced me to be out there on that stage. I solely did it for myself and I'm in a really good spot mentally and physically. So doing this
for just me, it meant the world.
WIRE: And you overcame a lot to get here, we all know that. Did you feel any of those demons start to come creeping in the mind again? And if so,
how did you deal with them?
BILES: Yes, I dealt with them in therapy. Obviously, you always have those thoughts coming in the back of your head, but just trying to stay as
positive as possible, going back to what I know, thinking about my therapy tactics and it worked.
WIRE: That's so important.
BILES: Yes.
WIRE: Iconic moment. The podium, bowing down to Rebecca there. Young girls out there today are getting torn apart left and right, torn down. How
important was it for you to show the world, it's OK to adjust each other's crowns?
BILES: No, absolutely. I think it was really important for that moment. Obviously, it was just me and Jordan being me and Jordan, but I know it was
really special and it was very impactful for kids to see that. You win with grace, you lose with grace.
WIRE: Yes. Now, this iconic moment, these games, in my opinion, was when you clap back at some people talking about your appearance. And young girls
deal with that all the time, the stress that to fit in. What is your message to those young girls out there who might be feeling like they're
not enough or they're not fitting in?
BILES: You guys are beautiful, confident, you guys are so smart, stand in your power. Believe in yourself and you guys are going to be just fine, and
I'll be here to support you every step of the way. I know it's hard, but you guys are going to do it and you're going to do big things.
[16:45:06]
WIRE: Incredible. All right. Does time stop when you're 12 feet in the air flipping through the air? For us, mere mortals, can we just close our eyes
and you walk me through what you're feeling, what's your sense and as you're flipping through one of your wildest maneuvers?
BILES: Honestly, sometimes it feels like time goes really fast, like the floor comes sooner than it should. But most of the time it does feel like
you're up there for a while and you're just waiting to come back down. But it is really exciting.
WIRE: What would you say your spirit animal is or your spirit character that switch that flips when you have to go out there and dominate, and that
thing that's allowed you to win 11 Olympic medals?
BILES: OK. So, I feel like I would actually be a honey badger, like honey badger in the gym, sloth outside.
WIRE: Slothy Simone.
BILES: Yes.
WIRE: I think you need a new chain. Now that one is pretty dope. All right. Now, you've got some time to enjoy your family, especially your husband,
Jonathan Owens. You get to enjoy some football.
BILES: Yes.
WIRE: He's been here supporting you. Are you going to be at his games being the hype one for him?
BILES: Yes. Absolutely. I feel like I'm his biggest supporter beside some of our other family that we have, but it's always exciting watching him
play on that field.
WIRE: OK. If they play the Falcons or my Bills this year, please don't show up. We don't need any more juice for them.
BILES: That's actually -- they play the Bills this weekend so good luck.
WIRE: She said good luck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Win with grace, lose with grace. That's exactly what you and I were talking about yesterday. So when she's talking about this, what's the aura
like? What's the feeling that you get from her?
WIRE: I feel like she has found her calling and I think many of us would have thought, well, that's gymnastics and maybe she did, too, but now it's
to the point when you're standing there talking with her and looking her in the eye and she is talking so passionately about inspiring the next
generation it's coming from the heart. She's really embraced this role and she's playing it really well.
QUEST: Now, I was interested about, in my morning reading, and with the gymnastics they were getting themselves -- Simone as well -- about the
silence, the silence in the auditorium that they found to be quite off- putting because they're so used to training with not just general hubbub noise. And in practice they'd had -- rehearsal they've had music. But
what's all that about?
WIRE: Well, I think there's two sides of that because I went to the gymnastics venue and first of all, at times, it is deafening. I mean, it is
-- you saw the celebrities that came out to see them, but right before a big moment, whether it's a vault, whether it's a floor routine and a big
run on the mat, the auditorium gets silent and everyone is holding their breath, waiting to see the magic that's about to happen.
Maybe that's what they're talking about. And in practice, they're used to having the music pumping and going all the time and talking. But here at
this venue, at times you can hear a pin drop.
QUEST: Have you ever had a go at gymnastics? Just curious. Just asking. Have you ever had -- had you had a go with doing any of that?
WIRE: Well, when I get on a dance floor on a weekend, my wife thinks that my dancing is gymnastics because I'm just flipping around. There's no
rhythm. I'm just uncoordinated. But I have tried to back flip once or twice in my life, way back in the day. And I may or may not have landed
successfully. May or may not have.
QUEST: Have another battle of Bordeaux, the bill's on me. Thank you, sir.
WIRE: Now that'll get me flipping. Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Good night. Coy Wire.
Coming up next, the business. Kamala Harris is wasting no time after announcing Tim Walz. We'll have a preview of what's ahead for them in this
hour.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:17]
QUEST: So in the next hour, Kamala Harris will hold her first joint rally with her new running mate, Tim Walz. The rally is taking place in
Philadelphia. They'll spend the next five days going through total of seven battleground states. Later tonight, they will hold a meeting attended by
both campaign and DNC staff.
Tim Walz, of course, is the former U.S. congressman, high school teacher, a coach, and a member of the National Guard. And he's currently serving as
the governor of Minnesota.
M.J. Lee is in Philadelphia.
I know it's very loud, so I'll just speak up a little bit for you. What are we expecting to happen besides an uproarious crowd when they see the two
candidates?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Richard, any minute now the two should be stepping on stage together for their first joint rally of
the 2024 cycle. And really the first event where we are seeing the two names, Harris and Walz, featured side by side. And you said it, you know,
this is a very excited crowd and I actually just spent a little bit of time walking around the arena, talking to the voters that are here.
And a couple of things I want to know that really stood out to me. First and foremost, the voters in this room really are very excited about the
fact that they see Kamala Harris as someone new and different to the ticket. That has to do with her age and has to do with the fact that she's
a woman. It also has to do with her race. One woman I was talking to got teared up talking about the fact that there could be a biracial future
president of the United States because she herself has biracial grandchildren.
Something else that I've noticed, and this is not surprising, but most people here do not seem to have a great sense of who Tim Walz is that they
are starting to get read in quickly. They have seen some of those videos propping up on social media. They were using words like nice and down-to-
earth to describe him as they are getting those first images of her vice presidential candidate.
And every single person that I spoke to said that they were glad that Joe Biden decided to drop out of the 2024 race. Even though they were all
supportive of his presidency, they believe that it was the right thing to do.
Now when the two take the stage, we certainly expect that Kamala Harris is going to take the opportunity to explain to the crowd why she decided to
choose the Minnesota governor as her partner. We also expect that Tim Walz is going to kind of show how he can complement Kamala Harris on the ticket
by leaning into his biography, talking about his Nebraska root and his Minnesota values.
And it is very clear, Richard, that in the interview and the vetting process, Tim Walz impressed Kamala Harris and the vetting team in a whole
bunch of different ways. Sources familiar with the interview process tell us that at one point, when he was asked by the team how he sees the role of
the vice president, he answered, it will be whatever she needs it to be, that he will be happy to do whatever she thinks is necessary.
And then when he was asked whether he has aspirations to run himself for president, we are told that he answered no. This is an area of potential
sensitivity for anybody that would like to sort of avoid any internal political drama. It seems to be a different approach than what Josh Shapiro
took. We are told that he actually came into the vetting process with a lot of questions actually coming from him about what the role of the vice
presidency would be.
So looking around the room, it's just fascinating, Richard, to think about the fact that President Biden had for years said that it had to be him at
the top of the ticket, but in 16 days, Richard, Kamala Harris has shown that actually there can be somebody else at the top of the Democratic
ticket.
[16:55:00]
QUEST: There we have John Fetterman coming out in Pennsylvania. I'll let you go and watch what's happening there, M.J. Lee. Thank you. I'm grateful,
the noise there must be quite extraordinary.
We are just waiting for Kamala Harris. She'll be out there and she'll speak. You'll head. Let me just quickly show you how the markets have
finished the day. The markets have been there up, all the major markets, the Nasdaq, the S&P and the Dow, but they've given up a lot of what they'd
started off with.
We'll take a "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." I don't really have any hope that my somewhat quixotic attempt to restore civility is going to be a major
success, but that is something that at least we're going to try to do. We started it tonight. Let's just recognize as indeed Simone Biles did in that
interview with Coy Wire. Win with grace, lose with grace.
You know, when we have these strategists from the Democrats or the Republicans, when we have them on, we pretty much know that they're going
to bash the other side. Goes with the territory. It's part of their job. But that doesn't mean you can't take 30 seconds or 10 seconds or one
minute, whatever it is, just to say something nice about the other person.
So, for example, as you heard tonight, Chuck saying some very nice things about J.D. Vance and indeed the other side recognizing the way in which of
course both sides can be pleasant to each other. It doesn't mean you're not going to beat the bejeebers out of each other. It just means that every now
and again, you pause and remember, win with grace, lose with grace.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I am Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. See
you tomorrow.
ANNOUNCER: CNN Breaking News.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper, live at Temple University in North Philly and just moments Vice President Kamala
Harris is going to take the stage for the very first time with the man she just selected to be her running mate. The pick is Minnesota Governor Tim
Walz, a former high school teacher and football coach who served 24 years in the Army National Guard before being elected to the House of
Representatives six times.
END
