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Quest Means Business

First Glimpse of CNN's Exclusive Interview with Harris and Walz; SEAT-TAC Airport Warns Outage could Impact Holiday Travel; Trump's Attacks on Harris Take Hostile Turn. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired August 29, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:15]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street, you can see how the market is going. It has been

bullish for most of the session. In fact, we gave back some of the gains. Now we are ending up half a percentage point at 243 gain on the Dow Index.

Those are the markets, and these are the main events that we are now talking about.

A first look at CNN's exclusive interview with Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. It is their first interview since topping the

Democratic ticket.

Back to whiteboards and handwritten luggage tags, I beg your pardon. A cyberattack knocks out key systems at SEA-TAC Airport.

And Yelp sues Google, arguing the search giant use its monopoly to promote its own reviews.

We are live from New York on Thursday, August the 29th. I'm Richard Quest. And in New York, hearing myself coming be back, I mean business.

Good evening.

We start tonight with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who was just sat down with CNN for their first major interview for the team since becoming the

Democratic nominee.

Now, the vice president spoke to Dana Bash alongside Mr. Walz, and the interview comes after weeks of Republicans accusing -- accusations that she

has been hiding from the press.

In the past, Harris' opponents have used her remarks and interviews against her. Now, she is hoping a strong performance will build on the momentum she

enjoys following the Democratic convention last week.

Dana Bash asked Vice President Harris about some of her flip-flops on policy over the years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you've made -- that you've

explained some of here in your policy. Is it because you have more experience now when you've learned more about the information? Is it

because you are running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you're saying now is going to

be your policy moving forward?

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and

decisions is my values have not changed.

You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed and I've worked on it that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we

should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.

We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act. We have set goals for the United States of America, and by extension, the globe around when we should

meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As an example, that value has not changed.

My value around what we need to do to secure our border. That value has not changed. I spent two terms as the attorney general of California

prosecuting transnational criminal organization, violations of American laws regarding the passage -- illegal passage of guns, drugs, and human

beings across our border.

My values have not changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Julie Roginsky is the democratic strategist and the co-founder of Lift Our Voices. Scott Jennings, good to see you again, Scott is the CNN

senior political commentator, former special assistant to President Bush.

I am going to start with you, Scott. Her values haven't changed and it is not flip-flopping. It is, as she says in the full interview, as a result of

four years or at least being in office, you refine policies and you refine your positions.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I am just seeing this for the first time, just like the rest of us, and this already looks like a

disaster to me. I mean, look, she had a -- she had clear positions. There is hours of video of her laying out very deeply held values and positions

when she ran for president.

During the time she has been in this race for the last month or so, her campaign staff anonymously have walked back almost every single thing she

ever said. Now, she is telling CNN today, my values haven't changed. What is an American voter supposed to believe here? Who are you?

And ultimately in a presidential campaign, that's the test of your character. Who are you? Who are we voting for? Can we trust anything you're

saying?

This looks -- I am going to withhold judgment until I see the whole thing tonight and I am sure Dana did a great job by the way, but this doesn't

look great to me right out of the gate.

[16:05:10]

QUEST: Julie, flip-flopping galore.

JULIE ROGINSKY, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Scott, I am sorry. Who is she running against? Donald Trump? You really want have this talk about character and

about flip-flops? I mean, Donald Trump has a list going back from the 80s with things that he said that he changes mind on in the same interview, not

just over the course of many years.

Look, I think she is very well-prepped for this. Obviously, she is talking about her core values and the fact that there are policies that advance

those values in some different ways. And again, which Scott will reserve judgment.

But I think what she is trying to get at is that you can have the same values and accomplish the same goals in different ways. And obviously, she

has a way of thinking how she is going to accomplish those.

QUEST: This interesting line that she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet. Now, we've had this before, haven't we, Scott, where we have had

one party appointing a Cabinet member from another party. It has been done before.

It is rarely successful because they feel like the outliers.

JENNINGS: Yes, I will say back when I was a special assistant to President George W Bush, we had Norman Mineta, who was our Transportation Secretary

for a spell and he did a good job, so it can be successful. I guess it depends on what you give them to do and there is no shortage certainly of

Republicans who don't like Donald Trump.

I mean, there was plenty that didn't like him in '16 and in '20 and I am sure there will be some that don't like him and don't vote for him this

year. I mean, look, they have Republicans on the stage at the Democratic convention that spoke on behalf of Harris. So she could find somebody.

The question is though, are they influential? Does anything they believe that would be considered conservative ever actually breakthrough in a

policy discussion, of that, I would be highly skeptical.

QUEST: And Julie, the challenge to introduce both herself and Tim Walz tonight. It is academic whether she should have done it on around, now it

is done. She is with him.

But over my over my readings and speaking to people over the last few days, people still feel they don't know where she stands. I assume, we will hear

more about that tonight.

ROGINSKY: We will hear about that tonight. We will hear about the debate, assuming Trump shows up, we will hear about that through the course of the

next few months.

I mean, look, this is an opportunity for her to have introduced her, reintroduced herself to the American people and any good campaign knows

that these are the kinds of things not to shy away from. I am surprised he hasn't done this earlier.

But it is something to be done in order good to get your message out. And if you're prepped well enough and if you know how to get that message out,

there is no kind of interview, not even the toughest interview is not an opportunity to get your message out.

And so I hope that she took that opportunity today. Well find out when we watch later tonight and I hope she takes that opportunity over and over

again in the next few months because it only helps her reinforce that message.

QUEST: Scott and Julie, we will both -- and myself, we will all be watching the interview tonight and parsing it in the next couple of days. I am

grateful to you.

Dana Bash did the interview. Dana is with me now.

What was it like?

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Richard.

Well, it was no pressure. We just sat around and we ate some Bonbons and talked about the weather, of course. No, it was a very, very interesting

conversation that I was able to have with the two of them.

They are obviously just starting this. It was their very first interview. One of the key questions since, which you deal with every single day in

your professional world is the question of affordability for Americans, and how she can help ease that for voters, but also about her policy positions

on everything from energy, especially fracking and the Green New Deal to immigration and how they have changed since she first ran for president

back in the 2020 cycle, I asked her about some of that.

QUEST: Now, as we look at the way in which the two of them interacted with each other, what was that chemistry like? Because -- and I ask that because

we will make our own judgments later. But you were in the room and you could feel -- and by the way, we actually heard that sound of the talking

about values a moment or two ago.

BASH: Oh okay.

QUEST: So I know to what you are referring.

BASH: Thank you.

QUEST: And I am just wondering when you heard and you saw that -- you know, politics, Dana is as much about the touchy-feely as what they say as you're

aware, very well aware.

BASH: Yes.

QUEST: So what was the touchy-feely between them?

BASH: They obviously have a lot of regard for one another and they are just gone getting to know each other. They are not -- it is not as if she picked

somebody like Josh Shapiro whom she knew when they were both attorneys general at the same time or others, so it is kind of a new relationship,

and I am observing a new relationship and we all are real time.

[16:10:07]

I did get to talk to them, of course, in this interview. I was also here in Georgia with them at a couple of stops on this bus tour that they are doing

here and they clearly kind of understand the other's benefits and the others positive traits and what he and she bring to the table and allows

for the other to bring that in the event.

For example we went to a very small room in a high school. It was kind of a blue area in this sea of red in rural Georgia there were members of the

band, there were members of the football team, and there were cheerleaders there. And of course, Coach Walz did his thing talking about being a coach

and inspiring kids and she talked about being a role model and talked about the need to think of themselves, not just as it individuals, but as part of

a community and so forth.

So they each kind of took an aspect of a broader theme that they wanted to put forward, and I am sure we are going to see them continue to work that

out as the days and weeks, very few days and very few weeks between now and Election Day come upon us.

QUEST: Dana, I am grateful. Thank you. I am looking forward to what we get this evening. Thank you, in Savannah in Georgia.

Back to our panel, I believe in squeezing the asset and we've got Julie still with us and we have Scott Jennings.

Sir, come on, make the most of it. Make the most of it. Scott, with you first that dynamic, which is what Dana was talking about because it is,

pardon the phrase, it is the touchy-feely, it is how viewers -- how voters feel, do you think Trump-Vance can create that, same, not obviously, same

dynamic, but a similar, you're on our side view?

JENNINGS: Yes, it is a good strategy question. I think the Harris-Walz ticket is trying to -- I know what you're describing, what we would call

vibes, right?

QUEST: Yes, good. Exactly.

JENNINGS: You were trying to pick up on a vibe. And they're running on vibes. And I think what Trump and Vance are running on are policy basically

saying if you don't like the policies of the last four years, you can't leave the same people in charge.

So it is a much more straight forward political argument. I do think Harris and Walz are trying to create something around the concept of vibes because

they don't want to defend the last four years. They don't want to talk about why Harris was for the Green New Deal, now, she is against it or why

she was against fracking and now, she is for it, now she is against.

So if you can create a vibe campaign to try to combat where you're deficient on policy, I guess if I were in their shoes, I would do the same

thing. I'd be interested to see how Dana pulls it off tonight in the interview because obviously, they may not know each other that well and it

will be interesting to see how they interact.

QUEST: I'm going to go to Julie before she launches herself out of a chair, Julie.

ROGINSKY: Man, I would love to have this campaign be about the policies of the last four years versus the policies of the Trump administration.

JENNINGS: Me too. Me too.

ROGINSKY: Let's start with the border. Great. Fantastic. Fantastic.

JENNINGS: Me, too. Let's do it.

ROGINSKY: I think we're going to get that, Scott. I think we are going to get that because let's face it, the economy has never done better than it

has under this administration compared to what was going on --

JENNINGS: No way.

ROGINSKY: -- with the worse job loss since Hoover with Donald Trump. Those are the facts my friends, look up the stats.

JENNINGS: Oh, boy.

QUEST: You know, it is time -- QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I am grateful to you both. We've got so much more to talk about and we will talk to you both.

Very kind of you. When you see the bell, it is time to go to vibes.

We are watching the interview tonight. It is Kamala Harris and Tim Walz with Dana. It is part of our special at nine o'clock Eastern, 2:00 AM in

London, 9:00 AM in Hong Kong. And if you miss it, and I promise you, across the world of CNN's platforms, you can't escape it. It will be somewhere

near you.

As we continue tonight, you and I, the head of Ryanair wants airports to start cutting off passengers' drinking to help prevent unruly in-flight

behavior. Michael O'Leary, a two-drink maximum once in the air, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:44]

QUEST: If you're flying this weekend in the United States over the Labor Day weekend, well, you could face hassles at Seattle-Tacoma International

Airport, SEA-TAC between you and me.

The cyberattack last week has forced airport workers to update flight and baggage information by hand. Some carriers are even issuing handwritten

boarding passes.

The airport is expecting nearly 200,000 passengers on Friday and is encouraging people to bring only carry-on bags.

Pete Muntean is with me, our aviation correspondent.

Well, there's two sides to this, the first is how SEA-TAC is going to handle what is a bloody nose, but the more serious one arguably is the

vulnerability of systems in travel and tourism to hacking.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: It really exposes something that is the talk of the aviation industry right now, how we deal with

cyberattacks, when they rear their ugly head, and this really exposes and shows off in bright lights, Richard, what can happen. The good news here is

that the impact is relatively limited and SEA-TAC, on day six of the impact of this cyberattack, they are filling out departure boards by hand.

Go back to the image there for a second because that really just shows the human impact and the actual input that needs to take place when they put up

the departure board, the time there.

They are also even handwriting out on these whiteboards, the workers there from the airport in green vests where the location of baggage claim is for

some of these flights that are coming in and the timing is especially bad here because the Labor Day weekend is anticipated to be especially busy

here in the United States, 2.8 million people anticipated by TSA at airports across the country tomorrow.

But at SEA-TAC, they are anticipating about 200,000 people each day. Today is a big day, 179,000 people; tomorrow, 187,000 people. So they are just

trying to get this thing together almost with scotch tape and baling wire to make sure that these flights get out on time and people get to their

gate.

QUEST: Right, so Pete, if we accept, as I think we are now getting to the point where we must, that these things will happen and that they will -- I

mean, whether it be the Delta fiasco, the United had it, they've all had it in some shape or form. British Airways has had it and lots of them have had

it in some shape or form? It is really about how you recover. I mean, you do your best to prevent cyberattacks, but it is afterwards how you recover

that really is where the metal is.

MUNTEAN: No doubt, and it also underscores to airlines and airports the investment that they need to make so that this does not happen. We saw it

happen in a big way for Delta Air Lines, but then we've seen it also happen when there were snafus that don't have to do with a cyberattack, like the

Southwest Airlines meltdown that led to the cancellation of tens of thousands of flights and hundreds of thousands of passengers in the lurch.

We are not and out of the woods yet. I mean, this is just a microcosm of issues that are going to keep happening over and over again in the travel

space, and it is really a wakeup call to the industry to make sure that they have all their ducks in a row.

[16:20:09]

The good news here is that there are a lot of people there at SEA-TAC able to swoop in and make sure that things continue to go smoothly. It is not

really impacting airline operations, and that there are no big cancellations and delays. But when it happens in a big way at an airline,

we see how the deck of cards can come tumbling down.

QUEST: I am grateful, Pete Muntean, thank you, sir.

The group head of Ryanair has now come out against another cause of airport chaos, which is from passengers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL O'LEARY, CEO, RYANAIR: We are seeing record numbers, we, and most of the airlines in Europe are seeing a spike upwards, particularly this

summer of disgruntled passengers on board. And here are the challenges, one, flight delays are up at a record high this summer, so people are

spending time in airports drinking before they board aircraft.

We need to have a ban on airports not selling alcohol, but limiting the amount of alcohol that can be sold to any passenger to two alcoholic

drinks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Michael O'Leary has called for the two drink maximum at airports, it follows a string of disruptive incidents: The mass brawl on a Ryanair

flight in January and a July flight that had to be turned around thanks to unruly passengers.

Joining me, Simon Calder, good friend of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS and a good friend of mine, travel correspondent for "The Independent" and the

reporting behind the Michael O'Leary interview you just saw a clip of it. Simon is with me now.

Is it realistic? I think if some airports, particularly I don't know, Luton on a bad afternoon, Gatwick. You think of some of the German airports. Is

it realistic to go down to a two maximum?

SIMON CALDER, TRAVEL CORRESPONDENT, "THE INDEPENDENT": Not at all.

I've talked, Richard, to a number of people who are familiar with airports and aviation systems, and they just say, think about it. You've got to have

somewhere, a central database of all the passengers, all the flights. Every time they have a drink, you have to reconcile that against the boarding

pass -- their boarding pass and the passport to make sure that somebody isn't going to be getting drinks on behalf of somebody else and all in all,

who is going to pay for how is it going to work? What's going to happen when you have a cyberattack?

So, it is completely unworkable.

QUEST: All right, Simon, can I just -- can I just interrupt you? Do forgive me. We are having a few technical problems, which means the dear viewer is

seeing far more of me than they are of you, which is probably giving them great indigestion in the process.

We will take a short break. We will pay the electricity bill and when we come back, hopefully all will be well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:20]

END