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RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump; Democratic Fundraising Platform Says $7.2 Million Raised During Kamala Harris' DNC Acceptance Speech; Harris Turning Focus To Critical Debate With Trump After Electrifying Dems At Convention; Trump Launches New Attacks On Harris After DNC Energizes Dems; Rep. Nikema Williams (D- GA), Is Interviewed About Harris Turning Focus To Critical Debate With Trump After Electrifying Dems At Convention; Sources: Israel Offers New Proposal On Contested Corridor; Desperation Grows Inside Gaza As Peace Talks Continue. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 23, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not only is the safety of the crew at stake, but so is the reputation of Boeing's entire space program, which set those astronauts to space in the Starliner back in June.

Well, coming up Sunday on State of the Union, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey that Sunday morning at nine Eastern and again at noon here on CNN. You can, of course, follow the show on X at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show wherever you get your podcast. The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room, have a great weekend.

[17:00:35]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s presidential bid is coming to an end as he throws his support behind Donald Trump. The former president eagerly accepting Kennedy's endorsement and launching new attacks on Kamala Harris after she reenergized her party at this week's Democratic National Convention. This as the vice president is turning her focus to debate preparations just out of next month's critical showdown with Trump. We're learning new details about her plans for the next phase of the race as she tries to keep her momentum going.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the Situation Room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: Let's get straight to our top story this hour, the race for the White House shaken up once again as Robert F Kennedy Jr. suspends his campaign and tells his supporters to back Donald Trump instead. CNN's Kristen Holmes is in Glendale, Arizona for us, that's where Trump is about to rally with supporters and quote -- a quote, "special guest."

Kristen, give us the details. KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you that Donald Trump's team hopes that special guest is Robert Kennedy, Jr. Now, we're just at the event in which he endorsed Donald Trump and he suspended his campaign. He said he was throwing his weight behind the former president, who he had said essentially he aligned with on various issues. He said that the former president had offered to enlist him in his administration, but wouldn't go any further than that. And he also said that part of the reason that he was suspending this campaign was because he had come to realize that in battleground states, he would be giving votes to Democrats, essentially taking away from Donald Trump and that he doesn't support Democrats, essentially blaming Democrats, the DNC, for his failed campaign.

Now, here are some of the issues he said he aligned with Donald Trump on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., (I) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You're aligned with each other on other key issues, like ending the Forever Wars, ending the childhood disease epidemic, securing the border, protecting freedom of speech, unraveling the corporate capture of our regulatory agencies, getting the U.S. intelligence agencies out of the business of propagandizing and censoring and surveilling Americans and interfering with our elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, look, you might be wondering why exactly Donald Trump's team, who has been working on this endorsement for weeks now, was so eager to get it, particularly given the fact that our case polling doesn't show him with a substantial base. However, they do believe that it is a mighty base, and they believe that this election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is going to be decided by a razor, thin margin in any single vote is going to count. They look at a state like this, Arizona, which RFK is polling at 6 percent, Donald Trump, however, polling at 42 percent and Kamala Harris at 45 percent in a recent "New York Times" poll. They believe that this will help boost Donald Trump's numbers. It's not just Arizona, they see this across the United States, and I will tell you, a source told me that they expect RFK to be campaigning with and for the former president moving forward.

BLITZER: We shall see. All right, Kristen, I know that Trump just spoke at a separate event in Las Vegas. How did he react to RFK Jr. and to Kamala Harris's convention speech last night?

HOLMES: Well, we heard the same thing that we've heard from him over and over again about RFK since this endorsement was really in the works. He was praising him. He was saying how he was a terrific guy. But when it came to Kamala Harris, was a lot of attacks. We know that this has gotten under Donald Trump's skin.

He obviously watched the speech last night. We saw his reaction in various interviews afterwards on Truth Social and it was a very aggressive reaction. This came after a week of attacks, a week of enthusiasm on the Democratic side as well as excitement, and a week of big crowds and big ratings, all things that bother Donald Trump. Take a listen to what he said about the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She didn't mention the border, she didn't mention inflation, she didn't mention the bad economy, she didn't mention crime, and she didn't say anything. She talked about her family, how beautiful San Francisco was.

Under her as district attorney, she destroyed San Francisco. And then as the Attorney General, she ruined the state of California with her stupid policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:05:08]

HOLMES: Now, he also talked her on a number of other policies. We'll see what he does today when he enters this arena. It is a large arena. This is a rally style, before that was just economy speech, a smaller crowd. He hasn't really gone off as much during those. This is likely to set him off, because it's a huge crowd of his own supporters.

We know he feeds off of that crowd, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Kristen Holmes, reporting for us. Kristen, thank you very much.

Let's check in right now for the latest developments from the Harris campaign. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us right now.

Priscilla, how does the Harris campaign view today's announcement, first of all, from RFK Jr.?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they see it as an opportunity. In a statement from the Harris campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, said the following quote, "For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you." Essentially trying to appeal to RFK Jr. voters after he announced he's suspending his campaign. This is something that we've heard from campaign officials time and again, essentially trying to see if there are any openings here, and appealing to those voters who perhaps gravitated to RFK Jr. because they were disillusioned by Donald Trump and were interested in him as a candidate, and perhaps also disillusioned by Joe Biden. Now, of course, the last four weeks, they have the option of Vice President Kamala Harris, and so the campaign trying to appeal to them in this statement.

And frankly, that is also the message that we were hearing from the Vice President directly in her keynote remarks last night, where she tried to try to bridge the gap to other voters, independent voters by being moderate and saying that she's a candidate for everyone. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, that's a message that already was echoed in the statement released by the campaign after the suspension of RFK Jr.'s campaign also noting that while they not -- may not agree on every issue, Harris is an option. So something we'll continue to hear on the campaign trail.

BLITZER: So what's next for the vice president, Priscilla?

ALVAREZ: Wolf, a source close to the campaign tells me that now the vice president is going to turn to debate preparations, that that is sort of the next event that they are very focused on, keenly aware that it is an opportunity for the Vice President to reach a large audience yet again. Now, in between now and that September 10 presidential debate, she is going to hit the road, but just not at the same pace in cadence as the last Couple weeks when she was hitting every battleground state. Now, on the other side of the debate, we can anticipate that she will be on the road a lot. But right now, the focus is on making sure she's prepared for that debate, something she's already engaged in, that sit down interview that the campaign has promised, we're still waiting for more details on. And then, of course, the campaign infrastructure continuing to build in these battleground states.

Of course, one of the states they're eyeing very closely is North Carolina, the battle battleground campaign director noting that that is a place they want to be quite bullish and building out their infrastructure and putting out those surrogates, Wolf. Of course, we saw that this week at the convention. The Obamas and the Clintons expected to hit the campaign trail this fall. And we know from a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama that he wants to go where he thinks he can move the needle. So, of course, we'll wait for details on that, but certainly a lot of movement on the trail in the next few weeks.

BLITZER: A lot of movement, indeed. Priscilla, thank you very much. Priscilla Alvarez, reporting.

Our political experts are joining me right now with some analysis. And Ana Navarro, in the latest poll from the key battleground states, RFK Jr., is polling in the low single digits, as you can see. So how significant is this endorsement of Trump? And if any supporters were open to Trump, would they already be supporting him?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think this is one of the tackiest things I've seen in politics, and that's a very low bar, because what we see is a Robert F Kennedy Jr. who was basically bargaining to see who the highest bidder would be to get his endorsement, right. So, what he's saying is that Donald Trump gave him a quid pro quo is going to put him in his administration. Kamala Harris, rightly so, didn't give him the time of day. I think, a campaign that's already wrestling with a label of weird, bringing in a guy who's had to deny that he ate a dog, who's told us he had a worm in his brain and who stabbed a dead cub bear and then posted in a central park. Man, talk about adding weird to weird.

[17:10:05]

BLITZER: You know Scott, Scott Jennings is with us, RFK Jr. as you know, Scott, is a known conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer. Could this end up backfiring on Trump, his endorsement?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean, look, for whatever benefit you get, and I do think most of RFK supporters are going to go to Trump, or at least a good chunk of them. The Trump campaign's out with a memo today talking about, you know, their analysis of it by swing state, and in a close race, every vote matters. There could be some cost on the other side of the algebra. I mean, I'm old enough to remember when RFK was a liberal, you know, conspiracy theorist.

Now he's more of a conservative conspiracy theorist, but the through line is he's a conspiracy theorist, and a lot of people think he's kind of a looney tune. So, I would just caution the former president, be a little careful here. Don't make any promises you can't get out of because this guy, over the course of his career, has been a, you know, a little bit. So just careful.

BLITZER: Yes. Michael Hardaway is with us as well.

Michael, in a Pew Research Center poll of RFK supporters conducted before the Democratic Convention, 18 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Trump, while 81 percent had an unfavorable opinion. On Harris, 21 percent saw her favorably to 75 percent unfavorably. Looking at these numbers, is there an opening for the Harris campaign, potentially to reach out to Kennedy supporters?

MICHAEL HARDAWAY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think absolutely. There are many key points that they should tell. But at the foundation, it should be her populist economic agenda of attacking these sky high cost of living, she should tell that story of how that helps those working families and people who have supported RFK Jr. She can win those voters, but she has to tell that story in popular way, and I think that she will.

BLITZER: We will see.

Ana, Act Blue, it's an online Democratic fundraising platform announced it raised $7.2 million during Kamala Harris's convention speech, and $100 million during the entire few days of the convention. What does that tell you about the momentum she has right now?

NAVARRO: I've -- you know, I'm amazed, and I continue to be amazed, but how long this momentum and excitement is -- has been kept up. And I think it's because it's legitimate, and I think it's because it's organic. People kept saying that she was going to have a honeymoon period. Well now this honeymoon is well into a month. We're going to see if she got a bump out of this convention.

But I think it's people responding to hope and to joy and to unity. I saw tremendous unity in the Democratic Party in this convention, and it was a celebration of democracy. It lifted people up, and I think that's why you see people responding.

BLITZER: Yes, by all accounts, it was extremely well organized, very impressive indeed, and energizing that Democratic Party base.

Scott, Kamala Harris performed well last night. I think everyone agrees on that. But it was another scripted event where she made her remarks off the teleprompter. Republicans have tried to make an issue of her not doing unscripted events. How resonant will that be with voters going forward?

JENNINGS: Well, I think it will be somewhat resonant, because the purpose of a presidential campaign is to test the candidates, right? You want to see what they're made of, and giving speeches in a big venue, that's certainly part of it, and she's been improving on that, and I've been pretty impressed with how she's handled the scripted, teleprompter driven events. But being the president, being in the room, leading the country, running the White House, being a role leader, it's not all scripted. Sometimes you're dealing with stuff. And I just hope that she winds up getting the tests that the country needs in the middle of the campaign and not sometime next spring in some high stakes situation in the Oval Office.

She needs to be tested. Certainly the debate, Wolf, on September 10 will be one of those. But she does need to be scrutinized by journalists, and she does need to be road tested here in something other than big, scripted settings where everything is sanitized and perfect.

BLITZER: I suspect she will be.

Michael, Kamala Harris previously said she would schedule an interview with a journalist before the end of the month. That still has not happened, at least not yet. Why is she seemingly unwilling to take questions from the press?

HARDAWAY: You know, what's interesting is, if you look at her polling, it doesn't seem to be hurting her that she's not doing these beltway interviews. And so I think for her campaign, the real question for them is, what's the cost benefit. Her going on the ground in those battleground states week after week, for them, I think is more beneficial than them sitting down with the national news outlet for an interview, that's my assumption, and I think that's probably why you've seen them behave in this way.

BLITZER: All right, everybody, stand by. We have a lot more to assess.

Coming up, we'll have more on the race for the White House, Donald Trump hitting key battlegrounds in the Southwest as he tries to take back the spotlight from Kamala Harris. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:19:00]

BLITZER: We're back with more breaking news. Donald Trump on a campaign swing through key southwest battleground states tonight as he tries to reclaim momentum from Kamala Harris and her surging campaign. Our political experts are back with me.

And Ana Navarro, Trump commented on Kamala Harris's speech today, claiming she didn't mention the border, inflation, crime. He called into Fox to slam her remarks immediately after the convention. What do you make of his response?

NAVARRO: Well, I'm not sure I'm surprised, right? I don't think I expected Donald Trump to come out and say that she did a great job, so I think that's par for the course. But the bottom line is that she's getting a great reaction from voters and from the people that listened to the speech, certainly from the people that were at the convention. It was a great, great hit.

And, Wolf, about the thing of the media interview and Kamala Harris, look, I'm sure she's going to do it. I think it's part of the job interview for being president. But I have to tell you, I have spoken literally to 1000s of people, I think, in the last week, not a one has said a thing for me about, oh, why hasn't she done a press interview? I think it's something that we in the media are upset about and obsessed about, but it doesn't seem to be resonating with voters as much.

[17:20:21]

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Michael, Trump says Kamala Harris didn't mention the economy, but she did, and she drew more of a contrast with Trump on foreign policy issues, rather than specifically on economic issues. So was that a mistake?

HARDAWAY: Well, here's the thing, 15 million jobs were created under this administration. You've got inflation under 3 percent, it was 9 percent two years ago, historically low unemployment. She has a real economic record to run on, and the reality is that that exists, and that's story they tell every day, and so she didn't need to tell that story in last night's speech. But they should have a conversation about the economy. I would love to hear Donald Trump explain those numbers against his.

BLITZER: And we're showing our viewers live pictures of --

JENNINGS: Wolf, if I might --

BLITZER: -- the Vice President --

JENNINGS: Wolf, if I might respond to that?

BLITZER: -- and the second gentleman, just arriving at Joint Base, Andrews, outside of Washington. They're now back -- about to get back here in the nation's capital as well.

But go ahead and respond.

JENNINGS: Yes, this idea that she's got an economic record to run on, I sort of agree. I think she does, and I would encourage her, the American -- just how proud she is of all the economic record of her and Joe Biden. I mean, look, there's a reason I didn't really bring it up in the speech. She cannot run on this, inflation has crippled people. People still have mass economic anxiety.

When you ask people in polls to compare how they felt under Trump and Biden, there is no comparison. People felt better under Donald Trump. What she's trying to do in this convention is not go closer to Joe Biden, it's to get away from him. Look what they did to him on Monday, and he was barely mentioned after that. So, I think the economy, inflation --

HARDAWAY: None of that is accurate.

JENNINGS: -- this whole thing, is going to be the main focus of Donald Trump in the debate and moving forward in the fall.

BLITZER: Go ahead, Michael.

HARDAWAY: None of that is accurate. The record speaks for itself. You got 15 million jobs. That's factual.

JENNINGS: It's completely accurate.

HARDAWAY: You got 2.9 in inflation.

JENNINGS: Inflation is high, economic anxiety is high. It's completely accurate. But go on.

HARDAWAY: Now we can talk about anecdotal, but that's not factual. I love the Harris's numbers, there are --

JENNINGS: It's not anecdotal. It's polling of data but go on.

HARDAWAY: -- already endorsement about how why (inaudible) is so bad.

BLITZER: All right, Ana, let me get your thoughts on this as well. Go ahead.

NAVARRO: Wolf, Wolf, Wolf -- Well, while Scott and Michael argue, I want to say something that I think is very important, certainly for my community and where I sit here in Miami. Today, just a few hours ago, Kamala Harris came out with a letter she sent the Venezuelan opposition standing in solidarity with the freedom loving people of Venezuela, calling for more international pressure on Maduro. And I think that's very, very important, because so many of the immigrants coming right now through the border are fleeing Maduro in Venezuela, and I'm very grateful to her. I am happy that this has happened. The more attention to this issue, the better.

BLITZER: Important point indeed, and I think significant, especially in some place like Florida right now, which is an important state, obviously.

Scott, what is -- what we heard from Donald Trump today reveal about how he will approach a debate with Kamala Harris?

JENNINGS: Well, he's going to have to approach it in a focused manner. I mean, you got to get 90 minutes, and you got to show up and prosecute the case on the issues that people actually care about. What is her economic record? What was her role in helping Joe Biden drive up inflation? What is her record on immigration?

What was her role in helping Joe Biden not solve or cause problems at the border? You cannot be scattered. My advice to him would be, get focused on the three or four things that matter the most, and really just, Wolf, ask one simple question, how can we trust you to solve the problems that you yourself have created while you've been in power for the last -- that's really the underpinning of what he ought to do with the debate.

HARDAWAY: That's (inaudible).

JENNINGS: And if he can stay focused on it, he could be good.

HARDAWAY: None of those are factual things. I mean, Donald Trump, a man who rambles about windmills has no real policy position, pascal (ph) number to defend on it

JENNINGS: Why do you keep saying that? You keep saying they're not factual thing. She's the sitting vice president?

HARDAWAY: You can give anecdotal --

JENNINGS: I never understand you.

HARDAWAY: -- but numbers are the fact. The facts are the facts. Fifteen million jobs speaks for itself. Less than 3 percent inflation when it was 9 percent two years ago speaks for itself. So you can ramble about anecdotal stories, but the facts are the facts.

JENNINGS: The story of her being the actual sitting vice president? You say that's an anecdotal story? Come on, brother. Get more serious. You're going to do this.

Get more serious. Come on.

HARDAWAY: Now she's vice president, you have 15 million jobs. That's an asset for her, right, historically low unemployment. You've got a bipartisan border bill that she worked with the President to negotiate that Donald Trump killed. If that bill would have passed, the border would have been in order, it would have been shut down, and we would have had a process. But Donald Trump killed that effort.

Again, we have policy. Donald Trump just rambles on about things that don't matter. So let's not pretend as though he has any real policy positions in this conversation.

[17:25:05] BLITZER: You know, Ana, let me move on. Trump, as you know, spent part of his remarks going after President Biden and posted on Truth Social during Kamala Harris's remarks, quote, "where's Hunter? What does that say about Trump's mindset?

NAVARRO: That he's obsessed, that he is upset. You know, Donald Trump is, and I keep saying this, if it were anybody but Trumpers and Republicans, Donald Trump could not be running for president, because, to me, he just seems to be an incredible mental decline. And he is like one of these, you know, people with neurological issues that keep repeating the same thing over and over and over again. He's like this crazy old man who can't stop screaming at the kids on his line. In this case, it's Hunter Biden.

I mean, to be talking about Hunter Biden at this point is the most irrelevant, ridiculous waste of time for any voter in America. But Donald Trump can't break up with Joe Biden.

BLITZER: Scott, do you want to react to that?

JENNINGS: Well, it's not irrelevant. I mean, he is going to stay in trial for massive tax evasion in September, and the Justice Department recently did accuse him of asking Joe Biden's administration back when he was vice president for help with some Romanian oligarch or something. So it's not irrelevant. I mean, public corruption is a relevant issue. But I do generally agree with this idea.

NAVARRO: He's not running for anything, Scott.

JENNINGS: He's got to go prosecute the case against Harris, not Biden.

NAVARRO: He's running for anything, neither as his dad.

JENNINGS: Well, he's been in office for, you know, 12 of the last 16 years. And I think public corruption is a boot. You don't, that's fine.

BLITZER: All right, let me --

NAVARRO: You want to talk about public corruption? Let's talk about the $3 billion that Jared Kushner got from the Saudis. Why don't we?

BLITZER: Michael, give me your final thought, Michael.

NAVARRO: You want to talk about public corruption? Let's talk about all the patents that Ivanka got from the Chinese while they were in office. Come on.

BLITZER: Michael, go ahead.

HARDAWAY: It's also factual that Donald Trump made $7.8 million from foreign governments while he was president of the United States.

BLITZER: Yes. All right, so we'll leave it on that note. Guys, thank you very much. Thanks to all of you. Up next, we'll talk with the head of the Georgia Democratic Party, Congresswoman Nikema Williams on how she plans to defy recent polling and keep the State Blue in November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:54]

BLITZER: After a rather fiery acceptance speech at last night's Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris is already looking ahead to the next phase of her campaign, turning her focus to preparations for next month's very high stakes debate against Donald Trump.

Let's discuss this and more with Georgia Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams. She's also chair of the Georgia Democratic Party. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. Kamala Harris clearly tailored her speech to swing voters, like in your home state of Georgia. How does she turn that message into more support there?

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA): So what -- what I heard was not a message tailored to swing voters, but a message tailored to all Americans. Kamala Harris spoke on that stage last night. She was strong. She was personable. And she sounded like the next President of the United States. And in battleground Georgia, we're going to make that happen, because what I've learned on the campaign trail, we have voters in our state. We're not a blue state or a red state, Wolf, we're a periwinkle state. And we've got a lot of work to do.

So what I heard was someone who is willing to fight for all Americans, fighting for our freedoms, and that's what most people in our country actually want, someone who can unify our country, not the divisive politics of Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

BLITZER: A recent New York Times poll, as you probably saw, Congresswoman, shows Kamala Harris gaining in Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada, but still seven points behind Trump in your home state of Georgia. Why is that?

WILLIAMS: Wolf, we have been counted out in polls before. You might look at those. Remember those polls from 2020 when Georgia was behind in every single poll, we were always counted out. But what we knew was that the voters would have the final say, and we had to continue doing the work of bringing our message of freedom and opportunity directly to the voters. And that's what we're going to do this cycle. We only won Georgia by 11,780 votes, those same votes that Donald Trump tried to get to overturn the will of Georgia voters.

So yes, we have work to do, but we're willing to do it because we understand what's at stake in this election. Our reproductive freedoms are at stake. We have Kamala Harris fighting for those freedoms, where Donald Trump, he bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade. What I know is that the voters in Georgia want someone who is going to continue to secure our freedoms, regardless of what party they are with.

BLITZER: Speaking of those very narrow margins of victory, 5 percent of Georgia voters in that recent New York Times poll supported RFK Jr., who is now dropping out and endorsing Trump. Without him in the picture, Trump's lead expands by a point. Are you concerned this will help Trump even more in Georgia?

WILLIAMS: Well, Wolf, I'm not even convinced that those voters will automatically go to Donald Trump, because voters pay attention to who is going to fight for them and help them, Kamala Harris has been to Georgia like 18 times, I think since she's been Vice President. I expect her to come back many more between now and November 5th. We have work to do.

[17:35:02]

But our Vice President is going to be in Georgia, having direct patients with the voters, and we have volunteers on the ground. We have paid staff on the ground. The Republican Party is not taking this election seriously, but we are. We know that on the ground in Georgia, we have work to do, and voters deserve to hear our message, and we're going to do exactly that.

BLITZER: In her speech, as you know, Kamala Harris promised an opportunity economy, her words, an opportunity economy where she'll lower costs for Americans. Given voters major concerns about the economy, does she need to get more specific about how she's going to achieve that?

WILLIAMS: I mean, and she will be more specific. But that was a message to all Americans last night, the biggest stage of her life. So that was the opportunity for her to introduce herself to people who weren't quite familiar with her and know her as the kind and compassionate person that I know her to be. But she presented her message last night on the stage. And as we go about the campaign over these next, what, 74 days, we will continue to answer those questions to the voters directly, answer the questions to the media, to be more specific about what we're going to do.

But what we know is that Democrats are fighting for all Americans. The Republican Party is under the control of Donald Trump. Donald Trump wants to continue to take us back to the divisive politics of the past. We're moving forward, Wolf. We're moving forward where people who like me, Wolf, who just need someone to make sure that they can have a fair shot.

Wolf, I was born in rural Alabama in a home with no indoor plumbing and no running water. But someone fought for me and made sure that I had an opportunity to get a good education and to make sure that I had opportunities in life and now I serve in the United States Congress. Kamala Harris fights for those people who need someone to make sure that opportunity exists for all of us.

BLITZER: As you know, Congresswoman, Kamala Harris is also trying to bridge the divide in your own Democratic Party when it comes to the war in Gaza. So was it a mistake not to give a speaking opportunity to the Palestinian American state representative with the uncommitted movement? WILLIAMS: So Wolf what I know is that Kamala Harris has shown deep empathy on this issue. She spoke -- she's had meetings with the uncommitted voters just ahead of from Michigan rally. She's been having these conversations. But I heard her say on the stage last night is exactly what we've been saying all along. She has called for a ceasefire in this conflict, in this war in Gaza, because we need to bring peace and stability to the region, so that the Palestinian people can have self-determination.

That was a huge moment in the audience last night. I got text messages from people from across the country who were not clear on where they were in their support because of this very issue. But what I know is our Vice President has shown deep empathy, because she understands that we have to stop the killing in the region. We have to make sure that there is -- that we bring the hostages home, and we need a cease fire to do that.

But we also need a long term plan for peace in the Middle East so that we can have self-determination for the Palestinian people. That is what she's going to do. She's been very clear on that. She's met with uncommitted voters. Last night was her night to make that clear to the entire world, and she did just that.

BLITZER: Congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia, thanks so much for joining us.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Wolf.

[17:38:27]

BLITZER: And just ahead, Israel has come up with a new proposal to the ceasefire talks with Hamas. But there's one key thing Israel is not ready to agree to. We have details, and that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue through this weekend in Cairo, as Israel has come up with a new proposal. CNN's Nada Bashir is joining us from Cairo right now. Nada, give us the latest.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, we've been hearing from U.S. officials that talks so far have been constructed. They are moving in the right direction, according to national security advisor, John Kirby. But as you mentioned, there has been that new proposal put forward by the Israeli delegation focused on the Philadelphi corridor, that buffer zone separating Egypt from Southern Gaza.

Now, previously, the Israeli delegation had put forward a proposal which would see Israeli troops stationed and deployed at the border. That is something that Hamas has said it doesn't want to see. Egyptian officials, according to sources, rejected that initial proposal since describing it as a non-starter.

However, the Israeli delegation has come back with a revised proposal, which would see a reduced number of troops on the corridor, a reduced number of military deployments there. And this proposal, according to sources, has been deemed somewhat more acceptable by the Egyptian delegation, who have now said that they are planning to send this proposal to Hamas officials for their consideration.

Now, this has been a key sticking point over the course of these negotiations. It's one of the key areas of the bridging proposals that the Biden administration has put forward to try to narrow the gaps in the current ceasefire negotiations. It remains to be seen, of course, whether or not Hamas actually agrees to this proposal.

We've heard in the past from Hamas officials saying they do not want to see any long term presence of Israeli troops within the Gaza Strip. They want to see a full withdrawal. But of course, pressure is mounting on both sides to come to some sort of agreement. Talks will continue over the weekend, U.S. officials meeting with their Egyptian counterparts here. It remains to be seen whether Hamas will be participating directly in those talks, whether they respond positively to this revised proposal put forward by the Israeli delegation.

BLITZER: Let's see if those talks this weekend in Cairo achieve the result that so many people want, namely, a ceasefire, but also the return of the hostages to Israel as well. All right. Nada, thank you very much. Nada Bashir reporting from Cairo.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, the Israeli military said it's looking into one of its own air strikes that apparently killed 12 people, including children, according to Palestinian authorities. CNN's Nic Robertson looks at the utter devastation in Gaza. And this warning to our viewers, this report contains images viewers may find disturbing.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): As peace talks stall, an overnight Israeli air strike in Northern Gaza. Pulled from the rubble charred children, images too horrific to broadcast.

Twelve dead, no injured, no survivors, according to Palestinian officials. Israel's military says they're looking into the incident. In the past few days, strikes killing families in the north, center and southern Gaza. As diplomacy fails, desperation in Gaza increases. In parallel with the renewed push for peace, Israel's military is pushing into previously declared safe zones.

Over the past month, CNN has tracked a more than one-third reduction in the areas supposedly safe from Israeli strikes, less than 11 percent of Gaza technically safe. But even the shrunken safe zone, no protection for Mahmoud Abu Tyor's (ph) three-year-old niece killed in a tent in the safe area, he says. They attacked us by surprise. All of a sudden a quadcopter came on us and started shooting. We ran away towards the beach, but my niece was killed.

While diplomats shuttle to talks, Gazans are increasingly on the move too, reluctantly responding to increasing Israeli evacuation orders, telling them their sanctuary, not safe. This is the tenth time we've been displaced, he shouts. Where shall we go to? Where shall we go to?

We ask all the world, Biden and the others, all the Arab states to find a solution, Abu Mohammed Hajjaj (ph) says. The Palestinian people are dying. The people of Gaza are being killed and going through hell.

Absent a peace deal, Gaza's unsafe safe zones appear to face extinction. Gazans themselves caught in a roulette, no good options.

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ROBERTSON (on camera): And of course, it goes without saying that all of those civilians absolutely desperate for whatever sort of ceasefire can be agreed in Cairo, not just their physical safety, but their health at stake here as well. According to the U.N. the 10-month-old child that a few days ago had contracted polio is now paralyzed as a result of the disease. And according to the health ministry in Gaza, without a ceasefire, they cannot implement a proper polio vaccination program. They need that ceasefire, Wolf.

BLITZER: Awful situation indeed. Nic Robertson, thank you very much for that report.

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Coming up, hear how the U.S. Secret Service is now taking action against some of its own employees in response to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) . BLITZER: Tonight, CNN is learning that multiple U.S Secret Service personnel have been reassigned to administrative duties after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Let's bring in CNN's Zachary Cohen. He's working the story for us. Zach, what's the back story behind these moves?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. Wolf, even though the Secret Service's internal review of the security failures at Donald Trump's July 13th rally is still ongoing. We learned today from a source that multiple personnel from the Pittsburgh field office, as well as one member of Donald Trump's security detail who was involved in the advanced planning of the rally, have been reassigned to administrative duties and told to work from home. That means that they're not fired, but they're effectively benched while this investigation continues to play out.

And the Secret Service is not really providing any additional details beyond what we're learning today about these multiple individuals. In a statement, a spokesperson for the agency said the U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated for potential disciplinary action.

So again, time will tell why these specific individuals were reassigned and what -- what their culpability and role in the security failures was. But at the same time, we are independently learning new details about the security failures themselves, and specifically the communication breakdowns that occurred between Secret Service agents on the ground on July 13th at the rally and those local officers that were tasked with supplementing the security presence that day.

And specifically a really interesting new detail from the Butler County District Attorney, who says that the local officers did put aside radios for the Secret Service with the idea that that would provide a pathway for direct communication between those two law enforcement entities, but those radios were never picked up.

And ultimately, the D.A. points the finger at this critical moment during the rally, three minutes before the shots were fired, when a local officer radioed a warning that there was somebody on the roof above overlooking the rally stage. That message and that warning never made it to Secret Service. And the D.A. suggests that is because the Secret Service never picked up those radios.

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So again, it remains to be seen multiple ongoing inquiries into the security failures and the Secret Service is taking some steps to hold those people internally that were responsible accountable. But at the end of the day, the acting director still has a tall order in front of him, as members of Congress are continuing to push it for answers.

BLITZER: Yes. They got to learn the lessons of -- of what happened, the mistakes that were made, to make sure it never happens again. Zachary Cohen, thanks very much for that report.

Coming up, an electric Democratic National Convention brought momentum to Kamala Harris's campaign. But will today's major move by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shake up the 2024 presidential race, that's next.

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BLITZER: Happening now, breaking news.