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Sources Says, Harris Turning Focus To Debate After Electrifying DNC; Trump Launches New Attacks On Harris After DNC Energizes Democrats; RFK Jr. Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump; Source: Secret Service Members Placed On Administration Duties After Trump Assassination Attempt; Desperation Grows Inside Gaza As Peace Talks Continue. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 23, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. We're learning new details about the next test for Vice President Kamala Harris' next month's very high stakes debate with Donald Trump. A source telling CNN Kamala Harris plans to scale back her very busy campaign schedule so she can spend more time preparing for the debate showdown.

This hour, I'll be joined by a top Harris supporter, the North Carolina governor, the Democratic governor, Roy Cooper. We will get his take on the party's newfound momentum and the Harris campaign's all out push to win his crucial battleground state.

And there's more breaking news we're following. Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail tonight armed with fresh attacks on Kamala Harris after her rousing convention speech. This as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is officially throwing his support behind Trump and suspending his long shot bid for the White House.

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

Let's get straight to our top story right now, the new focus for Kamala Harris after she fired up her Democratic base at this week's Democratic National Convention.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more for us right now. Priscilla, what will this next phase of the Harris campaign look like?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's going to look like a lot of debate preparations. Of course, the date on the calendar for campaign officials is September 10th. That's when that presidential debate is expected between the vice president and former President Donald Trump. So, the next couple weeks are going to be focused on those preparations. Those have already gotten underway and she'll do more of that.

Now, of course, she is going to be hitting the road, but one source was telling me that that pace is going to look different from the last couple of weeks, where she hit every battleground state. This time, she will continue to be on the campaign trail, but also spending a lot of time on those preparations, making sure, of course, that those don't just start in earnest until a week before the debate.

Now, of course, the other question still lingering is whether and when she does that sit down interview. Of course, the campaign has said that she planned to do that before the end of the month. But the vice president gave a glimpse to voters as to what they're going to be hearing over the next several weeks and months in her speech last night. Take a listen to how she plans to appeal to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: 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, sources have described the vice president as clear-eyed about what the next few weeks are going to look like. It's going to be challenging. They know it's going to be a tight race, and they want to make sure that they are on the trail and reaching voters, especially in battleground states. The battleground state director for the campaign saying North Carolina is an example. They want to be bullish there. That is a place where there may not be diehard Democrats, but there also may be voters who are disillusioned with Donald Trump.

So, they're trying to make inroads with all of these voters and they're also going to enlist the help of surrogates, especially the Obamas and the Clintons. A senior adviser for the former president, Barack Obama, saying that he wants to go to places where he thinks he can move the needle. So, anticipate a lot of movement on the campaign trail over the next several weeks, but at least in the immediate future, Wolf, the focus is certainly going to be on that September debate.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Priscilla Alvarez reporting for us, thank you very much.

Now to another breaking story we're following, Donald Trump launching new attacks on Kamala Harris during his campaign swing through the Southwest.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in Las Vegas for us. That's where the former president held an event earlier this afternoon. Alayna, how is Trump reacting to Kamala Harris' convention speech last night, which was so well-received?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Wolf, he clearly didn't like it. And you could see that not even just from his remarks today, but also last night, he did really a live play by play of reacting to Harris' remarks in real time. You saw him posting several times on Truth Social attacking her remarks, but also went and did an interview with Fox News after that, where he continued to slam her.

But, look, one of his key lines of attacks against her is that he felt it was wrong that she was spending so much time attacking him, mentioning his name, rather than talking about policies. Take a listen to what he said here in Nevada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She mentioned the Trump name many, many times, like 19 or 21 or something. She didn't mention the border. She didn't mention inflation. She didn't mention the bad economy. She didn't mention crime.

[18:05:00]

Did you see the beginning? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I said, what the hell is wrong with her? But then she recovered. She did much better, but she didn't tell anything. She didn't say anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Wolf, where you saw him there mocking Harris, I mean, that is a very classic Trump line of attack. He did that repeatedly to Joe Biden throughout his time on the campaign trail. He's now, of course, trying to use that method of attack against Harris.

But, look, it's clear as well that she's been getting under his skin. I've been talking to Donald Trump's allies and they've said, you can clearly see that he's very frustrated with the enthusiasm that she continues to sustain and the energy that surrounded her, particularly this week in Chicago.

Now, Donald Trump also criticized her for her plan for no taxes on tips. That's something that Donald Trump first proposed at a Las Vegas rally in June. That was really what this event today in Nevada was all about, about trying to court some of the hospitality workers, the service workers that make up such a big part of this state's economy. He said that Harris was stealing his plan. He called her a copycat and a liar, and said that she can't come up with ideas on her own, so she has to steal his. I will note though, that many policy experts argue that neither of them have shared detailed plans on how to actually eliminate taxes on tips and say that it would be very hard to do.

And just very quickly, Wolf, I do want to bring up as well, what he also discussed, which was RFK Jr.'s endorsement. He thanked him, said that he is looking forward to seeing him later tonight. And we have some new reporting that RFK Jr. is going to appear at that Arizona rally with Donald Trump this evening. You'll see them side by side, something that Donald Trump's team is very much excited about and had been working toward for several weeks now. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene reporting for us, Alayna, thank you very much. I want to bring in our political experts for some analysis right now. Jeff Zeleny, you and I were both in Chicago, we could see the enthusiasm in the Democratic Party as it unfolded over those four days. How does Kamala Harris keep that momentum going now?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the enthusiasm was so palpable, as was the unity inside the Democratic Party. And that is perhaps one thing that that we sort of take for granted now, but that would not have had to be the case, given everything that happened over the last month with the Democratic Party. But leaving the convention, talking to Democrats they are energized, they are enthused, but there is no doubt that at least the vice president believes that she is still the underdog.

And I really pressed some of her advisers today. Does she really think that? And they said this is how she is approaching this race. She met with some supporters last evening after that speech we're seeing there on the screen. And she said, look, tonight is great, but now we have to get back to work. So, they are viewing this as one more sort of piece of the wave of momentum that she's had in the first month. But they realize as well that the next 74 days or so are unlikely to be as lofty or soaring as these. But I'm told right now she's already and she's going to be turning her attention to the debate.

So, her campaign is going to be campaigning. All those Democratic governors we saw on stage this week are going to be out campaigning on her behalf. She'll be campaigning some but not nearly as much as she has been, because she has to prepare for that debate. 18 days, that is the next real moment here, the big moment, perhaps a defining moment of this campaign. Wolf, she has never been in the same room as Donald Trump or on stage with him at a close to close range. That's how, you know, sort of unusual this moment is, but it's so significant. So, I'm told she's turning her attention now to that.

BLITZER: Tens and tens of millions of Americans will be watching that debate, to be sure.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, you're with us as well. How successful do you think Kamala Harris was in appealing to moderates and independents during the course of the convention? And how does she move the needle with those voters now?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, this was a historic and remarkably well executed Democratic National Convention. Having Republicans come out, endorse her, my friend and former colleague, Adam Kinzinger, Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, as well as some Trump administration officials, but also I was paying most attention to the words she was using and the things she was saying. And that, that clip that you played at the top resonated with me last night where she said, she asked independents or Republicans for their votes, juxtaposed to Donald Trump who said, we don't want the Nikki Haley voters, much less trying to bring in Democrats.

So, I think she is running knowing that she needs to bring in some folks who wouldn't traditionally, necessarily be with her. I thought it was a very smart message, but now she's going to have to answer some really tough questions around policy. Luckily, Donald Trump also has some weaknesses around policy. So, I think who can first define where they're going to stand and moderate toward the middle is the person who's going to win.

BLITZER: Let me bring Ameshia Cross into this conversation. Ameshia, how does Kamala Harris navigate this next stretch? It's a critical stretch of this campaign where she'll have to take more press questions, for example, she'll have to debate Trump and she'll have to get more specific on policy.

[18:10:05]

AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, we know she's going to be laser-focused on preparation for this upcoming debate, not only because she has not personally debated Trump before, but because we've seen many a Democrat, as well as many Republicans, fall into trapping, so to speak, of how to debate Donald Trump, because he is so much of a non-conventional debater. I think that there is a lot of pressure around what that's actually going to look like in real time, and the fact that the man is unraveling before our eyes, acknowledging that he's running against a black woman.

All that said, she also recognizes that she is the underdog in this race. So, we're going to see more movement in the battlegrounds, not only from her, but more so from her surrogates as well, acknowledging that this truncated timeframe is what it is. The DNC brought a love fest of Democrats, independents, as well as moderates and some Republicans to Chicago, my hometown, I'm still here, to actually celebrate what this new ticket is. But that does not mean that this is going to be smooth sailing through November. She recognizes that.

And the investments in the rollout as it relates to digital campaign ads that are going to come after September 1st, after Labor Day, that's going to be huge. We know the influencer community is huge and bringing in consistent younger voters. But moreover, it's going to be organizing on the ground, getting people to understand and acknowledge her story, being very strategic about the rollout of what her policy plans actually are. We already heard an economic agenda, but putting the nuts and bolts together of that economic agenda, specifically in the battleground states, is what we're going to see next.

BLITZER: Jeff, Kamala Harris said she would do a media sit-down interview by the end of this month. Clearly, the clock is ticking. What's the latest? What are you hearing?

ZELENY: Well, Wolf, we don't know specifics, but talking to her advisers, they say she will likely still hold that pledge. They're not backing away from it. I don't anticipate it in the coming days, but I do believe before Labor Day, that's something that she's likely to do. If nothing else, just to sort of get away from the question and the growing storyline, why isn't she taking questions.

I mean, up until now, she's had a very scripted campaign, which is not necessarily easy, but it's not as sort of challenging as the unscripted moments. But I think one of the best ways to prepare for that big debate is taking questions from an interviewer. So, I do believe that will happen. Of course, many people are vying for it. We'll see where that lands. But I think it's something that is the next logical step here following the convention.

BLITZER: Alyssa, we're just learning now that the final evening of the Democratic National Convention last night drew in 26.2 million voters. What does that tell you?

GRIFFIN: Well, I know Donald Trump was not happy about that evidence by the fact that he quickly called into Fox News and wanted to, you know, bring some ratings and some eyeballs to him and his message. It's a big deal. I think it speaks to that six and ten Americans who didn't want the Biden-Trump rematch. Now, there's someone new, there's someone energizing, there's someone who would be historic if she wins. And I think it was also just frankly a well-orchestrated convention that was a mixture of different kinds of policies, a mix of national security, having speakers from all over the country. I think it held viewers' attention.

But 75 days is a long time. Donald Trump is a master at reclaiming the spotlight and getting eyeballs back on him. He obviously got the RFK Jr. endorsement today, which there's some pros to that and there's some real cons, but this is an incredibly tight race. And I come from the David Axelrod School of Thought on this, she should be running two points ahead, Democrats need to be, if they think they're going to win. She's right to see herself as the underdog.

BLITZER: Important point, indeed. Everybody stand by. We have more to discuss. Just ahead, we're going to break down more of today's top political stories here in The Situation Room, as the race for the White House enters a brand new phase.

And we'll talk with a key Harris supporter from a critical battleground state, North Carolina, the governor, Roy Cooper, he's standing by live. We'll be right back.

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[18:15:00]

BLITZER: More now on the race for the White House, and the next steps for both campaigns, as Kamala Harris looks to continue her momentum and Donald Trump tries to take back the spotlight.

Our political experts are still with us. They're joining us once again right now. And, Jeff, in Harris' speech last night, she took her vulnerabilities head on, including on the border, for example. Let's watch this. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So, he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal.

I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed and I will sign it into law. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: She doubled down on that message with a new ad in Nevada today. How significant is it that Kamala Harris is going on the offensive on this very sensitive and important issue?

ZELENY: Well, I mean, it's clear that immigration and inflation are two of the central challenges for the Harris campaign. There's just no question about it. And, you know, making a speech like that and an ad in Nevada is certainly not going to win over her toughest critics, but she's going after the voters in the middle who have been frustrated by the lack of action on immigration on both sides, and she has a good argument in the sense that the former president did try to block a progress. The question is, of course, has the Biden administration and the Harris administration done enough?

I think this is one example, Wolf, of a larger frame question that we'll be really asking ourselves for the rest of this campaign. Is she seen as a change candidate, someone to change, you know, the mood of the country and the direction of the country, or is this going to be a referendum on the Biden-Harris policies? And if she finds herself explaining and defending the Biden-Harris policies in September and October, that's going to be a challenge for her. But if she's able to turn the page and present herself as a change candidate, I think that that is a big strength for them.

[18:20:01]

So, we are going to have to just wait and see how this excitement and this new information about the vice president really settles in. I mean, she is still unknown by a broad swaths of the public. I mean, she, of course, is racing to define herself. Donald Trump is scrambling to define her as well. But he has lost so much valuable time here by going after extraneous things, making fun of her laugh.

One big takeaway this week, I mean, this is a small matter but sort of emblematic of things, the vice president's husband, Doug Emhoff, said, we love that laugh. So, leaning into some of these criticisms that Trump has been making really blunts the criticisms all together. So, you have to be patient and see how voters see all this. But immigration, she's trying to blunt, no doubt.

BLITZER: No doubt. Ameshia, on the war in Gaza, Jon Stewart took a swipe at the DNC for touting unity while denying a speaking slot for a Palestinian-American. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: They had black Americans, Hispanic- Americans, Asian-Americans, gay Americans, Jewish-Americans, Palestinian -- oh. Well, to be fair, it was only four nights, eight hours a night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, what message does this send as Kamala Harris tries to win over disaffected Democrats, especially Arab and Muslim Americans?

CROSS: Wolf, you were in the room or saw it on television. I think that there was so much of a universal coming home, so to speak, when it came to Democrats, but also undecided voters, younger voters, people of color voters, people of various religions, some Republicans as well. But I would argue that it was a blind spot, first and foremost, because there were several, Jewish speakers. So, it was something that was very noticeable in addition to the fact that there has been a very longstanding supportive Democratic Party when it comes to Palestinian voters.

At this point, I think that I personally would have liked to have seen, at least on the last night there to have been one of those speakers. Several of them were actually in the room. But in addition to that, it matters because the Cook County seat, the seat that Chicago sits in, has the largest Palestinian population in the entire country. To not have a Palestinian speaker, I think, was a huge blind spot for the DNC in an otherwise pitch perfect rollout.

BLITZER: Alyssa, what are your thoughts on this sensitive issue? Do you agree it was a blind spot?

GRIFFIN: Well, listen, I'm an Arab-American. I'm Syrian and Lebanese and our community is not a monolith. I think what struck me is, listen, Gaza was addressed. The vice president spoke to it in her primetime, you know, speaking spot when she was addressing the convention.

It's not as though the issue was not addressed. You know, I could make a case for why someone from Syria or Afghanistan should also be represented there. But what they did do was head-on talk about the fact that which for me, by the way, was a little bit surprising as a lifelong Republican who worries that oftentimes Democrats are too soft on their support for Israel, that they leaned into unequivocal support for Israel and its right to defend itself, but also calling for a humanitarian aid and ceasefire in Gaza.

Addressing the issue, I think, is equally important as representation, and I actually was stunned by how well they threaded the needle for voters like me, who -- it's an absolute no go, if it seems, like you're in any way equivocating on your enduring support for Israel. And Kamala Harris specifically said she supports self-determination for the Palestinian people, which I thought was significant as well.

Ameshia, Michelle Obama took a moment today to post her support for Tim Walz's son, Gus, after he faced some negative comments online from some on the right. I want to remind our viewers of Gus' very touching support for his father on Wednesday.

BLITZER: That's my dad, he kept saying, as he started to cry. It was really emotional and powerful. What did you make of that?

CROSS: I thought it was beautiful. The right likes to talk about the importance of family and family values. What we see from Governor Walz is a family that not only loves and cherishes him, but one that is enduring. It was really, really sad to see across social media, some members of the right, some MAGA supporters as well, jump out and attack Gus, specifically about being too emotional. They tie emotion to lack of masculinity, in addition to making fun of him for being neuro divergent, as somebody who has an older brother who is on the autism spectrum, who has developmental delay.

There are many families that have children, that have brothers, sisters, and otherwise, who are dealing with this. And I think that it matters to see a family on a national stage, where there is love, there's support, there's also talking about these things out loud. It showcased a beauty of what family means, but also that it is something that does not solely belong. Family values don't solely belong to the Republican Party.

And I think that what we saw from Gus standing up, from shouting towards his dad, was a lot of excitement and a lot of love, and it motivated many people and kind of enveloped that unity message that Democrats have been pushing.

[18:25:07]

BLITZER: It was a beautiful family moment, indeed. Everyone, thank you very much for your analysis.

Coming up, from brain worms to dead bears, we're going to take a closer look back at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s unique, often rather bizarre, run for the White House as he suspends his campaign and publicly endorses Donald Trump.

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[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Let's get back to the breaking news right now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspending his presidential bid today and throwing his support behind Donald Trump.

Brian Todd is joining us right now with more.

[18:30:00]

Brian, RFK Jr. has had more than his fair share of strange, rather memorable, often very controversial moments since launching his campaign.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. This campaign has been so bizarre, so fraught with strange stories and accusations that several members of Robert Kennedy Jr.'s own family are calling this whole thing sad. Analysts say it's put a stain on the reputation of one of America's great political dynasties.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory.

TODD (voice over): Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who started his run as a Democrat, then switched to being an independent, bows out of the race and endorses Donald Trump. And with that, one of the most unique presidential bids in American history comes to a close.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This isn't just your typical bizarre campaign. This is almost carnival-like.

TODD: In May of this year, Kennedy claimed that a parasitic worm had once entered his brain and died, which he said led to, quote, severe brain fog and trouble with his short-term memory. He actually joked about it.

KENNEDY: Maybe a brain worm ate that part of my memory.

TODD: A few weeks ago, in a rambling video posted on X, Kennedy admitted that about ten years ago, he was driving in Upstate New York when he found the carcass of a dead bear that had been hit by a vehicle.

KENNEDY: So, pulled over and I picked up the bear and put him in the back of my van because I was going to skin the bear.

TODD: Kennedy said he got sidetracked by several events that day, couldn't go home, didn't know what to do with the bear. So, he decided to leave the carcass in New York's Central Park and make it look like a bike accident.

KENNEDY: So, we went and did that and we thought it would be amusing for whoever found it or something.

PROF. LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: The whole thing story, the wild, weird story that RFK Jr. told about the bear cub and how it got into Central Park has really made an impact and not a positive one for him.

TODD: This summer, an article in Vanity Fair had a photo of Kennedy appearing to pantomime eating a dog carcass. Kennedy denied it was a dog.

KENNEDY: It's actually me eating a goat in Patagonia.

TODD: That same Vanity Fair article published allegations that Kennedy had sexually assaulted a former nanny for his family. Kennedy sidestepped the accusations.

KENNEDY: I am not a church boy.

TODD: All this following repeated episodes where Kennedy baselessly called the COVID-19 vaccines unsafe and espoused outlandish conspiracy theories about the vaccines.

KENNEDY: COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.

TODD: It's all led to a precipitous fall from grace for the son of an American political icon. Today, after he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, five of Kennedy's siblings issued a statement saying it's, quote, a sad ending to a sad story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Donald Trump has said he'd be open to appointing Robert Kennedy Jr. to a position in his administration if Trump wins in November. The analysts we spoke to say if Trump does that, it could create real problems for him, starting with the fact that because of his past behavior, it would be very tough to get Kennedy confirmed in Congress. Wolf?

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Brian, thanks very much. I want to dig deeper right now with CNN Political Analyst Maggie Haberman. She's a senior political correspondent for The New York Times as well. Maggie, thanks for joining us.

The New Yorker wrote this in a profile of RFK Jr. earlier this month, and let me read it to our viewers. In a recent text exchange, Kennedy told one person that Trump was a, quote, terrible human being, the worst president ever and barely human. He is probably a sociopath, close quote. So, how does this unlikely endorsement today of Trump come about?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: So, well, these are two very transactional people, and Robert Kennedy Jr. has been looking around, you know, trying to make some kind of an endorsement deal with both candidates. The Washington Post reported recently that he had approached the Harris campaign about possibly supporting her and getting a meeting, and there was no meeting, but Trump has been much more receptive.

Remember, these are two people, Kennedy and Trump, who met during Trump's 2017 transition. Bobby Kennedy claimed that Trump was going to appoint him to some kind of a vaccine commission, and then Trump's aides quietly distanced Trump from it, but Trump is open to having discussions with him. He likes him. Trump is a credentialist, and he likes the Kennedy name. So, this all began shortly before the Republican National Convention, and it's been moving toward this. I think that RFK Jr. clearly sees he does not have a real path in this race, and this is a way to be relevant.

BLITZER: Trump called into Fox and Newsmax immediately after Kamala Harris' speech last night. Listen to part of what he said, Maggie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It was a lot of complaining. She didn't talk about China. She didn't talk about fracking.

[18:35:00]

She didn't talk about crime. She didn't talk about 70 percent of our people are living in poverty. She didn't talk about the trade deficit. She didn't talk about child trafficking, that she's allowed to happen, because she was the border czar, and she presided over the weakest border in the history of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: By the way, the beeping you heard appears to be Trump inadvertently hitting buttons on his phone. So, what do these interviews, Maggie, say about his mindset now?

HABERMAN: Look, he's very reactive in all things when he is not in command, and we have seen this over the course of the last nine years that he's been in politics or in the political arena. You know, he is clearly, you know, jarred by her. He has been trying to get back into the national conversation for several weeks now, ever since President Biden announced he wasn't running for re-election. He's doing that with his RFK endorsement today. He did it last night.

You know, he is trying to point out the areas where she separated herself, at least by omission, from President Biden, excuse me, in terms of not tying herself to their joint record. There are a number of Trump's aides who would like him to basically just be saying Biden- Harris, Biden-Harris all the time. And so that's his way of doing that. We'll see if he can sustain it.

BLITZER: I thought it was interesting that when President Obama took the stage at the Democratic Convention, he made a comment about Trump's obsession with his crowd sizes. I want to play that clip. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How has that moment landed with the former president?

HABERMAN: So, both of the Obama speeches got under his skin. He is very reactive to both of them. We have seen that since 2011 when Trump spread the lie that President Obama was not -- was possibly born in Kenya, and therefore, illegitimate to be president. I think you're going to see more of this.

What I was struck by, Wolf, in this convention is there was a pretty focused message about Trump, and we heard it over and over again, from the Obamas, from the vice president, from others that, you know, he is a rich guy who cares about his rich friends.

But what you also saw were comments that I think were designed to bait Trump. That was one of them. The more that Trump reacts self- destructively, the better Democrats feel it is for them.

BLITZER: Important point. Maggie Haberman, thank you very much for your excellent analysis.

So, just ahead, my one-on-one interview with the governor of one of the most important swing states in the presidential election. We'll talk with North Carolina's Roy Cooper. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Kamala's ready. The question is, are we? Are we going to stand up and fight for Kamala like she'll stand up and fight for us?

Are we going to win? You bet we are. Let's go get them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now, the man who introduced Vice President Kamala Harris during last night's Democratic Convention, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Governor, thank you so much for joining us.

You said Kamala Harris will win your home state of North Carolina, but Republicans have actually won 10 of the last 11 presidential elections in North Carolina. So, why do you think Harris is going to win your state this time?

COOPER: Well, it's clear that the Trump campaign is worried about North Carolina as during August, they have spent more here on advertising than any other swing state. Donald Trump knows that he has to win North Carolina. And if Kamala Harris wins North Carolina, she is the next president of the United States.

But North Carolina is growing, the third fastest growing state, the country. A lot of people are moving to our more urban, bluer counties. Younger people are coming here. This was the Biden-Harris campaign's closest loss in 2020, only 1.3 percent.

And when you look at the last time a Democrat did win North Carolina, guess who it was? Barack Obama. History was made here. A lot of people want to make history again here in North Carolina. We had about 1,300 volunteers last weekend, Wolf. 57 percent of them were first time volunteers. The energy is real. The determination is real. It's not just the convention. It's all over the country.

BLITZER: I don't know if you heard, but Democrats actually raised $7.2 million during Kamala Harris' speech last night and $100 million during the course of the convention in Chicago. What does that tell you about the momentum that Harris has right now and what would you compare it to?

COOPER: The momentum is sky high. And, in fact, what has been amazing to me is how sustained it has been from the day she began this quest for the presidency all the way through the convention. We've seen a continuing energy, determination, excitement that I haven't seen since Barack Obama won North Carolina in 2008. And, in fact, I'm not even sure that it was this pronounced.

I think part of it is the fact that the timeline now is so compressed. Everything is happening quickly because of the way things worked out with President Biden making the patriotic choice to pass the torch to her.

[18:45:10]

And she now is on a sprint. My friend Tim Walz, as her running mate, they have excited crowds. It was amazing. Talk about crowd size, we had two crowds during the convention with our future president in Milwaukee at the same time that the convention was going on.

So it's really exciting time, talk to a lot of people at this convention. Not only is there excitement, but there's hope, and determination and I got the real feeling that people were going to leave this convention, not just excited about what just happened. They were determined about what was going to happen. That is something real.

BLITZER: I was there, and clearly, that crowd was totally energized and where they're going home, that energy is going to continue. No doubt about that.

In a CNN focus group on the other hand, of undecided voters, governor, a common critique of Kamala Harris's speech was that it lacked policy, specifics. Was it a mistake for her to not worked clearly lay out her various positions?

COOPER: Well, you didn't want to speak for two hours and give a lecture. You wanted to show the country, where you wanted to take them, what her policies would affect, middle-class Americans, making sure that they were the ones that got the tax breaks and not the millionaires.

She's rolled out a lot of specifics with her economic plan to help control the cost of living. It was also important for her to talk about how she was going to be a president on the international on stage, contrasting herself, someone who is -- she is going to stand by her allies, people will be able to count on the United States of America. Our allies will, unlike Donald Trump who cozies up to dictators, those broad strokes were important.

Many people were tuning in for the first time to hear Kamala Harris in depth. And I think it was important for her to give a broad idea of who she was. It was important for her to talk about her personal upbringing for middle-class upbringing, what she did.

I told the story of serving as attorney general with her and how she went toe to toe with the banks and was able to help -- help us get to the largest consumer finance settlement in the history of our country. That's the kind of determination that she has, the kind of smarts that she has. And I thought the speech was perfect.

BLITZER: Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, thanks so much for joining us.

COOPER: Thanks, Wolf. Glad to be with you.

BLITZER: Of course. And we'll be right back.

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[18:52:08]

BLITZER: The U.S. Secret Service tonight is taking new action in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

CNN's Zachary Cohen is working the story for us.

Zach, what do we know?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Wolf, the Secret Service has been under immense pressure to either fire or formally discipline the individuals who were involved in the security preparations for Donald Trump's July 13th rally. The actions today that we're learning about from a source appear to stop short of that mark.

But the acting director is taking some steps toward accountability, effectively benching several members of the Pittsburgh field office, as well as at least one member of Donald Trump's security detail.

Now, look, this is not going to stop the calls for accountability from Congress and from others who said that the failures that day are a fireable offense, but they investigation internally at the Secret Service is still ongoing, even as we continue to learn new details about those failures and specifically learning new details today about the communication breakdown that occurred between local officers the ground and the Secret Service agents that were there in charge with protecting Donald Trump.

The district attorney for Butler County, the local district attorney, revealing to CNN that local officers had put aside radios for the Secret Service to use, basically an attempt to establish a direct line of community occasion between the officers there that day.

Those radios were never picked up. The D.A. suggesting that the reason the Secret Service never heard a warning about the shooter being on the roof is because they didn't have those radios in hand.

BLITZER: Zachary Cohen reporting. Thanks very much, Zach.

We'll be right back.

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[18:48:01]

BLITZER: Senior negotiators are preparing to meet this weekend in Cairo for ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. But even if a ceasefire deal is reached, Israel says it reserves the right to continue its war against Hamas in Gaza.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us.

Jeremy, what are we learning about this new proposal? JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this new Israeli proposal reduces the number of troops as well as military positions that the Israeli military would maintain during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.

And this proposal is now on its way to Hamas via the Egyptian mediators for their review. And that's significant for two main reasons. The first of which is that the Israeli prime minister appears to be showing at least some flexibility on this issue of the Philadelphi corridor, even as he insists that Israel must retain security control of this strategic route.

Secondly, it also suggests that the Egyptian mediators view this as somewhat more serious. That's because earlier in the week, they had actually rejected a previous Israeli proposal regarding the Philadelphi corridor, saying that it was a nonstarter and they wouldn't even submit it to Hamas.

But now, this new proposal with a new map showing where these really troops would be located is on its way to Hamas. This was the result of significant pressure from the United States the Israeli prime minister agreed to submit this proposal a day after speaking on the phone with President Biden, who urged him to show more flexibility. But now the question his will is actually get Hamas to the negotiating table?

That's because on Sunday, we expect that the negotiators may be meeting again in Cairo, Egypt. Last time they met Doha, Hamas only met with the mediators afterwards. The hope now is that if Hamas is sufficiently positive on this new proposal, that would at least agree to proximity talks. They would be in one room. The Israeli delegation would be in another room and the mediators would be going between the two.

One thing is clear. We are seeing the urgency of a cease-fire every single day in the Gaza strip. Airstrikes in central southern and northern Gaza continuing every single day.

And also now, a dangerous new development, the emergence of polio in Gaza. According to the United Nations, a 10-month-old baby is now partially paralyzed due to polio. This is the first such case in 25 years, and U.N. officials say they need a ceasefire to get children there vaccinated -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Jeremy Diamond reporting for us, Jeremy, thank you very, very much.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.