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Biden Campaigns With Harris in Key Battleground of Pennsylvania; New National Poll Shows Harris Holds Narrow Lead Over Trump; Washington Post Reports, Trump Team Sees Campaign as Race to Drag Harris Down; Israeli Protesters Demand Gaza Deal After Six Hostages Killed; Ukraine Racing To Build Unmanned War Machines. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 02, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: There's another big deal. Buy American. That's been the law since 1930. I got to admit, I've been around -- I'm only 40, but I've been around a long time. But I, quite frankly, until ten years ago, wasn't aware, you know, back in the 30s, when they're trying to make sure unions could organize and business couldn't interfere, the law was passed that said every penny the president gets from the Senate, the House, and Congress to spend on a project, he should hire an American worker and use an American product.

But past administrations, seriously, past administrations, including my predecessor, failed to buy America. They shipped jobs overseas where labor was cheaper and brought home the product that was more expensive. But not anymore. Federal projects build American roads, bridges, highways, and they'll be made with American products by American workers.

That's why, that's why we're creating all these. I'm serious. It's simple and basic. That's why we're creating so many good paying jobs. In fact, we're requiring those kinds of projects to pay Davis Baker prevailing wages so there are jobs that can raise a family on it.

Many of those jobs don't require a college degree. In fact, we expanded registered apprenticeships. Remember all the hell I got for doing that, we got for doing that? Well, guess what? It resulted in hiring over 1,000,000 apprentices since we came to office.

And lots of folks don't realize getting an apprenticeship is like getting on a college degree. Why? You have to train for four or five years to get that and some of the best workers in the world arrived right where we are.

You know, when you're in Pittsburgh, you're standing with steelworkers. Let's be clear. I believe in American steel companies, American-owned and operated steel companies, for simple reasons. It's not hyperbole. American steelworkers are the best steelworkers in the world. And I made it clear last time I was in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. United States Steel, an iconic American company for more than a century, is going to remain an American company. Remember the young Senator White and that National Labor Relations Board was sometimes so anti-labor. It was set up to help labor, to be pro-labor. Well, guess what? That's why one of the most significant things we've done, Kamala and I, is appointing a National Labor Reserve Relations Board that actually believes in unions and believes in recognizing (INAUDIBLE). It's a big deal. It's a big deal.

Remember, we have short memories. I'm all for forgiveness. I'm not for this. Trump appointed union busters on that board. No, that's a fact. But it's real. It affects people's lives. Are we going to let that son of a gun do that again?

Folks, you made a lot of progress and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress and she's going to build on it. I'll be on the sidelines, but I'll do everything I can to help. But, look, I'm not joking when I say, this is not a joke, when I said this, when I was running in 2020, a lot of people didn't believe me. You did, but didn't believe me. It's all at risk because of Donald Trump, literally. With a stroke of the pen, he can get rid of a lot of this.

And do you think this guy gives a damn about your pensions? No, I'm serious. Do you think he'd lose even an instant of sleep over it? Do you think he cares about all the work you do every day and how hard it is? Do you think he cares about good paying jobs for hard working people who built this economy? Hell. He regards picket lines, he'd rather cross one than walk one. But I have no problem walking the picket line. Never have, nor does Kamala. We'll always walk alongside you.

Union workers built this country. Again, that's not hyperbole, that's a fact.

[18:05:00]

These are facts. These are not campaign slogans.

Let me close with this. Five years ago, I began my campaign for president right here in Pittsburgh. I said, one of the reasons I was running was to rebuild the backbone and spine of America, the middle class and working class folks. Not a joke. Think about it. Think about it. Well, five years later, we've done just that.

I'm back in Pittsburgh on Labor Day again with a simple message. As you look at this election, I spent my whole career believing in unions. I'm not joking when I say that. I'm honored to be considered the most pro-union president ever.

By the way, remember all the talk, Biden got elected, he's going to do a planned economy, we're going to collapse, and there's going to be all this caving in, interest rates are going to go through the ceiling. Come on, man. I'm here to tell you, it's about increasing the strength of your unions, which is all about. If you care about hardworking people, just give them a fair shot. Everyone in America deserves a fair shot, no guarantee (ph), a fair shot.

If you care about the dignity of work, if you care about the dignity of work, and I mean it matters, the dignity of work, the way you're treated, the decency. I remember when my great grandfather was one of the -- only the second Catholic elected statewide to the state Senate here in Pennsylvania. And I remember they talked about when they're running against him in 1906, they said, guess what? They said, he's a Molly Maguire.

You know what a Molly Maguire was? Well, those of you who don't, a Molly Maguire back in the old days, when we Irish and the Catholic came and then the Poles and others that were Catholic, when they came to the United States of America in the beginning of the 1840s and late 1840s, they made their way down In the Pennsylvania, a lot of them. And there's a tear in this in the coal mines. Those guys who got there last ended up being the last people in the coal mines, but a lot of the English-owned the coal mines. And what they did was they'd really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population that was in the mines. Not a joke. Not a joke.

But there was a group that called the Molly Maguires. And the Molly Maguires, if they find out the foreman who was taking advantage of an individual, and they'd literally kill him. Not a joke. And they'd bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family. Kind of crude, but I got to admit, they accused my great grandfather of being a Molly, but he wasn't.

But we were so damn disappointed. That's a joke. That's a joke. It's about the dignity of work. It's about how you're treated. And when I met with the IBEW and I started off this last campaign at first, I said, there's two things I'm asking of me, and I said, two things I'm asking of you. One, you got to open up your units to more women. That's not a joke. And two, to more minorities. You've done both that. And guess what? Instead of having support of 30 percent of the American leaders, now we're 65 percent of the American leaders support the American union movement.

It really is all about the dignity of work. And there's only, if you care about the dignity of work, there's only one person you have a rational choice with this time, and that's Kamala Harris.

Let me tell you about this. I know I trust her. Not a joke. I trust her. Number two, the first decision I made to nominate as a nominee in 2020 was selecting her as my vice president. And, by the way, it was the single best decision I made as president of the United States of America.

I was watching something sent to me when they asked Barack, they said, Barack picked me as vice president because he knew I could be president.

[18:10:00]

Well, I know she'll be a good president. I know it. I've watched her when all the experts, foreign and domestic policy, would give us advice then we'd sit alone in a room, and she has a backbone like a ramrod. She has a moral compass of a saint. This woman knows what she's doing. Folks, I promise you, if you elect Kamala Harris as president will be the best as in you will have ever made. If Kamala (INAUDIBLE) as I do, the unions are the spine of this economy, should be a historic pro-union president.

So, folks, we got one more job to do together. Let me ask you. Are you ready to fight?

CROWD: Yes.

BIDEN: Are you ready to win?

CROWD: Yes.

BIDEN: Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris our next President of the United States of America?

CROWD: Yes.

BIDEN: And in the process, are you ready to make Donald Trump a loser again?

CROWD: Yes.

BIDEN: I've never been more optimistic about America and we have to remember who we are. We're the United States of America. There's nothing, nothing, I mean this from the bottom of my heart, there's nothing beyond our capacity, nothing, when we do it together. And that means, elect my friend, our great vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Good afternoon, Pittsburgh. Thank you, Joe.

It is good to be in the House of Labor. And it is good to be back at IBEW Local 5. And can we please give it up again for our president, Joe Biden.

Now, I don't have to tell the brothers and sisters of labor that you really get to know somebody when you're in the middle of a fight. When times are hard, when the forces are mighty, when people don't believe something can get done and they have a thousand excuses for why it can't get done. And I have spent more time with this extraordinary human being when the cameras were not in the room, when the stakes were high, when the heat was intense, and Joe Biden has always stood with the workers of America and labor unions of America always.

I've been with him when he'll bring folks into the Oval Office. And you know how Joe can get sometimes. He doesn't spare words. It's good that sometimes the cameras are not in the room when he has those conversations. Because the thing about the Joe Biden I know, and I know you know, because he has been a friend of labor for so long, for his whole life. Joe Biden can be quite impatient. And that's a good thing for that kind of leader, quite impatient. And I say to all of the friends here, the press that's in the room, history will show what we here know. Joe Biden has been one of the most transformative presidents in the United States that we have ever witnessed. And it comes from his heart. [18:15:00]

And, you know, Joe and I talk a lot about the fact that we are so proud to be the most pro-union administration in America's history (INAUDIBLE). And as we know, Joe's still got a lot of work to do, so let's also understand that.

So, I want to thank all the incredible leaders who are here today, including the Governor Shapiro, Lieutenant Governor Davis, Senator Casey, who we will reelect this November. Mayor Gainey, President Scholer (ph), president for all the leaders of labor who are here, all the union members who are here.

So, I'll just get right to a few points. I love Labor Day. I love celebrating Labor Day. And Pittsburgh, of course, is a cradle of the American labor movement. It is the birthplace of the AFL, headquarters of the Steelworkers, home to Firefighters Local 1, and, of course, the historic IBEW Local 5.

For more than 150 years, the brothers and sisters of labor have helped lead the fight for fair pay, better benefits, and safe working conditions. And every person in our nation has benefited from that work. You know, everywhere I go, I tell people, you may not be a union member but you better thank unions for that five-day workweek. Thank unions for sick leave. Thank unions for paid family leave. Thank unions for your vacation, John. Because when union wages go up, everybody's wages go up. When union workplaces are safer, all workplaces are safer. When unions are strong, America is strong.

And we are clear, not only has Pittsburgh shaped the history of America's labor movement. Today, you are also shaping its future. In 2021, with my dear friend, the Secretary Marty Walsh, who the president appointed to be secretary of labor, he and I hosted a meeting right here in this local, and it was part of the White House Labor Task Force that I lead. That day, we met with a group of computer programmers who were working to form a union. One month later, they signed their contract and became the first, one of the first technology unions in our nation, standing on the shoulder of all those who have been here and fought the good fight.

So, Pittsburgh, I remind us of that to say together, we are fighting to build an economy that works for all working people. And that has always been the vision of the labor movement. And that is the vision of our campaign.

You know, in this election, there are two very different visions for our nation. One, ours, focused on the future. The other, focused on the past. We fight for the future. We fight for a future of dignity, respect, and opportunity for all people. We fight, knowing it's some backward-thinking, for those folks who have been suggesting for years that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. You know, that's the stuff they're pushing, that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down when we know the true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up, who you lift up. Do you fight for workers? Do you fight for families? Do you fight for those who must be seen and heard and deserve the dignity that comes with hard work? That's what we fight for. And when you know what stand for, you know what to fight for.

[18:20:00]

So, we're 64 days out from this election. Ballots in Pennsylvania will start dropping in 14 days, 14 days. And this election is, as much as anything else, a fight for the promise of America, for the promise of America.

We love our country. We love our country. And we know it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, to fight for the ideals of our country. And that's what this election is about, and about the promise of America. And I don't need to tell unions what the promise looks like. It's what you do every day.

But as we fight to move forward, Donald Trump is trying to pull us backward, including back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to jail.

HARRIS: Well, the courts will handle that and we will handle November. How about that? Let the courts have a say. But we're not going back.

CROWD: We're not going back.

HARRIS: We're not going back.

And one of the ways we're going to guarantee we don't go back is that we remember, right, it is important to remember what that was and what it is. Remember, as president, Donald Trump blocked overtime benefits for millions of workers. He opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage. As the president said, he appointed union busters to the National Labor Relations Board. And don't forget he supported so-called right to work laws.

And if Donald Trump were to be reelected, he intends to give more tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations. He intends to cut Social Security and Medicare. He wants to impose what, in effect, would be a national sales tax, I call it the Trump national sales tax, on everyday products and basic necessities that would cost a typical American family, the economists have said this, almost $4,000 a year. He intends to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take us back to what we remember, because it wasn't that long ago, was a time when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions. You remember what that was, children with asthma, breast cancer survivors, grandparents with diabetes.

Well, look, America has tried those failed policies before, and we are not going back. We are not going back. And instead, we fight for a future where no person has to go broke just because they get sick. And so building on the work of President Joe Biden and I, and the work we have done in the White House, we will continue to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and make prescription drugs affordable for all Americans. We fight for a future where every worker has the freedom to organize and we will pass the Pro Act and end union-busting once and for all and Bob Casey will help us do that.

We see and know and fight for a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by but to get ahead. And so we will continue to build what I call an opportunity economy, so that every American has an opportunity to buy a home or start a business or build intergenerational wealth and have a future that matches their dreams and ambitions and aspirations, because, of course, that's the nature of who we are as Americans.

[18:25:05]

We have dreams. We can see what is possible unburdened by what has been. We have aspirations. We have ambitions. And the system that is a good system is one that supports that and allows people the opportunity to go where they can see and imagine themselves to be. That's what I'm talking about when I talk about an opportunity economy. We fight for a future where every senior can retire with dignity. And so we will continue to defend Social Security and Medicare and pensions, and pensions, and pensions.

And we will continue to strengthen America's manufacturing sector. And on that point, the president mentioned it, U.S. Steel is a historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies. And I couldn't agree more with President Biden, U.S. Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated. And I will always have the back of America's steelworkers and all of America's workers.

So, friends, 64 days until the most election of our lives and probably one of the most important in the life of our nation, truly. And we know this is going to be a tight race to the very end. It's going to be a tight race to the very end. So, let's not pay too much attention to those polls, because as unions and labor knows best, we know what it's like to be the underdog, and we are the underdog in this race. And we have some hard work then ahead of us. But here's the beauty of us in this room. We like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is joyful work.

And so in this fight, I will continue to count on the strength, the determination, and the hard work of the leaders in this room to knock on doors, to get folks to the polls, and bluntly put, because the people in here do it to help us win Pennsylvania.

So, today I ask, are you ready to make your voices heard? Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win.

God bless you. God bless America.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: We have been listening to Vice President Kamala Harris teaming up there, as you can see, with President Joe Biden in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, to rally union voters on this Labor Day. The president and vice president in Pittsburgh together, their first joint appearance on the campaign trail since the Democratic National Convention, where the vice president officially became the party's presidential nominee.

If you're just joining us, I'm Alex Marquardt in the Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer is off today.

What we just heard there from the vice president and the president were quite union and labor-focused remarks by the both of them, as well as leaders from Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey and labor leaders.

They talked about being the most pro-union administration in U.S. history. And Harris there casting this election as a choice between one side looking forward and the other backwards. She also described her vision for what she called an opportunity economy before finishing up, describing a tight race and claiming that the Democratic ticket are the underdogs in this race.

I want to bring in our political panel to break all of this down. Jasmine Wright, what is your takeaway from what we just heard from Kamala Harris and President Biden. What does it say about this campaign going forward?

JASMINE WRIGHT, REPORTER, NOTUS: Yes. Well, look, it was a direct appeal to union voters and that base that Democrats very much so need to win in November. I think it was a couple of things.

[18:30:00]

I think it was an explicit recognition that this is the last stretch of the campaign. So therefore, the Harris campaign really needs to step up their efforts in trying to get these voters to come home to them, come home to the vice president herself, come November.

I also think it was an implicit recognition that more needs to be done in those blue wall states. Obviously, earlier today, we saw her in Michigan. Governor Walz is in Wisconsin. Now they're in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, really trying to shore up that blue wall for their path to 270.

I was talking to one adviser over the weekend and they said for the Harris campaign, all eyes are going to be on Pennsylvania, particularly for these next two weeks, as we know that she was there today. Governor Walz will be there in the next few days and then obviously the debate in Pennsylvania next week.

But, ultimately, I think that what this really was just another chance to show the voters who are in President Biden's backyard, who have been in President Biden's backyard for 40 years, that the vice president is somebody that they should lend their support to, a real passing of the baton. I think that what was different from the last time that we saw them on the campaign trail was that the president actually spoke before the vice president. So, that was an important thing that I think that we're going to continue to see going on as they try to make that passing of the baton very clear to the American voters.

MARQUARDT: Yes, really emphasizing there that she is the top of the ticket now. Bill de Blasio, what we just saw, to Jasmine's point, the chance of thank you, Joe, throughout this rally, the tributes to Biden, these union-heavy remarks by both of them. What does that tell you about how you think the president is going to be deployed by the Harris campaign?

FMR. MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): Well, Alex, I think first of all, Jasmine makes the exact right point. This campaign is not taking for granted the blue wall, and I'm really happy to see that actually, because we've seen overconfident campaigns in the past. We're going to need all the votes we can get in those states.

The fact that they're so focused on labor in particular, this is an area where Democrats have lost a lot of support to Trump. Let's be honest about that. And they're saying, I think Kamala Harris is saying the things to get people back in favor of the Pro Act to strengthen the right to unionize, to make sure that union-busting is met with real penalties. You know, she's obviously saying U.S. Steel needs to stay in America. These are really important messages for folks who might be tempted to support Donald Trump. So, that helps get those folks back.

I think Joe Biden is exactly where he needs to be, in the blue wall stage talking to labor. I wouldn't necessarily say use him anywhere, everywhere. I think this is the perfect place and he is someone who can actually help her get some of those votes back.

MARQUARDT: Let me bring in CNN's Kayla Tausche. She is in Pittsburgh. She is at this rally. Kayla, this is a significant moment in this campaign. It comes a month-and-a-half after President Biden dropped out of the race, very quickly endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris. Now they're on the campaign trail together for the first time with Harris at the top of the ticket.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's definitely a turning point in this campaign, Alex. There is no question about it, the first time that President Biden is stumping with Harris-Walz signage behind him. And while aides say that he was excited to take the trail today and to make the case for his vice president, there was also some with wistfulness in his remarks, as he described the arc of a decades-long career, which he described as being backed by organized labor every step of the way, starting from an endorsement from the steelworkers when he was 29 years old.

And then he went into some of the actions that he took as president during this past administration, crossing the picket lines with autoworkers, endorsing the American ownership of an iconic steel company here in Pittsburgh, and also encouraging the electrical workers union, where we are right now, to invite more women into their union. That seemed to be a metaphor of sorts, where he transitioned into making the case for Vice President Harris, essentially encouraging the union members here in the room to invite them into their lives as well. And what's interesting is what we heard from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, where he told the attendees here today that they need to talk to their colleagues in particular and encourage them to vote for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz, which is interesting considering that many of these unions are conducting their own internal polling to see exactly who their membership supports, even as Vice President Harris has secured the endorsements from the major leaders of these unions. But clearly, there is still quite a bit of work for them to do. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right. Kayla Tausche in Pittsburgh, stay with us.

I want to go back to my panel. Kristen Holmes we just saw a new poll this time from ABC News, Ipsos, and The Washington Post, Harris enjoying a wide favorability advantage over the former president. 46 percent see her favorably compared to 43 percent unfavorably. Meanwhile, Trump is underwater by 25 points, 33 percent to 55 -- 58, excuse me.

The Washington Post writes this about the Trump campaign strategy, quote, with little chance of improving Trump's standing. Trump's advisers see the only option as damaging hers.

[18:35:11]

Kristen, how are they planning to damage her more?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, it's been really interesting to watch them try and damage her over the last several weeks. They have tried various different lines on her, attacking her, and none of them have really landed the way that they have wanted to.

One of the things that you're going to see is a lot of linking her to President Joe Biden. One of the things we've reported time and time again is that they believe that their biggest chance to win in November is by essentially running the same campaign that they did against President Joe Biden, but making Harris the incumbent, so using events like today, the showing Harris and Biden side by side and saying that Harris' policies are the same as Joe Biden's policies, particularly when it comes to some of the more unpopular policies on inflation, on immigration. That's what they want to do.

But whether or not that's actually landing has yet to be seen. It doesn't seem as though the American public is treating Harris as the incumbent that the Trump campaign would like them to do.

So, as we move forward, I will tell you, Alex, speaking to a number of his advisers earlier today. They do feel like they are in a better position now than they were a few weeks ago when it felt as though Harris' bounce was not going to end, and there was a lot of concern around the boost in her poll numbers, around the enthusiasm around Harris.

Right now, they feel like this is starting to settle and they have a real race, but they are saying the same thing to their supporters that you're hearing Harris say to hers, which is, we are the underdog. We really have to fight here. And I think it's clear both sides believe that this race is going to be determined by razor thin margins, and they are trying to find any votes that they can to secure. And that includes, for at least Donald Trump's team, trying to siphon away some of those labor votes, some of those rank and file union members that Donald Trump got back in 2016 that helped propel him to the White House. So, you're going to see a lot of that trying to dig away at various voting blocs as they try to get as many votes as they can ahead of November.

MARQUARDT: Frank Luntz, the top line of that poll was that, nationally, Harris has a small lead over Trump, it was 50 to 46. She did not get a post-convention bump in that poll. Are you surprised by that? And what do you say to what Harris just said, that they believe they are the underdogs?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIST: I don't think that really matters. I think what matters are the two issues that the public says they prioritize in this election, which is affordability, not inflation, but affordability of food and fuel, housing and health care, and the idea that that's gotten worse over the last three years, not better, and immigration, which is basically an issue of personal security and safety, and whether the border's controlled or not.

She, Vice President Harris, has a clear advantage in personality. If this is an election about who you trust, who you have confidence in, who you like, she wins, clearly. If this is an election about policy, about where things have gone over the last three and a half years and where they're headed, Donald Trump has the advantage.

The problem with the Trump campaign is that the candidate himself is actually undermining that message with personal attacks that voters don't like. The challenge with Harris is that she walks into a union hall and doesn't address the two issues that union people prioritize the most.

I've done a fair amount of polling within the union community, and there is definitely a split. Government unions and teachers unions absolutely support Harris by significant margins. But their trades, the people who work with their hands, are evenly split between the Democrats and the Republicans, and Republicans have never seen that before. She walked into Ground Zero, everything she said was effective, but she missed the two issues that matter most. And in the end, at least in the debate, she's going to have to address them.

MARQUARDT: All right. Well, it's a very interesting moment on the campaign trail and certainly the beginning of what is going to be a busy week for both sides out there in those battleground states. Thanks to you all for your thoughts today.

Just ahead, we have more on the race for the White House. We'll be discussing all the latest developments with a key Pennsylvania Democrat.

Plus, the latest from Israel as thousands flood into the streets in protest after six hostages were found killed in Gaza. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

MARQUARDT: We are following breaking news on Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden appearing together at a rally in Pennsylvania just a short time ago. And joining me now to discuss that more is Democrat from the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Congressman Brendan Boyle. Congressman Boyle, thanks so much for joining us.

You just heard that rally alongside us, President Biden, Vice President Harris, leaning into their support for and from union voters during this first joint appearance since Harris became the Democratic nominee. How important do you think it is that that voting bloc, for that voting bloc, that the Harris campaign win in Pennsylvania, and how is President Biden going to be an asset to her there?

REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA): Well, it's great to be with you. And you know, one of the things that Joe Biden started back in 2018 before he officially ran and again in 2019 was to kick off the fall campaign spending Labor Day in Pennsylvania. A number of those years it was in Pittsburgh. Last year, I was with him at the Labor Day parade in Philadelphia with President Biden retiring and leaving the stage.

It would be natural that a number of us here would be worried that kind of the special attention that President Biden would give us might drop off.

[18:45:00]

That has not been the case. So the fact that you had both the president and the vice president, who I hope will be the next president, here in the Keystone State, again, on another Labor Day, just shows the incredible importance but the Harris/Walz ticket what's first on Pennsylvania, but then second on organized labor as a whole.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Harris finished off her remarks there talking about being the underdogs, highlighting what a tight race it is, perhaps nowhere more so then in these swing states like Pennsylvania, the latest polling in Pennsylvania shows that they are neck and neck.

In a recent poll, Harris held a slim lead over Trump, 50 to 47 percent. That is just outside the margin of error.

So what do you think Harris needs to do to win Pennsylvania?

BOYLE: Well, first, whoever wins Pennsylvania will be the next president. That was the case in 2016. Pennsylvania decided the election, unfortunately, in Donald Trump's direction. In 2020, Joe Biden was able to win Pennsylvania back and thus able to win the White House back. And it'll be the same in 2024.

The one challenge and the reason why Pennsylvania is such a crucial battleground state is that it includes so many different slices of the electorate. So you actually can't trust. You don't have the luxury to focus on trust. One thing we have urban, suburban, rural.

We have immigrants, especially in the Philadelphia area, in places like Lancaster and Reading. We have a lot of blue collar voters of all different ethnicities, but especially white. We have parts of the state that are kind of the beginning of the Midwest.

And then we have a big part of the state like where I live, which has very much east coast. So in order to campaign in Pennsylvania, you have to be everywhere at the same time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, to Erie, and you have to get here early and often.

The Harris campaign is doing that. And the Trump campaign is not. Where is Donald Trump today? It's Labor Day. How is he not on the campaign trail?

I don't think I've ever seen that in my lifetime from a presidential nominee of either party.

MARQUARDT: Congressman, we have heard the former president going after Harris repeatedly for moving away from some of her previously held positions. This is how Harris responded to that criticism in her exclusive interview with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: In 2019, you said, quote, there is no question I'm in favor of banning fracking. Fracking, as you know, is a pretty big issue, particularly in your must-win state of Pennsylvania.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sure.

BASH: Do you still want to ban fracking?

HARRIS: No. And I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020, that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Congressman, do you believe that voters will see her changing positions on fracking and other issues as authentic?

BOYLE: Well, first, if there's anyone who is an expert on changing your position routinely, it is Donald Trump. After all, I think, what, over the course of the last week he now has had four different positions on abortion?

So Trump would be would be the expert on this topic.

I do think most voters recognize that as you get more information, as you get more experience, perhaps as you hold a different job, which was the case with kamala Harris going from a senator from California to vice president of the United States, and the Biden administration that there would be a natural evolution. Look, I know that. I do not have 100 percent of the same position

today that I first had 15 years ago when I was first elected to office. That's part of growing. I think that's natural.

The bottom line is, did you ultimately arrive at the position that is right on policy and in the case that kamala Harris, she did it. The natural gas industry is important to jobs in Pennsylvania more so Western part of the state, frankly, than the eastern two-thirds of the state. But I'm glad that she ultimately arrived at the position that she did.

And frankly, when it comes to consistency, they're just as no comparison between Kamala Harris and the constant unending flip-flops on most issues of Donald Trump.

MARQUARDT: And emphasizing the importance of your state, we will see the showdowns on the debate stage just eight days from now.

Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, thank you very much.

BOYLE: Alright. The debate will be in my district.

MARQUARDT: Well, I'm sure you'll be watching very attentively. Thank you.

Coming up, a live report from Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing growing protests after six hostages were killed in Gaza.

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[18:54:06]

MARQUARDT: There is growing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a hostage deal after Hamas killed six captives in captivity in Gaza.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond now reports from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outrage in the streets of Tel Aviv. For the second night in a row, tens of thousands raising their voices, demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike a deal to bring home the hostages alive.

This outpouring of grief, anger, and frustration prompted by the deaths of six Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend. Hamas executed them hours before Israeli troops discovered the tunnel where they were being held.

But to many here, their deaths are a grizzly reminder of the Israeli government's failure.

MIMI ZEMAH, PROTESTER: The day before, they were alive. You saw their names on the deal that could have been signed. [18:55:01]

Three names were on that and they're not here.

GIL DICKMANN, RELATIVE OF HOSTAGE: We know that Hamas has agreed to a deal at some point and Israel was the one putting on more and more terms and actually postponing the deal. And right now, we know that decisions that our Prime Minister Netanyahu has made, made it impossible for Carmel and other hostages to return and put their lives in great danger, and that's what killed them.

DIAMOND: Netanyahu, meanwhile, doubling down on a core Israeli demand that has been a sticking point in negotiations, and blaming Hamas.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The evil axis needs the Philadelphi corridor. And for that reason, we must keep control of the Philadelphi corridor. This is why Hamas insisted we're not going to be there. And this is why I insist that we are going to be there.

DIAMOND: In Israel, the pressure is building on Netanyahu. Schools closed early, flights delayed and buses disrupted as the largest union went on strike Monday for the first time since October 7.

And in the U.S., more pressure.

REPORTER: Do you think it's time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he's doing enough?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No.

DIAMOND: For the family of 23-year-old Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, grief is now taking center stage.

RACHEL GOLDBERG, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S MOTHER: I will love you and I will miss you every single day for the rest of my life. But you're right here. I know you're right here. I just have to teach myself how to feel you in a different way.

DIAMOND: And hope that this moment will be different.

JON POLIN, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S FATHER: For 330 days, mama and I sought the proverbial stone that we could turn over to save you. Maybe, just maybe your death is the stone to fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages.

DIAMOND: That his son's death will not be in vain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Alex, the concerns for the lives of the hostages are being heightened tonight as Hamas admits that it did execute those six hostages, and also warns that more hostages will return in coffins should the Israeli government continued to try and free those hostages through military means. Between that and the Israeli prime minister doubling down on his demands that are key sticking points in these negotiations, it's hard to see where the hope that Hersh's father express their deaths might be a catalyst for a deal, can actually go now.

But the hostage families, they are continuing to express that hope, calling for more protests tomorrow -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yeah. Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much.

In Ukraine, the military is racing to build a fleet of unmanned war machines, as it looks to gain the upper hand against Russia.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour is there.

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): The evidence keeps growing, even here in Kyiv, far from the front, memorials occupy ever more space. And since Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region, the war has returned to the cities with a vengeance. Last night, ballistic missiles hit Kyiv, destroying infrastructure, tripling the energy grid, raising fears.

Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk tells me it's been a tradeoff as the Russians step up their assault on the critical logistic hub of Pokrovsk.

NATALIYA GUMENYUK, UKRAINIAN JOURNALIST: There is no discussion whether the Kursk was right. But the question is how much we lose in Pokrovsk, in the Donbas. It boosted the morale among the military. It showed that, you know, Ukraine can do something.

AMANPOUR: Just outside Kyiv, there's an urgent race against time in this factory that's building unmanned vehicles or land drones, because aerial drones make the front lines ever more dangerous for soldiers on both sides.

Here's CEO and former special forces officer Oleksandr Biletskyi.

OLEKSANDR BILETSKYI, CEO, SHERP: That's why we should have technologies to kill more Russians with the purpose and using the new technologies, like busing drones, using robots. That's it.

AMANPOUR: And these all-terrain, all-weather drones are meant to save more Ukrainians. On the front, they can be controlled from as far as three kilometers away. Here, we follow along behind. They can deliver everything from ammunition to water and also remove the wounded from the front lines.

Their production has ramped up since the full-scale invasion of 2022 and the company insists Ukraine must develop more technologically advanced systems for asymmetrical warfare to counter Russia's overwhelming manpower. And they want to be much more self-sufficient for the long haul.

Thirty months into this grinding conflict, with the prospect of international support fading, are Ukrainians now ready to negotiate an end to it all?

GUMENYUK: So, for us, it's unfortunately that existential. Sounds very big, but it is. It's really a matter of survival. We can't allow them to control our territory. And what they suggest is unconditional capitulation.

AMANPOUR: Surrender, yes.

GUMENYUK: Unconditional surrender or occupation.

AMANPOUR: And here, Nataliya quotes her friend and Ukraine's Nobel laureate who warns that occupation is not peace, it's just a different way of war.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: Our thanks to Christiane Amanpour.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.