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Any Moment, Ex-GOP Rep. Liz Cheney Stumps With Harris in Wisconsin; Jury Reaches Verdict in Beating Death of Tyre Nichols; CNN National Poll of Polls Show Harris 49 Percent, Trump 48 Percent. Kamala Harris Campaigning With Ex-GOP Rep. Liz Cheney In Wisconsin City Known As The Birthplace Of The Republican Party. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 03, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. Kamala Harris is about to ratchet up her outreach to Republicans as she campaigns with former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney for the very first time will be carrying their remarks in the battleground state of Wisconsin live.

Also breaking, a new court filing by Donald Trump, asking a federal court to throw all the criminal charges in the January 6th election subversion case against him. This comes just hours after new details on the special counsel's bombshell evidence against him. The former president was unsealed.

Plus, Israel is launching fresh airstrikes in Southern Beirut tonight, as it is vowing a strong and painful response to the unprecedented missile attack by Iran earlier this week, and warning that the Israeli retaliation will happen soon.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Alex Marquardt, and you are in The Situation Room.

And we begin with the breaking news this hour. Longtime Republican stalwart Liz Cheney is making good on her promise to do whatever she can to help Kamala Harris and the Democrats defeat Donald Trump. We're standing by for Harris and Cheney to speak at their first joint event in a battleground city that has special significance for the Republican Party.

CNN's Eva McKend joins us live from Ripon in Wisconsin. So, Eva, who are Harris and Cheney trying to reach out to with this event tonight?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Alex, this is a message grounded in country over party. The signs behind me read as such. Liz Cheney will introduce the vice president. And, ultimately, the argument that they are making here is that this election, in their view, is about democracy. It's about the Constitution, rule of law, and that the former president is a threat to all of those things. They are trying to appeal to conservative voters, independent voters who have no appetite for supporting the former president and to ensure that they don't stay home and that they maybe look over these policy differences that they have with the vice president and come out and support the Democratic ticket.

They are employing this message not only here in Ripon, Wisconsin, which is significant, of course because it is known as the birthplace of the Republican Party. You have Republicans for Harris, that coalition, in all of the battleground states over the next several days aggressively making this argument.

And, listen, not all Democrats think that this is the best strategy. Some Democrats tell me they believe the campaign instead should be focusing on black and Latino voters, Asian voters, other voters that are in the base of the party. But, listen, Wisconsin Democrats, they tell me that this is the right strategy, that election cycle after election cycle, they actually lean on Democrats in red counties like this one to go talk to their Republican neighbors and try to make the case here.

And this all comes as a CNN poll of polls indicates that there is no clear leader in this contest. Alex, that means that it is going to be bitterly close up until the very end. And so that is why we see the campaign employing this strategy, trying to reach out to Republican voters. Alex?

MARQUARDT: All right. Eva McKend in Ripon, Wisconsin, that rally just about to start in a few moments.

Let's bring in our political panel to discuss more. Jamie Gangel, I want to start with you. Talk to us, if you would, about the significance of Liz Cheney now stepping out onto the campaign trail for Kamala Harris against this backdrop of the Special Counsel Jack Smith's new filing against Trump.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, big picture. Today is about timing and maximum impact. Liz Cheney has been planning this for quite some time. She wanted to be out here when voters were paying attention in the fall. She wanted to be in a swing state. So, this fits her hope that by being out there endorsing Kamala Harris, a picture of the two of them standing side by side, that this is not about policy, as Eva said, it's about putting country over party about democracy.

I think as far as the January 6th trial and Jack Smith, what we have to remember is it's not a surprise that Liz Cheney is here today.

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She worked to get Donald Trump impeached. She was the vice chair of the January 6th committee. And, Alex, she really had hoped that by this time, there would be a trial. That hasn't happened. Not likely to happen at this point before the election. But she is dedicated to doing, as she has said over and over, anything she can, everything she can, to prevent Donald Trump from ever going back to the White House, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Yes, it's going to be a remarkable scene as they take the stage.

Alyssa Farrah Griffin, you're actually joining Liz Cheney and alongside former Trump White House aides at an event next week. And the plan, as we understand, is to sound the alarm about a potential second Trump term. And we should note that this event is not an official Harris campaign event, but, Alyssa, you know this world better than anyone. How successful do you think that tonight can be at winning over disaffected voters.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, I think it's hugely important. We've talked this whole election cycle about the so called Nikki Haley voters, this roughly 20 to 30 percent of Republican primary voters who actively turned out to vote against Trump. I think a lot of those voters, at least half of them, are much more closely Liz Cheney voters, traditional Republicans who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, standing with our allies abroad, all things that Donald Trump has turned against.

And I think having somebody step out, who is, I mean, the picture of a Republican, the idea of Liz Cheney and Dick Cheney supporting a Democrat is something none of us could have ever imagined, and saying that the country is more important and stopping Donald Trump is more important, I think, can be impactful.

Let's be clear, this is not about going for card-carrying Republicans who have never considered voting for a Democrat. It's independents, it's moderates, it's women in swing districts, and it's disillusioned Republicans who are horrified by January 6th and care about the character of the president.

So, we're going to be sounding the alarm in battleground Pennsylvania. I couldn't, in good conscience, having been a public servant in the White House and seeing Donald Trump up close, not tell people that I think he's wholly unfit to be in the White House again.

MARQUARDT: Van, to that point, how big a risk is it, do you think, for Kamala Harris when she is going up on stage with the likes of Liz Cheney getting an endorsement from her father, Dick Cheney, because we have heard concerns from progressives?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I just think that, you know, there's no voters who are thinking themselves I was going to go vote for Kamala Harris, but now that I see her with Liz Cheney, I'm just going to sit on my hands or go vote for Donald Trump. There are pundits, there are progressive activists or people who are social media people who might have a complaint, but it's not serious.

What you're seeing now three things. This is a coalition of hope for our democracy to prevail and to be sustained. That's why you got an ALC and a Liz Cheney and a Taylor Swift and everybody in between all staying together, not because we all agree with each other on policy. In fact, we really don't. It's we agree that we should have a country with a Constitution and a rule of law and not a dictator and not a king. And so that's one thing that's happening.

The other thing is, this is defense for Kamala Harris. People are saying she's a communist. No Cheney would support a communist, period. And so it's a defense for her. And also it should be a little bit of an alarm for people. If you're taking this, not very seriously, by the time the Cheneys come out and say we are in trouble as a country, the democracy is on the line, you might want to take that a little bit more seriously. So, there are multiple things happening here, and I don't think the downside is even a real thing outside of social media.

MARQUARDT: Yes, a real sit-up and take notice moment. We do have a new CNN poll of polls. Trump and Harris are still neck-and-neck, proving that this is a stubbornly close race. Just look at those figures there. Of course, every swing state vote matters.

So, Matt Mowers, how worried are you do you think Trump needs to be about Kamala Harris making gains with disaffected Republicans as well as independents?

MATT MOWERS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't think too much because a lot of this is baked in the cake at this point. I mean, if you were a Republican who decided not to support Donald Trump, you made that decision a long time ago, probably the same time Liz Cheney decided, which was several years ago. Which is why I don't think it's really too shocking to see her where she is today.

And, you know, look, Van and I were talking about this morning. You know, this shows a little bit of a realignment though of where the two parties are. I mean, you had a Kennedy, of all folks, campaigning with Donald Trump and now you've got a Cheney campaigning with Kamala Harris.

I do think the one risk that Kamala Harris has campaigning with Liz Cheney, of course, is, really, given everything that's going on in the world, it's going to be this debate about foreign intervention, foreign entanglements. It is a large concern and it's actually a concern less so with Republican voters than it is many independents and potentially disaffected Democrats.

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And to be campaigning with Liz Cheney, her dad, obviously a renowned neo con, Liz Cheney won as well. And I have respect for them. I disagree with them on policies, but I have respect for them. But a lot of voters are going to look and say, well, what does this mean for where Kamala Harris is going to go on national security and foreign policy? Does this mean we're going to be further committed in money, troops, and equipment and foreign interventions, especially with so much chaos around the world right now?

MARQUARDT: Jamie, how much is baked in at this point, because the polls have basically been this close ever since Kamala Harris got into this race, even after the DNC and her debate performance, we haven't seen the numbers changing all that much? So, do you think that this event with Liz Cheney can move the needle at all? Is there anything at this point that can fundamentally change the shape of this race?

GANGEL: Well, we'll know on November 5th, or maybe the week after that. Look, I think to Alyssa's point, this is not going to move the needle, as you say, with Trump supporters, the base. That's not going to make a difference. But with swing voters, with disaffected Republicans, Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney, former Vice President Dick Cheney, they do give, let's say, cover or maybe inspiration to some of those disaffected Republican voters.

One of the things Liz Cheney has said repeatedly is, and this goes to the poll of polls and how close it is, that no one can afford to vote for a third party candidate, right, someone in or stay home. And so I think what Liz Cheney hopes in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania, where she's going with Alyssa, is this is vote by vote, getting out the vote in this very tight race, Alex.

MARQUARDT: It is vote by vote, Van, and that voting is already underway, 27 states already voting in this incredibly tight race. But in terms of surrogates on the campaign trail, on the other side of the spectrum from Liz Cheney, we have not seen the two most popular figures in the Democratic Party, Barack and Michelle Obama, Why do you think that is?

JONES: Well, I don't know. But I imagine that they will make their presence felt. You know, the thing about both of the Obamas is they're like nuclear weapons. I mean, when they hit, they hit, and the shocks are felt around the world. Literally, if they were just a tweet, it becomes a news story.

So, you know, when you think about places where they can make a huge difference, you take a Detroit, you take a Philadelphia, you take a Milwaukee, I wouldn't be surprised to see them. But, honestly, I wish that Taylor Swift had waited. I'm glad that Liz Cheney has waited. You know, a lot of people are going to be paying more attention going forward. So I hope we see the Obamas, I hope we see others. But this is the time to start firing the big weapons, you know, I think Taylor Swift was a missed opportunity for us.

MARQUARDT: Alyssa, do you agree? Do you think that Harris should be bringing out the Democratic heavyweights and star power now in these final weeks?

GRIFFIN: I think it's all of the above approach. I think it's very wise to appear with Liz Cheney, but then she's also going to need to keep the progressive, you know, base together. She's going to deploy people like Bernie Sanders and AOC.

But I do want to say something just in response to my dear friend, Matt, listen, RFK Jr. endorsing Donald Trump is not a realignment of Kennedy Democrats now embracing Donald Trump. That's just respectfully ridiculous. He's been denounced by all living members of the Kennedy family other than RFK.

What it actually signals is that my Republican Party, which is the only party I've ever voted in, is willing to embrace somebody who's an anti-vaxxer, who spreads conspiracy theories and who's generally dangerous to public health in order to maybe marginally get votes.

I think it speaks to the character of Trump, which is an issue for so many Republicans like me. Win at all costs. If even if you don't win, say that you won. Embrace the crazy if it brings people in the fold. And there are a lot of swing voters. There are a lot of voters, as evidenced in the 2022 midterms, who are just so sick of the craziness.

MARQUARDT: Matt, your response?

MOWERS: Yes. I'll just say, I mean, look, RFK may not be speaking for the rest of his family, but he's certainly speaking with a number of actual Democratic voters out there in the country. He was talking to a number of folks who feel left behind and disconnected from the establishment in Washington D.C. And to the extent that he did have a following this election, there were times even he was polling well into the double digits, and he's going to get a heck of a lot more vote, was going to get a lot more votes, I think Liz Cheney probably would have if she had run for president. So, I do think what we're seeing, though, is that the party label does not matter as much.

But let me just say one quick thing about this idea of getting undecided voters. Most polling is showing that there is about maybe 2 percent of the electorate are truly undecided right now. And, honestly, if you boil it down, it's probably even less than that when you really force them to make a choice or see if they're even going to participate.

And so I do think the campaign that's trying to make overtures to the other side may be the one that actually gets left with a short end of the stick at the end of the day on Election Day, because so many voters have made up their mind.

[18:15:02]

It's about trying to get those voters engaged, get them to show up, get them to vote early and get them to actually go into the polls at the end of the day.

MARQUARDT: And Liz Cheney, Jamie, essentially lost her seat in Wyoming because of what her participation leading, helping lead the January 6th committee in Congress. We're going to see her in just a few moments, of course. So, after today, what do you think her future is?

GANGEL: So, there's no question that when Liz Cheney went down this path, she knew that she was unlikely to win re-election. And at least for now, I think it's fair to say she has sacrificed her political career, not forever, but for now, she does not have a path in the Democratic Party. She certainly does not have a path in Donald Trump's Republican Party.

I think what she does hope, and she's spoken about this, is that there is a new Republican Party, something more along the lines of what you would consider the traditional Republican Party before Donald Trump.

I don't want to gang up on Matt, but I want to push back on something he said, too, about this issue of Kamala Harris supporters being concerned that Liz Cheney's hawk, military, you know, defense, foreign policy views are going to affect Vice President Harris' views. Liz Cheney has made it clear, and I think Vice President Harris has, this endorsement, this appearance today, it's not about policy. It's about what they see as the danger of Donald Trump and democracy.

MARQUARDT: All right, thanks, everyone. I want you to stand by because we do have some breaking news. A federal jury has just reached a verdict in the case against three former Memphis police officers who were charged in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old unarmed black man.

Let's get straight to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. Shimon, what did the jury decide?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, a mixed verdict here, Alex, certainly the top counts here, which was the civil rights charge, was the count one, was the deprivation of rights under color of law, excessive force and failure to intervene. The jury has acquitted, has found that three of the officers who went to trial here has found them not guilty on that count.

So, two of the officers, Officer Bean and former Officer Smith have been acquitted of civil rights charges. One of the other officers, though, was found guilty of the second count, the deprivation of rights under color of law, deliberate indifference. All three officers were convicted of witness tampering.

So, what you have here is that the jury, after about five hours of deliberations today, they got the case, and five hours later they have acquitted these officers of the top counts in this case.

Of course, this was a horrific case. case. This was a case that was captured on video, five officers who tried to stop Tyre Nichols there on your screen. They tried to stop him. He did not comply. He took off. They chased him. And then, of course, their interaction with him, the beating of Tyre Nichols was all captured on tape. And then for several days, and the investigation unfolded, the five officers that were involved in this were fired, 13 days later, were fired by the police department.

The officers are also facing state charges, murder charges in the death of Tyre Nichols, who suffered terrible, terrible injuries to his brain and other parts of his body. And now this jury, after about a month's trial, has come back and acquitted these officers of the top count. This was a federal case, a federal civil rights case that the Department of Justice brought and the jury today just here now in the last few minutes, acquitting these officers of the top count.

And just to reiterate, one of the officers was found guilty of one of the civil rights counts, but not the top count, and the other three officers, all three officers, were found guilty of witness tampering.

You know, the other thing with this case, Alex, what the video showed was that there was a cover up by these officers. They never reported, initially, what they had done to Tyre Nichols. Two of the officers that were involved and arrested and charged in this case actually wound up pleading guilty and cooperating and working for the prosecution and testifying against these officers, these former officers. And still with all that, and, of course, the horrific video that we all saw that came of this back in January of 2023, the jury coming back with this verdict today acquitting these officers of the top count.

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MARQUARDT: All right. Shimon Prokupecz, just a reminder, this was the January 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols, 29-year-old unarmed black man.

Let's go back to Wisconsin and the Liz Cheney-Kamala Harris event. Let's listen in.

FMR. REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.

Boy, my God, what an amazing day to be in Wisconsin. Thank you all. Thank you so much. Thank you, Sheriff, for your courage and your service and for that wonderful introduction.

It is such a pleasure to be here today at Ripon College. And I have to tell you all, Wisconsin is special for me for a particularly important reason. Way back in 1966, when a very young Dick Cheney and Lynn Cheney were graduate students at the University of Wisconsin, I was born here. And so, go Badgers, exactly.

So, coming back to Wisconsin always feels to me more than a little bit like coming home. I want you to know the last time that I was here campaigning was 20 years ago in 2004. And although politics divided us certainly in that year, we were united in our admiration for the Packers legendary, Bart Starr. And one of the most special and memorable days I had on any campaign was the day that we got to spend with him, which included a personal tour of Lambeau Field. So, very special to be back again.

Now, you all know, of course, that here in Ripon, the Republican Party was founded. It was founded in a meeting in 1854 in the little white schoolhouse, and it was founded by people who were opposed to slavery. It was that Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower, the party of Reagan and Bush. It's that party that I belonged to my entire life.

I volunteered on my first presidential campaign. I already told you how old I am. So, I'll tell you. In 1976 when I was ten years old and I was sealing envelopes for President Ford's re-election campaign. I cast my first vote ever in 1984 for Ronald Reagan. I served in the State Department in both Bush administrations and I served in the United States House of Representatives for three terms, including as the third highest ranking Republican in House leadership. So, in other words, I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray tanning.

I am a Ronald Reagan conservative. I believe in limited government. I believe in low taxes. I believe in a strong national defense. And I believe that the private sector is the engine of growth of our economy. I believe that the family, and not the government, is the most important structure in our society.

I know that our security and our freedom depend upon a world in which America, with our allies, leads. And above all else, I know that the most conservative of conservative values is fidelity to our Constitution.

I tell you, I have never voted for a Democrat. But this year, I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

[18:25:00]

Thank you. But mostly, we're not going back.

Vice President Harris is standing in the breach at a critical moment in our nation's history. She's working to unite reasonable people from all across the political spectrum.

Vice President Harris has dedicated her life to public service. I know that she loves our country, and I know that she will be a president for all Americans.

As a conservative, as a patriot, as a mother, as someone who reveres our Constitution, I am honored to join her in this urgent cause.

As we meet here today, our republic faces a threat unlike any we have faced before, a former president who attempted to stay in power by unraveling the foundations of our republic by refusing to accept the lawful results confirmed by dozens of courts of the 2020 election. We cannot turn away from this truth. In this election, putting patriotism ahead of partisanship is not an aspiration. It is our duty.

At the very heart of our survival as a republic is the peaceful transition of power. Ronald Reagan said this was nothing short of a miracle that every four or eight years, the most powerful office in our land, indeed the most powerful office in the world, is passed peacefully to a new president. In the United States of America, violence does not and must never determine who rules us. Voters do.

And in this country, under our Constitution, our president has a particular solemn obligation to ensure and guarantee the peaceful transfer of power. Since the beginning of the republic, every president in our history has fulfilled that duty, every president until Donald Trump.

When Donald Trump woke up on the morning of January 6th 2021, his intention, despite having lost the election, was that he would remain president. Rather than accept his loss and concede defeat, he had spent months overseeing a multi part plan to attempt to seize power and remain in office. He ignored the rulings of the courts. He corruptly pressured state legislatures, including here in Wisconsin, to overturn the results of their elections. He told the Justice Department to lie for him. He conspired to have fake electoral votes cast and he corruptly pressured his vice president to take illegal and unconstitutional actions.

He summoned a mob to Washington, D.C. with his lies, and he sent the armed mob to the United States Capitol in an effort to stop the counting of electoral votes. As the violent mob attacked our Capitol in Donald Trump's name, as they brutally beat law enforcement officers, as they hunted the vice president and the speaker of the House, Donald Trump watched the attack on television for hours,

Sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office, he refused repeated pleas from his family, from his closest advisers, from the most senior officials in his campaign and in our government to tell the mob to leave.

[18:30:08]

And when Donald Trump finally did speak publicly after hours of violence, after the Capitol had been invaded, he praised the rioters. He did not condemn them. That's who Donald Trump is.

Those facts, those facts that we know about what Donald Trump did, including what he did when our Capitol was under siege, those facts do not come from Donald Trump's political opponents. Those facts come from the people closest to him. They are the ones who testified that Donald Trump did not want to stop the violent attack on our Capitol.

When he learned that Vice President Pence was not going to abandon his oath and help Trump seize power, Trump sent out a tweet attacking Pence and further inflaming the mob. One of Trump's aides testified that shortly after that, this aide received a phone call alerting him that the vice president had been evacuated for his own safety from his office off the floor of the Senate. This aide recalled rushing to the dining room to tell Trump, hoping that this information would convince him to take immediate action to ensure the vice president's safety. Instead, after this aide delivered that news, Donald Trump looked up at him and said, so what? He said, so what?

It is Donald Trump's closest aides who also told us this. They said that while the attack on our Capitol was happening, Donald Trump was handed a note informing him that a civilian had been shot at the door to the chamber of the United States House of Representatives. Donald Trump put the note down on the table in front of him, continued to watch the attack on television and still refused to tell the mob to leave the Capitol.

Donald Trump was willing to sacrifice our Capitol to allow law enforcement officers to be beaten and brutalized in his name and to violate the law and the Constitution in order to seize power for himself. I don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican or an independent. That is depravity, and we must never become numb to it.

Any person who would do these things can never be trusted with power again. We must defeat Donald Trump on November 5th.

In that election, 20 years ago, when we were campaigning in Wisconsin and all across the country, we were campaigning as compassionate conservatives. What January 6th shows us is that there is not an ounce of compassion in Donald Trump. He is petty, he is vindictive, and he is cruel. And Donald Trump is not fit to lead this good and great nation. Now, sometimes people will say, you know, January 6th wasn't that big a deal. You know, in a time when I have heard many pretty stunning things from Republicans, one of the most stunning was yesterday from your former governor, Scott Walker, who said, basically, people are over January 6th.

When you think about what that means that an elected official, a former elected official is so willing to minimize what happened, to say things like I've heard from others to say, don't worry, our institutions held that day, we have a responsibility, all of us to remind people that our institutions don't defend themselves. We, the people have to do that. We, the people defend our institutions.

[18:35:00]

And our institutions held on January 6th because there were brave men and women, including elected officials at every level of our government who did their duty, who stood up for what was right, who resisted Donald Trump's efforts to pressure them to violate their oaths.

And our institutions held especially because of the bravery of the men and women in law enforcement and in our military, in our Capitol Police, our Secret Service, the Metropolitan Police. They're the ones who defended our Capitol, our democracy, and our lives. Many of them fought a bloody hours-long battle on the west front of the Capitol. Go watch the video of that battle. It is sickening. They're the ones who held the line and prevented far worse from happening that day. They are the true profiles in courage. Do not let anyone lie about what happened and what they did.

Our institutions also held because of Vice President Mike Pence, who refused -- he refused to violate his oath to the Constitution. And that is why Mike Pence is not Donald Trump's running mate today. Instead J.D. Vance is on the ticket.

Vance has said -- I mean, that's true. Vance has said repeatedly that he would have done what Donald Trump wanted. That he would have rejected electoral votes. He would have thrown out the votes of the people of Wisconsin because he didn't like the way that you voted. That is tyranny and that is disqualifying.

History teaches us again and again that democracies can fall. They fall to populists. They fall to strongmen, strongmen who beguile their fellow citizens with conspiracy theories and false emergencies. As my friend, the late Charles Krauthammer, taught us, the lesson of our history is that the task of merely maintaining strong and sturdy, the structures of our constitutional order is unending. It is the continuing and ceaseless work of every generation. And that responsibility now falls on all of us in this election.

This great country of ours requires leaders of character. We must choose men and women who have what Abraham Lincoln called a sincere heart. Our nation's second president, John Adams, put it this way. On the first night he ever spent in the White House, he wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail. And his letter included a prayer, a prayer that is so special, President Kennedy had it engraved in the mantelpiece in the State Dining Room in the White House. And in his letter he said this, May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.

Now, I'm confident -- just a second, I am, I am confident that John Adams meant women too.

In this election, a broad coalition has come together to support Vice President Kamala Harris. Now, we may disagree on some things, but we are bound together by the one thing that matters to us as Americans more than any other, and that's our duty to our Constitution and our belief in the miracle and the blessing of this incredible nation.

We have a shared commitment as Americans to ensuring that future generations live in a nation where power is transferred peacefully, where our leaders are men and women of good faith and where our public servants set aside partisan battles to do what's right for this country.

[18:40:08]

So, today, I ask all of you here and everyone listening across this great country to join us. I ask you to meet this moment. I ask you to stand in truth, to reject the depraved cruelty of Donald Trump. And I ask you instead to help us elect Kamala Harris for president.

I know that a President Harris, that President Harris will be able to unite this nation. I know that she will be a president who will defend the rule of law. And I know that she will be a president who can inspire all of our children, and if I might say so, especially our little girls, to do great things. So, help us right the ship of our democracy so that history will say of us when our time of testing came, we did our duty and we prevailed because we loved our country more.

And now it is my great honor to introduce you to our vice president and the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Can we hear it for Liz Cheney?

It is so good to be back in Wisconsin. I thank you everyone for being -- please have a seat, I thank you all for being here. But I just -- I have to emphasize that every time I come here and, Liz, I was actually a kid here, too, when my parents were at the University of Wisconsin, so we have that in common as well. In fact, Tony Evers always says when I land, welcome home.

But I say all that to say every time that I've come here recently, one of the conversations that we have, all of us together, is how much we love our country and that that really is the binding factor in us all being together and taking the time to be together to really just renew and remind everyone of what is at stake, but born out of love that we have this fight.

And I want to thank you, Liz Cheney, for reminding us that, regardless of party affiliation, is a factor that binds us all. And so I thank you for your support and your leadership and your courage.

I also want to thank all the other great leaders who are with us today. Governor Tony Evers, where is he? Thank you.

Mayor Grant, thank you for the warm welcome.

I want to thank Senator Tammy Baldwin, who is traveling around the state, but who I know you will re-elect in November.

Thank you, Sheriff Mitchak (ph), for your support and your life of service to the people of Iowa County.

[18:45:03]

And so I do want to say a bit more about Liz Cheney. You all know her leadership and she has obviously. And so importantly, been a leader for the people of Wyoming, but she has also been an extraordinary national leader and has served with great honor.

And she not only as she talked today recognizes that characters among most important attributes of leadership, but she also personifies that attribute and she possesses some of the qualities of character that I'm most respect in any individual and any leader -- courage, especially at a moment like this, where there are so many powerful forces that have been intent on trying to demean and belittle and make people afraid.

And there are many who know it is wrong. And then there are those who have the courage to speak out loudly about it. And the conviction to speak truth and, you know, it is so admirable when anyone does it, and especially when it is difficult to do in an environment such as this. But Liz Cheney really as a leader who puts country above party and above self, a true patriot and it is my profound honor -- my profound honor to have your support.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And I also want to thank you father, Vice President Dick Cheney, for his support and what he has done to serve our country.

Every endorsement matters and this endorsement matters a great deal, Liz. And it carries the specials, special significance because as you said, we may not see eye-to-eye on every issue and we are going to get back to a healthy two-party system. I'm sure of that, where we will have vigorous debates.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And as you said, you may not have supported a Democrat for president before, but as you have also said, we both love our country and we revere our democratic ideals. And we both also believe in the nobility of public service and we know that our oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America is a sacred oath. An oath that must be honored and must never be violated.

(APPLAUSE) And your words today and the reason we are all here today, I think really do underscore perhaps one of the most fundamental questions that is facing the American people in this election who will obey that oath who will abide by the oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

CROWD: Kamala!

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: I have had the privilege --

CROWD: Kamala! Kamala! Kamala!

HARRIS: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

And I have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution six times in my career, including as vice president, as a United States senator and as the top law enforcement officer of the largest state in our country, responsible for upholding and enforcing the laws of the state and the laws of the United States was the work I did, and I have never wavered in upholding that oath. And I've always executed it faithfully and without reservation.

And there in lies the profound difference between Donald Trump and me. He, who violated the oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.

And make no mistake: he who, if given the chance, would violate it again. Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And as you have heard and know, he refused to accept the will of the people and the results of an election that was free and fair.

[18:50:12]

As you have heard, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. He threatened the life of his own vice president and refuse to engage in the peaceful transfer of power. And let us be clear about how he intends to use power if elected again, he has called for jailing journalists, political opponents, anyone he sees in deems as being an enemy.

He has pledged to destroy the independence of the department of justice and he called for deploying our active duty military against our own citizens. Well, I believe -- you and my running mate, both.

Well, listen, I believe that anyone who recklessly tramples on our democratic values, as Donald Trump has, anyone who has actively and violently obstructed the will of the people and the peaceful transfer of power as Donald Trump has, anyone who has called for, I, quote, termination of the Constitution of the United States as Donald Trump has must never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. Never again. Never again. (APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And the tragic truth -- the tragic truth that we are facing in this election for president of the United States is that there is actually an honest question about whether one of the candidates will uphold the oath to the Constitution of the United States. That is the tragic truth of this election, that this is actually an honest question that we are having as Americans.

And I know the vast majority of us agree that upholding the Constitution must be a basic requirement we expect to if anyone seeking the highest office in the land. I know the vast majority of us, regardless of your political party agree we must hold sacred. Americas fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.

And if you share -- if you share that view no matter your political party there is a place for you with us and in this campaign because those principles I know you unite us across party lines and in this election I take seriously my pledge to be a president for all Americans, my entire career --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: My entire career, I've only had one client, the people. And when I say that and when I say that, I mean, all the people not just those who share my party affiliation through all my decades in law enforcement I never asked a victim or witness, are you a Republican or a Democrat. The only question I ever asked was, are you okay?

And that is the kind of president we deserve. And I pledge to you that is the kind of president I will be.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Because the president of the United States must not look at our country through the narrow lens of ideology or petty partisanship or self-interests. The president of the United States must not look at our country as an instrument for their own ambitions. Our nation is not some spoil to be won.

The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised, the nation that inspired the world to believe in the possibilities of a representative government. And so, in the face of those who would endanger our magnificent experiment, people of every party must stand together.

And let me be clear: democracy and freedom, are not only at stake here at home. They are also at stake around the world. As president of the United States, I will strengthen not abdicate America's global leadership.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Last week, I met with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And the message I've delivered was the same message I've shared with him every time I've seen him. I stand with Ukraine and I always will.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And I told him as I have before, I want Ukraine to prevail.

By contrast, in our debate, Donald Trump couldn't even bring himself to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war, couldn't even bring himself to say that, a war that Putin, a brutal dictator launched against a free and independent people. Trump wants to force Ukraine to give up its sovereign territory, its bedrock principle, upon which we stand and fight for.

And you know who else wants them to give up their sovereign -- absolutely, territory? Putin, Putin. And that's not a plan for peace. It's a plan for surrender. Well, I believe that in the global struggle between tyranny and democracy, the president of the United States must always be on the side of freedom.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: So, we are gathered here today in Ripon, not far as the congresswoman mentioned, from a small building where the Republican Party was born in 1854. Liz Cheney stands in the finest tradition of its leaders and if --

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: And if people across Wisconsin and our nation are willing to do what Liz is doing, to stand up for the rule of law, to our Democratic ideals and the Constitution of the United States, then together, I know we can chart a new way forward, not as members of anyone party but as Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Americans who are united -- united in our devotion to the country we love. I thank you all. May god bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you all. Thank you.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: That was Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, speaking there in Ripon, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party. You can see her there alongside former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

They are campaigning there together for the first time. Both of them leveling significant criticisms against former President Donald Trump about they talked about upholding the Constitution, the need to you that they went they spoke at length about his role in January 6.

I'm Alex Marquardt here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thank you so much for watching this evening.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.