Erin Burnett Outfront Aired July 24, 2024 - 19:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [19:00:33] ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: … to address the nation for the first time since dropping out of the race. We are just getting some excerpts of what he is going to say in this crucial speech in moment in his career. This as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ramp up attacks its against each other wasting no time. Plus, a path to victory that the Harris campaign sees, signaling that they are stronger than Biden and several key states. It's a different map. What is their road to 270? Potential VP pick Pete Buttigieg weighs in OUTFRONT. And Kamala Harris's modern family. After relentless personal attacks from the right, the surprising voice coming to Kamala Harris's defense. Let's go OUTFRONT. And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news: I'm not going to be nice. Those are the exact words, a quote from the former President Trump unleashing attack after attack on Vice President Kamala Harris. He is campaigning in what could be the battleground state of North Carolina. This is his first rally since President Biden withdrew from the race. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Lyin' Kamala Harris has been the ultraliberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe. She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Meanwhile, all eyes tonight on the White House where in moments, President Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office. It's a crucial night for him to delivering his first speech, first remarks since ending his reelection campaign three days ago. And we are getting our first excerpts from what President Biden will be saying. Among the lines: I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation. And today, Kamala Harris back on the campaign trail in front of a large crowd. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe Biden is a leader with bold vision. He cares about the future. He thinks about the future. He has extraordinary determination and profound compassion for the people of our country. I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past. You may have seen their agenda. Part of it is called Project 2025, a plan to return America to a dark past. Let's be clear: this represents an outright attack on our children, our families, and our future. These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. We are not going back. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: And while Harris only mentioned Trump by name once in her speech today, it was clear that she is making this election a referendum on him. And a new CNN poll shows Harris improving on Biden's performance against Trump, her campaign unlike any in history thus far, vote.org said, which is the largest non-partisan voter registration organization, announced a record nearly 700 percent increase in new voter registrations in the 48 hours after Biden dropped out of the race? That's eight times. A lot to get to tonight. I want to start with Kayla Tausche, though, OUTFRONT outside the White House. And, Kayla, we just shared one excerpt there from what we anticipate President Biden will be saying in moments when he addresses the country from the Oval Office, what more are you learning about what he'll say? KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Erin, the, president and his team have been working on this speech throughout the day, practicing the delivery of the speech. We know that he and his aides began drafting this speech. One of the most consequential of his decades-long political career, shortly after disclosing to the public that he would be withdrawing from the race. But I'm just learned from someone involved in this process, a senior adviser to the president, that the reason why -- one of the reasons why he didn't deliver this speech sooner in the week of course, he arrived back at the White House yesterday afternoon was because they wanted to give his voice more time to recover and to strengthen before he delivered this primetime address to the American people. He called into his former campaign headquarters now rebranded for Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday. And in that call, his voice was shaking slightly and there were a couple of coughs, and so, that's one of the reasons since why he's delivering this address tonight, Wednesday evening. You mentioned one of the experts -- excerpts before. [19:05:02] But I want to highlight this one because one of the main things were expecting the president to do in this speech is to talk about what remains from his to-do list, and the platform that he ran on nearly four years ago. He's going to say: Over the next six months, I'll be focused on doing my job as president. That means I will continue to lower costs for hardworking families and grow our economy. I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights from the right to vote, to the right to choose. That's sort of a preview of sorts of what we could expect from the president and something that we expect him to talk quite a bit about. And then, finally, Erin, I just want to point to the path behind me. And just before we came on the air, there were hundreds of employees streaming through the front door of the White House for a watch party that's expected to draw nearly all 500 employees from this complex, beer, wine, pizza in the White House residence. There's a marching band playing outside as they try to make this a more celebratory mood after weeks of uncertainty. BURNETT: All right. Kayla, thank you very much. And, David Axelrod, you know, that's interesting what Kayla just reported there, trying to make this more of a celebratory event. I mean, in a certain level, it is sort of like a wake. I mean, it's for a campaign, for a career, this isn't where he wanted to be. It isn't where he thinks he should be, but it's where he ultimately decided to be. DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, I imagine there's a mixture of sadness and a sense of liberation tonight for the president, because he gets to talk about the things he cares about, the things he's done and the things that he wants to do in the remaining months without the burden of trying to sell himself to the American people. And I expect that he'll get a better hearing because of it. It's always been my belief that if he's stepped away, that people would be as accomplishments more clearly than if he was trying to sell them and the idea that he should serve another four years because that was so associated with age. So, you know, I can see him having a very mixed feeling tonight and I think its great that they're celebrating him. BURNETT: David Frum, you know, you are speechwriter, of course, for President George W. Bush. And this is as big of a moment as there -- as there will likely be for President Biden. So, what do you think has gone into this address? DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, they're not -- I know they're not going to follow my advice, but I'm going to give him the advice because its good advice and their present plan is not as wrong. Biden should boast, boast, boast about the economic record of the past three years. One of the real deficiencies of this administration has been its fear of taken credit for the three years of extraordinary economic growth and Americans enjoyed since 2021, since the end of the pandemic. I know why they're afraid because of aggressive groups will say no one is happy until everybody is happy, and if there are any sad people in America left and there are always sad people, if there's one person has got some rare disease out there, you cannot take credit. But I pointed out to them that Democrats who get second terms and they're asking for a second term, take credit for the first term. In 1996, when Bill Clinton was running for reelection, he gave us State of the Union in January, and the economy in 1996 was still pretty shaky. We didn't know that the boom was coming in 1997, '98, '99. BURNETT: Yeah. FRUM: Bill Clinton started talking about the economy for the 60th second of the State of the Union. In 2024, Biden waited 15 minutes to talk about good economic news. So my advice is talk about the good economic news. You're on your way out. You're 81, if they say you're out of touch, you're out of touch. But if you don't take credit, no one's going to give him credit. BURNETT: I guess then you also get a free campaign speech for Kamala Harris in that sense, Kendra. But, I mean, what do you think having worked with the vice -- then vice president of his now President Biden for so long, what is this moment for him? KENDRA BARKOFF, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR VP BIDEN: Look, it's a big moment for him as this everybody is talking about with a celebration, but he has been in public service for more than 50 years, as everybody knows. And so, I do think that while it is going to be a big speech, it's another one of his big speeches that he is given his entire career. And I think that they are going to treat it. They're going to elevate the points that they have made and put out, but I think it is an important speech for him no doubt. ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, I think that this is a moment for Joe Biden to remind everyone of who he actually is. I mean, one of the things about politics is that your character and your personality and your career gets kind of smashed down into this 2D form that gets basically beat up by everyone around and he's been really beat up, especially in these his last three weeks or so. But Joe Biden, I just taking a step back from this political moment. He has really extraordinary career and this is his opportunity to take some of that narrative back. I mean, it is about passing the torch, I think based on the excerpts, we know that he's going to talk about that, but it's also about reclaiming his entire legacy, which is Kendra just said, is 50 years long. [19:10:03] And it's -- it's beyond this moment and it would be smart for him to take the country out of this sort of hot political cycle that they are in right now. And look at the big picture because I think that's also what he's always said animates him, and, you know, he can also reclaim his legacy in a way by trying to do that. BURNETT: Astead, though, it's interesting in the context of everything we're talking about, he also still believes and you heard from the press secretary today that he could serve four more years after he finishes. He deeply and fulsomely believes that. So, even with that belief, he has to give this speech of passing it on. That's a really hard thing to do. ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's hard, but I think it actually speaks to some of the goodwill that will be here for President Biden. It was clear that it was -- that he thought he could serve another four years to those close around him thought he could serve another four years, but no one else did. And I think that this is finally a recognition of that fact from the electorate. And I think it allows Joe Biden to talk about trust in government, to talk about selflessness, to talk about themes of unity that he has been wanting to do for a long time. But there was this elephant in the room where they were completely out of touch with the majority of opinion and people around his biggest liability. Now that that at circle has been square, I think he has a better chance to be able to -- AXELROD: What he is doing tonight, Erin, just to your point, what he's doing tonight is a completely unnatural act in our politics. He's at the pinnacle of power and he's walking away from it. And I think he's going to use it to set up a contrast with Donald Trump. The whole pass the torch to a new generation. You know, Donald Trump is now the oldest candidate to run for president. I just have to say one other thing. I have a world of respect for David Frum, who I think is so talented and so insightful, but he kind of skipped over the 2012 race. I lived through a period where a president was running for reelection in the economy was doing better, but people didn't feel it. It's not a good strategy actually. You can acknowledge all the progress as long as the end of that acknowledgement is, but people experience the economy through the prices they're paying. That has been punishing. I'm going to work on that more. That's where our attention has to be. So it can't just be open-ended bragging about stuff when people, 65 percent of the people, not just a few people, who are gripers, it's like 65 percent of the public has a negative view of the economy. BURNETT: David Frum? FRUMP: The best speech given in 2012 was the speech given not by Barack Obama at his renomination, but by Bill Clinton renominating him. And Bill Clinton in 2012, did tell that story of economic progress. But there's a real danger tonight that Biden will give a me-me-me speech. He's been giving a lot of me-me speeches over the past two weeks. He needs to give a you-you-you speech where he's been failing to do since that debate that this is not about his 50-year career. He wants to give that speech, give it in January of 2025. This is the first speech of the Kamala Harris campaign. And if the incumbents don't have a good record, why return them? If you want to make the case the incumbent should be returned, tell them they have a good record, and this soft selling, what would Donald Trump say if he had the Biden economy? He would say it was the greatest economy since the pyramids and if you're not prepared to say that, no one's going to say it for you. PHILLIP: I have a slightly different view somewhere between a David -- the two Davids here. BURNETT: Yeah. PHILLIP: I don't think Joe Biden, frankly, is very good at talking about this economy. That's been one of the big issues, is that when he does, it sounds like a recitation, like a list of facts -- BURNETT: Right. PHILLIP: -- the people are being forced to take in. He is at his best when he talks about the broad themes of democracy, of morality, of purpose, and if -- you know, we don't know what exactly how this is going to -- the contours of this speech. But he is just from an observers perspective, he is better when he takes himself out of the nitty-gritty of these sort of numbers and the details. When you look back at that debate, he faulted, heard so much anytime he tried to recite. The unemployment rate is this number. All of these figures and facts that he had in his head, its also not compelling to the American people. He has -- this moment puts him with a bunch of American greats, this sort of George Washingtons of the world. He's stepping away from power if he stays in that lane, I think that will be so much more powerful and impactful. (CROSSTALK) BARKOFF: I'm going to say, it is not very often that you see a politician put their country in front of everything else. And I think that is what he is doing. It was bold. BURNETT: Even though he feels he was ganged up on by donors -- donors came as were not going to donate to you, Senator, Congressperson if you don't turn against him. I mean, he felt completely ganged up on unfairly. BARKOFF: He -- as somebody who lived through the 2015 decision, whether or not to run for president after his son, Beau, had passed away, it took him a very long time to decide whether or not he was going to run. [19:15:06] And I was there working for him in the White House at the time. And he is a methodical thinker. It takes them a while to come to it. I think personally, I have no knowledge of this, but I think he made the decision sooner than over the weekend. I think he started thinking about it sooner and over the weekend, I think is when it really crystallized. But I tend to think he is a methodical thinker and it took longer than it just -- BURNETT: Do you think he -- that you buy into the whole he decided before the convention and let them have a whole convention slamming Biden and planned it? Is it -- HERNDON: And I don't know if I buy that. And I frankly feel as if some of the -- some of the -- kind of some of the ways people are characterizing this decision is a little off to me. I mean, the White House over the last year-and-a-half as ignored evidence about people's care about this. Like that's the first thing I would say. But I don't think that now that he has come to this decision, there's a lot of people willing to hear him out for doing this. I also think it underscores the stakes of democracy so much more, the pitch he was making the democracy is on the line, that Donald Trump is an existential threat, that this was the most important election ever was harder to hear when he was ignoring the elephant in the room of his own age and people's concerns about that. I think if he brings that message back now, if he underscores that, it will be received -- AXELROD: You remind -- HERNDON: I think that that's what people are been waiting for. AXELROD: You remind me, Erin, there was a Republican convention last week, and I remember it. So it's been a long time, but I remember Trump talking about unity and wanted to represent the whole country and man, how things have changed in just a few days. BURNETT: It is incredible. And then before that and assassination attempt, a few days ago, but I mean, you know, wow. AXELROD: Yeah. BURNETT: All right. Next, the Harris campaign feeling very bullish about several states that the Biden campaign had basically written off. It's a different map for her and we're going to take you the magic wall to show you one possible path to 270 for Harris. Plus, CNN learning Harris is now less than two weeks away from announcing her running mate. Pete Buttigieg, who is said to be on that list potential choices, is next. And the ex-wife of Kamala Harris's husband tonight speaking to CNN and defending the attacks against Harris and her family. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:21:32] BURNETT: Breaking news, Kamala Harris seeing an opening, her campaign says that North Carolina is back in play for Democrats after the Biden campaign essentially written it off. It was not a battleground state essentially to them when Biden was at the top of the ticket. But now Harris is they see it differently. Trump now on defense. He's actually in North Carolina right now. That's where he chose to have his first rally since Biden dropped out of the race. Harry Enten is here with me at the magic wall to go beyond the numbers. So, Harry, look the Biden campaign, they knew they had a narrow path, but that path went right through the Midwest, right that was it, the blue wall. That was all we were talking about. But this is now possibly a different map. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: It's potentially a different math. So, you know, let's just talk about that narrow path, right? You were talking about the Midwest states. There were basically talking right in this region, right? Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin get you to exactly 270 electoral votes. That is a very, very thin map. And so the Harris campaign wants to expand upon that, right? They want to expand on that. Why do they want to expand on it? Because if lets just say one of these states in the Great Lake battleground states went to Trump like Pennsylvania, all of a sudden, Trump wins. So let's just talk about the potential pathways that Harris campaign wants to potentially get to. So I'm going to turn all of these states, those key Great Lake battleground states red. And then were going to go across the southern part into the Sun Belt, right? That's where the Harris camp probably wants to play. So we'll go to Nevada, will turn that blue, will go to Arizona, will turn that blue. We'll go to Georgia and we'll turn that blue. Now that only gets you to 259 electoral votes. But here's the thing. Let's go up to North Carolina and lets turn that blue, and now you get to 275 electoral votes. And that's why the Harris campaign wants to play there. BURNETT: Now, anybody looking at that when you were doing all your little touching switching might have noticed that some of those states were sort of they weren't read, they weren't blue. So she just had to move them a little bit. ENTEN: Yeah. BURNETT: North Carolina was red. ENTEN: Correct. BURNETT: OK. So that's a big move to give her that one. ENTEN: That's -- that's a very big move. BURNETT: Where does the confidence come from? ENTEN: Where does that confidence come from? Well, the confidence I think comes from this, I want to take the look at our recent -- the CNN poll that came out earlier today. All right? So this will give you an idea. This is a national poll. BURNETT: Uh-huh. ENTEN: Why? Take a look the choice for president, look at Harris now, compare that to Biden in April and June. Look among Black voters in particular, look at this, look at this improvement that you see for Kamala Harris here, compare fair to Joe Biden, 78 percent back in July, in July for Kamala Harris, 70 percent for Biden, April and June. So that's an eight-point movement. I'm also going to point out Hispanic voters here as well. You see the similar movement right from 41 percent to 47 percent. Why is that so important? Well, you know what North Carolina has a lot of. It has a lot of Black voters in it, right? So this is registered voters who are Black. Look at this, 21 percent, compare that to the nation as a whole, 12 percent. Look at Georgia as well, look at that, 34 percent of voters in Georgia are Black according to recent polling. So they think that North Carolina, because of the movement among Black voters nationally, could in fact check put North Carolina in play. I also mentioned Hispanic voters, and why is that important? Well, they don't necessarily play a big role in North Carolina, but how about those other Sun Belt battleground states, right? Arizona and Nevada, look here, look into large percentage that Hispanics. BURNETT: Double the national population. ENTEN: Double the national average. So this is why they think they can play in the Sun Belt because he's doing better with Black voters and Hispanic voters. Of course, in North Carolina, it's Black voters, but in Arizona, in Nevada, it's Hispanic vote. BURNETT: And interesting, you saw that move right off the bat with both Black voters and Hispanic voters. [19:25:01] And we'll see what happens to that. I mean, I was at the Hispanic voters. You don't know? I mean, she was in charge of the border. It's a tortured issue for many. ENTEN: It's a very tortured issue. BURNETT: And it'll be interesting to see if that holds. ENTEN: That's exactly, what be interesting to see that holds. And of course, the other thing about Hispanic voters is that they're diverse, right? They can have different feelings depending on where they are in the country. One little last thing I want to just point out, Erin for you on this map. You talk about North Carolina being blue, right? This also just support is the possibility. Let's say if you lose in Georgia, right? Let's say you lose in Georgia if you're Kamala Harris, but you've turned North Carolina blue and you've turned Arizona blue and you've turned Nevada blue, well, then you could just add, let's say, you add, Pennsylvania and that gets you. BURNETT: Right. ENTEN: It basically it expands the map out whereby by doing well among Black and Hispanic voters, if you do well in North Carolina, you provide yourself with a lot more electoral paths. BURNETT: And I know you want to pick a VP that you just want to pick. But obviously what you're pointing out here does highlight the how important a state like Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina can be, all of those states. Of course, there are governors or senator in the case of Arizona, on a possible list. ENTEN: Exactly, Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, two governors and Arizona Mark Kelly. Those are the important states perhaps to pick a VP. BURNETT: All right. So she could pick for that reason, she could pick she likes him. She could also choose pick someone that she likes and trusts and believes will get her over the top. And one of those people could be Pete Buttigieg, who is here. And I will note he is here in his personal capacity as a member of the Democratic Party, not as the secretary of transportation, obviously, for the purposes of this conversation. So the Harris campaign came out with a very optimistic memo this morning, including North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, right? As Harris was just laying out all as potential paths that they see the 270, different than the Biden map and I just want to point out 2008, the only time since 1980 that North Carolina went blue, that's why we had it read on our maps. So do you truly believe that it's in play this year now? PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do. I was there not long ago. There is terrific energy there. I think it's telling that Donald Trump feels the need to defend North Carolina right now and it's part of expanding that map, you know, in addition to competing in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, there is huge opportunity in places like North Carolina. You look at the changes, of course, as we went through the last election in places like Georgia, we are back in a conversation about an expanding map for Democrats and certainly for the Harris campaign. And it makes it one more reason why this is just a very exciting moment for this campaign for our party and really for the country because I think it opens up new possibilities in terms of a forward- looking politics as well. BURNETT: So, Donald Trump, just a few moments ago, we had that rally. He's in North Carolina as I pointed out, but he suggested that Democrats could actually did cherish as their 2024 nominee, which may sound crazy given the excitement around her so far. But here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: If we start beating her in the polls by 10 or 15 points, are they going to bring in a third candidate? It's like, you know, Trump is killing this guy. Like, out, lets bring in a new one. Out, out, and then maybe at some point they get one right when will that stop? (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: So, look, poll of polls that we have now, and it's early, but it shows Harris running neck and neck with Trump still within the margin of error, like pushing for you though, actually, I guess is a little bit more existential the way that this all went down, your party was denied a primary process in which a lot of you could have run and a lot of people what have wanted, people like you and others to run in addition to the vice president. Is there a part of me that has a disappointment that you are denied that opportunity? BUTTIGIEG: No, I'm excited about where we are and I think part of what we've seen in the last few days that was extraordinary is how quickly Kamala Harris supported are consolidated the support from around the party, a lot of different voices. And remember, the Democratic Party is not exactly known for falling in line. We are known for being a big tent, fractious, lot of different voices. And yet here in this moment, everyone has come together and I think that reflects not just our determination to make sure that we don't get thrown back to the chaos of the Trump era. But also a level of admiration and respect and excitement around what Vice President Harris is going to bring to the ticket and what kind of president she is going to make. So, look, were in a moment, obviously an extraordinary moment on precedent in my lifetime. But that's part of why it's so remarkable that the party has coalesced with unprecedented speed around this leader, this future and this Harris presidency ahead. BURNETT: Well, there are many, you know, ten weeks, ten days or two weeks ago who very much wanted others to be considered other than the vice president. And obviously the party is completely in line and unify behind her now, and she's now considering her running mate. So sources tell our Jeff Zeleny that she is less than two weeks away from making that package and that means a very, you know, an unprecedentedly fast vetting process, polling process underway. [19:30:07] Jeff Zeleny is also reporting that you are one of a handful of names that she's currently considering an earlier today, the Democratic congressman Pat Ryan, said this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): I am and for -- have forever been a Pete Buttigieg fan. He's just shown an ability to actually unify the country when that is just what people are desperately looking for. So I'd love -- I'd love to see him. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Says he would love to see you. Would you like to see yourself on that ticket if that is her choice? BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think anybody would be flattered to be mentioned in that context, and I really appreciate the congressman's comments as well. Obviously, she is going to run a process that is based on what's best for her and she's going to make a decision that's the right decision for her, for the party, and for the country. And no matter what, I'm going to be doing everything in my power to make sure that she's our next president. BURNETT: All right. Well, Pete Buttigieg, I appreciate your time and thank you. BUTTIGIEG: Thank you. BURNETT: All right. Good to see you. And we also have some more breaking news right now on Doug Emhoff's ex-wife. Okay. Now, why do I mention her? Because she is coming to Kamala Harris's defense. In an extraordinary statement to CNN, Kerstin Emhoff, who is the mother of Harris's two stepchildren, responded to attacks like this one against Harris. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Kirsten Emhoff telling our Sunlen Serfaty, and I quote her, these are baseless attacks. For over ten years since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and I'm grateful to have her in it. And Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT with more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: I've had a lot of titles over my career and certainly vice president will be great but Momala will always be the one that means the most. SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a title Vice President Kamala Harris is proud of. HARRIS: Family is our beautiful children Cole and Ella, who called me Momala. SERFATY: But now that she has been elevated to the top of the ticket, that title step stepmother is again in spotlight. HARRIS: My family means everything to me. SERFATY: With some conservatives suggesting she should not be president because she does not have biological children. Really simple, underdiscussed reason why Kamala Harris shouldn't be president? No children, a conservative lawyer who worked on Ron DeSantis's campaign wrote this week on social media, adding and no, becoming a step parent to older teenagers doesn't count. That echoes similar comments made by now Republican vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance in 2021. VANCE: We're effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made. SERFATY: Which are being resurfaced a new as he and his running mate Donald Trumps seek to define Harris for voters. VANCE: It's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it? SERFATY: Harris does have children two adults stepchildren, Cole and Ella, who were 19 and 15 when she married Doug Emhoff in 2014. HARRIS: We have a very modern family. SERFATY: They are blended family. She has joked, is almost a little too functional, which she credits to the close friendship she has with Emhoff's first wife, whom she calls an incredible mother. HARRIS: One of the keys to my relationship with Cole and Ella is their mom. SERFATY: Ella Emhoff says their family dynamics work. They are really a unit like a three-person parenting squad. It's really cool, creating a modern political family. HARRIS: The thing about blended families, if everyone approaches it in the way that there's plenty of love to share, then it works. (END VIDEOTAPE) SERFATY (on camera): And Kirsten Emhoff has been a defender of Harris in the past with numerous posts on social media about her campaign. But this statement today, it certainly seems and feels significant that she is -- she is the one being put forward by the campaigns to defend their blended family, as she faces questions over her motherhood -- Erin. BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you very much. And you know, this comes as Harris spoke today to 6,000 members of one of the country's largest Black sororities Zeta Phi Beta, telling them to head to the polls and make history. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: And we know when we organize mountains move. When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history. [19:35:05] So let us continue to fight with optimism, with faith and with hope because when we fight, we win. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Stacie NC Grant, the international president and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, and you will show her right now as you can see her, she's on stage with Kamala Harris today. And, Stacie, I appreciate your time. So you were there and onstage with her. What was it like in that room as she spoke today? Erin, it was absolutely magical. STACIE NC GRANT, CEO OF ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY: The energy in the room was electrifying and we were able to say that we are the road to this history-making opportunity that she stopped in Indianapolis, Indiana, to visit the grand boule of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. And can I say, Erin, thank you for all that you do to bring us real news authentic truth that we can digest and make decisions about how our country moves forward. BURNETT: We appreciate that. So, you know, we know that President Biden and this has been one of the real weaknesses in his campaign. He had been losing some Black voter support to Trump in recent months. We saw it in poll after poll. Harris again and again though, has been very clear that she is going to tie herself to Biden. They are a unit even ever since he dropped out. Here she is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: I love Joe Biden. Our incredible President Joe Biden. President Joe Biden fights for the American people. Joe Biden is a leader with bold vision. We have so many darn good reasons for loving Joe Biden. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Do you have any concern that the weakness at the polls had shown for Biden could also affect her or do you think that just won't happen? GRANT: Erin, what I say about the polls, I don't know who they're polling because sometimes the information seems a little skewed. What we have as a country, as an opportunity to educate the electorate on the truth. What it is that they wanted decide, decide to do as they go to the polls, as members of Zeta Phi Beta and the entire D9, we are united to mobilize and educate our community on the decisions at hand, how to protect our democracy, how to focus on the truth and the facts of how this country can continue to grow and expand and create equity and access for everyone. BURNETT: So, Stacie, "The Washington Post" today spoke to some of the women who were in that room where you are today, many of them said they were excited. Some also said they were nervous though, about Harris's chances of winning. One woman said, and I just want to quote what she said to them. If you had your eyes closed and you could just go based on her qualifications versus Trumps qualifications, yes, she'd definitely win. But they're not going to do that, she said. Biden, the white guy, would have had a better shot. That was the quote. And, you know, here at CNN, you know, we've also spoken to a number of voters in swing states and they have shared some of their concerns about what they perceive as Harris's ability to win. Here they are. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a whole bunch of folks in the middle and I don't believe that they're going to vote for her. Even if you go back to Hillary Clinton as a nominee, right? To me, America has shown us but it is not ready for a female leader. (END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Are you hearing the same doubts? GRANT: So, Erin, one of the things that I do is be intentional about what I focus on because what you focus on expands, I'd rather focus on the opportunity that we have as a country to entertain history once again. I'd rather focus on the facts of what the Biden administration has done and let my members, who not everyone is believing of the same persuasion of where our country is going. And that's fine because we're nonpartisan. We don't tell our members how to vote. We just give them information and I want to focus on how we give the right information, the accurate information, and the opportunity to create history with someone who's overqualified and someone who is dedicated to this country, and someone who many people don't know her heart and her capacity to lead from a place of a grounded faith and the excitement of what's new and possible for the United States of America. BURNETT: So when you spoke to her today, what did she say to you? Did you did you get any kind of a window into just her mindset? I mean, its been an absolutely stunning few days and even if Biden had gotten off the ticket, this may not have at all, and the way she anticipated it would play out, most people didn't, right, and then here we are. I mean, what is her sort of her emotional state as you could tell? GRANT: Well, I tell you we had no idea that she would be the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee when this was organized and confirm for her to be with Zeta Phi Beta. [19:40:00] What she said to me the energy in here is electrifying. It is amazing, like we really thought that we were suspended in air because history happened today, right here in Indianapolis, Indiana. We were able to hear from the sitting vice president of the United States, which is historic first for our organization, now turn presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. It was a history-making moment. It was an opportunity for our members to hear more about her record and her proud opportunities to have served with President Biden. She's not going to stop talking about it. They have done a great job leading this country and she wanted to share that and our members have an opportunity to listen, to make their decisions when they go to the poll. But what is absolute? We are getting out the vote because all of us understand the importance of this moment. And as a member of the D9, and we are all working together because were stronger together. And the Black vote and our vote will influence this election. BURNETT: All right. Well, Stacie, thank you very much. I appreciate it. And next, we are awaiting the breaking news of President Biden about to address the nation. This will be his first address since dropping out of the race. And we've got some new reporting on what we expect to here in these final moments here as he is rehearsing and making any final changes. Plus, new pictures of hundreds of Biden staffers heading to a Biden watch party at the White House tonight. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:45:36] BURNETT: Breaking news, we're just getting in new video from the White House. Hundreds of staffers heading to a watch party for President Biden's historic Oval Office address, which begins in just a few moments. As you can see them all parading in there, our team there says the White House is trying to make this more celebratory event for Biden needs. So, obviously, it's been a horrific few weeks for them. So in a sense, they're trying to make it a party, beer and wine, pizza, they've got a marching band. Everyone back with me. David Axelrod, there's something though about that video you see them all maybe the poignant, it's just poignant that it's their backs. AXELROD: Yeah. BURNETT: And then, you know, it's -- I don't think anybody can look at that and not, you know? AXELROD: Look, there's inescapably poignancy about this moment. This man has spent more than half a century serving this country. He's -- he had every intention to serve further. And he had to give that up. But the flip side of it is he gave it up. And that is something to celebrate. You know, George Washington did the same thing. He left. People wanted him to run, but he knew it was time. And that's one of the reasons we remember him so fondly. So, you know, I do think it sets up a contrast with Trump because what he's saying is, you know what? I'm not the only one who can do this. And I never put the country, I never thought I was more important than the country, that is a good message moving forward. BURNETT: You know, probably a lot of those people. You know, 500 going, and how does it feel to you to look at that moment? BARKOFF: I think it's bittersweet for them, right? They have spent 3- 1/2 years working on these important initiatives to move our country forward. And, you know, there's six more months where they're going to continue to do that. But I think it's somewhat bittersweet for them because it is somewhat of the symbol of that Kamala is going to take the reins and sort of move things forward. It's got to be a little bit difficult while at the same time knowing they still have a lot of work to do for the country. PHILLIP: That image is the exact reason why -- one of the main reasons why I think this is so hard for any politician to decide to not run again because you have a whole infrastructure of thousands of people who work for you on the premise that you're going to run again, that you're going to continue to do it, that they're going to continue to have jobs after this is all over. And so, to say to them I'm taking myself out of it is a hard decision to make, but what's happened to the Democratic Party since then has been, I think beyond what most Democrats that I've talked to you expected. I don't know that anybody really expected the party to feel as energizes it does to feel as excited as it does. That is very real and in a way, I think that that helps Joe Biden tonight as he gives this address, if he had left this party and a fractured state, which when I talked to people close to him, was a big concern of his, he I think would be coming into the speech in a completely different mood, but that is not where the Democrats are right now. BURNETT: David Frum? FRUM: I get all the interior reasons why moment like this, the president to people random I think about themselves and what they lost and what they're giving up. But I -- as I said in the first segment it is not the last speech of Joe Biden presidency that comes in January 2025. This is the first important endorsement of Vice President Harris for president campaign, and he needs to make it not about himself and how he feels about why the country should give his running mate, his vice president, his administration, a second term. And if he won't sell that, no one will. HERNDON: I guess I kind of see it differently. I don't really see this as the beginning of Vice President Harris's campaign. I think that's going to come at the DNC. I imagined Joe Biden will make a more specific pitch for her there. I think this is the beginning of the end of Joe Biden's term in public life. And he is its going to try to frame his legacy around that. And I think that makes a lot of sense. I think for Democrats, there was a sense of malaise around this election for the last year and a half under the belief that the country are kind of checked out because of the -- kind of checked out of this election. We are now seeing because of the energy that's been driven over the last four or five days, part of the reason folks we checked out was because of the options that they had. So I think to Abby's point, the biggest the best gift that Joe Biden has given the staff the campaign is this decision right now. It has breathed new life into the Democratic Party and giving them a new opportunity in November. [19:50:00] AXELROD: You know, 1968, Lyndon Johnson couldn't even attend the convention. He was a pariah at his own convention. His vice president was burdened with him sadly, because he had an extraordinary domestic record. But the Vietnam War had so sullied it that he was the object of scorn. Joe Biden will go to Chicago and he will be celebrated. HERNDON: Absolutely. BURNETT: Yeah. Yeah. All right. All, thank you. Yeah. Go ahead, David. Quickly. FRUM: At the Republican convention, the past living Republican two- term president wasn't invited. The last -- the last Republican nominee wasn't invited. The speaker of -- the leader of the Republicans in the Senate wasn't invited. BURNETT: Yeah, and here we are in this, obviously, it will be very different. Well, as we await President Biden's address to the nation, thanks so much to all of you and to all of you for joining. Our special coverage of President Biden's address to the nation begins now. (MUSIC) CNN Live Event/Special Aired July 24, 2024 - 19:50 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. We are now just a little bit about ten minutes away from hearing words that have not been spoken by a sitting president since March of 1968. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: That is when then President Lyndon Johnson, nearly 40 minutes into his speech on the Vietnam War suddenly pivoted and shocked the nation by saying, quote, I shall not seek and will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president, unquote. COOPER: Tonight from the Oval Office, history will not repeat itself. It won't come as a surprise, but it certainly will rhyme and strangely so. TAPPER: Just as in 1968, a sitting vice president will ultimately likely become the party's nominee and will accept the nomination at a Democratic convention in Chicago. Same as then, after an outbreak of political violence, in this case, the attempt on Donald Trump's life, back then, the murders of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. COOPER: Well, thankfully, the country tonight is neither in mourning nor bogged down in a bitterly divisive war. It is, however, in the middle of the kind of political and generational transition which most American's have never seen before in the next step is just minutes away, we have already gotten some excerpts of what President Biden will say tonight. CNN's MJ Lee joins us now from the White House with that. So what do we expect to hear? MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, President Biden is about to deliver what has to have been one of the most challenging speeches he has ever heard that right coming after a period of a really wrenching decision for the president. Speaking from the Oval Office, he is going to address the American people first time about that stunning decision to drop out of the 2024 race and lay out his vision for the coming months that are left of his first term in the White House. He is going to make clear that that decision came from the belief that he believes that it was best for the country for him to drop out. He will say the defense of democracy he is more important than any title, clearly, a reference to his own title. And while all of this comes after a really remarkable sequence of political events, one name that we do not expect the president to mention tonight is that of Donald Trump's. I've spoken to a senior official who saw a draft of the president's remarks and they say that they should expect the contents of the speech to be really high level in other words, to really meet the moment that the president is in, and that the country is in right now. But however, a different person whose name we do expect the president to talk about is, of course, Kamala Harris, his vice president. He will say the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation and of course, Anderson, Vice President Kamala Harris is the person that he is hoping to successfully pass the presidential torch to now. COOPER: And what is the mood among White House staff? LEE: Yeah, this has been an incredibly emotional time for a lot of folks here at the White House, and certainly the Biden campaign as well. The news from the president over the weekend that he was dropping out but the race really came as a big shock to so many folks. We know that it was a very closely held decision. So a lot of people just certainly were not expecting that decision. But just putting the politics aside, too, for a lot of these people, they feel like they have sacrificed a lot to work in this administration or for the campaign. And you do just sort of get the sense talking to folks up behind the scenes that tonight's speech from the president could end up having a bit of a cliff starting influence. Now, standing here at the South Lawn, just moments ago, we did see a big procession of folks that work at the EOB, walking towards the White House where we are expecting that there's going to be a watch party of sorts. They're going to have pizza and beer and wine and watch the president deliver these important remarks together. But of course, a celebratory event is usually what a watch party is. But I think that certainly doesn't capture the mood for so many people that are watching this speech tonight -- Anderson. COOPER: Yeah, a historic night. MJ Lee, thank you. Jake? TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson. With me here in studio, CNN's John King, Kasie Hunt, Dana Bash, Nia- Malika Henderson, and Biden biographer and "New Yorker" writer Evan Osnos. [19:55:08] Dana, you just heard those excerpts from MJ. What do you make of the tone that President Biden we're told is trying to say? DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He knows how important this speeches and it's the most important speech he never wanted to give, but he's going to give it. And so that's why I'm told by a senior administration official that since he made the decision and wrote that initial letter, that surprised everybody that he put out on social media, he's been working on this speech. We don't expect it to be very long but we expect it if he has the kind of effect that he wanted to have to pack a big punch with the message that he's giving again, not so much about himself, although part of it will be about that, but about what he sees as the stakes for the country. TAPPER: And, Kasie, what more are you expecting to hear from the president? KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah, I think that one of the things that sticks out to me, what we've learned so far. And as I've talked to sources on the Hill and elsewhere today, is that this, idea, that he is messaging exactly what he was trying to push against Donald Trump. A lot of people were not hearing a lot of what he had to say because of the challenges he was facing. But this idea that it's about the country and not about you. They have been trying to argue that Donald Trump is obsessed with himself. He is out for himself. That is a campaign message that they were trying to push. And you saw it, for example, in the letter that Jamie Raskin wrote, urging the president to step down, that you actually should live this idea that its not about you. And I think that when we hear that from the president, it does actually play directly into the campaign that's going to continue to unfold. TAPPER: And, John, the president and his expected to say, quote, the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation, evoking John F. Kennedy. How do you think that's going to be received? JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you from a couple of days I just spent in your home state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I think it's going to be received very well. Your eyes don't lie, even people who love Joe Biden have watched the deterioration over the last few months, watch the debate, and were horrified. I got a sense of gratitude from voters and there's an interesting dynamic. His approval rating was a drag on him, made him simply non competitive in this race. After the debate, it just did. Now, as he's free to being candidate and he gets to be president again. Oddly, if the American people start to view him more favorably, Kamala Harris will benefit from that. And so, he has a chance now to be president. Of course, there'll be involved in the campaign. But if he ticks up a little bit, every little bit, he ticks up well help her. TAPPER: And Nia-Malika, how much should he focus on his vice president tonight, the one to whom he is passing the torch? NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, that's right. Listen, he's obviously going to talk about his record of accomplishments and cast her as a partner in those accomplishments. If you think back to when he called in when she went to the Delaware headquarters, he was -- it was very warm exchange, right? He said, love you, he called her kid endearingly several times. There is some worry among some Democrats that this narrative that is out there that Kamala Harris sort of pushed him over -- you hear Donald Trump talking about there was some worry that maybe some Democrats think that. I think his presence tonight saying that this is his decision, saying that he thinks it's in the best interests of the country to pass the torch. I think that's going to go a long way in playing some of those fears that there's this idea out there that Kamala sort of pushed him to the side. TAPPER: Evan, he is an emotional guy, an emotional old school pal, right? His eyes glazed with tears, we've both seen it. This is probably going to be really tough for him. EVAN OSNOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, this is incredibly difficult. You have to think about this, as a position he has pursued since he was in college. It means thought of himself as a potential president, even all the way back in high school when John F. Kennedy became the first Irish Catholic president. And here he is making the exceedingly rare decision in American politics at, let's face it, a fairly narcissistic time in politics where you see people, elected officials, who put but themselves ahead of the country, making this rare choice. I think this is a chance also for the reasons John said is now the issue of age is off the table. There is a moment of relief. He can go back full-circle to the issues that got him into this race, which was about standing up to authoritarianism at home and abroad. So in a way, I think you're starting to hear him say the things he was saying in the inauguration, which is about we are at a country in a winter of peril, in a sense, we are at a moment when it is up to us to defend our democracy and the goal will be if he can make it less about him and make it about us. TAPPER: Do you think, Evan, that history will remember the speech tonight and not the three-and-a-half weeks proceeding that were so chaotic and not however months were going on where he was deteriorating? Do you think that ultimately that will be erased because of this act? OSNOS: The short answer is that this speech is historic in and of itself simply the fact that it is happening for the first time in more than half a century is the end of that fact. [20:00:00] However, the final verdict on what Joe Biden has done in this brutal question of age will be decided in November, whether or not he has in fact been the bridge to the new generation. Now, we won't know that and that tonight is about him calling voters together, reminding them that is what is at stake. TAPPER: But Dana, as you know, I mean, Republicans are not going to let it die there. We are already told that the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Comer is going to hold hearings, how long has this been going on? Republicans -- the Trump campaign is out there saying that Kamala Harris was part of the "cover up." BASH: Which is why in CNN's new polling today, it showed -- it really was interesting to me, maybe a little bit surprising given that talking point that is out there that now that the president has made his decision, most people say he's okay to serve the rest of his term. TAPPER: Like 70 percent of the American people -- BASH: It's really -- it's really stunning. TAPPER: He should serve out the rest -- the remainder of his term. BASH: So, they're going to play their games and they're going to do what they can because they have the power of the gavel and that's what they do. But it doesn't seem as though that dog is going to hunt. HUNT: I will say that I have talked to some Democrats who run the House and senate races who actually are a little bit worried about the cover up charge. I think that less so, the question of whether President Biden should continue to serve, but more so, the idea that this was kept from voters, right? BASH: Yes, like two separate -- HUNT: They are two separate things and people really react to the idea that this was covered up, that they were lied to about what was going on. That is a real vulnerability and I've had some members of Congress, one, Congresswoman Annie Kuster from New Hampshire admitted it to me on the record. TAPPER: Yes, and those are questions for another moment. But right now, we're about to go to the Oval Office and hear this historic address from President Joseph Robinette Biden. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I'm surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington, who showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear. I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people, but this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we the people, and we can never forget that. And I never have. I've made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come. America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter? I believe you know the answer to these questions because I know you, the American people, and I know this, we are a great nation because we are a good people. When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. And the truth, the sacred cause of this country, is larger than any one of us, and those of us who cherish that cause cherish it so much, a cause of American democracy itself must unite to protect it. You know, in recent weeks it's become clear to me that I needed to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition. [20:05:07] So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. I know there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now. Over the next six months, I'll be focused on doing my job as president. That means I'll continue to lower costs for hard-working families, grow our economy. I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. I'll keep calling out hate and extremism, make it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I'm going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence, our planet from climate crisis, is the existential threat. And I will keep fighting for my for my cancer moonshot, so we can end cancer as we know it because we can do it. And I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy, Supreme Court reform. You know, I will keep working to ensure America remains strong and secure and the leader of the free world. I'm the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world. We'll keep rallying a coalition of proud nations to stop Putin from taking over Ukraine and doing more damage. We'll keep NATO stronger, and I'll make it more powerful and more united than at any time in all of our history. I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific. You know, when I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States. That's not the case anymore. And I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war. We're also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. You know, we've come so far since my inauguration. On that day, I told you as I stood in that winter -- we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities, peril and possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War, but we came together as Americans, and we got through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous and more secure. Today, we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs -- a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it's been in 20 years. We're literally rebuilding our entire nation, urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities. Manufacturing has come back to America. We're leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years, to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, and I'm going to keep fighting to make sure we lower the cost for everyone, not just seniors. More people have health care today in America than ever before. And I signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials. You know, the most significant climate law ever, ever in the history of the world, the first major gun safety law in 30 years. And today, violent crime rate is at a 50-year low. We're also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. And I've kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and be a president for all Americans. That's what I've done. I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake and that's still the case. America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. [20:10:03] It's the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident. We're all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. We've never fully lived up to it, to this sacred idea, but we've never walked away from it either and I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now. In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future. I made my choice. I made my views known. I would like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris. She's experienced, she's tough, she's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. Now the choice is up to you, the American people. When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin. It's hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office, alongside the bust of Dr. King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. When Ben Franklin was asked as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the founders have given America a monarchy or republic, Franklin's response was "a republic, if you can keep it." A republic if you can keep it. Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands. My fellow Americans, it's been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States, but here I am. That's what's so special about America. We are a nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. I've given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. I've been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you. The great thing about America is here kings and dictators do not rule, the people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep faith, keep the faith and remember who we are. We're the United States of America and there's simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. So let's act together, preserve our democracy. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you. (END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: President Biden saying, "The idea of America lies in your hands," in the speech tonight from the Oval Office, pledging to finish out his term in office, but passing the political torch to Vice President Harris, saying, "I revere this office, but I love my country more." I want to get a quick first take from three people who worked with President Biden. David Axelrod, Kate Bedingfield, Van Jones -- David. DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, it was it was a -- I think it was about as good a speech as he could have made. I think it was powerful and poignant. And it had a principle behind it and you just read it. The idea that the country is more important than anyone one individual, and that he thought he could best serve his country by stepping aside now. And he said, "I've made my choice. Now the choice is yours." I thought the end of that speech was so moving. The fact that -- he is in fact a reflection of the greatness of America that this kid from Scranton and Claymont. COOPER: The kid with a stutter. AXELROD: Yes, yes. COOPER: That's how he started, which is so interesting to me that he's the president of the United States, and that is the first way he describes himself, a kid with a stutter. AXELROD: Yes, and of course, that's the thing -- the quality of Joe Biden that has allowed him to persist all these years against all these odds and -- but he's leaving. Forget the three-and-a-half weeks he's done an unnatural thing, very rare in the annals of history. He stepped away from power and he did it in the interest of the country. COOPER: Despite of -- as he said, personal ambition. AXELROD: I think this will -- I think history will look kindly on Joe Biden and I think people will look differently on him tomorrow than they did a week ago. And they will, maybe, see his achievements and his commitment to this country more clearly. COOPER: Kate. KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think one of the things that was so compelling about this is, it had the emotional heft of a concession speech, but he was laying out a path forward, not just for the next six months of his presidency, but also kind of laying down a challenge to the country. Who do we want to be and where do we want to go? [20:15:09] The other thing that struck me while I was listening to it as somebody who has worked for him for a long time, I worked with him in 2019, 2020, how much of the thematic was the same as I heard from him in 2019, when he was running for president, when he wanted to take on Donald Trump because he believed Trump posed a threat to democracy, and that Trump was tearing us apart as a country in a fundamental way and was a threat to unity. And so, in this moment that, by all measure is historic and I think will be remembered for a very long time, so much of what he was saying was so true to why he got into this race in the first place and that showed me that, even as I know, this was incredibly hard for him to do. This would be hard for anyone to do. It feels almost unnatural for someone to have achieved the thing that they have been working toward their entire life and then say, the best thing is for me to step aside. Even knowing how hard that was for him, I think, hearing those important themes come through. I think he was shining a light for the country moving forward over the next three- and-a-half months through a really perilous election. COOPER: He said America is at an inflection point. He asked the questions, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect and character in public life still matter? And he said, I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you. VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, the question, does character still matter? Well, it does tonight. It does tonight. The kid with a stutter did good. He did good, that's a good man. He fell on his sword. Most heroes, they fight to the bitter end, he fell on his sword -- he's an old guy but the heart is still there. The words aren't as clear, but the love is as clear. The heart is still there. I think people need to look at this because you had somebody sitting in that chair and he wouldn't give up power no matter what. Would not give up power, let there be an insurrection, wouldn't get out of that chair, even when the people who voted for you get out the chair, he wouldn't get out the chair. And you've got somebody who is sitting in that same chair, showing that character does matter, showing that you can have grace, you can put the people first. You can pass the baton and you're a bigger person for it. You are going to be more loved for it. So, you've got two examples now of what men with power do and how they act at the end. And you couldn't act even better than Joe Biden, that kid with a stutter grew up, he did a great job for this country, and he's doing a great job tonight, and I love that man. COOPER: To take into account, this is -- Joe Biden has worked his entire life -- JONES: Entire life. COOPER: -- to get the White House, to become president. As many politicians dream of that their entire lives. He got it, and, David, I mean it sounds like -- for people on the outside, well of course he would make the decision to step aside. To Van's point not a lot of people would make that decision. JONES: The last guy didn't. The last guy didn't. AXELROD: No, no, no. I think this is historic for that reason. And it does underscore, I think Van makes the very appropriate point. He is sending a message, no one is bigger than this country. And I think that, that is a very different message that has been emanating from Donald Trump, almost from the beginning, which is the country is me. I am bigger than the country and I think that the contrast is very striking. BEDINGFIELD: I think this is also, I mean, this is leadership in action. This is leadership by action. I think you have in -- Donald Trump, somebody who makes everything as small as possible, makes it about him. And here you have Joe Biden saying, no, the country is bigger than that. It's bigger than me. This office is bigger than me. And so, I think in a moment where the country needs leadership, I think this is an incredibly selfless act of leadership that I think history will remember kindly. JONES: I liked what he said, forward versus backwards, hope versus hate, and unity versus division. I think that's pretty much the whole thing going forward this next six months. Some of the stuff he talked about, he wants to do that I don't necessarily think he's going to be able to get done. He wants to reform the Supreme Court and all kinds of stuff. He is going to get beat up for that. But the direction that he's trying to take us on, I think is good. BEDINGFIELD: And he challenged the American people. I mean, he really, he said he endorses Vice President Harris. He made clear that he believes that she is the person to lead us forward and then he really took -- he took this moment again away from himself and even away from her, in some ways, and said to the American people, this is now in your hands, this is to you. And I think that charge is also incredibly important as we enter into the final stretch of this campaign. COOPER: We have a lot more folks to hear from the next day, two hours. Jake, let's go back to you. [20:20:09] TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson. Back with our CNN team including Biden biographer, Evan Osnos. John King, let me start with you. Do you think the president's comments met the moment? KING: I certainly think at the end, they were just about it in New York where the president, talked about his personal story. It's hard -- Democrat, Republican, Independent don't care about politics at all. It is hard not to be moved by that. It is hard not to be moved by somebody who is willingly stepping away from power. I also think the president was very honest there. There was no anger in what you saw, none. But we know there has been a lot of anger behind the scenes in recent days. He said he was stepping aside, "to unify my party." He didn't say he was stepping aside because his doctor say he is not up to the job. He didn't say he was stepping aside because he had decided it was time. He said he was stepping aside to unify my party. That is the president eating his piece. That is the president understanding that the fight of the three weeks up to this speech from the debate up to now had created a break we can the Democratic Party that made it likely impossible for him to win and had a lot of Democrats thinking, we're going to lose a lot of everything else if you stay on the ballot. So, for all the people -- for all the talk about candor in politics, I found that to be the most honest three words of the speech or four words, "to unify my party." TAPPER: But what was tearing apart the party? HUNT: His inability to actually follow through on what he himself had described as an existential threat that he was the one -- he kept insisting, he was the one who had to do it. And he admitted, partway through, that. he was only doing this because of Trump. He was convinced, even though there is also a clip where he says 50 other Democrats could beat Trump. He really thought that it was something he needed to do. And I think at the end of the day, he realized that he couldn't. And he needed to step aside and do this and he even said that, that includes personal ambition. He acknowledged that he had the personal ambition for this, but it really wasn't enough here. BASH: That's exactly what I was going to say, Kasie. The answer to your question was that line, where he said, nothing can come in the way of saving democracy, that includes personal ambition, suggesting that he is putting his personal ambition aside, but also as part of that, unsaid, is that his personal ambition, political ambition is what drove him to initially go for a second term, which a lot of people when he won, thought that that was kind of understood to begin with. And a lot of people were surprised that he went for a second term. I don't know, I mean you're the biographer here. I don't know if you agree with that. TAPPER: Let's just play that. We have that bite cut. BASH: Yes. TAPPER: Let's share that moment that Dana Bash was just referring to. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: You know, the recent weeks has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe, my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, that includes personal ambition. So, I've decided that the best way forward is it pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. (END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: So, he is not -- he's saying that his record, his accomplishments, his leadership, merited a second term, but that was -- he doesn't acknowledge the reason behind the questions. But he says the existential threat that the country is facing in his view, merited him to step aside. BASH: He said to unite my party part. NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: To unite my party and this whole idea, he said, there's a time and a place where new voices, fresh voices, younger voices and that time is now, right? That was a forceful endorsement of Kamala Harris. It's also interesting if you think about Kamala Harris' candidacy, one of the biggest thing she's facing is doubts, right? That a Black woman can win the highest office in the land. In his closing remarks, his idea that a kid from Scranton with a stutter could make it all the way to the White House. It's also encouraging Americans to widen their imagination about who can ascend to the highest office. TAPPER: And the way that he described her -- HENDERSON: Yes. TAPPER: Tough. HENDERSON: Exactly. TAPPER: Smart. HENDERSON: Experienced and an incredible partner. And he said history is in your hands. Nothing is beyond your capacity, including electing an African-American woman to the presidency. TAPPER: So, you have probably, for the research for your book, listened to more Joe Biden's speeches than anyone other than perhaps Joe Biden. OSNOS: I'd like to be alone. It's a good book. TAPPER: So, what would you make of it? What did you think? OSNOS: You know what was fascinating about it, Jake, was -- LBJ, when he dropped out, was very ambivalent about it. And let's be honest, Joe Biden is not completely at peace with this decision, but he is clear about it, and he was candid about it. [20:25:08] That's what was striking to me. It is going to be years while he works through this decision thinking, could it have gone another way? But he was completely clear about the stakes, about why he did it. At one point, he said, you know, I gave my heart and soul to this. What he didn't say was he also gave his body. We could see it right there tonight. This is a man who was telling us and showing us that he is in the winter of his career, too. And in that way, I think he gets to end it on the terms on which he started it, which is by saying, there is no graver threat that we have faced in the whole time I've been in politics and it is now in your hands. It was in a sense of a moment of delivery, delivering it to his successor, then delivering it to all of us. TAPPER: What does your reporting telling you about what actually convinced him? Because obviously, behind the scenes there were -- first of all, the voters have been saying, according to polls and focus groups for quite some time that they had concerns about his age. And then we know that Speaker Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, George Clooney, like lots of people who have been integral to his campaign were saying, you have to stop. What ultimately was the straw that broke the camel's back here? OSNOS: It was the realization from people who he trusted, most importantly inside his circle, Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, but also Nancy Pelosi to a degree that his political path had closed. The political path, not the biological personal chronological path. He's probably still very unsure about that, but he is at his core, a political creature. And when he was told you're going to lose Virginia, New Mexico, places that the president -- you cannot lose those and win the presidency and you're going to hurt this place you love so much, Congress. For him, that became a completely inescapable problem. HUNT: Yes, and you had me thinking about the point that you made right before we were coming on the air, this idea that whether or not his legacy is going to stand up in the way that he wanted to frame it tonight is going to depend on what happens in November because if in fact Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee, loses to Donald Trump in November there are going to be so many questions for the Democratic Party to soul search about how they got to a point where they denied themselves a primary process, a crucible that could have produced perhaps a stronger candidate. The number of what ifs would just explode. Whereas, I think, you know, if what he clearly wants to set up here actually happens, there will be a lot of people who will view it in the selfless sort of heroic lens that he wants it to be viewed. TAPPER: How much do you think we're going to see Joe Biden in the six months going forward, unless there is an actual ceasefire to announce in Gaza or some sort of major legislation. Like, I don't think that dealing with, for instance, reporters have been the favorite part of his job. HENDERSON: It used to be. TAPPER: A very few -- well, when he was in the Senate. HENDERSON: When he was in the Senate. HUNT: Once upon a time, when I covered him in the Senate, he loved us very much. HENDERSON: Yes. TAPPER: Sure. But that as a general note, I mean, first of all, I think there will be a natural inclination for him to let Kamala Harris take -- Vice President Harris takes center stage, but beyond that, like how much do you think we're going to see him? KING: I think that depends on how much he can get done. We're going to see him tomorrow in a very difficult conversation with the Israeli prime minister. You heard the president talking about NATO and trying to fight up for Ukraine. Ukraine is on the ballot. America's role in the world is on the ballot, even though Joe Biden is not. So, when he sees the opportunities to Evan's point, he is a very proud man, an incredibly stubborn man. We know he is mad about this and angry about this even if he has come to peace with the political math part of it. We know it stirs at him. So, what can he do to build his legacy? And again, again, if he's standing up for America and the world, domestically, there's nothing that can be done. The Congress isn't going to do anything. Are there things he can do through executive action? He will look for those opportunities, but you're absolutely right. One of the issues, one of the reasons voters were way ahead of Washington in saying, is he up to the job? Is because he has been such a less visible president, way less visible than Donald Trump, but even less visible than past, even if you go before Trump who is ever present. So, how will they -- I think, it's an interesting question for him and his staff. How do they choose those moments? When is it helpful to be out there? How much power do they give Harris over that? The president wants to do this. Are you okay with that? None of us -- '68, I was a baby. Some of you weren't even born yet. TAPPER: All of us. KING: So, we had never -- TAPPER: One of us, except for you. KING: Yes, I was five. None of us have lived through this. HENDERSON: Yes. TAPPER: Yes. KING: Where you have a sitting president who's not running, his vice president who is, and how do you work that? HENDERSON: And he is still a beloved figure, right? KING: Yes. HENDERSON: Among some of these folks -- particularly older? KING: What does he say at the convention? HENDERSON: Yes. What does he say for -- KING: We're going to have a Democratic Convention with an incumbent president who is not running? HENDERSON: Yes. TAPPER: And he will, he will. Now, all the people that were -- that were pushing -- BASH: Yeah TAPPER: -- publicly or privately are on social media embracing him, extolling him -- BASH: Yeah. TAPPER: -- talking about how wonderful -- I'll come back to you. BASH: Yeah, sure. TAPPER: We got 15 hours of this. BASH: I know. (LAUGH) TAPPER: Anderson, back to you. [20:30:12] COOPER: Jake, I was born in 1967. I can't believe I'm older than you. That's -- TAPPER: What are you talking about? Look at your hair, papa. (LAUGH) COOPER: Let's get back to the White House and CNN's MJ Lee. I understand you have some new reporting about the response the president received from his team in the White House. MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Anderson, I don't know if you might be able to hear behind me, but from here at the south lawn where we are, we've been able to hear some loud applause coming from the Rose Garden. That is where we are told all know White House staff have gone out to greet the president. The first lady is there as well, and we could make out that the president was speaking to his staff on microphone. I am told that they are going to celebrate by having ice cream, of course, the president being famous for his love of ice cream. But clearly, this is meant to be a real show of support by everyone in the White House for the president after the president just delivered what had to have been a really challenging speech after a very difficult period for him, politically speaking. And I know we were talking about this before the speech a little bit, but this really has been an incredibly emotional time for everyone in the building behind me. I was talking to some folks and getting their reactions after the president's speech wrapped up, and one of them said that they were watching with their colleagues and a lot of them had tears in their eyes. They said that they felt like the speech was beautiful, that he really has given his heart and soul, and that he really is a good man is what one White House official said. Another senior White House official I spoke to said that they felt like it was a bittersweet speech to watch as he summed up the president, his achievements over the last three-and-a-half years, and saying that even still, all of that is really bigger than one person. And they said that the last three weeks for them, this official, has it's been incredibly painful and they told me I'm just so glad that after all of that, he had the chance to argue for his legacy on his own terms. COOPER: What do you expect the president's schedule to look like in the days and weeks ahead? I mean, is the White House going to add more public events to underscore that he is still on the job? He is going to be out campaigning for Harris? LEE: Yeah. I mean, certainly, everything had been put on hold for so long now, ever since the president tested positive for COVID last Wednesday and then, as we were waiting for the president to go public with that decision over the weekend, we certainly do think that there is going to be a bit of a recalibration. We already know that there were some scheduling changes that were made to the end of this week when he was expected to do some political events and travel, that had been wiped clean from his political calendar. But I think the two spaces to watch really are, what role does he have to play as he is now hoping that Vice President Kamala Harris will become the Democratic nominee and eventually defeat Donald Trump. He is now the most senior Democratic surrogate for the vice president, so will he really get out there and travel? And what kind of message will he have? How will he see himself as being the most useful as he campaigns for the vice president? And then of course, the second bucket is the legacy. Is there going to be some kind of legacy tour where he really works on finishing the job that he has started, which is a phrase that he has used a lot. So, we do expect the travel to pick up. We do expect to see him more. But right now, it sounds like he is having some ice cream in the Rose Garden. Anderson? COOPER: MJ Lee, thanks very much. "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" also joins us tonight. Kaitlan? KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, Anderson, thanks. I'm sitting here with Jeff Zeleny and Jamie Gangel. We were listening to the president deliver that speech inside the Oval Office. And Jeff, obviously, you and I both have covered the White House. The Oval Office isn't actually that large and I noticed that from the reporters in the room, there were 40 people in the room, including President Biden. It was his children, Hunter and Ashley, his grandchildren, the first lady, and they said also Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti. Obviously, those -- if you've covered President Biden, those are two of his closest aides, the two people he summoned to his beach house on Saturday as he was making this final decision that culminated with address tonight. JEFF ZELENY, CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So poignant, of course, they were responsible for getting him over the line, to seeing what so many people in his party saw that he simply was going to be a weight on the ticket. But watching him in the Oval Office there, I was reminded of a speech he gave in the Rose Garden in 2015, when he stepped away from running for president that year, and President Obama was at his side. Dr. Biden was there as well and he said this was not his time. At that point, he thought he was leaving public life. He was given the Medal of Honor by President Obama and he thought he was done with public life, but he had an amazing sort of return to the White House. So, I'm sure it's difficult for him to think of that in this moment now, but the fact that he served a year and came back -- or served a term and came back is really pretty extraordinary. But I was struck also at the end, this was largely about the country in him, but he also said, I've made my choice. This was not a campaign message or ad for Vice President Harris, but he endorsed her full square. So you know that that is where his mind is. [20:35:00] That is also part of his legacy if she is elected in November, and if she's not, he owns that as well. JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I just quickly add? I talked to a source who helped with this speech and was talking about the underlying theme that Joe Biden wanted to get across. And the source said to me that he wanted it to be heartfelt; it certainly was that. But, that the most important thing was that country and democracy matter more than ambition. And President Biden isn't the only ambitious politician, that goes with the territory. But I think that you can't forget that he did not see this as an ordinary election. He saw this as a fight against Donald Trump, and that's why the word democracy and country (inaudible). COLLINS: Obviously, he has the trappings of the Oval Office to make that push -- GANGEL: Correct. COLLINS: -- for Vice President Harris, as we saw him do wholeheartedly there at the end, talking about how he believes she is capable. She is experienced, saying you know, essentially to the American voters, this is in your hands to make this decision. I've made mine, as you referenced Jeff, and this comes as -- we didn't see her. We didn't expect to see her. She's not even in Washington right now. She's out on the campaign trail, but it comes as she's making decisions on who is going to be serving with her if she is in his position. ZELENY: This was moving so extraordinarily quickly, but we are told that Vice President Harris will have named her running mate in two weeks or less. She's campaigning tonight in Houston. My guess is she was watching this speech tonight. But she's narrowing her list, I mean, Democratic lawyers are now looking through the possible running mates. So extraordinary that fewer than four years ago, four years ago next month, she got the call from Joe Biden to be his running mate. Now, she is going to make that call as well. We know that she's looking at governors, one senator, perhaps a cabinet secretary as well. So, she is going through all of this. But speaking of trappings of office, she now has the trappings of office when she's out campaigning -- COLLINS: Yeah. ZELENY: I think the imagery that we are going to see, this is not her campaign of 2020 every measure, but it's also nothing that we've seen before as fact that her history-making candidacy being a woman, being a woman of color, seeing those young children, this is something that country has not witnessed. But the incredible turn of events, I'm told she will name vice president in less than two weeks time. COLLINS: Yeah. And Biden using the Oval Office to push her, I mean, he's only given four Oval Office addresses in his entire presidency. His fourth one, I'm sure he didn't expect to be saying and urging the American people to vote for his vice president. You're already seeing the Trump campaign complain about the fact that he was using the Oval Office to do so. I mean, that is just a benefit that he has while being president. Trump held the Republican Convention on the south lawn. But Jamie, this comes as we are watching this, where Trump is trying to really try out these new lines of attack on Vice President Harris. We saw it tonight in his first rally since she had this ascent towards being the presumptive Democratic nominee. GANGEL: So -- and also, I just want to say, he mispronounces her name every single time. That is not by accident that he does it. He's trying to make her -- it's disrespectful -- the other for the world. Kamala rhymes with mama law (ph); it's not that hard to figure out. But just to go back to this fighting that started, this has really left the Trump campaign having to completely change their strategy. And her attack, where she says prosecutor versus felon, she has come out very hard or I know Donald Trump's type. We know that former President Trump is very good at branding, attacking, and messaging. I think what we are seeing is that Vice President Harris is pretty good at it too. COLLINS: Yeah. Anderson, obviously, quite a moment here as it is his fourth Oval Office address, but one where he is giving a completely unexpected address that he didn't expect to be delivering three weeks ago. COOPER: Yeah. That's for sure. Kaitlan, thanks, joining me, the panel here. CNN political commentators, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Scott Jennings, and former Harris Communication Instructor Ashley Etienne. Alyssa, I mean, first of all, how do you think President Biden did and what do you think President Trump is going to -- what is he going to attack him on this one? ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATORS: Powerful and historic remarks, and I thought that the imagery of presence and really custodians of the Oval Office of the resolute desk that people vote in, but it will be passed to other people, reminding people, as Van said, the juxtaposition position to Donald Trump losing and refusing to leave. And this is somebody who has not like -- not yet lost and is willfully passing the torch to somebody. I think that will stick with people. [20:40:00] Donald Trump was watching on Air Force One -- I'm sorry, Trump Force One. (LAUGH) FARAH GRIFFIN: He put out an image of him watching. I think that the argument now is basically, Kamala Harris and Democrats took him out, the elites -- the Democratic elites stepped in to put someone more competitive and but that's not really a helpful message. I don't know that that resonates with Republicans. I think they need to start taking the case directly to Kamala Harris, and I imagine they'll stop talking about Joe Biden going forward. COOPER: Scott? SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's odd to me that just a few weeks ago, heck a few days ago, most Democrats were still looking at television cameras and saying that this person is up to another four years. I mean, he's obviously running on fumes. They weren't cheap folks, no matter what the government told you. In fact, I still think it's a legitimate scandal how they ever arrived at the decision to run again in the first place. I still think his family and his top staff have a lot of explaining to do. Most of this seemed like a stump speech to me. It seemed like he gave the speech that he always wanted the campaign to be about, which was he wants credit for this record that he thinks is historic and was not getting out of the campaign. I'm still shocked by the way at how easy it is to overthrow the president. I mean, I think of this office -- I think we all think of this office as being impenetrable. He got 81 million votes in 2020, and then he get 14 million more. But at the end of the day, he was no match for a handful of party bosses who run the Democratic Party. So look, I'm happy to give them all the grace that he deserves because he's on his way out. But at the end of the day -- COOPER: Yeah, really sounds like that. (LAUGH) AXELROD: Yeah, that's coming next. JENNINGS: A bunch of people -- a bunch of people looked into TV cameras over the last days, weeks, and months, and told you a lot of things, a lot of things that were not true about this president. I hope he is OK for the next few months, but it was obvious it was time, not tonight, but a while ago. COOPER: Ashley, what did you think of talk tonight? ASHLEY ETIENNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, I think President Biden is beloved by so many here in this country and around the world. Those of us who've been able to work with him and who know him love him as a leader and who he is as a leader, what he represents. He will go down in history as one of the most effective presidents in American history, not just his record, but his love for this nation makes him, in my opinion, an object lesson and an inspiration for the next generation of leaders. The line that I loved most was this one and that was this one and that was, and it makes me emotional just saying it, that the cause of the nation is larger than any one of us. And you contrast that with what we saw from Donald Trump today and from the Republican Party that has become a complete cult of personality, willing to give it all up, sacrifice it all for someone who says he wants to be a dictator on day one, that he wants to terminate the constitution, that he puts retribution ahead of the interests of the American people. So to me, this is a really sad day and it makes me very emotional. But what's very clear and the president closed out on this note that the fight for the soul of our nation continues. But there are many of us who are saying, today, well done thy good and faithful servant. COOPER: David, I want to play something else that the president said tonight. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union, it's not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we, the people. We can never forget that, and I never have. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: It's so interesting to me (ph), David, listening to that and just the whole tone of the president tonight. You know, there was so much talk at the convention before Donald Trump actually spoke that the assassination attempt had changed him somehow. AXELROD: Yeah. COOPER: People were putting that word out. I think Scott was anticipating that as well. AXELROD: 72 hours of grace. COOPER: Yes. And clearly, that is not the case. In fact, (inaudible) rally, I think it was today or yesterday, he said I'm supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot, I became nice. And then he went on to say, I'm not going to be nice. AXELROD: And then displayed how he would not be nice (ph). (LAUGH) COOPER: But, here tonight, this man has had his entire career upended, the job he has looked for, this very difficult decision that he's made. And whatever he may feel personally about it and whatever anger he has expressed behind the scenes, which people have reported on, he had a lot of grace tonight. [20:45:00] AXELROD: Yeah, he did have a lot of grace. I just wanted to say, Scott, you're my friend, man, and I love you and I know you're a good person. You got to take a step back here and show the grace that you said you wanted to show. President wasn't toppled by party bosses; he was toppled by the reality of his situation. It was the American people who made a judgment. It was helped along by your party for five years, but -- (LAUGH) AXELROD: -- they made a judgment and he recognized the judgment they made, and he decided that the stakes in this fight are such that he could better advance the cause that he believed him by stepping aside. That was a big thing to do and a hard thing to do. And I -- honestly, I'm going to give you some political advice that you're very, very good at this. I would step back and give him that grace tonight. I think the American people would want you to do that and you know, I just -- I certainly feel like he has earned it. JONES: I think what's interesting about Biden is that he is tired. He has changed; he has changed even in the past couple of months. But he was more coherent, low-energy but more coherent than Trump ever is with high-energy. And so, I think part of the things that is hard for us on our side of the aisle to try to wrestle with is, everything he said make good sense. His voice was soft; he needs to retire; and he is retiring. Donald Trump did a lot interview today. But almost everything he said make no sense. (LAUGH) JONES: And so, I think it's just that -- I think that's (inaudible). FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, and I think we live in this polarized political moment where things are often are a Rorschach test because I'm looking at Twitter, seeing how I'm not where most of the Republican Party is. I'll fully admit that, but where most Republicans -- or how they're receiving this. And what they're saying is basically, it's an incredibly divisive speech. And to me I'd say, what about promoting democracy, passing the baton to the next generation of leadership, the nation being bigger than any one man and your ambitions is divisive. That may be more of a reflection of the leader that the Republican Party has chosen to follow. I don't think George Bush, your boss, would have found that to be a deeply divisive speech. COOPER: How do you see this? JENNINGS: I love you too, David, and I really do, and I respect you and I hear what you're saying. I think what you're asking Republicans to do is to overlook a lot of dishonesty that came right out of this White House, that came right out of the vice president, people who worked for him, his family, other Democrats, Democrats in Congress. You're asking the country to overlook a lot of dishonesty about Joe Biden's abilities, capabilities, his capacity to serve for another four years and so on. COOPER: Are you talking about Biden or Trump? (CROSSTALK) JENNINGS: I'm talking about -- COOPER: Because, literally, Democrats make the same argument about Trump. JENNINGS: I'm talking about Joe Biden. He arrived at this -- he did arrive at this decision with a little push, not just from the goodness of his own heart. But, you have to admit -- a little bit of a push -- a little bit of a push from the party bosses. AXELROD: He concluded that this was a -- the party bosses were reflecting, you know, the consensus of the American people who made a judgment. But Scott, I mean, I -- there are so many Republicans who I talked to, who are overlooking far more than this, and they'll tell you that about Donald Trump. I mean, that is really the story of the Republican Party right now. I said to you last week, the fact that the man you work for and who you revere and who you love was booed at the Republican Convention last week after devoting his entire life to the Republican Party reflects -- (CROSSTALK) AXELROD: -- how totally this party is in the thrall of a guy who is morally and ethically challenged and who left the presidency. You talk about deposing a president, that's exactly what he tried to do, overturn a free and fair election. So, and a lot Republicans know that, they've said it and yet, they're setting that aside. So, I don't think you're on a -- you're not on a strong footing here in making this argument. JENNINGS: Well, my argument is simply that when you're trying to make a judgment between two parties here, I fully and freely admit that both parties have warts, but we are acting like there's no warts on this situation. This is weird. He won the primary without a serious challenge. He told us all he could serve. His party told us he could serve. And he has clearly diminished and I think he ultimately arrived in the right spot, as you know, on the night of the debate, I said this candidacy has fallen. He ultimately got here. But it was pretty torturous how they got here. And I think a lot of people burned a lot of credibility on the road to getting here. AXELROD: Well, you should -- go ahead. FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, I think it's tough to speak in binaries, but that's where we are at this point in this race. [20:50:00] And some of us were there when Donald Trump was being told by advisers consistently, you lost, you need to concede. There's no way that Vice President Pence could change the results of this outcome. And he still refused to, and still allowed the events of January 6 to unfold. So I think if you're even comparing the two, it's so, so far apart. Not to suggest Democrats were incredibly untransparent (ph) about that. I think that there was a lot of gas-lighting, a lot of misleading the public about his shape. But it's just -- it's such a world apart those two. COOPER: By the way, we have just gotten some pictures. I think -- I haven't seen them yet, but I believe they were taken during the president's remarks. You can see against the wall, his family there, watching him by his side. And that's tough, man, that's tough. Kate? BEDINGFIELD: Yeah. Well, look, I mean, I think ultimately, Joe Biden made the right and also I think everyone would agree -- maybe Scott wouldn't agree, but I think most people would agree, selfless decision to step down. And I think to Alyssa's point, yes, speaking in binaries is hard, but to suggest that somehow the Democratic Party has been opaque about this when what ultimately happened is Democrats had a very public, painful discussion about all of this. And Joe Biden didn't have to step down. It's his office to relinquish. It is his nomination to relinquish. And he chose to make that decision in service of a belief that the country and our democracy is more valuable than his own personal ambition. And when you have not only Donald Trump refusing to accept that he lost the election in 2020, but then the leadership of the Republican Party standing behind him, and you want to talk about people going out to cameras and saying things they know aren't true? I mean, my God, you've had a parade of the Republican Party for four years arguing that you didn't see what you saw, you didn't -- Donald Trump didn't actually abet these people going -- taking up arms and going into the Capitol. So ultimately, can I just? COOPER: We could -- we are going to continue this a little bit later (ph). BEDINGFIELD: Ultimately, you have somebody in President Biden who made a decision that is about loving his country. And you have somebody in Donald Trump who said I only love me. COOPER: We'll continue the discussion in a moment. I want to go to Kaitlan. COLLINS: Thanks, Anderson. I've got a close ally of President Biden's here. Joining me, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has known President Biden since her first days in the Senate. Senator, just for you to listen to that Oval Office address from the president tonight, only his fourth since taking office, but explaining his exit from the 2024 race, what stood out to you? SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Well, thanks, Kaitlan. I was listening, rapt listening to all of you and I was thinking like, there will be books and movies written about these last few months, maybe some of you will write them. But in the end, what the president did today is remind us of why America voted for him in the first place. He started by taking on the defense of our democracy. I was there on that inaugural stage when he got sworn in. I was there on January 6 and made that walk over the broken glass at three in the morning. That's where we were when he took over and he has defended and cherished that democracy. And what he talked about tonight is that we, once again, are now passing the torch to Kamala Harris, yes, but also to the American people because he quoted Benjamin Franklin and said, it's a Republic if you can keep it. And I thought it was actually a beautiful speech because he did sum on his accomplishments, of which there are many. The Infrastructure Bill, the incredible work he's done in bringing back the rule of law, Ketanji Brown Jackson. The work he has done in uniting and building on NATO, but he also really focused on one thing and that was our democracy and the risk to our democracy. I didn't find it one bit divisive. I thought that was funny to hear, that's what the Republicans were attacking him on. It wasn't divisive. It was a man saying, this is what I've done, but now, it's on you and I'm passing on that torch. I thought it was really beautiful. COLLINS: When you hear him talk about passing the torch to the next generation, it reminded me of when, in 2020, he promised to be a bridge then and then of course, explained running initially for a second term saying his experience, what had happened his four years in office warranted that. And I wonder if you think, given Harris now has 100 days to run this presidential campaign, if it would have been potential (inaudible). (CROSSTALK) KLOBUCHAR: 105, Kaitlan. COLLINS: A 105, yeah. I know you'll take every day you could get, but if it would have been maybe more beneficial for your party if this has happened sooner? KLOBUCHAR: You know, again, we only have 105 days. As I just pointed out, we can't be looking in the rearview mirror the whole time. One of the things that's kind of extraordinary here, yes, we could have had a primary. Yes, a lot of people may have run, I don't know. But the party has unified and we are bringing moderate Republicans and independents. [20:55:00] I was on a call -- Governor Moore and I -- Wes Moore did a call and within 24 hours, 500 people joined this call today. I think people are looking for the future and they see this. I know this from talking can to younger people in our state, they just came up to young people who were stranded in the airport like me. The last few nights, they were working behind pizza counters. They were sitting on the sides and they were excited. And I think that's where you're going to start see showing up in the polls. A generational change, and the fact that however messy it was and however sad it was, and however difficult it was, we have gotten to a point of unity where she is raking in, in small contributions, the most historic amount of money in 24 hours that we've ever seen. I don't know, it's well over $100 million. Getting in volunteers, we've had hundreds of people call our Minnesota State Party to volunteer that weren't volunteering before. Many countries have quicker elections in this, so she will pull this off in 105 day. She is one resilient and strong person. I know; I ran against her. I was on that stage and she is keeping her head high. Patty Murray said it best to me today. She said that Joe Biden once came into her state and she was in this incredibly close election. And he said to her, you know what, you're going to win. And she said, honestly, why do you think I'm going to win? All the polls are tied. And he said, because your shoulders are up, your shoulders are strong. And I thought about this because Kamala Harris has a really good posture. COLLINS: Senator Klobuchar, we'll see what -- 105 days, as you noted, thank you for joining us tonight. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you, everyone. See you. COLLINS: And I'm back here with Jeff Zeleny and Jamie Gangel. And you hear Senator Klobuchar talking about what this -- these next 105 days are going to look like. And President Biden said something, it was one of his first lines. He asked if character still matters in public life, and I was just thinking, watching Trump's rally tonight where he was attacking Harris and he said that she was "The ultra liberal driving force behind every Biden -- every single Biden catastrophe." I mean, he is going to try to tie her so closely to the man who just put his full weight of the Oval Office behind her. ZELENY: He absolutely is. And look, what we are seeing here is a race to define Vice President Kamala Harris. Even though she has been in the public life for quite awhile, there's a new moment to define her. That's what former president Donald Trump is doing. That, of course, is what the Harris campaign is trying to do. It's one of the reasons they are moving very fast to pick a running mate, so they can get on with this because there is not much time here. But Senator Klobuchar talking about the primary, you were asking her about that, that was one of the biggest fears inside the White House. The age we would talk to constantly, worried about President Biden facing a primary challenge last year, they avoided that and they thought that they were home-free essentially. It didn't quite turn out that way. But what also didn't turn out, there is not an open convention. We are not going to see that. Democrats are as united tonight as Republicans were last week. And it is so extraordinary that turnaround. COLLINS: Yeah. And The New York Times had reported in the days leading up to Biden's exit before he decided to, that he did have concerns about whether Harris could defeat Donald Trump. Obviously, it's an unknown. You couldn't really predict at that point. It still is an unknown, Jamie? GANGEL: Right. Look, we know that there were looking at lots of polling. There was a lot of flash polling going on. But to Jeff's point, I'm not sure that you can make a time in history where the Democratic Party has been this unified. ZELENY: Right. GANGEL: This is the opposite of what they do. There's something else the Trump campaign is going to face, and that is the unknown of who she picks for her vice president. That will -- I we've already heard some rumors that maybe there is some bias (ph) remorse about J.D. Vance. They are very carefully doing this vetting process, as carefully as you can do it in just two weeks, which is -- some Republicans will tell you don't want another Sarah Palin. So, they're trying to do it quickly. But one note, I spoke to a source close to the Harris campaign who said, after Eric Holder and the lawyers do their vetting, Kamala Harris is going to do her vetting and she will press and press and press, ask question after question. That is her MO; that is her role as a prosecutor. And that she will have a big hand in doing this, and that they are very aware of wanting someone who will round out the ticket and someone who will know how to handle Trump and J.D. Vance. COLLINS: I mean, just what Jeff was earlier, that was August 11 -- did you say? ZELENY: August 11. COLLINS: -- 2020 that we saw the video where she got the call from President Biden… CNN Live Event/Special Aired July 24, 2024 - 21:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [21:00:00] JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Right. KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Then-candidate Biden, asking her to be on his ticket. To be in this position now, selecting her VP is an important decision. It's not the only decision. ZELENY: Right. COLLINS: She has a lot of -- 105 days is not a lot of time to run a presidential campaign. ZELENY: It's not. I mean, but luckily for her, she's inheriting one that's already moving down the road. They have offices all over. So, it's been viewed by the fact that the campaign was stronger than the candidate. Now the question will be, can Vice President Harris step into that and be as strong as their campaign infrastructure is? COLLINS: Yes, and keeping the same campaign managers, as of this moment. ZELENY: We shall see. COLLINS: Yes, we shall. Jake, obviously, a lot at stake for Vice President Harris, at this moment. JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. And it's just a little bit after 09:00 p.m. Eastern Time, a little less than an hour since President Biden from the Oval Office, with his family, watching close by, gave what amounted to something of a valedictory address, pledging to serve out the remainder of his term, but capping his political career, and quote, passing the torch, to his Vice President, Kamala Harris. The first lady, Jill Biden, just posted on Instagram a handwritten note of thanks. She's quotes -- or I'm quoting with -- from her now. She said it's, quote, "To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you for the trust you put in Joe - now it's time to put that trust in Kamala. Love, Jill," unquote. We want to start this hour, with new CNN polling, since President Biden first announced he was bowing out of the race, in a statement, on Sunday. CNN's John King is at the Magic Wall for us. John, what are the potential upsides for Vice President Harris, and Democrats, in the new polling? JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the first thing I'll say is everyone should be careful, and let this settle in for several days or a week, and then look at the polls and make a better judgment. But you do see public polls. If you just look at the National horse race numbers, the Vice President, Kamala Harris, is performing a little bit better than the President, Joe Biden was, a few days ago, heading into the Republican convention. So, a little bit of signs of improvement there. My view is let's take a look at the bones of the polls. Let's not focus on the horse race, right now. Let that settle in. And you do see, you do see some plus sides, for the Vice President. Let me bring this up here. Forgive me for turning my back. I just want to stretch this out. This is the favorable and unfavorable ratings of President Biden, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. You'll notice, she has a slightly better favorable rating than the President's, within the margin of error. So, it's not a huge deal. But she has a lower unfavorable rating. A pollster would say she has a little bit more room to grow, if you will, her public image. We don't spend enough time -- Vice Presidents don't get as much attention. So, she has a chance to improve her profile. Donald Trump, unpopular. Joe Biden was even more unpopular. The question is, can she improve these numbers here, now that she's the candidate, the prospective Democratic nominee? One other good sign, better sign anyway, if you want to improve this, for Harris, as opposed to Biden, among voters of color, we asked this in our poll, do you have a favorable view of the candidates. She polls much better than the President. Vice President Harris does among voters of colors. Obviously, a critical part, Black voters, Latino voters, Asian voters of the Biden coalition in 2020, where he had had some suffering, some hurt. Among women, this is within the margin of error. So I want to be careful. But this is absolutely critical for the Vice President. She must do well among women, everywhere, but including in American suburbs. So, maybe she's a little better than the President there. Let's watch that number as we go forward. And this is key. 37 percent favorable rating is not great. But it's 10 points better than the President's, among younger voters. Younger voters are mad at the President, over Israel, Hamas. They feel disconnected with him because of his age. Kamala Harris does have a better number there. Jake, if she wants to put the Biden coalition back together, in any way, though, she's going to have to improve that one, a lot more. TAPPER: Yes. And what are the warning signs for Harris? Because I've heard a lot of Democrats fret, shall we say? KING: All right. Let me give you just a couple. Look, she just has become -- she's clenching up delegates. It's not official yet. But she's clenched enough delegates to be the nominee. Who should Democrats nominate? This as a question was only asked to Democrats, and voters who revealed themselves as Democratic-leaning independents. So pieces of the Biden coalition right here. 76 percent say they want Harris. That's a good number. But 23 percent, almost a quarter of the Biden coalition says we wanted somebody else. So, she's got some salesmanship to do, convincing these people she's best as the front-runner and the nominee. As she tries to do that, this one I find quite fascinating. So, the Democratic nominee should -- we put this question, again, to Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents. 53 percent say, continue Biden's policies. 47 percent take a new direction. So, there's a tug of war out there among Democratic voters. And this is for Kamala Harris to say, you know, obviously she's wants to run on the Biden agenda forward. But there are some pieces of the Biden record, maybe she wants a little separation from. This is hard to juggle. She has a huge challenge now. And this is part of it, making peace in the family. TAPPER: Yes, I was just looking at the -- how the 2020 results, and Biden got 36 percent of the White non-college educated vote. KING: Right. TAPPER: It's not a lot. But it's better than Hillary Clinton. 28 percent. So that's going to be a big -- as you constantly tell us-- KING: Right. TAPPER: --it's all about the margins. Does Kamala Harris have more paths to 270 electoral votes than Biden did? Because it seemed like at the end there for Biden, it was, they had one path we were talking about this, and it was that blue wall. Show us what her possible paths are. [21:05:00] KING: It was beyond bleak for Biden, in the end. But it's not easy for Kamala Harris, Jake. Again, we'll know more about this as people get to know her. We'll know more about this after the Democratic convention. We'll know more about this after her vice-presidential pick. But where are we now? This is our map. This was our map, going into Trump versus Biden, going into the Republican convention. And Donald Trump, deep red, solid Republican, light red, leaning Republican. Trump already had enough. The question is, how does that change? You mentioned the blue wall. A lot of Democrats are worried that she does not have Joe Biden's standing with White working-class voters. And so, the easiest way for a Democrat is to keep this blue, to keep this blue, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, right? If Kamala Harris could do that, the old blue wall states, then she would only need Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, or one other electoral vote somewhere else. And she could get to 270. But a lot of Democrats are worried, can she win those blue wall states? Again, we'll see what happens with the vice-presidential pick. But let's take these away. All right? Whether we leave them for Donald Trump, or is it toss-up? I'm going to make them toss-ups right now. It doesn't really matter. The question is, can Kamala Harris get there, without the blue wall states? Well, you can look at the Obama campaign. Can she generate huge African American turnout? Can she make peace with Blacks and Latinos, in other places, who have questions about Joe Biden? If she can, and perhaps make peace with some younger voters as well, could she get North Carolina, like Obama did in 2008? He then lost it in 2012, but record African American turnout. Can he -- can she keep Georgia? Joe Biden just won it. Obama never won Georgia. But can she keep Georgia? Again, you would need record African American turnout, and you would need significant young voters. Can she get Arizona to stay Democratic? Latinos, suburban women, absolutely critical there. And could she somehow? Donald Trump right now is favored in Nevada. But could she get Nevada back? There's another way. Without the blue wall. That's the Sun Belt path. So, there's a blue wall path, the traditional Democratic path, or there's a sun wall -- Sun Belt path, another path for Kamala Harris. Neither of them easy. This is the challenge for Democrats. With a 100 days to do it, how do you pick a vice president? Where do you put your resources -- pick. It's hard. TAPPER: Very interesting. Let's get the panel's take on those numbers, and what might move them in the weeks ahead. I guess, the best thing you can say, I mean, for any Democrats, who think this is over, to Kamala Harris is going to be the next president. I mean, that's crazy talk. It's going to be a dogfight, from here on out. It's, I think, it's fair to say it does look right at this precise moment, as though Democrats have a better chance now than they did a week ago. But it's still steep. I mean, Nevada is still right now, Trump's for the taking. DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Yes, it is. And North Carolina was in one of those scenarios. My friend to the left -- my friend, from South Carolina, a lady from South Carolina, sort of was-- TAPPER: Shaking her head, no. BASH: --shaking her head saying I don't -- I don't think so. TAPPER: I think she was shaking her head no, with Georgia more than North Carolina. NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, actually both, yes. TAPPER: Well. BASH: Both. HENDERSON: Both, yes. TAPPER: Never going to happen, you're saying. BASH: But-- HENDERSON: Yes. (CROSSTALK) BASH: But what are the things that, you know, that we're still in that period, that sort of straddle period, where people are yes, everybody is looking ahead to now, to Kamala Harris. But the question is Joe Biden versus a Kamala Harris. And one of the things I was going to say earlier, was this is really a stunning number. The question -- this is another data point in our poll today. Whether or not people approve of Joe Biden's decision to end his campaign? And this is speaking to what you were saying, John, and Jake, as well, about the voters know what they're doing. 90 percent of Democrats said, yes. 90 percent of Democrats. KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. BASH: His own party said yes. And 85 percent of Republicans. And if Republicans are maybe being strategic, you would think well, they would want him to stay in the race, because they would want Donald Trump to win. 85 percent. TAPPER: Before he dropped out. BASH: Yes. TAPPER: They were more supportive of him staying in than Democrats were. BASH: Right. TAPPER: For those-- BASH: And now it's flipped. TAPPER: --Machiavellian reasons BASH: Right, exactly. But now, according to our poll, it's flipped. But the thing that is really interesting is before Joe Biden dropped out, one of the really striking dynamics within the Democratic coalition was the Black support that he continued to hold. And a lot of Black voters, Black leaders, the Congressional Black Caucus, grassroots groups, were saying, do not give in Joe Biden, don't give up. And still in this poll, it shows that that is the part of the sort of Biden coalition, the Democratic coalition that is most surprised that he gave up. But now they do have an African American candidate. So, the question is whether that is going to quickly transfer, particularly since you see Joe Biden so enthusiastic. HENDERSON: Yes. BASH: About her. HENDERSON: I mean, part of the attachment among African American voters to Joe Biden was also about Kamala Harris, right? [21:10:00] There was this feeling that if people toppled, pushed aside, Joe Biden, that they would also push aside Kamala Harris, for random White governor, right? There was a whole list of people, who would supposedly be better than Kamala Harris. Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, all the people who are in now on the VP list. What you see now is a level of excitement. It's not quite Obama-level of excitement. But it is, you know, she is an internet sensation. We talked about that before. The money, she's raising. The calls, right, 40,000 Black women on a three-hour call, on Sunday. There's a call tonight of Latinos. There was a Black male call with 20,000 voters on there. People are just excited and relieved in some ways, right? And this is particularly, I think, among younger African Americans, who were going to hold their nose and vote for Joe Biden. But also, as they were seeing Joe Biden, were sort of holding their breath every time they saw him, on their television. So, there is a chance at making history that people see in Kamala Harris. The good thing, I think, about Kamala Harris is that she is in some ways underrated. People have not really been paying attention to her. As she -- as she's gotten better and better, as a campaigner, and as a communicator. You saw that yesterday, in her speech, in Milwaukee. 35,000 -- 3,500 people showed up, a lot of White people. I think Black people saw that and said, OK, this is somebody who can appeal to White Americans in the Midwest, those states that she's going to have to -- have to win. So, it is a just a sea change over the last couple of -- couple of days, in terms of Kamala Harris. Cardi B, right, who did not want to vote for Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris -- or Donald Trump, is now online, right? There's a-- TAPPER: Charlamagne tha God. HENDERSON: Charlamagne tha God. TAPPER: Charlamagne tha God said they -- (CROSSTALK) HENDERSON: --all of this. TAPPER: --said Biden and Trump were both garbage candidates. HENDERSON: Exactly. TAPPER: And now he says he's going to support-- HENDERSON: And now he's going to vote for them. Exactly. TAPPER: --he's going to endorse Kamala Harris. HENDERSON: Yes. TAPPER: There was some reporting, Evan, that President Biden before he stepped down, from the top of the ticket, was concerned that Kamala Harris wouldn't be able to win. Is that true? EVAN OSNOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think that was one of the factors in his decision-making. I mean, it is part of that political creature side of his mind that has been there, throughout this process, this very agonizing last month. He would not have stepped aside if he hadn't decided that she can. I would be -- I'm fairly confident that he's as surprised, I think, as many people are, at the surge of energy that it has unlocked. You heard some of that in his speech, tonight, about new voices and a new generation. HUNT: Yes. I-- OSNOS: I -- go ahead. HUNT: I think one of the things as I was watching, John, you kind of walked through the map, is that she still has a really tough path, as you very clearly outlined. KING: Yes, very. HUNT: However, President Biden's decision really stopped the hemorrhaging, right? KING: Yes. HUNT: I mean, we weren't talking about Minnesota, Virginia, New Mexico, all these other places. KING: Yes. HUNT: So, the question, can she capitalize? KING: Yes. HUNT: And I do think the vice-presidential nominee might make a difference overall. TAPPER: Yes. Anderson? ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Jake, thanks very much. We've got some new images we want to show you. Staffers watching the President's speech, tonight, inside the White House. And then, a short time later, gathering outside for a reception that MJ Lee talked about, in the Rose Garden, with the President and his team. It was, look at these pictures, at twilight in more ways than one. We're back with our political commentators. And Ashley Etienne, who has served as Communications Director for Vice President Harris. David, you look at that polling. Do you put much stock in the numbers at the -- I mean, the polling at this point? DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'd say a few things about it. One is, this thing hasn't settled and it won't for a while. So, I don't know exactly how much to put into it. I do think it reflects the reality that where Joe Biden was weak with younger voters and voters of color, she's doing better now, and likely will do better, in November. She's probably losing a little ground among older voters, some White voters, who were committed to Biden. But we don't know where this is going. And we should point out that, for her, being tied or close to tied in a national poll, is a loss, because you have to -- if you're a Democrat, you have to be a few points ahead, nationally, in order to carry the battleground states. The polls are overweighted for large states like California, New York, and so on, where she's going to roll up big numbers. I mean, look, I think she's had an amazing rollout. And the enthusiasm is real. The money is incredible. The volunteers -- the volunteers. And I think that there's some momentum to that that may continue. But everybody should be sober about the fact that this is a hard race. And she's not ahead, right now. And it's going to take a lot of work to get to 270 electoral votes. COOPER: Yes. Ashley, a poll found that half of those backing Harris said that it was more because they support her than opposing Trump, which would certainly seem to speak well. ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VP HARRIS: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I hate to take us back to the speech. But I think I'm going to be absorbing it for days. [21:15:00] But this part connects back to the Vice President. The President said only in America can a kid with a stutter from Scranton, sit behind the Resolute Desk. And he said, it speaks to the promise and the possibility of America. And now, he passes the torch to Kamala Harris, who also represents the promise and the possibility of America. You're talking about a woman, who is the child of immigrant, whose first memories were in a stroller, marching for freedom for everybody. Right? She has broken every glass ceiling, and is now running to break the ultimate glass ceiling. Only in America, to Biden's point. And so, for me, that's pure poetry. And that's what makes this nation great. And I think before we get into the numbers and move on, and -- we've got to spend some time appreciating that fact, not just about Joe Biden, but about who Kamala Harris represents, and about who we want to be as a nation. COOPER: Scott, I want to play some things that some Republicans have been saying, about President Biden, his decision to get out and moving Harris up (ph). (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's clear these guys don't actually care about democracy. They don't care about the will of the voters. They just care about power. SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Those 15 million, 16 million Democrat primary voters, they don't matter. Now, the Democrats are rigging their own elections, Laura. I mean, this is hysterical. I mean, it looks like, dare we say it, an insurrection. SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Leading Washington Democrats prevailed upon President Biden to toss out primary results and leave the nomination in limbo while party bosses anoint another candidate. REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): 14 million people went through the process, and chose this nominee, Joe Biden. Now, a handful of people have gotten together and decided he's no longer suitable. That's not how this system works. They are violating democratic principles. (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: I mean, Mike Johnson. Liz Cheney, has said that he played a key role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. She wrote in her book that she says, quote, when I confronted him with the flaws in his legal arguments, Johnson would often concede or say something to the effect of, we just need to do this one last thing for Trump. Worse, she says, he was telling our colleagues he was a constitutional expert, while advocating positions that were constitutionally infirm. It does seem kind of hypocritical, no? SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, you mean Democrats installing someone, who's never got a single vote for the nomination for president in 2020 or 2024? COOPER: No. I mean, Mike Johnson's comments. JENNINGS: Oh? Look, Mike Johnson had a point of view. You all know my -- by the way, you all know my position on January the 6th. It's well-- (CROSSTALK) COOPER: Yes, and between-- JENNINGS: It's well -- it's well-known here, what my position on January 6th is, and what it was. And he had a point of view. And the Supreme Court didn't agree with him. And he moved on. But you have to admit. There is something weird about the Democratic Party, over the last several years, arguing about the sanctity of votes, and how important it is for people to make decisions, and so on and so forth, completely tossing out the results of a primary election. He's not wrong. 14 million people did vote for Joe Biden. Kamala Harris didn't get a single vote in 2020. She didn't get a single vote this time around. And now she's got her party's nomination. And that's fine. They're a party. They have a right to do that. But it was the Democratic Party that labeled themselves, the party of democracy, the defender of democracy, democracy is on the ballots. COOPER: You're equating this to January 6th? JENNINGS: No. I am saying that a political party, called the Democrats, stake their ground on the idea that when people vote, it matters. And I actually agree. I agree that votes matter. AXELROD: Have you-- JENNINGS: In this case-- AXELROD: Have you -- have you-- JENNINGS: --nobody voted for this. AXELROD: Scott, have you seen the polling though? Like 80 percent of Democrats, maybe more, approved of his decision to step down, the overwhelming majority of people in the country. What you're, what the Republicans are saying is, he's yours, you own them, and we can beat him, so we want him to stay. And we'll tell this fairy tale about our newfound concern about democracy. And we're going to fight for those 14 million Democrats. 80 million people voted for Joe Biden, in 2020. And I didn't hear these same Republicans standing up for their rights. COOPER: I mean, didn't you want him to step down after that debate? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, there's a flip now. COOPER: I mean, didn't -- didn't all the Republicans wanted him to step down? JENNINGS: I certainly -- I certainly questioned his ability to stay -- to stay in. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But also, voters got new information, when the debate happened. I think a lot of us had concerns, for years, about Biden's mental acuity and ability to do the job, going forward. But I think the debate was the starkest moment that 20 million-plus people were like, oh, we have real concerns. He was not the coronated candidate. He had not accepted the party's nomination yet. Kamala Harris, when they voted in the primary, they knew they were voting for her as Vice President. So, I wouldn't argue-- VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This was a-- FARAH GRIFFIN: --she didn't actually get any votes. JONES: I mean, this was tough inside the party, though. I mean, the arguments that you're making, Scott, were actually arguments that were being made within our party by people who, right now, are very happy about Kamala Harris. [21:20:00] OK. So, this was this was not easy for us. It was hard for us. We do take people's votes seriously. And the fact that frankly, a lot of African Americans voted was a real source of rug burn and heartburn inside the party. But we have a party that has rules inside of rules, wrapped up in rules, and deep fried in some more rules. And the rules allowed for this. And people -- you vote for the delegates. And ultimately, it's the delegates that make the decision. FARAH GRIFFIN: Right. JONES: And so, it's the delegates that were voted for that are making the decision ultimately. Biden says, I don't want to do it. Kamala says, I do want to do it. At the end of the day, the delegates that were elected by our process, they could say, we don't want Kamala. We want Elmo. We want Oscar the Grouch. We want anybody. It's still the democratically-elected delegates that are making the decision. So, I think the idea that just party bosses came in and knocked him off isn't right. But this was not easy for us. You are not wrong, Scott. This -- there was real heartburn inside the party about this. But we are not a cult. We're not a cult. We got new information, about our leader, and we decided that we had a responsibility to the country, and to the party, to give somebody else a shot. JENNINGS: Was it new information? JONES: It was new for us. It was. (CROSSTALK) JENNINGS: I mean, I mean, I mean-- JONES: Yes. It was. JENNINGS: I mean this is -- this has been my point all night. JONES: Yes, that's what we disagree. JENNINGS: This was not new information. JONES: It was new for us. Hey look, can I got to say something about this? Because it comes up all the time. I think that the right-wingers really think that we knew all the time, we just didn't know the (inaudible). We were still -- we were-- (CROSSTALK) JONES: We didn't know. COOPER: By the way, I was sitting next to you, the night of the debate. And you looked like you were stomach-punched. FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes. COOPER: You actually got up and were like-- JONES: Yes. FARAH GRIFFIN: You had to take a line out (ph). COOPER: Much more ahead, tonight, including Kaitlan Collins, next, with Senator Bernie Sanders. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [21:25:11] COLLINS: President Biden's address to the nation caps a remarkable three-and-a-half days, which have seen the Democratic Party fall in line behind Vice President Harris in warp speed. Joining me tonight, Vermont Independent senator, and former Democratic presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, who has been taking a somewhat more measured approach. And Senator Sanders, it's great to have you here tonight. You just heard President Biden delivering that address and, at the end of it, saying that he has made his pick, in endorsing Vice President Harris, to succeed him. You have yet to endorse her. Are you prepared to do so, tonight? SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I'm going to work as hard as I can to see that Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in American history, is defeated, and that Kamala Harris is in fact the next President of the United States. But before I make a formal announcement, I just want to make certain that the Vice President is going to be campaigning on issues that the working-class of this country, a working-class that has long been forgotten, needs to hear. And I want to just make sure that the Vice President will be working with President Biden, and with me, and others, to demand that the wealthiest people in this country start paying their fair share of taxes. That when we have 50 percent of our elderly people living on $30,000, a year or less, that we expand Social Security benefits, by lifting the cap on taxable income, so the rich start paying their fair share. I want to hear her be strong, in contrasting herself with Trump, and making clear that we have got to save this planet from climate change, that we're pro-union, make it easier for workers to join union, we raise the minimum wage to a living wage, that we deal with the fact that with the -- have the highest rate of childhood poverty, of almost any major country on Earth. So, we got to start focusing on issues that working-class people desperately need to hear, when 60 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and too many elderly people-- COLLINS: Yes. SANDERS: --too many kids are living in poverty. COLLINS: Well, and obviously she's still looking for a governing partner, at this time. We've seen the list of candidates that they are vetting, right now. A lot of them are moderate members of the Democratic Party. And I wonder if when you look at that list, you'd like to see her maybe cast a wider net, to include someone, who has championed some of the same issues that you yourself do? SANDERS: Well, I would hope -- you know, there's a lot of speculation as to who might be her running mate. But I certainly would like to see somebody, who has a history of standing up to the oligarchs, who have so much power in this country, who's going to fight for campaign finance reform, so the big money doesn't dominate both political parties. Yes, I certainly would like to see that person be the vice- presidential candidate. COLLINS: I have to ask you about something that Donald Trump said at a rally, tonight, when he was attacking Vice President Harris. He said she is, quote, "More liberal than Bernie Sanders." Is that how you would put it? SANDERS: Probably not. It's just possible for the 83,000th (ph) time that Trump is lying. Now, I don't think that is the case. I think that the Vice President had a very strong record in the U.S. Senate, strong record working with President Biden in the administration. But no, I don't quite think that her record is, is where mine is, in terms of being progressive. COLLINS: Do you think you'll eventually come around to endorsing her? I mean, are you leaning that way-- SANDERS: Look, I am going to-- COLLINS: --after you have these conversations? SANDERS: Kaitlan, I am going to do everything I can to make sure that she wins. But I just want to hope that in the next few days and weeks, we can make sure that we put together a campaign that focuses on the needs of working-class. And make no mistake about it. I'm with her. And I'm going to do everything that they can -- that I can, that the progressive movement can, to make sure that she is the next President. COLLINS: Senator Sanders, you're on Capitol Hill, right now. Obviously earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed Congress. You did not attend that speech. You said yesterday, it was the first time that you believed a war criminal, as you put it, had been invited to address the U.S. Congress. In that speech, he referenced the protesters, who were outside the Capitol, there were thousands of them, as Tehran's useful idiots. SANDERS: Yes. COLLINS: What was your takeaway from what you heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu? SANDERS: Well my takeaway is that he came a very long distance, from Jerusalem to Washington, D.C., to give a campaign speech for the folks back in Israel. This is a guy, who some 70 percent of the people in Israel, in the last poll that was taken, want to resign. So, he came here, and he got a good reception from the Republicans. [21:30:00] But it's not just me who thinks he is a war criminal. This is what the International Criminal Court has determined. They have determined what I believe to be true, that his policies are resulting in the starvation, the starvation of tens and tens of thousands of children and Palestinians. And that is a war crime. And he, along with Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has been charged with being war criminals. And in my view well they both are. Sinwar started this war with his Hamas terrorist group. But Netanyahu has waged total war, destroying the housing, destroying the infrastructure, destroying the health care system. They have bombed every one of the 12 universities in Gaza. And now, we're looking at tens and tens of thousands of children facing starvation. And he lied. He lied when he said, oh, we are trying to get food in. We are trying to act in a decent way. Every humanitarian organization, working in Gaza, indicates that Israel is making it difficult, impossible, for food to get into starving people. That is a war crime. COLLINS: Senator Bernie Sanders, thank you for your time tonight. SANDERS: Thank you. COLLINS: Jake. Back to you. TAPPER: Thanks, Kaitlan. I want to show you a new photograph just posted on social media. It's President Biden, with a microphone, talking to White House staffers, in the Rose Garden. The staffers that have of course, just watched the boss bring his long career in politics, though, not his presidency, to a close. Tonight, back with our panel. Dana. It sounds like Senator Sanders is on board, but just wants to make sure he gets on to the Vice President's schedule, at some point, in the next few days. BASH: It's few things he wants to talk to her about. But honestly, he doesn't maybe need to endorse her, because telling the world that she is not as liberal as he is, is maybe the best campaign statement that he could give to her, right now. When she is of course, she has to shore up her base, but she really also needs to appeal to independents, and others, who are going to get beyond that. TAPPER: Yes. I mean, and that is -- that is going to be a challenge for her to get the Bernie Sanders' progressives on board, while also expanding the caricature being painted of her, as an out-of-touch San Francisco liberal, and reaching out to get the collar counties outside Philly and on and on. KING: Again, there is a race now to define the Vice President, for the American people out there. And there are a lot of Democrats, who are actually breathing a sigh of relief, and viewing the Trump campaign as rather flat-footed. The Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick put up an ad, that cast Kamala Harris as a left to Bernie Sanders, or at least-- BASH: Yes. KING: --as left as Bernie Sanders liberal. The Trump campaign has not put any money on television yet. This is one of the challenges. Is she -- you know, in the 2020 campaign, when she was running to the left of Joe Biden, to get the nomination? She came around to a number of liberal positions that were not her -- she had never spoken out in favor of the Senate, where everybody in that campaign was moving. There are a lot of Democrats saying, where's -- why didn't the Trump campaign drop a bunch of millions of dollars, even if it was crudely produced, just put her out there, boom. So that's part of the race. And that's, Senator Sanders, he's done this before. He's smart. He knows what he's doing here. You're right. He wants to get on her schedule. He wants to make sure that she understands. He has a great fundraising list. He has a great organizational list. He has a ton of power in places where she could use the help. And there a lot of Democrats out there, who love Joe Biden for kicking Trump out of the White House, but have kind of become demoralized and despondent, even. There's des -- there was despair, before Sunday afternoon, that does he have the vigor to do this? We can't let Trump come back. There is this -- the small-donor money is the best data point, right now. As I said, wait a week or two for the polls. The small-donor rush to Kamala Harris is the best data point, right now, that she has an opportunity. Again, a smart Democrat, I talked to, yesterday, said Sunday morning, we had about a 5 percent chance of winning. Now we have about a 40 percent chance of winning. So, Democrats shouldn't rush to Vegas, and bet the house. But they're in play now. That's the excitement. They think, OK, we have a chance. TAPPER: Yes. HUNT: Yes. And the biggest saving grace, honestly, for Kamala Harris may be the fact that she did manage to avoid a divisive Democratic primary, where she would have been put in uncomfortable situation, after uncomfortable situation, if she had to decide -- would have to -- decided just how progressive was she going to be? Because I think that's really where we saw her struggle, when she ran for president, and even before that. I mean, I interviewed her back in 2018, and she told me that she thought that they should start from scratch, when I asked her if she wanted to abolish ICE. She pretty quickly cleaned that back up. And now, that's something that's coming back into this campaign. She didn't (ph) have to deal with any of that. And instead, she has an opportunity to meet with Bernie Sanders. And you're talking about weakness among White working-class men in particular. I actually covered Bernie Sanders day in and day out, on the 2016 trail. And a lot of the people I talked to at those rallies were White working-class men, many of whom were looking at Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. KING: Because he fights-- BASH: Yes. [21:35:00] KING: Because he fights for them. It's not so much the specifics of the issues. They think he fights for them. They might disagree with him on some things, issues-wise. But he shows up, and he fights for them. And Sherrod Brown faces the same test, trying to win a Senate seat in Ohio. A great personal brand, can you overcome the politics of the moment? I love watching politicians, who might not match up on the issues, with some of their key voters. But those voters say, I know he's, for me. That was Joe Biden's gift-- HENDERSON: Yes. KING: --with some of those blue-collar workers. HENDERSON: That's right. And I think-- OSNOS: And-- HENDERSON: --one of the things they're trying to do with Kamala Harris is basically insinuate that she stole the nomination and the candidacy for president from the old White man, right? KING: Yes. HENDERSON: And they think that's going to play well, in Wisconsin, particularly among older voters, right, because those were the voters that to the extent that Joe Biden was in this race at all, he was doing well among older voters. There's also just an attempt in a sort of a modified birtherism, there's an attempt to just delegitimize her-- KING: Yes. HENDERSON: --as a nominee, right, so. BASH: Kamala. HENDERSON: Exactly. Kamala. TAPPER: Mispronouncing her name. BASH: But it's not how you say her name. HENDERSON: Yes. Yes. TAPPER: The blatantly racist and sexist attacks. HENDERSON: Exactly. TAPPER: And so much so that Speaker Johnson and the House Republicans had to like caution the Republican Caucus, like go after her on policy. HENDERSON: Right. TAPPER: Ixnay on the acism-ra (ph). HENDERSON: Right, which they will not listen to, right? And this sort of entire-- KING: Well-played. HENDERSON: --conservative chatter, you know, chattering class will not listen to Mike Johnson. Well, yes, they start off and delegitimize her, as a nominee. TAPPER: Yes. KING: Yes. HENDERSON: And then, she's delegitimized as a president, if she wins. TAPPER: Evan, one of the-- HUNT: Race-- TAPPER: Evan, one of the things that's interesting is, and Kasie just hit on this, the gravitational pull in the 2019-2020 Democratic primary was such a tug to the left, with Congressman Castro talking about decriminalizing people, who came across the border illegally. There was the Defund the Police movement, abolish ICE, et cetera, et cetera. And then-Senator, now-Vice President Harris, she was not immune to some of those wins. OSNOS: Well, I'll tell you one distinguishing feature, though, between the Democratic ticket, and the Republican ticket, which is that as she goes about the next 105 days, she's going to be having the support of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, other major standard bearers of the Democratic Party, who encompass the full ideological spectrum of the place. That is a big difference from Donald Trump, who is all alone. It's him, J.D. Vance. He has no former President. He doesn't even have his former Vice President. So, in a way, it's -- that relieves her of some of the need to have to satisfy everybody's urgent expectations-- TAPPER: Yes. OSNOS: --to define Harris. TAPPER: Everyone, thank-- KING: I need one second on this, because as we mentioned tonight, the last woman, who was the nominee for president lost because of third- party voters, third-party voters. We haven't mentioned that third- party candidates. TAPPER: Let's put a pin in that. We'll come back. Let's do another five hours, tomorrow night. Everyone, thanks so much. Next to that point, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on the campaign trail. Look at how they are framing the next 100-plus days. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [21:41:17] COLLINS: After speaking further, about his exit from the 2024 race, President Biden said, tonight this, of his Vice President, and successor, as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Quote, she's experienced, she's tough, and she's capable. Vice President Harris was in Indianapolis, earlier today, in an event that I should note was scheduled before President Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race. She's trying to mobilize Black women voters at a convention for Zeta Phi Beta, a historically Black sorority. Eva McKend joins us with more. Eva, what was Harris' message today, in Indianapolis? Obviously, very different when she was planning this event than when she actually arrived on the scene. What did you hear from her? EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, she was here to activate Black women. They are, of course, going to be so vital, this election. They are a key part of the Democratic coalition. And she knows the Zetas, and other Black sororities and fraternities, that they do the vital and important work, like registering people to vote, like making sure that people actually get to the polls in the fall. And then, also acting as ambassadors for her, across the country, getting her message out there. In many ways, this was really a call to action. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your leadership continued in 2020, when, during the height of a pandemic, you helped elect Joe Biden president of the United States. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) HARRIS: And me as the first woman vice president of the United States. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) HARRIS: And I thank you. And now, in this moment, our nation needs your leadership once again. (END VIDEO CLIP) MCKEND: She also talked about Trump's impact on the Supreme Court, Roe versus Wade, ultimately being overturned. And she said that when she is President of the United States that with Congress, she will work to restore those freedoms. COLLINS: Yes, a lot of questions about what the down ballot looks like, and the impact of all of this on that. Eva, what does the upcoming schedule for Harris look like? Obviously, every trip she now takes, has a completely different lens to it, and that of a presidential run. MCKEND: She has quite the packed schedule. She's been crisscrossing the country the last several weeks. She's in Texas now. Tomorrow, she addresses the American Federation of Teachers. We, of course, know, Kaitlan, that labor support, union support, going to be so important for Harris and other Democrats, this election. Kaitlan. COLLINS: Eva McKend, thank you for that. And I want to turn now to Kristen Holmes, we find in Charlotte, North Carolina, where earlier we heard from former President Donald Trump holding his first rally, since he learned that he would not be challenging Joe Biden anymore, in this race. And Kristen Holmes, obviously, we saw President -- former President Trump was watching President Biden's speech, in the Oval Office, tonight. All of his aides were tweeting out those photos. But he's facing a much different challenger now. What did he have to say about Vice President Harris, at this rally, today? KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kaitlan, he wasted no time, attacking Vice President Kamala Harris. He called her lying Kamala. He actually spent most of the time attacking her, of his very lengthy speech. He attempted to paint her as a radical liberal, particularly on policies related to immigration, and abortion, and even tried to say that she was somewhat of the mastermind behind some of Biden's policies. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me, when I got shot. I became nice. They are very dangerous people. When you're dealing with them, you can't be too nice. You really can't be. So, if you don't mind, I'm not going to be nice. Is that OK? [21:45:00] This November, the American people are going to tell her, no thanks, Kamala. You've done a terrible job. You've been terrible at everything you've done. You're ultra-liberal that we don't want you here. We don't want you anywhere. Kamala, you're fired, get out of here. (END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, at another point, Kaitlan, he attempted to mock Kamala's attempts at defining this race as that between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon, saying that the people don't buy that, or he doesn't think that people buy that. But really, one of the most interesting moments for me came not from Donald Trump. But from one of his spokespeople, during a gaggle with reporters, ahead of that speech. They were asked about Rep. Burchett's -- Representative Burchett's comments that Kamala was a DEI hire, and what they thought about that. And they said, it's not even on the campaign's radar. The reason I bring that up is because I've talked to a number of senior advisers, who said they don't want to go there, that they want to talk about policy, they want to link Kamala Harris to Biden's policies, particularly the ones that Donald Trump polls ahead of Biden on, when it comes to things like immigration, crime, inflation. But obviously, as both of us know, there is one man that can control the tone. Right now, he was talking about policy today. Obviously, we will wait to see if that continues. COLLINS: And he mispronounced her name the entire rally Kristen Holmes, in North Carolina. Thank you for that. Anderson. COOPER: Kaitlan, thanks so much. Back here with the panel. I mean, the DEI hire, these kind of early attacks, which there are a lot of right-wing commentators using that phrase, a bunch of congressmen using it as well. Is this just the beginning of that kind of stuff, you think? JONES: Probably. But it's really dumb on their part, because yes, a lot of people in the Black men (ph) in particular, who really didn't care about this race, were kind of sick of it, and weren't. And then Kamala gets in. Kamala, initially, people weren't sure about her. But she's really become a phenomenon in our community. And now she's being attacked. People are going to crawl through broken glass now to vote for her, because you can't insult a Black woman, who's as qualified as she is. Look, she's checked every box. These guys -- she checked at -- she's a -- she won at the local level, district attorney. She won as an attorney general. She won as a senator. And she won as the Vice President. She's not qualified, who is? And so, they're actually ginning up an amazing amount of energy. Because now, it's personal. It's like, you talking about my mama now, and my sister, my grandmother, my daughter? Hold on. And so, it's really dumb for them to do this. JENNINGS: Yes, I totally agree it. This is not the way. She has a long record, as a senator, where she was the most liberal, as a short-lived presidential candidate, where she said all kinds of things. And as Vice President to Joe Biden, who currently has a 35 percent approval rating. So, there's plenty here to run this race on. JONES: Inside the square box. JENNINGS: Without going down a crazy route. Do you mind if I just-- JONES: Yes. JENNINGS: --to Axe and Kate and Van and to you. ETIENNE: I'm Ashley. JENNINGS: I -- I know what -- I know what you're going through tonight a little bit. It was actually an emotional moment for me, earlier this year, when Senator McConnell decided to step down from the leadership of the Republican conference. It was emotional for a lot of us who had worked for him. And I just wanted to say that I know what this is like, to have to sit through one of these speeches. And it's emotional. And I know it's not probably fun to debate me over it. But for people who worked in the business, and who've worked for politicians, and who've gotten close to them. I just wanted to acknowledge that-- JONES: Yes. JENNINGS: --I know what's -- I know what you're going through, and a lot of other people in the business know what you're going through. And I just wanted to say, I know it's an emotional night for you. JONES: Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Appreciate it. ETIENNE: Thank you. FARAH GRIFFIN: What a classy guy he is. JONES: Yes, that's good. FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, and by the way, I did think it was a nice moment that the President and the first lady decided to reward the White House staff. Now listen, we can have arguments about senior staff if they insulated, if they were transparent enough from the public. But there were a lot of people working around the campus of the White House that had no idea the inner workings of what was happening. And they had to deal with a new cycle that was hellish, with people calling into question their leadership. And I thought that was just a nice moment to reward people, who were loyal, kept their heads down, and were working. ETIENNE: Yes. AXELROD: I think that was also a reward for him. FARAH GRIFFIN: Yes. AXELROD: Because it's a very lonely decision to walk away. I can tell you that one thing about working in the White House, is there is a sense of community there. And in a way, what he's saying is I'm going to walk away from my community because this is what duty calls on me to do. So, I think that makes it hard. So, to have the community rally, and embrace you with love, on a night like this, I'm sure was very important to him. COOPER: Ashley? ETIENNE: Yes, no, I just wanted to get back to the Republican strategy. The Wall Street Journal popped an editorial, right before the speech, title of it, Kamala Harris Confounds Republicans. They go on to say that the GOP find themselves oddly on the backfoot. [21:50:00] I don't think you can overstate the level of enthusiasm, and excitement, about Kamala Harris, right now. A $125 million in days. JONES: Yes. ETIENNE: A 100,000 volunteers in days. It is like something we've never seen before. I was on the 2008 campaign, and we thought people were on fire for Barack Obama. They're on fire for Kamala Harris. If you look at the internal polls that are coming out of the campaign, they're saying that Kamala Harris is outpacing Donald Trump, among that coalition, that Biden built in 2020. He's plus -- she's plus 21 with women, plus 25 with young people. If you look at the issues, they're to her advantage, especially when you look at those voters. She's -- he's also -- she's also polling higher than him among those voters that are 65 and older, and White educated voters. And what they care about most are the issue she's been leading on. JONES: Yes. ETIENNE: Abortion. Democracy. So, this is going to be a race. And the nation is excited about her. I'm excited to see how she goes head-to-head with-- AXELROD: I actually think -- I am sure there's no doubt she's had a surge. I think if the numbers were as you describe them, she'd be well ahead, right now. ETIENNE: Well the campaign -- as the campaign described it. AXELROD: But -- well, the numbers that they described to you-- ETIENNE: Right. AXELROD: --she'd be well ahead. I think it's going to be a tough race. I mean, I don't think anybody should have any illusions about that. But on the issue of what some of these Republicans are saying about her. She's been a prosecutor, a state attorney general in the largest state in the country, U.S. senator and Vice President. And compare that to the guy, who Donald Trump has chosen for Vice President, who has been a U.S. senator for 18 months, and has never served in any other office. ETIENNE: Yes. AXELROD: So, I mean, if they want to get into a qual-- I don't know, if they want to get into a qualifications argument. COOPER: How long do you think it is before Donald Trump turns on J.D. Vance? AXELROD: Well, I think here's one of the interesting questions. JENNINGS: Well, come on. COOPER: You don't think? AXELROD: Here's one of the interesting questions. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think. AXELROD: I think his camp -- and I've said many times, I think he has the best campaign staff that he's ever had. The leadership of the campaign are experienced, smart, tough. And the question was always, how long will he take their advice? And what will happen, if he feels like things have taken a turn? And I don't -- I'm not sure that they send him out today to do what he did. But I'm sure their attitude is you can control what you can control. And you might be able to control Donald Trump until you can't. And you can't, when he starts getting worried. COOPER: Everyone, thank you. Coming up, more on the campaign ahead, and the arguments and attacks both candidates will use, try to sway voters and capture the White House. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [21:56:08] COLLINS: Former President Donald Trump watched President Biden speak from the Oval Office, earlier tonight, from his plane, after a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, where for the first time since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, Donald Trump tried out his attack lines on her, including this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: For three-and-a-half years, lying Kamala Harris has been the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe. She is a radical-left lunatic, who will destroy our country, if she ever gets the chance to get into office. We're not going to let that happen. (CHEERS) (END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: And my panel of Jamie Gangel, and Jeff Zeleny, are back here with me. And Jeff, just listening to Donald Trump earlier, one other thing that stood out is he was talking about what Biden was laying out in his 11- minute speech, which is what he believes is at stake in this election, talking about the future of American democracy, and the Republic if we can keep it. Trump was raising this question that other Republicans have raised, so, the FBI has not found any basis for this, and whether or not that talk of him being a threat to democracy is what led to his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania, a few weeks ago. But the contrast of that stem-winder of a two-hour Trump rally in Charlotte, with Biden's 11-minute address, tonight, was really something when you think about this race. ZELENY: It was stark and striking and so different than former President Trump's address, last week, at least part of it. I mean, he said last week, he would not talk about the shooting again. He was talking about it one time. Of course, he did, perhaps not surprisingly. But I think when he's talking about his new rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, this is something that he seems to be really grappling with as Republicans do. It's one thing to talk about her policies. That is fair game. But you can -- the Republicans I talked to are suddenly recoiling and really nervous, at every mention of DEI, dumb as a rock, because that is not the path back to victory, in their view. So, I think that the Wall Street Journal editorial, as we mentioned earlier, is also mentioning how the Vice President is confounding. And I think that is clear, right there. We know the Vice President, she was watching President Biden's speech tonight as well, in Houston, obviously watching it with through a very, very different lens. So, going into the final 100 days of this election, it is absolutely a stark contrast. The former President trying to define his new rival, still obsessed with his old rival, and the script is unwritten. COLLINS: Yes. And it's not just Donald Trump and how he's handling Harris. It's also J.D. Vance, and the clips that were being resurfaced yesterday-- JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. COLLINS: --of him saying that Harris and AOC and Pete Buttigieg were childless cat ladies, running the government, who don't really have a vested interest in, in the future of it. I mean, there is going to be, when you think about the moderate independent voters who could decide this election, Jamie, and they're weighing their choices. GANGEL: Who will decide this election. Look, what we heard, there is sort of the usual Donald Trump. But he and J.D. Vance run a risk. If we start getting into nasty women? If we're hearing a lot of racism, dog whistles? That will turn off the independents, the suburban women voters, they absolutely need to win this race. So, there is a balancing act. On the other hand, what do we know about Donald Trump? He likes to attack. He thinks that works. And it does work with his base. COLLINS: I wonder how that's changed though, since 2016, when he was running against a woman, the last time, Jeff. ZELENY: We will find out. I mean, this is definitely going to be a test of and for the country. I think that that was such a different campaign, because he didn't have a record. There was no-- GANGEL: Right. ZELENY: It was such a different time in the country. Demographically-- COLLINS: Roe versus Wade was still in place. [22:00:00] ZELENY: For sure. Demographically, the country was different, and abortion was not front and center in the campaign at all. In fact, it was a motivating factor, on the Republican side of the campaign. So, it is different in every way that a Hillary Clinton campaign from 2016. COLLINS: Yes. It is remarkable, Jamie, to think of it in that perspective of how much has changed, and how often it can kind of unearth Donald Trump's worst instincts. We'll see what that looks like, on the campaign trail. GANGEL: No one is going to sleep very much, in the next 105 days. COLLINS: That includes you, Jamie. GANGEL: Yes. COLLINS: And you, Jeff, as well. Great to have both of you here. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much for joining our special live coverage tonight, of President Biden's Oval Office address. "CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts now. CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip Aired July 24, 2024 - 22:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [22:00:00] ABBY PHILLIP, CNN HOST: Tonight, the president in primetime bares his soul -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: -- about his choice to turn the page on his own campaign. Plus, Donald Trump tests new material -- (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You're ultra liberal, and we don't want you here. Kamala, you're fired. Get out of here. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: -- against his new opponent, Kamala Harris. Also, thousands of anti-war protesters come face to face with police. Will similar scenes swallow Chicago and the Harris Convention? Live at the Table, Reihan Salam, Ashley Allison, Ana Navarro and Betsy McCaughey. Welcome to a special edition of NewsNight, State of the Race. A very good evening to you. I'm Abby Philip in New York. Let's get right to what America is talking about tonight. Joe Biden has said goodbye. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. But I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: Biden traced his trajectory from Scranton to Delaware, to the Capitol, to the White House behind that resolute desk, and he framed the stakes again and again for this election in November. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I've given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. I've been blessed a million times in return the love and support of the American people. The great thing about America is, here, kings and dictators do not rule, the people do. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: Our panel is here with us in New York. Ana, this is a president who has spent the youth of his life and the sunset of his life in public office. It is really an incredible moment for Joe Biden, for someone who spent quite a lot of time with him over the years. How did you take it all in? ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I guess, you know, I've had a few days to process it. It's made me very sad. It's made me very sad. It's also made me very grateful and very nostalgic. I met Joe Biden over 20 years ago, almost 25 years ago, as I was a very young lobbyist working on immigration issues. And the last time I saw Joe Biden in person, which was the day -- the night after the debate here in New York, he said to me when I met you, you were just a kid. And then he said, you're still a kid. And, you know, we were on different sides of the aisle. When he was running with President Barack Obama, then-Senator Barack Obama then, I was very much supporting the Republican candidate. But somehow, we always had this mutual respect. And I just -- you know, all I can say to you today is that for Joe Biden, I want him to know that I am an American who is grateful for everything he's done for this country, for his over 50 years of service to this country. I am grateful that he took us out of the hell of COVID, that he took us out of the hell of Trump. I am grateful that he called to our better angels, that he showed us decency, that he brought integrity back to the institution of the White House, and that he left it all on the field, that he did it until the last moment he could. I love the guy and I think he's going to go down in history as one of the most consequential precedents in U.S. history. You'll tell us more about that. FORMER LT. GOV. BETSY MCCAUGHEY (R-NY): Yes. I wanted to love this speech, I truly did, the old warrior about to say goodbye, somebody who's given decades to the country. But, in the end, when he said he was passing the torch, I felt that, in fact, the truth got torched, because everyone was waiting for him to give an honest reason why he suddenly changed his mind, and we didn't get anything -- [22:05:06] PHILLIP: Okay, let me play it, okay? I want to play that so people can hear Betsy is talking about. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now. (END VIDEO CLIP) TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: The president said that he thought he could have a second term, that he said, what I did in the first term, I wanted to continue, I was ready to continue it, and then he pretty much said, but I lost my party. He admitted that he lost his party. And he said, in order to unify my party, which at this consequential moment, this defining moment of American history is essential, I stepped aside. So, it's very interesting. He basically admitted that he lost the Democratic Party, which, by the way, is absolutely unprecedented. We've had presidents who've decided not to run again. They did so before they had lost the party. MCCAUGHEY: He didn't lose it on policy. He lost it because of his infirmity. PHILLIP: Well, (INAUDIBLE) of his age, and, I mean, he talks about the fact that this is a moment for younger voices. I mean, he said that. ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He didn't actually lose the party. The reality is he could have gone to Chicago and still got the Democratic nomination. Look, we're all adults here and we make big decisions in our lives sometimes. And it takes time to come to a big decision. He said it would be an act of God, which sometimes that's what actually makes a big decision in your life. He said it would be if there was an illness or he said if he couldn't win. And the moment he got to the point where his senior advisers told him he could not win, that is when he put party and country over himself, unlike the Republican Party candidate. I'll say I was in the Rose Garden the day President Obama gave the speech the day after Donald Trump won the election and Joe Biden stood by him. Nobody wants to have to relive that day. And so Joe Biden understood that he might not be able to win. And so he said, it is time for me to pass the torch as I promised I would do four years ago. REIHAN SALAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The thing that we understand is that Joe Biden -- MCCAUGHEY: No candidate can ever be sure of winning. SALAM: No president can ever be sure of winning. Joe Biden is very much a creature of the Democratic Party. He's been around for 50 years. He is someone who is from a safe state. He was always willing to make the most aggressive partisan punches because he could afford to do that. He was rescued from political oblivion by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropping out of the presidential race to save the Democratic Party from a Bernie Sanders nomination that time around. It was not because of his great charisma, not because of his great ability. There's a reason why Barack Obama doubted him, said that there was always a way that Joe Biden could find a way to screw things up. He was very much an accidental president, someone who is not capable of meeting the moment. The idea that he is some kind of American hero -- NAFTALI: Wait -- PHILLIP: Do you think he met the moment tonight? I mean, tonight was a moment that called for him to put aside political ambition. I mean, I think we underestimate how difficult that is. I mean, Donald Trump lost fair and square. SALAM: He had no choice, Abby, (INAUDIBLE) absolutely no choice. ALLISON: Everybody has a choice. And I just like to correct history. The reason why Joe Biden got the Democratic nomination in 2020 was because of black people. So -- SALAM: Absolutely, moderate black voters in the south and then he suddenly got Elizabeth Warren's, Bernie Sanders' platform. PHILLIP: They also believed -- this is an important point, black voters believed that Joe Biden was the only person who could beat Donald Trump. It turned out that they were correct. So, you can call it accidental, but it's also math. SALAM: The real accident is that Barack Obama chose Joe Biden reluctantly over Evan Bayh. You know, if Evan Bayh had been chosen, we would be in a very different political time. NAVARRO: When Joe Biden first won his seat in Delaware, it was not a sure seat. He was not -- he didn't coast into the seat. We also saw this is a man I think that so many people feel so much for, because of the incredible personal tragedy that he has survived, and continued serving the country through. It's not easy. And, look, you seem to want him, you know, to talk about infirmity. We don't know what he has. We do know that we've seen very young men go into that office and four years later come out looking like they've been through a meat grinder. So, imagine what the weight of the presidency is on somebody (INAUDIBLE). [22:10:01] SALAM: Well, look, dishonesty and (INAUDIBLE) had long before this presidency. MCCAUGHEY: Because we have a 25th Amendment. And many people wanted to hear tonight what is actual status. We're forgetting recent history. The Robert Hur tapes, which Merrick Garland refused to let the American people here. They didn't want the American people to hear the mumbling, the stumbling, the fumbling, the long lapses in between answers to those questions. They were hiding Joe Biden's real abilities. PHILLIP: First of all -- (CROSSTALKS) NAFTALI: We have time for a wake first. PHILLIP: Lieutenant Governor, we don't actually know if any of those things happened, but go ahead. NAFTALI: Listen, before we, we, we do this, and I know, I mean, I'm a historian, I can't wait to find out what actually happened, but before we do that, could we just step back for a moment and recognize something absolutely incredible about the United States? This is a superpower, all right? And a president has nuclear weapons, and the president is the commander-in-chief, and there's never any question until 6th that somebody would give up authority, would give up the chance for power. Now, the president didn't resign tonight but he gave up his chance to be re-elected. That is extraordinary. Let's just keep in mind we are talking about someone giving away a position that is the most powerful in the world. When somebody says he had to, they don't understand the presidency. If he were investigated and he was about to be impeached and maybe removed -- SALAM: That's so obviously false but, I mean -- NAFTALI: Oh, it's not so obviously false. I'm telling you, he did not have to. He had all the delegates. SALAM: He's still there for another six months when he's manifestly incapable. NAFTALI: Tell me how you know he's manifestly incapable. SALAM: I'm sorry to say that this is a sensitive matter where there are a lot of folks. Who have been talking about this for some time. NAFTALI: Oh yes, I've heard them, too. My doctor tells me he thinks he might have something, but he also says, but he's not my patient. SALAM: And, look, the deeper problem, the deeper question is, who is actually in charge at any given time? You know, this notion that he's only sharp for six hours of the day, this is an incredibly volatile moment in part because of his failures. ALLISON: Are we having a -- NAVARRO: No. Everything you're saying, I'm sorry, is speculation. Let me tell you what is not speculation. SALAM: It's not a speculation. He's been an absolute failure -- NAVARRO: No, it is speculation. Because, actually, unlike you, I've actually seen the guy at 9:00 at night. I have seen him after he has had five different events in 24 hours. SALAM: Might that cloud your judgment? NAVARRO: What? SALAM: Do you think that makes you more objective? NAVARRO: Well, I think the fact that I have actually seen him, whereas you're just reading gossips and speculation. MCCAUGHEY: We all saw the debate. We all saw the debate where Joe Biden was clearly incompetent, unable to address the questions that he should have been able to address. We know that Robert Hur and Merrick Garland kept those audiotapes from the public. SALAM: And Democratic lawmakers -- NAVARRO: We all saw the debate, which is what -- MCCAUGHEY: Kamala Harris is now going to be running for president deceived -- SALAM: Democratic lawmakers who were -- (CROSSTALKS) ALLISON: I'm sorry, this isn't the story. PHILLIP: One at a time. Ashley, go ahead. ALLISON: I appreciate that the enthusiasm that Kamala Harris has now sparked in the Democratic Party has made some people nervous. But the story that Joe Biden is lying to the public is not -- when was the last time you were with Joe Biden? When was the last time you were with Joe Biden? So, if you weren't -- SALAM: There are a lot of Democrats in Congress who were with him in October 2021, who are frightened and afraid in October 2021, because he could not clearly communicate a case for passing major legislation, something that he specialized in during the Obama administration. NAVARRO: Donald Trump's chief of staff was afraid of Donald Trump. (CROSSTALKS) SALAM: And that was a real vulnerability for him. NAVARRO: The only time that we have had -- the only time we have talked about the 25th Amednment regarding a president in the recent history has been cabinet members of Donald Trump. SALAM: I appreciate the pivot. I think that that makes a lot of sense for you. NAVARRO: No, it's not a pivot. It's true. ALLISON: I'd just like to say -- PHILLIP: I'm going to give Tim the last word on this one. NAFTALI: Look, we are going to be able to deliberate and judge and debate when the president stopped being the same as the teleprompter Biden, but it doesn't matter today. MCCAUGHEY: It does matter very much for the security of the United States. NAFTALI: No, let me explain why it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter today because he moved aside in time for the Democrats to choose a candidate and to unite around a candidate. Whether you like that process or not is a different issue. Had he remained and then proved himself incompetent while the formal nominee, then one could say this man had dragged the country down. He waited too long, clearly. [22:15:00] But how long is too long is something we won't know until we know about November. But in the meantime, there is no evidence, there's speculation, that he is not running the ship. Remember, we've had presidents who were, how should I put it, not micromanagers of the presidency. Ronald Reagan was a good president but he was not a micromanager. He was not in the office a lot. We've had presidents who were like Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy, who were micromanagers. They don't always have to be. What they have to do is set the course for the state. There is no doubt that Biden set the course for this presidency, whether you like it or not. PHILLIP: As we were having this heated conversation, someone has weighed in. SALAM: It's very unfortunate, of course. PHILLIP: As we've been having this conversation, someone has weighed in, and that is former President Barack Obama. He says on X, among other things, thank you for your speech. He's thanking his former running mate and friend, despite the reported tensions between them in these last few weeks, President Joe Biden. Tim Naftali, thank you for joining us and bringing all of that history to the table here today. Everyone else, don't go anywhere just yet. Coming up, Donald Trump unleashes on Kamala Harris, mocking those who said that he'd be nice after he was shot. Plus, some breaking news tonight involving the vice presidential search, we are hearing that one of the contenders has now removed himself from the list. We'll tell you who that is. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [22:20:50] PHILLIP: Tonight, the first look into the head-to-head matchup between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. We have a brand new CNN poll and CNN's Political Director David Chalian is here to break it all down for us. David? DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Abby, we have our brand new, exclusive CNN poll conducted by SSRS that gives us our first snapshot of a Harris-Trump race. Here's the top line. It's a margin of error race, no clear leader. 49 percent for Donald Trump, 46 percent support for Kamala Harris. That's among registered voters. And that three- point differential, well, that's about half the margin of error that Joe Biden was trailing Trump with just in the spring. He was down six points in our spring poll. So, how is Harris narrowing that gap now into a margin of error race? Well, among young voters 18 to 34, Harris has a four point advantage over Trump in this poll. Trump had a seven-point advantage over Biden with young voters. Black voters, Harris advantage, 63 percentage points over Trump. Biden had a 47 point advantage over Trump. Hispanic voters, Donald Trump's advantage over Biden, was 9 points, now Kamala Harris has narrowed that to a two-point advantage for Trump, still a warning sign. Democrats won the Hispanic vote in 2020 by 30 points. And among female voters, Kamala Harris has a five-point advantage over Trump where he was tied with Biden. Take a look here, too. She has flipped the script on whether or not people are voting for her or against Trump. 50 percent now say they're voting for Harris, 50 percent say they're voting for Harris to cast a vote against Trump. Look at what it was with Joe Biden. Only a third of his voters were voting for Biden. And Donald Trump has increased his affirmative vote now. 74 percent of Trump supporters say their vote is for Donald Trump. Only a quarter are saying they're voting against Kamala Harris. Abby? PHILLIP: David Chalian, thank you for all of that. Back with my panel here. Really fascinating numbers that show a race that is now a real race, and before it was getting out of the Democrats hands, basically. ALLISON: Yes. So, this is the part I like about campaigns. It's making the math and work. So, one thing that I think we're seeing now with the introduction of Kamala Harris at the top of most likely at the top of the ticket is that her base is rallying around her. It's really hard to win at the national level if you don't have a constituency that is going to help push you up to just baseline. PHILLIP: Baseline operation. ALLISON: And it is very clear that black women, black people are, are doing that right now for Kamala Harris. There is still a segment of the black population that she needs to go out and talk to, particularly young black folks. But black people are excited about her candidacy and will be a strong base, same with Latinos and young people. But here's the thing about the coalition that she's going to have to build. You'll remember in 2016, 53 percent of white women voted for Donald Trump. When you have a base that is rallying around you, it doesn't mean you take them for granted, but it allows you to present energy into a set -- to a second tier of -- not a second tier of voters, but a more uncertain group of voters, like working class white folks. And so if she can spend the next 100 days letting her surrogates, her allies really keep the base energized and spend the time for folks who are less familiar with her who were maybe double haters or maybe Nikki Haley voters and say, vote for me, I'm the future, she can win this. NAVARRO: So, a marked difference, though, between today and 2016, when 51 percent of white women, as you say, voted for Donald Trump is the abortion issue. ALLISON: That's right, yes. NAVARRO: And it's that issue that cuts across all women. Yes, black women, Latinas, poor white women are disproportionately affected. But I think so many women, even Republican women, because I see the way this is polling in places like Florida, are really afraid of the idea that it's affecting IVF, that their daughters are not going to have the same ability to get treatment that they had, that it's affecting healthcare decisions. I think women in writ large are pretty pissed off that government is telling them what to do with their body. [22:25:02] PHILLIP: I want to just play real quick, just because this happened tonight, not long before President Biden spoke. Donald Trump is on the campaign trail, and he basically said, enough with being nice, enough with unity, here is how he's going after Kamala Harris. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Kamala Harris is the most liberal elected politician in American history. Did you know that? She's an ultra liberal. So, she was the border czar, but she never went to the border, right? Kamala threw open our borders and allowed 20 million illegal aliens to stampede into our country from all over the world. (END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIP: First of all, it must be an inner -- one of those inner ear things where only Republicans cannot hear Kamala and say it correctly. (CROSSTALKS) NAVARRO: Abby, they hear it perfectly well in Florida. They absolutely know that the name is Kamala. They do this on purpose. SALAM: My name is regularly mispronounced on CNN. So, these things happen. NAVARRO: Okay, but you're not vice president of the United States. (CROSSTALKS) MCCAUGHEY: I was going to say a moment ago about abortion, because facing many -- a contest between many Democrats and Republicans could be about abortion. But it's not going to be, and I'll tell you why. Kamala Harris loses the advantage with women that she would have as an ardently pro-abortion candidate for this reason. She is also ardently, decisively pro-equity. Pro, and by that I mean, giving advantages to minorities and women at the expense of white men. So, women voting who have brothers, sons, husbands who are going out into the workplace or applying to college know that a Kamala Harris presidency mean white men go to the back of the line. PHILLIP: So, just so I understand what you're saying, you're saying that white women -- MCCAUGHEY: Don't laugh, it's absolutely true. PHILLIP: Let me just -- to be clear, you're saying that, that that women, white women in particular, are going to vote against Kamala Harris because they have been the beneficiaries? MCCAUGHEY: No, because they know what's happening to their husbands when their husbands apply for a job, when their sons apply to get a job. I can tell you that young men, young white men graduating from college and going into the workplace this year are being told, you know, we'd like to hire you, but we have a quota. We have to fill with women and minorities. I'm sorry. That is what is happening, and it is a very important issue to Americans. ALLISON: Well, I thought the Supreme Court said affirmative action wasn't allowed. MCCAUGHEY: That's right. And when the court said that -- ALLISON: So, I'm not sure your argument is actually holding up, because it's not the law of the land anymore. MCCAUGHEY: That's right. But Kamala Harris bashed the Supreme Court ruling saying, no, no, she doesn't want colorblind society. She wants equity. She believes that if people start in a different place, they should be judged differently and she wants minorities and women to be advantaged in job -- PHILLIP: I don't want to go deep into it. NAVARRO: Everything you're saying is really, honestly, deeply offensive and deeply inaccurate. First of all, you know, I don't think that Kamala Harris wants her husband to be disadvantaged, her stepson to be disadvantaged. What you are saying, you are totally twisting her position. MCCAUGHEY: I'm not. SALAM: You might want to look at her record in the Senate. And if you look at the environmental justice for all, if you're looking at -- you know, setting up this diversity commission around the CARES Act, trying to impose racial preferences for the Federal Reserve and Federal Reserve staffing -- MCCAUGHEY: How about debt relief for black farmers only? SALAM: This is something where she was differentiated. She was in lockstep with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. But in this one domain, race conscious policy was a high priority for her. By the way, some people think that's great. But then let's honestly engage with what her policy prescriptions were and the fact that not everyone feels the way you do, Ana. Not everyone loves these ideas. NAVARRO: That's absolutely perfectly fine. Not everybody might feel the same. SALAM: I so glad you're the same disagreeing with you. That's great to hear. NAVARRO: Listen, I disagree with me sometimes. I disagree with -- MCCAUGHEY: We can feel love fest best here and disagree. SALAM: I can all agree with you half of the time. NAVARRO: But Kamala Harris and folks who want equity, what they want is a level playing field. MCCAUGHEY: No. NAVARRO: Because they understand -- well -- MCCAUGHEY: That's not what they want. She says she wants equal outcomes. ALLISON: Can I just say, I want equity? NAVARRO: That not at all what it is. MCCAUGHEY: Not telling you what you want. But white women voters don't want that to have another (INAUDIBLE). ALLISON: You just said, no, that's not what, what they want. I'm a part of that they. MCCAUGHEY: No. ALLISON: And what I'm saying -- yes. MCCAUGHEY: You said white women. ALLISON: No. What I am saying right now is that I believe in equity. And when I say equity, I want everyone to have a fair level playing field. I do not want -- MCCAUGHEY: That's not the definition of equity. Take a look at Kamala Harris' 2020 campaign ad. NAVARRO: Let's let Ashley's -- ALLISON: Just because you talk so much doesn't make you right, okay? A conversation is that you listen. You actually hear what somebody says, and then we have a discourse. Just talking over someone doesn't make your point any stronger. [22:30:01] Equity allow --we can say, we know that there are people who are some disadvantaged, some white poor folks who are more disadvantaged than some people who are black middle class. We know that. But what equity is, is that, and I will just say, white women are the ones who have benefited the most from affirmative action. So, maybe you're sitting at this chair because somebody thought you deserve to have an equal playing field. MCCAUGHEY: I don't agree with them. ALLISON: You don't have to, but the facts are the facts. Like you don't have to agree with it, but numbers are numbers and facts are facts and we do know white women benefited more from affirmative action than even Ana, myself, or Abby, or you at this point. Equity is that we want an even playing field. We want everybody to want to have a fair shot. MCCAUGHEY: That's an incorrect definition. ALLISON: No, it's not. UNKNOWN: Yes, it is. SALAM: We can just look at Kamala Harris' legislation. We can look specifically at what she proposed. Now, you were suggesting earlier on that a Supreme Court decision regarding racial preferences and higher education admissions applies much more broadly. If that's the case, that's first of all contested, but if that's the case, then much of what Senator Harris proposed during her time in the Senate would now be found unconstitutional and again that's very much up for dispute. ALLISON: That's exactly what Project 225 wants to do. SALAM: Well look, but you were pointing that out as a fact earlier on and what I'm suggesting is that this is a live political and policy debate where there are a lot of Americans, black, brown, white Americans, who favor an approach markedly different from Kamala Harris'. And by the way, actually you may well be right that white women are the chief beneficiaries of preferences. That is not a strike in favor of these ideas and there are many women of all colors who agree that that is actually not a very wise way to build a country and to advance policies that get a lot of buy-in and legitimacy from folks. So, I think that that's why, you know, this conversation about DEI is so strange because diversity, equity, inclusion. You have Joe Biden saying that this is the foundation of the country. This is something that's enormously important. Look at my vice president. Now that it's become more contentious, less popular, now there are a lot of people of color who are very concerned about a DEI agenda, suddenly it's offensive. PHILLIP: You know, I will say it's interesting to hear you guys talk about this because rather than having a policy conversation, they just call her the DEI candidate - ALLISON: That's right. PHILLIP: -- which makes no sense considering that -- it makes no sense considering that she has qualifications to do the job just like all the other people who were considered. But instead of the policy, you're hearing these ad hominem arguments, which is I think where all of this really breaks down and could potentially backfire. NAVARRO: You know what I can't wrap my head around? So, on the one hand, I've seen Republicans trying to make the argument, particularly to black men and black people, that Kamala Harris is not black, right? They go through this entire thing, she's not black enough. But then on the other hand, they want to tell you that everything she's gotten in life, she's achieved because she's black and was given to her as a gift because she's black. SALAM: Which Republicans are saying this? MCCAUGHEY: I would never make that argument. SALAM: Just out of curiosity. Because there are plenty of folks on the left I've heard that from too, so you're identifying someone on social media vaguely who said she's not black enough because she's also an Asian-American? MCCAUGHEY: I don't think we should focus on Kamala Harris' personality. I NAVARRO: I can give you a lot of Republicans in the elected office who have said that she is that she's been given things because she's black. MCCAUGHEY: I don't think we should focus on Kamala Harris' personality or personal traits. I can point to the legislation that she drove through the Biden administration. For example, the American Rescue Act. Section 1001, Debt Relief for Black Farmers, but white farmers need not apply. Another section, relief for restaurant owners, but only women or minority owners. White owners had to wait three weeks additional in case the money ran out. PHILLIP: All right, you guys, we're out of time for this -- for this one. ALLISON: I'm just glad you're acknowledging that Kamala Harris actually did something. PHILLIP: Let me just -- we're going to pause here because we have a lot more ahead. I just want to say, Lieutenant Governor, the reason that the black farmers thing is an issue is because the government used to actually prevent black farmers from getting the same kinds of aid that they would give to white farmers. So, it's, you know, responding to an actual act of the government. That's one of the reasons that that is an issue for legislation. That's the reason it's on the table as legislation. But everyone, stand by for us. We've got a lot more ahead. Breaking news involving the Vice President's Kamala Harris' running mate search. We are now hearing that one of the contenders has removed his name from that list. You can stay with us. We've got more on that. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [22:38:53] PHILLIP: And breaking news, one of the V.P. contenders for Kamala Harris has taken his name out of consideration. Retired Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the Bin Laden raid, says that there are far better options. And my panel is back. Bill McRaven is a favorite of Washington. No labels tried to recruit him into the race. He said no then and here we are. SALAM: So, I guess my view is that if you're Kamala Harris, it makes perfect sense. You want a very low risk pick. You don't want to blow things up. You don't want to divide the party. But my view is that there's one potential vice presidential pick who would be huge, who would change the dynamic of the race. That is Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. He is someone who has described problematic, unruly, violent Gaza protesters as akin to the Ku Klux Klan. He's been very clear on stinting. He is someone who was able to speak about a Trump supporter at the recent Trump rally where there was an assassination attempt, Corey Comperatore, in a very human way, where he was really celebrating that person's life in a way that felt totally genuine. PHILLIP: He did have a great moment during that -- SALAM: He is totally different and he would really change things. The trouble is that there is a wing of the Democratic Party that does not want someone who is a staunch supporter of Israel and someone who is actually willing to face down violent protesters and say there's no room for him in the party. [22:40:08] PHILLIP: Do you think that that's true or is that overblown? I'm genuinely curious because -- SALAM: Chicago could be a mess. PHILLIP: I think I've never seen Democrats as pragmatic as they are right now. ALLISON: Yeah. PHILLIP: Since 2020 when they picked Joe Biden over everybody else. ALLISON: Yeah, I don't necessarily agree with that in terms of their -- I know that there is a wing of the party that is definitely protesting and its -- SALAM: A big and loud wing. PHILLIP: It's actually -- ALLISON: It's not any louder than MAGA but -- PHILLIP: It's small, like factually it's smaller and loud. ALLISON: But I also will say is that they are people who voted uncommitted and are still trying to find a pathway for Democrats to win in November because they understand the risk of Donald Trump's place. But putting that point aside, I want to talk about veepstakes on the Democratic side since it's my party. In this moment, put points on the board. Arizona, Pennsylvania, two people from those states, two important states that we need to win picked Mark Kelly -- PHILLIP: Okay. ALLISON: We just had the map up. NAVARRO: You are just absolutely right on that. ALLISON: Thank you. PHILLIP: Arizona, Pennsylvania and North Carolina is on that list, too. And according to our reporting, these are the top -- NAVARRO: What Kamala Harris needs to do is pick somebody that's better than J.D. Vance, which should be a very low bar. I heard J.D. Vance be described the other day as J.D. Vance is the Sarah Palin of Dan Quayles. I mean, you know, he has the lowest numbers, right? He has the lowest numbers after the convention of any vice presidential candidate. She needs to find somebody that's going to beat him. SALAMA: Don't underestimate J.D. Vance. That would be a mistake -- somebody -- before -- PHILLIP: Hold your thoughts for us. We've got a lot more to discuss. CNN has captured a protester, as we were just discussing this, holding a Hamas flag in Washington, D.C., as Democrats fear similar scenes playing out in Chicago at their convention. Our special guests will join us to discuss that and more. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [22:46:20] PHILLIP: We're back and we have a special guest joining the conversation at the table. With us now, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. He is one of the senior most Democrats in the House of Representatives, and he famously helped tilt the 2020 primary toward Joe Biden. And that is, in some ways, putting it lightly. Congressman, thank you for being here. REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, thank you very much for having me. PHILLIP: I wonder, listening to President Biden tonight, you've known him for a very long time. You said you were going to watch it by yourself. This is a moment for you, I'm sure, too, because of your role in helping put him in the White House. What was your reaction to the Joe Biden that you saw tonight? CLYBURN: I thought it was a great speech. I thought what came through, more than anything else, is a Joe that I know. You may recall when I made that endorsement that people talk about a lot back in 2020, it was a little refrain. I know Joe. We know Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us. And that came through tonight. He knows this country. He loves this country. He knows its people. He has great love for the democracy that has made us what we are today, and he will do anything to prevent this country from getting off track. From the very beginning, it was a recognition that we're not perfect. We all got to know the history of this country, far from being perfect. But then we decided, the founding fathers did, to start on a track toward a more perfect union. And we are still on that track. And Joe Biden has done his part to keep us on that. But the other side seemed to want to take us backward. We've done that before. After the 1876 presidential election, which they were trying to replicate on January 6, 2021, we took a backward thrust that led us to Jim Crow. Jim Crow caused things to happen in this country that none of us ought to ever want to revisit. But if you look at Trump's Project 2025 and see what's in it, you will see that this project, if it were ever implemented, would take this country back to where we were doing Jim Crow. PHILLIP: Let me ask you, Congressman, about the road ahead for Vice President Harris. We have a new CNN poll out now showing that she's made some gains in consolidating support within the party, but there's still a lot of work to do. And you're also hearing Republicans, including former President Trump, describing her as the most liberal candidate, likening her to Bernie Sanders, your colleague in the Senate. Does she need to convince voters that she is not some fire-breathing liberal? And if so, how does she do that? CLYBURN: Well, you know, I tell people a whole lot. My father was a fundamentalist minister, and he used to teach us that if you make a dollar, you ought to be able to save a nickel. When you walk out of the room, you turn your lights out. [22:50:01] You ought to conserve. He was a conservative, but he never asked his church on Sunday morning to give a conservative offering. He asked for a liberal offering. I grew up learning that we must balance liberalism and conservatism. This whole stuff of either you're conservative or you're liberal, that's poppycock. We have to look and see what the issues are, see what the conditions are, see what the needs are. I have three daughters. I don't treat them the same way because their needs are not the same. We treat people according to their needs, and we ought to get out of this stuff, this blaming liberal or that radical conservative. We have to deal with issues based upon what people's needs are. I heard you talking earlier about black farmers and the pay for black farmers. The former lieutenant governor ought to be ashamed of herself. We know. I used to run the South Carolina Commission for Farm Workers, and those three-member white-only committees turned down every loan every black farmer tried to get. The black soldiers that came back from World War II, when white soldiers were getting the GI Bill of Rights, they did not give those GI Bill of Rights to black soldiers. They didn't get the home loans that the white soldiers got. They didn't get the educational opportunities that white soldiers got. How do you correct that? Should we correct that? Or are we going to blame the process that we put in place to correct the fact that people lost their farms because they were discriminated against? PHILLIP: It's such an important piece. Just one second, Lieutenant Governor. It's such an important piece of history that you're putting there on the table, Congressman. I just want to introduce the panel that's here right now. Lieutenant Governor, I'll give you a quick second to respond to that but I want to move on to something else. MCCAUGHEY: I would like to respond because the farmers in upstate New York, the dairy farmers, needed debt relief, too, and they were going to be denied debt relief because of the color of their skin. PHILLIP: How do you respond to what the Congressman is saying -- MCCAUGHEY: I am responding. PHILLIP: - which is that for decades black farmers were denied -- MCCAUGHEY: Sins of the past -- PHILLIP: -- equal access -- MCCAUGHEY: That's true and -- PHILLIP: -- to the same services and aid that white farmers were getting? MCCAUGHEY: You should not make the people of the present suffer for the sins of our ancestors. That is not fair. And you can't tell the white farmers in upstate New York who are suffering, trying to hold on to their dairy farms that they can't have the same kind of debt relief because their skin isn't the right color. ALLISON: This isn't the sins of our past. This is the present that we're talking about. PHILLIP: I want to -- I know Reihan has a question for the Congressman. You can go ahead and ask him. SALAM: Just -- you've given a really thoughtful tribute to the idea that you want pragmatic moderation. When you are looking to the selection of a running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, I wonder if you think that she should be looking to consolidate and make enthusiastic progressive base voters. Or if you think she should choose someone who's going to appeal to independents and swing voters. What would your recommendation to her be? Because I know she listens very closely to what you have to say. CLYBURN: Well, I've made it very clear. I noticed the three front runners for this, one of whom is the governor of North Carolina, another the governor of Pennsylvania, and then the senator from Arizona. All three of them are great people. They bring different kinds of backgrounds to this whole ticket. Either one of them, in my opinion, would be great. The fact of the matter is there's nothing unusual about putting together a ticket with that one. Everybody loves John F. Kennedy. He would never have been President of the United States if he had not put Lyndon Baines Johnson on the ticket with him, and he did it because Johnson was from Texas, and he needed Johnson in order to help moderate the ticket. So, I would ask her to look at this program, look at all these people, and see who can best moderate the ticket and get that person. PHILLIP: Ana? NAVARRO: Congressman, nice to see you. And listen, I know one of your three daughters, and I know you treat them all very well. So, say hello to Mignon for me. CLYBURN: Thank you. NAVARRO: Look, you have worked with so many presidents, very closely with so many presidents in your tenure. You know what it takes to be a good president. And there's so many that are questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' qualifications. There's so many out there saying, some of your colleagues, Republican colleagues in Congress, saying that she is a DEI hire that only became vice president because of the color of her skin. [22:55:02] So, since you know her and you know what it takes, what do you think are her qualifications to be president? CLYBURN: She's an incredibly smart woman. I met her a long time ago before she ever ran for attorney general. She was a prosecutor there in California. In fact, I went out to California and spent a little time with her when she was running for that position. Was she DUI, I mean, DEI when she became the governor, I mean, the attorney general? Was she DEI when she became a United States senator? So, why is she DEI when she is running for president? She was an incredibly good attorney general, tremendous success, a good senator, and a great vice president. All of those seem to be training grounds for being president. So, if you just look at her background and her experiences, you will see in that the kind of foundation, if any white guy had that foundation, they would be saying she is well prepared to be President of the United States. So, why do we ascribe that to her? PHILLIP: Congressman James Clyburn, we really appreciate you joining the conversation with us. Thank you very much and thank you to everyone here. We'll be back in a moment. CLYBURN: Thank you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [22:59:43] PHILLIP: All right. No time for net caps tonight except for one. Ana has something to say. NAVARRO: Yes. You know, so we have seen some old video of J.D. Vance where he was attacking childless cat ladies. That's what he called Kamala Harris, despite the fact that she's raised -- helped raise two stepchildren. [23:00:02] So, I just want to make sure that if he's going to be attacking cat ladies, childless dog ladies are in the conversation. ALLISON: Me, too. So, Chacha demands -- PHILLIP: The childless dog ladies enter the chat. NAVARRO: -- equal treatment here. Right. ALLISON: So does ZZ. She wants to be treated fairly. Equity. PHILLIP: There's nothing wrong with childless cat or dog ladies. NAVARRO: Iguanas, fish, hamsters, ferrets. PHILLIP: Thank you all so much for watching "NewsNight" State of the Race. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now. Laura Coates Live Aired July 24, 2024 - 23:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [23:00:00] … LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Well, President Biden's patriotic swan song, tonight on "Laura Coates Live." So, here's the thing, people who know Joe Biden best, they have long said that there are actually two Joe Bidens. You got Joe Biden, the statesman, and then Joe Biden, the defensive and stubborn politician. Well, tonight, we saw the statesman. For 11 minutes, President Biden delivered a primetime address that this country has not seen since LBJ back in 1968, talking about an American president announcing a decision not to run for re-election or actually explaining his decision -- we already had that Dear John letter on Sunday -- by the time when he already had earned the delegates. That's history with a capital H. His family was seated just off camera to his left in the Oval Office. His son, Hunter, daughter Ashley and, of course, Dr. Jill Biden, his first lady among them. But the address, although they were in the room, was actually not to them, was it? It was to you, the American people, his fellow Americans and, frankly, the entire world. And after weeks of pressure, a speculation and punditry about what led Biden to make his decision, well, tonight, we finally heard from him directly. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I believe, I reckon, as president. My leadership in the world, my vision for America's future, all merited a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: In a way, the president returned to the same message he used when he ran in 2020. You remember that one? He'd say that America was in the battle for the soul of the nation. Well, he still believes that to be the case, even saying that he had earned a second term. But this time around, it's not him who would lead the charge. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: I revere this office, but I love my country more. It has been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. It's not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we, the people. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Now, I called it a swan song. But this was actually not a resignation speech, was it? The president made it crystal clear that he's going to run through the tape. He's going to govern until the end of his term. But avoiding a return of Trump will now fall to his vice president, Kamala Harris, who is, as you know, the de facto nominee. Biden actually thanked her tonight, calling her experienced and tough. Now, he never actually mentioned Trump's name, did he? But he didn't have to. His message was clear. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: The great thing about America is here. Kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. You just have to keep faith. Keep the faith. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Well, here to unpack this historic moment, writer Chris Whipple, author of "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House." Chris, good to see you. I mean, we knew this was forthcoming. CHRIS WHIPPLE, AUTHOR: Good to be back. COATES: Thank you. We knew it was coming. We read the letter on Sunday. President Biden tonight saying that the country is more important than anyone's personal ambition. Did he meet the moment tonight? WHIPPLE: He absolutely did. This was just an amazing moment of grace. You know, it was the most difficult and agonizing decision Joe Biden has ever made in his amazing career, maybe the most difficult of any president since Lyndon Johnson in 1968. And the thing that struck me as fascinating was the way he framed the decision. He said he was passing the torch because he had to unite the party. Now, if you gave Joe Biden truth serum, he might say that in America, the people rule, but so does Nancy Pelosi. [23:05:03] COATES: Hmm. WHIPPLE: I'm being slightly facetious, but the point is that he had to make, 72 hours ago in his house in Rehoboth Beach, he had to make a cold, hard calculation, and he made it. And that was that there was no path forward with the party leaders abandoning him. And what was obviously a bitter -- he -- he felt betrayed by some of them. So -- COATES: You identify -- WHIPPLE: -- this was a decision he did not want to make. And yet he made it tonight without bitterness, just grace. COATES: You identify former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Certainly, no one is naive to suggest that although she is a speaker emeritus, she still wields a great deal of power. You think that she's responsible for his decision to step aside? WHIPPLE: Well, I'll tell you this: I think that if to this moment, Joe Biden believes that he could win this election against Donald Trump -- COATES: Well -- WHIPPLE: -- and I think he probably believes he could serve another four years, I think the calculation here was not that he couldn't win, it was that he saw the party disintegrating around him. There was no path forward with Nancy Pelosi and the other leaders also ready to lower the boom publicly on him this coming week. So, he had no choice. You know, he has fought so many battles, and he has defied the odds time and time again. This was one last battle that he couldn't win. But boy, in the way he left and the way he stepped aside, he won it, I think. COATES: Leave it to you, the author of his book, really, to look at that word, the uniting of the party. I wonder if other people caught that nuance as well. But, Chris, there was something he did not address. He didn't address Trump by name, but he certainly made it very clear that Americans have this choice to make about the direction the United States of America is going to go into. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter? (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: I mean, that split screen is not very subtle. The issue of character certainly identifies and points to one opponent. WHIPPLE: He didn't have to name Trump by name. That line about character said it all, and I think everybody got the message. You know, the thing that surprised Joe Biden, shocked him, really, during his presidency more than anything else, was the lasting power of Trumpism. He thought that Donald Trump would be in the rearview mirror by now. He had this old school idea that he had a mandate of seven million votes and that Trumpism would go away. But it hasn't. And I think he, among other things, not only was he vintage Joe Biden, he was humble, he was plain spoken, he was eloquent tonight, but he also clearly laid out what he sees as the existential choice that faces the American public this year. COATES: Hmm. What did Shakespeare say? Out damn spot. Hmm. See, I still remember Shakespeare. Chris Whipple, thank you so much. WHIPPLE: Great to be with you. COATES: Joining me now, the first senator who called for President Biden to step aside, Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont. Senator, I'm so glad to have you here this evening. I've been really curious about your position, knowing now that Biden has decided to step aside. What was your reaction to his speech this evening? REP. PETER WELCH (D-VT): You know, if we step back from the political analytics and just think about this on a human level, it's pretty extraordinary. In my view, very inspiring. I mean, this is a man who, at 29 years old, ran for the U.S. Senate. One, he lost his wife and daughter. Later, he lost another son, and he had another son who suffered from addiction. He had the will to work through that incredible personal tragedy, and he had an enormous number of political setbacks. So, what you know is this man finally achieved the office that he was seeking for all his life, did an enormously good job, had the enormous affection of Democrats. He had that debate, which is a disaster, and he had to reassess. Could he win, and what would it mean to our country? And despite his determination, his willingness to engage in yet another up-mountain battle, his conclusion was it would be better for the country if he stepped aside. COATES: Hmm. [23:10:00] WELCH: There's a lot of humility in that. And it is humility in a man who had shown throughout his career enormous ambition, enormous strength. And I find it inspiring, that his sense of public service that he had when he was 25 and being a local supervisor endured through this moment when he stepped aside from the presidency of the United States. Just think about that. He relinquished power, even though he had already won the nomination of the Democratic Party. So, I find this an extraordinarily inspiring moment. COATES: I'm glad you talked about the human element of it because it must have been particularly difficult. And you spoke about personal ambition being subordinate to the love of country and the reverence he had for the office as well. And to your point about public service, he says he's going to keep working. He's going to work right until he leaves office. He talked about issues in the economy. He talked about gun violence, Supreme Court reform, just to name a few. What do you think he ought to prioritize in these final months? Because none of these are really lame duck criteria. These are significant things to do. WELCH: Well, two things. Number one, his priority is preserving our democracy. And I think his decision liberates him. Can you imagine, you are president of the United States, you're also having another job where you're the candidate for reelection in a fierce campaign with -- it's going to be negative. We all know that. So, now -- COATES: It already is. WELCH: It already is. He can concentrate on being above all of that and ask fundamental questions, where when he does, like Supreme Court reform, we've got a really bad Supreme Court, but it gets partisan. He's not in the situation of a candidate for reelection. He's in the position of a president who has relinquished power, but who's saying for the sake of our democracy, we've got to have Supreme Court reform. So, on that issue and on democratic issues like access to voting, like on the importance of securing the right of women to make their own decisions about their body, I think he has liberated to be a statesman who's not seen as somebody who's just in the hurly-burly of a campaign. COATES: What's fascinating to me, though, is that this is a kind of a Rorschach test. For example, you have this view, and then Senator J.D. Vance viewed his decision to not run for reelection as a threat to democracy and its core. Listen to what he said, actually. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Really, what happened was the leaders of the Democrat Party, in a very undemocratic move, the bosses, they said, either you get out or we're going to throw you out. SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is not how it works. That is a threat to democracy, not the Republican Party, which is fighting for democracy every single day. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: It's quite a split screen. Do you think this is a threat to democracy or anti-democratic in any way? WELCH: You know what's inspiring to me about this? Not just the president, but he had a bad debate. COATES: Uh-hmm. WELCH: And every day, I come from Vermont, where he got the highest margin of victory, and people who love Joe Biden said to me, Peter, we've got to do something, this isn't going to work. So instead of ignoring the reality of what we saw, a lot of people mobilized and acted, and the president responded. You take the Republican Party, so many of my colleagues that are in the Senate privately say what we all know. Trump is kind of nuts, but they won't do anything about it. We acted, and it was a situation where we were putting our obligation to the best -- to do the best we can, to have a candidate who has got a good shot at beating President Trump. We acted. And the Republicans are accommodating a guy who has destroyed the Republican Party. COATES: You have to think about candidates, though. The complete ticket would include a vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris. Who do you think that ought to be? WELCH: All of the people who have been mentioned are good with me. Here's what we have to do: You know, our campaign has to be about the future, and we've got to speak to folks who are feeling that the Democratic Party is a little out of touch. We've got to convince them that we have a vision that includes making housing affordable, having kids -- that they have real security that they can have the American dream, that things can be better, that we focus on common needs that are true for folks, whether they're in a red state or a blue state, we've got to have affordability, we've got to have a health care system that works. So, there's going to be a lot of talk by our presidential candidate about the failings of Trump, but I also think you're going to hear Kamala Harris talking about our commitment to meeting the common needs of folks, whether they're in a red state or a blue state, whether they voted for Trump in the past or not. We have to have common solutions for the common challenges that all of us face in America. [23:15:00] COATES: Well, Senator Welch, we'll see how the voters feel about it. Thank you so much. WELCH: Thank you. COATES: Well, former President Trump holding his first rally since President Biden dropped out of the race, testing out his lines of attack against his brand-new opponent, Kamala Harris. And let me be clear, they were not pretty. We'll bring them to you next. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: If you don't mind, I'm not going to be nice. Is that okay? (APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: Well, tonight, Donald Trump headlining his first rally since Kamala Harris' presumptive rise to the top of the democratic ticket. And if this rally was any indication, it's going to be a long and bitter campaign. [23:20:02] Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: If Kamala Harris gets in, she would be the most radical far left extremist ever to occupy the White House times 10. There has never been a lunatic like this in the White House. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Hmm. Her name, first of all, is Kamala, not Kamla. Oh, wait, no, it's the way otherwise. It's Kamala, not Kamala. You get that, right? She has been the vice president of the United States for almost four years. And something tells me he knows exactly how to pronounce her name. Joining me now, former Trump White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews, reporter for "Politico," Alex Isenstadt, and Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook. I'm emphasizing everyone's name right now, just to prove the point that everyone's name was quite clear to everyone listening today, right? Let me bring you in here, Sarah, though, because Trump said it himself tonight that everyone seemed to expect a change in his tone following a tragic and devastating to the nation near assassination attempt. But that's not what he delivered tonight. It seemed to be a reversion back to the earlier days. SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: No, it was pretty funny watching him say that everyone wanted him to be nice, and he says, I'm not going to be nice. And that goes against exactly what his campaign told us, the tone was going to be moving forward in his campaign. We were told that he was going to be softer, more unifying. And then we all saw that RNC convention acceptance speech. And that wasn't the Trump that he delivered. And then in this speech tonight, we saw him say things like that the Democrats stole the election, that it was rigged, and moving forward with this divisive rhetoric. I think it just goes to show that he hasn't changed at all whatsoever. So not even an attempt on his life will do that. He's always going to be Trump. And so, no matter how much wish casting the Trump campaign tries to compel him to be this unifier, that's just not who he is. COATES: And by the way, the crowd seemed to love it. I mean, they were feeding off of him saying, I'm not going to be nice tonight. They were roaring with applause. And he's somebody to feed off the crowd. There's also this mispronunciation thing, Robby. And, of course, I jokingly called you Robby, but obviously it's Robby. But, you know, you're a 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign alum. Did you pick up on just how many times he had actually mispronounced Harris's name? I mean, our producer counted, what? Forty-one times during his speech tonight. I mean, how should she counter him? Did you even try to address it? ROBBY MOOK, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR HILLARY CLINTON'S 2016 CAMPAIGN: Yeah, I think this is best left to others. You know, this is a trap he wants to set with her. And it's interesting because he wants her to start to make this about her. And she needs to make it about the voters, right? What's in it for them? That's really important for her in this introductory period. It's incumbent on her to, first of all, introduce herself and tell her story, but then explain what's in it for people. We know prices are high. You know, there's a lot of uncertainty about the economy and the world. So, she's got to explain what's in it for them. And I would not take the bait on this. And I know this team really well. I don't think they're going to. COATES: It would be taking the bait. Let me turn to Alex on this because I'm sure he wants to get into a discussion on name-calling and kind of a tit-for-tat rolling in the mud, so to speak, which can distract you from the mission and purpose. But he did eventually pivot his way back to the teleprompter. And in those moments, he did talk about the policy issues. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Kamala has been more unhinged than her wild pursuit of open borders. She cast the tie-breaking votes that created the worst inflation in a half a century. If you want socialist health care, nation-wrecking inflation, the death of American energy, and a lying radical-left liberal San Francisco extremist as your commander in chief, then Kamala Harris is your candidate. She's the one for you. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: I mean, that sentence was chock-full of so many different policy positions and talking points. I do wonder, the name-calling aside, and that's one thing that he's trying to do, but is this the policy issue where you think the rubber might meet the road? ALEX ISENSTADT, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Well, he's trying to attack her on any number of policy issues. He's trying to take Joe Biden, who clearly was less popular, clearly at this point less popular than Kamala Harris. He's trying to attach her to him on any number of issues that are part of the Biden administration. So, he's trying to take immigration, and really, he's trying to hone in on that. He had a call with reporters yesterday. We talked specifically about immigration. So that's clearly sort of a focal point. But there is also -- what you also saw in that clip was a real lack of focus. It's not totally clear, to me at least, how he's trying to go after Harris at this point. There's no real clear argument. So, you're seeing some of immigration, you're seeing some other issues being thrown there. He's saying she's soft on crime. [23:25:00] But it doesn't feel like they've really found the sharp message that they found when they were running against Biden, which was that he lost his mental acuity, he lost his step, and he had been ineffective. It doesn't feel like they've quite found that message to use against her yet. COATES: I find that so surprising for so many reasons, Sarah, not because I think there are the laundry list of reasons to attack her, but because they had been asking or saying that Biden should not be running any longer. If you just were to follow that thread a centimeter, the next conclusion would be that she possibly would be the presumptive nominee. Did they really not think that there had to be a message or a strategy as it relates to the vice president? MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, you would think that they'd be better prepared for this moment. And kudos to them because clearly, their messaging about Biden worked. The voters believed it. They thought that Joe Biden was too old to do the job and continue for another four years and seek a second term. And so, you would think then that the Trump campaign would have been prepared to take her on as a candidate. And they kind of kept saying in their messaging before Biden dropped out, I think in the months leading up to this, they were saying, oh, well, you're really voting for -- COATES: Uh-hmm. MATTHEWS: -- Kamala Harris. And so, then you would think that they would have their lines of attack ready to go or commercials or more poll testing on what the message is that is best used against her because, as Alex noted, it just kind of seems like they're throwing whatever at the wall and seeing what sticks right now. COATES: And again, trying to, you know, rev up the base in a campaign rally different than trying to rev up a base in a general election and what might actually resonate with them. But, Robby, let me ask you, because there was this illuminating policy moment of sorts where Trump revealed where he stands today, today on abortion. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I happen to support the three exceptions, rape, incest, and the life of the mother. I think that's the way. (APPLAUSE) But follow your heart. But you also have to remember, you have to get elected. You have to remember because we have elections and elections are about a lot of other things, too, that are very important. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Remember, follow your heart. I don't follow that particular logic. Was he trying to undermine his own statement? I mean, we know that just at the last week's RNC, reproductive rights was not even talked about all that much. He knows, though, that this issue is not a winning one, particularly for him. Could you decipher the code that he was trying to say? MOOK: Yeah, well, he's trying to have it both ways. Look, he gave the extreme right wing what they wanted, which is they wanted to get rid of Roe v. Wade. States now can pass whatever laws they want, not according to the limitations he just laid out. They don't have to have exceptions. So, he's undermining his own policy right there. And he's doing it because he knows how unpopular it is. And, you know, it's interesting, you were talking about him mentioning policy. I think this election is going to be about culture. It's going to be about, you know, some big lies, big myths. There's not going to be a lot of policy details. I think this is one place where policy is really going to matter. And these sorts of details leave him very vulnerable. This is a critical issue in this election. I think one of the many things we gain by having Kamala Harris now as our candidate is someone who can really speak to this issue even more powerfully than Joe Biden could. And you just heard it right there. Trump is scared. So, he's trying to roll it back. He's trying to spackle it over. But the facts speak for themselves. COATES: I wonder if hedging in politics will work in this campaign. Thank you all, Robby Mook, Sarah Matthews, Alex Isenstadt. I pronounced all your names correctly. The point has been made. Thank you. Ahead, the FBI director says the Trump rally shooter was actually Googling JFK's assassination. And the particular question that he searched for and what it might reveal about his motive, I'll tell you next. And next, Vice President Harris tells the backbone of the Democratic Party, that she's counting on them. Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove was there, and now she's here after this. Hello. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. We are not going back. (APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [23:33:47] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: And we know, when we organize, mountains move. (APPLAUSE) When we mobilize, nations change. (APPLAUSE) And when we vote, we make history. (APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Kamala Harris mobilizing the Black sorority families from her staunchest supporters as she looks to them for help come November. Her rally today follows a Zoom call on Sunday with, remember, 44,000 Black women that raised $1.5 million for Harris and her campaign. Joining me now, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. She joined the vice president on her trip to Indianapolis earlier today. I'm glad that you are with us right now. We have heard so much about the enthusiasm gap and now this extraordinary amount of momentum that is here right now. You were actually in the room where it was happening. What was the energy like in the response to her now being the nominee? REP. SYDNEY KAI KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): It was jubilant excitement. There are women who had been lined up since 4:00 in the morning to make sure that they would get into that convention center. So, I was just happy to be able to hitch a ride with her as a member of Zeta Phi Beta. She is AKA. [23:35:00] We were able to talk about the importance of these organizations rooted in community justice and economic development and sisterhood and service. And then to hear her talk to these women, many of whom have lived through, you know, generations or times when they were not able to vote, they did not have access to quality health care or housing, they had employment discrimination that they had to deal with, and they're listening to this Black woman who is running to be the next president of the United States, share with them all of the accomplishments that have happened under the Biden-Harris administration and her vision for the future, it was electric. COATES: You know, even with all of that, I think there are so many people who are excited. And yet there is a level of nervousness given the history of America and the way in which women and particularly Black women have been cast aside except for when it comes to elections. And there were those who were talking even in the room, I understand, where one person who was an attendant said that she is going to have a hard time. "I'm just being honest. She's a woman and she's Black. So, she's not going to win." But they said, if you had your eyes closed and you just go based on her qualifications versus Trump's qualifications, yes, she definitely would win. That speaks volumes about, I think, a level of anxiety in addition to the enthusiasm about the prospects of a Black woman in America in 2024 being successful at the presidential election. KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, we are always nervous when one of our own ascends into spaces where we know people don't want us to be. We get very nervous and also very protective. So, I think that's what she was saying. I remember my grandmother was incredibly nervous about Barack Obama running to be president. But she shared this bold vision for a future, right? The fact that we have to be protecting these freedoms, we have to be fighting for economic justice, social justice, reproductive justice. And all of those things are on the chopping block with Project 2025. We have seen through this manifesto that he wants to erode protections really that Black folks fought for to make sure that we would have basic federal protections, right? To make sure that the water you drink is clean, that you don't have poison in your food, you know, that you have access to school lunches, that you can vote, that you have access to the National Weather Service, that you have Medicaid and Medicare, all of these things he wants to erode, and then fire four million federal workers and then replace them with his loyalists. And she's saying, no, let's be bold. You know, let's talk about climate change, let's talk about greater infrastructure, let's elevate the cries that we're hearing from our Gen Zs, and let's celebrate our seniors who continue to need inhalers and insulin at $35 a month, right? Who need that medical debt taken off their credit report. So, there was so much excitement. And I told them, I said, do you all understand the assignment? COATES: Hmm. KAMLAGER-DOVE: And all of the women said yes. And we know exactly what that assignment is. It's getting her elected. COATES: Well, there's also innuendo and dog whistling that is happening. I don't know if it's a dog whistle or a horn blowing because there has been those who have labeled her, in spite of her qualifications and last four years as the vice president of the United States, relegating her to a DEI hire. And one of the people speaking about that was Congressman Tim Burchett, who came on my SiriusXM show this morning. I asked him about what the response had been to that statement. Listen to what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN) (voice-over): Do I wish I had said it? No, but it was the truth. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: It's not the truth, first of all. But why do you think people believe this to be an effective vehicle to undermine her? KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, it is a dog whistle. They also have nothing else to talk about. COATES: Hmm. KAMLAGER-DOVE: You know, Chip Roy said it the best. We don't have a platform to run on. We haven't done anything in Congress that we can take home and share with our district constituents. So, of course, they're going to fall back on these very tired tropes. You know, she is the most qualified candidate running for president. I actually wish they would talk about J.D. Vance, who really is a DEI hire. I mean, he has absolutely no qualifications. And the guy running against her is equally unqualified. So, let's spend some time unraveling the incompetence that was the last four years of the Trump administration and then compare it to what she and Joe Biden have been able to do in just three and a half years. COATES: Hmm. An inconvenient truth you may be describing. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining me today. KAMLAGER-DOVE: Thank you. COATES: Ahead, the chilling JFK Google search by the gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump. The questions it's now raising about his mindset and also the motive. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [23:44:11] COATES: FBI Director Christopher Wray testifying on Capitol Hill today and telling lawmakers the would-be Trump assassin researched details -- get this -- about Lee Harvey Oswald and the JFK assassination. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHRISTOPHER WRAY, DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: Analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter reveals that on July 6th, he did a Google search for -- quote -- how far away was Oswald from Kennedy? And so that's a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind. That is the same day that it appears that he registered for the Butler rally. (END VIDEO CLIP) [23:45:02] COATES: But, you know, that's not all, because Wray also said that the shooter flew a drone, a drone 200 yards from the stage where Trump was going to speak, just hours before the former president took to the podium. And then there's the gun that was used by the shooter. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WRAY: The weapon had a collapsible stock, which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe, you know, because one of the things that we're finding is people have observed him, the first people to observe him with the weapon were -- when he was already on the roof, and we haven't yet found anybody with firsthand observation of him with the weapon walking around beforehand. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: There were also, apparently, two explosives that were found in the shooter's car. And Wray said that those explosives, they could have been detonated remotely. That is, if the remote receiver had actually been turned on. But it was in the off position. And then there's the question that everybody wants to know. Why? Why did this 20-year-old attempt to assassinate a former president? (END VIDEO CLIP) WRAY: I think it's fair to say that we do not yet have a clear picture of his motive. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Well, joining me now, Casey Jordan. She's a criminologist and behavioral analyst. Casey, this has so many unanswered questions. Now, according to Wray, on July 5th, the would-be assassin actually traveled to the rally site at one point in time. And the next day, he searched for how far away was Oswald from Kennedy. That same day, he registered for the rally. So, what can you discern from this timeline from what a person like this was thinking? CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST: I think it's pretty obvious to all of us, Laura, that it was planned. It's just not the act of somebody who was being impulsive, who just had a bad day and decided to do this randomly. He had been thinking about it for a while. But the question is why. And one of the reports I've read, but it's unconfirmed, is that he had done a search on his phone about symptoms for depression. And that would help explain why he may have been on a downward spiral. But why that really wraps this up, especially now that we know that he did a search on Lee Harvey Oswald and, again, the trajectory, is that everyone knows the name of Lee Harvey Oswald. He wanted to live in infamy. He wanted to be notorious, if you will. When we kind of back up and look about the fact that he was a loner, but nothing about his political affiliation, I mean, yes, he was a registered Republican, but he wasn't an extremist or active in politics, it really just indicates that he wanted to be famous. And we call this the Travis Bickle effect, if you remember the movie "Taxi Driver" -- COATES: Hmm. JORDAN: -- that inspired John Hinckley in his failed assassination attempt of President Reagan. And really it just comes down to you. When you shoot at a president or a presidential candidate, you will be famous forever. COATES: I mean, just thinking about the many people in the world who are battling mental health and depression don't engage in this type of behavior. And the way you describe it, I mean, a 20-year-old male, a seemingly good student, as you mentioned, unclear about what his political beliefs really are, is there a profile that you think the FBI or investigators are trying to map out in an attempt to either understand what happened here or to find a copycat or prevent this from happening again? JORDAN: Well, we don't like the word copycat so much as it does inspire other people with like-minded fantasies of being famous. But the bottom line with this particular shooting is that you have to keep in mind he has no diagnosed mental illness, not like John Hinckley, who had had a lot of psychiatric treatment before he attempted to kill Reagan. And what we do know is that it was a legally purchased gun, that politics doesn't seem to play a role, but infamy does. When people get on their downward spirals, and we do believe that he had actually failed to make the rifle team of his high school, that has been reported repeatedly, there are people who say conflicting reports, but if that's true, then think about the pseudo-commandos, and that's a typology of mass murder that we see with snipers like the D.C. sniper or your 2017 Las Vegas massacre. So many times, you see people trying to prove their worth in marksmanship. And if he was really feeling like he was undervalued for his marksmanship in high school, this could be a chip on his shoulder that he carried around for a few years until he did that Google search, wanted to know how many yards from Lee Harvey Oswald to President Kennedy, and decided to replicate that moment in history so that he would go down in history himself. [23:50:01] COATES: Casey Jordan, this is as troubling as it is fascinating. Thank you. JORDAN: Good to be here. COATES: There were pretty tense protests in Washington, D.C. today as the prime minister of Israel addressed Congress. Now, it'll be Biden and Harris' turn to hear from him directly. And the big question is, did his speech give us any clues about how those conversations might go? (COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably not getting the public welcome that he wanted at the Capitol today. [23:55:00] Hundreds of people there to protest his speech to Congress. Police at one point using pepper spray against the demonstrators and more clashes with police. Outside Union Station in D.C., protesters there taking down American flags and burning them, replacing them with Palestinian flags. Also, an effigy of the Israeli prime minister burned, a statute spray painted with "Hamas is coming," And then in the halls of Congress, 80 Democrats sitting out the speech with one Democrat, the only Palestinian member of Congress, Rashida Tlaib, holding up a sign saying, "war criminal." Netanyahu responding to the protests in his speech today. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Many anti-Israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. They stand with Hamas. They stand with rapists and murderers. You have officially become Iran's useful idiots. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Joining me now, David Sanger, a CNN political and national security analyst. He's also the White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times." He's the author of "The Perfect Weapon." He joins us now -- and "New Cold Wars." David, Netanyahu was lashing out at the protesters, college presidents, by the way, the International Criminal Court, just to name a few, while all the while giving a full-throated defense of the war in Gaza. What was your big takeaway from the speech? DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL: Laura, what's really fascinating about the speech is both what he said and what he failed to say. First of all, it was delivered in sort of Ronald Reagan style. He had up in the galley IDF, Israeli Defense Force heroes who had limbs blown off but kept fighting Hamas, who responded on October 7th to the terrorist attack, one of whom had run eight miles to the site of the attack because he didn't have a car. So, it was quite the theater. What he failed to do was acknowledge in any way the more than 30,000, nearly 40,000, by Palestinian estimates, civilian casualties. Now, some of those obviously are militants, the Israelis, say upwards of 14,000 or 15,000. But he never sorts of came to grapple with the question of whether Israel overreacted and killed civilians indiscriminately on the way to taking out terrorists. And so, he didn't really get to the core issue. He did, however, make a very full-throated defense of continuing the war and very little discussion of what he'd do the day after. COATES: There were -- as you mentioned, there were mentions of the hostages, not much on a potential deal to release them, which the White House says is close. But then there was this moment when he was pressing the United States to deliver weapons more quickly, essentially saying if you deliver them more quickly, this war will be over all the faster. Listen to what he had to say. Actually, tonight, Senator Peter Welch was reacting to that very point, as to what this would look like. Listen to what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WELCH: It was empty and it was tired. There has been enormous loss of life in Gaza. There has been suffering and division in Israel. I was hoping, I listened to his speech in my office, that I would hear a pathway forward. I didn't hear that. (END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: Did you hear that, and do you think that Netanyahu gained any support for like coming to Congress in furtherance of that mission? SANGER: Well, I think Senator Welch is right. You did not hear any elements of the plan for how you get out of this. And you have to remember that that in part is because Prime Minister Netanyahu was speaking not only to an American audience but to an Israeli one. In fact, by having this speech take place at 2 p.m. in Washington, he was hitting sort of prime time in Israel. And he knew that he's got to hold together his coalition, which includes some of the most right- wing parties that have ever seen power in Israel. That said, it would have been helpful, I think, for him to acknowledge what parts of the plan that President Biden announced at the end of May and said was Mr. Netanyahu's plan. He really meant to go pursue. It would have been good if he could have described who would take control of security in Gaza when the Israelis leave because the U.S. has said it's unacceptable for either Hamas or Israeli forces to be providing that security. [00:00:06] He didn't do that. It was more of a speech for the heartstrings. But he wasn't as divisive as he was in 2015 when he came to oppose the Iran nuclear deal. COATES: David Sanger, we look forward to hearing what the conversations with Harris, Biden, and Trump will look like as well. Thank you so much for joining us. And his new book, by the way, is "New Cold Wars." Thank you for joining us. And thank you all for watching. Our coverage continues.