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It is Thursday, August 1st, and right now on CNN This Morning. I don't know, is she Indian or is she black? Donald Trump sparking backlash after questioning the vice president's racial identity during a combative interview with black journalists. And... We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us. Kamala Harris responding to Donald Trump's false attacks on her race. Plus...
Donald Trump also downplaying the effect his vice presidential selection is having on his campaign. Then the fallout in the Middle East after the assassination of a top Hamas political leader heightens fears of a broader war.
It is 6:01 here in Washington. This is a live look at the White House on this August 1st. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean. And for Casey Hunt, it's great to be with you this morning. Donald Trump is getting called out for making false and misleading claims about the ethnicity of his 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris. In front of a group of black journalists, Trump was asked about how some in his party have attacked Harris, derisively calling her a DEI hire, bringing this response.
I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she black? Those remarks stirring up a firestorm of criticism. But Trump allies like Vice Presidential hopeful J.D. Vance quickly rallying to his side, even doubling down on the comments in some ways. Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her.
I don't know if you saw this, but earlier this week, look up the clip, she went down to Georgia and started talking with a fake southern accent. Vice President Harris herself is dismissing Trump's newest claims, calling it the same old show. Donald Trump spoke at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. And it was the same old show. The divisiveness and the disrespect. And let me just say, the American people deserve better.
The American people deserve better. Potential vice presidential picks like Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona were also quick to call out Trump for those comments. This is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man. He's afraid. He's probably afraid to debate her. He's certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November.
Joining me now to discuss all of this, Toluse Olorunnipa. Let's get it right, Jess. White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, Mike Dubke, former communications director for the Trump White House, and Kate Bedingfield, a former communications director for the Biden White House. Good morning to all of you. How's everybody doing? Good morning. Good morning. Watching all of that, we have plenty to talk about today.
Mike let's start first with you. Of course But we're watching all of this and and people are starting to comment look This is almost like birtherism 2.0 in a way making questions about where she comes from trying to other her What do you think he's getting at in these remarks? I think what he's getting at or where the campaign is right now is they've had a week of
of this Harris mania that's been going on and Donald Trump's trying to get back into the conversation. One of the ways he knows to get back into the conversation is to say things that are going to be picked up on cable news. And especially saying things in front of a black journalist audience that are gonna be picked up and make news.
So I think part of this is really getting back in front of the cameras and being relevant to the campaign again after the news media has shifted focus. He had a pretty good month of June, July, and then we had the switch in candidates.
And he took a back seat. Now I think he's trying to get back into the driver's lane. And Kate, after the assassination attempt during the RNC, all the promises of a changed man. Yes. All the promises of he really has been changed and he's not the same man and he's all for unity. The new Trump. Is this the new Trump? This is the same old Trump. This is the only Trump. This is the only Trump there is.
You know, I thought that Vice President Harris's response here was really pitch perfect in a couple ways. One, she made the response about the American people, right? Less about herself and more about, you know, America deserves better than this.
You know, I thought she also approached it, she called it out directly, but she, I think, has been smart and I'm watching her campaign and the surrogates go out and I think they're being smart about not taking the bait here. I mean, kind of to Mike's point, this is what Trump does, right? He tries to be incendiary, he tries to draw the conversation back to him, and I think by...
by not letting these kinds of things go unchallenged, but by not suddenly reorienting your entire message into high outrage about this. They're not playing into his hands in there. And I think that's smart. And I think we're seeing from her just generally a sense of,
you know, the kind of happy warrior sort of joy that I think is part of why she's connecting so directly with people right now, because people are so hungry for that. Our politics have been so divisive, so ugly, you know, since Donald Trump came down that escalator almost a decade ago. And so I just think the way she's navigating this so far is really, really smart.
Yeah, and to allude to that point, it is, if you kind of back up and go to Hillary Clinton in 2016, trying to find the right line of attack against Donald Trump, even President Joe Biden had his own way and kind of evolved beyond that. And now it's like we've kind of evolved into how Kamala Harris is going to deal with it. And to Kate's point, it is a little bit different than we've seen. It's not hair on fire, outrage, you
you know it's kinda them in all and it's about her turning it back to the American people yes also the context of this election which is wild and crazy and different from any election that we've had in the past she has less than a hundred days to introduce yourself to the country to make her argument about why she should be president if she spends fifty percent of that time or seventy five percent that time responding to Donald Trump's antics you will never have an opportunity to tell people why she should be president we have to remember that a lot of what Trump is trying to do is to other eyes her
like he did with Hillary Clinton tried to talk about why she shouldn't be president why people should be uncomfortable with the idea of having a woman president having a black woman president having someone has South Asian heritage as president and he's trying to remind people about that because we've never had it before he's done it in the past he even did it with President Obama and tried to question his his qualifications for the presidency saying things like someone should look into that is what he said yesterday I think it's very clear that he's trying to appeals the people that are uncomfortable
with Kamala Harris as president for a number of different reasons. And giving these dog whistles makes it easier for people like that to question their choice, question the enthusiasm around Harris. And so she has to introduce herself without getting sidetracked by those kinds of arguments. Right. And Mike, to that end, there is now this race to define who Kamala Harris is, both by the Harris campaign and by...
Donald Trump and and and and obviously those are very competing narrative right how do you reach because I'm thinking about the voters that are no matter what gonna vote for Trump and the voters who are no matter what gonna vote for Harris if that sliver in the middle how do you reach them and how do you win honestly I think you reach them by talking about the issues
that there is failed immigration policy by the Biden-Harris administration. There's failed inflationary policy by the Biden and Harris administration. There's failed, I'll call it Israel policy because I like my three eyes, by the Biden-Harris administration. Talk about the failures of the previous administration and define the fact
the you know, the vice president was a lightly regarded vice president. I don't mean that derisively, but she was not. She has become the savior of the Democratic Party, I think, because she's not Joe Biden, not because she's Kamala Harris. And there's a big difference there. So I think you can define her by painting her with the
with the policy failures of the Biden Harris administration that's a better place to start than where the president has gone but again that may not be as sexy and interesting as as what he did yesterday right and and yeah well no I just think the other thing that this shows in addition to putting on display Trump's
racism and willingness to just go to the ugliest and most divisive place. It also shows how thin-skinned he is. I mean, this is clearly, I cannot fathom that his campaign staff sat around with him before this event and said, you know, here's the best and most effective way for you to use this time in front of the National Association of Black Journalists. But because Trump is so thin-skinned and because he feels
by what he's seen happen over the last, now, little over a week, and as he's watched the polls move, and he can also, I'm sure, feel the momentum moving, this is his natural reaction. And it just shows that, you know, yes, there are 95 days left in this campaign, and he...
is not going to be able to run a disciplined campaign because there is no discipline to Trump, right? There's only this Trump. And so for the Harris campaign, I think this is really, this reinforces for them, we have a plan, stick to our plan and let the chips fall because Trump is not gonna be able to execute
effectively over the next 95 days. - And to Lou, just as we're talking about all of this, cable news is talking about all of this, how do you think this kind of is digested by a voter who's evaluating these candidates?
I think voters are trying to wade through all of the drama to get to what actually matters to them. I think that's one of the reasons Kamala Harris didn't spend a lot of time defending herself, defending her identity, because she needs to be talking about the issues in part because voters are looking for issue-based results and issue-based results.
solutions to the challenges and they're very real challenges in the in the world right now they're really major challenges on inflation and on immigration and on the world stage and these are distractions to a number of voters who are looking for someone to provide actual solutions and so it does open an opportunity for Kamala Harris to lay out her policy platform she has not yet done an interview with someone and
detailed her policy stances on some of the things that she said in 2020 and 2019 when she was running for the presidency and the difference between where she was then and where she is now. It doesn't give her an opportunity to lay out her policy platform on actual issues that people are thinking about. Not very many voters are going to be swayed about questions about her identity. And so it does give her an opportunity to do that. We'll wait and see whether or not she takes that opportunity. It's funny, we keep saying maybe voters care about issues. There's an idea. Common
Coming up on CNN This Morning, Donald Trump facing new criticisms after that heated interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. Plus, hopes of an end to the war in Gaza grow dim after two assassinations in the Middle East to the brink of all-out war. And vice presidential candidates make their case for Harris ahead of her announcement next week.
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Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked a question so... in such a horrible manner, the first question. You don't even say, "Hello, how are you? Are you with ABC?" Because I think they're a fake news network. Then you were half an hour late. Just so we understand, I have too much respect for you to be late. They couldn't get their equipment working or something was wrong.
A combative start to former President Donald Trump's interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention yesterday and his appearance prompting a wave of backlash after he questioned Kamala Harris's identity as a black woman and repeated his claim that undocumented migrants are taking, quote, black jobs. Trump's interview comes as he tries to build momentum with black voters and he was making inroads with that group until Harris entered the race. And on that note, our panel is back to discuss this
Toulouse, I want to stick with those numbers we were just looking at because the Trump campaign was really zeroed in on trying to go after black voters, especially black men, where they saw Biden's numbers softening. And that whole dynamic has really been turned on its head in the last 10 days. Yeah, we saw Kamala Harris in Atlanta with a
largely black crowd, a lot of young people, really enthusiastic, more than 10,000 people in that crowd. It showed how much the race has changed, how much the enthusiasm is behind Harris, not only as the first woman potential president, but also the first black woman to potentially be president.
Donald Trump has having to deal with that shift in vibes, that shift in enthusiasm. It is a vibe shift, isn't it? It's a bit of a vibe shift, specifically when it comes to, you saw tens of thousands of black women on a Zoom call, then followed by tens of thousands of black men on a Zoom call supporting Kamala Harris. And that is sending some fears into the Trump campaign that was starting to make some of the inroads and starting to see the numbers increase. You have to remember if
States like Georgia and Pennsylvania and North Carolina, just a 2% or 3% shift in the black vote could be the ballgame in some of those states. And so the fact that we're starting to see those numbers trend towards Kamala Harris, the enthusiasm, the energy trending towards Kamala Harris, it does really call into question some of the Trump campaign's strategy of trying to separate black men and women, trying to appeal to black men and peel off some of the votes that had gone to Joe Biden because there was less enthusiasm behind Joe Biden, whether or not
a president Trump former President Trump can get things back on track that remains to be seen but what he did yesterday did not help him in that effort at all okay and so Mike here here he is at the National Association of black journalists and we saw how it the start that it got off to yes why do you think that he made those choices because he was already there in the room you could make a lot of good use at that time to try to make your case well he was already there in the room though you know interestingly enough
There were members of the organization prior that were upset that he was even invited which is surprising to me because it's a group of Journalists wouldn't you want a newsmaker on stage? So that part I never really understood So I think he felt like that this is walking into a hostile environment but you know one of the points here that I thought was interesting as the Rachel Scott from ABC News
Who was asking that question? Who was asking the initial question. And ABC News is the organization that's supposed to have the next debate. So part of this may be, from their perspective, is setting up ABC. They have said they don't want to go on ABC. Is setting it up that we are going to do the debates, but we're going to try to do it on a different network. So that's...
You know, that's one aspect of this. Yeah, to kind of keep in mind. And there was, Kate, like this back and forth about Trump is coming and Harris was invited, but she's been on the road and she tried to do something virtual and they didn't want to do virtual. And it was all kind of a back and forth. But that's why she wasn't there. Yeah, yeah. I mean, look, the demands on a presidential candidate's time are mind boggling. Then add on top of that, she just became the presumptive nominee 10 days ago. She's in the middle of...
trying to make a decision about a vice presidential nominee. I mean, you can't even fathom how much is on her plate at this moment. So their campaign is battling all sorts of balancing, I should say, all sorts of different competing interests. I think they made clear that they want the opportunity for her to be able to address the group. I think they were discussing trying to do something virtually either maybe after the convention. So there's...
I don't see a world where Kamala Harris doesn't want to speak to the National Association of Black Journalists. It would be a great opportunity for her, part of
part of what is um why democrats have reason to be so optimistic is not just the the shift in enthusiasm which of course is significant but you know kamala harris also has an opportunity to to grow with some of these voters who had very hardened calcified views of joe biden positive or negative and know less about her and there's even more opportunity for her to define herself
Obviously doing that in front of a group like NABJ is great. I would imagine they'll find a way to do it at some point. It is interesting that you note that her not being as defined could really be a benefit. Absolutely. I think it absolutely could, especially as you see her over this last 10 days kind of putting forth a really affirmative message, a forward-looking message, which is I think what voters have really been hungering for.
So the fact that they don't have a lot of preconceived notions about her gives her space to make that case. So yes, it is a battle right now to define her and we see what Trump is trying to do. I think where she's being really smart is in making this argument about the voters. That is something Trump has always struggled to do. For Trump, everything's about Trump. And even in the way he was attacking her yesterday, attacking her along the lines of ethnicity, race,
what does that say to somebody in you know Midwest state who's trying to make a determination about who they want to be president what is that what is that how's that help their lives what's the case you know I should vote for him because
what, he uses really hateful language to attack his opponent? - Well, you should admire the fact that he went in front of a, what turned out to be a hostile crowd, but he actually put himself out there to take questions from journalists. We haven't seen that from the vice president yet. We haven't seen her put herself in anything but a favorable situation, a set stump speech,
a friendly group. And so when they're ready to roll her out, I think that's when we're going to see some of this debate come. Now, the argument could be with 94 days, just keep her in that safe zone and then we don't have to find out. But that is one thing I think if you look at, regardless of what the president said in front of the group, the fact that he opened himself up
and does take questions from journalists, I think is a big difference between these two right now. But I don't think you can say regardless of what he said. I mean, yes, it matters. And yes, candidates should take questions from journalists, but it matters what they say when they answer those questions. And what he said yesterday was appalling. All right, we're going to leave it there for one second and take a quick break. Up next, the teenager behind Monday's stabbing at a UK dance school now facing murder charges.
Plus, severe storms tear through the Central Plains and more than 100 million Americans are experiencing now a dangerous heatwave. 27 minutes past the hour now, five things you have to see this morning. Stunning footage of the moment Kansas first responders rescued a toddler who fell 10 feet deep into this 12-inch PVC pipe. Rescuers were able to pull him out by using a makeshift catch pole and that boy is unharmed and okay.
At least 178 people have died, including 26 children, following devastating landslides in southern India. A third day of rescue operations continue with more than 8,000 people still in relief camps there. And flash flooding devastating the Vermont town of Lindenville. Recovery efforts are underway after the village sustained its second flood in just a month.
An English town is on edge following riots and a deadly stabbing spree at a dance school. A vigil for the stabbing victims turned into a riot in Southport as far-right protesters threw rocks at police and set vehicles on fire. And more violent demonstrations spread to London just outside the Prime Minister's residence. The 17-year-old suspect in that case is appearing in court today charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
A wildfire in Boulder, Colorado is forcing evacuations after destroying at least one home. The Lakeshore fire erupted Wednesday, but officials hope to have it contained soon. Investigators say it appears the fire was accidentally started by somebody who was working on their property.
and we are seeing more da across the country today Americans under heat alert severe storm slamming Oma meteorologist Derek Van D extreme weather across th
Yeah, Jessica, so something's got to give or is bound to give when you have this amount of heat across the United States, whether it's a wildfire out in Colorado or the Pacific Northwest or the severe weather threat that unfolded yesterday across our nation's midsection. So here's the 100 million Americans under some sort of heat alerts. Notice the East Coast.
This of course factors in the humidity levels making it so unbearable, so uncomfortable as you step outside. You can see the temperatures today flirting with a 100 degree mark from Little Rock to Wichita. Along the east coast slightly cooler quote unquote but you factor in the humidity that's when it starts to feel bad. So the atmosphere responds in this way. It produces severe thunderstorms to help cool itself off. Unfortunately it has a lot of wind associated with it knocking down trees and power lines.
There have been hundreds of thousands of customers without power. Yesterday's wind gusts exceeded the minimum threshold for a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane equivalent. So that's saying something. You can see the power outages. Here's today's severe weather threat across Indianapolis, Chicago, all the way to St. Louis. Damaging winds, large hail.
And a chance of a tornado can be ruled out. Jessica. All right. Be careful out there, Derek Van Dam. Thanks so much for that update. Up next, both Harris and Trump focusing in on Georgia, plus rising tensions in the Middle East, raising concerns about a wider regional conflict there. From politics to pop culture and everything in between, CNN's Five Things brings you the five essential stories to get you up to speed and on with your day five times a day.
Hey there from CNN. I'm Krista Bowe with the five things you need to know for Wednesday. CNN five things. Listen now. Ad free with Amazon Music. So Georgia, today I ask you, are you ready to get to work? Freedom. Opportunity. Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? Yes.
Georgia is certainly top of mind this week. Kamala Harris holding her first rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee on Tuesday there in Atlanta. Donald Trump and J.D. Fance expected to be there Saturday for their own event in that exact same venue where Harris was on Tuesday. The key battlegrounds stay possibly back in play after Democrats worried for months that Biden had a very small shot at victory there. And joining me now is Jeff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia. Jeff, thank you so much for being here.
Good morning. Good to have you on. Always nice to be up early with you. You were at the rally this week. What did you observe? What were your takeaways?
Yeah, it was wild. I mean, the energy was off the charts. I've been around this for a decade plus, and I've never seen really a political event that energized. It was interesting all the way from the parking lot to inside the arena. I was taking selfies with Democrats who were just shaking my hand, even some giving me hugs, thanking me for protecting democracy. It was an interesting kind of out of body experience for me. But look, she has got momentum on her side. There's no way to deny it. And I think you're even starting to watch the Trump team, Trump campaign start to recognize that.
that the Democratic reset has gone literally flawless over the last 10 plus days. And Stephen Lawson, who's a GOP strategist, told Politico this about the state of the race in Georgia now. It feels like Georgia's reentered the chat. Georgia was not in play for Joe Biden. Georgia is in play for Kamala Harris. Do you think that's right?
Yeah, absolutely. It's anyone's game right now. It's going to go down the stretch. And look, it doesn't take a whole lot of days like yesterday for Donald Trump to watch this shift and go favorable Democrat, right, towards Harris. That was just absolutely cringeworthy to watch. And she's doing a really good job of trying to
trying to make sure she speaks the love language of the 10% in the middle. And yes, that's talking about the border more than Joe Biden did. Yes, that's talking about inflation more than Joe Biden did. It's also just acting like a president. It's acting like a leader. It's acting like somebody that can be respected. We've had a void for that for so long as Republicans, and especially us 10% in the middle.
But for that middle group that is maybe just getting to know Kamala Harris, there has been some concern about her record even in 2019 when she was running for president. Is she too liberal? What are her views? But you feel comfortable as a Republican supporting her. How do you feel about her past views? And what would you say to those who are currently evaluating her about how you ended up where you are?
Well, as a Republican, I don't know if I feel comfortable voting for somebody that I don't agree with 100% of the policies, but I absolutely feel much more comfortable voting for her to run the country than Donald Trump to run the country.
It is interesting to see some of those positions she took in 2020 when she was on the campaign trail running for president. And those were very far left positions, Green New Deal, universal health care, banning fracking. We're watching those start to unwind. We're watching her start to talk more openly about fracking, deny the fact that she wants universal health care, and the list goes on and on. So I do see her positions moderating, and that's going to be important.
For somebody like me who's trying to attract that 10% in the middle to cover away, giving me more information to work with, more policy positions, is gonna make my job easier. - And when you're talking to voters in Georgia, you've lived there a long time, you know your neighbors, you know your friends, you know people there, you know the voters. What are the issues that they care about the most? What's coming up in actual conversation?
I think two things, right? And we keep saying this over and over. Immigration has made a huge impression on everybody. The lack of attention to the border. Now, we watched the Biden administration put some new laws back in place that are very effective, and she needs to continue to champion those.
but she also needs to show further improvement at the border. But I think far and beyond the number one issue for everybody is the economy. Some people wake up and this is the greatest economy they've ever seen going into retirement, and some wake up and they're just worried about how they're going to pay for groceries that day for their family. Looking at opportunities to really speak with a scalpel instead of a chainsaw in the economy, I think is going to go really, really strong in Harris's favor if she's able to do that. All right, Jeff Duncan, it's always good to see you. Thanks again.
Have a great day. You too. Up next, the U.S. reaching a plea deal with the alleged mastermind of the 9-11 attacks. We have that and more coming up in the morning roundup. Plus, Kamala Harris in the thick of choosing her own vice presidential candidate. We'll talk about it.
45 minutes past the hour now, and here is your morning roundup. The mastermind behind the September 11th attacks is getting a plea deal from federal prosecutors. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's deal spares him from the death penalty. He's now been in custody for more than 20 years, but his military trial has been hit by delays over issues regarding evidence obtained by the CIA's torture program in the early 2000s.
Thousands are gathering in Tehran for a memorial service for Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. He was assassinated by a strike at his residence in the Iranian capital Tuesday, and Hamas is blaming Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being involved.
And while Israel is staying mostly quiet about Haniyeh's death, the IDF did just confirm its fighter jets killed Hamas's military chief, Mohammad Diif, in a strike in Gaza in mid-July. Just releasing this video of the strike, you know, at least 90 Palestinians were also killed.
Pennsylvania law enforcement officials are accusing the acting secret service director of misrepresenting the Trump assassination attempt scene. Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible alleging that the secret service is looking to place the blame on other law enforcement agencies. Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.
Maya Rudolph will reprise her role as Vice President Kamala Harris for the new season of Saturday Night Live. Rudolph first appeared as Harris in 2019 during the Democratic debates, and fans and SNL producers alike were eager to see her make a comeback for Harris' presidential run.
And turning now to that 2024 race where former President Donald Trump is standing behind his running mate, J.D. Vance, had a rocky debut as the GOP's vice presidential pick, but Trump defending him in an interview yesterday while also downplaying the Ohio senator's impact. I've always had great respect for him.
and for the other candidates too. But I will say this, and I think this is well documented, historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact. I mean, virtually no impact. Our panel is back with us now. And Mike, we were talking during the break, you said you pretty much agree with the idea that you vote for the top of the ticket. Yeah, I think most Americans, in fact, if not almost all Americans vote for the top of the ticket. The vice presidential election
pick from that perspective doesn't matter. If it matters at all, it matters because of being a counterbalance within your party of ideology, perception. I could see the vice president taking a running mate that is more moderate, more to the conservative side of the Democratic Party to balance her out. I also think from a perception standpoint, there's a reason why she's looking at five white men
So from that perspective and before you go into a convention, I think it matters a little bit. But at the end of the day on November 5th, I think the president's right. It doesn't matter. Yeah. I think tactically that is true. However, I think if you're Donald Trump and you're having to use your airtime to defend things that your vice presidential nominee has said, that's not good for you, especially when those things are in the vein of
exacerbating a problem you already have with women voters mean that's part of what is so damaging about the things that JD Vance has said is that it I in reinforces for people that this is a ticket that doesn't I you know care about women's rights that in Vance's case maybe doesn't see women who don't have children as as
like humans so i think you know yes i would agree that from an electoral standpoint it is it is historically been true that the vice presidential nominee does not ultimately is that's not the person people are ultimately pulling the lever for um but if they're causing you problems that is is means that you're having to use your air time to defend things they've said that is not
that's not good. That's not good for you. - We're also living through a moment where the American people are sort of seeing the importance of a vice president. Kamala Harris was Joe Biden's vice president. He was the oldest president in history and suddenly he can no longer run for president and she becomes thrust into the spotlight. And so Donald Trump is not a spring chicken. He's in his late 70s. He'd be 82 in a first presidential term or a second presidential term. And it's not unheard of for the American people to start thinking about succession, thinking about what would happen
if President Trump couldn't finish his first term or he couldn't run for a second term because he's already run, or he couldn't run for another term because he's already, would have already run two terms. And so J.D. Vance would be the heir apparent to the Republican Party. And so for that reason, he is an important figure. Even if people aren't voting for him in 2024, they're thinking of him as the future of the party. They're thinking of him in the unlikely scenario that Trump could not
finish out his term. And so it is an important pick. We're starting to see that through the lens of Vice President Harris becoming the presidential nominee. The American people are seeing the vice president, the vice presidential choice as someone who could ultimately become the leader of the party in the future. Yeah, it does make it very real what we've just lived through in the last 10 days. And so in the meantime, we have Kamala Harris, who has this huge decision, her, you know, first
major major major decision that she needs to make is this candidate as who she wants her VP to be and I was asking you know they have to vet these people that we've been talking about you know there's these finalists and that takes a really long
Yes. And this is a very truncated version of that. Yes, that process normally is very intensive. It takes a long time. You're going through financial records. You're going through political statements. We were discussing this in the break. Family. Your family. You're going all the way back to what did you say in college? And the internet has obviously, and social media has...
has grown this process exponentially. So yes, it is normally a very intense process and having to do it in such a truncated timeline is tough. But one of the most important things is does she have a connection with this person? Who's the person who she feels
like she can trust, like she would trust to be a governing partner to Toulouse Point, that she would trust to be the person who took over were there to be an issue with her. So building that trust and that connection is important. She also needs to be able to trust that person, as we're seeing play out in J.D. Vance's struggles here, she needs to be able to trust that person to go out and campaign effectively and carry the message and do no harm and
you know, and be an advocate. So all of these pressures are on the Harris campaign and on Vice President Harris right now as she's making this decision. And it's reportedly coming on Tuesday, which is according to a campaign official who spoke to CNN. And top contenders for that role include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. And here's what Arizona Senator Mark Kelly had to say when he was asked about his conversations with Harris' team.
I'm not going to comment on that. And, you know, we're not going to get into that, you know, especially today. You know, this is not about me. You know, this is about Donald Trump and what a sad figure he has become, sad and desperate. And so to Lou, she's looking at her strengths, her weaknesses, their strengths, their weaknesses. They're trying to get through this vet situation.
What do you think these conversations might be like and what are you expecting on Tuesday? - Well, the vetting is happening in the public with some of these television interviews where we've seen a number of these candidates play the role of attack dog going after Donald Trump, going after JD Vance. We've seen them sort of openly campaigning for the job, but behind the scenes, they have to, as Kate said, they have to have this
rapport they have to be able to be connected and be able to show that they can work together over the course of four years that Kamala Harris would be able to trust her vice presidential nominee not only the campaign over the next 96 days but to be a vice president for four years who could go to places across the world that she may not be able to go because she has other obligations and carry forth her message so she needs someone who as Mike said is probably more moderate than she has been publicly but also someone who could advocate for her who would be loyal to her who would
completely dedicate themselves to advancing her agenda in the Harris administration so that report behind the scenes is going to be very important and I think that's what she's trying to feel out as she has these conversations with these various candidates and obviously everyone wants to read the tea leaves any sort of information and in fact Axios had a story
Wall Street thinks Kamala Harris is picking governor for VP. The Harris campaign is pressing Wall Street donors to cut their checks as soon as possible, citing a financial rule that bars contributions to tickets featuring a sitting governor. Does this mean anything? Or is this just like police
give us the money now. Yes. It's also the end of the month. Yeah. You know, I'm sure. Yeah, that's right. It was July 31st yesterday. This is nothing to do with who they're choosing. I would not, if Axios really thinks those are tea leaves, they need to examine where they get their tea. Yeah, this is them using every tool, every arrow in their quiver to get people to give money. Exactly. Well, hey, listen, yeah, they all want money right now. And so,
We have our, we can put them up again, the kind of the finalists that we know are being considered for the vice presidential pick. It is a lot of governors. And then of course, Senator Mark Kelly and Secretary Buttigieg there. Kate, if you're Kamala Harris and her team, and you're looking at these five men, how are you evaluating this? I mean, look, I see an embarrassment of riches. I see great choices here. I
I personally, look, I think you can make a terrific argument for Governor Walz, who has been doing what the most immediate task of this vice presidential nominee is going to be, which is going out campaigning effectively. You know, I think he has that happy warrior kind of joyful element to him that, you know, that she also has, which so that's, you know, him on the ticket gives her an opportunity to kind of double her ability to be everywhere.
So I think he's potentially a really great option. I think Governor Shapiro, obviously it's no secret Pennsylvania is going to be a huge, huge determining factor in the election. He's enormously popular there. He's popular with Republicans there.
He's also a terrific communicator. But I could make an argument for any of those men. Obviously worked closely with Secretary Pete during my time in the White House. Also, nobody better in many ways at making the case, doing it effectively, being able to go in. He's terrific on Fox News. He's excellent talking to Republicans.
So there are a lot of great options there. She's got a lot of good choices in front of her. And Mike, as a Republican, who do you not want to run against? Well, Buttigieg is now a resident of Michigan, which is another state that's very important. So I think there's two pathways to victory. So if you do believe that the vice presidential pick matters from the perspective of geography,
the blue wall, which is Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. So you've got, right now you've got two of the three that you're considering with Buttigieg being Michigan. And then you've got the, I call it the Southern smile, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. And you have the governor of North Carolina dropping, you know, pulling himself out of the race. But these states, these are the states that matter.
having an astronaut on the ticket probably sounds really good. Having somebody with some of the highest approval ratings in Pennsylvania and Governor Shapiro sounds really good. Having an attack dog that Pete Buttigieg has proven himself to be sounds really good. So I wouldn't call it an embarrassment of riches, but there are five competent white guys she can pick. - And to Lou, it offers another chance for a contrast.
You've now had J.D. Vance rolled out. They've done their convention. Democrats are going to get their chance. This is an opportunity, yet again, to create two different versions for Americans to choose.
to choose from. Over the next 96 days you'll probably have three moments that this vice presidential candidate will be in the spotlight. First when they're first announced. We've heard about this big seven state tour they're going to be going on. They're going to be getting a lot of media, a lot of focus. And then at the convention you need someone who's going to be able to deliver a stem winder of a speech, something that millions of Americans are going to be watching. And then you're going to have a
a vice presidential debate and you need someone who's going to be able to take it to JD Vance and really call him out for a lot of the things that he said in the past for his general quote unquote weirdness that the Democrats are trying to put forward and those three moments are going to be on the mind of Vice President Harris's team as they're thinking of who to pick. They want someone who's going to be able to shine in all of those different settings in addition to someone who's going to be able to actually
play the role of vice president in an effective way and so it's a very high bar to cross even though as we mentioned a lot of voters aren't going to be choosing based on the vice president but this vice president is going to be in the spotlight in a very major way when they're announced when they give their speech at the convention and when they uh sit down at the debate stage with jd vance and and what's interesting about that is is this is a shorter vetting period and
None of these, except maybe we could make the argument Pete Buttigieg did run for president, so he has been through some of the gauntlet. But none of these have really been vetted by the national press in a really concentrated way either. That's true. That's absolutely true. And that's some of what they're trying to factor for, control for, as they're going through the vet privately themselves. That's some of what they're trying to determine, anticipate, what are the potential risks
with potential pitfalls that the national press could really seize on how would the candidate deal with that and that's some of what you're seeing as these men have been out sort of effectively auditioning last week you know the the campaign vice president Harris I imagine they're looking at those interviews and thinking about okay how you know everybody's gonna hit a road bump everybody's gonna have an issue at some point during the campaign how are they going to be able to navigate that so that's kinda marrying the
the private part of that that's going on with the the very public audition but i mean there's somewhere in washington or maybe wilmington delaware there's a hundred opposition researchers locked in a dark basement patrick right now i don't think exactly right from the internet trying to figure this out yet all right well thank you to each and every one of you for being here and thank you for joining us this morning and jessica dean and c_n_n_ news central starts right now
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