Obamas Rally Dems at DNC
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for every life-saving treatment, for every next step, for every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. It's Wednesday, August 21st, right now on CNN This Morning. Don't just sit around and complain. Do something. So let's get to work. God bless you. Barack and Michelle Obama return to rally Democrats around Kamala Harris and warn about what a second Trump term may have in store. Plus...

She's always been there for our children, and I know she'll always be there for yours, too. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff takes the stage, revealing the more personal side of Kamala Harris and... Because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home. We'll speak with the Texas woman who fled her home state to receive an emergency abortion as reproductive rights remain in the spotlight here at the DNC. And then...

I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would if something like that would happen. Donald Trump open to having RFK Jr. in his possible second administration if RFK Jr. drops out and endorses him.

it is 5 00 a.m here in chicago illinois 6 a.m out on the east coast a live look at the united center right here in chicago home of course of the democratic national convention at this early hour they're still cleaning things up here to get ready for night three good morning everyone i'm casey hunt it's wonderful to have you with us

This morning, Democrats riding high into day three of the convention after two of the, quite frankly, most famous people on the planet took the stage one after the other to rally their party faithful behind Kamala Harris. Wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it? Yeah. America, hope is making a comeback. I am feeling ready to go, even if.

Even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama, she who once declared, when they go low, we go high, tore into Donald Trump, who, let's remember, is not just Kamala Harris' opponent, but also the man who for years promoted the racist and false conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in America. Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.

See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black. I want to know, who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs?

The former first lady then introducing her husband, who passed the torch to Kamala Harris by invoking his own famous Yes We Can campaign slogan, adjusting it for her. Yes, she can. The 44th president also directly attacking Donald Trump, casting his successor as a chaotic figure dividing Americans and mocking him for insisting that he has the biggest krauts.

It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Kamala. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.

Join me now to discuss Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political correspondent for Axios, Moa Lethe, former comms director for the DNC, Shermichael Singleton, Republican strategist and a CNN political commentator, and Kate Bedingfield, CNN political commentator, former Biden White House communications director. Welcome all. Might be a little too early for this Obama.

I don't think it's ever too hard. Never. Never. Okay. Who would like to take it first then? Well, I mean, first of all, I did think, yeah, there it is. There's a still of what he's doing. Okay. He, look, Barack Obama, to his credit, acknowledged like he's, he,

He's the only one stupid enough to follow Michelle Obama because it actually really was her night in many ways, the way that the crowd was for her last night. Yeah, it really was. And I mean, the energy on that floor last night was unlike anything I have ever seen before.

at a convention. Look, what they did last night I thought was really interesting. Not only did they charge up this crowd, a crowd that has just been hungry for a while now to feel really charged up. We've been feeling it all week. Last night just took us to a whole new level.

But what they did effectively last night was almost recalibrate how Democrats think and talk about Donald Trump. For a very long period of time, we elevated him to the status of demagogue.

And what they did very effectively last night was paint a picture for the American people of Donald Trump as just a small man. And I'm not just referencing the Obama hand gestures, right? I'm talking -- They made him out to be small and petty and almost diminish his standing as yet just another rich guy trying to look out for him and his buddies who has no depth, no substance, and is just full of gripes.

That was a different way that Democrats talk about him. And I think one that will resonate very well with people who are still making up their minds. So speaking of a quote unquote rich guy, one of the other ways that Michelle Obama criticized Donald Trump. And again, when you think about this in the context of her previously saying when we go when they go low, we go high. Was in talking about generational wealth and how he got to his position. Let's take a look at what she said.

She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No.

So Alex Thompson, of course, she was saying that Kamala Harris understands most of us will never have this, the escalator. She also referenced, you know, there was an escalator. Donald Trump came down when he was first announcing he was going to be president of the United States. What did you hear in that speech from her? And

What are you hearing now about the reaction? Yeah, I mean, this highlighted that this isn't just about two different worldviews. There is a personal edge and a personal fury to how the both of the Obamas feel about Donald Trump in a way that sometimes I feel that they thought they could not express. Because whenever the Obamas talked about race in a full and a full throated way during their presidency, there was often backlash there.

And so what you really got is that this is what they had been wanting to say since 2011, since Donald Trump became the chief

further agitated. I talked to Bill Daley, who was chief of staff to Obama during that time. And he says you cannot underestimate the personal sort of fury Obama had during that moment. And both of them sort of addressed this in their memoirs. Obama said that Donald Trump had become an elixir for people's racial anxiety. Michelle Obama said in her memoir that she could never forgive Donald Trump. But this is the most full-throated way in which they said, listen,

Donald Trump was being a race baiter and putting us and our children in danger. And to most point, you know, not just saying that

they didn't say that he's necessarily a clear and present danger to the country now, but they're saying he is, he is not that scary. He's actually sort of sad. And in terms of the measuring contest, you know, history is full of such measuring contests. And now we just have the latest one. Fair enough. Yeah, go ahead. You know, I think both Obamas are just exceptional people, particularly the former president, a lot of adoration for Mrs. Obama. I thought the speeches were, were great, but,

However, there are still some things that were left unanswered for me. The gender gap and divide still persists. And I was a bit dismayed that President Obama, which I thought was going to come, was perhaps going to speak...

Some younger black men, 40 and under, where we have seen a lot of them moving away from the Democratic Party. I thought he was going to touch on maybe some economic issues or maybe he would touch on some of the educational gaps there to speak forward for those who fit that category. We didn't see that.

I also thought the former president would perhaps speak to the disillusionment that we have seen from working class whites who were a part of his coalition. He was able to turn out working class whites to a pretty substantial degree. I thought he was going to speak to that. And so those two issues still remain unanswered as far as I'm concerned, strategically speaking, looking at the speeches that I have seen thus far. Vice President Harris still has to shore up

groups or individuals rather who fit in those two groups. Maybe that will come tonight with Governor Walz and former President Bill Clinton. I'm not certain yet, but these are still hurdles that she's going to have to figure out how to overcome that are still advantages for the former president. Well,

I think in some ways what Barack Obama was doing last night and Michelle Obama were doing last night, though, kind of undermined some of Trump's strengths in those places by contributing to the notion that he's not strong, right? There's absolutely a gender gap in this race. And we see that men, especially young men, are a key pillar of Trump's support.

And some of what I think the Obamas were doing last night was sort of trying to erode that by, you know, to Mo's point and Alex's point, you know, painting him as not this strong man. He's not this big, scary threat. He's actually sort of, you know, he's sort of sad, pathetic. He only cares about himself.

So I take your point that there was less of the kind of like affirmative layout. But I actually think that what they were doing was kind of eroding some of Trump's strength. And on this question of working class whites, I mean, you know, you had Michelle Obama painting, you know, Donald Trump as somebody who doesn't know the value of a hard day's work, doesn't understand what it's like to be a working person, has, you know, has this benefit of generational wealth, has had things handed to him. So in some ways, I think what they were doing was quite smart and subtle, but

you know, but kind of going at some of those strengths that we see that Trump has with the electorate. But I think the Obamas were aware of this. I mean, even at the tail end of her speech, Mrs. Obama acknowledged the fact that there's 77 days left and there is a whole lot of work remaining for the vice president. No question. And she, I mean, she was very clear to say, because look, it's a close race, right? And as much celebration as there is here, she, it seemed to me, was making the argument like, hey, if we don't actually get out there and do this, we're likely to lose. I want to,

I bring into this conversation something that Donald Trump said yesterday about the Obamas, because it frankly contrasts pretty dramatically with what he has said in the past about the Obamas. Here was Donald Trump saying that he respects them. Watch. I like him. I think he's a nice gentleman, but he was very, very weak on trade. But I happen to like him. I respect him and I respect his wife.

So this is quite different from what Donald Trump has said in the past about Barack Obama. We put together a litany of the various things he has previously said. Let's watch. Did you ever hear of Barack Hussein Obama? Have you heard of him? He was so ineffective, so terrible. I did a much better job than Obama did by far for African-Americans. I watched him speak today.

He had a very small crowd. I think I did a great job and a great service, not only for the country, but even for the president in getting him to produce his birth certificate. He was perhaps born in Kenya. Very simple. Okay. He was perhaps born in this country.

Alex Thompson, what is with this sudden change of heart where he's now saying rather meekly, it seemed in that clip that he respects Obama? I mean, I think this is like the very rare or intermittent instance of disciplined Trump. Right. I just disagreed with him on issues. It's not personal. But, you know, you only showed one of the clips frequently on the trail when I've been on there. He does this whole bit of.

Barack Hussein Obama, and he really emphasized the Hussein. And everyone there knows what he's doing, which is basically to try to other Obama, try to, you know, tap into Islamophobia, other things like that. So, you know, I think this is we've seen over the past month, especially, especially since the assassination attempt. Trump has tried to do the final pivot

to normal Trump or to, you know, discipline Trump. And then he goes back. So I'd be surprised if this is the tone he's gonna take for the rest of the campaign, but who knows? - But Casey, can I touch? - No, go ahead, go ahead. - I was just gonna say, I think sometimes we try to ascribe a sense of strategic thinking to Donald Trump. I do it too, I'm guilty of it. You see him say something and you sort of just want to understand like, why does this man talk this way? Why does he say these things?

I think he was just caught in a moment. He kind of hadn't thought about it. He threw out an answer. He moved on. I cannot fathom that we're going to see a shift in the way that Donald Trump talks about Barack Obama when he spent the last decade plus questioning whether, you know, the president, former president was born here in the United States. I think he just had a camera in his face. He hadn't really thought about it. He said something and he rolled on. And that was before the Obama speech yesterday, right? Let's see what he's saying today out on the train. So how

persistent this is going to be, we don't know. But I don't think strategically speaking that you can undercut the reality that we have seen some movement with younger men of color. I think it would be absolutely absurd if you're Trump to go attacking Barack Obama, who did very well with men of color when he ran.

I think Trump recognizes that and is trying to pivot. Whether or not he can... No chance for Michael. I understand what you're saying makes complete strategic sense, of course. I don't think we've ever seen Donald Trump adhere to a sensible political

No, no, I'm not. I'm not disagreeing whether or not it will be persistent. I'm simply saying, I think I understand if you're Trump and you recognize like, wait a minute here, I may be performing fairly well with a certain demo group. It's crazy to me and nonsensical to be on the attack of someone who does very well in his view, very favorably among individuals of that group. It just wouldn't make sense.

Yeah, I have to say, I mean, I, you know, we'll see. Maybe there'll be another instance of this. But I feel like attacks,

attacks against Barack Obama from Donald Trump have been more, the more consistent. No, I don't disagree with that, but it would be smart, but it would be smart Casey for him to get away from that, to try to continue to appeal to those groups that he will need. He will need young black and Hispanic men and it will be suicide to turn them off by going after the former president who a lot of young black and Hispanic men do respect. Have you seen a lot of evidence, Alex, of Trump failing to respond when he is attacked, uh,

especially the Obamas. Yeah, I've never really seen him. I think they call it a counterpunch. I've never seen him really do that. I think it was notable that the truth social was quiet for quite a while during the speeches last night. I just don't think next time he's at a rally, he's not going to be able to help himself, but who knows? We'll see. All right, maybe we should...

I don't know if I haven't looked at Truth Social this morning and maybe I should. All right, coming up now next on CNN this morning, RFK Jr.'s campaign hints at the possibility of him dropping out of the race and potentially joining forces with former President Donald Trump. Plus, we're going to speak live with the Texas woman, Kate Cox, who shared at the DNC last night how the reversal of Roe versus Wade changed her life. And the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, draws on his marriage to Kamala Harris in his pitch for her presidency.

My mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me.

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You run a campaign based on fear like them, you're gonna run into a little trouble when you run into a campaign that's based on joy.

Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will be taking the main stage tonight here in Chicago. It will be a major test for Walz, who just recently been thrust into the national spotlight as the Harris-Walz campaign now looks to try to convert momentum into votes. The former President Bill Clinton is also set to speak. Four decades ago, Clinton took the DNC stage when Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, making her the first woman to accept the vice presidential nomination.

Now, 40 years later, the first woman vice president could make history once again. Our panel's back. Let's just kind of do a quick whip around in terms of what you're expecting to see tonight. Alex, what are you looking for? I'm going to see if Bill Clinton sort of still has it.

You know, he hasn't really done a huge speech like this since 2012 and 2016. He was really there to just validate Hillary Clinton, try not to overshadow her. Let's see, does he still sort of bring it? I mean, he is younger than Joe Biden, but he's also not young. Yeah. Mo, what are you looking for? Also watching Bill Clinton. Barack Obama once called him the explainer in chief guy who can speak to those working class voters that sure Michael was referencing and

and frame the economic case in a way very few others can. I'm watching for that, and I'm watching for Tim Walz to bring a lot of joy to this chapter. I did enjoy, I will say, Barack Obama's joke about his flannel shirts last night, having seen a lot. Sure, Michael, what do you think? I mean, like, Tim Walz has one job,

which is why he was chosen. And that is to improve Vice President Harris's margins and those battleground states among key demo groups where all the data, since she's jumped in this thing, has shown she's not going to likely perform well with. Can he get that message across, not only of just hope and inspiration, but an economic sort of revitalization for those areas? If he can touch on that with the joy and emotion, then it'll be an effective speech.

If he doesn't touch on that, then again, this is still going to be an issue that they're going to have to figure out a way to drive home. Mr. Michael is on it. How Governor Walz makes the case for Kamala Harris. What is his we've seen him be this incredible force of enthusiasm and joy since he's come out of the gate. He's been, I think, an enormous asset to her. Tonight will be a time where he will really be in the spotlight, both introducing himself, talking about his own life story, which connects, I think, with people all over this country. But

But I want I'm interested to see how is he going to make the case for Kamala Harris? What does he what does he think her strengths are? What is it going to sound like that full throated case for her? And I think he's going to be terrific. But I'm very interested to hear how he does it. Big moment for a guy who, again, said he never used a teleprompter before this all started. All right. Thanks, guys, for being here this morning. Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Casey Hunt. Don't go anywhere. Santa News Central is next from right here in Chicago. I'm so proud of how you're stepping up for all of us.

But that's who she is. Wherever she's needed, however she's needed, Kamala rises to the occasion. And she did it for me and our family. And now that the country needs her, she's showing you what we already know. She's ready to lead. That was how second gentleman Doug Emhoff describes the woman who could make him the first first gentleman in history in a matter of months.

Emhoff called on by the Democrats to present the personal side of Kamala Harris at the DNC last night. And of course, you're listening to the new radicals there. You get what you give. He described his wife of 10 years as a fighter with a softer side. She finds joy in pursuing justice. She stands up to bullies just like my parents taught me to. And she likes to see people do well, but hates when they're treated unfairly.

She believes this work requires a basic curiosity in just how people are doing. Her empathy is her strength.

Vice President Harris was returning to Chicago from Milwaukee while her husband was on stage. And according to the White House, she had Air Force Two circle for about 10 minutes before landing so that she could watch his speech. Alex Thompson, it was interesting to me that they were so into the song ahead of this speech that he gave, like emphasizing this is the song he's going to walk out to like, I'm not a normal dad. I'm a cool dad. But like...

Yeah. Mean girls line, you know, what, what was your, what were your takeaways from his kind of presentation last night? His whole thing was not really about, you know, issues or substance. His thing was trying to introduce Kamala Harris. Cause as we're seeing, there's an arms race among both sides right now, trying to define her in the eyes of the public that know who she is, but actually don't really know her exactly. She's famous, but not known, I think is the phrase. So the,

him going through the story of their, of like how they fell in love and his, and that's always sort of been, I think his biggest strength or people thing that people mentioned the most is just sort of his very public sort of gushy love for her. I still remember like the State of the Union and when she sat down, you saw him in the stands going, ah,

And she's like blushing. And it's sort of like, it's, it's a cute romance. And I think that was really what he is there to do. Yeah. I mean, Kate, this is a different profile for someone. Obviously Bill Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who was the first female nominee, but he's,

cut such a different figure in this role. And obviously it was very known, well known as the former president. This is something different. Yes. And I, what I will say is Doug is very true to himself. Like the Doug that I saw speaking last night, I can tell you from my time working in the Biden Harris white house. I mean, he is, uh,

He's just he's an incredibly effusive person. He's incredibly kind person. And so is she, by the way, what he talks about empathy. I thought about, you know, like when I got COVID, when I was White House communications director, she called me, she checked in. She said she had had it not long prior and gave me her like her tea recipe to help your throat. I mean, so when I saw him last night, you know, in this role that could be.

you know, you could see a man in this role feel kind of threatened and feel that he, you know, has to kind of prove his own kind of sense of toughness and qualification. And what is, I think, so effective about Doug is he

He's just totally comfortable as himself. He doesn't feel the need to, you know, try to kind of prove some level of I don't know that that, you know, he has to also kind of shine as bright. And I and I think he's dedicated his time as second gentleman to kind of spreading this idea of of like supporting women, being supportive to his wife. He's done substantive work in.

And I think that that's that's that is unique and that's powerful. And I think it resonates. But it was just he was very comfortable as himself on a big stage. And, you know, on a night when Barack and Michelle Obama were speaking and I thought he just did such a terrific job. Mo, I mean, to that to that point, it's almost this way of presenting masculinity in being supportive of your female spouse. Yeah, I remember that.

in 2016, Tim Kaine often talking about how excited he was to be the first man in history tapped to lift up and support a woman at the top of the ticket. And you see a little bit of that here, right? Look, one of the things, and I think this speech is always one of the most important speeches at a convention.

Because we have a, we tend to turn our political figures into caricatures. And so it's important to have somebody come out there and humanize them for all of us. And who better to do that than the candidate's spouse? And Doug Emhoff did that so beautifully last night for all the reasons everyone else has already spoken about.

He showed a human side of her that a lot of us haven't seen, right? That a lot of us have only seen her in Judiciary Committee hearings when she was in the Senate or as the attack dog out on the campaign trail or being a very serious stateswoman as vice president.

he got to show Kamala the person. And I think when we see that at Republican conventions with spouses, we've seen that in the past at Democratic conventions with spouses. This was a memorable one for me. Interesting. I mean, and that sort of the warmth and the humanity of Kamala Harris is something that you're right. It doesn't often translate on television, but it is something that is very definitional for how she operates in Washington. I mean, it

you could go to an off-the-record event with her i remember she remembered when i had a baby and yeah you know wanted to ask about very much when she ran into me in the senate uh one day after you know months of of covid that's definitely a part of her persona i think it's an interesting point that you speak to all right let's turn out of this rfk junior's running mate nicole shanahan says that their independent presidential campaign is weighing its options this way watch there's

Two options that we're looking at, and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and Waltz presidency. Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. Shanahan said that they're concerned about taking more votes away from Trump and Vance than from Harris and Waltz.

Trump was asked about a potential RFK Jr. endorsement and whether he would consider offering Kennedy a spot in his administration if he wins in November. This is what he told our Kristen Holmes. I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would if something like that would happen. He's a very different kind of a guy, very smart guy. And yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement.

Honored by that endorsement. Alex, I mean, they seem to say the quiet part out loud here, at least Nicole Shanahan did. Like, well, we're concerned there's a risk that we might actually elect Harrison Walls, which, you know, I interviewed RFK Jr. And he the concern from his family was is that he was going to get Donald Trump elected by doing this. And he's been trying to insist, no, no, it's really about me. It's about the fact that I should be a president. But how

do you think, I mean, he's also clearly playing both sides here. He's gone to the Harris team as well behind the scenes. The Harris team has not responded publicly. What's he playing at and what impact does it have? I mean, I think he's playing at staying relevant after this election. And the way you do that is you get a job in the next administration, which is why he was trying to meet with both sides. Now, Kamala Harris, his team has made clear, no, we don't want,

want this. And Trump has been quietly and behind the scenes trying to court RFK Jr. for over a month now. And even like the team even sort of courting him for a bit. And if he does drop out and endorse Donald Trump, you know, that is not a huge portion of the vote, but it's it's

part of it, and it could actually make a difference. And in some ways, this could be the Democratic Party almost doing too good of a job against RFK Jr., where they no longer see a path. They have been very aggressive at challenging his ballot access in every single state, filing lots of lawsuits to the point that RFK Jr. may no longer see a path and say, well,

If I only, if I want to try to stay relevant after election day, then I'm going to back Trump. I think this is also a reflection of the fact that since Kamala Harris has gone to the top of the ticket, the share of the double-hater voters who were potentially going to swing this election, and may still, but has shrunk significantly. So I think in some ways, this is also just a testament to the reality of the shifting dynamics of this election now that there is so much more enthusiasm and interest in her. People view her as a change candidate. They're not looking for this alternative candidate

But I would also say that this is also kind of now what's happening in public is really what's been happening from behind the scenes from the beginning. I mean, remember when he got in, you know, one of Donald Trump's biggest donors was one of the biggest donors to his super PAC. I mean, this has been a Trump aided effort from the outset because they thought in a dynamic where the race was Biden versus Trump.

that Kennedy had the potential to swing the election to Trump. Now, it seems like that's not the case. Mo, can I ask you what the sort of perception of the Kennedy brand is now? I mean, has RFK done significant damage to that? Jack Schlossberg is here. He spoke last night. He's the grandson of John F. Kennedy Jr. He was asked, my colleagues asked him about RFK. Let's watch that briefly. I think my cousin should do whatever he thinks is the best interest of our country.

That's it? Yeah. What if it's endorsing Trump? Well, then we would disagree about what the interests of our country are. But that's his decision.

So that was a much more tightly controlled version of Jack Schlossberg, who on the Internet has been openly mocking Bobby is what they call him in the family. His accent, among other things, it's gotten some notice. But also, I mean, this presidential bid, you know, we had RFK Jr. admitting that he dumped a dead baby bear in Central Park. There's a picture of him with his hand in the bear's mouth. And we now know that he's got a freezer full of roadkill. I mean, this is

a bit of a train wreck for the family. I think it's a bit of a train wreck for RFK Jr. You know, but I wouldn't worry about the brand of the Kennedy family, at least amongst Democrats. They will forever be the Kennedys to us. They will forever be American royalty to us. They will always be the symbol of hope and generational change and turning the corner, you know,

you know, even before Barack Obama, you know, for us. Uh, and so I think the Kennedy brand is going to hold up just fine. I think, uh, RFK Jr. However is, um, you know, you said that he's looking to stay relevant. I guess I'd quibble a little bit. He really hasn't been relevant at all in this campaign, except for like a hot minute when he first got in, as soon as Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the ticket, any Democrat who was flirting with RFK Jr. Came home, uh,

He's going to, I think, have a lot of self-reflection. There was a minute there when he was talking about, well, am I going to be on the debate stage or not? Now, granted, that was before what happened on the debate stage. Very briefly. I mean, if you're looking at RFK, you're looking at low propensity voters, right? He's still pulling around two to four percent of the national electorate.

If you're Trump and you can get that endorsement, can you shave off 2%? Trump performs very, very well with local princely voters, but can you turn them out has been the big question. If he gets that endorsement, maybe he can. That helps in some of those battleground states. I guess we'll see. Mo, thank you very much. I really appreciate you being here this morning. All right, still ahead here, the DNC leaning in on how the abortion issue is impacting women sharing their stories.

by one of those women, Kate Cox, who was forced to flee Texas to get an abortion. Plus another big topic, the Republican framework that's known as Project 2025, why Democrats are trotting out giant books with that title. Up next.

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When I got pregnant, doctors told us our baby would never survive. If I didn't get an abortion, it would put a future pregnancy at risk. But Trump didn't care. And because of his abortion bans, I had to flee my home. There's nothing pro-family about abortion bans. There's nothing pro-life about letting her and even die.

That was Kate Cox during the roll call. She is the Texas mother who was forced to flee her home state to receive an emergency abortion for a pregnancy that wasn't viable. And she was, again, at the DNC's roll call last night. And she slammed Donald Trump and Texas Republicans for abortion bans that she says endangered her health and her future fertility. Cox sued Texas for denying her access to abortion care. Last night, she made this very joyous announcement.

Today, because I found it to access abortion care, I am pregnant again. And my baby is due in January, just in time to see Kamala Harris sworn in as President of the United States!

And joining us now is Kate Cox from here in Chicago. Kate, good morning to you. First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy. This moment stood out to me last night, and I was eager to talk to you about what it felt like to be here at the convention after such a period of, I mean, you've been through so much.

Yes, absolutely. There was so much hope and momentum in that room. So I'm just very honored to be here. So, Kate, can you kind of just remind us and take us through the journey that you have been on since you left Texas to find the care that you needed to, again, get to the point where you can safely carry another baby?

Yes, and end of last year, I had the most heartbreaking and complicated pregnancy. So I was, we received the most devastating news that parents can receive, a fatal fetal diagnosis that our baby would never survive. It was a pregnancy plagued with pain and suffering. I spent nights in the emergency room instead of at home tucking my children into bed. So we made the most difficult and devastating decision, and that was

My husband and I, together with my doctor, decided to seek abortion care so that we could preserve my fertility and have the opportunity to being a baby home. So after what we went through, now we speak out and share our story because I think it's important to hear the stories from the women who have been through these tragedies. There's millions of Americans living under extreme abortion bans that are devastating for families and their health. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?

I'm having a little boy. Oh, congratulations. What's next for you here at the convention? Are you planning on attending Harris' speech on Thursday? Thank you. I will be here as long as I can. Of course, I've got little ones at home to take care of as well. So I will be here as long as I can to show my support for our Vice President Harris. I'm so grateful for the work she does for reproductive freedom. She trusts women and fights for our freedom.

All right, Kid Cox, very grateful to have you on this morning. And again, congratulations on your little boy. Thank you. All right, we're going to turn now to this. These guys are trying to hide what they're doing. They're trying to figure out what it is. And I've said this, I coached high school football long enough to know. I know if you're going to take the time to draw up a playbook, you plan on using it.

So this Project 2025 thing, it is simply the playbook. And they're going to call the plays straight down the line. Project 2025 has been a significant focus at the DNC this week. It's a reference to a plan from the Conservative Heritage Foundation. It's a 920-page document that lays out conservative policies and plans for another Trump term. Usually Republicans want to ban books.

But now they're trying to shove this down our throats. Their Project 2025 agenda is the same old, same old. But let me tell you what a radical agenda is. And that is Trump's Project 2025.

So the Trump campaign insists they don't have knowledge of the project, although a CNN investigation found at least 140 former Trump administration officials helped write it. Joining us now to talk more about this, Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow, who you saw speaking out about this project earlier this week. That was you there with the book.

Talk to me a little bit about why this is such a focus. It it it it does tell us that clearly you can see in the data that the policies that are included in this are things that that Democrats see an opportunity around, that these are things that potentially galvanize your voters. Why and how?

I think that's right. And you saw Trump and the Trump campaign really run away from this once people started to realize what it is and what's in it and how wildly unpopular the ideas that were laid out by the Heritage Foundation really are.

As you pointed out, there are more than 140 Trump administration officials who were involved in writing this, promoting this. They have training videos about how to talk about Project 2025. And I think everybody by now knows who Donald Trump is. There was a sense in his first term that he was kind of bumbling his way through the presidency and figuring it out how to.

as he goes. But this is the plan that he would execute starting on day one for the first 180 days that would radically strip down our government and reshape it to serve only him.

Um, what, what in it do you think is potentially the most problematic in your view? I think there are a number of things. I mean, what I touched on in night one, this idea that he would systematically replace civil servants with Trump loyalists. Now, regardless of your party, that should terrify everybody, whether it is the safety regulators who test the products that my daughter eats. I want to make sure that those are

experts. They are not party loyalists. That terrifies me. And there's also a definition of family throughout project 2025 that really redefines that there's only one acceptable way within the Republican party to be a family, have a child that takes that right away from, you heard the story just earlier in the previous segment, strips that right away from so many women and families in a way that would devastate this country. Our panel's here. Alex, you have a question? Yeah. Well, um,

For you, what do you say to people, the Trump campaign? And they've made it very clear they don't like this plan. They haven't liked this for a long time. And I mean, what do you say to someone that's like, well, the Trump campaign says this isn't us?

i think when somebody shows you who they are believe them the fact that donald trump has raised money for the heritage foundation has showed up side by side with many of the leaders again you can't discount how many people from the trump administration were involved in creating this document and now promoting it uh

putting it out there. J.D. Vance wrote the upfront to the forthcoming book from the head of the Heritage Foundation. And after realizing how deeply unpopular it is, they've delayed the book. That's not to say they're not connected to it. They're just delaying it for after the election to try to pull the wool over Americans eyes to say this is not connected to us. It's not happening. Just trust us. And that is such a disservice to Americans. Is there is there one policy if you could tell all Americans one policy in Project 2025 that you wish all of them knew, what would it be?

Dismantling the government. I mean, I know that the idea of civil servants is kind of wonky and unpopular, but these are the experts who make every single aspect of our country function. And to turn the entire country into a political game would be a nightmare.

Kate, so I'm curious, you've been such an effective driver of the message on this. And we've seen data polling that shows that people are starting to understand what 20 Project 2025 is. I'm curious if you get reaction from voters in your district, kind of how when you're talking about this, how do people react? You know, I do. There was a billboard up in the metro Detroit area where I'm from weeks ago, long before this convention that just said Project 2025, Google it.

and you saw the search results on Google, people were Googling it. So whether or not it was a mistake of the Heritage Foundation to give it a catchy brand name, it's something that people, they put out there, they branded it, they wanted people to find it.

a website with all kinds of videos about what it is people are finding it and they don't like it so i was getting questions well before coming here about what are we going to do about it and how do we get that message out to people about what this really does all right um mallory mcmorrow thank you so much for being on the show thank you hope you'll come back i appreciate that you're a morning person it means a lot to us around mom of a little one i am a morning person right where it's like it's also a

It's also a life phase. I completely agree with that. All right. Coming up next here, Tim Wall is set to make his speech tonight at the DNC one night after Barack Obama had this to say about him. Let me tell you something. I love this guy. Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics. You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don't come from some political consultant. They come from his closet and they have been through some stuff.

We'll discuss what to expect from the vice presidential candidate tonight. You run a campaign based on fear like them, you're going to run into a little trouble when you run into a campaign that's based on joy.

Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will be taking the main stage tonight here in Chicago. It will be a major test for Walz, who just recently been thrust into the national spotlight as the Harris-Walz campaign now looks to try to convert momentum into votes. Former President Bill Clinton is also set to speak. Four decades ago, Clinton took the DNC stage when Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, making her the first woman to accept the vice presidential nomination.

Now, 40 years later, the first woman vice president could make history once again. Our panel's back. Let's just kind of do a quick whip around in terms of what you're expecting to see tonight. Alex, what are you looking for? I'm going to see if Bill Clinton sort of still has it.

You know, he hasn't really done a huge speech like this since 2012 and 2016. He was really there to just validate Hillary Clinton, try not to overshadow her. Let's see, does he still sort of bring it? I mean, he is younger than Joe Biden, but he's also not young. Yeah. Mo, what are you looking for? Also watching Bill Clinton. Barack Obama once called him the explainer in chief guy who can speak to those working class voters that sure Michael was referencing. And

and frame the economic case in a way very few others can. I'm watching for that, and I'm watching for Tim Walz to bring a lot of joy to this. I did enjoy, I will say, Barack Obama's joke about his flannel shirts last night, having seen a lot. Sure, Michael, what do you look for? I mean, like, Tim Walz has one job,

which is why he was chosen. And that is to improve Vice President Harris's margins and those battleground states among key demo groups where all the data, since she's jumped in this thing, has shown she's not going to likely perform well with. Can he get that message across, not only of just hope and inspiration, but an economic sort of revitalization for those areas? If he can touch on that with the joy and emotion, then it'll be an effective speech.

If he doesn't touch on that, then again, this is still going to be an issue that they're going to have to figure out a way to drive home. I'm sure Michael is on it. How Governor Walz makes the case for Kamala Harris. What is his, we've seen him be this incredible force of enthusiasm and joy since he's come out of the gate. He's been, I think, an enormous asset to her. Tonight will be a time where he will really be in the spotlight, both introducing himself, talking about his own life story, which connects, I think, with people all over this country. But

But I want I'm interested to see how is he going to make the case for Kamala Harris? What does he what does he think her strengths are? What is it going to sound like that full throated case for her? And I think I think he's going to be terrific. But I'm very interested to hear how he does it. Big moment for a guy who, again, said he never used a teleprompter before this all started. All right. Thanks, guys, for being here this morning. Thanks to all of you for joining us as well. I'm Casey Hunt. Don't go anywhere. Santa News Central is next from right here in Chicago.

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