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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Harris On Walz As VP Pick: I've Found A Leader, Fighter, Patriot; Harris & Walz Hold First Rally As Dem Ticket; Launch Battleground State Tour. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 06, 2024 - 20:00   ET

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

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He has deeper governing experience and deeper campaign experience like Governor Shapiro does, not to take anything away from Shapiro, a rising star.

But the Harris team and the vice president herself made the calculation. This guy has deeper experience, they believe deeper strengths. We got 90 days to find out.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Yes, and as Governor Walz said, they will not be sleeping during those 90 days. John King, I don't think you will be either. Thank you so much for joining us live from Pennsylvania. Thank you all.

KING: He's right about that, you sleep when you're dead.

COLLINS: None of us are sleeping, it's good to know.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'll be back here at 9:00 PM Eastern. Our breaking news coverage continues right now with "AC360."

[20:00:44]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Good evening, from Temple University in North Philadelphia, where just a short time ago, the Kamala Harris, Tim Walz campaign began in earnest.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Just 16 days since replacing Joe Biden at the top of the ticket and three months until election day, Vice President Harris showcased her first big executive decision.

HUNT: It's a decision that left Pennsylvania's governor and democratic rising star Josh Shapiro the runner up and relegated to being a warm up act tonight.

BASH: Instead, she chose the governor of Minnesota, someone arguably more progressive than Josh Shapiro, less known and less highly touted by party insiders but someone the vice president -- to use a 2024 campaign term -- vibes with and has a story that she was eager to tell tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To those who know him best, Tim is more than a governor, to his wife, Gwen, he is a husband, to his kids, Hope and Gus he is a dad, to his fellow veterans, he is Sergeant Major Walz, to the people of Southern Minnesota for 12 years he was congressman, to his former high school students, he was Mr. Walz, and to his former high school football players, he was coach.

And in 91 days, the nation will know Coach Walz by another name vice president of the United States.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: When Governor Walz took over the microphone, he first paid tribute to Governor Shapiro. Then gave out a shout out to Bruce Springsteen and then to his wife, a longtime school teacher, and then he got down to the true business of any running mate we've ever seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D) US VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: Again and again and again, Trump weakens our economy to strengthen his own hand. He mocks our laws, he sows chaos and division and that's to say nothing of his record as president. He froze in the face of the COVID crisis. He drove our economy into the ground and make no mistake, violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That's not even counting the crimes he committed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Coming out, swinging, showing why Kamala Harris chose him, but still, he's largely unknown. New polling shows a full 70 percent say that they're either unsure about him or they've never heard him at all.

As for the other side, Donald Trump weighed in with this on his social network, we're quoting him now, "It's the most radical left duo in American history. I hear there's a big movement to bring back Crooked Joe."

Joining me now CNN's Audie Cornish, Jeff Zeleny, are both here with me in Pennsylvania.

I feel like Donald Trump's projecting a little bit there because Jeff Zeleny, you have covered so many campaigns going back to Obama. Jake Tapper was talking about this, that the level of excitement at this event that we saw is much higher than any Democratic event I've attended in recent years. What were your takeaways? You were down right in the middle of it.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Look, it was not a Joe Biden campaign rally. I mean, it just was different. This is a different moment. This is a different time for the party. People are excited. It has a feeling of an Obama era campaign. I think we can draw a lot of comparisons that Tim Walz potentially as Vice President Harris' Joe Biden but I think separately of that.

[20:05:24]

This is an entirely different moment. And what I was looking at there is, this is different than -- I was thinking back to the 2016 campaign, how she seemed so different to me than Hillary Clinton did. She is already vice president of the United States. She travels in Air Force Two. You can see her in the role and I think that is something that is just different and time has passed.

When you talk to voters, they do not talk about 'can she' as much as for the 'will she', at least here so. But I was looking at how she looked at and Governor Walz. These are two people who a couple of weeks ago did not know each other really at all. And she seemed very pleased by her choice and that chemistry that all of her advisers were saying last week. She's looking for someone with chemistry.

I think she found it at least in their first outing. It's always a bit awkward when these new presidential partners, a shotgun marriage, if you will, should they hug, should they shake hands? They did both and they seem very at ease with each other. Of course, the hardest work is ahead of them and she said, we're underdogs and that's how they view this campaign.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST, "THE ASSIGNMENT" PODCAST: I like that you brought up what Donald Trump is doing because that's not understanding the assignment, so to speak. Basically, your job is supposed to attack, right, this new pairing. And instead, he indulges in this kind of fantasy conversation about whether or not Democrats are interested in bringing back Joe Biden.

HUNT: Which they are not.

CORNISH: Which they are not.

HUNT: Right, if you look here at this event tonight, they're not.

CORNISH: It's also trying to pretend re-litigate something, like it's just like why --why? That's just not a good use of your time as a Republican nominee and this is the thing that has been so fascinating in watching both the rise of the Harris campaign, but also the kind of befuddlement that Republicans seem to be experiencing in attacking her or even in a moment like this, having coalesced around something that makes sense as an attack against Walz.

And one other thing I want to say, everybody has been so preoccupied with Midwestern governors, et cetera. But it's because Democrats want to provide a vision of their policies that actually live in the world that have been passed, that have been executed, that people live with, instead of having the baggage of saying, well, that person's from California, no one can afford to live there. That's a pipe dream. That doesn't work for the rest of us. Tim Walz brings with him the rest of us.

HUNT: Jeff, there was a lot of commentary from a lot of Republicans, frankly. I also heard from some Democrats that were disappointed that Kamala Harris didn't choose Josh Shapiro to be her running mate. Based on what you saw tonight, how do you evaluate this first executive decision that she has made?

ZELENY: Look, I think that we saw a speech from Governor Shapiro that was a barn-burner in every way. I'm not sure that that's what Vice President Harris was looking for. I think --

HUNT: It was a speech from a number one, not necessarily from a number two.

ZELENY: -- and perhaps and we are told, based on our reporting that their meetings on Sunday, Governor Shapiro's and Governor Walz's were remarkably different. That Governor Shapiro's did not go that well. He was asking specific questions about what his responsibilities would be as vice president and giving some -- he had some thoughts on the matter. I'm told that Governor Walz said, how can I help you.

So, Vice President Harris made this first choice because she currently holds the job and she knows who she wants to fill that job. And that's a very particular thing that has only happened in recent history, 24 years ago with Al Gore and Joe Lieberman.

CORNISH: Well, also as a Black woman in leadership, you aren't necessarily looking for yet another person to doubt you. That, you know, or yet another person to question your judgment in your assignments for them.

HUNT: Or your authority.

CORNISH: Or your authority, and I mean, arguably this is what she probably should have done with Joe Biden in maybe the first few years of her vice presidency would have been easier had she been able to lay out the, hey, what are we going to be doing here?

But I think she also learned that like, look, I need to be number one on the ticket for this to work and I can't play a game with you and your ambitions.

ZELENY: And he didn't question that at all today, but I think how he did overall, we'll see. Obviously, the first day is the easiest, but something that he can do who talking to a variety of strategists, they believe because his football coach is more than a title.

We're entering into football season, it is going toward election day and they believe he can bring men back to the Democratic ticket. We will find out.

HUNT: Yes, that camouflage hat that he wore on that video, they're already selling branded ones online. That's a big part of it -- Dana.

BASH: Thanks, Kasie, so much. And now, let's talk more with our panel here. Political commentators from across the partisan spectrum. Scott Jennings, Ashley Allison, David Axelrod, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Van Jones.

[20:10:10]

You might have caught us speaking off camera just a little bit because that's what we do here.

David, I want to start with you about the optics, the strategy, the messaging, all of this, given the fact that you have done this before. How do you think it played?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great, I think they had a great night. Listen, there are two places you'd like to be in a campaign. You want to be about the future and you want to be about hope. And that was --

BASH: Open change, you mean?

AXELROD: You know, yes, I mean, I've heard that but you know, such an interesting transformation has happened. Suddenly, Donald Trump feels like the embattled incumbent. I mean, that's the way he's behaving. And they are presenting themselves as 'turn the page candidates' and that's the feel that we got tonight but what Wild Springs is, you know, I come from the Midwest, I live in the Midwest and, you know, they talk about 'Midwest nice.'

He delivered some heavy blows, but he did it with that kind of gentle humor that actually lands well. And I have to say Trump is getting -- he is unsettled by what this change in the environment. You could see it in his tweets and so on. And there is a kind of grinding quality to the Trump campaign right now that plays very badly against what you saw tonight, which was very joyful and positive, and there was this feeling of possibility.

And so, we'll see, it could be that it could be that great, crunching, negative campaign depicting these people as far left and so on will succeed. I think they're going to have to figure out something else because I think that's yesterday's argument and I don't know that it's going to seize the day today.

HUNT: Alyssa, do you agree with the assessment of just how the Trump campaign is assessing, reassessing, and the candidate himself.

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well listen, if his Truth Social is any indication, he's melting down over this. He is wading into conspiracy theories. Joe Biden is going to come back, or this is some sort of an effort by Barack Obama and others.

Listen, I'm kind of stunned by how Trump world has struggled to land a disciplined message narrative against Kamala Harris and now against Walz. It's not a hard case to make, but instead it's been name- calling. It's been calling her a DEI hire and these things that are absolutely radioactive with the swing voters they need to win.

What I saw from the ticket tonight was this sort of trying to center themselves. Walz is a progressive that's a fact. Kamala Harris is a progressive that's a fact. But the message did not come across that way. They leaned into language that was very deliberate. You and I know this, they said laws countering gun violence rather than gun control. Because that is a buzzword to Independents and to Moderates of, whoa, whoa, whoa. They're trying to lean into a general election message. I think if they frankly largely repeated what they said tonight for the next 90 days, it could very much work, whereas they're up against somebody with very, very little message discipline.

HUNT: Van, you were not so sure about Walz. You were -- you can tell me if I'm not characterizing your rear position this morning, right. I'm sure you will and because there were Republicans who thought -- Josh Shapiro or were worried about Josh Shapiro.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, well look, the Republicans were scared of Josh Shapiro. Republicans were scared of Mark Kelly. They were not scared of Governor Walz, but they should be. They should be because what you just saw tonight was extraordinary. This was somebody -- I've heard from my most conservative friends and my most liberal friends and even my radical friends. Everybody is like this guy is amazing because he talks like a normal person about stuff that people really care about and its effective.

And to David's point, Trump was ready to go with strength versus weakness. I'm strong, Biden's weak, give me the job. This is not that. This is old, and sorry, and pathetic, and boring, and doom, and gloom versus young, and exciting, and fresh, and new. And that's a different fight. It's the past versus the future. It is a completely different fight.

The other thing is that Kamala Harris has managed to do something without relying on Donald Trump to do it. She has united this party. We just say that the only thing to unite this party is Donald Trump. She's not talking about Donald Trump. She's talking about a future you can believe in. She's giving people hope. She picked somebody that did not look like her and from where she's from, and they fit together like Legos. It is an unbelievable feeling that's sweeping through the country and Donald Trump is scared and he should be.

[20:15:04]

BASH: I want to show our viewers something that our colleague Josh Campbell just pointed out to me and I believe we have it, it's new 'merch'. All the campaigns get 'merch' of -- really quickly. But this in particular as, Josh is pointing out, is in the in orange, blaze orange. It's a color used by hunters for safety purposes. And that's what Tim Walz is. He is a hunter and the fact that that is one of the first things that they are selling that tells you a lot about the way that they are trying to get the White men.

AXELROD: I will get you one.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I might get one. I mean, there's a way to style that hat to fit in with the culture, you know, and I think that is actually what is happening. Is that --

GRIFFIN: Well, they've already got you. I think that --

BASH: But that's what I might prove --

ALLISON: There's a way to say the same thing and speak to a lot of people --

VANCE: Yes.

ALLISON: -- and that's what tonight felt like, is that I know you don't agree and I appreciate that.

AXELROD: She looks a little dyspeptic.

ALLISON But I think that --

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think they gave you one of those hats as a reward for when they confiscate your guns, they give you a hat.

ALLISON: But here's the thing, he got on stage and talked about -- he is a gun owner. He believes in the Second Amendment. He's talking to all of Americans. I think in this campaign, we've done this thing where we could say this word 'progressive' as though it's a slur or it's a bad thing.

The reality is, is that when you actually look at what progressive policies are, not all of them, but about 75 percent of them whether it's paid family leave, whether it's the care agenda, because we're here all have aging parents that we need to take care of, whether it's paying teachers a fair wage because they are teaching our future. Whether it's feeding hungry children.

Those are not issues that only affect one type of person. They affect every person. We've all had teachers, we've all had a coach. Whether we were good at sports or not we know what it feels like to have a coach to lead and guide us and that is what you heard tonight.

JENNINGS: I thought the rewriting of the whole COVID narrative was just something to behold. I mean, this guy allies as easily as any national level Democrat. I mean, he was up there talking about Donald Trump and, you know, causing COVID and --destroyed our economy.

And so, he had the most draconian lockdowns in the country. He talked about, in our state --

BASH: When did he say that, Scott?

JENNINGS: He did talk about it.

ALLISON: He didn't say 'causing' he said he 'froze' the economy.

JENNINGS: He said -- pick your euphemism, I mean, he also talked about in here, neighbors -- respect neighbors we mind our own damn business. He literally created a reporting system for people in Minnesota to snitch on their neighbors if they saw them violating his draconian lockdowns. They kept the schools locked down, the businesses locked down, they left the bars open I think, but they closed the churches.

And now they come back later and rewrite this. and somehow blame this on Trump and rewrite this narrative. I was -- you know what, he lied really he's going to fit right in. He lied really easy. JONES: You seem sadder this -- today than you seem two weeks ago.

JENNINGS: Sadder. I don't know.

ALLISON: Good night, right?

BASH: Let me --

AXELROD: So, you -- do you think this is stiff?

BASH: Let me play a little bit --

AXELROD: Do you think if this is a contest about lies, that Trump's going to come out on top?

JENNINGS: This has been my eternal question for Democrats in the Donald Trump era. How many lies is too many and what is the standard of lying? Is just telling one less lie that Donald Trump, is that the standard to which you aspire?

AXELROD: No, I mean, I don't characterize, you've chosen to characterize things as lies that I think could be debated. But I mean the whole Donald Trump, I mean, honestly, kind of lies for practice. I mean, it's what he does and so, that isn't the ground -- yes, I'll tell you something, let me give you some free advice.

If I were the strategist for the other side, I would not want this to be a future past debate. I would want to make her, I would want to make Kamala Harris the incumbent, and I would assign to her Joe Biden's record and I would run that way.

BASH: Guys, I want to get in here for one second then you can come back. I want to play a little bit more of what we heard this evening. And this is a refrain about Tim Walz as a coach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: They're just getting to know Coach Walz's story. Coach Walz taught social studies and to his former high school football players he was coach. It's like a matchup between the varsity team and the JV squad. Coach Walz was approached by a student. When Coach Walz and his wife, Tim was the linebacker's coach for the football team. Under those Friday night lights Coach Walz -- Coach, coach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I mean as somebody who listens to a lot of men talk about sports --

AXELROD: Yes.

BASH: --it's nice to hear a woman get in there, talk about sports as well.

[20:20:09] JONES: But it's this whole underdog theme which is so smart because they are behind, you guys should be less sad than you are because you're still ahead. But it's this underdog thing, this kind of Friday night lights theme, that you know, what is --clear eyes, full of heart, can't lose, you know, it's working.

And that thought, like a big pep rally for sports event, and so I think the idea of them saying, we are the underdogs but we come from small places, we come from modest places and we can get all the way to the White House with you. That is powerful and that's not the Donald Trump message.

BASH: Okay, everybody, we're going to take a quick break.

Up next. John King is talking to voters in rural Pennsylvania. We're also going to be talking to a campaign co-chair. And later, a former Republican governor of Minnesota who was also named Tim. Tim Pawlenty joins us. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:25:08]

HUNT: All right, you are looking there at Tim Walz's motorcade earlier today. Right here in Philadelphia, Secret Service protection and all for the first time, even for a state governor with a regular security detail. It is a significant change of scenery.

Late today, the campaign put out a video of how his journey officially began.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Listen, I want you to do this with me. Let us do this together. Would you be my running mate and let's get this thing on the road.

WALZ: I would be honored, Madam Vice President. The joy that you' re bringing back to the country, the enthusiasm that's out there, it will be a privilege to take this with you across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: And as we talked about before the break, they both will be going places, lots of places this week and for the next just 97 days that they have left until election day.

CNN's John King joins me now from a small town outside Reading, Pennsylvania. John, you of course are part of the team that broke this news here on CNN. You've been out spending this campaign talking to voters. What are they telling you about the selection of Governor Walz? Especially in Shapiro's home state, Governor Shapiro's home state?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Kasie, the point that you heard the governor mention about joy, remember 16-17 days ago, Democrats or out of energy. They were despondent. They were holding their breath. They were worried about Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. They were worried he might lose in a landslide and take them all out.

Now, there is unmistakable joy in the Democratic Party. Does that mean they will win 90 days from now? No it does not. But where am I? I'm in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump carried this county about 54 percent of the vote.

But you know, their state, it's your home state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania margins matter. There's a hunt club up the street. There's a gun club up the street. there are farms here. A guy called coach, a guy who he hunts, a guy who in congress had a good rating from the can talk to people here. He speaks their language and that's what the Harris campaign is hoping. Not to win Berks County, but to just get a good margin and then run it up in the Philadelphia suburbs where they're talking about health care, and abortion rights, and things like that. So that's the test.

Look, people vote for president. But if you have a happy candidate on top of the ticket, as opposed to a candidate who is not out and visible and then you have a vice president who can go into some communities and be a little different, it might help.

The one thing I would say about this as in my travels in the last year, we find so many people who don't trust either party. They say all politicians are in suits and they make promises and they don't follow through. So to see a guy who's comfortable in a t-shirt, and a camouflage hat, who can go to a gun club and shoot some targets. Will it work?

It's a little different, so, I think that's the test that I think that's the potential appeal of Governor Walz in places like this.

HUNT: John, what do you think are any vulnerabilities that he might add here to the ticket areas where the Harris campaign is going to have to shore him up, if any?

KING: I think this is a fascinating challenge about the communications challenge and the messaging challenge. And I think both Vice President Harris and Governor Walz today handled it quite well. The question is, can they handle it through the sustain, of the campaign, which is we know the Trump campaign is going to double down on this dangerously liberal Kamala Harris is set for San Francisco. She's liberal.

Tim Walz got to Minnesota and he did all these big government liberal things, they're going to call him a socialist. He hangs out with Ilhan Omar that's what we're going to throw out.

What did the Democrats do today remember you remember this well, when Obama was president and Obama Care hurt the Democrats in those first couple of elections because it hasn't kicked in yet. So how did the Democrats handle that when the Republicans say dangerously liberal, you heard governor Walz saying, you mean, I use government power to help poor kids get free meals or reduced price thanks meals.

You mean I use my government power to make abortion rights, The Law of the Land in the state of Minnesota. You mean Donald Trump would take away the Affordable Care Act, which is now quite popular, Obamacare, we're going to protect it.

So, when the liberal charges come, can a make the case for their kind of government because tax has been liberal, you know, that doesn't work at a place like this. But those individual policies, childcare, school lunches, things like that, they're quite popular. So who wins that debate about defining liberal?

HUNT: It's really interesting because you saw Walz making those arguments on TV as this selection process was going forward. He was making them, and to hear them here talk about them in terms of freedom, right? Framing abortion rights in terms of freedom, choosing healthcare in terms of freedom, it is kind of flipping that old school will Republican messaging on his head.

John King. Thank you so much as always. Dana, back to you.

KING: Thank you.

BASH: Thanks, Kasie and back with me here. David Axelrod, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Van Jones.

David, I always like to tell our viewers what we're talking about when were not on TV and one of the things that I do want to bring up--

AXELROD: Not everything I hope.

BASH: Oh well, not everything. -- is the reality check --

AXELROD: Yes.

BASH: -- that this is as people have maybe said too much. This is a bit of a sugar high because of the shift, because of the very real enthusiasm. But 90 days is a long time?

AXELROD: It is. First of all, I don't think -- I think sugar high now may be a thing of the past because that was the first week, the second --

BASH: Yes.

AXELROD: I mean, they've gotten out of the gates very, very well. The nature of presidential politics, however, is that the better you do, the better you have to do the bar gets raised. there are more tests around the corner and, you know, unveiling a running mate is getting the right person is obviously important.

But this was kind of a layup. I mean, this was a an event that you can control. There are things you can't control.

[20:30:36]

So the question is, what happens when there are debates? What happens when she gets into a regimen of interviews as I assume that she will? What happens when the unexpected happens? These campaigns are oral exams that get harder and harder. So, you know, the message to Democrats who, by the way, if the election were to -- I can't say with certainty that she would win because of the electoral map and so on, is that, yes, you should be very excited and you should go to work --

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes Go to work.

AXELROD: -- but this is going to be a battle. This is going to be a battle. And I said this the other day online and I said, don't get consumed by irrational exuberance for which I was rewarded with a lot of opinions, but this is just the reality. Anybody who's worked in a campaign will tell you this. There's a lot of hard work and heartache ahead before the final goal.

BASH: Yes. Well, OK. You want to add to the work?

JONES: Yes. Yes. We got to fight. I mean, look, now we have some fight and we got somebody to fight for and alongside and with. Kamala Harris has proven to be a political phenomenon. She has -- everything that she has done has been incredibly difficult and she's done it incredibly well. And we are still behind in the polls.

The lines may be crossing, but we've got to over perform. If you're a Democrat, you have to -- we're going to win the popular vote. You got to over win in order to win in the Electoral College. And so I think you take this energy, you take this enthusiasm, everybody's on the WhatsApp group, everybody's hollering and dancing, get to work. Volunteer, put some money in and get to work. It's going to be a fight all the way.

BASH: You know, Alyssa, one of the things that I have brought up several times is looking back to 2016. And the -- one of the big differences between the Trump campaign and the Hillary Clinton campaign was Trump made people feel. I mean, he made people feel scared and he made people feel that he was with them and Hillary Clinton wanted to talk about policies.

This is a different kind of matchup because everybody's feeling now. They're feeling different things.

GRIFFIN: This is fundamentally different, and I think that what the Kamala Harris campaign has done wisely is they have leaned into making this forward looking, the chance of we are not going back. She's been a cheerful warrior.

When Donald Trump's come after her with attacks, that she could spend time litigating her biracial heritage or the DEI attacks, instead, she makes it about people. She stays big picture. She's not leaned into, you know, I'm the first black -- would be the first black female president. She's made it much more of an all-inclusive message.

I am stunned, and I am repeating myself here, but Donald Trump, all they need to run is she is Joe Biden but a woman. And relitigate his record, the border, inflation and just hammer that to Americans who are dissatisfied with Biden and make her own it. But he's failed to do that. And I think it's because he is so taken by what a pop culture phenomena she's been.

The fact that young people are energized, that celebrities are getting involved. He's really flailing and I think he's not really used to ever coming up against something like that.

BASH: All right, everybody. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up, how Vice President Harris came to select Governor Tim Walz. We're going to talk more about that, and we're going to be joined by one of her closest advisers. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:38:00]

HUNT: Well, Kamala Harris got in Tim Walz as a running mate, was apparent in his folksy manner and his sharp attacks against Donald Trump, even when discussing Republican opposition to abortion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there's a golden rule -- mind your own damn business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. I'm joined now by Cedric Richmond, a Harris-Walz campaign co-chair. He's both former congressman and adviser to President Biden. Congressman, you were one of the few people in the room, in the Vice President's inner circle, as she was making this critical first executive decision as the person at the top of the ticket.

Can you shed some light on the decision making process? And we're also reporting here that one of the things that Governor Walz said was that he actually didn't have ambitions to be president himself. Is that the case? And what role did that play in her decision?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, CO-CHAIR, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: Well, I'll tell you what the most important thing was. She wanted someone who would always put the American people first. She wanted someone who understood the role of the vice president of the United States. And she wanted someone she had chemistry with because they're going to have to do a lot of bold things. And they're going to have to be on the same page.

And Governor Walz fit that mode, and he expressed that he didn't have ambition to be president. What he expressed was he had a desire to improve the lives of the American people, and he understood that they -- what they were going through, and he talked about what he was able to do in Minnesota and what he wants to be able to do in conjunction with Vice President Harris, soon to be President Harris, on what they would do for the American people. And I think that that was something that really resonated.

[20:40:07]

HUNT: Is that something that was different from what she experienced with Governor Josh Shapiro, even though Shapiro, of course, from a battleground state, she elected not to choose that potential advantage here?

RICHMOND: Look, Governor Shapiro is immensely talented. He cares about the American people. He's devoted to the people of Pennsylvania, and he loves his country dearly. And so did Senator Kelly and Governor Beshear. It was -- she couldn't make a wrong choice with the options that she had, but there was a great connection between Governor Walz and not to mention that there's a great contrast.

I mean, she was an attorney general, she's a lawyer and she became a senator and a vice president. Governor Walz's background is he was a teacher. He coached kids. He volunteered to serve in our nation's army. And it -- it's a great contrast to what she brings to the table.

And what's consistent between Governor Walz and all of the candidates is they have a deep love of country and they were going to put the people first unlike Donald Trump. But she had a connection with Governor Walz and she made that decision and I think it was a great decision that she made. And it's no slight on anybody who was not picked.

But that connection was strong. That contrast was strong. And I think that like she always does, I think she put a lot of time, energy, effort, thought, and she put her heart into it, and that's where we ended up.

HUNT: Congressman, the Trump campaign, Republicans already out labeling this ticket as liberal, labeling the choice to pick Walz as doubling down on liberalism, on progressivism. And one of their lines of criticism is that Governor Walz waited too long to call the National Guard into Minneapolis in the wake of protests around George Floyd that turned into something else in Governor Walz's words. How do you respond to that criticism?

RICHMOND: Very easily. I will not be lectured about law and order from Donald Trump who led an insurrection on the United States Capitol. I was in that building. Police officers died that day because Donald Trump only thinks about himself. That's all he ever thought about. And that's what a future Trump administration would look like.

And so, a person like Governor Walz, who has given his life to public service, and in advance of other people, not himself, I'm not going to listen to Donald Trump, nor J.D. Vance, about any nature of law enforcement.

But what I will tell you, is that Governor Walz has been a strong governor. If you look at his record on cutting taxes, if you look at his record on their climate for doing business, if you look at the Vice President, Vice President Harris's, and you look at what we've been able to do in terms of reducing violent crime and reducing crime, we're not going to take a lecture from a criminal with 34 counts of felony convictions. And I don't think the people are going to buy that either.

HUNT: All right. Congressman Cedric Richmond, very grateful for your time on this big night in politics. Thank you very much.

RICHMOND: Thanks for having me.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next, more on how the Trump campaign is trying to frame Walz and his record as governor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:47:49]

BASH: Shortly before Governor Tim Walz introduced himself tonight as a veteran, a school teacher, and a football coach, the Trump campaign laid into him and his record. Its initial statement called him liberal once, and dangerously liberal twice. And Trump, as we mentioned, called him part of the, quote, "most radical left duo in American history."

Senior Trump campaign advisers tell CNN they plan to frame Walz as more liberal than Harris and that they will attack him specifically on issues including the border, guns and policing.

I'm joined now by Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's last Republican governor, also a former Republican presidential candidate. Thank you so much for being here, Governor. I appreciate it.

Listen, you are governor -- you're critical rather of Governor Walz's policy, but the first thing you did in an interview this morning was congratulate him, talk about what an honor and accomplishment it must be to be chosen for the ticket. Donald Trump sent out an email with all caps saying Tim Walz will unleash hell on earth. Do you think that's the right strategy?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Oh, that's a classic Trump statement, I suppose. Well, Governor Walz, as you mentioned, I know him. I like him. We've done things together. We don't agree politically, but he's a folksy, friendly, engaging person, and so we're going to have this debate about his policies and worldview and Vice President Harris the same, and I hope we can keep to that.

BASH: And as you know, he is -- his worldview is one thing, but now he's at the bottom of a ticket where it is Kamala Harris's worldview that matters. And what his job is going to be is to sell that, is to sell that policies. You say he's folksy, you say he's likable, and you personally like him and know him.

So, given all of that, do you see that he could have appeal in swing states, particularly in states around where you are, in Midwestern states that Democrats certainly need to win?

PAWLENTY: I think, Dana, what this selection does of Governor Walz for the Harris ticket is this. It gives her a philosophical and policy soulmate. They mirror each other. So they are, in fact, doubling down on the progressive agenda. There's no question about that. [20:50:08]

They admitted. Governor Walz probably says he's one of the most accomplished progressive governors in the country. And so he's not backing away from that label. That's not debatable. So they're going to double down on that.

But as she gives off this California, San Francisco vibe, he has this sort of Bernie Sanders in hunting gear vibe with the Midwestern flair to it. And so the ticket isn't philosophically and policy balanced, but she did bring some geography and some style balance into it.

And he's fully capable of both being folksy and throwing hard punches. He can do both like most politicians and he can talk a lot, that we all do, but he's good at it. And so, yes, can he go out and do the -- both the sales job on the policy from their perspective and also punch back? Yes, he can.

BASH: You have not endorsed -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- but you've not endorsed Donald Trump, the Trump-Vance ticket. You've said you hadn't been prepared to do so. Will you vote for them?

PAWLENTY: I'm not voting for Vice President Harris and Tim Walz. I'm just not for that. I think they're taking -- would take the country significantly towards --

BASH: And what about Donald Trump?

PAWLENTY: -- you know, the Bernie Sanders view of the world.

BASH: And as to Trump, I have voted for him in the past. I have all kinds of reservations about him. But like a lot of Americans, if I have to vote for socialism versus sort of the Trump model, I probably will end up voting for Trump with reservations. And that's what it is.

It's like a lot of Americans were faced with this choice. I'm not for socialism. I'm not for, you know, maniacs being in the White House, but those are our choices.

BASH: So you really think that the kinds of policies that Kamala Harris espouses are socialist? I mean, it's certainly Democrat. She is a progressive, but socialist is a whole different kettle of fish.

PAWLENTY: Well, there's a group that you're familiar with called the Democrat Social Alliance -- Socialist Alliance. They put out a checklist of what they want done at a state level. Governor Walz embraced and passed the most of any state in the nation on that list. And so whether you call it progressive, or socialist, or democrat socialist, clearly they want to take the country further and faster left, however you want to particularly describe that.

I don't think that's debatable. In fact, they say it themselves.

BASH: Before I let you go, real quick, I covered you in 2008 and 2012. You were on the short list to be John McCain and Mitt Romney's running mate. Didn't work out. What do you think it feels like to be those others who weren't picked right now?

PAWLENTY: Well, it's disappointing because you get your hopes up, but I also think under reported in this story is the campaign within the campaign to sort of take out those other competitors for the VP slot and why. Down in Arizona, you had Mark Kelly get taken out by organized private labor.

The guy from Pennsylvania, Shapiro, got taken out because he was for school choice and too pro-Israel in a party that is increasingly pro- Palestinian, and that sort of revealed some wounds and some fissures in that party. And if I were those folks, you know, the lesson is either you better toe the line or you don't get promoted, I guess.

BASH: Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, thank you so much for being here. Good to see you. Appreciate it.

PAWLENTY: Good to see you. Happy to be with you.

BASH: And a deeper dive on Governor Tim Walz and his personal journey to this historic moment is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:57:32]

BASH: The moment we've been talking about tonight, Kamala Harris introducing her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in Philadelphia. Here's Whitney Wild with a closer look at his biography.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The national spotlight is shining on Humble Roots as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz becomes Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate.

WALZ: I couldn't be prouder to be on this ticket.

WILD (voice-over): Before running for office, Walz was a geography teacher in public schools and a football coach from rural Mankato.

WALZ: High school geography teachers don't usually think that. Look, it is humbling. It's a privilege. It's surreal.

WILD (voice-over): His resume also includes more than two decades in the Army National Guard, including a deployment overseas after the 9/11 attacks.

WALZ: I want to thank the gentlemen --

WILD (voice-over): The two-term governor previously served in Congress for 12 years, representing a rural district that voted for Trump twice. In 2006, he won his first congressional race, ousting a sixth term Republican incumbent.

WALZ: They liked me. They trusted me. They said, Tim, I think you're trying to do it right. WILD (voice-over): His first term as governor saw some of the state's most turbulent times when riots broke out after the murder of George Floyd. As parts of the city burned, Republicans blasted Democratic leaders' response.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In recent days, our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa, and others. A number of state and local governments have failed to take necessary action to safeguard their residents.

WILD (voice-over): After days of riots, Walz called in the entire Minnesota National Guard.

WALZ: Let's be very clear. The situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities.

WILD (voice-over): His record of progressive policies such as codifying abortion rights, adding protections for transgender people, passing paid sick and family leave and implementing free breakfast and lunch programs in schools makes him appealing to some on the left. And a target for Republican criticism, which he has begun to push back on.

WALZ: What a monster kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn. And women are making their own health care decisions.

WILD (voice-over): Earlier this year, Harris visited a Minnesota abortion clinic with Walz. The visit marking a big impact on her decision, a source close to the governor told CNN.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've been a great friend and advisor to the President and me, and thank you for all of that.

WILD (voice-over): Walz joins the ticket, having already made his mark on the race, corning a new line of attack against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Republican allies with a single word -- weird.

WALZ: We're not afraid of weird people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

WALZ: We're a little bit creeped out, but we're not afraid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILD (on-camera): Dana, the moment the news broke, there was a crowd here outside his residence in St. Paul, and we had a chance to speak with some of those supporters. And they told us that they're looking forward for -- to America learning what they already know. They say that he's an authentic, steady fighter, Dana.

BASH: Whitney, thank you so much for that.

The news continues. "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" starts now.