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CNN This Morning
Judge Unseals New Evidence In Trump's January 6th Case; Trump Calls Latest Filing "Election Interference"; Today: Liz Cheney To Campaign With Harris In Wisconsin; Israel Targets Heart Of Beirut With Missile Strikes; 30 Million Under Heat Alerts In Western U.S. Aired 5- 5:30a ET
Aired October 03, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:37]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, October 3rd.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
Laying out the case. Federal prosecutors detailed Donald Trumps alleged increasingly desperate plan to overturn the 2020 election.
And this:
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DANNY DANON, ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N: It will be a very strong painful respond. It will be soon.
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HUNT: Israel weighing how best to strike back at Iran as President Biden urges caution.
And later:
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Massive trees uprooted, homes literally swept off their foundations, swept down rivers.
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HUNT: Federal help arrives. President Biden deploying active duty soldiers to help with the cleanup in storm-ravaged North Carolina.
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HUNT: All right, 5:00 a.m. in Washington. Here's a live look at Capitol Hill on this Thursday morning.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Quote: It doesn't matter if you won or lost the election. You still have to fight like hell, end quote.
That is what Donald Trump allegedly said to a family member in the wake of his 2020 election loss in the days leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. That's according to newly unsealed evidence filed by special prosecutor, Jack Smith.
The 165-page brief outlines some never before seen moments detailing how Trump and his allies, quote, resorted to crimes to try and stay in office, end quote.
The evidence includes firsthand witness interviews, like when one lawyer told Trump his claims wouldn't hold up in court. And Trump allegedly responded, quote, the details, don't matter.
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CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!
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HUNT: And when the former president was told about how then Vice President Mike Pence was in danger on January 6th as rioters stormed the Capitol, the filing says Trump was in the Oval Office dining room. He simply responded, "So what?"
Now, Donald Trump and his campaign are lashing out about this release of evidence in his 2020 election interference case, claiming it interferes with the 2024 election.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They should have never allowed the information to be -- to come before the public. But they did that because they want to hurt you with the election. It's pure election interference to get an incompetent person like Kamala. She's grossly incompetent. She's more incompetent than Biden to get these people elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And new this morning, former House Republican conference chair Liz Cheney. We're learning she's going to campaign for Kamala Harris with her at a campaign event, alongside the vice president in Wisconsin today. Cheney was one of just two Republicans who chose to join the House committee that investigated January 6th.
Both she and her father, the former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, have said that they will vote for Harris over Trump.
Joining us now to discuss is Nick Johnston, publisher at "Axios".
Nick, good morning. Good to see you.
NICK JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS: Good morning. Good to see you.
HUT: So, we're learning -- I had been wondering what Liz Cheney was going to do in this election cycle. She has said, she's committed to trying to make sure that Donald Trump never gets anywhere near the Oval Office, right now, today. It looks like she's going to -- she's set to campaign with Kamala Harris in Wisconsin coming up here. I -- what do you make of that?
And what do you make of the fact that we're now having this conversation about January 6 on October 3rd --
JOHNSTON: Right.
HUNT: -- when the election is November 5th?
JOHNSTON: I mean, I think it's a kind of question we've had a lot of the times, what will actually move the nail? I'm like up early, I want to be an interesting television, so I'm going to be afraid it's going to be the same answer we've had over and over before, is that words a perceivable for fatal group of people who will see these new revelations and change their mind on the vote.
I think the best way -- the best explanation I saw what the statement was yesterday. It was like kind of provided a lot of texture. It was things we already knew events that we already happened when we learned a lot more of the details about who specifically was in the room, what specifically was said, those exact comments from the former President Trump about when you heard that Pence was under threat, we knew the pieces of that and if I had a little more detail for it, but there was nothing new and regulatory about it.
And so I'm left thinking as I was walking in here, okay, well, if it's going to move any the needle? Well, I don't know the first indictment didn't really move the needle, the superseding indictment didn't move the needle.
[05:05:00]
The indictment in Florida didn't move the needle. The indictment in Georgia didn't move the needle. The indictment in New York didn't move the needle. The conviction in New York didn't move the needle.
This is a very static race. Donald Trump almost defies gravity in this, where there is a base of people that no matter what happens, things that would destroy any other presidential campaign in this nation's history just seemed to bounce off of him.
HUNT: Yeah. Well, and we talked so much about Donald Trump's ceiling, right? Which is exactly, you know, 46, 47 percent. But his floor, it also seems to very durable.
JOHNSTON: What's really interesting to me that I was looking at it some polling data that I think we shared on the show earlier in this week about if Kamala Harris was running at the same level of some of her Senate candidates are Republican or Donald Trump was running at the same level of some of his Republican candidate, we wouldn't be talking about. This would be talking about the baseball playoffs.
And so, that means there is a universe of people who are splitting their ticket, who are thinking a little bit differently about that, who might be voting for Trump and the Democrat or voting for Kamala and the report -- and not voting for the Republican.
And so is that a small universe of people? Because it doesn't take a lot, a couple of percentage points of that and that can really move the needle on this race is this event that finally the drumbeat that finally gets them to change? That's something I'm kind of watching.
HUNT: Nick, do you think -- I mean, we talk about how the rules of gravity don't really apply to Trump and we have seen that repeatedly, right? He says and does things that would seem to take down any other candidate. I guess -- the thing that I'm thinking about as we learn what Trump said about Mike Pence is J.D. Vance --
JOHNSTON: Yeah.
HUNT: -- because if Trump wins election, obviously, J.D. Vance on track to be vice president. We heard what he said or didn't say on the debate stage about what happened on January 6.
JOHNSTON: Yeah.
HUNT: In fact, let's watch that. And then we'll talk about on the other side. Take a look.
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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump refused to acknowledge this. He lost his election. And he said he didn't. A hundred and forty police officers were beaten at the Capitol that day, some with the American flag. Several later died.
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January the 20th, as we have done for 250 years in this country.
WALZ: Did he lose the 2020 election?
VANCE: Tim, I'm focused on the future.
WALZ: That is a damning -- that is a damning non-answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Nick. I think the thing I keep coming back to as we learn more texture because I take your big picture point, we didn't know. We sort of knew this was already going on, but the texture of Trump saying "so what" it really underscores, just how important Mike Pence's own convictions and own conscious were -- conscience was that particular day.
What do you make of what J.D. Vance's future?
JOHNSTON: I think that -- well, I think there's two parts of this. I think, first, I want to come back to the Liz Cheney campaigning. I think that is exactly the kind of thing Liz Cheney is going to stay on stage with Kamala Harris, say the thing -- the thing like Jeff Flake, a popular senator in Arizona, is swing-state said when he said he was endorsing Kamala Harris. That's exactly the thing Mike Pence said when he said he wasn't going to vote for Donald Trump in this election.
So I think that's definitely right. What is very interesting, though, and this comes back to that gap between Republican candidates who are maybe Trump light, who are MAGA, like think about Kari Lake in Arizona versus Trump. They don't poll nearly as well.
That brand doesn't transfer as much. So would it be very fascinating and good -- look, we're not done with 2024. I don't want to talk about 2028 just yet.
But to think about how that kind of rhetoric, how that kind of messaging, does that port over to other candidates, to other people running for office? So far, the answer to that is no.
HUNT: Yeah. That's I mean, that's the heart of the question that I had really interesting to think about it.
Nick Johnston, thanks for kicking us off today.
JOHNSTON: Good to be here. Thanks.
HUNT: I really appreciate it.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING: a fresh round of strikes.
Israel hits the heart of Beirut, Lebanon, as their war cabinet weighs. The response to Iran.
Plus, Melania Trump defending abortion rights and opposing her husband stance that should be up to the states.
Plus, this -- supposed to make cleanup J.D. Vance, Tim Walz, both clarifying some of the remarks that they made and defending their debate performances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We, of course, had a debate last night, a vice presidential debate, I thought it went pretty well.
WALZ: Look, not bad for a football coach, not bad. So --
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[05:13:41]
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DANNY DANON, ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N: Let me be clear, Israel will defend itself. We will act and let me assure you, the consequences Iran will face for their actions will be far greater than they could ever have imagined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: That was Israel's ambassador to the U.N. vowing to punish Iran for their missile attack earlier this week. He says, a strong painful response is coming, quote, soon.
Israel continuing to bombard Lebanon's capital, Beirut, three large explosions overnight rocking the heart of the city, an area that hasn't been struck since the 2006 war between these two countries. At least six people were killed.
U.S. and Israeli officials believed that half of Hezbollah's military arsenal has already been destroyed. And while Israel's war cabinet weighs its next move, President Biden is urging restraint.
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REPORTER: Do you support an attack on Iran's nuclear sites by Israel?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The answer is no. They have a right to respond but they should respond proportionally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: They should respond proportionally.
Max Foster joins us live from London.
Max, good morning. Always wonderful to have you. Really interesting answer there from President Biden saying directly, no, Israel should not strike Iranian nuclear sites. That, of course, have been strikes in Iran's territory.
[05:15:01]
What do you make of that and what does this debate look like among Western allies of the U.S.? I mean, how are the Brits looking at it? The Europeans looking at it?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden apparently spoke to the G7 and they all agreed that a strike on the nuclear facilities would not be the best way forward. It'd be so incendiary for the region. The reason they're talking about it is because there are many options, of course, open to Israel right now. They can strike most of Iran. And if they want to hit back hard there, the nuclear facilities would be one target, or perhaps the oil installations, which would really undermine the economy and undermine the leadership as well.
But people are talking about anything right up to trying to assassinate the supreme leader. Israelis aren't going to tell us exactly what they're planning because that would undermine the whole operation. The other perspective is were looking here, obviously images of Tel Aviv being under attack earlier the week, but they are currently going into Beirut as you were describing, do they decide to finish off or try to finish off Hezbollah as a punishment to Iran, there are -- there are so these are live images actually from Beirut. You can see that attack is ongoing.
There are many options open to the Israelis. You just have to wait and see, but, you know, it's very clear from President Biden and the G7 that they don't want Israel to attack those nuclear sites. But how much as Israel been actually listening to what America has to say in all of this?
HUNT: Well, and, you know, Max, it's interesting. David Sanger, CNN analyst, "New York Times" correspondent wrote a piece in the wake of these Iranian attacks that the U.S. election, that these, these few weeks that we have left before voters go to the polls is potentially something of a period that Netanyahu can take advantage of, the Israeli prime minister because it's part of why I was surprised to see President Biden be so direct there because there is this perception that Democrats will be under pressure to back Israel to the hilt no matter what, that this would potentially open some space for Netanyahu.
It does seem like these strikes have opened domestic political space for Netanyahu. I mean, he's been under so much pressure, but he seems to have more support from the public now. How do you understand that dynamic?
FOSTER: I think, you know, watching missiles coming from Iran is what everyone was fearing and a full-blown war with Iran, because that would be the moment where we do have a full Middle Eastern crisis. And there was celebrations in lots of Israel when you saw these, when, when you seen a lot of the military actions that the IDF has been carrying out, and I think there's -- there is a window with the U.S. election coming up for Netanyahu to push further because there's a lot of support for Israel within the U.S. to try to, you know, risk unsettling that or do not.
All President Biden appears to be doing is saying, we will support Israel as much as possible in defending itself. But when it comes to the proactive attacking, Israel has to be attacking Iran, has to be in proportion.
So it's just trying to not say punish Israel, but at the same time, hold it back when it -- when America feels its crossing a line.
HUNT: Yeah. All right. Max Foster for us this morning -- Max, always so grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
All right. Ahead here on CNN this morning, sending help to those hit hard by Helene.
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BIDEN: Simply put, we've got the capabilities to get the job done. We're going to get it done fast as possible.
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HUNT: Today, President Biden visiting more areas devastated by that deadly hurricane and the bombshell new filing from special counsel Jack Smith, bringing back the controversy over official acts versus acts as a candidate.
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[05:23:13]
HUNT: All right, 22 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams could be facing additional charges in his federal corruption case. The prosecutor claims to have evidence showing Adams tried tampering with a witness in the investigation. Adams' attorney calls it, quote, nonsense. The mayor has pleaded not guilty to five federal counts.
Melania Trump reportedly using her upcoming memoir to defend women's reproductive rights. And an excerpt obtained by "The Guardian", the former first lady writes this, quote, it is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government.
And she later asks, quote, why should anyone, other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body, end quote.
All right. Today, President Biden continues his Hurricane Helene response. He'll tour damage in Florida and Georgia. Yesterday, he flew over the devastation in North Carolina because the damage made it too complicated to coordinate an on-the-ground visit. The president deploying active duty troops to help provide critical aid.
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BIDEN: We're going to speed up the delivery of life-saving supplies like food, water, medicine, to isolate the communities over what the Pentagon calls the last tactical mile.
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HUNT: All right. Time now for weather, more than 30 million people under heat alerts in the Western United States. The heat expected to be record-breaking in some parts of the country.
Let's get straight to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek Van Dam.
Derek, good morning. What do you seeing today?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kasie. And welcome to October. Date is no, there was new month, right? That's what people are feeling. It feels like August in the western
parts of the U.S. specifically, the southwestern us where the record heat redefining the history books once again.
[05:25:03]
I mean, this is just incredible to see what we're experiencing. You look at it in the numbers and it is quiet an impressive -- shattering decades-old records for Phoenix, for instance. Just to kind of put this into perspective, here's the 30 million Americans under some sort of heat alert this morning, San Francisco to Sacramento, Los Angeles, as well as Phoenix.
Now, speaking of Phoenix, this year's been a scorcher, we know it, it's no secret, but there's been 113 days where the mercury in the thermometer climbed above 105 degrees, 67 days this year, above 110, and 113 consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees is that really puts it into context of just how brutal of a summer it has been.
Of course, we're supposed to be in the fall season, but that doesn't look to end anytime soon because we will see temperatures are reaching 109, 110 by this time tomorrow. Just incredible.
Over the Eastern U.S., enjoying autumn and looking fantastic where peak colors across northern New England at the moment, we'll keep -- will continue with this below average weather outlook as we head into next week, you can see the red over the western two-thirds of the country. That's where the heat will remain.
By the way, we're lowering the chances for tropical development across the Gulf of Mexico. But regardless, this could bring some heavy rainfall to the Florida peninsula this weekend -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. For folks that are really already inundated.
Derek Van Dam for us this morning -- Derek, thank you. I'll see you next hour.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING: little clean up. The VP candidates back on the trail, praising their own debate performances and acknowledging there were some shortcomings.
Plus, official or private acts. Was Donald Trump acting as a candidate or as the president on January 6? We'll dig into that new bombshell immunity finally.
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TRUMP: We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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