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Isa Soares Tonight
The Obamas Slam Trump At DNC; Blinken Says Israel Has Agreed To Gaza Withdrawal Terms In Bridging Proposal; Bodies Recovered From Sunken Superyacht Off The Coast Of Sicily; Political Influencers Speaks At The DNC; Jennifer Lopez Files For Divorce From Ben Affleck. Aired 2-2:45p ET
Aired August 21, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:42]
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERANTIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, the stars of the Democratic Party come
out for Kamala Harris, but will the DNC live up to the hype when it comes time to vote. We are live for you in Chicago this hour.
Plus, a diplomatic confusion. The U.S. says Israel has agreed to fully withdraw from Gaza, even though the Israeli Prime Minister reportedly said
the opposite, this as more deadly strikes hit Gaza. And more bodies have been found after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily. We'll be live
for you in Porticello with the very latest.
But first, a month ago, few people outside the state of Minnesota had heard of Governor Tim Walz. Tonight, Americans will meet the former coach as he
introduces himself to the world. Walz will formally accept his party's nomination on day three of the Democratic National Convention.
The Harris-Walz campaign is enjoying a huge boost in funding, announcing it had raised a record-breaking $310 million in July, and will soon reach a
total of half a billion dollars from donors. Former U.S. President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama really electrified the crowd on
the convention's second night, slamming Harris' Republican opponent Donald Trump. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: His limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly
educated, successful people who happen to be black.
(CHEERS)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd
sizes.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: An incredible one-to-one, one-two punch there. Let's get the very latest, joined by CNN's politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson. And
Stephen, we just played two clips, but there's so many because the Obamas really delivered some very fiery speeches, even something as we saw there.
So, following them, and I can imagine maybe pretty daunting and pretty hard. So, talk us through what we can expect today, and particular from Tim
Walz, what is he likely to say?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: This is a very important moment for Tim Walz. He is not widely known in the United States, although
he's the governor of Minnesota and he was a former congressman, most Americans don't know very much about him.
Generally, people don't choose their votes in a presidential election, depending on who the vice presidential nominee is. But it's still a very
important part of the ticket, a botched roll-out by a vice presidential pick can really hurt the candidate. So, Walz, I think has to make sure that
he doesn't distract at all from Kamala Harris and her big speech tomorrow night.
And to show that if the worst happens, he would be able to step in as president. The key now is for Walz and Harris to translate the momentum,
the euphoria we've seen here, the successful roll-out of their campaigns so far into a more sustainable political force that can boost them all the way
up to the November election, and really pose a serious challenge to Trump.
There is -- despite the euphoria in this bubble in Chicago, this Democratic bubble, there is, I think a dawning realization this election isn't over,
and that Trump remains very serious adversary.
SOARES: Yes, and look, there's been plenty, I think in the last two days, plenty of energy, Stephen, as well as an enthusiasm in the air at the DNC.
It's been really a show of unity, but I wonder what is left to do? And I ask this, Stephen, because looking at polling, if we can bring it up across
swing states, really speaks to some of the challenges here.
So, if we can bring that up, I'll just get my producer to bring it up for us. What the key issue -- just speak to the key issues that they are
perhaps are not hitting. We're looking at Arizona, North Carolina, where Harris seems to be doing pretty well, but Nevada and particularly Georgia
seems to be a challenge.
[14:05:00]
So, where -- not so much what they're doing, right, but what issues are they not hitting?
COLLINSON: Well, what I think you've seen is that the Harris campaign has realized the deficits of the Biden campaign before the President stepped
down and ended his re-election bid. Harris has taken a very populist economic term. She repeatedly stresses the difficulty people have had
paying for groceries, for example, over the last few years.
And it's still very painful even though inflation has come down from very high levels. This was something that the President didn't really appear to
understand or effectively empathize with people. So, she's definitely meeting voters where they are. Talking to important figures in the
grassroots efforts for Democrats in the Harris campaign.
They believe the most significant thing they've achieved so far is to change the perception of the election among many of their voters, some of
whom especially younger voters, minority voters which are very important for example, in a place like Georgia.
The election was not really worth them getting engaged in, that wasn't worth from voting. So, they've given themselves a chance. But one thing I
would say is, Harris, despite putting on a polling spat, and in some cases moving into a narrow lead over Trump in national polls, she's still polling
well below where President Joe Biden was four years ago, and even below where Hillary Clinton was polling in 2016. And Clinton, of course, no one
needs reminding, went on to lose that election.
SOARES: Yes, such important context. Stephen, really appreciate it, Stephen Collinson there for us in Chicago. And right now, Donald Trump and his
running-mate J.D. Vance are campaigning in the key battleground state of North Carolina. The Republican ticket is expected to be talking about
national security as part of the counter-programming tour.
This event is part of a larger fight really to steal the spotlight away from where we just saw Stephen at the Democratic Convention, of course, in
Chicago. Trump and Vance are also working to get support from a different presidential candidate, and that's independent Robert F. Kennedy Junior.
Vance says if RFK dropped out, it would be good for the campaign, and he would be welcomed to join forces with the Republican Party. Alayna Treene
is keeping a close eye on the Republican ticket, and she joins us now from Washington. Alayna, let me just pick up with that because in the last few
minutes, we've seen that JFK Junior is expected to address the nation as he weighs whether to drop out and endorse Trump. What more can you tell us?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right, that's right. Robert F. Kennedy Junior is going to be addressing the nation in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday. I'll
note, Isa, that Donald Trump is also speaking in Arizona on Friday, but that will be a speech Friday evening in Glendale. So, same state, not the
same city.
But this comes as his running-mate RFK Junior's running-mate, I should say, yesterday on a podcast, Nicole Shanahan, she said that RFK Junior was
considering dropping out and also endorsing Donald Trump. Now, our own Kristen Holmes here at CNN asked Donald Trump about this specifically
yesterday while he was campaigning in Michigan, and Donald Trump said that he would welcome RFK Junior's endorsement, and also that he would be open
to considering him for a role in his future administration.
Which is pretty big news. And look, I mean, it is interesting because the Trump campaign has been going very hard after RFK Junior for months, trying
to paint him as a radical liberal, as someone who's super progressive. But I will say, according to my conversations with Trump's senior advisors,
they also recognize his appeal to many people within the Trump movement.
They describe it as within the MAGA movement on key issues like vaccines, his anti-vaccine approach, other issues. And so, it'd be very interesting
to see what exactly this announcement will be about. We have -- the campaign did not state what the details will be, but given what Nicole
Shanahan said yesterday, it could potentially have to do with him ending his campaign.
And just to shift gears and talk more about North Carolina because I know you mentioned that, and I think it's really interesting and Trump any
minute now is actually going to take the stage there. I just find it very fascinating that he's back in North Carolina today. This is his third time
to the state since Joe Biden ended his campaign a little over a month ago.
And I think that really underscores how important the Trump campaign views North Carolina to their overall push to get to 270 electoral votes in
November. And I'll remind you that this is a state, North Carolina that Republicans have actually repeatedly won over the last several decades.
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won there was in 2008, that was Barack Obama, so, 16 years ago. But in 2020, Joe Biden came very
close to Donald Trump, and those polls are narrowing further with Kamala Harris now at the top of the ticket.
[14:10:00]
So, there's a reason that they're both there together, and that Donald Trump is back there for the third time in about a month. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, that is very telling, indeed, and I wonder whether you can give us more context on what they're going to speak about. I had read
they're going to speak about national security. Do we have more details on policy here, Alayna?
TREENE: We do. Well, we actually just heard from J.D. Vance a bit of, you know, kind of open or for Donald Trump who is going to speak soon. He
talked a little bit about foreign policies. When I talked to Trump's advisors about Trump's speech, they say it is going to be talking a lot
about the war in the Middle East between Israel and Gaza.
The war between Ukraine and Russia, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and how Joe Biden handled that, trying to tie Kamala Harris to
that withdrawal. We actually heard Vance himself discuss that earlier in his remarks. So, a lot of focus on that, but then also on border and the
crime -- and crime, excuse me, immigration and crime.
Those are issues that I know Donald Trump and his team view as larger national security issues. I think you'll hear Donald Trump walk through
those as well. But I'll remind you that yesterday, Trump was in Michigan talking about crime. Tomorrow, he's also going to be in Arizona talking
about the border.
And so, this week is really -- you know, every single day he's been to a different battleground state with a different issue that his campaign is
really pushing him to focus on. And all of this comes as they've been urging him to talk about the issues they think he can win on in November
and cease the personal attacks against Kamala Harris. So, we'll see --
SOARES: Yes --
TREENE: If he does some of that later in his remarks.
SOARES: The timing will be interesting, of course, with the DNC, Democratic National Convention in Chicago, clearly taking some of the oxygen and
energy away from --
TREENE: Yes --
SOARES: That. We are keeping a close eye on what he has to say, introducing both men together as well. Alayna, I know you'll keep us posted, thank you
very much. Alayna Treene --
TREENE: Thank you --
SOARES: There. Well, in the meantime, no breakthrough after days of urgent diplomacy. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned home from
his mission to try to secure a Gaza ceasefire as well as hostage deal. He visited Qatar, Egypt and Israel to push a bridging proposal aimed at
narrowing the gaps between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken insists Israel has accepted it, including provisions requiring the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. But a forum of hostage family says,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told them that Israel would not leave the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, you can see it right there
on your screen. And here's what Blinken had to say. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: The United States does not accept any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel. More specifically,
the agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, no end to the war in sight, Israel is keeping up deadly attacks in Gaza, striking a school sheltering displaced Palestinians once
again. Rescuers say two people were killed and 15 others injured in that attack, and that includes children. Israel says it targeted militants who
had been operating inside the school.
Gaza's Health Ministry says 50 people in all have been killed in the past 24 hours. And a new attack in Lebanon meantime is fueling fears of a wider
conflict. An Israeli strike killed a senior commander from the armed wing of Fatah. The IDF says he supported terrorist activities in the West Bank
and was acting on behalf of Iran.
Fatah is a Palestinian faction that's historically a rival of Hamas. It says Israel is trying to ignite a regional war. Well, our next guest just
wrote an op-ed in "Haaretz" titled "Duped Again". He says quote, "the U.S. somehow heard Netanyahu say yes to a Gaza deal". He didn't. Alon Pinkas is
a former Consul General of Israel in New York, a well-known face here on the show.
And Alon, great to see you again. And in that article in "Haaretz", in that same article you write -- I'm just going to read it for our viewers.
"Blinken may find himself realizing on the plane back home that the U.S. was duped again with Netanyahu having agreed to a deal he knows for a fact
Hamas cannot accept.
Thus far the best indication that this is the case aside from Netanyahu's words is relative quiet from the far-right parties in the coalition. If
they believed Netanyahu-via-Blinken and thought for a second that the deal was real viable and imminent, the vociferous statements, the political
threats would have been flying fast and furious", you write.
So, what then, Alon, is the calculation from Netanyahu just to delay? Just talk us through the thinking here.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: He wants -- so that he wants the war to go on. He does not want the war to stop. If the war
stops now de facto or terminally, then Mr. Netanyahu cannot claim that he won the war.
[14:15:00]
He has no tangible achievements outside of degrading Hamas militarily, which is a good thing in and of itself. But nonetheless, that is not the
total victory that he branded and brandished all over the place. He will then face immense political pressure inside Israel, public protests. So, he
does not want the war to go on.
And if that involves a regional escalation, so be it. In fact, he is encouraging a regional escalation. But there was no way in the world, Isa,
that he would accept a deal. This has been going on for six to seven months, and I have to tell you, it's staggering and astonishing on what
basis did Mr. Blinken, Secretary Blinken conclude or infer that Mr. Netanyahu accepted the deal, it's just beyond me.
SOARES: Look, it's clear, Alon, that it's you know -- it's not conducive to what we have heard from the United States where there is clearly a sense of
urgency. Blinken, as you know, said this week, that this is probably the best, maybe the last chance -- and the last 50 minutes, you would have seen
this, I'm hoping.
We've heard that President Biden is expected to speak with Netanyahu. And on the United -- on the United States, you write, "America has levers of
power, influence and pressure he chose not to use in the last ten months, the next few days will indicate whether it is now ready to use them." What
are those levers of power and how do you think Netanyahu would respond?
PINKAS: Well, there are several levers of power, Isa. One is that if President Biden is convinced and concludes that there is no deal, no
hostage-slash-ceasefire deal because of Mr. Netanyahu, that he bears the brunt, that he bears the responsibility for the absence of a deal. One
lever of power is to stand up and say so.
And if he does say so, he will be supported by the Chief of Staff of the Israeli -- Israel Defense Forces who thinks the deal should have been done.
The head of Israel's Mossad Intelligence Agency who thinks a deal should have been done, and thinks that Mr. Netanyahu undermined it for the last
four or five months.
The head of the Israel general security service Sohol Shabak(ph), who thinks the same, and Major General reserve Nitzana Long(ph) who is the
army's military's, you know, representative in the hostage negotiating team. All four of these gentlemen are in a consensus and an agreement that
Mr. Netanyahu in the last several months has undermined any possibility of a deal.
Remember, Isa, that President Biden presented the proposal parenthetically claiming that it was an Israeli proposal to begin with --
SOARES: Yes --
PINKAS: The 31st of May, we are on the 21st of August today. So, that's quite a long time of idle and few town negotiations --
SOARES: Yes, indeed --
PINKAS: A second -- a second lever would be the U.N. Security Council. You know, I'm not advocating for this, I hope it --
SOARES: Yes --
PINKAS: Doesn't get to that, but the U.S. cannot refrain from a veto on a U.N. Security Council resolution. By the way, the Biden proposal on the
10th of June, was adopted by the Security Council. So, all the Security Council needs to do is to endorse its own previous resolution.
There are other levers that I doubt Mr. Biden will use. You know, you said, you quoted me and I thank you for it that Blinken feels duped by Mr.
Netanyahu, though should Mr. Biden --
SOARES: Yes, but Alon, very quickly, because we're running out of time. The fissures within the Netanyahu camp have been there for some time, and the
U.S. is -- we're now facing a transitional government with the elections in the United States. You think that first lever you talked about, you think
that will be enough to budge, to make Netanyahu reconsider here?
PINKAS: No, I don't. I'm just saying it's a lever that's available to the U.S. It's -- you know, if you open the American diplomatic toolkit, a
toolbox rather, it's in there. No, I think what the Americans are primarily interested in is preventing escalation. And they see a ceasefire in Gaza as
a key, as a conducive element to bring about de-escalation in the north between Israel and Hezbollah, and by extension, between Israel and Iran.
That's all they're interested in. And they want to get to November 5th without a major regional conflagration. One more thing --
SOARES: Yes --
PINKAS: Biden, because he is not running, because he is not impaired or limited by political calculations, he could be the good cop for Kamala
Harris and the bad cop for Mr. Netanyahu --
SOARES: Yes --
PINKAS: From now until November. So, he has the tools.
[14:20:00]
The question is, and I don't know. Will he use them?
SOARES: We shall see. Alon Pinkas, always great to get your insight, great to see you, Alon, thank you very much.
PINKAS: Thank you, Isa.
SOARES: Well, Iran certainly watching and listening. A spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard says the country's threatened attack against
Israel will take time. But he says time is on our side. The entire region has been on edge since Hamas political Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in
Tehran.
In a statement to CNN, Iran's mission to U.N. says any retaliation must be quote, "carefully calibrated to avoid jeopardizing a perspective Gaza
ceasefire." Let's get more from our Frederik Pleitgen, who is in Tehran for us. And Fred, with the transition of power in Iran from what I understand
now, complete.
I wonder given that the daylight between Hamas and Israel, which is -- had that conversation just now with Alon Pinkas, whether Iran believes that a
ceasefire deal is possible at all. Do they believe Netanyahu is serious here about cheesing(ph) -- achieving a ceasefire?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, said it quickly. They certainly don't. And that's something that we saw on
the ground here today. I was actually inside the Iranian parliament for nine hours today during those confirmation hearings that were going on for
the cabinet of Masoud Pezeshkian, all of them, of course, were confirmed.
But you could literally feel, of course, the very volatile situation here in the Middle East, and of course, specifically in Gaza, really overshadow
things there. In fact, Masoud Pezeshkian, in many cases in the speech that he gave today, spoke about the need for national unity here in Iran,
because of all the external challenges that Iran faces.
And of course, right now, the security situation in the Middle East is first and foremost that one. One of the other things that we did
specifically on that because there's so much talk about the ceasefires, speak to several members of parliament throughout the past couple of days
about what they think, whether they think a ceasefire is possible.
And all of them said they think a ceasefire is necessary, badly necessary, but they don't think that one is in the cards any time soon, because they
don't believe that's specifically the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is serious about one.
But they also say that they don't believe that the United States is an objective mediator in all of this, because the U.S., specifically, the
Biden administration are so firmly in the corner of the Netanyahu administration. Now, today, I was able to speak to the head of the National
Security Committee for Iran's parliament, also the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and here's what he had to say on the topic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EBRAHIM AZIZI, HEAD, NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT (through translator): I believe the Israeli regime will not accept a
permanent ceasefire. They will not feel committed to any principles, rules or decisions. We wish that the U.S. would not support a regime that
violates international principles and does not feel bound by commitments and agreements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: And of course, all that also feeds into, as you've already stated, the possible retaliation by the Iranians for the killing of Ismail
Haniyeh here on July 31st. And you know, they are now saying that all these needs to be closely calibrated as they put it, and they don't want to
jeopardize a possible ceasefire even though they aren't optimistic about it.
And also, the method of how Iran could retaliate is also something where they are still being quite coy about what exactly they plan to do in that
statement that was sent to CNN by Iran's U.N. mission, they said that it will be something completely unexpected, and then in completely unexpected
time as well. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, makes you wonder whether they don't have a plan or really whether they are delaying. Fred Pleitgen, appreciate it, thank you very
much, live there for us from Tehran. Still to come tonight, crews in Italy have recovered four bodies from a sunken yacht. We are live in Sicily with
the very latest.
And then, later, we'll take a closer look at Gen Z's presence at the DNC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:54]
SOARES: And rescue crews in Italy have found four more bodies in their search for those missing from a sunken yacht. The yacht went down, if you
remember, on Monday after being hit by a tornado off Sicily, six people were initially reported missing, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch
and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer, the body of the onboard chef was recovered on Monday.
Joining us from Sicily with the very latest is Barbie Nadeau. So, Barbie, just bring us up-to-date with the very latest on the ground.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, I mean, it's been a very grim day here because they've -- we've seen them, we've witnessed them bringing
four body bags here to the port behind me, which is the staging area for the divers. And in each case, they've been, you know, the fire brigade and
people have lined up, you know, kind of paying homage to these fallen people.
And you know, one of the things about an accident like this is if there's any kind of good news is that, it's -- they're going to find closure
because they found the bodies. Because this is a third day those divers have been down there, you know, looking and risking their own lives to try
to get inside this luxury yacht in order to recover these people.
So, we understand that they have also identified a fifth body, which they're going to go back at first light tomorrow and try to retrieve and
then of course, there's just one more missing person, and then they'll have to bring up the yacht and there'll be all that sort of thing.
All the while this is going on, there is a criminal investigation that's looking at, you know, if anything happened, if there was any fall to be had
whatsoever in terms of what led to this very fast sinking of this vessel. And you know, an investigation is fairly common in Italy when it comes to
an accident especially foreign flagged ship. But we're expecting also for that to carry on as this goes forward.
SOARES: I know you'll stay across it for us. Barbie Nadeau there in Porticello as the sun has set, as you can see. Thanks very much, Barbie,
appreciate it. And still to come tonight, speakers at the Democratic National Convention are urging Americans to get out to vote no matter their
age. We'll hear from the digital creator and political influencer Deja Foxx.
And Ben-Nifer is breaking up again. What we know about the divorce between two of Hollywood's biggest names, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:31:48]
SOARES: From the musical roll call to the presidents of -- a presence, I should say, of social media influencers, one thing is clear, this is not
your grandparents' DNC.
The usually dry roll call ritual was turned on its ear by Lil Jon, you can see there, who joined Georgia's delegation. Actors Eva Longoria, Wendell
Pierce, and Sean Astin were among the many celebrities who also appeared.
The convention has also featured content creators, a clear effort by democrats to reach out to younger voters on social media. In an
unprecedented move, five influencers were chosen to speak at the DNC. Our next guest is the first content created to speak at the convention. Gen Z
activist, Deja Foxx, has more than 54,000 followers on Instagram and more than 141,000 followers on TikTok. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEJA FOXX, POLITICAL INFLUENCER AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ACTIVIST: People my age are making big decisions about our lives, and we deserve a president
who has our back. For young people, this is a fight for our future. We have a responsibility to do this and we have a responsibility to do it right,
and that's why we're going to show up for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Foxx joins me now live from Chicago. Deja, welcome to the show. Wonderful to have you here. And we played, as you saw her there, hopefully,
that small clip of your first night of you speaking at the DNC. But you also spoke about your childhood. That you were raised by a single mom,
living in public housing. And that you got your healthcare from Planned Parenthood.
Your story, I would assume, would resonate with so many young people across the United States. So, just speak to our audience right around the world.
What are the biggest issues right now for young voters like yourself?
FOXX: That's absolutely right. For people like me who didn't start out at the top, we know that we deserve more than to just get by. We deserve a
shot at getting ahead. And when I think about the issues that are top of mind for young people, particularly young people in swing states, like my
home state of Arizona, we know that it is things like reproductive rights, student debt, and the ability to afford rent and groceries, right, cost of
living.
And young people do not need to be policy experts to know that there is a clear difference between these two candidates when it comes to their
potential and their possibility.
SOARES: And, Deja, let's talk about reproductive rights that you just mentioned there, they're clearly a concerned, you know, something very
important to many young people and women across the country and men, I should say too.
In the last two days, we heard, I think, were very powerful, very compelling stories from several women who went through the most traumatic
ordeals. I want to play little clips and we can talk after this. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH ZURAWSKI, SPOKE ON ABORTION RIGHTS AT DNC: We waited until Amanda was sick enough to receive standard abortion care. Eventually, Amanda's
temperature spiked. She was shaking, disoriented, and crashing.
[14:35:00]
KAITLYN JOSHUA, SPOKE ON ABORTION RIGHTS AT DNC: And something didn't feel right. Two emergency rooms sent me away because of Louisiana's abortion
ban.
HADLEY DUVALL, SPOKE ON ABORTION RIGHTS AT DNC: I was raped by my stepfather after years of sexual abuse. At age 12, I took my first
pregnancy test, and it was positive. I can't imagine not having a choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: This was incredibly compelling, those voices and their stories. I wonder if this is resonating with young voters and how do you think
Americans will vote on this issue? Will Harris' position encourage anything to get up and vote?
FOXX: Yes. I mean, we have to just take a moment and say thank you to those storytellers for being so brave and sharing so much of their personal lives
with us to create change, right, to really drive people out to the polls. And we know that it is stories like these that are going to move the
needle. And issues like reproductive rights, particularly abortion access that are going to get undecided voters out to the polls.
When we look at states like mine, Arizona, right, a crucial swing state, we know that there is abortion on the ballot from the top of the ticket,
right, the presidential election, all the way on down to the bottom where we have a ballot initiative and an opportunity to codify abortion rights in
our state constitution.
So, I know that for those undecided voters, particularly young people who are thinking about setting out this election, who are busy with work and
family, that it is going to be issues like this and storytellers like those that get them out come November.
SOARES: Yes. And, Deja, look, one of the issues -- another one of the issues, I should say, that matters -- seems to matter, that we have heard
on the show from many young voters, and we've seen that in the past week, in the past few days, with protests in Chicago, is the plight of the
Palestinians in Gaza. We've heard our own reporters hearing from protesters too, many saying, look, I don't want to vote for Trump, but there's no
clarity here from the Kamala-Walz camp.
What do you say to them? I know you're not a policy expert, but you're a political influencer. Are you hearing those concerns?
FOXX: Yes, I'm certainly not a policy expert when it comes to this, right? I am someone who got my start as a reproductive rights advocate, advocating
around better sex ed and birth control access. However, I am someone, a young person, who is online posting about this campaign. And I will say
this, that when Kamala Harris announced her run just a few weeks ago, which is important to remember, I posted a video sharing some of our videos from
the 2020 campaign, which I worked on as the influencer and surrogate strategist.
It was a video in which she says she understands the responsibility of this office, the historic nature of her run, and that young people, particularly
young women and girls of color are watching. And so, I think when we look at any issue, we have to remember that this is an election about policy,
absolutely, but this is also an election about character. And Kamala Harris is the clear character candidate here.
SOARES: Yes. Character and compassion. Very key here. Deja Foxx, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you so much.
FOXX: Happy to do it. Thank you.
SOARES: Thank you. Now, one of Hollywood's most famous couples, I was going to say fabulous couples, is calling it quits. Again, Jennifer Lopez has
filed for divorce from Ben Affleck on the second anniversary of the wedding ceremony. Ouch.
It is the end of a romance that started more than 20 years ago, though some say the signs of a breakup were there for all to see. And here's part of a
documentary Lopez released this year in which she talked about their relationship. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER LOPEZ, ARTIST: He loves me. He knows I'm an artist and he's going to support me in every way he can because he knows this is -- he can't stop
me from making the music I made and writing the words that I wrote. He can't -- you know, that's going to happen and he doesn't want to stop me.
He wants to do that, but that doesn't mean he's, you know, kind of comfortable being the muse, being --
BEN AFFLECK, ACTOR AND FILMMAKER: Jen was really inspired by this experience, which is how artists do their work and get inspired, their
personal life, it moves you, I know as a writer and director, like I certainly do the same things. But things that are private, I had always
felt are sacred and special. Because in part, they're private.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Joining us now is Lisa France with the very latest. Lisa, look, I know there were many hopeful romantics in my team who are hoping they would
stay together, but it kind of didn't surprise me. What more can you tell us?
[14:40:00]
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Yes, I don't think people should really be surprised because for months there's been speculation. They've been
wearing their wedding rings, not wearing their wedding rings. They put their house up for sale. They are spending time on opposite coasts, not
even being together on her birthday.
And so, consequently, I think people, they knew that there was trouble in paradise. It was just a matter of when they were going to make the
announcement. But her walking into a courthouse and, you know, basically filing for divorce on the second anniversary of their big, massive,
beautiful wedding that they had at his estate here in the State of Georgia felt like a statement. It felt like she was saying, you know what? OK,
enough. It's time for me to move on and I'm ready to let this go.
And it's sad. You know, there are lots of people who are hopeless romantics and have infants, you know, on the hopeless part of it because it just felt
like from the very beginning people were questioning like the reasons why you guys split up 20 years ago, how have those reasons changed? And it
feels like from the piece that we just watched, the little segment that you saw, they did have some very serious differences. She is very much a person
who enjoys being in the limelight. She loves her fan base. She gives them a lot of her personal life on social media.
Ben Affleck could not be more different. He is a very private person. He has publicly spoken before about the fact that he loves what he does, but
he does not love the celebrity part of it. So, that -- the whole conversation about, you know, her saying, well, he can't stop me from my
creativity and from my art, and he understands, you know, maybe that gave us a little insight into the fact that maybe he was not as understanding as
she may have thought, or maybe, you know, there are other reasons.
We probably will never know why their relationship did not work. But it seems like a lot of people are taking it to heart. I've heard from people
who are legitimately hurt that their marriage is not going to go forward.
SOARES: Yes. Well, I will not be crying. I'm sure that both of them are happy with that decision. I wonder how amicable it was. Do we know in their
own talking terms?
FRANCE: Well, he hasn't filed anything. We just know that she's filed. And neither one of them has made any statements as to, you know, they haven't
broken their silence. So, we're really going to have to wait and see and get more information.
People want to know, did they have a prenup? You know, are they going to move forward and be friends? So, it's pretty much a waiting game at this
point. But interestingly enough, before they became a couple again, Ben Affleck came in and I interviewed him here at CNN Center, and he just
started talking about how amazing she is and that she doesn't get enough credit. And I thought, oh, that's weird because I didn't ask him about
Jennifer Lopez.
So -- and at the time she was engaged to Alex Rodriguez. But then, shortly thereafter, they broke up. She got back with Ben and then we found out that
over these decades they were still in communication with each other, even though they both were married to other people.
SOARES: Yes, he still had his eyes on her. Yes.
FRANCE: Yes. It feels like they maybe still had their eyes on each other. So, it's very sad. But also, it's Hollywood.
SOARES: Yes, yes. Well, they're both great individually. So, as long as they're both happy, that's all we care about. I am going to miss Bennifer,
though, I have to say, the name itself. Thank you very much. Much appreciated.
That does it for us for tonight. You stay right here. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto is coming up at the top of the hour. World Sport, though, is next.
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