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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Covers the Democratic National Convention. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired August 22, 2024 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities and places of worship. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others, the freedom to vote.
(CHEERING)
With this election, we finally have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
(CHEERING)
And let me be clear. And let me be clear. After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border.
Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it.
But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal.
(BOOING)
Well, I refuse to play politics with our security. And here is my pledge to you.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law.
(CHEERING)
I know, I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system.
(CHEERING)
We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border.
(CHEERING)
And, America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and values abroad.
As vice president, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances, and engaged with our brave troops overseas.
(CHEERING)
As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.
(CHEERING)
And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.
(CHEERING)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!
I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence, that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century...
(CHEERING)
... and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership.
(CHEERING)
Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO.
(BOOING)
He encouraged Putin to invade our allies, said Russia could -- quote -- "do whatever the hell they want."
(BOOING)
Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russia's plan to invade.
I helped mobilize a global response, over 50 countries, to defend against Putin's aggression.
(CHEERING)
And, as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. (CHEERING)
With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done.
(CHEERING)
And let me be clear. And let me be clear.
I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself.
(CHEERING)
[23:05:00]
HARRIS: And I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7th...
(CHEERING)
... including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.
At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating...
(CHEERING)
So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure. The hostages are released. The suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.
(CHEERING)
And know this, I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump...
(CHEERING)
... who are rooting for Trump, because, you know, they know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.
(CHEERING)
And as president, I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs.
(CHEERING)
So, fellow Americans, fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go, everywhere I go and everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America. I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world, that here, in this country, anything is possible, that nothing is out of reach, an America where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us...
(CHEERING)
... that none of us, none of us, has to fail for all of us to succeed...
(CHEERING)
... and that in unity, there is strength.
You know, our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach, never let anyone tell you who you are; you show them who you are.
(CHEERING)
America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for -- freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.
(CHEERING)
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We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on earth, the privilege and pride of being an American.
(CHEERING)
So let's get out there, let's fight for it. Let's get out there, let's vote for it. And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.
(CHEERING)
Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you all. (APPLAUSE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Devi Harris, age 59, daughter of Oakland, accepting her party's nomination for the presidency of the United States of America. It was a speech that four weeks and five days ago, she was not preparing to make. But as she said, she is no stranger to unlikely journeys.
She shared with us her origin story as a prosecutor with her childhood friend, Wanda Kagan, who is here tonight, being molested by her stepfather. She talked about representing the people, Kamala Harris for the people, in her time as a prosecutor. She discussed how she would be a president for everyone and wanting to form an opportunity economy to build and strengthen the middle class.
It was a speech of progressive politics and unifying rhetoric, a speech with many, many shots across the bow of Donald Trump, her opponent, and a speech in which she sought to portray herself as a credible commander in chief: Patriotic, firm, confident, and credible. She discussed Israel and Palestine. She discussed Ukraine. She discussed the threat from Iran. It was a remarkable address, one that I've never seen her give quite like this before. A very, very powerful speech.
[23:14:58]
You got to go back, I think, to Barack Obama in 2008 for a democratic speech like this, perhaps even a speech like this at all. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jake, the hallmark of her vice presidency until -- frankly, until the Dobbs decision was that she was dismissed and underestimated. And even now, some Biden aides are saying that they didn't treat her the way that they should have.
And the theme of the speech was that she's an underdog. The theme of the speech was don't underestimate America, don't underestimate all of us. And that is her story. That is her story in the brief four years that we have seen her hit by President Biden and in the four weeks since she has been a candidate for president in her own right.
And I will just say it was striking on the substance of this, how much policy there was, how much populist policy there was on economics, and how forceful she was on the foreign policy of it all. Very, very hawkish.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think if there's one thing that we know about Kamala Harris is that voters don't feel like they fully understand her. She has not actually been in the public eye, in elected office, on the political side, for quite that long. So, she's relatively new to this. And I felt like this speech was really filling out some of the contours of who she is as a person.
And I do think she has been very misunderstood politically for quite some time. In the primary in 2020, she had to run to the left. But when I covered her then, I covered -- I spoke to a lot of people who covered her in her Senate race and in the years before she even became a politician in the true sense. They view her in a very different way, as a pretty pragmatic person, as somebody who has progressive beliefs but is not an ideologue.
And this part of her speech really struck out to me. She said she would be a president who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. And I think that if there's anything in this speech that she wanted to convey that would cut against the narrative that is being written about her by Republicans, is that she is interested in solving problems. She is interested in not just doing what, you know, the left or the right says you should be on in terms of the ideological sides, but what she thinks is the right thing to do. And that was an important message for her to deliver tonight.
And I think she has to do that from this point forward, is to help to explain to people, not just what does she believe, but how does she think about the decisions that she makes.
BASH: And, of course it's always about a contrast, right, Jake? I mean, this is her introduction, as you've put so well, Abby, to filling out the contours of who she is and what she's going to do. She treats Donald Trump as a threat, as a threat to democracy, as a threat to the word "freedom" she uses over and over again.
And other opponents, whether it has been in his primaries or, you know, running against him in a general election, have treated him a little bit more of a joke. And she has said, she said in the speech that he's not a serious man, but you have to take it seriously, and that clearly is when to frame the next 70 plus days.
TAPPER: The speech was infused with patriotism from the beginning to the end. She also noted -- quote -- "I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promised to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power. She was attempting to demonstrate that her patriotism is quite a contrast from that of her opponent. Anderson?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Rhetoric at times was muscular. She talked about being a prosecutor, a commander in chief, tempered with compassion, saying a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. She went on to say we are all in this together, and toward the end, talking about a lesson her mother, she says, used to teach, which was never let anyone tell you who you are, you show them who you are. Tonight, she wanted to show America who she believes she is on this stage tonight.
[23:20:00]
David Axelrod?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER OBAMA SENIOR ADVISER: Yeah, look, I mean, that was a great speech. I think it was a great speech. She met the moment. She told her own story compellingly. She told it in the sort of -- in the context of a larger American story in a way that everyone could relate to. She spoke to the struggles of middle-class people and her desire to do things to help, which I think will resonate a lot with folks in a country where that is continuing to be a concern. She hit the right themes on national security and personal security.
You know, I think that she -- and the biggest thing is, think back four weeks to the speech we heard in Milwaukee and how discordant and negative and divisive it was. And this was a unifying speech. This was a speech in which she asserted but also demonstrated a desire to be the president of the entire country.
COOPER: It would be fascinating to play those speeches side by side.
AXELROD: It really would.
COOPER: It would be devastating, I think.
AXELROD: You would think so. But if nothing else, the choice is very, very clear here between a unifying candidate who has positioned herself, I think, in the mainstream of American thought and values and Donald Trump. And I think that was the goal, and then they succeeded.
COOPER: Oh, Audie?
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST AND CORRESPONDENT, PODCAST HOST: I think that she has been saying that people have been talking about her as a joyful warrior. We heard more warrior. It was really about projecting strength all the way through. Even her personal story and growing up, they were framed in almost opening arguments, right? Referring to the public as her clients, saying that Donald Trump's client was himself.
It actually helped for once -- not for once -- it helped that she used her biography to the fullest extent because that was the thing that she was perceived to have struggled with in the past. And here she was presenting that with the foot forward. And I think that it just shows a very interesting sign of growth.
COOPER: In 2020, there was criticism by some on the left saying Kamala is a cop. There were moments tonight where she stepped very much into that.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is the Kamala Harris that we know as a -- you guys should ask a question. How does some kid from, you know, the Bay area, multiracial and all these different things, climb to the very top of American politics? Because she is that tough, she is that smart. Who would have thought it would take a multiracial woman from a blended family to remind America what real patriotism is and how it works and how it functions?
Could you see her as a commander-in-chief? That was what she had to prove. You could see her as commander in chief. You could see her facing down Putin. If you're a dictator on the world stage right now, you should be very, very nervous that this woman is going to be in the White House. She is going to be a tough, tough partisan defender of freedom.
COOPER: John King?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, two ways to look at it. Let me start with what I think is the smaller piece of it, at least tonight, the policy part of it. What were her weaknesses coming into this speech? Trump polls better than she does on the economy and on immigration. She presented this let's get housing, let's get jobs, let's help workers, let's do middle class. Republicans will push her, how are you going to pay for it, all of that.
But she made an affirmative case for how I can help the middle class grow. On immigration, she mocked Trump for pulling away from the bipartisan border deal, said I'll sign that deal, but I'll also go back to us being a nation of immigrants with strong border security. Again, she'll have to defend us in the 75 days to come.
But she tried to address in a forceful way her two biggest weaknesses on policy. Bigger, I think, though, as people have discussed, was the contrast we have now. A Biden-Trump race was a race between, you know, two older men that much of America didn't want. You have a very clear choice after this speech tonight, especially after listening to Donald Trump in Milwaukee. Optimistic, an American dream, an American journey, let's come together, a unifying speech.
Her challenge tonight was to prove she could be a credible center-left president. The incoming I'm getting from Republicans, say, a lot of them think, at least with this speech, she did just what she had to do.
COOPER: Scott?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDNET TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, let me start with a couple of things that I think she did absolutely right or that are improving for her. First of all, the podium presence is really good. I didn't think much of her public speaking before, but since she has gotten into this race, she has only been behind a podium, and she did that well tonight. So, from a plausibility perspective, what you expect to see out of a president, she absolutely did that.
COOPER: It is a sea change from what she was in 2020.
JENNINGS: It's a lot. Well, even while she has been during the Biden years, she has not been that steady on her feet. But behind the podium, off a prompter, in a big speech, she obviously can do it. That's number one. Number two, as an image matter, she looks young, she looks coherent, she seemed calm.
[23:25:00]
So, she's the anti-Biden, right? I mean, that's what was the problem with the democratic campaign. He was none of those three things, and now she puts that on. Now, the Republican pushback, and I think there's some truth to this, is that some of this is just substanceless (INAUDIBLE), that there's really no specificity in it, and that they ultimately think they are going to be able to fire her as the incumbent.
And I think that's the question that we're really going to be answering over the next couple of months. How far can she run away from Joe Biden to prevent the Republicans from portraying her as the incumbent and then firing her as the incumbent? The country is off on the wrong track. People believe it. They still have economic anxiety. Can she shake off those vibes and replace them with this sort of esoteric unity vibe that they've been portraying at the convention?
JONES: But I think when you said that last night, you were on very solid ground. I don't think today you're on solid ground. This was substantive all night long. Policy on immigration, policy on foreign policy, policy on gun violence, on climate, on the care economy. This was not all sizzle. This was sizzle plus real steak. And by the way, I think we both have to say the way she dealt with Israel and the way she dealt with Gaza, tough in defense of Israel --
JENNINGS: Yeah.
JONES: -- but also compassionate to Palestinians. There's sizzle and there's steak tonight.
JENNINGS: I agree with you on Israel. I thought that paragraph was good. The issue you didn't list in your bullets, the economy and inflation. I still think, at the end of the day, the people are so upset with Biden and Harris on the economy. If the Republicans tie her to it, all of the other stuff falls away because it's the most important issue.
COOPER: Let's check in with Kaitlan Collins on the floor. Kaitlan?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson. I am standing here in the California delegation where everyone just watched that speech. A lot of them had tears in their eyes as the vice president was speaking. I was just about 20 feet away from her entire family. They were seated right there in the front row. Her sisters, her nieces, Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, his kids as well. They were all there in the front row as she was delivering that speech. Her nieces were actually holding up hand-drawn signs as she was giving that speech, had butterflies and hearts on them as she was speaking.
But this delegation right here, I mean, before she could even get the sentence out of her mouth that she was accepting their nomination as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, they shot up out of their seats. They were up essentially every few lines as she was delivering that speech, not only talking about her personal story, referencing her sister, how they grew up. Her sister had just given a deeply personal story before, talking about her mother and how they wished her mom could be here for this.
She also delved into those issues that Scott was just talking about, the ones that she has often been seen as the most vulnerable on, the economy, immigration, for Democrats, the Israel and the war in Gaza, talking about all of those things head on in this speech tonight.
And, of course, just really the mood here, to see these Californians with Governor Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seated in the front row, watching that speech very closely as she was delivering it.
And Anderson, we talked a lot of the California delegates. We've been around them for the last three hours or so. And, obviously, a real sense of pride watching her as they were in the prime seating on this floor. Now, the balloons, of course, are everywhere, confetti falling, as all of these delegates here were watching their home state California deliver that speech here at the democratic convention. Anderson?
COOPER: Let's go to Sara Sidner, who is also on the floor. Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I am standing in front of Minnesota, but we have some interlopers here who are so excited they had to get as close as they could to the stage. We've got Dara (ph), Shannon (ph), and Chris (ph). You're from Tennessee.
UNKNOWN: Yes.
SIDNER: You're from D.C.
UNKNOWN: Yes.
SIDNER: You're from New York.
UNKNOWN: Yes.
SIDNER: Three different states. Tell me what you heard today because you were, obviously, young voters. What did you hear today that might appeal to young voters being that this could be an extremely tight race where every vote group count?
UNKNOWN: We heard joy here, we heard truth, we heard accountability, we heard from diverse populations, from her family, from Black men, from Republicans. And youth were empowered with information tonight, with passion, and with joy. And I think that's what we want and what we need. So, we're excited, we're pumped, and we love the love that is being spread in our country again. We are proud to say we are Americans now, seriously, because of what we see our democracy doing now. So, I represent the youth vote, and I know that this is how we feel. So very excited.
SIDNER: I have a feeling that you will be running for office one day.
(LAUGHTER)
I will be keeping this interview. Tell me what you saw that struck you, that made you feel like you wanted to help, that you wanted to help campaign.
UNKNOWN: Vice President Harris represents our values. She shows up for our communities. She talked about her track record. Everybody who came to the stage talked about what she has done for us. She has shown up continuously for our communities, and we're looking forward to how she can take us forward into the future.
[23:30:01]
SIDNER: And for you, Miss New York, what did you see that you liked and was there anything you saw that you didn't like?
UNKNOWN: Oh, my God, there's everything I love here tonight. Like they all said, is all love. But one of the biggest things, because of the Biden administration and VP Kamala Harris, she has been a huge advocate for gun violence prevention and intervention, making sure these organizations are getting funded and responding to community- based public safety first and redefining public safety. And I know for a fact that a lot of young Black and brown people are looking to vote for her on this very special day.
So, those are one of the exciting things that I'm very honored to be a part of. And we're just here excited and watching and embracing all of history tonight.
CROWD: Woo!
SIDNER: As the young people say, Anderson, we out here. And if you had any doubt that young voters are not enthusiastic, they spoke so beautifully about how they feel and what they're going to do when they leave this convention. Anderson?
COOPER: Sara, thanks very much. We'll check back in with you. Back with the team here. You know, we heard things from her that we don't normally hear from a Democratic candidate in a speech like this. She talked about maintaining the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and went on to say about never disparaging their sacrifices. Obviously, reference to the many reports about what Donald Trump has said.
AXELROD: Yeah, look --
COOPER: But just even talking about the lethality of our fighting forces is language you don't normally hear.
AXELROD: Right. No, this was -- this was a very muscular speech. And look, what -- the whole hallmark of the Trump Candidacy when you lay up there is he's strong, he's strong, and that was the advantage he had over Joe Biden. She was a -- she showed strength on that stage tonight, and I think that she has cut his advantage there. She looked like a president on that stage.
I also wanted to mention, Audie's point was so important. To me, having done this for a while, biography is really, really important because it's the way in which people take the measure of whether they can believe what you're saying. And the way she told the story of her own life and her own choices gives people some confidence that the commitments she's making are genuine commitments.
And then the last point I want to -- Scott, your point about Biden and the strategy of the Republicans, which I understand it to be reasonable strategy to try and saddle her with some of the negatives that Biden has, it is really interesting how little she mentioned Joe Biden in this speech. In certain ways, this was her declaration of independence.
JONES: I agree with that.
AXELROD: And she became her own person in this speech. And I've told you before, we'll see how this turns out. I think you're going to have a hard time saddling her in a way that you guys are hopeful that you can.
JENNINGS: Well, she still flies around on an Air Force Two. I mean -- but that's the race, and it's going to take place in a truncated period of time. Can she get away from him or can Donald Trump and his campaign apparatus drive home the point that there's no blank slate here, that this is a person who's been right next to Joe Biden executing on the policies that you say have driven you crazy over the last four years?
And there's really just a simple question for Trump to ask. If you're upset about the direction of the country, maybe you don't put the people in charge who are already in the White House. I don't know who's going to win that race, but to me, between now and the debate on September 10th, that is the argument that's going to be had between these two juggernaut campaigns.
JONES: I think that -- I think that Kamala Harris has done something. She's not just going to get away from Biden, which I think that she can do now penalty-free. Penalty-free. She has this party behind her.
But she's doing something. She's fixing some problems on the left. This whole -- this whole thing has been an implicit critique of problems that we've had on the left. The left before we walked in here was about justice, diversity, trigger warnings, reparations for the past, and a bunch of party poopers and scolds. That was the knock on the left.
We have gone from talking about justice, which is wonderful. But now, it's about freedom. It's not just about diversity, it's about patriotism. It's not just about trigger warnings. In fact, that's gone. It's tough, tough, tough. Reparations for the past? No. Fight for the future. Party poopers? No. We legalize fun. We legalize fun. Uh, it's -- we put the party back in the Democratic Party.
And so, this is a remolding of the genetic makeup of what the progressive movement is. These guys want to fight, not just Biden in the past, they want to fight this sort of anti-woke war against a left that just died in here and something new just got born.
[23:34:59]
Kamala Harris Democrats are a different thing for you guys to fight.
JENNINGS: I'm not sure the left is going to go down, uh, as -- as easy as you think. But I -- I agree with your chart. I did want to pick up on one word that you wrote, and that's patriotism.
JONES: Yes, sir.
JENNINGS: I do think that Republicans should pay attention to what happened in this hall tonight and the power of patriotism. It is a powerful thing. I made a snarky quip about it earlier.
But what I was noticing was the American flags, the number of them. Everybody had one towards the end of the speech. They had large American flags. There is something very symbolic about a waving American flag, the red, white and blue, especially when you consider what we've seen out of the left on the streets of America and on the campuses of America over the last several months. You didn't really pick that up in the hall, but there is something interesting about it and it was powerful.
COOPER: I want to quickly go to Kaitlan on the floor. Kaitlan?
COLLINS: Yeah, Anderson, thanks. I am joined by two special guests here, Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg. Great to have both of you. What did you make of Vice President Harris's speech tonight?
PETE BUTTIGIEG, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: It was extraordinary. First of all, a clear and compelling account of who she is, why she cares so much about serving others, protecting others, and keeping this country safe. She also prosecuted the case against Donald Trump very effectively, reminded Americans of the two very different futures in front of us under her leadership versus going back to what he represented.
And also, a call to people who maybe don't agree with us all the time, maybe don't usually vote Democrat, but are absolutely welcome in the coalition that she is building in the name of a better future.
COLLINS: And your family has been invoked, you yesterday talking about that, and we're talking about Donald Trump and his running mate in this. I wonder how you have just perceived all of this and this campaign and the contrast in the Harris-Walz ticket and the Vance- Trump ticket.
CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG, HUSBAND OF PETE BUTTIGIEG: He can attest I was a blubbering mass all night. As a parent here, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the first president that our daughter is going to come to know is a woman who looks like her, and I couldn't get over that tonight.
I think Kamala made the case strongly that she is the candidate in this race who actually cares about families, not only families like ours but, like you said, I think she made the case for all families across the country that she will be the president who knows what it's like to sit at that table and pay those medical bills and to have the hard conversations about what it means to send your kid to school nervous that they might not come back. So as a teacher, as a dad, I'm so proud of her and cannot wait to see her win this election in November.
COLLINS: And obviously, the speech went over quite well here in the Democratic Convention Hall, but the question really is, how does it go over in swing states, in places like Michigan where you now live and others? How do you think that resonated with those viewers who are not inside here watching but home watching?
P. BUTTIGIEG: Well, that's why it was so important that she spoke with clarity, not just about who she is, but about the difference between her plans and Trump's plans. Trump's plans to eliminate the Department of Education, to eliminate head start, plans that would cut social security and Medicare and leave families worse off versus her intention to create opportunity for the future.
You know, Americans already agree strongly with her on every major issue. They agree with her on protecting the right to choose. They're angry at Donald Trump's decision to eliminate the right to choose. They agree with her that is the wealthy who are not paying their fair share and the middle class who need to break. They disagree with Donald Trump's tax cuts for the rich.
So, whether we're talking about the policy side or just I think the clearest ever picture Americans have seen of what she is about, and most importantly, who she is about, not herself but the American people, I think that's a message that independence, reasonable Republicans what I like to call future former Republicans, people who live in Michigan and all around the country can relate to.
COLLINS: One of the biggest applause lines was her saying she supports a peaceful transfer of power. I mean, it's pretty remarkable that that's an applause line in this day and age.
P. BUTTIGIEG: Yeah. I think she wants to lead the way to where that is table stakes, where any Republican and any Democrat would begin and saying, of course, we support a peaceful transfer of power, of course we believe in elections where a winner wins and a loser admits that they lost while Donald Trump was incapable of doing. That should not be a partisan issue. Democracy should not be a partisan issue.
And one of the many things I'm looking forward to when she wins, and I think a lot of Republicans are quietly looking forward to, is when Trump is defeated for the third time, defeated in 2020, his party really coming up short in 2022, but defeated for a third time, that means it will be the beginning of the end of Trumpism and the beginning of having a normal Republican Party in the future, which even though I might not vote Republican, is something I passionately believe we need. Two normal political parties.
COLLINS: That's interesting. You think that if he loses this election, that his political style will come to an end?
P. BUTTIGIEG: I believe -- actually, I know for a fact that there are many Republican elected officials who know deep down that it is wrong to support Donald Trump, but they're doing it anyway because they think it is the path to power.
[23:40:00]
If he leads the Republican Party to defeat yet again, that equation changes. I don't think it's too naive to hope that they will come to their senses if only because the power calculus changed on them, pick themselves up, and think about a different and better approach to politics.
COLLINS: Pete and Chasten Buttigieg, thank you for coming and joining us on the floor and braving the balloons. It's really hard to walk here. I take you can't tell but the big balloons are actually quite heavy, so we dodged a few of those all the way here for this interview. Jake?
TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan, thanks so much. And, obviously, Kamala Harris -- Vice President Harris was prosecuting the case against Donald Trump this evening quite extensively. For anybody wondering what former President Trump was doing during the speech, he was very active on social media, posting numerous -- numerous items, including where's Hunter, too many thank you to rapidly said what's going on with her, about the vice president, when she introduced herself and thanked her husband and President Biden and her running mate, Coach Walz, she called him, at which point Donald Trump posted, Walz was an assistant coach, not a coach. And it went on from there. More than 40 posts along those lines.
In contrast to that lack of discipline that we have seen from Donald Trump, we should note, and this is really interesting, Dan and Abby, Vice President Harris stuck almost completely to script. She spoke exactly on time, 37 minutes. And something that's very interesting about her presentation, she obviously would be a trailblazing candidate. She would be the first woman president, she would be the first Black president who is a woman, she would be the first at least half Indian president.
She didn't mention any of that at all. I mean, I guess she believes that it speaks for itself and that's not how she's running. She's running as a candidate for -- to represent all the American people, even those people with whom she disagrees and who disagree with her. Just kind of an interesting fact that she really didn't --
BASH: No.
TAPPER: -- know at all. She talked about her mom facing discrimination but not her.
BASH: And that was so subtle. But that was the way that she sorts of wove it in, talking about, I just pulled up that part of her speech, talking about the way people would treat -- she watched the way people would treat her mother. But her mother just kind of said move on and focus on other things. And I thought that that was her way of saying, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm focusing on what I'm here for, what I'm going to do, not who I am, whether that is her gender or her race and her ethnicity. And that was powerful in and of itself.
Now, this is a campaign where you have all of these -- everything that has been going on online for four weeks has been white guys for Kamala, you know, Black men for Kamala, so on and so forth. So, people have been kind of dividing up in order to prove that she has different demographics behind her. But when it comes to her and the historic nature of her candidacy, she just let it speak for itself exactly, as you said, and that is really interesting.
PHILLIP: Yeah. I think it's also because she knows that that is not where she needs to grow. It's not where she needs to expand her support. The people in this room are the faithful. You know, Black women don't need a whole lot of convincing. Maybe Black men need a little bit more convincing than Black women. These are not the groups that need to be convinced to vote for Kamala Harris.
She was speaking today for broader swath of the electorate who wants to understand whether she's prepared to be commander in chief. They want to understand experience and skills, the values, all of that. And it felt to me like a speech that was written for them.
And as somebody who has talked to her about her race and her gender and her upbringing, she doesn't spend a lot of time on it when you talk to her about it. She understands the role that it has played in how she has come up in the political world and in her -- and how she understands the world, but she does not spend a lot of time talking about it.
I think by this point, many people are familiar with her mother's saying, which is, you may but don't let yourself be the last. And I think that it really is -- the reason she repeats that so much is because she doesn't really want to focus as much on the first part of that saying. She wants to focus on the other part of it, which is about what comes after her and what she actually does with the power that she has been able to accumulate.
TAPPER: All right, we're going to squeeze in a quick break. Still ahead, we're getting the very first reaction to the vice president's speech from undecided voters in the key battleground Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[23:44:59]
Plus, we're going to talk live with one of tonight's speakers. That is former Republican congressman, still a Republican, but no longer a congressman, Adam Kinzinger. Stay with us.
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TAPPER: And welcome back. The 2024 Democratic National Convention is officially in the history books, is it ever, with Kamala Harris taking the stage here in Chicago and accepting her party's nomination for president of the United States of America.
I want to bring in Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, what's going on where you are?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, as we look out over the convention hall, there are still so many delegates here, still balloons flying in the air. The Minnesota delegation, as we saw last evening, is still here. It looks like they are just starting to begin their party. A lot of the other hall is clearing out. But what I'm told that Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are doing right now is meeting with some big donors right here in the convention hall. But Jake, for all of the talk and anticipation here and elsewhere that there may be a special guest, I am told by Democrats that Kamala Harris was their guest.
[23:50:03]
They did not want a celebrity at the end of this convention to essentially compete with her. One senior advisor telling me this is a deadly serious election. And if you looked at the end of this program, having Leon Panetta come on, the former defense secretary, really presenting Vice President Harris as a plausible commander in chief, that is one of the reasons, I'm told, that there was not a celebrity performance at the end. Of course, this convention was filled with many stars from Oprah Winfrey to the Chicks to Pink, but at the end of this convention, they wanted the takeaway to be about Vice President Harris.
And again, as we look out onto the crowd here, the shouts that you may be able to hear holding Kamala signs, that is the Minnesota delegation. So, for all the talk of this convention after Vice President Harris leaves here, I'm told she and Doug Emhoff are having an anniversary celebration in downtown Chicago for friends and family. John Legend, I'm told, will be performing there for this private ceremony. So, certainly some celebrity, but they wanted the takeaway to be about Harris and her 75-day campaign to come.
TAPPER: Look at those Minnesotans. They sure love to party. Imagine what's going to happen when the Vikings actually win a Super Bowl. Jeff, thanks so much. I appreciate it. We have a special guest here, even if Beyonce didn't show up. We have a special guest. It's an actor, director, producer, man about town, Ben Stiller. Thank you so much for being here.
BEN STILLER, ACTOR AND FILMMAKER: Starts with a "B." B-E. It's close. B-E and then it kind of falls off.
TAPPER: It's the Ben hive (ph). I'm a drone in the Ben hive (ph).
STILLER: Oh really?
TAPPER: So, you were up in the apple box? You were a big guy with apple?
STILLER: Yeah, first convention I'd ever been at.
BASH: Is that right?
STILLER: Yeah. And I was like flashing back to like when I was like whatever, like seven, eight years old, in the lobby of my building in New York holding McGovern signs.
(LAUGHTER)
And like I just -- it's the first time ever to be in this atmosphere. But knowing what was happening tonight, it's such a historic moment to be a part of it, be able to bring my daughter. Very cool. It was, I mean, incredible.
TAPPER: So, I mean, was there something even -- I know you have a son as well and a wife as well, is there something meaningful about being here with your daughter given the ground breaking the trailblazing nature of this candidacy?
STILLER: Yeah. I mean, first of all, she's going to be the first woman president, which is amazing. What she stands for, how she has united the country, I think, and is going to, and how she's about integrity and truth, reproductive freedom, ending gun violence, all these things that I think are important to most people, how she rose to the moment tonight, she was so strong, and the way she talked about what we need to do to beat Trump. I think she -- it was just an incredible, special, historic thing tonight.
BASH: We're really glad that you're here, but I saw you nodding when Jeff Zeleny was reporting on the fact that the campaign didn't want to have a Beyonce at the end --
STILLER: Right.
BASH: -- that they wanted her to be the celebrity.
STILLER: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think that's what the whole convention, it seems, has been about, you know, sort of presenting her, lifting her up, and really telling her story and letting people know in a very short amount of time who she is. And she just rose to it tonight. And I think I just was taken by how forceful, in a really honest and organic way she was, in a way that I think was telling people that she can do this, she can win this, and she can unite the country.
TAPPER: It's an extraordinary path to this nomination, obviously. Four weeks and five days ago --
STILLER: Yes.
TAPPER: -- was not in the cards. Joe Biden was -- President Biden was still the presumptive nominee. Obviously, I know you have a lot of respect for President Biden, but as a Democrat, do you feel more hopeful about November than you did five months ago?
STILLER: Yeah, just to see the energy that has come about in such a -- so fast. And I think it was -- it was a really tough time. I think everybody was kind of looking at, you know, I think, feeling that like maybe this wasn't going to go the way we'd want it to go. And by the president doing this incredible thing of stepping aside, which, you know, no one ever does. And then how quickly Kamala Harris rose to the moment and how everybody coalesced around her.
And the unity that you're feeling here, this unity, I think, is really special. I think everybody is very, very -- I mean, it's going to be a very close race, but I think everybody is energized and excited and wanting to work hard, like President Obama said, to get to work.
TAPPER: Do you have -- I'm sorry, I just want to -- because your daughter is here. She doesn't want to be on camera. (LAUGHTER)
You have -- you have two -- well, we invited her. Well, let me ask you, just if I can.
BASH: I love that she's just like a normal --
STILLER: Ella Stiller.
BASH: -- daughter where she's --
TAPPER: She's so -- she's so adorable.
BASH: -- rolling her eyes like, okay, dad.
TAPPER: So, can I just ask you?
[23:55:01]
TAPPER: Just talk into your dad's microphone.
STILLER: Yeah.
TAPPER: You're Gen-Z. Do you sense more excitement now than five months ago, six months ago, and speak for you and your brother, your generation?
ELLA STILLER, DAUGHTER OF BEN STILLER: Yes, 100%.
TAPPER: You can hold that. There you go.
E. STILLER: One hundred percent for me. Just the thought of a woman being president is so exciting. And I was 14 years old in the 2016 election. When Hillary lost, my heart was broken. And to hear her speak the other night and to be watching this and then to come here tonight, I'm so excited. I know all my friends are. I know that we have hope. And I know she's going to win.
BASH: So, you voted for the first time in 2020?
E. STILLER: I voted for Joe Biden for the first time.
BASH: I'm trying to do math quickly. It's not my strong suit.
E. STILLER: Yes, during COVID.
BASH: Yeah.
E. STILLER: And I was so proud to vote for Biden, but this is -- this is very exciting for me.
TAPPER: Is the -- because my daughter is 16, and she doesn't really pay -- she's very smart, she's very brilliant, but she doesn't pay a lot of attention to, like, Washington politics. But the whole Kamala Harris brat thing?
(LAUGHTER)
Like, she got -- all of a sudden, she got interested in politics. Is that a real thing among?
E. STILLER: Yes, 100%. I think that tapping into what people my age and women my age and girls want to hear and, you know, the sort of meme culture of it all as silly as it is, you might underestimate it, it's real.
TAPPER: The Stillers, thank you so much. So awesome. Stay with CNN for much more of our special coverage. We're getting reactions to tonight's historic acceptance speech from the Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris. We'll be right back. That was great. Thanks.
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