Angry Israelis Take to the Streets
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for every life-saving treatment, for every next step, for every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. It is Monday, September 2nd, right now on CNN This Morning.

Thousands of Israelis flooding the streets, angry at their government after six hostages were found murdered in Gaza, including one American. Plus, President Biden and Vice President Harris headed to the Situation Room, working furiously to get the negotiations back on track. And this. I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. So I'll be voting no. Donald Trump's abortion flip-flop. In just 24 hours, he said he'd vote yes and no on Florida's six-week abortion ban.

and shifting from candidate to surrogate. Today, President Biden returns to the campaign trail for the first time since dropping out of the race. It is 6 a.m. here in New York. This is a live look at New York City on this Labor Day. Good morning, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in for Casey Hunt. It is great to be with you. We're going to start off this hour in Israel, where massive protests filling the streets and a general strike is bringing the country to a standstill. Go, go, go, go. Hey, what's up, everybody?

Anger and outrage spilling into the streets after six hostages who were taken by Hamas terrorists on October 7th were found dead by Israeli forces in Gaza over the weekend. Among the dead is an Israeli-American citizen, Hirsch Goldberg-Polin. Israeli officials saying the hostages were killed just days earlier as the IDF forces moved in on Hamas positions. Israel's prime minister condemned Hamas for the killings and said he's working to bring the hostages home.

Whoever murders hostages does not want a deal. For our part, we will not relent. The government of Israel is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue striving towards a deal that will return all of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence.

But the prime minister's words not enough to calm protests and a general strike is now happening nationwide. Protesters are calling on Israel's government to agree to a deal which would bring more than 100 hostages who are still in Hamas custody back home. We are crying out for international assistance and for people within our government and especially our prime minister who is really making a very dark legacy of what he does.

to stop and get that ceasefire and get them home. We already achieved so many military achievements in dismantling the Hamas' military capabilities. So what we want to see is that we prioritize them.

Sina Nselma Abdelaziz is joining us now from London. Nselma, it seemed like over the past few weeks, certainly there was increased hope for a ceasefire deal, that perhaps it was close. Where do things stand now and what are we seeing play out inside Israel?

I think if you speak to the people on the streets today, and I do believe we have live images to show you, there is just this very palpable sense of frustration and heartbreak. There is a feeling that maybe nothing can be done unless we put Prime Minister Netanyahu's feet to the fire. That's exactly what's happening today. Labour unions have

called for a nationwide strike. The stated goal here is to shut down the economy until Prime Minister Netanyahu agrees to a deal. I want you to take a listen to how the head of the country's largest labor union put his call to action.

I call on the people of Israel to take to the streets this evening, tomorrow, leave the workplaces. I call on all economic organizations in the state of Israel, everyone, to join the strike. Tomorrow we must shout the cry of our beloved country. We must raise the cry of our hostages, our displaced, our dead. The state of Israel must be returned to normal.

A very impassioned plea there. And I think it's the details around the killing of these six hostages that has really fueled and motivated the anger here. It's the fact that Israeli troops were just a short distance away, essentially, when these six hostages were killed at close range. It's the fact that three of these six hostages should have been released if a deal would have been reached. It's the fact that the Israeli-American hostage you mentioned, of course, one of the

faces really of this movement. His family only a couple of weeks ago was standing at the DNC saying, bring them home. Now you might ask me, is Prime Minister Netanyahu listening to those streets, listening to those chants happening right now? Well, the structural issues remain the same. His cabinet, his far right government is against this hostage deal. In fact, some ministers have even said they would resign if he agreed to any ceasefire deal. Only one voice has come out.

against or for rather this hostage you you have galant who's calling this government's failings a moral disgrace thomas abdulaziz thank you so much for that reporting we appreciate it in just hours israelis will bury one of those hostages israeli-american hersh goldberg poland whose parents spoke at the democratic national convention less than two weeks ago in an inflamed middle east

We know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region. A deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. Over the weekend, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed grief and anger over the killing of the six hostages.

Well, my heart breaks for the family of Hersh Goldberg Poland. What we need now is an end to the war. Heartbroken, devastated, mad. John and Rachel have done everything in their power to help their son be released. My heart goes out to all the families, especially Hersh Goldberg Poland's family, our fellow American. There are other fellow Americans still to be accounted for. These sons of a**es who did this ought to be hunted down and brought to justice.

Later this morning, President Biden and Vice President Harris will head to the Situation Room to discuss where those ceasefire negotiations stand. Joining me now, White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, Toluse Olorunpia, former Biden White House Director of Message Planning, Megan Hayes, and former Tim Scott Presidential Campaign Senior Advisor, Matt Gorman. Good morning to all of you. Thanks so much for being here with us on this Labor Day. Toluse, let's just start first with you. We're hearing a

reactions from lawmakers over the last several days. What are you taking away from what you're hearing from everyone?

Well, this is a sea change moment. This long-awaited ceasefire has been negotiated for a very long time. President Biden has been saying it's closed for a very long time, but now we see the death of an American, the death of five other hostages, and it's very clear that something has to change. That's part of the reason you see President Biden and Vice President Harris having this impromptu meeting at the Situation Room today. They are going to try to push both sides towards

inching towards this ceasefire in a more significant way, in part because they don't want any more hostages to die, in part because they realize that this is a political headache, in part because they realize that having Americans die overseas is one of the

most challenging things that a president or a vice president or a presidential candidate could face while in office. And so this is obviously a tragedy, but it's also a major political headache for the Biden White House. And so they are scrambling, trying to figure out how to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible. They are seeing these protests happening in Israel and they know that there's a major, uh,

ground swell underfoot to try to get the Israeli government to move towards a ceasefire. They know that there's a lot of anger at Hamas right now. They know that a ceasefire may be harder to get after the deaths of these hostages, but it's important to get something that would release the remaining hostages, including a number of Americans who, if those Americans are to be killed in the coming days,

would make it much harder for Vice President Harris to say that she should be the Commander in Chief for another four years. - And Megan, it was interesting yesterday because we heard from Biden and Harris on this, but what we did not hear from them was any sort of pressure on external or public pressure on Netanyahu. Our reporting indicating that they're hoping that comes internally from Israelis to put the pressure on their leadership.

But to Toulouse point, what kind of political pressure are they under in this moment?

Yeah, I think they've been under political pressure since this happened in October. I think that they are still walking that fine line of Israel has the right to protect itself, but Hamas is a terrorist organization and then we have a humanitarian crisis with the Palestinian people. So I think that they've been walking this fine line, but I think that this is reaching a tipping point. And I think that they released a statement a couple of weeks ago saying there was framework in place and that there was a ceasefire that was imminent and then it doesn't seem to ever cross.

across the finish line. So there's no, you know, it's been made clear that there's no reason that the ceasefire can't happen, that the framework is there and both parties just aren't agreeing to it. So I think that they are going to have to start putting more pressure on Netanyahu and as well as the Hamas leaders to get this done. But they are under a tremendous amount of pressure to walk this fine line. Yeah. And Matt, we heard

also from former President Trump this weekend and Vice President Harris. Harris noting she spoke to the parents of Hersh Goldberg Poland, writing, she told them, as they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them. And then we had the statement from Trump who wrote, we grieve the senseless death of the Israeli hostages. He later added, though, quote, make no mistake, this happened because Comrade Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden are poor leaders. These are very different types of messages.

Yeah, I mean, a couple of things, right? The choice really here isn't ceasefire or, you know, the easiest way for this to stop is have Hamas stop killing the hostages. I mean, that is the simplest way for this to happen. The choice isn't a ceasefire or Hamas to kill these people. I think that is kind of the false binary choice here. You know, the Hamas to stop killing hostages is the surest way for hostages to stop dying. That's number one. Number two is one of the things I'm looking for, especially now as college kids,

students are coming back on campus, weather's getting a little warmer, and we're approaching, obviously, not just this terrible moment, but October 7th, the one-year anniversary. Do we see some more of those protests, riots, anti-Semitic demonstrations we saw in the spring in the shadow of Election Day while people are early voting? What does that do to the presidential campaign stateside as well?

And to Lou, I know you've done extensive reporting on the administration and how they're trying to handle this. You have to think that they are quite cognizant of what Matt is just laying out, that kids will be returning back to school, that protests could flare up again. And as you point out, this is really a turning point in a lot of ways.

For sure, there's obviously a lot of anger over the deaths of the hostages who were killed in recent days. But the Biden administration is also focusing on the anger that we're seeing on the college campuses, that we're seeing in the Arab American community, anger about the humanitarian crisis that we've seen in the Palestinian territory in Gaza and

That's part of the reason why the Biden administration has been trying to walk this fine line and saying that, yes, Israel needs to be able to defend itself. Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization. Yes, we should try to get these hostages home as quickly as possible. But also voicing some condemnation of the way Israel has prosecuted this war, the

a number of civilian casualties. You heard Kamala Harris talk about that over and over again, saying too many civilians have been killed. And that's part of the reason that they are going to have to speak to not only the voters who are really outraged by the

the terrorist activities of hamas and the willingness to kill hostages after keeping them captive for more than for almost one year but also of people who are angry at how israel has prosecuted this war people who are angry at the number of people who have died as a result of the bombs that american america has supplied to israel in the way that israel has used those weapons and so there is a very delicate political balancing act that both

Kamala Harris and President Biden have to carry out over the coming days, realizing not only do they have to handle this from a foreign policy perspective, but they have to really speak to their domestic audiences. They have to also realize that

Prime Minister Netanyahu faces domestic pressures of his own, and they have to navigate both of those political atmospheres in a way that would allow a ceasefire to be breached, because that's their ultimate goal. They realize that if they are able to get a ceasefire, they will be able to put this issue on the back burner and not in the front burner for the election in November. Yeah. All right, panel, stick around with us. Up next on Seaman this morning, Donald Trump promised to cover the cost of IVF.

Your government will pay for or require insurance companies to pay for all costs associated with

IVF fertility treatment. But this morning, some Republicans pouring cold water on that idea. Plus, new polling numbers showing Kamala Harris didn't get a post-convention bump. Her team and Trump's campaign expected she might. And Tim Walz juggling his duties as governor and a potential vice president. Today, he is back on the trail to court the labor vote. But yesterday, it was all about the Minnesota State Fair.

There's a lot of great fair state fairs in the country. This is the best one. And I say that having tried pork chops in Iowa and been at other ones and started the day with pork chop and vanilla shake.

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I think he just tried to show his support for IVF treatments that, you know, we've been accused, the party has, of being against birth control. We're not. We've been accused of being against IVF treatments. We're not. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham responding to Donald Trump's recent campaign pitch after Trump told supporters this last week. If I'm elected this November for the first time ever...

Your government will pay for or require insurance companies to pay for all costs associated with IVF fertility treatment. We want more babies to be born in America. We want more babies. We need them.

Trump's comments come as Democrats lean into the issue of reproductive rights and abortion access this election cycle, while Republicans have struggled to come up with effective messaging in this time period after Roe v. Wade was struck down. Our panel is back with us.

Matt, it's interesting to see Trump kind of bob and weave through this abortion issue. He, of course, is the one that proudly says multiple times that he killed Roe v. Wade, but then we're seeing him try to thread the needle on this just because politically, Republicans have struggled.

- Yeah, I mean, look, it's two different things, right? IVF, virtually no Republican within any sort of power opposes IVF. And I think this reminds me of when Republicans ran for Senate in 2014, proposed over-the-counter birth control, like Cory Gardner and others, as a way to kind of short-circuit Democratic attacks on this. That's very, very similar to that, allows Republicans and certainly the Trump campaign to get on offense with this. And you're right, as we saw with abortion dating back to 2022,

It is one of the best weapons Democrats have in the arsenal, so the ability for Republicans to try and reduce the potency of that issue really might be able to help pull back some suburbs in places like Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania.

And Megan, the Harris campaign now has the person who has been the top messenger for the Biden administration on this issue. And it has really allowed the Harris campaign and Democrats to push this to the forefront again.

Yeah, I think that Democrats have found that this has been a winning issue. It was a winning issue in 2022. It stopped this alleged red wave that was coming. So I think that that, you know, and they're hoping that will help now. I think that overwhelmingly women have been voting in favor on the Democratic side on this, even independents. And that's, you know, again, that's where this election is going to be won is with these independent voters, as Matt was saying. And so I think that they are going to play this and continue to push this issue of reproductive freedom until November, because I think that that is a winning strategy for them.

And to Lou, we look at some of this polling on the gender gap that continues to grow ever larger between women and men in this country and who they are supporting. If you look at female voters there, you see that Kamala Harris has a definitive lead with them. If you look at male voters, it's almost flip flopped. And you see that Donald Trump leads there.

Do you think it's reproductive rights at the core of this? What else is driving this gender gap?

Well, definitely on the male side, Donald Trump has been making a clear play for disaffected males. He's been going on podcasts trying to recruit males to vote for him and to talk to young men in particular and minority men as well. But he also realizes that that's not going to be enough. And that's part of the reason you see him sort of shifting and trying to find a position on reproductive rights that would be less effective.

less of a way to push away women. We have seen that when he said that he's proud that he helped overturn Roe v. Wade, that has driven women away from Republicans, driven them towards Kamala Harris. And we're also realizing that Trump

has a history of pushing away women. He has a history of saying things that are negative towards women. And I think it's one of the reasons that's going to be very important for him on the debate stage to showcase a demeanor that's not going to push away more women than he already has. But he has tried to talk about reproductive

rights. He posted on social media that he would be, you know, the friend of women's reproductive rights, which is not the kind of language that you normally hear from a Republican. They realized they were looking at these same numbers, that this kind of gender gap, the fact that women vote at higher rates than men, it's not going to allow women

Trump to repeat what he did in 2016, which was keep the gender gap somewhat limited, even though he was facing a female candidate in Hillary Clinton, and he was able to win narrowly, even as he lost a popular vote against the first Democratic female nominee. And so he realizes that if he wants to have a repeat of that, then he's going to need to shrink this gender gap. He's going to need to win over more women, some who are skeptical of him. And that's part of the reason he's flip-flopping, because

Republicans saw what happened in 2022 and they don't want a repeat of that. So they're trying to find a position that would allow Trump to maintain his support on the right among conservatives, especially social conservatives on the issue of abortion, while also not driving away the women that he's going to need to win in key states. All right. If you guys will please stick around, we're going to come back to you here in just a little bit.

For a deeper look at Donald Trump and Kamala Harris's positions on the key issues in this election, you can tune in tonight for a two-hour special edition of CNN's The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. Our Abby Phillip looks back at Trump's presidency and his views on abortion prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. I'm very pro-choice.

This is a businessman from New York, which is a pretty progressive city. He has always been more conservative than a lot of the people that he socialized with, but abortion was not one of those issues. One of the first things he did in 2011 when he was thinking about running for president that cycle, and he went to go speak to CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference.

I'm pro-life. When he ran in 2016, he understood that overturning Roe v. Wade was a core conservative priority. So he agreed to put a list of judges out before the election who were conservative. I am going to give a list of either five or ten judges that I will pick.

to show, "You may not trust me on this issue, but here's what I would do if I was president." I will guarantee that those are going to be the first judges that I put up for nomination if I win. That tells me that, yes, I can trust you with my vote because on the issues that matter most to me, I can tell that these people are going to hopefully rule as we would want them to.

For more on this two-hour special, watch Fight for the White House tonight, starting at 8 p.m. with Kamala Harris and 9 p.m. with Donald Trump. It's the whole story with Anderson Cooper. So to come on CNN this morning, a nation in mourning. Israel mourning the loss of six hostages with protests breaking out in response. Plus, how Americans overseas are still managing to honor this holiday weekend being so far from home.

Scattered storms and colder weather in parts of the US could put a damper on some Labor Day plans. Let's go down a meteorologist Derek Van Dam. How's it looking out there?

Okay, but there are also some perfect places as well. So we gotta take the good with the bad, right? So if you're looking for a perfect Monday, Labor Day, extended holiday weekend forecast weather, you gotta travel to the northeast or you have to be located in the northeast or the Midwest. The places for thunderstorms today, Miami, Central Texas, and a few pop-up thunderstorms across the interior west. But the bigger story here is the below average temperatures that are dominating much of the eastern two-thirds of the country.

This is going to continue right into the first parts of the work week as everyone returns home from Labor Day weekend. Below average temperatures for places like New York City, the nation's capital, all the way to Atlanta as well, staying below average. Temperatures should be near 80 degrees for New York City. We'll top in the middle to upper 70s. Here's a look at the forecast for many of the locations along the East Coast.

Things are looking pretty temperate. And over the west coast, the same cannot be said because we're starting to warm things up. A big September heat wave will lead to red flag fire conditions across parts of Idaho into Montana into Utah. The chance of showers and thunderstorms that could produce another two to four inches exist across central Texas today. That could bring a potential of some localized flooding as well. Otherwise, not too bad for your Monday. Enjoy. All right. Derek Van Dam, thanks so much. We appreciate it. Okay.

American families living at the Army's largest U.S. base in South Korea may be far from home this holiday weekend, but as CNN's Mike Valerio shows us, the base has a way of bringing the states to them. It's where rock concerts roar and where families find new homes in Korea. Like the Cook family, trading their lives in Cincinnati, Ohio for Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

It's the Army's busiest airfield in Asia and the biggest US military base overseas. Camp Humphreys is about 60 miles away from North Korea, driving distance from the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, the DMZ, which divides the Korean peninsula. More than 40,000 people call Camp Humphreys home, including the cooks. They have not one, but two sets of twins. The youngest, just eight months old.

And when you set this, you won't have to... They came here because of Sergeant Terry Cook, an Army IT specialist, here to support the critical U.S.-South Korea military alliance. We met in Cincinnati, Ohio. But in dad mode with his wife, Rhi, he says it's all about supporting his parental platoon. I just really like to, you know, spend as much time and maximize my time with this whole unit I got here. I just like your new look right now. You are literally super dad.

Camp Humphreys hosts the only U.S. Army division which is partially made up of South Korean soldiers. But the goal for families here is to immerse in Korean culture, which is especially important for Ri since she lived in Germany as a kid when her dad was a sergeant in the army.

Being able to provide my children with the same cultural experiences that I was given as a child is just extremely important to me as a mother. - But for those looking for a slice of America, there's plenty. Texas Roadhouse, YonBase Golf Course, and one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations on this side of the world. - I hear you, player. - There's also the feeling of belonging.

Jubilation after years in the army, finally becoming American citizens. Non-commissioned officer, NCO, Sergeant Vanessa Ramo was born in the Philippines, supported here at her naturalization ceremony by her platoon. I didn't expect it to be here, honestly. It's great to do it overseas somewhere, especially in Korea. I love Korea. A slice of America, inextricably part of the Korean tapestry, and for its newest residents, hardly far from home.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Straight ahead on CNN This Morning, a new role for President Biden. I promise I'll be the best volunteer Harrison Walsh has ever seen. How the commander-in-chief plans to become the campaigner-in-chief. Plus, massive protests and a potentially crippling strike in Israel after the killing of six hostages in Gaza. Church's original recipe is back. You can never go wrong with original.

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Knowing that kids and lost children are still there going through what I went through is cruel. It's just so cruel. So I do not want to lose my hope and I want to hope that in a couple of days something will change because it has to change. It should have changed months ago. It's too cruel that we all know what they're going through and just leaving them there.

That's former hostage Aviva Segal moments ago on scene and this morning her husband Keith is still being held in Gaza by Hamas. Tens of thousands of Israelis meantime protesting in the streets demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu negotiate a ceasefire deal and bring Keith and the remaining hostages home. Israel believes 101 hostages remain in captivity but fears 35 of them may be dead.

Let's bring in Israeli journalist and author and former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov Katz. Great to have you here with us this morning. Good morning to you. This has been just a really...

horrendous 24 hours in terms of the news coming about these six hostages and now we're seeing these protests in Tel Aviv and across the country of Israel. I know you've said the murder of the six hostages could have been prevented through political courage. Explain that to us.

Well, I think, Jessica, if there's a day that we thought, and I think we didn't think there was any day that could possibly be as bad as October 7th was for the Israeli people, back when 1,200 Israelis were murdered in the Hamas massacre, 250 were taken hostage. Yesterday was that day when we discovered and found out that six of those bodies that were discovered on Saturday in that Hamas terror dungeon were in fact those hostages who we had all prayed for and yearned for and wished and hoped for that they would come home.

And I think that really what we have to ask ourselves is how did Israel let these people down? They had been held in that tunnel and in Hamas captivity for 11 months. There had been rounds and rounds of negotiations.

This was something that was tangible. We had the opportunity to potentially get to them. They were alive until just a few days ago, the autopsies tell us. How come we failed to get them? And I think that there, it's a political question. Now, of course, it takes two to tango. Hamas also needed to agree to a deal, but we have our government and that's who's responsible on the Israeli side. And how much...

of an impact. Do you think these protests, the labor strike, putting this all together, will have on pushing the Israeli government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to potentially move closer toward a deal? There has been hangups on various details, including the Philadelphia corridor and troops there and other details that he has been in a lot of arguments with his own

cabinet, Yoav Golan, about this. Do you think that these protests can move the needle at all? I'm skeptical, to be honest. I think these protests, they should have been launched months ago. And I understand why they weren't. People wanted to give this process an opportunity, a chance. They wanted to give those rounds of talks a chance to succeed.

But now that six bodies have been pulled out of a tunnel, now we're going to launch a protest? Now the labor union is going to strike? By the way, their strike is soon also coming to an end. They've been told by the court that they have to cut it short. So really, is this going to be the pressure that's going to push Netanyahu over the political edge to the point that he's going to be finally willing to risk the future of his coalition and make a deal that would bring back the remaining hostages? Let's remember, Jessica, there still are 100 people who are being held by Hamas, some of them alive.

and some of them sadly and tragically already dead. We owe it to these people to bring them back home to their families and to their country. So I'm not exactly sure that this is what's going to take it. And I think that we also can't diminish from the real dilemma

that Netanyahu and his government face. If Israel pulls out of Gaza, ends the war now, Hamas is still there. They would reconstitute themselves. They would again, in just a matter of time, be capable of another October 7th. So this is a very careful balancing act. I don't envy the prime minister, but I do think is that he did let down the people of Israel with what happened this past weekend.

And there really has been this push and pull throughout this entire almost year now since October 7th between getting these hostages back and in Netanyahu's worldview, eliminating Hamas. And are those two things, can they be done at the same time or do they pull in opposite directions?

You hit the nail on the head, Jessica, because this is exactly the difficulty that Israel's facing. Hamas is not your regular adversary. It's not an enemy like a conventional army that you can defeat on the battlefield, take down their capabilities, remove and conquer their territory, and then you win. Because even when Israel does that above ground,

and it's been very successful in its battles against Hamas above ground, there's still all those hundreds of miles of tunnels below ground underneath Gaza where some of those hostages are being held. So you also have to be very careful. That's why it's also taken so long. Lots of people ask, why is it taking the Israeli army such a long time to defeat Hamas, much smaller

much weaker in its capabilities, largely also because of this very careful situation and delicate situation that Israel's in. If it bombs different targets, what if there are hostages there? If it bombs a tunnel, what if there are hostages in there? So it's had to move very slow. And I don't know that it's possible to achieve all of these goals. Also defeat Hamas, remove it from being the ruler over Gaza, which would constitute a victory, and getting back the hostages. And I think that we might have to cut our losses where we can.

and decide what we are putting first as a nation. Is it the hostages or is it the continued degrading and elimination of Hamas? Because it might not all be possible at the same time. Yakov Katz, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

President Biden returning to the campaign trail and stumping for his vice president. Later today, the president joining Kamala Harris at an event marking Labor Day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It will be their first official campaign event together since Biden dropped out of the race in July. It's also going to kick off Biden's weeklong tour of blue wall swing states, starting in Pennsylvania before heading to Wisconsin and Michigan. Campaigning for his VP in critical states like Pennsylvania is something the president promised he would do.

Will we see you out on the campaign trail for Vice President Harris? Yes, you will. I talk to her frequently. I was talking to Governor Shapiro, who's a friend. We have to win Pennsylvania, my original home state. He and I are putting together a campaign tour in Pennsylvania. I'm going to be campaigning in other states as well. And I'm going to do whatever common things I can do to help most.

All right. Our panel is back with us. Megan, I know you traveled to Pennsylvania many, many times with President Biden. He went there a lot in 2020. It's a state that's going to be very important again. How effective do you think he can be in convincing voters to turn out, especially in those blue wall blue wall states?

He's extremely effective with working class folks and people in Pennsylvania in particular. He has spent a lot of time there. I've been to Pittsburgh many times with him on Labor Day over the years, even when he was vice president. So this is a place where he feels at home. I think that he'll get a warm reception there. I think this is one place where he can really help the campaign and really drum up votes with working class folks there.

And Matt, obviously Republicans, they would love to see all those states swing back to Trump. What kind of messaging do you think is most effective for him in those states in particular? I mean, look, I love this visual. I think, you know, the Harris-Walls campaign has been trying to pretend that Kamala Harris has been sitting on a couch for the last four years when she's been the vice president, presiding over a lot that she derides and that she criticizes. And I don't think you're going to see kind of Biden's ego be able to kind of separate, allow Kamala to separate

herself from him a little bit. So I love the fact that they're tied together, whether in person here, as we're seeing today, or even a little bit metaphorically as a Trump campaign has been trying to do over the last couple of weeks.

And Toluse, you know, this all comes because Biden stepped aside in this race and there were a variety of people pushing him to do so. But George Clooney, the actor, put that op-ed out and that really did, you know, shake some things up. He's now commenting on this. He said earlier today to reporters in Italy, the person who should be applauded is the president who did the most selfless thing that anyone's done since George Washington.

And for someone to say, I think there's a better way forward, all the credit goes to him. It just makes me circle back to the fact that this has just been a wild eight weeks. And the president himself now on the campaign trail, probably still kind of processing what all has happened.

Absolutely. And he spent a lot of time with his family. He's been able to lick his wounds a little bit on vacation in California and Rehoboth Beach. And now he's ready to get back on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris, his vice president. I don't think there's a lot of bad blood between the president and Kamala Harris, but there is bad blood that remains between President Biden and some of the people who pushed him out of the race, including President

former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and figures like George Clooney, who were public at times with their insistence that he needed to make a decision about what he wanted to do even after he had decided to stay in the race. And so he is in a very precarious position

position where he needs to show up for the party. He needs to play the role of the elder statesman of the party, and he needs to do everything that is possible to help Kamala Harris win. At the same time, he has to realize that he wishes that he was the person that people were getting by, and he wishes he was a

the leader of the Democratic Party as a presidential candidate going for their second term. But now he has to realize that he's going to be a one-term president. And the legacy that he hopes to have in history is highly dependent on whether or not he can get his vice president into the White House and as to become the winner of the 2024 race. If Donald Trump wins this race, he's going to take

a sledgehammer too much of biden's legacy and so as much as biden may have some sore wounds from being pushed out of the leadership of the party he realizes that it's in his own interest and it's in the interest of his party for him to do anything that kamala harris needs in order for uh that party to retain the white house and so that's what he's going to be doing labor day is a key moment to do that talking to union voters talking about his record when it comes to

supporting unions, supporting workers. I expect we'll see a lot of that in the states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the weeks ahead. All right. All right. Well, stick with us. We're going to have more coming up next on Seedin' this morning. It's Labor Day, and workers around the country are taking to the picket line as presidential candidates fight for their votes. Plus, a new career for Taylor Swift, the singer now trying her hand at drawing up plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. That's next in the morning roundup. ♪ Dancing more, I was grinning like a baby ♪

55 minutes past the hour and here is your morning roundup. A fatal bus crash in Mississippi is now under federal investigation. Seven people died and dozens more were injured. Investigators saying that bus was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when it veered off a highway and slammed into an embankment. A preliminary report on the crash is expected within the next 30 days.

A Chinese ship colliding with a ship from the Philippines in the South China Sea over the weekend. Both countries are trading blame here for who's at fault. The U.S. State Department condemned China for, quote, deliberately colliding with the ship. She's really interested in football, and she asks a lot of great questions. She's already drawing up plays, so we might have to put one in.

That's Super Bowl winning Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes confirming Taylor Swift might be devising some plays for the Super Bowl champs. But Mahomes says as a girl dad, the best part of Swift dating tight end talent Travis Kelsey is the wave of new female fans discovering the NFL.

10,000 hotel workers from Boston to Hawaii are now on strike this Labor Day. They walked out early Sunday morning, disrupting operations at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott locations, impacting about 23,000 rooms on this busy travel weekend. The strike coming as both presidential campaigns are trying to appeal to union workers for votes. Tim Walz appearing at a Labor Day event celebrating unions later today. Kamala Harris appearing at two pro-labor events today in Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Labor union leaders also playing a big role in this election with featured speaking spots at both party conventions. She's a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scam. In the words of the great American poet, Nelly, it's getting hot in here.

Our panel is back with us. Matt, obviously there's a big push to turn out these voters for both of these campaigns. If you look at the exit polls for the last two elections in 2016 and in 2020, Biden was able to get that number up to 56% to Clinton's 51%. Do you think Donald Trump stayed steady at about 40% and 42%?

What do you expect to see unfold this time with Kamala Harris on the ticket? Certainly more outreach from Republicans. I mean, if you if you told me 10 years ago that a Teamsters president would be speaking at a Republican convention, my jaw would be on the floor. And I think that's been certainly one of the transformations of the Trump era in Republican politics is, you know, certainly more of an emphasis towards unions. I mean, especially look back. I worked on Mitt Romney's campaign to how we kind of cultivate the union vote to now.

I do think there is a large divide. Trump runs competitive with a lot of those union voters. There's a divide in a lot of respects between the leadership and also the membership, which tend to be more sympathetic towards Trump. And Toluse, is it just about keeping the margins down for Trump with Kamala Harris, with some of these voters?

Well, Trump definitely needs to shrink that gap between union families, between his share of the vote and the share of the vote going to Kamala Harris, in part because we've seen Republicans under Trump lose a lot of the suburban white-collar vote. A lot of the people who are college-educated have shifted from being rock-ribbed

conservative Republicans who might have voted for Ronald Reagan over low taxes to saying that they can't stomach the idea of Donald Trump going back to the White House. And so because Donald Trump has lost a lot of those Republicans, he has tried to replace them with working class voters, with union voters. And he's had some success at that. And that is very key in key states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Wisconsin, and especially Michigan. But he does need to run up his numbers among people who don't have college degrees, in part because Republicans under Trump have lost

the college lost a lot of the people who do have college degrees. And so that's part of the divide and the political reorientation that we're seeing under the Trump era. And he does need to keep his margins down, also not completely ceding ground on the college educated vote. And so I do see him shifting some of his positions to try to keep his margins down and also win back some of the voters he lost in 2020.

Yeah. And Megan, just to you, Joe Biden always prided himself on white collar or on blue collar workers. Now the Harris campaign has Tim Walz. Do you think that he will be part of the appeal to some of these voters?

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's part of the reason Joe Biden's out on the campaign trail with them today on Labor Day, especially. I mean, he's been the most pro-union president in our lifetime. And I think that his policies with the vice president have really proven that. And so I think that this is their opportunity to go show unions and workers what they have done for them. And I think Governor Walz just will fold right into that.

All right. Always a huge thanks to the panel for sticking around for the whole hour and getting up early. Thanks so much, guys. Happy Labor Day to you. Thank you for joining us. I'm Jessica Dean. CNN News Central starts right now.

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