Harris Makes Her Case
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for every life-saving treatment, for every next step, for every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. It's Friday, August 30th, right now on CNN This Morning. I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment. A critical moment in this campaign, Kamala Harris sits down and facing questions on where she would take the country in an exclusive interview with CNN. Plus this. She didn't want to go in alone.

How do you think President Xi is going to deal with this? Donald Trump weighs in on Harris' interview while slamming her for not scheduling one sooner. And this: I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican. Harris vowing to bring in diverse voices if elected, and that could include a Republican. And later: Would you take pictures with us, sir? I said, absolutely, I did.

Trump addressing the controversy at Arlington Cemetery after he was accused of breaking the law during a moment with Gold Star families. 6 a.m. here in Washington, here's a live look at Savannah, Georgia. Good morning, everyone. I'm Manu Raju, in for Gacy Hunt. It's great to be with you. Another first in the whirlwind presidential campaign of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, their first interview together since taking over the top of the ticket. I think that people are ready for a new way forward.

Now in a sit down with CNN's Dana Bash in Georgia, both Harris and Walz answered pointed questions about the goals and policies they have for a new administration if they win, including her change of heart on issues like fracking. Let's be clear. My values have not changed.

I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate. What I have seen is that we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking. Harris was also asked about what she would do on day one if she becomes America's 47th president.

Day one, it's going to be about, one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy. I've already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we're going to do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we're going to do to invest in America's small businesses, what we're going to do to invest in families.

Now, while America watched Harris's first interview as a presidential nominee, her opponent also seemed to be tuning in. As the interview concluded, Trump fired off this one-word take. Boring! And earlier in the day, he also went after Harris for delaying interviews. You have to, as president, you have to be able to deal. You're dealing with the toughest, smartest, most ruthless people in the world. If you can't do an interview, we got the wrong person.

All right, joining me now to discuss all this, Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst and national political reporter for Axios. Matt Brown, national race and politics reporter for the Associated Press. Kate Benningfield, CNN political commentator and former Biden White House communications director and Brad Todd, Republican strategist. Good morning. Thanks for joining me early this morning. All right. So, Alex, you talked to the the

the Harris campaign quite regularly. You know what their objectives were coming in. Did they accomplish what they wanted to do in this big first interview? Yeah, which is basically they wanted to say they finally did the first big interview and not have anything, any sort of viral clip that their opponents could seize on. I can tell you that there was, you know, among Biden aides, Harris aides, Democrats across town, like the main attitude was,

because essentially some of her worst moments as vice president have been in these interviews, that she can get a little bit on her back foot, that she can get nervous and have these sort of viral word salad clips. Now, I don't think everyone was saying this was like an A plus, but they basically got through it. And that was the one thing that comes up over and over again is, is this old Kamala or new Kamala?

Old Kamala is the 2019 Kamala, the 2020, 2021 Kamala, where she would have some of those moments. Like, as this new Kamala, the one that we've seen the last six weeks, has been incredibly dynamic on the stump that has really rallied Democratic Party behind her. And that's sort of the main anxiety going on among Democrats. And Republicans had hoped that, you know,

She would do this interview in part because potentially she could stumble, we could change some of the trajectory in this race that we have seen over the past month. Did anything change in the aftermath of last night? I think we saw why it took her 35 days to do an interview. She was mushy, she was weak, and it was artificial. It felt contrived the whole way. In her second sentence, she said, we need a new way forward. But she's the incumbent vice president, so she made the case for change in her second sentence into the interview.

I don't think it worked out very well for her. Oh, see, I disagree. And I actually think, I think she did more than just get through it. I think she, there were a couple of things that she really had to do. There were high stakes here. There were certainly high expectations laid out for her. And she had to answer these big questions about, you know, changes in her positions from 2019 and also how she's going to handle this question of being vice president. How are you the change candidate if you are the vice president? And I actually,

thought she did both of those things quite effectively. I mean, she really articulated, I thought, a great case for a change from the kind of politics we've seen over the last decade. I mean, she really kind of laid that kind of at the foot of Trump and really drew this contrast between, you know, I'm the change candidate, Donald Trump is not. He's the one who represents the way we've been doing things for the last decade, really, since he came on the scene, which I thought was smart and effective. And then on this question of, you know, you're the vice president, I thought,

She really went to, she made a really forceful case for some of the best things that she and President Biden have been able to do in the White House. She didn't seem like she was running away from the person that she served with for four years, which I think there's an integrity element to that, a character element to that, that voters

absorbed. So those were two really tricky things that she had to handle that I thought she did quite well. Yeah, and just some of the reviews from the right, obviously not very positive as we heard from Brad here, but about this comment that she made about her values not changing. She was asked, as we played earlier, about the

the fact that she has changed her position on some of these key issues, whether it was about fracking or about anything else. She said that her values have not changed. This is what the Wall Street Journal conservative editorial board wrote this morning. It said, "My values have not changed," she said more than once, "in a practice answer that can be read any way you want. We take it as a studied wink to her left flank that she's on their side.

but can't say so clearly until she's elected. Do you think that folks on the left will see it that way?

Well, we definitely know that progressives are far more satisfied with the Harris campaign at this point than I think that they were expecting to be, should Biden have stepped down. At the same time, though, I think that that answer is a bit of a Rorschach test, as The Wall Street Journal is pointing out there, which is that if you're a moderate, you can see that, OK, well, she did step away from those positions that she took in 2019. But if you're a progressive, you can say, well, OK, maybe she still has the political instincts that we like. And that's honestly probably going to be the more frustrating thing for

Republicans as the attacker, but then also a question for voters as they say, well, how do we navigate this person and who we're about to give the most powerful office in the world to?

Dana gave her plenty of chances to say she was wrong about fracking. She didn't want to do that. She's saying I can't be for it right now because she has an election ahead. Dana gave her plenty of chances to say she was wrong when she said we shouldn't criminalize border crossings. She wouldn't do that. She gave her plenty of chances to renounce the things Joe Biden did on his first day to stop fracking. She didn't do that. I didn't think if this was designed to move her past the mistakes of 2019, 2020, I didn't hear her do that at all. It wasn't very strong.

And before you jump in here, Kate, I want to do your mention the border crossings issue. That was an exchange between Danabash and Kamala Harris last night. Let's see how the vice president responded. In 2019, when you first ran, there was a debate. You raised your hand when asked whether or not the border should be decriminalized. Do you still believe that? I believe there should be consequence. We have laws that have to be followed and enforced.

that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences. I would enforce our laws as president going forward. I recognize the problem.

I mean, how do you explain that, her reconciling the position she took running in a Democratic primary to now as a general election candidate? Well, she's pretty clear. I mean, she says there should be consequences and people should not cross the border illegally. I mean, she says that in the answer. She uses the word illegal. So if we're going to start parsing, you know, what did she mean by this word and that word? She used the word illegal in the answer.

She also we didn't play it here, but in as in part of this answer, she talked about, you know, being attorney general in a border state, enforcing laws in a border state. She went back to her own experience, which predated her time in 2019. So and then she also used this answer to pivot to, you know, to Donald Trump wrecking the bipartisan campaign.

you know, border security bill. And she really actually sort of went to a forward-looking, I thought, more offensive frame on what she would do as president and the responsibility that she believes that Donald Trump and the Republicans have for destroying the chances at getting that bill done.

I thought she actually navigated this quite well. She went back to an answer that was rooted in her time in public service and she made very clear that she believes there should be consequences. And I think that was a strong answer. Well, just beyond

the parsing of this particular answer. The fact is that when she was running four years ago, and Kate will remember this as working for Joe Biden then, she was not introducing herself as a border state prosecutor that took on multinational gangs. Even if you think that her position is good now, the fact is that her pitch to voters is very different than it was five years ago.

And no question, but I think the other way she tackled that across the board in answering these questions in this interview was to say, you know, and I've spent four years in the White House learning how to get things done. And so I thought that's the other piece of her answer on the values thing that we haven't talked about yet. She said, you know, my values haven't changed, but I have learned how to get things done. And I've learned about finding consensus and that you have to be able to, you know, to get things done.

things done to move forward. And so that, you know, that is the important kind of second piece here that lets her say, you know, yeah, I am a different candidate than I was in 2019 because I've spent four years in the White House getting things done. I think she had if she's going to own what the Biden record of getting things done on the border, I think Republicans are going to be ecstatic about that and

When she goes back to her experience as AG, that's memory holing the last four years. It's a big case of amnesia where she was given a prominent role in stopping illegal crossings at the border. I don't think it's going to fly. And I think the longer that this race dwells on immigration and border enforcement, the worse it is for Kamala Harris. But it's important

to note. I mean, she was responsible for migration from the Northern Triangle. Crossings are down from those countries in the Northern Triangle since she took that portfolio on. So if we're going to talk about the numbers, then we should, to be fair to her, we should talk about the numbers as they exist. This is the thing where Washington's disconnect with America, I think, is really stark. For Americans, is the border closed and are people still coming across illegally? That's the question. And this administration's record on that's terrible. And it started on their first day when they reversed Donald Trump's immigration policies. We're going to talk

more about that man is doing a great guy just what I just in in the wake of the executive order being implemented at numbers are down and you cannot argue that republicans have been acting in good faith on trying to find solutions here in an election year so if we're gonna be ever any talking about immigration as a political issue republicans have to own and Donald Trump has to own his part

in ensuring that Congress didn't take any meaningful steps to fix the problem. - One thing is clear, Trump is still leading though on immigration. We'll see if she's able to close that margin and how much it impacts voters come November. We're gonna talk more about this later in the show and a lot more about the interview to digest. And just don't forget, just in a few hours, we're gonna hear from Donald Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance. He's gonna be joining CNN Live, responding to Harris' and Rawls' first interview. You can watch that on CNN News Central in the 8:00 a.m. hour.

Coming up next on CNN This Morning, if elected, Kamala Harris is looking for a presence of bipartisanship, why she says it's important to have a Republican in her cabinet. Plus, the rules are laid out, but there's still some pushback about if those mics will actually be muted or live at the next debate. And Governor Tim Walz addressing that tear-jerking moment from his DNC speech when his son Gus cheered him on, shouting, quote, that's my dad.

It was just such a visceral, emotional moment that I'm just, I'm grateful I got to experience it and I'm so proud of him.

Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Roof repair? Done well. Kitchen sink install? Done well. Deck upgrades? Done well. Electrical upgrade? Done well. Angie's been connecting homeowners with skilled pros for nearly 30 years, so we know the difference between done and done well. Hire high-quality, certified pros at Angie.com.

From all over the world, people turn to Cleveland Clinic for our expertise and our compassionate care. As leaders in heart, neurology, and cancer, the future of specialty care is happening right now at Cleveland Clinic. For every life-saving treatment. For every next step. For every care in the world. Cleveland Clinic. Will you appoint a Republican to your cabinet? Yes, I would.

Anyone in mind? No one in particular in mind. I got 68 days to go with this election, so I'm not putting the cart before the horse. All right, Kamala Harris's plan of nominating a Republican to serve at a cabinet post is something that President Obama did more than once. And Harris is telling CNN's Dana Bash it would not just benefit her, but she says also the electorate. I think it's really important. I have spent my career inviting candidates

diversity of opinion. I think it's important to have people at the table when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences. And I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my cabinet who was a Republican. Republicans actually not exactly embracing that Harris offered to appoint one of their own to her cabinet.

So she says she wants Republicans in her cabinet. She loves diversity of views. I mean, has Kamala brought you into the West Wing and asked about your conservative viewpoint or any of your colleagues? Of course not. She's on the far opposite end of the spectrum. Our great panel is back. So, all right, Alex, what do you think? Is this a good idea? I mean, look, this is not unusual. This has been not the precedent in the last couple of presidencies, but...

about she clearly, the strategy of course is that she needs Republicans. She needs those moderate Republicans skeptical of Donald Trump as an effective strategy. - Yeah, I mean this is a well-worn strategy and an effective one in past presidencies. It's very normal to say I'm gonna appoint a member of the opposite party and then usually it's sort of

one of not necessarily insignificant but sort of those bottom tier cabinet posts right you're talking about the Department of Transportation Department of Commerce no offense to those departments but they're not usually as prominent as sort of those big three Treasury Department Defense Department um you know that being said what you're basically seeing Kamala Harris be able to do by the fact that she didn't have to do a primary is she's only basically doing a general election run to the center the Democratic Party is

Incredibly united right now you look at every single poll. It's like 90% approval rating excited to vote for her So what she's doing right now is like, okay. Well, we already have the Democratic Party unified. Let's go to the center This is just one of many moves she's been doing to do that That's the benefit of not having run out of primary. I thought she's got a reconciling positions That's kind of an issue but still she can't answer the great boy I mean she could just focus on trying to court the middle right now

absolutely missus and this is the messaging and policy and you know the group but there's not any shortage of republicans who should be picking for this position in your bum reminds republican governor for instance as well to the left of you know many democrats and in her own party so the question here is really how what messages can she make to on you know

overture um... for the moderate voters that she needs in states like georgia like michigan like pennsylvania to really win them over and and saying that i'm going that i welcome you i'm going to select you and i can even select one of your own to be included in my governing coalition is something that i think really does show that she is trying to go now that she's consolidated the base now that you know for instance younger people people of color have come back into the fold who are these are the voters who were not as energized window but was the top of the ticket you really seeing on her say okay well now we can go for the moderates go for the former republicans go for the people who were

you know, the core of the GOP. Before you jump in, I want to ask you, Biden did not name a Republican to his cabinet. Trump didn't name a Democrat to his cabinet, but George W. Bush and Norman Atten, Obama had a couple. So why didn't Biden do that? Well,

Well, some of it is just picking the right people that you believe are the people for the job in the moment, regardless of party. There was never an intentional decision to say we're not going to select a Republican. He looked around and picked the people that he thought were going to be best for those jobs in the respective agencies.

But I do think this is, it is really smart politics and certainly it appeals to voters in the middle, no question. But actually, I think this is one of the things that often gets lost in this moment of hyper-partisanship in our politics. People tend to believe that Democratic voters only want to see Democrats and they only want to score points.

That's actually not true. And I think Biden's candidacy in 2019 was actually sort of a test of this hypothesis within the Democratic Party to actual Democratic voters, not the chattering class, not pundits, not activists, but actual Democratic voters want to see bipartisanship a lot more than it feels like they do in the national conversation. And that's one of the things that she, I think, is being really smart in seizing on here. People actually want to see their elected officials work across the aisle, even

you know, loyal Democratic voters who are going to vote Democrat up and down the ticket. I think that's actually her problem. I mean, she's the leftmost candidate for president we've ever had run. Maybe George McGovern in 1972 was equally left. I think that, and this whole notion of a Republican who might go in her cabinet, it's a shiny object because when she was in the Senate, she was ranked number 100 out of 100 is how far left she was. When she ran in 2020, she was the leftmost candidate on the stage, maybe say Bernie Sanders.

This is a real problem for her. Ideology, if Trump will choose it, if he will run his campaign on ideology, he will whip her. But remains to be seen if he will. That's a big if. All right, we'll dive into that a little bit more later as well. So still ahead for us on CNN this morning, the Army now weighing in on what happened at Arlington National Cemetery earlier this week. The latest on that back and forth between a Trump campaign aide and a cemetery worker. And this...

I'm the only person in this race who actually served a border state as Attorney General to enforce our laws.

ABC News laying out the rules for its debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and it includes the contested muted microphones. CNN obtained a copy of the rules, which states, "candidate microphones will be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak, and muted when time belongs to another candidate." Now, while the Trump campaign has accepted those rules, Harris' team says they are still in discussions and pushing back on that issue.

That highly anticipated debate, of course, scheduled for September 10th.

Labor Day weekend. It's almost here and it could bring cooler temperatures, thankfully, for many across the United States. Let's go right to CNN's meteorologist Derek Van Dam with your holiday forecast. So, Derek, which parts of the country should be taking shelter and which should be enjoying those barbecues outside?

Good question. So it depends on what day of the holiday weekend you're really talking about. The cooler weather is actually going to be confined to the eastern seaboard. But before we transition from the warmth to the cooler weather, we got to get through some showers and thunderstorms. But I think Labor Day looking very nice across the northeastern parts of the U.S.,

if you like the cooler than average weather. There's still a lot of heat sandwiched right across the Ohio River Valley stretching to the deep south. What's new there, right? Atlanta all the way to Charlotte. If you're looking for cooler weather, head to New York and Boston. That's where temperatures today will be in the lower 70s, but you can see quite a stark difference between Cincinnati, Nashville, all the way to the ATL. This is the cold front responsible for the shower and thunderstorm activity through the course of the weekend, kind of a reinforcing shot

of cooler weather. Notice the time stamp on the top portion of the TV screen. That's for Sunday. Of course, we still have one more day of this extended holiday weekend. In the meantime, today's chance to see your weather across the state of Michigan. That shifts in advance eastward to the interior of New England and the East Coast. So heads up

Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Your forecast through the course of the holiday weekend calls for cooling temperatures again with that several cold fronts moving through the Pacific Northwest. This is the place to be. And just a general overall picture for your Labor Day. Look at the sunshine and nice weather for you, Manu, in DC.

I will take it. That crisp fall weather cannot come soon enough. I can tell you, I can speak for all of D.C. when I say that. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much. And straight ahead on CNN this morning, more of Kamala Harris' first interview as a Democratic nominee. Prices in particular for groceries are still too high. The American people know it. I know it.

how the vice president says she will help Americans who are hurting in the post-COVID economy. Plus, why the candidates are paying so much attention to the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Overnight, Duncan's pumpkin spice coffee has sent folks into a cozy craze. I'm Lauren LaTulip reporting live from home in my hand-knit turtleneck that my nana made me. Mmm, cinnamony. The home with Duncan is where you want to be.

Hi. Hi.

I'm running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender. All right, Kamala Harris sitting down for her first interview since taking President Biden's place at the top of the Democratic ticket. She spoke with CNN's Dana Bash about her rapid ascent, offering her most detailed explanation to date on why she's reversed course on some of her policy positions, including on issues like fracking. We were sitting down...

As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking. In 2019, I believe, at a town hall, you said, you were asked, would you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking on your first day in office? And you said, there's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking. So, yes. So it changed in that campaign? In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024, and I've not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word, and I will keep my word.

Harris' original stance on fracking could have proven politically damaging in Pennsylvania, that must-win state where that process for fossil fuel extraction is a major issue. Of course, that is a must-win for her or Trump as they battle for the White House. And the latest polling out of the state shows Harris is outpacing Trump 50 to 47.

Joining me now, Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Dan Muser, who joins me from Pennsylvania. Congressman, it's nice to see you. Thank you so much for joining me early this morning. I suppose on this issue of fracking, you don't quite buy her explanation. But look, she and Joe Biden, they did not ban fracking when they were in the White House over the last several years. Do you think, though, that voters may give her a pass on this? May say, fine, she's changed her position and she doesn't support banning fracking.

Hey, Manu, great being with you. Yeah, I mean, certainly last night, it appears she avoided a train wreck. And frankly, some of the follow-up questions, and really, I don't mean to criticize, were just nonexistent, particularly on fracking. So what made the vice president change her mind? You know, that's a fair question. And then, what is your energy plan? Do you have an understanding of what the energy needs and demands are of the United States? And how does natural gas

particularly from Pennsylvania or anywhere in the US, how does domestic energy work into that? And see, that's the biggest thing I think. There was really no, there was no detail. I think they spoke about energy for maybe 30 seconds. They covered the border for about two and a half minutes. The economy was about two minutes as well. I think the American people just have a real trust issue with the vice president. We certainly do in Pennsylvania. We can get into some of those details.

Clearly, a makeover is underway. Some people refer to that as a big con taking place. But she's leading in Pennsylvania, according to the polls. That has to concern you, doesn't it? Well, because she hasn't done an interview, right? Last night was the first. They don't know who Vice President Harris is.

We're going through everything to make sure that our people and the Pennsylvania people are very informed on where she stands, on spending, on the police.

Right. On inflation. How is that going to be handled? Price controls on firearms. OK, firearms matters to Republicans and Democrats throughout the country, as well as where she said she's going to have a mandatory buyback. What happened with Afghanistan? Why the issues with Israel? I mean, I mean, she's got right now it's a plan for Biden, not just 2.0, but Biden 4.0. So.

Congressman, I do want to ask you about another notable moment from that interview. She was asked about Donald Trump's comments about her race, about her, quote, turning black. That's what Donald Trump had said about her. Watch what she had to say. What I want to ask you about is what he said last month. He suggested that you happened to turn black recently for political purposes, questioning a core part of your identity. Yeah.

Any same old tired playbook. Next question, please. Congressman, as you advise Donald Trump going forward, do you think that he should stay away, steer clear from raising questions about her racial identity? You know, I can't really speak to that. I'm not sure what even context the president was, former president was going there. I don't think there's any question a policy debate on the

Why is Vice President Kamala Harris for amnesty? How in the world do you think that's a good thing? How do you think it's a good thing that 3 million illegals are crossing the border this year and they're claiming to have some control? How can you just blame it on some legislation that would have done nothing, Manu? You know this, we talk in Washington. Okay, that was like investing in more buckets and not stopping the flooding.

All that legislation was gonna do was increase CBP so as processing and resettlements could take place. It was not going to fix a problem. It was done to fix a political problem. So that's nonsense in my book and it's nonsense in the American people's book. We got serious problems. I was with a state trooper last night who says all he's pulling over is illegals who don't have licenses and don't have insurance.

Okay, so we got real problems with our economy and our national security and our border and our energy policy. And last night, we certainly didn't hear any solutions to those. As you know, Congressman, that bill, of course, was drafted by a conservative Republican Senator James Lankford, along with Democrats. He would disagree with your contention there, but that's a discussion for another time. I do want to ask you about another controversy the Trump campaign has been dealing with, and that's this incident that a

heard at Arlington National Cemetery. Earlier this week, the former president was marking the anniversary of the Abugate attack in Afghanistan. The family of a deceased veteran has expressed how upset they were with Trump for their questions about whether that appearance was actually legal and whether it violated Arlington National Cemetery rules. The Army, of

rebuked the Trump campaign yesterday for taking the video and photographing that off-limit area of Arlington National Cemetery. Do you think the Trump campaign should acknowledge that they did something wrong here?

Listen, Madhu, we care a lot about our veterans in Pennsylvania. We care very much for those on active duty. And frankly, to the earlier question, you know, in Pennsylvania, we voted for Obama in an overwhelming way. It is truly about content of character for my constituents and for the vast, vast, vast majority of Pennsylvanians, and certainly not the color of the skin or somebody's origins.

And what happened yesterday, look, come on. I mean, this is a media exploiting whatever occurred there. It's nonsense, it's meaningless. We've got serious issues. We've got hostages held in Gaza. We've got a Ukrainian war that the American people are asked to pay $150 billion for, that the Biden-Harris administration barely even talks about.

They don't talk about the hostages. They don't talk about fentanyl killing our young, particularly young Americans. We've got serious issues. That's a sideshow what occurred there. All right, Congressman Dan Muser of Pennsylvania. Republican, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Appreciate you sharing your views.

And straight ahead on CNN This Morning, more from Kamala Harris' sit-down interview with CNN's Dana Bash, what she said about that fateful phone call between her and President Biden when he told her he was dropping out of the race. Plus, Donald Trump defends his photo op in Arlington as the U.S. Army issues a sharp criticism of his actions. So I go there, they ask me to have a picture, and they say I was campaigning. I don't need... The one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don't need that.

46 minutes past the hour, so here's your morning roundup. Donald Trump once again looking to get his hush money case in New York moved to federal court. In a new motion filed this week, Trump's lawyers argue that sentencing for the convictions should be put on hold while the appeal plays out. Sentencing is set for September 18th.

Steve Bannon asking a judge for an early release from prison while he continues to challenge his contempt of Congress' conviction. The former Trump aide is serving a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena and set to be released October 29th. And we now know when Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth, empty, without its crew. NASA says it will leave the International Space Station next Friday. But Butch Wilbur and Suni Williams will remain on board until at least February of next year.

And we are tracking the ongoing saga about what happened at Arlington National Cemetery this week between the Trump campaign and workers there. On Monday, Trump was invited to the cemetery by some of the families of 13 service members who died in a suicide bombing during that chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan three years ago. He attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

Then the families brought the former president to Section 60, a part of Arlington where fallen veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried.

Here, photography is much more restricted. Cemetery workers stepped in to stop campaign officials from filming, leading to this incident, which the Army says, quote,

clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. This incident was unfortunate. In response, Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita posting on X calling army leadership hacks. Trump also defended his visit during a campaign rally.

They ask me to have a picture and they say I was campaigning. I don't need. The one thing I get is plenty of publicity. I don't need that. I don't need the publicity. All right. With us now on this Friday, CNN political commentator Michael Smirconish. Of course, he is the host of CNN's Smirconish. Michael, it's so good to see you on this Friday morning. So what is your take on this controversy? Do you think it'll have any impact on this campaign?

Manu, great to see you as well. My take on this is that

I think it's great that the president accompanied the Gold Star families in Section 60, that he would go, that he would pay homage on the anniversary of losing 13. That's all terrific. And the fact that they wanted photographs taken with him for their personal use and purpose, that's a good thing as well. I get it. I think we want to do more things like that. The problem is that the video then gets used for a political purpose, and that's totally at odds with the standard, the law that would apply to Arlington,

and other sacred ground. So it never should have ended up in TikTok. And for that, he needs to be held accountable. But I don't want to send the wrong message. You know, the message is one of revering American heroes, but there was a line crossed here. In my mind, there's no doubt.

And a very rare statement from the army to put out that statement rebuking the Trump campaign. Really remarkable to see there. But I do want to switch gears to, of course, that big interview last night, the Harris-Walz interview. What do you think, Michael? Did she accomplish what she needed to do given the stakes of the interview and people waiting for this sit down to actually occur to hear from the Democratic nominee for the first time in a sit down like this? How do you think she performed? Is this what the campaign needed?

So I think the headline today is that there is no headline, right? That there was really no news made from the event other than the fact that it occurred after her being the Democratic candidate for there about a month. She achieved her purpose, which is that the two of us right now are not discussing any viral video. Hippocratic oath, first rule, do no harm. It applies to politics. There

There was not a stumble that everybody is pointing to today. That's a good thing for her. Did she resolve questions about her ability to think in real time on her feet unscripted? I don't think entirely that she did. Bottom line is it's a Rorschach test and partisans are going to look at it and find in it whatever they wanted to find in it.

And how do you think she should handle her media strategy going forward? Should she do more sit-downs? Obviously, as reporters, we want her to sit down and talk and answer questions. Really, every day she should, and she should answer voters' questions. But if you're a political strategist, perhaps you want to prevent those viral movements from happening. How do you see this playing out in the weeks ahead?

I don't think she's been accessible to the extent that she owes it to the American people. I think she has an obligation running for the highest office in the land to make herself available to journalists and to voters. Having said that, if I were whispering in her ear as a campaign strategist to your question...

I guess I'd say continue to do what you're doing because it appears to be working for her. But at some point, I think she's got an obligation to take more questions in real time from voters. Town halls, for example, like Donald Trump did last night. Yeah, and we'll see if she decides to do just that. Michael Smirconish, thank you so much for sharing your views. Always good to see you. Remember to tune in, of course, tomorrow, 9 a.m. Eastern for Smirconish right here on CNN. Turning now to this.

I'm announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment, fertilization for women, IVF treatment.

Donald Trump, who boasted about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, now turning somewhat more moderate on the issue of reproductive rights. In addition to promising free IVF treatments and tax deductions for newborn expenses, not exactly saying how they'll be paid for, but the former president also softening his stance on abortion rights, signaling he is leery about Florida's six-week abortion ban.

it has to be more time and so that's and i've told them that i want more weeks so you'll vote in favor of the amendment i'm i'm voting that i am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks now his campaign later clearly tried to walk that back a little bit saying he had not make a decision on how this vote and the referendum will occur in florida how he will vote as a florida voter but you brad what do you think about him trying to

changes position a bit if you will or moderated position of it on some of these key reproductive right issues. It must they must be seeing some polling that they're concerned about. I think the fact that he's leading on IVF is pretty important. You know, Dave McCormick, who's running in Pennsylvania, has already proposed a $15,000 tax refundable tax credit for anyone using IVF. I think you're going to see a lot more clarity that we're

Republicans are fully in support of IVF because we want to help people bring babies into this world. I think that's a positive development. But they're clearly concerned that he's getting hit on this and he's going to respond. Well, Democrats said they were going to use IVF. It was going to be the new issue for them this time. But it was always wrong because there was always pretty good consensus among Republicans to support it. And I think now you're going to see that come to light. Is this going to be an effective strategy? Republicans who are up in arms about Kamala Harris shifting positions from her 2019 positions during the primary, like, where are you?

Thomas changed a few positions over the years. Where's the intellectual consistency? I mean, no, look, this is Donald Trump who has said time and time again how proud he is to have put three justices on the Supreme Court who overturned Roe. So, you know, the idea that he's going to throw out this policy proposal, which, by the way, the government paying for or insurance companies being mandated to pay for are two wildly different things. Anybody who lived through the Affordable Care Act fights knows those are not, those are different policy proposals. So,

I'm not sure this is a serious policy proposal he's putting forward here. But more importantly, from a messaging perspective, this is not going to be sufficient to erase in voters' minds the fact that he is responsible for where we are on reproductive freedom in this country right now. And he has bragged many, many, many times about it. And I think Democrats are going to keep reminding voters of that. They're going to keep reminding suburban women of that. And I don't think this is something that he's going to be able to walk away from.

Speaking of women voters, before you jump in, just the Quinnipiac poll, women and men, how they view Harris versus Trump. Clear sign that there's a 20 point, 21 point advantage that Harris has over Trump with women. Trump about a similar advantage with men. But that's obviously...

If you're in the Trump campaign, you gotta tighten that margin. - I mean, historic gender gap we're seeing. And the striking thing about this is that people, reporters have been asking the Trump campaign and Trump about this Florida referendum for a long time. - Yeah, he has still not said. - And he has still not said, but now he's sort of tiptoeing and being like, well, I don't like the current policy, but I'm still not gonna tell you exactly how I'm gonna vote. The fact of the matter is that now it does appear that he is incredibly, that the race changed

with Biden dropping out and now a woman at the top of the ticket when it comes to abortion rights, especially a woman who has been on the forefront of the administration's push on abortion rights. Clearly, the fact that he did both the Florida and the Florida referendum sort of statement, plus he's doing IVF for all, it has really sort of

on the same day, suggest that they need to, that they think this is, they need to close the gender gap, to your point. Yeah, and just a poll about who can handle abortion better. Wall Street Journal asked that question to registered voters. Recent poll, August 24th to 28th, 20 points. Harris has the advantage over Trump. One of the handful of issues that she is leading on, but how many of those voters do you think are actually already in the Harris camp, who believe that abortion is the biggest issue that they're voting on?

the question is going to be not whether voters from trust to harris is really more on abortion here but whether that's going to be defining issue for them which is what trump is trying to do here by simon coming out with idea for all as you say to make the issue less salient here to make it a bit more money on which person is going to uh... you know be more in your interest on

on questions of reproductive on rights when republicans are seen as uh... you know coming at a question that a lot of them are deeply alienated by that becomes the most salient on question and it becomes what is going to you know move them into harris's camp whereas if you know this is a bit of a part of question where you know the republican party is divided on this internally it's going to be um... interesting to see if they'll be able to have the message discipline as a party to convey this but if they if they can then it might be that the economy or immigration or other issues are going to be the top thing that people will

we'll be voting on instead. - I will say, one of the more personal moments from yesterday's interview with Kamala Harris, a Democratic nominee reflected on her conversation with President Biden when he broke the news to her that he was ending his presidential bid. Harris went on to commend Biden for not only his accomplishments in office, but also praised his character. - I think history is gonna show not only has Joe Biden led an administration that has achieved those extraordinary successes,

but the character of the man is one that he has been in his life and career, including as a president, quite selfless and puts the American people first. How does she navigate trying to be the change candidate but also being the incumbent vice president?

Well, I thought she did it quite deftly, actually, because she really defined change. We were talking about this a little bit at the top of the show, but she really defined change as a change from the ugly politics of Trump and what we've seen, as we've seen our politics corrode over the last decade. And I thought she was smart about kind of setting that up

as the change dynamic, while also saying, Joe Biden has served honorably. I've been proud to serve with him. He's a man of character. I think she did a good job not looking like she was in a moment of political opportunity going to walk away from somebody who, look, I was there. I saw them. They had a really productive governing partnership and a good friendship. And so I think that that shone through. I think when voters watch interviews like this, they're also trying to glean who is this person

And so I think what she did was demonstrate that she is a person of integrity and character who is not going to throw Joe Biden over the high side in a moment of political opportunism. So I thought she actually handled that quite deftly. I suppose Brad disagrees, but unfortunately we are out of time. You disagree, I'm sure. Of course. All right. OK, we will see. Thank you guys so much for joining me this morning. Thank you for watching us as well. I'm on Roger. CNN News Central starts right now.

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