This Week with George Stephanopoulos - Full Episode: Sunday, September 1, 2024

This Week With George Stephanopoulos starts right now breaking overnight Israel recovers the bodies of six hostages in Gaza including Israeli American pers Goldberg Poland the latest this morning with Brit clanet in Tel Aviv campaign Rush this is going to be a tight race until the very end with less than 10 days until their first debate Harris sits for her first interview as the Democratic nominee let's be clear my values have not changed As Trump tries to fire up his base and we will bring back the American dream bigger better and stronger than ever before this morning our new ABC ipsos poll shows a virtually tied race Trump Ally Senator Lindsey Graham and Colorado's Democratic governor Jared polus join us plus analysis from the round table barrier breaker they were just so frightened if they let one woman in that door the door of baseball that that was going to be the end of the boys club my conversation with journalist Melissa luty on the landmark case that opened locker room doors for female Sports reporters from ABC News it's this week here now Jonathan Carl good morning welcome to this week we'll have the latest developments on the race for the White House this morning but we begin with the heartbreaking news overnight from the Middle East the Israeli Defense Forces reported they've recovered the bodies of six more hostages from Gaza including Israeli American H Goldberg Poland whose parents had been outspoken in pushing for a ceasefire to bring the hostages home President Biden reacted in a statement overnight saying he was quote devastated and outraged by the news ABC's Brit clanet has the latest from Tel Aviv good morning Brit hi John yeah heartbreak as you say for the f family of Israeli hostage HH Goldberg Poland the IDF announcing they found his body yesterday along with five others in a tunnel in southern Gaza Israel confirming the deaths of six more hostages in Gaza including Israeli American hsh Goldberg pollen the other five Alexander linov almog suusi carel gut edin yeru shami and orri danino and IDF spokesperson Daniel hagari saying the hostages were killed a short while before we reached them recovered from tunnels under Rafa where another hostage farad alcari was rescued alive earlier in the week 23-year-old H seen here alive on April 24th in this Proof of Life video released by hamash President Biden expressing his sorrow over H's death in a statement saying he is devastated and outraged saying he is grieving with H's parents Rachel and Jonathan who were on stage at the DNC emotional as the crowd chanted bring them home this is a political convention but needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue it is it is a humanitarian issue speaking to us in Jerusalem in July Rachel and Jonathan saying time is running out I think something that's lost in this is the urgency we know that many of the hostages have died in captivity the hostage families Forum releasing a statement blaming delays sabotage and excuses writing it's time to bring our hostages home Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning saying Those Who Kill abductees do not want a deal we will not let up hostage families demanding Netanyahu be accountable for the deaths and take responsibility for their abandonment and a security official telling ABC news this morning that three of those hostages including hirh were on a draft proposal to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire and and Brit where did the ceasefire talks stand now after all this well President Biden overnight said he thinks we are on a verge of having an agreement but that optimism it just isn't reflected on the ground now while the US Egypt and Qatar are very keen to keep discussions alive there has been no breakthrough that's the reality earlier this week Israel's war cabinet determined that the IDF would remain in the Philadelphia Corridor which we know is one of hamas's red lines so the idea uh that there would be still an Israeli Presence at the Egypt Gaza border it remains a huge sticking point John all right Brit thank you we turn now to the 2024 race on this Labor Day weekend Labor Day is a time to Mark The End Of Summer and the beginning of a fall campaign and this year the season of The Campaign pivot for KLA Harris we've seen significant changes from the positions that she took the last time she ran for president back then she build herself as a progressive who would fight for Medicare for all the green New Deal she favored decriminalizing illegal border crossings now she builds herself as a tough on crme career prosecutor proposing policies that are designed to appeal to the middle she said this week that while some of her policies may have changed her values have not whatever the reason for those policy changes moving to the center makes political sense while the voices on the left and the right are the loudest that's clear our new ABC News poll shows that that's not where most voters are the biggest chunk of Americans 41% call themselves moderate compared to just 24% who say they are liberal and 32% who say they are conservative as for Trump his policy flips have been even more dramatic and rapid fire on an issue that Republican strategists worry will hurt the party in November abortion rights just this week he came out for government funding of IVF treatments that's something his own running mate voted against just a few months ago he suggested he favored an amendment in Florida that would guarantee abortion rights and then just a couple days later he said he would vote against that Amendment Trump has taken just about every possible position on the abortion issue many of them just in the last several days so where does the race stand our new poll shows that the Harris walls ticket holds a slight 52 to 46% lead nationally among Lely voters but that's almost exactly where it was before the Democratic Convention and in the 538 polling average of the seven key Battleground States the race is statistically tied Harris's number is slightly higher in six of the seven states but all are within the margin of error we're now less than 10 days away from seeing Donald Trump and KL Harris on the stage for the very first time the ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia is of course on September 10th so let's bring in one of Trump's biggest supporters Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senator Graham before we get to the campaign I want to ask you about the devastating news uh overnight out of Israel I I know that you have been a big Advocate uh for for for the hostages and you got to know uh Senator you you got to know the parents of of of H uh quite well you're what's your reaction to this heartbreaking news heartbroken yeah devastated mad John and Rachel have done everything in their power to to help their son be released from captivity after 11 months of captivity he was murdered uh by Hamas Hamas could care less about the hostages or the Palestinians and if you want the hostages home which we all do you have to increase the cost to Iran Iran is the great Satan here Hamas is the junior partner they're barbaric religious Nazis Hamas uh they could care less about about the Palestinian people I would urge the Biden Administration and Israel to hold Iran accountable for the fate of remaining hostages and put on the target list uh oil refineries in Iran if the hostages are not released uh we we heard from the White House overnight a statement from President Biden saying that Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes that was what the president what are they going to pay I mean what what's the price I mean they've destroyed a lot of Gaza they put their own People In Harm's Way the hamasa care less about about the Palestinian people Mr President BB if you want to really change things when it comes to the hostages tell the iatola what he values is on the target list until that happens nobody's coming home all right Senator Graham I'm going to turn to the the campaign uh you have said uh that that Donald Trump is poised can win this race if he stays focused on the contrast between his record and the Biden Harris record if he focuses on the issue so let me ask you the flip side of that how can he lose this campaign um I think the way that they're running the campaign is to draw him into insult debates get off stript get off the issues this poll to me is very encouraging now in a head-to-head race uh Trump uh is losing slightly but on the issues Trump economy Plus 8 inflation Plus 8 border plus n my God that's a blowout focus on the issues Mr President every poll says it says the same thing the American people trust you with what matters the most to them the economy inflation border security uh and just managing the government if I were you my friend I would focus on those issues laser likee and you will win this race and and if if you look at what the former president has said just in the last uh week or so about comml Harris as he looks ahead to this debate uh he has called her quote low IQ dumb someone who quote can't put two sentences together now those sound a little bit more like schoolyard taunts than than the stuff of of a presidential campaign but it's also a strange way to set expectations before a debate yeah I I think she's you know she's been a senator she's attorney general she's now Vice president obviously she has some talent but here's what I would say on foreign policy she's been a wrecking ball on Israel she set there and listened to somebody called the Israeli government and people engaging in genocide and did nothing about it she boycotted BB speech to the Congress sending a signal to Mamas and Iran uh that America really doesn't have Israel's back she was Cheerleading of the withdrawal uh from Afghanistan she's bragged about being the last person in the room the dumbest is decision maybe in modern history by American Administration I was in Munich when she warned the Russians not to invade Ukraine four days later they did uh she's been in charge of the Border in in some way I don't know what the hell she's been doing on the border but we've got more terrorists in our country anytime in history and fit all poisoning is the leading cause of death among young people in America that's what I would hit her with she's been a wrecking ball on foreign uh policy uh it's been the most incompetent Administration I can remember on things that matter to the American people your safety and your Prosperity that's what I would talk about not her IQ her job performance has been lousy by the way that that speech for netan as I recall JD Vance didn't go either so to maybe a double boycott there let me well but he wasn't yeah but but he wasn't Vice President of the United States and no nobody doubts JD's support for Israel JD has been unequivocally supporting Israel she has been horrible she's slow walking weapons she didn't attend the speech and that Juiced up every terrorist in the region so it's not a fair comparison yeah but I but I would also point out that in her speech she said in her speech to the convention she said contrary to what many of her own party wanted her to say uh prom to give Israel what it needs to defend itself but let let me move on the dam the damage the damage has been done she was vice president of the United States she refused to come and attend a joint session of Congress with the prime minister is that sent the worst possible signal you could send but let me let me ask you about another big issue this week uh president Trump seemingly out of nowhere came out of a public funding for IVF treatments and a mandate for insurance companies uh to uh to fund them where did this come from I know uh Congress had a vote on this you voted against it every Republican in the Senate voted against it except for two uh where where where did this come from I think he just Tred to to show his support for uh 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 and one thing I thought about after what he said you know we have tax credits for people who have children maybe we should have a means tested tax credit for people using IVF and other other uh treatments to become pregnant I would support a tax credit uh means tested kind of like we do with children that makes sense to me to encourage people to have children but you wouldn't support this idea of mandating insurance companies to cover this would you you've already voted against because there's no end to that yeah there's no end to that I think a tax credit for children makes sense means tested uh and I think let's look at that concept for people trying to have a child okay that makes some sense to me I'll talk to my Democratic colleagues we might be able to find Common Ground here okay let let me ask you also about this incident at Arlington National cem obviously I know president forign president Trump was invited uh by the families to be there uh but but but here's the statement that the Army has put out about what happened uh they say participants in the August 26 ceremony and the subsequent section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws Army regulations and DOD policies which clearly prohibit political activities on Cemetery grounds an Arlington National uh Cemetery employee who attempted to ensure the adherence to these rules was abruptly put pushed aside the incident was unfortunate and it is also unfortunate that that employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked did the campaign did the the campaign cross a line here you know I don't know I think we need to you know I'm all for looking at what happened but you know what really is unfortunate that these families had to go visit their their fallen loved ones at Arlington due to incompetence by the Biden Administration you know I've tried to work with President Biden to get Saudi and Arabia and Israel to reconcile I I've supported a lot of their nomination nominees I've known President Biden for a long time but vice president Harris bragged about being the last person in the room cheerleading the withdrawal of all forces that led to the death of these 13 riseing terrorism combined that with a broken border another 9/11's coming our way so what I take away from this whole debate about Arlington is why they died how they died in the incompetency that led to their death to the American people uh we've lost deterrance nobody in the world is afraid of kamla Harris she has become in my view ineffective uh in terms of a voice for America so if you want to avoid more dead Americans vote for Trump and I know you also opposed Donald Trump's uh talk of quickly getting out of Afghanistan as well Senator Senator Graham thank you thank you very much for for joining us on this week coming up KLA Harris moves to the middle on some hot button issues Colorado's Democratic governor Jared polus joins us live we're back in two minutes AI might be the most important new technology ever it's storming every industry and literally billions of dollars are being invested so buckle up the problem is AI needs a lot of speed and processing power so how do you compete without costs spiraling out of control it's time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud Oracle Cloud infrastructure or oci oci is a single platform for your infrastructure database application development and AI needs oci has four to eight times the bandwidth of other clouds it offers one consistent price instead of variable Regional pricing and of course nobody does data better than Oracle so now you can train your AI models at twice the speed and less than half the cost of other clouds if you want to do more and spend less like uber 8x8 and data bricks Mosaic take a free test drive of oci at oracle.com thiswe that's oracle.com thiswe oracle.com thisweek hey moms looking for some light-hearted guidance on this crazy Journey we call parenting join me Sabrina Colberg and Me Andy Mitchell for pop culture moms where each week we talk about what we're watching and examine our favorite pop culture moms up close to try to pick up some parenting hacks along the way come laugh learn and grow with us as we look for the best tips and maybe a few what not to do from our favorite fictional moms from Good Morning America and ABC audio pop culture moms listen now on the iHeart Radio App or wherever you get your podcasts do you still want to ban fracking no and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 you raised your hand when asked whether or not uh the Border should be de Criminal ized 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 you had a lot of Republican speakers at the convention will you appoint a republican to your cabinet yes I would that was vice president Harris this week in her first interview since securing the Democratic nomination I'm joined Now by Colorado governor Jared polus here on behalf of the Harris walls campaign Governor thank you for being here you uh recently said that Harris has moved to the center on economic issues it seems like she's done that on a bunch of issues recently what's driving that shift well look I I think it's a sign of a of a good leader that they learn and evolve over time um when you know I I think what's key with regard to economic issues is making sure that we have additional tax relief for most American families uh especially those making under foreign $1,000 a year fam's making 50,000 a year fam's making 200,000 a year they're getting the short end of the stick we need to reduce taxes her tax credit package does that uh you know whether it's a move to the the middle the left the right it's really about what works uh KLA Harris is a pragmatic leader who looks at data and and and Science and makes the best decisions she can but but is is this an acknowledgement again it's not just the economic issues it's the Border uh it's it's uh uh energy is this an acknowledgement that the party had moved too far to the left I mean when she was running in that Democratic primary the energy it seemed to be was with Elizabeth Warren Bernie Sanders and candidates moved as far as they could to the progressive left did it go too far well look you know the Democrats are a broad tend party and and they have people who are conservative they have people who are liberal what K Harris has said and I take her a word is she's going to be a leader for all Americans a president for all Americans and that means regardless of your ideology there's going to be a place for for for your viewpoints and for hearing it out and for making the best decisions for everybody and of course Americans across the board want to have a secure border KLA Harris will work to deliver on that and secure the Border Americans across the board want to make sure we reduce the increase in prices that's been occurring she has a very aggressive plan to uh to do that so again she's going to lead in a way that really benefits every family around the kitchen table helps grow our economy and supports prosperity and as she says opportunity the opportunity agenda across our country so so let me ask you about an issue that unfortunately did not come up in the CNN interview uh it's the issue of Medicare for all which she favored she didn't just favor it in the 2020 campaign it was it seemed to me a centerpiece of her campaign let's look back at what she said at the time I am proud to stand with my colleagues and friends and support Medicare for all I strongly believe that we need to have Medicare for all I support Medicare for all I always have I'm running for president to say we need Medicare for all so now her campaign says that her position on that has changed uh that she no longer favors Medicare for all which would be you know government run health insurance uh for everybody uh do you have a sense of why it changed I mean and does she need to explain that well look as a basic value should every American have access to healthcare absolutely uh almost every other wealthy country does that we do it very poorly in our nation people overpay uh for insurance there's people that are still lack coverage um they don't get it through work they make too much to get it through Medicaid they're not old enough to get it for uh Medicare and we can and we must do better and that involves taking on the special interest what she's done as attorney general what she's done as a um as a senator it means taking on uh the pharmaceutical industry taking on the hospitals and providers cuz we absolutely can do this better it's not a one-sized fits-all solution I think she understands that Americans want to have their choice of healthcare but can we do better and save people money on Healthcare absolutely and I I expect that she'll be working hard to deliver Real Results so that people's monthly insurance premiums are lower and that the American people are able to afford Healthcare but somewhere on the line she I guess decided that eliminating Private health insurance and replacing it with Medicare for everybody was the wrong approach uh well again I think what she acknowledges is what most Americans acknowledge is that there's not a one siiz fits-all solution for healthcare this is a very challenging and vexing issue right it's not one that lends itself to a one-word answer it's figuring out of course first and foremost how Americans can save money with what they have most Americans have insurance are most Americans happy with insurance not necessarily many people feel they pay too much and and and they get fought over on the benefits can we do better does expanding Medicare as a role letting people buy in at age 55 or 60 yeah these are ideas that should absolutely be on the table does negotiating for prescription drug rates should that be on the table look uh Americans are sick and tired of being ripped off and paying five times eight times as much for the exact same prescription drug that's available in Europe or Canada we're sick and tired of that we need to take on big farmer and make sure Americans get a reasonable price for prescription drugs that people need to stay healthy another issue that that didn't come up in the uh CNN interview is is her now app parent support for at least in some aspects the border wall I mean we've seen in her in her ad on the border she uses images of the border wall uh she says she'll sign uh the the the Senate bill which provided 650 million dollars for more border wall construction uh she had called previously the border wall a medieval vanity project and a stupid use of money that she vowed to block so what's changed there look this is another issue that as it gets into the public discourse is is very misleading Democrats in general Comm Harris Joe Biden you know Barack Obama have always been supportive of building barriers and walls for certain parts of the Border as part of a comprehensive border security strategy but wait a minut straty she called and monitoring I mean she called the border wall a medieval vanity project a stupid use of money and said that she would block funding for it so she she wasn't talking about supporting you know the wall any any well that's true that the border wall that Donald Trump has proposed is a huge boondoggle and waste of taxpayer money he effectively talked about a wall across the entire border rather than using barriers of different kinds effectively in a cost effective manner including imagery from satellites including on the ground Intel to secure and lock down the Border uh what KLA Harris is for is securing it in the most coste effective way possible to stop the illegal flow of people of Guns of drugs across that southern border and of course Donald Trump's border wall would not work would wte taxpayer money and of course barriers and walls are a part of the overall comprehensive strategy that comma Harris will deliver on to secure the southern border and and let me just ask you quickly another proposal that she's put out there is trying to make home ownership more affordable one of the proposals is this $225,000 uh incentive for firsttime uh home buyers you have a big issue with affordability in Denver of course uh do you think this is this would be an effective way or would it could it possibly actually drive up costs further well it's part of KLA Harris's overall strategy so what she leads with uh and we're we're strongly in agreement and we're pushing for in Colorado we're moving barriers that exist to Building Homes she talks about 3 million new homes nationally is the goal what bureaucracy can we get out of the way what red tape can we eliminate how can we make it easier to build the kinds of homes that people can afford reducing red tape and legal costs when we deliver on that of course it also makes sense to help people buy rather than rent so that firsttime home buyers young people can get into ownership build wealth build equity it's part of that opportunity economy that she talks about rather than just have your paycheck go to rent every month how can you build intergenerational wealth to be able to support your own retirement perhaps your kids' college education all right Governor PS thank you for joining this morning appreciate it and coming up some surprising new numbers in our new ABC News ipsos poll Rick Klein in the PowerHouse Round Table we'll be here to break it all down we'll be right back roundt here and ready to go but first let me turn to ABC News political director and Washington bureau chief Rick Klein with the latest on our new ABC News ipsos poll uh Rick first of all what we see it seems is a gender gap that was already big is now bigger yeah there isn't a lot of movement since the convention but one place that there is it is among women we have seen now a big gap 13 points for Harris Edge among women this is larger than it was just just a couple of weeks ago we see the gender gap among men get a little narrower and particularly White women coming home to kamla Harris this is a striking difference and it tells you something about the campaign strategy going forward and what's interesting is we see the the race essentially tied slight lead uh for Harris but a big lead for Harris among personal attributes and uh and a big lead for Trump along some of the major issues it's like we have two entirely different elections going on at the same time if this election comes down to the major issues that voters care the most about or tell us they care the most about it is Advantage Donald Trump immigration plus n for Trump the economy inflation plus eight for Donald Trump but when it comes to perceptions of them as human beings and as of leaders things like physical health uh whether you trust this person whether you consider this person to be honest enormous edges for kamla Harris that is really the the entire election and it was similar when Joe Biden was the candidate the difference now Harris has an overwhelming Edge in some of these areas where Biden was running a lot closer but again the issues Advantage Trump interesting all right we'll get more into this with the rest of the round table thank you very much Rick Klein well be back in just a moment Round Table is back former DNC chair Donna Brazil former RNC chair RS prus Wall Street Journal National politics reporter Vivian salana and ABC News Washington bureau chief Rick Klein so Donna you see our poll it certainly looks a lot better for for Democrats than it did when Joe Biden was at the top of the ticket but no real convention bounce this race is basically tied maybe slight lead for Harris the Republican didn't get a bounce we didn't get a bounce but you know what we've gotten a boost a boost of energy a boost of excitement which allows us to close some of the gaps that Rick pointed out in the analysis of the poll I'm I'm very satisfied with where things are but there's room to grow this candidate KLA Harris the vice president of the United States joined this race on July 21st today is September 1st it's been 42 days 42 days of closing the gap putting out policy positions on everything from where she's going to lead the country on the economy what she's going to do differently in terms of health care and yes she's addressed some of those foreign policy issues that Senator Graham conveniently forgot so I'm glad but let me just tell you this this excitement is turning into volunteers money boots on the ground and that will make the difference in the last 65 days I mean there's been a clear change in the dynamic of this race and that happened before the convention well but if you look at this poll we're right back to where we were before the Biden Trump debate and if I was a Democrat I wouldn't be thrilled well Trump was Trump was up before slightly but I wouldn't be thrilled with this poll if I was a Democrat after a month of cotton candy vanilla ice cream and a free ride um essentially it's tied and secondly if you look at the issues that matter the Border when you look at the economy inflation gas groceries she's got nothing to say I mean this is a candidate at the interview the other day that if it was the Olympics would win the Olympic gold medal in the flipflop but it's worse than that it is a character issue when you have no explanation just wait a second she is a person who voted for the green New Deal which would which would kill she didn't vote actually GRE she would if she was in favor of it she would kill the price of of of gas uh in this country she said that she was against fracking she said that she would move money away from the police and what was her answer she said well I'm not going to do it anymore run around run against kamla Harris of 2019 who is Kamala Harris of 20 name is KLA Harris but I don't have to explain she's a vice president United States just understand that she she say your name of course I say it every week and I just call you Mr chairman if I don't want to pronounce it right but here's the point here's the point she is running on more substance than Donald Trump ever understood Donald Trump has had five different position on abortion well had five five different positions on abortion over the last five days and now he's saying he's for IVF when he doesn't even believe in there's not one Republican voted to hurt I let me say this if you want to have a conversation about she is the arsonist who sets the Fire To The Flame and then praises the fire department put to the flame listening to you cuz I'm praying for him not to talk let me let me let me let me get somebody who can kind of put some light on this Vivan I was entertained watching you were you were just out uh uh with with Trump on Friday uh at the rally uh he has done some pretty spectacular changes just this week on the issue of abortion that's right I you know earlier this week he gave an interview an interview where he said that he was uh going to support government funding of IVF something that sent shock waves through his party you heard Lindsey Graham earlier today really not on board with something like that a number of Republicans not supportive of that but then he also came out later in the week and said that he would not support a roll back a Florida's potential mandate to um to to roll back the six week limits on uh on abortion and so I me he took both positions on that he took both positions before that he said that he would that he thinks six weeks is too short but he said he would not support rolling back the six weeks and so a number of policies Donna was saying five policies in a day in five days uh he has really struggled because ultimately Republicans know that this is going to be a crucial issue for them in November and Trump is trying to find some Middle Ground albeit with some hesitation and and Rick this uh the abortion back and forth Republicans have gotten used to this with Donald Trump but it seemed to unsettle Republicans this week yeah it's it's almost a rinse and repeat with Donald Trump you know that he's going to have a position that's going to outrage some people on the right and there's some walking back and some apologizing about it but you're right prominent conservative voices saying wait a second this is not what we supported Donald Trump came out in favor of more abortions in Florida for women to have more access to abortions at later stages of their pregnancy and yeah he had to have a different position on the on the the specifics of the Florida law that he is a Florida voter he's going to vot have a chance to to vote on in in the beginning of the week you said he was going to vote for or suggested he was going to vote for this amendment and then the out you had the blow back now he's going to vote against it that's right when he said when he's talking about his administration as being something that's going to be great for Reproductive Rights that is like that Rings a really weird sound in a lot of conservative ears and they're willing to tolerate some of it but he knows as he does in a lot of his actions how much he has writing on his own base and even as he tries to to soften some of the edges that is a real real problem for him if he continu really you really touched upon it when you talked about the the women and specifically with the ABC poll because that is going to be a crucial voting block for both an and Democrats going into November the Trump campaign before when when Biden was still in the race thought that they could lure some black voters and felt that they were in a good place there now that Harris is in the race they've sort of conceded that they won't do as well with black voters but they are banking on women to really turn out especially white women Suburban white women this November those issues could really hurt them if they don't get their messaging straight look the vice president has to continue to broaden her support this race is is not over okay so you and I got a couple more weekends like this and then my friend we can park company if you want to although I would love to continue to have you as a friend because guess what LSU is going to do some damage tonight to USC so here's the point she has to broaden her support she still has to not just reach out into the suburbs get independence she also got to make sure that she could continue to talk to young people young black voters young hispanic voters this race is far from over that's why she's gonna campaign with Joe Biden yeah watch the two of them the Charisma that comes from just seeing them together in Pennsylvania bringing home Union households that's very so Biden will be campaigning with Harris tomorrow in in Pennsylvania I guess you probably like that yeah but well obviously I like it and she didn't want to uh talk about her record with Joe Biden during the interview but the reality is it's Labor Day nobody's going to be watching Joe Biden and kamla Harris on the television but the reality is on this poll if you look at where Trump where president Trump is with women vote voters black voters Hispanic voters in the suburbs he's doing better today than he did in 2020 and he lost by 50,000 votes in 2020 he's doing better today than he did in 2016 so the fact of the matter is the Democrats are in worse shape today than they ever were at this point in a campaign running against Donald Trump and so but they're in better shape than they were two months ago they're in better shape than they were two months ago but the reality is when when when the election in 201 came down to 60,000 votes ,000 votes in 2020 and she hasn't doesn't have an answer on the border and the economy and she's freezing gas prices when it's when it's Governor Abbott and the drilling that's going on in the peran and it's the border wall that Governor Abbott put in Texas that is doing anything this thing is is that we put we put out more white papers than any other presidential white papers that's position papers on various issues and let me just say this after Russia invaded Ukraine the United States of America led by Joe Biden and KLA Harris decided that we had to make sure that we were energy uh independent and not rely on foreign oil and foreign gas so there's a there's a reason why there's a reason why you have to stand on these policies and let me also say this we got 65 days left I'm not afraid of a a of a two-point race or three-point race because you can win that on the ground what I'm concerned about is that I want the vice president to be able to stand up at that debate and know I am not a moderator thank the Lord because I don't want to do all that kind of homework over the next couple weeks but she has to stand up and tell the American people exactly what she will do because all Donald Trump and his supporters do let me ask you about that because we had this this much anticipated interview on CNN and and Vian there were a lot of questions that are left unanswered about you know what what has driven the policy changes what there there have been some white papers not not a lot of policy specifics yet no I mean I mean to be fair from either candidate in fact when she was pressed uh By Dana Bash who did a great job in the interview uh vice president Harris kept saying my values have not changed when she was trying to explain sort of her shift in position on issues like fracking on Medicare and a number of other things that was something that President Trump that former president Trump and a number of the speakers on Friday really latched on to to say what does that even mean and especially on issues like fracking where she could not really deliver a clear reason for her shift other than the fact that she joined the ticket with Biden that something something like that that resonates in States like Pennsylvania Rick what think are you hearing are we going to see more interviews or do they think that was like it uh I think there's going to be more maybe more with like influencers podcasters maybe not as many mainstream media interviews as as we go but look I think you saw in that kind of a the a strategy of not engaging with Trump that to me was the most interesting is that when Dana Bash from CNN put forward some of these some of the critiques she didn't want to go there and I think you have to guard against complacency at the same time because right now she's telegraphing a strategy that says she wants Trump to beat Trump on his own uh that means you're going to be a little more hesitant on some policy all right coming up some real locker room talk from a reporter who broke barriers for women covering professional sports her remarkable story when we come back Ryan Reynolds here from mmobile with the price of just about everything going up during inflation we thought we'd bring our prices down so to help us we brought in a reverse Auctioneer which is apparently a thing mmobile unlimited premium Wireless get 30 30 get 30 get 20 20 20 get 20 20 get 15 15 15 15 just 15 bucks a month so give it a try at mintmobile.com switch $ 45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month new customers on first three Monon plan only taxes and fees extra speeds lower above 40 gbes detail what I was asking for was the exact same thing that's been going on for years and years in clubhouses and baseball since the beginning of of baseball it's always taking place in the locker room and yet because I'm a woman I can't be a part of that the core question has to be to do your job why do you need the same immediacy of access the same reason the mail reporters do we're working in a time when Sports is more than a sport on the field it's a sport that involves personalities it involves the people who play it the people who run it that was then Sports Illustrated baseball reporter Melissa ly in an interview with the legendary ABC sports broadcaster Howard coell ly back then sued Major League Baseball for the right to be allowed in clubhouses her federal case secured equal access for women Sports reporters I sat down with her to discuss her incredible story detailed in her new book locker room talk a woman's struggle to get inside Mista thank you for being here and what a story I mean you are a true Trailblazer I was considered a Pioneer back then along with about nine or 10 others you're 26 years old yes and you've managed to like achieve a dream you're you're covering the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated well I'm covering Major League Baseball I mean that was really the thing I was the only woman covering it nationwide the Yankees were in my radar screen because they were such a bizarre team I mean it was a soap opera in in the locker room in the clubhouse you know I could read the stories and know that but on the field they were also one heck of a team I mean you had Reggie the straw that stirred the drink you had Thurman mson the captain you had George steinbrener the owner you had Billy Martin who George Stein would gone on to hire and fire four times it was the story and it was in New York and I was based in New York and so yeah I got to know them very very well and that's where I learned about how to cover baseball and obviously as being a a beat reporter yeah the players talk to the reporters in the locker room I mean this is like a basic thing in the clubhouse after the game so you got access you got access to the Yankees locker room well you know it took me two years got it and I got it because I never went public with any of my quote unquote demands or any of my frustrations I worked very much behind the scenes with the young PR person firste person my age and that made all the difference it wasn't one of the older I would call them kinly men who had said to other women reporters you better behave yourself you know you better behave yourself and if you don't behave yourself you know you're out they were just so frightened if they let one woman in that door in that door in the door of baseball I mean not even the clubhouse that that was going to be the end of the boys club it was going to be the end of something that was treasured about that sport but the amazing thing to me is you get access to the clubhouse at just the moment when we have arguably the greatest World Series of our lifetimes I mean this is the 1977 World Series certainly with Reggie Jackson becoming Mr October absolutely I mean the greatest single performance well and they're also playing the Dodgers and they're playing the Dodgers this is historic this is the first time in the world series I mean the LA and New York you know have been playing since they've gone out to LA to become the LA Dodgers but it used to be the the Citywide you know the Dodgers Yankees I mean come on it doesn't get bigger than that but personally for me take away all of the glitter and the glamour of this series it was the first time I was ever assigned to actually cover a World Series so for me it was just the biggest opportunity that I'd ever had in my lifetime you've achieved this moment you're covering the World Series the Yankees Dodgers World Series game one right what happens game One World Series 1977 and there I am sitting in my seat in what's they called the alternate Press Box which is down in the grand stand and in the fifth inning over a very scratchy little loudspeaker I think I hear my name being called I was told to report to the main Press Box and I am told up there that even though the Yankees had given me permission to be in the clubhouse even though I'd gone to the Dodgers because I knew they didn't have a woman covering them asked them they'd taken a vote and they voted they approved me so we had the both teams had approved and what I heard from the um lieutenant left tenant of uh Buie cun who never told me this himself he said the commissioner is the only one who's able to give permission for this to happen it doesn't matter what the teams say doesn't matter doesn't matter what the per permission is never granted and it will never be granted In This World Series and it never will be granted forever and so that was the message and taken away from you at the moment you've reached this exactly exactly so there was just that moment of in my my life it seemed a pinnacle at that point because this is what I'd worked so hard to do to prove myself you know really against the odds there was no road map for me to follow to be a woman covering baseball but I'd done it now I had a chance to really show it and that was taken away so you lose the battle during the World Series but then Sports Illustrated in time in Stand By You to say we're going to challeng this in court yeah we're now in the southern district court of Manhattan that Court decides to take the case they have to figure out the judge said they have this old wooden box ancient wooden box and they put all the names of the available judges into it they turn it around turn it around the clerk puts the hand in pulls out a card judge constant Baker Motley so the only woman on the court the first black woman to serve as a federal judge that's right gets this case that's right you're 26 years old now you are one of the most famous uh Sports reporters in America uh as as a result of this case I mean SNL yep is is doing skits about you with OJ Simpson I might add OJ Simpson quite amazing I'm standing here with Buffalo Bills star running back OJ Simpson OJ I don't know much about football but I know what I like you're losing in the court of public opinion I mean people are coming down on you there's no question I mean the cartoonist had a field day why should women be in the room absolutely there was no comprehension of of why I would be wanting to do this because the case was made against me very effectively by the commissioner picked up by the Cadre of all male Sports writers at that point there were very few women who had a voice in this touchy matter because it's now under litigation commissioner the Melissa ly case you're opposed to women going into the clubhouse why well Howard it's our view that it's not a fair thing for our players this is a area where they're dressing and it's a area where we think they're entitled to some some reasonable privacy and so from their perspective it was really a case of my morals it was it was How could a girl or a woman or a lady or a damel as they like to call me um you know possibly want to do this but that was how the whole thing wanted to be portrayed as kind of a sexual Adventure uh from both the players perspective in terms of their what the commissioner would call their sexual privacy now I was also kept out before the game and that's when magazine reporters did their work MH now there was no player who was naked at that point no player they kept their uniforms on from batting practice until the game so why would I be excluded then if the issue was the sexual privacy you win this case Major League Baseball appeals you win the appeal it's historic I want to read what you wrote after winning this was a oped you wrote In The New York Times in 1979 yes when when the time comes that we no longer read or hear about women in any locker room and instead turn our attention to reading their stories and listening to their accounts of the game then we will have reached the goal that I set out for in 1977 have we reached that goal we're largely there largely there now we do have women in the broadcast Booth they're not just sideline reporters we have a lot of women covering Sports and doing just an absolutely wonderful job people read their stories today and yes they don't sometimes even notice the by line so we have come a long way but we can't say that we've arrived at a time where I think the attitudes have shifted totally away from recognizing that we have to recognize that women have a tougher tougher road to hoe in this um when you're the only woman still in a sports department at your newspaper it's still not easy it's not easy our thanks to Melissa ly her excellent book locker room talk is available now that's all for today thank you for sharing part of your Sunday with us check out World News Tonight have a great day