A Rush Transcript of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” Airing on Sunday, July 28, 2024 on ABC News
This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the “This Week” transcript archive.
ANNOUNCER: THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: A brand-new campaign.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ours is a fight for the future.
HARRIS: And it is a fight for freedom.
RADDATZ: Kamala Harris kicks off her campaign for president after Joe Biden steps aside.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.
RADDATZ: The vice president swiftly locks up Democratic support.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We are brimming with excitement, enthusiasm, unity.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Kamala is about strength and determination.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you.
RADDATZ: As her search for a running mate heats up.
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): She’ll make that decision when she’s ready.
GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): I trust her to make the right decision.
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): I fully endorsed her, and will do everything I can to help her win.
RADDATZ: Donald Trump launches fresh attacks at his new rival.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everything Kamala touches turns into a total disaster.
RADDATZ: And returns to familiar rhetoric on the campaign trail.
TRUMP: If you don’t mind, I’m not going to be nice.
RADDATZ: This morning, the latest on the race for the White House just 100 days to the election. Our exclusive interviews with Democratic Governors J.B. Pritzker and Wes Moore, and Republican Governor Chris Sununu.
Plus, results from our brand-new poll, and analysis from our powerhouse roundtable.
ANNOUNCER: Froom ABC News, it?s THIS WEEK. Here now, Martha Raddatz.
RADDATZ: Good morning, and welcome to THIS WEEK.
We are keeping a close eye on the Middle East this morning after Israel responded overnight to the deadliest attack on an Israeli-controlled area since October 7th. Twelve children were killed by a rocket launch from Lebanon that hit a soccer field in the Golan Heights. Benjamin Netanyahu cut his trip to the U.S. short and is now back in Israel.
But we begin with this wild U.S. presidential election. We are officially 100 days to Election Day, and you can be forgiven for needing to catch your breath after the transformational events of the past 31 days.
It was just one month ago that the 2024 race was turned on its head by President Biden’s catastrophic debate performance leading to a drumbeat of calls for him to leave the race. Just two weeks ago, an attempted assassin tried to take the life of former President Trump, but he rose up with defiance heading into the GOP convention with seemingly all the momentum behind him and the new Trump-Vance ticket. And it was just one week ago that President Biden did what he said only the Lord almighty could make him do, announcing he was leaving the race and giving his full support to his vice president, Kamala Harris. A tidal wave of endorsements followed, putting Harris on track to be the second woman in history to be a major party nominee just eight years after Hillary Clinton who was defeated by Donald Trump.
This morning, our brand new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows Harris getting a real bounce. Her favorability rating among all Americans up eight points in just one week. The numbers even better among independents, with her favorability rising from 28 percent to 44 percent since Biden left the race. And there appears to be new enthusiasm for Harris with 48 percent enthusiastic about her as the Democratic nominee compared to 39 percent enthusiastic about Trump as the GOP nominee.
It has been a stunning turn of events in a presidential race that has defied expectations. To help us make sense of this wild week, let’s turn to ABC’s senior national correspondent, Terry Moran.
Good morning, Terry.
TERRY MORAN, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Martha.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just a week since President Biden ended his bid for election and transformed this campaign. And now with Vice President Kamala Harris having basically locked up the Democratic nomination for president, this race for the White House has been radically transformed. A brand-new ballgame with just 100 days to go until Election Day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORAN (voice over): It was the rematch so many Americans did not want until suddenly, after weeks of mounting pressure to end his re-election campaign, President Joe Biden passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. And Harris got right to it, arguing her case against former President Donald Trump before a fired up crowd in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
HARRIS: I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type.
TERRY MORAN, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And in an Oval Office address to the nation, President Biden laid out the stakes in this race as he sees them.
BIDEN: I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And that’s still the case.
MORAN (voice over): By Monday night, Harris already had commitments from enough delegates to secure her party’s nomination, and top Democrats quickly rallied around her.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES ((D-NY): Kamala Harris is a common sense leader who knows how to deliver real results.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): She is capable, officially, personally, and politically to lead us to victory in November.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Kamala.
HARRIS: Hello.
MORAN (voice over): And on Friday, the most popular Democrats in the country, former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama endorsed Harris, capping off an historic week where her campaign raised $200 million.
After spending years attacking Joe Biden, Donald Trump is now forced to refocus his attention on Harris.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a new victim now, Kamala.
She was a bum three weeks ago. She was a bum.
She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country.
MORAN (voice over): A prime target for the GOP attacks on Harris, her role working with governments in Latin America to address the root causes of migration across our southern border.
TRUMP: The one job Kamala had was the border. That’s the only job. And it was the biggest disaster in all of border history.
MORAN (voice over): The candidate’s vice presidential nominees could be pivotal in what’s expected to be a very tight race. Republicans hope to win over suburban women, but some resurfaced comments from Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, may hurt that effort.
J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We’re effectively running in this country via the Democrats, via – via our