'This Week' Transcript 7-28-24: Gov. Wes Moore, Gov. JB Pritzker & Gov. Chris Sununu

A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, July 28, 2024 on ABC News is below. 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.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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.

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 corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies.

And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?

MORAN (voice over): Despite the backlash, Vance doubled down.

VANCE: It’s not a criticism of people who don’t have children. This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child.

MORAN (voice over): Who Harris picks as her running mate could help counter the Republican narrative that she’s too liberal. Sources tell ABC News several moderate governors, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, as well as Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, are among the leading contenders. Harris will make a decision quickly. The vice president is expected to announce her choice by August 7th.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MORAN (on camera): And, Martha, this campaign really is in full swing next week. Both candidates will be heading to battleground states. Vice President Harris is scheduled to be campaigning in Georgia and Donald Trump, he is going back to Pennsylvania, where just two weeks ago he survived an assassination attempt.

Martha.

RADDATZ: Our thanks to you, Terry.

I'm joined now by Democratic Governor Wes Moore of Maryland.

Great to see you this morning, Governor.

You had been a very strong supporter of Joe Biden staying in the race just a few days after that disastrous debate, saying he is not going to take himself out of the race, nor should he.

Did your concerns grow as the weeks went on?

GOV. WES MOORE, (D) MARYLAND: Well, you know, I – I – I had private conversations with the – with the president. And I – and I'm a big believer that when you care about somebody you tell them the truth. And I had private conversations where I was telling the president the truth.

I also know that the president deserved better than people who were running around him and going into public and demanding that the president of the United States step down, particularly when you look at the track record of the Biden-Harris administration. I've had a phenomenal partner in the Biden-Harris administration to be able to deliver the kind of results that we needed in Maryland. And so I knew that if I – if he said that he was going to continue pushing forward, that I was going to stand with him.

RADDATZ: But you said you told him the truth. What was the truth?

MOORE: Well, I think the truth that there are real concerns. There are real concerns that I know that people had felt, but also that people were telling me that they had felt.

I also know that, you know, I'm a – I'm a loyalty person. And I believe that you can have proper conversations and tell people the truth and – and, you know, and be able to tell them what you’re hearing without also then turning around and – and publicly then trying to embarrass them.

RADDATZ: OK, Governor, but you have a whole new race now.

MOORE: Yes.

RADDATZ: You saw those numbers, those poll numbers with Harris. The most crucial perhaps is the number of independent voters, favorability rising from 28 percent to 44 percent.

MOORE: Yes.

RADDATZ: Pretty good news for you.

MOORE: I think it’s great news because I think what it’s showing is the more people get to know the vice president, the more people are excited about her vision for the future.

You know, she has been such a remarkable partner inside of the work. I think about it in our own state where in just the past 18 months we’ve been able to go from 43rd in unemployment to now having almost the lowest unemployment rate in the entire country. We’ve been able to have, in the state of Maryland, some of the fastest drops in public -- in violent crime in the entire country. The last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore City, I wasn’t born yet. But I know we’re able to do all of these things in partnership with the Biden-Harris administration.

So, it’s exciting to see these groups who are mobilized, groups who are excited because the more they learn about Vice President Harris, the more excited people get.

RADDATZ: But you know this was a week where she hit the road, where she was with Benjamin Netanyahu. She raised $200 million at least and -- and is going. But you also know she never really gained traction in 2020, dropping out, even before the Iowa caucus.

Do you think now that people think she’s been underestimated, or are you concerned looking back?

MOORE: I think what people are seeing now is, we can finally have a conversation about the choice that people have in this election. That that people see that it’s not just that democracy is on the line. It’s also the fact that basic values of how we think about economic freedoms are on the line. The ability to create pathways for work in wages and wealth are on the line. And embrace a Project 2025 or actually embrace of a promise where the future is on the line. And that’s what --

RADDATZ: But nothing gives you pause when you look back and know she dropped out early?

MOORE: No.

RADDATZ: It wasn’t that long ago.

MOORE: Yes, but I also know, it was pretty long ago. You know, before that we -- you know, since then we’ve had an entire administration that people have had a chance to see her work. Throughout that time we’ve had an entire period where people can see where we have historically low unemployment rates throughout our county. I think people are now seeing what a -- what a -- what a Harris leadership can look like and what it can bring to the future of the country.

RADDATZ: We’re getting an early look at how Republicans are responding to her. Donald Trump as well, of course, and how to define her.

Trump attacked her as a radical extremist. And I want you to take a look at this clip by Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The non-partisan GovTrack has rated you as the most liberal senator.

HARRIS: I am prepared to get rid of the filibuster, to pass the Green New Deal.

We’re not going to treat people who are undocumented and crossed the border as criminal. That’s correct.

It is wrong-headed thinking to think that the only way you’re going to get communities to be safe is to put more police officers on the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: So, how does she defend against that kind of attack from Republicans using her own words?

MOORE: I think she needs to continue putting together her vision for the future. I think that, you know, when you look at how she approaches things like public safety -- first of all, it’s remarkably disingenuous to call someone who was a prosecutor for her entire career, someone who is soft on crime or someone who believed in defund the police. She’s never believed in defund the police.

I think when you look at, for example, what we do -- what we’ve done in our state, where we’ve been able to make historic investments in local law enforcement, historic investments in prosecutors and our U.S. attorney’s office, and at the same time make historic investments in community groups. The thing is, when you look at having an all of the above approach when it comes to public safety, it drives the kind of results that people are looking for. And that’s exactly the kind of vision the vice president has.

RADDATZ: You have heard other quite harsh attacks on Harris. Some lawmakers are accusing her of being a DEI hit, diversity, equity, inclusion.

I was interested because you said, when you chose your lieutenant governor, you did not check a box.

MOORE: Correct.

RADDATZ: Did President Biden open her up to this kind of criticism when he announced, even before he chose her as VP, that he would prefer a person of color and would choose a woman?

MOORE: I think the president chose someone he believed was going to be his best partner and someone who is brilliant and someone who is prepared. You know, I -- and I remember when -- when people said that to me when I chose Aruna Miller, who became the first immigrant in the history of the state of Maryland (INAUDIBLE) to elected office. And people said to me, you’re making a big mistake.

And I said to them -- in fact, she said that to me. And I remember, I would say to people, listen, I'm picking the person who I want to be my partner. I'm not going through an exercise of trying to figure out what this person can get me.

And, frankly, if a person was not going to vote for me because I selected a woman of color as my running mate, they were never going to vote for me in the first place.

RADDATZ: Voters consistently rank immigration as one of the most important issues. Kamala Harris has been criticized a lot about the border. I know things are improving, but she has a record that even some Democrats did not like.

MOORE: Yeah. I mean, we do have a border crisis. And I want to be clear about that. And it’s impacting all of our states. And, frankly, as -- as a chief executive, the problem is, is that there is no governor that controls immigration policy. We then just suffer the consequences of it.

But I do know that this administration, the Biden-Harris administration, actually worked with both Democrats and Republicans to get a deal done. To get a deal done that could increase the amount of border – border patrol agents that we have to – that would have actually helped to curtail the amount of fentanyl that’s coming into the country. This is a deal that was helped – negotiated by Senator Lankford from Oklahoma, a real conservative, and it was killed because Donald Trump felt that it would hurt him electorally.

So, there’s a lack of seriousness and – and, frankly, a lack of transparency that we continue to see where people are blaming a Biden-Harris administration on this issue when we actually had a bipartisan deal that was killed.

RADDATZ: I – I – I just want to ask you finally. You said you are not interested in being Vice President Harris’ vice presidential pick. What do you think is important when she looks at a candidate?

MOORE: No, I'm –

RADDATZ: Swing state? A red state governor?

MOORE: Yes, I'm – I have – I've been very flattered by – by the level of interest, and I absolutely love my job. And I – and I want to continue doing my job. I think the thing that she needs to look for most is the person that gives her a sense of comfort that this is going to be my partner in the work. I do not think that she needs to go through an exercise of being able to find what boxes to check or what part of the country. The truth is, is that if you look at – you look at recent history, that has not been the case in recent history. The last time that’s actually even factored in was maybe the 19 – maybe 1960. So, she’s got to pick someone who she knows is going to be her partner inside the work. And I think that is the only gating criteria that she should be focused on.

RADDATZ: Thanks so much, Governor Moore. Great to see you this morning.

MOORE: Thank you.

RADDATZ: And let’s bring in Democratic Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois.

Good morning, Governor.

Let’s just get this out of the way. You were one of several people being floated as a possible VP pick. I know you said you don’t want to discuss private conversations. But have you submitted any vetting paperwork, talked to Kamala Harris about it at all?

GOV. JB PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: Well, certainly I've talked to Kamala Harris. Last week, of course, as things were evolving, I had a great conversation with her. And I pledged to her that no matter what the outcome of this process, that I’d be working hard for her and making sure that she wins in November. It’s too important. We’ve got too much at stake, not just democracy, and we’ve talked about that. And we -- it’s not a small topic. But also making sure that we’re securing women’s right to choose, to make sure that we’re fighting for working families, that we’re raising wages across the United States, and growing the economy, and that’s what she’s been doing along with our great president.

RADDATZ: But, Governor, let me ask you again, have you submitted any vetting paperwork?

PRITZKER: All I can say, I’m not going to talk about that. I am going to talk about what I think is important in this campaign, and that’s winning, beating Donald Trump, standing up for Democratic values.

RADDATZ: OK. Governor, this week, the Arizona Democratic Party endorsed Senator Mark Kelly for VP. Pennsylvania Democrats endorsed Governor Josh Shapiro. And North Carolina Democrats endorsed Governor Roy Cooper, arguing that their respective choices would push these battleground states in Democrats’ favor.

How important do you think the battleground consideration is when choosing a vice president?

PRITZKER: Well, winning those battleground states is most important. There’s no doubt. But I think we’ve seen over the last, well, decades that who you pick as your vice president doesn’t determine whether you’re going to win a state or not. What it does determine is whether you’ve got the message right across the board.

And, of course, I’m very proud of what we’ve done here in Illinois. We banned ban books. We banned assault weapons. We’ve stood for a woman’s right to choose, not just for people in my state, but for people from around the country who need to exercise those rights somewhere and we’ve become an oasis for that. And, of course, we’ve grown the economy and grown jobs.

And so, I’m very pleased with the progress that we’ve made here, and all the things that we’ve put into place in Illinois like raising the minimum wage to $15. Those are all things that I think that we should be doing nationally.

RADDATZ: And I’m sure these latest polls about Kamala Harris are heartening to you and all the other Democrats. But do you see that bump as more of relief that Joe Biden got of the race or a strong endorsement of Kamala Harris who as we mentioned earlier had dropped out of the 2020 race very early?

PRITZKER: Look, the electorate is energized. Democrats are ready to go. You’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people signing up to volunteer. Plus, our candidate is the Energizer Bunny. She’s been everywhere all the time over the last several days, and we’re excited about that, to get to see her in the battleground states and all over the country.

And her message is one that I think resonates with people. One of those things, of course, is pointing out the differences between these two candidates.

I mean, on the other side, they’re just weird. I mean, they really are. The things that they stand for -- Donald Trump, of course, is afraid of windmills and, you know, he talks about all kinds of crazy stuff. You know, his running mate, as you probably have heard, is, you know, getting known for his obsession with couches, and -- and somebody who is hiding his views on a woman’s right to choose. And then just broadly, the attack on people who are childless and saying that we ought to raise taxes on childless people and calling them "cat ladies," I think, you know, he apologized to cats, but he hasn’t apologized to women.

RADDATZ: And I -- I just want to go back to Harris. Aside from her relative youth, what is it that she brings to this race that Joe Biden did not?

PRITZKER: I want to back up and just -- just, a little bit, talk about your question, because, to be frank with you, we all have enormous reverence for what Joe Biden has done. He’ll go down in history as one of the great presidents, and a person willing to make a sacrifice because he knows that we've got to beat Donald Trump.

Now, what does Kamala bring? I mean, she -- first of all, I talked about the energy. But second, remember, this is a person who was a prosecutor. She’s -- she’s somebody who understands that making the case is how you win, that going out there and every day prosecuting the case, especially against a 34-time convicted felon and, frankly, a congenital liar, that’s something that she’s done in the courtroom. She’s done it as attorney general. And now, she’s doing it as a candidate for president of the United States.

RADDATZ: I -- I know the Democrats are getting the message out that you’re trying to get out here as well. But when you talk to voters, it’s the economy. It -- I know inflation is down. I know you’re going to talk about that.

But people see grocery bills going up. They saw gas bills going up during the Biden-Harris administration. And then there was the disaster on the border. Again, that has improved, but that is something she is going to have to defend.

PRITZKER: Well, I think what you’re pointing to is the issue of affordability, broadly, and that’s something Democrats have been fighting for, making sure that we’re bringing down the cost of goods at grocery stores. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden together have fought to bring down gas prices, have fought to bring down the cost of goods. And I’ve been amazed, actually, at the work that they’ve done.

Think about this. They’re canceling medical debt, something that we did here, I think, first in the nation, in Illinois, canceling medical debt that people have had on their records for so long. You can buy that debt down and extinguish it for, you know, a penny on the dollar. That’s one of the ways in which we’re making life more affordable for working families. And then, of course, raising wages...

RADDATZ: Let me -- I want to do immigration. I want to look at immigration. She was supposed to get to the root of that problem. Did she? Are you pleased with what she did?

Because you wanted more money there in Illinois. You wanted more federal money because of the number of migrants coming to your state?

PRITZKER: Yeah, an enormous problem. And let me just say, we got left this problem by the former president, Donald Trump. And so, look, they worked on it together, this administration, and then came to an agreement with Republicans in the legislature, in the Congress, rather.

And guess what? Republicans were willing to work with Democrats to get something done. And you know who blew that up, who blew up the opportunity for border security? It was Donald Trump. He’s the one who went to the Republicans, against his own -- one of his own leaders, Lankford, in the Senate...

RADDATZ: Did Democrats plan well enough for that?

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: Did Democrats plan well enough for that, or were they too dependent on that legislation?

PRITZKER: How do you -- how do you -- how do you plan well enough that having a former president come and tell all the Republicans to walk away because they want to make it a political issue?

The fact is that there’s only so much that a president can do by executive order. That’s why he went to the Congress; that’s why they went and asked for bipartisan legislation, which they were on the verge of getting done. But Republicans walked away.

They don’t really want to solve this problem. They just think they want a political issue. The reality is it’s going to boomerang back on them, because they’re the ones who created the issue in the first place during Donald Trump’s term, doing absolutely nothing about it, and then walking away when we had an actual solution on the table.

RADDATZ: OK. Governor, thank you for that. It’s going to continue to be an issue, no doubt. We’ll see you there in Chicago in a few weeks.

Up next, how should Republicans pivot after Democrats reset the race? I’ll ask New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. We’re back in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Christians, get out and vote, just this time.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what? It'll be fixed. It'll be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.

I love you, Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you.

Get out. You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: Former President Trump facing some backlash for those comments Friday night, saying his supporters won’t have to vote again in four years.

I'm joined now by the Republican Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu.

Governor, what the heck did he mean there?

SUNUNU: Well, I think -- I think that was a classic Trump-ism, if you will. I think he’s just trying to make the point that this stuff can be fixed. You know, obviously, it’s -- we want everybody to vote in all elections. But I think he was just trying to make a hyperbolic point that -- that it can be fixed as long as he gets back into office and all that. But, you know, classic Trump right there.

RADDATZ: OK. And just days -- let’s -- let’s turn to President Biden and Kamala Harris. Just days before President Biden ended his campaign, you said, if he was replaced on the ticket, it would be more difficult for former President Trump.

You saw those polls with Kamala Harris, especially those independent numbers.

So, how much more difficult will it be for President Trump now that Kamala Harris is in the race?

SUNUNU: Yes, well -- well, this is the honeymoon, right? I mean, this is the honeymoon period. They -- they had the -- if you will, the courage to push him off of the ballot. Vice President Harris is in there. The media is fawning. Everyone’s excited.

It’s a whole new race. That’s all very true. And that’s going to last for about 30 days. There’s no question. I think the Democrats can take that momentum into the convention.

The first poll, I believe, that will actually matter, if I may, is the Wednesday after Labor Day, right? So, you’re going to have this 30-day honeymoon period. Things will settle. Folks will get back, talk to their family and friends, come off a summer vacation, put their kids in school, all that sort of stuff.

And then they’ll start really thinking about what this race really means. And you’re going to get back to numbers you saw about a month before the original debates, which is essentially a neck in neck race, or at least within the margin of error. Probably Trump up by a little bit nationally. Some of the swing states all in play. And it’s going to come back to issues.

I think you brought up this point very well with Governor Pritzker. The border issue, the inflation issue, these are some very real issues. It isn’t just going to be about, well, we need to vote for Vice President Harris because she’s a woman or she -- we need to vote for her -- for her because it’s just a change and it’s not Donald Trump running --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: OK, but -- but one of those issues --

SUNUNU: That doesn’t carry.

RADDATZ: One of those issues that you’ve already seen Kamala Harris address is former President Trump’s 34 felony convictions. She is starting to frame the campaign as a prosecutor taking on a criminal.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after Trump was found guilty found that one in four independents said that Trump’s conviction made them less likely to support him in -- in November. Those are pretty serious numbers. Those aren’t changing after Labor Day.

SUNUNU: Well, I would -- yeah, I would disagree in that, you know, I think a lot of us thought that the trials and the convictions would all have serious impact. They didn't. They -- I mean look at the numbers before the debate. Trump was still winning. They have very little impact. And I would -- I would also warn the Democrats -- I don't like to warn the Democrats --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: But it's the independents -- it's the independents you need. One -- let me read it again, one in four independents said that Trump's conviction --

SUNUNU: One in four.

RADDATZ: -- made them less likely to support him in November. You need all those folks if you're going to win.

SUNUNU: Which means three in four don't care, Martha. That means three in four don't care. They -- they care about the fact that they have record credit card debt. They see the border crisis out of control and that falls directly on her and her administration. They see the migrant crisis, the homelessness crisis, the lawlessness crisis in this -- in this country.

With all due respect to J.B. Pritzker, he can brag about Illinois, Chicago all he wants. It wasn't moving out of the Chicagos, nine straight years of decreasing population for Chicago and Los Angeles and New York, and that's because of bad policy. So, she's going to have to deal with policy.

If you want to talk about January 6th election denial and the trials, that's all been out there for America to absorb for the past three years and it hasn't moved the numbers.

RADDATZ: And -- and -- and -- and, Governor, what you're going to have to deal with, what the Republicans are going to have to deal with, is not just sticking to the issues, but the kind of campaign that Donald Trump is running. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So now, we have a new victim of defeat, lying Kamala Harris. She would be the most radical, far left extremist ever to occupy the White House (inaudible). There's never been a lunatic like this in the White House. She is a threat to democracy, a true threat to democracy. She'll destroy our nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: You had said Republicans should stick to the issues, stick with unity, stick with positivity, which is how the Republican Convention started. Has Donald Trump missed an opportunity here?

SUNUNU: He's missing it now, but hopefully, they can get back on track. I think he was on track for a couple months there. I think that the change in the campaign has kind of fired him up to go against -- against her personally. Even Vivek Ramaswamy, who I -- I don't agree with him on much of anything, hit it right on the head when he said stop -- you have to stop the personal attacks. We have too much that we can win on when it comes to issues and policies.

But I would also reflect to Joe Biden's statement this past week, right, he made a 15-minute statement and all it was, was vote for Democrats or you don't believe in democracy. Vote for Democrats or democracy is ruined. Trump just said it there. Biden said it. Those are dangerous words. They're -- they're not applicable. I -- I guarantee you one thing, no matter who wins on -- on -- on November 5th, the sun will come up on November 6th. We're going to be OK as a nation. Our institutions are going to stand strong.

So, let's get our candidates talking about those issues. And I think, again, you've hit it right on the head.

RADDATZ: Do you really --

SUNUNU: What's affecting the average American?

RADDATZ: Do you really think you can get Donald Trump to stick to the issues? If -- if you had all those people saying, let's talk about unity, let's talk about unity, and then you had some Republican officials and -- and commentators attacking Harris over her gender and race. What would you say to those people who said she was a DEI candidate?

SUNUNU: Yes, that's -- that's not helpful at all. And -- and nobody can get Donald Trump to do anything. But I -- hopefully the numbers, the polls will get Donald Trump to realize what was working and what didn't. Kind of the -- if anything, maybe he learns by trial and error. But sticking to the issues is too good of an opportunity for Republicans, both nationally and statewide. Because, again, what -- you know, you asked J.B. Pritzker, what's the best thing that -- that Vice President Harris brings that Biden doesn't? He said she was a lawyer. If the best thing you have going for you is a lawyer going to Washington, nobody wants lawyers in Washington.

(LAUGH)

SUNUNU: That's the worst thing you can possibly be.

RADDATZ: And --

SUNUNU: People want a change. They want some sort of disruption. They're tired of the -- of the elitism, the wokeism and elitism and the liberalism coming out of the -- the country, telling people how to live their lives.

RADDATZ: Governor --

SUNUNU: They just want the freedom to live their lives (inaudible).

RADDATZ: Governor, let's talk about J.D. Vance and the childless cat lady comments that he's trying to walk back or that people without children should pay more taxes. Bottom line, do you have any concerns about J.D. Vance as the vice presidential pick?

SUNUNU: No, I don't have any concerns over J.D. directly. I don't think those comments were -- were helpful. Again, stick to issues. Those are personal attacks that can alienate a huge part of that independent voter bloc that you need. But, if you stick to issues, stick to what's driving anxiety. People have anxiety right now because they can't pay their bills. They have anxiety because they don't feel safe in their homes or in their communities. Those are the things that will drive them to go make a vote for Trump in November.

And if you stick on those issues, stay away from the insults, I think -- look, he's a younger guy. I think this is all very, very new to him. I mean he's only been in Washington 18 months. He's an outsider himself. I think he's surrounding himself, obviously, with a lot of the folks in the campaign that kind of -- kind of feel an energy off of those personal attacks. But that ain't what's going to drive the vote.

RADDATZ: OK, Governor, thanks. We'll watch and see if they stick to the issues. We appreciate your time this morning.

SUNUNU: You bet.

RADDATZ: We’ll be back with the powerhouse roundtable on all the week’s politics.

And later, ABC's Aaron Katersky with exclusive reporting on the local SWAT team on duty at the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: President Biden addressing the nation on Wednesday.

Let's bring in our powerhouse roundtable, former DNC chair Donna Brazile, former special assistant to President Trump Mark Lotter; NPR White House Asma Khalid; and PBS Newshour White House correspondent Laura Barrón-López.

Welcome to all of you.

It seems a lot longer ago than just last week...

(LAUGHTER)

RADDATZ: ... Donna Brazile, that we were sitting here at this exact time talking about the growing calls for Joe Biden to step aside. He obviously did that, said he's passing the torch to a new generation. But he was really pushed out?

DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER DNC CHAIR & CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Martha, when I sat here last Sunday, all I was thinking about -- and mark, you'll appreciate this...

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: ... I was thinking about the delegates. Because, later that afternoon, the Credentials Committee, we had a vote to confirm the delegates. He decided to step back a few minutes before our vote, but still, his delegates held, and the money didn't dry up.

It's been a very interesting week. A selfless act of patriotism on behalf of the president. But I want to tell people that the Democratic Party, we're -- we're the party of the future. We're not prisoners of the past. We're not sitting around writing ads or drawing a picture that's dark and dreary. We are pioneers of the future.

And I think, if Vice President Harris is able to go out there and speak to the American people, speak to the people who don't feel seen or respected or heard, if she can be the voice to those who want to be a part of the circle of opportunity, then she can and will win this race.

RADDATZ: And -- and, Asma, but were you shocked -- let's go back to -- to President Biden. Were you shocked at either how long it took, or that he finally did it?

ASMA KHALID, NPR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT & CONTRIBUTOR: I think I was shocked on two fronts, one that he did this via a paper statement, a letter issued on social media on Sunday. We all in the newsroom had been potentially expecting some news, but I will say not in that way on a Sunday afternoon.

I was getting ready to take my kid to the pool.

(LAUGHTER)

RADDATZ: None of us...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

KHALID: That was shocking. But equally shocking to me, Martha, because I have closely covered the vice president, Vice President Harris, for the last three years, is how quickly the Democratic Party has coalesced around her.

I remember going out to events, hearing from voters, "What has she been doing," you know, frankly, hearing some calls within the Democratic Party that she ought to be dropped from the ticket all together.

So to witness how quickly the party, the money, the volunteers have coalesced around her has also been a surprise to me. It is not what I heard covering her these last, you know, I would say particularly the first two years of her vice presidency.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, PBS NEWSHOUR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's what's been stunning. I -- I've talked to Democratic organizers in Arizona, in Wisconsin, in Georgia, you know, people who are not technically attached to the Harris campaign. And they've said that the -- the change is night and day, that when they were out knocking doors, when Biden was the candidate, they were met with reluctant voters, voters who wondered if he was going to drop out, ones who said they weren't sure if they were going to vote.

And now, when they're knocking doors in the days since, they said that the energy is totally different; it's palpable, and that these voters are much more excited. They're asking questions about Harris, and they're saying that they think that they may actually vote again this election cycle. So it's a big...

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: And, Mark, I'm sure you're loving hearing all of this.

(LAUGHTER)

RADDATZ: But -- but, look, the voters, in large part, did not want the Trump-Biden rematch, but Donald Trump did?

MARC LOTTER, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I don't think it really matters either way because, I mean, the -- the donors, the volunteers, the door-knockers may change. The policies don't.

I mean, there was a reason why Joe Biden was the most unpopular president in 70 years and Kamala Harris was the most unpopular vice president since they've started tracking that metric. It's because of inflation, grocery prices, gas prices, the border. Kamala Harris owns all those policies.

And when you actually start looking at what her plans are, we can go back to her 2020 presidential campaign, she's even more radical than Bernie Sanders, defund the police, anti-fracking. She does -- she believes in decriminalizing the illegal border crossing, wants seniors to wait in line for Medicare along with illegal immigrants.

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: I will go right to you, Donna.

LOTTER: And those are radical policies that --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: Wait, one second. We'll let you finish that thought. You finished?

BRAZILE: I'm ready for this. I'm so ready for this because you know what? I mean, we're talking about a mean old man, a mean old former president who has not stepped back. Joe Biden did the right thing for the country. He did the right thing for the party. Donald trump should now take a look at himself and say, am I the future? Am I the person who's going to lower those gas prices? Make sure that people can make ends meet? No, he will not.

LOTTER: He already did it.

BRAZILE: We -- we -- we -- he did nothing of that kind.

(CROSSTALK)

LOTTER: Everything was more affordable under Donald Trump. The world was safer under Donald Trump.

BRAZILE: And yet, we got COVID and more people died because --

(CROSSTALK)

LOTTER: Under Joe Biden than under Donald Trump.

BRAZILE: More people couldn't get the relief that they needed. Now, we're ready to fight this battle because the battle is between the past that the Republicans want to hold onto and the future that the Democrats are going to pass onto their children. We're ready for this fight. We're ready for -- on the border, because you won't sign a deal that will close the border, secure the border, even fix our broken immigration system. We are ready for this stuff

RADDATZ: OK. OK, Donna. I am going to --

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: We have a preview. We have a preview -- just when you look at this, Laura, this is clearly a preview. We had a preview earlier on this show as well from the Democrats. How do you see this race playing out? I mean, you also have a candidate in Donald Trump where the unity message has disappeared.

BARRON-LOPEZ: No, it has totally disappeared. I mean, he just in his speeches yesterday, he was calling Kamala Harris evil, saying -- he repeatedly says that she's dumb. He even said that, oh, people think I've changed. I haven't actually changed; I've gotten worse. So that unity message, if it ever existed, is gone.

I think that, look, Kamala Harris said this. The vice president said this at her fund-raiser last night. She said, I'm an underdog, and I think that's true across the board, and Democrats know that they have an uphill battle in this race.

BRAZILE: Yeah.

BARRON-LOPEZ: I mean, even with the excitement that they have and the enthusiasm that they have and the money that they're raising and the time that she's been in so far, she still is not necessarily jumping ahead of Trump in the polls by any means or in the battleground states. So, they're trying to really target in specific ways, on abortion, suburban women, women across the board.

She -- the campaign isn't necessarily totally worried about the immigration argument. They do understand that she's on her back foot with it, but that they feel as though they have the argument that Donna made which is that essentially, Republicans killed the deal (inaudible).

RADDATZ: And Asma, you have, as you mentioned, covered Kamala Harris, Joe Biden for more than three years. You also had thoughts that in the beginning, people did not think Kamala Harris was ready to be president and that there were some stumbles. How did that change?

KHALID: I think it changed a lot around the time of the midterms and when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, and the primary reason is, instantly, the vice president became the administration's main messenger on reproductive rights. You know, Biden does not and has not historically felt as comfortable speaking out about abortion. She was rallying the troops on that issue.

Democrats saw better than expected results in the midterms and I think that Kamala Harris' fortunes changed as a result. Look, I want to go back to one think Marc said because I firmly believe -- I spent a lot of time talking to voters about inflation. I do think that the economy remains a weakness for Democrats that they have to navigate. But I think the dynamic is different with Harris at the top of the ticket because she wants to and she will lean heavily into abortion, and that is an issue for which I do think Republicans are on their back foot, particularly with J.D. Vance as the running mate.

RADDATZ: And I was just going to go to you on J.D. Vance, not only his abortion stance which he wants to -- he said he wants to make it illegal all across the nation. We know Donald Trump has a different stand on that. But on abortion and on generally what he has been saying this week, he says that was a long time ago. It wasn't that long ago he made those statements; it was 2021.

The cat lady saying now, oh, I was just trying to say the Democrats are anti-family and anti-child. That's a lot, I just threw at you, Marc.

LOTTER: Yeah. J.D. Vance is obviously very pro-family and he believes that the government should be strengthening families, and we're going to contrast that with Kamala Harris, who is -- thinks the government, not parents, should be deciding where kids go to school. She actually wants to repeal the tax -- Trump tax cuts which doubled the child credit, made it more affordable for people.

I mean, these are legitimate arguments that we're going to have, but if we are going to focus in on J.D. Vance saying families make people think differently, I mean that's really what he was saying is, once you have children, once you have a family, you tend to view things a little bit differently than others.

BRAZILE: Even when you don't have children --

RADDATZ: And you should pay fewer taxes. Donna?

BRAZILE: Even when you don't have children, you do care about kids. You care about their future. I've never had one child, and yet, I think I can claim hundreds of them because I love them. I want to protect them. I want to help feed them. I want to give them a head start and a healthy start.

And J.D. Vance is against that because that's what Project 2025 -- he won't give kids like me who grew up in poverty -- he grew up on the wrong side of the hill. I grew up on the wrong side of the track. That's what Kamala Harris -- she's going to prosecute that case about the kids who need a Head Start and a Healthy Start.

So we're ready. This is beyond just abortion, which is an economic issue. It's reproductive health. It's giving women access. The fact that my nieces right now are in red states, if they have -- if they have a miscarriage, they'll bleed out and die before they get the health care they need. That's what this election is going to be about, and that's why Harris can prosecute it.

RADDATZ: Mark, I'm going to give you 15 seconds.

LOTTER: I know that's the issues you guys want to -- you guys want to fight this on. We're going to talk about kitchen table issues...

BRAZILE: So will we.

LOTTER: ... making groceries more affordable for that family, gas more affordable for that family, and stop 12 million illegal immigrants streaming across our border who, by the way, are threatening the lives in some cases...

BRAZILE: And it's down.

LOTTER: ... of those -- of those young children...

(CROSSTALK)

RADDATZ: OK, this is a -- this is a preview, for sure...

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: ... of what's to come.

Thanks for all of you for joining us.

Up next, exclusive new reporting on the law enforcement response to the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RADDATZ: Now to an ABC News exclusive. Our senior investigative correspondent, Aaron Katersky, speaking with a local Pennsylvania SWAT team on duty during Trump's rally in Butler, when a gunman tried to take Trump's life. And Aaron joins me now.

And, Aaron, you interviewed the local SWAT team tasked with supporting the Secret Service at that rally in Butler two weeks ago. They played some key roles that day, along with the D.A. and chief of detectives overseeing the team.

I want to play what the lead sharpshooter of the team told you. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON WOODS, PENNSYLVANIA SWAT TEAM OFFICER: We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service snipers whenever they arrived, and that never happened. So, I think that that was probably a pivotal point where I started thinking things were wrong because that never happened, and we had no communication with the Secret Service.

AARON KATERSKY, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: You had no communication with the Secret Service at all on that Saturday?

WOODS: Not until after the shooting.

KATERSKY: And by then?

WOODS: It was too late.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RADDATZ: Aaron, first, can you tell us where that SWAT Team was located, and give us a sense of your conversation with these local law enforcement officials and what they're saying about the communication breakdown? This is even as the gunman was identified as suspicion -- as suspicious ahead of the shooting?

KATERSKY (on camera): This is the SWAT Team from Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Martha, that identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as suspicious. They were located on the second floor of the building that Crooks eventually used as his perch, and that's where they were assigned to be. From that vantage point, they could see into the crowd, but they could not see Crooks on the roof. And they say it wasn't a matter of the roof being sloped or the weather being too hot for them to be up there. They were assigned and told by the Secret Service to be on the second floor.

Once they tried to identify him as suspicious, they sounded the alarm. They sent text messages with a description. They took pictures of him. They tried to track his movements. But, none of that ever reached the decision-makers on the ground, Martha, because they say there was no communication with the Secret Service. And from the get-go, they say it was evident that they were somewhat isolated in their position.

RADDATZ: So Aaron, how are they responding to this idea that it was the local officials who failed at securing this event, including the roof of the building where the gunman took his shots?

KATERSKY: And they'll take some of the failure. They say that they did fail that day because somebody was killed, the former president was shot at. But they say they were not in charge of making decisions about their own movements.

One of the snipers told me that if he had his druthers, he would not have been where he was positioned because he didn't think it was a very effective place to be. And now, they are living with what they consider to be quite a heavy burden. They're willing to admit their failures, Martha, but they say this is not entirely on them.

RADDATZ: And so much still to look into. Thanks so much, Aaron. You can see more of Aaron's exclusive reporting tomorrow morning on "GMA." We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RADDATZ: That's all for us today. Thanks for sharing part of your Sunday with us. Check out "World News Tonight" and "GMA," and have a great day.