CNN Political Briefing

The 2024 presidential race has reached a key turning point. Labor Day has passed, Election Day is just over eight weeks away, and the presidential nominees are set to face off on the debate stage in just a few days. New battleground state polls by CNN this week showed a very tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Stuart Stevens is a former Republican consultant who worked on George W. Bush and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns. He’s now an author and an advisor to the Lincoln Project — a group opposed to Donald Trump’s candidacy. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to discuss the state of the race. They talk potential strategies for next week’s debate, the sprint to Election Day and why Stevens thinks this race won’t be as close as many people predict.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 36 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the 2024 election, and both Democrats and Republicans are competing fiercely to win their votes. Earlier this summer, polls showed former President Donald Trump could build significantly on gains he made with Latino voters in 2020. But, with Vice President Kamala Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket, those numbers could be shifting. Mark Hugo Lopez is the director of race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to take a closer look at this critical voting bloc and how the political views of Latino voters have changed in recent years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted her party’s nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention—just a month after President Joe Biden stepped aside and gave her his endorsement. After joining the show for the Republican convention last month, POLITICO’s Ryan Lizza is back to talk all things DNC with CNN Political Director David Chalian. They met at the CNN-POLITICO Grill, steps from the convention floor inside Chicago’s United Center, and broke down what the first three nights of the convention revealed about how the Democrats’ strategy has shifted since Harris took Biden’s place at the top of the ticket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since Vice President Kamala Harris went from running mate to top of the ticket, her campaign has been light on details about her policy positions. She’s expected to start rolling out her economic agenda this week. Jasmine Wright is a political reporter for NOTUS, and she’s covered Kamala Harris since her 2019 run for the White House. She joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to break down how Harris is approaching issues like healthcare, the economy, and immigration this time around — and how Harris the candidate has changed since her last presidential campaign.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vice President Kamala Harris made headlines when she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate this week. CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins CNN Political Director David Chalian from the campaign trail to explain what went into the ‘vibes’-based decision, and the Midwestern Democrat’s ascent from history teacher to vice presidential hopeful.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In just a few years, Ohio Senator JD Vance has gone from author and conservative commentator to President Donald Trump’s running mate. Ohio Capital Journal reporter Nick Evans has been reporting on Vance’s career evolution since he ran for Senate. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to talk about how Vance is performing on the national stage.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democratic party leaders and donors are rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris as their presumptive presidential nominee. Harris finds herself in her second campaign for the presidency, but this one is in an entirely new context. So how did we get here? Astead Herndon is a national politics reporter for the New York Times and the host of the politics podcast, The Run Up. He previously covered Kamala Harris’ 2019 presidential campaign. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain how Harris meets this moment and what to expect in the next hundred days of her campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While former President Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome at the Republican National Convention, President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure to drop out of the race. On the ground at the RNC, CNN’s Political Director David Chalian sits down with Ryan Lizza, POLITICO's Chief Washington Correspondent and host of the podcast “Playbook Deep Dive”. They talk about Biden’s candidacy teetering on possible collapse and how an assassination attempt on Trump’s life reshaped his convention.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden remains in the race for president, for now. But Democrats are divided over whether he should remain their nominee. CNN political commentator Karen Finney joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain how we got here and how the party moves forward from here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden's performance on the debate stage last night created a panic in many corners of the Democratic party. CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins David Chalian to talk about where both campaigns go from here, and what he considers “perhaps the story of our lifetimes.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden has announced an amnesty program for some undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens. It’s one of the biggest protections for undocumented immigrants since President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This comes after the President aimed to limit protections for asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally, earlier in June. CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins David Chalian to explain the President’s policy whiplash, break down the new amnesty program, and discuss the response from Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, a federal jury found President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, guilty on three federal felony gun charges. Will this impact Biden’s 2024 campaign? And how does this case compare, if at all, to the Trump trials? CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to unpack this historic week few weeks of legal news.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former President Donald Trump is now the first presumptive presidential nominee to run with a felony conviction. CNN historian Timothy Naftali joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to unpack this unprecedented moment and reflect on how history will remember Donald Trump.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Manhattan jury reached a historic verdict today, finding former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 counts felony charges of his hush money case. The unprecedented verdict makes Trump the first former president in US history to be convicted of a felony. CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen was in the courtroom as the verdict was read. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to share what he saw, and where we go from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inflation is at the top of the list of Americans’ election concerns, but how is the economy actually doing? It depends on who you ask - Republicans are hammering President Joe Biden over inflation rates, while Democrats point to low jobless rates and strong wage growth. CNN economics reporter Elisabeth Buchwald joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain Americans’ views of the economy versus reality, and how all of this will impact both Biden and former President Trump’s election efforts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week a group of Donald Trump’s allies flocked to the Manhattan courthouse for the former president’s criminal hush money trial. It’s become a way for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and others to ‘audition’ for the role of vice president. Elaine Godfrey is covering this year’s ‘Veepstakes’ for the Atlantic. She joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain why she says Trump’s search is different this time around.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Johnson evaded another threat to his position as leader of the House this week. On Wednesday, Georgia GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene made a motion to oust Speaker Johnson, after threatening to do so for several weeks. The House voted swiftly in favor of Johnson by a tally of 359 to 43, so Speaker Johnson will keep his job, for now. But how long will this last? And how might this impact the presidential election? On this special edition of CNN Political Briefing, CNN Anchor and Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju and Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona discuss the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University led to more than 100 arrests after students barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall. This happened in the exact same building where anti-war student protestors demonstrated 56 years ago to the day, according to Columbia’s student newspaper. Mark Naison, a Fordham University professor of history, was part of the 1968 protests. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to explain why he says this week’s protests feel like ‘déjà vu,’ and why he supports today’s demonstrations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in former president Donald Trump’s historic immunity case. Trump’s attorneys say he should be granted sweeping immunity in a federal election subversion case because he was acting “officially” as president. Now all eyes turn to how the court decides -- and whether or not this is sent back to lower courts for further adjudication -- with this November’s election potentially hanging in the balance. University of Michigan Law professor Leah Litman and CNN Political Director David Chalian break down the foundations of the case and talk about what’s at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, the first of four expected criminal trials involving former President Donald Trump began in Manhattan. And for the first time in United States history, a former president is now a defendant in a criminal trial. CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen was in the courtroom. He joins CNN Political Director David Chalian to share his analysis of not only this case, but also this week’s Supreme Court oral arguments on the January 6 obstruction charges, which could have potential legal implications for Trump as well.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices