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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Category Four Hurricane Milton Closes In On Florida; Bombshell Book Reveals Candid Conversation Of Biden, Trump, Harris; Harris Goes On Media Blitz With Four Weeks Until Election. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 08, 2024 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:02]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Hurricane Milton is expected to double in size.

THE LEAD starts right now.

What could be the worst storm to hit Florida's gulf coast in a century is taking aim. The race now against time to save lives. And the latest forecast and evacuations. The head of the National Weather Service will be here and we will have reports from Florida.

Plus, the new bombshell, Bob Woodward book, America's leaders as we've never heard before, Trump's secret shipments to Vladimir Putin, his multiple conversations with the Russian leader since leaving office. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is here and will react.

And Vice President Kamala Harris asked what you would do differently from Biden earlier today, the non-answer that perhaps failed to seize the moment in the media -- in the middle of a media blitz.

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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And we are tracking what could become the worst storm to hit Florida's Gulf Coast in more than a century. Hurricane Milton is a powerful category hurricane right now. It is teetering on the edge of becoming a category 5, and is forecast to make landfall after midnight tomorrow night, just south of Tampa where it could unleash record unsurvivable storm surge.

Milton is expected to weaken slightly before landfall but it is also expected to double in size, meaning disastrous impacts will reach far beyond the west coast of Florida more than 20 million across the state are currently under flood watches heavy rain across Central Florida tomorrow, could bring life-threatening and catastrophic flooding.

This is a live look right now, a traffic heading north. Officials are literally pleading with people in evacuation zones to leave. Listen to this stark warning from the mayor of Tampa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JANE CASTOR, TAMPA, FLORIDA: I can say without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You're going to die, the mayor says. More than a million people so far have been ordered to evacuate and tankers are coming to refill the gas stations running out of fuel because of all the evacuations.

President Joe Biden is sending the same urgent message as that mayor as he postponed his upcoming trip abroad to oversee hurricane response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now, now, now. You should have already evacuated. It's a matter of life and death and that's not hyperbole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let us begin with CNN's Boris Sanchez who is on Treasure Island, Florida, that's on one of the barrier islands in the Tampa -- Tampa St. Pete area.

Boris, what are you hearing from residents and officials as this major hurricane gets closer? And are locals heeding the warnings and getting out of town?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, it appears that residents here locally, at least on Treasure Island, are hearing and heeding those warnings. Local officials I've been talking to all day have been sounding the alarm, telling folks that if they are going to leave, now is the time to get out.

And I was speaking to a resident here earlier on Treasure Island. This is a small community, fewer than 10,000 people, mostly a tourist destination, about their concerns. One of the residents in the building behind me was talking about potentially riding out the storm.

Their chief concern is this -- the piles and piles of trash that go for entire neighborhoods. There is construction equipment. There is scattered wood, a water heater, a refrigerator, filing cabinets, sharp pieces of metal and with a storm surge that could hit up to 15 feet high, an added foot of rainfall more or less and at least 125 mile an hour winds that are forecasted at landfall, all this stuff as one resident told me could become a missile, countless missiles is the way that Matt described it. He rode out Helene here.

The chief concern here is, is that it's not just the stuff that's scattered around the block. Jake, I want to show you something alarming. There are piles of trash just like this, enormous one almost 20 feet high all across the western coast of Florida. Local officials have done everything they can to get them out, but they are still around and in the area and that is why that gentleman that I spoke to, Matt, the resident that got chest high water during Hurricane Helene and was able to get out is not taking any chances.

Here's more of what he shared with me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW LITVAK, FLORIDA RESIDENT: We don't know where it's going to hit at, might hit here, might hit south, might hit north, and it looks like it's going to be devastating, particularly for buildings like this because these are not hurricane proof buildings, still out there.

It hasn't been picked up. It's going to turn into missiles, either going to blow this way, blow that way, we don't know what's going to happen in these things, sorry.

[16:05:03]

So, yeah, it's -- it's not good. People that are around here, they need to get out of here and go someplace else. It's silly to stick around here. It's not worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And, Jake, I am glad to report that a few -- Jake, I'm glad to report that a few moments ago, I spoke to the couple that was considering staying and they told me that they're actually getting out now. They're making final preparations.

There is little doubt that this area is going to be remade by the storm and the potential for catastrophe is very high, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Boris Sanchez in Tampa, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

We want to how you the strength of Hurricane Milton from the air right now. This is new video from aboard one of the hurricane hunter planes that flew into the storm earlier today. You can see the plane shaking dramatic dramatically, lots of equipment is being tossed about.

Let's go to CNN's hurricane headquarters where we find meteorologist Chad Myers. He's closely tracking the status of this monster.

Chad, what is the latest forecast?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the latest forecast is that the airplane that would have created a category 5 observation left two hours ago and a new one isn't back yet. So that is the only reason this isn't back up to a category 5 because there's no ground truth or air truth if you will. When the last plane left, it was nowhere near as organized as it is right now.

So there is no doubt in my mind that the plane that just left is on its way, will probably be here an hour and half, will confirm that this storm has gotten deeper has gotten stronger and the winds have gone up during this day.

So the hurricane warnings all the way across the state of Florida, but clearly, the west coasts will be the most devastated because that's where it's going to hit first and with the storm surge. I have not -- I can't count the number of texts I've had today. Where is it going to hit? And I know they're talking about the eye itself, but Jake, we are going to have category or higher hurricane winds in this entire area.

So when you say where is it going to hit, my answer is yes. It is such a big event for everyone.

Look at the size of the hurricane forest winds rolling across the entire state, power lines, trees will be down over the entire state as it crosses. But the big problem and the reason why the mayor of Tampa said you will die is that we're going to have to 10 to 15-foot search.

And with the last storm, Helene, that storm was seven and look how much damage seven did. Now we're going to double that? This is going to be devastating.

TAPPER: And let's remind everyone that Hurricane Helene is the second deadliest storm in the last 50 years, behind only Hurricane Katrina.

MYERS: Yeah.

TAPPER: Chad, thank you so much. We're going to continue to come back to you.

This is literally a life or death situation in Florida. Officials are urging residents in evacuation zones -- leave, leave. If you're in the evacuation zone and you're watching me right now, turn off the TV and leave.

CNN's Randi Kaye is on the ground with a look now at how the state is preparing for hurricane Milton while still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

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TIMOTHY DUDLEY, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EMERGENCY MGMT. DIRECTOR: This may be the worst storm that we've seen in 100 years to hit west central Florida.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The west coast of Florida has barely cleaned up from Hurricane Helene as this monster hurricane takes its aim at Florida. A major hurricane hasn't made a direct hit on the Tampa Bay area since October of 1921.

CASTOR: Helene was a wakeup call. This is literally catastrophic. And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die.

KAYE: A very real sense of urgency to leave before it's too late. SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Don't gamble

with your life or the lives of your loved ones. The time to get out is now.

KAYE: This area could see storm surge of up to 15 feet.

MAYOR BRUCE RECTOR, CLEARWATER, FLORIDA: If you choose to stay in evacuation area, you're -- you're going to die.

KAYE: Roads are clogged as residents heed the warnings to evacuate. The search for gasoline getting more difficult as some gas stations here are starting to run out of fuel and for those who are staying, a rush on water and plywood as residents make last ditch efforts to board up businesses and homes.

KT Curran and her husband Chris have lived on Siesta Key, an island off Sarasota, for the last 25 years. She evacuated for Helene, but her husband stayed behind to ride out the storm.

KT CURRAN, SARASOTA RESIDENT: That night, he got no power, he had no phone and we lost touch with him and we found out the next day there was a 5-foot surge of water in the house and he was all night in the pitch dark in 5-foot water. And he sat there for hours on the top of a neighbor's high house until the water went down a little and then went back in the house and laid on a wet bed until light came up.

KAYE: They lost all of their belongings and the house now has to be gutted due to mold in the walls.

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Now staring down Hurricane Milton, the couple has still decided to stay, this time in a friend's condo on the ninth floor of a building in downtown Sarasota, which has windows built to withstand a category 5 hurricane.

CURRAN: Now as this hurricane is barreling down directly on our community, it feels like maybe Helene was just a rehearsal for what's to come, that they're talking possible 15-foot storm surge. None of us on in a hundred years have seen anything like this. It is shocking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (on camera): And, Jake, as the rain starts to fall here once again in Sarasota, this is some of what we are finding on the streets. This is just a pile of debris in a neighborhood. You have a dresser, a vanity, that's a refrigerator. Over here, you have a China cabinet and some couches. And this is why people need to evacuate according to those who -- the authorities here in this area, of course.

And you have that woman KT Curran who -- who is now staying on the ninth floor of that condo building. And I spoke with the mayor here of Sarasota today, and she said even those people aren't exactly safe because it could take a week to get to them once they lose power and water, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. CNN's Randy Kaye in Sarasota, thank you so much. Please be safe.

Let's bring in Ken Graham. He's the director of the U.S. National Weather Service.

Mr. Graham, thanks so much for joining us.

It's your agency tasked with briefing President Biden. What did you tell him about this hurricane?

KEN GRAHAM, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: I told him that I'm worried about this one years in this job and I ran the National Hurricane Center for four years and this one gives a gives me a pit in my stomach like very few have, and I told him this is going to be the big one is what I told the president. So I really stressed what a big impact this one's going to have.

TAPPER: The National Weather Service is using language such as catastrophic and life-threatening in hurricane advisories. Talk about how intentional that language is and does using that language have more of an impact than when you don't?

GRAHAM: Yeah, it does. I mean, I look at different cases where we've used unsurvivable and, you know, it looked catastrophic. We do.

It's like everything that we can do to let people know how bad this is going to be and I heard what Chad said, you know, a little bit earlier about it doesn't really matter where that center line is, it doesn't matter where it's going to hit, it's going to impact a huge part of Florida. Think about a hurricane moving across the entire state from coast to coast so the impact is going to be huge.

So we do everything we can not just from a physical science standpoint what the forecast is going to be, the storm surge and the winds, but also a social science aspect of what words to use, to really get the attention we need to get people out of the way.

TAPPER: Where does Milton rank in terms of the hurricanes that you have seen experienced or monitored.

GRAHAM: I tell you we've only had two rapidly intensify greater than -- than Milton. So even that rapid intensification -- just even us as scientists trying to keep up with how fast Milton was increasing in wind speed was just an incredible situation. But, you know, it's -- it's the situations that we've exercised these before, it's always the big storm for Florida.

We always talked about a storm hitting the west coast, Tampa being the worst case for Florida and this is one of those cases that that is coming true.

So for me, looking back in my entire career, three decades, this is right up there the top couple of storms, and I just -- everybody watching, you know, just -- we've got to take this serious. I mean, the storm serves of 10 to 15 feet in Tampa Bay.

But hurricane force winds across the whole state, so even inland, you're going to see some big impacts.

TAPPER: And there's all that debris from Hurricane Helene already pre-existing on the ground which has to make this even deadlier.

GRAHAM: Yeah. You have flying projectiles. You think about the wind speed, wind itself, you know, really doesn't create a situation that that could kill you, but the flying debris can, the falling trees, the debris in the air, that's what really could be incredibly dangerous.

So, you know, people inland that are really looking at staying, you have to look around you. You have to look and see your situation, your house, make sure you're in a sturdy house, make sure you're not near those trees by that debris and just urging everyone really pay attention. This is the clock's ticking, right?

You got today a little bit of tonight by the time you get into late boarding tomorrow, you will already start seeing the impacts from Milton.

TAPPER: All right. National Weather Service Director Ken Graham, thank you so much. We're going to keep updates on Hurricane Milton running at the bottom of your screen the new forecast track comes in at the top of the hour.

Plus, we're going to talk to a member of Congress who represents much of this anticipated impact zone in a second.

But, first, some shocking revelations in Bob Woodward's new book, Trump's many phone calls to Putin after Trump left office.

Plus, what President Biden reportedly said about private -- privately about the federal investigations into his son Hunter Biden and his real feelings about the attorney general.

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TAPPER: A quick heads up and warning to our viewers and listeners before this next segment, especially if kids are in earshot because the following report in our politics lead contains a lot of colorful quotes. They are from an explosive new book by legendary journalist Bob Woodward.

The book is titled "War". It comes out next week. CNN's Jamie Gangel got the book before gets released.

And what's in it is juicy. Woodward reveals, among other things, that former President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have had up to seven phone calls after Trump left office and also that while in office Trump secretly sent Putin COVID testing machines for Putin, a known germophobe's personal use.

Also according to Woodward, President Biden said he should never have picked his Attorney General Merrick Garland because he was worried at the time about the prosecution of his son Hunter which he said was quote never going to effing go away.

And we're saying "effing" instead of what he actually said, Jamie, because your mom is watching and we appreciate -- we appreciate your continued sensitivity to her ears.

So, wow, and you know, this is just the start. You also have some shocking details about how Biden characterized Prime Minister Netanyahu behind the scenes.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So I don't think it's a secret that Joe Biden likes to swear, so let's put that out there.

[16:20:05]

But this is the difference between what you see in public and what happens in private and this first exchange is when you see how angry President Biden is at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war escalates in Gaza.

And this is what Biden says about Netanyahu.

Quote: That son of a --

TAPPER: Bitch?

GANGEL: Thank you, Bibi Netanyahu, he's a bad guy. He's a bad --

TAPPER: Effing.

GANGEL: -- guy. I thought you were going to say it.

TAPPER: No. I'm not going to say it. Kids watching.

GANGEL: Okay. He doesn't give a --

TAPPER: Shit.

GANGEL: -- about Hamas. He gives a --

TAPPER: Shit.

GANGEL: -- only about himself.

TAPPER: Okay.

GANGEL: Woodward also has verbatim exchanges between the two leaders including a confrontation that be begins, Bibi, what the --

TAPPER: F.

GANGEL: Yes.

And look, this is what it really sounds like behind the scenes.

TAPPER: It's -- I mean, honestly, that doesn't -- it shouldn't surprise. Anybody, the stakes are very high. We're talking about massive loss of life. So the stakes literally could not be higher.

Woodward also reveals a never before reported on conversation between President Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on July 4th of this year. Tell us about that.

GANGEL: Correct so this is shortly after Biden's disastrous debate which you and Dana moderated. Biden is digging in his heels. He doesn't want to step aside.

And this scene is actually very interesting because you see Secretary of State Blinken who's worked for Biden forever, who is very loyal to him. They have a private lunch and Blinken is really laying out the case for Biden to step aside.

And here we go the quotes. Blinken: I don't want to see your legacy jeopardized. Anyone who is written about gets one sentence. That's the legacy. If this decision leads you to staying in and winning reelection, great. If it leads to you staying in and losing reelection, that's the sentence.

Can you see yourself doing it for another four years? You've got to answer that question.

So Biden actually stays in for another couple of weeks, but you really see this attempt by someone very close to him to gently push him.

TAPPER: Yeah. Blinken's worked for him for years and years.

Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is Trump's close golf buddy. He pops up frequently in the book.

GANGEL: Yes, as Lindsey Graham is want to do, he says colorful things about Donald Trump. Some of them not positive.

And he's talking about what it's like to go visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago and Lindsey Graham says, quote, going to Mar-a-Lago is a little bit like going to North Korea. Everybody stands up and claps every time Trump comes in.

Also for the record, Jake, Graham says President Biden won in 2020, quote, fair and square, but that Trump, quote, doesn't like to hear that. Both true.

TAPPER: All right. Very, very interesting. Jamie Gangel, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And we're going to follow up with Bob Woodward himself right here on THE LEAD a week from tomorrow, Wednesday, October 16th.

There are quotes in Woodward's book about burner phones and Trump and the Saudi crown prince, MBS. Just how revealing is this book we're going to dive into more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:00] TAPPER: And we are back with our politics lead to digest more of the explosive details in Bob Woodward's new book war, which comes out next week, including a meeting between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and the Saudi crown prince in March.

Woodward reports that Graham said let's call Trump to Muhammad bin Salman, aka, MBS. An aide to the Saudi leader brought MBS a bag. In it were about 50 burner phones, one of them was labeled Trump 45, another one was labeled Jake Sullivan. That's the name of President Biden's national security adviser.

Our panels here to discuss We have with us, CNN's Kayla Tausche, Evan Perez, and David Sanger of "The New York Times" who has a book called "New Cold Wars", which we have interviewed him about before.

David, let me start with you. Woodward reports Trump has been on the phone with Putin as many as seven times, according to an aide. Since leaving office, since Trump left office and that the Saudi crown prince had a burner phone to give to Trump just for Trump to use, these sound like national security issues.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, they are national security issues. Well, first, that the Saudi crown prince has a bag full of burner phones, I don't doubt it. In fact, I'd say, only 50?

TAPPER: Right, exactly.

SANGER: Okay, but for the seven conversations or up to seven conversations, it's based on the recounting of one aide. He may be right. You would think the United States intelligence services would pick up conversations back and forth with Trump.

If they did, it would get reported with a mass name. In other words, it wouldn't say Donald Trump. It would say person number one or something like that and it would be up to the White House whether to unmask that and have the president or his aides or the Justice Department see what was in the content.

We don't know that that happened, but it's not unreasonable to think that Donald Trump would have talked to Putin or other world leaders. And by the way, other past presidents have talked to foreign leaders including adversaries. Jimmy carter going to North Korea sure against the Clinton administration's desires to strike what he thought was a deal at the time with North Korea's leader, grandfather of the current leader.

And we've had many other -- other cases. But in this particular case, it's an adversary with whom the United States is currently supplying arms on the other side and, of course, there's always the question about what is the nature of Donald Trump's relationship.

[16:30:00]

TAPPER: Yeah, no, very interesting. And, Evan, some in -- an inside look at President Biden's frustration over the prosecution of his son Hunter and apparently, he was furious, President Biden, with his attorney general, Merrick Garland, saying, quote, he, quote, should never have picked Garland, this is never going to effing go away. He didn't say effing, of course.

But let's listen to how Biden spoke about it in public, which seems a little different this is from June.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I am satisfied that I'm not going to do anything. I said -- I said I abide by the jury decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So a little bit different than the frustration he voiced in private.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I mean, it's not surprising that I think there would be some frustration by the -- by the president with on the part of the Justice Department and perhaps even with Merrick Garland. But I got to tell you. I mean. I think Biden knew what he was getting when he chose Merrick Garland.

When he made the announcement on January 7th of 2021 that he had chosen this man, it was -- the whole purpose was to get --

TAPPER: Depoliticize, right?

PEREZ: Depoliticize the Justice Department to get someone who would absolutely be separated from the White House and that's what he got, right? And so, and expressing that Ron Klain, for instance, who played a role -- a very big role in getting Merrick Garland the job and then famously, of course, regretted it.

But, you know, it is kind of interesting to me that, you know, I think the president has actually done what he said there. He's stayed away from trying to influence anything about the case and about certainly about Hunter Biden and I think, you know, in the end the big question Jake in the next few weeks will be whether he stands by his decision or what he said there which is that he's not going to pardon his son. I have a hard time believing that he's going to stick by that or at least commute the sentence.

Remember, he has two sentencings coming up for the crimes he's been convicted in la and in and in Delaware those are coming up in December.

TAPPER: Yeah, Kayla. Woodward writes at one point, Vice President Harris was concerned about how isolated President Biden was and asked one of Biden's closest associates to talk to him more. The associate told Harris that Biden was comfortable swearing in front of him. Harris said, quote, that might be the only reason that he still really is comfortable with me to a point because he knows that I'm the only person around who knows how to properly pronounce the word mother- effer, although she didn't say effer.

S that's kind of a fun, colorful quote about their comfort, but it also shows a certain.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It shows a certain distance but it also shows that Harris harbored the concerns that many in Biden world did that he was increasingly isolated over the course of his term to the point of potentially detrimentally not getting enough unvarnished information about the status of his presidency and his re-election bid.

I mean, he's always been surrounded by, buffeted by these unelected advisers who have been with him for decades and essentially in the end, became yes men. And so, you know, in her telling this friend to call him more, talk to him more, you know, have that more unscripted banter I think shows that she was trying to open the gate a little bit outside the White House and to provide Biden with a little bit more of that input.

But I think it also -- you know, when you think about the White House responding to someone like Vice President Harris saying that she and Biden, you know, trade some of these -- these expletives in private, I mean, and the reporting about what Biden said about Prime Minister Netanyahu or Attorney General Garland -- I mean, the problem with the White House trying to defend any of this is that there are just so many instances behind the scenes of Biden using language that's perhaps more suitable for an Irish pub because that's just his personality behind the scenes.

And there -- there are a lot of those instances.

TAPPER: Although, he famously does not drink. But we should point out -- even if he is comfortable --

PEREZ: A dry pub.

TAPPER: Right, a dry pub, non-alcoholic beer pub, Irish pub.

Thanks --

SANGER: Obama himself was not known to be have the cleanest language at all moments as well.

TAPPER: We wouldn't expect any president honestly to not use some colorful language. It's a very high stress job, whether it's --

SANGER: And think of the Nixon tapes.

TAPPER: -- Trump or Obama or Biden or Bush, whoever. But that is how they talk in private.

Thanks for our panel.

The breaking news about Hurricane Milton getting closer and closer. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp just issued a state of emergency.

(COMERCIAL BREAK)-

TAPPER: Florida's west coast U.S. military personnel are currently evacuating from MacDill Air Force base which is near Tampa.

Let's go to CNN's Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.

Oren, is this a part of a mandatory evacuation? Are any of the service members staying behind to maybe help with hurricane response?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Most of the service members at MacDill Air Force base just a few miles north of Tampa will take part as part of this mandatory evacuation. There will be a small number of active duty troops who remain to help out as part of the response team, as well as thousands of National Guard members, Florida national guardsmen who have already been called up in preparation ahead of this storm.

[16:40:08]

Now, MacDill Air Force Base is also the home to U.S. Central Command which governs and controls operations in the Middle East as well as U.S. Special Operations Command. They have also evacuated from the base and set up their own joint operations centers at a separate location.

Meanwhile for MacDill Air Force Base, about 185 personnel have set up an alternate stadium there, an alternate site there, an emergency operations center and crisis action team so that they can operate and respond to the storm itself.

Meanwhile, there have also been evacuation of aircraft and tankers out of not only MacDill Air Force Base but also Homestead Reserve Base. So you can see the preparations that are going on right now ahead of the storm's landfall because of what the us military specifically in this case is expecting the potential damage they're expecting. So they're getting ready, Jake, the navy is as well evacuating three destroyers from Mayport, on the other side of Florida, ahead of this storm coming in.

TAPPER: All right. Oren Lieberman at the Pentagon for us, thank you so much.

Let's go now to the 2024 lead, we are exactly four weeks until Election Day. Vice President Kamala Harris is on a media blitz in an attempt to make news making moments, including revealing what she thinks about world leaders.

In her CBS "60 Minutes" interview, Harris said that she sees Iran as the greatest adversary of the United States.

CNN's Eva McKend takes a closer look now at Harris's current media strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris in the midst of a media blitz, as the Democratic presidential nominee tries to reach as many voters as possible in the coming weeks of a campaign that is exceedingly close.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is good to be with you.

MCKEND: Among the flurry of unscripted interviews, most of them on non-traditional news shows, including an appearance on "The View", where Harris was asked if she would have done anything differently than President Joe Biden.

HARRIS: There is not a thing that comes to mind in terms of -- and I've been a part of most of the decisions that have had impact.

MCKEND: Harris later pointed to one way she would differ from Biden if elected.

HARRIS: You ask me what's the difference between Joe Biden and me -- well, that will be one of the differences. I'm going to have a Republican in my cabinet because I don't -- I don't feel burdened by letting pride get in the way of a good idea.

MCKEND: The Trump campaign quickly seized on the vice president's comments saying in a statement, if you're a voter who wants to turn the page from Joe Biden's failed economy open border and global chaos, then Kamala Harris is not the candidate for you.

With four weeks until Election Day, Harris also calling out the former president's series of falsehoods about the federal response in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

HARRIS: It's profound and it is the height of irresponsibility and frankly callousness. This is so consistent about Donald Trump. He puts himself before the needs of other. I -- I fear that he really lacks empathy, on a very basic level to care about the suffering of other people and then understand the role of a leader is not to beat people down it's to lift people up, especially in a time of crisis.

MCKEND: In addition to "The View", Harris also sitting Tuesday with Howard Stern and late night host Stephen Colbert, following a wide ranging interview with CBS's "60 Minutes", this section posted online.

INTERVIEWER: Which foreign country do you consider to be our great adversary?

HARRIS: I think there's an obvious one in mind which is Iran. Iran has American blood on their hands, okay? This -- this attack on Israel, 200 ballistic missiles, what we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power, that is one of my highest priorities.

MCKEND: Harris telling Stern the high stakes of the election is causing her to lose sleep.

HARRIS: I literally lose sleep, and have been over what is at stake in this election. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKEND (on camera): And, Jake, another part of this interview that stuck out to me with Howard Stern is she argued that the former president can be easily manipulated by dictator. She argued that the former president botched the pandemic response. She not only in this media blitz seems to be preaching to folks that already support her, energizing the Democratic base to get out and vote but also preaching to the non-converted so to speak, trying to get new voters here to just remember what it was like during former President Trump's presidency.

TAPPER: All right. Eva McKend, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A new forecast track for Hurricane Milton comes in at the top of the hour. We're going to bring you that.

Plus, the rush in the Tampa area to get residents in evacuation zones to safer ground fast.

[16:45:03]

We'll be right back.

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TAPPER: And we're just minutes away from hearing the updated forecast on Hurricane Milton, which is right now a dangerous category four hurricane, heading towards Florida west coast.

Already before landfall, some Florida counties are cutting off running water to prevent any damage to infrastructure.

Let's bring in Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who represents much of the Tampa, Clearwater area, which is directly in the path of the storm.

Congresswoman, thanks for joining us.

So forecasters are talking about this hurricane and rather unprecedented terms. What are you hearing from people in your congressional district?

[16:50:00]

REP. KATHY CASTOR (D-FL): Jake, we are reeling. We're reeling from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago and we are bracing for this monster Hurricane Milton.

Helene was the most significant storm surge in a century and flooded out thousands of my neighbors. They have their lives out on the street and they were just beginning to grapple with what comes next. And then this storm intensifies so rapidly, folks are -- this is just very serious.

And fortunately, I think most are heeding the evacuation, but not everyone. I hope the word goes out. They've got to get out now.

TAPPER: Before you were elected to Congress, you served on the Hillsborough County Board of commissioners and we mentioned the water shutoffs being done to prevent damage to the infrastructure after the storm hits.

What else do you think needs to be done on the county level, the local level before the storm makes landfall beyond evacuating people as much as possible?

CASTOR: I think our local partners have done everything that they should be doing. Mayor Jane Castor and Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg, have -- all of the local partners have been outstanding. They -- I mean, they -- fire rescue and the police department and the coast guard I just went through thousands of water rescues.

So they -- folks understand how dangerous this is going to be because they say the surge is going to be higher than Hurricane Helene of -- the partnership with the federal, state, and local level, notwithstanding all of this misinformation that has been exemplary.

TAPPER: I want to talk about the misinformation in a second, but before we do, President Biden is pushing Congress to approve more hurricane relief aid. The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, so far is resisting calls to bring Congress back before Election Day.

Here's how Speaker Johnson explained it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We'll be back in session immediately after the election. That's 30 days from now. The thing about these hurricanes and disasters of this magnitude is it takes a while to calculate the actual damages and the states are going to need some time to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think Congress needs to come back to D.C. sooner to get this aid passed?

CASTOR: FEMA has all of the resources that it needs to handle the disaster before us, the coast guard is out there prepared. We see the National Hurricane Center, thank goodness, doing its job.

What is missing is that the Republicans refused President Biden's request for additional disaster aid for the long-term recovery and replenishment of the disaster recovery fund. I hope as soon as the election is over that we get back and work in a bipartisan way to get that done.

TAPPER: Earlier today, President Biden talked about this danger of misinformation, which you were just referring to a second ago. Let's play a little bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: Misleads people, puts people in circumstances where that really, really, really, really worry, to think they're not being taken care of, and it really is -- it's going to sound, to use an old phrase, it's un-American. It really is.

People are scared to death. People know their lives are at stake. All that they've worked for, all they own, all that they value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, you're on the ground, there. What is the impact of the misinformation? What are you hearing from your constituents as everyone should be focused on preparing for Milton?

CASTOR: Yes. Very irresponsible to prey on people's fears in the middle of a disaster. What I have seen over the past week are FEMA adjusters out on the street, getting that aid into people's bank accounts. They need it to pay for a hotel, for diapers, for a baby formula, and for folks to spread misinformation that that is not going to be there is disgraceful frankly.

But folks do not want these partisan games right now. They don't care if you have a D or an R. They want to know are you -- are you keeping them safe? Are you going to be there? Is FEMA going to have the water, that tarps, the meals necessary as the coast guard want to be able to function? And the answer to all of those questions are yes.

TAPPER: You've seen quite a few storms passed through Florida over the years. Where do you think Hurricane Milton ranks right now in terms of hurricanes you've been warned about?

CASTOR: Jake, this will be the biggest catastrophe in the state of Florida ever because it's a double whammy on the heels of Helene. Helene was a surge, without much rain, without much wind.

But Milton is a monster. We're going to have flash flooding. We're going to have roofs ripped off and the national hurricane center says many of the areas will be uninhabitable after this.

That the climate crisis, it's not just about the weather though, it's about your wallet and what it is doing, it is imperiling our way of life here in Florida and making it so expensive that we're really grappling with how to move forward after this.

[16:55:08]

I think it's going to be an incredible setback for this community, but we're resilient and we will band together to do better and to rebuild and more resilient way.

TAPPER: Congresswoman, where are you going to ride out the storm?

I'm getting out of the evacuation zone. All of my neighbors, just like all across the Tampa Bay area banded together to board up houses. We checked on our older neighbors and we are out of this evacuation zone. We'll be -- we'll be nearby but that is the message. Anyone who thinks

so, they are going to be able to ride this one out, you're wrong. It's very dangerous. You need to safeguard yourself. Take your valuables now in there still a time to get out the window is rapidly closing.

TAPPER: All right. Congresswoman Kathy Castor, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

The head of the National Hurricane Center is just minutes away. His agency just put out an anniversary showing Hurricane Milton has regained strength and is back to a category five.

Stay with us.

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