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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Isaias Moving Toward The Coast As Conditions Rapidly Deteriorate; Trump Says Putin Agreed To Expert Diesel During Phone Call; Hegseth Vows To Live-Stream Execution Of Fort Hood Shooter; Isaias Expected To Be A Major Category 3 Hurricane At Landfall; Soon: Trump Rallies With New York GOP Governor Candidate In Syracuse. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 09, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. We are following breaking news this evening as Hurricane Isaias is barreling toward the Gulf Coast as a major Category 3 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center warns that conditions are rapidly deteriorating along the northern Gulf Coast. Winds of up to 115 miles per hour, with even higher wind gusts, are expected to cause widespread damage and power outages.

Cities along the Gulf Coast are bracing for life-threatening storm surge that could get up to nine feet. Water levels have already started to rise from the Southern Louisiana -- from Southern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

Our teams are stationed in CNN's Extreme Weather Center and along the coast as the hurricane closes in. Let's go first to meteorologist Melissa Nord with the latest forecast. Melissa?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Jake, in the last hour, we now have a 72-mile-per-hour wind gust in Orange Beach, Alabama. So, hurricane- force wind gusts are quickly approaching, and will be moving onshore over the next hour or so. So, conditions are rapidly deteriorating.

This storm, still moving at 17 miles per hour, quickly to the north, and we're also seeing that the structure of it is starting to be impacted a little bit by the wind shear. We've been talking about this for several days in a row, how wind shear would impact Isaias as it makes landfall.

I want to show you this. This is radar from four hours ago at 2:00. That's the eyewall and the eye, little donut right there. Well, look what's happened over the last four hours. The structure of this storm starting to change. We no longer have that circular donut. We now have a half-eaten donut on the map.

Now, that does not change the impacts that we are expecting along the coast as this makes landfall, and the several hundred mile inland that it's going to carry those hurricane and tropical storm force wind gusts. You can see right now, the northern eyewall just beginning to reach the shoreline. The really core of those strongest winds are still offshore, but winds of in excess of hurricane force going to happen over the next hour. We're going to see those gusts reaching that criteria.

Also, on the eastern side of the storm, the dirty side we call it, we are dealing with a severe weather threat in the nature of tornadoes. Tornado watch still in effect. We've had one tornado warning that was extended, and now has just expired it looks like at the top of the hour, that's been moving onshore not far from Apalachicola.

Wind gusts increasing. The last hour when I showed you this, we had a lot of the wind gusts 45 to 55 miles per hour. Look at this, Mobile, 59, 52 in Pensacola, gusting at the moment. It'll go up in a big way over the next three to four hours as we approach landfall. That landfall happening between really 8:00 and 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time tonight. The core of those winds, Pensacola over towards Fort Walton Beach and Destin, that's where they could be in excess of 110 miles per hour.

But the storm itself, Isaias, going to be a very large storm as it's making landfall. The wind field will continue expanding a bit as it changes its nature from tropical to extratropical. So, you can see here in the yellow color, that's the extent of where we could see tropical storm force winds. Those could cause even sporadic power outages as far north as the Atlanta area. You can see landfall tonight, but still plenty of impacts from Isaias happening throughout the day tomorrow. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. And Rafael Romo is close to where the hurricane is expected to make landfall in just a few hours, Pensacola Beach, Florida. Rafael, tell us about conditions there. How quickly are they deteriorating?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very, very quickly, Jake. It's difficult to remain standing right now. We're still a few hours from the arrival of Hurricane Isaias, and the winds, as you can see, are already pummeling. You can see the impact of the wind by looking at the plants behind me and how hard they're being moved by the winds.

I can tell you that it's raining sideways here where we are now, and the rain stings when it hits your face. When you look behind me, when you look at the ocean, the winds are picking up water, and it looks like a surreal image of water, mist, and then waves going up. It's just very, very deteriorating conditions here.

One thing that I can tell you, Jake, is that it seems like people here have listened to authorities, because when you look at the street, you don't see a single car. You don't see a single person there. Everybody has gone to shelters. And so that's a good thing because if this is only the beginning, just imagine what's going to happen in the next few hours. More than 25 counties declared their state of emergency, and several areas evacuated here where we are.

Jake, now back to you.

TAPPER: Thank you, Rafael. Stay safe. Melissa, how bad could this storm surge be?

NORD: Interesting, Jake, is that the floor of the Gulf, right, the depth of the water is a lot shallower right along the coastline.

[18:05:04]

So, it helps to pick up a lot of that wall of water and carry it to the coastline. So, the storm surge at its worst from Pensacola eastward, right along Santa Rosa Beach as well, six to nine feet. Nine feet about the level of a one-storey building, but you can see we've got storm surge numbers in excess of three feet all the way from Southeastern Louisiana over through the big bend of Florida. It's like a catcher's mitt. So, it's catching all that water that Isaias is pushing up, and it's sending it onto the coast. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Melissa Nord of CNN's Extreme Weather Center, Rafael Romo, Pensacola Beach Florida, thanks to both of you.

Let's bring in Bay County, Florida Commissioner Daniel Raffield. Commissioner, what is the biggest threat to Bay County, Florida, right now?

DANIEL RAFFIELD, BAY COUNTY, FLORIDA COMMISSIONER: Currently, our biggest threat that we have is surge, storm surge. The ground here is so saturated. We've had a week-and-a-half of heavy rain, and now with the additional heavy rain that we're having now and the saturated ground, right now storm surge and flooding, low level flooding is a huge concern here in Bay County.

TAPPER: What help is available for people in your area who don't have transportation or have disabilities?

RAFFIELD: So, currently, we have shelters open, but one in particular for special needs individuals. North end of the county, Bozeman High School is currently a shelter that we've opened up. That shelter was opened yesterday at 3:00 P.M. to help those people here in Bay County.

TAPPER: What's the plan for widespread power and water outages should they come?

RAFFIELD: So, currently, we're utilizing our local partners our Florida Power, our utilities crews. They're out on the roads right now preparing to get ready for after the storm. These individuals, men and women, we call heroes. That's one thing Hurricane Michael taught us, was how to be better prepared. And these men and women are ready and at standby for these. And also, too, we have water resources that are available through our state partnerships after the storm and during the storm.

TAPPER: Once the hurricane makes landfall, how quickly can damage assessment and rescue teams safely move in?

RAFFIELD: So, again, Hurricane Michael taught us the importance of preparing for those after the hurricane. So, these people are immediately ready. As soon as the hurricane subsides, things slow down, these men and women will go to work immediately to get out into the community and get these utilities up and going as soon as possible.

TAPPER: What's your message to any residents of your county who may have thought that riding the storm out was a good idea, but now they're considering trying to evacuate? We just spoke with Governor DeSantis. But, anyway, they're considering to evacuate. Should they evacuate? Should they hunker down? What do you think?

RAFFIELD: No, we recommend they, they hunker down, shelter in place. If you didn't leave, if you didn't listen to the warning from the county and the state, we highly encourage you not to leave, to stay where you are. Please do not get on the roads. We do not want you to be a part of a scene. We want to be able to help where we can. But please, if you are where you are, stay where you are.

TAPPER: Are your first responders still able to respond to calls right now?

RAFFIELD: So, typically, at 45 miles an hour, we let our first responders hang tight where they are, and after the winds slow down, they'll go out. But if it's a major emergency, absolutely. Our heroes, our men and women of law enforcement and our EMTs, and they will absolutely respond if need be, for sure.

TAPPER: You talked about lessons that were learned after Hurricane Michael. Tell us more about that.

RAFFIELD: So, Bay County is so resilient. It's almost hard not to get emotional when I talk about the men and women who survived Hurricane Michael. That was a storm of a lifetime. Category 5 came here and just devastated Bay County and other counties throughout the Panhandle. What we learned was we're resilient, we're very tough, and we have unbelievable people here in our community.

Florida, Floridians, as a whole, are tough. We learned how to prepare and how to respond during a catastrophic event and we're better for it. So we look at this as a opportunity to get out there and serve the needs of our people after this hurricane.

TAPPER: Is there a message you want to give to anybody when it comes to their desire to get out of the house once the worst of the storm passes?

RAFFIELD: Great question. Very much so I want to stress to people, please stay where you are. Please don't go on the roads. There are so many hazards. You know, you heard the governor talk earlier about road debris, downed utility lines, what a hazard that is. We talk about flooded roads here in Bay County. You never want to cross a flooded road. You don't know how deep it is. It could be detrimental. It could kill you. So, we ask you to stay where you are. Let the men and women of emergency services do their job.

What we don't want, again, is an individual become part of a scene, to become part of an accident, or to cause an accident.

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So, if you don't have to leave your home, please stay where you are.

TAPPER: Bay County, Florida Commissioner Daniel Raffield, thank you so much. Stay safe, and God bless the people of Bay County.

RAFFIELD: Thank you so much for having us.

TAPPER: We've got much more breaking news coverage tonight as Hurricane Isaias nears landfall. We're going to check in with our teams along the Gulf, get updates from public safety officials ahead.

Plus, President Trump says he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin this afternoon, and is now promising that diesel prices will quickly start to fall. We'll explain why, next.

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TAPPER: And we're back with breaking news in our World Lead. A major earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of seven point seven, struck southern Panama earlier today. Officials say several people have suffered minor injuries, but so far, there are no reports of fatalities. It is early. The U.S. Geological Survey has said some casualties and extensive damage are possible.

Footage verified by CNN shows several damaged buildings about seventy miles from the epicenter.

[18:15:02]

One video shows a church with a partially collapsed steeple and another building with a crumbled facade. In a popular resort town, a multi-storey building collapsed and several -- and crushed several cars beneath it. We're going to continue to monitor for updates there.

Also, in our World Lead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy taking to X to slam a new diesel deal between President Trump and Russian leader Putin. Zelenskyy writing, quote, gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will repay the diesel with further terror and perfidy.

While just last hour, President Trump thanked the Russian leader for agreeing to release hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel over the next few months, notably starting before the midterm elections in the U.S.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen's in Berlin. Fred, what is Russia getting in return for this diesel deal?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, they're getting some sanctions relief to export oil and other petroleum products onto the world markets from the United States. I was reading the Russian readout of this call, and the Russians there said that Vladimir Putin and President Trump spoke at length about the conflict in Ukraine, as the Russians put it, and ways to end that conflict in Ukraine.

And in the course of those talks, the two leaders then started speaking about global energy markets. So, Vladimir Putin, this according to the Russian readout again, then said that Russia was willing to provide both crude oil as well as petroleum products to both the U.S. and international markets. And then the Russians did confirm that they are willing to provide diesel to the U.S., and they're willing to do that very quickly.

The Russian deputy foreign minister came out almost immediately and said that diesel exports to the United States could start as early as October. So, obviously, the Russians trying to capitalize on this very quickly.

The Ukrainians, Jake, as you can imagine, not so happy about all this. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, came out and said he believed this will not help end the war in Ukraine. However, the Ukrainians are urging for an energy ceasefire, meaning the Ukrainians stop attacking Russian energy facilities, and the Russians stop attacking Ukrainian facilities. So far, however, it's not clear whether or not something like that's going to be possible. Jake?

TAPPER: Fred, tell us about this new video you have of a man in Ukraine narrowly escaping a Russian drone strike. Walk us through it.

PLEITGEN: Yes, Jake. So, this was posted on social media today, and it apparently shows a man dodging a Russian drone, and this is apparently from the area north of Kyiv, so it's a sort of suburban area north of Kyiv. And you see the man there, and then all of a sudden he runs away, and then a drone hits what is a school and a sports ground in that area, very narrowly escaping that. And you can see also the impact from that drone is very strong. You can hear jet engines also before that.

So, a narrow escape there with, as you mentioned, Jake, what has been a very bloody week for Ukraine with that massive strike in Eastern Ukraine just yesterday killing well over 30 people.

TAPPER: Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, thanks so much.

Will Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's big idea for a public execution risk radicalizing future terrorists? We're going to ask a Middle East expert about this proposed killing spectacle, next.

And we're staying on top of the breaking news, Hurricane Isaias just a few hours away from landfall. We've just learned that nearly 100,000 customers are without power in Alabama and Florida. More live coverage from the Gulf Coast ahead.

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TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, a public execution by firing squad live-streamed to the public. That is not something I'm making up. That is what the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, just announced he thinks should be the killing spectacle of the former-- of the Fort Hood shooter, former Major Nidal Hasan.

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PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: He's going to get a firing squad of soldiers, as it should be, and we'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public because people need to understand that w- this is there's serious consequences for these types of things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Okay. A few things for you all to contemplate about this proposal. One, the only other countries that do officially public executions are the Taliban in Afghanistan, the mullahs in Iran, the dictators of North Korea, and whoever is currently running Somalia and Yemen, not exactly shining beacons of human rights and democracy, not exactly cities on the hill.

And speaking of the company we keep, point number two, Hegseth there is speaking to a far-right extremist influencer. This is one of the guys who pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy. He has a history of anti- Semitic and white nationalist actions and ties according to civil right groups. So, keep that in mind next time Pete Hegseth attacks legacy news organizations and reporters.

Moving on to our third point, where would this public execution even be live-streamed? YouTube? Twitch? TikTok? All of those options are highly unlikely given the rules that various social media companies have about showing people being killed. So, who's going to live-stream this? The American government?

Four, if Nidal Hasan was inspired by Al-Qaeda, which he was, what do you think Al-Qaeda's going to do with a video of U.S. soldiers killing him?

[18:25:03]

Could that be used in terrorist propaganda? Could this be an example of a martyrdom tape? Has anyone really thought this through?

Point five: the reasoning for the live stream public execution, according to Mr. Hegseth, is to make sure people, quote, understand there's serious consequences for these kinds of things, unquote. Do we really think that terrorists don't understand there's serious consequences when they commit the mass murder of innocents? Don't a lot of them actually try to get killed or kill themselves while they're doing it? Does it even make sense to do this for the reason Hegseth states, to teach them a lesson?

Point six, American public executions are usually only in the fevered imaginings of fiction writers working on dystopian screenplays or novels, such as, for example, the massive dystopian franchise, The Hunger Games, or that episode of Black Mirror, or the 1987 sci-fi film, The Running Man, based on a Stephen King short story.

There is a reason there has not been a fully public execution in the United States since 1936. That one in Owensboro, Kentucky, was such a disgraceful spectacle. It marked the end of public executions on such a scale in the United States. It was an ugly -- such an ugly spectacle that Vice President Vance says he's not going to turn into this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: This is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people. Now that said, I mean, look, if it's ultimately live-streamed, I'm not going to be watching it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining us now, former Middle East and North Africa Coordinator on the National Security Council Brett McGurk. He's also the author of the brand new excellent book, "Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages".

Brett, the president also wins in -- weighed in today. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He killed 13, 14 people, badly wounded 20-some odd people, and he's totally nuts. So, I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes.

REPORTER: Did you personally authorize or approve the execution, the live-stream execution of --

TRUMP: Did I approve?

REPORTER: Did you approve?

TRUMP: Absolutely, I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Nidal Hasan killed 13 people, yes, plus an unborn child. That's maybe why he said 13 or 14. What do you make of all this?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You just laid it out. Look, I think first the families of the victims keep them in mind. I think the death penalty here justice must be done for Nidal Hasan. But, you know, Timothy McVeigh, another federal execution, the families of the victims had the opportunity if they wanted to have a closed circuit --

TAPPER: And no one's debating that.

MCGURK: But, you know, I hate to make the comparison, but I worked for 20 years on you know, Iran, you just mentioned Iran. I did the ISIS campaign. Remember what they used to do? And when you're dealing with these radical kind of jihadi guys, like Nidal Hasan, as you said, they want to be martyrs. And even in the record of his trial, going back to the 2010s, his lawyers thought he actually wanted an execution. So, you might actually be giving him exactly what he wants. This video will live on forever. It could be used for propaganda.

I just -- This is bad any way you look at it. So, you know, justice must be done, but turning justice into a spectacle is a line that, as you said, we haven't really crossed in almost over six decades, and it's deeply troubling. I hope they rethink this.

TAPPER: Yes. Look, I'm not talking about the death penalty one way or the other. That's a separate conversation. But this is about making -- and I'm not talking about survivors of the victims, because that's always the case in any execution. People can see it if they want to, people who are touched by the crime. This is about making it a public spectacle, a live stream.

What -- you're an expert on terrorists. What might terrorists do with that video?

MCGURK: They will use this video for propaganda. And who knows how it -- you know, if it's a live stream, you don't even know what he's going to do or -- these radical terrorists that we have fought before, guys like in ISIS or even Hamas, they live to be martyrs, Jake. I mean, this is just how they think. And Nidal Hasan -- it was early, 2009, so this was even before all the radicalization and those days, terrible days of ISIS. He was -- he had some contact with terrorists overseas and kind of self-radicalized.

TAPPER: Yes.

MCGURK: But he's deeply ingrained and ideological, and this is kind of what they want.

Do not give them what they want. Let justice be done, you know, as our justice system does after due process. But to have a public spectacle like this, I think you could actually inadvertently feed and encourage further acts of terrorism. I just -- it's a bad idea all around.

I don't think it was thought through. It seems like secretary of defense said this, and suddenly everybody's commenting on it.

[18:30:00]

But let's not do this. This is a really bad idea.

TAPPER: So, I don't even know if it's legal to do such a thing, and I don't even know if they care, to be quite honest, but U.S. Army policy says explicitly, no person under the age of 18 shall witness executions. I don't know how you square that with live-streaming something that any 15-year-old on Twitch can watch.

MCGURK: Well, so think about it, -- go back to those ISIS days. I mean, Jake, it's hard to even relive it. They put people in cages, set them on fire, drowning, put it all up on YouTube. Remember that?

TAPPER: Yes.

MCGURK: Because they're just trying to --

TAPPER: I remember the execution of Daniel Pearl.

MCGURK: And eyeballs and young kids around the world are drawn into this and then drawn into this extremism is crazy.

So, to cross this line for the United States of America, I can't believe I'm even sitting here talking to you about it --

TAPPER: And this is just 2026. Wait until -- well, I don't know what's coming down the pipe in 2027 and 2028. So --

MCGURK: We got a few months to rethink this from the, the, the date of the execution. There seems to be some bipartisan sentiment that this is a bad idea, and let's not do this.

TAPPER: Yes. So, as long as I have you here, I do want to get your thoughts on the fact that President Trump said he spoke with Putin today.

MCGURK: Yes.

TAPPER: And Putin agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to global energy markets, another 500,000 tons promised in November. This looks like it's a ploy or an attempt to bring down energy costs for diesel because of the Iran war.

Zelenskyy is saying all the United States is doing is going to give money to Putin that he's going to use to kill more Ukrainians.

MCGURK: Three problems with this. Number one, it's really not going to work. There's not enough diesel to affect the macro market. Number two, what's happening here is Iran is targeting ships in the Gulf to send prices up, and then Russia, which is supporting Iran because they're kind of joined in a strategic alliance, is then calling the White House and saying, hey, I can help you with this problem. That's deeply troubling.

Third, Congress has passed laws in 2022 banning the import of Russian energy products, and President Trump, I think, just signed a sanctions bill against the Russians just a few weeks ago, made a big deal out of it, then suddenly we're actually going to import Russian products.

Bad idea all around, I don't know what was said on that call whether there was any real work done on this of whether this can actually bring down the cost of diesel, which is a real problem. But there's other ways to get at this problem.

But I just come back, this is Russia and Iran. They are working together against us in various ways, and let's not help them out.

TAPPER: All right. Brett McGurk, again, the author of "Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages", a great account with no political bias one way or the other, just calling balls and strikes. Thanks so much for being here, Brett.

MCGURK: Thank you.

TAPPER: I appreciate it.

Hurricane Isaias is set to make landfall in the Gulf Coast just over an hour from now. Officials there are bracing for dangerous storm surge. The latest forecast is next.

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[18:35:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with breaking news and the latest on Hurricane Isaias. Check out this intense video capturing some of the powerful winds at a Fort Walton Beach in Florida, filmed by Reed Timmer. You can see waves crashing over the roadside barrier there, police lights flashing, cars pulling onto the shoulder. Nearly 100,000 power outages have taken place across Alabama and Florida as the hurricane gets closer to landfall. The National Hurricane Center warns that wind gusts are approaching hurricane force.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where the wind gusts have reached 56 miles per hour. Isabel, there doesn't appear to be as much rain compared to an hour ago when we went to you. How are conditions right now?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Since we last spoke that punishing rain that was just coming from the side and slapping you right in the face, that has let up, so that's a positive. But what hasn't let up, Jake, is this wind, these gusts reaching, as you mentioned, over 56 miles per hour, and it's only going to get worse in the incoming hours until landfall's expected here around 10:00 P.M. Eastern. You can see this gust coming in. You can see how choppy the Gulf waters are. This is all a concern.

This wind is a concern. This is enough to topple trees, to cause power outages, and, in fact, I just checked on the website for Alabama Power, and indeed, over 40,000 customers without power. That's going to get more widespread, unfortunately, as the night continues on.

I want to bring in the mayor of Gulf Shores, Robert Craft, who was kind enough to come here and speak with us on CNN. Mayor, what is your biggest concern with Hurricane Isaias as we're approaching landfall time here in the next couple of hours?

MAYOR ROBERT CRAFT, GULF SHORES, ALABAMA: Well, you see that. Yes. The storm surge that is still growing and getting stronger, that's the biggest threat to property and life. The other concern, big concern, is people getting out of their house and visiting, walking around and getting out and wanting to see this.

Fortunately, most of the tourists are gone. We were able to get the governor to call for a mandatory evacuation, and they are gone. And our locals know better. Our locals have been through these things before. They won't get out in it, but visitors seem to think they want to go see more. Thankfully, most of them are gone. That's our biggest fear.

ROSALES: Yes. And right now, that wind is actually coming in northeast, so it's, according to our meteorologist, pushing the water that way. But once the eyewall passes us, those winds will shift, and that's when we're going to start seeing that dangerous storm surge that you're talking about.

CRAFT: I think that is exactly right. Yes. ROSALES: Yes. And you've also implemented a few other things in the city, including a curfew that's coming here in the next hour-and-a- half. What can you tell us?

CRAFT: Yes, we have curfew to -- we've closed the bridges, so you can't -- if you're here. If you're -- you can't get here from somewhere else. So, that keeps -- we have people coming in gawking, and people just want, are ne'er-do-wells that want to come in and do something while we've evacuated, and a lot of homes are empty.

So, we've got that pretty well under control. With the curfew now, our police can stop anybody effectively and find out what they're doing and help them if they need help, or keep them from doing things they shouldn't do.

[18:40:05]

So --

ROSALES: Yes. And talking about police and first responders, there gets to be a point in the storms where these are human beings, too, and it gets too dangerous for them. At what point do you have to call off first responders?

CRAFT: At any point where the winds get excessively bad, because the danger for them, I mean, we get flying debris off the buildings. We also get trees down, and we get electrical power and wires down. So, when it gets to be that bad. And we leave that to the discretion of our fire -- police chief and fire department.

Fire department is threatened to -- they will go get people, more so than the police department. Police department will shut down operations.

ROSALES: And final question for you is, around this time tomorrow, what do you anticipate seeing in your city, sir?

CRAFT: I think we're going to see a lot of debris to be cleaned up, and then if these things, the way they are, it gets really pretty after it's over, and we're going to have everybody wanting to come back to town. And we got to get everything cleaned up and ready. So, we got a weekend coming.

ROSALES: Yes. And they need a redo after the Shrimp Festival was canceled.

CRAFT: Yes, they do. The people are going to want to get out and enjoy a little bit. So, we appreciate you all being here for us.

ROSALES: Mayor Robert Craft, thank you so much. I really appreciate you talking to CNN.

CRAFT: Thank you.

ROSALES: Jake?

TAPPER: Isabel Rosales and Mayor Robert Craft in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Thanks to both of you.

Joining us now to discuss, Colonel Jeremy Burkett. He's one of the top public safety officials in Alabama. He also serves in the Alabama National Guard.

Colonel, I know much of Alabama is under a state of emergency tonight. What are your biggest concerns as this storm moves inland?

COL. JEREMY BURKETT, DIRECTOR, ALABAMA LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Yes, sir. Well, as Mayor Craft just talked about, really for some of our counties, like Mobile County and Baldwin County, and specifically those areas in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, we're really concerned about the storm surge because those are very low-lying areas.

And as that storm pushes in, that water pushes in, and you really have that instant flooding that creates a lot of hazard, a lot of potential for damage and loss of life. So, we're really attentive to that and we're sitting prepared to deal with that and to be able to respond to that.

But just as Mayor Craft said, we want people to be very vigilant. We want people to be very aware and we are unfortunately very accustomed to these types of storms coming in off the Gulf Coast. So, we're prepared to handle those.

But as this storm continues to shift, and as we've seen that model change through the day, we've got other counties that may also see a lot of flooding, very strong winds. And that's where you have the issues of the debris, and especially on some of those more low-lying areas and those county roads. You know, people get out, they get to driving around. You've got water on the roadway. It's coming over. They don't see it. They don't understand to turn around. And then we have those areas where vehicles get swept off the roadway, which creates, again, a potential for loss of life.

TAPPER: So, Colonel, it's 6:42 P.M. East Coast time, 5:42 Central. Is there still time for people to evacuate or are you encouraging residents to now shelter in place?

BURKETT: Again, that's a very specific question, Jake. So, if you are in the Mobile County, Baldwin County, and especially if you're a non- resident or a visitor or a tourist, specifically Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, some of those areas, Bayou La Batre and Dauphin Island at this point, you're not going to be able to get out. A lot of the bridges have been closed, and you're going to have to shelter in place. And we don't want people necessarily trying to go and get in a vehicle and then increase the chance of them being at risk or causing loss of life. So, at this point people need to begin sheltering in place, depending on where they are.

Now, if you're further inland, so if you're on the other side of the Panhandle, if you're in the areas of Houston County, Escambia County, Geneva County, some of those areas, Covington County, you may be able to evacuate from those areas over the course of the next two or three hours. But even then, just as you said, as we get close to 8:00 P.M. Central Standard Time, you're going to have to face the reality that it's too late. You need to shelter in place and make yourself as safe as possible.

TAPPER: How confident are you that the resources are in place to help with any issues as the storm moves through, and especially in the immediate aftermath of it?

BURKETT: Well, extremely. I mean, unfortunately this is just a reality of being along the Gulf Coast. It's a beautiful place to be and in a great state in Alabama. But we really do have this down to a science. We've got things that are prepared, and we've got great local partners, right? So, all these things that go on and we talk about it, but we're really prepared. We've got the Alabama National Guard. They've got a very robust plan. We've got the Alabama Emergency Agency. They're kind of set and ready. And then really the locals, one of the things just specifically in those areas that we're just talking about that are Mobile County, Baldwin County, they're very seasoned to this.

[18:45:09]

They -- we've got things in place as it relates to that first six, 12, 24 hours, we're able to get in there, get people in in case there is a situation where they need to be rescued.

We got aviation resources and those types of things in place right after the storms coming through to be able to get in there and kind of evaluate and provide those rescue measures, but then also to get those life supporting things, right, the fuel, get that medical care, get those things in really quick.

And those are just lessons learned, Jake. The reality is, you know, it's you -- if you don't have it ready, it's too late to get it ready. So that's what we've been going through. We've been going through that beginning, middle and end process of preparing for this storm. And we feel like we're in a position now to be able to respond to it very quickly.

TAPPER: All right. Colonel Jeremy Burkett, thank you so much for your time and for your service. Prayers for the people of Alabama.

New York's GOP nominee for governor is suggesting Democrats may try to steal the election in that deep blue state as he gets set to rally with President Trump in less than an hour. I'm going to ask a member of the New York congressional delegation about that claim. That's next.

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[18:50:00]

TAPPER: In our politics lead in less than an hour from now, we expect to see President Trump campaigning in Syracuse, New York, alongside New York's Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman. Blakeman is trying to unseat Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. He is fully leaned into Trump's ways, suggesting, for example, that Democrats might try to steal the election. It's a curious approach, given that Republicans are trying to win over some centrists and moderates in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two to one.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman John Mannion of New York, whose district includes Syracuse.

Congressman, why do you think Blakeman is taking this page from Trump's playbook when we've seen numerous other Republicans distancing, distancing themselves from the president this election?

REP. JOHN MANNION (D-NY): That's a great question, Jake. I don't have an answer. But I will tell you a couple of things about my experience in my elections. I've won close elections, and I've lost them. In fact, I won an election in my state senate race, 123,000 votes were cast and I won by 10 votes. So that should be a message to everybody to make sure you get out there and vote.

I'll -- I'll say that our elections here in New York State are free and fair. They're run in a bipartisan way. They are ironclad.

And the people here, Republicans included, value those elections. Stand by them. And you don't hear election denial here in Upstate New York, and you don't hear elected Republicans talking about, you know, election fraud, because we know that the studies are there that show that it just does not happen on any kind of large scale. And the penalties are severe for those as they should be.

So, I stand by our elections. Unfortunately, candidate Blakeman is trying to sow doubt into the minds of Americans, and that really hurts our democracy and the people around here are good. They're kind, they're educated, and they won't stand for it.

TAPPER: I'm sure you've faced elections. You've said you've lost elections. So you know what it's like to face headwinds. You know what it's like to face a difficult election, a favorable election season and atmosphere.

What's it like out there today? Do you believe the polls that suggest that Democrats could pick up seats in the House and win the House, and maybe even the Senate? Or are you more circumspect? What's the mood in your district?

MANNION: Well, this is a district that has been traditionally a swing district in Upstate New York. In fact, Democrats have only won three elections in the last 50 years and haven't won a midterm all the way back until 1978. But we feel very good because in Upstate New York, as I said, we're kind people. We don't like the cruelty. We have a great relationship with our Canadian neighbors, our trade allies, our friends, sometimes our family.

So in a district like this, what we're looking at is we feel very good because I have Republicans engaged me all the time. Sometimes saying, I never voted for you, John, or I voted for the president three times, but I didn't vote for this. I did not vote for a never-ending war. I didn't vote to blow up the debt. And they see as a really educated populace here in Upstate New York

that the cruelty, the corruption, and not fighting for everyday Americans just doesn't work here. So we're feeling good. And, I am hopeful and in some ways confident that we're going to take back the House and the Senate.

TAPPER: Democratic Congressman John Mannion of New York, thank you, sir.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is sounding the alarm about the dangers to humanity posed by artificial intelligence. That's next.

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TAPPER: And you're looking at some brand new images from Destin, Florida, where category three Hurricane Isaias is lashing the Florida panhandle. Stick with CNN tonight. We're going to bring you all the breaking updates on this rapidly approaching hurricane.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", we're going to talk to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. He's going to talk with us about his warnings, about what he says is the grave threat posed to humanity by artificial intelligence.

Here's just a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You have called A.I. aliens, created in a lab that could evolve almost as a species of its own and become to us what, quote, "we are to dogs or cats," unquote. And you said, this isn't just a technological leap. It's a, quote, "evolutionary event". That sounds scary. That sounds ominous.

BILL GATES, MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER: Yes. The arrival of AI is both fantastic for things like health care and new tools. You know, really unbelievable. But it's also something that has such profound power and really changes life in a pretty profound way that I always worry when people look back at previous technological advances, you know, like I was involved in the personal computer and the Internet. Those were a big deal.

But nothing compared to this. You know, this changes the world more than all previous technologies. And so the people are hands on, like college graduates and see the power and see how it's increasing. They have a better sense of, okay, this will change the job market. This will change how we relate to each other, and we got to get everyone on the same page about what a big deal this is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In addition to Bill Gates, we're also going to talk to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin. That's Sunday at 9:00 a.m., noon -- and noon Eastern, only on CNN. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on TikTok @JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram @TheLeadCNN.

If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Download the CNN app. It's good stuff there.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. I will see you Sunday morning.