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Harris & Trump Crisscross Battleground in Sprint to Election; Harris Courts Black Male Voters as Polls Show Dip in Support; Soon: Trump Town Hall in GA with All-Female Audience; Trump Attacks Harris Over Calls to Release His Medical Records; Harris, Trump Working to Woo Voters of Opposite Sex; Source: Israel Tells U.S. its Hit on Iran will be Limited to Military; U.S. Staff & Parts of Powerful Missile Defense System Reach Israel. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 15, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:09]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Not a second despair, the presidential campaigns visiting Michigan and Georgia today, trying to win over the voters who could decide this election. But will policy resonate more than personal attacks? The election is just three weeks away.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, demanding action on Gaza, the U.S. pressuring Israel to do something to address the humanitarian crisis there, a warning to allow more aid in or potentially risk violating U.S. law and losing U.S. military support.

And it's beginning to feel a lot like not exactly Christmas, but certainly cooler than the blazing hot temperatures of the past month. So what could a La Nina winter mean for the United States.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We are in the final sprint to Election Day, only three weeks to go, and right now, the presidential candidates are fighting for every last vote by crisscrossing key battleground states, targeting key voting blocks and dialing up the personal attacks. In a few hours, former President Trump will hit the critical swing state of Georgia, where he set the tape a town hall in front of an exclusively female audience.

Vice President Kamala Harris, meantime, will be in Michigan for an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God as part of her push to appeal to more black men.

KEILAR: But also playing out in these final three weeks, the candidates taking jabs at each other's cognitive abilities after raising questions about Harris' mental fitness, Trump is facing some new questions himself, after he cut his town hall short last night and did this.

That was just several seconds there, but Trump actually danced and swayed for nearly 40 minutes, including some periods of time where there were medical emergencies in his audience. Harris later responding, "Hope he's okay."

Let's begin our coverage with CNN Eva McKend, who is live for U.S. from Detroit with the Harris campaign. Eva, what's the Vice President's focus there today?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, part of her pitch is elevating her support for entrepreneurs, 1 million fully forgivable loans, up to $20,000. She'll talk about her desire for legalizing recreational marijuana and then making sure that black men actually have access to the industry access to that capital, as well as shoring up the crypto currency industry.

Ultimately, Brianna, what we're seeing emerging from her and Democratic surrogates in support of her is this argument that, listen, you know, you may see a kinship with the former president as a man. He might be appealing to your sense of machismo, but that ultimately, a Harris administration would deliver on the policies that would best represent that constituency. We also suspect that she is going to call into focus some of the past comments that the former president has made about the black community. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is not looking out for folks when he is - when he was a landlord and would not rent to black families, sued for it when he took out a full page ad in The New York Times against those five teenagers, black and Latinos who are innocent ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saying that (INAUDIBLE), yep.

HARRIS: ... saying they should be executed, The Central Park Five. When you look at - he - the first black President United States and he had birther lines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:02]

MCKEND: So Brianna, Boris, we're waiting for this conversation to kick off in just a few hours. But what we're also seeing from the Vice President is really her ramping up this contrast, this contrast between her and the former president. She characterizes him as fundamentally unserious and unprepared to meet this moment. Brianna? Boris?

KEILAR: All right. Eva McKend, live for U.S. in Detroit. Thank you so much for that. We have CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joining U.S. now.

Priscilla, Harris has gone from focusing on joy to ramping up her attacks on Trump. What is this new strategy?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's an extension of her argument that the former president is not fit for office. And at her rally yesterday in Erie, Pennsylvania that I attended, she said, quote, "He is increasingly unstable and unhinged." It's one thing to say it, though. What was remarkable about the rally last night and telling about how the next few weeks are going to look like is that she also rolled a clip of the former president's rallies and interviews. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I will show you one example of Donald Trump's worldview and intentions. Please roll the clip on.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The worst people are the enemies from within.

HARRIS: So you heard so you heard his words. You heard his words coming from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, recall at the presidential debate, she said much of the same, essentially inviting people or watchers to watch his rallies to get a sense of what he is like. And so this is something we may see more of over the next few weeks, but if you look under the hood of this strategy, there's two things at play here. One, they're trying to reach those disaffected Republicans, those who are still on the fence as to whether they would vote for the Vice President, but they're trying to make the argument that the other choice is unhinged and that their vote shouldn't go there.

They're also still trying to lock down their coalition. That's what she's doing in Detroit. She was doing it in Pennsylvania yesterday. She'll continue to do that over the rest of the week. So while they are hammering the former president, they're also trying to increase her exposure with her interview on Fox News tomorrow, in the radio town hall today, and also make sure that they have shored up enough of their coalition to try to limit any losses that they can anticipate, like in Michigan, for example, the Arab-American community.

KEILAR: All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much. We are getting very close here. And today we're going to be seeing former President Trump in battleground Georgia as he's racing to make his pitch to women just weeks until Election Day.

SANCHEZ: And CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us in Atlanta, where Trump is doing a town hall tonight with an all-female audience. Kristen, there are a lot of concerns among Republicans about suburban women specifically. What are his goals?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, there should be. I - if you look at the recent polling, it shows just how wide that gender gap is between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. He is trying to make that narrower.

Now, whether or not that works, obviously, will remain to be seen, but this afternoon, he is sitting down for a Fox town hall that is an all- women audience. All of the issues are supposed to be women-related, and he is expected to try to deliver his pitch to women. That's actually going to air tomorrow, but he knows he has a problem.

For example, when I was with him on Friday, this is a direct quote and I wrote it down. He wrote, "Women love my policy, but they don't like me." This is something he has said routinely. He has also said that he would be women's protector.

Now, women in the audience seem to like that messaging, but they also like Donald Trump by going to rallies that his supporters are at. When I talk to women who aren't necessarily Donald Trump fans, they don't like that kind of rhetoric. They also don't like the rhetoric that he often puts on display, this violent, dark imagery. They don't like the way he talks or insults people.

So that is something that he's going to have to overcome, whether or not he can do that in the next three weeks that remains to be seen. One other note on this is he's had a problem with women, with JD Vance as well. We know about those childless cat lady comments that came out. They were revealed from 2021 and the left has really seized on those comments, and many women have felt offense to that.

You actually saw him trying, once again, to clean up those remarks over the weekend when he was talking to The New York Times and he said that those remarks were dumb. That was the farthest we'd seen him go on the topic. But again, Republicans know they have a woman issue here, whether or not they can close that gap or even move that gap before November, that remains to be seen.

KEILAR: And Trump is now attacking Harris' medical history, Kristen, after she called for Trump to release his own medical records, which is something he hasn't yet done. What is he saying?

HOLMES: Yes. I mean, this - the way this is playing out, is a lot of politics here. We know that Kamala Harris put out a letter from the White House that essentially was a summary of her medical record that said she was in excellent health.

Donald Trump responded and said he had put out some basics of his medical history. We know that he hasn't actually risen to the bar that most presidential candidates generally do about their medical history, then this turned much more personal. Both of them attacking each other over their cognitive state.

[15:10:03]

We know the middle of the night, Donald Trump was saying that Kamala Harris, there's concerns about her cognitive state. She needs to take a test. She might not have the cognitive ability to be president. Obviously, none of that is something that we've heard from anyone near her. This is not something that is out there. It's just something Donald Trump is saying.

Now we have Kamala Harris questioning Donald Trump's cognitive ability, as well, as you said, making that comment on the video of him last night, dancing and swaying to music for 40 minutes, saying, I hope he's okay. This is a side show in politics when a lot of people want to focus on the issues at hand, but there are people out there who want to see a full medical release from Donald Trump. I don't think we're going to see it this cycle. We haven't seen it before. It seems very, very unlikely.

SANCHEZ: Also Trump strangely attacking her allergies, which is something a lot of people deal with, and isn't ...

HOLMES: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... that serious a problem.

KEILAR: As you know, I deal with it ...

SANCHEZ: Same.

KEILAR: ... the ragweed.

SANCHEZ: Same, the ragweed. Yes.

Kristen Holmes, thanks so much for the update.

So every vote matters in this extremely tight presidential race, a big reason why both candidates are ramping up efforts to shore up support with the opposite sex.

KEILAR: CNN Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten is with U.S. now to break down where both candidates stand. When it comes to the gender gap, kind of a gender chasm at this point, Harry, what are the numbers showing?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: You know, I just want to note that the last time I was with you two folks, I in fact, was low energy. Folks were worried. And so I want you to grade me at the end of this segment and tell me if I had enough high energy as we go on, all right? So let's dive into these numbers, and you can grade me at the end.

Let's just talk about where male voters stand right now. Compare, this is the Democrat versus Trump marching. Compare five-year - four years ago, excuse me. Trump won among male voters by just five points.

Look at where we stand today, my goodness gracious, Donald Trump doing considerably better among male voters, up by 12 points. That's a seven-point swing in Donald Trump's direction. Keep in mind that seven point swing, because I want you to take a look at what's going on with female voters, all right? What do you see here?

There is no swing. Nothing's going on. There is no change from where we were four years ago, right? Biden versus Trump: Biden won him by 13. Look where Harris leads in the polls right now, by 13. The idea that women would be supporting a Democrat isn't so surprising, while men would be supporting Republican, again, not surprising. But the fact that we've seen this movement among male voters, and there's been no movement whatsoever among female voters, that, my friends, is quite surprising. It's something honestly, I wasn't really expecting until I actually looked at the numbers, which is, I guess, why you have me on. SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes, that is why we have you on, Harry. Both candidates are ramping up attacks when it comes to each other's mental and physical fitness for Office. Who do voters see as more capable, more fit in that regard?

ENTEN: Yes. All right, so I'm going to jump into that question. I had actually written the second question. It didn't make its way to you, but I just want to know why I think this gender gap is going on here, all right? I think this is why this gender gap is going on.

Abortion is a top voting issue. You look across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, I got them all in. Look at this. Women, 25 percent say it is the top issue, compared to just men, 7 percent what's the big difference between now and four years ago? Roe v. Wade was overturned back in 2022, now abortion is at the forefront of the mind.

I honestly, again, was not expecting this type of gap. You normally don't see it when it comes to whether or not someone's pro-choice or pro-life. But when it comes to abortion being a top issue, very clear here, women are saying it's a top issue, men saying it's not. I think that's why you're seeing the movement among male voters, but you're not seeing it among female.

Now, to your question, to your question, when it comes to better health, right? Better mental and physical health to be president. You look back in July, when it was Donald Trump versus Joe Biden. Look at this, Donald Trump crushing Joe Biden, 50 percent to 21 percent. Jump forward to September, all the shoe is on the other foot, my goodness gracious.

Harris, 54 percent say she has the better mental, physical health to be president, compared to just 34 percent for Donald Trump. That is the biggest difference now, with Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic nominee, health, either physical or mental, that was so helpful for Donald Trump and his campaign to jump ahead of Joe Biden now is working in the complete reverse, at least if you believe the polling data. And guys, I don't have to tell you, I do,

KEILAR: Yes. Health so often performing alongside energy ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: ... which I think Harry really brought. I'm going to give you a 9.8, Harry.

SANCHEZ: The 9.8, wow. Wow.

ENTEN: Whoa.

KEILAR: Yes.

ENTEN: But ...

SANCHEZ: I - go ahead.

ENTEN: Yes, go ahead, Boris.

SANCHEZ: I was just going to say I thought you were high energy, Harry, all the way. I've given you an A minus. I'm not sure how well you can see it there, A minus. Only minus, because that question that you apparently tried to give us to give you, that's not the way it works, Harry, we ask you questions, and you should be just ready it.

ENTEN: Well, was ready for. I think there was a lot of good improv that I did in that particular segment. But you know what? I just want to make sure that it'll all flows together so beautifully. And I think this segment has flown together, like ...

SANCHEZ: I think you have ...

ENTEN: ... I don't know, an award winning film.

[15:15:04]

SANCHEZ: Yes. You can blame last time on the ragweed. It's as Brianna has noted ...

KEILAR: It's probably allergies.

SANCHEZ: ... it's hitting everybody this time of year.

KEILAR: It's the worst.

SANCHEZ: Harry Enten ...

ENTEN: Oh, well ...

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much.

ENTEN: Bye.

KEILAR: Bye.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, the White House is suggesting that military aid to Israel is at risk. This is serious. They say that unless the country meets a list of demands to improve the humanitarian in - the humanitarian situation in Gaza, they could see the U.S. scaling back its help.

KEILAR: Plus, backlash over a GOP lawsuit that targets Americans voting overseas, which would include military personnel and their family members. Now, some House Democrats are asking the secretary of defense to protect those Americans' rights to vote.

And then later a warning from two of America's most prominent black business leaders to companies abandoning their strategies to promote diversity, that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:20:22] SANCHEZ: We're starting to get a clearer picture now on how Israel plans to retaliate against Iran after Tehran launched its largest attack on Israel exactly two weeks ago. A source says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials have assured the United States that Israel's counterstrike will be limited to Iran's military targets, rather than oil or nuclear facilities.

#reacting to reports of this decision, Netanyahu's office said, quote, "We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our own final decisions based on our national interests." And to support Israel's defense interests, some major American military aid arrived there today. An advance team of U.S. military personnel is on the ground, along with some components of the highly anticipated THAAD system, which is one of the most powerful anti-missile weapons in the world. Pentagon officials said this about THAAD in the last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SABRINA SINGH, PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN: This is also meant to be a temporary provision of air defense capabilities to better protect Israel. It's in keeping with our intent to reduce tensions, and it is, you know, also there to help deescalate. But of course, as the President has said from the beginning, we are there to support an Israel self defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with CNN Military Analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Colonel Leighton, Thank you so much for being with U.S. as always. So Israel assuring the U.S. that the IDF plans to strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear facilities or oil facilities. Does that diminish the probability of a wider war in the Middle East?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's certainly the intent. And if that actually happens, Boris, then we can definitely see a de-escalation being possible in this particular scenario. So if the Israelis, in essence, keep their word, if these reports are accurate, then it would mean that they're targeting very specific areas certain military installations, probably airfields, maybe missile sites, things like that. They could also go after radar sites, which would help them in several different areas.

If they do all of that, then that would mean that the limited target set is one that the Israelis have gone after, and then that should - should - be the limit of the escalatory ladder at this point.

SANCHEZ: Yes, part of the delicate thought or the operating factor, the thing that this is all hinges on, as you alluded to multiple times, is whether Israel actually does what it has, apparently, told the United States it is going to do. We've seen now multiple times through conversations about potential ceasefire agreements, the hostage release agreement, both with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Hamas in Gaza, that there's been miscommunication, that certain things have been lost in translation. You could say, How much do you put stock into the IDF actually going after military targets versus Netanyahu statement saying that we'll listen to the United States, but we're going to do what's best for us.

LEIGHTON: Well, I think that's going to be the key. Israel is always going to do what's best for Israel, especially with Netanyahu in charge. They will certainly listen to the United States, they will perhaps follow some advice based on our previous experience in the region, but the, I think, the bottom line is, they may say certain things to the US, but the final analysis will really come down to what the Israelis think will give them the most security.

Their goal with this operation, Boris, is to, in essence, take a - make a buffer zone out of the area around them, so Southern Lebanon, Gaza, probably the West Bank, all of those areas and, of course, Iran itself. They want to make it as impossible or at least as difficult as possible, for any of these parties, either Iran or its proxies to attack Israel, and if they can stop that or at least minimize the risk of that, then they will have succeeded in their efforts.

SANCHEZ: Overnight, the idea of continued operations in Gaza, they launched strikes that killed roughly 40. The Biden administration sent this letter to Israel, demanding that it improve the humanitarian situation there within the next 30 days, and suggested that the U.S. could potentially consider withdrawing or withholding some level of aid. Do you think the U.S. would actually do that? What would it look like? What do they need to see improve?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think what's key here is that the U.S. will always give defensive aid to Israel, but offensive aid or military material that could be used for offensive operations that would probably be curtailed.

[15:25:06]

And if that's curtailed, that could limit Israel's effectiveness in terms of its operations, both in Lebanon against Hezbollah and in Gaza against Hamas.

SANCHEZ: Quickly on the Pentagon spokesperson talking about the THAAD anti-missile system. How significant is it, not only that it's going to be there, but that it's being operated by U.S. personnel on the ground, considering that we've seen, even in recent days, IDF personnel get killed in strikes from Hezbollah.

LEIGHTON: Well, it's very significant, and it shows that there's a commitment of the United States to support Israel in a defensive way. This is a defensive system, and the only people that can operate or the only people who are trained to operate, are actually U.S. personnel. So that's why U.S. personnel are going into Israel to do this. But it also augments the existing Israeli air defense system, plus it augments the Aegis-based air defense systems, air missile defense systems, that are on board the U.S. naval vessels in the Mediterranean.

SANCHEZ: Colonel Cedric Leighton always appreciate the analysis. Thanks so much for joining us. LEIGHTON: You bet, Boris. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, Republican lawsuits in several states are challenging the legitimacy of overseas ballots, and it could impact the ability of active duty personnel to vote in this election. That story coming up.