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Trump and Harris Hitting Battlegrounds Hard With Six Days to Election; U.S. Calls Deadly Israeli Airstrike Horrifying; Yankees' Offense Comes Back With a Vengeance With 11-4 Win Vs. Dodgers. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 30, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Six days in this final campaign sprint, Vice President Kamala Harris making her closing pitch to voters as Donald Trump sows doubt and fears about election results.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: An apostrophe catastrophe, as Politico put it. The White House trying to clarify this morning what Joe Biden said and meant on a get out the vote call just as Donald Trump is jumping to fundraise off it.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The New York Yankees seeking inspiration from the exalted and holy Boston Red Sox, trying to come back from a 3-0 deficit, eat their fans wrong. Mookie Betts, one time Boston great. I've gone over my a lot of time.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: With six days out and closing arguments and historically tight polling 2024 race enters the final battleground blitz phase. Today, two states will see both Harris and Trump, with Harris set to squeeze in an extra Pennsylvania stop. Overnight. Trump was in Pennsylvania. Seeming to lay new groundwork to fight election results as Harris delivered her closing pitch against the rival she called a petty tyrant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We know what Donald Trump has in mind, more chaos, more division, and policies that help those at the very top and hurt everyone else. I offer a different path and I ask for your vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Kevin Liptak is tracing Harris, tracking Harris today. Kevin, give us some sense of what this final stretch strategy is on her part and her campaign.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And I think it's clear that she was trying to check a lot of boxes in that speech. Yes, it was that fiery broadside against Donald Trump. She called him consumed with grievance. But it was also something of an introductory speech, trying to lay out the vision that she has for the presidency.

And, you know, for so long, there's been this debate within the Democratic Party, whether they should focus their messaging on the threat to democracy or whether they should focus on economic issues, try and meet voters, you know, at the kitchen table. And I think this speech really tried to bridge that gap. It's essentially a distillation of the Harris campaign's theory of the case that voters can hold these two issues in their mind at this same time, and, in fact, that they're inexplicably linked.

And every part of that speech last night was meant to drive home that message, from the rhetoric and the language right down to the visuals, you know, right there in front of the south portico, exactly where Donald Trump spoke from on January 6th, that image from that speech played in so many clips over the last four years, really burned into people's memory. But it's also, you know, the crucible of American executive power. And she's really trying to portray herself as someone who has a different vision for the presidency.

And to that end, she did tick through a number of policy issues in the speech, whether it's her plan to expand Medicare for home health care, tax credits for homebuyers, trying to crack down on price gouging, immigration and earning a path to citizenship, trying to restore Roe versus Wade, but also during each of those moments, trying to draw the contrast with Donald Trump and saying what he would do if he were elected and returning to this idea of Donald Trump ticking through his enemies list while she is ticking through her to-do list.

And listen to a little bit more of how she framed that particular argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power.

Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00]

LIPTAK: You know, in a lot of ways, this was an introductory speech for Kamala Harris, which is so extraordinary in the final week of the campaign. It gives you a sense of just how abbreviated her own campaign has been. She talked about what motivates her, what inspires her, what kind of leader she would be, and that is the message that she will now take to nearly every battleground state in the week before Election Day.

Today, she'll be in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, all with the goal of trying to convince what they call these concerned voters who aren't necessarily sold on her yet, but are concerned about Donald Trump's rhetoric, that she is the candidate for them.

SIDNER: Kevin Liptak, always a pleasure. Thank you so much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump trying to refocus his campaign today as he is heading to North Carolina now calling the Madison Square Garden rally a love fest and brushing off the storm of criticism that has come after that racist joke was told about Puerto Rico, Donald Trump now calling it not a big deal.

CNN's Steve Contorno is in North Carolina ahead of Trump's events today. Steve, what are you expecting today?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, we've seen him over the last couple of days really lean into the immigration rhetoric that has been such a focal point of his campaign last night. He also responded to Vice President Harris' speech in a very late night through social posts coming at 2:30 A.M., saying, quote, the speech was terrible, full of lies and nothing new. Where are the jobs? There are none.

Now, I will point out that the unemployment rate is 4.1 percent, 3.8 percent actually here in North Carolina, where Trump will be speaking later today. Donald Trump also on social media attempting to seize on President Joe Biden's inarticulate attempts to I'm not going to poke fun at or criticize that joke about Puerto Rico and suggesting that his supporters are garbage. Trump responding by saying, quote, you can't lead America if you don't love the American people.

Now, the Harris campaign and others have pointed out that Trump has called Harris' supporters the enemy of the people. He has said her Jewish supporters should have their heads examined. So, clearly, he has a role in some of this rhetoric as well.

He also yesterday continued to respond to that joke himself. And we're now, you know, 48 hours afterward, he still continued to be forced to answer questions about it. Listen to what he told Sean Hannity last night about his view of what was said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I've had great relationships with Hispanics, but I've had really great relationships with Puerto Rico and people from Puerto Rico.

Now, look, every time I go outside, I see somebody from Puerto Rico, they give me a hug and a kiss.

Who this comedian was, I have no idea.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: You wish he wasn't there?

TRUMP: Yes. I mean, I don't know if it's a big deal or not, but, I don't want anybody making nasty jokes or stupid jokes. Probably he shouldn't have been there, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP) CONTORNO: Trump has two stops today, one planned just behind me in Rocky Count, North Carolina. He will also be in the swing state of Wisconsin in Green Bay later today. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Rocky Mountain is a good place. Steve, Trump is looking like he's trying to lay the groundwork already to challenge the outcome of the election in Pennsylvania, the election results in Pennsylvania, if he loses, because he's already trying to stoke voter fraud fears where there isn't. What is he telling his supporters just to put the claim out there and then what are the facts?

CONTORNO: Yes. Yesterday, Donald Trump in Pennsylvania seizing on this news that in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, there are reports, the allegations that there were 2,500 ballots -- excuse me, voter registration cards where authority said they found, addresses that didn't match signatures that didn't match, and they are investigating.

It's a sign of, in many respects, the process working that these people attempted to push through potentially fraudulent, voter registration cards, and instead they were caught. And Donald Trump, like I said, seizing on this news, suggesting that it means that something untoward is already happening in Pennsylvania, a very critical battleground, a state he just narrowly lost in 2020, and, obviously, they are trying to create this fear that something similar is going to happen in 2024 that he alleged happened four years ago.

So, just a sign of them already working a week out before the election to sow doubt in the results that are going to be coming a week from now.

BOLDUAN: Yes. The details on this just are easy to understand and matter. The investigation is into voter registration, as you say. This is no indication it has anything to do with voting or ballots.

Steve Contorno, good to see you. John?

BERMAN: All right. As you just heard, President Biden tries to attack Donald Trump for the racist jokes about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally. But instead Biden is playing cleanup for his comments this morning.

The U.S. calling an Israeli strike that killed nearly 100 people in Gaza horrifying.

[07:10:00]

And the most Democratic county in all of the swing states this year, why some black voters there are not sold on Kamala Harris just yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At this time, my husband, he's more leaning towards the Trump side and I'm leaning more towards the Harris side, but I'm still trying to persuade him to come to the other side.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what is his objections?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he just doesn't feel that like a woman is fit for the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: New this morning, the U.S. reacting to an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in northern Gaza that killed more than 90 people, including 25 children. A senior United Nations official has condemned the attack. The Israeli military says it is, quote, trying to understand why so many civilians were in the area despite evacuation orders.

CNN Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance is in Jerusalem with the latest this morning. Good morning, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you as well, John. Well, as you can see from those images, I think this is a very active war zone. This area of the northern Gaza Strip, Beit Lahiya, is the place. It was meant to have been evacuated according to the Israeli military. They say that evacuation orders for that area have been enforced for the past several weeks.

It's also a place where there's been very fierce combat over the course of the past several days, Israeli military officials saying that four Israeli soldiers, for example, were killed in close quarters fighting there just yesterday. And so it's within that context that this strike took place.

It's obviously been very heavily criticized by the United States. It says it's deeply concerned. The United Nations has expressed its condemnation as well, as well as other countries. And that's because of the high numbers of casualties. We're talking about at least 93 people, according to Palestinian health officials. 25 of them, according to those officials, are just children. And there are heartbreaking scenes there as people carrying bodies away from the rubble of that collapsed building.

What's interesting, though, I think, or one of the things that's sort of emerging now as part of an Israeli military investigation, is what was it that led to the collapse of this building. Apparently, the Israeli forces there had seen someone on the roof that they believed was a Hamas terrorist, in their words, a spotter. They attacked or opened fire on that individual, and they didn't mean for the building to collapse, but it did, and obviously causing these widespread casualties.

But the mystery is why were so many people inside. Now, it was meant to be an evacuated area. Obviously, the Palestinians say that civilians were taking shelter inside the building. But, you know, the latest coming from the Israeli military investigation is that they're looking at the possibilities -- this is according to my military sources, they're looking at the possibility that this could have been a sort of secret gathering point for Hamas fighters. It's not confirmed yet but it's something as a possibility they're looking at to explain why so many people were picked out of the rubble in a building that the Israeli military say they had no idea had anybody inside it at all. And so that's something that's emerging right now.

But, you know, it doesn't take anything away from the ongoing civilian toll being felt inside the Gaza Strip as Israeli military operations continue and intensify. John?

BERMAN: All right, important information there. Obviously, a lot more still to learn. Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Ponzi schemes, fake merchandise, identity theft, the election related scams that the FBI wants to make sure everyone is aware of right now.

And living on to fight another day, another game, the Yankees pull off a monster comeback and are now prepping for Game 5.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: The New York Yankees came back with a vengeance, leaving the Dodgers in dust with an 11-4 win in Game 4 of the World Series. The Dodgers hoped to finish off the Yankees after winning the first three games in a row in the series between the longtime rivals.

CNN Sports Correspondent Andy Scholes joining me now this morning. It wasn't cool what fans did to L.A.'s Mookie Betts, but the Yankees did win big.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot more on that moment that everyone's talking about in just a second.

But, you know, Sara, the Yankees fourth team ever down 0-3 in the World Series to force a Game 5. No team has ever forced a game six. So, we'll see if the Yankees can be the first ever to do that tonight.

But in Game 4 last night, Freddie Freeman, I mean, just incredible, once again, letting the air out of Yankees Stadium with a first inning home run. Freeman has home run in all four games of this World Series and six straight dating back to when he was on the Braves, which is a new World Series record.

Yankees offensive would finally come alive in this game. Bottom of the order was what came through. Third inning, Anthony Volpe, the New York native, gets a hold of that one for a grand slam, sending Yankees Stadium into a frenzy. That put New York up 5-2. Yankees would then add five in the eighth. They would go on to win 11-4 to stay alive in this series.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY VOLPE, NEW YORK YANKEES SHORTSTOP: I pretty much blacked out as soon as I saw it go over the fence. But, you know, we just want to keep putting pressure on them and I think everyone had confidence in everyone in the lineup that someone was going to get the big hit.

AARON BOONE, NEW YORK YANKEES MANAGER: Look, we just showed up today ready to play and, you know, we're trying to get one, you know, and trying to get it to tomorrow. You know, you don't even get ahead of yourself and start thinking about the series. It's like our guys were ready to play.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Now, in the first inning, Gleyber Torres fouls out to Mookie Betts in right field. And as Mookie made the catch, a Yankees fan grabbed his glove and pried the ball out while another fan, his buddy, grabbed Mookie's arm. You know Yankees fans wanted to help the team win, but you can't be doing that.

Umpires, they called it an out. Both fans were ejected from the game. Here's what Mookie had to say about that incident afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOOKIE BETTS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS OUTFIELDER: When it comes to the person in play, it doesn't matter. We lost. It's irrelevant. I'm fine. He's fine.

[07:25:00]

Everything's cool. We lost the game and that's what I'm kind of focused on. We got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So, you hear Mookie really taking the high road there. I mean, he could have been way more mad about that whole situation, Sara.

But I will say this, if the Yankees somehow were actually come back and win this series, that guy is going to be like a Yankee legend, a hero, because they're all going to point to this moment for turning it around.

SIDNER: I'm not saying nothing, but it ain't going to be nice, right? If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all, Andy Scholes.

SCHOLES: Just an iconic World Series moment there.

SIDNER: Totally, not going to be forgotten soon, played over and over.

Andy Scholes, thank you so much. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: Uplifting, uplifting for the Yankees fans there.

All right, what the Harris campaign is now saying about President Biden and his comments that have stirred controversy. And, honestly, where are the Kelce Brothers? We haven't seen them in at least like five or six seconds. All right. Severely underexposed, but they are teasing their newest collaboration.

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[07:30:00]