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Puerto Rican Pop Stars to Campaign for Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris after Comedian at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden Rally Told Offensive Joke about Puerto Rico; President Biden's Comment that Trump Supporters are Garbage Garners Controversy for Harris Campaign. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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NICKY JAM: The reason I supported Donald Trump was because I thought he was the best for the economy in the United States where a lot of Latinos live, myself included, a lot of immigrants who are suffering because of the economy. And him being a businessman, I thought it was the best move. Never in my life did I think, that one month later there would be a comedian who would criticize my country and speak poorly of my country. And for that I withdraw my support of Donald Trump.

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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Now, he is one of many stars who are Puerto Rican, including Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, who, as you said, is going to join Harris tonight at a rally, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi. So the list goes on and on. And these are huge stars who have huge impact.

But as we see here, there are stars also coming out for former President Trump. In fact, even though its seems like most celebrities are aligned with Harris, and that is the truth, Hollywood typically backs the Democratic candidate, Trump actually has more celebrity support than ever, Sara. But yesterday there was a big surprise. Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he's choosing country over party, backing Harris.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Whether the women like it or not -- what did Donald Trump mean by that when talking about protecting women? And what do those words mean on the campaign trail with just five days left?

And this morning, one Sean Combs accuser being hit with an ultimatum, reveal your identity or the lawsuit will be dismissed. And $20 billion trillion trillion dollars -- yes, this is a real

number, a two with 36 zeroes behind it. And it's how much money Google reportedly owes Russia after failing to pay a series of fines.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the final five days. Kamala Harris, Donald Trump essentially chasing each other through the battleground states at this point, heading out west today with dueling rallies in Arizona and Nevada. Donald Trump will also be making a stop in New Mexico.

Harris is going to be joined today by essentially a who's who lineup of popular Latino stars, a direct response to Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally.

Just as Donald Trump, hops out of his Trump-branded garbage truck and gets on with his closing message which now includes going against he says what, and he says this, going against what his advisers and allies keep telling him when it comes to women.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About four weeks ago, I would say no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women. Sir, please don't say that. Why? They said we think it's very inappropriate for you to say. I said, why? I'm president. I want to protect the women of our country.

Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them.

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BOLDUAN: Let's start this hour with "One Big Thing." CNN political director David Chalian is here with us. What is the one big thing you think, David, that voters should know about today?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, off of what you just played from Trump, I think everybody in a race this close, Kate, when you look at the results on Tuesday night, any slice demographically, geographically of the electorate can be the thing that tips this election, right? But I would urge everyone to look at the female vote and what happens on Tuesday, because we have been seeing, obviously, a big gender gap in this race. And that means that's not just Harris's advantage with female voters, but also Donald Trump's advantage with male voters.

But look here on the screen. This is our most recent polls of the blue wall states that we released yesterday afternoon. This is among female likely voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. You see Kamala Harris has a significant advantage among them. In Pennsylvania, it is closest. That is also where our overall horse race found the race closest. And it is interesting to note that in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump's advantage with men is not nearly as great as it exists as Harris's advantage with women. In Pennsylvania, they are equally divided between the two genders.

But there is -- remember, women make up a larger share of the electorate, so that small increase in the overall share will matter if Kamala Harris performs on Tuesday with female voters in a turbocharged way.

BOLDUAN: Yes, this is -- I mean that what you say is just super interesting. The one key thing I know you're going to be watching when we start getting exit polls coming out of this come next week, President Biden's garbage comment.

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It got Kamala Harris's -- it got, it got in the way of Kamala Harris's message over the past couple of days. Does Harris have a Biden problem?

CHALIAN: Harris has a Biden problem, but it's not what he said in his, what he claims was his misconstrued statement about garbage and Donald Trump's, the speaker at Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden.

Her problem, her Joe Biden problem is that he's the incumbent president of her party, she serves with him, and his approval rating is down at 36 percent. That is her Joe Biden problem.

So I'm not sure that this moment, his garbage comments, did anything other than perhaps give the Trump campaign something to seize on from a message perspective, put him in garbage truck to take questions from reporters, and allow them to try and get off their back heels where they had been for a few days based on the Madison Square Garden rally, Kate. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a Joe Biden problem. She does. It's the fact that he's wildly unpopular.

BOLDUAN: Yes. This morning, also, David, that we learned that Donald Trump's last campaign stop before Election Day is going to be in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Talk about that blue wall, talk about the significance of that as the final stop.

CHALIAN: Yes, our Kristen Holmes is reporting that superstition may have something at play according to her reporting of Trump's aides. This is where Donald Trump closes out his previous presidential campaign. So there's a bit of tradition here. Grand Rapids is also a key battleground in the battleground of Michigan. Kent County will be one of the places we watch on election night. And so it is geographically pertinent to trying to get those electoral votes out of Michigan. But it is also Donald Trump wanting to stick to tradition here and get a little of that warm memory of the 2016 victory where he wrapped up that winning campaign for him and tried to repeat history here.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, David. Thank you. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, with us now here in person is Frank Luntz, pollster and communications strategist. You heard those numbers there. What is your takeaway? What are we seeing from these numbers? Because we're seeing things get tighter and tighter and different places, and even in Pennsylvania.

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER: A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. Paul Simon in the music of "The Boxer." And I think that Harris voters are seeing in the numbers some things that are very positive towards her, a level of intensity, of passion of young women that can't wait to get out and vote. And Trump voters are seeing things that are beneficial to him. Number one, the polling is better in almost every state in 2024 than it was in 2020 or 2016. And number two is that the early votes is very much more pro Trump than it was four years ago.

SIDNER: Let me ask you this. You have argued I think just last night that Biden may have tanked Harris's chances of becoming the president because of his comments about Trump voters being trash, which he has said was a gaffe. But she's also come out and said, no, no, no. I'm going to give people a seat at the table and not call them the enemy within. Why do you argue that this might be the big issue?

LUNTZ: Because it reminds me so much of 2016, and I think there are a lot of similarities. Right now between this campaign and that campaign the divisions in the country were significant back then. People didn't think Trump had a chance back then. He's been gaining and gaining, the momentum.

I don't know who is going to win. I can't call it and nobody should, because statistically and probably in focus groups, it is way too close to call. However, the momentum is clearly in my -- in what I see and what I hear is in his favor. And so every word, every phrase, every misstep, every gaffe matters as those last remaining persuadables make their decision.

I don't believe in the undecided anymore. I don't believe there is undecided. I think the only question is, can you be -- do you actually come out and vote if you don't like either candidate? Because that is the vast majority of persuadables, people who don't like Trump's attitude, don't like his persona. People who aren't still sure what Harris will do in the first day, first week, first month, first year.

SIDNER: She has explained that over and over, but I am curious if you think the same about Donald Trump from the rhetoric that we heard at MSG. And what has happened since, which you have some very big names and Latino pop culture, in American pop culture coming out for Harris, or one of them denouncing Donald Trump.

LUNTZ: I'm really careful, as you've seen in my interviews, to say it straight. You're correct that she has said it, but if voters haven't heard it, that's what matters. It's not what you say. It's what people hear.

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And if they're still asking the same questions, then she hasn't said it enough or she hasn't said it clearly. In Donald Trump's case, you and I may feel that it's offensive, you may feel that the things that he says are wrong. But in the end, if voters are willing to put up with that because they like what he did on inflation, they like what he did on immigration, that's what matters. The bar is higher for Harris because they don't know her. The bar is lower for Trump because they saw him for four years. And what he did, all the good, all the bad, everything. And that's the challenge for her.

In the end, I think she controls her destiny more than he does. We decided what we think about him. We have still not decided what we think about her.

SIDNER: Do you think there's a double standard in voters' minds there because they, you know, they sort of -- Trump can say whatever he wants to say, and she, if she makes one mistake, as you said, a gaffe or says something that people don't like, or even if Joe Biden, it comes out of his mouth, she's blamed.

LUNTZ: I understand why white people can feel that way. However, it's their right to feel that way. It's their right to judge the candidates however they want. I'm very careful not to do that as a pollster, because in the end, the voters will decide.

SIDNER: They well. Why do you think that Harris is taking up a bit better in Michigan and Wisconsin, but in a dead heat and Pennsylvania that has 19 electoral votes?

LUNTZ: I don't think that one percent or two percent means anything. I think, once again, we're getting so excited and so afraid. It's not that we want our candidate to win. My fear is that we want the other candidate to lose, and that's what's driving this passion. We're what, five days from the election. People are already voting. The early vote is very, very high all across the country. People's voices, they want their voice to be heard. I don't follow one or two percent. I don't fall of something ticks up. I follow movement, I follow trends. And the trend, very narrowly is, in Trump's favor.

SIDNER: Frank Luntz, we all have to wait. No one, if they're smart, is making a prediction this time around. Thank you so much for coming on and bringing your expertise. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Minutes from now, a fresh read on inflation, which also means an important new look on a healthy U.S. economy, which we also know is one of the top issues for voter five days out.

And one woman who has accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault is going to be forced to reveal her identity. Why a judge says she cannot proceed with her lawsuit as Jane Doe.

And wild lies about Kamala Harris shooting an endangered Rhino, being involved in a hit and run. CNN digs into the Russian troll farms now spreading this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How well do you think we're doing in this war against Russian disinformation more broadly?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Extremely poorly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you see that changing anytime soon?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

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BERMAN: This morning, a new report finds that a Russian disinformation network with ties to a notorious troll factory is targeting the US presidential election, and new evidence that prominent lawmakers have been taking the bait.

Let's get right to CNN chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt with the latest on this.

Good morning, Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Well, we worked with researchers from Clemson University and focused on what they called the most important actors in the Russian disinformation space right now and these are two shadowy efforts.

One is called the R-FBI, which stands for the Foundation to Battle Injustice a rather illustrious name. And the other is Storm-1516. And these are relatively new efforts, but they have very familiar origins. They can be traced back to the infamous Russian troll farm called the IRA, which was founded but Yevgeny Prigozhin, the long-time ally of Vladimir Putin, who was the founder of the Wagner mercenary group.

He then mounted that rebellion against Putin last year and then mysteriously died in a mid-air collision. But Storm-1516 and R-FBI have been pumping out dozens of narratives that these Clemson researchers have been tracking over the past year.

Many of them focusing on Ukraine and Marjorie Taylor Greene and JD Vance in fact, picked up on one of those fake stories that the Ukrainians were using American aid money to buy yachts. But lately R- FBI and Storm-1516 have been focusing more on the US election, pumping out fake stories, fake videos. One, that spread across the internet like wildfire was about Governor Tim Walz sexually assaulting a minor. That was a fake story, of course.

There were two more about Kamala Harris that she carried out a hit and run, that she killed rhinoceros while on safari, both wildly false.

And then, John, moments after we interviewed these Clemson researchers last week, there was yet another one that you could see really could have an impact on this election of ballots, mail-in ballots being torn up in Bucks County in Pennsylvania, of course, a critical swing state. That was fake, but it spread across the internet tens of thousands of shares in just the first few hours. And that's the kind of thing that these experts believe we could see a lot more of in the coming days -- John.

BERMAN: Alex, you learned that Americans are being recruited to help with this initiative?

MARQUARDT: Yes, so the R-FBI is led by this woman named Mira Terada. She's a Russian citizen and she was actually in American prison for two years for money laundering charges connected to cocaine smuggling.

But she's been working closely with an American called John Mark Dougan, who was a Florida Sheriff's Deputy who fled to Russia back in 2016 after facing felony charges here in the United States. And he has been helping spread many of these narratives. This is what those Clemson researchers told me about him, take a listen.

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MARQUARDT: He's a useful idiot.

DARREN LINVILL: CLEMSON MEDIA FORENSICS HUB CO-DIRECTOR: He is a useful idiot without question.

MARQUARDT: How much of a win is it for the Russians to be able to get an American like this to essentially launder their narratives?

LINVILL: I think that it's incredibly important and you see the importance in how hard they've worked to recruit Americans.

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MARQUARDT: So John, our sources tell us that not only was he is spreading that disinformation, but who is she being paid for it as well. That is something that he denied when we reached out to him.

Another name is Tara Reed. She was a former staffer in then Senator Biden's office back in the early 90's. She accused him of sexual harassment, that is widely disputed.

But you can imagine how important it is for these Russian efforts to get these Americans to launder that information because it comes across as much more trustworthy if it's coming from fellow Americans but of course it certainly is not -- John.

BERMAN: It's just another reminder how careful you have to be with the information you are seeing.

Alex Marquardt, thank you for this report -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, it could be the decisive battleground state, Pennsylvania, neck and neck now. It is now at the center of flight over early election ballots, how the legal disputes could impact the election.

And new this morning, the Sean "Diddy" Combs accuser is given an ultimatum by a judge. If the accuser it doesn't comply that case could be dropped. Details on that ahead.

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BOLDUAN: This morning a federal judge says, a woman who has accused rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexually assaulting her essentially has an ultimatum, that she cannot remain anonymous if she wants to move forward with her case. The woman was 19-years-old when she says she was assaulted at a private party.

CNN's Kara Scannell, tracking this one for us. She's here with us now. What do we know about the judge's reasoning here?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, the judge is trying to balance the interest of the plaintiff and the interest of the defendant as they do in all of these cases.

And so, she's going through the test here and says that even the plaintiff, this woman acknowledges that in the 20 years since the alleged rape, she hasn't had any contact with Combs and that's important because one of the reasons why she wants to maintain anonymity is because she's afraid, she said, for her own physical safety that should could be the harmed.

You know, the judge also saying that Combs is in federal jail, right now, so the risk of that is low and a couple of the other factors and they're saying these are serious allegations against Combs, there have been other plaintiffs that filed lawsuits under their own name and so, it does not pass the bar of the potential harm and public scrutiny that this individual might face.

And also, while she was 19 years old at the time of the alleged assault, she wasn't a minor. So those are the factors and the judge ultimately saying that the defendants have a right to defend themselves, including by investigating plaintiff and the people have a right to know who is using their court.

She said that this though has -- is not entitled to the exceptional remedy of anonymity and saying that she has to decide by November 13th if she wants to re-file this lawsuit under her actual name, or it will be dismissed.

BOLDUAN: There are a lot of other Jane and John Doe's in the slew of lawsuits that he is facing. What could this -- how this pans out, what could this mean for them?

SCANNELL: So a lot of these lawsuits about more than a dozen of them were filed after Combs was indicted and by individual lawsuits, but by the same group of lawyers.

Now, these lawsuits are all before different judges. So, this is an issue that individual judges will then evaluate. So, it's not as though this is binding on those judges, but it's going to be the same test of factors that these judges will evaluate and in some of those allegations, the individuals said that they were minors at the time of the alleged assault.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SCANNELL: So, those cases may be able to continue with those. Ultimately, this will be a test that each of these judges will have to evaluate for each of these plaintiffs. And it's unclear if this judge -- excuse me, the plaintiff's lawyer has said that they've been contacted by more than a hundred people saying at they had been assaulted by Combs. Question is how many new lawsuits will be filed if this is the standard going forward.

BOLDUAN: That is really -- I mean, talk about the delicate balance that this judge, and all of these judges now face as this goes forward. Thanks, Kara, it's great to see you -- John.

BERMAN: All right, we are standing by for brand new numbers on inflation. They come just minutes from now. What do they mean for your wallet? What do they mean in the election?

And kind of mixed reactions this morning, President Biden pretending to bite a baby who was dressed up as a chicken for Halloween.

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