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Mamdani Leads Cuomo, Sliva in New York City Mayor's Race Polls; Trump's Approval Rating Drops to Lowest of Second Term; Air Traffic Control Staffing Shortages Disrupt Flights Across U.S.; Interview with Doug Burgum, Interior Secretary: Abu Dhabi Hosts Energy Summit as OPEC+ Halts Production Hikes. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 03, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

MATT SCHMIDT, ATLANTIC CITY POLICE OFFICER: ... I'm just basically talking to him. I'm like, OK, buddy, just help me. Just swim with me, not away from me.

Don't make this double hard. So I was -- I was having a little chat with him while we were on the way back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: No word what the dog said in response to that. He was taken in by animal control or after. They now say the dog is doing OK.

Brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New polling and new highs and lows for the Trump presidency. The numbers just out showing the lowest approval rating of his second term, his highest disapproval rating ever as president. What the shutdown has to do with it all.

And a travel nightmare. Massive delays in airports across the country coming off the worst weekend for air traffic controller staffing since that shutdown began and Transportation Secretary is warning that things are about to get worse.

And next to a French fry, it's bound to be the one thing you'll definitely find in the floor of your car. Yet there is a massive shortage of pennies now in America, forcing the Golden Arches to change things up.

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

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we are in the final sprint to Election Day. It's the last full day of campaigning before the final day of voting in several key races.

One of the biggest battles catching national attention, the race for New York City mayor. Zohran Mamdani, the young Democratic Socialist and the left's rising star out this morning walking across the Brooklyn Bridge as he makes his final pitch to voters. He's leading the polls over former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Now Mamdani, who has harnessed the power of social media to generate enthusiasm among younger voters, is hoping to become the city's first Muslim mayor. And he has a fan in former President Barack Obama. Source telling CNN, Obama called Mamdani over the weekend, calling his campaign impressive to watch and offering to be a sounding board.

But Mamdani's reception from Democratic Party leaders has been much more cautious. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, hasn't endorsed Mamdani and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries waited until late last month to endorse Mamdani and just said he does not view him as the future of the Democratic Party.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joining us now. How's Mamdani making his closing arguments? I know he was out at bars and there's just a lot of enthusiasm with with early voting with these long lines that we've been seeing.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, breaking records from previous years in terms of early voting, Sara. I asked Mamdani about his reaction to what Hakeem Jeffries said regarding him being the future of the Democratic Party. And he told me yesterday that he's not focused on that. He's focused on finishing this race.

And there's been a lot of symbolism and a lot of events tied to social media that have gotten the enthusiasm of young New Yorkers. And we saw another example of that this morning when Mamdani walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and here to City Hall Park stood in the shadow of City Hall to deliver sort of a final address to New Yorkers. Talking about this campaign, talking about everything that it has signified, talking about the people that he is hoping to work for if he is elected tomorrow.

We heard from Mamdani, who was surrounded by his supporters, including State Attorney General Letitia James. And we also heard his reaction to comments from President Trump, who has referred to him as a communist, even though Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist, and has threatened to take funding from the city of New York. Take a listen to what the president said about Mamdani yesterday and how Mamdani is reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What if Mamdani becomes mayor?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there. So I don't know that he's won.

And I'm not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other. But if it's going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I'm going to pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Now, Donald Trump may speak as if it is his decision, but this is money that this city is owed. This is money that we will expect to collect. And I will take every single day after this election to put together my city government, my city hall, to ensure that it is prepared not only for the threats from Donald Trump, but also the threats from an affordability crisis that has put one in four New Yorkers in poverty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

PAZMINO: Now, Sara, you know, campaigning is very hard. Mamdani has been doing it for at least a year. And the amount of campaigning that he's been doing in the last 72 hours has really just been off the charts.

He spent the weekend in church. He went to Madison Square Garden for the Knicks game. He showed up at nightclubs in Brooklyn on Saturday night to reach out to voters.

He has been crisscrossing every part of this city, trying to get his supporters to come out. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican, also trying to shore up their support. Cuomo is expected to do a five borough tour throughout the city today, meeting with supporters.

And I did ask Zohran just a little while ago, you know, the hard part of campaigning is over, but then the harder part starts soon if he wins this election on Tuesday. And that is, of course, governing. He told me that he is focused on getting through the tape on Tuesday, winning that election, and then making sure that his administration can be set up by the time he takes office, potentially in January -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, you make a great point. Campaigning is hard. Governing, even harder.

Gloria Pazmino, you've been great covering this campaign. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking news this morning. Hot off the presses, a brand new CNN poll. With us now, CNN Washington bureau chief and political director, David Chalian.

The presidential approval numbers, you know, breaking new ground here, David.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They are breaking new ground in a couple of ways. Take a look here in our brand new CNN poll from SSRS. Donald Trump's approval rating right now, John, sits at 37 percent.

That is a low mark in this term for Donald Trump. His disapproval is at 63 percent. That's a high mark for his entire time as president, first and second term combined.

I will say, Democrats and Independents fleeing him, of course, Republicans still with him, which is why we'll see him doing these tele-rallies tonight for the Republican candidates for governor. Take a look over the course of this year. You'll see, down here, mid- February, late February, he was at 47, 48 percent approval.

That was a honeymoon period after the election. He's now been steadily going down all year long. Why?

One of the reasons why, it seems, is that the American people think he's gone too far when using presidential power. 61 percent say so, way up from February. And deporting undocumented immigrants, 57 percent of Americans in this poll, John, say that he has gone too far in doing that.

And in fact, he said just the opposite on 60 Minutes last night.

BERMAN: You know, David, a great man called this poll sort of a mood ring for the country. And it does seem that voters are saying they're in a pretty bad mood.

CHALIAN: They are. It's a pretty sour American electorate out there. 32 percent of Americans say things are going well in the country, John.

68 percent say they're going badly. This is clearly driven in large part by the economy, which is by far and away the most important issue for Americans. 47 percent say economy, cost of living, top issue.

26 percent say state of democracy. 10 percent say immigration. Seven, crime and safety.

And so what does that mean in terms of Trump's policies affecting the U.S. economy? Well, 61 percent of Americans say they've worsened the American economy. Only 27 percent say Trump's policies have improved the economy, John.

BERMAN: That 61 percent is a tough number for Republicans facing election tomorrow, and certainly for the president as he tries to improve his position heading into the midterms next year. David Chalian, great to see you. Thank you very much.

CHALIAN: You too.

BOLDUAN: A man is now charged with 10 counts of attempted murder following a stabbing attack on a train. What we are learning about this attack and the investigation.

And this morning, the defense begins calling witnesses in that $40 million civil trial brought by a teacher shot by her six-year-old student.

And mounting -- and a mounting mess at the nation's airports. The new warning from the Transportation Secretary over air traffic control staffing shortages as the focus quickly shifts now to Thanksgiving. [08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Air traffic delays are bad now, but the head of the Department of Transportation says they are going to get worse. This is all due to the government shutdown. Was it about to break the record for longest shutdown in U.S. history?

Airports from coast to coast reported issues. This map shows airports most impacted by staffing shortages yesterday. One of the issues, of course, air traffic controllers calling in sick in record high numbers.

Joining us now is CNN transportation analyst, Mary Schiavo. Thank you so much for being here. Let's first talk about the fact that we have all been through several shutdowns and you certainly have been paying attention throughout your years in the world of aviation.

What is going on behind the scenes for these air traffic controllers?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, what's going on behind the scenes is a significant event just happened, and that's the missing of the first full paycheck. You know, I've been through, as you said, many shutdowns and it's partially psychological, but it's partially very real stress. And then once that first full paycheck is missed, they had a partial miss before, you know, people get worried.

They're allowed to have sick leave and they start taking it. Sick leave call-ins increase. Of course, there are rules in government about who gets to take it.

If you abuse it, people report other workers and you can be required to have a doctor's note, but you're allowed to have sick leave. And there's also stress leave. And remember, there are 40,000 Department of Transportation employees still on the job, only 13,000 air traffic controllers.

And all these other employees have to keep this antiquated system running. So there are a whole bunch of people in this mix and all these other people are feeling the stresses too, looking for other jobs, et cetera. And now we're about to hit the change of the weather.

Strangely enough, October 31st is when icing, winter weather sets in. I know the calendar says it starts in December, but winter actually starts now. And then we have Thanksgiving.

[08:15:00]

So as Secretary Duffy said, we're about to hit the perfect storm and storms are never good for aviation.

SIDNER: That is the truth. I think there are about 13,000 air traffic controllers working without pay during this government shutdown. And as you said, you know, they'll call in sick. Sometimes they're calling in sick because they're working other jobs or taking care of kids because they may not have money, for example, for childcare. We're now five weeks in. What is the worst we've experienced as far as sick outs go and what that's done to aviation?

SCHIAVO: Well, again, sick outs, you know, they are allowed to take sick leave if they have, you know, illnesses or if they're stressed. But what happens is after you start missing paychecks, you know, let's just assume they're doing it correctly. They're using it to the fullest allowable extent.

And remember, air traffic controllers are highly paid, highly trained, and highly valuable. But the other, you know, 20-some-thousand people working may not have those kinds of resources. And so even if we got all the controllers there, and remember, we had a 3,000-person shortage before the shutdown ever happened, and that was due in large part because the government stopped training and hiring during COVID.

So we hadn't made up that gap. So the rule of thumb is if you had a shortage before the shutdown in your facility, like Newark and other facilities, you're going to have a terrible problem after. So what's going to happen is just increases in delays.

Now so far, I mean, we've had delays but not like we're going to see.

SIDNER: It's going to get bad or worse, I should say. Mary Schiavo, it's always a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us this morning -- John.

BERMAN: The $40 million lawsuit filed by a first-grade teacher who was shot -- who was shot by her six-year-old student. New testimony in just minutes.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning let's take a look right now at oil prices this morning, down ever so slightly. That is after OPEC Plus announced a small boost in oil output for December, but the group also said in a statement this, that the eight countries also decided to pause the production increments in January, February, March for 2026.

This morning, world leaders are gathered in Abu Dhabi for the major annual global conference for the oil, gas, and energy industries. Representing the Trump administration there, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who's joining us right now to talk about this. Secretary, it's good to see you.

You are the head of the National Energy Dominance Council. This was created by President Trump, modeled after the National Security and Economic Councils to take on, well, exactly what the name says, to put the United States on a path for energy dominance in the world. What is the plan?

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: Well, Kate, great to be with you. But the plan is really about energy abundance. It's about prosperity at home, because when you have a lot of supply of energy, you've got lower prices for consumers and businesses, which attracts capital to our country. But it's also about peace abroad, because right now, the big conflicts we've been facing, 24 terror groups funded by Iran, Russians aggression against Ukraine, funded by their energy sales.

When we've got abundant amounts of energy, when we can sell energy to our friends and allies versus them buy it from our adversaries, it's one of the ways that President Trump has been able to solve so many conflicts around the world. And here at this conference, there's also a huge focus on AI. We signed an agreement with the UAE yesterday in MoU, extending the relationship, reaffirming a relationship that began last May when President Trump was here around energy and AI, because one of the things we need the energy for is to win the AI arms race.

Partners like the UAE that are ahead of almost any other country in applying AI to things like energy efficiency and energy production in real practical uses. Anyway, the great things happening here, 248 companies from America here at the world's largest energy conference. U.S. is back in the energy game, and that's one of the reasons why the prices that you see where they are holding steady and lower than they were when we took office is because the supply is up and people know that the U.S. is an energy powerhouse and our playing large on the world stage is going to help keep things affordable for the whole world.

BOLDUAN: And utility bills and the price of electricity is a big concern. I've seen over the past six years, the average retail price of electricity has risen faster than inflation in 26 states. And when you look at that going forward, there's an AI element to this that's really important, which is how to lead the way in generating enough power, enough to power AI energy -- AI energy footprint now and in the future.

China already generates more electricity than the United States and the EU combined. If electrical capacity is the biggest constraint on AI growth going forward -- some would argue it is -- has China already won that race?

BURGUM: Well, they've had a real focus on this and they've been, well, the rest of the world has been in many cases, including the U.S., focusing on -- the focus has been on highly subsidized, highly intermittent sources like wind and solar. China built 93 gigawatts of coal just last year. One gigawatt of coal can run the entire metro of Denver, Colorado.

So they were opening up a coal plant every four days. China is the most energy dependent country in the world. They import 11.5 million barrels of oil a day, but they -- and they were behind on the tech and on the chips needed for AI. So they strategically said, we're going to go after the power side. And they've been aggressively adding power when a lot of the world has been, you know, decommissioning baseload at a time when we needed to be adding baseload. I think that we're seeing at this conference there's a sea change.

The whole world is figuring out that we've got -- it's not about energy transition. It's about energy addition, that we need to add more energy.

And part of to do that, we've got to make sure that we also get back in the game on critical minerals. You saw that China tried to add export controls on critical minerals to the entire rest of the world a few weeks ago.

[08:25:00]

President Trump and the United States leading the way in responding now with the five countries signing on to agreement, many more coming to create a club of nations to trade freely amongst each other on critical minerals and critical minerals processing to make sure that on defense, on technology, on automotive, on virtually every appliance that we have, that we don't have to be strangled by export controls from China.

BOLDUAN: So the question is, when can you actually even logically say that you can move away from China on it? Because on rare earths, which one would assume also clearly follows under your purview in part, in the same breath, the Treasury secretary said yesterday that China's been working 25, 30 years to dominate when it comes to rare earths, and they basically have the world supply of it. But also Besson said in the same breath that the United States can somehow break that dominance in just one to two years after he says being asleep at the switch.

How is that logical when you see how Japan has been trying to do that now for 15 years?

BURGUM: Well, Kate, it's going to take a concerted effort and it's going to take us plus our allies. But rare earth minerals aren't rare. They exist all over the United States, you know, from from countries in the lower 48 to Alaska.

But we as a country have got ourselves out of the mining business. We've got to get back into mining. If people care about the environment --

BOLDUAN: And the processing.

BURGUM: -- they should want to have all of this done in America because we do it cleaner.

Absolutely both of those things, we do it cleaner, safer, smarter than anyone. China has done it with complete disregard to the environment. They don't they only have about 30 percent of the rare earth minerals at home, but they're doing it in the Congo.

They're doing it in Indonesia. And when they are no regard for reclamation, no regard for EPA type rules, no regard for human rights related to labor. So, of course, they can be the low cost producer.

Then they take all that back home and do the processing in China, which is where they really have the controls. But we're -- it was a breakthrough this summer. Quietly, the United States of America investing directly into rare earth mineral processing companies to help stabilize those markets. Because China every time a U.S. company --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Because you think you really think the administration can do this in two years?

BURGUM: Well, it's going to be us plus our allies. But we have the minerals. We've got it -- we've got to work -- this is a Manhattan style project where we've got to figure out it's absolutely essential. Because if China last spring, when they said they're going to stop shipping magnets, we were with two weeks away from every every auto plant, not just in the U.S. or Canada and Mexico, but all those in Europe would have all stopped manufacturing because everybody was dependent on these little, teeny magnets from China.

So we have to make sure that in the free world that we've got security of supply around these supply chains and everybody -- this needs to be the top priority with the team that was there. President Trump, Scott and others negotiating a one year hold back by by China. But if China decided to turn that switch on the other way, it is a real -- it's a real threat to the economies of the free world.

And that's why we've got to move with light speed to solve these problems.

BOLDUAN: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, thank you very much for coming in. I appreciate your time, John.

BERMAN: All right, a mass stabbing attack aboard a train sends nine people to the hospital. Police are now announcing charges against the suspect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]