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Food Banks Overwhelmed as Millions Lose SNAP Benefits; Former Vice President Dick Cheney Dies at 84; Polls Open in First Major Test of Trump's Second Term. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 04, 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]

KYLE WAIDE, PRESIDENT AND CEO ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: ... is that of our reserves. So that we could go purchase more food and distribute an additional 300,000 pounds of food a day over the next 4 weeks to help mitigate some of this increase in demand. And, and, you know, we're going to have to sustain that kind of output. We don't know if this shutdown will be resolved before Thanksgiving before December. There will not be contingency funds to pay for SNAP in December. And so, we could be staring at this kind of crisis level of demand for a while.

To support us, we really need the community's financial support primarily. There's just a tremendous amount of need for more food and the quickest way for us to get that at least by buying more food. So, we need financial support.

We need volunteer support. And we encourage everybody to get involved with your local food bank.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: That is a great thing to remind people. Kyle Waide, thank you for all that you're doing. And thank you for joining us this morning.

A new hour of CNN, NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following the breaking news this morning. We learned early this morning that former vice president Dick Cheney has passed away. He was 84 years old, considered by many to be the most powerful vice president in American history.

From Congress to the Pentagon and to the White House, Dick Cheney's imprint on politics, both in the United States and around the world, was immense. He was the chief architect of the post 9-11 war on terror, a driving force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Cheney's family today says that he died due to complications with pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. They released a statement saying this in part.

"Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man."

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Richard Bruce Cheney forged an identity as a no-nonsense loyal gatekeeper for George W. Bush, through whom access and influence flowed.

GEORGE W. BUSH, THEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I picked him because he's strong, he's steady and he gets the job done.

SERFATY (voice-over): Cheney was a seasoned Washington insider long before becoming vice president. He began his public service career in the Nixon administration and then became chief of staff for President Gerald Ford. In 1978, Cheney was elected to Congress from his home state of Wyoming.

He spent a decade there until the first President Bush asked him to serve as Secretary of Defense. After President Bush lost re-election, Cheney became head of the oil services giant Halliburton. It was a job that kept him steeped in foreign policy.

And later the job became a lightning rod for his critics. When George W. Bush secured the Republican nomination in 2000, he tasked Cheney with vetting candidates for vice president but ultimately offered him the job.

Cheney's health was a major concern. He'd had three mild heart attacks and a quadruple bypass before he was 50 and suffered another heart attack shortly after the 2000 election.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I've got a doctor that follows me around 24 hours a day that comes with a job as vice president.

SERFATY (voice-over): His health continued to be an issue once he was out of office. In 2012, at the age of 71, Cheney underwent a heart transplant. In the Bush administration, Cheney was considered a hawk who was instrumental in the decision to invade Iraq.

Cheney believed history would prove they made the right move.

CHENEY: What we did in Iraq and taking down Saddam Hussein was exactly the right thing to do.

SERFATY (voice-over): During the second term of the Bush administration, Cheney would find himself at the center of controversy when his chief of staff, I. Scooter Libby, was sentenced to prison in connection with the leak of a CIA agent's name. The president commuted Libby's sentence but did not pardon him, a move sought by some conservatives.

Late in his career, Cheney admitted he differed from many in his party on the issue of gay marriage.

CHENEY: As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish.

SERFATY (voice-over): In his 2011 memoir, Cheney accused Secretary of State Colin Powell of seeking to undermine President Bush by expressing doubts about the Iraq war. He also said Powell's successor, Condoleezza Rice, misled the president about negotiations with North Korea. Both have disputed the claims.

Cheney had no interest in running for president after leaving office, but he continued to be an outspoken voice for the Republican Party.

In Washington, I'm Sunlen Serfaty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:00]

SIDNER: All right, let's bring in CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel. You've known this family for such a long time, many decades. What are you hearing from them this morning?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: So, first of all, I think it's important to know his family was with him. They were at their home in McLean, Virginia, last night. I think they've known for a couple of weeks now that it was, you know, his condition had gotten worse.

But I think the thing that the family has said to me over the last couple of months, which is important, is that, you know, yes, he was probably the most powerful vice president in history. He was certainly controversial. He was a lightning rod for critics because of the Iraq War and enhanced interrogation.

But Liz Cheney, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, his daughter, wants people also to really note that a big part of his legacy should be that he raised her to have the courage of her convictions and that there was no daylight between the two of them when it came to her standing up to Donald Trump, voting to impeach him, being on the January 6th committee.

I just want to show you -- this is actually an old interview I did with them in 2015. They had written a book together, father and daughter. And I asked Vice President Cheney and then Liz Cheney what he hoped his legacy would be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GANGEL: And I know you don't like to talk about legacy, but you don't ever seem worried about your public standing. Looking back at your career, how would you like to be remembered?

CHENEY: Well, as somebody who didn't spend a lot of time worried about his public standing, I guess. The fact is that, you know, I've had a wonderful career. I loved every minute of it. I've worked with some fantastic people and been able to participate in historic events.

LIZ CHENEY, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMEN: You know, there's no question that the lessons that certainly those of us in the family, his kids and his grandkids have learned from watching him operate are ones about how important it is to have the courage of your convictions, how important it is to do what's right for the nation, and how important it is not to be deterred, frankly, by sort of the critics out there, because there always will be critics. So, I feel confident that he will be remembered as a man of tremendous courage and someone who did what he knew was right, even when it was tough and even when people were criticizing him for it.

And we love him for that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANGEL (on camera): Sara, I love that sound because I think that's 2015. Donald Trump had not been president yet. There had not been January 6th.

Liz Cheney had not, you know, voted to impeach him. And I just think it's very prescient that that's what they were talking about way back then. I also think people should remember that former Vice President Dick Cheney, you know, I don't think anyone would have ever imagined he was a conservative's conservative, a Republican's Republican.

He endorsed and voted for Kamala Harris. So that will also be part of his legacy.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a long and winding road of a political career, with the pinnacle being, I think, his time in the Bush White House as Vice President. Jamie, can you just remind people his role there from the minute he was selected to be Bush's running mate to the end?

GANGEL: So, one of the things that people may remember is that former President Bush put him in charge of trying to find his Vice President. What some people don't know is that before that happened, former President Bush actually asked Dick Cheney, would you be my Vice President? And Dick Cheney said no.

Then he conducted the search and he ended up as Vice President. And I think a critical thing about his time as Vice President was he really changed the role of Vice President. It was not a ceremonial role.

He was a partner. He worked at the business of government, not just the Iraq War, but in all areas of it. And, you know, people like to say that he was the puppet master.

Former President Bush has told me many times -- I was the decider. Dick Cheney was the advisor. And that is true.

[08:10:00] But his experience, his experience in Congress, his experience as Secretary of Defense, his experience as White House Chief of Staff for Gerald Ford many years earlier, all played a critical role in making him an extremely experienced Vice President -- John.

BOLDUAN: If you'd stick with us, please, Jamie. I want to also bring in Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who is the former Vice President's longtime doctor. You joined us last hour to talk about it as well, Dr. Reiner. It's good to see your face. The family in releasing the statement noted that he -- the cause of his passing was complications having to do with pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. He developed heart disease at such a young age.

You were so young when you began treating him. Talk -- remind us how that developed over the years.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Right. So, I became Vice President Cheney -- this was before he was Vice President.

His doc in 1998, and his internist asked me if I could see him. The Vice President needed a cardiologist. His longtime cardiologist, Dr. Alan Ross, had retired. And I said, sure. I said, does he live in D.C.? He goes, no, he said he lives in Texas and he comes to D.C. every year or so for a checkup. Would you mind seeing him? I said, sure, no problem.

And then two years later, Mr. Cheney called to ask for a stress test. He was feeling fine, but he wanted a stress test. And this is during the vetting process for Vice President for George W. Bush. And I asked his internist, why is Dick Cheney asking for a stress test?

And he said, I don't know. He's fine. I said, I think he's going to run for Vice President.

And a month later, that's what the announcement was. He was running for Vice President. And his time as Vice President, he had active, you know, coronary disease.

He managed it magnificently. He managed not to let it get in the way of his really arduous schedule. And his success in terms of living until 84, I think, is a testament to the fact that he took care of himself.

You know, after he had his first heart attack, he stopped smoking. And he managed his cholesterol. You know, he exercised.

And he was incredibly compliant with what his medical team needed and wanted him to do. So, he was incredibly lucky. But in some ways, he made that luck by being such an active participant in his own health care.

BERMAN: But you know what you're saying that you gave him the stress test. You did a stress test during the vice presidential vetting process. All I can think back is, if I wish you had told me then, I wish you had leaked. I was covering that. I was covering George W. Bush. And we were actively trying to figure out who was going to end up being picked as Vice President. And that kind of information would have been crucial, Dr. Reiner.

I will say also, I covered the Bush White House in the first year. When he had a heart event and ended up in the hospital, you were his doctor. I think that's when he had the stent put in, in 2001. That was 24 years ago.

And that wasn't even like halfway through his heart journey. You know, one feels like he had so many overtimes that he was able to thrive in over the last several decades. How did he look at life, Dr. Reiner, given all the challenges he had with his heart?

REINER: Yes, I said earlier this morning that when I was young, my father said to me that it's -- my father who also had heart disease developing in his 30s. He said to me that it's one thing to have a disease, but it's another thing entirely to let the disease have you. And Dick Cheney was 37 when he had this heart attack.

And he was determined just to pay attention to it, but not to let it dictate the terms of his life. When we were writing our book more than 10 years ago, I got a hold of some records from the Congressional Physician's Office. And there was a letter in there from the vice president, then candidate for Congress, his physician in Wyoming.

And it was his feeling in 1978 that probably running for office was too much for him and he probably shouldn't run. But he didn't have the heart to tell that to Dick Cheney. So, he thought that he would run and get it out of his system.

[08:15:00]

And he just managed to compartmentalize his health to pay attention to it, to be scrupulous with his medical regimen and the advice of his medical team. And to pay attention to it, but to live his life.

And I really admire that. He was an incredibly complicated patient. There were so many moving parts.

And the older he got, the more parts there were. But he was a -- he was a very important person to me.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Dr. Reiner, for bringing all those sort of personal stories. It makes it really, really interesting for us and for those who are watching. I do want to get back to Jamie Gangel.

Just lastly, Jamie, you know, a lot of people remember the controversies as well. I mean, Democrats especially really disliked Cheney after what happened with Halliburton and the no big contracts and after what happened at Abu Ghraib with the torture. And then going forward, he became a lightning rod because he went after Donald Trump and in no uncertain terms.

And so, Republicans then turned on him. How did he handle this sort of feeling of being attacked all the time and ostracized, ultimately, by his own party?

GANGEL: It's such a great question, Sara, because, you know, he had this nickname that critics said that he was like Darth Vader. And no question, he was a lightning rod for criticism, over enhanced interrogation, the Iraq war.

But I've spent a lot of time with Vice President Cheney over the years. And this is the way I would describe his sentiment. He was soft spoken. He was wry. And that's also the way that he handled Donald Trump, both Liz Cheney and her father.

Liz will tell you that she was able to stand up to Donald Trump because her father raised her to have the courage of her convictions. But I think what both of them held on to, they have very strong senses of right and wrong. And what Liz Cheney has said to me over and over again vis-a-vis, you know, her father going after Donald Trump is, I want people to remember that my father chose country over party.

And so, he was very disappointed about the Republicans who followed Trump. And he was shocked that so few stood up and voted for impeachment. But there was never any question in his mind that his position and Liz Cheney's position, picking country over party, was the right decision.

BERMAN: You got the sense that Dick Cheney was a man of few regrets over the course of his life that was --

GANGEL: Correct.

BERMAN: -- he, you know, was hard lived, to be sure. Jamie Gangel, thanks to you.

GANGEL: Thank you.

BERMAN: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you as well.

A lot going on today. It is Election Day in America. And the polls are open right now. We're going to get the latest updates from the key states to watch.

Plus, the collapse of a medieval tower turns deadly.

And a hero jumps to action to help an officer chase down a suspected shoplifter.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, you are looking at live pictures of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City. He just voted in this race. He's speaking to reporters now. He's been campaigning around the clock, all five boroughs, really a sprint to the finish in one of the most closely watched races in the country.

Also, up for grabs today, the governor's mansions in New Jersey and Virginia, local races everywhere. Let's start in Virginia, CNN's Brian Todd outside a polling location there.

Brian, what are you seeing this morning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, a pretty dynamic turnout. This is the kind of pre-work surge for voters hitting the polling place this morning as they're on their way to work here in Loudoun County. Our footage journalist, Manny Pacquiao, and I are going to take you inside.

What's really cool about covering the elections, as we know, is that we get to kind of show you how the process works live and in real time. We're going to take you inside the polling place. This is Arcola Elementary School in Aldie, Virginia, at the heart of Loudoun County.

Loudoun is the fourth biggest county in the state for voters. It has experienced a real surge in voters in recent years. I'm going to get to that in a second.

Here's a sample ballot. People are going to come in. It's a paper ballot.

They're going to fill in their votes for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, House of Delegates, school board members, and then a couple of initiatives over here on the right. They check in here and then they vote over here. It's a paper ballot.

So, what's interesting also is that what we're told by election officials here, as we take you through this polling area, is that only the voter gets to actually handle that ballot. You don't have to vote for every candidate. You can vote for just one race if you want to, but you have to vote for at least one race that's on the ballot.

Only the voter can handle the ballot. They do it over here at these booths. Then they come over here and feed it into this counter and only the voter can feed it into the counter. But if the counter somehow kicks it out because of an anomaly, then there's a voting official here to help you with that.

Manny and I are going to now go outside and talk to a voter who we just met. Her name is Brianna Cook.

[08:25:00]

She came here -- she's only been in Loudoun County for about three years. She's lived here.

Brianna, thanks for talking to us. Give me a sense of the issues here. There's so many issues here, guys, that are driving voters to the polls. It's the economy.

It's President Trump's agenda in his second term. It's the government shutdown. Breonna, what's the main one for you?

BRIANNA COOK, LOUDOUN COUNTY RESIDENT: The government shutdown. I have a bunch of family members that have been affected tremendously, not being able to afford daycare for their kids, still having to go to work, still trying to find a way to put food on the table. So just trying.

TODD: How did that inspire you to come out? And how did it inspire your choice of who to vote for?

COOK: It inspired me to vote for Abigail. I just align very well with her policies. She wants to put Virginia first.

And that's something I strongly believe.

TODD: All right, Brianna thanks --

COOK: Thank you.

TODD: -- very much for talking to us. It was great meeting you. Good luck to your family enduring the shutdown.

COOK: Thank you.

TODD: We appreciate it. Thank you, Brianna.

This county, John, I have to say, is so vibrant in so many ways. There are so many issues that drive the voters. We just talked about them. The economy, President Trump's agenda, the government shutdown.

A ton of people in this county are either government workers themselves or they're related to them. You just heard Brianna talking about her family and kind of what drives her out here.

Also, kind of a sense of the overall growth of this county. It's been incredible. Judy Brown is the director of the County Board of Elections here. When she started her job in that capacity about 40 years ago, there were about 30 precincts, voting precincts in this county.

Now there are 107 voting precincts in this county. And this is one of the biggest ones and most energetic ones. We look forward to bringing you the dynamic from the vote here all day long -- John.

BERMAN: I can't wait for that. 50 shades of Brian Todd as he navigates all the obstacles at this Loudoun County voting center. I kept waiting for you to have to like jump over a water pit or something, Brian, in the course of showing us every last aspect there.

TODD: I'm sure that's coming, John. There'll be something here that I'll have to jump over or around sometime soon, I'm sure.

BERMAN: And I know you will stick the landing. Brian Todd, thank you so much for that.

Obviously, a lot of breaking news this morning. It is Election Day. We're going to talk about where Democrats might be feeling good this morning and where they're the most nervous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]