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Soccer Legend David Beckham Knighted By King Charles; Voters Cast Ballots For NYC Mayor, Governors Of NJ & VA; Mamdani, Cuomo & Sliwa Face Off In NYC Mayor's Race; WH Says Partial SNAP Benefits Will Be Paid Despite Trump Threat; Former Vice President Dick Cheney Dies At 84. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired November 04, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: We'll see if the Pentagon decides to enforce its press credential rules with Laura Loomer.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, very interesting.

Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: So, David Beckham is officially a knight, Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Wow.

KEILAR: Pretty amazing, right?

SANCHEZ: Yes, congrats to him. The former British soccer star was knighted by King Charles in a ceremony at Windsor Castle and what he is describing as his proudest moment.

KEILAR: Beckham was named earlier this year for his services to sport and charity. His wife, Victoria, also at the ceremony and made the suit that he wore for the award.

Sending a Message: Americans casting ballots in races across the country today, each one with a local impact and the potential to tell us something about the national mood.

SANCHEZ: Plus, Mixed Messages: President Trump says no more food stamp benefits will be paid until the shutdown is over, despite two judges ruling that he has to pay those funds. The White House now insisting it is complying with the order.

And later, a potential climate catastrophe. A new report says the world has failed to meet a critical target in the fight against global warming.

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

President Donald Trump right now facing his first big political test of his second term as it is election day across America. The President throughout the day has been airing grievances on several key races. Just moments ago, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that fraud was happening in California without actually providing any proof. Leavitt then saying the President is considering executive action without offering many details.

KEILAR: Yes, we actually just spoke with a Republican who does not share that concern. One, Kevin Kiley there on the corner of that graphic. Earlier, the President took aim at that state's Democratic- led redistricting push, calling it unconstitutional. And certainly, there are concerns from Republicans about that, the fate of five Republican House seats on the ballot hanging really in the balance there.

We are also keeping a close eye on key matchups in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. And we have teams standing by in all of those places, including CNN's Omar Jimenez, who is in New York talking with voters.

What are they saying, Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're hearing a wide range of things. As you can imagine, a lot of enthusiasm around this race, of course, over potentially a new face in Zohran Mamdani versus a little bit more of the establishment in terms of Andrew Cuomo. But with that comes experience. And I say that because I've been speaking to Andrea Crawford here, who's a decades-long resident here in Queens, New York.

And tell me, you -- you voted for Andrew Cuomo. Why?

ANDREA CRAWFORD, VOTED FOR ANDREW CUOMO: I voted for Andrew Cuomo because I needed operational experience in the mayor's office. I think it's been lacking in the last several terms. It's a huge city, huge budget. We have lots of issues. And I think he actually gets things done.

JIMENEZ: Were you excited to vote for Andrew Cuomo?

CRAWFORD: Not particularly.

JIMENEZ: And why is that?

CRAWFORD: Well, I think he has a lot of baggage. I would like to see fresh faces, but I want to see people with experience, who have executive experience, who have operational experience. And even if they're out of the Assembly or the Senate or the Council, that they've actually put out bills, worked legislation, and understand the process.

JIMENEZ: And just -- what issues were top of mind to you? I know the operational experience, but was it things like affordability, safety? Were there any issues top of mind?

CRAWFORD: Well, affordability and safety are part of living in the city. I have problems with the borough-based jails. I live in Kew Gardens, and I think that that could be handled better. I have issues with overall cost. But it can't be just one magic, you know, wish. You need to know how to operate with people, how to work with people, how to manage agencies, who you're going to put in charge, and how do those agencies run.

And without that knowledge and deep base, I don't know how anything can get done.

JIMENEZ: And for you, that's Andrew Cuomo?

CRAWFORD: For me, that's Andrew Cuomo.

JIMENEZ: All right, Andrea, great to meet you.

CRAWFORD: (INAUDIBLE) ...

JIMENEZ: As we've been talking about, we are in Queens. I was going to take you inside this polling center real fast. Well, as -- as we go, I'll walk as I -- as I finish this up here. But as we've been talking to voters over the course of today, it's been pretty busy, obviously swelling as the workday sort of got started, and then around lunchtime and things of that nature. But I'll just show you guys, as I send it back to you, Brianna and Boris, you can see how busy it is as we end up finishing up this -- this workday here.

And as enthusiasm that we've seen at least shatter records on -- on Sunday as far as early voting numbers, we'll see if that holds pace.

[15:05:03]

KEILAR: All right, Omar, thank you for that. Busy, busy there on -- on that basketball court.

So, let's go down to Brian Todd. He's in Virginia. That is where the shutdown has really been playing politically. It's personally impacting a lot of voters, especially in the county where you are, Brian. Tell us what they're telling you.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, a lot of them are very frustrated with the shutdown, and that is influencing their vote today. I'm going to get to that in just a moment because we have a voter who's going to talk to us about that. You know, there are a lot of reasons that we love covering elections on days like today. One of them is that we can show you the process, for the most part, in person, live as it happens. And this has been a steady stream of voters coming into Arcola Elementary School. This is Precinct 119. This is one of the busiest precincts in a very busy county for voting.

Loudoun County has just exploded population-wise over the past several years. It is now the fourth largest county in the state of Virginia, and it's just been growing, and growing and growing. It's been very smooth here. People get their ballots. They go old school here in Virginia with the paper ballots. They fill them in in these -- these stations here, and then they bring it over to this counter and feed the counter.

Now, we're going to go outside and talk to a voter. You know, we mentioned government shutdown, and the government shutdown has really affected, excuse me, a lot of people here in Loudoun County. There are hundreds of thousands of people here who work for the government or at least know someone who works for the government.

This is Cheryl Swinson. She's been a resident of Loudoun County for about 13 years now. Cheryl, you said you just voted for Abigail Spanberger, but the government shutdown really weighing on your mind because you're personally connected to it. Talk about that a little bit.

CHERYL SWINSON, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA VOTER: Well, I voted for her for a couple of reasons, but I am concerned about the government shutdown and the impact on the employees. It's employees who get everything from different -- different, I want to say, different ranges in salary, so it just supports our economy. It's a big part of the economy, and people being at home worrying about if they're going to have a job when they come back, how to, you know, pay their rent, how to get food. It is just a huge concern.

But I voted for her for several reasons. I have kids in college. I also have a senior citizen as a mom who I personally take care of, so it's a whole encompassing. It's just -- we just need, you know, society just needs to be better.

TODD: And the, you know, government shutdown, I mean, everybody knows someone in this county seemingly ...

SWINSON: (INAUDIBLE) ...

TODD: ... who -- you know, who's either works for the government or you work for the government yourself ...

SWINSON: Right.

TODD: ... and that's affected a lot of your neighbors as well.

SWINSON: Right. Yes, it does. It impacts not just Virginia. It's -- it's the whole DMV area.

TODD: Right.

SWINSON: So, the shutdown does impact us all. How are we going to pay our bills, you know, just financially, emotionally, and you don't want to see your neighbors and everybody suffer, so.

TODD: Thank you for talking to us, Cheryl. Good luck, and good luck to you and your neighbors.

SWINSON: Thank you.

TODD: Thank you. All right, guys, going to wrap it back over to you. We got about, what, four more hours until the polls close today, then they're going to count everything electronically and feed it into the government center here in Loudoun County. That's going to be an exciting time, so we want our viewers to stay with CNN as we get the results in real time. It's really what makes this so much fun, to talk to voters in real

time, to show you the process in real time, and we got a few more hours to go at this very, very busy polling station in northern Virginia.

SANCHEZ: No doubt, and will likely get busier as we get closer to rush hour. Brian Todd in Virginia, thank you so much.

Danny Freeman now is in New Jersey where a governor's race is going to be decided.

Danny, what's the latest there?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, and first I'll just say I'm jealous of both Brian and Omar because in New Jersey they're a little more strict about keeping reporters outside of the actual polling places. They came out with a tape measure to make sure we were far enough away to make sure people are comfortable while they're voting.

But here's what I'll tell you from my vantage point here. We've been speaking to a lot of voters out here. We're in Passaic County. It's a very crucial county because it was a swing county essentially from 2020 to 2024. It was a Biden county that flipped to a Trump county, and the big question is now when it comes to this governor's race between Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill, can the Republican Ciattarelli continue to build on the gains that President Trump did last year? One of the key demographic groups, specifically where we are in Passaic, are Latinos, Boris. We've been talking about this all afternoon. I've been speaking with Latinos, some who said, listen, I'm a Latino in this community. I have voted Democrat for years. Others who told me they're the example.

The gentleman, Cesar Tavares (ph), who said, I was a Democrat, but I decided to switch to the Republican voting for Ciattarelli because I think they have our interests in mind. But I want you to take a listen to one voter we spoke with. Her name is Maria, and to just mind you, she traveled from Peru just to get back to vote today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN (off camera): What made you come out and vote today?

MARIA: Oh, it's so very important. We have to save the -- you know, democracy, and the right to vote, and the right to speech and the -- the freedom of speech.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:10:00]

FREEMAN: And Boris and Brianna, I'll just say that a lot of voters here saying that a lot of the national politics really crept into this race in New Jersey. We'll, of course, wait to see those results as they come in a little later. And Boris, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Danny, thank you so much. And next time Danny fills in, we'll get that tape measure ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: ... you know, just make sure that Danny is appropriately ...

SANCHEZ: Appropriately far enough away.

KEILAR: ... distance away.

SANCHEZ: ... (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: That's right.

SANCHEZ: ... (INAUDIBLE), we love it.

KEILAR: We love Danny.

All right. So, the ballot counts will be coming in fast and furious as the polls close. We have chief data analyst Harry Enten digging through the numbers, and he's going to keep doing this all night long.

Harry, what are you looking for tonight?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. Yes, you know, I -- I will say who wants to stay away from Danny Freeman? One of the nicest guys in the entire world.

KEILAR: That's right. Total -- totally kidding.

ENTEN: Totally kidding. Totally kidding. If they only knew how nice he was.

Look, I think there are three things I'm keeping my eye out on the three key races, right? You know, down in Virginia, what I'm interested in is ticket splitting. Right -- well, you know, we have Abigail Spanberger, who's obviously the Democratic nominee for governor. But you also have races for lieutenant governor and attorney general as well. Jay Jones, who's running as the Democratic nominee for attorney general down in Virginia, has definitely faced some problems. He had a whole texting scandal, things he said over text that -- that he had to apologize for.

And I think one of the key questions for me is, are the people who are going to vote Democratic at the top of the ticket for Spanberger going to fill out that entire ballot being Democratic? Now, in terms of New Jersey, look, Danny took a little bit of my thunder away from me, because what I was going to say was I am interested to see whether or not that the gains that Donald Trump made among Hispanic voters actually hold in 2025 Jack Ciattarelli. And one of the places I'm interested in looking at, of course, is Passaic County, which, of course, there are a lot of Latinos live, you know, but we're also going to be looking at places like Perth Amboy as well in New Jersey.

If Ciattarelli is able to hold those Trump gains among Hispanics, game on, then he has a real shot of winning. But if he doesn't, well, then I think you've got to be essentially looking at the Republican -- the Democrat leading there.

SANCHEZ: And Harry, you have a new way to watch returns tonight. Explain to us.

ENTEN: Yes. Okay. So, I have these notes that I took down for myself over here on this side of the page, okay? Because I'm not used to actually doing ads in terms of promos and live television. But if you look at CNN.com/watch, we're going to have this new telecast that's going to be showing from 8:30 to 10:30. It's going to be me. It's going to be Ben Shapiro. It's going to be Charlamagne tha God. We're going to have a slew of voices in the left, right and center. We're going to talk about the issues of the day in a much chiller way.

Boris, of course, you might be familiar with the Manningcast, of course, as an alternate way to watch Monday Night Football. This is an alternate way to watch. And I think it's going to be a lot of fun. We got a pinball machine. We've got foosball. It's going to be just interesting. And when I need to, I will chime in with the results.

SANCHEZ: We've got to get a -- a pinball machine and foosball table in ...

KEILAR: Yes, where's my foosball at?

ENTEN: You come up to New York, we'll get you a pinball machine.

KEILAR: All right.

SANCHEZ: All right.

KEILAR: Sounds good, Harry. Harry Enten ...

SANCHEZ: (INAUDIBLE) for it.

KEILAR: ... thanks so much. We'll be ...

ENTEN: Thank you.

KEILAR: ... waiting to see how that looks.

ENTEN: It's going to look great.

KEILAR: Still to come, the White House says -- is saying that it will partially fund critical food aid during the government shutdown, despite President Trump saying snap payments will only resume after the shutdown ends.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the U.N. warning the world has failed to meet a critical climate change goal and current policies to reduce greenhouse emissions are simply not enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:20]

KEILAR: SNAP recipients are really on a roller coaster when it comes to whether they're going to get the funds they desperately need. President Trump posted today on Truth Social that those benefits are not going to be paid while the government is shut down.

SANCHEZ: And federal judges have ruled differently. On Friday, two ordered the White House is obligated to pay those benefits. Earlier today, though, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House was complying with those orders, seeming to contradict the President's post. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The administration is fully complying with the court order. I just spoke to the President about it. The recipients of these SNAP benefits need to understand it's going to take some time to receive this money because the Democrats have forced the administration into a very untenable position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now live at the White House.

Kristen, not sure that actually clears up the confusion about whether those benefits are going to get paid or not.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she was clearly trying to clarify or correct President Trump because we saw this enormous role reversal, this course correction that he had had today on Truth Social, where he essentially threatened to withhold all of these SNAP benefits until the shutdown was over. But as you noted, this is coming after courts had ruled that some of those benefits still needed to be paid out.

So, Karoline Leavitt there talking about how she spoke to the President, saying that these benefits were still going to come because they are fully complying with the court. So, unclear if whether or not President Trump didn't understand what exactly was going on or was not read in on this court ruling.

I mean, this is really throwing a lot of people into confusion and their very livelihoods are at stake. Just a reminder, 42 million people in America receive those SNAP benefits. And this kind of jerking around is putting a lot of people at unease.

KEILAR: And Kristen, you also asked a follow up question about the President's MRI and why doctors ordered it. Did you get an answer on that?

HOLMES: No, I didn't. You know, we thought we might get a little bit more of an answer, given particularly that President Trump was the one who informed the press that he had had an MRI and said over and over again that he wanted to be transparent. At one point, he said he -- that we should ask the doctors, which of course we have, about those results, about the testing and not heard back. She said she would get back to me on what the MRI was about. And just one thing to keep in mind, the reason why this is at the key of everything, not just because it's President Trump's health and it's the President of the United States health, but also because one of the things that they had said was this idea that this was a routine checkup, a follow up from another appointment.

But when you're talking about an MRI, that's a very specific test, testing that's ordered for something to find results in something specifically.

[15:20:01]

So, that was the question, when are we going to learn about this, particularly as President Trump has continued to say he wants to be transparent about it, and yet we have no answers.

KEILAR: That's a good point. Kristen Holmes, we know that you'll keep asking, Thank you.

Former Vice President and Chief Architect of the "war on terror," Dick Cheney, has died. We have a look at his life and legacy next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:01]

KEILAR: Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84. The longtime fixture in Republican politics served in Congress, the Pentagon and the White House. Cheney died last night surrounded by family, including his wife of 61 years, Lynne, and his two daughters, Liz and Mary.

SANCHEZ: This is a live look at the White House, where you can see that flags have been lowered to half-staff. CNN's Jamie Gangel is back with us. And Jamie, Cheney leaves behind a complicated legacy.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So, you know, for one generation, he is -- he was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, vice president in history. He changed the role from being ceremonial to really being a partner with Bush. But also, he became a lightning rod for critics because of his stand on enhanced interrogation after 9/11 and -- and the Iraq War.

That said, there's another generation that really knows him as Liz Cheney's father. And Liz Cheney -- I spoke to her several times the last couple of weeks -- she wants people to know that she hopes people will understand that the fact that she was able to stand up to Donald Trump had a lot to do with the way her father raised her and, you know, voting for his impeachment.

And I just want to show a little bit of an ad that Dick Cheney made for his daughter's re-election campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In our nation's 246-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election, using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He is a coward. A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters. He lost his election, and he lost big. I know it. He knows it. And deep down, I think most Republicans know it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANGEL: It's a remarkable ad. Dick Cheney was a Republican's republican, a conservative's conservative. So, Liz Cheney wants people to know that her father put country over party.

KEILAR: And as Boris was noting, the flags have been lowered, right? But we haven't heard from President Trump yet.

GANGEL: No. It's very interesting. So, we, this morning, we saw the flags were lowered to half-staff. And we assumed at first that that was because President Trump had ordered them. And we've been waiting for a statement, a proclamation. It turns out there is a law when vice presidents die that you lower the flags for 10 days. So, that is the reason. But we have not heard a word from Donald Trump yet.

Another question, will Vice President Cheney be offered the honor of lying-in state at the Capitol? Speaker Mike Johnson says he does not know yet, because I'm guessing he has to check in with the White House first.

SANCHEZ: Our reporting indicates that the President is aware that Cheney died, so ...

GANGEL: Right.

SANCHEZ: ... we'll wait and see when he weighs in on that. Jamie Gangel, thank you so much for your report.

GANGEL: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: So, voting is underway in California for Proposition 50. That's an initiative to redraw the state's congressional map. Up next, how creating new districts can dramatically shift political power.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)