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Hurricane Milton Takes Direct Aim At Florida; Harris, Trump Campaigns In Final Sprint With 30 Days To Go; Middle East in Crisis One Year After October 7th Terror Attacks; Elon Musk Speaking Last Night At The Trump Rally In Butler, Pennsylvania, Chinese Hackers Access US Telecom Firms; Harris and Trump Campaigns Target Latino Voters In PA. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 06, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:01:03]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And tonight, Florida is preparing for what could be another major hurricane. A second one to make landfall in that state in just two weeks.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is monitoring where and when Milton will hit potentially as a category three storm.

Elisa, what is the latest?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It continues to intensify. It is sitting in such warm ocean temperatures. Every update from the hurricane center says it is still rapidly intensifying. A category one hurricane right now. With 85-mile-per-hour winds, sitting 800 miles west and southwest of Tampa, Florida.

Now as it continues its trek, it's going to cut across the Gulf of Mexico here, which will allow it to rapidly intensify again to possibly category four hurricane with 145 mile per hour wind. As it gets closer to Florida, some of that intensity could wane a little bit, gets shaved off and take it down to a category three as it hits landfall. But at that point still, we're still looking at massive impacts when it comes to storm surge, the damaging winds and the rain, and not just for one portion of Florida but for the entire peninsula.

Where exactly that eye goes will determine who gets the worst of the storm surge. Now it could weaken some a little bit as it gets towards Florida because there's this front nearby, that same front that's steering Milton into Florida. Could also shave down its intensity a little bit as it makes landfall. Again, like I said, the ocean temperatures incredibly warm, middle and upper 80s, and that's what's fueling this intensification over and over again.

But also something that we're watching, too, is the spread here in where exactly that eye could take direct aim. Right now, look at the spread of possibilities from Cedar Key down to Fort Myers. So something that we're watching very closely, especially when it comes to the Tampa Bay area. They don't really have a history with major hurricanes coming near the Tampa Bay area.

If it goes a little bit to the north of Tampa Bay, that will push the worst of the storm surge into Tampa Bay. Obviously a huge city with a lot of population so something to keep a close eye on. So again continues the next two days to rapidly intensify in the open ocean. Outer bands start to come in by Tuesday night, and then by Wednesday is when we'll start to feel those most devastating impacts of that eye coming on land.

Landfall should be some time, maybe Wednesday afternoon. No matter what the storm does as far as intensity category, any of that, it will squeeze out so much rain. Five to eight inches up to 10 to 12 inches possible in some areas. And of course, this area is still dealing with the impacts of Helene -- Jessica.

DEAN: I know. That's just that one-two punch is a lot.

Elisa Raffa, thank you so much for walking us through that.

We are now just 30 days from election day and the Harris and Trump campaigns are racing to win over undecided voters in critical swing states. Former president Donald Trump campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin tonight, telling his supporters what would happen if he does not win in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But if you go four more years, you may never recover. In fact, I will say, and some people say it, I think it's very severe, but I can understand it. Some people say you'll never have an election again, this would be your last election. And I can see it. Remember I used to say, we'll be Venezuela on steroids? And that's sort of what's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, no indications there would be no more elections moving forward.

Kamala Harris is also racing to communicate to voters how her policies differ not just from Trump's, but also from her current boss, President Joe Biden. And this week, Harris will sit down for a series of interviews ranging from "The View" to the "Howard Stern Show," as well as "60 Minutes."

Also today, she appeared on the hugely popular podcast, "Call Her Daddy." It's one of the most listened to podcasts among women. Here's a clip from that.

[19:05:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEX COOPER, HOST: Throughout this election, your identity has been called into question many times. Your opponent has called you crazy, weak, fake and dumb. How does that affect you?

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's really important not to let other people define you, and usually those people who will attempt to do it don't know you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining me now to talk about this further, CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter, and CNN media analyst and senior media correspondent for Axios, Sara Fischer.

Good to see both of you. Thanks so much for being here.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Thanks.

DEAN: Brian, I want to start first with you. We see Harris -- look, you can kind of think of it in two tracks. One she's gotten a lot of flak mostly from people in the beltway, in the media and Republicans about not doing enough interviews. At the same time these are very specific outlets that she is going to, and I'm thinking about the podcast today where we were talking earlier on the show about now it's time to motivate voters who maybe would vote for her, but don't have a voting plan yet or haven't been fully motivated to go to the polls.

Do you think that's what a lot of this is about?

STELTER: Yes, I think timing is everything in politics and the Harris aides have purposefully held off on some of these interviews until early October when it is the best time to be on "The View," to be on "Stephen Colbert," to be on "Call Her Daddy," which, you know, for all the criticism that the Trump allies are giving today is a really valuable spot for a presidential candidate.

You know, the number one critique, the number one concern I hear from Democrats about Harris is that voters don't know her well enough, that voters want to get to know her better. They want to hear more about her bio. They want to hear more about who she is as a person. So these kinds of friendly interviews are exactly the way to do that.

DEAN: And Sara, I want to play a clip from "Call Her Daddy," from that interview where the host did ask Harris about these attacks she's received from some in the Republican Party about not having children, specifically the Arkansas governor. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I don't think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life, and children in their life, and I think it's really important for women to lift each other up.

And you know, I'll tell you, Alex, one of the things that I have really enjoyed about where the discussion has gone, we have our family by blood and then we have our family by love. And I have both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And Sara, she went on to say that this is not the 1950s. Those were her words. That families come in all shapes and sizes and forms. What is striking, Sara, and I want to get your thoughts on this is that to Brian's point, it's allowing listeners to get to know her, at the same time you hear another example there of, you know, the Republicans have tried to tie her to the Biden-Harris administration, make her the incumbent.

She's obviously trying to make the case that she is the candidate that goes to the future. What did you get from that exchange?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. I think the biggest point here is that this is one of the largest gender gaps in history when it comes to any election, and so for her anytime she has a platform where she can talk about gender issues and that includes being part of a family, being a mother figure, this is a really positive platform for her.

And she's also lucky, by the way, that "Call Her Daddy" agreed to do this because she said, Alexandra Cooper, at the start of this interview, that she's not really political, that she doesn't want to encourage, you know, political discourse necessarily amongst her audience. But she's here because she herself cares about bringing a platform to women.

And so I think for Kamala Harris, this is about driving forth a winning narrative in the final weeks leading up to the election. And she doesn't care which platform she needs to do it. This is obviously great for young woman, but I'm very curious to see what her reaction is going to be from voters when she joins very different audiences. Think about Univision is coming up later this week.

You mentioned some late-night comedy shows, "Colbert." She joined Howard Stern. I mean, this is a complete blitz across every type of airwave, but I think the women's message will be a consistent throughout.

DEAN: Yes. And Brian, we're looking at all of the different appearances. "60 Minutes" will air an interview with her. Trump had originally agreed to do his own "60 Minutes" interview, but backed out last week according to "60 Minutes."

STELTER: Yes. Yes.

DEAN: What do you make of all that? That's kind of a tradition that these candidates sit down with them.

STELTER: Yes, because it's the most popular newsmagazine in America, often getting nine million, 10 million, 11 million viewers. Trump and Harris were both expected to participate and CBS scheduled a big Monday night special, then Trump backed out. My understanding is there were pretty specific plans to tape that interview and then he withdrew. Imagine if Harris have done that, imagine if she had agreed to a big interview, a tough interview, and then withdrawn. She would be criticized from every corner.

[19:10:05]

I think Trump is mostly getting a pass for this because he has a history with "60 Minutes." He has avoided interviews before. He walked out early ones in 2020 on "60 Minutes" interview, but it is notable that Harris did take those tough questions, Trump did not, you know, and I would be interested to see if he does do any tough interviews in the weeks to come.

What Harris is doing on "Call Her Daddy" talking about reproductive rights, she's re-framing the conversation. The conversation usually about abortion in America is about restrictions, about control. Harris is talking about freedom. She's talking about the freedom to make your own reproductive choices. So it's a very interesting strategy for her. And I think going on Howard Stern is the opposite or not the opposite, but Howard Stern is the complement.

Howard Stern, a much more male-oriented audience. So she's doing kind of a little bit of everything this week in terms of tough interviews, friendly interviews, podcasts, TV, et cetera.

DEAN: Yes. And Sara, look, "60 Minutes," of course, that is a tough interview. That's a real interview where you have to sit down and be able to answer really serious questions from very serious journalists. Howard Stern, too, though, can be very probing and he can get very, very deep. How do you -- you know, how do you prepare a candidate to have this cross-section of interviews and appearances?

FISCHER: Yes. Well, part of it is just her leaning into her own personality. The Alex Cooper-"Call Her Daddy" interview was very much personality focused. She talked about her upbringing and her family and her mother. She talked about what inspired her as a prosecutor, her friend going through sexual abuse as a young adult. That's not what it's going to be like with "60 Minutes."

She has to be able to answer tough questions on things like immigration policy, on hurricane relief, on the border. And so for her team that's prepping her, it's this duality of be prepared, tough policy questions -- on tough policy questions, but also be yourself. I think actually Kamala Harris has really struggled on the part about being herself, and so the "Call Her Daddy," I hope she goes into this week sort of, you know, reflecting on that moment and thinking about how she's going to bring a little bit more of herself to some of these tough news interviews, because I think that could be a strength for her. She just hasn't really leaned into it as much on this campaign trail.

DEAN: And Brian, I heard Sara mentioned hurricane relief. I do want to ask you, just 30 days out from this election, and this is just the latest example, we could go back to a million other examples. Springfield and the dogs and the cats. But we have these false claims that the former president and some Republicans are spreading about the federal response to this historic devastation. People are really hurting in these areas and to the point now that FEMA has had to make this Web site to debunk these rumors because people aren't applying for assistance as they've been told all kinds of things.

STELTER: Yes.

DEAN: How do you combat that and is this just more of what we're going to see for the next 30 days?

STELTER: I'm afraid it is. It's scary out there right now because you do have so much misinformation about the FEMA response in particular. I spoke to an official in Rutherford County, North Carolina, who said this has hampered our response to the recovery because we've been dealing with all this misinformation, trying to debunk these rumors.

Here's what I think it's all about, Jessica. It's all about trust. If people don't have any trust in anyone or anything anymore, if they've lost all faith in government and politicians entirely, then they're not able to engage rationally with the environment around them.

Look, I'm skeptical. I'm critical. We're all critical and skeptical of our government. But when you start from a place of assuming everything is false and everything is a lie, and assuming the government is always incompetent, then you end up in a very dark place. And that's where we are especially with some Trump supporters. In this case, the government response has not been perfect, but FEMA is on the ground.

You can log in and watch videos for yourself seen the government response to Helene. And yet there is this assumption mostly from the right, mostly from the far-right, that the government has failed and they're going to fail again later this week in Florida. I think it all comes down to trust. So you ask, what do we do about this? But what can the country do? What can we all do? Bit by bit. It's about rebuilding and regaining trust, showing that some people and some things are actually trustworthy.

I think that's the only way through this because I think all the lies this week about Helene they're an ominous sign for the lies we're going to hear about the election next month.

DEAN: Right. You can't help but think ahead to the election and all of the so many election officials in this country who are working day and night to make sure that these are safe and secure elections, doing what they were hired --

STELTER: They're trying to earn our trust.

DEAN: That's right.

STELTER: And that's what they have to do, earn our trust, that's right.

DEAN: Yes. All right, Brian Stelter and Sara Fischer, thanks to both of you. Great to see you.

STELTER: Good to see you. Thanks.

FISCHER: Thank you. DEAN: When we come back Israel fighting on multiple fronts. As a fresh

round of strikes hits Beirut tonight, the IDF prepares for potential Hamas attacks marking one year since October 7th.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:17]

DEAN: We are following numerous military strikes tonight across the Middle East. Israel has struck in northern Gaza this weekend and as you see here in southern Beirut, at Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah firing back with a rocket attack on an Israeli airbase near Haifa. We know some injuries but no deaths have been reported from that strike.

And for guidance and more analysis on what to expect over the next 24 hours, the next week, we're joined now by CNN national security analyst Beth Sanner, and Michael Allen, former majority staff director with the House Intelligence Committee. He's also a managing director of Beacon Global Strategies.

It's great to have both of you.

Beth, I want to start first with you because here we stand.

[19:20:00]

It is technically October 7th in Israel right now so one year from the Hamas attacks on Israel. We see Israel fighting on multiple fronts while it's weighing what it will do to Iran.

Is this where you thought this would be?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: War definitely has momentum of its own. It has surprises and friction as one military and historian put it. And so, no, I don't think any of us could really imagine this is where we would be and nor can we really imagine where we're going to be a year from now. There are so many variables going on, and it is extremely hard to predict, but we do know that we continue to be in, you know, a heightened, we keep saying the most dangerous moment and yes, here we are again at, you know, one of the most dangerous moments we've seen so far in this conflict.

DEAN: Yes. And Michael, it is, it does feel like once again, we are on the edge of this going one way or another. As we look ahead to what might happen with Israel, with Israel striking Iran, how do you think that might play out?

MICHAEL ALLEN, FORMER MAJORITY STAFF DIRECTOR, HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE: Well, I think there are as many as four categories of targets that Israel will go for this week. And I think they're going to go big and soon, and over multiple occasions. There's of course conventional weapons sites. They need to knock out some of their missiles so that when Iran replies, they won't be -- or at least they won't have as many to be able to strike Israel.

I think they're going to hit energy infrastructure. I don't know that they have the equation perfectly right but they want to impose some costs on the Iranian people to make them understand how expensive it is to have such a regime that is in charge of them. I do think they're seriously considering and that there is political pressure for Netanyahu from at least two of his opponents to do something about the nuclear sites, even if they're spread everywhere and some are embedded in mountains.

And then finally, Netanyahu may also go after leadership targets inside of Iran. Think the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, the group within the government that manages Iran's terrorist proxies. So I think this is going to be a big week and Israel is trying here on a year after October 7th to reset the security ecosphere for them, and try and make sure their opponents fear them again.

DEAN: And Beth, we know now that the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is coming here to the States to meet with Lloyd Austin, the Defense secretary at the Pentagon. That they are consulting on whatever action Israel will take, but also Israel's leadership has made clear as well that they're likely going to do ultimately what they feel like needs to be done.

How would you categorize that relationship right now, that dynamic between the U.S. and Israel as they weigh all of these things?

SANNER: It's definitely under strain. I do think that the military and military relationship, though, remains very, very strong and good. The head of CENTCOM, the regional commander of U.S. forces, General Kurilla is in in Israel today, continuing to consult. And Defense Minister Gallant and Secretary Austin have a very good relationship as well. And this planning about which is very much coordinated and working together to understand what the United States needs to do to support Israel will continue.

But this political relationship is really at, you know, another little low, I would say, in terms of -- there's a complete trust deficit and, you know, everybody knows that Israel is going to do what Israel is going to do that Netanyahu and his team will decide. But I think that, you know, as Americans we have to understand, too, that while the United States interests with Israel are quite aligned across many, many issues, there are also differences and, you know, so we have to be very, very much aware as Jake Sullivan recently said what the United States does first and foremost will be about U.S. interests.

What I'd like to hear is a better articulation or very clear articulation of exactly what does that look like right now in these changing dynamics that we're seeing on the ground.

DEAN: Yes. And Michael, we do have to go, but I just want to get a last thought from you on that note.

[19:25:04]

ALLEN: Yes. I think that the relationship between Biden and Netanyahu is very poor. It's not just because Biden is what we say -- call it a lame duck. I think that Biden has been trying to urge a ceasefire so often on them but hasn't really read the room in Israel. They had a big to-do list after their own version of September 11th. And I think they're going to continue to prosecute targets until they feel safer, no matter what the United States says.

DEAN: All right. Beth Sanner, Michael Allen, we got to leave it there, but I appreciate both of you. Thanks so much.

SANDER: Thanks, Jessica.

ALLEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Still to come, we are talking about the state of the 2024 race and Donald Trump's latest legal hurdles with former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: This is no ordinary election. The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech. They want to take away your right to vote effectively. President Trump must win to preserve the constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:30:17]

DEAN: And that was Elon Musk speaking last night at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. This of course, the final stretch, the last month of this campaign, we're hearing a lot of scare tactics and falsehoods from the Trump campaign and the former president.

Adam Kinzinger, CNN political commentator and former congressman joins us now.

Thanks so much for being here. I first just want to get your thoughts on what Elon Musk was saying last night.

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I mean, he's got every right to say what he wants in America. Of course, where I get a lot of concern is not just what he said yesterday about either they're going to take away your right to vote, take away your freedom of speech.

I mean, all the Republicans are running on, is this division and fear, much of the fear completely unfounded, but it has worked in the past and they're letting this fear grow out of control. Where I get really concerned about Elon Musk is, this is one of the top contractors to the US government. We rely on him to get to space. He has Starlink, all these other things for our Department of Defense, great. Except that he's constantly spreading conspiracy theories.

He claims the government is out to get everybody, the same government that pays him billions of dollars. And this is a real concern. So, look, I mean, obviously his theme there yesterday was odd but he's

got a right to speak out. But I'm really concerned with his dark conspiracy theories and he now controls one of the largest platforms to spread that information and those lies around.

DEAN: Yes, he sure does and look, there's been a number of lies and falsehoods. Let's start at Springfield with that community had to bear the brunt of all of those lies and falsehoods with the bomb threats and all of that, of course now we have hurricane relief with the former president spreading lies and untruths about that.

And we had Senator Marco Rubio, he tweeted or posted on X that a Jobs Report that Friday -- that Friday jobs report was fake. Are we in a place where if we don't agree with it, it must be fake. Is that where we are now?

KINZINGER: Yes, we are, and the sad thing is people like Marco Rubio who, you know, could have been just amazing, an amazing, outstanding leader. He's smart on foreign policy, but they all realize now the cost to entry, the cost to play this game of politics, particularly on the Republican side is to pledge allegiance to him and do anything you have to do, including up to and especially lying in order to make him look better.

Look, in terms of jobs reports, it's not uncommon for a jobs report under Donald Trump, under Barack Obama, under Joe Biden, to be revised later. That's what happens when you get him formation and then you get further information that confirms stuff like that. But the to say, he knows better, there's no deep state sitting there making up fake reports. And this report is probably not going to have much of an effect on the election anyway.

The other latest thing is not just saying that FEMA is not doing anything which all of these Republican governors and legislators in the area of like North Carolina have said this is false, quit saying this. But now, if you look on X, you're going to notice a lot of people truly believing now, after Marjorie Taylor Greene said it, that the government controls the weather.

Literally, there are people that believe the government is somehow making a hurricane because they really want Kamala Harris to win. So, they're going to launch these hurricanes that they made at red states to create chaos.

I mean the Dark Ages, if they were here, they would look at some of the stuff we're spreading and say you guys are off your rocker.

And the problem is, there are so many people that are being abused in lied to that believe it, because they want it to be true. It's sad.

DEAN: Yes, and look, we see, and I know you're supporting Vice President Harris, we also saw your former House colleague, Liz Cheney, now, campaigning with Vice President Harris. She is out there talking about January 6th, talking about democracy, and look, you all as Republicans supporting the Democratic nominee for president.

I mean, I've talked to you about it. It's not something you probably thought would come to be in your lifetime.

But it is a permission structure for some Republican voters, it can work that way for them. How do you think voters are receiving Liz Cheney out on the trail? Again, something we wouldn't have dreamed of years ago -- in a few years ago with the Democratic nominee.

KINZINGER: So, look, if this is kind of the people that are intending to vote for Donald Trump or that could vote for Donald Trump, if you can imagine this. Probably this amount over here, these people are dedicated to Trump. They're all in, they're going to vote for him.

There's a little bit over here that's still have a vestige of this belief that the older Republican Party is coming back, and maybe Donald Trump's a little weird and he lies and he loves Russia, but the old Republican Party is coming back.

[19:35:17]

My news to those folks is, listen, I get it, I would love the old Republican Party to come back. It's not here right now. And anybody that's in Republican politics, quite honestly, for the most part, have had to make a deal with the devil and lie to continue you to stay in. This, isn't 2018 anymore. This is now that.

And so that's the group were talking to that or embarrassed by Donald Trump that really do want the Republican Party to be a responsible center right-leaning movement.

Look, I guarantee you if Donald Trump wins the party is going to double down into MAGA and your old party that you miss is truly going to be gone.

So, that's when Liz Cheney is out there when I'm out there, Geoff Duncan and others, those are the folks who we are talking to, to give even just a small amount of those to say, yes, you know what, to save the party we're going to have to defeat it.

And look, even if it goes from like eight percent of Republicans voting for Kamala Harris to nine or ten, in an election as tight as it is that can make a massive difference.

DEAN: Yes, listen, anything that will move a margin could make a big difference in this race.

Adam Kinzinger, thank you as always, really nice to have you on.

KINZINGER: Of course, you bet.

DEAN: When we come back, why National Security officials are so worried about a newly discovered hack that hit top communications companies.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:16]

DEAN: Verizon and AT&T are among the companies recently breached by a highly skilled group of hackers apparently looking for sensitive National Security information and US investigators believe those hackers are linked to the Chinese government.

CNN's Sean Lyngaas is here with us now, what else do we know about this breach and what could have been accessed?

SEAN LYNGAAS , CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Jessica, I spent a large portion of my weekend trying to figure that out. So, I can talk about it with you and it's a very concerning breach for US National Security officials because you're talking about sort of the backbone or the internet and phone companies, call records and that kind of thing, who's talking to who.

So, when the US government, law enforcement, like the FBI, wants to access -- if they're issuing a warrant, search warrant for call records, they go to one of these big companies and ask for it using a warrant.

And so, if the Chinese government has access to some of that information that the US government is looking for, that is a huge concern.

The Justice Department has prosecuted Chinese government-linked hackers before, and also Chinese government agents for allegedly harassing Chinese citizens on US soil. So, there's a keen interest from Beijing and finding out what those federal prosecutors are interested in, Jessica.

And this breach was recently discovered, but we believe based on reporting that the hackers have -- may have had access to the telecom firms for many months and were quietly sitting there and looking for potentially sensitive information that there could be collected for, for intelligence gathering.

So, this is one of those five-alarm fires that breaks out every few months it seems like in the US government where they're hurrying to try to figure out how bad this is and how to put out the fire. In this case, these are three big telecom companies and they've been cooperating with the US government, but it is really just the latest example of how alleged Chinese hackers are burrowing into US critical infrastructure -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, it is concerning to say the least. Sean Lyngaas, thank you very much for that reporting, we appreciate it.

And we are just 30 days away from the presidential election and the Trump and Harris campaigns are honing in on the key battleground state of Pennsylvania.

We saw Donald Trump and his running mate hitting the trail there at last night. Harris' running mate, Tim Walz, also making a stop there trying to garner the support from a growing demographic that could make a difference in November, that's Latino voters. CNN's Danny Freeman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fresh off his vice presidential debate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was in Redding, Pennsylvania, stopping at a Puerto Rican-owned restaurant to boost support among the city's majority Latino population.

GOV. TIM WALZ (D) VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: This is thing is going to come down to our blue wall states, come down to Pennsylvania and I come right through this restaurant.

FREEMAN (voice over): At the same time, just four blocks away, the Trump the campaign was holding its own phone bank, specifically targeting Latinos in the Lehigh Valley.

FREEMAN (speaking in foreign language): President Trump -- three reasons you are supporting President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. (Speaking foreign language) Family, life, and end of war.

FREEMAN (voice over): The dueling outreach just the latest sign, both campaigns understand the importance of Latino voters in the Keystone State.

In 2020, President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes. But with this race still extremely tight, the estimated 615,000 eligible Latino voters here could easily help decide the November outcome.

While recent national polls show Harris doing better than Biden was with Latino voters, they also show Trump outperforming past Republicans among this group, which in recent elections has subtlety backed Democrats.

[19:45:09]

At a Harris campaign event this week in Allentown, another deeply Latino city, there were plenty of voters excited about the vice president.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking foreign language)

FREEMAN (voice over): This man told me he feels Harris represents hope and will help small businesses, but there were warning signs, too.

FREEMAN (on camera): You're not going to stay home, you're going to vote.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking foreign language)

FREEMAN (on camera): Today, you have not made a decision who you are going to vote for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have too many people kind of like on shaky waters, they don't know where they stand.

FREEMAN (on camera): To energize this community in Pennsylvania, the Harris campaign is turning to volunteers like Yamilee Sataveras. The campaign featuring the Allentown small business owner and mom in a new ad focused on health care this week.

YAMILEE SATAVERAS, VOLUNTEER FOR HARRIS: I believe we have a great shot with Harris-Walz. However, the campaign can do more. There's still so many people on the fence and having those conversations and knowing that there were truly are a lot of people that can benefit from so much more information.

FREEMAN (voice over): For their part, the Trump campaign is turning to men like Daniel Campo, the Venezuelan-born pilot recently spoke at a Trump rally in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but Campo said his biggest challenge when canvassing Latino neighborhoods are people who feel the former president is prejudiced against Latinos.

FREEMAN (on camera): How do you convince them to vote for him?

DANIEL CAMPO, TRUMP ENDORSER: So are you going to invite him to your wedding? Are you going in by him for your birthday party or your kid's birthday party? You have somebody that did the job and did a good job and hiring him again for that job. You're not inviting him to your wedding.

FREEMAN (on camera): Now one thing several Democratic Latino voters told me over the course the week is that they hope to see more popular Latino celebrities come out and support of the Harris-Walz campaign especially considering that a few Reggaeton stars have already come out in support of former President Donald Trump.

These Democrats say that star power and more face-to-face interactions can help perhaps bridge some of the energy gap they are seeing on the ground.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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[19:51:55]

DEAN: Election day is now just 30 days away and depending on who wins, Americans could get their First Gentleman in the White House with Doug Emhoff or Melania Trump could be the First Lady for the second time.

This week on "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, CNN anchor, Kaitlan Collins looks at the history of first ladies and how that role has evolved. Here's a preview.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, ever since Martha Washington, there have been 50 women who have occupied this role in some sort. It's actually not always a spouse who takes this role. We've seen aunts and sisters and nieces take it before with past presidents in US history.

But regardless of which woman is filling that position, we've seen how it's changed so much over the years, but also how it hasn't. It's a position where its ill-defined. It's not paid.

The person is not elected to that position, but often they find themselves facing a great amount of scrutiny and that doesn't have anything to do with necessarily how they do the job.

First Ladies who have done a lot like Hillary Clinton when it came to health care and how she sought to use her platform for that role was criticized Melania Trump and how she did not fulfill the conventional stereotype of what we have come to know as a country, a First Lady to do, what that looks like. She was also criticized. It's one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't', kind of positions.

But one part of it that is been pretty antiquated that stood out to me is, we've always been obsessed with what First Lady is wearing, how she dresses. There's even an entire exhibit in the Smithsonian dedicated to the inaugural gowns that these former First Ladies have worn.

It's a fascinating look through history to see them. You can see how much the country has changed, but Melania Trump was someone who, while she may not have been as visible of a presence, she certainly used her outfits to speak for her and send a message. As I talked about with Kate Bennett, a former CNN White House correspondent and a person and author who wrote the book on Melania Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BENNETT, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: She realized what she wore could draw attention. She used that very strategically, sometimes to her detriment. We can think about the Africa trip was out of a magazine.

COLLINS: When she went to her first solo trip to Africa and she was criticized for wearing the hat, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had written a story about how she had worn a pith helmet on a safari in Kenya and it is a symbol of British colonial rule.

It represents some really dark ideas and she didn't like that line of coverage and she met us in front of the Great Sphinx.

MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish people would focus on what I do not what I wear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she walked away from us and started posing against the backdrop of the pyramid. And it was literally a fashion show photo shoot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So, in this weekend's "Whole Story" we take a look not just at the four years that Melania Trump was in that role before. We also talked to experts and people who have covered her for a long time about what the next four years could look like should Donald Trump be re-elected.

We also take a look though at Doug Emhoff, the Second Gentlemen and what it could look like if he is in that position, he would be the first man to ever occupy the role, the First Gentlemen, if you will. And so, it's a fascinating look at conventional typical job descriptions and how people tried to use it.

And I actually spoke to some people who thought Doug Emhoff would actually be a more conventional first spouse than we've seen Melania Trump be.

Regardless of what happens in the election, it's a fascinating look to see who will be occupying what's often overlooked for the West Wing and that's the East Wing.

DEAN: That's right. Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole story airs next only on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. We're going to see you again right back here next weekend. Have a great night.

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