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CNN This Morning

Israel Marks First Anniversary of October 7th Terror Attacks; Trump Rallies at His First Assassination Attempt Site in Butler Pennsylvania; FEMA Sets the Record Straight About the Response on Hurricane Helene. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 07, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

KASIE HUNT, ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING: It's Monday, October 7th, right now on CNN THIS MORNING. One year later, Israel marks the first anniversary of the October 7th terror attack as a multi-front war in the Middle East rages on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: On this very ground, a cold-blooded assassin aimed to silence me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The home stretch, Donald Trump rallies at the site of his first assassination attempt. And the Harris campaign ramps up media appearances. Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. TRUMP: The White House is doing nothing. They've abandoned us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The politics of disaster, FEMA trying to set the record straight as the former President pushes falsehoods about the response to Hurricane Helene. All right, 5:00 a.m. on the east coast, a live look at Capitol Hill on this Monday morning. Good morning, everyone, I'm Kasie Hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.

October 7th, 2023, it was one year ago today and it was a day that upended an uneasy status quo in the Middle East and changed the course of tens of thousands of lives. The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the holocaust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MAYHEM)

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: Twelve-hundred people, many of them, young people attending a

concert killed in a terror attack across parts of Israel on this day last year. Hundreds more taken hostage and more than a 100 of those hostages still captive. Today, thousands gathering for a memorial service at the site of the Nova Music Festival, where so many of those lives were cut short.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOA ARGAMANI, FREED HOSTAGE (through translator): The entire country is in mourning. We've all lost someone close to us, and we are all left with a huge hole in our hearts. I still don't know where to start picking up the pieces, how to find hope, and how to look forward. I'm still asking why? Why this happened? Why it happened to our loved ones, to those dearest to us?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: This attack prompting Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza, where an estimated 41,000 people have been killed over the last year. Today, Israel fighting a war on multiple fronts, the world now waiting to see how they'll retaliate against Iran for last week's deadly missile attack.

Israel continuing to bombard Hezbollah targets in Beirut and its southern suburbs with aerial attacks. Hezbollah firing back overnight, hitting a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, injuring at least eight people. CNN's Nic Robertson is live at the site of last year's Hamas terror attack in southern Israel. Nic, good morning to you, how are these victims being remembered today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There's a lot of sorrow, a lot of sadness. We were here when the sun came up, and that was the moment the attack began. And those fields -- that night that were full of fear and being here in the dark, you get that real understanding of what it was like because it was chaos, because people didn't know what was happening and where it was coming from because it was dark.

And with the dawn here, a year later, families gathered around these memorials here in tears, hugging each other, friends who'd survived that night coming back to say hello, goodbye again to their friends that didn't make it out, families that still can't come to terms with the fact that they've lost loved ones.

I spoke to the aunt of a 23-year-old girl, and she said, look, every day is the same for us. We haven't moved on the grief, the pain, the suffering is all still there. So, today, here at the site of the Nova Music Festival is just full of grief. I mean, it's tangible. You can reach out and touch it and it gets you, it hurts and people here are hurting today.

HUNT: Indeed. Nic, the families of those who are still being held hostage in Gaza have been trying to pressure the government of Israel to do more to get their loved ones out. Is there any hope for them right now, considering just how difficult the geopolitical situation is at the moment?

[05:05:00]

ROBERTSON: It seems that the hope is retreating at the moment. You know, talking to families here who they lost loved ones, but they support in every way they can those people who still have -- still have hostages taken and hostages missing. I mean, 40 hostages were taken from here, we know 18 of them are dead.

Hamas still holds the bodies of four of them. So, that's 22 people still held hostage from this -- from this festival site alone. No, it really does seem because of the war in Lebanon, now, the escalating tensions with Iran, the idea of sort of having escalation for de- escalation to get to a peace deal with Hamas, to get the hostages home just seemed as distant or even more distant than it was a couple of weeks ago.

It's become more complicated, more intertwined. The idea to get -- to get Hamas to stop their fight in the north, to then get a deal with Hamas in the south, there's nothing on the horizon that indicates that that's coming soon.

HUNT: It's so difficult. Nic Robertson for us this morning, Nic, thank you very much for that reporting. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, we will continue to bring you the latest on how Israel is marking the anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks, and we're going to talk live with the father of a teenage Israeli-American who was taken hostage one year ago today.

Plus, less than two weeks after Helene, Florida now bracing for another direct hit in just days. And the Harris campaign embarks on a week-long media blitz as the race for the White House enters its final 29 days.

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[05:10:00]

HUNT: All right, welcome back. It is the home-stretch, if you can believe it, we've got less than 30 days until election day. Over the weekend, Donald Trump returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, where he narrowly escaped death from a would-be assassin back in July. He was joined on stage at one point by former foe, current ally, Elon Musk --

(CLEARS THROAT)

HUNT: Excuse me, who pumped up the crowd by jumping around on stage and making some brief remarks -- in case you missed that. During Trump's almost two hours on stage, he put the blame for the July attack on his political opponents, even though the FBI is still investigating the gunman's motive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. TRUMP: Over the past eight years, those who want to stop us from achieving this future have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot, and who knows, maybe even tried to kill me, but I've never stopped fighting for you and I never will, never will.

(CHEERS)

D. TRUMP: Never going to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Over on the Harris campaign, Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz seem to be ramping up media appearances, although mostly friendly ones. Harris is set to appear on several outlets this week including during a town hall with Univision and sit-down interview appearances in New York later on this week.

She also appeared on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast this weekend where she pushed back on right-wing criticisms about her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I love those kids to death. And family comes in many forms, and I think that increasingly, you know, all of us understand that, you know, this is not the 1950s anymore. Families come in all kinds of shapes and forms, and they're family nonetheless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, joining us to talk about the latest in the campaign, Julia Manchester; national political reporter for "The Hill". Julia, good morning, good to see you --

JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Good morning, Kasie --

HUNT: I -- Trump and Elon was quite the scene --

MANCHESTER: Right, all right --

HUNT: Over the weekend, but in seriousness, when you heard him there talk about his assassination attempt, he obviously wanted to send a message by saying, I'm not afraid of going back to this place where this --

MANCHESTER: Yes --

HUNT: Happened, taking this kind of head-on, but also insinuating again, especially in this particular case, we don't know a lot about the political motivations or lack thereof or his political affiliation at all of the shooter here. But that said, how do you see this campaign shaping up here in the final stretch?

MANCHESTER: Look, the polls are really deadlocked at this point, it seems that nationally, Kamala Harris is, you know, somewhat ahead of Donald Trump. But in Pennsylvania, for example, they're either tied or she's a little bit ahead. So, there's a real opportunity for Donald Trump to go back to Butler, Pennsylvania, at the site of that first assassination attempt to really gin up support from his base.

And also, you know, go to a swing state, campaign in the swing state where roughly what? Four percent of voters are undecided. So, that was definitely a big opportunity, I think with some of these interviews that Kamala Harris is doing. It's also an opportunity to gin up her base. I thought it was interesting that she did the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, you know, that podcast is definitely predominantly listened to by women.

It's about relationships, sex, advice, but she's able to sit there and talk to of -- you know, prominent female podcaster and reach young women, a very important part of her base.

HUNT: It's interesting, in some ways, it's a mirror of what Trump has been doing, right? Because he has been out with podcast host --

MANCHESTER: Right --

HUNT: And different kinds of media opportunities that play to his base.

MANCHESTER: Absolutely --

HUNT: Yes, and this does seem to be an aspect of this election cycle where we're seeing both candidates try to find different opportunities for this.

MANCHESTER: Yes, it's interesting, you know, it seems like there's obviously an opportunity for them to come on more mainstream outlets, and we've seen them do that maybe a little bit, but it seems like this is really a race to turn out their base as much as possible. We know that voter registration deadlines are coming up.

We know that early voting has started, so they probably want to get that out of the way, get their base out there, and then as we enter the final stretch, maybe we'll start to see them sort of try to reach out more into the middle. We do know that Kamala Harris is doing a "60 Minutes" interview where she has done one that is airing later today in full, so that could reach more people as well.

[05:15:00]

HUNT: Yes, well, I mean, and that is a tradition in these campaigns. Donald Trump has declined --

MANCHESTER: Right --

HUNT: For 60-minute" interview --

MANCHESTER: Right --

HUNT: "Sixty Minutes" interview, one of the potentially last incredibly high profile moments, you know, to speak to millions of people at the same time. Julia, we did hear, Governor Tim Walz; Harris' running mate did sit down this Sunday with "Fox News" -- well, "Fox News Sunday" actually on Fox networks. Let's play a little bit of what he had to say here. He was talking

about owning up when he misspoke. He of course, was asked about him -- talking about Tiananmen Square and his presence there or lack thereof. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM WALZ, U.S. DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I will own up when I misspeak, I will own up when I make a mistake. Let's be very clear, on that debate stage the other night, I asked one very simple question, and Senator Vance would not acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

I think they're probably far more concerned with that than my wife and I used IUI to have our child, and that Donald Trump would restrict that. So, I think folks know who I am, my constituents here in Minnesota have elected me eight times. They know where I'm at, and I am proud to be on the ticket and will deliver just like we have here --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right --

WALZ: In Minnesota.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: It's interesting to me that they're having him go out there because we did see him do a ton of media in the run-up to him being chosen, some of which a lot of Democrats I talked with thought were very effective and actually getting him a really close look and ultimately the pick. But he hasn't been doing that since the convention. Do we think we're going to see more of this?

MANCHESTER: Yes, and I think there's also a theory that maybe him not feeling warmed up enough or comfortable enough on that debate stage last week compared to someone like J.D. Vance, who has done interviews across the political spectrum. I'm trying to reach a number of audiences -- different audiences.

I think there's this feeling that maybe that was a mistake on the -- you know, the Walz team that he should have been put out more front and center. And we have seen him since put out more front and center. I think that's an opportunity, I think going on a program like "Fox News Sunday" that is broadcast to a number of different affiliates across the country is smart, he's reaching a different audience, maybe more local audience, so, that's good on the campaign.

HUNT: All right, Julia Manchester for us this morning, Julia, thank you so much for being here --

MANCHESTER: Thanks, Kasie --

HUNT: I really appreciate it. All right, coming up next here on CNN THIS MORNING, Florida can't catch a break this hurricane season. Residents there prepping for another possible hurricane, not even two weeks after Helene, and it's been one year since the October 7th terror attacks against Israel. How, the more than 1,200 lives cut short are being honored today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:00]

HUNT: Florida state still reeling from Hurricane Helene, now bracing for another direct hit. Hurricane Milton, now a Category one storm and could become a major Category three when it makes landfall in Florida in just days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency yesterday. We now have 51 Florida counties that are in that executive order.

KEVIN GUTHRIE, DIRECTOR, FLORIDA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: I urge Floridians to finalize your storm preparations now, enact your plan. I highly encourage you to evacuate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, let's get to our meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Derek, good morning. What should folks be prepared for?

DEREK VAN DAM, METEOROLOGIST: OK, well, this is the last thing that people want to hear this morning, and I want to reiterate that I understand for people of Florida that this has got a lot of hurricane fatigue, storm fatigue associated with it, because we're facing the stark reality of a major hurricane strike, the second one in less than two weeks.

There are still debris lining the roadways of many of the streets here along the west coast of Florida near the Tampa Bay region. And now, we're facing this additional threat. So, this is a very fluid situation, 5:00 a.m. is the update time from the National Hurricane Center. So, we're getting the latest information.

So, this has actually strengthened overnight. It is now a Category two, and the storm has got a lot of interesting dynamics. This is also new as well, because we're seeing the first watches and watches ahead of Milton into portions of Tampa Bay. In fact, all of Tampa Bay inland, just north of Tampa, southward including Fort Myers as well as Naples.

We remember what happened in September of 2022 with Hurricane Ian. We are facing a storm surge threat, flash-flooding threat and catastrophic wind threat as well. Hurricane Milton, 100 mile per-hour winds, it is a Category two as we speak, it's been meandering across the Bay of Campeche, threatening the northern Yucatan Peninsula through the course of the day today.

Here's the forecast track. This is important. It has slowed down in its arrival time, so, we believe this is more of a Wednesday night into Thursday morning landfall as it approaches this region, it will be in a weakening phase, but that means it will expand and the impacts of the storm will be felt well outside of the center.

Here's the first stab at the storm surge values, Kasie, 8 to 12 feet in Tampa Bay, that is higher than the record-setting storm surge values that Helene brought two weeks ago.

HUNT: Wow, all right --

VAN DAM: Let's start with that --

HUNT: Lot to deal with for those people in Florida for sure. Derek, thank you. Although, hey, on a slightly cheerier note, I'm told it's your birthday --

VAN DAM: Yes, it is --

HUNT: So, I want to say happy birthday --

VAN DAM: Thank you --

HUNT: Should I ask how old you are? Or is that considered --

VAN DAM: Well, it's amazing how it just goes backwards when you get older. So, 25, we'll go with that.

HUNT: OK, it sounds good, happy 25th birthday --

VAN DAM: Don't mind the salt and pepper --

HUNT: OK, I'll see you next hour. All right --

VAN DAM: Yes --

HUNT: Twenty four minutes past the hour here, here's your morning roundup. Two boys ages 12 and 13 have been arrested in connection to an attack on former New York Governor David Paterson and his stepson.

[05:25:00]

It happened near their New York home Friday night. The former governor says his 20-year-old stepson confronted a group of people trying to climb up the side of a building.

The situation eventually escalated into a fight. Paterson and his son were both involved. These days, an "I voted" sticker not enough. People want to snap selfies at the ballot box, but that's banned in 14 states, that includes North Carolina where a federal court will hear arguments today after a woman claims her First Amendment rights were violated when state election officials told her to take down a selfie that she posted after the primary earlier this year.

The Supreme Court is back in session today, the agenda for this term includes cases on ghost guns, gender affirming care for minors and pornography. But the court also preparing for surprises. Next month's election, of course, could bring last-minute political fights to the bench. All right, still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Israel marking one

year since the October 7th attacks. How that nation is honoring the somber anniversary as the region teeters on the brink of a massive war. Plus, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, a flood of misinformation taking over social media, we'll try to separate the rumors from the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA TRUMP, FORMER TELEVISION PRODUCER & WIFE OF ERIC TRUMP: Kamala Harris did come out and say it's $750 per family right now.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): I think the -- you know, folks know that the Trump family at every opportunity uses information -- misinformation to lie to the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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