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CNN This Morning
Trump Belittles Detroit While Campaigning in Michigan; Death Toll from Milton Rises to 16; Millions Still Without Power in Florida. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 11, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is Friday, October 11. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[05:59:58]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Do not just sit back and hope for the best. Get off your couch and vote!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: A final sprint. Kamala Harris bringing out the big dogs: former President Obama and Clinton hitting the trail.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Dissing Detroit. Donald Trump, criticizing the Motor City while campaigning in that city.
And then this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It is my priority to keep the jobs in Pittsburgh.
TRUMP: It's the biggest factor in Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: In our battleground beat, we head to Pennsylvania, the states most strategists think will decide the fate of the White House.
And later. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: A path of destruction. Hurricane Milton ripping through the state of Florida. Hundreds rescues and the death toll only climbing.
Six a.m. here in Washington, here's a live look at New York City.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Manu Raju in for Kasie Hunt. It's great to be with you.
It's hard to believe, but yes, there are just 25 days left until election day. More than 3 million votes have already been cast across 36 states, and next week, early voting will begin in the swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Nevada.
And as the race for the White House enters its final stretch a familiar -- familiar face returning to the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Hello, Pittsburgh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And that's former President Barack Obama making his first appearance on behalf of Kamala Harris since his speech at the DNC in August.
Obama, still one of the more popular figures in the Democratic Party, leaned into Harris's quote, "not going back" slogan and did not hold back when it came to the former President Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Even if you had a family member who acted like that, you might still love them, but you'd tell them, You've got a problem. And you wouldn't put them in charge of anything.
And yet, when Donald Trump lies or cheats or shows utter disregard for our Constitution, when he calls P.O.W.s losers or fellow citizens "vermin," people make excuses for it. They think it's OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, as the 44th president brought his message to voters in must-win Pennsylvania, his successor was -- was in another Blue Wall state.
Donald Trump appearing in the crucial swing state of Michigan, where he debuted a new proposal to make interests on car loans tax deductible. He also claimed that, if reelected, he would", quote, save the
American auto industry," adding this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So here is the deal that I will be offering to the world, to companies outside of our world -- big companies, powerful companies that have become powerful because we were stupid. We were stupid. We allowed them to come in and raid and rape our country. That's what they did.
Oh, he used the word "rape." That's right. I used the word "rape." Raped our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: All right. Joining me now to discuss: Elliot Williams, CNN's legal analyst and a former federal prosecutor; Kate Bedingfield, CNN political commentator and former Biden White House communications director; and Doug Heye, Republican strategist and former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Good morning to you all.
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey.
RAJU: I want to start off there in Detroit, where Trump was talking to Michigan voters, talking to this -- the economic forum there and also had a little jab at the city he was speaking in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We are a developing nation. We're a developing nation, too. Just take a look at Detroit. Detroit's a developing -- Detroit's a developing area. Hell of a lot more than most places in China.
I mean, the whole country is going to be like -- you want to know the truth? It will be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And just a reminder about where the race is in Michigan right now, Donald Trump winning -- leading, according to the Quinnipiac poll, by three points. That is with -- barely within the margin of error, which is at 3.1 percent.
So, Doug, you are a Republican strategist. Do you advise a Republican candidate to belittle and demean the city they're trying to win voters in?
HEYE: The short answer is obviously absolutely not. And this is one of those things that Donald Trump does. And he seems to get away with it, because he's done things like this before. But it also shows that he's not really keeping up with the times. Detroit was a punchline for decades, but that's not true anymore. It's a thriving city. It's a growing city. Jobs are flooding into -- into Detroit. It's a real success story in the American economy right now.
And so, it's bizarre to me, one, that he would go after them like that; two, we could talk about sort of the economic wiseness of saying here, let's go more in debt on a depreciation -- depreciating asset. Like, let's -- let's make your car loans free and tax deductible. Now it doesn't seem to be the smartest economic strategy.
[06:05:10]
But it sounds good in the sound bite, where he doesn't often sound good in a soundbite.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Whether it's Detroit or Philadelphia, or Chicago, going after big -- and let's say it -- predominantly black cities has worked as a talking point.
So, it's stunning that he's doing it now 40, however many days, 30 however many days.
RAJU: Twenty-five.
WILLIAMS: Twenty-five days before election day, but it's part of a trend.
Now, the interesting thing is, even if the room were receptive to what he said there, and it was a friendly crowd. He still has to worry about the voters in Detroit who might be voting for Harris and just keeping their votes down.
And it's statements like that are only going to animate his opposition. It's just -- it's mindboggling.
BEDINGFIELD: Yes, and also, crime is down in these cities. I mean, this is the other thing, you know? Yes, it is a talking point. Yes, it is like textbook Donald Trump fearmongering. But the fact of the matter is, crime is down in major cities across the country. It's down across the country, period.
So, there is effective -- you know, Democrats have effective pushback here to say, you know, not only are you attacking the people living in these swing states who you, in theory, want to vote for you.
But also, you're not telling the truth about what's going on in these cities. So, it gives Kamala Harris and Democrats an opening to go back to a really fundamental argument against Donald Trump, which is that he's a liar.
HEYE: Yes. There's been a lot of opportunities for Democrats to provide that pushback. But Kamala Harris is still underperforming with African Americans, African-American males certainly. We can have that same conversation about Hispanics.
It's part of why this campaign is so difficult to figure out.
RAJU: And speaking of this campaign, just where things are in the Blue Wall states, you saw those Michigan numbers, but also the Pennsylvania numbers, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
She is up by three points, according to the Quinnipiac poll. And that is barely outside the margin of error. And also, she's losing in Wisconsin, but it's still within the margin of error, according to Quinnipiac, as well.
As the Democrat here at the table, you must be concerned.
BEDINGFIELD: Well, look, I think across the board, there is reason to be concerned that she is underperforming with some of these constituencies, which are pretty core to the Democratic coalition.
You know, I do think she's continuing to make progress. And if you look at where she was when she went to the top of the ticket, you've seen kind of steadily, these numbers have crept up over the course of the last couple of months as she's making this argument.
But this will be a big task for her in the final push here, is getting African American voters, particularly men. The other kind of big overlay here is the gender gap. She is leading by double digits with women, but losing by double digits with men, so trying to drive down those margins with African-American audiences, Latino audiences, but particularly men.
So, I think looking at what the Harris campaign does in terms of their paid spending to try to target some of those audiences and then listening to how she's reaching out.
Again, she doesn't have to win men to win this election. And she probably won't. But she does have to drive down those margins a little bit. And I think that's part of where the campaign will be focused for this final three weeks.
RAJU: Some of those margins are significant: 15 points or so she's losing male voters in Pennsylvania, according to one of those polls.
All right. We're going to have a lot more to discuss. And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, battling misinformation in the wake of two deadly hurricanes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life, man. Help these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: President Biden calling out Donald Trump as he continues to push unverified claims.
Plus, Boeing is expected to plead guilty for its role in two deadly plane crashes. The details in our morning roundup. And how the top of the ticket could impact down-ballot races critical to the Senate's balance of power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Harris is obviously making this harder for you. You're not endorsing her. So --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's because I don't want this race to be nationalized any more than they want it to be nationalized. I want to talk about Montana.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:28]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: There is false information that federal employees who are there to help people will actually take their land. And what we have seen is people reticent, reluctant to access the relief to which they are entitled and which will help them because of the fear that that false information has instilled in them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And that was Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pushing back on just one of the rumors which have popped up during hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The storms and their aftermath have quickly been turned into a campaign issue by Donald Trump and his allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're dying, and they're getting no help from our federal government. Because they have no money, because their money has been spent on people that should not be in our country.
It's been a terrible response from the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now the Biden administration is pushing back. And former President Obama also chiming in on this, on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments. And my question is, when did that become OK?
BIDEN: Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life, man. Help these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: My panel is back.
Do you think voters are just tuning all this out?
WILLIAMS: No, I don't. And here's why. According to the Pew Research Center, earlier this year, about 22 percent of people trust government all the time.
I think what you're seeing from many people, particularly former President Trump, is capitalizing on that, with the lies and misinformation to further drive a wedge between what people think of government and so on.
[06:15:07]
So, do I think they're tuning out the sort of daily --
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIAMS: No, I don't. And I think this -- this message of your government does not serve you well and is lying to you and is doing bad things and has been taking away from you in a time of disaster. I think absolutely there are people for whom that is buying -- now, pardon me -- who are buying that message.
RAJU: Yes, Doug, you're from North Carolina. So, what does -- obviously is critical to the presidency. What impact is all of this having and what Trump is saying, having on voters there?
HEYE: Yes, I'm hearing two sets of things. One is a lot of this disinformation. People are asking me, did you hear about this? Did you hear about that? And me having to debunk that through -- you know, to them.
The other is from elected officials. Senator Kevin Corbin, who represents that part of North Carolina. Chuck Edwards, who represented -- represented in Congress. Virginia Foxx. They're pushing back very hard.
Even if they're not going after Donald Trump necessarily by name, though sometimes that's happening, they're pushing back on this, as well.
But the impact, we still don't know electorally, because you have 25 counties that have been declared a disaster emergency. Declarations and a lot of those still have offices for boards of elections that are closed.
Real questions about how are we going to do early voting in those areas? That's coming just next week.
RAJU: What do you think of this -- just before you jump in, I want you get in to weigh in. Biden -- you used to work for Biden. Coming out and really calling out Donald Trump by name?
BEDINGFIELD: Yes.
RAJU: In this. What is behind that decision?
BEDINGFIELD: Well, I think a genuine frustration and anger about the fact that Donald Trump is using a moment where people need help and need to be able to get accurate, good information about where they can get resources. And they're not getting it.
And Trump is muddying the waters and making it harder for people who are in need to get what they need. So, I think there was a humanity behind it. I think he was expressing genuine frustration.
You know, I also think these moments, you know, natural disasters like this create leadership tests for leaders. And Donald Trump, I think, is failing this one pretty miserably. And I think this is the kind of thing that people do remember.
I mean, sort of to the point, it's not only do people absorb the information day-to-day, but you know, they're looking at how are -- are leaders reacting to this moment where I need help, I'm looking to somebody to say, you know, this is the direction that you need to go. And you're not getting it.
And I do think people remember that. I mean, obviously, there's been a lot of discussion of 2012, and, you know, Obama and Chris Christie embracing in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
These are the kinds of things in the last few weeks in an election that kind of sear into people's minds. What kind of leader is this person?
And that's where I think Donald Trump is really -- is not meeting the moment.
RAJU: Yes, we'll see. We'll see.
WILLIAMS: I was going to say, you know, its 20 -- we have elections during hurricane season. I think there's four baseball fans of his table here.
Often, when they take a picture out of the game, they'll say he can lose it. He can't win it. One may not win an election based on how they perform during a crisis, but they can certainly lose it by mismanaging how -- their approach.
RAJU: Yes, we'll see how voters ultimately react.
All right. Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the tale s of destruction and survival in the wake of Hurricane Milton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Hello. He was frantically wailing his arms. We went over, and it literally was like the scene out of the castaway movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Live in Florida's Gulf Coast, where rescue and recovery efforts are now underway for the state's second disaster in two weeks.
Plus, in our morning round-up, more evidence could soon be unsealed in Donald Trump's election interference case. How Trump is fighting against the release.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:23:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've lived in Florida since 1989.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never, never have I experienced --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- damage or the amount of tornadoes that came through this area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was the most frightening thing I've ever lived through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: This morning, the death toll from Hurricane Milton, now, it's 16. That number could climb as some Florida residents are still unaccounted for.
Six of those deaths reported in St. Lucie County, where several tornadoes touched down. And this morning, many schools in the county remain closed. And that's where we find CNN's Ivan Rodriguez.
Ivan, how do things look right now just before sunrise?
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Manu, we're still seeing of debris, a lot of destruction here where we are in Fort Pierce to my left here.
You can see a semi that has been toppled hold on its side. Walking now near the front of that semi, you can see the wheels. They're -- they're sticking up, laying on top of a tree.
Interestingly, enough, Manu, on the other side of the road, this main road to my left. There's another semi. Same exact thing. Its trailer completely crushed, as well.
We've been able to drive around in the last 24 hours through this neighborhood. A lot of homes are damaged from what we can tell. The sheriff's office saying that there's more than 100 homes that were damaged in this area.
We also know that search-and-rescue crews are still working around the clock here.
What the sheriff here had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF KEITH PEARSON, ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA: And our search-and- rescue efforts are currently -- they're active. We're looking to rescue as many people as we can.
We're talking about entire modular homes that were lifted off their foundation. You can't even recognize it. It's just a 12-foot pile of rubbish.
These tornadoes came out of nowhere. Our deputies reported back. I heard it for myself. I was out there with them. Six different tornadoes touched down in a matter of 20 minutes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RODRIGUEZ: Just absolutely incredible devastation, Manu, that nobody here was expecting. Longtime residents saying that they've been absolutely shocked.
[06:25:06]
St. Lucie emergency responders saying that they actually received 900 calls for assistance in the span of just 90 minutes. We know that at least three tornadoes struck down in this county in the span of about 25 minutes, as well.
Also, hearing from the National Hurricane Center that, yes, we typically do see tornadic activity when it comes to hurricanes prior to landfall, as they're making landfall.
But these ones were just so different. They were more powerful, and they lasted a lot longer, as well.
RAJU: Just stunning devastation. That pickup truck on top of a tree. Just wow.
Ivan Rodriguez from Fort Pierce, Florida. Thank you for that report.
And for more now, let's go to meteorologist Derek van Dam. So, Derek, you heard the office of there saying six different tornadoes touched down in a matter of 20 minutes.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We know that landfalling hurricanes are prolific tornado developers, and they can spawn them. But they're usually short-lived, and they cause generally minor to considerable damage. But when we're talking about the significant damage that we've seen in
Fort Pierce, what -- Palm Beach County like this one coming out of Wellington, Florida. This is on the Eastern side of the state, well in advance of the landfall of the storm, which by the way, was on the other side of the Florida peninsula, on the Gulf Coast side.
So, Milton is now moving away. It's becoming extra tropical. It's just a low-pressure well to the East of the United States. But we're still getting the impacts in terms of rough surf. And some coastal advisories have been lifted occur -- or rather, maintained across the border of Florida and Georgia.
So, this is the Atlantic side. Minor coastal flooding, dangerous rip currents, and large waves. And there are still, of course, the two- and-a-half million plus customers that are without power this morning.
It has been a difficult past several days.
We are watching the tropics again. Nothing in sight at the moment, but we're going to keep our eye on the Western Gulf of -- or the Western Caribbean.
And I have to end with this, Manu, because it's quite a sight. We had a coronal mass ejection. That is a solar flare ejected towards the Earth. And it created beautiful sights of the Northern lights as far South as Key Largo, Florida, this overnight period. Amazing.
RAJU: Yes. Some people in D.C. also saw it, too. I missed it.
VAN DAM: Right.
RAJU: Very, very beautiful. All right. Meteorologist Derek van Dam, thank you for that.
And still coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, with the Senate up for grabs in November, can Democrats hang onto their thin majority? New polling shows just how tight it could be.
Plus, less than a month until election day, both campaigns have their eye on Pennsylvania, where voters are split practically down the middle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all about him. It's not about the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She doesn't represent my values, my beliefs about policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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