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CNN This Morning
Harris Calls A Trump Second Term A "Huge Risk For America"; Israel Denies Attacks On U.N. Forces, Calls For Withdrawal; Sean "Diddy" Combs Facing 6 New Sexual Assault Lawsuits; Freeze Warnings Issued As Temperatures Fall. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:31]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, October 15.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is out for unchecked power. That's what he's looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Three weeks to go. New urgency for Kamala Harris campaign, they're deadlocked with Donald Trump.
And this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Would anybody else like to faint? Please raise your hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Donald Trump and DJ. The former president's town hall takes a turn from people passing out, to a playlist of his favorite songs.
And later, battleground beat. We head to Georgia, the state that flipped from red to blue in 2020, and it's a must-win for Donald Trump if he wants to get to 270.
(MUSIC)
HUNT: OK, 5:00 a.m. on the East Coast. A live look at Capitol Hill on this Tuesday morning.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Today, we are exactly three weeks from Election Day. And in one battleground state this morning the election starts now.
Early voting in Georgia kicks off this morning in a few hours. The pivotal state is of course, a tossup. In the latest "Wall Street Journal" poll, Kamala Harris holding a slim 46 to 45 edge among registered voters there, well within the margin of error.
Both campaigns, of course, also intensely focused on Pennsylvania. That swing state where 20 percent of all ad spending is -- has been spent since July. In dueling rallies last night, Donald Trump was in the Philadelphia suburbs, Harris out west in Erie, Pennsylvania.
During her event, Harris went after Trump, playing clips from his recent rallies and attacking his "enemy from within" comments that he made recently about political opponents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged. And he is out for unchecked power. That's what he's looking for. He wants to send the military after American citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Trump's event in Oaks, Pennsylvania, was supposed to be a town hall event hosted by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
It was derailed, unfortunately, by two attendees who needed medical attention a few questions in. But it was at that point that the former president decided to pivot, he had a new idea. He unveiled in music playlist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Go and vote. Let me hear that music, please?
GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: Everyone, let's thank President Trump.
TRUMP: Let me hear that music loud. Nice and loud.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: So, play "YMCA". Go ahead. Let's go. Nice and loud.
NOEM: Here we go, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: For 30 minutes, the former president danced and swayed onstage to the music.
CNN's reporter at the event said there appear to be some confusion about what was happening while Trump was up there.
Joining us now to talk about the state of the race, Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution". Tia, good morning to you.
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Good morning.
HUNT: So early voting kicks off in Georgia. But, of course, President Trump with the impromptu dance party last night as Kamala Harris really kind of leveled up her attacks against him at an event out in western Pennsylvania. What is the state of the race here as voters in Georgia can head to the polls starting today?
MITCHELL: Well, it's super close in Georgia, which -- I mean, all the candidates are pretty much cycling through once a week. Donald Trump will be in Georgia today, both to tape a town hall for cable, but also to hold a big rally to mark the first day of early voting.
Kamala Harris is expected in Georgia this weekend. Many other surrogates throughout the day, throughout the week. So it just shows the importance of Georgia among others swing states. And I think it shows that the state, like many other swing states, remains too close to call.
HUNT: Tia, what are your sources telling you about the way this dynamic might play right now? Because I will say when I talk to Republicans, they feel pretty confident about Georgia. They feel more confident about Georgia than some of the other states on the map.
And if you talk to Harris supporters, many of them will reference even North Carolina as potentially closer into her column than Georgia is.
[05:05:01]
Do you agree with that assessment? What do you hear from your sources on the ground?
MITCHELL: Yeah. I think Georgia is going to be tough mainly because Republicans usually win statewide in Georgia. The only exceptions in recent history had been, of course, President Biden in 2020, and our two senators, Ossoff and Warnock. Biden won in 2020 in part because he was on the ballot with Ossoff and Warnock and they combine to make a pretty powerful message about not just controlling the White House, but flipping the balance of power in the Senate.
The difference for Kamala Harris is she's running on a ticket pretty much by herself. There aren't really any other high-profile statewide races in Georgia on the ballot. So she doesn't have the benefit of that Democratic ticket to help pull her or along, which is just going to make it harder for a Democrat to win statewide in Georgia.
HUNT: Tia, one of the things we've seen Harris do in recent days is tried to up her focus on winning over Black especially men, right? So these kind of economic plans, she's been putting out there on small businesses, other things. You've also seen some of her media strategy, perhaps be designed to appeal to those folks. Obviously, the Black vote in Georgia is incredibly critical for her.
How important is that piece of it, of trying to convince more Black men to vote for her in Georgia?
MITCHELL: Yeah, it's a critical piece, but it's just one piece. But I think Democrats know that it's very hard to win, especially in close swing states, if your base isn't there to build upon and Black voters are the backbone of the Democratic Party. You meet Black men to show up as well in a state like Georgia, just a few percentage points difference in any key demographic could be the right race because we know a state like Georgia is going to be really close.
So I think Kamala Harris is trying to boost those percentages, trying to nullify some of the criticism that she's hearing from Black men. I would say Latino men kind of fall in a similar category. But the risk for her is that she is perceived as speaking too much just the Black men in ways that are procedures alienating other key demographics that she also needs.
HUNT: All right. Tia Mitchell for us this morning, Tia, thanks for getting us started. I really appreciate it.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, striking Lebanon, quote, without mercy, Israel's full-throated warning to Hezbollah.
Plus, FEMA back up and running in North Carolina after they were forced to pause due to threats.
And a group Democrats haven't won since 1996: white women without college degrees. What strategists think Kamala Harris needs to do to win them over?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do know some younger females that are very much a Harris person. I'm not against her. If I thought she was going to do different than what was already in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:12:14]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing to hit Hezbollah, quote, without mercy after the group's attack that killed four soldiers at an Israeli army base on Sunday. It was a single bloodiest attack on troops inside Israel since October 7th. Israel striking back, targeting a Christian majority village in the northern part of Lebanon Monday, killing at least 21 people according to the Red Cross. That death toll expected to rise as crews comb through the rubble.
In the meantime, Israel is rejecting accusations that its troops deliberately targeted U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Netanyahu saying Monday he repeatedly asked the group to get out of harm's way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false. It's exactly the opposite. Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way, and repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's border with Lebanon. In fact, on the day that Israel began its ground operation next to our border with Lebanon, we asked them specifically, please leave this area so you're not harmed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: This as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran.
Let's bring in Max Foster in London for more on all of this.
Max, good morning.
Always wonderful to see you. This, of course, back-and-forth coming as the U.S. is sending additional missile defenses to the region. And "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting this morning that Israel has assured the Biden administration they're not going to attack Iran's nuclear or oil at targets.
Biden and Netanyahu spoke Wednesday. It was their first call in more than seven weeks after months of rising tensions between the two men.
Again, this is "The Journal", writing, the prime minister said he was planning to target military infrastructure in Iran, according to U.S. official -- a U.S. official, and an official familiar with the matter, the retaliatory action would be calibrated to avoid the perception of, quote, political interference in the U.S. elections, end quote, the official familiar with the matter said, signaling that Netanyahu is understanding the scope of the Israeli strike has the potential to reshape the presidential race.
And we are here three weeks out just remarkable, the impact that that's having on how this is all playing out.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes. It's about escalation for the U.S., isn't it, taking it to a level where we get all-out war. So, obviously, the conversations about, you know, at what, what is a reasonable level of retaliation for Israel as the U.S. sees it. So the debates around that, obviously, we don't have any insight to exactly what the targets within Iran might be, but it's pretty clear that Israel was planning to go bigger.
But because of the U.S. election and the sensitivities around that, then perhaps there is some sort of agreement there not to go for the most sensitive targets, which would be the nuclear facilities, and the oil facilities as well, because that would completely undermine the Iranian economy, and obviously sparked a bigger retaliation from Iran in return.
[05:15:19]
HUNT: Yeah, Max, of course, the other angle here we don't want to lose sight of is, of course, the hostages that are still being held in Gaza. One of the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who, of course, was killed, they were on -- his parents were on with Anderson Cooper last night talking about their own plight, but also the plight of other families like there's.
Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON POLIN, FATHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: I'm stunned that we still have not seen world leaders emerge on a global stage all together and demand that the hostages be let go. I really naively thought once the news emerged, by October 9th, 10th, 11th of 2023, and leave understood the magnitude, I was certain that we were going to see a global demand for action and I'm still waiting for it. The world failed us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Of course, Max, those families are still waiting. Do we have any signs that these talks are at all going to resume or that there is any hope for these people?
FOSTER: It's the same story that we've had all along. You know, we get to a point where, you know, we're getting indications that there might be some sort of deal, and then the post shift slightly on one side or the other. The latest we've really got is that Hamas is rejecting some of the new proposals. They say it is too in favor of Israel.
To the real sensitive points here, obviously, the Philadelphi Corridor which Israel appears wants to keep control of in the future. But also the Rafah boarding crossing. Also, Israel just saying it's not agreeing to a full ceasefire.
Obviously, Israel's priority all along has been to get those hostages out, and to take down Hamas. And we've got some developments actually today, Kasie, on, you know, the operation against Hamas, the United Nations suggesting that North Gaza has effectively been sealed off altogether by these -- by the Israelis, the World Food Programme saying food is being blocked into northern Gaza.
So the operation from the Israeli side very much focused on northern Gaza, we don't have the intel, but you have to pursue presume that Hamas is there, potentially hostages are there. And this is a big push to get those hostages out and to take out Hamas, which is the overriding mission here.
HUNT: All right. Max Foster for us in London this morning, Max, always grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
All right. Coming up next here, more legal trouble for Sean "Diddy" Combs, new lawsuits, new accusers, how his legal the team is hitting back.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: If you show up as you did in 2020, we'll carry Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Early voting starts today in Georgia. Can the Harris campaign build on the success Biden had there in 2020?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:48]
HUNT: All right, 22 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
Authorities in North Carolina have arrested a man they say threatened FEMA employees, responding to Hurricane Helene. He was armed with a handgun and a rifle when he was arrested. FEMA had to temporarily pause some of its responses over the weekend due to death threats. Door-to-door outreach has now resumed.
Sean "Diddy" Combs facing at least six new lawsuits. The suits all filed by Jane Doe and John Doe plaintiffs accused the media mogul of sexual assault of men, women, and a 16-year-old boy. Diddy's attorney told me CNN in a statement, quote: In court, the truth will prevail that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone, adult or minor, man or woman.
Two giant pandas are now on American soil. They're heading to Washington's national zoo from China. The 3-year-old pandas landed in Alaska for a layover just an hour ago. The special charter plane dubbed the "Panda Express" is going to bring them right here to Washington, D.C.
I know my kids are going to be super-excited. The pandas are back in town.
All right. Time now for weather, we're tracking the first freeze of the season.
Let's get to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek Van Dam, tracking all of it for us.
Derek, chilly this morning.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. And I'm super excited to see the first snowflakes fall from the sky. This is the scene in Saranac Lake, New York, yesterday.
I love to see this because that means that -- well, we're going to skip fall and head right to winter. Not just kidding, but most of us are going to enjoy the fall colors here coming up and below average temperatures, but it's quite a sight to see this in the middle of October, especially into that part of the eastern half of the U.S. Right now, we've got 45 million Americans under some sort of freeze
alerts. Many of these are valid this morning, but over the eastern parts of the country, they were going to see these valid for tomorrow morning when the hardest parts of this freeze will actually settle in for some of the higher elevations along the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, 60 percent of the Lower 48, roughly 190 million people, experiencing temperatures below 40 degrees. That is an incredible step because that's really not something we felt in quite some time.
So, we're starting our morning at 42 in Chicago, freezing mark in Bismarck, D.C., 50 degrees this morning.
[05:25:04]
But it will get cooler from here. And this was interesting to note, these temperatures, the average high for this time of year, feeling like the middle of November, with this daytime high of 57, expected in Asheville, of course, a lot of recovery efforts still happening there with temperatures flirting with the freezing mark overnight.
Very similar type weather pattern across the Eastern Seaboard. Temperatures below average, that's the main story of this weather forecast with cooler dominating the east fire risk over the west, the central interior. I'm going to leave you with this -- a once in a lifetime viewing opportunities still through October 26, this comment visible with the naked eye, look towards the western horizon just after sunset tonight. But this is a picture coming out of Pittsburgh, not too bad.
HUNT: Not too bad, indeed.
All right. Derek Van Dam for us this morning -- Derek, we'll see you next hour. Thank you very much.
VAN DAM: All right.
HUNT: All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING:
Kamala Harris in poll after poll has a decisive lead among women voters. But one key slice might be slipping away in some states. We're going to talk about that with our next guest.
Plus, voting in battleground Georgia getting underway and just a few hours. We're going to talk with former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan about how voters are feeling in his Peach State.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very small rural county, a lot of folks here live paycheck to paycheck. And when are too much month at the end of the money, people vote in their wallet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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