Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Trump Turns Rally into Dance Party in PA; Harris Emphasizes Difference with Trump; Trump Capitalizes on Bill Clinton's Immigration Comment; 45 Million Americans Under Freeze Alerts. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Tuesday, October 15. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[06:00:21]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Watch his rallies. Listen to his words. He tells us who he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: New urgency. Kamala Harris trying to sharpen the distinction between her and Donald Trump with just three weeks to go.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Georgia, this election right here is a fight for the future.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We are going to win the state of Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Battleground beat: we're going to take a look at the must-win Peach State. Georgia kicks off early voting today.
And then the border debate. The Trump campaign focusing on Bill Clinton's words about immigration to use them to their advantage.
And Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donalds joins us live on the state of the race with just three weeks to go.
Six a.m. on the East Coast. A live look at New York City on this Tuesday morning. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to be with you.
We are, if you can believe it, just 21 days out from election day. Early voting begins today in one of the critical swing states, Georgia. Former President Bill Clinton, the last Democrat before Joe Biden to
flip that state blue, campaigned in the Peach State for Kamala Harris yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have to realize it is literally possible that the whole election could be decided here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
CLINTON: It is possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is!
CLINTON: There are -- there are seven states where are the election is too close to call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: One of them, though, is perhaps more important than the rest. Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in Pennsylvania yesterday. Harris going after Trump for his recent comments referring to some Americans as, quote, "enemies from within."
(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: So, there's Harris on the one hand. Donald Trump, on the other hand, turned his event into a dance party yesterday after two people suffered medical emergencies at the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Go and vote. Let me hear that music, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone, let's thank President Trump.
TRUMP: Let me hear that music, loud. Nice and loud.
(MUSIC: SINEAD O'CONNOR, "NOTHING COMPARES 2 U")
TRUMP: So, play "YMCA." Go ahead. Let's go. Nice and loud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go, everybody.
(MUSIC: VILLAGE PEOPLE, "YMCA")
(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: So, CNN's reporter at the event did say there appeared to be some confusion about what was happening while he was up there on the stage.
Our panel's here: Jonah Goldberg, CNN political commentator, co- founder of "The Dispatch"; Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor; Kate Bedingfield, former White House communications director and a CNN political commentator; and Brad Todd, Republican strategist and a partner in On Message. Welcome to all of you.
Maybe we should -- I don't know -- bring back a little bit more "YMCA." We could, like, put a little bit of V.O. there.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Or just -- just put on music for 52 minutes and just sit.
HUNT: And sway.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And just sway, you know?
BRAD TODD, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You were supposed to be the joy campaign.
JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You just can't see them, but you have all these balloons up here. You never drop them.
HUNT: Really? Yes, we should put some balloons. That would be fun.
But seriously, I mean, I'm interested in this, because I mean, I don't even know how many dozens, hundreds of campaign events I have covered in my career. I have never seen anything like this.
BEDINGFIELD: Yes.
HUNT: I've never seen a candidate do anything like this.
GOLDBERG: It's strange. It sounds like he got a little fed up with taking questions and -- and went with an unorthodox way of getting around taking questions.
What I -- I think this whole election, we're getting -- the contrast we're seeing between these campaigns is that I think the Harris people, for understandable reasons, are very frustrated that most Americans, or half of America, doesn't see the Donald Trump that they see.
And their -- their basic argument is look at the guy who actually is there, not the guy that you have nostalgia for, for the pre-COVID economy.
And that's a very hard argument to make. Because people think they're eyewitnesses to what the next Trump presidency is going to be like. And it's -- I think it's going to be a different residence.
WILLIAMS: And moreover, those of you who are nostalgic for the Trump presidency and the Trump economy, you're forgetting all of the other things that come along with when Trump is president.
Even if you have these fond memories of what your pocketbook looked like at the time, do you remember 2020? Do you remember what America was like? Do you remember how you felt at the time? There was a lot of craziness and silliness that we saw here.
[06:05:10]
But again, I think there's that frustration that something is not coming through to that, whatever percentage of Americans just aren't buying it.
TODD: I'll tell you, though. As an analyst, I look at the juxtaposition there. And you know, the campaign that's having the most fun usually is the one that feels best about itself.
And I know a lot of Republicans were a little worried, because Donald Trump wasn't having whole lot of fun in September. And he was grumpy. He was grousing. You still see it poke through every once in a while.
I think a lot of people will be happy to see a Trump that's having fun on the trail, because it indicates that he's more confident about where he actually is going.
BEDINGFIELD: Well, maybe but also, is he running through the tape here? I mean, you combine this -- this, like, concert yesterday with he's campaigning in California. He's campaigning in New York. I mean, is he really -- is he really, like, hustling for the voters that he needs in the final push here?
There's a lot of chatter about is Harris doing enough to run through the tape? I don't know that you could really argue that Donald Trump is.
But I also think we're going to see the shift from Harris back into a more aggressive prosecution of the case against Trump. Because look, when you were running against a -- somebody who, you know, should be a historically unpopular opponent, you do have to use that against them.
I know there's a lot of back-and-forth about is she -- you know, has she done enough to make the case for herself? And yes, it's true. You have to give people something to vote for.
But you -- it would be malpractice to abandon making these points about the kind of fundamental threat that Trump poses to democracy. I mean, you have to use your opponent's vulnerabilities against them. And I think -- I hope -- we're going to see her do that over this final three weeks here.
TODD: I think that's a trap for her. All the -- all voters' worries about Donald Trump in that regard are baked in. And the candidates need to fight over what they're going to do in the next four years.
BEDINGFIELD: There -- I agree there has to be a forward-looking element to -- to the message, but I think we've seen, for example, you know, when Vance wouldn't say in the V.P. debate, you know, that Donald Trump lost in 2020, that was the -- one of the most, you know, problematic moments for swing voters.
We saw it in the focus groups afterwards. People said, you know, I can't accept that. And so, you know, that is an extraordinary thing.
And I think she has to use that extraordinariness, you know, in her campaign.
HUNT: And speaking of unusual tactics at campaign rallies, one of the things that Harris did yesterday was actually put Donald Trump's comments, his recent comments from over the weekend about the enemy within, about using the military on a big screen and playing it for people at the rally.
And then the campaign also cut -- Let's play a little bit of this ad that they turned around and cut immediately, hitting Trump on these comments. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The worst people or the enemies from within. The enemy from within are more dangerous than Russia.
We have some very bad people. It should be very easily handled by the military.
OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIAL: I do remember the day that he suggested that we shoot people on the streets.
KEVIN CARROLL, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: A second term would be worse. There will be no one to stop his worst instincts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So, meanwhile, Brad, I take your point about needing to be forward-looking. In many ways that -- they're trying to get people to look forward at that.
GOLDBERG: Yes. And again, I think there's a problem, like there's a disconnect. They also have some good ads where they go through a lot of Trump's former cabinet members, saying he's not fit. I can't -- we can't do this again and all that.
The problem is I just think that, for a lot of Trump voters -- again, Harris isn't actually trying to reach Trump voters at this point. Harris is trying to reach people who were on the fence or may just not want to vote.
But I think that there -- for a lot of people, they say, well, they said all this in 2016 about him, how he's going to be dangerous and all that kind of stuff. And he wasn't a problem.
And what they're not factoring in is that the people who held him back, the circuit-breaker people, aren't going to be in this administration. So, it's just a different equation than the last.
HUNT: Right. And making that argument is pretty tricky. All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, campaign wordplay?
Hear what former President Bill Clinton said about immigration and how the Trump campaign turning it against Kamala Harris.
Plus, getting the full Joe Rogan experience? We could hear from both candidates on one of the most popular podcasts in America.
And the vice president makes her push to boost support from black men at the ballot box.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The first black president of the United States, and he had birther lies? And now, you look at black immigrants, legal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio? This man is dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:56]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
Former President Bill Clinton hit the campaign trail for Kamala Harris in Georgia yesterday and waded into one of the most difficult issues she faces: immigration.
Clinton referred to the death of Laken Riley, that nursing student who was killed, allegedly by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: You had a case in Georgia, not very long ago, didn't -- they made an ad about it. A young woman who had been killed by an immigrant. Yes, well, if they'd all been properly vetted, that probably wouldn't have happened. But if they're all properly vetted, that doesn't happen.
And America is not having enough babies to keep our population up, so we need immigrants that have been vetted to do work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So, Clinton did speak for two minutes on the subject of immigration, but of course, the Trump campaign immediately seized on those 27 seconds saying, quote, "Bill Clinton says Laken Riley -- Laken Riley's death probably wouldn't have happened if Kamala did her job. He was supposed to be campaigning for Kamala. Yikes."
The Harris campaign called the video they posted a total lie, saying Trump's campaign deceptively edited the video to take out the comments critical of Trump and his role in killing the bipartisan border deal.
[06:15:11]
I mean, the bottom line here, Jonah Goldberg, is that Bill Clinton basically said, like, there's a problem vetting immigrants in this country. This crime happened.
I mean, he said something that does play right into the Trump campaign's hands.
GOLDBERG: Yes. Was it David shore, the political analyst, got in a lot of trouble for saying that Democrats should talk about things that are popular and not talk about things that are unpopular. And that got him -- a lot of people very angry at him.
Just seems like this is a subject that Bill Clinton probably just shouldn't have been talking about, because there -- any debate about that murder and about immigrant murder in general is just not helpful.
BEDINGFIELD: Not great, not great, not great. Not helpful. Let's call it what it is.
But I think -- look, I'm not Bill Clinton's spokesperson, but, you know, it seems, even looking at that clip, sort of what he was trying to do broadly was to push back on the idea that immigrants are inherently criminals.
That -- to me that was sort of what I heard. You know, Trump making this argument that, like, immigrants are poisoning the blood; that they're inherently violent.
And it seemed like what he was saying was, you know, if we -- if we properly vet people who are -- are criminals, then they don't come into our country. But --
HUNT: Not acknowledging, maybe --
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: They're not properly vetting them. The Harris administration says there are 13,000 people convicted of murder outside the country now living here.
I think this showed that Bill Clinton's Democratic Party is, in fact, not Kamala Harris's Democratic Party. And Bill Clinton is the single best Democratic politician for reaching the kind of rural, non-college voters.
HUNT: That's what they sent him to do, right? Go to rural Georgia, talk to white voters that they think they can make some inroads with.
TODD: Right.
WILLIAMS: But even -- it's so easy to twist or misrepresent some of the facts around a lot of this stuff. For instance, of those 13,000, many of them are in state and local prisons, as opposed to walking the streets of America. Now, yes -- and I worked at ICE for five years. Yes, the country could
do better at the vetting and the screening. But I think that's only part of the story there.
Even President Clinton's narrative leaves out the fact that, that overall immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States; are more likely to be religious, or married or so on.
But it's easy to focus on the vetting question and not the broader issue. But it's an election year, and that's what we do.
HUNT: Well, and it got them the cover of "The New York Post," right? "We Agree with Bill Clinton."
TODD: Well, they're running to be vetter in chief, though. They're both running to be vetter in chief.
WILLIAMS: I know. Yes.
HUNT: Yes.
GOLDBERG: The crucial swing state of New York.
HUNT: Yes, yes. It all underscores why this issue is so tough for Democrats at this juncture.
All right. Still to come after the break. A runaway pumpkin sending -- how's that for a term -- sending police on a Halloween chase.
It is one of the five things you need to see this morning. There it is.
Plus, the Harris campaign appealing to black voters in Georgia. Early voting starts there today. Is it too late? We're going to have more on our battleground beat ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:22:15]
HUNT: All right, 21 minutes past the hour. Five things you have to see this morning.
A small plane crashed into a front yard in Georgia, leaving the pilot dead and a passenger onboard injured. One witness said the crash sounded like a bomb went off.
The NTSB now investigating how it happened.
Lift-off for the Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft built for planetary exploration. The destination: Jupiter's moon, Europa. The mission: to find out, can we live on Jupiter.
I'm skeptical about that, but hey, you know, there's a reason these guys are the scientists. All right. Not your everyday police chase. A giant blow-up pumpkin was on the lam. Offers [SIC] in Ohio going after the gourd.
Eventually, they did manage to return it to its home. Oh, dear.
All right. The Arizona Diamondbacks aren't in the playoffs, but a snake did make it to the National League championship series. A small snake was spotted in the Dodgers dug-out between innings Monday. It was removed without incident.
The series between the Dodgers and Mets tied up at one game apiece. Perhaps that snake was not the best omen.
And then this. D.C.'s newest and cutest residents on their way here. Two giant pandas heading from China to Washington's National Zoo.
The 3-year-old pandas left the research base on Monday. They landed in Alaska for a layover this morning. They are on a special charter plane dubbed the Panda Express.
All right. Time now for weather. Forty-five million people across the Central and Eastern U.S. under freeze alerts this morning. Fall weather finally settling in across large swaths of the country.
Let's get to our meteorologist, the weatherman, Derek van Dam. Derek, good morning.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Those pandas are suited perfectly for this type of weather with all that extra fur, all that extra layering. I wish I had that.
Look, it's going to be cold. That's the big story here. We've got 60 percent of the lower population -- lower 48, I should say, experiencing temperatures below 40 degrees. So, bundle up, be prepared.
This is the 45 million Americans that Kasie mentioned that are under alerts either for this morning or into tomorrow morning, where the bulk of the cold will settle in across the Eastern sections of the country, especially along the spine of the Appalachians.
I want to highlight this area, because Asheville, of course, the greater Asheville region, Western North Carolina mountains still recovering from Helene. So, temperatures will flirt with the freezing mark overnight, and daytime highs will feel like the middle of November.
Very similar temperatures along the East Coast. You can see Atlanta's high of 66 is more like temperatures in the first or second week of November.
So, abnormally cool. And I want to hone in on Texas, because you've got a massive temperature swing, kind of a sucker punch really quickly this morning. Because we're going to drop 25 degrees from today's high compared to tomorrow.
[06:25:01]
Houston, for example, 21-degree temperature difference. But there are other more extreme cases there. Just a real dramatic drop in our temperature. So be prepared for that.
Hey, look at this. We're still monitoring the tropics. Remember, hurricane season doesn't end until the end of November. We've got a disturbance, a tropical wave moving across the Atlantic Ocean at the moment.
This will bring rain; could be a depression by the time it reaches the lesser Antilles, something we'll monitor very closely. No immediate threat here to the U.S. -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Derek van Dam for us this morning. Derek, thanks very much for that.
VAN DAM: OK.
HUNT: All right. Coming up next. Kamala Harris launching a new campaign to try to shore up support from black men. Will it work? We're going to speak to the co-founder of Black Voters Matter, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MAHER, HOST, HBO'S "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": This is not a good sign. You know, when you have an African American candidate, you probably shouldn't be having to shore up your support among black men. But that's what's going on.
Tim Walz is headlining a voter engagement event tonight with black men. Who better to connect with young black men than Tim Walz? Because apparently, Michael Buble was unavailable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
