Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
CNN Poll: Trump's Disapproval Rating Hits All-Time High; Trump Warns Nigeria of U.S. Military Action; Trump: Would Use Insurrection Act 'Immediately' in Cities. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 03, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:16]
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Americans disapprove of President Trump more now than ever. New polling just in. And CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's nine months. The greatest nine months in the history of the presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The shutdown, the economy, and immigration. How Americans think the president is handling key issues.
And deporting nonviolent offenders, pushing elderly people to the ground, arresting U.S. citizens. President Trump says ICE isn't going far enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to choose either to feed ourselves or to pay the bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And the shutdown gets real for everyday Americans. What's the breaking point?
And the president's ultimatum to Nigeria: stop killing Christians or the U.S. will come in, guns a-blazing. What are we going to hear from the country?
And a deadly earthquake rocks Afghanistan. New images of the damage just into CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Every single minute of the day, I am looking to speak to as many New Yorkers as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The last full day of campaigning, what voters decide tomorrow in New York, New Jersey, California, and Virginia could tell us about today's America.
It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at New York City. I know a lot of early voting has been happening there.
Good morning, everybody. Today is Monday, November 3. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin.
That new polling just into CNN. It could be a warning sign for the president. Donald Trump's disapproval rating now at 63 percent, the unhappiest voters have been with him across both terms in office.
But in an interview on "60 Minutes," the president is pleased with what he's accomplished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORAH O'DONNELL, "60 MINUTES": Mr. President, can I also ask you. We're now at the end of your first year --
TRUMP: Yes.
O'DONNELL: -- of this second term. What do you hope to accomplish in the next three years?
TRUMP: Well, I hope I can have the same year that we had. Look, we have been acknowledged to have the greatest nine months. You know, it's nine months, the greatest nine months in the history of the presidency. So, if I can keep that going, I'll be very happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Here's the thing. About 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the government shutdown. A higher disapproval rating than party leaders in Congress who are responsible for the stalemate.
The polling comes out as federal workers lined up at food banks across the country this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone is suffering, not just us, especially now November 1 happened. And everyone just lost their SNAP benefits. The holidays are coming. You know, it's -- people are going to be hungry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're there, basically, to pass bills and pass the budget every year. But they're never good at doing that all the time. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ain't fair for everybody to suffer, because they
want to take off and do what they want to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know why these folks can't get together. I mean, they don't want to compromise. It's -- you know, it's black and white nowadays. And everybody really needs to get together and compromise like we used to do for the last 100 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Meanwhile, the president spent the weekend in Mar-a-Lago, a visit which included a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party.
Joining me now in the group chat, Francesca Chambers, White House correspondent for "USA Today"; Stephen Collinson, CNN politics senior reporter; and Sara Fischer, CNN senior media analyst and senior media reporter at Axios.
I want to start with his approval rating among independents throughout the years and throughout this year. So, in mid-February, he was at 43 percent. Now he's down to 28 percent. That's a 15-point drop. And I always like to point out independents specifically.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": Yes. The independents will be key as we head to the midterm elections.
CORNISH: But does the White House think they're key? Like, how do they look at the electorate, and where do they think are areas of concern?
CHAMBERS: Well, I mean, you heard the president. He thinks that he's doing well. I mean, he just said that himself.
But with respect to his approval rating, it wasn't just the CNN poll. There was an ABC News/"Washington Post"/IPSOS poll that had roughly similar findings about his disapproval rating among 6 in 10 Americans, top.
And so, it isn't what -- it isn't one poll. You can't say that that's an outlier. It's multiple polls at this point that are showing that.
Obviously, they still have a year until those midterm elections, and so much can happen between now and then. But I think the generic ballot test over the weekend also was showing an edge for Democrats.
[06:05:06]
CORNISH: Yes. Unfortunately, Democrats don't have generic Democrats, right? It's more complicated. So, can they -- are they able to take advantage of this in elections as we look ahead this week?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's what the elections this week are about.
They clearly have an opening. The president appears to be getting into the kind of territory that's generally very dangerous for a president looking forward to the midterm elections. But the question is, do Democrats have a message that can exploit
that? Is the country willing to give them a hearing?
You've seen in Virginia and New Jersey the gubernatorial races, Democrats there seeking to address the affordability issues, which, of course, the -- their nominee in the last election didn't really --
CORNISH: Right.
COLLINSON: -- wasn't really able to answer. So, they're starting to --
CORNISH: And it's still an issue.
COLLINSON: Right.
CORNISH: We're looking now. Voters believe the most important issue facing the country: economy, cost of living is still first.
COLLINSON: And those numbers are bad on that issue, especially with the president.
CORNISH: Yes, 49 percent.
SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: I was going to say one of the problems that Democrats face is, if you take a look at 2018, the numbers that they were pulling ahead were so much more drastic than they are now.
So, ahead of the 2018 midterm, where Democrats swept, it was very obvious that they were going to sweep. They have a slight edge now, but it's nothing like what we saw eight years ago.
CORNISH: Can I ask you, Sara, what was interesting about this being an interview? "60 Minutes."
FISCHER: Yes.
CORNISH: CBS, under its new leadership, a different anchor maybe, than people are used to seeing at that time slot. The venue here matters.
FISCHER: A lot. So, the context here is that CBS's parent company, Paramount, merged with a company called Skydance Media after they essentially made concessions to the Trump administration.
He actually commented on that in the interview, saying that he liked the new leadership. They brought in a woman named Bari Weiss to be the editor in chief of CBS, and he was lauding and praising them.
And the message that that sends, Audie, is, if you are a business person and you want to get a deal done, you want to get a transaction done, do it in a way that curries favor with the Trump administration, and you're more likely to get your deal blessed.
It was very, very telling that Donald Trump addressed that head-on on the same network, by the way, that he sued for $20 billion.
CORNISH: Yes. Which he said, I didn't want to embarrass you by bringing that up. I think they had that in the off-air transcript.
FISCHER: I mean --
CORNISH: But it also showed he -- he sensed he was sitting down with a friendly news organization.
FISCHER: Yes. Yes.
CORNISH: That was the tone that he seemed to convey. Not them, but him.
FISCHER: He thinks it's friendly because of all these concessions that have been made. Look, Stephen Colbert getting pulled off the air. They say it was for financial reasons. Let's be real. That show was announced canceled right after the new chairman of that network met with the FCC for regulatory approval of his deal.
You had so many instances where "60 Minutes" employees came out and said, like, we felt like this program is not what it was in terms of editorial independence.
Clearly, all that is sending a signal to the White House --
CORNISH: Yes.
FISCHER: -- that this is not the institution that it was. It's more friendly to you.
CORNISH: All right. We're going to talk a little more about some of the things we heard in that interview. It covered a lot of topics. So, you guys stay with me.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the polls open almost 24 hours from now. The key races that we're watching as candidates make their final pitch to voters today.
Plus, why the president is floating the idea of sending U.S. forces to Nigeria. And the Dodgers' impressive comeback. Today, the city of L.A. rallying around their World Series winners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, up until the ninth, I'm sitting there thinking, oh, no. And then I'm like, something has to happen. These guys, we never quit. Even in the ninth. And they came through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:07]
CORNISH: This morning, leaders in Nigeria push back against claims out of the U.S. political right that Christians face some existential threat there.
That's after President Trump doubled down on an ultimatum to bring in military action to the country.
So, in a Truth Social post over the weekend, Trump threatened to stop aid and come in guns a blazing to stop what he calls the mass slaughter of Christians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria. And they have other countries very bad. Also, you know that that part of the world, very bad. They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We're not going to allow that to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: The Nigerian government and President Trump's adviser on Africa say what's happening. There is much more complex.
We're bringing in Victoria Rubadiri. She joins us live from Kenya to do a little fact checking. And, Victoria, can you just start with how the government in Nigeria is handling this? Do they see it as a threat?
VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely. We've seen the president, Bola Tinubu, actually respond to this.
He said, quote, "The characterization of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect our national reality," essentially saying that the issue of violence cuts across faith and region.
And just to give a bit of context, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. We're talking over 220 million people. It's one of the largest economies on the continent.
And the U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Nigeria, primarily in the energy sector. And this is because, of course, Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa.
So, of course, this is raising a lot of questions as to what this means in terms of the diplomatic and economic ties and relations between Nigeria and the U.S.
We also heard from one of the advisers close to the Nigerian president, who said, yes, you know, we are willing to get some help from the U.S. when it comes to cracking down on terrorism. But as long as they respect our sovereignty.
[06:15:14]
Here's more on what he had to say on that issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL BWALA, ADVISER TO NIGERIAN PRESIDENT: The report or notion that there is a Christian persecution or genocide in Nigeria is false. False, both from the premise and the conclusion. I have a feeling that, in the next couple of days, they are going to
have a sit-down together. And then we will find a common front in this fight against insecurity.
We -- we -- if you go to Africa, people respect Donald Trump, because when it comes to fight against terrorism, he has never minced word. He has never -- he was never politically correct about it. He's willing to fight it. And that's all we ask for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RUBADIRI: And it's really important to add there, Audie, that religion is a very important faultline in Nigeria, but it's not the main driver of the violence in the country.
CORNISH: Can you just give us a little information about how you think this made its way into political discourse in the U.S.? I'm also reading that this might be information from decades ago. Can you give us some context?
RUBADIRI: Certainly. It's been rumbling in a lot of the social media spaces on the right or the conservative part of the U.S. Many, of course, pointing to what they're calling a religious war in Nigeria.
That certainly is not the case. And the numbers also point to that. Groups that have been monitoring this violence over the last 15 years or so that it started taking up more headlines, have said yes, thousands have been killed. But what they say is more Muslims have actually been killed in these attacks.
And the reason being, most of these groups, like Boko Haram or some ISIS-affiliated terror groups, focus their attacks in Northeast Nigeria.
Now in Nigeria, more Muslims actually occupy in the North; more Christians are in the South. And for that reason, they're more Muslim victims in these particular attacks.
And it's a very complex situation when it comes to issues of insecurity and insurgency in Nigeria. You also have issues of conflict around resources like land and livestock; between herders and farmers.
So, it goes beyond just terror or religion. Many analysts say that it's more an issue of geography that determines the victim than it is faith or religion.
CORNISH: That's Victoria Rubadiri, thank you so much. Very, very helpful.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, defending ICE. President Trump says immigration enforcement isn't going far enough.
Plus, some sticker shock. Obamacare premiums are going through the roof for many Americans.
Good morning to Nashville and all the bright lights of Broadway. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:22:17]
CORNISH: Overnight, a federal judge extended an order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, at least until Friday.
And it's the latest in a gauntlet run of legal challenges, as the president insists he has the power to send National Guard troops, unprompted, into American cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, if you had to send in the Army or if you had to send in the Marines, I'd do that in a heartbeat.
You know, you have a thing called the Insurrection Act. You know that, right? Do you know that I could use that immediately. And no judge can even challenge you on that.
But I haven't chosen to do it, because I haven't felt we need it.
The Insurrection Act has been used routinely by presidents. And if I needed it, that would mean I could bring in the Army, the Marines. I could bring in whoever I want. But I haven't chosen to use it. I hope you give me credit for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. Group chat is back.
Stephen, can I start with you? Just because it's one of those interesting things where he's basically, like, I don't think people understand. I have more power here than you realize. Which I don't know is true, given what's happening in the courts. But how -- what's your read of how he said this?
COLLINSON: You know, the problem that most voters have with the president is not that he's not using his power enough. It's that he's using his power too much.
That CNN poll this morning says, I think, 6 in 10 Americans think the president is wielding too much power.
But this does show what this issue is all about. It's very popular, cracking down on the cities, with Trump's base voters. It's something that's a legacy of his first campaign. The idea that you're going to end crime and act in a ruthless way.
But with most voters, that backfires. So, it's going to be interesting to see, in the next few days, in these elections and going forward --
CORNISH: Yes.
COLLINSON: -- how this plays out politically. CORNISH: Or at least. And in the meantime, you've got the new polling
out today that didn't put immigration and crime at the very top, because people are, like, worried about this cost of living.
Do you think we're going to see, in the coming days or weeks, the administration pivot in any way towards the economic issues? Or do they just truly feel like this immigration crime link is the winner?
CHAMBERS: Well, I think, you know, you've seen in the last couple of days the president, since he got back from Asia, turn his attention to the government shutdown.
You know, he suggested that maybe, while he was overseas, that it was maybe a little embarrassing for him to have the government shut down while he was trying to cut deals with leaders of other nations.
He started to talk about how the SNAP benefits -- Now, of course, since then, he said, this is -- this is Democrats fault. This is something that they need to solve. He doesn't want to negotiate with them.
So, you know, he's kind of shifted his positions a little bit on these issues over the last couple of days.
But the fact of the matter is, before there wasn't really even a discussion that was taking place, I think about these at all while he was traveling abroad.
CORNISH: Yes.
CHAMBERS: Right? Not to say there wasn't behind closed doors, but at least publicly. And now this conversation is taking place since he's returned back to Washington, D.C. And tomorrow will be the day which ties for the longest shutdown in history of the United States of America.
[06:25:09]
CORNISH: Yes. We've got some polling showing that the disapproval rating, I think, on handling the shutdown might be higher for him than lawmakers.
And I think going into it, why it's gone so long, is lawmakers are in this game of chicken of like, well, who's going to get the blame? That's the party that's going to be pushed to the table.
FISCHER: What's wild, though, Audie, is that he brokered this historic peace deal between Gaza and Israel amid the shutdown. And you would have thought that that would be reflected in his approval ratings.
CORNISH: Yes.
FISCHER: What we're seeing is that the country has basically forgotten about that peace deal and is totally focused on not getting access to their healthcare benefits, their SNAP and food benefits. A, it shows you where the country's priorities are in terms of
domestic policy over foreign policy. But b, it also shows you that he could do as much as he says he wants to do in terms of brokering peace and Nobel Peace Prizes, and Ukraine and Russia, and Israel, Gaza. And it doesn't matter.
CORNISH: Yes.
FISCHER: if people are struggling here at home, that's all that's going to matter in those approval ratings.
CORNISH: And the attempt to put it on Democrats seems to have floundered, right? To call it the Schumer shutdown and that sort of thing. The numbers, at least in this early polling, aren't suggesting that that's how people received that information.
FISCHER: Democrats have done a terrible job, for the most part, of messaging throughout the end of the Biden administration and into the 2024 election, but they've nailed it in terms of the shutdown messaging around Republicans are taking away your health care.
People generally seem to understand that that's where the Democrats are trying to hold firm. And I think that's why you're seeing that reflected in these approval ratings.
CORNISH: OK, you guys. Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, President Biden stepped aside from the 2024 race just a day after George Clooney wrote that the now famous op-ed. So, what Clooney now calls a mistake, just ahead.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday, of four legs that he had to fly, two of those four were canceled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Staffing shortages, long lines. Travelers seeing the ripple effect of the shutdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
