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Former Vice President Dick Cheney Dies at 84; Mamdani Hits the Clubs to Close Extraordinary Campaign; Polls Open in First Major Test of Trump's Second Term; U.S. Seeking UNSC Approval for International Security Force; Hurricane Leaves Widespread Devastation In Jamaica. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired November 04, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD, where we are following two breaking stories for you.
First up, former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84.
And in the United States, voters are heading to the polls in elections that will serve as the first national report card of president Donald Trump's
second term.
B. ANDERSON: Let's begin with Dick Cheney, viewed as the most powerful vice president in American history. His family says they were with him when
he died at his home in Virginia.
He suffered from pneumonia and from heart disease. The 46th vice president served alongside Republican president George W. Bush for two terms. Mr.
Bush calling Cheney, quote, among the finest public servants of his generation. CNN's Wolf Blitzer looks back at his life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gradually, I realized that the person who was best qualified to be my vice presidential
nominee was working by my side.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST (voice-over): For most of his adult life, Richard Bruce Cheney was the ultimate Washington insider.
DICK CHENEY, 46TH VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I'm about to
enter, the duties of the office on which I'm about to enter.
BLITZER: Named as George Bush's running mate in 2000, Dick Cheney quickly forged a public identity as a no-nonsense, disciplined gatekeeper; a
powerful politician to whom and through whom access and influence flowed.
But his appearance at the very highest levels of government was by no means his first time in the national spotlight. He began his public service
career in the Nixon administration, working in several White House jobs dealing with the economy.
After President Nixon resigned because of Watergate, Cheney worked for the new president, Gerald Ford, eventually becoming his chief of staff. When
that 29-month presidency ended, Cheney returned to the land he loved, to his home in Wyoming.
But it was a very short stay. Elected as a state's only member of the House of Representatives, Cheney returned to the Capitol and served for a decade
in Congress. He was in the Republican leadership hierarchy when the first President Bush chose him to be his secretary of defense.
In charge of the Pentagon, Cheney was almost instantly engaged in two of the American military's largest and most complicated operations since the
end of the Vietnam War.
First, he led the removal of Panama's Manuel Noriega from power and then Operation Desert Storm, the American and allied response after the invasion
of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have, in effect, destroyed most of the Iraqi army. We have taken out most of the infrastructure. The lights are out in
Baghdad.
BLITZER: His experience and steadfastness were of critical importance and those traits were not unnoticed.
Out of government for the first time in years during the Clinton administration, Cheney became head of the giant oil services company,
Halliburton. It was a job that kept him steeped in defense and foreign policy and a role that later became a lightning rod for his critics.
By the time his old boss' son secured the Republican presidential nomination, Cheney's health was a major concern, three mild heart attacks
and a quadruple bypass before he was 50. Doctors gave him a green light. But shortly after the 2000 election, he suffered another mild heart attack.
CHENEY: I've got a doctor that follows me around 24 hours a day. That comes with a job as a vice president.
BLITZER: Cheney quickly became a target for Bush administration critics, especially for convening oil and energy industry representatives to a White
House meeting and then declining to make public any contents of the sessions.
And later, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, he became at times invisible to the public. Only a few people knew where he was for much of
the time.
But behind the scenes, Cheney was a driving force behind some of the biggest controversies of the Bush administration, including the second war
against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
In 2007, I asked him about mistakes made and concerns among some Republicans that the war had damaged the Bush administration's credibility.
CHENEY: Wolf, I simply don't accept the premise of your question. I just think it's hogwash.
BLITZER: Cheney's health problems returned after he left office for a time drastically altering his appearance.
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Another heart attack in 2010 prompted doctors to implant a battery-operated device to help his heart pump blood. His health seemed to stabilize after a
2012 heart transplant at the age of 71.
Cheney largely disappeared from public life until emerging at the site of the January 6th insurrection one year after it happened.
During a moment of silence on the House floor, Cheney accompanied his daughter, Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, also a member of the select
committee that investigated the attack. He was warmly greeted by the House Speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
CHENEY: In our nation's 246 year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.
BLITZER: Later that year, Cheney tried to help his daughter's struggling primary campaign after she came under fire from former President Trump and
has devoted supporters over her work on the January 6th committee.
CHENEY: He is a coward. A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters.
BLITZER: When Trump ran for president again in 2024 against Vice President Kamala Harris, Cheney joined his daughter in endorsing the Democratic
nominee.
LIZ CHENEY (R-WY), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Dick Cheney will be voting for Kamala Harris.
BLITZER: American politicians have no shortage of critics and Dick Cheney was no exception but there were just as many, perhaps more who saw him as a
resolute, disciplined loyalist who wound up becoming one of the most influential and powerful vice presidents in American history.
CHENEY: The most important thing that any vice president needs to know is to understand what it is the president he works for wants him to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
B. ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Stephen Collinson, joining us now from Washington.
And I want to read some of former president George W. Bush statement, that the death of his vice president is, quote -- and I'm just going to quote
him here -- "a loss to the nation.
"History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation, a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence and
seriousness of purpose to every position held."
Stephen, his legacy will frankly differ, depending on your lens and the region from which you are reflecting on it. There is arguably no region
more impacted by his legacy than the Middle East, where I am.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And for people outside the United States and for many inside the United States, I think it
will be Cheney's role in being the most aggressive pursuer of the idea that Saddam Hussein represented a mortal threat to the United States that he
will be remembered for.
That decision by the United States to push into war with Iraq in 2003, on what later became clear were false claims that Iraq had weapons of mass
destruction, created enormous disruption; led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, thousands of American troops.
And it reshaped the United States' role and reputation in the world and its politics at home. It set off a chain of reactions that led to the election
of Barack Obama. I think you can even argue that, without the Iraq war, the war on terror and its hangover, we probably wouldn't have seen Donald Trump
in the White House.
So a massively consequential decision from a hugely powerful president, a vice president.
B. ANDERSON: Stephen, as we look at the White House today, flag at half- staff, what should we be thinking about Cheney's legacy in the context of today's political landscape?
And just caveat this: the Trump administration itself has not yet announced anything official about this.
COLLINSON: I think that the deep irony about Cheney's political career is that he emerged from the years following the Watergate scandal, the
overthrowing of Richard Nixon, with a very firm belief that the president wasn't powerful enough.
That the balance of power in the United States had gone back too far to the Congress, which many people would argue was the founders' intent.
But he set about creating a far more powerful executive presidency, especially when he was vice president to George W. Bush.
Yet the final public act of his political career was endorsing Kamala Harris, a Democrat, an unthinkable thing for somebody as conservative as
Cheney, in last year's election, because he believed that Donald Trump had become a threat to American democracy.
Trump was using and expanding many of the executive powers and precedents that Cheney had created himself. So in the end, his political career,
domestically at least, almost undermined itself, which is quite a remarkable coda, I think, to someone who was in public life for about 50
years.
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B. ANDERSON: Yes. Stephen, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
It is an important day in the United States today as far as politics is concerned, because it is Election Day. We are tracking all the key races as
voters head out to cast their ballots. Why the results today are important in the bigger scheme of things. More on that after this.
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B. ANDERSON: Well, voters in the United States are heading to the polls today with some key races on the ballot. This year's election is seen as a
critical test of president Donald Trump's popularity.
This includes the race for mayor in New York City, where president Trump is urging voters to choose former governor Andrew Cuomo, an independent
candidate.
Now Cuomo is facing Democratic front-runner, Zohran Mamdani, and the Republican, Curtis Sliwa. We're also keeping an eye on races for governor
in New Jersey and Virginia. And California voting on a redistricting measure known as Proposition 50. That could have big implications for next
year's midterm elections.
Well, the final stretch of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign in New York saw him galvanizing youngsters to get to the polls. This weekend he
embedded himself in New York's club scene. That's a behind-the-scenes view posted on his senior advisor's TikTok account, capturing some of the energy
and more from his campaign's account here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NY), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: How's it going?
How we doing?
In a city where so much is about struggle, it's so important to have a space for joy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: Well, it's a fitting final push in the grassroots movement that Mamdani's campaign says it has cultivated all year, from club-hopping
to a citywide scavenger hunt. These kids have offbeat campaign events, have become a hallmark of his campaign and the strategy is winning him fans
further afield than New York City.
A quick scroll through the comments on any of his viral videos on TikTok and Instagram reveals people all over the world claiming him as their
mayor.
Well, no matter where they are from, Mamdani has captured the imagination and the attention of so many youngsters, with a social media-savvy new
style of campaigning and his signature policies targeting the cost of living plans, like rent freeze on stabilized apartments.
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Fast and free public buses, free child care, city-owned grocery stores. And let's just remind ourselves why this race really matters. New York is the
most populous city in the United States. It's got the largest police department in the country and it's a major economic powerhouse. The GDP of
the city is larger than many countries.
So for more, let's bring in Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky in New York.
Also joining us, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, "The New York Times" journalist and podcast host, a regular on this show.
It's good to have you, Lulu.
And it's good to have you. Julie, let's start with you.
From New York there, how is the atmosphere?
And what's your take on Mamdani campaign and whether you expect him to win, as polls suggest?
JULIE ROGINSKY, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, listen, I've been involved in politics for over 30 years. And I have never -- and I mean never -- seen a
more talented campaigner and a better campaign than Zohran Mamdani has run.
It doesn't mean that I agree with all of his policies. It doesn't mean that I support him. But from a purely technocratic standpoint, he's an
incredible campaigner.
And what he's been able to do is give hope to a generation of kids, who grew up in very dark times and who did not really see a future for
themselves. In some ways, he's very similar to Trump in that he has created an atmosphere and a permission structure for people aligned with him to be
a community and to build a community together.
His rallies, his scavenger hunts, they're more like a revival than they are a campaign rally, very similar to what Trump was able to accomplish in the
leadup to the '15-'16 election.
And so from that perspective, I have to tip my hat to him. He has run an incredible race and that's going to result in a 34-year old, who was not
known to anybody a year ago, likely being the mayor of the largest city in the nation.
B. ANDERSON: Yes, I'm just thinking, even six months ago, I mean, the people watching this show around the world are very unlikely to have heard
of him. And as you say in New York itself, he's a he's a relative newcomer.
Lulu, your thoughts on Mamdani's meteoric rise?
And do you believe we're at a turning point in U.S. politics, which, of course, has been dominated now for some time by Trump?
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, Trump is still the dominant force in U.S. politics and I don't think anything is going to change that.
The importance of this election is that this is the first time since that huge election that changed everything in 2024. Voters have a chance to give
a referendum not only on these local races and who they're running but on the Democratic Party and on Trump himself.
And so we focus, of course, on these figures like Mamdani and others who are running in races in New Jersey and Virginia. These are very important
races. But at the end of the day, what you're seeing is a snapshot of the electorate and that's what everyone's going to be looking for.
Who comes out to vote?
Will -- do the demographic shifts hold?
You know, we've seen young voters really flock to Mamdani. You know, we saw in 2024 young voters take a real rightward shift.
So is this a way that the Democratic Party can capture these young voters or is this lightning in a bottle?
And this is simply something that is only going to be relevant in New York City. So there's many, many questions that we're going to have a real, a
much clearer picture at the end of this.
But what I will say is this: you know, in the United States, affordability is the number one issue. That is what everyone is talking about. That is
what everyone is voting on. And so this is, I think, what you're going to see.
Mamdani did very, very well focusing on that one singular issue, how can we afford to live in an America that has become -- excuse me -- in an America
that has become unaffordable?
B. ANDERSON: Well, talking about who's getting out to vote, we've just seen pictures of Andrew Cuomo voting. And president Trump endorsing former
governor Andrew Cuomo, of course. And Trump has loomed pretty large over this -- over this election.
Overnight, he said -- and this is Trump, quote, "Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him
and I hope he does a fantastic job."
Listen, out of interest, to Cuomo's response to that post.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: He doesn't support me. It's the opposition of Mamdani.
QUESTION: So does an endorsement help you or is it going to hurt you in this election?
CUOMO: He's not endorsing me. He's opposing Mamdani.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: A lot to unpack there, if you will. Julia.
ROGINSKY: Well, there is a lot to unpack here. Look, if you trust the polls -- and the polls have not always been consistent -- the combination
of the Cuomo vote and the Republican Curtis Sliwa's vote would make the opposition to Mamdani competitive, insofar as Mamdani is not getting the
majority of the vote if you combine those two.
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So what Trump is obviously trying to do is to signal to Republicans not to waste, in his mind, their votes on Sliwa, to give them all to Cuomo in the
hope that, if Cuomo is able to consolidate both his own vote and Sliwa's vote, he can beat Mamdani.
The reality is, I believe that there's nothing more that Donald Trump wants than a Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. It is an absolute punching
bag that he needs. It creates yet another villain for him in the MAGA movement to go after.
Andrew Cuomo is not that. He used to be but he no longer is. And so I think, really, Trump would love nothing more than a Mamdani mayorship.
Having said that, I think what he's trying to do is at least signal to Republican voters that they should abandon Curtis Sliwa and support Andrew
Cuomo in order to make it look like he's standing up to Mamdani. This is clearly a supportive Andrew Cuomo. I don't think it helps Andrew Cuomo with
people on the fence.
And I know many who were debating between him and Mamdani, not for ideological reasons but for other reasons. And I think ultimately this does
not help with those voters but it does help with the MAGA voters, who otherwise might have been going to sleep, of whom there are many in places
like Staten Island.
B. ANDERSON: Lulu, I spoke with Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group, about the comparisons between Donald Trump and Mamdani. Have a listen to
what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP: Trump was a pre-AI (ph) phenomenon. Mamdani, we're starting to see a new AI phenomenon; very different
demographic. We're talking about advanced degree, not rural but urban and suburban, white-collar workers who feel like they increasingly don't have
opportunities.
And their kids going to universities don't have opportunities. And Trump is not in a good position to secure those votes. But neither is the mainstream
Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: I want to pick up on the last thing he said about the Democratic Party, Lulu. For all the energy Mamdani has brought to the
table, the Democratic establishment, so to speak, has kept him at arm's length.
Former President Obama, who Mamdani has been likened to, has spoken with him on the phone. He never endorsed him or campaigned with him. One of the
top Democrats from New York, Hakeem Jeffries, waited until last week to endorse him. So just explain why.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes, it's, I think, the dumbest strategy I've ever seen because, ultimately, what you're doing there is you're telling Democratic
voters that their judgment is flawed and that this excitement that you feel for your candidate is actually not embraced by the Democratic leadership.
And there's a lot of anger at the Democratic leadership in this country by Democrats. I mean, if you see what Democrats are polling as, I mean, that
all comes from Democrats being angry at their leadership.
And so this actually helps Mamdani because it makes him seem like an outsider, a change agent in his own party. And it does not help Hakeem
Jeffries. And it does not help Chuck Schumer, the head of the -- minority Senate leader. These are two very unpopular figures at the moment inside
the party.
And so, ultimately, they should have embraced him and they should have said, I might not agree with him on every single issue and the way he wants
to do it. But we are willing to work with him because he is representative of our voters. And they didn't do that. And I think it was a big mistake.
B. ANDERSON: And Julia, Hakeem Jeffries also saying yesterday he doesn't see Mamdani as the future of the Democratic Party. It is unclear what he
sees as the future of the Democratic Party at this point.
While the New York mayoral race has gotten the most attention, I do think it's important to point out the Republicans and Democrats alike may take
more cues from the two gubernatorial races happening tonight in New Jersey and Virginia.
Can you just get us up to speed on the key themes there?
ROGINSKY: Sure. So it's interesting that Hakeem Jeffries said that he doesn't see Mamdani as the future of the party. He actually said that he
believes the future of the party is Mikie Sherrill, who's a member of Congress, who's running for governor in New Jersey and is perceived to be
much more moderate than Mamdani.
And Abigail Spanberger, a former member of Congress who's now running for governor of Virginia, also a moderate. Look, the reality is -- and Lulu
touched on this -- is that there's really not much daylight between Mamdani, Sherrill and Spanberger running on. They are all running on the
issues of affordability.
They're just presenting those issues in very different ways. But the differences are not that stark. They're all talking about the fact that
life in Virginia and New Jersey and New York, respectively, is entirely unaffordable.
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And so I don't think there is much daylight between them. I think most of it is just presentation and how they discuss these issues.
Look, Mikie Sherrill is in a tough race right now for a number of reasons, one of which is that the incumbent governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, is
deeply unpopular. And she's running to succeed him as a Democrat.
But also, she's not really lighting the base on fire the way that Mamdani is. She's not inspiring Democrats the way that Mamdani is. And I think to
Lulu's point, it is a mistake for Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to discount somebody like a Zohran Mamdani.
Mikie Sherrill, it remains to be seen what happens. I think she's probably going to eke it out tonight. Maybe not. But she's not going to bring the
kind of energy from young voters and voters who are typically disenchanted with the democratic process -- with a small D democratic process -- the way
that Mamdani has been able to harness.
It is entirely foolish for Democratic leadership to discount what Mamdani can bring to the table and the ability to harness not just young voters but
people who are not voting at all, who are just completely disgusted by both parties and saw no reason to get out.
Again, remains to be seen what Sherrill can do but I don't think she's going to be able to bring in those new voters the way Mamdani is.
And if she does, it will purely be in opposition to Donald Trump, not because of anything that she necessarily stands for or mainstream Democrats
stand for. We see that in poll after poll after poll. Mamdani is somebody they need to take a lesson from and not discount and push to the side.
B. ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it.
Lulu, our CNN poll finds Democrats do appear to have a very early advantage for next year's midterms; 47 percent of registered voters say they'd vote
for the Democrat in their district if the election were held today, while 42 percent prefer the Republicans.
What do you make of these numbers?
And you know, where does what we are seeing today, to your mind, leave us with, what, you know, a year to go to the midterms?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes, a year is a long time in politics and especially in the United States. You know, the thing that I keep on getting struck by
here in America -- and I think you're seeing that in Europe and other places -- it's very hard to read the electorate at the moment because there
is a lot of things happening here.
Traditional lines are scrambling. People are really frustrated with politics writ large. Trump came in as a change agent; changed things he
has. But people in that same CNN poll you've seen seem entirely dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
And so, you know, midterms are local races that have national implications. And so where Democrats have always done well is that they've looked at
where they're running and try to pick candidates that run well in those places.
But now we're seeing politics just be nationalized everywhere. Mamdani isn't just the mayor of New York City. He is now the face of the Democratic
Party, for good or ill. And so what I think we're going to see, in a year from now, is mixed messages.
We've just seen the electorate send mixed messages over and over and over again. And Democrats still have a lot of work to do. And frankly so does
this president. For someone who has great political instincts, Donald Trump has really fumbled the ball.
We are in the middle of a shutdown here. That is not where you want the country to be while people are going to the ballot box, because,
ultimately, as we've seen, they are blaming the party in power. That has resonated for people.
And they're seeing their insurance go up. They're seeing their electricity bills go up, they're seeing their food bills go up. And you know, the
message that Democrats are sending is, hey, listen; it's the Republicans that own this because they're the ones running the government.
And, you know, Trump loves to be in front of the cameras. And so he has been the face of this. And so what we're seeing really is an electorate
that's incredibly frustrated, I think, with a lot of the options that are being presented to them.
B. ANDERSON: Yes. It's good to have you both, honestly. Your analysis and insight so important to us as we look at what are these sort of, you know,
local elections, which have such significant impact, if not on the ground but in people's psyche at this point. It's good to have you. Thank you very
much indeed.
Coming up, the U.S. forging ahead with plans for its stabilization force in Gaza.
But will the regional players be on board?
More on that is after this.
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B. ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, out of our Middle East programming headquarters
here in Abu Dhabi. Your headlines this hour.
Dick Cheney is being remembered as a great and good man by his family. Cheney has died at the age of 84 from pneumonia and heart disease. He was
widely regarded as the most powerful vice president in American history, serving alongside Republican president George W. Bush for two terms.
Mr. Bush says Cheney was among the finest public servants of his generation.
Well, it's Election Day in the United States and Americans are heading to the polls with some major races on the ballot this year. These elections
are seen as a big test of president Donald Trump's popularity and a key barometer for both Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms a
year from now.
Well, finally, it's day 35 of the U.S. government shutdown. That ties the previous record for the longest in American history. Top House Democrat
Hakeem Jeffries says his party is open to talking with Republicans on a possible path forward to and to resolve the impasse over health care.
B. ANDERSON: Well, according to a new report by Axios, the United States is working on a draft resolution for the United Nations Security Council to
move forward with its postwar vision for Gaza.
The resolution involves the creation of an international stabilization force, one of the key points of president Trump's 20-point plan. And
yesterday, the Turkish foreign minister held a meeting with a number of key regional players, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, also including
Jordan.
He announced that the parties are still working on a U.N. mandate and troop deployments will be decided after the framework is complete. My next guest
is Mina Al-Oraibi. She's the editor-in-chief of "The National" here in the UAE and good friend of this show.
Mina, what do you make of where we are at with regard Gaza?
MINA AL-ORAIBI, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE NATIONAL": Well, we've seen the ceasefire violated a number of times. There was quite heavy bombing of Gaza
last week but things have quietened down again. But we need to get to phase two.
And phase two is relying on a stabilization force and also working out what the governance of Gaza will look like. President Trump and Israelis have
complained that Hamas is still on the ground and they're able to run large parts of Gaza.
But the reason is we still don't have an alternative force or an alternative government and that will take time.
The meeting in Turkiye was important and, to have these regional players there, they are going to help -- not all of them -- be part of the
stabilization force. Jordan has very clearly said that we won't be sending our own soldiers. And so the makeup is important but also this U.N.
mandate.
[10:35:00]
And it's really interesting because we know the U.S. administration is not keen on the United Nations. President Trump's speech at the U.N. General
Assembly in New York repeated all those points in September. And yet this U.N. mandate is for the regional countries and the wider Muslim majority
countries that will be part of it.
B. ANDERSON: This would be to legitimize those boots on the ground effectively. We've got no idea yet where those boots would be from. There
is no Arab country, as we understand it, who will want to be seen as riding on the back of an Israeli tank. That was a line that was suggested to me
right back at the beginning of this conflict.
So this U.N. mandate, this resolution at least, will go in some part, some way to legitimize what will be a peacekeeping force on the ground.
I think, again, from these regional players, that's what's important, right?
This is peacekeeping, not enforcing.
AL-ORAIBI: Well, that detail is hugely important.
And yet how will Gazans receive them?
Because I think, yes, absolutely; for the diplomats, officials working on this, they want to make sure that they're saying these are peacekeeping
forces and also helping to stabilize the situation in order to get to a point where Palestinians govern themselves.
But the story is, will they actually get to phase three, which is the long- term future of Palestine?
B. ANDERSON: And that is important. Obviously there has been a very big message from this region. And, you know, I think you can argue, spearheaded
by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that says there needs to be a credible path to a Palestinian state.
A week or so from now, we will see the crown prince, de facto leader of the kingdom, in Washington with Donald Trump. Now this is an American
administration who would love to see a policy announcement by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on normalization.
Those I speak to around this region are pretty convinced the Americans are not going to get that, at least not at this point.
AL-ORAIBI: You're absolutely right. I was just in Manama over the weekend for the Manama dialogue and you had regional officials there and American
officials. So you had Tom Barrack on stage, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkiye but envoy to Syria and does a lot of work on Lebanon.
Saying that Syria and Lebanon are next in the puzzle, so to speak, of getting ties with Israel and then working toward Saudi Arabia. Saudi
officials, as you said, that we speak to, make it very clear -- and regional officials -- none of this will happen without a Palestinian state.
Or at least a very clear path with Israeli commitments to getting to a Palestinian state. And I don't think the current Israeli government is
there.
B. ANDERSON: What kind of guarantees do you believe MBS is looking for from Washington at this point?
AL-ORAIBI: Security guarantees, for sure. And that's been on the agenda for quite some time from the Biden administration through to the Trump
administration. And we've seen after the Israeli strike on Doha earlier in the summer that Qatar got certain commitments.
And I think Saudi Arabia will want to see similar commitments for their security, given the security dynamic in the region. But also, I think a
long-term commitment in the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. -- and I think it's clear that Donald Trump would also like to have that
relationship.
The question many people in this region ask is that, with the new administration, after Donald Trump leaves office, what guarantees can you
have that the next administration doesn't recant on any deals that are made?
B. ANDERSON: I want to circle back, before I let you go tonight, on the death today of the former vice president, Dick Cheney -- or at least the
announcement of the death of the former vice president -- and have you just reflect finally on his legacy in this region.
AL-ORAIBI: Well, the Iraq war is -- comes to mind. You know, we say you can't speak ill of the dead, so there's limited what can be said about his
legacy in Iraq.
But certainly as somebody who was Secretary of Defense would have known exactly what was needed on the ground in Iraq; that didn't happen. The U.S.
became an occupation force that did not protect the people of Iraq from the horrors that then descended upon them after 2003.
But it would be difficult to say more than that. I think what's interesting for this part of the world is actually how the Republicans under Dick
Cheney and George Bush are so different from the Republicans under Donald Trump.
So I think some people will reflect and think about his legacy in terms of the relationships that were based on long-term agreements and posture of
the U.S., particularly, actually, when it came to security dynamics.
There was a great seriousness from George Bush and Dick Cheney, as his strong vice president, to the security of the Gulf. And I think we've moved
some way away from that in the years that followed the Bush presidency.
B. ANDERSON: Elegantly said, thank you.
Still to come, the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Melissa is next level.
[10:40:00]
The staggering details after this.
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B. ANDERSON: Well, the scale of destruction in Jamaica is staggering after Melissa, which was a category five hurricane, which left entire communities
in ruins. It is the strongest storm to ever hit the island and has claimed dozens of lives.
Forecaster AccuWeather estimates the total damage could exceed $50 billion across the western Caribbean.
Well, aid is arriving slowly. France has flown in humanitarian supplies, including tents, food and water treatment equipment. The World Food
Programme says some 5 million people need help. CNN's David Culver has more now on how people are struggling to survive after that storm. Have a look
at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALANDREA BROWN, DISPLACED BY HURRICANE MELISSA: We are catching some water because that's the only way we can get water. We are damaged here in
Jamaica. Real bad.
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across much of western Jamaica, the storm has passed but you feel it everywhere.
Survival mode has kicked in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In here in Belmont, we are very distraught and we really need some help because you have persons who are very homeless and we
don't really have any food supplies.
CULVER: This is where you live here?
BROWN: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): Now they're coming to terms with what's left and for many here, it's not much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My bed.
CULVER: This was your bed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I have another bed. Look how the bed mashed up.
CULVER: It's all mashed up. You're right. You're right.
BROWN: Everyone here, this is one of our neighbor's house also. Her house destroyed also. Everybody who's in this community is very distraught. You
don't see nobody and that I keep on wondering. We have suffered here and nobody comes to assist. You know how we -- we even get some things like
these?
It's persons who are going around in vehicle and giving out a little portion of tokens.
CULVER: As one resident pointed out, even if a house is still standing because of concrete, most likely the windows were shattered and water got
in, sand got in, furniture closed, all their belongings destroyed. I mean, it just continues. It's endless. I mean, you look up there and it just goes
all the way up.
CULVER (voice-over): As we're heading out, a man points to a nearby house.
CULVER: He just told us that there's somebody in this house up here still, that his body hasn't been recovered yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
CULVER: Right there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
CULVER: Did you know this gentleman?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His mom supposed to be here. His mom live at White House.
CULVER: But no -- nobody has come to collect his -- collect his body?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not yet. Not everybody know that he died.
CULVER: Just lying lifeless in there. I mean, it's absolutely horrible just by himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And nobody's not sure when he's dead.
[10:45:00]
They're not sure when he died.
CULVER: They're not sure when he died.
I mean, seeing that is obviously very, very difficult. And it's worth pointing out, I mean, the neighbors there, it's not neglect on their part.
They simply don't have cell service or any connectivity to be able to report that. And they say that they were trying to tell passersby but
nobody came in to actually inspect.
So for them, we were the only ones who they could tell. And we ultimately, once we had connectivity here, our colleague Omar here made the call to
report that that body was in fact still in the house.
CULVER (voice-over): Night brings relief from the day's heat and humidity.
CULVER: You get around with the flashlight on your phone, huh?
ANDREZ ANDERSON, BLACK RIVER RESIDENT: Yes, yes, man. So this -- this is - -
CULVER (voice-over): But there's no water.
A. ANDERSON: This is only water we have here, see.
CULVER (voice-over): And no power.
A. ANDERSON: We have no roof there, you know, partially just this alone. So the rain actually coming now so you feel it inside.
CULVER: I feel the rain, yes.
A. ANDERSON: You know, so it'll be more damages, you know, as the rain comes by. So we just keep deteriorating until we can get some --
CULVER: Andrez, how do you live in this?
A. ANDERSON: Right. It is really rough. It is very hard. It is hard to cope. We just have to try to keep the kids mentally stable and try to tough
it out, you know?
So we are just grateful here right now to know that we are alive.
CULVER (voice-over): Mornings bring no rest, just long lines. People here waiting for hours for gas.
CULVER: You've been out here four this morning?
Which is seven hours.
CULVER (voice-over): And if water's not running in your home, you go to the source. Nearby along the river bed, dozens gather.
CULVER: They're saying that nobody has come to help at all.
SIMONE GARDON, MONTEGO BAY RESIDENT: I guess, it doesn't really hit as yet because after two weeks, when it's all settled down and we are all like,
wow -- the hunger kick in, (inaudible).
DR. SHERIFF IMORU, SENIOR MEDICAL OFFICER, BLACK RIVER HOSPITAL: You have to understand that even up to this point in time, we don't even know what
our death toll is.
CULVER: Do you think you're going to find more bodies?
IMORU: Yes, I would think so. I hope not but I would think so.
CULVER: The reality?
IMORU: Yes, man. The reality is there. The reality is there.
CULVER (voice-over): At the hospital in Black River --
CULVER: No power?
IMORU: No power, no water.
CULVER: No water?
But the emergency room is still operating?
IMORU: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): Dr. Sheriff Imoru walks us through what's left.
CULVER: I mean, this is your hospital?
IMORU: Yes.
CULVER: And when you look out now, I mean, I know you are focused on patients day to day as well.
IMORU: Yes, yes.
CULVER: But like, have you been able to process this moment?
IMORU: No. The one thing I can tell is that I'm very heartbroken, extremely heartbroken when I see this. I can tell it's very difficult for
me to even to come through the gates in the mornings and leave in the evenings. My house is close, fairly close to here and my house was
destroyed. I mean, the roof is gone.
CULVER (voice-over): And still his staff shows up.
IMORU: Every single person you see (ph).
CULVER (voice-over): Even though like him, many have lost their own homes.
IMORU: There are no words to describe it. I said to you, apocalyptic. That's the only thing I can use.
SHANIEL TOMLIN, STORM SURVIVOR: No, everything is gone. Everything in the house is gone. I need help toward my kids, my house and everything.
CULVER (voice-over): Shaniel Tomlin's baby Jamar, just a year old, fell after the storm.
TOMLIN: Yes, they're going to look up the stitch but they give me a prescription to fill.
CULVER: But where do you fill a prescription around here?
TOMLIN: I don't even know.
CULVER (voice-over): It's tough to find the words to describe the level of devastation, destruction and loss that we're seeing here.
And perhaps it's best to just look at the visuals, which yes, are overwhelming but really tell the story of several communities, not just
towns like this one, Black River where we are but we go mile after mile after mile along the southwest coast of this country and you see
communities that are simply wiped away.
CULVER: You see people also trying to continue on with some sense of normality. And for them, that might be trying to continue on with business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scaling some red snapper to feed the nation. So got to get them scaled and get them fried and we can make a little money.
CULVER (voice-over): It's the sound of defiance, of life pushing back.
LISA HANNA, FORMER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, JAMAICA: We are resilient people. Already, there is almost an empathetic solidarity across the island and
across the world to get things here.
[10:50:00]
We're not going to make our people starve. And anyone that comes here and visits us are not going to starve.
CULVER: Officials are here trying but it's a lot. And when you're desperate, help can't come soon enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are the strongest people in our world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is ground zero. This is terrible.
CULVER (voice-over): Aid from abroad here too, setting up for the long haul. But first, it's Jamaicans helping Jamaicans -- David Culver, CNN,
Montego Bay, Jamaica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
B. ANDERSON: Look, if you want to help, there are ways that you can do that. We've got a number of those at cnn.com/impact. That is
cnn.com/impact. We'll be right back.
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MAMDANI: Today is Election Day. It is a day that we have been dreaming of for more than a year.
And as much as things have changed over the course of this campaign, in many ways it is the same campaign we launched on October 23rd, a campaign
that looks to transform the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that's affordable for each and every person that calls it
home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: Well, those passionate remarks earlier today from Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old Democratic socialist, hoping to become New York
City's next mayor. Well, voting there is underway and much attention both in the U.S. and abroad, frankly, is focused on that city's race.
Mamdani is running against Republican Curtis Sliwa and the former governor, Andrew Cuomo, who is now an independent candidate; was a Democrat, of
course, U.S. president Donald Trump is urging voters to choose Cuomo. He says Mamdani, who was leading in the polls ahead of the election, isn't
capable of being mayor.
Well, Cuomo has been discussing Donald Trump's stance in his final message, which he pitched on FOX News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: President Trump, you know, president Trump is pragmatic. He is telling them the reality of the situation, which is, if you do not vote,
Mamdani is going to win.
Who is Mamdani?
I don't know but he's a Democratic socialist. He'll bring socialism to New York City. New York City will not thrive with a socialist economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: Well, Mamdani also referencing the president in his last- minutes pitch today; this to MSNBC earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAMDANI: We have a president who is looking to rip up the very fabric of this city. And that means being ready preemptively for these kinds of
threats as opposed to hoping that they don't come to bear.
And we have a law department in New York City that used to be one of the most storied law departments in the country. It was on the front lines in
fights for equal rights. That department currently has fewer lawyers than it did before the pandemic.
We have underfunded so many of the most critical parts of city agency work, that's part of what it means to Trump-proof (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
B. ANDERSON: Well, these candidates are running to be the executive of the most populous city in the United States and an economic powerhouse of the
country. When you consider the interests that we are seeing around the world, it's clear I don't have to explain why we should care about this
vote.
Stay with CNN in the coming hours with special "Election Night in America." The coverage begins at 5 pm Eastern time.
[10:55:02]
That is 2 in the morning here in Abu Dhabi. And wherever you are watching, you'll work out the times locally, because there is massive interest in
that poll.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
