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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump, Biden Hold Events as Cases Rage in Every Battleground; Trump Baselessly Claims that Doctors Get More Money if Someone Dies of Coronavirus; Trump & Biden Campaign in Wisconsin & Minnesota Today; Trump Claims He Will Win Minnesota Because of His Response to Unrest After George Floyd's Death and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar; Dems Nervous About Higher GOP Turnout in Key Florida County. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired October 30, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: CNN special coverage of the presidential election begins Tuesday 4 pm, Eastern. Until then, thanks very much for watching.
Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, collision course. Trump coming face-to-face with the realities of the pandemic forced to drastically reduce the size of his rally as his testing czar shuts down Trump's latest coronavirus claim four days before Election Day.
Plus, Biden and Trump all-in on Pennsylvania, the President just adding another rally there. Can either candidate win the White House without the state? We're at the magic wall.
And a top Florida Republican now backing Biden. Will his state follow? I'll ask him. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, down to the wire. Just four days until the election, Joe Biden and President Trump in two crucial battleground states right now. The former Vice President expected to start speaking soon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The President holding his rally in Minnesota.
It is there that his campaign once again colliding with the pandemic and what I really want to show you here is this is not what he wanted. We'll show you the crowd size much different than what we've seen. It's minuscule and it's not Trump's doing. It's because Minnesota banned it. Minnesota has capped gatherings at 250 people in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, so it's being enforced here.
He wasn't allowed to have the rally he wanted. Actually, he has to go with the rules of social distancing and masks and it has not gone over well with Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're having a problem with some people in Minnesota where they have a cap because Biden goes there and he can draw up lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Complaining about a restriction put in place for public health safety. But Trump is right there is a problem in Minnesota, the State reporting record hospitalizations today and Minnesota not the only state with this pain that Trump campaigned in today. The President also holding rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin, two states where cases, deaths and hospitalizations are all rising.
So to put this into some perspective, over the past four days, the United States has recorded 307,309 known new cases. That is more than the population of the three cities President Trump visited today. And yet this was the message we heard again and again from him today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will deliver a safe vaccine to the American people in just a number of weeks. By the way, without it, we're still rounding the corner. We have it. But without it, we round the corner.
We're rounding the turn on a pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: These things are false. We're not rounding the corner. I mean, just listen to the people who have all the facts. The scientists, the people who work for the President who are in charge of handling the pandemic like the Presidents testing czar Admiral Brett Giroir today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HHS: Hospitalizations and ICU admissions don't lie. When those go up, that's real. That's tangible. That's people in the hospital that need care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: They don't lie. They are the facts. Hospitalizations are up. Deaths are up. Record hospitalizations in this country right now in 17 states. Seventeen states in this country have record hospitalizations and the President says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Not even subtly implying doctors that are risking their lives to save patients are lying, trying to milk the system to get more money. It's appalling. It's also not true. The American Medical Association tweeting this week, "Let's be clear,
physicians are not inflating the number of COVID-19 patients." And the American College of Emergency Physicians, "Trump's baseless claims about physicians over counting COVID-19 deaths as harmful and offensive."
Now, Joe Biden fighting back, zeroing in on the President's handling of the virus, as he has done every day, making this the centerpiece of his campaign and his closing arguments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Imagine if he had told us in January how dangerous this was and took action. It's estimated that over 130,000 people still alive. By the way, we don't cower nor do I never will we, unlike Donald Trump we'll not surrender to this virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Both campaigns covered tonight in these final days. Kaitlan Collins at the White House, Jessica Dean with Joe Biden. And let me start with Kaitlan.
Kaitlan, what is happening at the President's rally right now?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is fascinating because you see, of course, this is not like any other rally the President has held where actually the state is imposing restrictions. So there are only 250 people in front of the President as he has just taken the stage.
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But Erin, what he did is something he doesn't normally do is when he got off Air Force One instead of coming straight to the stage where he is now, instead the President gotten to The Beast, drove down the tarmac and went to greet the overflow crowd. That's the crowd that's over there, because they cannot get inside because of these state restrictions, capping it at 250 because of the pandemic.
And you see the President went there. He was greeting this packed crowd that according to reporters on the ground largely were not wearing masks. And the President said this should be a lesson for the Governor. He is clearly very unhappy with these restrictions on his rallies, something the President has not had to deal with in this way before the time that he's been indoors, held these past events.
And so now he went and basically was trying to defy the Governor by going over there and greeting this packed crowd since he is being denied having that crowd in front of him as he's speaking there in Minnesota. And of course, as you were noting, this comes on a day where he has been mocking Joe Biden for his social distancing and adhering to the health guidelines at his events.
Not even just that, not only mocking his opponent, he's even mocking a Fox News host because she was wearing a mask at his rally in Michigan earlier. So this is the President's closing message that he is making to voters in these battleground states where we should note infections are surging.
BURNETT: That's right, as we said, 17 states with a record of hospitalizations. The President briefly today saying, oh, he supported mask. But you see the truth again here as we have seen countless times.
I want to go to Jessica Dean now covering Joe Biden. So how is Biden responding to these latest attacks from the President today, Jessica? And I must just say and what must be the most beautiful live shot of the day.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. I'm pretty lucky.
BURNETT: Yes.
DEAN: It's pretty beautiful here in Milwaukee tonight, so we're appreciating that for sure. But Wisconsin, Erin, is really facing a dire situation right now when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. They are seeing record numbers all across the state. It is an incredibly serious situation here.
And to that end, Joe Biden is coming here tonight for his last stop. He had three stops in total today. His last stop today is going to be at an airport hangar in front of a very small crowd for this very reason, because the numbers are so very high here.
But the coronavirus pandemic has been so very central to his closing argument. We've heard it again and again today in his stops in Iowa and in Minnesota. And just in the last little bit, he released a statement on the U.S. hitting 9 million coronavirus infections. And he called that utterly disqualifying that it should be utterly disqualifying for President Trump.
He attacked him for not having any empathy, not understanding people's grief and their grieving for the people that they have lost. And for the others who are still struggling to recover from this virus. He's also connected this to the economy and what impact this has had on the economy, Erin.
He has promised again and again that he has a plan. He knows what to do. He is asking the American people to put him in charge and lead America out of the pandemic.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jessica Dean from Milwaukee.
OK. Let's go to our panel of experts here with just a few days to go. I want to start first with John Avlon.
So you've got the candidates in some of the hardest hit states right now by this virus. Happens to be in states where they both need to win. Now, it's not just those dates, because again I want to keep emphasizing this point, we're at record levels of hospitalization seven months into this crisis in 17 states. And as the President's own testing czar says, hospitalization numbers do not lie. The President lamenting the 250-person limit at his rally going to the
overflow area first as a way to stick it to the Governor and the Governor's rules. So does these impact voters at this point, these two dramatically different messages?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Of course, because this is the collision of the two great themes of this campaign in a way that's completely indelible. No matter what the President wants to live in denial, he is contributing, as Sanjay Gupta showed an investigation earlier day, many of those supporters getting sick.
I mean, coronavirus cases are spiking in every single swing state, Erin, up 47 percent on average, over the last two weeks. In Michigan or Minnesota rather, he's upset because the governor's didn't want him to bring big crowds together. Well, maybe that's because cases are up 54 percent in Minnesota.
So one has a duty to care and a focus on public health and the other is just a desperate need of feeding his ego and trying to play to the base at the expense of really anything else.
BURNETT: So Abby, let me ask you, you heard Admiral Giroir say hospitalizations and ICU admissions don't lie. But the President keeps just saying, look, the only reason you have more cases is because you're doing more testing. His own testing czar is making it very clear that that is not what is happening. Yes, there is more testing than we have done before. There is also by a factor much greater than that, more cases.
But the President is tripling down. This is the message that he is going to win on or he is going to lose on. This is the message.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the message. This is the message that by the way, he decided on perhaps almost single handedly.
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I have to ask people to kind of take their minds back about a month ago to when the President was sick with the coronavirus. And some of his aides were publicly saying that they believe that this was his opportunity to take control of the messaging around the virus to turn this into a chance for him to show a certain kind of leadership to talk to Americans about responsible behaviors around the virus and perhaps disarming Joe Biden from having a total monopoly over that message.
But what happened, the President came back from the hospital and he said, "Don't let the virus dominate your life." He chose his reelection message in that moment and that's what we're seeing here. Right at this moment, the President's aides are hundred percent backing him up on this idea that all of this is fear mongering about a virus that's really not that big of a deal and that you've really got to open up the economy at all costs, but the reality is that the virus is surging. This is exactly the environment that over the summer, aides really
were saying they don't expect the virus to surge again. We knew that this was coming and now it is here and now they actually have to live with it. They can't change course at this point and it'll be a question of how many voters out there are going to say yes, more of this kind of leadership or no, I want to go in a different direction. That's the crux of the campaign that we are in right now.
BURNETT: So Dr. Reiner, you also have right as hospitalizations are going up and hospitalizations for coronavirus, as the testing czar said, Admiral Giroir, that they don't lie. These are the numbers. So the President is taking those numbers and the death numbers that we are now seeing climb and saying that these are also not real, OK, that the doctors are doing this to somehow get more money. Here's more of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Our doctors get more money if somebody does from COVID. You know that, right? I mean, our doctors are very smart people. So what they do is they say I'm sorry, but everybody dies of COVID.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Oh, I'm sorry, but everybody dies of COVID. Dr. Reiner?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The President is a liar. I mean, I'm sorry to say that, but I just can't take it anymore. Look, over a thousand health care workers in this country have died, trying to save the lives of their fellow Americans and every day they go to work and they're the real super people, the supermen and superwomen.
They go to work every single day and put themselves at risk to put out the fire that he has stoked and that his actions have continued to endanger the lives of people in this country. It's incredibly insulting and it makes every person who works in health care in this country insane to hear him say that.
AVLON: Erin, can I just add something to that?
BURNETT: Yes, of course.
AVLON: It also reflects on the fact that he can't understand that kind of self-sacrifice. It's a projection. He assumes there's got to be something in it for them, that everything is a scam, that everything is a cheat, that real service to help other people is somehow unfathomable to it.
BURNETT: Abby, we also have the task force here and you're starting to hear people like Admiral Giroir speak out. We've heard the Surgeon General, Dr. Deborah Birx is on her own, Dr. Fauci has made it clear. They're all now saying things that are their scientific facts that fly in the face of the President and yet the taskforce itself has not been on a regular call with the governors in a month, the Vice President of the United States to be specific. He has this good call he's supposed to go through with the governors
on every single thing that's been happening. He has not done it. But he is campaigning the same as the President is at these large unmask, non socially distanced rallies.
So what is the significance of this? Because I want to make it clear, Alex Azar, HHS Secretary was on the call. The calls are happening. Governors are on the calls. People from the task force are on the calls. But the Vice President is not. He's the head of the task force. The people close to the President have abandoned it, it seems.
PHILLIP: Yes. I mean, well, specifically, the person who's running on the ticket with the President and who is responsible for carrying out the political message, which is that the virus is really not that big of a deal. It runs completely counter to that message to have regular calls with the governors about the state of the virus in their state. So it doesn't surprise me at all that Pence had pulled back from that.
For a long time, Pence was sort of acting as just in some ways of a bit of a foil to President Trump. He was taking the virus seriously. He was speaking in sober terms about it, showing up at these press conferences. But the longer that continued, the more it really highlights the President's disengagement from the issue, so inevitably it had to end.
They could not go into this campaign, this last stretch of the campaign with the Vice President always being the one taking the virus seriously, when the President was not.
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It only undercuts their campaign message, but I think it also just highlights. They are doubling down on a really risky strategy here at a time when Americans are taking the virus seriously, because they are seeing it surge in their own communities.
Yes, they are. All right. Thank you all very much.
And next, Trump making a major play for Pennsylvania just adding another rally here at these last moments. Can he win the White House without it? We're at the magic wall.
Plus, why the President is obsessed with one congresswoman, specifically in these final days of the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Ilhan Omar - she doesn't love our country that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And we're going to talk to a specific group of older women about why they have chosen not to back Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: COVID as far as I'm concerned that was the name decider. I'm a diabetic, I'm 72, I'm compromised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump and Joe Biden making their final pitches in the key states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: This President done everything to try to discourage us. But guess what? He will not be able to stop us at all.
TRUMP: Four days from now, we are going to win this state and we are going on to win four more great years in the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:20:00]
BURNETT: Phil Mattingly is OUTFRONT at the wall. So Phil, what are you seeing in the states that Trump and Biden are visiting today? Obviously, in these final days they are in the must-win upper Midwest.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I'm seeing the map of 2016. And I think both campaigns are the President's team trying to essentially do the same thing all over again and in the Biden campaign attempting to learn the lessons that led to this. Watch this as you come down here.
Basically, Minnesota, Democrats, only won by 40,000 votes. Didn't think it was going to be anywhere near that close. Wisconsin, President Trump flipped. Michigan, President Trump flipped. Ohio, he blew out of the ballpark, same with Iowa. Those were the states where both Trump and Biden were today.
Now the Biden campaign right now will tell you that they feel much better about where the Midwest is. Take a look at just two polls, Michigan right now in the poll polls, Joe Biden up 51-43, Wisconsin Biden up 52-43. The Trump campaign, however, says that's not adjusting for what they believe their turnout is going to be.
And I think what you want to do is to kind of take a trip with me, Erin, if you will, through the map right now and understand how important the Midwest is to this campaign or how important it could be. Everything you see in gold right now is not considered a safe state.
Now, some of those states, you can pretty much check off the box. You can give Democrats the State of Colorado, you can give Republicans probably Ohio. It's a little bit tight. They think Iowa, they think it's a little bit tight. Why don't you just go ahead and give Republicans also the southeast. Now, those are all toss up states right now, but President Trump won
them in '16. It's conceivable he would do it again. Texas, obviously, Kamala Harris down there today. But Republicans feel like that's going to come in line eventually. Go ahead and give Democrats the State of Nevada. They've had a pretty good lock on it the last several cycles and even give them Arizona where they feel like they've made a lot of inroads over the course of the last several cycles as well.
You go ahead and give President Trump Maine too and you go ahead and give Joe Biden Nebraska too, which looks to be going his way. This is just single electoral votes. And what are you left with? You're left with 248 for Donald Trump, you're left for 230 for Joe Biden. And what are you looking at up here?
You're looking at those states. Now, Pennsylvania, we're going to talk about in a second, but I want to talk if you even give Joe Biden the state of Pennsylvania right there, President Trump still has a path, still has a path. Now, Democrats don't think that path includes Minnesota, but you might as well give it a shot, stop by, stop through, it was close back in 2016.
And yet, even if Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania, President Trump could sweep Michigan, sweep Wisconsin and all of a sudden he's over 270 electoral votes. Now is that what's going to happen? No, not necessarily and the Biden campaign says they are very comfortable with where they are in the Midwest, but they are going to push there over the course of the next several days.
It's just underscoring the fact that even if all of this occurs the way Democrats and Republicans think it might, the Midwest could be where it all ends.
BURNETT: It really could be and what's amazing here is Pennsylvania, which you weren't including there, Phil. But they don't start counting until after the votes are in on Election Day with all of the votes they got before. So if this comes down to Pennsylvania, it means a whole lot of things happen that maybe the polls don't foretell and maybe it's a lot closer than people think in all these states.
And the President is betting on Pennsylvania fourth campaign rally, just added that tomorrow. Biden campaign going to be there on Monday on the eve of the election, Biden-Harris, their spouses all in the state. So they are all going in all-in on Pennsylvania, betting that this just may be a nail biter in a lot of places.
MATTINGLY: Yes. Look, the most valuable commodity each campaign has at this moment in the race in this crunch time is the time of their candidates.
BURNETT: Yes.
MATTINGLY: And not just the time of the candidates, but the time of their VP selections or the Vice President and the time of their spouses and all of them are going to be in Pennsylvania over the course of the next 48 hours. Let's take a look at where our poll of polls in Pennsylvania stands at this moment. And right now, the Biden campaign has a bit of a lead, about six points when you put all the polls together.
But again, the Trump campaign says that that's under estimating where their support is going to be and where are they getting that idea from? Well, they're getting it from 2016. Take out the 2016 map.
And the interesting thing, unlike Michigan where Detroit turnout was way down, unlike Wisconsin where Milwaukee turnout was way down, in the State of Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton did amazingly well in Philadelphia in the suburbs outside of it. She set records for turnout in that area and yet still lost. Why did she still lose?
The Republican turnout in Western Pennsylvania blew everyone out of the water and the Republican turnout in this area in the eastern part of the state too, that's where you've seen Biden focus obviously was born in Scranton. You've seen outside of Allegheny County, outside of Pittsburgh, Democrats try and hold margins down.
That's why Pennsylvania is so important right now. You know one key point there. We don't know when we're going to find out when exactly the results are coming in. Seven counties right now, the expectation is according to the Secretary of State will not be counting their absentee ballots until after Election Day.
So if it all comes down to Pennsylvania, Erin, as you said, we may be waiting a bit.
BURNETT: All right. Phil, thank you very much.
So I want to go now to the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf. Governor Wolf, hearing all that analysis from your state, we're hearing about these possible delays in seven counties, they're not going to count their mail-in ballots until the day after the election.
So let me just phrase the question to you this way. What will we know about Pennsylvania on election night or will it be a total mystery?
[19:25:03]
GOV. TOM WOLF (D-PA): I don't think so. I mean, we had a dry run of this in the June 2nd primary and through some counties did better than others. But there were some big counties like Allegheny County and Pittsburgh that actually reported the election results I think 3 am on election night.
Since then, we've taken what we've learned from the June 2nd primary and made sure that counties all across the state have the resources, so they're going to have people, the equipment to be able to process as quickly as possible. So I think the Trump campaign must be somewhat concerned and actually, it's nine counties that are saying that they were under the misimpression that they don't have to start counting the vote when the polls close at eight.
And we're working with them right now, but I think it's a reflection, we think, of the Trump campaign doing what they've been doing for months now. And that is creating all kinds of hurdles to getting the count out. And that I suspect is their belief that that's the only way they're going to win this election by basically delaying the count that they don't think they're gonna win. And that includes, by the way, in Pennsylvania, we've always counted military ballots that come in a week after the polls close.
BURNETT: So you mentioned Pittsburgh, we've learned that Butler County, which is north of Pittsburgh, of course, has received more than 10,000 calls from voters who said they haven't gotten their ballots yet, their mail-in ballots. And the Postal Service says it's investigating. They're checking out their local post offices to try to look to where - this is a huge amount of ballots where they could have gone.
Do you know anything about where these are and does this worry you? This is a big number just four days before the election.
WOLF: Yes. Well, we've been working with the Butler County case and it does seem to be, as far as I know, a postal issue so that's why they're looking into that. But again, it's what we have been now saying right from the start, don't rely on someone else. Walk the ballot in. We had 50, 40 some days to vote in Pennsylvania, that was a challenge on one of the presidential ballots.
But you have many days to vote, take your ballot, that you get and walk it to the election office, walk into a drop box, don't rely on somebody else, the mail system to take it at this point. If you want to be sure that you're not going to have a problem like in Butler County, take care of it yourself.
BURNETT: So Governor, the District Attorney, Larry Krasner, in your State in Philadelphia is accusing Trump of trying to suppress the vote. Here's how he put it when he was on this network.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KRASNER, PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: And I do in fact have something for the President, if he wants to send people here to break the law. I have a cell, I have criminal laws and I have a jury, a very diverse jury that is going to want to hear why these people came to steal our votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Are you comfortable with how he put it? I mean, or do you think that's too far or do you think Trump is really breaking the law right now?
WOLF: Well, no, I don't think that's what Larry was saying. I think he was saying that if he does indulge in voter intimidation, that is against the law all across Pennsylvania, not just in Philadelphia, that is a crime. And if he does it, it's great that the District Attorney in Philadelphia is putting him on the alert that the campaign will be held to account.
BURNETT: People are on edge across this country right now. This election is a big part of the reason why for people, whatever their political persuasion. And The Washington Post is reporting tonight that the National Guard has created a new unit, made up mostly of military police who could be dispatched to respond to clashes. Actual clashes on Election Day and beyond. How much concerns you have about this and what specific preparations are you making in Pennsylvania?
WOLF: Well, in Pennsylvania, we've had a joint task force working on election safety for two or three years now. And we bring not just the National Guard with the state police, we even bring in the IT folks from the Office of Administration to deal with cybersecurity issues, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Anybody working with the emergency officials out in the counties, we've been working together and just sort of figuring out what we can do to make sure that we can respond to whatever if anything happens after the election. So this is something we've been doing for years now.
I think what's happening here is that the Trump campaign is trying to sow mistrust and fear and concern. That's the only way they think they can win and if they can set up some uncertainties about this new election system that we have in Pennsylvania, we change our election law in 2019. The June primary was the first run through this new system, and it's changed.
And so they're trying to do their best to exploit that, the fears that any change it has and they're doing their best to undermine the safety of the voting process.
[19:30:07]
Democracy runs on votes. People need to feel that they can access the polls, that they can actually cast their ballot.
BURNETT: Yeah.
WOLF: They're going to be counted fairly. That's what we're trying to do here in Pennsylvania.
And I can understand it, if you're not going to win on votes, the next best thing to do is just to sow discord, and distrust and fear.
BURNETT: Governor Wolf, I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.
WOLF: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, why is the president using his precious final days on the campaign trail to attack one particular congresswoman?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Are you a big fan of Omar? I don't think so. Omar, Omar. Ilhan Omar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Democrats growing uneasy about Republican turnout in a crucial Florida county. I'm going to talk to one Republican official who is now blocking Biden and find out what's happening there. Does he think Biden can actually win his state? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: All right. Looking at live pictures over Minnesota. You see Air Force One starting to taxi there. President Trump wrapping up his third rally of the day.
This rally, he only spoke for about 20 minutes, very short by his own standards.
[19:35:04]
But this is the rally where there was a cap on the number of attendees, so only 250 people were allowed there. They had to socially distance.
So he expressed his deep discontent with that. This is just hours after he vowed to be the first Republican to win the state since 1972, because of his response to the unrest following George Floyd's death, and because of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're very popular, because I helped with that disaster in Minneapolis, like we got -- we got the guys in in, and they -- what did it take, about 25 minutes and it was over. They should have called a long time before that. They went through two weeks of hell.
Ilhan Omar, she loves our country very much. And Yemen, right? She's going to help me win. She's going to protest when I go up there, and I'll say, "Thank you very much. Every time you protest, it's going to add 25 percent to the vote."
The Biden plan, she's telling us how to run our country. And She doesn't love our country, that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Smerconish -- the host of "SMERCONISH", Michael Smerconish, and Karen Finney, who is Hillary Clinton's senior spokesperson in 2016, along with Republican pollster and strategist Ed Goeas.
So, Karen, the president making these comments just hours after he tweeted about Minnesota, riots plus Omar equal win. He is making this a focus here in Minnesota. And I'm sure you don't think it will work.
But is there a chance that he knows something that Democrats are missing, that this may help him move the needle in Minnesota which would be a big pick up for him?
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's all part of his strategy to mobilize, to ensure that Trump voters are mobilized and recognize that they're in trouble. And that I think it's also certainly a strategy to reach out to men.
I've also been doing polling and focus groups with white college educated suburban women, many of whom voted for Trump, and I can tell you that the data says they don't like this. This is the meanest and the divisiveness, they don't like. And frankly, voters don't believe -- even moderate Republicans don't think that Trump handled the George Floyd situation appropriately.
So he may think he's -- and I think he's also turning off suburban moms who again, the divisiveness is really problematic for them, so he may think he's doing himself a favor, it may be resonating with certain groups but I think overwhelmingly, I think he's turning off important groups.
BURNETT: And so, is President Trump making -- at the speeches, right, the Ilhan Omar part of this, was part of his bid today, Joe Biden with a totally different message, also in the Midwest. In Iowa, a state he's trying to pick up, here's what he said at a drive-in rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Honk if you want America to lead again. Honk if you want America to trust each other again. Honk if you want America to be united again.
Folks, we cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump. In 2008 and 2012 you placed your trust in Barack Obama and me, and we work for you, for the entire country. Well, I'll do it again in 2020.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Totally different messages and they both know it. Which message do you think in these final days, whether it comes to turnout or small slivers of undecideds, where wherever they may be, which message resonates more?
ED GOEAS, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER AND STRATEGIST: I think it's certainly the Biden message resonates more, one of the things I saw this week watching the polling is, is it was more like watching paint dry then watching the last week of the presidential campaign. Biden ended last week eight points up, and the average of all the polls this week, he's at 7.9.
I think there's a bigger thing on the Minnesota. In that, there is a string of campaigns, all of which are very, very close, going from Arizona to Iowa to Ohio, to North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, that Trump has to win and what we saw on the two weeks prior last week is both Michigan and Wisconsin move, begin to move out of range. We saw the movement last week in the week before, not this week. And then that's the vote solidified.
So he, number one, if he wins all those races in the South, in the West, he is still short and needs Pennsylvania. But the problem is, if he wins loses any of those races, he then needs a second state to win up north. And Minnesota is looking like it is next best bet.
BURNETT: So, Michael, you know, so -- this is the strategy of it, right?
[19:40:04]
And he has, I mention some -- Ilhan Omar, things that he said, but it has been a steady thing over the past few weeks, here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Are you a big fan of Omar? I don't think.
Looking at Omar.
We are going to win Minnesota because of Omar.
They're angry at Omar. Our secret weapon: Ilhan Omar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, she's not his opponent. Why is he talking about her so much, Michael?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH": Well, to Karen's point, the persuasion era of this campaign, if there ever was one is long over. It's all about motivation. You've displayed the contrasting style that these candidates are using to motivate their base.
Former Vice President Biden, by trying to make it totally a referendum on Donald Trump, he the unity candidate, Donald Trump trying to ignite those same forces that in 2016, brought him that unexpected victory. And he caricatures his opponents. I'm surprised he's it's just Ilhan Omar because, often it's Nancy Pelosi and it's the squad and it's AOC, it's Bernie because he wants to show that he's running against all of them. If in fact that's the case, and frankly, not as much about Joe Biden when he's trying to really spark that by base of high school educated white men to come out.
BURNETT: So, Karen, when you breakdown different groups, obviously all groups have many differences within them, but one group that Democrats and Republicans both have been focused on and warning, saying that there is a lack of enthusiasm among this group for Joe Biden is Hispanic voters. The latest national Quinnipiac poll does show Biden beating Trump among Hispanic voters, 51 to 35.
So, if you look at that, you may go, hey, I mean, what are you talking about, Erin, that's a huge margin? It is, but it's nowhere near where was in 2016 when Clinton lost the election, after beating Trump with Hispanic voters, with a margin of 68 to 28.
That margin is more than doubled Biden's right now, OK? Could his end up being the Achilles heel?
FINNEY: It could be, and here's why. I mean, the Latino vote in this country is not monolithic. And we can treat it as monolithic. One of the major issues in the state of Florida has long been a challenge for Democrats is the Cuban community. And so, you know, the Cuban community has very different concerns and interests in many ways then Mexican-Americans in California, than, you know, South Americans living in Minneapolis. So, I think it's part -- part of it is we haven't done a good enough
job in reaching out to Latino voters, I think, as we need to. I think we've done better this cycle in reaching out to have African-American voters, I don't think we've done as good a job with Latino voters. But I do think we'll see strong turnout but yes it is a problem.
BURNETT: So, Ed, what do you -- what do you see there? More than doubled the margin, you know, look, people have all sorts of fears about polls right now. Both sides, nobody knows whether to trust him or not trust them. So, I guess you take it with a grain of salt that you take either every other poll.
But yet it is quite a stunning difference, Ed, between Biden and Clinton in that group.
GOEAS: Yeah, there are the polls that contradict that and don't show that going. I think much of that initial narrative came from Florida, where they were looking at Hispanics as a monolithic group, when in fact, the Cuban Americans are very lean Republican Party probably more so today than ever. They are not as offended as other Hispanic groups, in fact, they like some of the positions on immigration, the more harsh positions on immigration.
So I think they're very much more playing to that, but, you know, the interesting thing about Florida that they didn't look out closely, is the difference between Cuban Americans and Puerto Rican Americans that have moved into Florida after the disasters of the hurricane down in Puerto Rico.
BURNETT: Yeah.
GOEAS: They're going the opposite of the Cubans, they are not big fans of Donald Trump.
So the more they hear this kind of angry rhetoric, and Stephen Miller came out with today, what they will do in the next administration, all that does is aggravate that vote.
So I think there's a lot to be said about nothing, in terms of the Hispanic vote, when in fact, the big problem with Donald Trump or Republicans that like his published policies, that don't like his persona, and (INAUDIBLE) who like his personality but don't like his persona. And all they are saying is persona here the last weeks. They're saying nothing to pull them back into the fold for Donald Trump which is why you're not seeing the national numbers move.
BURNETT: Right, I have not seeing that narrative which we did see last time.
Thank you all three.
And next, Florida Republican says, quote, shame on me for waiting too long, speak out against Trump.
[19:45:01]
His message to other Republicans next.
And we speak to a group of women about what they think when the president says not to worry, because only old people get coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm excluded, expendable, that we don't matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, new numbers out of Florida, making Democrats uneasy. Florida Republicans, turnout at a higher percentage than Democrats in crucial Miami-Dade.
It comes as a top Republican in that key state, who helped lead his party in both chambers of Florida's legislature, is supporting a Democrat for president for the first time.
[19:50:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE FASANO, BIDEN REPUBLICAN: I'm as Republican as it gets, a conservative Republican. But Donald Trump is an embarrassment to our party, to our country, and to the rest of the world. You see, I love my party, but I also love my country more.
My name is Mike Fasano, and in 2020, I'm a Biden Republican.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Mike Fasano is OUTFRONT with me now, former majority leader of the Florida House, president pro tempore of the Florida Senate, currently serving as Pasco County Florida tax collector.
And I appreciate your time, sir.
I'm going to ask you about this significant endorsement you are making, but first, this news we have. Florida's early vote ends this weekend, you've surpassed 6.5 million people who voted early in 2016. Democrats do lead in the early vote, but Republicans obviously have narrowed the edge, and we keep hearing about Miami-Dade, and Republicans are turning out at much higher percentages than Democrats in Miami-Dade, that crucial county.
When you look at that, what do you see? Do you see a big warning flag for Biden?
FASANO: Regardless of a warning flag, it definitely should get the attention of any campaign when you see your opponents numbers in a county where there is much more Democrats than there are Republicans. I would be certainly concerned that the Republicans are outpacing the Democrats in Miami-Dade. But this is not unusual. Miami-Dade has done this -- I've been in
Pasco County in Florida now for over 50 years, and it seems like Miami-Dade has a difficult time, especially with Democrats, and getting the votes out every election.
BURNETT: All right. So, I think that context is so crucial, with your experience.
Now, you know, you talked about 50 years, and you've been a Republican that entire time.
FASANO: Yes, well, I've been a Republican since I turned 18, yes, ma'am.
BURNETT: Right, so, you know, lifelong.
And you told a local Florida paper, you know, as you've now come out for Joe Biden, a Biden Republican, as you put it, quote, it got to a point where I said to myself, I've got to speak up, especially as an elected Republican official, not say anything is a cop out. Shame on me for waiting too long.
How hard was it for you to come to this decision and to speak out? As someone who has been a registered Republican since you are 18.
FASANO: Great question. I did not support Donald Trump four years ago. I didn't vote for Hillary either. I actually skipped that race, first time in my life. I skipped a presidential election and went right down to the remainder of the ballot.
This year, I just couldn't stand by, and stay idly by, and not say anything. Absolutely, shame on me for not saying something sooner. I should have announced my support for Biden, and my disappointment in Donald Trump.
You know, when Donald Trump was elected 4 years ago, many of us, especially Republicans thought, maybe he will bring this country together, maybe he will change and cross over to the other side, and bring people from the other side into -- into the White House, and work with them and do good for our country. But, unfortunately, he hasn't done that. If anything, he has taken out of the White House -- decency, and compassion, patriotism, and, really, what we have in the White House now is hatred. We need to get rid of that.
BURNETT: So, you know, you say, again, as an elected Republican official, to not say anything is a cop out, shame on me. I just want to be honest with you. There are other elected officials in your party who --
FASANO: Yes, ma'am.
BURNETT: -- clearly, disagree with many things Trump does, and don't like to talk about it. They avoid it. They tried everything they can to run the other direction from discussing it. Even at this moment, I don't know what they will do, or who they will vote for. Some a vote for him, some may not, but they are not doing what you are doing. Why do you think that is still the case?
FASANO: I wish -- I wish I had the answer. I apologize for not having it.
I will tell you this, since I have come out over the last 24 hours, 48, hours announcing my support for Joe Biden, I have heard from many Republicans. In fact, elected officials, who have thanked me for speaking out. I wish they would do the same, I can't speak on their behalf, but, certainly, I for myself, I just felt it was important.
I have a responsibility, as the elected Republican official, for many, many years, that I need to let those who have supported me over the years, that who I am supporting for president, and why I'm supporting a Republican this time.
BURNETT: All right. Mike, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much for sharing all that with us.
FASANO: God bless you, have a nice evening. Thank you.
BURNETT: You too, sir.
And now to some breaking news, U.S. just setting a record high for coronavirus. New cases in a single day, 89,361. The U.S. closing in on another threshold, 230,000 deaths from coronavirus, 17 states tonight with record hospitalizations.
[19:55:03]
And seniors account for the majority of those deaths. According to the CDC, about 80 percent of total COVID deaths so far are people over the age of 65. That hard-hit group is incredibly reliable, when it comes to voting.
Kate Bolduan spoke to a few of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, 78 years old, what is it that drives you to stand on a street corner, in the rain, in the cold, to get your face out there?
JANE VAN ZANDT (D), NH HOUSE OF REPRESENATIVES CANDIDATE: We really want to win. If people don't see us, they're not going to know to vote for us.
BOLDUAN: Jane Van Zandt is a New Hampshire Democrat. She has spent her entire life serving others, as a nurse, Episcopal priest, and now, in 2020, she is running for elected office for the first time.
VAN ZANDT: I had no idea what to expect, to begin with. Of course, now with COVID, we can't knock on doors. We are relying on phone calls, and yard signs. Being an old lady, I'm not the most steady on my feet. So, I'm okay with not knocking on doors.
BOLDUAN: Has President Trump factored into your decision run?
VAN ZANDT: Yeah, probably, probably, because it just gets worse and worse, every single day. I think senior citizens, for example, all marginalized people, are at risk.
BOLDUAN: A vast majority of the coronavirus deaths in the country have been seniors. Here in New Hampshire, 96 percent of those killed by COVID have been 60 and older. That late -- weighs heavily on the women we are talking to. On their lives, on their vote, and on how much they think the president sees their value to the country.
GAIL MORRISON, BIDEN SUPPORTER: I am very concerned about the pandemic. I am 77 years of age, I live with a woman who is 75 years of age. We do not want to become ill and die. We aren't ready.
BOLDUAN: What do you think of the president's handling of the response to the pandemic?
MORRISON: Oh, there has been no constructive action, that he has taken, whatsoever.
BOLDUAN: Donald Trump says, essentially, do not worry about the virus, because only older people get it. How does it make you feel to hear that?
MORRISON: Excluded, expendable, that we don't matter. If we get it, and we become quite ill, it doesn't matter that we might need ventilators, and be dead in a few days.
KAREN CERVANTES, REPUBLICAN VOTING FOR BIDEN: COVID, as far as I'm concerned, is the main decider. I am diabetic, I am 72, I am compromised. I do not have any desire to get it.
BOLDUAN: Karen Cervantes is a mom, grandmother, and small business owner, in western New Hampshire. She is also a die hard Republican.
CERVANTES: I was 18 when I registered as a Republican.
BOLDUAN: Have you ever voted for a Democrat before for president even?
CERVANTES: Nope. Absolutely not. This is the first time.
I have already voted, and I voted absentee, and I voted for Biden.
BOLDUAN: How would you describe the last 4 years for you, under President Trump?
CERVANTES: Exhausting. I find it absolutely exhausting.
The insults, the things he said about the African nations? The things he said about Muslims? The thing -- it's just not me.
If Trump wins, the next day, I will go down to 11 and city hall, and I am registering as an independent after 55 years.
CINDY ROSENWALD (D), NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE SENATOR: People are anxious, and they are anxious for the election to be over.
BOLDUAN: Sixty-six-year-old New Hampshire state senator, Cindy Rosenwald, is up for reelection. She says, even beyond COVID-19, this is election that is different from any other.
How important are women, older voters, in this election?
ROSENWALD: You can always count on us to show up and vote. You can count on older women to also do the grassroots campaigning too.
BOLDUAN: Do you think it is fair to consider age in a decision, or for who to vote for as president?
VAN ZANDT: Well, in this election, I don't see where it makes much difference, because, you know, they are both older people.
BOLDUAN: What would you say to a voter who says, Jane, you are too old to run?
VAN ZANDT: I say, watch me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: This isn't predictive of a how all senior women will vote, of course. We in fact we spoke to one older woman who is a huge Trump supporter in New Hampshire, yet, she did not want to be on camera. Trump won among seniors in 2016. This time around, Joe Biden, nationally, has been leading among senior Americans.
He is seen, Erin, as performing better among seniors than any Democrat in a generation.
BOLDUAN: That's pretty incredible.
All right. Kate, thank you so much as always.
And thanks so much to all of you for being with us.
"AC360" with Anderson starts now.
