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Erin Burnett Outfront
Polls Close For 1s Day Of Georgia Early Voting, Record Turnout; Message to Black Voters; CNN Reporter Tracks Panda In Remote Chinese Mountains. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:53]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news: record turnout. Polls just closing in Georgia after the first day of early voting. The number of voters showing up today higher than ever. So what does it mean?
And more breaking news this hour, Kamala Harris sitting down what the popular radio host Charlamagne Tha God. Is her message directly to Black voters with Charlamagne tonight working?
And Geraldo Rivera is my guest. He's called Trump a friend. He said he's done great things. But tonight, Geraldo is throwing his support behind Harris. I'll tell you why.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news -- polls just closing in Georgia and it was a record-breaking day on the first day of early voting in that crucial state. So the Georgia Secretary of State, Gabriel Sterling, just telling OUTFRONT that more than 300,000 people cast a ballot today which crushes the previous record set four years ago of 136,000.
Now this video we'll show you here shows -- going the other direction so our producer is driving this way, the long line of cars waiting to pull into an early voting site. Tonight, both campaigns are trying to read the tea leaves here because it is a crucial battleground state. The road to the White House runs through Georgia for both Harris and Trump, which is why Trump is there tonight holding an event in Atlanta.
Harris is going on Saturday for a rally one of her top surrogates has already been there, former President Bill Clinton this week. Her campaign and supporters have now booked $31 million in ads in Georgia, $7.1 million more than Trump, all in. It's an incredibly huge amount of money in these final days where every vote will matter.
I mean, you remember, 10,770 votes, right? I mean, but when you look at how tight the race is already projected to be this time, the latest poll has Harris at 46 percent, 45 percent for Trump. CNN was at a polling station in Buckhead, a neighborhood outside
Atlanta which is traditionally been a conservative area. And here's what our producers and reporters saw today, is that abortion and immigration were some of the key issues that had people coming out could go either way.
Here is what one voter told our Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So when I hear on the news all the talk about immigrants doing this and that, and all of the negative talk, it breaks my heart because I have two daughters and I have two stepsons. And you know, we contribute a lot to America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You can perhaps guess the way her vote went. But long lines, lots of people and it's -- it's unclear tonight, immigration is front and center at Trump's rally. Look at what is playing on the screens where he will be speaking very different than what you just heard this one's saying your new apartment managers if is reelected playing of course off of the Colorado gang story.
And we're also getting some new numbers tonight from across the nation. So when you look at early voting -- I mean, we're in it. And I know we've been saying this that election day is three weeks away, but yet -- well here's the but yet, so far, more than five million ballots have been cast across 39 states. I mean, that's really incredible.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT live in Atlanta where Trump is about to speak.
And, Kristen, Trump has made no secret that Georgia is one and perhaps the most important state so this first day of early voting is very, very crucial. What do they see in these numbers?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, they're watching this very carefully but, Erin, I've got to tell you, what's been so interesting being here today we know what Donald Trump has said about early voting, he said repeatedly that people should vote on election day, that there should be paper ballots, while still trying to perpetuate this messaging at the same time that Republicans have said about how critical early voting is.
Here, it is very apparent how critical early voting is, every single speaker has talked about the fact that early voting is happening today. They have implored the people in the audience, if you have not gotten out today, show up tomorrow. We need people to show up and vote.
Now the other interesting thing spent about the last minutes in the lobby here talking to people, so many people wearing early voting stickers I asked people, did you do this in 2020? They said no, that they didn't believe in it in 2020, interesting change obviously between then. [19:05:07]
And you just heard this behind me, the speaker who just took the stage said that she just cast her ballot for Donald J. Trump. There is such an emphasis on this early voting now. The Republicans and that is something that behind the scenes, behind Donald Trump's rhetoric we know has been going on, we know that Republicans have been having a ground campaign in all of these various states to get people to show up and to cast their ballot.
That is something that is very clear tonight. Very interesting to see because it feels like a real difference -- at least talking to the people who are here today who said they early voted than 2020.
BURNETT: Yes, certainly so, and obviously, you know, was shift, there was more mail in voting then, but people taking this very seriously and as you say at a Trump rally where four years ago, he said he didn't trust it. That could be very significant.
Well, Kristen, thank you very much. He's at that Trump rally in Atlanta.
I want to go to David Axelrod OUTFRONT now.
So, David, when you look at this, record smashed and you know maybe some people who would have cast a mail in four years ago now are choosing to vote early. No matter how you look at it though, those -- these are huge numbers. These are big numbers. These are people turning out. These were lines.
And you heard Kristen say how the Trump campaign says that they think this could be good for them but you see it as a good sign for Harris.
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, yeah, I think, look, you have to analyze where the turnout is, is it's uniform across the state. It means one thing if it's concentrated in the Atlanta area, probably another. But, generally, even with this new emphasis on early voting, Trump had so conditioned Republican voters to vote on election day that he's -- they're trying to rip out the wiring now and get them to behave differently.
So I think there will be a greater participation of Republicans in early voting but the degree of it, I don't know. And you'd have to assume without the more in-depth analysis that this is a more encouraging to Democrats than -- than to Republicans.
BURNETT: So when you look at the numbers more than 300,000 ballots cast today, and Gabe sterling saying that that that's a you know record it's more than double what you saw last time around, it's astounding in terms of the increase.
So, you know, you heard what Christen was just reporting from people she saw at that Trump rally who said, well, they voted this time, they didn't believe in it before referring to 2020, because of what he said, but now, they feel differently. But what do you see in these numbers? I suppose whichever way they go,
when you talk about democracy being on the line as some so many people feel, what do you see when you see lines like this?
AXELROD: Well, listen, especially because there's been all kinds of -- all kinds of barriers discussed set up -- talked about in Georgia. And so, you know, to me, this is a statement on the part of people across the state that, hey, we're coming, we're going to vote. We're not going to be discouraged. And that I think is great.
Look, I want everybody to vote in an election. I think this is a sacred process that distinguishes democracies from dictatorships and this is the way we grab the wheel of history and turn it in the direction we think is right. So I'm happy to see people come out.
One thing I want to note about this Erin though, a lot of the people who you saw today are people who voted last time. Some of them may have voted early. Some of them may have voted on Election Day. What is going to be interesting is were there people who voted today who didn't vote at all last time and what motivated them to vote and what is their persuasion in this race.
So, you know, there is a -- there is a possibility that these Republican voters are coming out early were people who would have come out anyway and the same with Democrats and we just don't know what is -- but I'd say it's mildly encouraging for Democrats and certainly it's encouraging for democracy that a record is being broken, and it suggests -- you know, we'll see whether it has auguring for the turnout in the fall but it looks like we're headed for another big election.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, and there's something to be said, you see those lines uh in the car. I mean, waiting in the car and then inside in the convention center, I don't know. I mean, I see that.
You know, since it gives you goosebumps. It's amazing people are choosing to do this and choosing to wait on a day when they don't have to. There's a lot of other days they could still have and not putting it off and doing it and that is -- that is what makes America great.
Thank you so much, David. I appreciate it.
AXELROD: Okay. Good to be with you.
BURNETT: And Harry Enten joins me now from the magic wall.
So, Harry, you know, we talk about Georgia, you know, you're just looking here at these the specific numbers. Polls have closed on the first day of early voting, but Georgia matters so much. I mean, how it goes is an indicator of where the entire race is going. So that's why so much attention is on these early numbers. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah, I think that's exactly right, Erin. I mean, I should point out that Georgia is not even part of Kamala Harris's easiest path to 270 electoral votes. Donald Trump really needs to win the state. I mean, look, Kamala Harris's best path moves through the Great Lakes, right? She wins up there, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, gets her to 270. We can also potentially give her Nevada where she's been polling pretty decently. That gets her to 276.
Now, let's just say we give her the state of Georgia, right? That gets her to 292. This gives her a major margin for error because she could lose in Pennsylvania and she would still get 273 electoral votes.
If let's say we give that back to her, she could lose in Michigan again she's north of electoral votes. Let's say we give that back to her. She could lose in Wisconsin, and she still gets over 270 electoral votes, Erin.
And so the bottom line is this, Georgia is so pivotal to Donald Trump's path to 270 if Kamala Harris can win there, it throws his entire path off. It gives her a much larger room for error, Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah, I mean becomes not impossible but incredibly difficult for him to win without it.
So what do the polls tell you about Trump and Harris in Georgia?
ENTEN: It's so close. That's what the polls tell us. So if we take a look, I averaged all the polls, right? And what do we see, we see Donald Trump up by a point. Of course, remember, four years ago, Joe Biden won that state.
Why at this particular point does Donald Trump perhaps have the slightest advantage in the state of Georgia? Well, I think it comes down to Black voters. That's what it comes down to, because take a look here, if you look at the average among Black voters in the state of Georgia, you see that four years ago, Joe Biden won that vote by 82 points.
Look where Kamala Harris is today, she's only up by 72 points. So, 10- point drop off, something that is very consistent with what we see nationwide and the bottom line is if Georgia is consistent with what we see nationwide in terms of the drop off in Black voters, it has felt more in Georgia than any other state because swing states with the most Black voters, look at this, Erin, Georgia comes in number one at 30 percent.
If Kamala Harris can win over more black voters, she's likely to win the state of Georgia and make Donald Trump's path to 270 electoral votes seem like a pretty gosh darn long shot.
BURNETT: Yeah, that's certainly the case.
All right. Thank you so much, Harry.
ENTEN: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, we have more breaking news. Vice President Kamala Harris intensifying a specific attack on Trump, trying to convince Black voters to stick with her. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. Ask him.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, a popular Republican mayor in another crucial battleground state turning on Trump, throwing his support behind Kamala Harris. How come?
And as Washington welcomes its newest giant pandas, our David Culver travels exclusively where few have gone before, to see the natural habitat of pandas. Wait until you see what he was forced to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They don't want humans to become part of their everyday routine. So it's for that reason that we're suiting up to look like them. Does it look like a panda?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:17:19]
BURNETT: Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris intensifying her attacks on Trump as she makes a major play for Michigan's Black voters which is weeks into election day.
Just moments ago, Harris wrapping up a radio town hall with Charlamagne Tha God. Now, Charlamagne show and he -- it comes on this show and you know him, 8 million people listen to Charlamagne every month. His audience is loyal and his audience is part of a voting bloc that Harris is trying to court.
It is why she was relentless in doubling down on these attacks against Trump.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Part of the challenge that I face is that they are trying to scare people away because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on. Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for black America. Ask him. What -- you know, I'll tell you what it is, look at project 2025.
Project 2025 tells you the plan includes making police departments have stop and frisk policies, the plan includes making it more difficult for workers to receive overtime pay. His plan includes making it more difficult for working people to get by and to destroy our democracy.
Trump, of course, has said that he does not support Project 2025, although some who worked for him are very senior in its planning.
OUTFRONT now, Sherwin Hughes, Wisconsin radio host of "The Truth with Sherwin Hughes", and Republican strategist Joe Pinion.
So, Sherwin, you know, I know you had a chance to listen to Vice President Harris speak to Charlamagne Tha God, did Harris do what she needed to do in this interview?
SHERWIN HUGHES, WISCONSIN RADIO HOST: Absolutely. I think the first thing she needed to do was actually have the conversation with Charlamagne and address his listeners. And more importantly, the talkback feature that they had where people could actually chime in with their specific questions.
And she had an opportunity to clear up misinformation because there's still a lot of misconception about her, and her record because Donald Trump and his allies have destroyed in her record so much. So I think it was fantastic. I think she was lucid, she was comfortable, and I think that's the Kamala Harris that very well could win the White House.
BURNETT: Lucid, comfortable, Kamala Harris that could win the White House. I know - I know you don't -- you don't want her to win the White House, but do you agree with how she performed in that interview?
JOE PINION, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I believe that interview was a master class and why there is a statistically significant amount of Black men who are tired of listening to the media and done entertaining the Democratic Party.
You listen to Kamala Harris talk about a plan for Black America, they' rolled out a plan for Black America. My grandfather told me a very long time ago, never trust a man who promises to do tomorrow what they had the power to do yesterday.
If Kamala Harris was so committed to these plans for Black men in particular, she's had many instances where she could have done these things as a senator, as an attorney general and certainly in her capacity as a vice president.
[19:20:11]
So I do believe uh that when you have that type of interview, talking about a multi-trillion dollar plan for reparations, all while we ignore the fact that California has already studied reparations only for the Democrats that said they were committed to passing it to saying everyone actually going to write the check, Black men are tired of what appears to be empty promises coming from a Democratic Party.
BURNETT: So, Sherwin, Charlamagne asked Harris about something that has been, you know, she's been criticized for and has certainly been something that Trump supporters have criticized her for and that is coming off too scripted, okay? This obviously wasn't a scripted interview, but that but this has happened.
So here's the moment where he asked her in her response I want to play for you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, RADIO HOST: Folks say you come off as very scripted. They say you like to stick to your talking points and some media says you have --
HARRIS: That would be called discipline.
The reality is that there are certain things that must be repeated to ensure that I have everyone know what I stand for and the issues that I think are at stake in this election.
And so it requires repetition. You know, some people say that at if until someone has heard the same thing at least three times, it just doesn't stay with you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: What did you think that, Sherwin? She saying fine, I mean, well, she didn't say fine, called it scripted but she basically did. She said sometimes you got to say things three times until people hear you, and that that is repetition and discipline not being scripted.
HUGHES: That is precisely what it is. There are certain things that she needs to communicate to the American people over and over again especially as they are still getting to know her. So her repeating the same things while it might sound scripted it very much so is discipline. If you compare her to the Republican nominee who is incredibly unscripted and a lot of times he doesn't make any sense and he veers off of a -- off of a script and has no coherent message she is such a contrast to him, that is why she probably sounds scripted because Donald Trump is anything but.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, Joe, I mean, if you're honest with yourself, I'm sure there are sometimes where you would appreciate if your candidate would be more, quote/unquote, scripted.
PINION: Look, I think there's a few things happening here, right? I've said it many times on this network. Vice President Kamala Harris, she wants to have her cake and eat it too. She wants to have all the good things that come from the Biden administration. She wants to leave all the bags of the Biden administration behind her.
I think if you're just looking at the core issues pertaining to the Black community, the civil rights issue of our time is education. Democrats have nominated a woman who is against school choice, they have a vice presidential candidate who is against school choice, and you have the gatekeeper for a large voter bloc that didn't ask any real questions about the civil rights issue of our time, to say that we have schools where 80 percent of black children cannot read at proficient levels all across this country.
And so, it is a scourge that is preventing Black men from getting the tools they need in their young life to move forward. And I think if there are a lot of Black people who are saying Democrats have told us that Donald Trump is terrible, but I'm not going to allow my vote to be taken hostage by a party that continues to not deliver results every time I place my trust in their hands.
BURNETT: Sherwin, I'm curious what you think. You know, Jane Coaston was on last night and she was making a similar point to Joe obviously you know, not from a political point of view, but she's been studying right wing movement in this country. So, her point was that in Black America, people now feel that they can vote for whoever they want to and that for many is a shift from how they felt before, that there was sort of only one way that you were allowed to go.
I'm curious if you see it that way, Sherwin, and if you think that that's a good thing. You may not like the way some of them are going, but do you support the fact that there is now a freedom more than there used to be to vote for who you want?
HUGHES: Of course, but African-Americans know you vote for a party that actually has a concrete agenda for you. The only plan that Donald Trump has for the African-American community is allowing police complete immunity and giving police an hour to make things really bad. The only plan that Donald Trump has for the Black community is to take away our health care by reducing and eliminating the Affordable Care Act. The only plan that Donald Trump has for the Black community is suspending the Constitution.
So yes I think it's wonderful that we have choice as African-Americans who we vote for, but we know that a lot of our progress that has been gained has come through voting and voting for the right party and voting for a party that actually has a plan.
And the Republicans offer nothing. Donald Trump still has sketches of a plan and this is a man who was president for four years and literally did nothing but hurt Black unemployment or hurt Black employment rather, hurt investments in the African-American community pretended that COVID did not exist.
And the other thing is Republicans in the House and in the Senate have also helped Donald Trump be obstructionist so when my friend Joe talks about the, you know, the Democrats not being worth our vote, the Republicans have offered nothing but taking us back to a time that was no good for us anyway.
BURNETT: He did have a record low for Black unemployment.
PINION: Yeah, I would just simply say that to that point, right? I think we have to dispense with some of the talking points here.
[19:25:01]
Certainly, there is a fair way to interpret it, and to interpret facts irrespective of whether you're a Republican or Democrat. The fact remains pre-COVID, we had million new jobs created, we had record low unemployment for Black Americans and I think even if you move beyond you know all the conjecture.
When you look at what Black men are really moved by they're moved by the fact that that the Democratic Party is not actually treating them fairly, that you had the only Black Republican man in the Senate who ran for president being called the equivalent of a slave that Harriet Tubman should have left behind and no one lost their job and not a single person was fired.
And so I appreciate that Sherwin says that it's good to live in America where Black men can voice their opinion, independent of somebody telling them how to do so. But it is quite clear that from many people on the cable news that they have been given license to talk crazy and out of their neck about Black men who are not interested in voting for Kamala Harris and I think unfortunately, for not just the Democratic Party but America those chickens might come home to roost on November 5th.
BURNETT: All right. Joe, you get the last word because Sherwin has the first but I hope that you will both be back for another conversation very soon in these final days. So appreciate both of you.
And next, Geraldo Rivera, longtime friend and supporter of Donald Trump, but tonight, he is backing Harris, and Geraldo is live next.
Plus, as two giant pandas arrive in Washington, our David Culver will take you on an exclusive journey this is incredible this is when you say this job can be amazing, seeing pandas in the wild and as part of his journey, we're going to show you the lengths David had to go to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not only putting on just the suit by yourself you're also going to put panda's urine and poop on so you will have the scent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:11]
BURNETT: Tonight, Geraldo Rivera endorsing Kamala Harris for president. The broadcasting legend, longtime Fox News star who will be my guest in a moment calling Donald Trump a sore loser in a powerful takedown of his former friend. Geraldo saying in part and I quote: If you are a Republican, Donald Trump has made a liar of you. He has coaxed and intimidated tens of millions into pretending he was reelected in 2020, and that the election was stolen. Former President Trump is a sore loser who cannot be trusted to honor the Constitution. That is why I am voting for Kamala Harris to be our 47th president.
Geraldo Rivera now with NewsNation is now OUTFRONT.
And so, Geraldo, there it is. You are voting for Kamala Harris and you lay out the reason why there the Constitution, the fraud of the stolen election is this a vote for her as you think about it Geraldo or against Donald Trump.
GERALDO RIVERA, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: That is an excellent question, Erin. It's delightful to be with you. Thank you very much for inviting me. I -- when I think of the Kamala Harris vote, I think of Joe Biden and the Biden administration was reasonably successful in my view. Not perfect, they did a lot of things that were awful like paying no attention whatsoever to the southern border. It's come back to haunt them. The withdrawal from Afghanistan, that was awful, 13 lives lost unnecessarily.
But generally speaking, the economy, the relationship with the world, the functioning of our own government, things went along pretty well under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and I have every expectation that she will continue his good work. Bidenomics, they don't use that term very much anymore, but the fact of the matter is that inflation has been almost stopped.
There's been, you know, the employment situation has improved. Things are pretty good under Biden, they'll be hopefully pretty good under Kamala Harris. On the other hand, I think Donald Trump really represents -- I really do think that in Kamala Harris's words today that he is unfit.
I mean the fact that he made liars out of millions and millions of people, I ask my Republican friends and, of course, I'm still a Republican, I ask people, you know, how in the world can you pretend to believe that the election was stolen when there's no evidence of that whatsoever? How can you delude yourself, you make believe you're -- you should choke on this. It is absolutely so false.
This is the man that unleashed the riots on -- that invaded the Capitol of the United States. He tried to strong-arm the vice president of the United States into jigging around with the -- with the Electoral College.
BURNETT: And what do they say?
RIVERA: And he really is a sore loser.
BURNETT: What do they say when you -- when you --
RIVERA: Everyone says, you know, it's a greater good. You know, whatever -- if they go so far as to admit that they know that they are not being completely candid with themselves, honest with themselves to that extent, they see it as a marriage of convenience to be for Donald Trump. You know, many of them are high-end people who, you know, are happy about the tax situation, under -- under Donald Trump. He will, you know, reduce taxes for the high-end taxpayer.
Things have, you know, self-serving reasons that I -- you know, maybe have gone along with in past I refused now. The president and I -- President Trump and I have been estranged since very shortly after the last election because of his refusal to admit defeat.
BURNETT: Yes.
RIVERA: I worry what happens next, what happens if he loses, I worry. And if he wins, I worry.
[19:35:01]
BURNETT: So, Geraldo, you know, you talk about you've been estranged since after the election, and you know, look, this is personal for you and you waited until after the election and I'm not saying that critically I'm saying that because you had a friendship with him, you have a friendship that goes back almost 50 years, right? So there were times when things happened where you did support him and defended him in dark moments, before the two of you stopped speaking and I just wanted everyone to hear, you know, some of the things you said so that people understand how -- how personal this is.
So, here you are talking about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERA: I consider him a friend of mine. I think that he's done some great things.
I love Donald Trump. I still feel that he doesn't have an ounce of racism or evil or hatred in his body.
I'm -- I'm very proud of the way he has conducted himself as president-elect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, Geraldo, that was 2020 in the first one, 2017, and then 2016. I play that in the context of this -- how hard is it for you to come out against a longtime friend as you have chosen to do so, you know, because you think it's important so publicly.
RIVERA: It's not only, Erin, that he's a longtime friend, I also think he was a pretty good president and I think that his -- his term in office is largely underrated. He did a pretty good job with China and with the -- with the economy with tariffs and so forth. He did a, you know, the getting through the pandemic was extremely difficult.
I mean, Russia, Russia, bamming, bamming and bamming with that fake Russia tampering with our election. You know, I was proud to call him my friend. I'm proud of the time that we spend together.
Every time the phone rang here in the house and the president was on the line, it was -- it was excitement, even though my wife Erica did not -- you know, did not appreciate. She's a Democrat.
But what he did --
BURNETT: Yeah.
RIVERA: -- in the wake of the election is unforgivable and we can't lose sight of that.
He tried to distort the constitutional process. He tried to strong-arm the republic. He tried to with the -- with Mike Pence to make Pence be more loyal to him than to the Constitution of the United States. He is a sore loser and he would not be trusted, he could not be
trusted with honoring the Constitution. I -- you know, the one thing we had going with every other government on Earth was our tradition, multi-century tradition of the peaceful succession of government, one president to the next to the next to the next, and he called into question that very foundation stone of our democracy and to me that is, Erin, unforgivable.
BURNETT: So, Geraldo, you've been watching him and you've known him for a long time and you've known him in a personal way. You've seen him campaign, you've seen him as president.
So there's been a lot of focus on whether he has changed this time around. You know, "The New York Times" did the whole analysis right of how long his speeches are the words he uses, all of this.
Last night, there was that town hall. It was cut short -- two people had fainted and needed medical help. So it's understandable, of course, it was cut short. But as he finished the town hall, he then stayed on stage for nearly minutes, and he was sort of swaying to the music, looking at it the crowd and then you know just a playlist kind of went through, Harris campaign reacted, Geraldo, by saying, quote, hope he's okay, snark there.
Democrats were quick to question his mental acuity. But I just put that out there as an example from yesterday. I'm curious, Geraldo, as to -- as you watch him now and listen to him now, knowing him for a long time, do you think that that's fair? Do you think that he has changed?
RIVERA: I think he has changed in this regard, when I said in the clips that you played, you know, it was -- it was fun to take a trip down memory lane, but the clips that you played where I said he didn't have an ounce of racism in his body. That I based on my personal experience, in Trump Tower, seeing who worked for him and how he responded to people, how he responded to people in very personal way on the street and so forth.
What has changed is he came -- I see it now clear as day, he came to the realization that if he were to demonize undocumented immigrants, if he was to make the other the touchstone of the -- of the election, he could drive a train right from that ambition and that realization all the way to the White House.
He did and now he is doubling down on it in a way that is so scary, the way he speaks of Latino immigrants, is so blatantly racist, it is intolerable, poisoning the blood of our country, it's in their genes. I firmly believe that murder is in their genes.
Who's he talking about? Is he talking about me? Is he talking about my dad? Is he talking about my children?
You know, I think that it is unforgivable, intolerable and flat-out stone cold racist, and I -- and I don't use that term very often because I think it's misused and overused.
[19:40:05]
But you cannot otherwise explain how a guy who was a, you know, generally speaking a moderate, kind of -- I didn't even know whether it was a Democrat or Republican in the days when we were coming up together, I saw him as a charismatic figure, a very sympathetic figure in many ways, a -- you know, larger than life, it was so fun, you know?
But this is not fun. This is not fun. The division that he has sown is not fun. It is -- it is a -- in so many ways, it's really sickening, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Geraldo, I appreciate you're taking the time. I'm glad to talk to you again, and thanks for sharing this.
RIVERA: My -- my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
BURNETT: All right. And next, Kamala Harris cheering on the oil industry but our KFILE has uncovered that she has not always been their biggest supporter.
Plus, a CNN exclusive, our David Culver going where few journalists have gone before, to the mountains where China's beloved pandas live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:13]
BURNETT: Tonight, Governor Tim Walz cheering on the U.S. oil industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America is producing more natural gas and more oil than at any time in our history.
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BURNETT: Which echoes the same message that we've been hearing from Kamala Harris recently.
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HARRIS: We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over- rely on foreign oil.
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BURNETT: But as our KFILE reports tonight, this is a very sharp turn from where Harris once stood on this issue not so very long ago, and KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski is OUTFRONT.
So, Andrew, pounding the table for the U.S. oil industry and oil production but not the way it always was. What did you find? ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yeah, that's right, Erin.
And this really shows sort of just how far left that Kamala Harris got in that 2019 Democratic primary when she was running with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, she was making this extremely bold promise that she was going to take the U.S. oil industry possibly criminally prosecute them for their role in climate change. She compared it to big tobacco, saying they knew the effects of climate change. But they hid it from the public.
Now we saw there fast forward to 2024, what are her and Tim Walz doing. They are touting the record domestic oil production from those same oil companies during the Biden/Harris administration. And well, how big of a shift is this?
Well, take a listen to just one of those comments from 2019.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you order your Justice Department and your attorney general to investigate Chevron and Shell companies for their part in the -- and their damage to our planet in this climate crisis?
HARRIS: I'm saying about these big oil companies and these fossil fuel companies, look, you should be really prepared to look at a serious fine or be charged with a crime, and they need to pay the price. So yes is the answer.
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KACZYNSKI: And that's very different from obviously what we played in the intro here. But that was not the only time she made comments like this. This was very much a theme for her.
Take listen to a few other comments that she made in 2019.
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HARRIS: I took on big oil companies and won.
We've taken on the big oil companies who are polluting.
I took on oil companies who are polluting our environment.
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BURNETT: All right. Obviously, that is extremely different than what she is presenting right now. But this isn't the only thing that she's flipped on that you found and you found a lot of other inconsistencies.
KACZYNSKI: Yeah. She's flip-flopped on a lot of issues related to energy. Take a look at just a few of them. She said she was going to ban plastic straws. She said she was going to ban fracking. We have heard a lot about that. And she said she would eliminate the filibuster to pass the pass the green new deal. Now, she also ran Facebook ads during that campaign, which were
touting her support for the green new deal, which were saying that she was going to take on big oil to stop for their role in contributing to climate change.
And now why is she doing this, Erin? Well, a recent poll that came out from Gallup actually shows that climate change ranks as the second least important issue to voters in that poll. And obviously, Pennsylvania, where were seeing a lot of the fracking stuff is very important.
BURNETT: Right? Right. And Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor, has charted a very moderate path on that issue and been very supportive of the things that many progressives have had disliked there.
All right. Thank you so much, Andrew Kaczynski of KFILE.
So let's go now OUTFRONT to Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona. He as a Republican, but he is supporting Kamala Harris. You're seeing him here in a brand new ad for her on your screen.
And I want to ask you about that Mayor Giles. I suppose first though, in the context of your decision to support Kamala Harris, when you hear this reporting about Harris flip-flopping on some of these issues or changing her view on some of these issues depending how you would feel comfortable phrasing it. Does -- do you think any of that matters to you or not?
MAYOR JOHN GILES (R), MESA, ARIZONA: Well, it absolutely matters. I think I would have hesitated to endorse the Kamala Harris than it was the candidate in the 2019 Democratic primary. Obviously, she has evolved as a -- as a government official.
I think the last four years where she was riding shotgun with Joe Biden, responding to world crises and domestic issues have been tremendously valuable in her evolution as a leader and I think she's come to realize that you govern from the center. You solve problems from the center.
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So I think its important that the message is that she's delivering now, you don't get widespread and particularly in places like Arizona.
BURNETT: Alright, so in Arizona, obviously, one of the states at ground zero, the immigration crisis and Arizona voters have had in polls, Mayor, shown that they trust Trump more than Harris on this issue by 55 to 42 percent. That's just the latest poll that we have, sir, from "The New York Times," and Trump did receive just the other day the endorsement of the 16,000 member border patrol union and then union's president when they came out with this endorsement, said this about Kamala Harris.
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PAUL PEREZ, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL UNION: If we allow border czar Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to go to hell
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BURNETT: Mayor, I know you see it very differently. Why is he so wrong?
GILES: Well as someone who has been a mayor in a border state for the last ten years, I can tell you that this is a very real issue that cities like Mesa, Arizona, have to deal with.
And so we've been complaining and shouting up, you know, jumping up and down asking for federal assistance for decades in Arizona. And so, it has been frustrating and this is a real crisis. But that frankly is exactly why we were so frustrated with Donald Trump derailing, you know, the assistance that we would he received in that bipartisan legislation that Senator Sinema and Senator Lankford and others worked so hard on.
So, that's exactly -- everyone's right. The border is a crucial issue and especially in places like Arizona, Kamala Harris has to explain why Donald Trump deserves the blame for that.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time, Mayor Giles, and thanks so much for being with us.
GILES: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, a CNN exclusive with our David Culver. He goes to great lengths to see the majestic pandas somewhere most of us never will get to see and that is in the wild as the U.S. today welcomes back to the National Zoo two giant pandas.
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BURNETT: Tonight CNN gets exclusive access to pandas and two giant pandas from China arrived in Washington, D.C. today which, you know, is important. It's an important moment in U.S.-China relations. It matters a lot to China.
CNN's David Culver was the only American reporter to actually witnessed the sendoff and preparations firsthand and to visit their habitat. But that required David to both dress and smell the part.
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DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're saying, Bao Li and Qing Bao, have a safe trip.
You are getting a very rare the look at the panda sendoff here in China.
I've never been this close to a panda but there she is.
A few hours earlier, a private farewell for the three-year-old panda pair, and a ceremonial transfer of care from China to the U.S.
We've got here a few days ahead of the sendoff.
I made it. It's a long journey.
Traveling to Chengdu and meeting up with panda keepers from the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Thanks for making time. I know you guys are busy, Mario, Trish.
We catch them just outside the pandemic quarantine zone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was what I worked for and it feels so surreal.
CULVER: The majestic mountains of Sichuan province or the natural habitat for these beloved creatures.
Chances of us actually seeing went out here, we're told, are quite slim.
We're granted access to a reserve that tourists aren't allowed, joining the researchers from the Smithsonian who specialized in panda rewilding or efforts to reintroduce them to their natural habitat.
MELISSA SONGER, CONSERVATIION BIOLOGIST, SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO: Part of the reason for putting them in an area like this, and keeping them away from people is so that they're not acclimatize to people. You wouldn't want to release a panda and have them approach a village, for example.
CULVER: We're told we can meet some of the forest panda trackers. But first, we need to suit up.
All right. Let's try it.
A panda suit, just in case we stumbled across a panda cub. They don't want humans to become part of their everyday routine.
So it's for that reason that we're suiting up to look like them.
Does it looks like a panda?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're not only putting on just the suit by itself. You're also going to put panda's urine and poop on so you have the sense.
CULVER: Has that been on this suit before?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is clean. It's being cleaned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So if -- if they sense on a signal that a cub is nearby, they're going to put on a hood into hiding.
CULVER: Conservation efforts like these are funded in part by the panda exchange program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our two guys that came over 20 years ago.
CULVER: Zoos like the Smithsonian's pay $1 million a year to host a pair of giant pandas, adding to the pressure.
BRANDIE SMITH, DIRECTOR, SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL ZOO: Would just imagine everything we do, the entire world is watching, and there's no margin for error.
CULVER: Especially given how beloved pandas are in places like Chengdu, that creatures are larger than life here.
And their most loyal fans stand hours in line to catch a glimpse of their favorite ones.
You could say like everybody gets super excited, they've already got their positions.
And there are even panda influencers like A'Qiu, who post content from his bedroom.
So, you're into pandas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I should -- sorry, before we start, can we just move one big panda to that one there?
CULVER: Which doubles as a studio.
Why do you love them so much?
A'QIU, PANDA INFLUENCER: Cute, so cute.
CULVER: The pandas that go part of the exchange program from here in China to the U.S., what do you make of that?
A'QIU (through translator): This is an agreement between China and the U.S. and because I love my country and I love pandas, I support it.
CULVER: The panda exchange for panda diplomacy dates back to 1972. President Nixon's historic visit sparking China to send pandas to the U.S.
And now to many other countries.
Months of planning to pull off this transfer and in Washington, renovations to make sure Bao Li and Qing Bao's new home is just right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tree trimming here also. We know they're going to climb. They love to climb.
CULVER: The zoos been advertising pandas are coming and now, they've arrived.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CULVER (on camera): Sixteen hours in the air all together for that panda pair, Erin. They're going to spend about days in quarantine according to zoo officials, then they're going to debut to the public in January, January 24th is now the official date, they just announced that and I feel like every time you and I have talked about U.S.- China, it does tend to be about something about conflict about tensions. This shows that amidst all of that, panda diplomacy 50-plus years strong can push through.
BURNETT: It really does and it does matter while there is that that level of kind of cuteness to it, it matters so much.
Well, David Culver, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
And thanks to all of you as always for being with us.
Anderson starts now.
