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Laura Coates Live
Backlash to Trump's MSG Rally Hits Fever Pitch; Michelle Obama Attacks Trump; Jeff Bezos Breaks His Silence; Steve Bannon to be Released from Prison; Wrestling Superstars Battle for Votes. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired October 28, 2024 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Officials in Oregon have identified what they are calling a suspect vehicle that they say is tied to a pair of fires at ballot boxes. According to the "Associated Press," Portland and police say that the fires in that city and then in Vancouver, Washington are linked and that this car was involved in them.
The county election director says that nearly all of the ballots in the fire there were protected by fire suppressants. They say that three were damaged. However, the AP is also reporting that hundreds of ballots were damaged in the fire in Washington State.
Thank you very much for watching "NewsNight: State of the Race." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So tonight, did Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden totally backfire? And does his campaign even care? The new reporting tonight with just, yep, eight days to go.
Plus, Jeff Bezos breaks his silence. "The Washington Post" owner drops an op-ed in his own paper explaining why he blocked the endorsement of Kamala Harris.
And Hulk Hogan is on Trump's side of the ring. But Harris has a wrestler in her own corner. Mick Foley, AKA "Mankind," is my guest tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
With just eight days left and polls at a virtual stand, so you might be wondering, are there really any voters whose minds can still be changed? Well, after what happened at Donald Trump's New York City rally last night, some in his camp are worried about this very thing, worrying that his closing argument was overshadowed by controversy. One source close to Trump says -- quote -- "I'm livid," especially over this comment from a comedian, who was part of a Trump warmup act at the garden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HINCHCLIFFE, COMEDIAN: There's a lot going on, like, I don't know if you, guys, know this but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it's called Puerto Rico.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: That's just, by the way, one example. It puts malice at the palace to shame. Call this one maybe grievance at the garden. Puerto Rican superstars lining up to signal support for Harris after that comment from Bad Bunny to Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Marc Anthony. Will it spark, though, some Latino voters who have been increasingly embracing Trump to now rethink their support? I'll ask veteran TV journalist and former Trump ally, Geraldo Rivera, that very question in just a moment.
Now, the campaign is disavowing the so-called, and I do mean so-called joke, but wasn't funny, let alone accurate. They say it does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign. That's it. That's the full -- there's no ellipse. That's the sentence. And Trump himself hasn't said anything about it. At least not yet, anyway. His running mate, though, Senator J.D. Vance, well, he had more to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A comedian told a joke, and I don't think that's news worth making. I think what is news is that Americans can't afford their groceries because Kamala Harris has been a terrible vice president. Maybe I just grew up with a grandmother who had an especially foul mouth.
But you know what I do -- you know what I do when I think a joke is dumb or not funny? I don't laugh. I don't create -- I don't create a fake outrage cycle to distract from the fact that our Americans -- our fellow Americans can't afford to buy housing. That is outrageous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Hmm. Maybe asking yourself, if the Trump campaign and camp is distancing itself from the joke, well, how did it end up there in the first place? Do they really not know anything about it?
Tonight, we're learning that there are still disputes over who actually approved the comedian's set. One advisor telling CNN no one reviewed his remarks in full. Another says the campaign was not given a draft that included some of his more incendiary jokes. But it did flag one that called Harris the C-word, saying it was -- quote -- "in poor taste."
Now, Harris, for her part, was campaigning across Michigan today and called it more of the same, fueling of hate and division from Donald Trump. Barack Obama, though, used some other adjectives tonight in the rally in Pennsylvania, home to about half a million Puerto Ricans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The warm-up speakers were saying the most -- were trotting out and peddling the most racist, sexist, bigoted stereotypes. If somebody does not respect you, if somebody does not see you as fellow citizens with equal claims to opportunity, to the pursuit of happiness, to the American dream, you should not vote for them.
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(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining me now, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist, Geraldo Rivera, who has endorsed --
GERALDO RIVERA, PEABODY AND EMMY-AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: Hi, Laura.
COATES: -- Kamala Harris for president. Geraldo, good to see you. Let's just get right into this because a floating island of garbage, and then Puerto Rico in the same sentence, it's unbelievable to think about this would have been said. You call this hate speech. Is this a moment that is going to be a turning point in Trump's campaign?
RIVERA: I believe it is. And I may be, you know, naive or don't understand the business of politics, but I sense, Laura, after a lifetime in this business, that this is a watershed moment. I believe, and I don't think it's overstating, that historians will look back at this moment and say that's where Donald Trump lost the Latino vote, that's where he lost the vote of many people of color, people who were drifting toward him for some reason inexplicable, some reasons that maybe they just wanted to get on the Trump train.
But I believe that Trump peaked last night, and I believe that the polls will show that. This was so disgustingly insulting. This was so racist. But what it did, Laura, was to open and lay bare what was implied in President Trump's remarks for this -- most of this campaign, talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of our nation, immigrants have a gene, a trick gene that makes them more prone to homicide. You know, this -- this is such slander, racial slander.
And the fact that this comedian could feel comfortable enough to go on that stage, what was to be his President Trump's finale, his closing argument, and to make it instead this lowdown and dirty racial remark, he made overt, this comedian, what was implied in the Trump campaign, and that is an undercurrent of racism that is deeply disturbing.
COATES: You know, Geraldo, when you lay it out the way you have, I cannot help but think of two things. One, there's a distancing of people from those comments, from the campaign itself. Trump certainly is not the one to have said those specific words, but I take your point about the overall context. Then you also have the fact that in spite of the building up to this moment of a closing argument, he's virtually tied in spite of the rhetoric. So why do you think this time, it would be different?
RIVERA: Well, I mean, the fact that he has got half of the country, I think that is -- that -- again, historians will ponder that question. I think that this -- there is a deep division. And I'm not condemning Trump supporters. I believe that they are in some ways very deceiving themselves about why Trump is even a candidate. How is this man not disqualified? This is a man who you can't trust to honor the Constitution. This is a man who stabbed the Constitution in the back on January 6th in the attack on democracy and peaceful succession and all the rest of that. And yet he did, and yet he is, and the president, former president, I believe, is appealing to the basest, lowest instincts --
COATES: Hmm.
RIVERA: -- of people who are disgruntled and want to do anything they can to fight Kamala Harris and the Democrats. I'm not a Democrat, I'm a Republican. I have liked and supported Donald Trump for a long time. But he now has gone beyond the pale, and it is intolerable, Laura.
COATES: Well, Geraldo, some Republicans like Senator Rick Scott, for example, were very quick to distance themselves from the comments. Others like Vivek Ramaswamy called this selective outrage, and he pointed to a George Lopez remark about stereotyping Mexicans as thieves during a Tim Walz rally today -- yesterday in Arizona. Listen to that moment.
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GEORGE LOPEZ, COMEDIAN: Donald Trump said he was going to build the wall. And George Lopez said, you better build it in one day because if you leave that material out there overnight --
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, what's your response to those who are saying that like Vivek Ramaswamy? This is somehow selective outrage.
RIVERA: This is not -- this was so blatant and odious.
[23:09:57]
This was so deeply disturbing to any -- any man or woman, especially any Latino man to whom the Republican Party or Donald Trump is appealing, any Latino man who does not understand that a vote for Donald Trump is a vote against his own self-respect, is a vote against his self-esteem.
When George Lopez does this, it's the same thing as using the N-word. You know, there are people who are living in a life and put humor in their own experience. God bless them. Say anything you want about yourself. But when you attack me and mine and my family and my grandparents and my parents, I take it very, very personally.
Puerto Rico is a perennially-embattled place. It has been neglected. It has been mismanaged. I want Puerto Rico to be a state, to have the checks and balances of statehood. That's my personal preference.
But we are a people -- you know -- and Puerto Rico is part of the United States, and I hasten to add that Puerto Ricans are citizens and they are voting, but it is -- we live on kind of the edge. The poorest by far. It's half the GDP of Mississippi. Lots and lots of people are in need. It is a place without electricity half the time when the wind blows over 20 miles an hour.
We need -- we need to know that our leaders respect us. We need not to be, you know, concerned when people say or they're eating cats and dogs, the Haitians, or compare us with the invaders. You know, I just think that we have to stand up and we have to make sure that we cast the ballot and have our voices heard, Laura.
COATES: Geraldo Rivera, thank you. I want to pick up this very moment in conversation with our panel who's sitting with me. Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and former special assistant to President Trump, Marc Lotter.
I want to begin with that point that he was making to suggest that, I believe his suggestion was, If George Lopez is saying it as a Mexican- American and talking about Mexican-Americans, somehow it is fine, similar to a Black person using the N-word to describe themselves or the world around them in some way.
Is this convincing, though, to voters who will look at this and say, no, no, I'm offended when you use the word, when you talk about anybody, and it does cancel each other out? Is that a possibility or is what this comedian, I hate to use that term lightly here, is saying? It is so beyond the pale, that it's not a conversation about how we repossess terms of criticism.
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR FOR BERNIE SANDERS'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: It's an ongoing narrative in the story of this election. It's almost over. I can't believe it's almost over. We're at this point (INAUDIBLE). It's a self-afflicted wound that didn't need to happen.
And strategists like me cringe at these moments because it could literally end your campaign and this could end his campaign. I'm not being hyperbolic, but there's a lot of Puerto Ricans in battleground states. And I was there walking the couch Sunday when I saw it. I not only run the largest Latino political consulting firm, I run one of the largest Latino PACs.
And I went out on Twitter and said, somebody give me $30,000 so I can send this clip to every Puerto Rican in Pennsylvania to tell them what I think about. And I raised that money in six hours because that's how outraged people were.
And I think that's the big difference here. You got to show some respect, especially with Puerto Ricans. They're a very powerful bunch. If any of you have ever been to a Puerto Rican parade, I'll say two things. First thing you do is you don't ever, ever say anything about their island. And two, you don't say nothing bad about Bad Bunny. That's the only two rules you really got.
(LAUGHTER)
COATES: Well, Marc, you were at mass in Square Garden. MARC LOTTER, FORMER TRUMP 2020 DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I was.
COATES: I am really curious. Take a temperature off the room for us. How did that play in the crowd among voters, but also how did it play among strategists who knew this was a closing argument moment and the wounds that could have been inflicted could be catastrophic to any campaign?
LOTTER: So, I think the first thing we have to remember is this happened about three and a half or four hours before the president took the stage. This was very early in the pre-program. I think -- you know, I got there at 12:30. I think the speaker started at 2:30. The president went on at 7:30 at night.
So, this was -- the crowd was still filing in. People were still getting food. They were saying hi to people who they hadn't seen in a while. It was a giant family reunion. And I think there were some people back there. You heard it. They kind of turned around and noticed. You did not hear like the roar of laughter or those kinds of things.
And a lot of his comments I've seen kind of felt there was kind of like a -- like a polite -- very muffled because, again, the room is filling up.
COATES: Well, you know it doesn't have legs. And so, as a strategist thinking about this, you've now heard it, you know it is not going anywhere, the comment.
This is -- by the way, I looked back to look and see some of the past remarks. I mean, in 2017, he has made comments about -- from Hurricane Maria, called it at one point an absolutely -- a place of absolutely no hope. He lashed out at Puerto Rico in 2019, calling it one of the most corrupt places on earth before approaching hurricane screw the island. And go along with this --
[23:14:58]
LOTTER: He's an insult comedian. I think it is the way they describe him.
COATES: No, I mean, I'm talking about Trump at that point. So, when you talk about Trump having said these things, yes, this comedian said it, but does it have legs to be attributed to Trump? Even though it was beforehand, he was his opening act.
LOTTER: No, I don't think it can be. One, they have distanced themselves from it. They immediately put out a statement saying that this was not something that was supported by the campaign or by the president. And people do remember that he was down there after the hurricanes.
COATES: Uh-hmm.
LOTTER: He was delivering millions of dollars in aid. He was begging the local government down there, the state government, to invest in upgrading their power grid because they had been hit multiple times over and over again. And so, I understand it from --
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, JOURNALIST FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, PODCAST HOST: Come on.
LOTTER: -- Kamala Harris's standpoint. She needs this. She has to change the narrative. She's shifting away, and she's going into grievance campaign.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I appreciate --
LOTTER: The fascist Nazi rally --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I appreciate, I appreciate, I appreciate the attempt to sort of justify this, but the fact is that they had a rally. These people were vetted. They took the time to take away the C-word out of his set, which, you know, I guess they should get a medal for that, all things considered.
That wasn't the only offensive thing he said. He also talked about things that are actually kind of, we can't really discuss here, but about how Latinos procreate and use very vulgar terms for it. I mean, he's an insult comic.
But this is the kind of language that is inexplicable if you are trying to win the Latino vote. Okay? This is the kid of language that not only offends Puerto Ricans but, you know, I'm Cuban. Mexican- Americans -- I mean nobody likes it when their home country is called garbage.
COATES: We are calling Americans garbage, right? More broadly, which is --
LOTTER: And I'm not -- I'm not --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: But he has called America a garbage. He has already said -- he has already said that the United States is like a trash heap. So, this is by extension -- you know, their home island is like a trash heap. I mean, Puerto Ricans are Americans. You know, there's Cuban-Americans, there are Mexican-Americans, we are all Americans.
And so, I think the problem here is that when you start to use this kind of language, it is different than George Lopez making that joke. You can find George Lopez funny or not find George Lopez funny. I personally don't find George Lopez that funny. But, you know, at the end of the day, it's his culture and he's talking about it. That's very different.
LOTTER: I think the one thing we're misreading here is the reason why they're losing massive amounts of the Black vote, the massive amounts of Hispanic and Latino vote, is because people can't afford gas and groceries. They're not -- they can't get a mortgage for a home. Our border is wide open and our world is at war. This joke doesn't change that. And so, I think for many people, those fundamentals and the American dream that Barack Obama talked about, they can't get the American dream because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, not because of some very vile joke.
ROCHA: I'm working on -- look, they don't pay me to be pretty on T.V., they pay me to win elections, and I'm working on elections from New York to California, and none of elections is Donald Trump massively winning either one of those votes.
If you want me to say that some of the Latino men vote has eased their way towards being Trump curious, I'll give you that every day. And maybe two or 3% of Black men. Absolutely. And we can't afford to lose those. I'll give you that strategically.
But I'll tell you what we're not talking about is what you're talking about because Republicans have got a message that could work if you could get your boy to stay on message. But what we're talking about today, ain't gas and groceries. So that's another good day for Kamala Harris.
On top of that, Chuck Rocha and a lot of other people sent that text to every Puerto Rican in Georgia. So, that's when you start having a double whammy of what gives us a chance to win in an election that should be hard for us to win because of the economic headwinds that we face. But this is how Kamala Harris wins if we're having to talk about this seven-days out.
COATES: Well, we'll see how -- I mean, yeah, eight to almost seven days away. Thinking about it, not the strategy you want to employ in your closing argument. Thank you so much, everyone.
A surreal day ahead on the campaign trail. Kamala Harris had to give a speech at The Ellipse, to same place where Donald Trump told his supporters to fight like hell on January 6th, just as Steve Bannon, yes, Steve Bannon, gets set to walk out of prison. New reporting and insight in a day that could very well define this race again, next.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I hope that you will forgive me if I'm a little angry that we are indifferent to his erratic behavior, his obvious mental decline, his history as a convicted felon --
(APPLAUSE)
-- a known -- a known slumlord, a predator found liable for sexual abuse. All of this, while we pick apart Kamala's answers from interviews that he doesn't even have the courage to do, you all. (APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: That's former first lady, Michelle Obama, excoriating Donald Trump. She's leaving behind the seven words she said in 2016. You remember them. When they go low, we go high. Instead, she went for a takedown of Trump in Michigan on Saturday. And tonight, Trump responded with a refrain you might remember from 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what was nasty to me? Michelle Obama. She was -- ooh. I always tried to be so nice and respectful. Ooh, she opened up a little bit of a -- a little bit of a box. She opened up a little bit of something. Oh, she was nasty. Ooh. Shouldn't be that way. That was a big mistake that she made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining me now, national co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas. You're already shaking your head. What do you say to this idea of the first lady, Michelle Obama, opening a Pandora's box and making a big mistake by going after Trump?
REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): Yeah, this is a guy that loves to wage all types of fights and wars. And we know that in Project 2025, that is one of the doors that he wants to walk into to be able to weaponize the Department of Justice in the way that he has projected has happened to him when we know that he's just a criminal.
[23:25:00]
Like, some people are just criminals, and he has made this up. And it's one of the reasons that he's really dangerous. And we can't allow him to go in to the White House because we can't have someone that's going to consistently try to go after their perceived political enemies if it's Taylor Swift or Michelle Obama.
COATES: It tells me there's a lot of antithetical notions to democracy and what is being pushed by the Harris campaign specifically as him being a threat to democracy. And she'll give a speech tomorrow --
CROCKETT: Yes.
COATES: -- the vice president, on The Ellipse where Donald Trump spoke before what happened actually on January 6th.
CROCKETT: Yes.
COATES: There's a new poll out by CNN, though, Congresswoman Crockett, that found that Harris only leads Trump by four points on the question of who voters trust to protect democracy. How can Harris convince voters that she indeed can do just that?
CROCKETT: Yeah, I'd have to ask those in the poll, how do they define democracy?
COATES: Hmm.
CROCKETT: And I think that that's the problem. I think that we have this thwarted definition of democracy, right? Because how could you support someone who pals around with the likes of Putin and decides that he is going to send COVID test to Putin before he takes care of U.S. citizens that are dying to the tune of almost a million, right? So, I think that we have kind of mixed up what does democracy mean.
COATES: Hmm.
CROCKETT: There are those that challenge us all the time from the right saying, well, you all ain't got it right, we don't live in a democracy. But I do think that it is important that she is going to return to the crime of the scene or the scene of the crime. And I think that she's going to lay out and try to remind people of what happened here under his leadership.
What was January 6th? Because they are trying to rewrite history and pretend as if this was a beautiful day. There was nothing beautiful about the slaughter that we saw take place.
And it's interesting because if you talk to Black folk, Black folk don't believe that they would have ever gotten that far into the Capitol in the first place because this was an act of violence, because there were over a thousand people that have been charged and many of them have already been convicted. We need to see the difference.
And because he's too afraid to get dog-walked on another, um, debate stage, I think that this is a good way to kind of draw out the difference, by returning to the exact same scene, and let's see what her message looks like versus the one that he delivered on January 6.
COATES: Going after one's political enemies smacked of fascism, a word that we're hearing a lot of. There has been some reluctance by people like Senator Bernie Sanders to have that word be used. There's reporting from "The New York Times" that a pro-Harris Super PAC is actually wanting the campaign to pivot away from calling Trump a fascist and saying in a memo it's -- quote -- "not that persuasive." Instead, they wanted to focus on the economy.
You've been all around this country with this campaign. What should her closing argument and message be?
CROCKETT: I'm going to tell you like this. I think that the voters that have already decided that they're Harris voters understand the threat that he is. They understand that he is a fascist. I think the voters that we're still trying to get to probably could care less and may not even fully understand what it means. It's just like you put up the poll about democracy. I think what they do know is whether or not they have enough money to make it to the next check. What they do know is whether or not they can afford their groceries. What they do know is whether or not they can afford childcare. And so, she has plans and not concepts of plans for all these things.
While Project 2025 and Trump's plan is to get rid of things such as Head Start, she wants to make sure that we bring back the child tax credit, which would allow for families to have up to $300 per child a month in relief to help them when they are struggling with things such as childcare.
When we're starting to talk about the cost of food, let me tell you, Democrats are ready to pass a farm bill. It's the Republicans that want to cut the $30 billion from SNAP benefits and so, therefore, they refuse to pass a farm bill.
But we want to make sure that those that are struggling and only getting that $6 a day to eat, that they can have that money. We also understand the importance of investing in people.
And so, when you're looking at the fact that she's laid out a plan for a million new loans with up to $20,000 per loan for newly-created small businesses, $20,000 being forgivable, that means that now we're creating new businesses, and we know that the backbone of our economy is small businesses.
And so, this means that we're giving people an opportunity to build those legacies that will carry on for years and years and years, but also put them into a situation where they're not relying on somebody else to pay them a fair wage, but instead they can go out and make their own money.
COATES: Leave it to a lawyer for the closing argument. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, thank you so much.
CROCKETT: Good to see you.
COATES: Good to see you.
Look, according to NPR, Jeff Bezos has cost "The Washington Post," get this, 200,000 subscribers. Why? For not allowing his paper to endorse in this race.
[23:30:02]
He topped the ticket one. Well, tonight, Bezos is explaining why in his own words. Is his reasoning fair? What about the timing? We'll get into it with Kara Swisher, next.
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COATES: Thousands of subscribers leaving editors and columnists resigning and faith wavering in an American institution. Tonight, Jeff Bezos defending his decision to end presidential endorsements in the paper that he owns, I'm talking about "The Washington Post," writing tonight -- quote -- "no quid pro quo of any kind is at work here. Neither campaign nor candidate was consulted or informed at any level or in any way about this decision. It was made entirely internally."
[23:34:58]
With me now, Kara Swisher, a CNN contributor, a "New York Times" opinion contributing writer and host, of course, of the podcast "Sway." Kara, I am eager to get your take because I have to ask you about this argument he's making. He is suggesting that Americans don't trust the media and that endorsements create a perception of bias. So, there should be no endorsements.
KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Okay.
COATES: Do you agree with that logic?
SWISHER: No, I don't -- I don't know when he's just caught up on the fact that the media is not liked. I think it has been since colonial times when the media wasn't liked. It was just that short period when the Watergate happened and "The Washington Post" sort of saved democracy, and they liked us then for that.
I didn't understand this piece at all. It was sort of Jeff Bezos made the right decision by Jeff Bezos. You know, that kind of thing. You know, the problems facing me are so complex, and it was -- and he knows them. That's the problem here.
I don't -- I'm not sure what he was writing here. It was sort of -- it was a perplexing piece of a bit of arrogance and sort of excuse making rather than saying, I made a silly mistake and I went -- he could not have an endorsement. That's fine. It's just that he didn't -- he did it a week before the election or 10 days.
I don't know what this thing says, but the problems with media are myriad, including social media, including the collapse of the business model, including all kinds of things, as well as Donald Trump attacking the media for four years, calling the enemy of the state. So, it's a little more complex, and he knows better.
COATES: I mean, it reads a little bit like it's good to be the king, right? It's my money, my paper, I'll do what I want. But --
SWISHER: I would have preferred that. I would have preferred that.
COATES: I mean, certainly, that's the criticism, is that it's not genuine that he's saying what he's saying. And the timing is the factor as well as a point of this because the timing is that they were set to endorse not just someone, but Harris specifically. And NPR is now reporting that more than 200,000 readers have canceled their subscription since just last week.
So, has his decision, do you think, caused more people to actually lose trust in the media and the paper similarly?
SWISHER: Yeah. I think it wasn't over the Harris thing. They're making so many straw men here as we shouldn't have endorsements. Well, the last time they didn't was back in, like, the last century. Like, they did it for a short period. And so, pretending they're going back to tradition is just not true.
You know, I think it's -- I don't know about that number. Who knows what that number is. We have to see it from the Post itself. But it's not good for a company that was struggling already to be losing subscribers over such just an unforced error like this. If they wanted to do no endorsement, they should have done it six months ago. Maybe he was busy. I don't know what he was doing, but he could have decided then instead of right now. The timing is bad.
And again, he spent a lot of time defending himself about quid pro quo. I don't think that's really the issue. It's that, you know, this was an independent group of editors that were pushed down by the owner, which had -- who had never done that before, by the way.
Jeff has been a pretty good owner for most of the tenure that he has had here. But he just seems ill-equipped to understand the challenges of the modern media age. And he's rich. Okay, I'll give him that. That's really what he's got. But this was a real mistake. Real mistake on his part.
COATES: Do you think that -- should this have happened? If it had happened, say, several months ago, or a year ago, or four years ago --
SWISHER: Sure.
COATES: -- they were not going to weigh in the future. Do you think that newspapers should be in this particular not space of endorsement?
SWISHER: I don't know. It's one of these debates you have in sort of an egg heady way. I don't know. Maybe if you want to, maybe if you don't. It doesn't really matter. I don't think it moves voters. That's not the point. It's that this is just -- I don't think you should do things just for tradition.
And if he doesn't want to do them, sure. But why now? Why this? It creates all kinds of possible conflicts of interest. It makes people wonder, it makes people question. If he's talking about trust in media, there's no trust in Jeff Bezos here, even if he deserves trust.
You know, you just don't know the Blue Origin thing, which he spent a lot of time. Trump visited Blue Origin, his space company. It just looked bad all over the place. And he said it, you know, I'm not the best person to own this because of so many conflicts of interest. And I was like, no. And I didn't -- I'm not going to say the word on T.V, but you know what I mean. It's just --
(LAUGHTER)
-- really? You're kidding.
COATES: Know something and then ends in Sherlock --
SWISHER: Sherlock.
COATES: -- like my father used to say?
SWISHER: Sherlock, yeah.
COATES: Here you go, know something, Sherlock. Yep, got it, I'm with you.
(LAUGHTER)
SWISHER: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
COATES: I'm with you all the way on that. Kara Swisher, thank you so much.
(LAUGHTER)
SWISHER: Thank you.
COATES: I should say Kara is also the host of two fantastic podcasts, the "On" and also "Pivot" podcast. And you can find them anywhere you find your podcast. Thanks, Kara.
SWISHER: Thank you.
COATES: Up next, Trump world eagerly awaiting the release of what they call a roaring caged lion. Steve Bannon now just hours away from walking out of prison with exactly one week until the election as of tomorrow. So exactly as you have in store. New reporting is next.
[23:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: One of Trump's loudest and most effective mouthpieces is about to be released from prison. I'm talking about the man you see in the corner, Steve Bannon. He'll be out from behind bars tomorrow. Can you believe it? Exactly one week to Election Day. Don't remember why he was actually behind those bars, though? Let me remind you.
He was convicted in 2022 after he bucked a subpoena issued by the House January 6th Committee. That led to 120 days in a low-security correctional institution in Danbury, Connecticut where he works in the library, apparently, as an orderly. And get this, he taught history and government civics to other inmates. This is according to Bannon's prison consultant.
So, the big question, what's going happen tomorrow, one week before the election, when Bannon is freed?
[23:44:58]
Former Trump aide, Peter Navarro, who coincidentally also served time behind bars for ignoring, you guessed it, a congressional subpoena, he has an idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETER NAVARRO, FORMER TRUM AIDE: When he gets out, he has no intention of spending all his time sitting behind a desk like this. My understanding is he's going to be out there -- out there on the stump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well, joining me now, Isaac Arnsdorf. He's a national political reporter for "The Washington Post" and the author of "Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement's Ground war to End Democracy." Isaac, good evening. We just heard Peter Navarro's prediction about him being from outside of the desk. What have you heard about his plans tomorrow?
ISAAC ARNSDORF, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: My understanding is that he is going to be doing his show live at 10 a.m., back on the podcast, and then he'll also be having a press conference in New York in the afternoon. They have been doing the podcast on --
COATES: The war room.
ARNSDORF: Yes, that's right. And they have been taking that on the road, doing more on location in person events. So, you definitely could see some of that. But my understanding is that he's eager to get back on the show and be driving the message.
COATES: What's his mindset like right now, you think?
ARNSDORF: Uh, you know, he's really -- people close to him say he's really focused on getting Trump over the finish line. I mean, he's really -- if you think about what was going on 120 days ago when he went in, last time I spoke with him, and it was just after the first debate between Biden and Trump, and Biden was reeling from us.
So, that's before Biden dropped out, it was before the assassination attempts, and before -- I mean, so much about this race has change. He has been following along to the extent that he can. But, you know, this is -- this is just that last little push that he can be in the game for.
COATES: Does he think that he is the missing link to a campaign success?
ARNSDORF: Well, I'm sure that he would not want to put his head up and risk it getting chopped off by saying anything like that. But -- I mean, you can definitely say, and no offense to the rotating cast of substitute war room hosts in the meantime, but it hasn't been the same, and it really has been a vacuum.
You know, the legitimacy and the determination that he brought to kind of pointing the movement in the same direction, not always in sync with the campaign, but bringing a coherence to the movement was really lacking, and I think you felt some of that in that period of listlessness in August over the summer where the campaign was kind of losing its grip on the race. COATES: You know, one of the things that Mother Jones had obtained, some audio of Steve Bannon, speaking back on October 31st of 2020. It is almost four years to the date. Around a week before that year's election, of course. And he said that Trump strategy will be to declare himself a winner, which Trump, of course, did do before all the votes were counted on election night. And so, I wonder how in sync is he really with the campaign of today, especially after now months behind bars?
ARNSDORF: It will be super interesting to see when he --
COATES: Yeah.
ARNSDORF: -- and Trump speak again. I don't have any reporting.
COATES: Had they been in contact the last time you spoke to him?
ARNSDORF: Well, back in July --
COATES: Yeah.
ARNSDORF: -- I mean, occasionally, he's more often in touch with some people around Trump than he is with Trump directly.
COATES: At the time you spoke to him before, and this is a lifetime ago, with Biden on top of the ticket, what was his thought on the prospects of a Trump victory?
ARNSDORF: Well, he was -- at that time, he was concerned about Biden withdrawing and that it was going to be harder to run against Harris, that they had overdone it in the debate.
COATES: Hmm. Well, now, we'll see what he thinks. He's getting out tomorrow. Isaac, so good to hear from you. Thank you so much.
ARNSDORF: Good to be here.
COATES: All right, you know Donald Trump has Hulk Hogan in his corner, but don't think Kamala Harris isn't without some wrestling muscle of her own. One of the toughest to ever grace the ring, so tough they nicknamed him the "hardcore legend," Mr. Mick Foley, AKA "Mankind," live with me on his newest nickname, being a bad dude for Harris, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HULK HOGAN, RETIRED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER: You know something, Trump maniacs? I don't see no stinking Nazis in here.
(APPLAUSE) I don't see no stinking domestic terrorists in here.
(APPLAUSE)
The only thing I see in here are a bunch of hard-working men and women that are real Americans, brother.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Well, that's retired pro wrestler Hulk Hogan at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend. But wait! There's more. Here's Hogan flexing his way off the stage to some heavy rock music. It's all part of the alternative strategy by the Trump campaign to court young male voters.
Trump has become a mainstay on male-oriented podcasts, appearances on Flagrant, on Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Nelk Boys. He is frequently using and on ringside the UFC fights with his friend, UFC boss, Dana White. And so far, seems to be working.
Trump is leading Harris among men age 18 to 39. But he's not just besting Harris, he's also beating himself. He's up five points compared to 2020 exit polls.
Well, now, I want to bring in Mick Foley. He's a WWE Hall of Fame legend, AKA "Mankind." And when I say legend, just watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): And apparently, hell in the cell match is officially underway in the most God awful --
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Oh, my God.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): -- of locations.
[23:55:00]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: So, as I was saying, we have the legend Mick Foley with us. He is endorsing Kamala Harris for president. He's also author of, naturally, "Have a Nice Day." Mick, so good to see you this evening. Thank you for joining us. I mean, look, you've got Hogan there with Trump, another former wrestler. You've got "The Undertaker" also endorsing Trump and saying that he brought the fun back to politics. What's your response to Hogan and other pro wrestlers who support Trump?
MICK FOLEY, WWE HALL OF FAMER, ENDORSING HARRIS: Well, it's their right to do that. I believe I was asked to talk with you today because of a video I put out --
COATES: Uh-hmm. FOLEY: -- that has received several million views where I said that the, you know, "The Undertaker" was right, Donald Trump did make politics fun for about three weeks in 2016, but there's nothing fun about his rhetoric, there's nothing fun about the way he demeans citizens of this country, nothing fun about the way he talks down to women. And in my experience, real men respect strong women. They don't live in fear of them.
COATES: You know, when you think about this kind of masculinity, it has been very much a part of the campaign. People are talking a lot about it, this appeal to the so-called every man. Why does the Harris campaign appeal to you?
FOLEY: Well, I've always liked Kamala Harris. I go back to when she was campaigning for president five years ago. And I like what she had to say. I just believe she's a positive person, a very competent person. I want to embrace the joy that she brings, the optimism, and not the fear that has been Donald Trump's hallmark.
I also want to point out that the reason I spoke up is because, you know, it was -- it took some doing to get me on here, Laura --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
FOLEY: -- because I don't particularly want people to dislike me. And I know that when you speak up against somebody who is very powerful, has very strong and loyal following, that you're going to get some negative blowback.
But I also realized that I did not want to wake up on the day after the election to find out that a swing state had been lost by a couple hundred votes and to know that I could have made the difference. So, to me the two dirtiest words in English language are what if, and I don't want to be that guy, so I spoke out four years ago. I'm doing it now.
And I think one thing that most of his followers don't understand is the long history he had had of -- I'm trying to think of a way not to say screwing over his workers, but I think that's the most basic and honest way. He's got a long history of not paying his contractors and his workers. And so, I find it the height of hypocrisy to say you're for the working man when your history shows that you are only for yourself.
I don't understand the mystery. I mean, I grew up on Long Island, so I was used to him. My friends and I saw him as, like, kind of a harmless conman, but he's not harmless anymore. He's a very dangerous conman. I'm going to quote General Mark Milley when I say he is the greatest danger to our country.
COATES: Why do you think that's not apparent to those who are supporting Trump? What is appealing about him? I mean, this is not a loaded question. What do you would generally think is appealing about Trump to those particular voters in spite of what you said?
FOLEY: Well, you know, we throw on the F-word, fascism, and you were wondering earlier if it is working. I don't think people really understand the history of fascism. If you were to say this -- we are talking Mussolini, we are talking Hitler, then maybe -- I understand. I mean --
COATES: Hmm.
FOLEY: -- General John Kelly, he had the definition, you know, by heart. You know, he could recite it and said by the token of that definition, yes, he is a fascist. So, you have guys like General Mattis, General Milley. These are men's men, right? General John Kelly. All speaking out and voicing their concern.
This is unprecedented in history. Secretary of defense, Mark Esper, will come out. I got to know secretary of defense, William Cohen, a little bit, and he's speaking out. So, you have people love their country from both sides the aisle. A patriot like Liz Cheney whose career was completely derailed because she dared to have the courage to speak up.
I think -- I don't know. I see strength in compassion. I see courage in kindness. I don't see any of that. I don't see what's appealing about Donald Trump except he's able to sell the American public on the idea that only he can solve their problems.
[23:59:50]
COATES: You know, what's so fascinating in particular is in a country that people often describe as one of the most divisive moments and divisive errors in our history, you have had disagreements with friends of yours like "The Undertaker," for example, and you're still able to be friends.
[00:00:05]
FOLEY: Yeah.
COATES: And yet we don't often see people who have different viewpoints politically still able to overcome towards friendship. Why do you think that has been such a hallmark of your own life?
FOLEY: You know, I can count on one hand the number of friends I've lost over politics. Friendships are stronger. Family is stronger. But the things that draw us together are so much more meaningful than the things that divide us.
I mean, I had my most famous match with "The Undertaker" in Pittsburgh. That's part of the reason why decided to come on. Because I have a lot of history in Pennsylvania. I lost these teeth in the match 25 years ago with "The Undertaker." And the reason I don't replace them is because of the respect I have for him and the history we've made together.
And so, when I see him for the next time, we'll hug it out, we'll agree to disagree, and we'll do the best we can to, you know, keep a 30-year friendship going strong.
COATES: That was a bad ass moment, my friend. Just now watching it in person, I'm --
(LAUGHTER)
You know what? The show is over. Nothing else can be said right now. The man took his teeth out. He respects "The Undertaker." Mick Foley, thank you so much. Nothing more to say.
FOLEY: Thank you so much for having me on, Laura. I hope everyone will vote wisely.
COATES: Thank you so much for joining. What a pleasure to talk to you. Hey, thank you all for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" starts now.
