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Laura Coates Live
Kamala Harris Delivers Closing Argument; Biden Tries To Clean Up "Garbage" Comment; Laura Coates Interviews Rep. Byron Donalds; Harris Tries To Differentiate Herself From Biden; Steve Bannon Is Released From Prison. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired October 29, 2024 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:01]
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And just like the rest of America, you could say these political families have something of a gender gap on display.
Thank very much for watching "NewsNight: State of the Race." "Laura Coates Live," they're up right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Kamala Harris looks to close the deal, delivering a major speech to voters, and making the case against Donald Trump. Plus, President Biden makes a remark that has Republicans calling it 10 times worse than Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables. We'll have the fallout and the cleanup by the campaign. And fresh out of prison, Steve Bannon says he's got some advice for Donald Trump. That's all tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
All right, buckle up, buttercups. The final sprint begins right now, seven days to go until the election. And tonight, Kamala Harris delivering a speech billed as her closing argument, and she did it at the same place where Donald Trump rallied his supporters on -- you guessed it -- January 6th, moments before they stormed the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America, this is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.
Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But America, I am here tonight to say that is not who we are.
(APPLAUSE)
That is not who we are. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America.
(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Look, it's a critical moment for the campaigns in this final day of stretches and stretches of the last seven days in a race that, frankly -- I mean, could it be any tighter? Tonight, Harris made her pitch --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
-- to a huge audience. The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. was filled to capacity. We're talking 75,000 people on hand, according to the campaign. Some of the credits actually go to an overflow area in the National Mall, of all places. And this time, unlike nearly four years ago, once it ended, there were no scenes like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
No mob breaking into the Capitol, no noose, no gallows, no chants of hanging politicians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
That's exactly the stark contrast that Harris is hoping that Americans will see. Now, her speech tonight, it focused a lot on Trump. Some of her critics are also sure to pounce on when they criticize her about what happened tonight. But she also tried to define herself beyond the former president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Here's what I promise you. I will always listen to you, even -- even if you don't vote for me. I will always tell you the truth, even if it is difficult to hear. I will work every day to build consensus and reach compromise to get things done.
(APPLAUSE)
And if you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my way.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Now, meanwhile, while she was at The Ellipse, Trump was holding a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, one of the most critical battlegrounds, in a state, by the way, with half a million Puerto Rican voters. Many of them not happy at all over those offensive remarks at Madison Square Garden at the rally for Trump that you've no doubt heard multiple times.
Trump trying to do a little bit of cleanup today. He claims that no president has done more for Puerto Rico than him. He also says he didn't hear the comments at the rally and doesn't know the comedian who made them. As for the rally as a whole, though --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think anybody has ever seen anything like what happened the other night at Madison Square Garden. The love --
(APPLAUSE)
-- the love -- the love in that room. It was breathtaking. Politicians that have been doing this for a long time, 30 and 40 years, said there has never been an event so beautiful. It was like a love fest, an absolute love fest, and it was my honor to be involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Now, Harris in her speech tonight did not mention the Puerto Rico comments nor did she call Trump a fascist.
[23:05:03]
But make no mistake, she did not mince any words when she called a wannabe dictator and a petty tyrant who was -- quote -- "obsessed with revenge."
Joining me now, CNN political commentator and former Trump campaign adviser, David Urban, CNN senior political commentator, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, he endorsed Kamala Harris for president, and former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, Ashley Etienne. Good to see all of you here.
I'll begin with you, David. Look, a massive crowd in admittedly very friendly city to the vice president. When you see the images of this crowd for Harris's closing argument, what does that tell you?
DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Well, it doesn't tell me anything. Listen, Laura. I was in the city of Philadelphia the night before the 2016 election with independent Jon Bon Jovi, Michelle and Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Bruce Springsteen, 40,000 people, 50, whatever it was. The next day, we woke up, Donald Trump whipped Hillary Clinton, became the president.
You know what? I saw -- I saw the White House behind the vice president where the current president was sitting in there, making incredibly disparaging remarks about half the United States, all the Trump supporters who he called garbage. And so, I think that the vice president, her speech, her great effort to close strong is going to be largely overshadowed by her boss's. You know, her boss's unfortunate remarks.
COATES: Let's talk about --
URBAN: I can't wait for the next three days. I can't wait for the next three days of television to watch how people try to unspin that because it is clear. Listen, maybe I'm just -- I'm from Pennsylvania, so I'm clinging to my guns and my bible, and there is a piece of garbage in the ocean. You know, we've been -- You know, Trump's supporters have been called lots of things by Democrats. This is another one of them.
COATES: Let's talk about that moment because -- and I will ask you about this, Ashley, in particular. Look, the comment made by Biden, certainly not what the campaign for Harris wants to be talking about, in light of that speech. They'd like to be focusing on the comments made in a lead up to Trump's actual speech at Madison Square Garden.
You haven't seen Biden on the campaign trail all that much. I wonder what the impact of Biden's statement -- admittedly, he has tried to clean it up and saying he wasn't talking about, you know, all the voters or the supporters. He's talking about those who supported those comments. What do you make of that attempt to clean it up?
ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Well, I mean, I think Republicans are going to try to make hay out of the president's remarks. I don't think it's going to hold up. I don't think it's going to last long. I mean, the vice president had a remarkable speech tonight.
I wrote an op-ed in "The New York Times" a few weeks ago, and I said that she needed to lean into her why. Why is she the right leader for this moment? And why does it matter to the American people? And I think she did that today. And I think that's what's going to drive the news today and tomorrow, and then she'll get out on the campaign trail, and we'll forget all about Joe Biden's comments. But she said today --
COATES: But is that right to do? I mean, just think -- I mean -- I hear you chuckling, David. I'll get back to you in a second. But when you think about that, you know, you're not naive, you are such a savvy person and I respect your mind so much, you know that this will be capsized upon as a suggestion that it should cancel out the Madison Square Garden comments because it was Biden himself who said it, not a comedian leading up to somebody who wants to be the president again. Should the American voters be looking at these qualitatively different?
ETIENNE: I mean, Joe Biden is not running. Joe Biden is currently the president. It's Kamala Harris who's running. So, when we -- when we sort of weigh our options, there are only two options when you go into the booth. It's either Donald Trump or it's either Kamala Harris.
And let's talk about that contrast. You had Kamala Harris today at the podium talking about the very promise of America, how she is, you know, again, the leader for this moment. She may -- can I just refer to a couple of her quotes? And this is who I know her to be as a leader, and this is why I think she's the right leader for this moment. She said, my instincts are to protect those who are overlooked, those who are treated unfairly, and to give them voice, to expand the table, bring people to the table who I disagree with.
Now, in my phone, I've got a lot of those disaffected Republicans that are looking for a home, trying to figure out where they're to live. They were moved by those remarks by the vice president that she wants to build consensus, that she wants to build common ground. These are the very -- her greatest contrast with Donald Trump. And I think she was speaking directly to those undecided voters, and they bought it tonight.
COATES: Let me talk to you, former Congressman Kinzinger --
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER ILLINOIS REPRESENTATIVE: Sure.
COATES: -- on this very point because --
KINZINGER: Thank you.
COATES: -- Harris held this rally at the exact site of that January 6 rally. That was not lost upon anyone tonight. The images behind her, it was quite evident, what they were trying to convey. How did you feel about that split screen that she was trying to create? Something that we obviously know you, from January 6 committee, felt very deeply about.
[23:10:00]
KINZINGER: Yeah, I mean, look, for me, I liked it because I think it was really important to show that -- to show that difference there, to -- you know, that dichotomy. But, you know, I don't know. Look, I mean, there's not many undecided people left. So, this is all about kind of what is the momentum going into the final thing. This is all about who's kind of -- you know, who wins on a positive note.
And I got it. Yes, Joe Biden said something stupid today, like, let's just keep him off the trail for the next seven days, but let's not act like, you know, this is in comparison to some paragon of Donald Trump who said nothing but uniting amazing things about the American people. All he does is divide people, and he has done it since he has been in politics.
So, spare me the outrage. So, it was much better for me to see somebody standing there at The Ellipse, painting a positive vision for America and not standing up and just like, oh, everybody sucks, this country is a garbage can. He said that. So, it was much different.
COATES: David, what's your reaction to that?
URBAN: Yeah, well, Laura, listen, congressman, nice job with the spinning. Here's the facts, okay? If the vice president is standing out there, she's talking about she wants to be the person that unites America, while her boss, sitting in the building behind her, is calling half of America garbage, I don't know how you circle that square in your head. That's some mental political gymnastics.
KINZINGER: What has your boss said? What has Trump said? My God, David.
URBAN: He didn't say --
KINZINGER: Come on, man.
URBAN: Adam, you had your piece.
KINZINGER: Spare me the outrage.
URBAN: Adam, you had your piece. Adam, you had your piece.
KINZINGER: Okay. Go ahead.
URBAN: Adam, you had your piece.
KINZINGER: Yeah.
URBAN: Now, it's my turn, okay? Thank you.
KINZINGER: I know. I'm letting you go.
(CROSSTALK)
COATES: Gentlemen, I want to hear from both of you. You have plenty of time.
URBAN: Okay.
COATES: Go ahead, David.
URBAN: Yeah. So, I'd like to just hear her comments on that. I saw Governor Shapiro -- Josh Shapiro is a good man, my friend -- come on this network right after that and say, listen, I would never say that about any Americans who don't choose me. I'd like to hear the vice president come out and address it directly. Does she think -- does she think -- does she associate herself with the current president's remarks or does she think he was wrong? I think the American people need to hear that in the closing days before this election.
COATES: So, David, on that point --
URBAN: Does she think he made a mistake in saying that?
COATES: Excuse me, on that point, do you think that Donald Trump should come out for that same reason and disassociate explicitly the statements made prior to his entrance at the Madison Square Garden rally?
URBAN: Yeah.
COATES: So, he has not done so, so is he wrong for not having done so yet?
URBAN: So, Laura, there's a distinct difference here. If you don't know that -- everyone on this panel is smart enough to know the difference between a comedian and a pre-program, which the campaign immediately disavowed and said --
ETIENNE: Yeah, but Donald Trump said it was a love fest.
-- URBAN: -- hey, listen, we're sorry about that.
COATES: I don't think our intelligence is an issue --
(CROSSTALK)
Excuse me. Hold on. No, no, hold on one second. No, hold on. I'm going to have a chance to speak, and I'll allow everyone here as all of my guests to do the same. My question to you, though, is more precise. You're saying that there is some reason that there should be an acknowledgement of the statement being made and there should be some decision to distance oneself explicitly. If Trump hasn't done so, and to Ashley's point, that Biden is not the one running, what should the electorate do to evaluate those statements?
URBAN: It is the Biden-Harris administration. They are co-partners. He is the current president. He is her current boss. The guy who spoke in the garden is a hired act in a pre-program. Everyone in America is smart enough to understand the difference.
COATES: Ashley is smiling. I want to hear from you.
ETIENNE: No, but I mean, what that comedian said reinforces what we know about Donald Trump. Let's not forget who Donald Trump is. He came down that escalator and called Mexicans rapists. I mean, he has shut on every American city, from Baltimore to Minneapolis. I mean, you know, racial violence was at an all-time high under Donald Trump. This is who he is. This is the very DNA of the MAGA movement.
So, to suggest that this -- you know, that he could create some distance from this guy, which he didn't do, he actually, in fact, double down on it and said it was a love fest, so he condoned the actions, but that is who Donald Trump is, so no one is surprised by it.
But what is surprising is that Republicans continue to look the other way as though it's -- you know, do these false equivalents, as though the two add up and they're not the same.
COATES: Congressman Kinzinger, what's your thought?
KINZINGER: Yeah, look, I mean, again, you know, I'm not going to rehash everything, but I just think if you look at the words of Donald Trump, the thing is, like, Joe Biden shouldn't have said this. Let's be clear. I'm not defending that. But to save it now, somehow that we can be outraged about that, when for eight years, Donald Trump has done nothing but divide people, punch down, stomp on people, and then all of a sudden now you're outraged because somebody said something that they shouldn't have said?
I've been outraged for years because this is a former president, is a guy that simply divides. He turns races against each other. He turns genders against each other.
[23:15:00]
He turns communities against each other. He turns urban against rule. He lives on division. So, let's not pretend like he is some high and mighty guy. I guess that's my piece, and I'm done with that.
COATES: Well, I appreciate hearing from all of you. I think we can all agree on one thing. No American is garbage, and the language that suggests otherwise is a problem. But we'll see what the voters think seven days from now, how they balance, how they see what they equate, and what they dismiss. Thank you all, everyone, so much.
Up next, Nikki Haley has some advice. Maybe a warning for Donald Trump's campaign. But will he listen? That might be rhetorical. One of Donald Trump's top allies, Congressman Byron Donalds, is with me on that and much more, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: Donald Trump trying to move on from the controversy at his Madison Square Garden rally. Tonight, he says he doesn't know the comedian who called Puerto Rico a -- quote -- "floating island of garbage."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Somebody said there was a comedian that joked about Puerto Rico or something. And I have no idea who it was.
[23:20:00]
Never saw him, never heard of him, and don't want to hear of him.
But I think no president has done more for Puerto Rico than I have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: President Biden, he responded, too, with a remark "he is now trying to clean up."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don't -- I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know -- the Puerto Rico where I'm -- in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Now, the White House says that Biden wasn't talking about Trump's supporters. Quote -- "The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as garbage." And then tonight, Biden posting on X -- quote -- "Earlier today, I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage -- which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don't reflect who we are as a nation."
But Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, pouncing, calling it disgusting and claiming that Biden and Harris are attacking half of the country.
Joining me now, Trump's surrogate and Florida Republican congressman, Byron Donalds. Congressman, good to see you in these last seven days before an extremely important day. I want to get right into what everyone is talking about tonight in our last block. Also, the comparison point that some have made is that, look, Trump has said plenty of hateful things about Americans before. Biden said that he's talking about the comedian, not supporters. What's your response?
REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): My response is that the first statement from Joe Biden is the one that he truly believes. He does not think that people who disagree with him or his party, who support President Trump, are -- you know, are Americans. He thinks that they're garbage. That's a fact.
And what I go back to is four years ago, around this same time, it was Joe Biden that went on the Breakfast Club, and he famously said that if you couldn't vote for him, then you weren't Black. It's the same Joe Biden. He made the same type of statement four years ago. So, this is consistent with who he is.
Look, I think right now, what we have is a contrast in presidential campaigns. Donald Trump has been on the campaign trail talking about fixing our country, ending a lot of the travesties from the Biden- Harris administration, making America great again. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz for that matter, they're running around talking about the rally in MSG was a Nazi rally. Well, Laura, I spoke at that rally, so did Harry-O, the founder of Death Row Records, so did Vivek Ramaswamy, so did Tulsi Gabbard.
I don't think the Nazis will let us speak at their rally. So that hateful rhetoric is coming from the left, and it got to stop.
COATES: Well, you know, be it far from me to suggest that hateful rhetoric should have any home. But there are -- have been comparisons. I want you to address this point. There are some who look at this in a track record of statements made, whether Trump has commented on cities, whether he's talking about different countries, whether he has made disparaging comments, and they're looking at this and saying the electorate.
Well, how are you going to assess and evaluate the two? Are you going to attribute the comments to Trump to -- because a comedian said it, now Trump has said it, in their minds? We attribute what Biden has said to Harris. How do you think voters should look at these two issues when neither of the actual candidates were the ones to say these particular statements?
DONALDS: Well, I would think this is where the media should actually really step in. If you look at the coverage over the last 48 hours, this comedian, you would have acted as if Donald Trump and J.D. Vance said those things. It just simply wasn't the case. But the media did try to treat this comedian as if he was carrying the banner for the Trump campaign. Not true.
The Trump campaign came out immediately and stepped away from those comments and disavowed those comments, said it wasn't indicative of the president's, of his campaign and, frankly, of the America First Movement. I think if you also take a step and take -- take a step back and look at the fact that you have Tim Walz, who's the running mate for Kamala Harris, he doubled down on his comments, basically saying that it was a Nazi rally in MSG. Far from it. It could be anything further from the truth.
You had Jewish- Americans at that rally, you had Black-Americans at that rally, you had Hispanic- Americans at that rally, all in favor of an America that is focused on the American people getting away from the terrible policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
And then look no further at Kamala Harris herself. Her speech tonight, she lied repeatedly about what Donald Trump wants to do.
[23:25:02]
She talked about how he said that he thought soldiers were suckers and losers. That is a lie. It has been debunked time and time again. But Kamala Harris keeps repeating it. She is lying to women in America, saying that Donald Trump is going to have a national abortion ban, and that he's going to have people tracking women and their abortions. That is a flat-out lie. Donald Trump has never said anything like that, but she is using that to weaponize emotion in her campaign. So, I would just ask the media to set the record straight once and for all.
COATES: Well, on that point, now I want to move on to another point, but certainly Trump could set the record straight quite explicitly, as could Harris to distinguish herself from comments that have been made. And as far as debunking it, Trump has repeatedly said he did not make those comments. There are still others who have suggested that he did.
But moving on to women in particular, you said you were at the rally and you actually spoke at the rally at Madison Square Garden. Out of the 30 or so speakers, only six were women. I mean, Trump's former rival, Nikki Haley, actually criticized those very optics, congressman. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a time to have anyone criticize Puerto Rico or Latinos. This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing that they've got going. You've got affiliated PACs that are doing commercials about calling Kamala the C-word, or you had speakers at Madison Square Garden, you know, referring to her and her pimps. That is not the way to win women. That is not the way to win people who are concerned about Trump's style.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COATES: There is reporting that the campaign was aware of at least the C-word reference and edited that out, and then the rest of the statements not talked about. But on that point about this -- quote, unquote -- "bromance" and the masculinity factor, is the campaign relying too heavily on male voters and potentially, as she is suggesting, alienating women?
DONALDS: I don't think so, not at all. Is having Laura Trump speak alienating women? I don't think so. What about Tulsi Gabbard? What about Elise Stefanik, who's the conference chair of the republican conference? They were all there and present and were sharing their viewpoints.
I think if Nikki Haley is trying to say that it has to be a 50-50 split. Okay, that's fine, but Donald Trump is focused on all of the American people, whether you are female or male, whether you are Black or white, because fixing our economy helps all Americans, securing our borders helps all Americans, I will add, especially women, because we could talk about the travesty to Laken Riley, to Jocelyn Nungaray and their families who are grieving. Those tragedies fall at the feet of Kamala Harris. She could have done something and stood up for those women. She did not.
What about the young girls who are not Americans, but who are falling prey to the drug cartels, being sold into sex slavery, who are raped on the journey to our southern border? That affects women as well. So, securing the southern border is something that helps all people in our country and, frankly, around the world.
And, of course, making sure that we have a sound government and a sound foreign policy getting us out of conflicts that supports everybody. That is why Donald Trump is going to fix the mess of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.
So, whether you're male or female in the United States, those are the issues that matter, not the roster or, frankly, the sex of the roster at any rally, whether it's MSG or anybody else.
COATES: You know, it strikes me, some of the statements that you've made, remind me a lot of what Nikki Haley had to say on her own campaign trail. And the "Associated Press" reports that Haley has actually given the Trump campaign a list of dates where she would be available, but I haven't seen any appearances scheduled. I mean, in the Pennsylvania primary, congressman, Haley received 158,000 votes after she dropped out. Is she going to appear with Trump on the campaign trail?
DONALDS: I don't know. I think that's a question really specifically for the campaign to coordinate that with Nikki Haley. I know --
COATES: Don't you think she -- should she? Should she?
DONALDS: Oh, yeah, of course. I think she should be there. But again, that's something that gets coordinated. Look, I know Nikki is going to be on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, I believe, for Dave McCormick. That's great. At this point in the campaign, it's not about who's going to do what event, it's about getting out there, being active, and driving voters to the polls.
We are now in the get out the vote aspect of this campaign. That's what we're focused on, seven days to go. And our hope overall is that the American people choose to have a leader who will actually fix the problems in our country, not talk about having a to-do list that she could have worked on at any point over the last 1,400 days and simply chose not to.
COATES: Well, admittedly, she was not the president at those 1,400 days. But I take your point. It's one that has been critical of her for quite some time. We'll see how the American people feel about it in these next seven days. Congressman Byron Donalds, thank you so much for stopping by.
[23:30:00]
DONALDS: Thank you.
COATES: Kamala Harris invoking President Biden in her speech tonight, and she tried to make clear an issue that she has struggled with, how her own presidency would be different. The big question, will voters buy it? Well, the Harris campaign co-chair, Mitch Landrieu, is here with me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I have been honored to serve as Joe Biden's Vice President.
(APPLAUSE)
But I will bring my own experiences and ideas to the Oval Office. My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Vice President Kamala Harris has even tried to signal that her presidency won't be a continuation of the last four years.
[23:35:02]
It has been a very key issue in this race, as you know. The Trump campaign has even hammered Harris for her remark on "The View." Remember when she said she did not -- nothing came to mind as to what she'd do differently than Joe Biden? Well, one independent Michigan voter told "The New York Times" that comment stuck with him, saying -- quote -- "She said nothing comes to mind that she would do differently from Biden. Understand not pushing Biden under the bus, but she needs to be more authentic and actually take responsibility for the failures of her administration" -- unquote.
I'm going to go right to Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair of "Harris for President." So good to see you this evening.
MITCH LANDRIEU, CO-CHAIR, HARRIS-WALZ CAMPAIGN: It's great to be here. Thank you for having me.
COATES: That was a huge speech, a huge moment, a huge backdrop on that point of her trying to distinguish herself from Biden. Was there a key moment in that speech that you think voters will connect to suggest, yes, she will be different?
LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, it was an incredible night. I was there and there were 70,000 people there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Seventy thousand people?
LANDRIEU: Yeah, we were going to go to Madison Square Garden, but we couldn't fit. So, we had to go there. It was just a huge turnout and it was exuberant and it was joyful, and the environment in which she gave the speech was really uplifting and hopeful, which is what the speech was.
It was a fairly detailed speech. She laid out a clear detail what the -- what the risks are of reelecting Donald Trump. She talked about the fact that behind her was the resolute desk. In seven days, the people are going to decide whether she's going to be sitting there, Donald Trump is going to be sitting there.
She reminded the public that Donald Trump has already talked about out of his own mouth, spending his time talking about his enemies list, and the fact that she had a to-do list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And then she talked about how she's going to build an opportunity economy for all of us, not just some of us, and distinguish herself from Joe Biden by saying, listen, I love the president, we did great work together, but I have different problems that he had, the most important which is lowering costs for the American people.
I think she addressed it really very forthrightly and better tonight than she has in the past.
COATES: Well, you're a lawyer as well. You know the value of primacy and recency, what you first hear versus what you last hear.
LANDRIEU: Correct.
COATES: She bookended with a discussion about democracy and, obviously, setting the scene. It was evident of what the message she's trying to convey. People remember January 6th very well, particularly place like Washington, D.C. and all across the country. Do you think that that message will break through or is breaking through given the fact that the race is still very close in spite of that memory?
LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, I think Donald Trump's existence on the political stage is a result of a big lie, and the big lie is one that is antithetical to the American idea of a peaceful transition of power. That is the one gift that were given to ourselves and given to the world, that when the people have spoken, the president transfers power from one administration to the next. He interrupted that.
It is the first time since the Civil War that there was actually a confederate flag in the halls, the sacred space of the United States Capitol. And Donald Trump continues to tell the lie that the election was stolen. And that that day was really just a picnic in a day of love.
I think most Americans look back on that and even those that like him say that was egregious. He sat there when his vice president's life was at risk, and he said the words, so what? So, that's who she's running against.
COATES: She began with that, made it very clear to people that this was -- this was the split screen.
LANDRIEU: Yeah.
COATES: It wasn't just the felon and the prosecutor.
LANDRIEU: Correct.
COATES: It was the transition of power, the transfer of power. One who believes that she is the illustration of democracy and democratic principles. The other who thinks that he is for very different reasons.
But there is also a split screen that's happening. And, you know, even though this speech, many call the dynamic and on market, perhaps, meeting the moment, there was another moment today from President Biden, who spoke out about a comment that was made at Madison Square Garden. I want you to listen to what he had to say about that comedian's -- I hate to even call it a joke. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something, I don't -- I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know -- the Puerto Rico where I'm -- in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Biden says he really referring to Trump's supporters. But you've heard the statement. What is the Harris campaign's response to that, given the real outrage there was about the association with Americans and garbage?
LANDRIEU: Well, I would say a couple of things. First of all, the president cleaned that up later tonight by saying he was referring to the comments that were made that day by the seven speakers. Now, people want to watch two different split screens. They should go back and look at all the speakers that spoke before Trump ascended to the stage and the speakers tonight at the Kamala Harris event.
[23:40:03]
Ours was civic. It was civil, it was thoughtful, it was about coming together as one people. Nobody could watch those seven or eight speakers before Donald Trump and not believe that Donald Trump knew about it.
The other thing that I would like to say about it is this: I know we're concentrating on the comedian, the comedian's language, which was awful, but there was nothing said that day that Donald Trump himself has not said.
I think President Biden's comments today were unfortunate. I think he cleaned them up a little bit and said, I'm not talking about human beings, because when you begin to dehumanize individuals, it means you can do what you will with them.
And I believe that we're going to win this election because I think independents, Republicans, and Democrats understand that if this umbrella of democracy is not protected, we then will not have the freedom to have the kinds of fights that our founding fathers wanted us to have. Anybody, actually, just think for a second, the founding fathers created this country for people who disagreed with each other so that we could disagree peacefully, so that we could come to a resolution --
COATES: Yeah.
LANDRIEU: -- and then move on to a better tomorrow. And that's why she said we have to turn the page and we have to, you know, create a new day for the country.
COATES: Mitch Landrieu, thank you so much.
LANDRIEU: Thank you so much for having me.
COATES: Nice to have you.
LANDRIEU: Thank you.
COATES: Ahead, one of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters is now out of prison. Will Steve Bannon have an impact on his campaign? Well, Bannon seems to think so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: I am more empowered today, more focused today, sharper today, in better shape today than I've ever been in my entire life. So, Nancy Pelosi, suck on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: Steve Bannon released today from federal prison. Now, to remind you, he was sentenced to 120 years behind bars for bucking a congressional subpoena. This is also the man who was one of the first to advise Trump back in 2020 to declare victory no matter what. And now that he's out of jail, Bannon is hitting the ground running to help get Trump re-elected. He said he and Trump already spoke today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: I am urging President Trump, if the votes come in like it looks like they're going to come in, he should step up and inform the American citizens of exactly what's going on and not keep people in the dark like it was done in 2020. The 2020 election was stolen. Okay? I will never back off that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Seems a little similar to the advice he gave back in 2020. No? Well, he was a bit more clear when speaking to "The New York Times" today, saying about Trump, "He should stand up and say: 'Hey, I've won this. And we have teams right now that are going to make sure that this thing is not going to be stolen" -- unquote.
Joining me now, Alison Klayman. She's a documentary filmmaker who followed Bannon for a year, took the documentary, "The Brink." Also, here, Donell Harvin. He is former chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence, District of Columbia. He's also a faculty member at Georgetown University.
I'm going to begin with you, Allison, here. I mean, Bannon said he feels -- empowered was the word. Empowered now. What was your reaction to seeing him today and hearing him sound frankly as intense as he did in trying to help Trump win?
ALISON KLAYMAN, JOURNALIST: Yeah, I mean, hearing him today really brought me back. I feel like Bannon sounds like the same guy who I followed with a camera in 2017, 2018. Honestly, his message, like you said, is really unchanged.
COATES: He seems to have been, you know, a prize of what has been going on recently as well. I mean, in his post-release news conference, he referenced the Puerto Rico comments from Trump at that -- where Trump's -- the comedian at the MSG rally. He made a reference to Harris's Brett Baer interview.
KLAYMAN: Uh-hmm.
COATES: Did it surprise you that he was so plugged in?
KLAYMAN: Bannon is a real, you know, news junkie. His main function right now is having his own, you know, internet show where he rehashes the talking points that have been important to him and mixes in the news of the day. He kind of makes supporters feel like they're -- they get to be insiders but also, they're like foot soldiers in this mission with him. And I feel like being a mouthpiece is really his main function.
COATES: Donell, let me bring you in here because you sounded the alarm long before many people even thought to think about it. And I wonder how concerning it is for you to hear him sound very similar to a period of time when people should have been a lot more concerned, frankly. I mean, the idea of foot soldiers, the idea of bringing people in and galvanizing them to do something about it, does this concern you?
DONELL HARVIN, FORMER CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Absolutely. This is the chaos. This is going to bring about the chaos that we saw on January 6th. I want to make it very clear that January 6 was the very last minute of the last day of the election cycle when they decided to do this. Our election is fully under attack right now. Just to get everyone caught up to speed, this week alone, we had two election drop boxes set aflame in Oregon and Washington.
COATES: Yeah.
HARVIN: We had 20 election offices that were sent suspicious packages. Last year, we had six states that had election offices that were sent fentanyl, prompting election workers to learn how to do active shooting drills and get antidote training. And so, we have all these things happening because of rhetoric like this in the political space.
COATES: We're just reminding people of all that's taking place. And we are not even yet to Election Day. Many people are concerned about the delay from people casting a ballot to it being finally tabulated. You've shared some concerns about that interim period.
HARVIN: Yeah. So, you know, this is going to be -- it's not just the period of the election, it's counting the elections, making sure election workers feel safe when they go to their election places to do their work.
[23:49:58]
We saw in Arizona, in 2020, how we had our militia patrolling these election sites, intimidating individuals. And so, you know, the entire election cycle isn't just people putting their ballot, you know, for who they want to vote for. It's also the people who have to work there, the volunteers, the election workers, the election officials, and that entire process is really, really tenuous right now.
COATES: Alison, I want you to take a listen to what Bannon said after being released from prison. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BANNON: I served my country on a Navy destroyer in my 20s, and I served my country in a federal prison in my 70s. If you're not prepared to be thrown in prison by this weaponized Justice Department, then you're not prepared to stand up and fight for your country. And I will never back down from that.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: That's quite a message to send. Do you think he has the same appeal? Would that resonate with voters who might share his concerns?
KLAYMAN: I mean, I think that's going to be the new line that he's going to use for the next week, since he just got out of prison. I think he's probably also thinking about how he's facing another trial in two months for defrauding Trump supporters.
I think the real thing that anyone should be paying attention to, what I think about what he's talking about right now, is his bottom line is talking about getting out the vote. If you listen to what he's telling his supporters, not just at that presser that had all the major media there, but what he's doing on his show, he's really saying, you got to get out there, you got to knock on doors, we're going to win this by a ground game.
Yes, he also is going to tell Trump -- you know, he's going to tell people that he thinks Trump should just say he won no matter what. And he has been telling people since 2017 that there's a nullification project, that the election is going to be stolen from them. But actually, what he gets is that in the end, it comes down to voting and that they really want a decisive victory.
And I think that when I watched him during the 2018 election, and he saw excitement on the democratic side and people getting out and knocking doors as early as the summer, he was nervous, and then a blue wave came. I think, right now, he sees it as neck and neck, and what he's telling his supporters is to go out and vote and get the vote out.
COATES: Belt suspenders may be a side of fear. Alison Klayman, Donell Harvin, thank you both so much.
Next, we're learning exactly where Kamala Harris plans to hold her election night event. And it's at a place that holds a pretty deep meaning for her. We'll tell you where next.
Plus, the World Series play --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
-- everyone is going to be talking about tomorrow.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): -- in the corner. Does he have room? Fights with a fan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: Election night is a week from right now at this very moment, and Vice President Harris will watch the results from a place very close to her heart, the campus of Howard University, her alma mater, of course, the birthplace of her sorority, alpha kappa alpha, and historically Black university or college.
Ashley Etienne is back with me. Ashley, if she wins, she would be the first graduate of an HBCU. What would this mean in our nation?
ETIENNE: Well, I mean, it is what she said tonight, which is it represents the very promise of America. And I mean, that's what Howard represents, that's what their alumni represents, and that's who she is. As she said today, she's the living embodiment of that promise. So, I'm excited about it. I can't wait to see her go back to her alma mater.
And what I do know about, I would say, her time at Howard in our conversations, that's where she was forged as a leader, where she learned the principles of fairness, equality, the faith of the impossible, and where she really fell in love with and admired folks like Thurgood Marshall, who she actually brought a bust from Howard University over into her White House office of Thurgood Marshall, where she learned to love leaders like that, that have transformed and shaped our nation, and really saw herself in those moments at Howard University carrying that briefcase as a young sort of aspiring lawyer.
She saw herself in the likes of Thurgood Marshall. She could be that next leader. And now, she's on the cusp of it.
COATES: I mean, the idea that many people wanted her to lean more into her racial identity. She certainly has never shied away from it, never shied away from being a HU grad. Sorry to all the Hampton people out there, but --
(LAUGHTER)
ETIENNE: All the doctors.
COATES: There you go, what's going on. But she has never shied away from it. But choosing this particular moment, election night, to really drive the point home and to demonstrate and to show and showcase it in that moment, why do you think she's doing it now?
ETIENNE: Well, because I think she has actually -- well, A, I don't think -- I agree with you, I don't think she has ever shied away from it. I think that's sort of a false narrative about the vice president. Ever since I've met her, that's all she has ever talked about. I mean, that's how she has represented herself. And again, brought those busts of those Black leaders into the White House to diversify the artifacts in the White House, to make sure that there was representation within the White House.
But nevertheless, I think the reason why she's going to close out there is because, again, I think it drives the point that this is who we are as a nation, that we invest in each other, that we create opportunities and environments in which we can all thrive. That's what Howard represents, that's what it was for her, and I think that's who she's going be as our next president.
COATES: Well, we have seven days to go to see what will happen and what will happen that very night.
[00:00:03]
Ashley Etienne, thank you so much for being here.
ETIENNE: Thank you.
COATES: I'll be eager to see that bust with Thurgood Marshall as well in her office and look at that as well. Look, fans taking matters into their own hands in game four of the World Series tonight. Look at the bottom of the first inning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Yankees player Gleyber Torres hitting a long fly ball, heading for the stands. Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts leaps up for the ball. He makes the catch. Then come in the Yankees fans. One tries to rip the glove off of Betts's hand, another firmly holds on to his wrist, both cheering when the ball drops from Betts's glove, but it all backfired because the play was ruled out as fan interference, and they were removed from the stadium. It was their loss. The Yankees pulled off an epic comeback, scoring 11 runs and forcing a game five. Dodgers, I'll end the show with one piece of advice: Watch out for those Yankee fans.
Thanks for watching. "Erin Burnett OutFront" is next.
