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CNN Live Event/Special

U.S. Breaks World Record for Single-Day COVID-19 Case Count of Nearly 100,000 Infections; President Trump Continues to Hold Outdoor Rallies in Swing States on Campaign Trail; President Trump Suggests Hospitals Inflating COVID-19 Cases for Monetary Gain; Kentucky Democratic Senate Candidate Amy McGrath Interview on Reasons for Running against Senator Mitch McConnell; Actor Sean Connery Dies; Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Campaigns in Battleground States Ahead of Election; Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) Pulls Out of Final Debate with Democratic Challenger Jon Ossoff; Americans Set Records Early Voting in States Across U.S.; State Courts across United States Make Different Decisions Regarding Counting of Mail-In Ballots. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 31, 2020 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:18]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

It is the final stretch in the fight for the White House. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden taking nothing for granted. The candidates, their running mates and teams crisscrossing battleground states with just three days left until America decides. In this last weekend before Election Day, Trump making four stops in Pennsylvania, where he narrowly won in 2016, while Biden teams up with former President Barack Obama in the swing state of Michigan.

Both states among those experiencing an upsurge in COVID cases in October. On Friday, the U.S. broke a world record for single-day case count, nearly 100,000 infections, the highest of any country since the pandemic began. Deaths also on the rise, more than 1,000 Americans died on Friday alone, leading some health experts to warn that if the current trend holds, hospitals may be pushed well beyond capacity in the coming weeks.

Back on the campaign trail, stark contrasts between the candidates on the handling of the ongoing pandemic. Soon, President Trump departs the White House for Pennsylvania, continuing to defend his style of rallies, attracting many mask-less people in crowds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, do you think it's at all dangerous to be holding these big rallies while the numbers are going up?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I don't at all, no. And they're outdoor rallies. They're all outdoor. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Biden blasting that approach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We need a president who brings us together, not pull us apart. I'll deal with this pandemic responsibly, bringing the country together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We have reporters tracking the campaigns across the country as we enter this final stretch of the election.

Let's begin at the White House where President Trump is poised to have 14 campaign rallies across seven states today through Monday. First four stops today in Pennsylvania. CNN's Sarah Westwood joins us now. So Sarah, why so many stops in Pennsylvania where he narrowly won in 2016?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Fred, you can tell how valuable the Trump campaign sees Pennsylvania just by how much time the president is set to spend in that state between now and Election Day. He's doing a four-stop blitz through the state today. And first lady Melania Trump will also be in Pennsylvania today. So a lot of attention from the Trump team on Pennsylvania.

And part of the strategy here appears to be trying to drive up turnout in some of the more rural parts of the state, the western region of Pennsylvania, for example. Erie is where Trump enjoys higher support because he has got to overcome a massive Biden advantage in some of these Pennsylvania cities like Philadelphia, for example, where Biden is polling much higher. And he also has a polling advantage across the state. He's consistently led in Pennsylvania polls heading into Election Day. He's still in the lead.

But if you talk to Trump campaign advisers, if you talk to Republican strategists, they say there's still hope for Trump in Pennsylvania, and they point to the Trump campaign's ground game. They say that the Trump campaign has been conducting far more in-person voter contacts. They've been having more get-out-the-vote efforts. And also, they say that GOP voter registration is up much higher in Pennsylvania over 2016 levels. So for those reasons, they say the fight is not over for Trump in Pennsylvania.

And this is not the last time that Pennsylvania voters will get to see Trump. On Monday he will also be back in that state campaigning. It's part of his 14-rally sprint to Election Day. He'll be hitting seven states and closing out this race with a pair of rallies in Michigan, which is another key state for the president here.

But ultimately this is a pandemic election, and people will be considering the way that Trump has handled coronavirus as they head to the polls. Millions have already done so. And the election is coming as cases are striking across the country. But Trump yesterday speaking in Minnesota, criticized the Democratic governor for imposing too many COVID restrictions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Our doctors get more money if somebody dies from COVID. You know that, right? I mean, our doctors are very smart people, so what they do is they say, I'm sorry, but everybody dies of COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now, President Trump, this is reflective of his overall strategy when it comes to his closing argument. He's making a gamble here that people are more concerned about returning to normal life than about the virus itself, and that just could not be more different from Biden, who has made this race a referendum of Trump's handling of the virus and promises to handle it better, Fred.

[10:05:01]

WHITFIELD: Sarah Westwood at the White House, thank you so much.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden slamming President Trump's response to the pandemic as, quote, utterly disqualifying. CNN's M.J. Lee is with the Biden campaign in Wilmington, Delaware. So M.J., can we expect more of that kind of messaging today when Biden hits the trail with President Obama?

MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We absolutely can, Fred. Joe Biden has made clear in recent days and weeks that he believes this is the COVID-19 election. When he visited three different states in one day yesterday he repeatedly in his stump speeches went after President Trump and his handling of the virus, and said that in contrast he actually has a plan for trying to contain COVID-19, that he is going to listen to scientists. And one of the things that we saw the former vice president respond to was this baseless attack that he made against doctors and medical professionals, claiming that they were inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths so that they can get paid more. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The president of the United States is accusing the medical profession of making up COVID deaths so they make more money. Doctors and nurses go to work every day to save lives. They do their jobs. Donald Trump should stop attacking them and do his job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Biden has also been stressing, Fred, that he is not taking anything for granted right now. We heard him talk about this in Wisconsin last night. Remember, this is a state that Hillary Clinton famously did not visit once in the 2016 campaign. He was pointing out that he has traveled to Wisconsin because he does take this state seriously and that he even plans to go back if he were to win next week.

As for what we have coming up, later today we are going to see him travel to Michigan where Democrats hope to turn up the turnout. They're hoping to get some help from the star power of former president Barack Obama and Stevie Wonder. Fred?

WHITFIELD: MJ Lee, thank you so much.

So as Election Day fast approaches, millions of Americans are suffering financially because of the pandemic. But now we hear Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell say there likely will not be any movement on a stimulus bill until next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We probably need to do another package, certainly more modest than the $3 trillion Nancy Pelosi package. I think that will be something we'll need to do right at the beginning of the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The White House and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have taken the lead role in negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but it is McConnell who is refusing to bring the House Democratic bill to the floor for a vote. And that lack of action was a major point for his opponent in the Kentucky Senate election, Amy McGrath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. AMY MCGRATH (RET) (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: The House passed a bill in May, and the Senate went on vacation. You just don't do that. You negotiate. Senator, it is a national crisis.

If you want to call yourself a leader, you've got to get things done. Those of us that served in the Marines, we don't just point fingers at the other side. We get the job done.

MCCONNELL: Nobody went on vacation, except the House was gone most of the time. But nobody went on vacation. We actually can do things like use telephones. We communicate with each other a lot. The challenge here was the Speaker was simply unwilling to cooperate to the extent that we could get a reasonable proposal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now, Democratic Senate candidate and former Marine combat fighter pilot, Amy McGrath. Good to see you, Amy. So McConnell says no stimulus this time around, with so much suffering, jobs lost, rents unpaid, evictions happening. Do you feel like Kentuckians will be angry and see that as senator McConnell failing them?

MCGRATH: Well, I think Kentuckians already are angry and upset. Senator McConnell, he has been a colossal failure on the most important issue for Kentucky and for our country right now, and that's the coronavirus and coronavirus aid. We have over a million Kentuckians that have filed for unemployment sometime in the last four or five months. We have 300,000 Kentuckians that don't have health care. We have 40 percent of renters facing eviction right now. And for him to say, really just point fingers and make excuses, that is exactly what is wrong with being in the same seat for 36 years. That is exactly what is wrong with Washington, in the middle of a national crisis. He isn't just a member. He's the leader of the Senate.

[10:10:00]

And let's be clear, President Trump wanted more aid before this election. President Trump wanted four times the amount of aid, effective aid, to Kentucky and to this country. The House already passed two bills of effective aid for our country, and he is the single point of failure right now for our country. And that, to me, is inexcusable.

WHITFIELD: McConnell and many of his supporters see these 36 years as a real asset. You are up against his 36 years of representing people in Kentucky. You've said he is too entrenched in politics to represent the people of Kentucky. So how is it you, a Marine fighter pilot, a real neophyte in politics, are in this position now to challenge him as the Democratic nominee?

MCGRATH: Well, my fellow Kentuckians know that he represents the special interests, the wealthiest one percent, Wall Street, Washington, D.C., swamp, way more than he represents Kentucky. And that's very clear. I'm somebody that I've had tough challenges in my day, and I think right now this country needs leaders that can put their country above their political party. And that's what I'm all about. I'm somebody that wants to get things done.

And we need that now more than ever, because look at where we're at -- 230,000 Americans dead in nine months, no coronavirus aid. This is the first time in a century where we have a major international crisis and no one in the world is looking to the United States for leadership. And it is because we have such poor leaders like Senator Mitch McConnell.

And enough is enough. We need folks who have served this country, who have proven that they can put their country and their personal interests -- well, their country ahead of their political party. I think that's the most important thing going forward. And it is about unifying the country. I want to be a senator for all Kentuckians, not just the Republicans, not just the Democrats, but for all Kentuckians. That's what we need.

WHITFIELD: To unify, you've got to reach across the aisle. How in the next three days are you going to convey how you will be able to do that?

MCGRATH: Well, I focus on the bread and butter issues that people care about. Whether you're a Republican or Democrat here, folks are hurting. People are worried about their kids going back to school. They're worried about good quality jobs for the future. We have a lot of counties here that don't have broadband. Folks are worried about their health care. Senator Mitch McConnell has been trying to throw Kentuckians off their health care for a decade. He couldn't do it legislatively, so now he's trying to do it in the courts. And I'm just trying to focus on, hey, what are the things that matter

to everyday people. I'm not somebody, I don't look at everything through a political lens. I don't look at it through the lens of being a Democrat or Republican. I look at it through the lens of being a United States Marine and a mom. And I think that's what we need in this country. And a lot of people get that.

WHITFIELD: Lieutenant Colonel Amy McGrath, good luck. Thank you so much.

MCGRATH: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: CNN has reached out to McGrath's opponent, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to come on the air to join us, but he has declined our invitation.

After a race like no other, it all ends here. Join us for special live coverage the way only CNN can bring it to you, from the first vote to the critical count. Understand what's happening in your state and across the country. Election night in America, our special coverage starts Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern time.

And this breaking news this morning, Academy Award winning actor Sean Connery has died. He was best known for his original role as the 007 in the James Bond film franchise. CNN's Stephanie Elam looks back at his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr.?

SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Bond, James Bond.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sean Connery was the first to utter that now famous line and turn the name James Bond into a worldwide phenomenon. A proud Scot, Connery was born in 1930 in Edinburgh. He dropped out of school at age 13 and joined the British Royal Navy in 1947 but was discharged due to medical issues. He found work as an artist, model, and body builder, and appeared in the musical "South Pacific."

CONNERY: I was in "South Pacific" at the Drury Lane Theater in London. Yes, that was in the chorus, and I never seriously considered being an actor. It was two hours of an evening, and I had a terrific time.

ELAM: But an actor is exactly what he became. Connery stayed busy during the 1950s, landing roles in television and film. In 1961 he met Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who was looking for a leading man to play a secret agent in an upcoming spy film "Dr. No."

[10:15:01]

The role of the mysterious, handsome, smooth-talking James Bond turned Sean Connery from actor to genuine movie star, delivering famous one- liners that would become one of 007's signature traits.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't you in the wrong room, Mr. Bond?

CONNERY: Not from where I'm standing.

ELAM: Connery would make seven Bond films in his career, the last being 1983's "Never Say Never Again." In 1992, he explained his reasons for leaving the franchise.

CONNERY: I realized it was really taking over me, and no matter what one did, it could never outweigh the balance because of the popularity of the Bond films.

ELAM: Although not as popular as the Bond movies, "The Untouchables" was a signature film for Connery.

CONNERY: He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way.

ELAM: His role as a hardened Chicago police officer earned him an Oscar in 1988, and soon after, at the age of 58, Connery's career saw a resurgence.

CONNERY: It's a new experience for me.

ELAM: "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" put him back in the action genre, and roles of "The Hunt for Red October," "The Rock," and "Entrapment" followed. Along with recognition for his lifetime achievements, President Clinton honored him in 1999 at the Kennedy Center. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth the following year.

Connery mostly kept a low profile after that. He supported Scottish independence and starred in one last film in 2003, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," a fitting title to cap off this extraordinary gentleman's stellar career.

CONNERY: You suppose it's a fantasy in most people, nearly everybody, and the chance to get -- to go there has always been, to me, a fascinating journey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[10:21:09]

WHITFIELD: A stunning and sad new record today. The U.S. reporting the highest number of daily coronavirus cases to date, a number that also broke a world record. There were more than 99,000 new infections recorded Friday, and the number of cases in the U.S. has now surpassed 9 million. Fourteen states have hit record high hospitalizations as well. The director of the CDC warns a silent epidemic of asymptomatic infections among people under 30 is what's fueling the spread.

And on the campaign trail, President Trump is pushing the completely baseless narrative that doctors are inflating COVID deaths and those counts for monetary gain. This as one forecaster from the University of Washington tells CNN that hospitals could be pushed beyond capacity by this surge in cases.

I want to bring in now Dr. Esther Choo. She is a CNN medical analyst and professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. Good to see you, but sadly on such terms. This gets worse with every conversation we have. So do you share that concern that hospitals could be pushed past their limits?

DR. ESTHER CHOO, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Certainly. we're already seeing it, Fred, in places like Wisconsin, if you're following El Paso, Texas, people already reporting that those hospitals are being pushed well beyond capacity. And of course, the thing to remember, too, is that we've been celebrating a lot of wins in COVID in terms of improved mortality, and we've been attributing that to clinicians being more comfortable diagnosing COVID and moving very rapidly to some of our evidence-based treatments, things like oxygen and proning and dexamethasone. Our ability to consistently provide high-quality care depends on us having a capacity that we can manage.

So as cases rise, as hospitals get crowded, as we go beyond capacity and start building these field hospitals again, we just won't be able to provide that same high quality of care, let alone move things forward. And of course, we're going into flu season as well, and we'll have a number of things on our hands. So this is very intimidating from the view of the hospital, and of course we're all tired.

WHITFIELD: I know, exhaustion, I know most people, especially in your profession, are past the exhaustion point. So how mind-boggling is this for you that here we are, the United States at this point, nine months into this pandemic, and hitting these kinds of record number of cases?

CHOO: I can't believe we're here. I was just saying this to a bunch of colleagues. I will tell you back in the spring I thought my tenure on CNN would be well over by now, that it would be a few months where we did this thing where doctors had to go on the news and talk about what the pandemic looked like from the hospital, and by now we would have it wrapped up and be able to turn our attention back to regular care and catching up to the care that we missed over the spring and the summer.

The fact that we are worse off than back then is just places that are mind did not want to go because we assumed that we would have an adequate public health response. It's so discouraging, Fred, it's discouraging, it's depressing, and we're just trying to tighten our belts and get ready to dive in for this next peak.

WHITFIELD: I can see it in your face, too.

And so here it is, Halloween, this is a time when families and kids want to get out there, and there are some neighborhoods that are becoming rather inventive on how to have trick-or-treating. What is the message that you want to convey on this Halloween?

CHOO: Well, we've had a fall where there's been very damaging public health messaging from our administration and from the president, and that is the momentum that we're taking into these holidays. And of course, every holiday that we've had we've experienced, you know, a difficult time having people contain those celebrations, and that has led to a surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

[10:25:06]

And here we're facing in rapid succession three holidays that we love, that everyone loves. And we have to just accept the fact that 2020 holidays are not going to be what they traditionally have been, that we're really going to have to reign it in, try to keep things just contained to our households. Halloween happens to also be my eldest son's birthday. This is the first time in 13 years that we're not doing a party, and that my four kids are not going trick-or-treating. There were definitely tears, but we have to do the right thing for our communities.

If we want the full range of holidays next year, then we have to keep things quiet at home and to ourselves this year. so pumpkin carving is the way to go. Watch out for those fingers, because those ends you up and put you in the E.R. as well. But I think we just have to let go of those holidays.

WHITFIELD: I got you, and I feel you, especially on your exhaustion as a parent and as a medical professional. But before I let you go, I have to ask what it felt like to hear from the president of the United States place blame on doctors inflating numbers for compensation?

CHOO: Well, I hope it goes without being said that we do not make more money by diagnosing more COVID, and all of us every day are walking into the hospital and hoping that we see less COVID, and hoping we don't have to take care of patients that are that sick.

But aside from accusing me and my colleagues of fraudulent behavior, what Trump is doing there is he's derailing trust in the professionals who have the right messages to get us out of this pandemic. He's done it to scientists and public health officials. Now he's doing it to physicians on masks, asking people to question our motives here and not listen to us. I'm sure he'll go after nurses next because they're the most trusted. So it is beyond insulting, of course, but it is beyond damaging in terms of what we need to be telling people and who they should listen to in terms of changing behavior so that we can get out of this pandemic. So he's just being harmful on multiple levels, and it makes me sad and disappointed.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, Dr. Esther Choo, thank you so much for all you're doing, and all of your colleagues on the front lines, really appreciate it. Stay safe, stay well. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

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[10:31:51]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Live pictures right now from Elm City, North Carolina, where Vice President Pence is expected to speak next hour. Meantime, millions of Americans have already cast their vote in the

2020 election. The early voter turnout has been record-breaking, more than 86 million so far. CNN has a team of reporters on the ground with voters in key states. We begin with Alexandra Field in Pennsylvania, where both candidates will be campaigning. Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. The name of the game in battleground Pennsylvania is leave nothing to chance. So while the candidates are still blitzing the state in these final few days, voters who are still hanging on to their mail-in ballots, are being urged to take those ballots directly to boxes, don't even put them through the mail at this point, that if you want to make absolutely certain that your vote will be counted.

A state supreme Court ruling has been let to stand that will allow for the counting of ballots that are received as many as three days after the election, but counties across the state have agreed to segregate those ballot as they could be subject to further legal challenge.

Here in Pennsylvania, even though ballots are coming in early, none of those ballots can be processed until Election Day. Some counties have said they won't start counting those ballots until after Election Day. All counties are being urged to do it on Election Day.

For the view from Ohio, we'll go to my colleague, Gary Tuchman.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alex, thank you very much.

Early voting here in the state of Ohio very robust. This is Cuyahoga County, home of Cleveland, where there are hundreds of people in line. The wait is over two hours to get in and vote inside the building here. This is the 22nd day of early voting in the state of Ohio. Tomorrow will be 23, and then even Monday early voting is open, that will be day 24. So lots of days to vote, but not lots of locations. That's because under Ohio law, you're only allowed one location in each of the 88 counties.

So there's lots of activity. It's very busy at each of these locations. It's like voter-palooza. You have a long line here to my left, this is a drive-through area where cars drive up, they stop, they don't have to get out of their car. They give their ballot to an election worker, and they drop it off here in the box.

Polls show the race here in the state of Ohio is too close to call, and that is one of the reasons why Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, former Democratic presidential candidate, has decided to spend millions of dollars for commercial ads for Joe Biden through a super PAC here in the state of Ohio. We can tell you that no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning the buckeye state, as you watch people drop off their ballots.

Now we go to my colleague Omar Jimenez in the battleground state of Michigan.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Gary. Of course, Michigan always expected to be close in the presidential

election, and as the state tries to button things up leading up to election day, a situation we're keeping an eye on comes out of Muskegon, Michigan, near Grand Rapids where the city clerk reported hundreds of irregularities in voter registration forms that were coming in that they immediately reported to county prosecutors. These several hundred irregularities game within a batch of 6,000 new voter registrations.

[10:35:02]

Now, as that investigation opened up, the state attorney general and the state police also opened up an investigation. And, for now, state police tell us that none of these irregular registrations actually resulted in ballots received, and that any people that actually -- any of these registrations that actually went through are now being voted, and it's not expected to have any impact on any election.

But so far, we have seen 2.6 million Michiganders cast their vote. That is more than half of the entire 2016 presidential turnout, more than half of the 2008 presidential turnout, which saw the highest turnout in Michigan in history. And while many have voted, there are many people that haven't, and that is why the candidates are making a final push for those people. President Obama and Joe Biden in Flint and Detroit today, with President Trump expected to be back in Michigan tomorrow. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Thank you, Omar. Thanks to all our correspondents. Appreciate that.

The road to victory for both candidates must pass through some key battleground states. Biden will bring the star power of former President Barack Obama to Michigan today, and President Trump is holding multiple rallies in Pennsylvania, the state that narrowly led him to victory in 2016.

Phil Mattingly, CNN congressional correspondent, is with us. So President Trump is campaigning in Pennsylvania today and will return one last time on Monday. Biden will blitz the state on Sunday. So how significant is Pennsylvania to either candidate?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I'm going to demonstrate in a second, but here's a shorthand you can take to the bank. The most valuable commodity in a campaign in the final days are the time of their candidates, their spouses, their top surrogates, and all of them will be heading to Pennsylvania, which gives you a sign that Pennsylvania matters, not unlike what Alex was just reporting.

Take a look back at 2016 and you understand why Pennsylvania is so important. President Trump just shattered the blue wall, Wisconsin, Michigan, but mostly Pennsylvania. This state right here, kind of the anchor of that blue wall where the real sirens went off when President Trump flipped this state from Democrats, but winning rather narrowly, 44,000 votes. It's why you've seen President Trump in Pennsylvania both in the eastern part of the state and the western part of the state, and Joe Biden focusing on Philadelphia, trying to turn out the big vote both in the city and in the suburbs, the counties surrounding it, and up in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, usually a Democratic stronghold as well.

Fred, those strongholds are going to be the same this time around. The question is margins. Can Democrats run up margins where they're supposed to? Can President Trump run up huge margins in the western part of the state. Here's where things stand right now based on polling. Pennsylvania poll polls, a combination of polls that CNN has put together, right now Joe Biden with a lead, a six-point lead, 51 to 44. Obviously, Democrats happy about that, but cognizant of the fact that polls might be wrong or there might be some margin of error there.

Let's go back to the 2016 map and talk about the importance of Pennsylvania right now. Let's say that a number of the states that president won in 2016 are toss-up states. They truly are, whether it's Florida or Georgia or North Carolina. Democrats feel good about Arizona. The reality right now if you look at this map, President Trump holding on to everything except for those states, right now is under 270.

What happens if Joe Biden wins the state of Pennsylvania? He's not at 270 yet, but any combination of Michigan or Wisconsin or Arizona, Florida -- if you give him Florida, Joe Biden is above 270. If you give him North Carolina, Georgia, Joe Biden is above 270. While there are pathways for President Trump without the state of Pennsylvania, Fred, the reality is Pennsylvania is crucial, and Pennsylvania is also a leading indicator for what might happen in states like Michigan and Wisconsin.

WHITFIELD: It is all a nail-biter, for sure. Phil Mattingly, thank you so much for that, appreciate it.

A record number of coronavirus cases, a record number of early votes cast, two clear reasons why this is an election year like no other. Next, how this is shaping the candidates' closing arguments.

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[10:43:2]

WHITFIELD: Right now, first lady Melania Trump is heading onto the campaign trail there. Here she is leaving Joint Base Andrews on her way to West Bend, Wisconsin, with a delicate wave there.

The United States has set a troubling new world record for most coronavirus infections in a single day. On Friday, the U.S. recorded more than 99,000 new COVID cases, and more than 1,000 deaths from coast to coast, multiple states are hitting record highs. Despite the surging pandemic, President Trump continues to downplay the virus and hold potential super-spreader rallies in states where COVID is spiking, rallies with no social distancing and few attendees wearing masks.

With we now, David Swerdlick, assistant editor tore the "Washington Post" and a CNN political commentator, and Tim Naftali, a former director of the Nixon Presidential Library and a CNN presidential historian. Good to see both of you. David, let begin with you and the startling contrast between President Trump's big rallies and Joe Biden's socially distanced drive-in rallies. You know, David, neither is budging on their approaches, but what do you make of the fact that each is fighting hard and being very strategic about where they are going in this final weekend?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, good morning, and happy Halloween, Fred. I think you have two things going on. One is that the visual itself is the closing message. You have President Trump having these packed rallies, saying, look, nothing to see here, the virus isn't as bad. He's pot committed to that message. And similarly, with Biden, he wants the focus to be on that, and therefore is having socially distanced rallies with people honking their horns.

But both campaigns are trying to nail down the states that they absolutely have to win, and it starts in Pennsylvania as everybody has zeroed in on, because, one, Joe Biden is a Pennsylvania guy, two, that's the sort of front end of that rust belt swing that President Trump kind of pulled away from Democrats in 2016 and that Democrats want to get back.

[10:45:09]

And of those rust belt states -- Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota -- Pennsylvania has the most electoral votes. So that's ground zero, and that's why you're seeing President Trump making multiple stops there, and that's why you're seeing Vice President Biden going there later in the week. It's a must have. And then if one side or the other can get that, it cuts off possibilities for the other side.

WHITFIELD: And, Tim, President Trump has been hoping for an October surprise to upend this election, but the surging pandemic, perhaps it's not what the president was expecting. Ultimately, how do you see his handling of the pandemic to impact the vote?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, the pandemic was, in a sense, the October surprise for the president. The president got sick, so, too, did a number of his senior staffers. The vice president senior staff got sick. Fortunately, everyone has gotten better. But that indeed was the October surprise for the Trump campaign. It meant that it was impossible for the president to change the subject as he wanted to away from COVID towards other issues, the Bidens, for example.

I believe that the president has made a decision that puts him in a different category for most leaders in the world. Most leaders, if the COVID -- if the disease got close to them, it sobered their approach, it made them more cautious. Look at what happened to Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom.

In the case of our president, he actually began to push for people to take more risks. He undermined our public health message, and as a result I believe that the campaign that he has run since his own October surprise has been the most immoral in modern American political history. Those campaign rallies, though not necessarily super-spreader events, certainly could have been and might have been. There have been at least 12 rallies since the president himself tested positive. So this is unprecedented in our history, and a singular mismanagement and imperiling decision by a president to seek reelection.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And adding to the count, there will be 14 rallies between today and Monday for President Trump.

So, David, several Republican senators are in rather tough races, as the GOP tries to hold onto the Senate. President Trump set the tone for the Republicans by skipping one of his presidential debates. Of course, he was recovering from his diagnosis of having COVID, but we're talking about now South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham backing out of one debate before finally deciding to take part in a final face off with his Democratic challenger. And then now you're got Georgia GOP Senator David Perdue who is in a tight race as well in the state of Georgia, he has backed out of a debate with his Democratic opponent. Take a listen to what he said about that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): We've done two already, and we've got the president coming into town. And right now, we're doing what we are supposed to be doing, and that's getting the vote out. But we've already seen in the first two debates that my opponent, Jon Ossoff, will say one thing out in the rest of the state and another thing in Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So David, wow, what's the message being sent to voters about whether they can just back out of a debate? This is an opportunity for voters to hear what they have to say and make a decision before they cast their ballots.

SWERDLICK: Fred, these senators are calculating that they can get by with the last few remaining days and not have to face the questions from moderators or their opponents. Whether you're talking about Senator Perdue or Senator Graham in South Carolina, some of the other senators on the fence, Collins, Loeffler, also in Georgia, McSally in Arizona, they know that this is a referendum in a lot of ways on President Trump. And when you go on a debate stage, you can't duck a question like, as Tim was just saying, what about the morality of having these potentially super-spreader events. You can't duck a question in a debate about something like why isn't President Trump following his own CDC guidelines.

And so with just two or three days to go, I think the campaign calculation is let's just avoid them and keep campaigning and not have to go head-to-head.

WHITFIELD: Lots of unprecedented moments in all of this. David Swerdlick, Tim Naftali, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:54:26]

WHITFIELD: American voters are setting all kinds of records for early voting, both in person and by mail. But several court decisions this week have changed the way some states will count those mail-in ballots. Some got extensions, while others got jarring cut-off dates. In Minnesota, Senator Amy Klobuchar sent out this warning to voters there this week, "Because of last minute ruling, Minnesota, do not put ballots in the mail anymore."

Our Kara Scannell is tracking some of the decisions and how they are affecting voters. Kara, let's start with the extensions. Which states have a little longer to receive mail-in ballots?

[10:55:03]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Fred, that's right. This has been a week of big court decisions in these critical battleground states. So in Pennsylvania, voters who mail in their ballots, their ballots will be counted three days after Election Day. That's because the state supreme court said that that was OK. It went up to the U.S. Supreme Court. They deadlocked four to four, which sent it down and makes the state ruling hold for now. But in North Carolina, ballots that are mailed in and received up to nine days after Election Day will also be counted. That was a win for the Democrats.

But on the other hand, you had rulings that have gone the other way. In Wisconsin, the Supreme Court ruled that ballots that come in after Election Day will not be counted. The state there had extended the ballots to come in for up to nine days after the election. And then in Minnesota, we had a ruling from a federal appeals court just this week where they said that if they do not get the ballots in by 8:00 on Election Day, they will not be counted. The secretary of state said on Friday they are not going to appeal at this point, but that issue could end up back before the courts, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Kara Scannell, thank you so much for that.

The countdown to the election continues at the top of the hour.

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