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Harris Camp Seizes on Trump's Offensive New Remark About Women; Soon, Dueling Trump, Harris Events in Nevada as Latino Outreach Intensifies; John King in Michigan as He Hits Five Battlegrounds in Five Days. Trump Transition Co-Chair Endorses RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vaccine Theories; Trump Stokes Election Fraud Conspiracies In Battleground PA. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, the Harris campaign is seizing on Donald Trump's vow to protect women, quote, whether they like it or not. The vice president blasting the remark is offensive, while our ally suggests this could expand her already wide advantage with female voters.

Also this hour, Trump and Harris are getting ready to hold dueling events in battleground Nevada, including a Harris appearance with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. The fight to win over Latino voters intensifying after the insult of Puerto Rico at a Trump rally.

Plus, John King is covering new ground on his tour of swing states. After talking to voters in Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin, Michigan is a stop tonight as he visits five battlegrounds in five days.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

Five days to go until Election Day and Donald Trump is giving the Harris campaign fresh fuel to attack his attitude towards women who could decide the presidential election. We're following all the breaking news on the race as both candidates are preparing to rally voters in the battleground state of Nevada tonight.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in Henderson, Nevada. That's where Trump is expected to speak soon. But, first, let's go to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, she's at the site of a Harris event in North Las Vegas.

Priscilla, let's listen to what former President Trump said about women that's stirring up a lot of controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And Donald Trump's not done. Did everyone hear what he just said yesterday? That he will do what he wants, quote, and here's where I'm going to quote, whether the women like it or not. He does not believe women should have the agency and authority to make decisions about their own bodies. This is the same man who said women should be punished for their choices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Priscilla, how's the vice president responding to that?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the strategies that the campaign has been using in recent days is rapidly responding to what former President Donald Trump said. That is what she was doing this morning to this remark from the former president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women. Sir, please don't say that. Why? They said, sir, I just think it's inappropriate for you to say. I pay these guys a lot of money. Can you believe it? I said, well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, the vice president has had an edge when it comes to women voters. That's according to the polls. She's trying to keep that edge by calling out the former president and some of what he has been saying over recent days.

And senior campaign officials have been projecting confidence about their standing among women. But this swing in Arizona Nevada is also about Latino voters. They are crucial in both of these states. And the vice president in polls has been about evenly split with the former president when it comes to Latino voters.

So, she is trying to gain that edge and that is partially what she'll be doing here with Jennifer Lopez and the Mexican band, Mana. This, of course, part of a groundswell of support among Latino celebrities over recent days, after those remarks from a comedian at the former president's rally in New York City assailing Puerto Rico, that has ignited more momentum behind Latino celebrities who have been backing Vice President Harris.

But all of this, of course, is important to Nevada. The timing here, no coincidence, tomorrow is the last day of early vote in person. Mail-in ballots will continue, then in-person voting will commence again on Tuesday. So, certainly, the campaign is trying to capitalize on early voting here in Nevada as well.

Now all of this, again, coming as the vice president looks toward Election Day, is trying to lock in her coalition with women, but also with Latinos. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, I want you to stand by as we bring in CNN's Alayna Treene. She's over at the Trump rally in Henderson, Nevada. Alayna, what is Trump's message out West, and are his comments about protecting women overshadowing that message?

[18:05:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Wolf, the message out west is, one, he's trying to hit all of the battleground states before Election Day. He will hit all the battleground states. But this is his last visit out west.

Now, as we know, in the closing days of this campaign, Donald Trump has really zeroed in on one key issue, and that is immigration.

Now, even though a lot of his allies and advisers and those who want him to win next week tell him that the economy is actually the number one issue in voters' minds and the one where he is polling better than Kamala Harris, Donald Trump continues to argue that he thinks immigration is the top issue, and that's what he's spent a lot of time talking about today in New Mexico.

But one other thing he's also trying to do out on this swing out west today is to court Hispanic and Latino voters. One, because his campaign recognizes how crucial their vote is to winning next week, particularly in an election that is going to be so close. But also he wants to kind of clean up some of what was said over the weekend at his Madison Square Garden rally, where a comedian got on stage and referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage.

Trump in New Mexico kind of admitted, he kind of said the quiet part out loud where he said, I am here because I love you, but also because I need to do some work with my credentials. Take a listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hispanics love Trump. They do.

They're smart. They're entrepreneurial as hell.

They work their asses off.

I'm here for one simple reason, I like you very much and it's good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Wolf, to your other point, though, to your question about the -- his rhetoric on women overshadowing what he is doing, that has been something we have seen throughout this final stretch as well, with those comments over the weekend, but also what he said yesterday about being the protector of women, whether they like it or not.

When I talk to Trump's advisers, they acknowledge that these are what they argue are needless headaches right before Election Day. They are skeptical of whether it will move the needle, whether this is going to actually change people's votes, but they, of course, do not want this to be the focus, which is five days to go until November 5th. Wolf? BLITZER: Only five days, indeed. All right, Alayna Treene and Priscilla Alvarez, to both of you, thank you very much.

I want to get reaction to all of these developments. Our political experts are joining us right now. And Erin Perrine, let me start with you. Hearing Trump today not just doubling down about being a protector but saying, and I'm quoting now, whether women like it or not, do you agree with Trump's own advisers that this is an inappropriate thing for him to say?

ERIN PERRINE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, AXIOM STRATEGIES: I think his closing message should be on the economy and immigration. And if you hear that comment and you are an undecided voter, I'm not sure it sways you one way or the other. And if you are a decided voter, if you're a Democrat, this pushes you further into your corner that this only reinforces what you believe about Donald Trump. And if you are a Republican, this also reinforces what you believe about Donald Trump, that he would stand up and fight and be in the breach to protect the American people. It's not the closing argument I would recommend the candidate makes, and I agree with his team that he should be focusing more on the economy and immigration.

This is where politicians all across the board get it wrong. When they start thinking that that what they're saying is going to be more important than what the voters are telling them in that moment, voters are screaming that the economy still, it's too hard for them. They feel that their paychecks aren't going far enough, and they're worried about immigration in the southern border. And instead, Donald Trump's off talking about other things. Five days, you've got to stay focused, and that's just, it doesn't seem to be happening.

BLITZER: I want to bring in Ashley Etienne. She's with us as well. Ashley, you heard Vice President Harris seize on this today as she's leading Trump among women voters in virtually every swing state according to our final CNN polls, by as much as 16 points, by the way, in Arizona, 11 points in Wisconsin, 9 points in North Carolina. So, how does she use this to her advantage?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, listen, here's the thing. Every time Donald Trump opens up his mouth these days, he's driving Democratic turnout. So, there's not much he actually has to do. He's doing all of the work for her. But what I do appreciate she did is she focused on his one phrase, whether women like it or not. And I would argue she should have gone further.

Here's the thing. This is a gentleman who was found liable for sexual assault. He bragged about grabbing women in their genitalia even when they didn't want it. And he also reversed Roe. And women are actually losing their life, like literally dying because of Trump's abortion ban.

So, this gives -- this is rich fodder for the Democratic Party. This is the note they want Donald Trump to close out on, because the reality is women don't want Donald Trump's protection. They don't want his brand of protection. What they want is their rights, and they want those same rights for their daughters. [18:10:01]

And they're going to the polls, but not just that's reflected in the polls, but they're also going to the voting booth and voting against Donald Trump on this particular issue. This is why Republicans have been losing the last two cycles on this issue, why Harris is outpacing Donald Trump among women by double digits. This is nuclear for her.

BLITZER: And traditionally, women voted higher percentages than men vote.

Stuart Stevens, let me get your thoughts. You were Mitt Romney's chief strategist for his presidential campaign back in 2012. A lot of us remember that. Looking at that gender gap for Trump, what would you think if those were your candidate's numbers?

STUART STEVENS, FORMER ROMNEY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CHIEF STRATEGIST: I think we're going to lose. At the moment, you know, about 50 some odd million people have voted and across the board, the women are voting at 10 percent higher than men. Now, that's probably going to average out some. But the average after the election is usually 4 percent since 2004. So, that's a long way to close.

Listen, I just don't think Donald Trump can stay on a message. I mean, think about it. He's out there saying he's not a Nazi. I mean, nobody said that. He's talking about Arnold Palmer's like privates. Nobody told him to do that. No one told him to talk about having military tribunals to execute our top generals or political opponents. He just can't do it, because for him, it is just all about him and whatever he's feeling in that moment he will say.

And I just have to say, I really don't think the majority of Americans want to look at the Oval Office and see a guy who keeps putting on like costumes, like, you know, McDonald's one day and now he's out there in a safety vest.

I don't know. I mean, maybe I'm old school Michael Dukakis and the tank still resonates, but I really don't think it's the dignity and the gravitas of the office, particularly this close to the finish of the race.

BLITZER: Yes, important point. Erin, at the same time, J.D. Vance's podcast with Joe Rogan was released today. He made some striking comments about abortions. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: To be clear, this is not true of the gross majority of our pro choice citizens, but you do sometimes see people, like they'll go on TikTok and they'll celebrate having an abortion. Like I've known many, many women who usually when I was younger who chose to have abortions, because they felt like they didn't have any other options.

My argument is we need to try to gain those women's trust back because clearly the Republican Party on this issue has lost a lot of trust, but none of them were like baking birthday cakes and posting about it afterwards. They recognize that this is a medical procedure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)\

BLITZER: So, how do you think women in particular are going to react to this statement from the senator?

PERRINE: I don't necessarily think that women are going to react in one way or another. I agree with J.D. Vance that Republicans have done a very bad job at talking to female voters and women about abortion and about families and about the right to life and they've done a bad job and we've seen that to Ashley's point for a few cycles where this has been a sore spot for Republicans in the midterms. It was a big reason why you saw Democrats.

And this is what drives me probably the most passionately about what we need to be doing in the future for the Republican Party is how we talk to women. I don't think anybody would be surprised to know that I am a woman that is talking to other Republican women.

And we need to make sure that two things happen. One, we have an honest and earnest conversation for politicians or those who want to be elected, especially on the conservative side, about what their marker is for abortion. And if that's, you know, second trimester, whatever, set the definitive or the left will do it for you.

And, secondly, when it comes to access to healthcare for women, this is not a question, this is not a conversation. If a woman is bleeding out and she needs access to a medical procedure, there should be no question. And if there are questions and doctors are concerns about their ability to be able to do that, then laws need to be change immediately in this country and Republicans need to understand that women need access to the healthcare. And if the laws are stopping that, change that.

BLITZER: Yes. Ashley, what's your reaction?

ETIENNE: Yes, I just wanted to weigh in on something that J.D. Vance said. He said that the Republican Party needs to regain the trust of women. I don't disagree with that. But women don't trust the Republican Party, not just because they're taking away their reproductive rights, but they're wrong on a lot of issues that relate to women's economics, that they're not for pay equity. They're not for a child tax credit. They're not cutting middle class taxes that are supporting women. They're not for family paid leave. I mean, they're not for these policies that support women. So, it's going to be hard to gain their trust when everything about your party says you're anti me.

BLITZER: All right. Everybody stand by. We have more to discuss.

Just ahead, more on the Harris campaign strategy against Trump and how the women's vote will figure in.

[18:15:04]

A key Harris ally, Susan Rice is standing by live. Plus, more from the new interview with Senator J.D. Vance and his stunning new comments about gay and trans Americans.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Vice President Kamala Harris has two events in Nevada tonight as she's raising the alarm about Donald Trump's newest comments about protecting women.

Joining us now, a key Harris ally, former Biden Domestic Policy Adviser, Susan Rice, she also, of course, served as the national security adviser to President Obama. Susan, thanks very much for joining us.

You heard Trump's comments about being the protector of women, and I'm quoting him now, whether the women like it or not. How do you interpret that?

[18:20:00]

SUSAN RICE, FORMER OBAMA NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It's creepy. It's just freaky when you have an adjudicated rapist and a serial groper saying he's going to do whatever to women, whether they like it or not, it tells you all you need to know. He has absolutely zero respect for women, their ability to make their own decisions, not just about their bodies, but about everything.

And I think it's a very telling message for him to be conveying in the final days of this campaign because it really puts an exclamation point on what's at stake in this election.

BLITZER: Susan, I want to play something that Trump said at his rally earlier today. Listen and watch this.

TRUMP: Your votes are rigged. We can win New Mexico.

We almost won it twice. And let me tell you, I believe we won it twice, okay?

And if you can watch your vote counter, if we could bring God down from heaven, he could be the vote counter, we would win this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Susan, what do you make of Trump once again spreading baseless lies about past elections as well as appearing to sow doubt about the upcoming election?

RICE: Well, I think that that's exactly what he's trying to do. He's trying to lay a false predicate for his claims of fraud when he loses. I think the more he does this, the more you might infer that he thinks he's losing.

But, you know, the difference this time, Wolf, is that the American people, we've been to this movie before. We know the playbook. We're ready for the legal challenges. And, you know, it is imperative that every vote be cast and counted, and that the democracy that we so love and depend on is preserved. He's doing his darnedest to undermine not just faith in the integrity of the election but democracy itself.

And it's not a surprise when you consider that, you know, he is an aficionado of Vladimir Putin. He wants to allow Putin to do whatever the hell he wants with NATO. You really have to wonder, you know, whose side he's on and whether he believes in democracy and one person one vote. And I'm increasingly dubious.

BLITZER: As you know, the Affordable Care Act has emerged as a key issue after the House Speaker Johnson signaled what he called massive overhaul if Trump retakes the White House. The Trump campaign is distancing themselves from those remarks, claiming Trump never wanted to end the program. What's your reaction to that?

RICE: It's laughable. He spent his entire first term repeatedly trying to kill Obamacare, something like two dozen times. And were it not for John McCain from the great state of Arizona, where I am right now, we would not have the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare.

Project 2025 is clear. They want to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. In the debate with Vice President Harris, he said he had concepts of a plan. He's been running for office or sitting in office for nearly ten years. He has no healthcare plan. He just wants to tear up Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act, probably just because it's got Obama's name on it, and deprive tens of millions of Americans of critical healthcare, take us back to a time when preexisting conditions weren't covered.

And, Wolf, let me remind your listeners that being a woman was a preexisting condition, quite literally. Your health care costs were higher.

So, this is -- you know, they know it's unpopular now, finally, to be against the Affordable Care Act, but that's exactly what they've done, and it's exactly what they intend to do.

BLITZER: I don't know if you saw it, but the Harris campaign, Susan, released a Spanish language ad hammering Trump's record of disparaging rhetoric towards Latinos, as well as that controversial remark from the Trump rally about Puerto Rico being a, quote, floating island of garbage, yet Trump is still polling fairly well with Latino voters. Why do you think that is?

RICE: Well, I don't know that the polls have taken account of these latest comments. I find that people are outraged by them. Latinos are outraged by them. But everybody's outraged by them. I mean, his closing argument in his campaign is to disparage and disrespect women, to demean and denigrate Latinos, Puerto Ricans, Black Americans, Arab Americans, Jewish Americans. I mean, I don't know almost who's left except perhaps a limited slice of white men.

It's outrageous. It's I think a bad political strategy. And I think people are sick and tired of it, which is why we all feel like it's time to turn the page.

[18:25:03]

BLITZER: Well, we shall see what happens on Tuesday. Susan Rice, thanks so much for joining us.

RICE: Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, we'll share more of a Senator J.D. Vance's podcast interview with Joe Rogan, including rather controversial comments he just made about the LGBT community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: I want to get some more right now on that very lengthy interview. Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Senator J.D. Vance just recorded with podcast host Joe Rogan.

Our political experts are back with me right now. And, Erin Perrine, let me start with you. I want to play two controversial comments Vance made about the LGBTQ community. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: If you are a, you know, middle class or upper middle class white parent, and the only thing that you care about is whether your child goes into Harvard or Yale, like obviously that pathway has become a lot harder for a lot of upper middle class kids. But, the one way that those people can participate in the DEI bureaucracy in this country is to be trans.

[18:30:01]

If you become trans, that is the way to reject your white privilege.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if me and Trump won just the normal gay guy vote, because, again, they just wanted to be left the hell alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, why is Vance pushing this unfounded claim that students are becoming trans to get into some elite college?

PERRINE: I don't know that he was necessarily trying to push that unfounded claim as much as he was trying to use it as an example. But in the game of politics, explaining is losing. If you have to take time to clean up remarks or elaborate or go further into them, you're doing yourself and your message, whatever J.D. Vance was trying to get across there, a disservice. And in the closing days of this campaign, it is mind boggling to me that any candidate, vice president or president, would be talking about the things that are most important to the American people.

I understand that was a very long podcast and it covered a lot of topics, and especially Republicans and many in the conservative movement on the right feel that DEI and wokeness is an issue for them. So, this might be a base play there, but it's not one that's consistent with the message that the American people want to hear or would be winning in five days from now on Election Day.

BLITZER: Ashley Etienne, what's your reaction to that claim by Senator Vance?

ETIENNE: I mean, it's -- J.D. Vance and Donald Trump's obsession with what people do with their bodies and who they love is just, to quote the governor, weird. And it's absurd. I mean, his argument is absolutely simply absurd. And I think those white parents he's referring to should be offended at this notion that they would, you know, subject their children as a way to get advantage going in. I mean, it's just ridiculous. I hate to even repeat it.

But here's the thing. I have to agree with Erin. This is really a play for the base. I think this is an acknowledgement on the part of the campaign that they can get those 1 to 2 percent undecided, disaffected Republican voters. So now, they're double downing on their base, their MAGA base, which is anti everything, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ, anti- science, anti-American history. I mean, I could go on and on again.

And so what they're trying to do is really make a play for those low propensity voters that might -- that this might -- these kinds of messages might appeal to, but I don't think it's going to, you know, close that gap with that 1 or 2 percent that's actually going to make the difference. And, again, it's just appalling arguments that the vice (INAUDIBLE).

BLITZER: Let me get Stuart Stevens' thoughts. So, Stuart to that point we just heard, this seems to be part of a broader Trump campaign message. They're actually spending more on ads criticizing Kamala Harris' support for transgender rights than on any other subject In these closing days, this closing stretch of this campaign. Is that the right focus?

STEVENS: No, I don't think so. Look, I think a lot of people in the Republican Party, and I was part of the party when this was happening, never became comfortable with same sex marriage. I think we just sort of shut up about it, because it wasn't really working politically. And I think this entire over the top anger and obsession with trans, tiny number of people, is trying to claw back stuff that we now take it for granted, like same sex marriage.

And can I just say one thing? There is a DEI candidate in this race and it is J.D. Vance. He got into Yale, because he was positioning himself as a disadvantaged Appalachian kid. And he wrote a book presenting himself as a disadvantaged Appalachian kid. And that's kind of a little odd to me because he in a golf team in high school.

So, look, if anybody knows how to work the system, it's J.D. Vance.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Erin, do you heard Vance also say he and Trump could win. And I'm quoting him now, he said they could win the normal, this is a quote, the normal gay guy vote. What is a normal gay guy vote? PERRINE: Not really sure. I'm generally right now looking at the difference between the voting propensity for men and women, low propensity voters, and the change in the Republican electorate and the Democrat electorate over the last decade and how that's going to shape up in these final closing days. Republicans have shifted to a lower propensity voter. Democrats have shifted to a higher propensity voter. So, early vote can be reflective of Democrats getting out there and game day could be more reflective of Republicans.

Higher turnout elections now could actually be better for Republicans than they were previously because of the play for low propensity voters. Big risk, big reward, they don't normally show up. Can they get them? That's what they need to be focusing on.

BLITZER: Ashley, how do you think voters are going to react to that?

ETIENNE: To Vance's arguments?

BLITZER: Yes, that he thinks he could win the normal gay vote, gay guy vote.

[18:35:04]

ETIENNE: Oh, yes, I think they're going to be turned off by all of this. I mean, you know, to Erin's point, this is not an issue that, A, I don't even know what a normal gay guy vote is, but more importantly, this is not an issue that voters are really most interested in.

But let me just say this. Here's what I'm hearing from the ground. I was just on the phone with Congressman Horsford in Nevada, who knows how to win tough races. And his point is that the energy and the enthusiasm is palpable, that the Republicans are being outmatched by our ground operation (INAUDIBLE). And that's what matters right now is the turnout, who can turn out their voters. And it looks like Democrats are winning on the ground from Nevada to North Carolina.

BLITZER: All right, everyone, thank you very, very much, lots to discuss, lots to assess.

And just ahead, we're live in one of the most important battleground states, Michigan. CNN's John King is standing by as he continues his tour of five swing states in five days.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: With just five days until voting ends, more than 60 million Americans have already cast a ballot, and that includes Michigan, where both presidential campaigns are focusing heavily on that swing state, and its crucial 15 electoral votes.

Let's check in with CNN's John King. He's joining us from his continuing tour of battleground states. I know, John, you're in Ann Arbor, Michigan, tonight. This is your fourth battleground in four days, and I know you've had a chance to speak to younger voters where you are right now. What did they tell you?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Younger voters -- sorry, Wolf. Younger voters are our focus today. This is my fourth visit here in Ann Arbor -- to Ann Arbor, excuse me, in the past year to talk with younger voters. I want to bring up Michigan on the magic wall here just to show you where we are. You see Detroit here, then you come over to here, Washtenaw County, that's where you find Ann Arbor. Look at the big margin Joe Biden had in this county four years ago. A lot of that is because of enthusiasm of younger voters on college campuses.

A big question this year from Vice President Harris, will student anger at the Israel Hamas conflict, anger at the White House, will that affect her?

Well, listen here. This is Jade Graham that you're about to hear from. She's the former president of the College Democrats here. She works for a progressive organization now. A year ago, she was worried about that. She was very worried about President Biden's prospects. Even later on a visit, she was still worried about the vice president's prospects, saying students were still angry and would take it out on her. She says that anger has not gone away. But, listen, she says she's a lot more confident now that not only will young voters vote for Harris, but they'll turn out in high numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JADE GRAY, DIGITAL ORGANIZING MANAGER, PROGRESS MICHIGAN: Michigan had a record youth voter turnout in 2022, and I'm enthusiastic about breaking that record in 2024. We've been tabling today, and it has been consistent that there have been over a thousand people pledging to vote on a daily basis. Earlier, they said it was about 2,000 people pledging to vote every day.

So, I think that, you know, like I keep saying, when we vote we win, and we are getting people turning out to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, that's Jade Graham, a Democrat here in Ann Arbor, Wolf. I just want to go a little to the north and a little to the west. That's Ingham County. You see Lansing up in the top left there. That's where the Michigan State campus is. Again, if you look, a big blue county for Joe Biden in 2020, Vice President Harris needs to match that number this year.

But there's a very active college Republican group on the Michigan State University campus. The state Republican headquarters is there in Lansing. We met Ralph Brennan there at the headquarters today. He was working a phone bank. He's a junior from Ohio, but he's registered to vote here in Michigan because of this campaign.

He's also been out canvassing, knocking on doors, and I asked him what happens when he knocks on a door and the person who opens it is a Harris supporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH BRENNAN, CAMPUS COORDINATOR AT MICHIGAN TRUMP TEAM: Well with the Harris, it's very hard. You know, usually it's like, you know, I don't like Donald Trump. He's a criminal, whatever they say. But, you know, I really try to tell them like, how, how was your life in 2019 pre-COVID? How was the economy? How are your finances? Were you doing well? Usually, they say, yes, and I say let's get that back. You know, let's, let's get back to that economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: And, Wolf, on both of those campuses, that was up in Lansing at Michigan State, I'm now at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, on both campuses, you see a lot of activity on early voting, including students with Halloween costumes on encouraging other students to vote.

So the turnout, right, we're at the end of the campaign, organization matters in these closely contested battlegrounds, youth vote one of the things we'll look at as we count the votes Tuesday and beyond. I can tell you there's a lot of buzz on these campuses. And here at the University of Michigan, they think it is very, very key to the Democratic coalition.

BLITZER: Very significant indeed. All right, John King, doing excellent reporting as he always does.

Thank you very, very much. Coming up, what a top Trump official is now telling CNN about a possible second term, including plans for some rather controversial allies like Elon Musk and RFK Jr.

We'll be right back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:49]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The co-chair of Donald Trumps transition team is giving CNN a preview of what a second Trump administration might actually look like. And it's already generating a lot of headlines listen to what Howard Lutnick told our Kaitlan Collins about RFK Jr.'s possible influence if Trump returns to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, TRUMP-VANCE TRANSITION TEAM CO-CHAIR: So I spent two- and-a-half hours this week with Bobby Kennedy, Jr., and it was the most extraordinary thing. What he explained was when he was born, we had three vaccines and autism was one in 10,000. Now a baby's born with 76 vaccines.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Vaccines safe. RFK, I mean --

LUTNICK: Why do you think vaccines are safe? There's no product liability anymore. They're not proven.

COLLINS: Kids get them and they're fine.

LUTNICK: Why do you think they're fine?

COLLINS: But because they proven scientifically.

LUTNICK: He says, if you give me the date of all I wanted its the data and I'll take on the data and show that it's not safe and that if you pull the product liability, the companies will yank these vaccines, right off, off of the market.

COLLINS: RFK Jr. is a vaccine skeptic. He pushes lies about vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our Kaitlan Collins is joining us right now.

Kaitlan, you did an excellent job as you always do.

[18:50:01]

What does this suggest to you about another possible Trump term?

COLLINS: Well, it shows how influential if Trump is elected next week, someone like an RFK Jr. is going to be on that administration. This is Howard Lutnick. He's the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. But he's the person on the Trump transition team who is basically spearheading everything when it comes to personnel, Wolf.

So he's lining up potential candidates for big jobs, senior roles inside the West Wing, but also cabinet positions. And so listening to him talk there about how easily persuaded he was by RFK's views on vaccines in that embracing them, even though obviously, as I noted to him in that interview, what he was saying is just simply not true and vaccines are safe and proven to be effective and rigorously tested before they're approved for people to actually get them. It just shows wolf how that two-and-a-half-hour meeting that he had with him, how -- how he persuade Howard Lutnick to see his side of things.

And I think what it says is that when you're looking at what a second Trump term is going to be, Trump has been spelling it out for us. Just how much influence someone like an RFK Jr. could have.

Now, Lutnick denied to me that he is going to be the secretary of health and human services. There's a lot of doubt over whether or not RFK Jr. could actually be confirmed even by Republicans in the Senate to that position. But he was saying he could have access to federal government data on this and talked about clearly he is going to have influence in that administration.

I think you'll -- we talk a lot about a second Trump term of who's going to be running the Pentagon, who's going to be in charge of the Department of Justice. It also shows you though, in these other there are key roles. What that could look like and just how deeply influential someone like RFK Jr., someone who has lied a lot about vaccines could be. I should note, Wolf, we also asked him about Elon Musk. He said Musk is not someone who's going to formally come into the administration because he'd have to divest when it comes to his businesses, but he did say that he explosive now have a significant role should Trump be elected next Tuesday.

BLITZER: Kaitlan Collins, I'm really happy you reported on this last night. Thanks very, very much for joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And to our viewers, Kaitlan, of course, will be back later tonight to host her terrific program, the source at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

And coming up, how Donald Trump is targeting one battleground state with lots of conspiracy theories about election fraud.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:56]

BLITZER: Tonight, as Donald Trumps spreads more false claims of voter fraud in key battleground states. One of his main targets is Pennsylvania.

CNN's Brian Todd is taking a closer look at all of this for us.

Brian, Trump is peddling more conspiracy theories and fueling fears.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Trump has been on an absolute tear over Pennsylvania repeatedly posting on Truth Social allegations of voter registration fraud, and often speaking about it to reporters and at rallies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Tonight, a key battleground at the center of former President Donald Trump's latest allegations of voter fraud, Pennsylvania. Trump posting on truth, social quote, we caught them cheating big in Pennsylvania. Prosecute now, this is a criminal violation of the law, an accusation that he's been hammering on for days.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They found a lot of smaller things in Pennsylvania, as you know, and I think they've been corrupted.

TODD: Trump and his team have alleged that in York County, Pennsylvania, thousands of potentially fraudulent voter registration forms were turned in from a third party group and Trump claims that in Lancaster County, there were least 2,500 fake ballots and forms all written by the same person.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has been tracking election disputes in Pennsylvania. He says, in those two counties, it appears the safeguards in place worked. MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: The authorities, in Lancaster and York County notice what was going on. They paused all those are distractions launched an investigation and determined that some of them might be improper, but others were perfectly fine and those registrations can go forward.

TODD: Pennsylvania's secretary of state, a Republican, also spoke of his states safeguards.

AL SCHMIDT (R), PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH: Elections in Pennsylvania, whether you're a voter or a candidate should have confidence in the integrity of our elections and that they are free, fair, safe, and secure.

TODD: Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, posted on X that Trump is trying to, quote, stoke chaos in his state.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Given Donald Trump's history of lying about the U.S. election system, I think that it's fair for reporters to say that he is essentially laying the groundwork to call the 2024 election rigged.

TODD: Others are sowing doubts, too.

U.S. intelligence has determined that Russian operatives were behind this fake video, which circulated on social media purporting to show someone destroying mail-in ballots for Trump in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Again, this video is fake.

In addition, election officials in battleground state tells CNN they've been trying and largely failing to combat a torrent of misinformation coming from billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk as he stumps for Trump in those states.

A Pennsylvania election official telling CNN, quote, Elon Musk is a huge problem there.

BARRON-LOPEZ: He has millions of followers on X, on social media, and he has also spread Donald Trump's baseless lies about the election.

TODD: Musk and one of his attorneys have not responded to CNN's questions to them about the concerns of him spreading misinformation. An X spokesperson said the platform is enforcing its policies on election interference and misleading content.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): As part of his response to Donald Trumps allegations of voter fraud in his state, Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro pointed out that he, Shapiro, was the state's attorney general back in 2020 when Trump repeatedly attack the elections process in Pennsylvania and tried to overturn the results there. Shapiro says that at that time, Trump went 0-43 in his court cases in Pennsylvania -- Wolf.

Brian Todd reporting -- Brian, thanks very much. And to our viewers, thanks for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.