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Millions Evacuating Ahead of Hurricane Matthew; Reagan's Son Blasts Trump on Twitter; Trump, Clinton Prep for Sunday's Showdown; 6 Georgia Counties Now Under Mandatory Evacuations. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 06, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We do begin with breaking news. Right now the southeast is facing its most fearsome hurricane in years. The Bahamas getting absolutely battered right now as hurricane Matthew barrels toward Florida. We are expecting to hear from that state's governor at any moment now. He's already urged millions of people, though, to flee the Atlantic Coast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT, (R) FLORIDA: There are no excuses. You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate. This storm will kill you. Time is running out. We don't have that much time left. This surge by itself could be deadly but on top of that, we are going to have waves on top of that. These are heights above ground. Waves will be crashing on your roof if you are right close to where the storm surge is happening and you're close to where the waves are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The massive storm likely to be a category 4 when it makes landfall in Florida overnight and as of now, Florida is bracing for a direct hit, 11 million now under a hurricane warning in Florida, which extends from the Florida Keys all the way into Georgia. CNN's Nick Valencia and Boris Sanchez are along Florida's East Coast. Nick, I want to start with you in Palm Beach.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Just in the last 15 minutes, you could really feel the effects of this impending hurricane. It was within the last 15 minutes that we saw our first signs of drizzle, our first signs of the presence of the National Guard. And just to give you a sense of how bad the wind is here, if you pan up, see that palm tree, the wind has picked up so many miles per hour just in the last several minutes here. And a part of the problem here as well, Carol, if you could see behind me, all of these people that are on the beach, this area is under a mandatory evacuation but even still, you have people coming out here to test their courage, their curiosity, to see what the conditions are like. Earlier we saw at least three surfers in that water taking their chances. I can see another one here just off camera, off in the distance. We spoke earlier to an individual here who has only been here for a couple of years but even he says that he's planning on sticking out the storm at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: So for you guys who are sticking it out, I mean, how do you feel about it? What do you say back to the governor who is telling people like you to leave?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, -- I'm taking the necessary precautions but I would like to stick around and if there's anything that can be done after the storm to help out, I would like to be here for that and for the city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Many people are stocking up on bare essentials, supplies at stores, but even those are in short supply. Hardly any bread on the store shelves, hardly any water. Generators are being bought up. We saw a lot of nervous families going aisle by aisle trying to pick up what they could yesterday at the supermarkets. Gas also a problem. Some gas stations here in West Palm have run completely out of fuel. The governor says that they have enough of a supply state-wide to get through the hurricane but there are a lot of nervous people here in West Palm Beach. Carol?

COSTELLO: I bet that's right, Nick Valencia, reporting live from Palm Beach, Florida this morning. Let's head to the Weather Center and Chad Myers now. So how worried should people be, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Carol, I don't know how you prepare or whatever that man said that he was taking all the necessary precautions for 140 mile per hour wind. I don't know what those are. Other than be in some type of brick structure that has concrete all around it and a moat around it or something to keep you away from storm surge. This is a deadly storm.

This now has the same pressure, Carol, as it went over Haiti. We showed you pictures earlier with Haiti. One town had one percent of the buildings still standing. 99 percent were completely knocked down. This is getting stronger by the hour. It is moving up toward even Fort Lauderdale. You are going to get winds of 70 to 100. You may not have heard that yet today. But because we have been focused so much on Jupiter, in Stuart, in Fort Pierce but the areas around Fort Lauderdale, norther up in the Palm Beach, they will see wind speeds of 100 miles per hour. Maybe wind gusts. But the red zone here, that's category 3 or higher winds. Stuart, Jupiter, Fort Pierce, West Palm, Boca, you're going to see wind gusts of 115 miles per hour.

There's no way to get out of that. There's no way to get away from that. The only way is to move inland. Even Orlando, you are going to see winds of around 75. Remember what Francis and Jeanne did to Orlando way inland? I mean 45 miles from the Coast. Orlando still got a lot of damage. I can see that same story here for a town that hasn't been mentioned very much. You need to take the same precautions there even if there's a 75 mile per hour gust, Orlando is in trouble. But Daytona, Palm Coast, St. Augustine. Those are all areas, that red circle there that's 115 miles per hour or more because for a time this storm will be 145. There's just no way to be in the right place for that. There is no right place here except away from the storm. Do your best to get away from it if you can. I know hunker down, I know the pets, I know the people that are having a hard time getting out of places, but I'm telling you what, just because they are evacuating 1.5 million along the coast in the flood zone, there's going to be so much wind damage, you're going to wish you weren't there anyway. Weeks and weeks I think, Carol, for some people without power and that's no fun when it's hot and muggy

[10:05:16] and after a hurricane, it gets really hot.

COSTELLO: It sure does, really hot and very humid. Chad Myers thanks so much. We will get back to you. With me on the phone now is the Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Welcome, sir.

MAYOR CARLOS GIMENEZ, (R) MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: Hi, how are you doing?

COSTELLO: I'm probably doing a lot better than you because -- we are not expecting this big storm to hit us at any moment now here in New York City. But Miami is going to escape the brunt of this storm but it's still dangerous, right?

GIMENEZ: Yes because you never know where these storms are going to go. I mean, they don't follow the script. And so what we advise our people is to prepare as if a storm is coming, you know. We feel it's not going to be a direct hit, but our message has always been the same we prepare with three days of water, and food, and we gas up our vehicles and we shutter up our property and then, you know, we don't have any evacuation orders.

We have asked that folks that live in mobile homes to voluntarily evacuate to shelters. We have opened up shelters with capacity of about 1,000 people. We have about 300 people that have taken advantage of that. The way that this storm appears to be heading, it's going to be brushing us with tropical storm force winds and so we will probably escape, you know the worst of it.

But I can see that the storm is strengthening, you know right now as I look at it. It's got a well-defined eye and they expect it to reach about 145 mile an hour winds by the time it maybe hits further up the state. So our prayers are with the people up in the state but we are here, we're hunkered down in Miami-Dade County and we are, you know, hoping for the best, but we are always prepared for the worst.

COSTELLO: So schools are closed and things like that. Are you just asking people to stay in their homes?

GIMENEZ: Yes. Today, the schools are closed. All offices, county offices and local government offices are closed, our parks are closed. And so the message today is that you should have -- you should have your preparations done. We still have time to do some more preparation. We don't expect the worst of it to hit us until after 12:00. But basically it's a day to stay home. Stay home and if you have an emergency, call 911. If you have information, we have something called 311 here where we can help. We have additional Florida power and light crews that are stationed throughout the county so that as we have power outages, they will respond until it's no longer safe to respond. And then they will go and respond after the storm.

And so, you know, we've -- you know Miami has gone through this before. We are probably the best prepared county in the nation when it comes to hurricanes because we have had so many in the past and the experience. And so we have great employees, a lot of experience with dealing with storms like this, and so we are fully prepared and hopefully this will, you know, pass by without too much damage and then again, our prayers are with our neighbors up the state of Florida and hopefully, you know, this thing will turn away from them, too, and spare you know, the northern parts of the state.

COSTELLO: Well, thanks for taking time out of your busy day, Mayor, to join me this morning. Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Miami-Dade County mayor joining me this morning. As I've told you before, we are waiting for the Florida Governor Rick Scott to speak as hurricane Matthew heads toward Florida. Of course, we will bring that to you live when it happens. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:12:52] COSTELLO: All right. We are awaiting the governor of the state of Florida, Rick Scott, to speak at any moment now. He's been holding a series of news conferences this morning, warning his citizens to get out. On the right-hand side of your screen is a shot of Miami. You see the winds are already picking up, hurricane Matthew, bearing the brunt in the Bahamas right now.

Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, said this morning there is still time to evacuate. Get out now if you are in an area with evacuations. He went on to say if you make a decision not to leave before the storm, we cannot send someone to save you, because you made a bad decision. In other words, it's way too dangerous for rescue workers to go save you because you made the decision to stay.

And I would presume the governor will again come and stand behind that podium and urge people to get out of town if there are evacuation orders in your town. We will head back to Florida when Rick Scott begins speaking.

Let's talk a little politics now. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will get up close and personal with the voters this Sunday as they make their pitch to the nation in their second presidential debate. The format, a town hall and both candidates are gearing up although in very different ways. Clinton is back in intense prep after taking some time off from campaigning. Trump planning to hold a town hall event tonight in New Hampshire. If Trump is thinking of referencing Ronald Reagan in his remarks on Sunday, one of Reagan's sons says think again. Michael Reagan - tweeting, "My father would not support this kind of campaign. If this is what the Republican Party wants, leave us Reagans out. Nancy would vote for HRC," as in Hillary Rodham Clinton. And Michael Reagan reiterated that sentiment in an interview with Don Lemon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL REAGAN, RONALD REAGAN'S SON: And this family's name is being dropped all over the place, every single day, inferring that Ronald Reagan would support these things. And Nancy Reagan would support these things. And I have to say no, they wouldn't support this kind of a campaign, not at all, not the demeaning nature of the campaign and the name calling that is in fact going on. If you want to do it, do it in somebody else's name but certainly don't do it in the Reagan name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. With me now is David Lauter, Washington bureau chief for "The L.A. Times" and David Swerdlick is the assistant editor at "The Washington Post." Welcome to both of you.

DAVID LAUTER, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Good morning.

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND ASSISTANT EDITOR "THE WASHINGTON POST": Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. David Swerdlick -- I have to use both names because you're two Davids. So David Swerdlick,

[10:15:16] will Reagan's name be invoked on Sunday?

SWERDLICK: Well, I don't know if Donald Trump needs to invoke Reagan's name if he's on his own. If he's asked about it, you know something tells me that Donald Trump will say look, I knew Reagan. I'm following in a conservative Republican legacy. And you know Trump is not the type where he's demonstrated that he is not the type to sort of be cowed if a member of Reagan's family says, hey, stop using my father's name. Michael Reagan clearly knows his father better than Donald Trump and so he's an authority on this. And I think he spoke pretty plainly and clearly about that yesterday, but you know Trump has a way of not backing off comparisons that he finds favorable to him. I don't think this is an exception.

COSTELLO: And one of the reasons that Michael Reagan cited that -- he didn't want the Reagan name invoked was the way Donald Trump talked about women. And as we all know, David Lauter, Trump needs to woo women. In the latest CNN/ORC poll he's losing to Clinton by 13 points among likely women voters. He's not doing well with those educated women voters that loved Reagan so much back in the day, right? So will the intimacy of this town hall setting on Sunday help Trump with women?

LAUTER: Well, it could be a trap for him. It's a -- difficult format for candidates. Town halls can really be tricky, as you saw in your last half hour with George Bush in his town hall back in the 1992 campaign. You have to find a way to seem empathetic without seeming overbearing. And Trump has not always been able to thread that needle. So it could be difficult for him. And you're right, Carol, those women voters have been a key liability for Trump in states like Pennsylvania and Florida that he desperately needs to win, and where he's facing some pretty big deficits.

COSTELLO: And David Swerdlick, Trump's camp is certainly paving the way to win over women. It's released an ad by Ivanka Trump. And Ivanka Trump tells motherhood. She says it's the most important job women can have and she also tells her child care plan.

Kellyanne Conway is also paving the way.

This is the Ivanka Trump ad you're seeing.

Kellyanne Conway, who is Trump's campaign manager, she is paving the way, too. She actually said that Tim Kaine was disrespectful when he interrupted the female moderator 72 times in the VP debate and she also touted this moment from the Trump/Clinton debate as a sign of graciousness for a female opponent. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In all fairness to Secretary Clinton, yes? Is that okay? Good. I want you to be very happy.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think Donald Trump got no credit for being gracious to Secretary Clinton. Asking her should I call you Secretary Clinton when -- she was calling him Donald at the end pulling his punches about Bill Clinton and the women and the way Hillary Clinton treated those women blaming and shaming them in the 1990s when it was revealed her husband was having affairs. He got no credit for being gracious and restrained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So David Swerdlick, are we not giving Trump enough credit for his graciousness during that debate toward a female candidate?

SWERDLICK: Look, Carol, let me say this emphatically. And Kellyanne Conway since she took over the campaign has done really by most accounts a good job, but look, this is completely disingenuous. Secretary Clinton should be referred to Secretary Clinton. She's a former first lady of the United States, a former United States senator, from Donald Trump's home state, and the third ever woman Secretary of State. You don't get bonus points or brownie points for referring to her as Secretary Clinton. That is how she should be referred to.

And if Donald Trump becomes president, he should be referred to as President Trump. That is protocol. And he should know this. To try and take credit for saying that and then to condescendingly say oh, hey I want to make you happy about this, that just ruins the whole thing, frankly, you know, if you are trying to reach out to persuadable women voters, at least in my view.

On that -- Ivanka Trump video, Carol, just one thing, I noticed in the video when I watched it earlier this morning, she refers to Donald Trump's plan as offering tax credits for child care, but if you go to their website, it says tax deductions. And that makes a difference for middle and lower income folks. So I just wanted to point that out before this ad sort of gets out there. --

COSTELLO: OK, interesting. - So David Lauter, a question for you. You know Hillary Clinton brought up Alicia Machado and the miss piggy comments right, during the debate. Well, there are these new pictures that CNN uncovered of Trump back in the '90s, he was taking photos of playboy playmates. And I bring that up because in this intimate setting, at a town hall meeting, should Hillary Clinton bring that up or would that be a terrible dreadful mistake in that particular setting?

LAUTER: I think town halls are really hard setting in which to do a direct attack against your opponent, but what sometimes does happen in town halls is that the people in the audience will ask questions that a moderator or another candidate might hesitate to ask.

[10:20:16] Hillary Clinton's got some pretty tough questions in town halls and in the past we have seen audience members ask things -- that a journalist or moderator might hesitate to ask. So you know, Mr. Trump might be asked by a member of the audience about something like the playboy pictures or about his past comments about women. And if that happens, he has to be -- find a way to talk about it that doesn't seem condescending, that doesn't seem like he's not taking the issue seriously because the worst thing you can do in a town hall is appear not to take a member of the audience seriously because voters identify with them.

SWERDLICK: Yes. That's right.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. David Swerdlick, David Lauter, thanks to both of you.

And a quick reminder for all of you out there, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump go head-to-head Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Our special coverage begins right here on CNN at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Florida's governor set to speak at any moment now as hurricane Matthew gets closer. We will bring that to you live as it happens. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:45] COSTELLO: All right and good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We begin with breaking news. Hurricane Matthew bearing down on Florida and sending ripples of fear all along the Southeast Coast. We are awaiting the Florida governor, Rick Scott, to hold a news conference at any moment but he has urged people all morning long if you live in those evacuation sites, get out. The storm will become so much more dangerous later tonight and into the morning that rescue workers will not be able to get to you.

If you are taking a flight to Florida, forget about it. More than 1300 flights have already been cancelled at Florida airports. It's just in a complete stall right now. And traffic is probably terrible all along up and down the Florida Coast, that's from Jacksonville all the way down to nearly Miami because we think right now that this hurricane Matthew will skirt the Miami area.

Also we just got word from the Georgia Governor's Office, Nathan Deal. He has ordered mandatory evacuations east of Interstate 95 for six coastal communities. There are voluntary evacuation orders that remain in effect for those coastal county residents west of I-95. So people in Georgia, listen up, there are now mandatory evacuations in place for you, too. Please listen to your local authorities and obey their orders for your own safety.

All right, let's head to Daytona Beach now and Boris Sanchez. That's where the brunt of the storm may hit later tonight or early Friday morning. Good morning.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol. Yes, things took a very grim turn here just a few moments ago. We got our first real taste of what's coming with hurricane Matthew. Some very harsh winds started pounding our crew and this beach, when we were here yesterday, that was full of people is now ominous. Very gray outside, the surge is starting to be felt here as the waves creep closer and closer.

As a matter of fact, Carol, just a few moments ago we were told we were going to have to evacuate our hotel. We are in Volusia County right now, where there are mandatory evacuations. As there are all along this coast, north of us in Flagler County and south of us as well in St. Lucie and Brevard County. There are mandatory evacuations. About two million people are in the evacuation zone. It's going to be one of the largest mandatory evacuations, the largest since hurricane Sandy in 2012.

And the governor did not mince words when he spoke earlier. He said people will die because of this storm. I was talking to a couple that was at a hotel right next to ours from Indianapolis who was visiting Daytona and they had no idea that this was going to happen. They were thinking that they could potentially just hunker down in the hotel and stay. A few moments ago, they were told they would also have to leave. And this is the crucial window when people have to get out. The governor again, reiterating this is a very dangerous storm, more than a dozen casualties in the Caribbean and the same could very easily happen here, especially in coastal communities, on Brier Islands like the one we're on right now. So as the storm gets closer, it's certainly a good idea to get out before it's too late. Carol?

COSTELLO: All right. Good advice. Boris Sanchez, stay safe. Thanks so much. With me on the phone right now is the St. Augustine, Florida Mayor Nancy Shaver. Welcome, Mayor Shaver.

MAYOR NANCY SHAVER, ST. AUGUSTINE FLORIDA: Welcome to you. -- Welcome to hurricane Matthew.

COSTELLO: Oh my goodness and you must be so busy and I do appreciate your taking the time. Your city, your town is under a mandatory evacuation. Have people obeyed the orders? SHAVER: Many people have left and I would just like to reiterate what our governor said, which is this storm will kill you. On my way into the emergency operations center, I spoke with a gentleman and he stopped to see if I needed help, which I did not, but I said so are you planning to leave? And he said no, he was not, that he has just finished his shed, his workshop, he has 50,000 worth of tools and he's planning to stay. And I was not able to convince him that the tools are really only stuff, that it's life that matter.

And our real emphasis right now is to make sure people get in their cars. If they have any difficulty contact their Emergency Operations Centers so they can get out of harm's way. The storm surge is going to be incredibly powerful and in many ways, is the risk that we will feel after the wind and the rain. So we really need folks to head west.

COSTELLO: Mayor Shaver, I don't think people realize - that Matthew could become a category -