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Trump Lashes Out, Insists Election Rigged; Trump Says Ahead of Next Debate Candidates Be Drug Tested; Ninth Accuser Comes Out Against Trump; Trump Speaks Live in Bangor, Maine; Legal Recourse for Trump Accusers; The Changing Demographics in Battleground State Florida. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 15, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: A total of now eight women claim that Donald Trump touched them inappropriately. Some say he forcibly kissed them. Others allege he went further and groped their breasts and other private areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUMMER ZERVOS, ACCUSES TRUMP OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: He then asked me to sit next to him. He then grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me again aggressively and he placed his hand on my breast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Trump denies these accounts. This, as the accusations that prompted Trump earlier today to make these remarks
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How about this crazy woman on the airplane? OK? I mean, can anybody believe that one? How about this, after 15 minutes -- we don't know each other. After 15 minutes she said that was too much. 15 minutes? With the ladies in this place, it would be one second, and it would be smack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: At the same rally, just hours ago, Trump made one, if not, the boldest statement of his campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The election being rigged by corrupt media pushing completely false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect her president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: To be clear, Donald Trump is no longer saying the election looks rigged. He claims that is the election is, indeed, rigged. This, three weeks out from the election, with Hillary Clinton, the media and these accuser all in cahoots to take him down.
CNN's Phil Mattingly is in Bangor, Maine, where Donald Trump is about to speak.
And, Phil, Trump is not backing off the rigged election language. He said it today in New Hampshire. He tweeted about it earlier and he's still tweeting about it. What is his evidence?
PHIL MATTING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He doesn't really have any. I think what's most interesting is Donald Trump is convinced, despite his aides' advice, otherwise, that this is the issue that riles up his supporters and that's an issue he wants to keep talking about. If you look over the course of the last couple of election cycles, throughout history, there's no real evidence of any rigging. But I think we have to look at it in e broader context of what Trump is talking about. He believes everybody is against him and it's a conspiracy. Look at, Poppy, as you know, the women who have come out making accusations against Trump related to sexual improprieties. Trump hasn't tried to put this behind him and move on. He has attacked the issue, he's attacked the women, he's attacked their appearance repeatedly at rallies. Just a couple of minutes ago, as he landed in Maine, tweeting out, quote, "Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made-up nonsense to steal the election. Nobody has more respect for women than me."
He's now putting the issues together here saying this is all part of the effort to steal this election from him. Again, there's no evidence that backs that up. But what you know when you talk to other Republicans, talking to adviser inside Donald Trump's camp, he's backed into a corner right now on this issue. He's looking at numbers that have been falling in really important states and he is lashing out and going on the attack. It's an attack that riles up his crowds. But is this an attack that works anywhere else with anybody else -- Poppy?
HARLOW: Have you noticed, Phil -- you've been on the trail following this candidate for a long time. Have you noticed an increasing amount of hostility among his core supporters at these rallies? What are they saying to you?
MATTINGLY: No question about it. Look, if you're a member of the press, you're often a target. That's been pretty much par for the course over the last 15 months. But there's an agitation level, largely pushing on by Donald Trump at these rallies. You have to understand what kind of drives Donald Trump's core supporters. There's a frustration, an anger that Trump taps into. There is a feeling amongst Donald Trump's core supporters that the people that have been running the country, the politicians and their congressional districts and the Senate seats and the White House, haven't been representing them and they're mad. Donald Trump has been channeling that. And even in some of the stranger allegations, listen to what he said in New Hampshire about Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Athletes, they them take a drug test. I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate.
(CHEERING) TRUMP: I think we should -- why don't we do that? We should take a drug test prior, because I don't know what's going on with her.
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: But at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning, and at the end, it was like, oh, take me down.
(LAUGHTER)
She could barely reach her car.
(LAUGHTER)
I think we should take a drug test. Any way, I'm willing to do it.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: If you didn't catch it, Donald Trump suggesting, as you heard, Phil, that people, the candidates take drug tests before the next debate on Wednesday.
Stay with me, Phil.
Because Trump is tweeting some other things we want to read to you. Tweeting, "This election is being rigged by the media, pushing false and unsubstantiated charges and outright lies in order to elect Crooked Hillary." He also tweeted earlier today, "Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted and in jail. Instead, she is running for president in what looks like a rigged election."
Let's bring in our political panel, along with Phil to discuss, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker," Ryan Lizza; also with me, Rebecca Berg, CNN political analyst and national political reporter for "RealClearPolitics."
Ryan Lizza, let me begin with something you tweeted today. You wrote, "The most dangerous accusation that can be made in an election, Trump literally threatening American democracy," Ryan?
[15:05:43] RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The two most dangerous.
HARLOW: Right.
LIZZA: Look, he's saying these things, two lines he's crossing with this tweet and, frankly, he's been saying it for a while but he's stepped it up since these sexual assault allegations have come out. We are not a banana republic. We don't talk about jailing our opponents. That is what happens in countries that don't have a tradition of democracy as well root as it is in the United States. That's the first line he's crossed.
The second is he's talking about the election as rigged with no evidence. He is telling his followers that it won't be b a fair election and if he loses this election, which every single poll and prognostication sight right now estimates he will lose, he's telling his core supporters that that's -- the election results themselves won't be legitimate.
The only thing that keeps democracies legitimate is we have orderly and peaceful transfers of power, when the one person who lost understands why they lost accepts the results. And he is sets up an argument that brushes that aside. That's why I said that is genuinely a threat to democracy.
I can't remember -- I have to go back to history, this happened at the 19th century at some point, but we don't have a tradition of major party nominees making such dangerous accusations.
HARLOW: And the way he's using the language, Rebecca, does it sound like he is running to win anymore? Because for many, it feels like he's spending as much time making the case that he would have to explain the day after election day if he loses, the liberal media's fault, the elite media's fault, the phony accusers, it's the Republicans who abandoned me. Does that sound like someone who thinks they're on a path to victory in three weeks?
REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely not. It sounds like Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for losing and setting the stage to explain why he lost. And as you mentioned, he's not pointing at himself. He's not accepting responsibility for the state of play right now. He's blaming everyone else. Right now, it is Donald Trump versus the world. And it really does raise some concerns about what happens after the election. Will Donald Trump even concede this race if and when he loses? Because right now, the way he's talking about a rigged election, it doesn't sound like he would concede to Hillary Clinton. Instead, he could very well get up there on the evening of November 8th and say I don't accept this result, it wasn't fair. So, we have no idea what is going to happen, but I think it's clear that Donald Trump is playing a blame game.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Go ahead.
LIZZA: Just to add one thing, one dangerous precedent, no one cared about Donald Trump back in 2012. But if you go back in his Twitter feed and look at what he was tweeting on election night in 2012, he was calling for a revolution. Frankly, nobody cared what he said back then. But go back and look at those tweets. He has a little bit of -- there's a precedent here of him being outraged when the results don't go his way. And there's more of a precedent from the primaries. When he lost the Iowa caucus, he said they were rigged against him. He wouldn't accept he had just lost.
HARLOW: It's an important point.
Phil, to you. On the other side of this ticket, you have the most quintessential traditional candidate, Mike Pence, the Republican governor of Indiana. He went on the morning shows yesterday on CBS and NBC and doubled down on these accusations of sexual misconduct being unfounded.
Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, (R), INDIANA GOVERNOR & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Frankly, I think before the day is out there will be more evidence publicly that shows and calls into question these latest allegations --
(CROSSTALK)
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: What evidence is coming out?
PENCE: Well, just stayed tune. I know there's more information that's going to be coming out that will back his claim that this is all categorically false.
LAUER: There's a time to come up with this evidence and show us that evidence. This is the time. Has he shown you that evidence?
PENCE: Well, Matt, I think it's coming and it's coming, frankly, probably in a matter of hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:10:09] HARLOW: Phil, that was more than 24 hours ago. Have we seen a shred of that evidence?
MATTINGLY: We've seen bits and pieces, Poppy, but no full-blown evidence. Everybody looks at it and says, oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. They've put out in the "New York Post" yesterday, an individual with a very sorted past who is pushing back on one of those stories. They've put out e-mails from cousins and others related to some of the accusers, saying that might be evidence. But again, Poppy, there are so many women who have come out over the course of the 48 to 72 hours. And despite what Mike Pence said, which made it sound like they were going to have evidence against the accusers, we with haven't seen that. It appears there's a disconnect between what the campaign has pledged as far as pushback and what we've seen. You couple that with the number of people that have come out and you recognize why this has become such a very, very real problem for the campaign.
HARLOW: You do.
And as you said, Ryan, you think this is evidence that the Conway effect is no more. That Trump, saying I've been released from my shackles shows the Conway experiment didn't work. Right?
LIZZA: Yeah, I think from my interviewing and time spent with her that she had an understanding of certain demographic groups that Trump needed to come from behind and they were making some progress with those groups in August and September, you know, mostly women, especially college educated women in the suburbs of some swing states. He had a message and, to use the cliche, she tamed him a bit. But these allegations came out, the people advising Trump that he needs to run a scorched-earth campaign against the Clintons and emphasize Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions of the past, those advises sounded appealing and that's what he's done ever since, combined with this new attack about international bankers in league with the left wing media, as he said on thursday, to undercut American sovereignty. It's literally he's talking about a global conspiracy against him.
That's a message that appeals I suppose to his hard-core supporters, but it's not a message that's going to bring him the votes he needs to win. I think he and some of his advisers, like Steve Bannon, are thinking about after the election and what he does with this movement.
HARLOW: Ryan, thank you.
Rebecca, Phil, thank you all very much.
Coming up, a lot of news ahead. The number of women accusing Donald Trump is certainly rising. We are waiting to hear from him. He will speak live in Bangor, Maine. You see one of his top surrogates, Rudy Giuliani, right there.
When it comes to these allegations, what sort of recourse do these women have legally?
Also, later, you'll hear from the candidate and you'll hear directly from the voters in the battleground states, those voters who will decide who the next president is, including voters in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER: I would strongly disagree with the assumption we're better off now than we were seven years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER: I have a problem with Trump in the sense of the filter here. The other with Hillary, I honestly don't trust her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:16:46] HARLOW: Welcome back. Multiple women have come forward accusing Republican president candidate, Donald Trump, of sexual misconduct. And now we have breaking news about a ninth coming forward.
Our Jessica Schneider has been on top of this and joins me now.
What have we learned?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, 63-year old Kathy Heller is coming forward. She lives in New York City and first reported her story to "The Guardian." But what Kathy tells me is it was about 1997 when she was at Mar-a-Lago for a Mother's Day brunch and she was introduced to Donald Trump. She says he grabbed her in the place and then kissed her, an open-mouth kiss. She said she was startled, kind of stumbled backward. She said her family was there. They saw the whole thing happen and up until now, this has been somewhat of a family joke. She acknowledges it's not longer a laughing matter. She said it was about a year and a half ago that she first told her friends about this when Donald Trump was rising to prominence. She said she's now talking about it because of what happened over the past week or week and a half. Again, we're working to further corroborate this story. We've also reached out to the Trump campaign, but have not heard anything yet. This is just the latest in a string of allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
SCHNEIDER (voice-over) Summer Zervos was a contestant on "The Apprentice," season five in 2006. But after getting the boot from Donald Trump in the first episode --
TRUMP: You know what, Summer, you're fired.
ZERVOS: OK.
TRUMP: Go. Thank you.
SCHNEIDER: -- Zervos turned to Trump to guide her career.
ZERVOS: Even after I was fired, I continued to see him as possible mentor and potential employer.
SCHNEIDER: She said she met with him twice in 2007, first in his office in New York.
ZERVOS: When I arrived, he kissed me on the lips. I was surprised but felt perhaps it was just his form of greeting.
SCHNEIDER: Trump for her number and they planned to meet up the next time he was in L.A. Zervos said family members and friends she told about the kiss suggested she ignore it.
ZERVOS: I spoke at length with my loved ones and we came to the conclusion, this was a greeting and I should not take it as anything other than that.
SCHNEIDER: When Trump called her a few days later, she agreed to meet with him at the Beverly Hills hotel. When she arrived, she says a security guard led her inside Trump's room.
ZERVOS: I stood up, he started kissing me open-mouth as he was pulling me towards him. I walked away and sat down in a chair. He was on the left seat across from me and I made an attempt at conversation. He asked me to sit next to him. I complied. He then grabbed my shoulder and begun kissing me again very aggressively and placed his hand on my breast. I pulled back and walked to another part of the room.
SCHNEIDER: Zervos said she resisted while the aggression continued. ZERVOS: I pushed his chest, put space between us and I said, come on,
man, get real. He repeated my words back to me, "Get real," as he began thrusting his genitals.
[15:20:04] SCHNEIDER: Zervos says the advances eventually stopped. She had dinner with him and then left the hotel. She was she was then offered a job at Trump's golf course near L.A., but turned it down when the salary was less than expected.
She hasn't talked to Trump since, though she said she reached out in April of this year to give a chance to explain his behavior. She never heard back. With the flood of allegation, she said she felt compelled to speak out.
ZERVOS: You do not have the right to treat women as sexual objects just because you are a star.
SCHNEIDER: In a statement today, Trump says, "To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person and is it not how I've conducted my life."
Kristen Anderson telling the "Washington Post" she, too, was groped by Trump in New York in the early 1990s.
KRISTEN ANDERSON, ACCUSES TRUMP OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: The person on my right, unbeknownst to me at that time was Donald Trump, put their hands up my skirt. He did touch my vagina through my underwear. I pushed the hand away and I got up and I turned around and I see these eyebrows, very distinct eyebrows of Donald Trump. And I got up and moved and I continued to talk with my friends. And they said, oh, that's Donald Trump. I was like, ew, he's gross. He just put his hand up my skirt.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHNEIDER: CNN has not verified either of these claims. The Trump campaign responding to Anderson's allegations with this, "This is a total fabrication. It did not happen. It is illogical and nonsensical to think Donald Trump was alone in a nightclub in Manhattan and that the alleged incident in recognition of Mr. Trump went unnoticed by both the woman involved and anyone in this crowded venue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: Jessica Schneider will join me in a moment.
But let's listen to Donald Trump live speaking about these allegations and an election he calls, quote, "rigged."
TRUMP: Back to Whitewater or the cattle buy -- remember the cattle buy? Cattle buy. What a disgrace that was.
This will finally be the year the American people say enough is enough. Enough the enough.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Speaking in secret to a foreign bank, Hillary Clinton said her dream is for total open trade and open borders. There go to rest of your jobs.
(BOOING)
TRUMP: There go the rest of your jobs. Hillary and Bill raise millions of dollars from global interest groups who have no allegiance to our country or our workers whatsoever. They couldn't care less. By open trade, she means foreign countries can cheat us out of jobs and trillions of dollars. By open borders, she means totally unlimited immigration pouring into our country.
(BOOING)
TRUMP: Either we win the election or we lose the country. And this is the last time. We have -- this is it. November 8th. This is it. We're going either win or we'll have a whole different country. And it's never going to come back. Never comes back.
(CHANTING)
TRUMP: Thank you.
(CHANTING)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Hillary's plan includes an open border with the Middle East, meaning generations of radicalism within our shores. She refuses to mention the term "radical Islamic terrorism."
HARLOW: We're going to keep monitoring Donald Trump speaking live there to supporters in Bangor, Maine.
We want to bring you his response to these allegations as soon as he discusses them again. And we'll do that.
In the meantime, Jessica Schneider is back with me out of her report.
And, Jessica, the Trump campaign has refuted these allegations individually. Now, nine of them. Eight they've responded to. Haven't had a response from the ninth one. What more though has the camp said on this broader issue?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Donald Trump has really taking center stage all day. We're seeing it there in Bangor, Maine. Saw it in New Hampshire. He has been fighting back all day long. It started this morning with a flurry of tweets from his account saying that these allegations were fabricated and false. At his Portsmouth rally, he said he was being unfairly targeted by the media. His latest tweet said, "Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made up nonsense to steal the election. Nobody has more respect for women than me."
So, Donald Trump has been on the front lines all day long fighting these allegations whether at his rallies or on Twitter, we know his favorite mode of communication -- Poppy?
[13:25:05] HARLOW: And we'll wait to hear if, indeed, the Trump camp does respond to the allegations you reported just brought fourth by Kathy Heller.
Jessica, thank you very much.
Again, Donald Trump slamming the sexual misconduct allegations against him. He is speaking live in Maine. We'll bring you more of that and what he says shortly.
There's also a legal discussion to be had here. What, if any, legal recourse do these women who have accused Donald Trump, what legal recourse do they have? We'll talk about that, straight head.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARLOW: You're looking at live pictures of Donald Trump addressing supporters in Bangor, Maine. We know of at least nine accusers that have alleged sexual misconduct against him. If the Republican candidate chooses to address allegations, we'll bring you his remarks, live.
Meantime, former prosecutor and defense attorney, Seema Iyer, joins me now the break down the implications and possibility any recourse these women have against Donald Trump.
[15:30:00] Thank you for being here.
SEEMA IYER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Thank you.
HARLOW: Let's talk about the allegations that have been brought forth. You've said you see not only similarity in them, but also, a similarity in the alleged actions to what was described in the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape.
IYER: Exactly. A lot of times in a court of law we try to the defendants' statements -- and I'm going to refer to Mr. Trump as a potential defendant -- and connect them to what an accuser says. So there's so many statements in which they allege he grabbed, and he can said "you can grab them anywhere." They alleged they were grabbed in areas of their bodies. He corroborates that. He can walk back stage and be surrounded by naked women because he owns the pageant. Those are a few examples.
HARLOW: So, the counterpunch that the Trump camp would make and has made, that this is all political. It's coming three, four weeks ahead of the elections. They didn't come out with -- none of these women came out publicly before or filed police reports. In a court of law, how difficult does that make their case?
IYER: It's definitely a concern. I agree with that. 24 days until the election and this is coming out. I would be concerned as a lawyer. But it makes sense because when one card falls the rest fall. And it also gives you a sense of enclosement with the other accusers. There's like this group effect where you want to support each other, support your sisters, support other victims.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: You heard that one of the women who came out yesterday saying, "I wanted to back these girls up," I believe were her words. The Trump camp vehemently denying all of this.
Question is, even if a statute of limitations has past, Trump has said some very negative things about some of these women. Would they have a slander case against him if indeed the claims were found to be true and he ripped their character because these are not public figures?
IYER: That is correct. There is potential for them to countersue. Because, listen, they're not public fires. They're just coming out and they're not seeking anything. At this point, they're not r& seeking anything this criminal court or civil court, so there's that potential.
But let's be clear, if all of these accusers, if there's just one viable one, right, as a lawyer, I would bring all of the rest of them in to testify to corroborate the victim who is actually going to trial. So, it could be used in an evidentiary sense.
HARLOW: When you look at, you know, the evidence that the Trump campaign says they're going to bring forward, even Mike Pence said there's evidence to disprove all of these claims, it's coming within hours, he said that yesterday morning. Here's part of what they're talking about. One of those disputing that Trump is disputing their claims is Summer Zervos, we saw Jessica's piece on her. "The Apprentice" contestant, Kristen Anderson, so, now the Trump camp has come out with a statement by her -- Amanda -- they say is her first cousin. Here's what she said in this statement, "I am completely shocked and bewildered by my cousin, Summer, in her press conference today. Ever since she was on "The Apprentice," she's had nothing but glowing thing to say about Mr. Trump."
What do you make of this?
IYER: I think that's completely consistent with a woman who has been sexual assaulted and suffers trauma. There are so many times, Poppy, I have seen women, they don't come forward for decades. They are traumatized and there's a psychological syndrome, similar to PTSD, there's a rape trauma system. And you don't have to be rained in terms of forced sexual intercourse, but even touching in a forceful manner, against a powerful person. He's running for president now, but he's always been powerful. He's a celebrity. So that is not inconsistent. It's actually expected. There's so much psychological academia that supports that.
HARLOW: Thank you very much, Seema.
IYER: Thank you.
HARLOW: A lot to get through. Another accuser just coming forward. We're waiting for Trump to respond. Up next, we take you to the Sunshine State to Florida's. CNN travels
to the pivotal I-4 corridor just weeks of the election and I spoke with key voters in this state that could clearly swing the election. Their candid comments on Trump and Clinton are coming up.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:37:41] HARLOW: The competition is fierce for votes in the key battle ground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. The Sunshine State is once again expected to play a pivotal role in this presidential election. It is why former Vice President Al Gore campaigned with Hillary Clinton in Miami this week, to remind voters about the election he narrowly lost in 2000. He lost Florida by just 537 votes.
But the demographics in the state have change dramatically since then. So we traveled along the pivotal I-4 corridor and spoke to members of the growing Latino and retiree populations there as part of a special report coming up tonight called "Your Money, Your Vote."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERRY SHAW, FLORIDA VOTER: I think we mostly feel it's not so much that we're real crazy about Donald Trump, but most of us want a change.
HARLOW (voice-over): That's the common thread among many of the seniors we met in Florida. There's a sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Even the well-off seniors in this gated community are anxious.
BOB STONAKER, FLORIDA VOTER: A lot of countries are nipping at our heels.
HARLOW: We met these neighbors in Sarasota. Their dissatisfaction with what they see as the status quo runs deep.
STONAKER: She has talked about increasing the amount of immigration. That's stunning that we would allow that many people to come in. That will ensure a liberal culture forever.
We're coming out of this recession slower than we have in previous recessions.
HARLOW: That is true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would strongly disagree with the assumption that we're better off now than we were eight years ago. Strongly.
HARLOW: The thing is, by almost all measures, the U.S. economy has improved significantly in the last eight years. Unemployment is half of what it was in 2009. And the stock market has almost tripled from its lows that same year.
But it's the national debt that really troubles these voters.
BOB KUCK, FLORIDA VOTER: I think it really kind of scares us that we're staring at 20 trillion in debt, not knowing how our grandchildren will repay it.
HARLOW: Well, Trump may have of many seniors, Clinton has her own growing demographic here, Puerto Ricans. There are, by some estimates, 100,000 more Puerto Ricans in Florida now than there were for the 2012 election.
[15:40:07] MIRIAM CASANOVA, FLORIDA VOTER: The most important thing besides that the Lord is there is education. They need it. My vote is going to Hillary Clinton. To me, she has her head on her shoulders.
HARLOW: So what about Cuban-Americans, a group that makes up about 30 percent of eligible Hispanic voters in Florida?
Miguel and Maria Garcia moved to the United States in the early 1960s following the Cuban Revolution. You can see the generational divide in their family, split right down party lines.
MIGUEL GARCIA, FLORIDA VOTER: I have a lot of reservations about both nominees.
MARIA GARCIA, FLORIDA VOTER: This year is a tough year.
DELIA GARCIA, FLORIDA VOTER: I'm not having such a tough time.
MARIA GARCIA: I have problem with Trump in the sense of the filter here, if it's working. The other half is Hillary, I honestly don't trust her.
CARMEN GARCIA, FLORIDA VOTER: If it wasn't for your fear of Communism, you would be a Democrat, because you believe in everybody having equal opportunity.
MARIA GARCIA: I saw it in Cuba. People didn't have incentive because the government was giving them everything.
(CROSSTALK)
MARIA GARCIA: I know we have to live some part to help because there's always a need to help.
DELIA GARCIA: These two people right here are the biggest helpers that you ever want to meet.
MARIA GARCIA: Republicans help, too.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: 97-year-old grandma, Maria, has cast her ballot for many Republican candidates over the years, but not this time.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) CARMEN GARCIA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Donald Trump? Donald
Trump?
MARIA GARCIA, GRANDMOTHER: Aye.
MIGUEL GARCIA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: You know, we've heard so much from the candidates and pundits and us and the media, it was refreshing to get out and voters. We should note this was filmed before the 2005 tape of Donald Trump, so we called back all of the supporters we interviewed and with the exception of just a few, every single one is still standing by Donald Trump.
You can see much more of our swing state road trip tonight, Your Money, Your Vote," at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
Coming up next, Donald Trump is firing back at the women who accused him of sexual misconduct, calling some crazy, even slamming their looks in some cases. What is the strategy behind that response? We'll discuss, next.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:22] HARLOW: Welcome back. Donald Trump right now in full "if you punch me, I will punch back harder" mode, hitting back at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Take a look. Here he is earlier in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Donald Trump in 1980, I was sitting with him on an airplane and he went after me. Yeah, I'm going to go after you. Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
One came out recently, where I was sitting alone in some club -- I really don't sit alone in that much. Honestly, I don't think I sit alone. I was sitting alone by myself. And then I went, wah, to somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Here to talk about this, Amy Cramer is with me, a Trump supporter and co-chair of Women Vote Trump; and Maria Cardona is with us, CNN political commentator and a Hillary Clinton supporter.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Amy, let me begin with you.
Nine women now coming forward, making these accusations against Donald Trump, the ninth within the past few hours, a 63-year-old woman here from New York City. Do you think all of these nine women are lying?
AMY CRAMMER, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN VOTE TRUMP: Poppy, I don't know if they're lying or not. I'm not the one to judge that. I do know that every person in this country is innocent until proven guilty and you should have that day in a court of law. He has not had any charges brought against him and he has denied all these accusations and has said there will be proof coming forward. And I know as you mentioned, there was a statement that came out about one of the women already yesterday and I think a couple of other things. So, at this point, we have to wait and see. None of this is going to be resolved by November 8th, Election Day. It won't be resolved by then.
HARLOW: You know, it's important you bring up the evidence statement made by the Trump campaign. So, let's play, guys, if we can in the control room, the sound from his running mate, vice presidential candidate, Mike Pence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, (R), INDIANA GOVERNOR & VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Frankly, I think before the day is out there will be more evidence publicly that shows and calls into question these latest allegations --
(CROSSTALK)
MATT LAUER, NBC ANCHOR: What evidence is coming out?
PENCE: Well, just stayed tune. I know there's more information that's going to be coming out that will back his claim that this is all categorically false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: He also told Matt Lauer on the "Today" show it would come in a matter of hours.
Amy, as you mentioned, we've seen sort of drips here, the cousin of an "Apprentice" stars, she said positive things about Mr. Trump, but that's always gotten -- as a Trump supporter, does that concern you?
CRAMMER: Obviously, these are serious allegations. I don't take them lightly. But as I said, it's not going to be resolved by November 8th and we have two choices essentially to vote for, for president.
HARLOW: Amy, I guess what I'm asking is you've got the, you know, number two on the ticket saying evidence will come out by the end of the day and we haven't seen much. Does that concern you?
CRAMMER: No. It doesn't concern me. If they have said that evidence will come out, I do think that it will come out. Maybe they couldn't get it out by the end of the day for legal reasons, I don't know, but until they say that it's not coming out, I will believe it is coming out. I don't think they would say that if it weren't.
HARLOW: So, Maria, to you, as a Hillary Clinton supporter, where is your candidate? R6 she's off the trail, raising money, doing debate prep. And she has some really popular surrogates for her, the first lady, the president, Vice President Joe Biden, out making these stump speeches. Where is she, and is that the best strategy?
[15:50:06] MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely, it's the best strategy. Look, in politics, when your opponent is imploding and when your opponent is running a dumpster fire campaign, what do you do? You get out of the way. And, frankly, I think she's doing the right thing. She is actually preparing for the debate. Donald Trump should take a hint. She prepared for the last two debates. She eviscerated him in the last two debates. She's preparing for the third debate and she's going to eviscerate him in this third debate as well.
But look, a word about, what, number nine? There are several others out there that I know are coming because they have been reported. And this is something that the Trump campaign not only can't ignore, but I don't think they have a solution to this.
I agree with Amy that, you know -- actually I disagree with Amy when she says this won't be resolved by November 8th. It will be resolved by November 8 and that resolution is that Donald Trump is not going to be president of the United States. And the reason he's not going to be president of the United States is because he can't win without the women's vote. Every time a new woman comes out accusing him of being a sexual degenerate, which is what he is, more women flock to Hillary Clinton.
HARLOW: You're right in saying -- who knows who's going to win this election. If you look at a critical state like Ohio, they're one point apart. Trump is ahead by one point but he is down in almost all the key polls right now.
CARDONA: Yes, he is.
HARLOW: We have three weeks to go. Amy, Maria brings up an important point. It's the women's vote. He needs a lot more people like you on board. This new FOX News poll shows two really important things. First of all, he's down 19 points among likely women voters, both Democrats and Republicans and down 10 points among suburban female voters in just a week, Amy. How do you turn that bus around?
CRAMMER: Well, I think we need to get back to the issues that matter, that people are going to vote on, and that's the economy and jobs and national security, health care and education.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: So should he just stop addressing these claims?
CRAMMER: No. This is the thing, Poppy. If he weren't out there and talking about it, people would be attacking him and asking him why is he not talking about it. He's going out there, he's addressing it with his supporters. But that's not all he's talking about. You guys are only showing that part of the speech. But in the other -- in the rest of the speeches, he's talking about the issues that matter. It's just not making it onto to news because it's not sensational.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Just to correct just a point of fact there, we just played him in Bangor, Maine, talking about trade and talking about Hillary Clinton and immigration.
But, Maria, to you. I wonder if you think that Hillary Clinton, if she wins, is comfortable winning, basically, you know, what has become a scandal election in the end. Someone said something to me, one of our pundits, a week ago --
CARDONA: I'm losing my microphone. I couldn't hear you, Poppy.
HARLOW: Can you hear me now?
CARDONA: No.
HARLOW: We're like the Verizon commercial.
All right, guys, we'll take a quick break and be back on the other side with Amy and Maria. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:57:07] HARLOW: All right. Everyone can hear everyone now, which is great.
(CROSSTALK)
Amy Crammer is back with you and so is Maria Cardona.
Maria, I saw saying, if Clinton wins, is this the kind of election she wants to win, which is a scandal election at the end of the day?
CARDONA: Absolutely not. She has said from the very beginning that she wants this campaign to be about issues. By the way, that is what she is talking about when she is talking to voters, when goes to rallies, when she goes to the town halls, when she speaks to voters one on one.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: You just said she's happy to get off the trail and sort of let Donald Trump go.
CARDONA: Well, she's happy to get off the trail right now because she's doing debate prep. But, yes --
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: But also that doesn't mean that she's not talking to voters. She's not out there doing huge rallies, but he is talking to voters, day in and day out.
HARLOW: Amy, final --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: I've got to get Amy in for a final thought.
Amy, your thoughts?
CRAMMER: Yeah. I want to say that, you know, everybody said that the DNC against Bernie was a conspiracy. That was no conspiracy. We've seen from the WikiLeaks that that was rigged.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: It was not rigged.
CRAMMER: It was rigged.
CARDONA: Amy, stop it.
CRAMMER: It was in WikiLeaks --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Amy, Amy, Amy, your candidate -- Amy, when you're going to throw the rigged out there in a context --
CARDONA: Don't be irresponsible.
HARLOW: -- you've got to back it up with facts, because your candidate is now calling the U.S. electoral system, this democracy, rigged.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Come on, Amy, you're better than that. Don't be like your candidate.
CRAMMER: Listen to me. Listen to me. In 2012, Pew Research did a study and, out of 18 -- here I can tell you right here. 146 million Americans, registered voters and 18 million invalid voter registrations, either completely inaccurate on the books. 1.8 million dead people registered and 2.75 --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Hey, guys, I have to leave it there. I'm out of time.
CRAMMER: That is voter fraud.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Amy, please tweet that so our viewers can read it for themselves.
CRAMMER: I will.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Amy, you're better than that. Don't be like your candidate.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Amy, Maria, thank you very much.
CRAMMER: No, Maria --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: In this week's "CNN Heroes," every year in the U.S., seven million children are bullied either at school or online. When Matthew Kaplan realized his little brother was one of them, he took action. During the past five years, he has shared his anti-bullying program with 4600 middle school students and that makes him this week's "CNN Hero."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW KAPLAN, CNN HERO: The term "peer pressure" is thrown around a lot and usually when it is, it's meant as a negative thing. But believe that we can actually harness peer pressure for good.
What if it was cool to be kind? And that's what positive peer pressure is all about, creating this culture where being inclusive and being kind is the norm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: You can see more about Matthew's positive peer pressure program by going to CNN/heroes.com.
