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Report: "Daisy" Ad 2.0 Goes After Trump on Nukes; Iraqi Troops to Assault Mosul Soon; Huma Abedin, Clinton Aide Not Traveling with Hillary After Email News. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 31, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Looking to change the subject from emails, the Clinton campaign is going nuclear, putting a fresh focus on the little girl featured in the iconic 1964 daisy ad to once again question Donald Trump's ability to handle -- or have his hand on the nuclear codes. The new ad features the same actress, in fact, who at age 3 played daisy in the Lyndon Johnson ad that cast Barry Goldwater as a candidate eager to launch nuclear war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONIQUE CORZILLIUS LUIZ, THE DAISY GIRL IN 1964 AD: This is me in 1964. The fear of nuclear war that we had as children, I never thought our children would have to deal with that again. To see that coming forward in this election is really scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump asked three times, why can't we use nuclear weapons?

TRUMP: I want to be unpredictable. Bomb the (bleep) out of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, CNN political commentator, Bill Press a Hillary Clinton supporter, and with us CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, Alice Stewart. Great to see both of you.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be here.

BALDWIN: Quickly on the ad and then I want to move on. The Clinton campaign is trying to change the conversation, break through. Will it work?

BILL PRESS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First of all, you don't blame them for wanting to change the conversation. I think it will work in this sense, this is an extremely important issue. I think people really do -- are worried about nuclear weapons. And I don't think there's been enough conversation about this in the campaign, to tell the truth, on either side.

We have a system today where one person can make the decision to go to nuclear war. That person -- the president, has six minutes to do so. And the real question is, who do you want with their finger closest to the button and the one thing you think about Donald Trump is, he's so unhinged that that would be really scary.

And Hillary Clinton comes across as a cool person with foreign policy cred and experience and you would trust her more than Donald Trump.

STEWART: I think this plays into what the Clinton campaign has tried to make a narrative throughout the campaign, questioning Trump's temperament. She's gone out and done other ads and talked on the stump about her being a steady hand and Trump being a loose cannon without the temperament. This right here, this exchange is about the length of time that people will go without thinking and talking about the emails. The email scandal still prevails over any talk of nuclear weapons, the economy, even the Obamacare premiums spiking. The emails are still forefront on many people's minds.

BALDWIN: The question is how forefront is it in terms of early voting? I was just I Florida over the weekend. They were expecting mega numbers. Will this impact voters?

Just quick numbers for you thus far. More than 18 million people have voted early or absentee. Do you think -- do you think, Alice, it's a good idea to early vote? Do you feel like you have the full picture on a candidate?

STEWART: For me personally I know who I'm going to vote for, I like voting on election day. It's part of the process provided the work schedule works out that way. I think a lot of people that are early voting made up their mind months ago. No matter what happens between then and election day there going to vote for, whether it's Hillary or Trump and they're not going to be swayed.

What's troubling with this email scandal and any October surprises are those people that aren't early voting that will take into consideration all of these nuances. That is going to make people either stay home or in this case they'll vote for Donald Trump.

PRESS: I think Hillary is also right when she says most people have $made up their minds about emails some time ago. And these new emails, it's hard to distinguish them from the old emails.

STEWART: What about the independents and Republicans who were maybe thinking of voting for her? Then you have the whole issue which you may not realize, some people have buyer's remorse. If you early voted in seven states, if you early vote, you can take it back.

PRESS: But how many people are going to do so? I have voted. I vote early. And I think if you've made up your mind and you know you're going to vote for it, do it. Be sure to get your vote in. Not many people are going to go back and get their ballot again. Here's something else that's going on. These are votes, for the most part, in the bank. They're not just anybody.

The Clinton campaign has really targeted people who might have been a little loosey goosey. Maybe they were a little more for Trump and then they said, we didn't like that October 7th tape so now we're going for Clinton. They know who they are. They identify them and they put pressure on them or persuade them to get out and vote early. It's very strategic.

STEWART: That's a challenge for both candidates. Both have their base that is going to come out and vote --

BALDWIN: To add to that.

STEWART: -- with excitement on that, it may be lacking this time, their base is coming out. Their challenge is to reach out to the independents and undecideds. This email scandal is not going to bring them her way.

BALDWIN: It's fascinating to me over the weekend, I just decided to stay in Florida because, why not? They send me to Florida on Friday to do my show, I'm going to hang out.

PRESS: Did you vote?

BALDWIN: A lot of people --

PRESS: Did you vote?

BALDWIN: I'm in New York, no early voting. A lot of people have not made up their minds. My biggest takeaway from being down in Florida.

[15:35:00] PRESS: Wow. Come on, people.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much. I know, I know.

Coming up next, Iraqi security forces say they could be inside Mosul by the end of the day after two weeks of fighting with ISIS. We will talk to our own Nick Paton Walsh who's been at the front lines with soldiers since the very beginning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Any moment now Iraqi forces could take their very first steps into the city of Mosul. Could be a turning point in the mission to retake the city from ISIS. Military leaders say it is going well thus far.

[15:40:00] They expect in this next phase to be intense and to be bloody. CNN has been there every step of the way, here is what some of our own Nick Paton Walsh has seen just in the last 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Most intense attack we've seen so far towards this Iraqi special forces position. Now they move forward, it seems to try and stop those coming down road. The wounded start coming back, but we cannot film them. A steady stream. The unit we were with earlier on the roof have been hit. Rockets struck. Many of them asleep, tightly packed in a room. The blast killed 14 soldiers. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nick is live there in Irbil. What have you been seeing? Have the forces moved into Mosul?

WALSH: No, they don't seem to be in the city at this stage. A lot of reports, they're sort of sniffing at the city limits and the villages around, closer and closer, hour by hour. And even reports they may possibly have gotten into some of the built-up areas that constitute the deep suburbs. Difficult task for them. They have spent a lot of time clearing out these villages in the plains, which many thought would be an easier task.

We have seen that ourselves, the heavier resistance laid down by ISIS. Today, despite the coalition a few days ago suggesting there would be a pause coming up where they consolidate the ground behind them, we're hearing the Americans clear. They would like to see Iraqis advance when everything behind them is more or less secure.

There's an emphasis among the Iraqis to get to the city as quickly as they can. We heard the Iraqi prime minister saying they're going to move forward, encouraging residents in Mosul to stay indoors. Talking about cutting off the head of the snake, very much banging the drum here of advancing. We may see Iraqi forces entering the city possibly soon. It's no easy task.

This is a built-up urban area. They have had months to defend themselves. You may see video shot by what it's like inside the city. The mere fact they felt comfortable enough to file this showing empty streets does, perhaps, suggest there's some sense of ISIS on their back. We heard today continued reports of the insurrection of inside gaining ground, senior officials being attacked in separate drive-by shootings and an ISIS position being hit as well.

This is certainly changing in tempo. The main question, Brooke, is what happens when they really do hit the city? Do these 1.2 million people, civilians caught in the mix here, in the cross-fire as human shields, do they find themselves able to flee to the west or east away from the violence or do they become casualties in this war? So many questions unanswered, they're going to intensify and become more sour as Iraqi forces actually hit the city proper, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let me follow up on that, because you have talked so much, and rightfully so about the people of Mosul, the 1.2 million, the families who have remained behind, the fears of being used by ISIS as human shields. Who are they and why have they chosen to stay?

WALSH: Well, many haven't really had a choice to leave. You have to bear in mind, the rise of ISIS has been fueled, been permitted, frankly, by the sectarian divide in Iraq, between Sunni and Shia. Under Saddam, remember him saying, well, the Sunnis were in charge, the Shia were the suppressed majority. Now the tables are turned.

The Sunnis feel like they are very much persecuted and that allowed ISIS to come forward as their dogged unpleasant militarized defender in some areas. The Sunni population in Mosul, it's clear, have had enough of their oppressive medieval world. They're turning against them on to some degree. They didn't allow them in in the place, many argue.

That's made many concerned that if the Iraqi army viewed by that Sunni population as often being Shia, with Shia slogans sometimes attached, if they come in they might be under threat from a different enemy. It's a volatile sectarian mix. People in Mosul still there, possibly because some felt better under ISIS. It's not clear. We haven't had a chance to talk to them.

Many are feeling very worried right now. They have ISIS with this death cult mentality trying to keep the Iraqi army at bay. And clearly unsure what that means for human life in that city around them. And they have the firepower of the coalition, the Iraqi army bearing down around them in ISIS's midst. It's not good.

BALDWIN: I can't imagine the fear and the unknown. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so

Coming up next, back to politics here in the states. We know that one of Hillary Clinton's closest allies, confidantes has not been on the plane for three days. We're talking about Huma Abedin. What we know about the estranged, wife of former congressman Anthony Weiner.

[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: For three days now, Hillary Clinton has been traveling without one of her closest aides, Huma Abedin, is back in the spotlight, though, after an investigation into her estranged husband, disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner has been dragged back into the headlines.

The FBI found Abedin's emails on Weiner's laptop, emails that might relate to Clinton's private email investigation. Now Huma Abedin is a renewed target of Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can be assured that what is in those emails is absolutely devastating. And I think we're going to find out, by the way, for the first time. Thank you, Huma. Thank you, Huma. Good job, Huma.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Brian Todd, if Huma Abedin isn't on the campaign plane for three days in a row now, where is she?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's one of the operative questions circulating today. We really don't know where Huma Abedin is.

For three days she wasn't on the campaign plane. She was with Mrs. Clinton on Friday when Mrs. Clinton found out about this latest phase of the investigation.

[15:50:00] And found out about Comey's announcement of that. But she did not fly today with Mrs. Clinton to Florida on this two-day campaign swing over the weekend. We know that today she did not fly with Clinton to Ohio.

Maybe she has been with her attorneys trying to coordinate how they're going to respond with this latest phase of the investigation. We, of course, have reached out to Huma Abedin, her attorneys and the Clinton administration to ask where she's been, what has she been doing the last couple days and where are we with her in this investigation? We have not heard back from them, Brooke.

BALDWIN: People should be familiar with her name, not just because she was close to Hillary Clinton, but because she and her estranged husband took part in this documentary. Let's look at this clip you put together on Huma Abedin. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: At one point in the film, Abedin clearly looks agitated as Weiner apologizes to a member of the staff.

ANTHONY WEINER, DISGRACED CONGRESSMAN: I'm very sorry I put everyone in this position.

TODD: A campaign aide complains she is being harassed by the media. Abedin forcefully coaches her on optics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Just so I'm clear, but even after this latest how the FBI is looking over these emails, there is no indication on her behalf of wrongdoing, correct?

TODD: That's right, Brooke, we have to make that clear. There is no indication of wrongdoing on her part. These emails were found on Anthony Weiner's laptop computer, but they have to look at whether these emails contain classified information because they were channeled to his computer from Hillary Clinton's email server.

That's the crux of this investigation, what information was channeled through that server that might have been classified. That's what they have to go back and look at. Were these emails to Huma Abedin, from Huma Abedin on Anthony Weiner's laptop? This may be redundant to what they already looked at, so that is yet to be determined.

BALDWIN: We'll be hearing from you later in your reporting on Huma Abedin. Thanks so much for now.

Meantime, CNN travels to the U.S.-Mexican border and talks to the people who would have the wall, if it were to be built, if Trump were elected, [15:55:00] in their back yards. Who they say they're voting for eight days from now.

[15:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Donald Trump's promise to build a wall on the Mexican border has been one of the cornerstones of his campaign. So, CNN correspondents Chris Moody and Vanessa Yurkovich went to a part of the wall where the border is built already to find out what they think of this 2016 election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKOVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: this is John Ladd and this is his ranch.

CHRIS MODDY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About 10 years ago, the federal government put fen -- put a fence in his backyard to keep undocumented immigrants out.

YURKOVICH: In recent years, John and his neighbors like Fred Davis have seen an increase in violence because of drug cartels.

MOODY: The fence, they say, isn't working. But what about a Trump wall?

JOHN LADD, RANCHER: My opinion of it is it's a play on words. And there is some areas that you could build a wall. But unless you have agents looking at it, it isn't going to work. I can prove it to you here.

YURKOVICH: So, this doesn't look that secure.

LADD: You're as smart as you look. That's my humor. It's a joke. We've had a group that almost every day since the first of September, dopers, illegals, smuggling dope, backpackers.

FRED DAVIS, RANCHER: There is a $42 million station three and a half miles from here. They didn't have enough petty cash to buy a roll of wire. John had to give them a roll of wire, and they haven't paid him back.

MOODY: You gave the federal government a roll of wire?

LADD: Yes, because I don't want my cows going to Mexico or Mexican cows coming to me.

DAVIS: This wire isn't going to stop anything but maybe a cow.

YURKOVICH: Peggy Davis and Jo Beth Ladd married into rancher life, knowing about the dangers. But it's hard to live with.

MOODY: How big of an issue is the border in your everyday life, and how much are you thinking about it?

PEGGY DAVIS, RANCHER: I think about it every single day. It's always on my mind. It's always back there in my mind.

YURKOVICH: Who is the best candidate for you in this issue that's right in your own backyard?

JO BETH LADD, RANCHER: Donald Trump is for the immigration issue. There's no doubt about that. PEGGY DAVIS: We are so sick of established politicians. Tired of

Washington telling us they'll do something and they don't. We feel like we've been just completely left to fend for ourselves down here.

MOODY: One thing that has overshadowed a lot of Trump's policy positions has been things he has said off the cuff, things people find offensive. How have those comments played into your view of Donald Trump?

PEGGY DAVIS: Not at all, and I'll tell you why. That has absolutely nothing to do with keeping this nation sovereign.

[16:00:00] JO BETH LADD: It's not that you're looking the other way, but you're never going to find someone that's perfect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Chris and Vanessa, thank you. More from them tomorrow, more from me as well. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

END