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Dueling Late-Night Clinton, Trump Rallies Urging Supporters to Vote; Early Voting by Half of Florida Voters, Hispanic Vote Doubles; Road to a White House Runs through Ohio; Clinton, Trump Spend Time in Pennsylvania on Election Eve; Obama's Campaign Hard for Clinton; Late- Night Comedy Laughs on Election Eve; Moments from Wild Presidential Race. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 08, 2016 - 02:00   ET

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


[02:00:00] STEIN: I think in the near term, yes. But I think the odds of Mr. Trump being elected are extremely slim, slim to none. So I don't think we have to worry about that. I think that Mrs. Clinton believes in free trade in her heart. And when she's the boss, she's going to make sure we continue with free trade.

Free trade is so much better policy for growth, while making sure we take care of people who lose their jobs, retrain them, give them compensation. But free trade is so demonstrably a better idea than restrictive trade. There's just no comparison.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Guys, got to leave it there.

Thank you, Ben Stein and Lanhee Chen. Appreciate it.

Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is 2:00 a.m. on the east coast. None of us need sleep, do you? So glad you are with us.

In mere hours, voters will make their voice for the future of America. This hour, the battleground, the campaigns, and the comedians. A little late night for you.

Happy voting day, America. This is CNN's special election day coverage.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump just wrapped up their closing arguments to voters. It is dueling late-night rallies. Both Hillary Clinton and Trump emphasizing a common theme, you have to get out and vote. Clinton made her final pitch in Raleigh, North Carolina. Trump's last event took place in Michigan. Trump told his supporters today is their Independence Day. Clinton ended with this line, "Love trumps hate."

Let's go to Phil Mattingly. He is covering the campaign in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Look, she came out with a lot of star power, Bruce Springsteen, the Obamas in Philadelphia, but then she went to North Carolina because she knows how important it is, because she wasn't doing as well with African-American young voters and because the early voting numbers were not where her campaign wanted them to be. How did she make the pitch tonight?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRSPONDENT: Well, I think she brought more star power here. To start with Lady Gaga, Jon Bon Jovi, a famous deejay.

There is a real question where North Carolina will go. They feel good about Pennsylvania, Nevada. A lot of different states up in the air they feel good about. North Carolina is not one of those states. That's why she closed it out here. Midnight rally, late rally, getting home late. Willing to do it because they recognized it was necessary to try to push them over the top in this state.

Here's how it breaks down. You talked about the early vote numbers. African-American early vote numbers were down. President Obama is not on the ticket and that was expected. But it was lower than the campaign was expecting up until the end. Also lacking in Millennials in this state. What do you do when that's a problem? Bring Lady Gaga to North Carolina University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and spin everybody up. That's what the Clinton was trying to do today. If you asked advisers after the rally how they felt about it, 6,000 people, capacity venue, plus a large crowd outside, they felt this is what they needed to get the momentum to win the state tomorrow - Poppy?

HARLOW: Absolutely. She is on her plane and about to land in White Plains, New York. And then she will be greeted, we hear, from her super supporters, maybe a few hours of sleep and then I assume to the voting booth.

Phil Mattingly, in Raleigh, thank you.

Jim Acosta was there when Donald Trump made his closing argument in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last hour -- Jim?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Since it is after midnight, Donald Trump is getting his election day closing argument, the final rally of the 2016 campaign for the GOP nominee. A big Raleigh here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a blue state they'd like to turn red.

Trump described today as Independence Day for voters across the country. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRSIDENTIAL CANDIATE: Today is our Independence Day.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Today, the America working class is going to strike back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: In addition to his closing argument, Trump was at one point where he started to complain about some of the pop stars appearing with Hillary Clinton in her final day of campaigning. Trump said he doesn't need Jay-Z, Beyonce, and then added he doesn't need Lady Gaga, who appeared at the last rally with Hillary Clinton - Poppy?

HARLOW: Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Let's bring in other people who love politics enough to stay up until the middle of the night. With me, Symone Sanders, CNN political commentator and former press secretary for Bernie Sanders. She now supports Hillary Clinton. CNN political commentator, Alice Stewart, former communications director for Ted Cruz, and is voting for Donald Trump. Brian Stelter is with us, our senior media correspondent, host of "Reliable Sources; and Lanhee Chen, CNN political commentator, former policy director for Mitt Romney, and a Republican who is not voting for Donald Trump.

Thank you for being here.

Alice, let me begin with you.

Five states. Trump clearly showing his Stamina. Hillary Clinton as well. Three states. What do you make of his strategy? You were running the ship for Ted Cruz. He's been this this final days making this push into Michigan, into Minnesota, which hasn't Gone red since '72. Do you see it as, OK, there's internal polling that shows he can crack the wall, or is this an "I don't know where to win so I will Hail Mary all over the place?"

[02:05:37] ALICE STWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: my understanding, their internal polling is showing there's room to make headway in some of the states and that's why they are making last- minute schedule changes. They ran out of daylight so they had to stop at some point, but there are polls showing there's some areas that they could pick up some -- make some headway there. That's what happens. You go by the polling and how does it -- where do you see you can pick things up. Clearly what all indications are based on early voting is the Latino vote will be critical. Tim Russert had the white board, and said Latino, Latino on it. That's going to make a big difference in this race.

HARLOW: Which is tough for him.

STEWART: It is. It is largely in part because of his stance on immigration. coming out of the gate. Unfortunately, his critical comments about Hispanics.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Republicans knew this. The Republican autopsy after the 2012 election, they knew this.

STEWART: Exactly. They knew there was trouble with Hispanic and African-Americans and women in 2016. We are having trouble with Hispanic and African-Americans and women. You are not telling me something I didn't know and something that needs to be a primary focus for the Republicans. Unfortunately, we are still seeing some trouble in those key areas. HARLOW: It's not over until it is over, and we don't know which way

--

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: Absolutely.

HARLOW: Symone, let's listen to the first lady, Michelle Obama, taking the stage tonight -- last night, supporting Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm also emotional because in many ways speaking here tonight is perhaps the last and most important thing that I can do for my country as first lady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: She has been wildly popular, especially right now, it seems, in the final push. Her husband approval rating at 56 percent. How much do you think they will have been, at the end of the day, able to move the needle for Clinton, especially among black voters?

SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think wildly successful, especially the First Lady Michelle Obama. The first lady has cultivated this lady of the every woman. She is not necessarily political. That's why her likability, why her ratings are so high. She's been able to go out there and had the rallying cry for Democrats in this election. When they go low, we go high. I think folks like seeing the first lady and President Obama and that jolt of energy folks have yet to go to the polls but that will help to make a difference. Will it swing it largely, no. President Obama and the first lady are not going to get it done themselves with the black vote for Secretary Clinton. Folks need to see her and that's why you saw the secretary at the rally with Jay-Z and Beyonce and with Bernie Sanders and Pharrell Williams, because those things matter. She is hopping on the Millennial phone calls, reaching out. It's all about snatch and grab as I like to say. You have to tap people on the shoulder and ask, how they are going to vote.

STEWART: You can tell -- I like to listen to what they have to say when they come out on the stage and give a huge. You can see Michelle staying, excellent, great job to Hillary. She wanted her to do well. In addition, she knows that Hillary Clinton being the next president is a continuation of her husband's legacy. That's a big part.

(CROSSTALK)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: A special moment when President Obama was finishing up, coming to the stage. The podium was too high for Clinton. She's up on a stool. To have the president bring it out and say it will be permanent for you when you are president. And then she stepped up at that moment. It was the right height for her. I think to Democrats seeing that it was a hand over of power, presuming she can pull this off later today.

HARLOW: We'll see if she can.

Lanhee, to you. When I say to pundits on my show she doesn't necessarily have the Obama coalition or perhaps it is not coming out for her the way It did for president Obama. The response is she has a new coalition. This is a Clinton coalition, consisting of women, college-educated voters, the swell of Latino support.

My question is to you, do you believe that's enough to counter what, if you believe what Trump says is the secret support or this hidden Trump vote. We know his path to 270 is more narrow but which is more enthusiastic?

[02:10:03] LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, I think that -- I do think the new Clinton coalition, if there is such a thing, I think the benefit to her and the Democratic party is not just This election but the long run. I think the Latino element has Potential to be more animated in This election because of Trump, Trump and the challenge he presents to Latino communities. For this election, in particular, the energy will be there. The question is, has she built a new coalition going forward? If she has, it's problematic for Republicans because Latinos, one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, also Asian-American voters, apparently have been voting in record numbers in this country as well. Fastest minority population. If they are in the Clinton camp going forward that could be significant for Republicans in future elections.

HARLOW: Brian, Trump speaks for Trump, right? We saw that play out tonight, right? Who was on the stage with him? It was him. For Clinton, it was the Obamas, the Boss, Bon Jovi, it's been over the past few days, Pharrell, Lebron James, you name it. Is it an acknowledgment by the campaign, do you like this person or this person or this person or this person, or Lady Gaga. They are all speaking for our candidate. Whereas for Trump, it is Trump.

STELTER: That is part of his brand and his appeal. It is him versus this world. That's how the campaign felt and ended tonight. I thought that -- as he came on the air at 1:00 a.m. eastern time. Clinton on the left, Trump on the right. That was the ballot. We could see it. An incredible visual to end the election eve. You are talking about a hidden Trump support. I'm wondering if there is a secret Hillary support, as well.

HARLOW: Really?

STELTER: Maybe hidden Hillary support. We have heard people don't like these candidates, which is true. They are not well liked. But today is an historic day in America. We are choosing between the first woman president and first Maverick billionaire president that no one thought would get to this point. I have a feeling people go to the voting booth they will be excited and fired up about this opportunity.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Something felt different tonight coming in.

STETLER: I thought so, too.

HARLOW: I was watching -- I don't know what it was but something felt different.

STELTER: More optimistic and positive.

Listen, there will be a lot of people are disappointed on either side in 18 hours, assuming we don't have a recount.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: I think the positive energy about the historic choice is something that will come out, maybe hidden Trump or hidden Hillary vote or maybe a mixture of both.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Go ahead, Alice.

STEWART: In their closing messages, we saw a stark contrast. Hillary talking about you have a choice between inclusion or someone who wants to divide people. Someone who has a steady hand versus a loose cannon. And whereas Donald Trump continued the message of drain the Washington swamp, get away with the corruption of politics, Hillary Clinton is unfit to be president. And as you indicate, maybe more positive, Trump a little more harsh. He tapped in to an electorate that wants that.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: It feels they haven't been heard for decades.

STEWART: Absolutely.

HARLOW: It feels like they haven't been heard for decades.

STEWART: Right.

Symone, I wonder, regardless of who wins, if it is Clinton who wins, what she will face in Congress unless the Democrats flip the House and Senate, but what she will face, will that embolden the House and caucus? You wonder how much the next president can get done, whether it is a woman or Donald Trump. What do you hope we see in terms of productivity for us, the people who pay these folks?

SANDERS: I think the House and Senate matter. If the Democrats want to take The House they need 30 seats. That's unlikely, OK. They can close in on that margin but they need 30 seats. For Democrats, they need five. If Donald Trump wins five. If Hillary Clinton four. American people want to see progress, whether criminal justice reform, immigration reform, whether addressing economic inequality. This electorate that has popped up, whether they're for Donald Trump or folks that join the political revolution with Bernie Sanders, they need and want to see some type of change. HARLOW: We all deserve progress, right?

SYMONE: Just a little bit. Let's not have the government almost come to a shut down twice a year.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: We can be proud of our choices. We can forget about the high unfavorables today and be proud of what we decide to do.

HARLOW: Thank you very much. We appreciate it, Symone, Alice, Brian and Lanhee.

It has been leading up to this, it is election day in America. We have every race, every result. If you are already up, why go to sleep at this point. Stay with CNN until the last vote is cast. Our reporters are live across the country in the states that matter the most this election Day.

Let's bring in our Nick Valencia in New York -- Nick?

[02:15:14] NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Florida is perhaps the most crucial swing state of them all across the country. I'm Nick Valencia in Florida where there's a record turnout for Latino voters. We will tell you what it means for the candidates after the break.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Ohio. This is where early voting has wrapped up. The polls showing that Trump and Clinton are neck and neck and election officials assuring us the polls, when they reopen in dour hours, that the system is sound and it's not rigged.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sara Sidner in Pennsylvania, where Hillary Clinton is pulling out all of the stops, but Donald Trump showed up here, too. 20 electoral votes up for grabs here. More on that coming up in just a bit

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Friends, delegates, and fellow Americans, I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination -

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: -- for the presidency of The United States.

(CHEERYING)

CLINTON: So, my friends, it is with humility, determination and boundless confidence in America's promise that I accept your nomination for president of the United States.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:20:32] CLINTON (voice over): I could feel how hot and humid it was. I felt overheated and I decided I did need to leave. As soon as I got in to the air-conditioned van, I cooled off. I got some water. And very quickly I felt better.

TRUMP: I don't know, folks. You think Hillary would be able to stand up here for an hour and do this.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: I don't know. I don't know.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: I don't think so. I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Remember that moment? Let's move on though this moment. Early voting closing in Florida and the numbers are astonishing. Half of the registered voters took advantage of early voting. Half. Not only is that a record but the number of Hispanic voters doubled.

Our Nick Valencia is in Tallahassee.

And, Nick, it's amazing when you look at the early voting numbers. It's the case that more people have voted early in Florida this year than the entirety of people who voted in the state in the 2000 election.

VALENCIA: A big reason because of that is the large turnout in the community. Hispanics have come out and droves. An 89 percent increase since 2008 with 900,000 Latinos in the state of Florida casting their ballot in early voting. Those on the west coast traditionally speaking Latinos vote more Democratic. Here in Florida, it is more nuanced than that. I have older establishment Republicans at odds with progressive Cubans who could vote for Hillary Clinton. And adding to the complexities you have thousands of newly arrived Puerto Ricans in the I-4 corridor that could vote for Hillary Clinton, as well. Both candidates think they can win this state.

You talk about the early voter turnout, already more people have voted in this early voting cycle than all of the 2000 election combined. These candidates, the fact of how crucial this state is not lost on them. They spent a lot of time and money here. We saw Donald Trump in Sarasota and we saw Joe Biden here for Hillary Clinton.

And we should mention, according to the Florida secretary of state, there no indication of voter irregularities or voter fraud. Good news here in Florida. You remember the drama that happened here in 2000 - Poppy?

HARLOW: I do. When the entire election was decided by 537 votes. Nick Valencia, in Tallahassee, thank you.

Let's go to Ohio. Since President Lyndon Johnson, the road to the White House has gone straight through the battleground state of Ohio. No Republican has ever won the presidency without taking Ohio. The last Democrat to do so was JFK. Who will the fate favor this time?

Suzanne Malveaux is live in Columbus tonight.

Early voting ended in Ohio yesterday. What can you tell us about what we have seen? Any surprises or upside surprises for any of the Candidates?

MALVEAUX: The good news is just like Nick was reporting no voter irregularities, nothing out of the unusual here. Secretary of state of Ohio updated us and said 1.8 million people voted early. This is 11,000 more people than 2012, which makes a third of the voters registered. It means more people need to come out and vote. The way he describes it is they are taking extra measures to make sure it is a secure system. The voting booths will open four hours or so, 6:30. They will close at 7:30 in the evening. They say if you are in the line you will be able to stay in the line and cast a ballot as long as you are there by 7:30. Then you look at the voting machines themselves. He says all of the machines have had test ballots that have run through them. These are voting machines not connected to the internet. So they cannot be hacked unless someone was physically at the polling center trying to mess with the machine. They don't think that will happen and they say 70 percent of those who vote, vote by paper, and others have a paper trail. These are the things they have been working on to make sure that it is a secure system that people are confident that this will work.

HARLOW: Suzanne Malveaux, in Columbus, thank you very much.

Let's go to Philadelphia. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spending a lot of time in Pennsylvania, especially on the eve of the election. Really in "get out the vote" mode. Donald Trump at a packed auditorium in Vice President Biden's hometown of Scranton. Hillary Clinton brought political and musical star power to her rally on Monday in Philadelphia. President Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Clinton joined her on the stage, along with rockers Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen also performing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:18] (SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Sara Sidner is joining from Philadelphia.

Sara, it is interesting because there was a moment tonight on the stage with Michelle Obama speaking about the first lady getting very personal. Almost eluding to passing the torch.

SIDNER: Yeah. It was emotional. A couple of those moments, particularly from Michelle Obama and, of course, the crowd ate it up. She talked first to the crowd about thanking them for letting her and her husband be in the White House and work on the issues of the day. And then she talked about someone else, besides her husband, the first African-American to take the presidency who could also make history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATSE: This is truly an emotional moment for me for so many reasons. First, we are one day away from once again making history.

(CHEERING)

MICHELLE OBAMA: Tomorrow. we have the chance to elect someone who is singularly qualified to be our president, our friend, Hillary Clinton.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Donald Trump came to Scranton and spoke passionately as he does to the large crowd gathered there.

I want to mention this. You may not know where I'm standing. It is kind of dark and late but I'm standing in front of the Rocky Steps.

HARLOW: I knew that.

SIDNER: Doing that for a reason. This is a battle, right? This couldn't be a bigger battle between these two candidates. And we thought it was apropos to stand here and show off Philadelphia and remind folks what they have been through over the last couple of years, really.

I want to mention it has been a dark blue state for a long time. And now it is sort of light blue, if you will, and Donald Trump has a real chance. If you look at the margin of error, he has a real chance in this state. And he's pushing hard, sending Melania Trump here. He's been here several times in the last 48 hours. This is a tossup, if you will. Hillary Clinton knows that. She doesn't need to win Philadelphia. The city itself, early, will go blue, but some of the counties outside of here, there's a real chance Donald Trump could take those and take those 20 electoral votes - Poppy?

HARLOW: No question. Some have put it the road to the White House cuts through the suburbs of Philadelphia. They are key.

SIDERN: Correct.

HARLOW: Sara, thank you.

President Obama made his 17th appearance on the campaign trail tonight. 17. That's pretty unprecedented for a sitting president. His final mission, to try to help Hillary Clinton close the deal. As we said, unprecedented for a president to campaign so hard for a person who he hopes will follow him. President Obama's final pitch for Clinton happened at a mega rally on

Monday night in Philadelphia. Here's part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I'm betting the men across this country will have no problem voting for the more qualified candidate who happens to be a woman.

(CHEERING)

OBAMA: I'm betting that African-Americans will vote in big numbers because this journey we have been on was never about the color of the president but the content of his or her character.

(CHEERING)

OBAMA: I'm betting that America will reject politics and resentment and politics of blame and choose a politics that says we are stronger together.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Also this moment on stage in Philadelphia, sitting president and a former president, a sitting first lady and a former first lady all sharing the same stage with the same goal.

Can they pull it off? You decide. Your vote. It is election day in America, folks.

Let's bring back our panel.

Julian Zelizer, the Obama factor. How unprecedented is it that a sitting president would get out 17 times to stump for the person who he hopes is the next president?

[02:30:00] JULIAN ZELIZER, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Very unusual. Usually, the sitting president is very quiet on the campaign trail. Either the incumbent, like Al Gore, in 2000, doesn't want the president to run, even if they're popular, because of scandal or because of baggage, or they are unpopular, like in 2008, with George W. Bush, where everyone wants a hands off. In this case, the incumbent president wants to be out there. I think he feels this is personal. In some way, this is a campaign about his legacy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he said as much.

ZELIZER: Yeah.

HARLOW: He said she is my legacy.

ZELIZER: It is about policy and the kind of politics he wanted to promote. And I think it's part of the vigor and enthusiasm he is bringing to the campaign trail. HARLOW: Symone, obviously, Hillary Clinton has hugged the president

Literally and physically. But there are policy differences Between the two, especially Between the secretary of state When it comes to foreign policy, Et cetera. She has had to walk a line in this election because she's had to acknowledge all of those millions of Americans who feel unheard by this administration, who are out of work and looking for a job for far too long. How do you think she has done in Doing that?

SYMONE SANDERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the secretary has walked a tight and fine line but she's done a good job. There are some places where you Have to distance yourself from the sitting president. So you can run your own campaign. No one wants to go out and say this is the third Obama term, even though there are a lot of folks that would like another go with President Obama. In terms of trade, when she said TPP was the gold standard. After she knew what it was about She could no longer support it.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Your candidate, Bernie Sanders, pushing her hand on it.

STEWART: It helps with the progressive Wing of the Democratic Party is alive and well. They have been emboldened throughout the Democratic primary process and throughout the election. The president next president of the United States cannot govern without a couple of key constituencies.

HARLOW: The passing of the torch from one president to the next, whether it is on election night, where you hopefully know who the winner is, or after inauguration where, the passing goes from in and out of the White House, is fundamental to democracy, right?

Hillary Clinton, Alice, did an Interview, a radio interview with Ryan Seacrest and was asked, will the two of them speak, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on election night tonight. Let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): I will certainly expect to speak with him. I hope that he will, if I am successful, play a constructive role in doing just what I said, coming together, bringing people who supported him to the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So you, being the former communications lead for Ted Cruz, have had experience with whether or not your candidate could speak to Donald Trump depending on who won the primary in which state. Do you believe he will accept the phone call if Clinton calls him if he doesn't win, or that he will call her if he does win?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: we all hope and pray for a Peaceful transition of power. Typically, the way it works, whether you talk about caucus or primary night, the one that does not win generally calls the Winner and congratulates them and they have a nice conversation. On rare conversations, the person that wins will call the other. In the experiences, I had, those Calls that were made didn't get Answered or returned.

HARLOW: So your team called Trump during the primaries if you won.

STEWART: You want to congratulate the Person that won. The conversation did not happen. So it's just a courtesy. When you are a candidate and you have that conversation to congratulate the person that won. Because of the camaraderie, it's a small club, a tight-knit group of people that share unique experiences but those conversations didn't happen, didn't take place. Hopefully in this case they will.

ZELIZER: I don't think even if they do that the conversation will have as much effect as some hoped. This campaign has unleashed a fury within parts of the Electorate that won't easily go away. The polarization, the division that has come out of this isn't just about Donald Trump and this part of the electorate wants to be a part of the Republican Party.

HARLOW: And the history professor at the table here, is it is worse division than ever in American history or is it exacerbated by cable news and social media.

ZELIZER: We have had a civil war. We have had brutal battles in the '60s over civil rights and Vietnam. We shouldn't have as no tall about the past but this candidate and the Republican Party has pushed the boundaries of rhetoric, political rhetoric. He's made connections to extremist groups in the ways we haven't seen in a main stream --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: What groups?

ZELIZER: Many in the off right, for example, connected to white Nationalism.

HARLOW: Which Donald Trump, for his part in this campaign, denounced any support from.

(CROSSTALK)

[02:35:15] ZELIZER: Hesitantly at many times when He pushed back on these kinds of endorsements. Finally made the entire closing argument in his campaign about a rigged political system, which will obviously, fuel distrust in the electorate. There's a lot of polarization and division, but we shouldn't then say this is like everything We have seen before. We're in a difficult place in American politics.

HARLOW: Guys, I have to leave it there.

Thank you. Symone, Alice, Julian, appreciate it.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Oh, those late, those poor late-night TV talk show guys, right? So many months of pre-election jokes are over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: That's right. It's finally Election Day, which means CNN's countdown clock starts all over again.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I wouldn't be surprised if that actually happened.

We will talk about those late-night shows and the effect they have Had on the election. I mean, "SNL," wow.

Because it is 2:30 in the morning here in New York City, we will look back at the can't-miss moments from late-night shows that ended hours ago, including a surprise return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRES8IDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But first, remember this moment? Donald Trump candidate whose Hair gets more attention than Mine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIADATE: Boy, oh, boy, she's become like a marshmallow. She's become -- everything is wonderful. Whatever, wonderful. The president, man, her life could not be so easy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:41:02] TRUMP: I'll admit it. I didn't try and (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet.

(LAUGHTER)

And when you're a star, you can do anything. They let you do it. Grab them by the (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: I - I - I don't -- I have no idea. That's why we turned it over --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE QUESTION)

CLINTON: What, like with a cloth or something? Well, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: Remember, those moments?

One pressing political issue that did not get much attention is this, what on earth will the late-night hosts have to talk about now the long, grueling election season is almost over? They got their Election Day jokes in on the eve for Monday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Of course, the election is finally here, and tomorrow, people who cast their vote will receive one of those "I voted" stickers. With such a crazy election, they are going with a different sticker this year. So that happened.

(LAUGHTER)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: So if you haven't registered to vote -- oh, wait, it is too late. You don't get to vote.

(LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: Tomorrow, we will elect either from "Back to the Future" or one of "The Robots."

(LAUGHTER)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, LATE SHOW: His twitter is his lifeline to the world, especially since it was revealed Donald Trump does not use a computer.

(LAUGHTER)

No computer at all. He even files his taxes the old-fashioned way -- not.

(LAUGHTER)

As far as we know. We don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Back with, Clinton supporter, Symone Sanders; Trump supporter, Alice Stewart; and our media expert, Brian Stelter.

Brian, it seems this was the year late night picked a side.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRSEPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: It shows how many liberals feel about the election. They said that Trump is an extinction-level event. We can't overstate the fear and Horror that a lot of Democrats and liberals feel about this election and a lot of folks in Hollywood are liberal. They don't have political preferences. I think we saw them getting serious trying to warn of the dangers using comedy to do that.

HARLOW: John Oliver on his show, his last show said, "I'm sorry for egging on Donald Trump to run.

STELTER: Encouraging him to run. He said he regrets that now.

STEWART: I will take a little exemption with the premise that this is the first-time Late-night shows are picked sides. I they were equal opportunity.

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: I think Hollywood has always been liberal.

STELTER: For example, always --

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: Yeah. I think they have always been liberal and tend to criticize Republicans more. That's standard operating procedure. I will say this throughout the election cycle many shows have had Trump on because he's good for ratings and Jimmy Fallon messing up his hair. I was impressed Chelsea Handler said I'm not going to have him on. He is great for ratings but I'm not going to have him on. I commend her for that.

HARLOW: Fascinating to hear from her, saying I have done the silly things on E! and now I'm taking a stand, whether or not you agree with her.

STEWART: Right.

HARLOW: Both of you, Symone and Alice, were communications directors for Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz.

Symone, when you watched Larry David play your candidate or watch late-night spoofs, what Was it like watching with your candidate? Was it uncomfortable.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Did they ever change because of how they saw themselves portrayed.

SANDERS: I was communications director. But I will tell you, the first-time Larry David was on SNL we were watching and we are like, oh, my god, are they in the meeting.

HARLOW: It was that accolades.

SYMONE: It was that accolades. Senator Sanders would go to Events and say I'm Larry David. It was great. He enjoyed it.

(CROSSTALK)

STEWART: My team, one of our producers sent around a photo of this guy who looks like Larry David and Bernie Sanders and the shirt said "I'm not Larry David and I'm not Bernie Sanders."

HARLOW: Bernie playing Larry or Larry playing Bernie.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: When you were working with Ted Cruz did he watch impersonations of himself and Change. Did he cringe a little bit?

[02:45:40] STEWART: Generally, the Monday after we would pull it up on the bus, plane, train, automobile, whatever mode of transportation, they would pull up the iPad and look at it. It is awkward to see yourself on television but he was impressed how they got his clothing down perfect and the ring he wore. The attention that "Saturday Night Live" has the characters is impressive. Those are the things he would pick up on. They think they are overexaggerated their character and it's not accurate but those are the things --

(CROSSTALK)

SYMONE: That is something we searched for a long while. This was life imitating art.

HARLOW: Brian, is Alec Baldwin out of a job in Donald Trump wins?

(LAUGHTER)

STELTER: They will have to cast Someone else. Whether he wins offer loses we Will see a Trump imitator in the winter and spring. If he loses we will see Trump to or something like it. One thing for sure, Donald Trump's not going away. If he loses the election he will remain in public life in a way that Romney didn't or John McCain didn't. I think SNL will need a new imitator even if Trump doesn't win.

HARLOW: Thank you very much.

Brian, stick around.

More with Brian in just a Minute.

The 2016 presidential campaign has been unlike any other. That's for sure. We have been showing you the memorable moments throughout the program tonight and last night. As this comes to an end, now we are just hours away from the first national polls opening, we thought we'd share with you a few more moments from this wild race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: Whew, OK.

I've said I made a mistake using my personal e-mail, I regret that.

TRUMP: I said it. I was wrong and I apologize.

Why aren't you bringing up the e-mails?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: No, no, no. I'd like to know.

(CROSSTALK)

CLINTON: What, like with a cloth or something?

UNIDENTIFIED DEBATE MODERATOR: Texas SeNATOr Ted Cruz.

JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CDANDIDATE: Please clap.

(APPLAUSE)

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to put her pneumonia diagnosis in perspective.

TRUMP: She's supposed to do all of these things and she can't make it 15 feet to her car.

ALEC BOLDUAN, COMEDIAN & ACTOR: Somebody is sniffing here. I think it is her sniffs.

(LAUGHTER)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDASTE: You know what they say about men with small hands --

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: I guarantee there's no problem. I guarantee it.

(LAUGHTRE)

MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You call women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.

TRUMP: Blood coming out of her wherever.

KELLY: I won't apologize for doing good journalism.

TRUMP: I don't blame you because you are doing your thing.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R), TEXAS & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDASTE: Donald, you're a sniveling coward. And leave Heidi the hell alone.

TRUMP: Lyin' Ted Cruz. Lyin' Ted.

CRUZ: Vote your conscience up and down the ticket.

TRUMP: We are talking to Ted Cruz, a friend of mine. Ted Cruz is a good guy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cruz announcing he will vote for the Republican nominee on Election Day.

TRUMP: I didn't start it.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, A.C. 360: With all due respect that's the argument of a 5-year-old.

TRUMP: I didn't start it.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENTIAL CDANDIAGTE: Take him behind the gym.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the best way to reach you? E-mail.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You guys are down, it makes sense -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Says who?

KEILAR: Most of them. All of them.

CLINTON: Let's do it.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are both screaming at each other the viewers won't be Able to hear either of you. Please don't talk over each other.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Would you want the president Of the United States to be up at 4:00 a.m. encouraging people to go look for a sex tape?

(LAUGHTER)

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, if it is worth looking for, Anderson.

CLINTON: It is awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.

TRUMP: Because you would be in jail.

DR. BEN CARSON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIASTE: A lot of people who go in to prison, go in to prison straight and when they come out they are gay.

REP. PAUL RYAN, (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The textbook definition of a racist comments.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: When they go low, we go high.

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.

OBAMA: Come on, man.

SEN. BERNIE SANEDRS, (I), VERMONT & FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your e-mails. [02:50:13] TRUMP: I don't know if it is the right number. Let's try

it, 202-

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANIDASTE: What is Aleppo?

TRUMP: I will tell you at the time. I will keep you in suspense.

SEN. TIM KAINE, (D), NORTH CAROLIKNA & VICED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What's the Mexican thing again?

CLINTON: What I call a "basket of deplorables."

TRUMP: Such a nasty woman.

When you are a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.

COOPER: Mr. Khan joins us once again.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, these nuts, Scott Baiao?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

(SINGING)

(BARKING)

TRUMP: I think she would believe me. I love to have a baby crying while I'm speaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama Mia!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have decided in 2020 to run for president.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right. On a more serious note, for 18 months, journalists around the world have been covering this wild election bringing you all sides of the debate, but in an election, this close with emotions running this high, it's inevitable at points that people Will December agree about how the media is covering the campaigns and the election, people can disagree and they can debate ad nauseam. And then there Is this. Take a look. This is from a rally in Minnesota on Sunday. The shirt reads "Rope, tree, journalists, some assembly required." Sadly, this wasn't the only time that reporters faced this kind of hate on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That was in a rally in Phoenix on October 29th. The man chanting at reporters "Jew-S-A."

These attacks are unacceptable on journalist and they have been happening throughout the election.

Brian Stelter is our CNN media correspondent, host of "Reliable Sources."

How did we get to this point? Why did this happen this year?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPODNENT & CNN HOST RELIABLE SOURCES: Donald Trump was tapping Something that already existed Which is distrust of the media, particularly on the right, but among many Americans who Were various reasons distrust the media, partly because they Are told to by hosts like rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Trump exploited the mistrust and dined it. Even tonight, wrongly criticizing the press saying They never show the crowd. Trump tapped in to that crowd towards the media and made it much worse. I think he shares partial responsibility for the hostility at the rallies.

HARLOW: What do you think the lasting of impacts of it are?

STELTER: For one we have to do a better job explaining what we do. I have been interviewing Trump reporters that go to his rallies. And some of them told me they felt they were personally in danger at times.

HARLOW: About half of them said that.

STELTER: I don't think our viewer and readers want that. You have to ask yourself, is America better off with journalism or without journalism and even if you hate what you see on CNN you have to agree we are better with journalists at the rallies. They are doing a service by being at these events.

HARLOW: It is interesting they are part of the First Amendment.

STELTER: To be fair and complete about This we did not see violence Directed at journalists. There were a couple of incidents of people getting shoved at Rallies but nothing severe. Some of our worst fears did not Come to be realized with regard to journalists at rallies. Nonetheless, this was a Disturbing situation between the Public and the press. As embodied by this man yelling at the press for a couple of weeks ago. We will figure out, how to bring the temperature down and how to regain the trust of the audience.

HARLOW: While people like that yelling horrific things like That are the minority, there's a lack of Trust that is pervasive Publicly. Let's look at what Gallup found. This is from September and it Shows a steady erosion in the Trust in the media edging down every year since 1997. A huge drop of eight points in the past year. Less than a third of Americans Now have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the media. How do we, as journalists, in the public restore that trust?

STELTER: Partly by advocating for ourselves and talking about why We do what we do every day. When Donald Trump complains and falsely criticizes the coverage or other candidates do, there will be more like Trump in the future, we have to explain ourselves. Some of it is beyond the pale. We saw the horrible picture, of a T-shirt that said, "Rope, tree, journalist." There's no such thing as a joke About lynching. And he said this is so much awesome here. Someone like that, a former baseball player must have no shame. The idea to suggest that violence against journalists or anyone for doing their job is Too far.

[02:55:30] HARLOW: One minute left. Whoever the next president is, will it be a struggle for journalists in terms of access?

STELTER: It will probably be harder Than the Obama administration. It was a new low bar set by the Obama administration in terms of transparency. They say whether it is Trump or Clinton I will be tougher. That means as journalists we have to advocate and explain What we do. I think the conversations are Helpful. Viewers may distrust what we do but then we can win them back every day.

HARLOW: On a personal vote, you have been exceptional the past 16 months, holding everyone accountable.

Equal opportunity fact checker, Brian Stelter. Thank you very much.

STELTER: I will still vote.

HARLOW: It is Election Day in America, folks. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you for being with us. I will see you back here on Thursday after we know who the next president is.

Stay right here. "Early Start" with John Berman and Christine Romans is next. Go vote!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)