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Items Stolen from Elections Warehouse in Philly; Jobless Claims Fall below a Million; Trump Holds Rallies in Wisconsin Hot Spots. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 01, 2020 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00]

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did not allow poll watching, which we then saw blowup during the debate. We've seen President Trump really latch onto this. And we cannot be more clear here. Philadelphia is a critical swing state. All eyes are on this state. And I've talked to several election official witness the state who say they are doing everything they can to give the appearance that this is going to go well on November 3rd.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you very much for that.

Joining me now is the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, John Fetterman. He joined Joe Biden at campaign stops through southwestern Pennsylvania yesterday.

Lieutenant Governor, thank you very much for being with us.

What information do you have about this stolen laptop and the memory sticks at this point?

LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN, (D-PA): I don't have anything above and beyond what -- what you just reported, but what I will say is, is that a red herring is not evidence, it is not reflective of the reality on the ground here in Pennsylvania. What I don't hear is, is that the June primary, vote by mail here in Pennsylvania, didn't uncover one single instance of fraud or any significant issues. And that's the actual evidence. That's the reality here on the ground.

The propaganda that's being generated by the other side is just that. And that's -- you know, chaos is the objective.

BERMAN: In fact, there was a court case, right, and the Republicans who were filing were asked to produce evidence of fraud, correct, and they did not?

FETTERMAN: Correct. Yes, yes, the spoiler alert, no evidence whatsoever. And I think as people -- and people need to understand that chaos is the objective on this side. They -- I mean that's their stated objective. And we cannot give into that. We cannot have, you know, solitary, isolated examples to create an impression that just isn't accurate on the ground. BERMAN: But I just do want to say, the stolen laptop and the stolen

memory sticks, we don't know anything about it, but do you have any concerns about that as an isolated incident?

FETTERMAN: No, I don't have any concerns. You know, and you're going to have other things happen. There's going to be other court decisions. There's going to be other instances where there might be a development. But, at the end of the day, it doesn't change the underlying dynamic. We pulled this off a few short months ago in Pennsylvania. We're going to pull it off in November as well too. And the --

BERMAN: So let me --

FETTERMAN: I'm sorry, go ahead.

BERMAN: So -- no, no, I didn't -- I don't mean to interrupt. Actually, I did mean to interrupt because I wanted to ask you again for the facts. What are the facts about poll watchers in Pennsylvania? What does the law say?

FETTERMAN: That -- that they are not entitled to be at these satellite locations. Poll watchers are a very specific entity that are determined a few days before election days and it's in specific, predetermined polling locations and the polls. So no one's being turned away because there aren't poll watchers in these satellite offices. That is complete propaganda. And they're trying to spread it online and they are trying to create chaos. And we, in Pennsylvania, have to understand that if that's the goal, our objective is to reassure everybody that voting by mail is secure. We did it in June. We're going to do it in November. And if somebody is deliberately spreading misinformation about that in Pennsylvania, it's because their agenda is to sow chaos.

BERMAN: To that point, poll watchers need to be pre-approved and there were no --

FETTERMAN: Correct.

BERMAN: There were no Trump pre-approved poll watchers in the precinct that they're now complaining about, right?

FETTERMAN: Or -- or Biden -- or Biden pre-approved. I mean that's -- that's the point. It's like you -- no one can just randomly show up and say, I'm a poll watcher. That's not how the process works. But --

BERMAN: Well, OK, then. OK, then. So when the president says -- let me play this. So when the president says this then, what are the implications?

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, MODERATOR: You go first. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully because that's what has to happen. I am urging them to do it. As you know, today, there was a big problem. In Philadelphia, they went in to watch. They were called poll watchers. A very safe, very nice thing. They were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch. You know why? Because bad things happen in Philadelphia. Bad things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The second part of what he said, we just established the truth there. So what he was saying about the so-called poll watchers that got thrown out is -- is a lie. They were not legally allowed to be there and it wasn't at a polling location where poll watchers are even allowed.

But it's that first part I want you to address now where the president is calling on his supporters to go to the polls and watch very carefully.

What is the impact of that?

FETTERMAN: The impact is going to be he's sowing chaos. That's the strategy. I mean, after that debate, it's -- it couldn't be any more clearer, chaos is the strategy.

[08:35:00]

Chaos is the outcome that they're -- they're seeking. And it's going to only intensify as the Election Day approaches.

I mean we're over a month out. I mean it's going to get a lot worse. And people in Pennsylvania need to understand that that's all it is, noise and distraction, propagated by an organization whose lone objective during the campaign season is to sow chaos, to create diversions away from an outcome they very well may not like when all the votes are cast in Pennsylvania.

BERMAN: So besides education and coming on TV and trying to tell people the way things are and what the rules say, what can you do about this?

FETTERMAN: We -- we can count on our election professionals all across Pennsylvania. You know, you -- you will not see one single elected Democrat criticizing or impugning the integrity of votes coming out of red county -- Pennsylvania has over 50 red counties. You know, no one's questioning those results because we know that there is integrity across the boards in this function across Pennsylvania.

And there's only one side talking about fraud and misinformation and my cousin's brother said that this happened. I mean none of that is relevant. It's going to have an impact without a doubt, but we need to understand that when chaos is the objective, we must steel ourselves against that. And the result that Pennsylvania will generate after November 3rd can be trusted. It's going to be secure and it's going to reflect the true Democratic will of voters here in Pennsylvania. On that I have (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: What evidence -- what evidence at this time, if any, do you have this is having any effect on voter enthusiasm or turnout? What are you seeing in terms of early voting turnout?

FETTERMAN: No, I -- I don't think it's going to affect any turnout whatsoever. I think it's going to absolutely create some chaos, without a doubt. I mean you're going to have it on full -- full steam ahead. You -- it's so easy to spark a conspiracy online and you've already seen evidence of that. You know, there's two more debates, and that's a huge platform, which to advance these kind of conspiracy theories and just blatant misinformation and propaganda.

But, on the ground in Pennsylvania, the dynamic will remain the same, that voting by mail in Pennsylvania is secure. Our voters did it without any significant issues and no fraud back in June.

BERMAN: Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, we appreciate your time. Thank you for being with us this morning. Hope to see you again soon.

FETTERMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, we have a new snapshot of America's unemployment crisis. Breaking details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:37]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, we do have some breaking news right now.

New jobless claims numbers have just been released. America's unemployment rate has never been this high going into an election.

CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans has more for us.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

CAMEROTA: What are you seeing, Christine?

ROMANS: You know, we're seeing just stubbornly high unemployment claims every single week. First-time filings for unemployment benefits, 837,000. You can see it's sort of plateaued here below a million. But five weeks in a row kind of holding steady here. Hundreds of thousands of new layoffs every week.

There were also 650,000 people who filed for first-time benefits under the pandemic insurance. So that's more than a million people losing their jobs in a week. Freelance workers, gig workers, people in airlines we know. Overall, 26 million people are in some sort of jobless benefit programs.

And the big company job cuts continue. Just in the past 24 hours, we've heard from United. We've heard from American Airlines. We know there's pain in the airline industry. Walt Disney, Goldman Sachs, Allstate, Continental, the tire company, also Marathon, Shell, people in the -- companies in the -- in the oil patch announcing layoffs at the end of the quarter. So this is a really tough spot here for the job market at the moment.

And that pain is being felt by American families. A new study by Harvard, NPR and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found how this pain is being felt. Sixty-one percent of families with children under the age of 18 report financial hardship. And the pain is not equal. The pain unequal here. Minority families more likely to feel the financial hardship of what's happened in this pandemic. And 44 percent of families have spent most or all of their savings during the pandemic. They don't have any gas left in the tank. And more than half of families, Alisyn, half of families say that they have had a job cut, a pay cut or a job loss in the pandemic. So right on the line so many families and these -- these layoffs continue.

CAMEROTA: Just horrible. I mean and just exposing this disparity even more.

ROMANS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Christine, thank you very much for all of that breaking news.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: So, President Trump plans to hold campaign rallies in two Wisconsin cities that his own task force has labeled coronavirus red zones. The mayor of one of those cities joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:48:01]

CAMEROTA: President Trump plans to hold campaign rallies in Green Bay and La Crosse, Wisconsin, this Saturday. Both cities are labeled red zones by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, meaning that they are among the highest community spread in the country. Wisconsin just reported its highest daily death toll yesterday. The state's positivity rate was 21 percent. Wisconsin also broke its own record for hospitalizations.

Joining us now is Tim Kabat, he's the Democratic mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, where President Trump plans to hold one of his rallies on Saturday.

Mayor, thank you very much for being with us.

Do you want the president to come to La Crosse on Saturday?

MAYOR TIM KABAT, LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN: No, we don't. We're really hoping that we can get this event either canceled or postponed to another time based on what we're experiencing right now here in La Crosse, as you indicated. We are in a very severe situation with Covid. Our case numbers, thankfully, have gone down just a little bit from last week, but we are still seeing very widespread community spread of Covid-19.

CAMEROTA: Have you told the Trump campaign that you would like them to cancel?

KABAT: We have not spoken -- or I have not spoken directly with the campaign. We are working with those folks here locally who are looking to host the president and under normal circumstances a presidential visit for a community like La Crosse would be -- you know, would be an awesome thing and be welcomed. But the situation that we're in, of course, with the coronavirus really causes us to try to protect the community's health and safety. And so, you know, we're assuming that the rally is still going to take place. We are trying to, you know, keep people safe, but we'll see what happens on Saturday.

CAMEROTA: What are the local hosts telling you?

KABAT: Well, we -- to this point right now it still looks like it's going to happen. Whether it happens here in the La Crosse -- in our city or in one of the surrounding communities, that is still actually being worked on.

[08:50:02]

So we don't have that finalized yet.

CAMEROTA: So it's possible it won't happen. I mean it -- you're telling me it's possible that you will successfully get it moved out of La Crosse?

KABAT: That is what we are working on and we'll see. We don't know that for sure. There's a couple of locations that I understand the campaign is looking at. But, you know, but as of right now, it is -- it is happening here on Saturday. The location yet to be finalized.

CAMEROTA: Your governor doesn't want this to happen. Let me play for you and our viewers what he said yesterday -- or on Tuesday about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Number one, he could not come. The second thing that could be done is for him to insist that if people are there, they wear a mask. That can -- he can make that happen. He can wear one, too. But those are the two things that he could do to make sure that it doesn't become a super spreader event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So the governor says either cancel the event and not come or wear a mask.

Do you have any authority to mandate mask wearing?

KABAT: I do not here in the city of La Crosse. We have a countywide health department and I know just, you know, witnessing rallies going around in the country in the past, it's clear that those rallies do not have, you know, practice social distancing or wearing masks. So it will be very unlikely that that will happen as far as the -- the rally here in La Crosse. We would expect that there will be no social distancing and people not wearing masks, which has us, again, gravely concerned with having just another, you know, skyrocketing of cases here after the event.

CAMEROTA: Here's one of the crazier things. The White House coronavirus itself is warning about Wisconsin and warning about the communities in Wisconsin. They're calling it a red zone, OK, meaning the highest level of community spread.

KABAT: Right.

CAMEROTA: And so do you understand why the president is not heeding the warning of his own White House Coronavirus Task Force?

KABAT: I do not understand. I think that's, you know, something that we expect out of our leaders is to really lead by example. And, in this case, obviously, it's do as I say, not as I do and coming out of the his own task force and talking about trying to, again, keep people safe, get our economy, you know, back to a place where -- where it was before Covid. We -- we lose all kinds of confidence here with these -- these high numbers and not to mention, obviously, the impacts to our -- our health systems and to our communities. So it is -- it is concerning and upsetting. We're doing the best we can here at the local level.

CAMEROTA: Why -- what -- what are we seeing behind the spike in Wisconsin and La Crosse?

KABAT: What are we seeing here?

CAMEROTA: What's causing this? What's causing the problem in Wisconsin?

KABAT: Well, we -- we -- we've had -- our case numbers were in a decent range. Here with students returning back to the university and schools, we have witnessed again pretty widespread community spread. And in Wisconsin, if you remember back in May, of course, the -- our supreme court struck down our safer at home order. And so, really, since that time it's been very limited or very lack of restrictions. So we've really tried to encourage people do the right thing here in Wisconsin, but you can see, especially in the last couple of weeks, our case numbers have reflected, you know, we're in a bad spot.

CAMEROTA: So what is your message to the Trump campaign this morning?

KABAT: Again, I would ask them to reconsider and postpone the event if they still want to come here. I mean this is a swing state and we border Minnesota and Iowa, so it's a very -- you know, a very good place for those political campaigns. But I would ask if they could delay for up to 14 days, I think that would be helpful because hopefully our numbers will continue to go down.

CAMEROTA: OK, Mayor Tim Kabat of La Crosse, please let us know if you do successfully end up getting the venue changed. KABAT: OK.

CAMEROTA: We're certainly interested in what's going to happen this weekend and we're thinking of you and your state.

Thank you very much.

KABAT: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

BERMAN: It is time now for "The Good Stuff."

Two women in New Mexico gave a server the tip of a lifetime. Jenny Nolan (ph) and Christy Getz (ph) were inspired by the Venmo Challenge on social media where people rally followers to donate to a local worker and Jenny and Christy surprised one lucky waitress with $1,200.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do this out of the goodness of our heart. Like, our hearts are bursting right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to be able to be a light in the community --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to spread inspiration and hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So they now say they plan to do this every month, which begs the question, that's a lot of money every month. Good for them.

CAMEROTA: It's so great. When I was a waitress, my head would have exploded if somebody had given me a tip like that.

[08:55:02]

That --

BERMAN: What was the biggest tip you ever got?

CAMEROTA: $100. And the people were, you know, super drunk.

BERMAN: I bartended.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you know?

BERMAN: I bartended for a catering company and the tips would get better and better as the night went on.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely.

BERMAN: It was fantastic. CAMEROTA: Yes, we used to know that little trick for -- to get the patrons really juiced.

BERMAN: All right, there is a lot going on this morning.

CNN's coverage continues, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. We're glad you're with us. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jim Sciutto.

Note this, the president refuses to explicitly condemn white supremacy and then launches new xenophobic attacks on a sitting U.S. congresswoman of color just hours later.

[09:00:06]

At a Minnesota rally, he took aim at Ilhan Omar.