Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trumps Visit Two States with COVID-19 Cases Spikes; Biden Leads In Polls; Manchester Opposes Highest COVID-19 Alert Level; Italy Reports Daily Record Cases In Second Spike. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 18, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Robyn Curnow live from CNN's Worlds News Headquarters here in Atlanta. So just ahead, a define Donald Trump on the campaign trail for another day as coronavirus cases soar. Plus --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I've been duped. I feel like I did a disservice to women by voting for this guy.

CURNOW: The growing number of women turning their backs on the man they once trusted with their vote. And also the spike in COVID cases, we'll bring you reports from all around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live From CNN Center, this is "CNN Newsroom with Robyn Curnow."

CURNOW: So there's a new surge of COVID cases in the US which experts say it could be much, much worse this time around than what it was in spring or even summer. That's because now the virus has spread pretty much everywhere.

The US reported almost 70,000 new infections on Friday, the most since July the 29th, using data from Johns Hopkins University. Now, that brings the total number of US cases to well over 8.1 million. That as 10 states reported their highest number of new COVID cases. One of them Wisconsin, a US President Donald Trump held a campaign rally on Saturday. He had one on the same day in Michigan as well, which has also been breaking case records this week.

Now, the President didn't focus much on the surging cases in Wisconsin during his public rally there. He promoted what he calls his successes during the pandemic as he tries to close the gap in the polls between him and his Democratic rival Joe Biden as Jeremy Diamond now explains. Jeremy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is now losing to Joe Biden, according to recent polls, by an average of 7 points. And so, the President campaigning here in Janesville, Wisconsin trying to win back some of his supporters. He talks about his support for law enforcement in particular, speaking here in this town of Janesville, Wisconsin, which is just 60 miles from Kenosha, Wisconsin where, of course, a black man, Jacob Blake, was shot by police. And after that, of course, there were protests. There was some unrest that the President has, of course, amplified and talked about.

But what the President didn't talk about here in Janesville, Wisconsin is the surge of coronavirus cases that are happening in this state. Wisconsin is experiencing one of the worst surges in the country at the moment. Hospitalizations have tripled over the last month, and the state of Wisconsin experienced a record number of cases just a day before the President came here to Janesville to campaign.

Now, the White House's Coronavirus Task Force itself has warned about these kinds of events that the President posted here in Janesville. The task force writing in its weekly report about the state of Wisconsin saying "Wisconsin's ability to limit further and avoid increases in hospitalizations and deaths will depend on increased observation of social distancing mitigation measures by the community until cases decline. Lack of compliance with these measures will lead to preventable deaths."

And so that is what is so startling is to see the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, say essentially that these very same types of events that the President is holding with thousands of people packed closely together, no social distancing, very few people wearing masks, will lead to preventable deaths. And yet, the President of the United States continues to hold these events. In fact, he has pledged to hold very similar events to the one we saw here in Janesville, Wisconsin over the next two weeks leading up to Election Day, once a day, multiple times a day perhaps as well, in order to try and save his chances of reelection.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN in Janesville, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Jeremy there and a little bit of Elton John. Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden isn't resting on his more favorable polling numbers. The latest CNN poll shows him well-ahead. Take a look at this, 53% to President Trump's 42%. But Biden's campaign manager is urging supporters to stay hungry and to fight like they're trailing.

She wrote to supporters, we cannot become complacent because the very searing truth is that Donald Trump can still win this race and every indication we have shows that this thing is going to come down to the wire. Well, Jason Carroll tells us where Biden is focusing next. Jason.

[00:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN US CORRESPONDENT: As expected, the campaign putting much of its time resources and energy into battleground states. And states where they're doing early in-person voting, they're seeing some of those same images coming out of places such as North Carolina for his part.

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Durham, North Carolina today speaking to voters, telling them to be patient and to get out there and vote. Senator Kamala Harris will be doing the same on Florida on Monday. She'll be making two stops there.

Biden, not out on the campaign trail on Saturday, neither was Harris. Biden met with advisors from his campaign on Saturday. Harris, for her part, as you know, a couple of people within her orbit tested positive for COVID-19. So out of an abundance of caution, they physically kept her off of the campaign trail for a few days. She did test negative for COVID-19 on Saturday.

So looking ahead, again, you've got Biden. He's going to be in North Carolina today. You've got Senator Harris in Florida. She'll be there on Monday, Joe Biden will be in Pennsylvania on Monday. She will be in Michigan on Tuesday, Joe Biden.

But Wednesday is the big day. That is the day that former President Barack Obama will be out there campaigning for Biden. He's going to be doing that in Philadelphia. And a number of Democrats are saying if there is one surrogate that you want out there, stumping for you. That would be the one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Nathan Gonzales is a CNN Political Analyst. He's also the Editor and Publisher of Inside Elections, and he joins me now from Washington. Good to see you, sir.

The Biden campaign is certainly playing on their front foot at the moment. But the team is also warning voters and supporters not to be complacent. So where do they see their vulnerabilities right now then?

NATHAN GONZALES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, , you know, Biden's campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, and Democrats in general wouldn't talk about complacency if they weren't a little bit concerned about it. I think they've been concerned ever since the 2016 election ended. But I think it's pretty clear that Democrats are not taking this race for granted. That's one key difference from four years ago, that four years ago, Democrats took it for granted. But now that they've seen President Trump in office for almost four years, they are energized and they are going to vote.

We already started to see this in the 2018 election. So I know that the Biden campaign feels like they need to do this, but I don't think democratic enthusiasm is going to be an issue.

CURNOW: Polls, certainly they look pretty good for the Biden campaign, almost historical highs at this moment. But again, you reference 2016, there's a little less trust in polls, even ones like this. Which battleground states do you think you're looking at? Where can this be decided?

GONZALES: Well, the quickest path for the former vice president is to win all of the Hillary Clinton states, and then win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And that would be the ballgame, that would be get him over to 70. Right now, Biden has the advantage in those states.

Now, the good news for Biden is that he is either leading or competitive in a whole host of other states, talking about Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, even Texas. Biden is in the game in those. And so, he doesn't have to win all of them. He has multiple paths.

And the other key difference from 2016 is, yes, Hillary Clinton had a lead going into Election Day, but Biden has been consistently over 50%, which is a big difference from four years ago.

CURNOW: There's also that issue of the Electoral College, which many international viewers still find quite confusing. But either way, it's not as simple as a majority vote. And so the question is, with that in mind, how easily or how likely could this election be decided in the Supreme Court? Mr. Trump has said as much that he'd perhaps like to go to the court, which he will assume will vote in his favor in any dispute. But how likely a scenario do you think that is?

GONZALES: Well, right now, I actually think it's pretty unlikely because for that to happen, this would have to be an extremely close election that comes down to one state. You know, that a case about maybe what ballots are valid or invalid, it starts at the local level, on the state level that the discrepancy in the lawsuit moves its way up to the Supreme Court. Again, that would be because it is hinging on one state.

Right now, I don't think this election is going to hinge on one state. You know, we're so -- we're supposed to be cautious and walk on eggshells about making projections. But right now Biden has a significant advantage, and so that's why I think it's unlikely we get all the way to the Supreme Court because Biden should clear to 70 by a decent margin if the polls are even close to accurate.

CURNOW: So we're seeing all this early voting, record early voting, what does that tell you? I know a lot of people have been saying don't get too excited. It doesn't give you any indication of how this is going to affect the actual outcome. But what does it tell you about the political landscape and what potentially might be changing or not?

[00:10:07]

GONZALES: I absolutely agree with people who said don't look too much in early voting. Because while we know the registration of the people who are voting early, whether they're a Democrat or Republican or unaffiliated, we don't know what is on those ballots and how they voted. We also don't know if they're really changing the makeup of the electorate if they are new voters or if they are just voting early instead of on Election Day.

But what it does tell us is that, I believe we're going to have record turnout. We are the reason -- how you get record turnout is when both parties are excited. Right now, President Trump is driving turnout on the Republican side. He's also driving turnout on the Democratic side. And so, I think we're going to smash records for voter turnout.

CURNOW: Yes, you make an excellent point there. Thanks so much, great to speak to you, great to get your opinion and your expertise. Nathan Gonzales there, thank you. Have a great weekend.

GONZALES: You too.

CURNOW: So after the break, the deadly coronavirus surging again around the world. We'll have first hand account from a US doctor on the frontlines. And also then, beyond the US record coronavirus spikes in places like the Czech Republic, France, the UK and the Middle East. Our correspondents around the world bring us the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:15:08]

CURNOW: As the weather cools here in the US and across the Northern Hemisphere, COVID numbers are expected to rise according to the experts. Now ready, the US is seeing record increases. Evan McMorris- Santoro has the details on that. Evan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Public health officials in the United States are sounding the alarm as cases rise across the country and winter swiftly approaches. As you can see from this graphic, 10 states across the country recently reported their highest single day total of new COVID cases since the pandemic began. Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that more states are showing bad numbers. And if that continues, things could get a lot worse.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: You can't enter into the cool months of the fall and the cold months of the winter with a high community infection baseline. And looking at the map and seeing the heat map, how it lights up with test positivity, that is in more than 30 plus states is going in the wrong direction. It's still not too late to vigorously apply good public health measures. And again, I emphasize without necessarily shutting down the country.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: What Dr. Fauci is saying is that people need to realize the things that kept the virus in check in the spring are also important for the winter, a diligent adherence to social distancing rules and mask requirements. Without it, Fauci says, America could be in for a very tough winter.

Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Dr. Murtaza Akhter is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine-Phoenix. Hi, doctor.

So you've been working on the frontlines, and you hear that this is going to be a tough winter. Eight million people have coronavirus in the US right now. What's it like for you there in a hospital? DR. MURTAZA AKHTER, CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE-PHOENIX: Yes. Thanks for having me, Robyn. So, you know, that's exactly right. In the winter season, in most of the country, people go indoors more. Now, in Arizona is sort of the opposite where the weather gets nicer.

But on the East Coast right now, and the weather has definitely gotten colder, where I just stepped in for my shift today. Back home it was quite cold, which means people will clearly be going indoors, and therefore they're going to spread more germs. Just like they do every year, but this year there's a pandemic along with COVID.

And so, you know, we're seeing patients still coming to ER, whichever hospital I'm in. And the concern is, especially given the numbers rising in the country, and the weather getting colder, how much worse is potentially going to get. So we're all trying to brace for it.

CURNOW: Yes. And that's the point, is that how are you planning? Are you concerned about capacity with this new wave about to hit or hitting in many places? How concerned are you about, you know, these old standing issues of PPE and beds, and ICU space?

AKHTER: Yes, that's a great question. You know, we've gotten so used to this at this point that we almost take it a second nature. But we also assume that at some point, people would, you know, try to beat the pandemic distance, wear masks, et cetera. And clearly that isn't working. It seems like the American spirit has been killed and people have given up, and the numbers are rising everywhere.

I really hope it gets curtailed quickly. I've been wrong about a lot of things in a pandemic, and I'm hoping that I'll be wrong about this, and maybe it won't get worse. But everything is looking in the wrong direction right now, and all the experts are saying in the winter it will get worse. And we're just hoping that we can, you know, get over the hump.

They might be multiple humps, and conserve PPE, conserve hospital beds. I really thought we'd be really the tail end of this and I was totally wrong. It sounds like we're in it for the long haul, which is unfortunate for all of us.

CURNOW: So are you exhausted just at the thought of this? And what are folks saying to you when they come in sick and you know that this is the beginning of another hump, as you call it?

AKHTER: Absolutely exhausted. I'm on a group chat with doctors. I came for my shift and we're texting back and forth. And somebody asked what I now think is a ludicrous question of, do we think we'll ever track and trace. And, of course, most of us responding that that will never happened here.

People here don't even quarantine, even if they're positive, and it's so demoralizing. We've already become demoralized. So we are beginning to lose hope on it. And we're just trying to fight through the battle lines and deal with the patients as they come in. I think a lot of patients probably also thought that maybe the worst of it was over. \ But there are plenty of people coming in very sick, very short of breath. And remember, in the ER we assume that they're COVID until the test result comes back which we don't necessarily know until they're admitted. And then, we find out after the fact that they had COVID. But that means for every patient we see, whether it's really sick respiratory distress or a mild asthma. If it down up, wear with the PPE and it puts the whole hospital on basically a backlog and that affects every patient not just COVID patients.

[00:20:07]

CURNOW: And as you say, it also affects you, doctors. I know there was recently a study that said men were more likely to die or at least be in the ICU longer. Are you seeing that anecdotally, in terms of your patients and people who are coming through that men are being disproportionately impacted here?

AKHTER: Yes, it does seem to me. Again, that's anecdotal. I like to use Big Data as a researcher, but even anecdotally, it seems like there are more men who come in. Now, there could be a variety of reasons for that. Some might say that men also do more dangerous things, whether you talk about smoking, or any on large groups, so whatever the case may be. And maybe they're on the frontlines more. It's hard to know, there could be a lot of confounders, but we do tend to see men more often.

And, you know, honestly, that's sort of the case even with other illnesses, where men seem to have a more inflammatory response. So that part even scientifically is not necessarily surprising. But even anecdotally, yes, it seems like the people who come in who are often quite sick, or even if they're not sick, tend to males more than females. But, of course, the larger data is really where it's most relevant.

CURNOW: And let's talk also about -- you say you're exhausted. You're on this WhatsApp chat with other doctors, how are you guys dealing? And I mean, woman. I mean, collectively here, how are you all dealing mentally and emotionally with this? And do you have the sort of the stamina to just get through the next few months, potentially, the next six months? I mean, what is the effects of this for you?

AKHTER: You notice that it's kind of a double-edged sword, because on one hand, people will say volumes are so low. I have a lot of residents at multiple hospitals I work at who are looking for jobs, and they're struggling to find jobs. And you can never imagine the situation where doctors are struggling to find jobs.

I was told that would never happen and it's happening. People are struggling to even find jobs because of how much the whole system has been affected. So on one hand, there are people who are looking for jobs who can't get them. On the other hand, there are people who are working all the time, and are seeing that this just never ending.

And so, yes, it takes an emotional toll on everyone. Everybody would like to go back to normal and I get that. You know, everybody's kind of exhausted. But we just -- we cannot go back to normal while that pandemic is raging, and while we haven't controlled it. And so, the way I look at it, when I go into shift is, you know, this is my duty, this is my obligation. This is what I signed up for.

The unfortunate part with a public health disaster and infectious disease is that even if I do everything in my part, any of the patients I see everything on their parts, to do everything right. All it takes is a few people to get sick, and to become super spreaders. And when, you know, leadership from the top down isn't coming down in a clear consistent message, what ends up happening is that the virus just never goes away.

There's a clear distinction between our country and others, between certain states within countries. And it clearly comes to how well and how seriously you take COVID. And so, it really is frustrating. But again, in some sense, we signed up for this, we just didn't realize it will be that the people would respond to this poorly, to being able to distance and wearing masks. And that's what's unfortunate. But as for the medical part, we'll keep doing what we always do.

CURNOW: Yes. And in many ways, as you say this, this is kind of a very unique American reaction, the worst number of cases we're seeing in the world, the doctors like you are certainly on the frontline of something that you've never had never expected to deal with. And you want it to be over. But at the same time if a vaccine comes out, a lot of polls are saying people won't take it. So this might not be over, you know, as quickly as you want, even if a vaccine comes out in the next few months.

AKHTER: That's the most horrible thing. That, you know, I really was hoping the anti-vaxxers had gone into a hole and would never call that out. And now it seems like they are a prominent movement, and in particular with the COVID vaccine, which is so absolutely horrendous. Because I thought the vaccine really significantly decrease the disease burden, and I hope it will. But there's so many people who are saying I won't believe in the vaccine, no matter what the data are, no matter what the results are.

I want there to be good data. I want there to be good data before people take it. But at the same time that people say I'm going to take a regardless, it's just -- it is really infuriating. It was always infuriating, especially if you talk to a pediatrician, when kids come in and their family members don't want to vaccinate them. And now you've got a worldwide pandemic, and people are saying similar things, which is really crazy.

So you're right, it could last for quite a bit longer. And as one of my surgeon friends said, we're, you know, we're all like the Triceratops looking at the asteroid coming at Earth and thinking we'll be OK if we just find some shade. That's not how it works.

You know, you don't want to just hope that you'll beat this disease just by hiding in the shade. You will have to be actively against it. In this case, that's distancing masks and the vaccine, and it's crazy that people are already being anti-vaxxers

CURNOW: That's quite an analogy and you send chills up my spine as you describe it. But, Dr. Murtaza, thank you so much for sharing. I know your frustrations, but I think we're all listening to you, very grateful for the hard work that you and your colleagues are doing. So I know it's tough, keep on going, sir. Thank you.

AKHTER: Appreciate it, thank you, Robyn, for everything you guys do. Thank you.

So the fact is coronavirus is spiking all over the world. So I want to give you a breakdown. In Prague, in an expo center, this will be used as a field hospital for COVID patients. It could offer relief as regular hospitals in the Czech Republic started to fill up there. And then on Saturday, Prague set a new record for daily coronavirus infections, with more than 33,000 cases reported just in the last 24 hours. Paris and nine other French cities are under curfew for at least four weeks.

Globally, there are several hotspots seen here in red and orange. Many of you are in those places. You know what I'm talking about here. Well, more than 39 million cases and there been more than 1 million deaths.

Well, our correspondents are tracking all of these surges from around world. Jomana Karadsheh is following the spike in the Middle East from Istanbul. Ben Wedeman is in Naples, the latest on Italy's shattered records. And Salma Abdelaziz has been following the war (ph) between the mayor of Manchester and the British Prime Minister. So let's start there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: After an extraordinary act of defiance from the mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.

ANDY BURNHAM, MAYOR, MANCHESTER: We have unanimously opposed the government's plans for Tier 3. They are flawed and unfair.

CURNOW: The city now faces an ultimatum from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

BORIS JOHNSON, UK PRIME MINISTER: If agreement cannot be reached, I will need to intervene.

ABDELAZIZ: Downing Street implemented a three tier COVID alert system to curb a second wave of coronavirus cases, not abiding by these new measures, the government says, means more people will die. But Afzal Khan, a member of parliament from Manchester says it's the prime minister not the mayor who is putting lives at risk.

AFZAL KHAN, BRITIST LABOUR MP: I'm disappointed. I think they've been incompetent. I've never seen anything like this from a British government.

CURNOW: So why won't you just implement Tier 3 restriction as the government has requested?

KHAN: Of course it's going to help, but it will not be what we need. We need more. I think that's my first concern. And second point is the impact economically will be huge.

ABDELAZIZ: Take all around me. This shopping district is absolutely packed. And that's what this debate is about. Even under the country's highest level restrictions, pubs and bars would be shut down. Households would be banned from mixing together, but this would still be allowed. That's why some including the country's scientific advisors say a nationwide lockdown is needed.

It would also come with more financial support to help businesses survive the second hit. Pub owner Tim Flynn says if he closes his doors under the three tier system, he may never be able to reopen again.

TIM FLYNN, OWNER, NEW OXFORD PUB: A local lockdown will not do it. I have no problem with a sharp two-week, three-week lockdown, both just local lockdown but not too soon. And they packages that are from the businesses is only peanuts.

ABDELAZIZ: Do you support the mayor and him I

FLYNN: I do support them 110%

ABDELAZIZ: He is not alone on the streets of Manchester. It's hard to find support for the Prime Minister. We're asking whether you support the mayor or the Prime Minister on coronavirus restrictions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably the mayor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor, I'm on the mayor side, definitely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm siding with the mayor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, the mayor, yes.

ABDELAZIZ: And what's your opinion of Prime Minister Boris Johnson?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to say it on TV.

ABDELAZIZ: While the government remains in a state of paralysis, the virus continues to spread. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Manchester

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For the fourth day in a row, Italy has reported record high daily increases in the number of new coronavirus cases. The number is far higher than what we saw earlier in the year when Italy was the European epicenter of the pandemic. Yet, deaths remain relatively low from coronavirus still in the double digits.

Now, we're in Naples where the governor of this region has ordered schools and universities to be closed. Restaurants have to close their doors by 9:00 pm. We also had the chance to speak with the region senior infective disease specialist 1who told us that this region is taking a much more aggressive approach to testing.

In the past, in Italy, you actually had to show symptoms of the disease, now all you need is a doctor's referral. So testing is much more easily available for those who want it regardless of whether they show symptoms. All of this, it is hope will help stop this latest alarming surge, a second wave in this pandemic.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN reporting from Naples.

[00:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Several countries in the Middle East are facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, but the hardest hit country remains Iran battling another wave of the pandemic. Just this past week, it recorded the highest daily number of confirmed cases and death. The situation is especially dire in the capital, Tehran. Health officials there say they're running out of ICU beds.

The government is putting in new restrictions, new measures, more fines for violators. But the one thing that Iran cannot afford right now is a lockdown because of the economic situation and the impact of devastating US sanctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: So thanks there to Jomana, Selma and Ben for all of that reporting. We'll continue to bring you the latest on the global COVID numbers.

So coming up here on CNN, President Trump's latest blunt words for the governor of Michigan, just days after a plot to kidnap her was foiled. That one's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Robin Curnow here in Atlanta. It's 34 minutes past the hour. So, the US president is upping his feud with the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Listen, two weeks ago the FBI foiled an alleged plot to kidnap her but that didn't stop the President from verbally attacking her on Saturday at a campaign rally in the state.

[00:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: You got to get your governor to open up your state, OK? You got to get your governor to open up your state, OK? And get your schools open, get you schools open. The schools have to be open, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So the governor said this is the exact rhetoric that has put her life and others in danger. One of her top aides said every time the President does this, it triggers an outburst of violent anti- Whitmer rhetoric on social media. Meanwhile, crowds gathered in Washington and several other cities around the US for the second women's march of the year. They're protesting President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. And they're urging women to vote in the upcoming election.

Many of them here are wearing those iconic pink hats, as well as black face masks honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Well, US polls show that President Donald Trump is deeply unpopular among many of these women voters, and he's very much aware of that gender gap. It would explain this appeal he made on Saturday to suburban women voters, barely more than two weeks before the election. Let's hear that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They'll kill your jobs, dismantle your police departments, dissolve your borders, raise your taxes, destroy your suburb and I saved your suburbs, women, suburban women, you're supposed to love Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Kate Bolduan went to Pennsylvania where 50% of white women voted for Mr. Trump in 2016. So here's what some of them had to say this time around. Take a look, this is a great piece.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLIE GEITNER, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: You're right. I'm probably a good example of someone who's gone through a lot of change in four years.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Holly Geitner, a registered Republican, is a working parent of two kids living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She voted for Donald Trump in 2016. And she wasn't alone, 50% of white women in Pennsylvania did the same according to exit polls. What do you feel today about your vote four years ago?

GEITNER: I can tell you how I felt four years ago. Shame.

BOLDUAN: Do you regret your vote?

GEITNER: Where we are today, yes I do. I don't think this is the great again that everyone thought it was going to be.

BOLDUAN: So Hollie is voting for Joe Biden, and so is Nin Bell. What drew you to Donald Trump? Why did you vote for Donald Trump, Nin?

NIN BELL, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, he's celebrity, 100%.

BOLDUAN: It was the brand.

BELL: It was. BOLDUAN: The image?

BELL: Absolutely. Successful, funny, like he was funny, I loved his show, the "Celebrity Apprentice", never missed it.

BOLDUAN: Was there a moment when you decided I cannot support him?

BELL: It was almost instantly.

BOLDUAN: It's not just outside the cities where suburban women are questioning their support for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. It's even out here in Westmoreland County, rural Pennsylvania, considered Trump country. We're about to meet two of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's older.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm older.

BOLDUAN: Oh, you're definitely sisters. Joan Smeltzer and Julie Brady are registered Democrats and both voted for Trump in 2016.

JOAN SMELTZER, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: I feel like I've been duped. I got it wrong and it hurts my heart. I mean, it truly hurts my heart because the things that I saw I didn't take seriously enough

BOLDUAN: Throughout the campaign, he was making sexist misogynistic remarks. And then, there was the Access Hollywood tape. How did you guys process and digest that being out there and voting for him?

SMELTZER: It was not easy. I looked at myself and how could I do that?

JULIE BRADY, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: I feel like I did a disservice to women by voting for this guy.

BOLDUAN: Was there a moment in the last four years when you said, I can't do this again?

BRADY: The COVID pandemic the way he handled it. That was the absolute last straw for me. He didn't create the virus, but he kind of left us all in the dark guessing what was going on and that wasn't fair to us.

BOLDUAN: Among the women to, the coronavirus, the President's handling of the pandemic and the racial unrest following the police killing of George Floyd where the overwhelming driving issues.

GEITNER: George Floyd's killing was a pivotal moment for me when I read that he was begging for his mom. As a mother myself, it just brought me to my knees and to see what's happened since I feel like he's added fuel to the flames of hatred. And that really bothers me.

[00:39:57]

BOLDUAN: Nin Bell, who registered as a Republican in 2016 just to vote for Trump in the primaries, now protest weekly in her town just outside Philadelphia. Often met by groups, she used to consider herself a part of Trump supporters setting up counter demonstrations. BELL: And I think Trump kind of thrives on that, on that division. I see it in my own town.

SMELTZER: Integrity, just what we're lacking.

BRADY: And accountability. , You know, being a mom of a nine-year-old that's one thing that I push with my son all the time is, you know, you made a bad decision. It's your fault. You learn from it, you move on. We have a president who nothing that happens is ever his fault. It's always somebody else's fault.

BOLDUAN: There are consequences.

BRADY: There are consequences. He's about to find the man.

BOLDUAN: The woman we talked to don't speak for every woman in Pennsylvania, of course, but what they have to say and why shows the uphill battle that Donald Trump is facing right now in this battleground state. The latest polling shows Trump trailing Joe Biden by 23 points among women in Pennsylvania. Kate Bolduan, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: So let's bring in our polling expert Harry Enten. He's a Senior Political Writer. He joins me from New York City.

Harry, wonderful to see you. I know you crunched the numbers, and I do want to get your take. On which voting block you think could swing this, either way? I want to talk about seniors and I want to talk about suburban woman, but I want to start with seniors. Can you swing some trends here?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER Yes, we're definitely seeing some trends. Look, seniors was a group that Donald Trump one last time around, he won it by about five to six points, depending on exactly what you looked at in terms of the final pre-election polls.

And if you look at the polls right now, what do you see? You see that Trump is trailing among seniors by 10 points and an average of the most recent post former Vice President Joe Biden. If in fact, Joe Biden ends up carrying seniors, he's going to be the first Democratic candidate to carry seniors in at least 20 years, if not 24, depending on which polls we'll look at.

So there is no doubt to me at all that Donald Trump has lost his grip on those voters aged 65 and older, and they are grouped heavily In Joe Biden's corner at this point.

CURNOW: Yes. And I think COVID has a lot to do with that. Let's also talk about suburban women. In many ways, Mr. Trump carried them as well last time around. Again, we're seeing a lot of trends that see them turning against the President, why?

ENTEN: Yes. I mean, look, if you look right now, in the current average of polls, suburban women are favoring former Vice President Joe Biden, my 21 points. The final pre-election polls back in 2016, Hillary Clinton was only leading them by 12 percentage points.

I think that there are a number of reasons, right? I mean, obviously, the pandemic has something to do with it. But it goes beyond that, right? Women larger against the president of United States, white women especially have moved significantly against the President. I think it has to do with a number of factors, including economic factors, right?

Women want to make sure that there's the Affordable Care Act that's in place, and obviously President Trump trying to get rid of that. The tax cuts that passed a few years ago, women voters don't tend to like that.

And the other thing I'll mention is, you know, President Trump has been trying to say, oh, I'm going to keep, you know, your neighborhood safe to suburban women. But in fact, they don't trust them on that issue whatsoever. There's a recent Fox News poll that indicated that suburban women were much more in Joe Biden's corner when it came to racial equality and the police. So they're just a slew of factors that are running against the president among suburban women.

CURNOW: Yes. But still, we're hearing from the Biden campaign and Democrats also perhaps a little bit cautious after 2016. But they'll urging folks not to be complacent. And then again, we know, you know that the Electoral College can throw up anything. Can you put up a number and a percentage on Mr. Trump's chances right now?

ENTEN: Yes: Yes, I mean, here's what I would essentially say. If you were to take a die, right, that you'd find at a casino, what's the chance that you roll a six in any one roll of the die? And then perhaps Trump's chances a little bit worse than that.

But I will point out over and over and over again, look, we still have a little bit over two weeks to go. There are some historical examples where someone in Trump's position no matter how poor it is at this point, have come back and win. But there is no doubt when you look at the national polls, you look at the swing state polls that the President is behind at this point.

CURNOW: What do you make of early voting? I know you have been quite verbal about not taking any clues or signposts from early voting. Why is that?

ENTEN: Yes. I mean, look, we -- I should point out, you know, look, there are a lot of voters that are casting ballots over 22 million at this particular point. And the fact is that, I do think we're probably heading towards record turnout, but we don't necessarily know who those voters are, who they favor. And more than that, we know from the polls that Democrats have said that they are more likely to turn out and vote early while the President's supporters are more likely to vote on Election Day.

[00:45:00]

And we know that back in 2016 in two key swing states, both Florida and North Carolina, had a lot of early voters that Hillary Clinton won among those early voters, but President Trump carry both of those states because he did so well among Election Day voters. The fact is, although you'd rather get your votes now sort of bank them just in case anything happens at the last minute 6. On Election Day vote at the end of the day counts the same as a vote that's cast early.

CURNOW: OK, fascinating stuff. Just feels, though, November the Third is about 500 million years away, doesn't it? Anything could happen. Harry, wonderful to see. Thanks so much, have a great weekend.

ENTEN: You too.

CURNOW: So just weeks, yes, 100 and 50 million years away America next president. North Korea unveils its massive new ballistic missile. What could it mean for the US and future diplomacy? Let's talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Armenia is now accusing Azerbaijan of violating a humanitarian ceasefire just hours after it came into effect. The two had agreed to a truce in Nagorno-Karabakh but that was supposed to kick in at local time midnight. Both sides has accused each other of violating an initial ceasefire that was brokered a week ago by Russia. The region where the violence is happening is controlled by ethnic Armenians but is located in Azerbaijan.

And North Korea recently showed off its military hardware including what some analysts say could be the largest ballistic missile on Earth. Paula Hancocks looks at what this means for the US and the region whether Kim Jong-un will stay quiet for the next few weeks. Paula.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kim Jong-un had a jewel message. Rare tears of regret an appreciation for his domestic audience, for the United States a glimpse of what analysts believed to be one of the world's biggest ballistic missiles.

[00:49:48]

JEFFREY LEWIS, MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: This new missile is so large it could carry several nuclear weapons, three, perhaps four anywhere in the United States. So what this represents is a dramatic increase in the ability of North Korea to target nuclear weapons that the United States and overwhelm us missile defenses.

HANCOCKS: A new submarine launched ballistic missile also identified by weapons experts, along with more conventional armaments from tanks to body armor. Significant developments during the period the US President Donald Trump had been talking to the North Korean leader three face to face meetings and countless flattering letters did not get in the way of the North military progress. Although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the fact that they haven't tested these weapons shows diplomacy has worked.

As for when a new ICBM test could come, few believe North Korea would want to upset the applecart before the US election.

MARTIN NAVIAS, MILITARY ANALYST, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: But I suspect that we are moving closer to a North Korean test. And that will come in the not too distant future, especially if there's a new American administration. The North Koreans will test that administration. They will rattle their cage and they will gain attention

HANCOCKS: As to who Kim Jong-un would want to be dealing with come January.

NAVIAS: Kim Jong-un would prefer Donald Trump over Joe Biden, there's no question about that. Donald Trump while sometimes is erratic, Kim Jong-un both operations relationship with him.

HANCOCKS: Both the US and South Korea agreed Pyongyang's nuclear and weapons programs pose a significant threat.

LEWIS: so every day we wait and every bit of progress they make I think is ultimately irreversible.

HANCOCKS: Each new weapon creating a new reality for future negotiations. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Coming up on CNN Sports, fans have craved for months watching a match in person without masks and without social distancing. Like, whoa, the pre-pandemic days. Well this weekend, thousands of fans they wish.

[00:55:03]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Well, this is a new one for me haven't done a sports story in a while. So New Zealand, as you know, has been a rare success story in controlling the coronavirus pandemic with fewer than 2,000 reported cases. So that has allowed more than 45,000 maskless people to attend a rugby match near Auckland, the Bledisloe Cup between New Zealand and Australia, the All Blacks beat the Wallabies, 27-7.

So thanks for watching, I'm Robyn Curnow. I'll be back in a little over an hour with more news. "Business Traveler" starts right now.

[01:00:00]