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The Situation Room

Interview With New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D); Has Trump Given Up On Controlling COVID-19?; White House Faces Another Coronavirus Outbreak; Battle For Pennsylvania: Trump Holds Three Rallies, Biden Makes Surprise Stop; U.S. Tops 225,000 COVID Deaths, 8.6 Million Cases As Daily Case Average Hits High Point Of Pandemic; Record 60-Plus Million Ballots Already Cast Eight Days Before Election. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 26, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Tonight, one of the most alarming indicators yet of COVID-19's second wave, the average of daily cases here in the United States hitting the highest point of the pandemic, as the death toll climbs above 225,000.

President Trump continues to falsely claim the virus is under control, even after his own chief of staff declared here on CNN that the U.S. is not going to control the pandemic.

The president and the former Vice President Joe Biden battling today for support in Pennsylvania, a state crucial in the fight for 270 electoral votes.

With the election now only eight days away, more than 60 million voters already have cast ballots, breaking records and surpassing the total early vote of 2016.

Let's start our coverage this hour with our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, covering the president's campaign swing through Pennsylvania.

Jim, the president clearly seems concerned about Pennsylvania, given the considerable amount of time he's spending there in these crucial final days.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's very telling, Wolf.

The president is campaigning hard in Pennsylvania. He just wrapped up his third rally of the day in this critical battleground state. And, as you can see behind me, there are thousands of supporters here. They're singing, they're clapping, they're dancing, but they're not social distancing and many of them are not wearing masks, as the president complains about COVID, COVID, COVID.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: COVID, COVID, COVID. ACOSTA (voice-over): Even as more top White House aides are getting

sick with the coronavirus, the president is still staging rallies with thousands of supporters, and now super-spreading fears about the election, warning state officials in Pennsylvania his campaign is on the lookout for voter fraud.

TRUMP: We're watching you, Governor, very closely in Philadelphia. We're watching you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ACOSTA: The president sounds like he's laying the groundwork for contesting next week's results, accusing Democrats of trying to steal the election, without offering any evidence.

TRUMP: It's the only way we can lose, in my opinion, is massive fraud.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And that's what's -- that's what's happening, because all over the country, you're seeing it.

ACOSTA: Yet, Mr. Trump says he's confident he will come out on top.

TRUMP: I think we're going to win Pennsylvania by more than we did last time.

ACOSTA: Still, some on the president's team are making crucial last- minute mistakes, starting with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who said the administration is unable to control the pandemic.

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We're not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas.

ACOSTA: After the White House admitted a handful of staffers for Vice President Mike Pence contracted the virus, a Trump adviser told CNN campaign aides were furious with Meadows, saying -- quote -- "Everyone was clear that Meadows 'expletive' the bed again."

Democrat Joe Biden seized on the remarks, saying in a statement: "It was a candid acknowledgment of what President Trump's strategy has clearly been from the beginning of the crisis, to wave the white flag of defeat."

TRUMP: No, no, he has. He's waved a white flag on life. He doesn't leave his basement. This guy doesn't leave his basement. He's a pathetic candidate.

ACOSTA: The president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had his own tone- deaf moment, making a racially insensitive comment about African- Americans.

JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: President Trump's policies are the policies that can help people break out of the problems that they're complaining about, but he can't want them to be successful more than they want to be successful.

ACOSTA: That was subtle, compared to the president's overt racist rhetoric at his rallies.

TRUMP: And Barack Hussein Obama went out. Nobody is showing up to watch Barack Hussein Obama.

ACOSTA: The president is trying to fire up his base, pointing to a selection of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court.

TRUMP: Tonight, she will be confirmed by the Senate and become the newest member of the Supreme Court.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ACOSTA: The White House is planning to celebrate with another event on the South Lawn, a reminder of the Rose Garden super-spreader that likely infected administration officials and other attendees when Barrett was announced by Mr. Trump.

MURIEL BOWSER (D), MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: So, you can believe that you can go to the White House and get COVID and nothing's going to happen to you, perhaps, or you could die from it.

ACOSTA: The president is spending the final days of his campaign blaming his current woes on the media, more cleanup after he stormed off during a "60 Minutes" interview.

TRUMP: I think we have enough of an interview here, Hope, OK? That's enough.

I will see you in a little while. Thanks.

ACOSTA: Former President Barack Obama said that doesn't exactly make Mr. Trump a tough guy.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But when "60 Minutes" and Lesley Stahl are too tough for you, you ain't all that tough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, another White House staffer who recently contracted the coronavirus, Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, she is seeing some of her past comments come back to haunt her.

Back in 2015, she praised then Vice President Joe Biden as somebody who is likable, who resonates with the middle class. Here are some of those comments that we have uncovered by our colleague Andrew Kaczynski.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think the Republicans run into a problem if it is Joe Biden. And if it is, maybe it's Trump on the other side, because Joe Biden, one of the things he is remarkable at is really kind of being a man of the people and resonating with middle-class voters, feeling like -- coming off as human.

[18:05:07]

His gaffes, as much as we make fun of them, to a certain extent, they make him look human. So, in that sense, he's likable.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And, as President Trump is wrapping up this campaign event in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, we should note that he's not the only person who's out on the campaign trail today.

Vice President Mike Pence is also holding rallies, despite the fact that some of his staffers have recently contracted the coronavirus. Wolf, he is the head of the Coronavirus Task Force, and these events he's holding are flouting some of the administration's guidelines for preventing COVID-19 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: The CDC says he should be in quarantine for 14 days because of the close association he had with those five of his aides.

A very, very significant development. We will watch it closely, together with you. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Joe Biden decided not to cede the Pennsylvania spotlight to the president today. He made an unexpected, unscheduled stop there, and he used it to once again slam the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN's Jessica Dean is covering the former vice president for us.

Jessica, tell us more about the Bidens visit and what he said.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, he headed over to a suburban county just outside of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, those counties going to be very important to Joe Biden, as Election Day nears, as he looks to run up the score with suburban voters, especially suburban women.

And, as you mentioned, he did talk about President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic. This was the first time we have heard from him in person since Mark Meadows' comments yesterday.

Here's what Vice President Biden had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I have been saying for months, as you well know, that he waved the white flag all the way back then.

He wasn't doing much at all. Some people said I was being harsh, that I was being unfair. The White House is coming right out now and admitting what I said months ago was absolutely true. And look how many people are dead. They said, we're not going to

control it, not going to control it. The bottom line is, Donald Trump is the worst possible president, the worst possible person to try to lead us through this pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And Joe Biden saying that Donald Trump is holding super-spreader events with his rallies, saying that he's really trying to campaign as safely as possible, Wolf.

In addition to previously announced stops this week to Georgia and Florida, he also announced this afternoon he will be traveling to Iowa and Wisconsin in the coming days.

BLITZER: Interesting.

You're also learning, Jessica, about what Biden is planning as his closing argument to the American people. What can you tell us?

DEAN: So, let's fast forward to tomorrow in Georgia. It's a state that a Democrat hasn't carried in a presidential race since 1992, Biden going to Georgia tomorrow. He's going to make two stops there, one in Warm Springs, Georgia, which some people may remember is where FDR had his Little White House. That is very much on purpose.

I'm told that, from there, he will make what amounts to a closing argument, really drawing on themes we heard from his speech in Gettysburg and also from his DNC acceptance speech. Those are themes of unity, of Americans coming together, not only to get through this pandemic and the economic crisis, but also to push back against the vitriol and the political polarization that we are seeing in this country.

And a campaign aide telling me that there's an obvious parallel between FDR and Joe Biden. If Joe Biden were to be elected president, he would be going into the office with economic conditions we haven't seen since the Great Depression.

And he will be proposing bold action, like FDR did to get America out of the Great Depression when he was president. Wolf, the aide also telling me that the fact that Joe Biden is traveling to Georgia this close to Election Day shows just how seriously the campaign is taking that state.

BLITZER: Yes, very interesting, indeed.

All right, Jessica. Dean, good reporting. Thank you very much.

Let's bring in our CNN Political Correspondent, Abby Phillip, and our Senior Political Commentator, David Axelrod.

Abby, with, what, only eight days to go until Election Day, President Trump is insisting this virus is going away, even as the numbers say the opposite.

How effective is that messaging, as voters see the really horrendous negative impact of this virus in their own lives?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it seems to be doubling down on a bad strategy, frankly, on the president's part.

And it's one that really only resonates with a relatively small amount of people, the president's base, maybe 30 percent, maybe 40 percent. The question is, does the president's campaign think that's enough to win the election? It certainly doesn't seem to be.

Look, the president at this point seems to have no choice but to double down on this strategy, because that's the one he decided on as soon as he recovered from the coronavirus himself and decided to say that Americans should not let the virus dominate their lives.

From that point onward, they really couldn't change course. And so now they -- this is the message that they have and they're going to have to stick with it. And for their part, they're using it to basically bring out their base. Again, it just may not be enough to get them over the finish line in the states that they need to win the presidency.

[18:10:12]

BLITZER: You know, David, the Biden campaign is already seizing on what the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, told CNN's Jake Tapper yesterday.

And I'm quoting Mark Meadows. He said: "We're not going to control the pandemic."

How much damage can a comment like that in these final days of a campaign really do?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We're talking about it, aren't we? And so is every other news outlet. And so it's going to get a lot of attention.

But this is a perfect storm, Wolf. It's not just that -- Abby is quite right. They chose the strategy. This is the strategy the president chose. But it's coming at a -- in a kind of perfect storm, because the virus is resurgent with a vengeance right now.

And so at a time that the president is assuring people that everything is getting better, it's palpable that they're getting worse. And you add Meadows' comment, and it's a real mess for them.

This is not the way you want to close a campaign.

BLITZER: Certainly not.

You know, Abby, President Trump is holding, as we have been reporting, three, not one, not two, but three rallies in Pennsylvania today, as his campaign projects confidence about winning Pennsylvania once again. He won it four years ago.

What does the heavy focus at this late stage in the campaign tell you? PHILLIP: Pennsylvania is maybe the most important state on the map, both in terms of making the path potentially easier for Joe Biden, if he is to win that state. And if he were to lose that state, it would certainly make President Trump's path easier as well.

Pennsylvania is a tipping point state. I think if either of these candidates win it, based on where the map is right now, it really allows the other parts of the puzzle to fall into place. The fact that he is there, though, and not spending quite as much time in some of these other Rust Belt states, probably tells you that the campaign thinks that Pennsylvania is the place where they're more likely to be able to narrow the race.

He won so narrowly there, that it's not a given that the president would even be all that competitive, given where the polls are right now. But some of these other Upper Midwest states have really gotten away from him. So, Pennsylvania may be his best shot at stopping Joe Biden, and that's why you're going to see him spending so much time there.

It's also why Joe Biden realized, apparently, at some point today, they needed to get out there too. And he showed up in Pennsylvania as well this afternoon.

BLITZER: Yes, he showed up, made a brief stop.

David, Joe Biden was facing some serious criticism from some of his own supporters for a lack of campaign events today. Eventually, he did show up for this unscheduled event he did in Pennsylvania.

What's the strategy behind the surprise appearance from the former vice president? And why, with only eight days to go originally, when we all woke up this morning, there was nothing on his schedule?

AXELROD: Yes, well, look, I can't answer the second question.

The first question, though, is, Pennsylvania is important. It's telling that he was campaigning in a suburban area outside of Philadelphia. He is doing very well in those areas. And that is one of the reasons why he is in the lead in that state.

There was more polling out of that state today, Wolf, from the University of Wisconsin and YouGov that was really telling, because it showed that, among those voters who voted for third-party candidates four years ago, which was a very significant issue for Hillary Clinton, Biden is leading Trump by 29 points.

Among those voters who didn't vote in 2016, he was leading by 35 points. That is a big problem for the president. He won by a narrow margin in Philly. The same is -- in Pennsylvania. The same is true in Wisconsin and Michigan.

If he -- if those third-party voters from four years ago and the nonvoters break to Biden in these kind of numbers, it's going to be very difficult for Trump to win those states.

BLITZER: Yes, that's a good point, too.

Abby, more than, what, 60 million Americans have already voted in this historic mid-pandemic election? How staggering are these numbers? And what do you think? What will this mean for Election Day?

PHILLIP: Eight days left, and more people have already voted at this point than in the pre-election period in all of 2016.

I think we're going to see really astronomical voting levels this year. The question is, what does that mean for the result? I think we really don't know that. This pre-election vote is likely to favor Biden, based on what we know from the polls.

But we don't know what the Election Day vote is going to look like. One thing that I felt was very significant and interesting in the numbers that we're getting, younger voters are showing up more in this pre-election period than in past years.

And that could be because now, in perhaps all 50 states, they have better access to the ballot. They are able to use mail-in voting in most of these states. I think that's going to be a positive development this year in general for just sort of voter participation, notwithstanding anything that it says about the actual result of the election.

[18:15:04]

BLITZER: Abby Phillip and David Axelrod, guys, thank you very much.

Just ahead, we're going to break down the alarming new daily average of COVID cases here in the United States, now at an all-time high. What does it tell us about the crisis ahead?

And I will speak with the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, about the state of the pandemic in New York and the lessons he's learned.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, the coronavirus pandemic is hitting record levels here in the United States, the daily average of new cases higher than it's ever been, as the total number of infected Americans rises above 8.6 million.

More than 225,000 Americans are dead from the virus.

[18:20:01]

Brian Todd is joining us. He's got new developments.

Brian, states are reporting very, very troubling spikes.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly are, Wolf, all over the country. More than half the states across the country reported their single

highest days of new coronavirus cases during this month of October. By many indications, what we're going through now and what we're about to go through is looking like the worst of the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): It's gotten to the point where even some of the most hardened public health officials can't take it anymore, like Illinois' top health officer, when she gave an update on cases and deaths in her state.

DR. NGOZI EZIKE, DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: For a total of 364,033 confirmed cases since the start of this pandemic. Excuse me, please.

TODD: The coronavirus resurgence that top health officials warned about is here. The U.S. is now reporting its highest level of weekly new cases ever, since the pandemic started, now surpassing even the worst of the surge in July; 37 states are worsening from coast to coast. None are improving.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: We're at a dangerous tipping point right now. We're entering what's going to be the steep slope of the curve, of the epidemic curve.

TODD: Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb also says there's -- quote -- "no backstop," meaning no barrier to a rise in cases, no forceful policy intervention from national, state and local officials to stop the rise. Other top experts agree.

DR. TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR, JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: I'm very worried about what's coming in the weeks ahead, because I don't see a lot of changes in direction from state leaders or from what they're asking people to do differently.

If there aren't substantial changes in what individuals are doing or what state leaders are directing, then these numbers are going to continue to go up and hospitals are going to go into crisis.

TODD: That's already happening in Utah, where a top hospital official says the state is very close to having to ration hospital care.

GREG BELL, PRESIDENT, UTAH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: At the end of the day, some senior person vs. some very healthy young person probably would not get the nod.

TODD: In Wisconsin, a state ravaged by the virus, a special field hospital has been taking in overflow patients for days, patients like 34-year-old Amanda Best, a nurse who agreed to be transferred, even though she wasn't stable.

AMANDA BEST, COVID-19 PATIENT: It was more, we need room. Are you willing to, because you're the youngest one we have?

TODD: In El Paso, where local hospitals have experienced at least a 200 percent increase in patients, the Convention Center is being converted into a hospital and an overnight curfew is in place to limit people's mobility.

In Arizona, an entire middle school, students, staff, teachers, everyone forced to quarantine for at least two weeks because of exposures to the virus.

Today, America's top voice on the pandemic said, this probably isn't another wave of the virus, because the first wave likely never ended.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: If you want to call it the third wave or an extended first wave, no matter how you look at it, it's not good news.

TODD: Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top health leaders in America say it's time to think about a national mandate for every American to wear a mask in public.

FAUCI: That everyone agrees that this is something that's important, and they mandated it, everybody pulls together and say, we're going to mandate it, but let's just do it, I think that would be a great idea, to have everybody do it uniformly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Now, Dr. Fauci and other top experts agree that there could be legal challenges to a national mandate to wear masks, and that enforcing this kind of a rule could be difficult.

But they say, if there's any time to put that kind of a rule in place, it's right now, because there are too many people across the country who are either not bothering to wear masks or they're openly resisting it.

Wolf, there was a protest, a large protest in South Florida this past weekend, where people actually burned masks.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting.

That is so, so awful. Thank you very much.

Joining us now, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio.

Mayor de Blasio, thank you so much for joining us.

What's your reaction to hearing, first of all, the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, say -- quote -- "We are not going to control the pandemic?"

BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: You know, Wolf, you talk about tale of two cities.

You have got Mark Meadows on the one hand raising the flag of surrender, and you got Anthony Fauci saying, we should have a national mask mandate. Dr. Fauci is right. Dr. Fauci is trying to lead us in the right

direction and say, let's get serious and stop this crisis before it gets worse. And a national mandate, something could actually bring us all together in common cause, is what we need in this country.

But Mark Meadows -- I didn't think I could be shocked, Wolf. But how on earth is the White House chief of staff saying they can't control the problem, when, in fact, the federal government has a host of tools it's never even used to address this problem?

From day one, missing in action, whether you're talking about absence of testing, absence of a stimulus program to help us back on our feet and help our health care sector. I mean, how on earth are they giving up, when, in fact, things like a mask mandate -- there's so many things that we could do right now to save American lives.

[18:25:05]

BLITZER: Yes, just take a look at some other countries, like South Korea. They have succeeded in controlling this pandemic.

Unfortunately, sadly, tragically, we here in the United States have failed in controlling this pandemic.

More than half of all states right now, Mayor, had their highest single day of new COVID cases this month. Some hospitals are about to be overrun. Are there lessons they can take from New York City's recovery from the height of this crisis?

We all remember what was going on in April.

DE BLASIO: Absolutely, Wolf.

We were the epicenter. We went through hell. Our hospitals were being overrun. So, I -- we have been there.

Let me tell you what worked. Mask usage works. It should be a mandate everywhere. Social distancing works. Testing constantly works. These are things we know how to do. And those countries around the world that have succeeded, that's exactly what they did, that kind of combination.

They put a lot of muscle behind it. They stuck with it. In this country, too many places started with some restrictions, gave up, when they shouldn't have. And now they're paying a horrible, painful price. So let's get it right. There's still time to get it right.

You have a mask mandate. You have testing as a focus for the whole country. I said a long time ago, we're going to need the military to be involved, if we're really going to distribute testing the way it should be, and, of course, the vaccine later on.

But let's make this a national patriotic moment. I think Dr. Fauci was on the right track there to say, instead of fighting with each other, why don't we declare this a national mission to stop this disease everywhere, because it's affecting all of us? BLITZER: Yes.

DE BLASIO: And there are some things we could do in common that would make a huge difference.

And New Yorkers proved it. It starts with just putting on that mask. It's not a political statement. It's simply helping to stop the spread of disease.

BLITZER: It's so, so critically important, will save thousands and thousands of lives if people simply did something simple, and wore a mask.

On a separate, somewhat related issue, there are these long lines for early voting in New York City. In the last hour, I spoke with the New York governor, Cuomo.

He told me that the New York City Board of Elections should have been better prepared. Some people have been waiting three, four hours simply to vote.

Do you agree with the governor?

DE BLASIO: Yes, I will tell you, I'm not happy with the Board of Elections.

So, the Board of Elections in New York City is still a partisan entity. It's not run by the city of New York. It's run by party bosses. And it shouldn't be. It should be a modern, official organization that works with accountability. It doesn't have accountability right now.

What we have seen is -- Wolf, is it a news flash there was going to be heavy turnout in this election? Of course not. We have seen it coming for years. The good news, almost 200,000 people in New York City voted this week in early voting, and there's big lines today, which shows the enthusiasm.

But I don't like big lines when they don't have to exist. Our Board of Elections, they need to get in gear, get more machines out there, more personnel, longer hours, make it easier for people to vote.

And I'm worried, when you see long lines, there's also the possibility of intimidation. There's the possibility of voter suppression. There's the possibility of folks, emboldened by the president, to not believe in the legitimacy of our elections, to come in and try and stop people from voting, especially in immigrant communities and communities of color.

We started an Election Observer Corps. City officials, lawyers are going to be out there on Election Day to prevent any effort to intimidate voters or suppress the voting process.

BLITZER: So, the goal would be -- with this volunteer group of election observers, what would be the goal? DE BLASIO: To make sure that, if there's any hint of organized suppression, that it's immediately stopped with legal action, police action, whatever it takes.

But what I fear, not just in New York City, but around the whole country, is, you have gotten folks who, for months and months now, have been being told by their president that the election might not be legitimate, and, obviously, all the negativity this president has directed towards immigrants in particular.

And I think you're going to see some people, his followers in particular, try and take matters into their own hand, try to suppress votes, try to intimidate people from voting, try disrupt the election process.

We cannot let that happen. So, what I'm doing in this city is, I'm putting a force out there to stop any effort of voter intimidation. And I think leaders around the country should do the same thing. We have been given enough warning signs that some people might want to disrupt this election. And we can't let it happen.

BLITZER: Yes.

All right, Mayor, thank you so much for joining us, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio. Always appreciate your being here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much.

Just ahead, we have some new snapshots of the presidential race in the key battleground states that will decide who has a path to 270 electoral votes.

Our own John King is standing by at the Magic Wall. He will do that when we come back.

[18:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: -- both President Trump and former Vice President Biden in Pennsylvania today. The candidates targeting make or break battleground states in this, the final run-up to Election Day.

John King is tracking the race to 270 electoral votes. John, with what, just eight days to go, take us inside the state of the race. What are you watching?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, let's start with big picture and then we'll get down to the battleground, Pennsylvania.

[18:35:00]

This is the 2020 map. We start filling it in next Tuesday. Let's use the 2016 map as our guide and let's look at the couple of very important dynamics right now.

Heading into the essentially the final week of campaigning, Joe Biden with a ten-point national lead. This is our average poll of polls. Now, Trump supporters say, that's all right, we were trailing last time. We'll come roaring back.

Always a possibility, but let's remember back in 2016, at this same time, it was different. The president was still at 42 percent. Oh, I lost that. Let's see if I can get back those, see if we do that again. 2016 disappeared on me, okay.

Well, last time, Hillary Clinton was at 47. But Donald Trump was at 42. So what's important there? The president still at 42, but Joe Biden is above 50 in the national polls, Wolf, that is very important to watch.

Then you say, okay, we don't pick presidents, right, by national polls, we don't, but let's look at this. If you look at the state polls, especially the key states, Joe Biden ahead in Pennsylvania, ahead still big in Michigan, ahead comfortably in Wisconsin. In play, losing in Texas, but in play competitive. In play in Georgia, maybe a narrow Biden lead, call it a tie. In play in Florida, maybe a narrow Biden lead, but very competitive. The battleground states look good for Biden at this point.

So let's switch maps because we know you win by getting to 270. At this moment heading into the stretch, there's a reason Joe Biden can go to Georgia, Joe Biden can go to Texas, Joe Biden can go to Iowa, Joe Biden can go to Florida. He is trying to stretch the map. He has the advantage, Wolf. Right now, we have him at 290 electoral votes. The yellow states, plus Maine second congressional district. Those are the tops.

Let's say President Trump swept them all. Even if he swept everything on this board, and Biden is competitive in all those places, but if Trump swept them all, he would still be short at 248. That's why today in Pennsylvania was so important. It was critical to Trump in 2020.

He's getting swamped in the early voting there. That's why he had three stops today. He needs people to turn out on Election Day, to turn out in the final day of early voting, because he's getting swamped right now.

And that would be the biggest prize on this board. If the president could flip it again and win all the toss-ups, that still wouldn't win -- get him to him victory, Wolf, but it would get him to 268, it would get him in play. Then he could do it with a smaller pickup like a Minnesota or like in a New Hampshire. That's why 20, Pennsylvania's 20, are so important. If Joe Biden can block there, the president's math gets very difficult.

BLITZER: Truly, truly amazing, John. There's also a major battle under way for control of the U.S. Senate. Tell us how that's playing out.

KING: And Joe Biden's travels factor into that as well, Wolf, in these final days. So let's flip it over and bring up Senate battle for control. Let's bring it up. Here is where we are right now, 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats. Tickets splitting a lost art (ph) in American politics, in places where Biden wins, expect Democratic Senate candidates to do quite well.

So here is the first scenario people think in both parties think is most likely to happen. The Democrats pick up Maine. Susan Collins loses. The Democrats pick up Colorado, Cory Gardner loses. The Democrats pick up Arizona, Martha McSally loses, all Republican there. And in Alabama, it flips to Republican, Doug Jones, the Democrat loses because President Trump is expected to carry it. That would get you to 51-49.

How do the Democrats get more before they need to go? North Carolina, the most likely target, the Democrats believe they could beat Thom Tillis there. There's been some controversy in the final days of that race, so let's watch it. Let's say that played out. That would get you to 50/50.

Under this scenario, Wolf, whoever wins the presidency controls the Senate because the vice president would win the tie. But if the Democrats think because Biden is competitive almost everywhere or at least Trump's margins are so much narrower than they were in 2016, the Democrats look at this map and they say look, there are two Senate races in Georgia. Could we pick one of those, maybe both? That would be a blue wave, but let's give it a try.

Joni Ernst the Republican incumbent Iowa in a very close race. That's one of the reason Joe Biden is going back. Democrats have dreams of beating John Cornyn in Texas. Unlikely, but if there's a blue wave, you never know. Democrats are also close enough to have money pouring into Kansas, believe that in a presidential year. And the Democratic governor of Montana is the candidate here.

So if you look at the map, there are opportunities for the Democrats. Will they get there, Wolf? That's one of the challenges in the final week. But watch Democratic money going into these Senate races. Joe Biden has a lot of money, Democratic groups have a lot of money. It's in play. They're going to spend for it.

BLITZER: You and I are going to spend a lot of time at the magic wall, November 3rd, maybe November 4th. We'll see how long this thing goes on. John King, thank you, thank you so much.

Just ahead, as the second wave of the pandemic worsens, hospitalizations are surging across the United States with some overwhelmed units only days away from needing to ration care. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We're back with breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic as new numbers suggest the crisis maybe getting worst than it's ever been.

We're joined now by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, she's a CNN Medical Analyst, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Thanks so much Dr. Walensky, for joining us.

As you know, the U.S. is now reporting record high new cases of coronavirus. Based on all the data that you're seeing, will these next few months be the worst of the entire pandemic as far as we're concerned in the U.S.?

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. I'm very much concerned, so you know, we're already at record number of cases before we have hit the darkest days of winter, before people are indoors. They're still full time.

There's still so much discussion about mask wearing and about 30 percent of this country is still not wearing masks. And so I do worry that these cold months, these winter months, these months where people are driven indoors are going to lead to more cases than already the record cases we have right now.

BLITZER: Yes, so, so disturbing. And some hospitals, as you know, in hot spots like El Paso, Texas, in Wisconsin, they're already rationing hospital beds.

[18:45:06]

What's going to happen if hospitals in so much of the country are forced to turn away patients?

WALENSKY: You know, this is, I think, the most dire situation. We know that in at least 14 states, they have over 1,000 people hospitalized. We know that hospitalization rates are over 40 percent what they were last week at this time.

We know that, you know, we can't care for these patients if we don't have hospital beds. And we know that hospitalizations peak a week or two after cases peak. So we haven't seen the manifestations of the hospitalizations that are going to occur with these current highest possible -- highest cases that have been reported.

You know, it's not just that there aren't beds. It's that all beds are not the same. There are a number of cases now in rural areas, rural hospitals have limited number of beds. They have limited resources. They often don't even have intensive care units and ventilators.

We know that 80 percent of counties in this country don't have a single infectious disease physician. So I really do worry about all of the resources in the months ahead.

BLITZER: For the first time, Dr. Walensky, since the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci is now suggesting he thinks it's time for a nationwide mask mandate.

Do you agree?

WALENSKY: You know, I do. There's been such political discussion around should we keep the economy open, should we have lockdown? And I think what people don't understand is masking allows for the compromise. If everyone is masked, then people can safely interact at a distance with one another in a relatively open economy, and it can be safe. It would be safe. And I think the only way seemingly that we can get there at this point is where a mandate.

BLITZER: So, so important. It's not that hard to wear a mask. Just wear a mask. Thousands of lives will be saved over the next weeks and months.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, thank you so much for joining us.

WALENSKY: Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: Coming up, with just eight days left before the U.S. election, over 60 million ballots have already been cast, with many determined people across the country forced to wait in hours-long lines simply to vote. We'll update you on the latest when we come back.

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[18:52:06]

BLITZER: With just eight days to go before the election and Americans are flocking to the polls at truly historic numbers. More than 60 million ballots already have been cast.

Let's bring in our political correspondent Abby Phillip once again.

Abby, what's the latest?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, election officials all across the country are continuing to struggle to deal with these long lines as demand for early voting continues. But we're seeing gangbusters turn out in two states that are not typically presidential battlegrounds, Texas and Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP (voice-over): Early voting again bringing lines of voters in the final full week before the election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vote, vote like your life depends on it.

PHILLIP: Even the ongoing coronavirus pandemic isn't putting a stop to civic duty.

ALVIN ROWE, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: The way the country is, I think we're all trying to make a difference.

PHILLIP: The U.S. hitting record early turnout more than 60 million Americans have already voted, surpassing all 2016 early ballots cast.

More young people and minorities are casting ballots early this time.

CHELSEA CRANDAL, NEW YORK VOTER: I want us to be better as a country. I think there's a lot of injustice and things that need to be fixed.

PHILLIP: And this NASA astronaut proved you can vote even when it's zero gravity.

KATE RUBINS, NASA ASTRONAUT, VOTED FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: I think it's important for everybody to vote. And if we can do it from space, then folks can do it from the ground.

PHILLIP: In battleground Georgia, the total ballots cast has more than doubled ballots cast at this point in 2016. And in Texas, more than 7.3 million people voted so far, according to data posted on the Texas secretary of state's website.

That represents more than 43 percent of registered voters. In 2016, only about 59 percent of registered voters actually voted.

As Maryland begins its first day of early voting, concerns about long lines and violence continues.

In New York City, protesters clashed in Times Square on Sunday, resulting in at least nine arrests.

Boston police arrested as suspect in connection with the ballot drop box allegedly set on fire.

WILLIAM GALVIN, MASSACHUSETTS SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH: This is a serious issue. It's a federal crime. We're going to insist on prosecuting whoever did this.

PHILLIP: The incident prompting the secretary of state to issue a directive for election departments to step up security through Election Day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP: And a warning sign for voters in states where the signature on your ballot must match the signature that is on file. One study of Florida ballots that were rejected found that those ballots were more likely to be rejected from minority voters, black and Hispanic voters, also from younger voters, which is just another warning, Wolf, that voters need to be very careful about the rules in their states and try to rectify those problems before their ballot is rejected, Wolf.

BLITZER: What's so impressive, millions and millions of people have already voted. More than 60 million already.

Abby Phillip, thank you very, very much.

And we'll have more news just ahead.

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[18:59:22]

BLITZER: Finally, tonight, our tribute to some of the victims of some of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dean Pryor Perkins of Texas was 65 years old. His daughter says he was an accomplished engineer who had a hilarious sense of humor. He had been with his wife since high school and he enjoyed camping and fishing with his two children and two grandchildren.

Greg Pappadake of New York was 59 years old. He delivered pharmaceuticals, including during the lockdown in late March, often taking time to help his elderly customers. He was married for 36 years. His daughter Christina says she and her brothers saw their dad as the cool dad who made everyone feel special.

May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.

Thanks for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.