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CNN Live Event/Special

Candidates Focus on Swing States in Final Election Sprint; President Trump is Sowing Seeds of Doubt on Votes After Election; Coronavirus Pandemic is Raging in the United States; The Political Divide Over Face Masks; Trump Suggests He Might Fire Dr. Fauci if Reelected; Court to Hear Drive-Thru Voting Challenge; Source Tells Trump Campaign Prepared to Declare Victory Even if Many Ballots Have Not Been Counted; Trump and Biden Race to Shore Up Votes in Final Hours Before Election Day; FBI Investigating Confrontation Between Trump Supporters and Biden Campaign Bus; Civil Rights Groups Condemn NC Pepper Spray Attack; Americans are Worried About Post-Election Unrest. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 02, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know what have been really nice, though? If our Supreme Court could have ruled that everything has to be counted by the evening --

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: -- of our election, our great Election Day. You know, people want to know and you know bad things happen in places like Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is President Donald Trump now in the final sprint before Election Day, sowing doubt that voters will -- that votes will be counted fairly and that the results can be trusted.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks so much for sticking with us. It is 3:00 a.m. in New York and this is CNN's live, special coverage of The Countdown to Election Day in America.

We begin this hour, this live coverage with President Donald Trump, who is right now denying reports about his plans for Tuesday night. A senior campaign adviser is telling CNN that the Trump campaign plans to be very aggressive once polls close tomorrow night, and that the president is preparing to declare victory even before the final result is known and possibly even before reaching the required 270 electoral votes.

Well, the president has previously declared that he is only going to trust the results of the election if he wins. The president right now is calling his reports of his election night plans false. He's also declaring this: He wants a result on November 3rd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Supreme Court gave them more time, more time. So what does this mean? Does this mean we go and we wait? So it is not November 3rd. It's going to be much later that? No, no. We should know the result of the election on November 3rd.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: The evening of November 3rd.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: That is the way it has been and that is the way it should be. What is going on in this country? What is going on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is not true. It is not how it is done and it never has been. Joe Biden was asked about this and here is his reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is not going to steal this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Well, so much is unknown. What is clear is both candidates see the path to 270 running through Pennsylvania. Both campaigns will be in the commonwealth today. That means the president, the vice president, Joe Biden, his running mate, Kamala Harris, will all be there. They are throwing everything that they have got at that battleground state.

For the latest on the map and the math, here is CNN's Phil Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the final blitz. This is it. It is the last full day of campaigning. You can tell a lot by what the candidates are thinking, what the candidates are seeing in their data, by where the candidates are.

If you are the Biden campaign, you are all in on the state of Pennsylvania, you are sending the vice president, you are sending Senator Kamala Harris, you are sending their spouses, and they are splitting all over the state.

If you are Donald Trump, well, as he is often doing, he is going all over the place. He is going to Pennsylvania, he is going to Michigan, he is going to Wisconsin, and he will swing down to North Carolina, as well, his final campaign swing. So what does this all tell us? Look, it is not a surprise what the campaigns are looking at here. If you want to go through the map and you start on the map of 2016, it underscores the reality here.

If you are Joe Biden and you flip, the three blue wall states that President Trump burst through back in 2016, it is Pennsylvania, it is Michigan, it is Wisconsin, guess what, you're over 270 electoral votes.

However, it is also worth noting that there are other states in play right now. Let's take a look at the CNN poll of polls. There are some crucial battleground states as it currently stands. You got the state of Florida, Biden with a very, very narrow two-point lead, when you take all of the polls and throw them into a basket.

We got Arizona, 50 to 45 Biden. That is a new state the Trump campaign has to play some serious defense in. Wisconsin, there is a sizable lead now, 10-point lead for Joe Biden where his campaign is feeling more comfortable.

[03:05:00]

MATTINGLY: And Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania is with a six-point Biden lead. However, the Trump campaign feels like they have momentum there and it often will always come down to Pennsylvania when it comes to the Midwest.

So, let's give Pennsylvania to President Trump and let's see what the options are. Even if Joe Biden picks up Michigan, picks up Wisconsin where the polling is a little bit more favorable right now, if President Trump holds everything he held back in 2016 in the state of Pennsylvania, President Trump is re-elected, and that is where these other tossup states come into play.

What about the state of Florida? What about the state of North Carolina? What about the state of Arizona? What about the state of Georgia? Democrats firmly believe it is now in play. The Trump campaign dismisses it, says they should be fine there.

But look what happens. Even if Donald Trump wins the state of Pennsylvania, if all of the sudden North Carolina goes to Joe Biden, if all of a sudden Georgia goes to Joe Biden, if all of a sudden Arizona goes to Joe Biden, Joe Biden is not just above 270, he is at the 300 mark and potentially even higher with other states that are in play.

One key thing to keep in mind here are reset and take a look at the 2016 map. The focus on Pennsylvania, why the Biden campaign is there, why Donald Trump will be there once again, look, they know what is outstanding. They have seen the early vote. They have watched the early vote. Obviously, the early vote has surged throughout the country.

In the state of Pennsylvania, the early vote is only counted for about 32, 33 percent of where the incoming vote is. They know what they need to do. That is why you saw President Obama in there, that is why you have seen Joe Biden in Pennsylvania where they need to blow up vote, and that is why you will see them spread across the state over the course of Monday, as well.

Keep an eye on that. Also, of course, keep an eye on the state of Florida. This is a jump ball. It is going to be close. Nobody is going to separate and everybody knows that. That is why Barack Obama, the president, will be down there trying to pull up vote, trying to get voters to the polls.

Again, they know what is outstanding. They know who hasn't voted. They are going out to try to drag those individuals -- maybe not literally but figuratively -- to those polls for Election Day to try and close the deal. Again, it is a homestretch now. No margin of error.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Phil, thank you so much. Joining me right now for more on this is CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. John --

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hello, Kate.

BOLDUAN: -- what do you think of where the campaigns are focusing in these final days? Is it -- is it kind of (INAUDIBLE) they have to be? I mean, there are so many people that have already voted.

That is such a wildcard X factor in this entire process that we are about to see play out on Election Day. There are so many people who have already voted. What is -- how important are these final rallies? How important are these final stops?

AVLON: Well, everything matters because there is no do-over. Democrats have PTSD from Hillary Clinton not campaigning in some of these critical states last time around. That said, as you point, 91 million Americans have voted so far. That is stunning. There is no precedent for that. We are at a record pace here. That changes a lot of the math.

I mean, you know, in Texas, you had more people who voted then in all of 2016. The youth vote in Texas was up 600 percent. What does that do to your modelling?

So, I think it is notable what Phil just said about Pennsylvania because there is clearly lot of people who are still planning to vote on Election Day. That is that kind of linchpin, that keystone state, if you will, for anybody's election strategy.

So, look, if you want to find the truth in politics, you follow the money, you follow the map. It is not an accident that all four of the people at the top of the tickets are going to be in Pennsylvania.

If Biden can put it away, he thinks that is the ball game, everything else is gravy. If the Trump team can deny him that with a lot of enthusiasm from the center of the state, they might just be able to find the path to 270.

BOLDUAN: We will just wait and see. So, this whole bit about Donald Trump declaring victory before he reaches 270, what does that do?

AVLON: Well, it is an invitation to chaos. It is something that frankly is not surprising. We have been talking about the possibility that Donald Trump, just given his personality, would declare victory regardless of the outcome on election night.

Now, this is predicated upon a couple of things. His team believes, based on what we have seen in recent elections, that there may be what some folks call a red mirage. Trump's numbers may be highest on election night. Then, there is a long detail called the blue wave as more vote absentees come in that in the last couple of decades have come in overwhelmingly Democrat.

Now, again, the big caveat is the point you made at the top. We have never had early voting like this. Some states count those early votes up front, particularly Florida, Ohio. Other states don't begin counting until Election Day. A lot of the key swing states we are looking at, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania.

So, how that math works with this unprecedented amount of early voting? That play may not work. What is clear is the emotional salvo that Donald Trump needs to stop being considered a loser, no matter the outcome.

[03:09:56]

AVLON: And what that does to the country in terms of creating chaos, what it does in terms of creating conflict or potential constitutional crisis, none of those this are his concern. It is always about him, always.

BOLDUAN: It is also -- just so everyone can understand, no one knows, even within the states, like let's take Pennsylvania, how long it could take to count all of the mail-in votes when they can start counting them at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The people -- officials I have been talking to in the state, they say, well, it could be a few days before we get actually through all of this, because of just how long, how many ballots the machines can scan, you know, per hour.

The lieutenant governor was on earlier, last night. He thought that there would be a clear idea, John, of where the state was headed, basically by Wednesday. I'm -- it is just going to be -- literally, we are all going to be just watching and waiting together.

AVLON: Of course. And look, I think Florida, 2,000, again, talk about it gives people PTSD, but it is the question of how big the margin is. You know, networks declare races based upon momentum and margins and mathematical margins. If it's too close, none of that works.

The famous saying for all people who oversee elections in the United States, secretaries of state is what they're called, is please let it be a landslide, because when it gets too close --

(LAUGHTER) AVLON: -- it gets incredibly complicated. So, in Pennsylvania, if it is close, we won't know for days and days. By the way, military ballots are by law, allowed to be counted in most states as many as a week out or more. Every eligible vote should be counted. The president's fantasy that is never the way things have been done is totally self-serving and delusional and ahistorical. But then, it is Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: It is really just -- it is just a PR play, isn't it? Just setting the press -- just kind of putting the seeds out there, that he can be upset when he can say, look -- you know, look at these nefarious votes that are coming in late.

It just seems like it is looking that way, which is so unfortunate because people in these states are trying to get this right and trying to do it as fast as they can.

AVLON: Yeah. But I think it is much more than a PR play and it is potentially a lot more dangerous because at the moment that Donald Trump declares baselessly, if he does, barring a blow out, I think that is an important caveat, as well, we don't know the way things are going to go, but, you know, if he loses Florida and Arizona out of the gate, it is going to be very tough for him to say with a straight face that he wins.

But there is no reason to believe that will be the outcome. Look, the damage it can do, again, the president we have seen trying to sow the seeds of distrust in our democratic process, to supporters on the ground, who will believe the BS that counting votes fully is -- quote, unquote -- "stealing an election," as Jason Miller said on air yesterday, that creates a very dangerous environment for a democracy.

Again, unfortunately, the president seems to be the primary problem here. Not a uniter but a divider.

BOLDUAN: And describe for votes. I think it is important. You're talking kind of this term, this blue wave and red wave term. It has to do with -- and these are assumptions, right, John?

AVLON: Yes, correct.

BOLDUAN: Democrats are more likely to be voting early, Republicans are more likely to be voting in the day of. Again, unprecedented times, a pandemic can change any of that.

AVLON: That is right. Again, you can't make too much of the fact that we have had an unprecedented number of people voting. By all accounts, we may be looking at not just historic early votes, we are there. It breaks all of the models, though.

So the stereotypes that we were talking about, heading into the early voting period, Democrats will vote early, absentee, the president railing against mail-in votes. The Republicans are going to really surge on Election Day.

And yet we have seen an early in-person voting. Republicans really closing that gap with Democrats in key states like Florida. And then there is talk -- are they cannibalizing their Election Day math? Well, a vote is a vote is a vote or at least it should be.

But it just highlights the point that a lot of the calculations the people made about red mirage on election night or states that count early being heavily indexed for Biden, then Election Day votes being calculated in, and then the long tail blue wave of absentee votes being counted, those are generals' fight in the last war.

This is an unprecedented situation because of the unprecedented amount of early vote and the mail-in voting during a pandemic. So a lot of those models, a lot of those playbooks should just be thrown out the window.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It is great to see you. Thanks.

AVLON: You, too.

BOLDUAN: The White House is putting up barricades. Businesses are boarding up their windows. The security experts are warning of a real concern of unrest in the aftermath of Election Day.

And also, the sprint to the finish, both candidates are making their final pitch to voters. Where they are focusing today? What their closing messages is as new polls are showing just how competitive the battleground states are?

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to CNN's live coverage of "The Countdown to Election Day in America." The FBI is right now investigating the incident on the Texas highway that we brought to you yesterday. We are going to show you some of the video again. The incident involved the caravan of Trump supporters surrounding the Biden campaign bus that was travelling to Austin, Texas on Friday.

According to a source familiar with what happened, the Trump supporters were shouting obscenities as they tried to force the bus to slow down. And those involved -- the staffers thought they were trying to run them off the road. There was actually -- two of the cars actually touched each other on the road. You can see right there.

A Biden staffer later tweeted a picture of her damaged car from the encounter. Biden, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they were not on the bus at the time.

In North Carolina, civil rights leaders say the police broke the law by using pepper spray to disperse a crowd of peaceful protesters on Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:00] BOLDUAN: The demonstration was billed as a march to the polls event, honoring black Americans, whose deaths have fueled nationwide and inspired nationwide protests.

The local police said the protesters were blocking the street. The event's organizer denies that and says that is not what was happening. One North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate described the police action as an act of voter suppression.

And across the United States, some businesses -- just take a look at some of the videos and images coming in. Businesses are boarding up their windows, their doors, taking other security measures in anticipation and fear of possible election unrest.

Cities around the county are on edge following a summer of sometimes violent protests. For a lot of Americans, it is a time of high anxiety for a number of reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I plan on definitely not leaving my apartment. I just don't know how people are going to react. I want there to be riots. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want everyone to be safe, and I don't know if that is going to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tensions are very high on both sides. It is kind of sad, in general. Like I said, we are so worried about this and people's reactions, whichever way it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: A source also tells CNN authorities are expected to be putting back into place a non-scalable fence around the White House in case of potential unrest. It is the same type of fencing that was used during the protests this past summer in Washington. The fence will also surround the nearby park, the Ellipse and Lafayette Square, right across from the White House.

Joining right now for more on this is CNN's security correspondent Josh Campbell. He is joining me on the phone. It is quite a statement of 2020 that on Election Day, they're putting up a non-scalable fence around the White House, Josh.

I mean, what -- add all of this together, how real is the fear and threat of violence after the election? What are you hearing?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Kate, you know, I mean, this is certainly a sign of the times and it is something that we are not used to seeing, it is unprecedented, where you have not only security agencies inside Washington D.C., inside of the nation's capital, but indeed around the country that are preparing. Our CNN police team has been touching base with police departments around the country. They tell us that they are engaged in hours-long training, trying to get their folks ready for crowd control, trying to get them prepared to how to deal with potential civil unrest should it occur.

There are a lot of factors that security experts will tell you that are play here, everything from -- obviously a very polarized country right now.

But one story that we just recently filed, actually, looks at this group, an international consortium of experts who actually attract violence overseas in warzones, in failing states. There have now turned their sights on the United States, saying that there is just this unfamiliar danger, in their words, in the United States.

It is because of this kind of toxic (INAUDIBLE) to place the blame at the feet of the president, his rhetoric and whipping up a lot of this anxiety, a lot of this fear, really puts us in this situation where it is very volatile. As we can see, images where buildings are starting to be boarded up and the like.

One thing I do want to note, though, because I think that this is so important is there is a distinction, if you talk to security experts, between the safety and security of voting on Election Day at the polls and the civil unrest that might follow depending on the result of the election.

That is important to note because I think people should be confident that when they go to the polls, law enforcement will be obviously trying to protect these locations. We know the FBI, the justice department, all around the country, they have election monitors.

So, the notion that there might be civil unrest, I think, should not dissuade people from going out and exercising their right to vote. The question will be what happens after those votes are tabulated or if the president tries to declare a victory before there is actually a certification.

That could lead to some type of incident that may follow afterwards. But I think -- hopefully folks are going to go out there and vote with the confidence knowing that law enforcement all around the country is focusing on securing these locations.

BOLDUAN: Josh, is it clear, not necessarily what kind of violence, but more like who security experts are most concerned about when it comes to committing these violent acts?

CAMPBELL (via telephone): Yeah. You know, there has certainly been -- we always hate to do the both sides thing, but there have been acts of violence committed by both sides of the ideological spectrum, everything from some places that we have covered in Portland, Chicago, and elsewhere.

We also have some left-wing demonstrators that have been engaged in rioting, basically hijacked some of these peaceful protests calling for racial justice.

[03:25:03]

CAMPBELL (via telephone): There certainly also been folks on the far- right. We just saw on Friday, just as an example, in Texas, where you have this Biden campaign bus that was traveling down the freeway and you had these Trump supporters swarm and veer in a very violent fashion, actually crashing into one of the vehicles from one of these Biden supporters.

And so it very much spans the spectrum. I think a lot of it will come down to how the election turns out. That could then trigger certain factions to come out and that, I think, what law enforcement is really, really concerned about right now.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Josh, thanks so much for jumping on. I appreciate it.

CAMPBELL (via telephone): Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Both campaigns are trying to make every hour count because there are only a few left, as President Trump and Joe Biden zero in on swing state voters in the final, final push before Tuesday.

Plus, we're going to take you to Missouri, where the debate over face masks has divided one community. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Kate Bolduan. You're watching CNN's special live coverage of "The Countdown to Election Day in America."

We are less than 24 hours to Election Day now. Both campaigns want to make it count on this final day to campaign. Joe Biden will be visiting Ohio and Pennsylvania today. Pennsylvania is so critical, so critical to both campaigns.

President Trump will also be in the commonwealth, hosting an event there today. He's -- Donald Trump is also going to be stopping in North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

[03:30:00]

BOLDUAN: It follows a jam-packed weekend for both candidates as they blitzed the battleground states presenting very different visions for America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I said I was doing it for three reasons. One is to restore the soul, decency in the White House, the soul of America. I said I was ready to rebuild the backbone of America, hardworking middle class folks, to bring anybody along this time. And I said I was running to unite America.

People said, Joe, you should be able to do that, but it can't be done anymore. Well, if it can't be done anymore, we're in trouble. I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I'll govern as an American president. I'll work as hard for those who don't support me as those who do. That's the job of a president.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Proud citizens like you helped build this country, and together we are taking back our country.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: We are returning power to you, the American people. With your help, your devotion and your drive, we are going to keep on working, we are going to keep on fighting, and we are going to keep on winning, winning, winning.

We have made America powerful again. We have made America wealthy again. We have made America strong again. We have made America proud again.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: We have made America safe again.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: And we will make America great again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now with the state of things, CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart and Democratic strategist Basil Smikle. Guys, it has been a hot minute. I'm glad to see you --

BASIL SMIKLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- even at an hour like this.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Alice, I've got to ask you with the reporting coming out that the president is planning on -- they're going to be aggressive on election night, his campaign, and planning on declaring victory even before he hits 270 electoral votes. Should the president be doing that?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No, he should not, and I don't expect him to. You know, the source of this information, I -- I'm not really certain I believe it. I don't think he should and I don't think he will because he wants to make sure that when all is said and done, that it is all said and done in a proper way that won't face any legal challenges.

And he wants to make this final stretch about what you just played. The clips you played were a really great synopsis of what we're going to see in the next 24 hours on the campaign trail. What we're seeing from the president, his closing argument about safety, prosperity and opportunity, highlighting the successes he has made in the last four years and four more years to come, and really motivating the crowds that he's gone. He's really not leaving anything on the field.

Joe Biden doing the same he has done throughout his campaign, really starting out with a -- finishing with the closing argument he started out with, about character and COVID, and what he sees as failures of this administration.

And I think from his standpoint, for really the heart of his campaign about character and, as he says, the battle for the soul of this nation, it's a perfect closing argument for the case that he's making. Pretty soon, 24 hours, it will be up to the voters to decide which of those two stark contrasts is best for them.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Basil, Biden was asked about this reporting about Trump. He says that the president is not going to be able to steal the election, is what he said. But does this reporting change any election night strategy for the Biden campaign? Do you think it should?

SMIKLE: I don't know that it changes the strategy. I mean, but to sort to Alice's point, you know, there's been a strategy for the last several weeks and certainly months since the convention. You know, make a plan to vote. This is a campaign about empathy. This is a campaign about taking care and managing COVID. This is a campaign about getting us back on track.

Even if you're not enthusiastic and intense -- feel intensity about the man, at least you feel something about the way that, you know, he can perhaps bring back and reclaim some of that energy and hope and optimism from the Obama era.

So, I think, you know, for so many people that are going to the polls right now, in the back of their mind, they're certainly concerned. You had in your earlier segment talking about some of the people feeling threatened and what happened in Texas with the caravan and such.

So, there are people that are really concerned right now, and I would hope that both campaigns are doing their best to tamp down some of those concerns and make sure people go out and vote.

[03:34:56]

SMIKLE: But for the Biden campaign in and of itself, I think it's been a steady consistent message of his, which I think he can maintain through Election Day.

BOLDUAN: And look, Alice, while that is reporting from Trump campaign sources, one thing that comes straight from the president's mouth is that he is demanding that the election be decided by 11:59 Tuesday night. If not, he says there is something wrong. He is really sowing seeds of doubt in the election when we know that that is not true.

The ballots will be counted. Because of the pandemic, it will take longer, likely, to count those ballots. I don't understand -- I do understand why the president would do that, because that has kind of been his modus operandi often, trying to sow and stirrup distrust among people in the systems we have in place.

You know that is not true. Why is it OK that the president is trying to do this, like, 24 hours out from the close of this election?

STEWART: Kate, we've all been working really hard for election night, right, all of us, the three of us here and everyone across the country, we would love for unicorns to fly in with election results at 11:59, but the reality of that is pretty much zero. As for sowing --

BOLDUAN: It is 2020, so something could fly, and I just don't think it would be unicorns.

STEWART: Exactly. But I think questioning the outcome of this election, there is a problem with that. Questioning the integrity of the election process, there is a problem with that.

I was deputy secretary of state for a while in Arkansas. We oversaw the elections and how this process works. Every American needs to know that when they cast their ballot, it will be treated with the utmost of integrity and care and concern until it is counted and everything is official.

Ensuring free and fair elections is the cornerstone of our democracy. I think it is really important that we, A, encourage everyone to get out and vote, B, encourage them to bring friends to come out and vote, but C, also give them confidence that it will be done in a fair way and accurately, so we can all take relief and pride in the results once they are finally called.

BOLDUAN: What do you think, Basil, about the fact that Biden, Harris, their spouses are all wrapping up the campaign in Pennsylvania, the definition of throwing everything at it?

(LAUGHTER)

SMIKLE: Well, obviously, it's an important state. If he doesn't win Pennsylvania, I do think there are other paths for them, particularly through North Carolina. But, you know, Pennsylvania is very important not just to the ultimate outcome to his narrative, for so many reasons.

And look, I have said for a long time, no matter what the polls say, we should expect a very close race. If it comes down to one, two, three states, if it comes down to what happened in 2016, 80,000 votes across three states, I would not be surprised if we had a similar outcome.

I do think it is going to be close. I'm glad that they're putting all their resources in Pennsylvania. I'm glad that they are putting all of their energy there. Obviously, it is a very important state for Democrats now and in the future.

But, wow, you know, there are so many other states that are potentially at play. As I said, North Carolina before, but if you look at what is happening in Georgian and in Texas, just the demographic changes alone over the last 10 years, gives us some measure of hope. But, you know, you close out where you need to close out to make a strong --

BOLDUAN: Basil is declaring it now. Texas is going blue, Alice. Basil is going to declare -- I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's great to see you, guys.

STEWART: I'm --

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

STEWART: -- disagree. Thanks, Kate.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Great to see you, guys. Thank you. All right, so, at a Trump rally a short time ago, the crowd directed its anger towards one of the country's most trusted doctors, Dr. Anthony Fauci. What they were chanting and the president's startling response.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to CNN's special live coverage of "The Countdown to Election Day in America." Election Day is coming, of course, right in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Now, experts are saying that the United States hasn't seen the worst of it.

On Sunday, more than 81,000 new cases were reported, the worst Sunday on record. Former FDA official is also warning that December could be the country's toughest month yet.

Coronavirus cases are spiking in many rural areas across the country. But that doesn't mean everyone is actually wearing a mask. In many places, mask wearing has become political. CNN's Ellie Reef has more from Missouri.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE WALKER, ADMINISTRATOR, CARTER COUNTY HEALTH CENTER: I think there is a stigma to wearing a mask. I know I've talked to people and I've heard them say, well, I want to wear a mask, but I'm afraid people will judge me and think I'm weird or a sheep.

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is that word they use, a sheep?

WALKER: Yeah. Mm-hmm, that's what I've been called. I feel like I'm pretty hated right now.

REEVE (voice-over): Michelle Walker has become an unlikely villain in this remote part of Missouri. She runs the Carter County Health Center, which wasn't a controversial job until COVID. She says many residents resent her team's efforts to control a virus they don't believe can be controlled.

WALKER: At first, they were very scared and very aware. But recently, they're bored with it. Everybody is tired of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In my opinion, a lot of people don't think of the severity of the illness or even the reality of the illness. They think it's affecting their everyday day life. COVID comment took normal everyday country living.

REEVE (voice-over): COVID is spiking in rural America, including here in the Ozarks. Walker says Carter County positivity rate has risen to 30 percent in the last week and their cases went from 40 in August to about 200 now. That's a lot in a county with just 6,000 people, no hospital and two ambulances.

WALKER: This is currently where we're housing all the of the county's PPE.

REEVE (voice-over): Everyone knows everyone here. They know who's in quarantine and who wears masks.

WALKER: There's a lot of shame. It's a lot. The reason we're seeing cases rise now is because people don't want to get tested because they don't want to affect people's lives and they don't want to risk their aunt, uncle, niece or their ball team getting quarantined.

REEVE: We've talked to the people at the health department. They feel like now they're kind of hated in town.

BRIAN KEATHLEY, CARTER COUNTY RESIDENT: They are.

REEVE: Why this.

KEATHLEY: We're really fortunate to have them there until they start telling people how to live their lives. If I walk through town wearing a mask, there will be somebody call me a hippy for wearing a mask.

REEVE (voice-over): When COVID first hits, Brian Keathley and his family stockpiled goods and stayed home for weeks. Now, he says he's over it and that it has gotten too political.

[03:45:00]

KEATHLEY: We sat in a coffee shop and watched people walked in the door. We looked at masks and we all looked at each other and we go, Democrat.

(INAUDIBLE)

It's a political virus for the most part.

REEVE: Who made it political?

KEATHLEY: The government. REEVE: Who is in charge of the government?

KEATHLEY: Oh, would you like to put all this off on Trump?

REEVE: No, I wouldn't --

KEATHLEY: And he should have been a leader and he should have got up in front of the podium and say, everyone, wear the masks. It's a really good mask. It's a really, really good mask. We have the greatest mask ever. Nobody cares what Trump has to say. There is no politician and there is no person of authority of any kind that can issue any kind of order that is going to make people abide by this.

You wear a mask? Not a Democrat. I told you it was a political situation.

WALKER: I don't know what it would take for people to take it more seriously. I'm just really tired of people insinuating that it is about politics when it's really about people's health.

(GUNFIRE)

KEATHLEY: For the most part, people are revolting against it and revolting to the point that they're causing -- maybe causing a little damage. But does that make you a bad human when you finally just give in and realize it's here to stay?

I can't help everybody and I can't keep everyone safe. I know there's a chance I may get it. It's a calculated risk. I guess if I get it and it kills me, then it is slow walking and sad singing for the family.

REEVE: What would you put on your tombstone?

KEATHLEY: Didn't wear a mask.

REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, Denver (ph), Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: That's an amazing revealing look at the state of things right now. The surge in cases isn't also -- isn't stopping President Trump from going after the nation's top infectious disease expert.

At a rally on Sunday in Florida, President Trump hinted that he may fire Dr. Anthony Fauci if he gets a second term. The president was complaining about how focused people are on the pandemic, and then this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci!

TRUMP: Don't tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election.

(CHEERING) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Dr. Scott Miscovich. He is a family physician and national consultant for COVID-19 testing. Doctor, thank you for coming in. I don't know if you had a chance to see and hear that from what happened at Trump's rally in Florida overnight. Just your reaction hearing the president speaking with his supporters last night about how he potentially will be firing -- trying to fire Fauci in a second term.

SCOTT MISCOVICH, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: The last piece was just chilling to hear that. This is something that -- COVID is not a political thing. COVID is killing you whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. It's getting into the homes, otherwise.

And Dr. Fauci has been one of the only honest voices that America has heard. We need to hear more of Dr. Fauci and his likes. So, that is very chilling.

BOLDUAN: I agree with you. I was really struck by the reporting from Elle Reeve and just how -- I don't know, doctor, how down the rabbit hole we've gone as a country when it comes to masks. People are literally feeling shame to not wear masks in this rural part of Missouri. As a doctor, how do you battle misperceptions like that that have gotten so out of control?

MISCOVICH: Well, you know, the masks people of America need to understand are the number one thing that is going to save you when combined with social distancing. That's it. We're not asking you to do that much more.

If you can wear a mask and social distance, your chances of transmitting this disease to your loved one -- think about the holidays coming up. We're going to have people sitting around a table.

Do you know what the spread is going to look like if we do not have people giving leadership across our country to tell them how terrible this disease will be in our country, January through March, if we don't do those two simple things? And that's all we need to do as a country.

BOLDUAN: As I mentioned, you've had a big hand in advising on coronavirus testing. How robust would you say the testing program is kind of across the country at this point? Are you satisfied with the level of testing that you see?

MISCOVICH: No, not at all. I think that, you know, I'm right here calling you from the big island of Hawaii where we have a tremendous program that we're putting into play which is going to be so comprehensive. And even then, it's still not enough.

The testing is not adequate. The way we're going to tackle COVID is by aggressive comprehensive testing, even in those small cities that we just saw in the piece before. We have to go into every small community, and we have to get the word out.

[03:50:03]

MISCOVICH: And we do not have enough testing. The testing has to happen daily and the testing has to be followed by aggressive contact tracing, aggressive quarantine and isolation. That's the only way we're going to tackle this disease. And it's not happening. It's spotty. And unfortunately, it is probably political right now. And that can't happen.

BOLDUAN: Doctor, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. We are just hours away from a crucial hearing in Texas, where a federal court is considering republican challenge to drive-thru voting with 120,000 ballots hanging in the balance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: In just a few hours, a federal judge will hear a challenge to drive-thru voting in Texas. Republicans are pushing to have more than 120,000 ballots cast invalidated. Ed Lavandera has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Polling locations across the state of Texas will be quiet on Monday as everything gears up toward Election Day on Tuesday. But we have seen three weeks of early voting in this state and we have seen record turnout.

Nine and a half million people have already cast their votes here in Texas. That is a record, already surpassing the overall total that we saw four years ago.

[03:55:03]

LAVANDERA: And here in Harris County, there is some legal fighting going on over voting locations like this. This is one of 10 drive-thru voting locations that officials here have opened up because of the COVID pandemic.

Essentially people can drive their cars right into this base and underneath these tents. So, there will be election workers at these tables. They will then slide the voting tablets into your car and you can cast their ballot.

Officials say this is legal, it is safe and secure. But a group of Republicans here in the Houston area have been filing suit, a number of cases finding their way through the court, one in the state system where the Texas Supreme Court has ruled for a second time that this way of voting here in Harris County is legal, there are no problems.

But these Republicans are also fighting this in federal court and there is an emergency hearing scheduled for Monday morning. And why is this important? A hundred and twenty-seven thousand people use these drive-thru voting sites during the early voting period. That's about 10 percent of the overall total in this county.

And those Republicans want those votes set aside, invalidated essentially because they say this is an illegal way of voting. Democrats say that is absolutely absurd.

There haven't been many tough Republicans in the state who have pushed against this Republican group who are filing these lawsuits, but one Republican said that what they are doing here is harmful and patently absurd.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Ed, thank you so much for that. And thank you all so much for joining us for CNN's special live coverage, "The Countdown to Election Day in America," an amazing time. It is all starting. You can see right there.

I'm Kate Bolduan. "Early Start" with the great Christine Romans and the great Laura Jarrett is next. Thanks so much for joining us, everybody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)