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The Lead with Jake Tapper

The Keys to Victory for the GOP, Dems in Tight Senate Races; Trump Announces Israel & Sudan Agree to Normalize Relations; COVID-19 Infections Hit New Peaks Across Europe. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired October 23, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:00]

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. This was a cruel and inhumane policy and they clearly had poor record keeping in terms of trying to figure out who these kids were and who their parents were and where their parents ended now.

So, this idea now that these parents, that they can't locate are just heartless and cruel, and they don't want their kids back in their home countries. I think it sort of goes to a lot of the comments that you've heard from this administration, the kind of comments that they have made about folks who have tried to come to this country, whether they are rapists. On the stage last night, Donald Trump talked about some of these folks having a low IQ.

So, it's just par for the course for this administration. The lack empathy and we see now the results of this very, very cruel policy that they put in place but in some ways still don't want to take any blame for and they still want to deflect on the parents and deflect also on to the Obama administration. But this was their policy, and my goodness, it has ended up being a cruel reality for these kids.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yes, you talked about that undocumented immigrants caught by ICE and sentenced to have some sort of day in court even though they are deported that the only ones who come back have low IQs which was a bizarre thing to say.

Ron -- and racist also. Ron, we were talking leading up to the debate about how Joe Biden is underperforming with Latino voters compared to how Hillary Clinton was doing in 2016. Does this lack of empathy from President Trump and his administration, does it change that at all or not?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, from the very beginning the choral of the support are portions of the Republican Party that the most uneasy about the way the country is changing demographically. I think to the 2016 primaries that in every exit poll and every primary only a minority of Republicans said that all undocumented immigrants should be deported, even Republican primary.

But those voters backed Trump to overwhelmingly they provided a majority of his votes in almost every state. So, this has always been his core. And again, as we talk about before, he is more focused on speaking to that minority and energizing them constantly than he is on crafting a message that can reach the country overall.

He is making some improvements among Hispanic men and for that matter matters among African American men. I mean, there's some indications Democrats say a portion of both of those groups that respond to his swagger, his kind of style and also obviously the economy was improving for many of those communities before COVID, even if their living standards were not going up that quickly.

But the numbers he is still facing among women, among African American and Hispanic women, and gender gap will probably bigger among both of those groups than among whites in this election, he is still facing enormous resistance among women and I think this sort of behavior and as my colleague Adam Sewer memorably wrote, the cruelty is the point about many of the things they have done on immigration will probably reinforce that gender gap among both Hispanic and African Americans communities.

TAPPER: And, Nia, I also want to get your reaction to President Trump once again claiming, he's been saying this for years, that he's done more for the black community than any president except for Abraham -- maybe Abraham Lincoln. He also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am the least racist person. I can't even see the audience because it's so dark. But I don't care who is in the audience. I'm the least racist person in this room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean, Kristen Welker was in that room so factually not true on its face.

But what was your response when you heard that?

HENDERSON: I mean, listen, if you're the least racist person in that still means you're somewhat racist, right? So in that way, it would probably be better so for him to say we are not racist.

But listen, we know where the polls are on this, particularly among African Americans. There is a sense among African Americans that he is a racist. He certainly says racist things, we talked about that earlier in this segment and this idea that somehow he is better than Lyndon B. Johnson in terms of what he has done for African Americans, in terms of laws, better than Obama.

I'm surprised that Biden doesn't have a better comeback for this to talk about the losses that African Americans have experienced under this president. One in 1,000 African Americans have died of COVID during this president's tenure because of him ignoring the virus.

You know, when you think about Obama, one-third of African Americans got health insurance because or there was a decrease of one-third in terms of the availability of health care among African Americans. So, there are real strides and Biden I think doesn't have a really

good answer for this, so he's got to work on that. But this is what this president likes to claim about his record.

TAPPER: Yes, Nia-Malika, Ron -- Nia-Malika Henderson, Ron Brownstein, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

It's not just the race for the White House that makes this race so important. We're going to take a look at some key races that will decide who ends up with the most power in Washington.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:39:35]

TAPPER: Of course, it's not just control of the White House up for grabs in 11 days. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives is also at stake and those results could make the president's job either much easier or much, much more difficult.

CNN's resident forecaster Harry Enten joins me live to break down the odds.

Harry, let's start with the Senate. Who has the advantage right now?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: Yes, it's the Democrats who have the advantage, right? Heading into this election, obviously, Republicans currently have control.

[16:40:04]

They are controlling 53 seats to Democrats 47.

Right now, the forecast suggests that Democrats will get all the way up to 52 seats. What I should emphasize here is that this race for Senate control remains within the margin of error and it would not surprise me if Republicans maintain control, but at this point, Democrats are favored.

TAPPER: Where are the races where Democrats have the best odds of winning of capturing a seat?

ENTEN: Sure. So, I'm going to take you through three races. We'll start off in Arizona, which I think is a key race, right?

Look, Mark Kelly is running in that race as a Democrat against the incumbent Martha McSally. That, of course, used to be John McCain seat. And what we see here is Mark Kelly holds an advantage, a seven- point lead. He has been leading throughout this race. So, this looks like one of the Democrats' pickup opportunities.

Another key state would be Maine. Look, Susan Collins has been a long time Republican senator from there. Joe Biden is running well ahead in that state of Donald Trump right now, and it looks like he is going to carry Sara Gideon across the finish line, but both are still under 50 percent. They do have that ranked choice voting in Maine, that kind of complicates the picture. But right now, Gideon is the favorite there.

And then, finally, in North Carolina. I think if there is one said that will sort of tell us which way the Senate is going on election night. It's going to be in North Carolina. Cal Cunningham has been leading over the incumbent Thom Tillis, but Cunningham, of course, ran into a sexting scandal. At this point, neither the candidates are particularly well-liked, but right now, Cunningham has a slight advantage in that race.

TAPPER: And what about Republicans? They must have at least one chance to pick up a seat.

ENTEN: Yes, they got -- they got one really good shot to pick up a seat down in Alabama. You know, Doug Jones, obviously, won that special Senate election back in 2017. Right now, he is down significantly to Tommy Tuberville who is the former coach of the Auburn football program. I'm fairly certain this seat is going to flip no matter what happens nationwide even if Democrats have a very good night.

The other second-best pickup opportunity for Republicans is in Michigan. But notice here, it's their second-best pickup opportunity and John James, the Republican, is still down six points to the better Gary Peters.

And I think that the fact that this is their second-best pickup opportunity really just speaks to the breadth of the Democratic advantage in the Senate. They have a lot of seats they can potentially pick up, the net gain of three that they need if Biden wins the presidency, but Republicans really just don't have that many pickup opportunities.

TAPPER: All right. So, that's the Senate. Let's turn to the House. I want to get your reaction to a claim that President Trump made last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We might have the House by that time, and I think we are going to win the House, OK? You'll see but I think we are going to win the House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I don't know anyone who thinks that the Republicans are going to win the House. Give us a reality check on that.

ENTEN: I don't know what the heck he is talking about, to be perfectly honest.

(LAUGHTER)

ENTEN: I think Daniel Dale should come on into this segment. He can fact-check that one. Look, here is the forecast for the House. In fact, the Democrats are actually favored to pick up seats in the House of Representatives at this point. The forecast for them to get up to 240. Obviously, they had 235 after the 2018 results.

So, at this point, Democrats are actually favored to pick up seats in the House. I don't really understand what President Trump is talking about. But then again oftentimes he says things that simply are not backed up by the facts.

TAPPER: All right. That's a nice way to put it.

Harry Enten, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Today, President Trump announced that Sudan and Israeli have agreed to normalize relations. It's just the latest in a series of U.S.-brokered deals between Israel and various Arab states in the run-up to the U.S. election.

President Trump could not help, of course, but turn an international achievement into something of a crude attack on his Democratic opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You think sleepy Joe could have made this deal, Bibi, Sleepy Joe? I think -- do you think he would have made this deal somehow? I don't think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on speakerphone.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is live for us at the State Department.

And, Kylie, this is a big achievement. The U.S. just helped broker deals between Israel and the UAE, Israel and Bahrain. So, how much does this new deal with Sudan change the Middle East landscape?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, I think you laid it out right there. This individual announcement today on its own isn't as significant as the fact that there have been three countries in the last two months that have normalized relations with Israeli and that is tremendously significant.

Now, this has been a push by the Trump administration. They were unable to secure peace between Israeli and Palestinians but they have been able to push for these normalized relations with Israeli and these other countries.

Of course, this comes as the president is getting closer to Election Day. It's something that he can tout on the campaign trail as a foreign policy victory.

Now, what does Sudan get for this? Sudan is going to be taken off the state sponsor of terrorism list. President Trump announced the U.S. would be doing that. And as a result Sudan is going to be opened up to all sorts of international investment that it wasn't able to receive for the last 27 years while it was on this list -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. That seems really interesting.

But, of course, it's not all good news at the State Department today.

[16:45:02]

A former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just came out with a blistering op-ed in "The Atlantic". One part of it says quote: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his predecessor Rex Tillerson have weaponized the institution for the Trump administration's domestic political objectives.

Tell us more about this adviser and what he's saying.

ATWOOD: Yes, Jake, as you said, a scathing op-ed here from Ambassador Michael McKinley. He is a former senior adviser to Pompeo but he's also a lifelong ambassador. He had served as ambassador in four different countries, wildly respected here at the State Department.

Now, he came out saying that President Trump's secretaries of state both Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo have damaged this department so much that it may be at its lowest point since the 1950s. He says that that damage is because they have politicized this department.

Now, Jake, this ambassador left the department last year. He was frustrated that Pompeo wouldn't defend the ambassadors who got caught up in the Ukraine impeachment saga but hasn't said much since he left. And it is important he is coming out saying this now. He makes it pretty crystal clear in what is he writing this is because he wants the American people to nope his position. He wants them to know just how much damage the Trump administration has done to the State Department and he wants them to know it before they go to the polls in just a few weeks -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up the one country where every person who lives there is getting tested for coronavirus. That's next.

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[16:51:13]

TAPPER: In our world lead, coronavirus infections are reaching new peaks across Europe with five countries in particular seeing a surge in cases. They are the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France.

And in Italy, new curfews are going into effect as that country just reported a record high number of COVID cases in just the last 24 hours.

CNN's Scott McLean is live in Berlin for us with the latest on the spike in cases across the continent.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jake.

So, the approach here in Europe seems to be localized restrictions with minimal impact on the economy, lockdowns only as an absolute last resort. The trouble is it's not actually clear if that approach is working. German Chancellor Angel Merkel last week brought in a series of new restrictions aimed at virus hot spots like right here in Berlin but this week, her country recorded another record high case count.

France is expanding. A 9:00 p.m. a curfew to most of the country affecting 46 million people. Italy is also recording record high case counts. One regional governor there is calling for a nationwide lockdown because the argument is that, well, these partial measures simply have not worked.

Things are worse, though, in the Czech Republic which is recording more new coronavirus cases per capita than any other major country on Earth by a mile. In fact, infection rate in the Czech Republic is five times higher than it is in the United States. And what's really scary is that for most of Europe, the United States, the second wave of the virus has been much less deadly. In the Czech Republic, though, the second wave has actually been eight times more deadly than the first.

The country went back into lockdown this week. The health minister today, though, was accused of breaking his own coronavirus rules. He is rejecting calls to step down, though. The Czech prime minister, though, is vowing to replace him any ways.

Next door in Slovakia, they are watching the Czech situation with horror as their own cases begin to rise. Their strategy is to test the entire country, every single person. That's more than 5 million all over the span of just the next three weekends -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Scott, thanks so much.

People in the United Kingdom are also bracing for new restrictions as officials there look to curb a second wave of coronavirus in the U.K. This as new cases in that country continue to climb to worrying levels.

CNN's Nina Dos Santos is live for us in the English city of Bristol with the latest.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: Thanks very much, Jake.

Well, the debate between lockdowns on a local level or on a national level is very heated here in the west of England. I'm just 20 miles to the south of Wales which is one of the de facto sort of constituent countries of the United Kingdom, which like North Ireland has got and has its own abilities to set its own health care rules.

And Wales, as of this evening, has put its 3 million residents into lockdown for the next 15 days to come. It's a very different approach to other parts of the U.K. like England where I am, but still implementing local lockdowns to manage health and wealth if you like. Now, Wales won't know about a month whether or not this fire circuit

breaker lockdown it is implementing has actually worked but they claim it's the only way to try to protect their population, protect their health care system and also prevent Christmas from being a digital Christmas where people can't visit their loved ones.

Across the border in the north in Scotland, over there the local government and national government in Scotland has become so alarmed, Jake, in the recent rise of cases that it is also proposing a five- tier coronavirus restriction that is probably going to start coming into place the next two weeks to come.

So there is this big debate. It is quite confusing across parts of the U.K., but there's one thing you can't argue with and that is the broader trend that Scott was just pointing out. You can see it here in the U.K. as well.

[16:55:01]

Based on the moving average, COVID is still a disease that is infecting tens of thousands of people and 150 people are losing their lives every day here -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Nina, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Joining us to discuss the mental health effects of this ongoing pandemic is clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Georgetown, Andrea Bonier.

Dr. Bonier, good to see you as always. Cases are surging. Health care experts think this surge could be worse than the previous surge given how cases are spiking in the Europe because the U.S. kind of trails Europe in many ways.

What worries you most from your perspective of a mental health perspective on the worsening pandemic?

ANDREA BONIER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Yes. It really is a perfect storm when you think about it. We have a lot of people that suffer over the holiday season from grief and loss and pass trauma that comes up and the seasonal depression and isolation that can kick in when the cold and darkness come. What I'm most concerned about people's usual holiday traditions being disrupted and that taking a real mental health toll, and people not being able to gather and having a toll on mental health, to the point where people aren't prioritizing, hey, I need to really take care of myself and ask for help here.

TAPPER: Kids are in this horrible world of unknown about going back to school. Some have gone back and have as to snap back and go back to virtual learning. Some haven't gone back at all and some haven't seen their friends in person since March.

How -- how can we help our kids manage this through the winter?

BONIER: Yes, I think we need to talk proceed proactively with our kids. We need to do what we do to protect our mental health and how important sleep and sunlight is if we can get it wherever over this winter and encourage our kids to share their feelings.

You know, a lot of us search for the right things to say to our kids when really it's about listening, it's about making it feel safe for them to say, I am sad and for us to bear witness to that and sit and talk with them.

TAPPER: When this pandemic started, we talked about getting outside for a little, just a walk around the block or whatever can be so helpful for mental health. What can people do in the winter when getting outside for any long period of time might not really be an option?

BONIER: Yes. The important thing to remember is that sunlight matters even when it's cold. So, even opening a shade or curtain so you can get some sunlight in and bringing house plants in. The data actually says it can help improve mood.

If you feel you're might be suffering from true seasonal depression there are things like light boxes that might help physiological. We need that sunlight. It's not so much about temperature even if it's 20 degrees outside, sunlight can make a big difference.

TAPPER: What are the signs we should be looking for when it comes to our loved ones in terms of mental health?

BONIER: Yes, any kind of real change in behavior, so more impulsivity, expressing that there's hopelessness to the point of them really feeling like things aren't getting better, when someone expresses that they feel like a burden to other people, that's really a concerning sign of potential suicidal thinking. Also, increased substance abuse or when someone stops caring for themselves in those daily ways when hygiene really falls off, you know, more so than most of us sort of not showering as much maybe, when they're not eating the way that they should, when they're sleeping so much more, that's when you really know you have to have a conversation.

TAPPER: All right. Andrea Bonier, thank you so much. Always great to have you on the show.

BONIER: Thank you.

TAPPER: More than 223,000 American lives have been lost from the coronavirus so far in the United States. We are going to use this moment to remember just one couple whose time together was cut short by this virus.

Don and Sandy Maybon died in neighboring hospital rooms. They were both 80. Sandy was a schoolteacher almost 40 years. Don served as the mayor in their hometown of Madison, Nebraska, for four years after nearly two decades on the city council.

They spent their days giving back to their community and playing an active role in the lives of their four grandchildren. Don and Sandy died within two days of each other shy of their 60th wedding anniversary.

May their memories and the memories of all those lost in this horrific pandemic be a blessing.

Be sure to tune in to CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this Sunday. My guests include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Democratic congresswoman from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That's at 9:00 a.m. and noon Eastern on Sunday.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @jaketapper. You can tweet teh show @TheLeadCNN.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now. I will see you Sunday morning. Stay safe.

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.