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The Lead with Jake Tapper
New CNN National Poll: Harris, Trump Tied At 47 Percent; Poll: 49 Percent Of Registered Voters Say Trump Is A Fascist; Federal Judge Halts V.A. Voter Purge, Restores 1,600 Names; Some RNC 2024 Poll Watchers Are 2020 Election Deniers; P.A. County Officials Say They Discovered 2,500 Fraudulent Voter Registration Attempts; Russian Troops Caught On Tape Condemning North Korean Soldiers; New York Democrat Running To Return To Congress; Your Questions On How To Cope With Fall Allergies. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 25, 2024 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:23]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.
This hour, new updates about the E-coli outbreak linked to McDonald's, which now has left people sick across 13 states. What health officials are saying today about the possible sources and the precautions being taken to stop this outbreak. Plus, a post claiming voter fraud in Pennsylvania goes viral, claiming 53 voters were registered at one address, but no one lived there. Here's the problem. It's the site of a Catholic church, and the voters are real, and they're nuns, members of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, a monastic community.
The Pennsylvania Secretary of State spoke with the nuns to clear things up. He's going to join us live to talk about this and how he's working to keep the Commonwealth elections free and fair.
And leading this hour, all eyes today on the Lone Star State as both Trump and Harris take their campaigns to Texas, not a battleground state on the presidential level, but it highlights issues of concern for each candidate. Trump in Austin, talking about immigration, the southern border. Harris rallying tonight in Houston, highlighting Texas's strict abortion laws after the fall of Row. And with just 11 days to go until Election Day, CNN has some brand new polls giving us a look at the state of the race. Let's go straight to David Chalian of CNN, who's at the magic wall.
David, you've been digging through the data. Why is this race so close? You think by now somebody would be breaking out one way or the other?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It has been close, and it has been remarkably stable for quite some time, Jake. I mean, it doesn't get closer than this. Our last final national poll before we get to Election Day, 47 percent Donald Trump, 47 percent Kamala Harris. And I asked the very same question you asked as I looked through it. So why?
What is keeping this so tied? First, let's talk about some of the issues. You just mentioned the candidates are talking about on the trail today and you'll see why. Harris has an overwhelming advantage, a 21 point advantage when it comes to the issue of abortion and reproductive rights. Donald Trump's big positive advantage categories for him, immigration.
He has a 16 point advantage. So just take a look at that. They're talking about their best issues today, that's not by accident. He's got a 13 point advantage of economy, 10 point advantage on foreign policy, Harris has a slight edge on protecting democracy.
But this is the real challenge for Harris. It's the environment in which she's running as part of the incumbent party that has the White House. Nearly seven in 10, 68 percent of likely voters say that the country is going -- things are going badly in the country. That's a really rough number if you're representing the incumbent party.
And this one's tough too. We asked people, are you better off or worse off or about the same financially than you were a year ago? Forty-nine percent of plurality, nearly half, tell us they're worse off than they were a year ago. Joe Biden's approval rating is also down at 36 percent. So, that's the environment, and that's why Harris, that sort of hangs around Harris' neck.
But then you ask, well, then why hasn't Donald Trump run away with this? Well, I'm going to show you some qualities that we tested asking voters, is this a reason to vote or against -- vote for or against a candidate? So, demeanor and temperament, that's a big positive category for Harris. I just want to show you, Jake, that for Trump, he's underwater minus 32 on demeanor and temperament. When it comes to physical mental -- physical capacity and mental ability, again, a 22 point positive response, a reason to vote for Harris, people say.
For Donald Trump, this number minus 11. So those are rough categories for Trump. And down here, where he does have a slight edge, your record as president or vice president, that is seen by two points as a reason to vote for Trump by people. But for Harris, this is a big trouble spot, because 20 points she's underwater as a negative her record as vice president. So you see here, between the qualities that people are concerned about Trump, but the environment that people are concerned about Harris, that is what is keeping this race so tight, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, fascinating stuff. David Chalian, thanks so much.
Let's bring in our panel, political reporters for their insight, Phil Mattingly and MJ. Lee. Thanks, guys. Really appreciate you being here.
MJ, Vice President Harris is in Houston, Texas tonight. News flash, she's not going to win Texas. Why?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Probably.
TAPPER: What is she -- what is she hoping to accomplish there?
LEE: I mean, at this point in the campaign, the campaign really has two big things they're trying to do. The first thing is persuasion, the second is just getting out the vote. And that is precisely why they've chosen Texas as the backdrop for the vice president to talk about the very politically salient issue of reproductive rights. They know that there are only 10 plus days to convince anybody that is can still be convinced to vote for her to make that case particularly because early voting has started in so many states, including all of the seven battleground states, they want to seize this moment. And Texas, of course, as everybody knows, has one of the most strict abortion bans across the country.
[17:05:12]
They think that this is a place where they can go and have families talk about the ways in which in the post Roe v Wade world, their families have been affected. Women feel like they no longer have the autonomy that they once did over their bodies, their health care decisions. So that is why they're choosing Texas, even though, again, it is not a battleground presidential state.
Now, the second piece of this, the getting out the vote, this is why we're going to see on stage tonight in Texas, Beyonce and Willie Nelson. They really hope that bringing out the big celebrity guns like this is going to mean more eyeballs, more people tuning in, and hopefully for some of those people actually voting.
TAPPER: And the two issues, voters say they trust Harris more than Trump on our reproductive rights, abortion rights and protecting democracy. The Harris campaign has a brand new ad tied to the interview that Michael Schmidt of "The New York Times" did with John Kelly, the retired Marine general who was Trump's longest serving Chief of Staff, questioning Trump's fitness for office. Let's play some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KELLY, TRUMP'S FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: He certainly falls into the general definition of a fascist using the military to go after American citizens.
He's commented more than ones that Hitler did some good things, too.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: You've been traveling the country talking to voters. Do voters care about this issue, democracy and Donald Trump's fitness?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some that bring it up. I think I have a lot of examples that I was going to talk about here. But I actually just want to draft off what we heard from David Chang because those last numbers he was showing, I think, explain to you why you've seen this shift by the Harris campaign really to go very hard at an issue that Joe Biden was talking about a lot. And there's a reason why they're doing it. On demeanor, Donald Trump, 32 points underwater, Kamala Harris with a plus 11 point advantage. People don't like how he acts. They say, this is not the guy I want to get dinner with, but I like what he did in office. I felt better personally, particularly on economic grounds when he was in office, we saw that in the numbers record, he's at a two point advantage on that issue. They're trying to connect people's concerns with his demeanor while reminding them about his time in office. And it's not just that Kamala Harris or the vice president is calling the fascist, what they're doing is using that moment from John Kelly to highlight what his own staff members in the closest levels, in the highest levels of the campaign or in the cabinet said about him, to tell people you memory hold --
TAPPER: Yes.
MATTINGLY: -- the four years he was in office, remember who that was, what that felt like, the chaos that the country in the Harris campaign is telling was experiencing at that moment. It wasn't better back then, the demeanor, the mental capacity and physical capability those should connect to the record they haven't, as David was just showing, that's what the campaign is trying to do.
TAPPER: I want you to take a look at this new ABC News/Ipsos poll, among registered voters, 49 percent say Trump, 22 say Harris is a fascist. Last night, former President Obama was on the campaign trail with Harris in Georgia. He said this about Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: He acts so crazy, and it's become so common that people no longer take it seriously. I'm here to explain to you just because he acts goofy does not mean his presidency wouldn't be dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: That's interesting. The Harris campaign, when they took over, there was like this talk of like, we're going to do things differently. We're not going to do what Joe Biden was doing was talking about Donald Trump being a threat to democracy. They're now back where Joe Biden was.
LEE: Kind of, you know, certainly choosing the ellipse as the location for your final closing remarks of the campaign. That's very deliberate. You know, this is the site where Donald Trump infamously made the speech on January 6, basically seen as having encouraged at least some of his supporters to go and riot on Capitol Hill. But I was talking to a senior campaign source, and they said, look, this is actually not going to be a democracy speech. Of course, this is the backdrop.
Of course, she's going to start with January 6, the events and Trump's behavior around that day, but ultimately, she's going to make a hard pivot to sort of a turning of the page campaign speech that she's going to talk about how her candidacy, her campaign, really represents something different, that she herself, obviously, is supposed to be a new generation of political talent. And that really what she wants to present to the American people in this final week is, I am going to be turning the page on this era that we all remember as having been the Donald Trump era. But as you say, there's been such a healthy debate about whether leaning into this existential crisis, and, you know, the issue of protecting democracy. Whether that's politically smart --
TAPPER: Yes.
LEE: -- and the Harris campaign does seem to be sort of going back to that a little bit more than in the beginning.
TAPPER: Her campaign is, you know, there's a lot of vibes, and it's working, obviously, when you look at the demeanor and how she presents herself, and her physical state, all that stuff, that's worked. I'm not dismissing it, but we keep hearing from voters they don't know enough about her positions. And it was occurring to me when I saw those poll numbers about they prefer Donald Trump's foreign policy. I don't really even know what Kamala Harris' foreign policy vision is, per se.
[17:10:25]
MATTINGLY: Yes. What's been most striking about being out on the trail and talking to voters, even some Democrats or people who are leaning very heavily towards voting for the vice president is how little they know about where she stands on things. I think, these last 10 days, both down in Texas and at the ellipse, it's not just talking about one issue or trying to do dual issues, but wrapping it all together and explaining to people why it's so important, and hopefully, from the campaign side, explain to people who she is. It's critical right now.
TAPPER: All right, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.
A judge's decision today that will let hundreds of voters participate in the upcoming election after they were taken off the voter rolls. That's next. Plus, a group of nuns living in a monastery falsely accused of voter fraud. We're going to break down the disinformation and how all this started. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:15:00]
TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, new legal action today in a fight over voters removed from the roles. A federal judge has blocked Virginia's purge of suspected non-citizens, ordering about 1,600 voters to be reinstated, raising big concerns about voter access. This as we're learning the Republican National Committee is planning to deploy 10s of 1000s of poll watchers across the country. CNN has uncovered that some of these observers are actually also 2020 election deniers. Let's bring in CNN's Sara Murray and Paula Reid.
Paula, let's start with you. Can you explain the judge's ruling in Virginia? Governor Youngkin says, hey, they were just removing self- identified non-citizens from the voter rolls.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the judge here siding with the Biden administration saying this violates federal law that prohibits governments from doing systemic purges of voters in the 90 days before an election. If you want to remove a voter from the role, it needs to be done on an individualized basis, making individual inquiry. So that's the distinction here. Now Republicans have already said they intend to appeal this to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. That's the next step on the way to the Supreme Court.
But typically the High Court, Jake, as you know, they're reluctant to meddle with anything related to an election, too close to the contest itself, so it's unlikely they're going to want to weigh in on this. But clearly, Republicans want to continue to fight.
TAPPER: Sara, what can you tell us about these poll watchers that the RNC is sending out and the impact they might have on Election Day?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, I think there's been some uncertainty, because the RNC and other conservative groups have made a big effort to try to recruit people who were skeptical of the 2020 results to get more involved this time, as election workers, as poll watchers, as that kind of thing. You know, there was an incident over the summer in Wisconsin where a number of unruly poll watchers had to be removed by police from a location. And looking ahead in Georgia, there are a couple folks on the Republicans statewide poll watcher list. Two of them are fake electors, one is another prominent election skeptic.
So just has voting rights groups and election officials a little bit unsure of what to expect if they're going to potentially cause confrontations, if they're going to be spreading misinformation. You know, we should note election officials have really done a lot since 2020 to try to essentially make polling places more secure and be able to mitigate any threats that pop up or any disturbances that pop up pop up if they do, Jake.
TAPPER: And tell us about these election workers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who identified 2,500 voter registration forms that might be fraudulent.
MURRAY: Yes, I mean, they said today that there were essentially a couple of batches of voter registration forms that as they were looking through them, they could see that there were problems. There were signatures that didn't match up. There was personal identifying information that was incorrect. I think in some cases, people were notified and said, you know, they didn't actually fill out these registration forms. So this is now something that is under investigation.
It appears, from what we heard from officials today, that these were not people who were specifically registered to one party or the other. This is also, frankly, a good example of why it's hard to commit voter fraud. They do check these things.
TAPPER: Right.
MURRAY: Can't just drop off piles of applications, voter registration forms and they just go into the bucket, nobody looks at them. They actually do look at this information.
TAPPER: All right, Sara Murray, Paula Reid, thanks to of both you. Appreciate it.
Now, someone who's been on the front lines of keeping elections safe and secure and battling election misinformation, the top election official of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Al Schmidt, Secretary the Commonwealth, and former Republican city commissioner of Philadelphia. If anybody recognizes him, we had him on a lot in 2020 and 2021.
Commissioner, Secretary, I guess I should call you Secretary, you've had to deal with a lot of fraud accusations. CNN reporting today on a group of Benedictine nuns in Erie, Pennsylvania, they were falsely accused of voter fraud by a Republican canvasser who claimed there were 53 registered voters at an address who didn't actually live there, implying evidence of fraudulent registrations. It was, of course, the address of a nun's community and a monastery grounds, and they live there, and they work there, and they are real. You met with the nuns.
You tweeted, "Earlier today, I spoke with Prioress," is that how you pronounce that, "of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie --
AL SCHMIDT. PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes.
TAPPER: -- sister Stephanie Schmidt, no relation, to thank her for standing up to election disinformation alleging that she and her sisters were engaging in voter fraud." So nuns and accusations of voter fraud, probably not on your election bingo card.
SCHMIDT: No. And you know election seasons, particularly presidential election seasons always have some surprises in store and calling up a prioress at a convent was certainly not anything I anticipated.
TAPPER: Lancaster County is in the headlines multiple times this week. Just today, officials in Lancaster they're discovering and stopping an effort as Sara just described to fraudulently register up to 2,500 voters. Earlier this week, you issued a warning to the county and made claims that it was creating improper hurdles for local college students trying to register to vote. What's going on in that county? And how do you allay fears of election integrity when we keep seeing headlines like this?
SCHMIDT: We've been in contact with Lancaster County a lot in the last couple of days, including. About this issue and provided them with some guidance for how we would suggest they handle it. And as far as we can tell, Lancaster is handling this very responsibly. They identified these fraudulent voter registration applications when they came in. They are pretty conspicuous when you do encounter fraudulent activity like this, and the counties handling it responsibly, and we're grateful for that.
[17:20:24]
TAPPER: What message can you give to voters and candidates to give them the confidence that this is going to be a free, fair and secure election in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as it has historically been?
SCHMIDT: It has. The presidential election in 2024 just a few days away is going to be free, fair, safe and secure. Governor Shapiro is committed to making sure that voters have their rights protected and nothing gets in the way of that. There's a voter verifiable paper ballot record of every vote that's cast in Pennsylvania, which is a development we've only had since primary 2020 that is used in two audits after every election to ensure the tabulated results are accurate.
TAPPER: And I just want to remind folks, because they may not remember the way that I do and you do that these lies about the election, they have real world impact. And I remember in Philadelphia, there was a car with a bunch of individuals stopped, thankfully, they had guns. And I know that you personally, you and your family experience death threats because of these election lies.
SCHMIDT: Yes, you know, people ask about election misinformation and disinformation and they ask about threats, but they're really not two separate things. They're very closely related to one another. When people are subjected to misinformation and disinformation that leads them to believe that people responsible for counting their votes are somehow their enemies and not people making sure that our democracy functions the way that it should, it sometimes results in threats of violence or intimidation and all sorts of ugliness that we experienced in 2020. But we'll certainly be prepared this time.
TAPPER: All right, sir, we appreciate it. Secretary Al Schmidt, thank you so much.
SCHMIDT: Thank you.
TAPPER: Leaked audio reveals Russian soldiers are not exactly thrilled to be getting back up in the war against Ukraine from North Korea. Hear the reaction when they learned North Korean recruits were joining the fight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:26:29]
TAPPER: Topping our world lead, American F-16 fighter jets have arrived in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command, as the United States bolsters Israel's firepower ahead of its expected attack on Iran in retaliation for Iran's largest ever missile attack on Israel earlier this month. This as the horrors of war continue. CNN's Matthew Chance reports now on the human suffering throughout Gaza. We must warn our viewers, you might find some of the images you are about to see quite disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a glimpse of the bloodshed this week in northern Gaza as a horrified Palestinian nurse struggles to help in the aftermath of an Israeli strike.
Auntie, Auntie, I don't have anything to stop the bleeding, she screams as one woman sits delirious on the ground. She runs to fetch her bag and makes her way back up the blood stained steps where dead and injured a stream. But all she has are a few bandages and basic medical supplies amid the carnage.
Back down the steps, she turns a corner and calls out as she sees someone she recognizes. Abu Muhammad (ph), she screams, but the old man is dead.
From above, an Israeli drone looks down on the Jabalia refugee camp now the focus of what Israel's military says is an operation to stamp out resurgent Hamas activity. These images show 1,000s of Palestinian residents already displaced multiple times on the move again, trudging past Israeli tanks in search of safety. But where they are heading the humanitarian crisis is also dire. These chaotic scenes at a bakery in central Gaza, where, amid acute food shortages, hundreds are jostling for bread, grasping desperately for surviving.
For three days, I've been searching for bread to take home, says this man. I am literally begging, he says. All I want is bread for my children, says this woman. Every night they go to bed hungry.
The U.N. says, without more aid, urgently, starvation here will get worse, saying Israel is preventing humanitarian missions from accessing Gaza. Israel blames Hamas for disrupting the distribution of essential supplies.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, Palestinians pick through the rubble of a residential building leveled in a recent Israeli strike. Here and further south, where the Hamas leader was killed last week, Israel says combat operations are continuing, but the heavy civilian toll continues to climb.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (on camera): Well, Jake, tonight hopes for an end to that bloodshed, and of course, for a possible release of the 101 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are looking as uncertain as ever. On the one hand, Israel has agreed finally to send negotiators to Qatar to speak via an intermediary with Hamas to talk about a ceasefire deal and a hostage release. On the other, the country is poised tonight to take a strike against Iran in response to a missile attack here on October the -- the 1st. And so, a -- a very delicate fragile situation of -- confronting in the Middle East this evening. Jake?
[17:30:20]
TAPPER: All right. CNN's Matthew Chance in Jerusalem for us, thank you so much.
And on to the other on-going war in Europe, according to U.S. officials, North Korea sent 3,000 troops earlier this week to help the Russians in their war against Ukraine. And well the deal may have been brokered at top levels of leadership in both countries. The rank and file in Russia, well, here's what one of them had to say about their North Korean counterpart joining them.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translator): He's standing there talking to this motherf--r about the "K Battalion."
(END AUDIO CLIP)
TAPPER: CNN's Natasha Bertrand joining us now from the Pentagon. Natasha, how damaging is this audio on -- in which the Russian soldier says he's standing there talking to this mother effer about the K Battalion. How damaging is this to relations potentially between the two country?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: We -- well Jake, it certainly gives the impression that this entire operation has been somewhat bungling and have baked. I mean, you can see why the U.S. is saying that Vladimir Putin would have to be particularly desperate to get these North Korean soldiers to fight with the Russians in Ukraine to broker this kind of agreement.
But, you know, some of the audio that we are hearing which was released from Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency is pretty stark in terms of how, you know, little thought appears to have gone into this when it comes to the language barriers, the commanded control. Issues are going to come along with having North Korean soldiers fight alongside Russian troops.
One particularly revealing exchange a -- according to a North -- a -- a Russian soldier who was intercepted says that there's going to be one interpreter and three senior officers that accompany every 30 North Korean men. Which the Russian soldiers are understandably concerned about because they believe that it's going to then distract Russian officers and pull them from areas where they actually need to be.
So, you know it remains to be seen whether the North Koreans are going to actually be offended by this. But what it shows the world, I think is what the U.S. has emphasized that the Russian's are pretty desperate here. And this whole thing really just wasn't very well thought out, Jake.
TAPPER: So Natasha, pivoting here somewhat. But you're at the Pentagon, the Pentagon has just released its report on that incident at Arlington Cemetery in August where Donald Trump was accused of -- of violating the cemetery's policy of not using the grounds for -- for campaign, videos or images of any kind. What -- what does the report have to say?
BERTRAND: Well the report is almost entirely redacted. It was essentially a -- you know, released on the orders of a judge who said it had to be expedited after a FOIA request. But it doesn't say anything new. What it does say however is that the reason for all of this redactions, including a witness statement, an impact statement by the Arlington Cemetery who says that she was pushed aside by Trump campaign officials is that this is remains an ongoing investigation. And that is something that we did not know previously. Because the Army had originally said that they considered the matter close. So now we know that it is still under investigation by federal law enforcement. The results of which of course, had yet to been seen, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon for us, thanks so much.
[17:33:17]
Coming up next, we're going to go one on one with a candidate in a race that could help decide control on the House of Representatives. We've interviewed his rival, now we're going to interview him. Stick with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Politics Lead, who will sit in the Oval Office is not the only thing being decided when the votes are counted on Election Day. Control of the U.S. Senate, control of the U.S. House also on the line. Democratic former Congressman Mondaire Jones is hoping to get his seat back in the chamber after some district shakeups in New York. Jones is taking on Republican Congressman Mark Lawler who was on the show a few days ago. Former Congressman Jones joins us now, thanks for joining us.
Let's start with the topic of immigrations. Trump and Republicans are making this perhaps the key issue for them in the campaign. As we heard earlier, Trump is leading Harris in national polls on that issue, also the economy. It's become something that's become a -- a -- a big issue in New York. What is your message to voters of how you would handle this crisis?
MONDAIRE JONES (D-NY), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well thanks Jake. It's always great to be here with you. My message to voters in the lower Hudson Valley and the 17th congressional district where we get to decide control of congress next January through this November election is that I'm the only candidate willing to actually secure southern border.
Jake, there's a bipartisan border security bill that's tough that's endorsed by the Conservative Border Patrol Union. That's co-authored by some of the most conservative Republican senators. And it's being blocked at the direction of Donald Trump who wants to use it as a campaign issue this fall as it is being used.
And my opponent, Mike Lawler is part of the problem because he's blocking it. He's joining Mike Johnson the speaker he said he proudly voted for. And saying it would be dead on arrival if it'll ever got to the House. It's a tough bill that would hire more border patrol agents. It would hire more judges to more quickly adjudicate claims of asylum. And it would even give new authorities to the President of the United States to shut down the border in the events being overwhelmed.
TAPPER: So, Congressman Lawler was here and said that he is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress in the House of Representatives right now and said that -- that you're standing on that issue is bad. So I take your point on this legislation but he says he works more -- he -- works across the aisle more than you do.
JONES: Yes. He -- he lies effortlessly like the guy he's supporting for president of the United States, Donald Trump. Here's a truth. When I was in Congress I help pass a number of bipartisan bills into law. In fact that -- in fact that paid -- played a key role in being people together when many Americans doubted it would happen at passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill into law.
But here's the thing, there were a number of bills that Republicans did not join me on. When I capped the cost of Insulin with my Democratic colleagues under the Inflation Reduction Act for our seniors, not a single Republican voted for it. It's also a legislation that next year is going to cap the annual out of pocket cost for prescription drugs for seniors at $2,000.
[17:40:17]
It -- you know folks like me, we shouldn't be punished for the fact that Republicans don't join us in helping improve the lives of the American people. And I got to tell you, the most bipartisan thing that my opponent, Mike Lawler, could do right now is join with Democrats and pass that bipartisan border security legislation but they'd rather talk a good game and fear monger around this than be solutions oriented.
And I think that really reveals these folks for who they are. It's why this term in Congress has been defined by chaos, extremism and incompetence on the -- the extreme MAGA Republican majority.
TAPPER: So, you're -- you're -- this -- this Congressional District, Biden won it in 2020, I believe. Is Harris a help or hindrance to you as you make your final pitch?
JONES: Well, you know, I'm proud that Kamala Harris supports things like passing this bipartisan border security bill. And we've seen so much more enthusiasm to get out and vote in November among Democrats and Independents since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket.
But at the end of the day, I'm running my own race. It is a race that has a lot at stake in it. We will decide in the Lower Hudson Valley whether Congress will be led by Republicans including extremist, all of whom will be voting for Donald Trump's dangerous Project 2025 agenda. We're talking a national abortion ban and cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Even the elimination of the Department of Education, which a lot of folks don't realize investigates acts of anti-Semitism on college campuses.
By contrast, when you vote for me as part of a Democratic Congress next January and a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, you get a guy who's going to vote to pass the Women's Health Protection Act, to restore the protections that were taken away under Roe v. Wade when that was overturned the Dobbs decision. You'll get somebody who's committed to making Social Security and Medicare solvent instead of raising the age retirement like my opponent, Mike Lawler, has said he wants to do. And as I mentioned earlier, you get a guy who's actually solutions oriented about securing our southern border. And certainly, someone who's going to stand up to Donald Trump, if he returns the White House the way he's poised to do.
TAPPER: Let me ask you about a Democrat, south of the Hudson River Valley. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, he's facing a number of federal indictments, a raft of top aides have resigned. Do you fear that will hurt you?
JONES: I don't. And Jake, you may know this. I was one of the first Democrats to call on Eric Adams to resign from office. Look, I've always been willing to call out people on my party when there's corruption or extremism unlike my opponent who was defending Donald Trump when he made dangerously anti-Semitic comments blaming Jewish people for his loss in November.
I am someone who is committed to running my own race. And, yes, people know I'm a Democrat in the lower Hudson Valley. I did represent 73 percent of the people on this district prior to the disastrous redistricting in 2022. And they also know me as a pragmatist, who's willing to stand up to extremism wherever it rears its ugly head.
TAPPER: Former Congressman Mondaire Jones in a tight re-election contest with Congressman Lawler, thanks so much. Really appreciate it sir.
[17:43:18]
Coming up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta's On Call. He's taking your questions, trying to help so many of you fighting annoying seasonal allergies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Health Lead, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta's On Call. He joins us to answer some of your questions about coping with fall allergy season. So Mandy from Atlanta wants to know, Sanjay. What is the best over the counter option without a prescription for treating allergies such as this?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, luckily, I mean there's -- there's a lot of options nowadays. I mean, you see these things in -- in the store, Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra. These are all going to be good choices. They are available over the counter. They're antihistamines. Histamine is what's typically causing the symptoms that people have. So, antihistamines are going to be what's going to provide you some relief.
In the -- in the old days, you know, there was these antihistamines such as Benadryl which could be quite effective but would really make you quite sleepy. You don't see that as much with this -- these newer generations of antihistamines, so that's good. Couple things to keep in mind, first of all, most people's symptoms are actually going to be worse between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Right as you're sort of waking up or, you know, or -- or late in the night.
So taking the medications the night before can actually be quite beneficial. And with these medications in particular, taking it throughout allergy season is really not a problem. You need to sort of stay on top of it as opposed to taking it after symptoms develop. And I will tell you there's also antihistamines plus decongestants. So it's got the D in there. That's to sort of take care of the symptoms of stuffy nose and sore throat, things like that, that sometimes can accompany the allergies.
If you're taking the decongestants, that's not something you typically want to take the entire season. Take it just when you have some of the symptoms. And with those sprays in particular, typically, no longer than three days. You also don't want to take the decongestants at night because they can cause you to -- they can really disrupt your sleep, cause you to have nervousness, things like that that can affect you. So, keep that in mind as well.
TAPPER: So Sanjay, Kim from Indiana says that when she exercises outdoors during the fall, she feels stuffy and congested even if she takes an allergy pill. She wants to know, quote, how can I enjoy the outdoors while not suffering for the rest of the day?
GUPTA: Yes, so a -- couple things to keep in mind. First -- first of all, when it comes to the worst time of day to exercise that's sort of going to be late afternoon, mid to late afternoon. So, sort of 3 o'clock to 6 o'clock. If you can avoid that time of day, that's really going to be beneficial. Exercising sort of earlier in the morning, that's going to be helpful.
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But also keep in mind, when it comes to these medications again, you kind of have to take them ahead of time as opposed to waiting for symptoms to develop. If you're developing symptoms of congestions, adding the -- the whatever medication plus the D, the decongestant can be quite helpful.
Also, it's -- it's really interesting, this is a little bit of a nuanced point. But as you exercise, you tend to build up more adrenaline, some epinephrine and that can actually relieve some of your symptoms. So, for -- for Kim, your symptoms are probably worse at the beginning of your exercise but would likely improve o -- over time. So avoid those times of day, take the medications. And keep in mind, as you're exercising your symptoms are likely to get better.
TAPPER: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta thanks so much.
GUPTA: You got it. Thanks Jake.
TAPPER: Also on our Health Lead, the E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's fast food restaurants has now impacted at least 75 people across 13 states, 22 people have been hospitalized, one person has died, that's according to new data today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan, New Mexico and Washington were just added to the list of states with cases but the CDC says the outbreak could go well beyond the 13 states you see here on this graphic. Authorities say the likely source of the contamination is the slivered onions or the beef patties in the quarter pounder. McDonald's has taken that burger off the menu in about one-fifth of its many locations
McDonalds also said it will stop sourcing onions indefinitely from the Colorado farm at the center of this investigation. Onions from this facility were distributed to about 900 restaurants.
Coming up, the medical study that went unpublished because a lead doctor feared it could fuel a political firestorm, that's next.
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TAPPER: And we're back with our Health Lead, in a report in the "New York Times" about a study on puberty blockers for trans kids. The doctor behind the study, says she has treated transgender children and adolescents with puberty blockers for 17 years and they have been beneficial for her patients but the doctor also told the Times, that the study she led did not find that those drugs improved patient's mental health and it still has not been published, why?
Well the doctor says she worries that the findings might fuel political attacks against transgender youth. Let's bring in CNN medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell. Meg, walk us through what we know so far about the study.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake so this is an NIH funded study. And its goal is to better understand early treatment of -- of kids who were transgender or -- trans or gender diverse with two different kinds of treatment, with a treatment to delayed puberty and also with hormone treatment to for gender firming care.
And now the "New York Times" is reporting on a conversation they had with one of the lead doctors running this trial. Dr. Johanna Olson- Kennedy, we reached out to her and we have not yet heard back today. But she has published in her -- the group has published some of the results from this study. Specifically on the gender affirming hormones, they published that the beginning of 2023.
Now they're looking at mental health outcomes and they were also looking at physical outcomes of using these medications. They have not yet published results on the mental health outcomes of when kids are treated with puberty delaying drugs. And that was the subject really of this story.
The doctor according to the "New York Times" said that they have those findings and that they don't show an improvement in mental health outcomes among these kids. And they have not published those data yet in part she said, because she wants to be really methodical and careful with how she publishes those in this environment right now. And of course, we know that more than 20 States have enacted restrictions or laws restricting access for kids to get gender affirming care. And so that is the kind of environment she's talking about when she cites concerns about this sort of a research being weaponized.
Now, we have reached out to her and we haven't seen these findings. We've talked with doctors in this space today. You know, one said that these absolutely should be published since we don't know what the findings are. It could even show that they've prevented the decline in mental health outcomes. We really just don't know what they show.
Another doctor suggested this is a normal timeline for publishing these kinds of results and this is much to do about nothing, Jake. But one thing, most doctors agreed on is there is an environment right now that they understand there could be caution here and they're very concerned that that could stifle publication of research.
TAPPER: What is the current state of research in to trans healthcare, trans treatment for underage kids.
TIRRELL: Yes, we've talked with major medical organizations and doctors working in this space today here in the United States. The major medical organizations support access to gender affirming care for kids. We talked with the Endocrine Society specifically about puberty blocking drugs. They noted they're safe, generally reversible and conservative approach that gives transgender and gender diverse teenagers and their families more time to explore their options.
Jake, they and organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are opposed to anything that would get into the doctor-patient relationship, so these kinds of laws. These are -- are not things that doctor groups who treat kids who are transgender in need this kind of care. They don't agree with those kinds of restrictions. So, there's a lot swirling about this, Jake. But doctors are pretty much in agreement here in the United States about the safety and necessity of access to this kind of care.
TAPPER: All right Meg Tirrell, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Look out for two big interviews this weekend on State of the Union. I'm going to talk with Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio. Also, going to talk to former Republican Congresswoman and Kamala Harris supporter, Liz Cheney. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon here on CNN.
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The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room. I will see you Sunday morning.