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2024 U.S. Presidential Race; Trump Wins South Carolina Primary, with Haley Coming in Second, According to CNN Poll; Students Share Fears Amid of Antisemitism in the U.S.; Israel at War; Increase in Antisemitism Among Students Being Caused by Israel-Hamas War; Accused Former Delta Pilot Fired and Removed from Program that Permitted Him to Carry a Firearm While in Flight. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired November 01, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, South Carolina likes to say, it picks president. What a brand-new poll is telling us about their picking right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So, this is the brand-new polling out of South Carolina, this key early voting state. You can see Donald Trump with a commanding lead, more than 30 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, she's at 22 percent.

[10:35:00]

One notable thing about this poll is Haley is clearly in second place here, with twice the support of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. And this is the second poll we have seen in just a few days that shows Haley moving into second place, either alone or here in Iowa in a tie with Ron DeSantis. Governor Haley talked about her new standing in the polls, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, (R) FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that we will see that if you saw the polls today in Iowa, I am now in second place in Iowa. Second place. We are now second place in New Hampshire. We are now second place in South Carolina. I got one more fellow I got to catch up to, and I am determined to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is with us from Washington. Part of the race is different right now. Part of it very much the same. Donald Trump way ahead, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Without a question, John. And the one fellow that Nikki Haley was talking about there, of course, is Donald Trump, and he has held a commanding lead. That has been one consistent trend of this entire Republican campaign election year, this primary campaign election year, is that his lead has largely stayed the same. It's grown, in fact, from the beginning of the year.

But take a look at these numbers in South Carolina. He has a 31-point lead over Nikki Haley. So, what this race is now, it effectively is a race for second place. Who is going to be the candidate to effectively end up with a head-to-head race against Donald Trump? And Nikki Haley has been on the move. For all the talk about these Republican debates this year have not really had much impact on the race. For her, that's not true. Her strong performance in the first and second debate have clearly put her on a path to being second place in this race.

Yes, she's tied in Iowa with Governor Ron DeSantis, but clearly in South Carolina, which is number third on the presidential primary calendar, this is a strong showing for her. And John, she's getting her support largely from independents, as well as college educated Republican voters, that is a weak point for the former president. So, even though he is not going to be on the debate stage next week in Miami, she certainly is going to be.

So, we are seeing a collision course here between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, but she clearly is on the move. She will be campaigning tomorrow in New Hampshire. He is there today as well. So, a very competitive race in the undercard, if you will, in this campaign, John.

BERMAN: And look at Nikki Haley, people who support her will say that the coalition she's putting together is the type of coalition that can do well in a general election. Also, she's got to get there first. One other person on this board here, Jeff, you know, Tim Scott, Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina down at six percent. How does that bode for him?

ZELENY: Look, not well. I mean, this, of course, is his home state. He was just re-elected last year, you know, by an overwhelming margin. He's been on the ballot several times. She, of course, Nikki Haley, appointed him to the Senate in the first place, but he has clearly struggled. A big question here is, and we're keeping an eye on, will he make, will he qualify for the next debate next week in Miami? He believes he has but there are some questions here about if he's to reach the appalling (ph) threshold, the RNC has set.

So, if he makes the debate stage, that certainly gives him a chance to be in the conversation. But he is struggling, of course, to keep pace with her. He's campaigning in Iowa today, so he is focusing on there as well. But it's been a difficult road for him in this campaign. She clearly is leading the way here, John. But again, the overall takeaway for all of this campaign is Donald Trump is still in command of this race. It's his race to lose. John

BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. Always great to see you.

Kate.

ZELENY: You bet. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Up next for us, CNN speaks to a group of Jewish high school students amid what is believed to be the historic antisemitism reaching historic levels in the United States, according to the FBI director.

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[10:40:00]

BERMAN: So, very shortly, a Cornell University student will appear in court after he was arrested and charged with threatening to kill and injure Jewish students.

BOLDUAN: According to court documents, the suspect posted at least one threat from the area where the university is located and also admitted to posting the threat -- posting the threats in an interview with the FBI. CNN's Athena Jones has the very latest on this. She also sat down with a group of Jewish high school students about this terrifying and dangerous rise in antisemitism.

Athena, now that -- first and foremost, after the arrest at Cornell, what is the latest that you're hearing?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this suspect, Patrick Dye, is expected to appear this afternoon in court. They will discuss, you know, his representation. Whether he will be able to be released on bail or not. But this all comes as Jews -- Jewish people all across America are concerned about the rise in antisemitism. I sat down with five Jewish teenagers and concerns about antisemitism are the very first thing that came up in that discussion.

Another thing that really struck me immediately upon sitting down with them is just what a strong connection each and every one of them has to Israel. Each of them has family and friends there. They have gone multiple times to visit Israel over the course of their life. They consider this a second home. And they spoke about their concerns about how the world will impact their loved ones in Israel, how it will affect their lives here in America, and how it will affect the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES (voiceover): It's a situation that hits close to home.

FRANCES GELLER, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: We're such a tight knit community. This is like our family.

[10:45:00]

NOAH IVES-KURTZER, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: It's this shock that's, like, consistent and you can't escape it.

RIVKA TAMIR, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: When I started reaching out to people to check up, and I -- it was hours later and I'm still checking up on people, and there's still more people to reach out to and talk to, and people that I was really worried about.

JONES: What have the last few weeks been like, being here in America, observing what's going on in Israel and Gaza?

ADIN LINDEN, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I think it's been this sort of balancing act of worrying about, like, when is the other shoe going to drop here in America? And caring for and, like, making sure to be a good support system for, like, my friends and family in Israel.

JONES: Waiting for the other shoe to drop? How do you mean?

LINDEN: I feel like right now in America we're in kind of this grace period with Israel where Israel was attacked and the general feeling towards Israel is still fairly positive. And that pity is not going to be there anymore. And I think that that's when bad things are going to start happening in America to Jews.

DANIEL PUSTILNIK, U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I disagree with the fact that the majority of American sentiment is one of pro-Israel or pity or sympathy. I think now that, you know, Israel has been bombing Gaza, and there have been attempts to get the hostages back, and all this -- all those military operations going on, I think there's been a huge uptick in antisemitism.

JONES (voiceover): They say the political response to the war has been upsetting, especially what they are seeing on social media.

TAMIR: It's a very, I think, inherent Jewish value in times of grief to sit in your pain and sit in your discomfort in fast or in prayer, in community and acknowledge what's going on. And that's our way of dealing with grief and processing. And I think to have such raw pain be turned into something political is very, very difficult to deal with.

IVES-KURTZER: It's an impossible situation when you have been attacked by this terror group that's also governing and hiding behind its own people. I can't, like, watch innocent Palestinians die. But, like -- it's like you poke a bear, and Hamas poked a bear and then went and hid behind a bunch of little cubs.

LINDEN: It's hard for me to hear free Gaza, free Palestine, because that's -- that -- Hamas is hurting Gazan citizens just as much as it's hurting Israeli citizens. Like being pro-Palestine or pro-Gaza should not mean being pro-Hamas.

JONES: How do you think these ends?

TAMIR: When you're working on the amount of precedent that there is with Israel, with Gaza, with the Palestinians, with Hamas, I don't foresee this ending in a way that will feel very final.

IVES-KURTZER: Israel has lost. The innocent civilians in Gaza have lost. Nobody can win a war like this. And so, what does the end look like? It looks like loss.

JONES: Where do you find the hope in a situation like this?

PUSTILNIK: I have no hope that this conflict will be resolved in the next century, like, not at all. I think this will be an almost immutable fact of the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

GELLER: This is where I turn to religion and prayer, God, and, you know, really the core of Judaism, and that's helping me get through this.

JONES (voiceover): Frances Geller was planning to spend a gap year in Israel before going to college. That plan is now uncertain.

GELLER: I truly believe that perseverance is in our DNA. I don't -- we've been on -- we've been around for all this time. They try to get rid of us. They won't. And how can you not believe that that's who we are? It's hopefulness and fighting. And it's an idol (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES (on camera): So, a really powerful and important conversation with these teenagers. And another thing that struck me from this conversation is this overwhelming desire to help. Every one of them feels guilty that they can't do more from their perch here in America.

One young man said that his best friend and he, they lived parallel lives until his best friend's family moved to Israel. And now his best friend is in a few months going to be joining the Israeli military. And here he is in America feeling like he can't really do much. So, a lot of feelings of helplessness and guilt consuming them.

BOLDUAN: I mean, just to reinforce, these are high school students. I'm just amazed at their eloquence and their ability to put voice to the complexity of the pain and what they're living through. But also knowing that this started with a terror attack coming from Hamas. But my God, John.

BERMAN: Yes, and also living with the fear now that they feel increasingly under threat, I will say.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JONES: Yes.

BERMAN: Athena, terrific job. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Athena.

JONES: Thanks.

BERMAN: So, we're just getting word of a punishment handed down for a pilot who threatened to shoot his fellow pilot over a cockpit decision.

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[10:50:00]

BERMAN: All right. This just in to CNN, a Delta Airlines pilot who was allowed to carry a gun in the cockpit, we are just learning, has been fired and will not be allowed to carry that weapon on board. Well, he's been fired, by the way. That pilot was just indicted after being accused of threatening to shoot a fellow pilot over a disagreement in the cockpit.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now. Explain this to me, Pete. What happened here?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, we're getting new details all the time about this, John. And this incident happened last year, although it's just coming to light now. A grand jury in Utah has indicted a Delta pilot named Jonathan Dunn. He was charged with trying to assault a flight crew on board this Delta flight in August of 2022, when according to court documents, he and the captain -- he was functioning as the first officer, they had a disagreement over potentially diverting the flight because of a medical emergency happening the -- in the back with a passenger.

[10:55:00]

And that is when, according to these court documents, that Dunn threatened to shoot the captain multiple times. As for the nature of this threat, we're not totally sure, but these court documents say that Dunn tried to assault or intimidate this flight crew member, this captain, with this weapon.

You may be asking yourself, why was a commercial airline pilot able to carry a gun in the cockpit in the first place? It's a program called FFDO, Federal Flight Deck Officer, where a pilot is essentially deputized by the TSA. It's something that came about after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to try and prevent people from getting into the cockpit where essentially a pilot on board a commercial flight can carry a gun.

But this just fits into the theme, John, of things that have happened on commercial flights involving pilots that have been so startling lately, including this Alaska Airlines pilot who was charged last week with 83 counts of attempted murder for trying to crash that plane. And he said that he was depressed. He had been recently experimenting with magic mushrooms, also that he hadn't slept in 40 hours. So, it just kind of fits into that theme, John, and something that, of course, the federal government will be looking into here as well.

BERMAN: Yes. Not a theme, by the way, that you like having repeated. Pete Muntean, thank you very much for that reporting.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Coming up for us, a second blast at the refugee camp in Northern Gaza one day after an IDF strike hit the same area. The new reporting is coming in. We'll bring it to you.

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[11:00:00]