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Liz Cheney Hits Campaign Trail With Harris in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan; Trump Campaign in Talks With Nikki Haley to Join Him on Trail; Elon Musk Offers Voters $1 Million a Day to Sign PAC Petition; Just Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 21, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:01:24]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Must win states, the focus today on the campaign trail. Vice President Harris in the Rust Belt as former President Trump crisscrosses North Carolina. And after a wild weekend, will Trump's closing argument land with the voters that he needs?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, seven new lawsuits against Sean Diddy Combs and the first to accuse other celebrities of taking part in assault. We're going to break down the latest accusations against the music mogul.

And four months of rain in just one day. Roswell, New Mexico, recovering from flooding that killed two people, stranded motorists, and even left a sheriff trapped on top of his own car.

We're following these major development stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

KEILAR: The clock is ticking down to Election Day. And I know we keep saying that, but it is very true.

SANCHEZ: It is. At a very fast pace, it feels like.

KEILAR: I know. We're our (ph) 15 days.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: And on the campaign trail, both candidates are making crucial decisions on where to focus their efforts in a race that is just so tight here.

Today, Harris is in all three blue wall states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. And she's getting an assist from someone who you would have thought would be an unlikely ally for her. That is former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney at her side in a bipartisan show of force that they're hoping is going to win over some undecided independents and maybe some moderate Republicans.

SANCHEZ: Really fascinating to hear the former Congresswoman talking about reproductive rights as well, not necessarily an issue that she's known for.

Trump, meantime, is spending his day in the critical swing state of North Carolina as it continues to recover from Hurricane Helene. In the next hour, he's set to hold a rally in Greenville focused on the economy. Then later, he's set to meet with faith leaders in the city of Concord just outside Charlotte. And that's where we find CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, earlier we heard Trump once again reiterate some of these false claims about the federal government and its response to Hurricane Helene. Take us through what he said.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean, Boris and Brianna, one thing to remember right now is that every single thing that both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump do is a political opportunity. And it's particularly important for Donald Trump to be in North Carolina. This was a state that mattered more to Donald Trump now than it did when Joe Biden was at the top of the ticket. When he was at the top of the ticket, they believe they were going to win North Carolina.

Now, they still feel confident, but they do believe they need to spend more time here. We know he's going to be here today, he's going to be here tomorrow. and he's going to be back here next week. Remember, North Carolina in 2020 delivered Donald Trump his biggest or his narrowest win. So this is a critical state here. And again, they have seen some movement that might indicate that it's a closer race here in the, than they originally thought.

Now, when we talk about what he just said, he was visiting the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. He went out, he talked about all the things that people were doing. But then he went back into that disinformation, talking particularly about FEMA and where those funds were going. Take a listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (R) AND CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They spent a lot of money on bringing illegal migrants, people that came into our country illegally and taking them in. And all of the money they've spent, numbers that nobody can even believe. So they don't have any money for the people that live here. It's a shame because they should have the money. They spent money that I don't believe they're supposed to be spending for that, as you know. So I think it's a disgrace what happened with FEMA, what's happened with their rescue effort. Their rescue effort was almost non-existent.

[14:05:08]

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HOLMES: Now, one of the things to keep in mind here, we fact checked this before, we'll continue to fact check it, is the fact that FEMA does have different pots of money. Some of this money is allocated for different things. It is true that some of this money is allocated for migrant housing. In other ways, it is allocated for disaster relief. Right now, because this is congressional funds, it is not possible for FEMA to take those funds and use them for disaster relief. This is something that Donald Trump has continued to claim that they are not doing, saying they're not doing a good job of.

One thing to keep in mind here, we have heard nothing but positive reinforcement from even Republican governors on that federal response.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Kristen Holmes, it's important to point that out. Thank you so much.

Let's discuss both campaigns with the former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan. He's also a Republican who has endorsed Vice President Harris.

Geoff, great to see you, as always. I want to talk about what Harris is doing today before we get to Donald Trump's visit to North Carolina. Harris obviously campaigning with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney. Do you think that her message is going to resonate with these disaffected Republicans or more moderate voters if so much of her focus is a warning about what Trump could do in a second term versus pitching her own policies?

GEOFF DUNCAN, (R) ENDORSED HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT: Well, I was at an event last week with Kamala Harris, Republicans for Harris event in Bucks County. And it was a two part message. One, it was speaking directly to Republicans at, you know, what a bum Donald Trump is and what a horrible president he has been and will be. But it really also built a strong bridge to Republicans talking about how inclusive she would be in her administration.

I got to speak with her privately and was reinforced with wanting to have somebody in the cabinet, wanting to get those voices of conservatism around the conversations in the White House. If every American, if every persuadable Republican could have that conversation I had, there's no doubt Kamala Harris would win this election.

SANCHEZ: Geoff, are you telling us that she may have hinted you might be being considered for a role in the Harris administration?

DUNCAN: Absolutely not. No breaking news here today. But it was a great conversation. We had over 100 Republicans there listening to her talk in great detail to Republicans. And I think that's what's different about this. I mean, think about what a -- if Kamala Harris is openly saying she's going to put a Republican in her cabinet, just imagine Donald Trump openly saying he put a Democrat in his cabinet.

I'm concerned, he can't even find enough Republicans to put in his cabinet. The last batch doesn't even want to support him.

SANCHEZ: On that note, though, he is saying that he could have former Trump administration official and former presidential campaign rival Nikki Haley with him on the campaign trail. We saw her, obviously, Geoff, gets substantial support from Republicans even after she dropped out of the primary. How effective a messenger do you think she could be for Trump? DUNCAN: Well, the absence has been telling, right? I mean, six months,

a little late for her to show up and want to campaign with Donald Trump. Look, she knows what I know. She knows what Brian Kemp knows. She knows what Glenn Youngkin knows. All these other Republicans, he is a weight, a boat anchor around Republicans necks. He doesn't represent the brand. And we're truly, genuinely embarrassed every time he sees a microphone or a camera, every time he walks and talks to the military, every time he speaks about faith, every time he talks about fiscal conservatism, he's a fraud. And it's just hard to think about attaching a lifelong conservative value proposition to Donald Trump. And I'm certain that's why there's a pause.

SANCHEZ: Trump there with three different campaign stops today. It seemed like in 2020, it was a very, very close race there. I think Trump won by roughly a single percentage point in North Carolina. Joe Biden was able to flip your home state of Georgia. I wonder if you see any similarities between what you were seeing in the lead up to 2020 in Georgia and what we're watching play out now in North Carolina. Because obviously, Trump has serious concerns if he's spending so much of his time there in a single day, only two weeks out from Election Day.

DUNCAN: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there's a ton of similarities. But at the end of the day, if somebody is sitting there and hasn't called Donald Trump to the carpet as a Republican for lying to them over the last eight years, if they're OK with somebody being a mix between a mafia boss and a circus clown, then I've got nothing for them.

The folks we're speaking to in North Carolina and Georgia are folks who were trying to get off the couch to have the courage to not just sit this one out, but to go vote for Kamala Harris, not because they're a Democrat, not because they plan to be a Democrat, but because they want to be a patriot. That's really what we're trying to do in the closing hours of this as Republicans, working on behalf of Kamala Harris.

SANCHEZ: Geoff, I did want to get your thoughts on one other Republican surrogate, one unlike many that we've seen before, Elon Musk.

[14:10:08]

There are reports that he's basically camped out in Pennsylvania. He's donated more than $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC. And also, he's started this $1 million a day giveaway to registered voters. What's your reaction to that?

DUNCAN: Well, I, like him, have been camped out in Pennsylvania for the last couple of weeks and plan to for the next few weeks. I don't have the $75 billion like he does to try to buy an election. I've got a candidate who doesn't lie to Americans and actually is fighting for the middle class here in Pennsylvania. And that's the message I keep hearing over and over again. Donald Trump shows up and talks to the middle class when he needs their vote.

Kamala Harris is putting big ideas like $50,000 tax deductions for small business startups. That says, middle class America all over it. Elon Musk, it must be quite a thrill to light $30 billion on fire just so you can hang out with Donald Trump. I certainly decided not to.

SANCHEZ: Geoff Duncan, thank you so much. Appreciate your analysis.

DUNCAN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: So as candidates make their final pitches, millions of voters are already casting their ballots.

KEILAR: That's right. For a look at the latest tallies, let's go now to Harry Enten, our CNN Senior Data Reporter. He's ready to go. Look, Harry, you're ready to -- he is -- yeah.

SANCHEZ: There you go. He's not always ready to go.

KEILAR: Yeah. He is enthusiastic.

SANCHEZ: He's turning.

KEILAR: All right. Run the numbers for us here. How much early voting are we expecting?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah. Last time we were together, I asked a question, and so I'm going to ask one to start off this segment as well. And at the end, you could tell me, have I lost it? Have I lost my complete mind? I want you to keep that question in mind because we have so many folks who are talking about the early vote, and it means this and that for the different candidates. I have no idea what it means for this campaign besides the fact that folks are voting. Because I want you to keep in mind, there was a pandemic last time around, all right? There was a pandemic back in 2020. So there were a slew of people who either voted early in person or voted by mail. In fact, it was 69%.

This time around, we're expecting a significantly lower portion of the electorate to vote early or by mail, just 53% in a recent average of polls. So we see the shrinkage that's going on here. And then you see people going, oh, this is good for the Democrats, good for the Republicans. I have no idea who it's good for. And it's not just that fewer people are voting earlier by mail. What it really is, is the complexion of the early vote in person and by mail is changing.

So in fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all. In fact, if we look at the polling that there are going to be more people who are voting early in person this time around compared to 2020, just a little bit up. But I'm expecting far fewer folks to vote by mail this time around. We're talking about 24% on average in the polling data. Compare that to 43% who did so back in 2020. So it's the nonelection day experience that is changing. And the bottom line is, I don't know how anyone could predict anything off of the numbers that we're seeing so far, given how much different the voting patterns are compared to four years ago.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, it was an anomaly any way you break it down. Normally, though, Harry, we see Democrats taking advantage of early and mail in voting. Is that the case this year? ENTEN: We certainly expect it to be the case, my dear friend. So if we

essentially take a look at what we're expecting, right, the polling argument (ph). Look, Kamala Harris is almost certainly going to win that vote by mail. She leads in an average of the recent polls. Get this, by 43 points, that early in-person voting, that's going to be pretty split down the middle. Look, you got Trump by two here. That's well within any margin of error. I don't know. Maybe Harris wins it by two and you tally it all up. But the bottom line is very close.

But then, we're expecting that Election Day vote to be very good for Donald Trump. In the average polling, we see him up by 17. But here's the key nugget to keep in mind. All of these votes count the same at the end of the day. Yes, you'd like to bank some early votes so then you can put your get out the vote efforts into some other camps. But the bottom line is, even if Harris leads in that early count because of this mail vote, Donald Trump is very likely going to close the gap pretty quickly on Election Day. And that is why this race is too close to call, my friends.

KEILAR: Before we answer your question, Harry, which I have, is have I lost my complete mind?

ENTEN: Correct.

KEILAR: Your final take? Any last words about early and mail in voting?

ENTEN: Yeah. My last word on this is a bit of a warning. If you can't tell from this segment so far, I love the fact that people vote early. I love the fact that people vote at all. But the idea that we're going to be able to predict anything off of it, uh-uh.

So this is a quote before Trump's 2016 win. And what it, what was the quote? "Early voting can predict who wins. This is good news for Democrats." Now, this is from the political scientists at the Monkey Cage blog, a very well-respected blog in political science circles. Now, guys, I'm not sure that my memory is so good on this one, but I don't think that Hillary Clinton won that election despite what the early vote was suggesting. Do you guys have any thoughts on that?

KEILAR: He hasn't lost his complete mind then.

SANCHEZ: He hasn't lost his complete mind. What percentage of Harry's mind do you think he's lost?

KEILAR: I'm going with 53% to 69%.

SANCHEZ: I'll go with 374 million, which is the New York Mets payroll this year, having missed the World Series, and us having missed the opportunity of seeing Harry dressed up as grimace, which he said he would do if the Mets made the World Series.

ENTEN: I will tell you, I may still dress up as Grimace just for you. Halloween is right around the corner. And if nothing else, I love a good Big Mac with the fries on the side.

KEILAR: Very topical right now, incredibly.

SANCHEZ: Harry Enten --

ENTEN: I'm going to do the fries. I'm going to do the fries. But we're not going to close down McDonald's like he did.

SANCHEZ: As you said. Harry Enten, thank you so much.

ENTEN: Bye.

SANCHEZ: Still to come this hour, tragic and preventable. That's how the House task force investigating the first assassination attempt on former President Trump describes the security failures that day. We have more on the panel's findings.

KEILAR: Plus, with reproductive health front and center this election cycle, the Biden administration is now pushing for free over-the- counter birth control.

And Sean Diddy Combs now facing seven new civil suits, including from two accusers claiming they were minors when they were allegedly drugged and assaulted. New details in just a moment.

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[14:20:58]

KEILAR: New today, the bipartisan House task force investigating the first assassination attempt of former President Trump has released its interim report, concluding this quote, "the tragic and shocking events of July 13th were preventable and should not have happened."

SANCHEZ: CNN National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen is here with the details. Zach, this document includes new testimony. What does it say?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's right. Another damning assessment of the security failures around Donald Trump's July 13th rally. And it includes testimony from a series of local officers who were on the ground that day. And they lay out the details of this chaotic sequence of events that started when law enforcement first spotted Thomas Crooks on the rally grounds that day and all the way through the moment that shots were fired. And that includes when the officer popped his head up and saw Crooks holding a gun for the first time.

That message apparently never got to the U.S. Secret Service. This also goes into the planning failures and the coordination failures that this assessment, like others, puts at the feet of the U.S. Secret Service. It writes, at one point, for instance, U.S. Secret Service did not give clear guidance to the relevant state and local agencies about managing areas outside the secure event perimeter. And there was no joint meeting on the day of the rally between U.S. Secret Service and all state and local law enforcement agencies assisting Secret Service. It goes on to say, put simply, the evidence obtained by the task force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13th were preventable and should not have happened. And we've heard this or something similar from the other investigations into what happened on July 13th from both that independent panel assigned by DHS to investigate, as well as the Senate Committee that investigated as well, really exposing a lot of issues with the Secret Service, not just on -- in that isolated incident, but according to that internal panel or that outside group that investigated systemic problems at the Secret Service that require an overhaul of the entire leadership team.

Now, that's a long-term recommendation that we're told, but it speaks to really the deeply rooted problems that this panel saw and that are echoed in this bipartisan report.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. Arguing for cultural change at the top, too. Zachary Cohen, thanks so much for the update on that.

Also new today, the Biden administration is proposing a rule that would expand access to contraceptives, including making over the counter birth control free for women of reproductive age who have private health insurance.

KEILAR: So the new rule is being proposed under the Affordable Care Act, and it would affect more than 50 million women. CNN's MJ Lee is live at the White House.

MJ, what are you hearing?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is referring to this as the most significant expansion of contraception coverage under the ACA in more than a decade. And what it would do is essentially make insurance companies cover nonprescription over-the- counter birth control at no cost to patients. You know, you can really draw a straight line between the moment that Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court to a proposal like this.

We've obviously seen over the last few years, the Biden administration, as well as Democrats across the country, take a flurry of actions to try to preserve and codify various access to reproductive rights. And, of course, we have to talk about the fact that politics is very much at play here. We know that Democrats see reproductive rights and healthcare issues as being incredibly politically salient to, one that has the ability to drive out voters and mobilize voters. And it is one that Democrats are keen on talking about, particularly as they are trying to draw as stark a contrast as possible between Democrats and Republicans, and particularly now between Vice President Kamala Harris and her vision, and what a Donald Trump second presidency would look like.

And the Vice President, for her part, had been playing a leading role on this issue for the Biden and White House, even before she became the democratic nominee. And she put out this statement today with this new proposal being put out by the White House. She said, "while we fight to protect and expand healthcare, extremist so-called leaders are attacking reproductive freedom at every turn. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked legislation to protect the right to contraception across the country. [14:25:02]

They have also consistently refused to protect access to IVF and continue to propose national abortion bans." This rule does need to go through a public comment period before it is finalized. But certainly, Brianna and Boris, this is something that democrats are very much hoping they will soon be able to point to as one more piece of action that they were able to take to try to protect people's access to reproductive healthcare rights.

KEILAR: All right, MJ, thank you for the latest there. And still to come, Elon Musk says he's going to give away $1 million a day to voters in battleground states. But is it legal? An election law expert will weigh in.

And former President Trump sued by The Central Park Five for things that he said about them on the debate stage. We'll have details next.

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