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Today: Trump to Hold Rallies in Arizona & Nevada; Today: Harris Campaigns in Battleground Georgia; 12 Days to Go: Harris & Trump Targeting Key Swing States; Soon: L.A. County D.A. Announces Decision on Menendez Brothers Case. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 24, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:05]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Obama, The Boss and Beyonce, the Vice President's star-driven campaign push as former President Trump hits two critical states. We are live from the trail.

Plus, the fate of Lyle and Erik Menendez. Next hour, the L.A. District Attorney expected to announce whether the two brothers who killed their parents should be resentenced.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And another helmet-drawing concussion ending a college quarterback's career, why the 23-year-old says he cannot continue in the sport.

Meantime, Miami's Tua Tagovailoa returning to the gridiron tonight, six weeks after his latest head injury, but concerns over his safety remain.

I'm Boris Sanchez with Brianna Keilar in Washington, D.C. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: This hour, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are expected to arrive in two key battleground states. Harris trying to turn out the vote in Georgia, holding her first rally with former President Barack Obama near Atlanta. And they're going to be joined by some pretty big names in showbiz. Bruce Springsteen, Samuel L. Jackson, Tyler Perry, Spike Lee.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, former President Donald Trump is zeroing in on two critical states out west with rallies in Arizona and Nevada today. CNN's Steve Contorno is in Tempe, Arizona ahead of Trump's first rally of the day. But let's start with CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, who's live for us in Clarkston, Georgia.

Priscilla, tell us more about the message the Vice President is intending to send to voters in Georgia, where early voting is well underway.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This is a rally that is intended to energize and mobilize voters as we near Election Day. And of course, as you just mentioned, where early voting has already begun. In fact, in this county, one-third of active voters have already cast their ballots.

So this is a rally where the Vice President, alongside former President Barack Obama, will be urging voters to cast their ballots and also to help mobilize some of their supporters. But it is a notable rally because it is the first time that the Vice President and the former president will be appearing together on the campaign trail.

Earlier today, we heard the Vice President talking to reporters saying that she was grateful for the support of former President Barack Obama, who was already deployed on the campaign trail. Now, of course, this will also be headlined by Bruce Springsteen, who has frequently made appearances in the waning days of elections for other Democratic candidates.

But all of this star power, not only today but moving forward, is to bring attention to these rallies to the Vice President, now that they know and they say that voters are starting to think more critically about who they're going to vote for come Election Day.

Now, we are also getting a glimpse into the closing argument for the Vice President. That is, for example, on reproductive freedoms tomorrow in Houston, Texas, where sources tell me they chose because they say it is the epicenter of what they call the Trump of abortion bans. But then thereafter, the Vice President going to the National Mall to deliver her closing argument to draw that stark contrast of former President Donald Trump next Tuesday at a very notable location, the Ellipse. That is where former President Donald Trump delivered his fiery speech on January 6th that set in motion the attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

So, pairing this all together, this is the campaign picking some of their strongest issues and leaning in on them in hopes that they can mobilize voters to the polls and convince some of those voters that still are undecided, even if a sliver of them, to vote for the Vice President.

[15:04:56]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... in this choice. Either you have the choice of a Donald Trump, who will sit in the Oval Office stewing, plotting revenge, retribution, writing out his enemies list or what I will be doing, which is responding to folks like the folks last night with a to-do list, understanding the need to work on lifting up the American people, whether it be through the issue of grocery prices and bringing them down or investing in our economy, investing in our small businesses, investing in our families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So that is a message that will be heard repeatedly by voters from the Vice President in the next few days as she also continues her blitz to the battleground states with the help of stars like Beyonce and more, the campaign says, to come.

SANCHEZ: Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for the update from Clarkston.

Let's go to Arizona now with Steve Contorno.

Steve, walk us through the strategy behind this Western swing by the former president.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, I'll start out by saying that there are no celebrities supposed to speak here today, but there is a man dressed as Hulk Hogan just to the right of me who is getting quite a bit of attention from the crowd, and he is today going to be spending time and speaking on the stage right behind me in Tempe, Arizona, right outside of Phoenix. And then from here, he will go to Las Vegas, Nevada, the two largest population centers in these two key battlegrounds.

Trump has not spent as much time out West as he has in those Rust Belt states or fighting to hold on to North Carolina or take back Georgia. So this is an opportunity for him to reconnect with Arizona and Nevada voters who are going to be very, very crucial in this election. The signage around here suggests this is going to be an event focused on the economy. "Make America Affordable Again" is on some of the signs. Also, crime, it says, "Make America Safe Again."

But we also know that when Trump is in Arizona, he likes to talk about his top issue, and that is the border. So we expect plenty of conversation about that later today as well. Trump comes into today having said that he intends to fire the special prosecutor, Jack Smith, who is overseeing two of the federal cases against him if he is elected.

Take a listen to what he said earlier today in an interview with conservative radio host, Hugh Hewitt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH HEWITT: You're either going to have to pardon yourself, or you're going to have to fire Jack Smith. Which one will you do?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Notice he didn't say that he would, whether answer the question of whether he would pardon himself. One of the many questions about what would happen with all the legal cases against Trump if he is elected in November and is seated in the White House once again.

SANCHEZ: Steve Contorno, thank you so much. Our regards to the Hulk impersonator next to you. Steve Contorno, thanks again.

Let's break this all down with CNN Political Commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, and former Trump White House communications director, Mike Dubke. He's a founding partner of the Black Rock Group.

Maria, I want to start with you and play a sound bite, something that we heard Vice President Harris say in Philadelphia this morning. She was asked by a reporter if she had noticed that there was a gender gap, as polling has reflected. Her response was essentially that she hadn't. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It's not what I see in terms of my rallies, in terms of the interactions I'm having with people in communities and on the ground. What I am seeing is in equal measure, men and women talking about their concerns about the future of our democracy; talking about the fact that they want a president who leads with optimism and takes on the challenges that we face, whether it be grocery prices or investing in small businesses or homeownership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The answer you would expect her to give, and yet when we look at polling, and I'm - I think we have that graphic, there is a sizable gender gap, specifically when you look at the battleground states, Trump leading among men just about everywhere, except maybe - yes, no, leading everywhere in battleground states, women on the side of Harris. Is there much time for her to change the dynamic with this few days left before Election Day?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think what you're seeing is that she is focused, frankly, on reaching out to those men. You know, clearly she does have an advantage with women, that's obvious, but her campaign understands that there is a challenge with men. That's why she put out an agenda for black men. She put out an agenda for Latino men. I think they're very aware of it.

What she's focused on now, their strategy, is for her to talk to everyone, but then she can get into specifics if she talks to Latinos, if she talks to black men, she can say, look what I'm going to do specifically for you, and she can do that everywhere that she is going, which is exactly what she needs to be doing, because like you said, time is short.

She has always had to focus on this constricted timeline. She's had to both present herself, do persuasion, do get out the vote, talk about her policies, talk about her biography, and do the contrast with Trump, and that's what you're going to be seeing in these closing days.

[15:10:08]

She is going to do it all. She's going to focus on making sure people understand where she comes from, what are her values, her policies, which she's been very specific about, and then the contrast with Trump, which we know is what moves independent, undecided voters in these last days.

KEILAR: She has a issue with men. Trump has an issue with women. We see it there in the numbers, and so I wonder what you think of this moment from last night on the trail. Trump was at this Turning Point event. He was headlining it, but Tucker Carlson was there ahead of him, and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOT: There has to be a point at which dad comes home. Dad comes home and he's pissed. When dad gets home, you know what he says? You've been a bad girl. You've been a bad little girl and you're getting a vigorous spanking right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Mike?

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Yes. I hope you asked me about that. I have nothing to say about that. I mean, I don't know what - I don't know what that was about last night, but I will say this, looking - and I'm going to make a guess on the Harris campaign that there's a real struggle going on within the Harris campaign right now with 12 days left. Are they going to try to continue what they've been doing for the last several weeks, which hasn't seemed to be working, which is doing events with Liz Cheney, trying to reach out to disaffected Republicans, trying to appeal to suburban moms.

Are they going to find enough voters there to replace the black men, the Latino men that they're underperforming vis-a-vis Biden's numbers?

KEILAR: Okay. But I want to ask you a question about that thing that we just saw.

DUBKE: I know you did ...

KEILAR: Because ...

DUBKE: I know that you do.

KEILAR: Because here's my point, I mean ...

DUBKE: Yes.

KEILAR: ... that plays on something that is - it plays on something, this idea of his retribution and whatnot, but also it plays on every gender terms here.

DUBKE: Well ...

KEILAR: But here's my question.

DUBKE: Yes.

KEILAR: I mean, if Trump's got this, this is very neck and neck, something like that. I mean, why that's not helping, is it? If what you're really trying to do is make way with - make a little way with women rather than just shoring up with men. DUBKE: Well, this is the flip side of this. So I think I think the Harris campaign is trying to run this gamut where they can replace certain voters with other voters. I think in the - on the Republican side ...

KEILAR: Is he help - is that helping them?

DUBKE: Well, this is - this on the Republican side in the Trump campaign. They've decided we're going to make this a base election, and we're going to try to appeal to some voters that maybe don't vote, you know, under voted voters, if that's a way to describe it. And part of that might be that they've - they - that's a way to get attention, attract attention and get some of these people to turn out. But they - their strategy is very different than the Harris strategy and I've been saying this. We'll find out on November 5th who made the right bet because I don't know right now.

CARDONA: Here's my - a head scratcher for me, because right now you would think with everything neck and neck and I'm going to say that I think it's the Trump campaign that is struggling because of what they're doing right now, by the way, if that dad came home, I'd say family call 911 because that is just so creepy.

But if that's what they're doing right now, if that's what they're doubling down on, that means they don't even have their base locked up and that should be very concerning.

DUBKE: No, it's not the base.

CARDONA: But ...

DUBKE: Just to be just to be clear, I think they're going after voters. The 40 percent of Americans who don't turn out for presidential elections. They've decided it's more efficient to try to attract that 40 percent, that's what I'm trying to say.

CARDONA: And that's - so that's another headstrap - a head scratcher, because if you're going to go after low turnout voters, you need a massive infrastructure. They do not have the infrastructure to bring voters out. A normal voter needs to be contacted at least three times by somebody - a phone call. Somebody that is tangible.

A low turnout voter? You're not going to get them with just ads and with crazy rallies like this. So I think they're the one to struggle on this.

DUBKE: Traditionally - I would agree with you traditionally that you need that kind of infrastructure. I believe 2024 is one of these new elections where there are going to be these TikTok memes, reels all the social media side that we've never really experienced before in 2020 or 2022, that clips of that weird - whatever Tucker Carlson was trying to do appeals to different groups of people.

SANCHEZ: To contrast that ...

DUBKE: Yes. SANCHEZ: ... with what Democrats are doing in a similar way to try to motivate voters to get them excited in a place like Georgia, where early voting, as we noted, is already underway. They have these celebrities coming out ...

DUBKE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: ... Barack Obama, Spike Lee, Beyonce tomorrow in Houston. Do you think that would help Republicans to have bigger names alongside Donald Trump? I mean, you have that Hulk impersonator, which granted, is a draw on his own, I'm sure.

DUBKE: I mean, at the end of the day ...

SANCHEZ: But you (INAUDIBLE) see that.

DUBKE: ... look, I like to be entertained. I'd go to one of these events. I hope Beyonce shows up this time, unlike she did - didn't at the DNC. That was that bait and switch they had going on.

[15:15:07]

CARDONA: She was (INAUDIBLE) supposed to.

DUBKE: But at the end of the day, I think, you know, it's great to go to these rallies and whether - David Axelrod earlier pointed out, that they're doing it in a very heavy Dem area of Georgia really to motivate the vote. I think that's smart. But at the end of the day, does that pay your rent? Does that pay for your groceries?

These are the fundamental questions this election is going to come down to. And however star-studded your event is, I think at the time you vote, you're going to be asking yourself those questions.

CARDONA: You know, actually, Mike's right. And this is why I think Kamala Harris has a huge advantage, because she talks exactly about those things everywhere. She goes to voters. She talks about her policies to lower the cost of groceries. She talks about how she's going to help business owners. She talks about how she's going to help people buy a house, pay for rent, get access to good health care.

Donald Trump talks about the enemy from within, talks about liking generals that are more like Hitler's generals. And those messages are things that are going to help Kamala Harris to tell those independent voters and especially those Republicans, this is not what you want. This is not what you deserve. Let's turn the page. Work with me. I will work across the aisle. I will be a president for everyone, not just those who voted for me and I certainly won't sick the military on Americans in this country like Donald Trump will.

KEILAR: Maria and Mike, thank you so much for the conversation.

CARDONA: Thank you.

KEILAR: It's always interesting to get you two together, I will say. Still ahead, a major decision next hour in the Menendez brothers murder case. The L.A. County District Attorney could let the brothers who killed their parents go free. We'll talk about what to expect next.

Plus, the RNC claims that it's planning to send 200,000 volunteers to monitor polling places in key battleground states, sparking concerns about voter intimidation.

SANCHEZ: And later this hour, a new test that could measure your life expectancy. Why it involves a flamingo. Stay with us.

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[15:21:26]

SANCHEZ: Breaking news into CNN, the Menendez brothers could soon learn their fate. In roughly an hour, the Los Angeles District Attorney is set to announce his decision on the possible resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez.

KEILAR: The decision could possibly free the brothers from prison. They're currently serving life sentences without parole for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion back in 1989. CNN Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles on this story.

What are we expecting here, Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is going to be a case of finding out if this will be seen as a need to have this resentencing occur. It doesn't mean that they will just be scot free as of today. Let me explain why. Let me give you a little bit of timeline here of how this has happened.

In their first trial, it ended in a mistrial. In that case, they were saying that this was all self defense because of the emotional, physical abuse that they were dealing with and physical. And then they also said, as far as the prosecutors were concerned, that this was all about hatred and the fact that the two young men had been disinherited from their parents' will. That didn't go forward, obviously. Then, in the second trial, they were convicted of first degree murder, lifetime without the chance of parole. So they have been in jail for over 30 years.

But what has come to light is this leather letter that was not admitted into evidence in that second trial that was written by Erik Menendez to their cousin Andy Cano several months before the murders occurred. And I want to read part of it to you.

It says, "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening, Andy, but it's worse for me now. I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in."

So they're saying this letter, which alludes to that abuse as well as the change in California law, which means you can reference other resentencings that have happened out there in other legal cases means that they could look at this case differently. And part of the argument being made by the district attorney, George Gascon, is that in light of where we stand as a culture in the country, this view of the abuse could be seen differently by a jury. So that is why they're looking to vacate it.

Now, one thing, though, I should tell you is that despite what the district attorney says, it's going to be up to a judge to make the decision in this case. The judge will have to consider whether or not the brothers were, in fact, abused victims, will consider if they have been rehabilitated while they have been in prison and whether or not they are a danger to society.

This hearing is already set. That is set for November 26. But what could happen is another day could be scheduled to figure out whether or not to vacate. What the defense wants here is to figure out whether or not they can show this new letter or whether or not they could just get it vacated and move from there.

KEILAR: All right. Stephanie Elam, thank you for the latest on that.

Let's talk a little more about this with Mercedes Colwin. She's a legal analyst and trial attorney and the co-host of the podcast "M&M In The Morning."

Mercedes, the L.A. County D.A. here has been publicly weighing whether to seek resentencing, which is sort of interesting in its own right and I wonder what you think about it. But he told Jake Tapper this week there's two camps in his office. One group, including some people who were involved in the original trial believe the brothers were not molested. There's another group that believes they probably were molested and that they deserve some relief because of it, what do you make of this?

MERCEDES COLWIN, LEGAL ANALYST & TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, this is so great and it's amazing that it's remarkable. It's been 35 years since all of this took place since the murderers of the parents and it is just the groundswell of support. We're much more involved as a society now, Brianna. We're much more sensitive to what happens to individuals who have endured this type of abuse.

[15:25:05]

And if you look at what that jury was like the first jury, the first jury heard from the Menendez brothers because they testified. And when they testified, they talked about the abuse. And what was the result? Even then, 30 something years ago, the jury was very sensitive to what the Menendez brothers testified to under oath and there was a hung jury. The female jurors voted to exonerate the male jurors voted to convict.

So now - that's 30 years ago. Now we are so involved. We're so sensitive. We understand the desperation that individuals can have when they are victims and we don't - obviously, the Menendez brothers have been - have said very clearly that their victims of this type of extreme sexual abuse. We'll take them on their word. If that's so, then they should be given another chance. And that evidence should be looked upon.

And that letter is so key. That letter was written months and months before the killings of their parents. Of course, are you going to take the letter and say it's absolutely valid and it's authentic? No, I'm sure that Gascon and his great team are going to look at that letter and investigate whether that letter is authentic. And if it is authentic, it certainly is a compelling reason underlying to revisit the sentencing of these boys - now men.

SANCHEZ: And so to your point about the letter, Mercedes, how does the D.A.'s office go about doing that? I mean, as you noted, this is a case that's more than three decades old. It may be hard to corroborate some of those details. Some of those folks in the Menendez family aren't around anymore.

COLWIN: That's a great question, Boris. And I've had cases where I've had letters and documents that are decades old. They're experts and there are so many experts out there. We had an unbelievable expert most recently in one of my cases where the expert was able to actually locate the time of when that letter was allegedly written. Why? Because the ink degrades over time and it degrades in a certain way.

So you'll have an expert come forward. They'll look at the degradation of the ink. Then they'll also look to other types of letters and say, well, Erik Menendez claim - says that he wrote this letter months before the killings of his parents. Well, did he actually author that letter? Let's look at other letters. Is it actually his? They'll be another expert that will look into a handwriting analysis and make sure that the handwriting is consistent with other writings that Erik Menendez has had.

So all of that, it's fairly simple and something that the D. A. S. Office will generally do, especially as a defense attorney. When we have this type of evidence, we absolutely present it to the prosecutors and say there is no truth. Here's something that's compelling. You need to know this exists. My client's innocent.

KEILAR: All right. We're all watching this to see what happens.

Mercedes Colwin, thank you so much.

And still ahead, Michael Flynn admitted under oath there was no evidence to back up some of the 2020 election fraud claims and then went right back to making millions off of them. The fascinating story of how Trump's one time national security advisor is still selling the steal even if he doesn't believe it.

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