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4 Days To Go: Trump And Harris Blitzing Battlegrounds In Final Sprint; Violent Rhetoric; Final Jobs Report Before Election Released; Aired 9:00-9:30a ET

Aired November 01, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

J. MICHAEL LUTTIG, RETIRED FEDERAL JUDGE: The person of the vice president, United States Kamala Harris.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Judge, I mean, you have long been a Republican. This has long been your party. You write very powerfully about what direction you think your party has taken and what has happened to your party in your opinion piece. And you have spoken about it and there's also then leaning on your expertise in law.

The decision on presidential immunity then coming from the Supreme Court, giving Presidents broad immunity from prosecution, how much does that -- that decision influence your view on a second Trump presidency?

LUTTIG: Well, it's not so much important of how it influences my view. But it ought to influence the American people's view of Donald Trump in particular. The decision by the Supreme Court essentially giving Donald Trump absolute immunity from prosecution for crimes that he did commit against the United States of America and may commit against the United States of America, if he's elected president of the United States again, was itself a decision that for the first time in American history put the president of the United States of America above the law. No longer can it ever be said that in America, no person is above the law. The Supreme Court of the United States held that Donald Trump is above the law.

BOLDUAN: Judge Michael Luttig, thank you so much for coming on, Judge. I appreciate your time. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL ANCHOR: So with the battle over women voters raging, Donald Trump suggests putting Liz Cheney in the firing line and her new response this morning. And that just in a muddled picture of the economy just before the election, only 12,000 jobs added what might have pushed these numbers.

Are we really doing this? Are we really doing Christmas already? It was just Halloween. So why? Why are we hearing Mariah Carey? I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news from just moments ago as John was just talking about. The last jobs report before Election Day, painting a murky picture of the economy, just 12,000 jobs added last month. There's a lot more to it. CNNs Julia Chatterley has the numbers and has the details. What's going on here, Julia?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm going to start by saying the jobs market, as we know, is cooling. It's not collapsing and I'm going to repeat that a lot today. But this is a jarring jobs report. We added 12,000 jobs net in the month of October. The expectations were for somewhere around 120,000 jobs. But we really were also expecting the unexpected for a couple of reasons.

Boeing strikes, as you've been talking about for weeks now, also the impact of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. And what the Bureau of Labor Statistics has said to us today is, look, we couldn't even quantify the net impact of those storms. But there was severe damage in the southeast of the country so that's all the caveats. Now, I'll walk you through. Actually, no, look at the bar chart. That tells you everything about this significant drop and just how jarring this is and why we have to actually wait for the next couple of months to see some of that feedback.

All right, with all that in mind, what we got the 12,000 I've mentioned for the month of October. We saw some revisions to August and September. We lost around 112,000 jobs. So again, it goes to the cooling that we know is going on in the jobs market. Just in terms of sectors, to give you a sense. Manufacturing took the biggest hit, as you would expect. Boeing strikes, down 46,000 jobs net, temporary health and services, another one, down 49,000 jobs. On the upside, government health care, they both added jobs.

But I think what we have to come back to, and you were just showing it there, and I do want to go back to it as well, the unemployment rate was unchanged of 4.1%. So I think the best thing that you can do is actually look at that for this month and say actually very little changed, and wait the 34 days until we get the next report, and hopefully some of this washes out and we see where the jobs market really is cooling, not collapsing. If this gets politicized, earmuffs, or whatever you call them here.

[09:05:09]

BOLDUAN: Yes. I think your take seems spot on and important, which is almost take a breath.

CHATTERLEY: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Take a breath because we don't know yet.

CHATTERLEY: But it's going to be criticized. We need to wait a month admittedly, proximity to a presidential election makes this.

BOLDUAN: We can't avoid that.

CHATTERLEY: And we can't avoid that. And just a quick, good news.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CHATTERLEY: The Fed definitely cuts a quarter of a percentage point next week so for borrowers, there is good news in this.

BOLDUAN: Julia Chatterley. The earmuffs friends.

CHATTERLEY: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: Earmuffs. Thank you so much. Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you. This morning we're standing by to see how Kamala Harris responds to Donald Trump's suggestion that Liz Cheney should face a firing line. Here's what Trump said overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle, standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? And let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face. You know, they're all war hawks when they're sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, oh, gee, we'll -- let's send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: While Harris has not directly responded to this remark yet, she has for weeks attacked Trump's rhetoric, dubbing it as dangerous. And just last night she said this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAMALA HARRIS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and is out for unchecked power. And look, in less than 90 days, it's either going to be him or me in the Oval Office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is in Milwaukee in the all-important State of Wisconsin this morning, where we're going to be seeing both candidates today. While we wait for Harris to respond, we have heard from Liz Cheney this morning to which those comments were directed out. What is she saying?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Sara, good morning and we have, and it's, of course, one of the reasons that Donald Trump is talking about Liz Cheney in the first place is because she has been one of the top surrogates and supporters for Vice President Kamala Harris. She believes that Donald Trump is a clear and present threat to democracy. And she has made that very clear overnight.

Earlier this morning, she also responded to those comments and she said that this is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death. So she is also perhaps going to say more as the day goes on. Vice President Harris could as well. But, Sara, the closing days of this campaign could not be more stark. The messages could not be more different, and the rhetoric could not be a darker from the former President by talking not just about foreign policy differences. That is common in an election, but talking about a firing squad for a fellow Republican, fellow American, out of bounds of the norms of politics.

The question is politically, will that matter? Does that guide any votes? At this point, it is very unclear. But I can say the January 6th attack is a part of this election, not the last election. Voters we've been talking to here in Wisconsin, some of them, at least as they've been casting their ballots, they say they're doing it with January 6th in mind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA DEBBINK, WISCONSIN VOTER: If not for January 6th, I think I would -- it would feel less scary to me. But at this point, I just -- I've seen what people are capable of. So there's definitely some anxiety around that for me.

ZELENY: So as you cast your ballot, were you thinking of January 6th and democracy and things like that?

DEBBINK: Yes. Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: So, again, even though January 6 was a reaction to the 2020 election, it is very much a part of what is on the minds of voters, of course, as well as the economy, inflation, immigration. But, Sara, that is what makes this election feel different. Out here talking to voters, that democracy is actually on the mines as they are casting ballots in the final days of this race.

SIDNER: Jeff Zeleny, it is always a pleasure to see you out there talking to people. It's so important to hear their views. Appreciate you. John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, former Trump administration official Matt Mowers. There's also former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and CNN senior political commentator, former Senior Adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod.

I want to ask about a different aspect of Liz Cheney's response to the comments we just heard from Donald Trump. She put out a Tweet saying, this is how dictators destroy free nations. But the hashtag on this tweet, and I think we can put it up there, is women will not be silenced which is interesting, David, because it does feel like this is exactly where the Harris campaign wants to spend the next three days, going after women voters.

[09:10:03]

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. And I think Liz Cheney's appearance in the campaign was very much part of that. Remember, she directed a lot of her comments to women when she was touring with the vice president. Listen, John, generally speaking, and I'm interested in what Matt has

to say about this. I don't think anybody, rational person in the Trump headquarters was thinking this would be a swell way to finish the campaign, suggesting that we'll put Liz Cheney in front of a firing squad. I don't think that's their strategy. That's Donald Trump and that's in some ways a microcosm of this whole campaign. They've run a pretty rational campaign. He is an irrational candidate and now the spotlight is on him. And all these unforced errors are going to in some ways define the end of this campaign.

So, and I do think that women are going -- if the gender gap is larger on her side of the ledger than his, she will win this election because women vote in larger numbers. And if, you know, she -- if she beats him more by a larger margin among women, then Trump beats her among men, I think she's going to be the next president.

BERMAN: Matt, your name was invoked. What do you think?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, look, I'll just point out that it was just about what, two, three weeks ago when Vice President Harris was on the campaign trail with Liz Cheney in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Michigan. And I'll say is that the polls seem to tighten up in Donald Trump's favor around the same time. So I'm not saying correlation equals causation, but what I will say is that I believe Liz Cheney being on the campaign trail despite the fact that, you know, folks around Kamala Harris clearly think this makes it about democracy and everything else. What it really does is becomes about foreign policy. If you ask your average American, especially the very few undecided folks out there still, what do you think of Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney? They think of Iraq, they think of Afghanistan, and they think of the wars of the 2000s.

And so I do think we have to cover Donald Trump's comments responsibly. And point out the fact that he was making not really a dissimilar comment from what Democrats said about George Bush in 2004, from what folks were saying in 2008 about if you're going to send troops into war, how would it be if it was you or your family that was the one who was actually going out there and serving? And so was a little clunky in the final few days? Of course. But if you actually look at the context of it, it actually illuminates a point which resonates with a lot of voters as among the reason Donald Trump has had unique appeal as a Republican candidate is because he is actually changing a lot of that neoconservative war hawk viewpoint that I think most folks attribute to a Cheney like Republican Party.

BERMAN: Andrew Yang, man in the middle. What do you think here?

ANDREW YANG, (D) FORMER 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think at this point a lot of voters associate Liz Cheney with voting to impeach Donald Trump and then losing her seat as a result. It was an active principle and patriotism and that's why she's a powerful messenger.

To the gender gap, I think one of the great opportunities still really even now in these waning days is for Kamala and or Tim Walz to go on Joe Rogan. His conversation with Donald Trump got something like 40 million plus views and those are a lot of folks that haven't really heard from Kamala and Tim. I think Joe Rogan will open the studio up on a weekend for the VP or her running mate.

BERMAN: David Axelrod, do you think it's worth it?

AXELROD: I don't know. I would commend people to listen to his interview with J.D. Vance yesterday, which had some wild twists and turns that I don't -- I'm not sure were particularly helpful to the Trump campaign. I think it's tough when you're in the final 72 hours of the campaign to divert yourself and do that. But I do -- I did notice that Matt sort of he said, well, there's some awkward moments and stuff. That was kind of it, but you know, Dick Cheney, and I mean that sort of like, but how is the play otherwise, Mrs. Lincoln. That was a bad thing that happened last night.

What happened Sunday here was one that turned a lot of Americans off. And I think this is a problem for the Trump campaign. I'm speaking now as analyst. As I said, I'm thinking -- I'm trying to put myself in the position of people who are trying to win this campaign for Trump. And you know, he is very much liability at this stage of the campaign.

BERMAN: There is a confluence, Matt, between the closing messages here. Donald Trump says things and then Vice President Harris says Donald Trump said this. They have the same closing messages. Listen to what Donald Trump says.

MOWERS: Yes, I mean, look, I've got to imagine that you're a Democratic strategist right now, you are waiting, trying to count down the moments until you get to the other side of Joe Biden's speech in Philadelphia at some point later today, given that, you know, I think offending half the country, calling them, you know, garbage the way he did the other night. You know, look, I worked on the Trump campaign in 2016. I was there when Hillary Clinton, you know, had a video leaked about deplorables and irredeemables, saw the impact that had on enthusiasm in the final days. And I think that's going to be commentary there as well.

[09:15:18]

But look, if you're the Trump campaign, you were given your final closing message today in that jobs report. It is the contrast of do you want the economy you had, you know, pre-COVID Trump, or do you want the economy that you're having right now where you're only getting 10% of the jobs that you're expecting to be created in any given month, where prices are still stubbornly high?

If Donald Trump closes in on that and I expect he will, you're going to see, I think probably a positive result for him on Tuesday.

BERMAN: Inflation down around 2%. But David, quickly, are you think it could raise the game?

AXELROD: Yes, this is -- first of all, this is the first time I've heard a Republican lately vouch for the veracity of an authenticity of a jobs report because they've all been so good and they've been dismissed as fake. I guess this one has been accepted as real. But you know, on this issue of Biden, look, I think she did the right thing. Vice President Harris did the right thing by rebuking him and separating himself from that. I haven't heard Republicans do that to Donald Trump. I don't know how one can defend some of the things that he has said, including what he said last night. And I think it's put every Republican under the spotlight as well.

And as you say, it dovetails with her message, which is one of the enemies list versus the to-do list. And I think that's a powerful message to close on.

BERMAN: Andrew Yang, you have the floor, and you mentioned Joe Rogan. What do you think can sway whatever undecided voters are still out there in the remaining days?

YANG: There aren't that many people that do have that kind of sway. I think if someone like a Chris Christie or Mitt Romney were to make a last-minute endorsement of Kamala Harris the way that Arnold Schwarzenegger and others are doing, that could move the needle. One reason why I still like the Joe Rogan idea is that these are a lot of low-propensity voters who right now are probably men are probably leaving the other direction. And so it's much more upside than anything else.

BERMAN: And finally, Andrew, you know, January 6th in general, you know, this is where we sort of started this conversation because Trump was attacking Liz Cheney over January 6th. Jeff Zeleny was out in Wisconsin, I did hear that. It still matters to voters there. How do you think, Andrew, it still plays with voters who might be on the fence?

YANG: Oh, yes. I mean, a lot of folks think that Donald Trump is going to dispute this election result because of January 6, and no one wants a repeat of that. I was with a Trump supporter who said, I hope that this gets resolved quickly in terms of people accepting the result. No one wants a repeat of January 6th. And I think that is going to be very helpful for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

BERMAN: All right, Matt, Andrew, David, thank you all very much. Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Donald Trump campaigning in battleground Michigan today in the final sprint to the Election Day. What college voters in the swing state are telling CNN about their plans to vote. And a deadly shooting as hundreds celebrated Halloween in downtown Orlando, the suspect, 17 years old. Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:22:35]

BOLDUAN: Four days to go, and John King is counting down his all over the Map series, visiting five battlegrounds in five days. Today, battleground Michigan. Here's John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): I'm calling to ask --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michigan Republican headquarters five days out.

KING (voiceover): If President Trump can count on you and his support in this election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A basement phone bank shift. Ralph Brennan among the Michigan State students helping turn out the vote.

RALPH BRENNAN, CAMPUS COORDINATOR AT MICHIGAN TRUMP TEAM: I think there's a red wave coming, especially in Michigan and I think people will be very surprised on how many people vote Republican this election.

KING (voiceover): Brennan is 21, a junior economics major from Ohio, but he registered in Michigan for his first vote for President.

BRENNAN: So I was a sixth grader when Trump got elected in '16, and I watched him, you know, come to the Whitehouse. I watched the inauguration. I watched all the great things he did.

KING (voiceover): Trump struggled with young voters in 2016 and 2020. Brennan predicts better numbers this time, especially among young men.

BRENNAN: Thank you, guys.

KING (voiceover): And especially after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handed his campaign and backed Trump.

BRENNAN: I've heard a lot of young guys say how important RFK was to their President Trump vote. You know, ever since Trump kind of brought RFK onto the team, onto the campaign, a lot of young men, voters really like that and kind of resonate with RFK and what he's done.

KING (voiceover): In a dead heat race, organization can be the difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, did you go vote yet?

KING (voiceover): Halloween spirit helps.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's cookies, too.

KING (voiceover): Treats as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you fill out one of our pledge to vote please?

KING (voiceover): Jade Gray is a progressive organizer, former co- president of the College Democrats here at the University of Michigan, back on campus to encourage early voting.

JADE GRAY, DIGITAL ORGANIZING MANAGER, PROGRESS MICHIGAN: We know that when we vote, we win. And quite frankly, we're getting a lot of people out to vote.

KING (voiceover): Gray's optimism is a big shift. This is our fourth Ann Arbor visit in a year. Back at the beginning, she was downed about President Biden's prospects. And later she was worried Vice President Harris would still lose too many young voters because of student anger over the Israel-Hamas conflict.

GRAY: Have you guys voted yet?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

GRAY: Okay. Yay. Thanks.

KING (voiceover): But she is upbeat now and credits a mix of constant organizing and a smarter approach from the Harris campaign.

GRAY: It was not just the candidate that switched but it was really their whole approach to the campaign. And leaning into this idea that memes and internet culture is a, you know, a mode of communicating about politics has totally transformed this race and I think will be, you know, one of the biggest reasons to -- one of the biggest things we should credit, I'm saying when but if she wins.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[09:25:11]

SIDNER: All right, our thanks to John King with a great piece there. Ahead, the final jobs report ahead of Election Day just dropped and it's underwhelming. We will get reaction from the acting Labor Secretary coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. The breaking news this morning. New data shows just 12,000 jobs were added in October to the U.S. economy as hurricanes and striking workers took a toll. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. With us now acting Labor Secretary Julie Sue. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. 12,000 jobs, that's a pretty big slowdown.

JULIE SU, ACTING SECRETARY OF LABOR: Well, as you noted, there were a couple of anomalies in the prior month. But the overall picture of the economy remains strong. GDP is up, inflation is down, real wages are up, and as you noted, the unemployment rate remains steady. This continues to be a picture of an economy in which we have seen job growth every --