Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Campaigns in Final Day in North Carolina; One Day Away from Election Day; Paulina Gutierrez is Interviewed about Election Security; Campaigns with Sharp Contrast Message. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 04, 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]

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Even if it's not even voting - endorsing a candidate, whether it's just getting out and talking about politics in general.

Now, Nike, for their part, says that they are giving their employees the time off to go vote, but we're not seeing these big splashy campaigns that we have in the past.

There are some smaller brands, though, John, that are getting involved in politics because they feel like they align more with their customer base. The brand Away, a suitcases company, has put out I am Voter suitcases for celebrities to post on Instagram. You see Halle Berry right there. They feel like it does engage with their customer base.

So, it's really, John, about knowing your audience, knowing what your audience is going to like. And at the end of the day, it should be non-partisan. If you endorse a candidate or you don't endorse a candidate and say that outright, you run into a situation like "The Washington Post," which is losing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of subscribers right now. Better to keep it neutral, but also important, John, to your know audience at the end of the day.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Although getting out to vote, you know, that should not be controversial.

Vanessa Yurkevich, great to see you. Thank you very much.

And a brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Less than 24 hours until Election Day voting begins and votes start being counted. Where the candidates go says a lot about what they need in these final moments. Donald Trump hits three battleground states today. Kamala Harris is going all-in on Pennsylvania today, five different cities with the final stop in Philadelphia.

And securing your vote. The work that's happening behind the scenes to guarantee election integrity, as election officials are already fighting back against false claims of voter fraud, even before the votes are counted.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: And we are standing by to watch Donald Trump kick off his final three state battleground blitz. And we are watching to see if he continues in the sort of mood that he's been in - at least he's been admitting the last few days. "Politico" said he is in, quote, a state of seeming rage from which nothing and no one appeared safe. And he said this about journalists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean I have this piece of glass here. But all we have really over here is the fake news, right? And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much because - I don't mind. I don't mind that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, as for the vice president, she is in Pennsylvania all day today. Five stops. After an event last night where she did not even say Trump's name, while trying to push a message of optimism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have momentum. It is on our side. Can you feel it?

CROWD: Yeah!

HARRIS: We are optimistic and excited about what we can do together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Donald Trump keeps going back to North Carolina, which is interesting in and of itself, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: It is. This is actually his fourth visit to North Carolina this weekend alone, in the last three days really. So, clearly, this is a state that they are aggressively running after and have some underlying concerns with. And again, as you noted, is interesting because, remember, North Carolina is a state that Donald Trump won both in 2016 and in 2020. It actually hasn't gone for a Democrat since 2008, when they went for the former president, Barack Obama. So, this is clearly a state where they really are trying to put a lot of their energy and resources into in the 11th hour.

But I do want to talk about some of what the Trump campaign is arguing. Their closing messages is today on election eve, with just hours to go until the polls close tomorrow. Now, what I keep hearing from my conversations with Donald Trump's top officials, with allies, is that they need him to focus on three key things. One, turnout. To really encourage people to get out there and vote. To not be complacent or think that they can sit this one out. That they need every single vote given how close this election is supposed to be.

But then, of course, they also want him to be talking about the areas where they see that he is polling better than Kamala Harris, the economy, the border. Of course, we have said this multiple times, John. I've said this to you multiple times over the last several months but it's still an issue that Donald Trump has been struggling with.

[09:05:00]

And we saw that on full display yesterday. He had a series of rallies across three different states. And at many times, rather than delivering that closing argument, he went off script. He railed against polls that showed Harris gaining ground. He talked about, as you just played, you know, being fine, saying he doesn't mind if someone - an attacker had to shoot through the press to get to him.

And then he also talked about his loss in 2020, or rather he had said that he didn't think he should have left.

Listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, but we had the best border, the safest border. I won't pull down my world's favorite chart because I don't want to waste a lot of your time. But my world's favorite chart, done by the Border Patrol, it said we had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left. I shouldn't have left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: I apologize, I'm not sure if I've lost sound here or if you can hear me now. I think I lost some of my sound on this.

But look, that comment is something that lines up with the reporting that we had back in 2020. I can say when I covered the White House, I remember Donald Trump had been telling others, had been telling his close advisers that he didn't believe he should leave the White House.

And now, the reason I bring this up, is because we have heard Donald Trump, over the past several days now really beginning to sow the seeds of doubt in this upcoming election. And I can tell you, after the polls close tomorrow and we start to see the returns coming in, that conversation is going to shift from what we see now, which is trying to get out the vote, and, of course, in the coming days, we're going to see them really starting to go through whether or not they believe the selection was secure and perhaps start to really push some of those false claims of fraud we saw them do back in 2020.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Alayna Treene for us in North Carolina. Thank you very much. That rally about to get underway shortly.

With us now, CNN anchor and chief political correspondent Dana Bash.

Dana, it's so great to see you.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: We've covered a few elections over -

BASH: Just a few.

BERMAN: Over the years. And look, these swing states, how close the race is in each and every one of them, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it.

BASH: It's true. Seven swing states, all of which top officials in both campaigns say could go either way. I mean usually at this point the campaigns will have looked at at least one or two of the states and said, ah, we're going to reallocate resources. It's just not going to happen for us in state x or y. And it's not happening. They have a lot of resources. And they are spending all of those resources in all of these states.

John, you and I, I think your first campaign was 2000, right? You were covering Bush. My executive producer of "INSIDE POLITICS" found this fantastic Dan Rather quote from back in 2000, "this race is as tight as the rusted lug nuts on a '55 Ford." That was about the 2000 campaign, you know, Gore versus Bush. It turned out to be very, very tight and we know what happened in the weeks that followed. We don't know if that's going to be the outcome here. If it's going to end up that tight or if it's going to go, you know, hard for one side or another. But I think in my - my feeling is that we have not had this kind of experience in 24 years. It's also weird that they let us cover those elections when we were like in elementary school, isn't it?

BERMAN: That's right. That's right. They should never let a seven- year-old go out on the campaign trail again, which is what was clearly the case with both of us. And I will say, the analyst, one thing they all hate is rusted lug nuts.

But, Dana, we heard Alayna reporting on sort of the seeds of doubt. And when I say seeds, I mean you're dealing with like full-grown saplings in some cases that Donald Trump and his allies are starting to place in terms of the outcome of this election.

BASH: Totally. It is something that we need to pay attention to. It is not a dog whistle. It is the most - the loudest bullhorn ever made. And this is exactly what Donald Trump did in 2020. It is what Steve Bannon did then, and he has done now that he's out of jail, saying publicly that Donald Trump should and will say that he won even if he didn't. That is a conversation that I had on State of the Union yesterday with one of his surrogates, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): I would never tell any candidate on the ballot to talk about what happens if they lose. Obviously, you're going to lean into the victory, especially when the latest polls in battleground states says that you're running forward, you're running ahead of your candidate.

BASH: I appreciate that, Senator. Forgive me, but - but spreading false rumors - totally. But saying false things about - about fraud is not -

SCOTT: No, but, Dana, you and I just disagree on this one. Totally disagree on this one.

BASH: You - you think it's OK to spread false rumors about fraud and undermine the integrity of the election regardless of what happens?

SCOTT: Dana, the liberal media has done a better job of spreading misinformation than any candidate I've seen so far.

BASH: Oh, come on, Senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:10:08]

BASH: Now, John, we eventually did get to a place where Senator Scott said that he believes that the election will be free and fair. Whether or not he can explain that to Donald Trump. If he wins, he'll obviously agree with that. If he loses, we don't know. But I can tell you, and I'm sure you're hearing the same thing from the Harris campaign, they are not preparing for, they are expecting Donald Trump to declare victory, even if Kamala Harris wins. And that is a very big part of the election day and the election week preparation that they are making. And it's a - it's a real danger that we are potentially walking into.

Again, underscore, highlight, put in bold, we don't know how it's going to work out. Donald Trump might win outright. But this is something that we have to have our eyes wide open to.

BERMAN: That's right, campaigns do not end on election night. Not anymore.

Dana Bash, great to see you. Thank you very much.

BASH: You too.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: And here's why, because the polls are insanely close. And the laser focus is on the seven battleground states. So, why are people talking about Iowa this morning? We'll explain.

And remembering the life and the musical legacy of Quincy Jones.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:15:41]

SIDNER: Before the votes have even begun to be tallied in some states, Donald Trump is casting doubt on the election results. While in Pennsylvania he suggested votes are being tampered with because of how long it takes for them to be counted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These elections have to be - they have to be decided by 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, on Tuesday night. Bunch of crooked people. These are crooked people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: All right, with me now to discuss how votes are actually counted and the time it actually takes is Paulena Gutierez. She is Milwaukee's election commission executive director in the swing state of Wisconsin.

Thank you so much for being here.

All right, clear this up for us. In Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, for example, has there ever been, in recent history, and official, certified count result the same night of the election, by 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.?

PAULINA GUTIERREZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MILWAUKEE ELECTION COMMISSION: Yes. In smaller elections, of course. But general elections, that's just not going to happen. We are the largest city in the state of Wisconsin, and we comply with state law, just like any other jurisdiction when it comes to election administration. We just have a lot more to count. As of this morning, we have 105,000 ballots that cannot be preprocessed or opened until Election Day.

SIDNER: It was your city that faced some of the very first accusations from Donald Trump that the election was stolen because the votes swung to Biden after Milwaukee's numbers came in, in the state.

Do you have concerns about safety and security there at polling sites?

GUTIERREZ: Well, so, for every general election, safety and security is always a number one priority. And since the beginning of this year, we have been preparing for this day. And so we have a really good relationship with the Milwaukee Police Department, CISA, which is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It's been a great partner.

We have enhanced security since the beginning of this year. So, I'm feeling really good about what we're ready for. We have a great partnership. I'm in daily conversations. And if we have to call law enforcement, we are ready to do so.

SIDNER: You, I know, initially had some issues with trying to find poll workers. What is the status of that? GUTIERREZ: Well, I'm really happy and very humbled and proud to say

that we actually made our goals and we shut down the poll worker applications last week. So, we are ready to go. And I just have to say, I am so proud of the Milwaukeeans across the country that are coming in service to our country and they're both Democrats and Republicans and we're going to make democracy happen tomorrow.

SIDNER: You have poll watchers as well as every place now does. Have you had any issues so far with the early voting, with poll watchers, and what are your concerns there?

GUTIERREZ: For the most part our poll observers are very respectful. You know, we just had a couple of them that actually bought lunch for some of our - some of my poll workers at the really busy locations, and that was amazing.

But, you know, when we have issues, our number one priority is to de- escalate. You know, sometimes the parties will give me a call. We'll coach through, solve the problem, and, you know, create priorities and procedures to help prevent it in the future. So, you know, but at the end of the day, if an observer is not going to follow the rules and is going to be disrespectful and attempt to disrupt the process, we will have them removed. We have that authority here.

SIDNER: Let me ask you what you think. Compared to 2020, what are your - what is your sense on when we might have a vote count this time around.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, that's always a struggle. You know, in 2020, we counted 168,000 ballots. We have 105. So, we're nowhere near that size. And, of course, the pandemic, there was a lot of other safety standards that we had to put in place.

The thing to note is that even if we were to finish counting at a reasonable time, we have a very formal exporting transportation and uploading process to ensure the safety and security of those results. So, I just want to ensure the American public that it will happen, but it will be sometime after midnight. I mean I hope we won't go past the early morning hours like we did at the pandemic, but it's just the reality of counting a hundred - hundreds of thousands of ballots.

SIDNER: That is the reality of trying to get it right and make sure all the votes are counted.

GUTIERREZ: Yes.

SIDNER: Paulina Gutierrez, thank you so much for coming in early this morning, and I will see you there in Milwaukee at some point. I'm headed to your state. Appreciate your time.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

[09:20:01] BOLDUAN: So, a very 2020 twist on Donald Trump's 2024 closing message, now saying he should never have left the White House after he lost last time around.

And people in Spain are outraged at the government's response to the deadly flooding that hit the Valencia region, heckling and booing the king and queen as they arrive to tour the disaster that was left behind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, this morning, kind of, times up pretty much. Just one day left in this campaign in this incredible presidential race. This incredibly close presidential race.

Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania today with five stops. Donald Trump with stops in three separate states.

With us now, CNN political analysts Leah Wright Rigueur, and political commentators David Urban and Jonah Goldberg are with me now.

[09:25:07]

Friends, I actually just want to start with a quick question to each of you with hopefully a quick answer. One of the things we say in campaigns is, you know, you want to win the last new cycle if you can. We're not quite there yet, but who's winning, Jonah, this almost last new cycle?

JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think that Kamala Harris coming out of the "SNL" skit and all that, she's given off better vibes in the last, say, 48 hours than Donald Trump is. But the problem is that they're all speaking to different universes of voters right now, so I'm not sure her positive vibes matter anymore than his negative vibes because people are picking up different things.

BERMAN: David.

DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, look, I agree with Jonah to a large extent, right, people like happy Trump. People like garbage man Trump, McDonald's Trump. That's who they want to see. Doom and gloom Trump, not so big. So, I hope we see more of that, right. I hope we see more of the positive vibe.

But to Jonah's point, the universes they're talking to, you know, that let it's, you know, rally the other day, which everyone here thought was disasters, people there were applauding. So, you know, it's a - who's consuming information and how it's important. It's all getting clipped and snipped and pushed out. So -

BERMAN: Professor, what's your view of this?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND HISTORIAN: So, I think the last 48 hours has been Kamala Harris' 48 hours. I think that she's won the week, particularly through the appearance on "Saturday Night Live," but also the kind of optimistic, upbeat, really barnstorming that she has done in the last 48 hours, as opposed to the barnstorming that Trump has done but that has been really - you know, as the other panelists have pointed out, has been very doom and gloom, very anxiety ridden, very fear driven. They are speaking to different audiences. Radically different audiences.

But I think the key that's going to come down here is, what are those audiences - what are those audiences hearing, and how does it mobilize (INAUDIBLE) in terms of turnout because right now we're at the turnout phase. This election is going to be won at the margins. And that's the message. These are the messages that are going to get people out to the polls.

BERMAN: What audience that neither of the candidates is speaking to is an audience in Iowa, which is pretty paradoxical at this point because one of the biggest things in the news over the last 48 hours has been this pull out of Iowa. Harris was ahead in this poll. I don't think either campaign thinks that Vice President Harris is ahead in Iowa. But it's some of the underlying numbers that I think had people talking.

And if we can run through these numbers very quickly, hopefully, this is among independents Harris leads Trump 46-39 in Iowa. Among women, the huge gender gap, 56-36 among women in Iowa. And among independent women likely voters, OK, a smaller subgroup, you can see now Harris leads 57-29. And look at the change from September, where she was ahead by five points with independent women, Jonah. Now she's ahead by almost 30 points.

I know it's one poll.

GOLDBERG: Right.

BERMAN: It could absolutely be an outlier.

GOLDBERG: Right.

BERMAN: However, if there is a trend here, if you are seeing that kind of movement among independent women, overlay that to the seven swing states, what would that mean?

GOLDBERG: Yes, so, I think the important thing about it, everyone agrees it's essentially an outlier -

BERMAN: Right.

GOLDBERG: Which does not mean it's statistically invalid. It - everyone thinks Ann Selzer does good work. The question is, is it directionally right? And if so, how so? How much? Because if - if those numbers hold up for Iowa, that means they're directionally right for neighboring Wisconsin, they're probably right for the swing states generally and it does seem like the way the gender gap is playing out right now, you'd rather have the - Kamala Harris' cards on the gender gap. The problem is we just don't know who the new voters are. We can't really have great data on it. But like, there's no way to read this as bad news for Harris and it's possible to read this as bad news for Trump or it's possible to just read it as just statistical noise. BERMAN: And, David, you know, you know Pennsylvania better than anybody. Van Jones was on, you know, singing your praises before about (INAUDIBLE).

URBAN: No, he wants me to stay here all day.

BERMAN: Because he doesn't want you working in Pennsylvania.

But, look, if independent women in Pennsylvania, in Montgomery County, in Delaware County, in Bucks County feel anything like this small subset do in Iowa, how problematic is that for Trump then?

URBAN: Yes, look, it's a problem. Look, we've known this for -- since jump street, right? We've know that Trump, not doing well with women. He's - the game hear is about motivating men, young men, et cetera. You look at the Atlas polls. It's - you know, if their models hold up, right, men show up, Trump wins by a big margin.

So, you know, you've got these battle of the polls here that, you know, you've got Emerson saying one thing, you've got Echelon saying one thing. You've got Atlas saying something else. So - so who do we believe, right? And that - and Ann's poll, she had Trump losing to white men over 65 by like 20 points. I don't think that's happening.

So, you know, again, she's an incredibly qualified pollster. She's doing it. But, you know, every once in a while people are wrong. And I think she's dead wrong on this one. And look, I don't think - Jonah, your point, and everyone's saying, well, if he can repeat that, you know, this is what it means in Iowa, this is what it means in Wisconsin, I don't think that's true.

[09:30:02]

Look, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, these are all little universes themselves, right?