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Don Lemon Tonight
Trump on His Racist Ad Campaign; Voters Looking at Issues that Affects Them. Aired 11-12m ET
Aired October 31, 2018 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:00:00] DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN Tonight. I am Don Lemon. The president tweeted a fear mongering racist political ad to his 55 million followers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't (muted) regret that (muted). The only thing that (muted) is that (muted) killed two. I wish (muted) killed of those (muted).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That message has a subtlety of a sledgehammer. It shows you just how willing this president is to use lies and scare tactics to terrify his base. And it echoes what he says publicly as he demonizes immigrants over and over again.
A source close to the White House confirms to CNN what seems pretty apparent here, the ad is an effort to change the narrative, adding this, it's clearly working. We are talking about it and not health care.
Well, we are going to talk about healthcare a little bit later on in this show. But right now, I want to get a reaction from former Congressman Charlie Dent, also Scott Jennings, and Maria Cardona. Good evening.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Don.
LEMON: Maria, what do you think of what you just heard and that wasn't even the whole thing.
CARDONA: As an immigrant, as a mother, as an American, it turns my stomach. It's disgusting, it's diabolical, it's twisted, it's completely grotesque. But then again, it's coming from this president of the United States and it's par for the course for who he is.
I think that this actually underscores a little bit of desperation in these final days as he and Republicans have seen where the midterms are going. But what my fear is, Don, and you have said this from the very beginning when he was talking about the caravans, as if they were all criminals and rapist here to do us harm. It does work with his base. And that is why he is doing it. Because he knows that the Republicans
are in trouble. My hope is that it will also work, not just for Latinos who absolutely fear their place in this country even if their families have been here longer than this has been the United States of America. But it also hopefully will work and mobilize decent Americans across the board who have had it and who are sick of being sick every single day they wake up to see what other disgusting crap that comes out of the mouth of this president.
LEMON: Well, he tried to change the subject talking about birthright citizenship then he said he is going to send troops to the border. I mean, Scott, this is Donald Trump's closing argument? Not the economy, not health care, but racist fears over an invasion, what he calls an invasion of migrants who if they do make it here, won't be here for months?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, the closing argument I would have preferred for the Republican Party here, would have all evolved around the economy. The Democrats have run fairly focused midterm campaign on health care it's because it's one of the two most important issues in almost all the polling.
The other most important issue, of course, is the economy. And it's on that metric that Trump does well, the party does well. Voters trust Republicans more on the economy.
[23:04:59] Look in the Washington Post tonight, there is an article about wage growth. It's as strong it's as been a decade. So, there is plenty of ammunition there to close on the economy. My suspicion is a lot of individual Republican campaigns are closing on the economy.
But of course, the president ran on immigration in '16. He's been to that well at once. It worked out for them, for his campaign then, so I'm not surprised to see him personally going back to that well now. But if I were running a Republican campaign out there I would be driving a message on the economy because I haven't seen a poll in which that does not work for the Republicans. They are getting credit for this.
LEMON: I don't see how this has to do with the wall, but I mean, Charlie, I'm sitting there and I'm looking at your face. I mean, this is the most base of the base. This is the bottom of the barrel. The man featured in this ad, by the way, his name is Luis Bracamontes.
A convicted cop killer, been sentenced to death. It's a horrifying tragedy, a terrible tragedy for the families and the victims. No one is defending him and no one should defend him. But that's not what this ad is about. This is about--
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: He was deported once by a Democrat by the way.
LEMON: Yes. And then by George W. Bush.
CARDONA: Right. LEMON: But this is about, Charlie, this is about exploiting racial animus, no?
FORMER REP. CHARLIE DENT, (R) PENNSYLVANIA: Well, yes. I tend to agree with what Scott just said. That, you know, the president in my view, you know, continues to try to divide us based on these cultural wedge issues. And as Scott just said, at least the Republicans who I know in the House who are in the swing and marginal districts, I can assure you, they aren't playing to these themes. They are trying to talk about the economy, things they've done to, you know, for accomplishments in their district and they're also criticizing their opponents obviously.
LEMON: OK. Hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
DENT: This type.
LEMON: Hold on to that thought, OK? Will they come out now and denounce this? All those people you mentioned you said they're not playing to this?
CARDONA: Yes.
DENT: Well, you know, again, they are focused on their races, their own races. I don't think that they are going to respond to every presidential tweet or this ad. I think at this point, they are focusing on their messages and they're trying to block that stuff out as best as they can. That's what I think. Now the Steve King issue, I believe they are going to -- I suspect many of them will denounce, you know, his comments.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: They haven't yet.
LEMON: Well, let's hold, let's hold on about that. And not to cut you off, but I want -- did you finish your thought when it comes to this ad? Charlie? You did?
DENT: Well, I had a little difficulty hearing the ad, to be honest with you. So I can't -- I had a difficulty trying to tell you what's--
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You should see it. You got to see it. You got to hear it. It is disturbing images and you see crowds and hordes of people there, you know, knocking over barriers and it's got, you know, this horrible guy who is convicted cop killer, you know, mouthing things in court and smiling. It just -- every racist immigrant trope that you can think of is in this ad.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: And then you have the president saying that this is Democrat's fault.
LEMON: Yes.
CARDONA: And that this is what they'll do if we get elected.
LEMON: But my question to you, Charlie, OK, so the people who are running, I'm not going to focus on, what about other, what about Republicans in Washington? Jeff Flake did say something today, he is leaving. But what Republicans say anything about this? Should they?
DENT: Well, about the ad, I'm not so sure. I think on the Steve King, they will say something because they are most likely to be asked about that issue and his incendiary remarks. And I think Steve Stire (Ph) went out and said what he said today in part, to basically saying a lot of Republicans, you know, ran away from those comments as quickly as you can and denounce them.
And so, in addition to being opposed to them for obvious reasons being highly inappropriate and over the top. So I think Republicans will speak up, but right now they are in their districts running. They're not in front of the Washington press, they are at the local press. If they are asked, I think they will comment on it, but I don't know that they are going to initiate it on their own.
LEMON: Do they think that Trump's message is not a winning message then?
DENT: Well, I believe if you are running in a swing district, in a suburban area those kinds of messages the president is putting out in birthright citizenship, and some of this over the top rhetoric about the immigrants I think it's very harmful to many of them. Particularly in districts where you have higher levels of education and affluence. I think these messages don't sell well.
Hey, it's going to sell -- some of those messages will sell better in some of these ruby red districts or ruby red states. Yes, it might help stoke up the base there a bit. But if you are in that swing or marginal district, right now, you need to appeal to not just the base, but you have to expand your base. So that's why I think many of them would be very anxious when they see these types of ads and this type of, you know, really angry rhetoric.
LEMON: So, Maria, this is echoes of the famous Willy Horton ad.
CARDONA: Yes.
LEMON: That ad hurt the Democratic candidate at the time.
CARDONA: Yes.
LEMON: It will.
CARDONA: Well, it did, but also, I mean, in all honesty, he wasn't the strongest candidate either.
[23:10:03] But yes, absolutely, it worked well for the Republicans but it also is a huge black eye in terms of the strategy that the Republicans have historically used. It does echoes of that. And I think the Republican Party should be very concerned that it has echoes of that.
We even have Lee Atwater who was sort of the prince of the dark arts on the Republican side, if you will, apologize for that ad on his death bed. That is how badly he thought that it overall hurt the image of the Republican Party.
The problem with what is going on now, is that you have Republicans across the board who are either going to ignore these kinds of acts from the president of the United States who will turn the other way and it will yet another argument for Americans to elect Democrats who have the spine and the backbone to stand up to this president who is only trafficking in fear, divisiveness, racism and bigotry.
LEMON: So, Scott, just tonight, a source close to the White House told CNN regarding this ad that it is clearly working, we are talking about it and not healthcare. They admit that this is a distraction.
JENNINGS: Yes. Well, we are also not talking about the economy either. So, you know, the thing about these congressional campaigns, I mean, they have been nationalized, they are in large part about the president, and how people feel about the president. So, what you try to do is own the space in which people feel kindly towards the incumbent administration and that space is all in the economy.
You know, you look at what people care about. It's health care, economy, in some districts, social security and Medicare, and everything else kind of falls down the line including immigration.
The president wants to elevate this issue up a line, I just, I think it's late for that. I think the base of the Republican Party is already excited. I think they've been excited since the Kavanaugh fight. So, I don't even know that more base stoking is necessary.
What is necessary is to make voters feel like the Republican Party is fulfilling their promises on one of the top two issues. Democrats have carved out space on healthcare. If you are a Republican campaign and you're not carving out a space on the economy, then you are not in the game on the top two issues that people care about which means that you are going to lose.
So, I think it's really hard to change the subject this late. You know, 40 percent of Americans have already voted. It's hard to -- it's hard to change a subject and make an election about something that, you know, when people want to be about other things this late.
LEMON: All right. All right. Stick around, everybody. Guess how the president answered when he was asked about telling the truth.
[23:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump increasingly whipping up fear of undocumented immigrants with just six days to go until the midterm elections. Back with me now, Charlie Dent, Scott Jennings, and Maria Cardona. So,
Maria, the president went after the caravan again tonight in Florida which still is about 800 to 900 miles from the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are getting prepared for the caravan folks, you don't have to worry about that. Getting prepared for the caravan.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And they got a lot of rough people in those caravans, they are not angels. They are not. You saw what happened two days ago with the Mexican military and the Mexican police. You saw what happened there. How tough the opposition is. We are tougher than anybody, we are tougher than any force. And we're probably going to have to be, unfortunately.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's important for us to know what he said but I hate actually playing that and amplifying him demonizing a caravan of immigrants, again who are thousands of miles away and doing it just for political gain.
CARDONA: Right. Not only are they thousands of miles away. But this is an opportunity for us to actually set the record straight, for all of the decent Americans out there who are listening.
This is a caravan that will not be in the thousands when it gets here. It might be 1,500 that had dwindled as they have walked up through Mexico. Half of them have accepted the asylum that Mexico is giving them. And we know the majority of them will not be able to claim asylum here.
We'll see what happens when they get here, Don, because this president is now going to send 10 soldiers per each migrant that gets here, apparently. And a huge waste of taxpayer money just to continue with his disgusting fear mongering.
And again, as an immigrant myself, as somebody who came from one of those countries, that in my day, people were fleeing for the same reasons that these people are fleeing now. I look at these people, and they are my family, Don, they are my children.
They, but for the grade of -- for the grace of God go I. And these are people who need our help. It doesn't mean we have to let everyone of the men, but it does mean that we have to act as what we are, an America who is founded on values of civility, decency and protecting people when they need it. And these people need it.
LEMON: What we have to remember too is that they are not breaking the law. This is the process. (CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Correct. That's exactly right.
LEMON: You come over, you apply for political asylum--
CARDONA: That's right.
LEMON: -- either you are granted it or not. And that's it. No one -- no one has broken the law yet.
CARDONA: That's right.
LEMON: No one is -- they're not even here. They won't be here until months after the election.
I want to talk about this. So, the president spoke with ABC's Jonathan Carl this evening in Florida. Listen to what he says about telling the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDONA: Well, I try. I mean, I do try. I think you try too. You say things about me that are not necessarily correct. I do try. I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth. I mean, sometimes it turns out to be where something happens it's different or there's a change. But I always like to be truthful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:20:03] LEMON: Scott, that might be the biggest whopper of them all.
JENNINGS: Well, the president I think, you know, he tells the truth in some cases, in some cases he engages in hyperbole that maybe less than truthful. I don't think that's unique to him. But obviously--
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: That was hyperbole out there.
JENNINGS: -- he's had his -- he's had his moments. And I think we are well aware of what those have been.
LEMON: God.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: And that's all he can say.
LEMON: What did that answer say, Scott, what, honestly. What did you just say there?
JENNINGS: Well, I mean, look, sometimes he doesn't tell the truth. I mean, we all know it. We've talked about it on this show and on other shows. And I mean, he does it a lot, actually. Sometimes he gets accused about telling the truth.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Shouldn't the president tell the truth all the time.
JENNINGS: And he is actually pretty close to the truth. But yes, I mean, look, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that everything out of his mouth is truthful. It's clearly not the case.
LEMON: But it's a problem when the president of the United States doesn't tell the truth. I mean, correct? And then admits that he doesn't tell the truth.
JENNINGS: Yes, I agree.
LEMON: OK.
JENNINGS: I didn't think it was -- I didn't think it was good when other presidents didn't tell the truth either, which is also been the case. But yes--
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You are not comparing other presidents to this president, Scott, are you?
JENNINGS: -- generally speaks and I love for the president to be honest all the time. I'm sorry?
LEMON: you're not comparing this president to other presidents, are you? And as far as truth telling?
JENNINGS: No.
LEMON: OK.
JENNINGS: I'm saying that I want the president to tell the truth as much as possible no matter who it is. And it has not always been the case--
LEMON: OK.
JENNINGS: -- during this administration or previous.
LEMON: Well, listen, this is for you, Charlie. But again, we should not equate previous presidencies to this one. This is off the chart. And there is no equivocating here that well, other people didn't tell the truth. This is a whole new realm of not telling the truth and alternative facts. And that is simply the truth. This is unchartered territory.
Charlie, former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Collin Powell appear together as part of the presidential election series in Nebraska, OK. And they talk about the political climate under President Trump. And here's what they said. Secretary Powell said, "We have -- we have come to live in the society base on insults, on lies, and on things that just aren't true. It creates an environment where deranged people feel empowered."
And this is what Secretary Albright said. "I am deeply troubled by the direction we are going. I am a naturalized American citizen. I came when I was 11-years old. I am very upset about the image we're projecting abroad."
Albright said that Trump's stance is un-American. What do you think of that, Charlie?
DENT: Well, I try not to use the term un-American, but I think the gist of what they are both saying the two secretaries is correct. That the tone is terrible. That I think in many respects that you showed images of that rally. The president, I think, you know, tries to bring out some of the worst instincts in people.
When he pushes this nativist isolationist protectionist impulses of his I think this is very bad for the country. I think it harms us internationally. People are -- this is not the America most people know who look to us for leadership and believe in American values.
And I talked to a lot of Europeans. And you know, it seems like this idea of western values were embodied by Americans and now they are not so sure. I mean, what an interesting time we live in where the chancellor of Germany seems to be the leader, the one who best articulates our values, our western values and it used to be the rule of the American presidents at times.
So, I thought, you know, it almost seemed tried at times when presidents would talk about freedom agendas, you know, Bush, Obama, in many cases they said similar things. And maybe we thought it was a little bit, you know, we've heard it before. But I understand now why they do it and why they continue to do it.
Once we lose that voice, you know, it harms us internationally. And when it comes to the truth, I mean, there are days I think, you know, if the president and the truth came into contact, there might be a mighty collision. We see that too often where he makes these untruthful statements that are not factually correct. How many times does he get fact checked and then you see pants on fire every other say it seems.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: There aren't enough -- there aren't enough hours in the day for that.
LEMON: But it doesn't matter, though. Listen, Scott, I'm not saying that you aren't doing that, but what everyone says is they point to one or two other things that other presidents have done. The last one if you -- they point to President Obama, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. But they don't name, they can't name any others or many others. And they just add. But this, it would take us all night here, probably a day of CNN
programming to go through all of the misinformation and the lies with this president.
CARDONA: Yes.
LEMON: I've got to run.
CARDONA: You can't equalize. One quick thing, Don.
LEMON: Yes.
CARDONA: Tonight is Halloween. But if Americans wants to end the real horror, vote Democrat on November 6.
[23:24:59] LEMON: Gosh. We have to give that end, right. Thank you, all. I appreciate it.
CARDONA: Thanks.
LEMON: The woman who could be the nation's first African-American governor reacts at the racist ad that the president tweeted tonight. Stacey Abrams is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:30:01] LEMON: Those votes to be counted. Kemp's opponent is Democrat Stacey Abrams, who would be the first black woman governor in the United States if she wins the election. She joins me now. Thank you so much for joining us, Leader Abrams.
Listen, I just want -- we have been talking about this ad that the president tweeted out. I want you to watch it. I want to get your response. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't (bleep) regret that (bleep) the only thing that I (bleep) regret is that I (bleep) killed two. I wish I (bleep) killed more of those (bleep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What do you think of that, Leader Abrams?
STACEY ABRAMS, FORMER MINORITY LEADER OF GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: I think that it is deeply sad that the leader of our nation would stoop to lies. Every one knows that this is a bipartisan failure to address our federal immigration system.
And I think everyone believes there is no American who wants violent offenders wandering our streets. No one wants violent offenders, human traffickers or drug cartels in our country. But to cast dispersion on one party rather than take responsibility for failing to take action, to actually pass bipartisan federal immigration laws that can protect our people, but also as a woman of faith, can protect our families and make certain that families are not ripped asunder.
This is one more issue where Republican leadership has failed our country. And I hope that we will find leaders in this midterm who will stand up and work together across the aisle to find solutions.
LEMON: There is also some new information out now, Ms. Abrams. Brian Kemp who is your -- the Republican opponent, pulled out of the debate with you that was originally scheduled for this Sunday and said he is going to appear to rally with President Trump in Macon, Georgia. Can you tell us what the latest is on the debate tonight?
ABRAMS: Unfortunately, this is one more example of Brian Kemp failing to keep his promises. He promised six weeks ago that he would appear in this debate. He chose to break that promise and then he attempted to blame my campaign for his failure.
My campaign continues to promise. We will be there on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. We will hold a town hall meeting to answer the questions that Georgians have. But we are not willing to break our promise to South Georgia where we are going to be Monday night.
LEMON: Yeah.
ABRAMS: And while I am deeply disappointed for WSB who planned for this and for Ted Metz who also planned for this, the failure to complete this debate falls solely and squarely on Brian Kemp, who once again has broken his promises and failed to prove that he can be trusted.
LEMON: Ironically, Kemp released an ad today that starts with this. It said -- did you see that? Did you see the ad?
ABRAMS: I did indeed --
LEMON: Yeah.
ABRAMS: -- but I think you should talk about it.
LEMON: Let's play it. Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad always taught us, be true to your word.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Work hard and never give up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad taught me how to drive. We're still working on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But most importantly, dad taught us to always keep your promises. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Listen, this is about Kemp, not about his daughters, but, dad always taught me to be true to your word, but most important, dad taught us to keep your promises. Do you feel like he has kept his promise when it comes to the debate on Sunday?
ABRAMS: Not only has he broken his word on the debate. He broke his word to Georgians when he said he would protect our information and released six million people's social security numbers and identities.
He broke his promise to keep Georgians safe when he allowed massage therapists to sexually assault 26 women and never lifted a finger to help them.
He broke his promise when he told a friend that he would borrow half a million dollars and guarantee it with his personal word. Not only he did break his word, he has been taken to court and it is currently pending because he has failed to keep his promises.
I can't list a promise that Brian Kemp has actually kept during his tenure in legislature or as secretary of state.
LEMON: I have to ask you. There was a victory, as I mentioned in the introduction to you, there was a victory for voters in Georgia today regarding voter suppression. How much has that helped your claim of voter suppression, because again, Kemp is your opponent, but he is also in charge of the election, so he is a player and a referee at the same time, but this victory today, what does that mean to voters?
ABRAMS: Well, what is good for voters is that they can try to cure any mistakes that are made. Of course, Brian Kemp has actually filed a stay of a decision in the 11th Circuit trying to block senior citizens who are home-bound from being able to cast a ballot.
He says absentee voting should be considered a privilege for those who are not physically able to get to the ballot box. And it's once again a continuation of voter suppression because suppression works not simply by blocking your ability to vote. It is creating an atmosphere where people are afraid to try to vote.
And that's what he has done so expertly. He has put 53,000 people in jeopardy. He has purged more than a million. He has purged more voters than any other secretary of state in the country. Those aren't promises kept. More importantly, it is an erosion of public trust in our democracy.
[23:35:01] You shouldn't get a promotion for failure to do your basic job.
LEMON: As I understand, before I let you go, you have got someone very big and important coming tomorrow which is Oprah Winfrey --
ABRAMS: Yes.
LEMON: -- who is going to be campaigning for you. Do you think this celebrity aspect will make a difference, because you have had several celebrities come down and help you. What do you think?
ABRAMS: I am excited to have Oprah come because she is someone who is trusted by all, and she has a story of upliftment and humanity that I think resonates across communities. And on Friday, we are excited to welcome President Barack Obama back to Georgia.
And I think having both of their voices added to the mix really sends a signal to the kind of Georgia I want where people have good education, have great jobs, and have good health care. That is what I want to deliver as next governor and I am happy to have all the support I can get to share that message with all of Georgia.
LEMON: OK, I'll let you go, so thank you. This time, I'll let you go. I appreciate it.
ABRAMS: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
LEMON: President Trump keeps claiming that Republicans will be the party that will protect your health care, but that is not true. Everything you need to know about your health care and what each party is promising before you vote next week.
[23:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So it is something that you have heard over and over again from the president. He claims Republicans are going to be the ones who will protect your health care, but he is not telling the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will always protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, always.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So not true. Here are the facts. The Trump administration asked the court to throw out regulations forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. They did it in a brief supporting a lawsuit filed by attorney general of 20 states, all Republicans.
The state argued that the ACA in its entirety including the rule forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions is unconstitutional because the individual mandate was repealed by the tax bill. One of the plaintiffs in the suit in Missouri is A.G. Josh Hawley. He is running to replace Democrat Claire McCaskill. Yet he claims he supports forcing insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH HAWLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI: We've got two perfect little boys. Just ask their mama. Earlier this year, we learned our oldest has a rare chronic disease. Pre-existing condition. We know what that is like. I am Josh Hawley. I support forcing insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That last part, not true. As I said, Josh Hawley is one of the plaintiffs in the suit aimed at throwing out the ACA and its provisions covering pre-existing conditions. And even as that case makes its way through the court, Republicans have been chipping away at Obamacare. Just last week, the Trump administration issuing rules allowing states to apply ACA subsidies to short-term health plans.
Those plans can refuse cover to cover pre-existing conditions. And by making them cheaper, advocates of the Affordable Care Act say that premiums for those with health conditions may become more expensive.
Senate Democrats pushed the bill that will eliminate short-term insurance that doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. And all but one Republican. Maine Senator Susan Collins voted it down. And remember, in 2017, congressional Republicans proposed a sweeping health care overall called the American Health Care Act. And it would have let insurance companies charge higher premiums for people with health conditions. That bill passed the House, but every attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed in the Senate.
Why? It turns out the ACA, the Affordable Care Act, which is Obamacare is popular with voters. In a poll released Friday, 58 percent of voters said that they wanted to keep the ACA. Seventy-nine percent of voters want to ban insurance companies from denying coverage for pre- existing conditions.
The president knows his party's real position on health care. He knows it is not popular. And this is a problem for him. Health care is driving the conversation around the midterms. At least one poll shows that 71 percent of voters say it is very important in deciding who they will vote for this year. That's more than any other issue.
Voters are right to be focused on the issue because the president is using every tactic in the book to avoid saying what he and Republicans really want to do with health care. Lots to talk about it with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who helped create the Affordable Care Act again, which is Obamacare. Some people don't know that. We are going to hear from him and that's next.
[23:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: With just days to the midterms, Democrats are making health care a big part of their campaign. One study from Wesson (ph) University says that over half the ads by Democratic Senate and House candidates in the past month are about health care. And the Dems may have the momentum on this issue.
Polls show that many of the features on the Affordable Care Act including protecting people with pre-existing conditions are very popular with voters. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is here. He is a former Obama White House health policy advisor and one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare.
I always say that -- good evening, by the way -- because people I interviewed, I say, do you like the Affordable Care Act? And they say, yes! Do you like Obamacare? They say, no! It's shocking to me that they don't know the difference. These are the times we live --
EZEKIEL EMANUEL, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: A lot of people don't know that --
LEMON: But now they like Obamacare.
EMANUEL: -- provided by the government.
LEMON: Yes, yeah.
EMANUEL: Yeah.
LEMON: OK, so, this is sneaky little trick don't you think on the Republican's part?
EMANUEL: No. I think it is just an outright lie. I mean, what is interesting is the Republicans have never had a plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions. They never had a mechanism by which to get them insurance, in part, because if you want to cover people with pre-existing conditions, you have to get everyone in the same pool and you have to make sure that insurance companies can't charge more to people who have pre-existing conditions.
[23:49:58] And what Republicans are now trying to do is to create all these sideways that people who are healthy can get out of the exchanges and get insurance, the short-term insurance plans. That's going to leave people with pre-existing conditions in the exchanges and the rates are going to go up and up and up.
That is not a formula for protection. So this idea, oh, we care about your pre-existing conditions is simply untrue. They have no plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions, none.
LEMON: Doctor, as I mentioned earlier in this show, 58 percent of voters in one poll want to keep Obamacare. Seventy-nine percent of voters want to protect folks with pre-existing conditions. Republicans are talking the talk, but how are they going to pay for it since they took away the individual mandate?
EMANUEL: Well, let me say something that is I think may not be obvious to people listening, which is we took a poll. I teach a class at the University of Pennsylvania. We took a poll among my students, how many of them had a relative who had a pre-existing condition. And it turned out that about half the students had a relative with a pre- existing condition. You know, cancer or heart disease or asthma or high blood pressure.
That's what people are worried about. They know someone or someone in their family has a pre-existing condition, and they want them protected. They remember the bad old days when they couldn't get health care, and they had to run to the emergency room when they got sick.
And that's the thing that Democrats through the Affordable Care Act made sure would not happen again. And the Republicans are -- they've just never been interested in that situation.
LEMON: Doctor, you have an op-ed The Washington Post. It is titled "The Big Secret About the Affordable Care Act: It's Working Just Fine." Explain what you mean by that.
EMANUEL: Well, the Republicans have been bad mouthing the exchanges, and in the 2016 elections, they kept talking about all of the counties with -- bare counties with no health insurance in the exchange or only one plan. Well, it turns out that when we look at this coming year, we've got about 12 million people buying insurance through the exchanges.
That was the number in 2018, despite everything Trump did to try to divert people, cutting down the open enrollment period by half, reducing advertising, shutting the website on Sunday mornings. So a a lot of people want to buy.
Second, premiums are actually down this year in 2019. You know, the rise up in premiums for 2017 was a blip. Many of us who are experts say it's going to be a blip as the insurance companies adjust. In fact, on average, premiums across the country are down 1.5 percent. And in some places like my home state of Pennsylvania or in Tennessee, they're actually down by double digits.
And finally, you know, we have more insurance companies actually coming in despite the removal of the individual mandate.
LEMON: So what does it say about the success that you cite in all of this? I mean, all of this is happening despite Republicans trying to, you know, chip away at the ACA.
EMANUEL: Look, I think it says two things. First, in the American public, there's a roll for the exchanges. It's not for everyone, but it is -- there's 12 -- probably up to 20 million for whom the exchange is a good thing. And if we stop bad mouthing it, more people will come in and buy insurance through the exchange.
And the second thing, I think it says, is that it takes some time when you've got these big changes in policy to actually work them out and to work out the kinks. This coming open enrollment period, which starts tomorrow, by the way, is only the sixth year of the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
We've worked out the kinks now. If we stop maligning them, the federal government does what it's supposed to do, it'll actually -- they'll be stable and they'll provide a safety net for people who have pre- existing conditions.
LEMON: Aren't Republicans taking --
EMANUEL: -- lose their job.
LEMON: Aren't Republicans taking credit for that, though?
EMANUEL: Oh, they will take credit for anything the public likes even though they've tried to kill these exchanges every which way.
LEMON: Yeah. You know, doctor, Obamacare wasn't always popular. It was used against Democrats in 2010 and 2014 in the midterms. Why do you think that changed?
EMANUEL: First of all, I think early on, people didn't understand it. As the president famously said, it's complicated. And we didn't necessarily do a great job of explaining it. Now that it's been around for five or six years, people understand how it works, people see the benefits.
Their kids can be on their insurance plan until age 26. They've actually seen some moderation in the premium increases. They see that, in fact, you know, god forbid something happens, they do can get insurance, and they can be subsidized.
[23:55:03] People are getting comfortable with that. And they remember the battle days. You know, in 2009, when we were discussing the Affordable Care Act, the fact is there was almost 10 percent unemployment. And one of the things that unemployed people are worried about is how am I going to get my insurance? And now there's a system for them to get insurance, either through Medicaid or through the exchanges.
And, you know, Medicaid has -- a lot of people have gotten on Medicaid, and it turns out that they like it when they're on Medicaid. A number of states still haven't expanded the Medicaid program although we see places like Maine and Virginia expanding it. And I think that after this election, we'll see more states expand it because, again, it's a good deal and the people benefit, the hospital systems benefit.
So I think people are becoming comfortable. That's why the support for the Affordable Care Act has gone up. If you take it away, people get nervous because they're actually answering an important need for them.
LEMON: Doctor, we're out of time. But now you know and everyone knows. We appreciate you coming on. See you soon.
EMANUEL: Great, thank you. I hope people vote on Tuesday.
LEMON: Thank you. Thanks for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.
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