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Don Lemon Tonight

Top Trump Adviser, Stephen Miller Tests Positive For COVID-19; Trump Abruptly Ends Stimulus Talks; Doctors Won't Reveal When Trump Last Tested Negative; Joe Biden Slams The Politicization Of The COVID- 19 Pandemic; CNN Nationwide Poll: Biden Leads Trump By 16 Points; Biden Saying There Should Not Be A Second Debate If President Trump Still Has COVID-19; President Trump Putting White House Residence Staff At Risk. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired October 06, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. 28 days, just 28 days until Election Day and we are following multiple breaking news stories that could impact how you cast your vote.

The COVID-19 outbreak at White House growing tonight. Trump's top aide Stephen Miller revealing he tested positive. The president's doctors releasing very little information about his condition.

The New York Times is reporting that the sources say Trump is not tested every day. That as the president stuns the country, abruptly announcing an N2 stimulus package negotiations, something that would help millions of Americans. Joe Biden on the trail says Trump is turning his back on the people in need of financial relief.

Let's straight to the people we need to talk to, CNN's White House correspondent John Harwood, Ron Brownstein, senior editor at the Atlantic, and Toluse Olorunnipa, White House reporter for the Washington Post.

Gents, good to see you. John, you're at first. So, with all that has happened in just the past week, really just the past few days, this president could face the facts. He could show that he is taking things seriously. But instead, he has become more reckless and erratic including the way that he has handling these stimulus negotiation deals. How is this even possible?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, the president pretty consistently acts in ways that are driven not by a wise or rational political strategy but by the way his ego compels him to act and that means displays of strength and dominance, but not acknowledging weakness, not admitting fault, blaming your problems on others, and acting in ways that elicit the adoration of the people who he thinks loves him and support him.

That, he has been reflecting that on his tweet storm tonight and he is reflecting that in his inability to shift course on the coronavirus. Just as he was unable to shift course in ways that would have been obviously beneficial to him in response to the racial justice protests over the summer. He won't do it because he can't do it. And that's simply a president who is imprisoned by his ego and psyche.

LEMON: Toluse, the New York Times is reporting tonight that Trump is not tested every day. And we still don't know when he last tested negative. They need to come clean on this. But, you know, the answer could be even more devastating to them if they do come clean on this. So, what do you think is going on here? Is this a cover up?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALSYT, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: It's definitely a cover-up, Don. The White House and the White House doctors have been asked multiple times when did the president have his last negative test? It's a very easy question. They've answered similar questions about when he had a positive test.

When he first tested positive for coronavirus, but when it comes to this question, when did he last test negative? They clam up and they don't answer the question. And it's clear that whatever the answer is, it does not reflect well on this White House. It does not reflect well on the president.

We already know -- we know he has not taken this virus seriously. We know he's not been following protocols. We know that he has been making other people less safe with his actions. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the White House is trying to cover up the fact that the president does not get tested on a daily basis.

He may be did not get tested before going to the debate, where there was the honor system essentially each candidate had to get tested and tell the debate commission that they been tested. That they were safe to be in that hall.

It would not be a surprise to me if the president was infectious at that time and did not get tested. Did not have a negative test before going to the debate, did not follow the rules. We already know he is not following the rules on social distancing, on mask wearing.

He didn't follow the rules and that allowed him to actually contract this virus and allowed it to spread within the West Wing and he did not follow the rules after he got hospitalized and he took his mask off going back into the White House.

So, we know this is a rebellious president who doesn't follow rules and I wouldn't be surprised if the White House is trying to cover up the fact that not only did he not follow rules, but he endangered other people including the potential next president Joe Biden by going into that debate hall without getting tested.

LEMON: If what you said is the truth, the timeline that is utterly just scandalous, Ron. I want you to -- I want to turn to the former vice president, Joe Biden, and what he said about the coronavirus pandemic today. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN (D) 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't undo what has

been done. We can't go back. We can do so much better. We can do better starting today. We can have a national strategy.

That puts politics aside and saves lives. This pandemic is not a red state or blue state issue. This virus doesn't care where do you live -- where you live, what political party you belong to. It infects us all. It will take anyone's life. It's a virus, it's not a political weapon.

[23:05:11]

LEMON: So, listen. He is making the case there Ron, for leadership and unity. I wonder if it's effective because people are exhausted right now.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, AND SENIOR EDITOR OF THE ATLANTIC: Yes, look. From the beginning, Donald Trump's sort of original sin on the coronavirus has been his belief that best path to re-election was to project normalcy at all cost regardless to what was actually happening.

And regardless of the consequence in public health to what he was doing and so that, you know, translated into his actions, in being so reluctant to close things down and the pressure to open things up. The pressure he exerted on Republican Governors to -- again, resist causing things down to open them up, more quickly to override local ordinances from Democratic mayors on mask or shutdowns. Even pressuring the big 10 to play football.

I mean, his belief from the beginning has been that the way to respond to this was to act as if it was not happening as much as possible. And you know, that to me -- it was not a guaranteed choice that he had to make. And has put him cross wise with public opinion from the outset.

You know, John talked about him being imprisoned by his ego. To some extent he is also imprisoned by his political base. I mean, he is speaking to 25 percent of Americans who oppose mask wearing, who show up at state capitals with automatic weapons and confederate flags and opposed lockdowns.

And from the outset, and to this day, and the CNN poll today, the highest disapproval yet on him on the coronavirus, 60 percent, he has ignored the clear and consistent majority of the public have said, we have to get the virus under control before we can truly get the economy going again.

LEMON: Biden also spoke about racial unrest in this country. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I believe in law and order. I have never supported defunding the police but I also believe injustice is real. It's a product of a history that goes back 400 years, the moment when black men, women and children were first brought here in chains. I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America. We can have both. This is a nation strong enough to both honestly face systemic racism and strong enough to provide safe streets for our families and small businesses that too often bear the brunt of these looting and burning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Toluse, according to our new poll, he has a huge advantage over Trump on that issue.

OLORUNNIPA: That is not a surprise. When you contrast Joe Biden and Donald Trump on race issues, it's a very wide gap on almost no other issue is there such a wide gap in terms on how they are approaching these issues. President Trump has decided to double down on, as Ron said, this 25 percent of his base who want red meat, who want him to be sort of protecting this idea of white grievance.

Joe Biden is speaking in a more centrist way. He is not talking about defunding the police. He's not endorsing the full platform of the Black Lives Matter Movement. But he is talking about racial justice. He is talking about inequality. He's talking about discrimination and saying that there needs to be a coming together in a country, healing the nation and healing some of the wounds that have been inflamed by this president.

And it's a message that resonates with a large majority of Americans, whereas President Trump's message is much more divisive, it's much more focused on a small sliver, an aging sliver of a country, where the country may have been 40 or 50 years ago, but it's no longer there now. So, that's part of the reason the numbers show the president not doing so well on these issue of racial sensitivity.

And it's just because it's not in him to heal the nation. It's in him to sort of enflame this tensions. And we have to remember that he started his political career pushing this racist lie of birtherism, and that shows sort of where his head is when it comes to this issues and Joe Biden's head is in a very different place.

LEMON: Listen, John, right now, showing that the polls -- most of the polls, Joe Biden is ahead. Right? A substantial lead in most polls. But we don't know what next -- you know, a month is going to bring, and this is going tighten.

HARWOOD: Well, I suspect it will tighten from what we showed in our CNN poll with 57-41. We haven't had a presidential margin that large since Ronald Reagan won 49 states against Walter Mondale in 1984. The key aspect of the polling in this race has been stability. Stability with Joe Biden in a lead. Now his lead has widened. It appears that after the debate that President Trump performed so poorly at, the bottom is falling out a little bit for Donald Trump.

[23:10:02]

And for all the reasons that we've been discussing on COVID, on racial justice, even on the issue of a stimulus, which the president could have pushed more aggressively for but did not, he has marginalized and isolated himself by playing to his base, by looking for that feedback, that affirmation from the people already supporting him, rather than reaching out to broaden his appeal in ways that might have made it possible for him to win a majority.

There is very little time for him to make up ground and not much reason to expect that he's going to be able to do it.

LEMON: Thank you all. I appreciate it. The coronavirus outbreak in his own house spreading tonight, as the president is holed up behind closed doors at the White House. That as the former first lady, Michelle Obama tells America, Donald Trump is racist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE U.S.: What the president is doing is once again (inaudible) false, it's morally wrong and yes, it is racist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:15:00]

LEMON: So here we go. Stephen Miller, now part of a growing list of infected White House staffers. That makes at least 11 COVID positive White House officials in the past week. For some context that is more than Taiwan, Cambodia and Vietnam had reported over the same time -- over the same amount of time.

And we're not even including the president's allies who don't work at the White House, including three Republican Senators, a level of spread that we are seeing definitely could have been avoided had the White House not insisted on holding events like these with few masks, no social distancing.

Well, CNN medical analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner is here to discuss all that. Good evening to you doctor. The number of positive cases in the president's orbit, it's showing no signs of slowing. These White House outbreak is not over. How much worse could this get?

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: A lot worse. The entire West Wing can be infected. I think we really start to put together the timeline here. And this is what I think it is. First of all there is no chance the president was tested before the debate. I think that is pretty clear. He was symptomatic on Thursday night and it takes about a week after infection to get sick enough to be admitted to the hospital.

So I think the president was infected with the coronavirus for at least a week before he was admitted to the hospital. That takes him to the end of the prior week, before the super spreader event. The rules of the debate required the -- both sides to list all of their attendees and to document that they had been tested within 72 hours. There's no chance that that happened with the president. LEMON: Could he be the super spreader here?

REINER: I think the president -- I think he is the super spreader and I think the reason the White House will not have the CDC do a formal, you know, check and review every single case is that they're concerned that the patient zero might be the president of the United States.

LEMON: So how far do you think into the progression of the virus that he is? How many days do you think he's had it?

REINER: Well, the good news -- the good news is that I think it's possible that he's not early into the infection and that he actually might be later into the infection. He might be 1o days into the infection.

In which case if he is feeling better, that might be a really good sign, and it kind of makes sense. Because people tend to get sick at about day seven. So, if he got sick at day seven, you know, now he's -- you know, he's heading towards almost two weeks out and he is feeling better, that he might be coming out of the woods.

LEMON: That can explain why the doctors let him out of the hospital.

REINER: That can explain why the doctors let him out. But here is the thing. We now know, according to the reporting of The New York Times, you know, we suspected the president has not been tested every single day as Kayleigh Mcenany loudly asserted in July, when she said he is the most tested man on the planet. He's tested multiple times per day. And this is why he does not need to wear a mask around other people, because he can't have the virus. So we know that --

LEMON: Let me play what she said about that and then continue. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More than one. I do take probably on average, a test every two days, three days and I don't know of any time I have taken two tests in one day, but I could see that happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I meant what he said. But go on. That is what he said in July.

REINER: Yes, in July. She said he's tested every day, and multiple times a day, which was the rationale for the president not masking in the presence of other people, why he didn't need to protect other people because he could not have the virus. So we know that's a lie. Now, the question is, how frequently has the president been infected. And it's important because I think it's very possible that he was sick over the weekend. The time course of his own is certainly consistent with that.

And if he was sick over the weekend, he would have tested positive had he been tested. So now the question is, had he had symptoms that they did not want to investigate perhaps because they did not want that answer before the debate. This is important because I would not debate -- I would not agree to debate if I were in the Biden camp until they produce documentation proving that they fulfilled the requirements of their agreement and the president had been tested within 72 hours of that debate.

LEMON: Doctor, thank you, important information. I appreciate it.

REINER: Sure.

LEMON: The outbreak at the White House representing both the disastrous consequences the coronavirus has had across the entire country and our failure to contain it.

[23:20:05]

The virus is now surging in nearly half the country, including the northeast. And new clusters are popping up in New York City. Here is Erica Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A New York neighborhood, one of nine hot spots in the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do think there's fatigue. I think it's been a long six months.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): COVID isn't tired. The virus isn't tired. The virus still energetic and strong enough to kill you.

HILL: Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing new statewide measures for areas with high positivity, limiting gathering, closing non-essential businesses and schools, 300 have already closed in those New York City hot spots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to get ahead of this.

HILL: New York among the 22 states reporting an uptick in new cases over the past week, and with an increase of more than 50 percent.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY: There are a number of us who fear that over the next six to 12 weeks, we can see a very substantial increase in COVID-19 cases that would far surpassed even the peek that we saw earlier this summer.

HILL: Alaska, Utah and Kentucky just saw their highest seven day average of new cases. Governor Andy Beshear urging his state to mask up.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Now is our test. To test the values, test the faith. Are we willing to live for other people?

HILL: The CDC updating its guidance again, adding information about airborne spread. Guidance they've posted and then removed last month. Hospitalizations hitting record highs in a half dozen states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is potentially a perfect storm for Nebraska.

HILL: The FDA posting new guidance for vaccine manufacturers which shows little chance any will receive emergency use authorization before the election. Before submitting an application, they need at least two months of follow-up data after volunteers get their second dose of a trial vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even though I know there is a great deal of anxiety about mischief, it would be pretty darn hard for mischief to derail this process.

HILL: A new Axios IPSOS poll finds 21 percent of people are more likely to wear masks after the president's positive diagnosis. The science tells us they save lives, making this defiant photo op all the more upsetting.

FIANA GARZA TULIP, MOTHER DIED OF COVID-19 IN JULY: It was the cruelest visual yet. Yesterday's tweet was the cruelest tweet yet, and I truly do wonder how many people he killed with his actions yesterday.

PETER HOTEZ, VACCINE RESEARCHER, DEAN OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: How he behaves over the next few months will determine whether we have 270,000 dead Americans by the end of this year or over 400,000. The president has send a message to the American people, let go for the 400,000 number.

HILL: Erica Hill, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Erica, thank you so much. The coronavirus outbreak in the White House growing tonight, 11 people that we know of so far. Michelle Obama sending her thoughts to everyone affected by the virus and this message of perseverance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And yet, even in the face of all this incompetence, Americans keep digging deeper, finding new reserves of strength, doing whatever it takes to get through this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:00]

LEMON: At least 17 people directly connected to the Trump White House have tested positive for coronavirus in the past few days. We saw the striking images of someone in a hazmat suit disinfecting the White House briefing room.

But it's not just reporters and officials who are worried about getting infected. When the president took off his mask last night before walking back into the White House, he put countless others at risk. I'm talking about the dozens of people who worked in the White House residence, chefs, housekeepers, butlers. Here is how the Atlantic sums it up in a piece titled, The people Trump came home to.

Because of his month's long failure to take COVID-19 seriously even inside his own home, Trump continues to place his staff members and their families at considerable risk, which is to say that the blast radius from the president and the first lady's illness could be a lot larger than many Americans realize.

Joining me now, the reporters behind that piece, Adam Harris and Elaine Godfrey. It's so good to have you on. Thank you both so much. Elaine, I understand that you spoke to staffers inside the White House for this piece. How are they feeling?

ELAINE GODFREY, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Hi, Don, thanks for having us. They're worried. I spoke with one staffer who currently works in the White House. He's very concerned. He is worried about his family, his friends. Those -- the family members of his colleagues.

He didn't even find out, he told me, about Trump and the first lady's illness until he read the news reports. There was no internal memo. There was no alert to staffers. And unfortunately, that has sort of seemed to be par for the course for this White House. But it was really alarming to him. He, you know, he is still going to work, having to figure out how to navigate this whole thing.

LEMON: Adam, more than 100 people who work in the White House residence. So, tell me about what you have learned about these people with so much exposure to the president.

ADAM HARRIS, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, Don, thanks again for having us. You know, these are people who have a lot of institutional knowledge because they have been in the White House for a long time.

These are very prestigious jobs, these people take these positions very seriously. A lot of them are more than 50 years of age. A lot of them are, you know, Black or Latino, and you know, one former staffer told me on his first day as the White House pastry chef, you know, someone told him that he had been there since the Eisenhower administration.

So, these are people who have been working in these jobs for a long time, who have families, who have mortgages, who have kids in college, but who are also really committed and served with the pleasure of the president and are very worried that he is putting them in direct risk.

LEMON: Elaine, Maggie Haberman of The New York Times reported two housekeeping employees working in the residence tested positive just a few weeks ago. Were other staffers even told about it? I mean, even -- a lot more people could have been exposed here.

GODFREY: Right. As far as I know, according to the person that I spoke with, there was no sort of internal announcement. Actually, the only campus-wide, as they call it, e-mail that they got after the president's illness came about a week after his diagnosis and it told people, hey, if you have symptoms, don't come to work, please. But they hadn't gotten any other kind of communication before that. So, no, it's shocking, actually.

LEMON: Wow. Adam, today, the former first lady, Michelle Obama, tweeted out a closing argument video for the campaign, which we are going to get to after the break, but she sent this message.

She said, "My heart goes out to everyone touched by this virus, from those at the White House, especially the Secret Service and the resident staff whose service ought never be taken for granted, to all those names and stories most of us will unfortunately never know."

LEMON: These White House staffers become important part to the first families, right, their lives, the first family's lives. It seems like any other president would consider their well-being before returning to the residence, especially given the ages that you said and how long they have been there. They deserve the utmost respect.

HARRIS: Yeah, Don. And you know, one of the things that several people who we spoke with told us was that, you know, these are staffers who -- when you're lounging around in the White House kitchen in the residence, you know, when the first family addresses you, you end up developing a sort of rapport, you end up having pretty close conversations.

And those staffers take those conversations in the privacy of the White House very seriously. They are incredibly discreet. They know that they will not have that public recognition but they also know that they are doing an important service in making the first lady and president's life easier.

So, you know, one of the things that one source told us was that, you know, he finds it incredibly disturbing, that their safety is not being placed in the kind of utmost -- of utmost importance.

LEMON: Adam, Elaine, thank you. Good reporting. We will see you soon. Be safe out there.

HARRIS: Thank you very much.

LEMON: So, early voting kicking off in multiple states today with long lines and hours of waiting as Michelle Obama and Joe Biden make their pitch to the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We can end the hate and the fear. We can be what we are at our best, the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Michelle Obama is using the power of her popularity to support Joe Biden's campaign and to slam Donald Trump, especially his handling of the COVID pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: It's painful to think that months into this crisis, this is still where we are, with no clear plan, no peace of mind. And the worst part is it didn't have to be like this.

Look around the world. So many other countries aren't experiencing this level of extended suffering and uncertainty. These countries were hit by the same virus as we were. They had the same kind of resources to contain it as we did. But what they didn't have to contend with was this president, a man who knew how --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She also accuses Trump and his allies of stoking fears to black and brown Americans as a way to win the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: So what the president is doing is once again patently false, it's morally wrong, and yes, it is racist. But that doesn't mean it won't work, because this is a difficult time, a confusing time. And when people hear these guys and crazy conspiracies repeated over and over and over again, they don't know what to think. And the one thing this president is really, really good at is using fear and confusion and spreading lies to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let's talk about that. CNN political commentators Karen Finney and Tara Setmayer are both here. Pretty powerful, Karen. I mean, we know --

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

LEMON: -- that Michelle Obama is known as the closer and she didn't hold back about what she thought of this president's character, his handling of the coronavirus, and so on. The question is: Was it effective and will it be effective by November 3rd?

FINNEY: I sure hope so. Look, I think one of the most important things that she said, Don, was not just that this president has been race baiting, but the lies and the misinformation, because we know in 2016 that in states like Wisconsin and Michigan, African-Americans were targeted with -- and whether it was by the, you know, Trump campaign or the Russians -- with very specific messages, with misinformation about Hillary Clinton.

[23:40:10] FINNEY: And that is happening again with misinformation about -- by Senator Harris and Vice President Biden. So I think black folks have to remind themselves, don't believe the misinformation. Find out for yourself if you have a question about Joe Biden and his record and what his plan is.

But heaven knows, if you look around at what is happening, when our people are dying at higher rates and we are contracting this virus at higher rates, and now this president wants to take away our health care, literally, as Michelle Obama says, our lives are on the line.

LEMON: Tara, she took on the president for lying and spreading conspiracy theories, calling out his claim that black and brown people are going to destroy the suburbs. Who do you think she is trying to reach in this video?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, clearly, she is trying to reach suburban white women. But that is a constituency right now that is in support of Joe Biden by historic numbers. He is up over 20 points with them.

I think maybe she is trying to also appeal to the Republican women who are on the fence that, you know, are thinking, I can't take this anymore with Donald Trump. I mean, he has been incredibly irresponsible. He has been a reckless (ph) leader. We see that there are 210,000 dead Americans because of his failed leadership on COVID.

The president's behavior at the debate last week, his erratic and irresponsible behavior over the weekend, telling people not to let COVID dominate you, was the biggest FU to every family who has lost someone to COVID and who is suffering through it now. Even Republicans are starting to second guess whether Donald Trump was fit to be in office.

So, you know, Michelle Obama going out and doing this, I think, is great as a closer, especially to make sure that Democratic voters get out and vote. But I really would like to see George W. Bush or Laura Bush do something similar. I mean, it is a 911 five alarm fire right now going on in this country under this president's failed leadership.

And imagine if someone like George Bush or his wife or both of them together came out and did something similar, talking about the existential threat that Donald Trump poses to our democracy, I think that would send a similar message to those Republicans who -- give them a license to believe it's OK to vote for Joe Biden this time around.

LEMON: This is an interesting concept. Karen, do you want to --

FINNEY: Yeah. Well, I was going to say, I think that Michelle Obama here -- there are two parts. There is, I think, her appeal to African- American voters again to sort of not be fooled and to remember what is at stake in this election.

But I also think -- I agree with Tara that she does have an appeal to the white college educated suburban women who thankfully are looking like they are leaning towards Biden but we sure can't take anything for granted, if we are learned anything from 2020 and our many experiences and this election.

But I also think that it's very important to have a black woman like Michelle Obama saying to white voters, don't be fooled about who this president is and what he is trying to do in race baiting and making you think that people who are out there, largely, overwhelmingly, peacefully protesting, just to not have someone's knee on our necks -- we are peaceful people. We are asking for freedom, right?

I think it's an important message coming from her because it goes to what Joe Biden is talking about when he talks about healing the soul of this country. So I think her message to white voters is really important, as well. I don't think anyone else can quite convey it like that.

LEMON: I want to hear from Biden. Let us listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Hate never goes away. It only hides. And when it's given oxygen, when it's given an opportunity to spread, when it's treated as normal and acceptable behavior, we have opened a door in this country that we must move quickly to close.

As president, that is just what I will do. I will send a clear, unequivocal message to the entire nation. There is no place for hate in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tara, clearly, both -- the former first lady, the former vice president believe, as many Americans do, that this president has incited racial hatred so much that it threatens the country's future, as well as the present.

SETMAYER: Oh, absolutely. And it was no accident that both of these things took place today. There is definite coordination, making sure that this messaging is out there. I mean, we have seen it. It is obvious. We have never seen a president of the United States behave this way, stoke this kind of racial violence and unapologetically.

[23:45:04]

SETMAYER: I mean he is tripling down on it. It is unreal. But I will say this about Joe Biden. He gave a speech to this campaign today. It was fantastic. The symbolism of being in Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania, which is a crucial swing state, also location that Donald Trump was looking at to give his RNC speech that they ended up not doing, so I am sure that was a dig to Donald Trump, as well.

But Joe Biden was fantastic. He said two other things that stood out to me in that speech. He said that even though he is a Democrat, that he would be the president for all of the American people. That is something that we haven't heard or seen in a long time. This president has been cruel to blue states. He has -- we heard that he didn't give aid to California --

LEMON: Yeah.

SETMAYER: -- wanted aid to California cut off. He did -- the coronavirus negotiations were cut off because he doesn't want blue states. Joe Biden said I will be everyone's president. And he also said that the era of hate and division would be over.

LEMON: That got to be the last word.

SETMAYER: I think the Americans are desperate for that. They are exhausted by Donald Trump's chaos and irresponsibility.

LEMON: Thank you both. And Tara, I appreciate you on your -- look behind Tara. She was gone full fall with her decorations.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: The gourds and pumpkins --

SETMAYER: Thank you. Thank you very much.

LEMON: She is ready --

SETMAYER: We have to keep things, keep joy in your life for balance.

LEMON: I got to run. All right. Thank you. Make sure you watch the debate tomorrow night here on CNN, the only vice presidential debate. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Turnout could be at an all-time high in this election. Millions are already voting. Some states are making it easier and safer for people to vote, but not every state. CNN's Pamela Brown has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Ohio, the line of voters stretched around entire city blocks as early voting gets underway today in more states.

ERIC PARADIES, OHIO VOTER: I think it has rekindled like a spirit of democracy in a lot of people. It hasn't me because I've missed votes, you know. So -- but I'm not missing today.

BROWN (voice-over): This comes as Ohio's secretary of state issued a directive limiting drop boxes to one location, the county board of election offices, even though a court said he could expand it further.

FRANK LAROSE, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE: To expand it beyond that when it's not specifically called for in the law, it would be irresponsible at this point and would really cause confusion.

BROWN (voice-over): In Indiana, early voting is also underway as anxious voters, many wearing masks, braved long lines amid a deadly pandemic.

And in Florida, the voter registration system went down Monday amid a flood of applications ahead of the state's deadline. That prompted the secretary of state to reopen the system for a few more hours today.

A federal judge in Arizona extended the deadline there by two weeks, citing the impact of coronavirus on voter registration efforts.

But a victory for Republicans in South Carolina after the Supreme Court reinstated the state's witness signature requirement on absentee ballots.

In many of these states, voters say they are not taking any chances with their ballot.

DEVON MOSESEL, SOUTH CAROLINA VOTER: I think that instead of three hours today, it might be seven or eight on November 3rd. So I want to get it done in the most convenient way possible.

MARILYN TAYLOR, MICHIGAN VOTER: I dropped off my ballot. I put it in the voter (ph) box because I didn't trust the U.S. mail.

BROWN (voice-over): Election officials in both parties are pushing back on USPS postcards sent to all households, saying voters should -- quote -- request your mail-in ballot at least 15 days before Election Day, which is inaccurate for many states.

The office of Utah's Republican lieutenant governor is urging residents to ignore the USPS voting instructions.

Missouri's secretary of state is saying similar in a tweet. Today, lawmakers say they're increasingly concerned about Americans confidence in the U.S. voting system.

REP. MARCIA FUDGE (D-OH): Americans need accurate information about how to cast their ballot. The misinformation being spread in the lead up to this year's election is a disservice to voters and a danger to our democracy.

BROWN (voice-over): Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

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LEMON: Pamela, thank you very much. For more now on the drop box situation in Ohio, I want to bring in now David Pepper. He is the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Mr. Pepper, thank you. It is good to see you. I appreciate you joining us.

DAVID PEPPER, CHAIRMAN, OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Good to see you. Thank you for having me.

LEMON: Yeah, absolutely. So here is what the secretary of state, Frank LaRose, told my colleagues earlier today. I want to get your take on the other side of this.

PEPPER: Yup.

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LAROSE: We've made it more convenient than ever by requiring every county board of elections to have a secure, 24/7 drop box. But to expand it beyond that when it's not specifically called for in the law, it would be irresponsible at this point and would really cause confusion.

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LEMON: So, how can having more drop boxes in Ohio cause confusion?

PEPPER: It wouldn't cause confusion. It would actually make voting easier. You know, this is a secretary of state who when people started pushing for drop boxes months ago, he said, oh, he wanted more drop boxes, but he didn't think the law allowed it.

So we went to court and said, of course, the law allows it. There wasn't one word in Ohio law that said you couldn't have more. We have now one at multiple levels. Every judge has said we are right. We proved it. And now he is saying what he said the other day, which is, well, yeah, that may be true, but I am still going to only have these drop boxes at one location.

It's absurd. It is going to make voting harder. Now, the good news is people are going to fight through that.

[23:55:00]

PEPPER: We had record turnout today all over the state. But, you know, to see someone like Frank LaRose take this step, just like Texas, one drop box per county, it's ridiculous.

We are in a pandemic. Everyone who votes in a drop box is someone not in a line, is someone not interacting with a poll worker. It's easier. These are done all over the country, republican states like Georgia, democratic states, no controversy, no partisanship.

But here, Ohio secretary of state is -- not because of the law, because he politically does not want to add them. Frankly, it's a disgraceful decision. We are going to keep fighting as best we can.

LEMON: Listen. You laid it out pretty clearly there and answered most, if not all, the questions I wanted. But as you were speaking, we see these long lines in Ohio today. I guess that is good at least for this point for people getting out to vote.

Mr. Secretary, I appreciate you joining us. Unfortunately, that is all the time we have. We will have you back if the story warranted. You be safe out there and thanks again.

PEPPER: Thanks so much, Don. Have a good night.

LEMON: You, too. And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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