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Don Lemon Tonight
Supreme Court Orders Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania to be Counted if they're Received within Three Days of Election Day; President Trump Lashes Out at Dr. Fauci, Calling Him Disaster; President Trump Putting Distance with GOP Senators Up for Re-Election; Dr. Fauci's Public Health Message To Americans Resulted to Threats; Rising Number of Coronavirus and Deaths in the United States. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired October 19, 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: So, 15 days until Election Day and we have multiple breaking news stories tonight that could impact your vote. The Supreme Court handing Democrats a victory in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is a key battleground state rejecting an attempt by Republicans to only allow mail-in ballots received by Election Day to be counted. The ruling means ballots will be counted if they are received within three days of Election Day.
And the debate commission tonight moving to mute microphones to prevent interruptions at Thursday's scheduled final presidential debate.
Joining me now CNN's White House correspondent John Harwood. Political commentator Amanda Carpenter and Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic. I appreciate all of you. So good to see you all looking dapper and ready to go.
OK. So, John, start with you. Pennsylvania is really a critical swing state. How big of a deal is this Supreme Court decision for Democrats?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, in theory it is a very big deal. Pennsylvania could be the tipping point state in the election. The one that decides who gets the 270 electoral votes. Of course, Don, Donald Trump carried it narrowly last time. It was one of the three Midwestern states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin that put him over the top.
And so, most of the people who say they plan to vote by mail are supporting Joe Biden. Trump has an advantage in the in-person vote and he is hoping to count as few of those mail votes as possible. But I said in theory because Joe Biden had a pretty significant lead more than six points in the polling averages.
He is over 50 percent. So, the election might not be close enough that whatever fragment of mail-in ballots come in after Election Day are going to make all that much difference. However, this is a little security blanket for Democrats that some of those late votes will be counted.
LEMON: Listen, Joan, I want you to weigh in on this. This is, you know, this is your bailey wick. Chief Justice Roberts sided with the court's three liberals. Do you think this ruling will set the tone for other pre-election challenges?
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Well, first of all, Don, you are exactly right. This is John Roberts once again siding with the liberals in a way that really matters.
I don't know if it is going to set the tone but even if somehow things change when the Wisconsin case comes up there or other ones come to the court and the Democrats don't prevail, this was one very big case simply because it is Pennsylvania and the court was dead locked.
Two things on that. First of all it shows that John Roberts is still wielding power over this court trying to steady it rather than have it lunge either to the right or the left amid all the turmoil of the election, the recent death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the expected addition of Amy Coney Barrett, all the attacks by Donald Trump on the judiciary. So this was a very strong institutionalist vote right here again with the left.
But to answer your core question, Don, about what it might say about other cases, you know, John Roberts takes them one at a time and he's a well-known for, frankly, alternating so that he is not predictable to go with either the right or left at any given time. And we have a Wisconsin case pending, another one from Alabama and with two weeks to go I can see other ones coming up.
LEMON: Let's talk more. Because you mentioned Judge Amy Coney Barrett. This was a 4-4 decision, Joan, which means that if she is confirmed or when she is confirm I should say, she will be a critical vote on election matters.
BISKUPIC: That's exactly right, Don. And if this case had come up just a week later with her on the bench as we expect her to be early next week, it might have gone the opposite way. She certainly has a far more conservative record than the chief justice. She might have believed that this was the kind of thing that the state Republicans in Pennsylvania should prevail.
So, you know, when she comes on we still have presumably at least seven days before the November 3rd election and her vote could really matter in a way that as I say would be different than the chief justices tonight.
LEMON: Hi, Amanda, thank you for waiting so patiently. I want to ask you about -- I want to talk to you about the coronavirus. Cases are surging across the country but instead of leading or even acknowledging there is a problem the president is attacking the country's top infectious disease expert. Why is Trump so focused on going after Dr. Fauci? I don't understand it. Well, maybe I do in a way but go on, sorry. [23:05:18]
AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR SENATOR TED CRUZ AND THE AUTHOR OF GASLIGHTING AMERICA: Well, he is desperate to be right on this. Correct? And he can't have someone questioning that the approach that he has taken to the virus. He has firmly been on the side of open it up. We'll see what happens. And get it done. Where Dr. Fauci has been warning things are about to get worse. Meanwhile Trump is promising things are getting better. There is a vaccine on the way. I mean, they're just fundamentally at odds on this question.
LEMON: And listen, he needs people. He needs -- he's is trying to change the narrative, Amanda. He needs people to think that it is no big deal when it actually it is. It's very, very dangerous what he is doing. I'm surprised that, should I be surprised? I was just going to say that the people come to those rallies and considering what is happening and they are in hot spots, it is really a dangerous strategy.
CARPENTER: Yes, and I think if you even looking at those places where he's been traveling to, states like Arizona and Georgia which should be a lock for Republicans. I mean, the coronavirus is taking over everything. And that is having a down ballot effect. Look at the races, Martha McSally, who has stood right next to today. She's pulling worse than Donald Trump.
It is because only Donald Trump kind of gets away with the stuff he's been pulling over the past four years. And other people try to mimic it. It doesn't work as well for them. And so there are going to be Republicans that try to draw some separation in the last coming days here before the election but it is too late. Their fates are tied to Trump. They will be judged the same if not worse.
LEMON: John, the president is really using a new line on the campaign trail. Listen to it and we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you vote for Biden, he will surrender your jobs to China. He will surrender your future to the virus. He's going to lock down. He just wants us to lock down. He'll listen to the scientists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I mean, what, what, in what world is not listening to the scientists a good thing? I mean, are we living in a world where siding with science is bad?
HARWOOD: Every single word Donald Trump said in that sound bite you just played was complete nonsense. But in terms of the scientists, you know, the thing that Donald Trump is doing right now is, he's trying to comfort his own, tortured ego. He sees the country -- the majority of the country rejecting him, rejecting his approach to the coronavirus, siding with people like Tony Fauci who has been in a different place.
And as Amanda said, he needs to be right and he needs to be right for -- to reassure himself. He is seeking the comfort of affirmation in the last days of the campaign. He is going to friendly audiences having these maskless rallies even though they probably hurt his campaign because they underscore his casual approach to the coronavirus.
He does it because the people there cheer him. He mocks Fauci. They laugh along. They -- he wants people to tell him he's great right now even if the voters are poised not to do that and part of doing that is asserting that scientists are wrong, I'm right and having people cheer that line.
LEMON: Amanda, I want to follow up on something that you said. You talked about down ballot, right, because the reason I want to follow up is because President Trump told reporters today that he doesn't think his re-election is tied to Senate Republicans and their re- election and doesn't have anything to do with him. Is this the beginning of his argument, you know, if there is a down ballot disaster, it isn't his fault?
CARPENTER: Yes. He's got to blame somebody right? But this is just flawed on the face of it because he demanded the utmost Republican loyalty from every person running. I encourage people to look at the race of Kelly Loeffler. She was asked in her Senate debate today is there anything that you disagree with Donald Trump on about? Anything. Just name one thing.
And she says, no. I am very proud of my 100 percent voting record for Donald Trump. I mean, he demands this kind of lock step loyalty. And to say now that he has nothing to do with it, they have nothing to do with each other, I mean, it is laughable and you almost have to pity someone like Kelly Loeffler and Martha McSally who fell for this to begin with.
HARWOOD: Almost.
LEMON: Yes. Almost. I appreciate all of you. And Joan, rest up because you are going to be very busy in the coming days. I appreciate all of you joining us. Thanks so much.
Long lines around the country for early voting and Election Day is still 15 days away. Look at those lines. Whew. Plus the president lashing out at Dr. Fauci who actually needs security because of credible death threats against him and harassment of his family.
[23:10:06]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: That's sad. The very fact that a public health message to save lives triggers such venom and animosity to me that it results in real and credible threats to my life and my safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two weeks until the election and with the COVID-19 pandemic getting worse President Trump is trying to make Dr. Anthony Fauci a campaign issue calling him a disaster and claiming Americans are tired of hearing from what he calls these idiots.
Let's bring in CNN's medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Wow. What a statement. Hi, doctor. How are you?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Hi, Don.
LEMON: Listen. Dr. Fauci is the country's leading infectious disease expert. He is trying to save lives and the president is saying this about.
[23:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots, these people, these people that have gotten it wrong. Fauci's a nice guy. He's been here for 500 years. Every time he goes on television there's always a bomb. But there's a bigger bomb if you fire him. But Fauci is a disaster. I mean this guy, if I listen to him we'd have 500,000 deaths.
But Fauci, if we listen to him, we have 700,000 - 800,000 deaths right now. So with that, I get along with him. If there's a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it. I couldn't care less.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Geez. And you heard the gasp when he said that. Why is he trashing Dr. Fauci like this?
REINER: You know, I used to think that, you know, there was some kind of hidden three dimensional chess going on. I just think he's jealous of the adoration that large portions of the country have for Dr. Fauci and what he has done over his career and what he is trying to do now. But people aren't tired of Tony Fauci. They're tired of the misery.
In the 1970s the economist author Okun came up with something they called the misery index, it's a way to quantify something that is pretty you know, subjective which is how much are people hurting at that time during the recession. And what he did, was he basically just added the inflation rate to the unemployment rate and came up with a number.
But we have a new misery index and it is very simple. It's the unemployment rate and the COVID positivity rate. And in the United States right now that is 13 percent which is about twice what it is for some European countries. More than that compared to places like Japan, but in different parts of the United States it's much higher. So for instance in Iowa, that number is 26 percent. It's 30 percent in
Wisconsin. It's 36 percent in Nevada. Maybe that misery index is why the election isn't going the president's way in those swing states. People are miserable.
LEMON: Yes. You know listen. It is pretty disgusting to hear what the president say that but also Dr. Fauci. Someone who -- he has advised six presidents now. He needs a security detail. He's a doctor. He shouldn't have to need that.
REINER: No, he shouldn't. And I was thinking today when I was watching a clip from 60 minutes and you saw him walking on the C&O canal not too far from where I live and he had a security guard in front of him, someone walking behind him and he was talking about how his children have been threatened and I was thinking about how angry I would be. Angry.
But he seems to hold it together and he goes to work every day. I admire him. You know, I was a medical student a long time ago, and the textbook of internal medicine when I was a medical student he was one of the editors for it. He's been a leader, a medical leader, a scientist, a leader in this country for like almost half a century. He deserves our respect, period.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you, doctor. I appreciate it. See you soon.
REINER: My pleasure. Sure.
LEMON: The numbers are so sad. More than 220,000 Americans dead of the coronavirus. Tens of thousands of Americans who didn't have to die. Cases passing 8.2 million. More tonight from CNN's Nick Watt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chicago is now averaging more than 500 new COVID cases every day, the most since late May.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D-CHICAGO): Make no mistake. We are in the second surge. These numbers are extremely troubling. And are consistent with what we've been seeing across Illinois and, really, across the country and world.
WATT: In 14 of our states right now a test positivity rate so high it tells us the spread is out of control. In Utah, average case counts now roughly double their summer surge.
FAUCI: You cannot say that we're on the road to essentially getting out of this.
WATT: Cruel irony, Connecticut and New Jersey with cases climbing now appear to qualify for the COVID travel restrictions they imposed on other heavily infected states.
ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: People are getting tired. The American people have given so much. We are seeing mitigation fatigue right now. You know, I just hope that we have so much promise in the weeks and months ahead.
WATT: A vaccine? Well, a week after Johnson & Johnson paused its trial following an illness in a volunteer the company and the FDA won't tell CNN if that volunteer was actually receiving the vaccine or even if this is the first pause.
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY: We do have vaccines and therapeutics coming down the pike but when you actually look at the time period for that the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic.
WATT: This past month nationally the average number of new cases a day exploded, up 40 percent.
[23:20:07]
LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: There is nothing to stop this the way things are going.
WATT: But there is a silver lining of sorts. The death rate per case has declined.
BRILLIANT: And it's a tribute to modern medicine. We have tools in our arsenal now.
WATT: But we still do not fully understand the long term impacts of this virus on the millions who make it, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, lung issues.
FAUCI: The other thing that we're seeing that's a bit disturbing is that the degree of cardiovascular abnormalities by scans and by other diagnostic tests, it may be insignificant, but I don't know that now.
WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thank you, Nick Watt. 15 days to Election Day. And despite the polls Joe Biden's campaign is warning President Trump can still win, but does he have a potential path to victory?
Plus Republican Senators warning of grim election prospects. I'm going to speak to one Democratic challenger in a close race in Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:25:00]
LEMON: Long lines across the critical battleground state of Florida with most counties there opening for early, in-person voting today. More than 28 million Americans already casting their ballots in this election about 20 percent of all the ballots cast in 2016. And there are still 15 days to go until Election Day.
Joe Biden using today for debate prep while slamming President Trump over his handling of the coronavirus that after the president called Dr. Anthony Fauci a disaster on a campaign staff call. And claimed he has never felt better about his election chances.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This is the single best I have ever been in any campaign. We're going to win. I wouldn't have told you that maybe two or three weeks ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jim Messina is here, he is a former campaign manager for President Barack Obama's successful re-election bid. Jim, good to see you again. Thanks for joining me.
JIM MESSINA, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER: A pleasure. Any time.
LEMON: So, this is what a source close to the debate commission is telling CNN that the decision to mute mics and allow candidates to speak uninterrupted that it was unanimous and that it was an attempt to make the candidates comply with the rules they signed up for. The president says that he's going to go along with it but how is this going to change the debate?
MESSINA: Well, I think it is really good for Joe Biden, right. Because the Trump theory has been they could knock Biden off of his stride by continuing to interrupt him. That won't happen because of this. Is it is going to allow Biden to do what he is best at, look directly at the camera and kind of make his case to the American people.
And so, I think it is a clear advantage for Biden. You and I wouldn't think that actually obeying the rules would be a clear advantage for anyone but in this situation I think it is and is going to be very frustrating for Donald Trump to sit there and have to take it while Joe Biden goes at him.
LEMON: I'm sure you were shocked by these repeated attacks on Dr. Fauci. Do they make any sense from a campaign strategy perspective?
MESSINA: No. They are stupid for two reasons, Don. The first reason they are stupid is because the Trump campaign just finished using Anthony Fauci on their own TV commercials. And so Fauci said he was outraged by. But they just put him on TV.
The second thing is every moment Donald Trump is talking about COVID he is losing. You know, his only chance to win this election is get it back to an economic choice. And every time he says things like this he drives swing voters crazy. He continues to remind these kind of swing voters who you know, are 58 percent women that he can't be trusted with COVID.
He can't be trusted with the future of his family. He just drives into what is his worst issue. It is kind of you know, political malpractice but as you and I have been talking before there seems to be nothing sort of predictable about Donald Trump's behavior.
LEMON: Yes. Jim, let's look at CNN's Electoral College outlook. When you look at that Biden has a clear advantage, the Biden campaign is warning Democrats not to become complacent. Do you think there is a risk of that after what happened in 2016?
MESSINA: Never assume. Right?
LEMON: Right.
MESSINA: I think the Biden campaign is being very smart to continue to just remind everyone what happened last time. To take nothing for granted. Let's be honest. You know, it's hard to get out and vote given some of the COVID challenges, given you know, the average swing voter 2.5 jobs and has kids and they want to make sure that all of their families and voters vote.
And so they got to continue to remind people of why this is important. And that's why the numbers you just showed, you know, almost 30 million people have already early voted. That is just huge. And this time four years ago it was only 5 million people. That's a six fold increase. And that is incredibly important to make sure that both campaigns get their votes out.
LEMON: Yes. Listen. I want to put yourself in the Trump campaign shoes. OK? So if you were running this campaign, Jim, what is your best path to victory right now? You may not want to offer advice but what is the best path to victory?
MESSINA: Look, I think the key has always been in the Midwest and I think, you know, it's why the Biden campaign is being very smart to lock down what you and I used to call the blue wall. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are the three states that are going to matter the most here. And so if you're the Biden -- I'm sorry, if you're the Trump campaign, you know, you're going to do what they've done. Which is just park as much your time and money as you can especially in Pennsylvania.
You know, where 90 percent of our simulations, Pennsylvania is a tipping ground state, and so, you know, the Midwest is where this campaign is going to be won or lost.
[23:30:00]
MESSINA: Trump won those three states by a combined 77,000 votes last time, really close margins. And he has got to find a way back. I don't think he's going to get there, but that's what you're going to see him and this campaign doing.
While he is doing that, he has got to defend a bunch of states he won handily last time like Florida, like Arizona, like Ohio, like Iowa. And so it really is a challenge and a distinct advantage for the Biden campaign because they can keep him running in the states that Trump needs for his own wall and then compete in the Midwest where they got to have it.
LEMON: Mm-hmm. You know, Biden has a lot of money. He raised a ton of money in the last quarter in September. He's dumping some of it, $400 million. That is his war chest. He is dumping some it into ads during NFL games, attacking the president over the coronavirus. How big a boost is all of these cash heading into the final two weeks of this election?
MESSINA: It's really important. It is important because, you know, the voters who haven't made up their mind, either who they are going to vote for or if they're going to vote, are starting to tune into this election. The average swing voter thinks about politics only about four minutes a week. They're starting to really pay attention and say, hey, this thing is coming up, and I got to figure out what to do.
And I think he is being very smart on the NFL buying. It is expensive but especially in the Midwest and the states you and I just talked about. These are football states that they care very deeply about. Politics and football, they're starting to think about it.
And having the kind of resources to make the case in both your battleground states and then in some of the expansion states, I mean, who would have thought the Biden campaign would have the kind of money that could start to compete in Georgia and states like that?
And again, if you're Donald Trump's campaign manager, you're just pulling your hair out, Don, because you got to say, OK, I don't have as much money, where am I going to put my chips? And they're probably going to put all their money in the Midwest.
LEMON: Always a pleasure. Jim Messina, thank you so much.
MESSINA: My pleasure.
LEMON: Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn distancing himself from the president. But will it be enough to keep his seat? I'm going to speak with the veteran hoping to oust him. That is coming up.
And ahead, she's trying to get the vote out, and her message is going viral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BELINDA VANARDO, VOTING TIKTOK VIDEO WENT VIRAL: OK, guys, I'm going over here and get my jush. I got my grown-folks hair on. I got my savage clothes on. I'm ready for this damn heat. I'm ready for these people, because I'm going to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: With only 15 days to go before Election Day, some GOP senators are trying to put daylight between themselves and the president. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse is hitting the president's character hard in a recent call with constituents. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): The way he treats women and spends like a drunken sailor. The ways I criticize President Obama for that kind of spending; I've criticized President Trump for as well. He mocks evangelicals behind closed doors. His family has treated the presidency like a business opportunity. He's flirted with white supremacists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mm-hmm. And in Texas, Republican Senator John Cornyn tried to distance himself from the top of his party's ticket. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Cornyn describing his relationship with Trump this way, and I quote. "Maybe like a lot of women who get married and think they're going to change their spouse, and that doesn't usually work out very well."
Senator Cornyn is saying in the interview that he disagrees with President Trump often on issues like deficits and trade. That he does so privately. But FiveThirtyEight's vote tracker says that he has supported Trump's policies 95 percent of the time.
Today, a former Republican strategist, who has worked on campaigns for Cornyn, is telling CNN he hardly recognizes him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUART STEVENS, FORMER ROMNEY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN CHIEF STRATEGIST: I don't recognize this guy. I don't understand. He is like a lot of these people under Trump. I really don't know what happened to him.
He is saying that he gave advice to Trump that Trump didn't take, which is sort of an odd argument for a U.S. senator to be making, like, I'm ineffective with a member of my own party as president. It seems to me to be lose-lose and maybe a lose-lose-lose when you throw in the reference to women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Meanwhile, Senator Cornyn's Democratic opponent, MJ Hegar, is hammering Cornyn for toeing the party line in a new campaign ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MJ HEGAR, DEMOCRATIC TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: Six months since the Senate has done anything. Texans out of work and getting sick, small businesses shuttering, and John Cornyn, no action, no leadership.
But when his party bosses call, he jumps to rush through a Supreme Court nominee. I'm MJ Hegar. I did three tours in Afghanistan, earned a Purple Heart, and I am raising two kids in the middle of a pandemic. And John thinks I'm going to get pushed around in Washington like he has?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. MJ Hegar joins me now. Hello to you. Thank you so much for joining. I really appreciate it.
HEGAR: Of course, Don, it is my pleasure. We are so excited to tell the whole country what is happening here in Texas.
LEMON: So, listen, after that interview with Cornyn came out, you tweeted -- quote -- "coward."
HEGAR: Yes.
LEMON: What do you think about Republicans like your opponent trying to distance themselves from Trump now?
HEGAR: You know, I just think it's too little too late. I think that Texans have a very sensitive BS meter. I think we see right through it. We are very clearly seeing that John Cornyn doesn't serve Texans. He serves his party and his wealthy corporates, special interest donors.
[23:40:00]
HEGAR: And frankly, either he is wildly ineffective or lying. He is lying to us quite a bit, spread misinformation. He says things that are politically convenient, that he wants to fight for and then he goes and posts against them. So we are used to being lied to, but I think in this case, it is a little bit of both.
LEMON: What is your reaction to Cornyn saying that he doesn't like to confront the president publicly because it doesn't end well? But he --
HEGAR: You know, I --
LEMON: -- has voted more 95 percent of the time for his policies. But go on.
HEGAR: It doesn't end well for him in his hope to be Senate majority leader. It would end much better for Texans. In fact, you know, we are using a lot of snark and a little sarcasm here, but I got to tell you, I feel like I've been punched in the gut when I think about the Texans' lives and jobs that could have been saved if he had stood up to this president.
The veterans and the military members who would have liked to have seen somebody stand up to this president with the way he disrespects the military.
It hurts to think of what it could have looked like. What could have been if John Cornyn had, you know, stood up to the president and trusted the American people with information whether it was, you know, correct, data-driven information about this virus or, you know, clearly disagreeing with the president publicly. I just think about what might have been.
LEMON: I want to read something from an op-ed from retired Navy Admiral William McRaven. This op-ed is in the Wall Street Journal tonight titled "Biden Will Make America Lead Again."
He says he is pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small government, conservative, but writes -- quote -- "If we remain indifferent to our role in the world, if we retreat from our obligation to our citizens and our allies, and if we fail to choose the right leader, then we will pay the highest price for our neglect and short-sightedness. I voted for Joe Biden."
So, he voted in your state. Trump will likely get a good share of military votes. But how many do you think are up for grabs?
HEGAR: Oh, I think he is going to get -- I think that the vast majority of military votes are going to go to Joe Biden for the same reasons that not only Admiral McRaven but many other military leaders have laid out, for the same reasons that have driven me and other veterans and members of intelligence community to run.
Since this president was elected, we see the grave threat that he poses to our Constitution and our national security interests, the reputation that we are losing around the world for not keeping our word whether it is Paris climate accord agreement or the Iran nuclear deal, withdrawing our influence at international bodies like the U.N., just destroying our reputation.
It is a huge national security threat. And we took an oath when we put on the uniform to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And whether it is, you know, the violent removal of peaceful protesters and clergy from Lafayette Square or inciting violence against the Michigan governor.
I mean, there are multiple instances of domestic threat to our Constitution that men and women in uniform aren't going to stand for.
We're not as loud about it. It is hard for me even as a candidate to talk about it because it is kind of trained into us that you have to serve both parties commander-in-chief.
LEMON: Right.
HEGAR: So it is extraordinary thing to see so many members of the military and generals stand up and being so vocal.
LEMON: I want to make sure I get this question in, because you've seen those long lines. I am sure you've witnessed them. You've seen them on television.
HEGAR: Yeah.
LEMON: Early voting breaking records all across the country. In Texas, more than four million votes have already been cast. That is nearly --
HEGAR: Yeah.
LEMON: -- 24 percent of all registered voters in the state. What does that turnout mean for what we could expect to see election night?
HEGAR: It means everything. It is probably why Cornyn is distancing himself now from the president. He is seeing the same things that we're seeing and the numbers. And I am so inspired by the amazing turnout because we have been 49 through 50th for voter turnout for a long time.
We were just classified as the most restrictive state for voting. We are one of only six states that haven't relaxed restrictions for vote by mail during this pandemic.
And John Cornyn has said things like if you can go to the grocery store, you can vote. It is positions of privilege like that that he says that make it very clear to us that he doesn't understand the challenges of regular working Texans and is not interested in fighting for us.
So being a low voter turnout state and very populous state, you hear four million, and you can't tell, you know, is it a lot or a little, I got to tell you, not only is it 24 percent of registered voters, it is already in one week of early voting and we have two more to go and Election Day, it is already nearly half of the vote in 2016.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
HEGAR: I mean we've registered nearly two million voters since 2016. This is the time that Texas is going to lead again and we are going to show the country and the world who we are, who we are, not aligning ourselves with a president and a senator who don't --
LEMON: Well --
HEGAR: -- acknowledge that systemic racism exists and don't, you know, speak about white supremacy and domestic terrorism in a way that heals our nation. Yeah, we have a lot of work to do, but Texas is ready to step up.
LEMON: I got to say that you are down in the polls.
[23:45:00]
LEMON: You probably have your own internal polling, but this is -- I want to put up a poll earlier this month by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune. It shows Biden behind Trump by five points. You trail Senator Cornyn by eight points. But there is a margin of error, plus or minus four percent. How do you close the gap?
HEGAR: We are just working our tails off. But I got to tell you, Don, we just had a poll came out today, we are within the margin of error. Polling in Texas even FiveThirtyEight says Democrats outperform the polling. You can't really look at just the polls in Texas without really doing some deeper, like, data analytics, because what is a likely voter in a state that is doubling its turnout?
So, we don't really look at the polls that much. We look at turnout. We look at connecting with rural voters in places where we need to lose by less or when. I did really well in the rural half of my district, outperformed all the statewide candidates because rural Texans know that I am fighting for access to education and health care, which are not only important in rural Texas but those are where most of the jobs are in rural Texas.
I am fighting for us to lead in the next chapter of the energy industry instead of continue losing jobs like we have since 2014. I am fighting for immigration reform more in line with Texas values and American values. Texans are starting to see that.
I have every confidence that the amazing candidates we have up and down the ballot, it is an amazing slate of candidates really, not just me, that we are a very military state.
We want a commander-in-chief who understands what it means, the service and sacrifice that it means to deploy troops. We have a lot of military families and veterans that want a better, healthier foreign policy environment for men and women in uniform. I mean, I could talk for hours about why Texas --
LEMON: Yeah.
HEGAR: -- is going to vote for me and Joe Biden. We'll have a lot to celebrate in November.
LEMON: But we have to go. And I am going to say, you know, best of luck to you. I don't mean with the election because, you know, may the best man or woman win. I am talking about raising two kids in the middle of a pandemic.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: It ain't easy.
(LAUGHTER)
HEGAR: Teacher appreciation day every day.
LEMON: Thank you. Be safe. I appreciate you coming on.
HEGAR: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Thank you.
HEGAR: Take care.
LEMON: Long lines plaguing millions of Americans who are already out and voting. But my next guest is not letting that discourage anybody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm red. I'm red. I'm going to get my damn jush. They can stand out there for 15 hours. I got my chair. They can stand out there for 24 hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You got to plan your vote, with only 15 days to go until Election Day. But more than 28 million Americans have already cast their ballot. I want you to take a look at this map of the country. As of today, nearly 40 states are allowing early voting and a lot of people are excited about that.
Listen to Texas voter Belinda Varnado. She posted a video on TikTok and has gone viral.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANARDO: OK, guys, I'm going over here and get my jush. I got my grown-folks hair on. I got my savage clothes on. I'm ready for this damn heat. I'm ready for these people, because I'm going to vote.
VARNADO: OK, guys, I'm going over here and get my jush. I got my grown-folks hair on. I got my savage clothes on. I'm ready for this damn heat. And I'm ready for these people, because I'm going to vote. And there ain't (bleep) going to stop me. Not this song. Not this heat.
And y'all need to go and get your jush and get your vote on because let me show you, I'm ready, I'm ready. I'm going to get my damn jush. They could stand out there for 15 hours, I got my chair. They could stand out there for 24 hours, I got my snacks. I ain't going to play with these hoes. I'm going to vote. And I said you go vote, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Belinda Varnado joins me now along with her daughter Chevelle. Look at your daughter. Do you see your daughter, Belinda? By the way, hello. I'm so happy to meet you guys. Your video is amazing. Why did you do it?
VARNADO: I just wanted everybody to be prepared for those long lines. You know, you see them on TV. And how could you not be prepared, especially, for somebody -- I'm a senior, and I have bad knees. I wasn't going to be able to do it.
(LAUGHTER)
VARNADO: I had to be prepared.
LEMON: I love that you had on your grown-folks hair, though. That's amazing. Listen. I've been telling people that they have to prepare like they're going to a tailgate. So, you went. You prepared to wait in a long line. How long did you end up waiting?
VARNADO: I actually only waited an hour and a half. I was surprised because when I drove out there earlier, the line was around the corner, up the street. By the time I came back with my chair and my snack, fills in a little bit, but I was still sitting there with my chair and my snacks.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I love you so much. It's amazing. You really want seniors to get out and vote in this election. Why is it so important? And how do you tell them to prepare for it?
VARNADO: I want everybody to get out and vote, especially my seniors, because my seniors might think just because the lines are long, they're not going to be able to stand out there. And they're not going to want to stand out there, especially if they're full of arthritis, like myself.
(LAUGHTER)
VARNADO: So I want them to get that chair, get their snacks. Someone might be diabetic, you know. I had an umbrella, too. So when the sun shifted on one side, I shifted to the other side.
LEMON: You made it an event, right? You made it fun or interesting, rather than just standing in line. Perfect. Very, very, very smart. And you are volunteering to drive people to the polls, I understand.
VARNADO: Oh, yeah. They call me. I am going to take them. We're going to pick some cans up but I'm going to take them.
[23:55:00]
VARNADO: We got to get some gas money.
LEMON: The issues that motivated you to go, to vote?
VARNADO: Well, what motivated me was the fact that somebody talking about taking my social security away. And they're talking about taking my health care away. And I just can't see that happening.
And I'm -- I'm ready for somebody to get in the White House with compassion and a sense of humor, with respect for other people's feelings and their wellbeing. And I am just fed up with it. So, I need everybody to get out and vote. If you want change, for the better, get out and vote.
LEMON: You better tell those young folks, too. Like, Belinda, sitting behind you, they need to get out and vote, as well. I mean, like Chevelle. Sorry about that.
Belinda, you are a gem. Thank you so much. You inspired me. I'm so happy to meet you and Chevelle, as well. You take care now.
VARNADO: Thank you.
CHEVELLE BROOKS, DAUGHTER OF BELINDA VARNADO: Bye-bye.
LEMON: Thank you. Bye, y'all. And bye, y'all.
(LAUGHTER)
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