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Don Lemon Tonight
Two Hours Until Election Day And America Will Choose Between The President And Joe Biden; President Trump And Joe Biden Make Final Pitch To Voters; Cities Across The U.S. Are Bracing For Possible Unrest In Wake Of Election; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Praises Caravan Of Trump Supporters In Texas After Attempt To Force Biden Bus Off Road; President Trump Says Campaign Lawyers Will Go In During Election Night. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired November 02, 2020 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Now it is time for the big show, "CNN TONIGHT" with Captain Tweed (ph), D. Lemon, right now.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I get to wear - I get to be in a real studio, I get to wear a real suit.
CUOMO: Wow! You should have a pith helmet on, and a pipe, and do some election deducing.
LEMON: You know when I get everybody, you know, how we say in the South, "You are as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof."
CUOMO: I remember that in a Musical.
LEMON: It was called "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
CUOMO: Oh?
LEMON: It was a Broadway play.
CUOMO: Thank you.
LEMON: And then the thing and then right.
CUOMO: I'll Google it.
LEMON: But everybody is so jumpy.
[22:00:00]
LEMON: Calm down, people. It's going to be OK. We're going to be fine, don't you think?
CUOMO: Well, we have the most powerful man in the universe telling you that there is going to be violence in the streets if things don't go the way he wants.
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: It can make people feel a little extra caffeinated. LEMON: Yeah. Well, I think people should ignore him.
CUOMO: Ignore the noise.
LEMON: Ignore the noise.
CUOMO: Focus on poise.
LEMON: Ignore the noise and ignore, uh, anyone who tells you they know what's going to happen. Ignore anyone who tries to push you towards violence. Ignore anyone who tries to push you away from facts and science as we have been saying on our programs for the past four years.
Uh, so, I think people should ignore that, and I hope that there is no violence. I have a very strong faith in Americans that they won't resort to that. If they do, because the president said so, then it tells you a lot about this president.
CUOMO: While I still prefer ignore the noise, focus on poise because it rhymes and --
LEMON: Because you seemed to came up with that.
CUOMO: I will tell you this. I did not come up with it. But, I will tell you why there is reason for hope.
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: We don't usually talk about hope. But here's why there's reason for hope. When people are angry, they quit on systems. They quit on processes. They don't believe in them anymore. Look at the legendary, historic turnout --
LEMON: You're reading my mind.
CUOMO: -- we have had already.
LEMON: Well, that is why I tell people to just calm down, because there is -- again, no one knows what is going on happen. But you can -- that does portend some things for the president and for Joe Biden when you look at the turnout in certain areas in the country.
CUOMO: Or it spurs this president to a new term.
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: Hopefully, it carries a mandate of doing more and better. But the people are participating.
LEMON: I don't mean one or the other. I am just saying that people are participating.
CUOMO: Huge.
LEMON: They are interested in the election. For better or for worse, whatever this presidency was for the past four years or will be for the next four years, at least it ignited something in people that maybe was asleep.
Maybe people were sleeping on some things in America and this brought people to -- it woke them up and brought people to the realization that maybe you just can't rest on your laurels, you have to fight to keep a democracy intact.
CUOMO: Look, as long as people are willing to use their voice that way --
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: -- and exercise the franchise, I think it actually reduces chances of people doing it the wrong way --
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: -- because you see that people are buying in to the system in a way that we have never seen before. That is all good.
LEMON: Yeah.
CUOMO: But we will be together, my brother.
LEMON: We will be. We will be.
CUOMO: We will take it one step at a time, and remember that we don't know what we don't know until we absolutely know it.
LEMON: Maybe the big projection will happen when we are on. But I doubt it. I mean, that is Wolf Blitzer, right?
CUOMO: The only thing that we will know for sure is what I'll be wearing.
(LAUGHTER)
CUOMO: Now, I'm going to take all the black and white stuff out of your office. I want to put some nothing but colors.
CUOMO: There is nothing else.
LEMON: All right. I got to run.
CUOMO: D Lemon, I love you. We are living history. What a night tonight is.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Hello, everyone. This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon in the big studio. I can actually -- I don't know if you guys can see around this, but we are -- this is the -- this is it. This is it. Everyone is kicked in to high gear. The news networks are in high gear. People at home are engaged. They are watching because this is it.
We are in the middle of a pandemic, but we are following everything that is going on. You know, it is two hours, less than two hours until Election Day. It's really like an hour and 57 minutes. And it all boils down to this, doesn't it? You know who President Trump is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have the power to vote. So go out and vote. Unless you are going to vote for somebody other than me, in which case, sit it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, and you know who Joe Biden is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My message is simple. The power to change this country is in your hands. And I don't care how hard Donald Trump tries. There's nothing, nothing he can do to stop the people of this nation from voting no matter how he tries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, and tomorrow, you will choose, America. America will choose. Choose between those two men. Choose the future of this country moving forward. More than three million of us have already voted. That's more than 2/3 of total votes cast in 2016. Can you believe it? It's a lot of people.
And tomorrow, millions and millions more will stand up and be counted. They are going to wait in the lines. They are going to go to the polling places. They will make their voices heard, because they need to be counted. We all need to be counted.
Tonight, the president is making clear that he doesn't want all the votes to be counted. He is threatening the governor, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, accusing him of cheating for wanting to count every single vote, for making the voting process available to as many people as possible. That is the American way.
The president is saying that we are -- we are all watching you, governor. And he is making the outrageous claim that abiding by the Supreme Court's extension there and taking the time to count every legal vote makes it physically dangerous in Pennsylvania.
[22:05:05]
LEMON: What is that? What is that? What does it say about the president of the United States? What does it say about his fear that he is going to lose? He is threatening a governor and invoking violence? And then he doubled down on it again tonight on Twitter because that's what he does.
I want you to hear me, everybody. And I want you to be ready, OK? Because again, as I said, you know who Joe Biden is, you know who this president is. I want you to be ready because the president is trying to make you think there is something wrong with counting legal ballots after Election Day.
Here's the fact. The fact is we already -- we always count ballots after Election Day, always. There is nothing unusual about that. It's never an official winner on election night. It's not. It's always just a projection. It's a projection made on television or by news organizations. That's all it is. It's not official. No one comes out and says, I officially declare. That doesn't happen.
It is a projection by a news organization and as we have seen over the past four years, all of the norms that we abide by, like the projection, people believing in facts and numbers and math and counting, right?
So, we have abided by these norms but this president and this administration just blown right through those norms. Everything that we have taken for granted, decency.
So it is clear what the president is setting up to do if it's a close night, which it may or may not be, again, as I just told you, as I just with Chris, nobody really knows, so anyone who tells you they know, they're BS'ing you.
So -- and if the votes are still being counted, which they surely will be, declare a victory or claim fraud or claim theft, it's his MO. Mark my words. Remember, he did that even in an election that he won. You know that. So I just want you to be prepared. So, sit down, relax, take some deep breaths, it's all going to be OK.
Joe Biden's former boss is back on the campaign trail tonight with the same message at first -- that he first made, that made him famous, and then made him president. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tomorrow, after four years of failure and division, we have the power to change America. Tomorrow, you can put an end to the politics that tries to pull us apart just to win an election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is Election Day in America tomorrow. In less than two hours. People are excited, people are anxious, people are worried, people are nervous. And yes, tonight, on the eve of the election, the president is on the campaign trail, talking about violence, which is not something a president should ever do. It's not what the president of the United States does. But, there you have it. That is who he is.
And maybe you see your city boarding up. They are boarding up buildings. And then you think, well, what is going to happen? You wonder why they -- they are building the fence around the White House tonight. Why are they doing that? You wonder why people are driving around various places in the country blocking roads and disrupting lives acting aggressively. Why are they doing it?
You wonder what tomorrow will bring. Bute even after the ugliness of the campaign in the last four years, I think I know something about America, OK? And I think in your heart, you know it too, don't you? Whether you love President Trump or you hate President Trump. Whether you love or hate Joe Biden. This country is divided.
But I don't think this country wants to be that way. I really don't. The reasons why we are divided, those reasons run very deep, and it will take work to root them out, to fix them, right? Racism, lies, mistrust, inequality of opportunity, education, health care, all that. How do we get all those things? What do we do?
It's a changing world. It's a changing climate. The demographics are frightening for some people. But it's inevitable. The demographics of this country, it is inevitable. They are not going to stay the same. We have a pandemic right now.
I don't think that people are -- people like living fractured, weakened, sickened as a people, as a democracy. I don't think people like that. So, I know you are anxious. But we can get through this. We are Americans. This is still the greatest democracy in the world, for now.
You have to fight for it. And you have to vote for it. So be patient. Stay calm. Make sure your voice is heard. Don't let anything stop you from voting in the most important election in our lifetimes. We say it a lot. This time, it really is what we mean.
[22:10:00]
LEMON: It really is the most important election of our lifetime. This race is not over. Now, the voters will decide. So listen to what they have told us over the past week. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you accept the results, whatever the result may be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's America, you got to accept the results whatever they may be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many people have sacrificed before us. So it's almost a spit in their face if we don't take the time to show our kids that they have this right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just feel like it's my duty to. If I'm going to live in America, I may as well get my opinion out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was like, yes, I'm finally a full member of society again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really excited that the line is long. I think it's great. Democracy is in action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move past any difficulties. Move past any hurdles. Cast a vote. Get it in the system. It will safe and it will count.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It felt good. It felt like I was somebody. It just made me feel so good. And now, I know I am somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ah. If you were sitting at home and you are thinking, oh, it doesn't matter, I'm not going to vote, it doesn't count, did you hear what the lady said? She is probably old enough to remember when women couldn't vote, maybe, I don't know, but she probably remembers a time when women couldn't vote and when of color had trouble voting. Poll taxes and so on and so forth.
And you are going to sit your behind at home and say it doesn't really matter? And then you want to reap the benefits and reap the rewards of what other people voted for? Or you want to complain about it on the other side?
No. You don't deserve that. That lady doesn't deserve that. The people who fought for you to be able to vote, they don't deserve that. They did it. People fought for it. People died for it. Don't throw it away, people. Our future really is in your hands. Vote.
CNN's Chief White House Correspondent is Mr. Jim Acosta. He is at the president's rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Phil Mattingly is at the magic wall with the latest on the road to 270.
First off to Mr. Acosta. Jim, good evening to you. Listen, I was on the air in 2016 when President Trump had his final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And here we are again tonight. What is he closing with?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, I think you set that up perfectly just a few moments ago. I think there is a whiff of authoritarianism in the air on this night before the election. The president has settled on an ugly divisive closing message.
As you were just teeing up a few moments ago, the president has been threatening the governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, saying that he has eye on the governor as they go into this process of counting the ballots after Election Day.
And you mentioned the president tweeting about this earlier this evening just to show you how volatile and misleading the rhetoric is. Twitter has put a warning a label on the president's tweet about this. That has also happened earlier this evening.
This has been message that the president has carried over the last several days. No grievance has been unaired. No grudge has been unnourished as the president decided to bring an end to this campaign with what has been some very divisive rhetoric.
He has gone after Congressman Ilhan Omar. He has referred to former President Barack Obama as Barack Hussein Obama. All of the low lights that we expect to see and hear from the president on the campaign trail, he is using almost all of them in these final hours of the campaign. You almost need a Fox News decoder ring to understand some of what the president is talking about.
But in the meantime, in terms of this event that we are going be seeing in just a few moments from now, Don, this will be the final rally for President Trump of this 2020 campaign. As we saw in 2016, you were talking about being on the air four years ago, we are going to see Vice President Mike Pence out here and we are going to see members of the Trump family.
And so this rally could last for a good bit of time. But, you know, if you talk to people inside the Trump campaign and president, I think, talked about some of this earlier today, they feel ending in Grand Rapids, Michigan is somewhat a good luck charm for the president. It worked four years ago.
And they feel like these rallies that have been bringing out thousands and thousands of Trump supporters albeit not wearing masks or not social distancing has perhaps energized his base just enough to close the gap with Joe Biden on Election Day.
As you were just saying a few moments ago, Don, we have to wait for the those ballots to come in, for those votes to be counted to find out whether or not the president can shock the world again.
LEMON: Jim Acosta in Grand Rapids, loud music again, it's four years ago all over again. Jim, thank you very much. Be safe. We will get back to you as the news come in.
ACOSTA: You bet.
LEMON: We appreciate it. So, you heard what he said. He is going after Ilhan Omar. He is going after Barack Obama, calling him Barack Hussein Obama. You know what's going on, people. Don't pretend that you don't.
[22:15:00]
LEMON: He is bringing up those two names. We have seen record-breaking pre-election voting with more than 96 million votes cast so far. But what states do the president and Joe Biden really need to win?
CNN's Phil Mattingly is at the magic wall. Phil, good evening to you. We are literally in the home stretch right now. This is -- this is intense. No one knows what is going to happen. So show us the path to 270 for both Trump and Biden, if you will.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN U.S. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don, look, I feel like over the last couple of weeks, we have done about two dozen different formulations or math to start off. Let's use this as the baseline.
Everything that filled -- that is currently filled in is a safe state. Red is for Republican, for President Trump. Blue is for Joe Biden. And Joe Biden starts, when you look at safe states, with a 203-125 electoral vote lead.
Now, let us start filling a couple of things in. Look, if you are a Democrat, you know Joe Biden has to defend all of these states Hillary Clinton won in 2016. They look at Nevada. They feel good there. They look Minnesota. They feel good there, as well. They look at New Hampshire. They feel good there, as well.
So, what are the states that Joe Biden needs to take away to get above 270 electoral votes? Well, there are a couple of different pathways here. I think there is the easiest pathway, at least for the Biden campaign's perspective, and that is rebuilt what everybody was shocked and got blown apart back in 2016.
You had Pennsylvania, you had Michigan, and you had Wisconsin. And guess what, another electoral vote. And guess what, you get yourself above 270 electoral votes. I think the big question going into the night and going into tomorrow is President Trump and his campaign believe they have a very real shot once again in Pennsylvania.
President trump and his campaign are not stopping in Wisconsin tonight. So, what are the other options for the Biden campaign? That doesn't get President Trump to 270. Does the Biden campaign have other options? This is where new swing states or states that Hillary Clinton lost narrowly back in 2016 really come into play.
If Joe Biden wins the state of Florida, place of strength for the Trump campaign, look how that shoots him up to 268. Then all he needs is any combination of North Carolina or Georgia or Arizona, and all of a sudden, he is over. You know what missing right now? Colorado. Democrats feel very good about that, as well.
So, you see there are number of different combinations here. I think one of the big questions going into the night and going into tomorrow is President Trump has had weak poll numbers in the Midwest, in Michigan, in Wisconsin, to some degree in Pennsylvania. They feel like it's closing there.
So if President Trump loses Michigan and Wisconsin, holds on to Pennsylvania, what is his pathway? Well, he has got a number. You win Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. They feel good about Ohio. They feel good about Iowa. Texas has gotten a little toss up over the last couple of days. And then you hold on to Arizona, which they won back in 2016.
I think the bottom line here, Don, is President Trump has a pathway. He has a very clear pathway. However, it's narrow pathway. Joe Biden has multiple pathways and his campaign feels they can take advantage of that. One clear pathway, though, is right here. You add the Midwest. You build back the blue wall. The Biden campaign is above 270.
That may take some time for us to get those results. You know this well. We have talked about it a lot. But that is the clearest pathway. No question about it.
LEMON: Absolutely. Listen, the reason that people have this PTSD sort to speak over the election is because of the results in 2016, right?
MATTINGLY: Yeah.
LEMON: So, Phil, how do the scenarios that you just laid out compare to the eve of the election in '16?
MATTINGLY: Look, I think it's natural that everybody who walked into 2016 assuming Donald Trump didn't have a pathway and then was shocked when all of a sudden he rolled through here and blew it apart is still a little bit nervous or a little bit concerned that maybe the polling isn't right this time around if you are a Democrat.
If you are a Republican, it makes you feel like whatever the polls say, there's a real opportunity.
There are a couple of things I want to point out here that I think are important. Go down here and look at some of these key states that are out here right now. North Carolina, which is a swing state that President Trump won in 2016, Biden with a four-point lead in the CNN poll of polls.
In Pennsylvania, Biden with a six-point lead in the poll of polls. Michigan, Biden with a bigger lead that he had back in 2016. In Wisconsin, he had a 10-point lead, as well. So, the polling is a little bit different. There's been more and stronger polling in the states. That should kind of add some quality to what you are seeing right now.
But I think the biggest -- the biggest difference going into tomorrow night is the states that right now are toss ups that perhaps may not have been back in 2016. Look, Hillary Clinton's campaign gave Arizona a shot. They fell short. They fell short by five. In 2018, Democrats flipped the Senate seat there.
The other one is Georgia. Democrats feel like Georgia is very, very much in play. And the biggest wildcard of all that I don't think anybody has an answer to but everybody is looking at, the surge in the early vote already significantly above 100 percent of 2016 total vote is the state of Texas right now.
That is not to say that any of these three are going to go into the Biden column. But it is to say, once again, that I think the biggest difference from 2016 to now, President Trump very much can run this pathway back to 270. But he has got other states to defend. He is not digging in to a lot of democratic territory, and Democrats feel like they have a very real chance at Georgia, Arizona, and Carolina.
You saw Joe Biden in Ohio. They feel like they are on offense. Will that lead them to 270? We, as you noted, don't know and we will have to wait and see tomorrow.
[22:19:58]
MATTINGLY: But they feel like there are many different pathways as opposed to just one, which is reopening the blue wall.
LEMON: Phil, you are not helping. You are not helping anybody who is on the Trump side.
(LAUGHTER) LEMON: You are not helping anyone on the Biden side. And you are not helping me with people who are blowing up my phone saying, what is going to happen tomorrow night?
MATTINGLY: That means -- Don, what that means is I have done my job.
(LAUGHTER)
MATTINGLY: As effectively as humanly possible. Look --
LEMON: I know.
MATTINGLY: -- your lead in was rock solid --
LEMON: Yeah.
MATTINGLY: -- in a sense that, like, people need to vote.
LEMON: And no one knows.
MATTINGLY: You will see. Here, I will give one hint.
LEMON: Yup.
MATTINGLY: One hint to watch early in the night, long before you and I come on air early in the morning on Wednesday, which is the first states that are reporting are Indiana, Kentucky. Watch Indiana, suburbs of Indianapolis. There's a big house race there. That will be a sign in terms of the suburbs are really blowing towards Biden's way like they did back in the 2018 midterms for Democrats.
And watch Northern Kentucky. That was a sign back in 2016, not that Donald Trump was winning in Northern Kentucky, but the margins he was putting up in Northern Kentucky which spreads into Southern Ohio, which moves over in the Western PA.
Margins matter. We will be able to compare early in the night, even as we wait for more information to come in. Those will be some leading indicators you can pay attention to. It won't say how the race is going to end, but will give some signs about where things may be going.
LEMON: Yeah. As I said, you know, I'm just messing with you, but --
MATTINGLY: Yeah.
LEMON: -- no one really knows. If the people say they know, then they are lying to you. So, yes, you have done your job, and I'm sure people are going to say, that's a nightmare scenario. I'm going to be up all night because of what Phil said. But, hey, we do what we can. Phil, thank you. I will see you later on.
We are going to break down what you should be watching for tomorrow night and in the days ahead. That as the president and Joe Biden make their final pitches to voters tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I was elected to fight for you and I fight harder than any president has ever fought for his people.
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: It's time for Donald trump to pack his bags and go home!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard working Americans out in the cold. Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has divided this nation and fanned the flames of hate. Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, so, I won't even say less than two hours because it is less than two hours. But it is really like an hour and a half just over until Election Day.
Joe Biden is wrapping up his night after barnstorming Pennsylvania, finishing off with a campaign even in Pittsburgh with Lady Gaga. Kamala Harris is taking to the stage in Philadelphia to than supports after she held her own drive-in event with John Legend.
Both the Biden and the Trump campaign are spending a whole lot of election eve in Pennsylvania, a key state in determining who will be the next president.
So, the perfect person to speak to right now is Ms. Symone Sanders, senior adviser for the Biden campaign. Symone --
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I don't know --
SYMONE SANDERS, SENIOR ADVISER FOR BIDEN CAMPAIGN: Don, greetings.
LEMON: Greetings. I don't know if you're keeping your eyes open with toothpicks or whatever, but I know you guys are working really, really hard.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Whatever you are doing.
SANDERS: I literally hung up a call to join this segment with you, Don.
LEMON: I am so happy that you did that, Symone. Thank you so much. So let's talk about the closing arguments. I have to start by asking you about the president's allegations of cheating and potential violence in Pennsylvania if people abide by the Supreme Court decision there. What will the Biden campaign do about this?
SANDERS: So first and foremost, I think it's important for folks at home to understand, Don, that unfortunately, the president of the United States is actively participating in voter intimidation and voter suppression. But folks at home should understand that this election will be decided by the American people, not by Donald Trump.
And so just because Donald Trump and the Trump campaign say it, doesn't mean it is true. All over this country, more than 90 million people have gone to the polls. At the same point in time in 2016, only 50 million people had voted, Don.
Tomorrow, millions more people across this country and places in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania where I am right now, in Wisconsin, in the second congressional district in Nebraska, in Georgia, all across this country, people are going to go to the polls and they are going to decide who the next president of the United States will be.
LEMON: The lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania spoke tonight about hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots that haven't been returned yet. He said they will either go unused or people need to go vote in person tomorrow. The margin last time, as you know, was just 44,000 votes. Are you concerned about all these ballots not making it in on time?
SANDERS: No, Don, we are not concerned at all. Well, we are confident that the American people want to and have been actively participating in this process. Look, I know lots of folks that have said I want to wait and cast my ballot until Election Day, I want to go and stand in line at the polls.
Now, to be clear that wasn't me, Don, I dropped my absentee ballot in the drop box last week. But there are millions people across this country that would like to vote in person. In the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, people are going to vote in person tomorrow. It will be safe and their votes will be counted.
LEMON: Yeah, we made it a thing. I can't see my immediate family, right? My blood family. But I took my mother-in-law to be and my fiance and we all made it a thing and went to the polls and waited in line no matter how long it took. It did not take as long as we thought. But we made our voices heard, which I think every American should do. They shouldn't be intimidated by any kind rhetoric.
Let's talk about the former president, Barack Obama, attacking President Trump while campaigning for Biden in Florida and in Georgia. Here he is today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: He talks about black unemployment. He said he is the best president for black folks since Abe Lincoln, really? Don't move, vote. His son-in-law said, oh, black folks, they have to want to be successful. That's the problem. That's the problem, really? Like, 300 years of history is not the problem?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: We have seen all these reports about the Democrats being concerned about black voter turnout and minority turnout.
[22:29:59]
LEMON: Have you seen an increase in the black vote after the former president goes to a certain area?
SANDERS: You know, Don, what I can tell you is what we have seen is that African-American voters and Latino voters across this country have been consistently engaged throughout this early vote process and will be showing up, I believe, in record numbers at the polls tomorrow.
I want to be clear, though, we have absolutely invested in these communities in a lead up to Election Day. On June 19th, we launched millions of dollars paid advertising program and we had two specific tracks of that program, one for African-American voters and one for Latino voters.
We also have been engaging young voters. Just the other day, Senator Harris was in Miami Gardens while Vice President Biden and former President Obama were in Flint and Detroit, speaking to black voters.
Senator Harris went and visited with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson's 5000 Role Models Program, specifically a program that speaks to and mentors young black men.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
SANDERS: We have been intentional and have been very clear about who we believe are keys to a winning coalition tomorrow for us. So, I just think that we have done the work, but the work is not yet over.
What you heard tonight, Don, at our closing evening election eve event from anchoring from the east and the west in Pennsylvania was in fact that people still have to go to the polls, that this is not over, and the people will have their say, but the people have to make sure they vote tomorrow.
LEMON: All right. Symone Sanders, best of luck. I will be talking to you soon. Thank you.
SANDERS: Thank you, Don. See you soon.
LEMON: Absolutely. Sources telling CNN that team Trump is more optimistic now than in 2016. Biden said there is no way Trump will be declaring victory tomorrow night. Less than two hours until Election Day. Make sure you stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have a lot of people that say, we don't want to talk to you. And then they go vote for Trump, right? The hidden vote or whatever they call them. Somebody said there, the shy voters. My people are not shy.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: They are not shy.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, it is historic night and tonight will have nothing on tomorrow night. When at this hour, we are going to be deep into counting the votes and projecting states. Can you imagine? Your nerves are probably going to be wrecked. But calm down.
I want to bring in now CNN Senior Political Reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson, CNN Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein, and Political Commentator, Mike Shields.
You guys ready?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: We are ready.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, yeah.
LEMON: All righty. I'm ready, too. OK, so, good evening to all of you. Nia, I want to start with you. Unity and a call to the polls on one side, and then you have a grievance and talk of violence in the streets on the other. This has been a pretty stable race in more ways than one, except for this whole weirdness that is happening at the end. But it is pretty stable.
HENDERSON: I think that is right. Donald Trump has had a stable belief that his core group of supporters is enough to win him the presidency and that he can engage those folks using divisive rhetoric.
And on the other hand, you had in Joe Biden somebody who at the beginning of his campaign talked about this being a battle for the soul of the nation, this being a character election. He is turning back to some of those things as well.
We also know that going back to at least 2018, Donald Trump's approach to the presidency, approach to leadership has alienated large swaths of the GOP demographic. People like suburban women, college educated white women as well, and in some ways some of those white college or white non-college voters as well, that you see Donald Trump obviously trying to rally in some of his last events.
So, we will see. We will see what happens tomorrow. Millions have already voted. We will see millions more vote tomorrow. We will see if these fundamentals maintain themselves.
LEMON: Yeah, we will see. That's the right phrase. We will see. We will see. Ron, nearly 100 million Americans have already voted.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
LEMON: This is crazy. How important is a turnout tomorrow on both campaigns to both campaigns and what are you going to be looking for?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Well, I think it's important for both sides obviously. But probably more important for Trump because all evidence is that early vote leaned heavily democratic and there is some evidence that even a substantial minority of the Republicans who voted early were the Republicans who were most likely to vote for Biden.
So, President Trump needs to really run up the score tomorrow. I will be looking, Don -- you know, as I said to you before. I think any Democrat running against Trump would increase the margins for Clinton inside the big metro areas that were already the most skeptical of him, places like the suburbs of Philadelphia or the suburbs of Denver or Mecklenburg County in North Carolina.
What Biden brings to the table is potentially the ability to sand down the Trump margins in Trump country.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
BROWNSTEIN: I thought it was very revealing today that he was in Beaver County, Pennsylvania and Kamala Harris was in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, two counties that the Democrats lost by 20 points last time.
When was the last time you saw a candidate on the eve of the election in a county that his party lost by 20 points the last time? It underscores how committed they are to chipping away just a little bit at Trump's dominance of those mid-size blue collar cities and towns. I think that is a big part of what I will be watching tomorrow. Can he do it in places like Erie, Scranton, Racine, Kenosha and so on?
LEMON: Mr. Shields. I want to know if Mr. Shields is nervous. Is he excited? Is he calm? Is he confident? Because folks inside the president's campaign say that they are cautiously optimistic, Mike. He pulled off a stunning victory four years ago. Obviously, he is the
president. To do it again, what do you think needs to happen?
MIKE SHIELDS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER RNC CHIEF OF STAFF: Yeah, well, look, Ron has written a lot around this, but there is a great resorting of the American electric. Just as we are talking about some voters who have moved away from Trump to the Democratic Party, there are voters that have move to Trump.
And so the county is really polarized along education and income lines in a way that we haven't seen in generation. That has been a resorting of the parties. President Trump brings out low propensity voters that don't normally take part in the electorate -- in the election. That is why Joe Biden has to go fight over Pennsylvania. Before 2016, Pennsylvania was pretty blue.
[22:40:01]
SHIELDS: Trump put it on the map.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
SHIELDS: He put Michigan on the map. He put Wisconsin on the map because he is talking to those voters. He has sort of, as you pointed out, seeded the educated suburbs and is turning out more rural and downscale voters across the country. That is why he has a chance. He has a narrow path in the Electoral College but he has a path.
And what we are seeing is Democrats were leading in mail-in ballots, but then when early voting started, Republicans started cutting into a lot of these battleground states, cutting into that lead, and a lot of our data shows that on Election Day, it really skews more Republicans. So that is why the Trump campaign is so optimistic.
LEMON: Ron, I want you to weigh in. What do you think of what Mike is saying? Do you think there are enough of the types of voters that he mentioned to make up the difference and to bridge the gap between the early voting and what happens on Election Day?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, as a long-term proposition, I mean, what Trump is doing to the Republican Party is trading fast growing, dynamic, economically prosperous metros for the small town and rural areas that are basically stagnant in population. That is a tough long- term trade, as I think Mike would agree and many Republicans also will agree.
You are going to see it in the House, for example, very dramatically. That is the question, Don. Look, I mean, you know, if you look at the existing electorate, it is very, very difficult for Trump to get there because he is not going to win the blue collar whites by quite as much as he did last time.
He is going to lose the college-educated whites by more. He is going to lose young people by more. He is going to make slight probably gains among African-American and Hispanic men potentially, but (INAUDIBLE) among women that the numbers aren't going to move much.
So there is, as Mike said, the one path for him is to produce an electorate different than anybody expects with more non-college and more non-urban whites than pollsters anticipate. That is what he did last time.
The problem is that last time, the impact of his increased turnout was magnified because democratic turnout was depressed. African-American turnout dropped a lot from '12 to '16. This time, he is putting more people in a bigger pool because everybody is voting. We may see close to --
LEMON: Yeah.
BROWNSTEIN: -- or above 160 million people voting. It's a little harder to change the numerator. Just change in the numerator doesn't matter as much when the denominator is getting that much bigger.
LEMON: Nia, you're going to have to blame these two guys because they took up your time.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: We have plenty of time tomorrow --
HENDERSON: It is always that way.
LEMON: We got hours and hours and hours. It is their fault. It is not my fault. Guys, you own her an apology and you owe her some time next --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
LEMON: -- time we are on. Thank you all. I appreciate it. I'll see you soon. The stores are boarding up windows and un-scalable fence being put up around the White House. Have you ever seen that before? That shows you where this country is. Is this country too divided to come together?
My next guest and I, we always find a way to come together. Sometimes, we fight, but we always come together. America can, too. That is a former governor, John Kasich. He is next.
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[22:45:00]
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LEMON: This is it. Just about, oh, an hour, a little bit more to Election Day. Did you think the Democratic candidate in 2020 will be making a big play at the end for Ohio? Really? Joe Biden is having a last-minute trip to the state that Trump won by more than eight points last time. CNN's latest poll of polls is showing that the two men are tied in the Buckeye State with 46 percent each.
Joining me now is the former Republican Governor of Ohio, John Kasich. He has endorsed Joe Biden. How are you doing, sir?
JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: I'm good, Don. How about you? Get ready. You are going to have a lot of hours you're going to be on TV.
(LAUGHTER) LEMON: Oh, my gosh. Who you telling? As we say. Who you telling? This is what it comes down to. All the conversations that we have had, all the heated discussions, all the kumbayas (ph), everything that we have had, it really comes down to this. As I have been saying, the country needs to come together, right? We need to be calm and no one should be promoting violence.
Actually, I should not be surprised if the president is doing it, but it's just disheartening at the end here. I know you did not think that this was even possible just a few weeks ago. Your state now is in play.
KASICH: Yeah, Don, it's really kind of surprising. And look here, the day before the election, when you show up at a place and, you know, we focus on Pennsylvania, right, all the appearances in Pennsylvania, we need to talk about that in a second, but Ohio has gotten so close and it's all about turnout.
He went to Cleveland, media market, 40 percent of the state, you know, big giant media market. So, they obviously feel that it's in play. It's too close to call, in my opinion.
Don, you know, you were talking about people being brought together and that means that every vote has to be counted. We can't have the lawyers trying to determine who won this election.
LEMON: Yeah.
KASICH: Just let all the votes be counted. In Pennsylvania, you know, there's now noise about the fact that they can count these votes up to three days after the election. In Ohio, you can count it 10 days after the election, if it's postmarked before the Elections Day. All the states have their certain provisions. But what we don't want to do is see a cavalcade of lawyers saying, no we can't that, we can't count this.
We just, you know, in a situation in Texas where the judge finally said, no, we are going to count the votes of the drive-in voters, that and along with some Republicans, they got a little news to tell you, I got the word tonight that there are going to be two Republican members of Congress who are going to put something out tomorrow about count all the votes.
Now, it's not coming from the leadership, but it's coming from others and maybe that will become contagious.
LEMON: OK, so you were speaking of leaders now. Not the leadership, but people who are in positions of power now.
KASICH: No.
LEMON: So, let's talk about -- this is -- I want to get your reaction. Marco Rubio in Florida is praising the Trump supporters who tried to force a Biden bus in Texas off the road. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I saw yesterday a video of these people in Texas. Did you see it?
CROWD: Yes.
RUBIO: All the cars on the road with -- we love what they did, but here's the thing they don't know. We do that in Florida every day.
(CHEERING)
RUBIO: I love seeing the boat parades. You've seen the boat parades?
(CHEERING)
RUBIO: We thank all the great patriots in those boat parades on behalf of the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:50:00]
LEMON: What a jack. I mean, we expect this from the president now because we've seen it so much. What is Marco Rubio doing?
KASICH: I'm shocked. I'm just shocked, Don, to hear him say that. And, you know, moving that bus off that freeway, there was a report at least on the news, as we can believe it, that the FBI is actually investigating that.
LEMON: Hang on, hang on, John. Can you guys put the camera back on? Marco Rubio, Marco Rubio, if you're listening, if you're watching John and I right now, imagine your family is on that bus. Imagine you were on that bus. Your wife, your kids were on that bus, and you're saying --
KASICH: Yeah.
LEMON: -- that that is something that's good? You're encouraging that? What is wrong with you? I didn't say what happened to you, because you've always been wishy-washy about where you stand on things, but what is wrong with you?
There are people who are on that bus whose lives were in jeopardy. John, go on. I'm sorry. I can't believe he would even say some crap like that.
KASICH: I think sometimes, Don, they get caught up in the moment. That's the only way I can -- I mean, it just was wrong for him -- I'm stunned, frankly. Look, I was on the stage with Marco. There were a lot of debates. Trump attacked him, you know. They really went at each other, and you hear this today. I just can't believe it.
So, I don't know what to say. You know, I never liked to personally attack anybody, but what he did down there obviously caught up in the enthusiasm. If I did something like that, I don't know. I'd be sleeping outside. My wife wouldn't let me in the house. LEMON: You know I would call you. You know the phone calls we would have, the conversations.
KASICH: You should call me.
(LAUGHTER)
KASICH: I mean, it's just unbelievable. And Don, look --
LEMON: Do you remember the conversation we had that day when I was walking my dogs?
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: It wasn't fun.
KASICH: Well, I tell you, we're having fun tonight. But, you know, it's very deadly serious tomorrow. We got to have some laughs and that's the way it has to be.
LEMON: Yeah.
KASICH: And I just -- we are all praying for calm. You know, I will tell you something, Don. I read a column today because we can all get wrapped up around what we believe.
LEMON: Quickly, John. They make me go, but I want to hear what you have to say.
KASICH: Yeah. Mitch Albom wrote a piece in "The Detroit." It made me think about the fact that we got to let everybody think the way we want to think and respect them and stop our goon in fighting. So, anyway --
LEMON: All right.
KASICH: Hopefully, we'll be fighting next year a little bit, huh.
LEMON: Of course.
KASICH: I hope so.
LEMON: Of course. That's if you'll come back.
KASICH: All right.
LEMON: All right. Thank you. I'll see you soon. If you call me, carry on.
KASICH: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Talk to you later.
KASICH: All right. We'll see.
LEMON: The president seemingly egging on violence and warning Pennsylvania's governor that -- quote -- "We have a lot of eyes on the governor and his friends." That over Supreme Court ruling allowing votes there to be counted after the election. The courts and your vote, that's next.
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[22:55:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And when the Supreme Court gave you an extension, they made a very dangerous situation. And I mean dangerous, physically dangerous. And they made it a very, very bad. They did a very bad thing for the state. They did a very bad thing for this nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Physically -- cone on, man. Election Day is just a little over an hour away. President Trump is already threatening to send in lawyers to stop the counting of some mail-in ballots.
But I need to say this, and I cannot stress it enough. We may not know the winner tomorrow night. And guess what, that is perfectly normal. That is normal. Nothing unusual.
I want to bring in now CNN Election Law Analyst, Richard Pildes.
Richard, I'm so happy that you can join us here this evening to explain to the viewers and to the voters what's going on.
Pennsylvania's governor, Tom Wolf, says his state will not be intimidated over voting by President Trump, who says his campaign lawyers are going to go in soon as the polls closed. What will the challenge be and what does the law say about this?
RICHARD PILDES, CNN ELECTION LAW ANALYST: So, in Pennsylvania, the challenge is going to be to these ballots that come in three days after Election Day. That is legal under the laws as they stand. Republicans tried to take that to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court already 4-4 decided not to block that law, to allow the process to go forward.
I do absolutely expect the Trump campaign lawyers to go into court in Pennsylvania after polls closed and try to get an order that these ballots cannot be counted, take that issue back up to the Supreme Court as quickly as they can.
LEMON: So today, Rick, a federal judge in Texas rejected a Republican- led challenge to throw out 127,000 votes that cast at drive-thru polling sites. Republicans are now appealing the decision. Why do they keep losing this case and then they keep putting it back up and losing? Why?
PILDES: Don, I have to say I think this is probably the most single outrageous lawsuit in this entire election. It wasn't actually brought by the Republican Party of Texas or the Trump campaign. It was brought by a conservative activist in Texas. He had a very republican Texas Supreme Court, unanimously republican. They unanimously rejected these claims.
He went before one of the most conservative federal district judges in the country. That judge rejected these claims. He may want to continue to pursue this in the Court of Appeals, but I think there is almost zero chance that this outrageous suit would be brought.
Remember, these are people who have voted already. And now, he is trying to get those ballots, 127,000, thrown out. I think there is almost zero chance that would happen.
LEMON: I've got about 20 seconds left here. You don't see this going anywhere, do you?
PILDES: Not that lawsuit. And, you know, we don't want the election to be decided in the courts. I don't think the courts want that, but I think that would obviously not be the way we want this to be resolved. We want the voters to resolve the election, not the judges.
LEMON: And you expect to see other cases?
PILDES: I expect to see lawsuits, and I expect the Biden campaign to go to court if they have to protect their voters. They'll be right in there, too.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. So, as we have been saying, it probably won't be decided? We don't know? Likely won't be decided tomorrow.
PILDES: I'm just a lawyer.
(LAUGHTER)
[23:00:00]
LEMON: Thank you, Rick. I appreciate you joining. Thank you so much.
Well, everyone, that's it for me for now. Thanks for watching so much. I really appreciate it.
