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Beto O'Rourke's Presidential Bid Comes to Abrupt End; White House Is Getting Some Insider Help On Impeachment; Brad Pascale: Democrats' Impeachment Vote Helped Trump's Fundraising; Suburban Pittsburgh Voters Weigh In On Impeachment; Homes Burn As Thousands Forced To Flee California Wildfires; Nationals & Fans Celebrate First Franchise Title Win With Parade, Rally. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 02, 2019 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: That is stand out. There is slightly more room (ph) now in the once very crowded field of the Democratic candidates. Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke called it quits last surprising supporters who were gathered in Iowa to hear him speak. O'Rourke says his campaign essentially ran out of money.

Also making big changes but still in the race, California senator Kamala Harris. She made deep cuts in her staff before heading to Iowa and has focused nearly every resource she has now on that early caucus state.

Let's get to see to wrap Iowa now in CNN's Leyla Santiago.

Leyla, it is hangover day from last night's liberty and just fundraiser. According to the people you have talk to, which of the candidates brought their a-game to Iowa on this very important weekend?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does kind of feel like hangover day, Ana. I think you are right on with that.

Listen, we are the fish fry where you can see senator Amy Klobuchar is speaking right behind me. She was just asked about child care. And she is actually one of the names that has came up. I just spoke to a couple from here in Cedar Rapids. And they said that the folks that stood to them last night Buttigieg, Warren as well as senator Amy Klobuchar, for very different reasons.

But remember, the last Iowa poll that came out showed that two-thirds of the likely caucus goers still have not made up their mind. They very much could change their mind as to who their pick will be.

Big night last night when they all took to the stage, had a ten-minute pitch, tried to distinguish themselves. One issue that is really coming up is Medicare for all. And that's because Senator Elizabeth Warren, right now in the polls in the top spot, put out a plan on how to fund it. And she says she will do it without raising taxes for the middle class, something that Biden calls mathematic gymnastics. Said it yesterday. Said it again this morning. Today at this fish fry which by the way is on the menu is, as you

might imagine, fried fish as well as cupcakes and tea. You know, what these voters take away, 93 days from this Iowa caucus that will be a big moment for these candidates as things really get going for the 2020 election.

So right now a lot of folks here from unions that are asking questions about infrastructure and the economy and quite a few exchanges. You are hearing an applause as Senator Klobuchar short of throws a jab at President Trump. So you are seeing that they like the sound of that.

But what will actually resonate over this weekend beyond the cattle calls an the celebrations late last night, beyond the fish fry and the town halls that many of these candidates will have, we will have to wait and find out.

One person who is not mere, was scheduled to be here, is congressman Beto O'Rourke who dropped out of the race via twitter making that announcement just a few hours before that celebration last night in Des Moines of 13,000 people. My sources are telling me this was an issue of fund-raising, you know.

He is someone who was known to be a big fund raiser at least in the senate raise, raised $80 million in his run against Ted Cruz. Had a very big day after he announced here in Iowa, (INAUDIBLE) to be exact. Had a very big day on fund-raising. But after that really didn't see the numbers that they expected to see play out as a result fund- raising being a big factor in him dropping out of the race and saying he will continue to advocate for gun reform in his future and doesn't plan right now anyway according to my sources to make a run for the Senate in Texas -- Ana.

CABRERA: I got to wonder if people are there showing up for this event because of the candidates or because of the fish and the menu item. That fish fry sure sounds good. This is a quintessential midwestern cuisine, isn't it?

SANTIAGO: Why not both?

CABRERA: Yes, no kidding. It is a double whammy. Thank you. In a good way.

Leyla Santiago, appreciate it.

Three months and counting now until the Iowa caucus. That's the first real gauge of who Democrats want to run against President Trump in 2020. And according to this new poll, it's basically a four-way tie or a four-way race, at least, that keeps getting tighter and tighter. In fac CNN political analyst Harry Enten says Iowa is wide open right now. And he joins us.

And Harry, we can see in the latest polling it is very tight at the top. But you said there's also some historical context that makes you say it is anyone's game.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. So you know, if you look at the latest "New York Times"/Sienna college poll, what you see is Elizabeth Warren at 22 percent and then Joe Biden who is technically in fourth place is within the margin of error at 17 percent.

So what I did is I went back over time since 2000. I looked at all the polls at this particular point see the front-runner was polling. And Elizabeth Warren at 22 percent is the lowest of any front-runner since at least 2000 which to me indicates, oh my goodness gracious, this could be a very volatile race.

And more than that, if you look at that graphic, what do you see? You see that pretty much the front-runners if they were polling under 50 percent they all didn't go on to win the caucuses and didn't go on to win the nominations. So this to me is a wide open race. Who knows what might happen.

[15:05:10]

CABRERA: So if the front-runner is typically, based on the past and, you know, if that is a predictor, if they are typically upset in Iowa, who would you say is in a good or bad spot based on the (INAUDIBLE) at polling?

ENTEN: Right. I mean, this to me is a very wide open race. Look, if you were to look right now at the top four, I really think any of them have a really good shot of winning Iowa, at least about an equal shot -- Warren, Sanders, Biden. Buttigieg who seems to be coming on particularly very, very strong, you know. He gave a good speech last night if you listen to most folks.

He is someone who has favorable ratings in the state. So he is probably the one candidate I would keep an eye on. But I also want to point out, there are a slew of lower tier candidates right now, including Amy Klobuchar who was brought up in that recent report, who sort of seen a little boost in her numbers, not quite say that double digit yet. But four percent, five percent, we are starting to see the number of polls. So she is someone else I might keep an eye on.

CABRERA: Should Joe Biden be worried?

ENTEN: I would absolutely think the former vice president should be worry. I mean, he started out this race in the lead in Iowa. He was in the high 20s. And now he is, you know, at best in 20 percent. In this particular "New York Times," poll he is only at 17 percent. So yes, I would definitely say he would be worried.

But look. I think one of the most difficult things to recognize is sometimes momentum either forwards or backwards, it doesn't necessarily keep on occurring. There's no such real thing in my mind in politics as momentum. So it could be possible that over the next few months, he actually rebounds into say the 20s and based upon how many candidates we have in the race, that may be good enough to win the caucus.

CABRERA: He may still is winning the electability argument when those voters are ask who do you think is most electable. I also want to ask about Beto O'Rourke dropping out. Where do you see his support going? And could it have an impact?

ENTEN: Yes. You know, look, Beto O'Rourke entered this race, you know, in the high single digits, low double digits in the "New York Times"/Sienna college poll from the state of Iowa. He was only at one percent.

There's not a lot of ways to slice one percent going in very many ways. Nationally, you know, he is at two or three percent. Not -- again, not a lot of support. I think the real question is going into the Texas primary, which is a little bit more down the road on, down super Tuesday, I believe, that's a lot of pie that could be sort of split up. And to be honest with you, his support tended to be among more moderates voters but also younger voters. So the two candidates that sort of speaks to my mind are Biden and Sanders. That's where I would expect the support probably to go.

CABRERA: OK. Harry Enten, as always, thank you so much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

CABRERA: With more now on this tightening race, I want to bring in White House correspondent, McClatchy D.C., Francesca Chambers and CNN political analyst Molly Ball of "Time" magazine.

Molly, starting with congressman O'Rourke dropping out we told money was a big factor calling it quits. But he's far from the bottom in the latest list of cash. IF you take a look here, there are a lot of candidates with even less money. Being realistic, are they being realistic about their ability to compete?

MOLLY BALL, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, how much money you need as a candidate depends on how big a campaign you are running. And so, I would say the candidates who are not quite at the bottom, so they are not running a completely shoestring operation where it's just sort of a guy, maybe one staffer and a plane ticket, if you are actually trying to set up campaign offices, if you are actually trying to build an organization, if you are actually kind of have a staff on the ground, then you need money.

A lot of candidates are going to be able to stay in this race sort of nominally if they are not building much of an organization. But then when you get to the point where you do actually want to be in contention and you need to build something, that's what you need money for in very practical terms.

So I think that, you know, you will see more candidates be winnowed forcefully out of the race by their lack of cash as we proceed with this process. But I wouldn't be surprised to see, you know, most primaries aren't this big. This is the biggest primary field in history.

And before that the biggest was the Republicans back in 2016. And a lot of this is a function of the different political and media environment now where sort of anything goes and the old rules don't apply and candidates are able to catch fire without building that traditional organization. So we could well see a lot of sort of dead ender candidates who are in it all the way to Iowa because they carry still some hope.

CABRERA: I was hoping we were going to be able to put up a graphic to show where sort of the fund-raising stacks up. But for our viewers to know, there are six candidates who had less cash on hand at least in the latest report compared to where Beto O'Rourke was.

Senator Kamala Harris wasn't one of them who was necessarily hurting in that department. However she is making a major change to her campaign signaling that they feel a need for a change. She is closing a lot of campaigns, cutting staff, going all in on Iowa. But if you look at the polling she has been losing ground in that state, three percent in the latest polling.

Francesca, how do you explain this strategy?

FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY D.C.: Yes, this isn't good news for Kamala Harris to be honest about that. Because her all-in on Iowa strategy, she's still not even polling in the top three in Iowa. In a campaign memo this weekend, her campaign explained why it's yanking staff and redeploying them to Iowa, it said that she had been there five times in the last month.

It boasted about how she had been there ten more days than any other candidate. And then you get this poll that shows it hasn't helped her whatsoever. So now her campaign is basically pulling out of New Hampshire altogether in order to focus on Iowa, in order to focus on South Carolina. What they are hoping for is what I call a slingshot effect. Which is that if she can do well in Iowa, it will really help her on super Tuesday when her home state of California votes.

On super Tuesday, yes, there will be a lot of voters in California, but the vote by male begins on February 3rd which is the same day as the Iowa caucuses. So if you are a California voters and she doesn't do very well in Iowa, you might say to yourself, I don't know if I should support her in California because she may not get this far.

In California, you have to get 15 percent of the vote to even get any delegates. So if you're one of those voters you might say if she doesn't hit the 15 percent threshold maybe I'm just better off voting for one of my other favorites who might do a little bit better.

[15:11:06]

CABRERA: Molly, Pete Buttigieg is experiencing some momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire. He's not necessarily at the top of the field, but listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this is getting to be a two-way. It is early to say. I'm not saying it is a two-way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see that it's coming into focus, you and Warren?

BUTTIGIEG: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: A two-way race, Molly? Reality check. Are we there yet?

BALL: No. And he didn't say that, right. He said that he saw that potentially down the road. He was not trying to say that he is already in that position. I think I agree with him. I don't think that's particularly hard to foresee. And I think what Warren and Buttigieg have in common is they have not been trying to chase these singular moments trying to catch lightning in a bottle with a single zinger at the debate and get voters that way. They have this these very sort of tortoise-like strategies where they are consistently performing, consistently impressing voters. They have consistently got a message and they seem to know what they stand for.

And so I think the candidates who have tried harder to have that one single, you know, viral line or interaction haven't done that. And I think what you see voters gravitating to are the candidates that they feel they can see over and over again and feel comfortable with. And so, you know, in a field where there are so much choices, what I hear all the time when I'm out on the campaign trail from democratic primary voters, is we like everybody.

It is not, I never vote for, you know, these ten people. Maybe there's one or two they don't like. But the problem for so many voters is that they do like everyone in the field. And so they are waiting for someone to impress them on a consistent basis and for them to be comfortable for somebody actually potentially being on the top of the ticket, being the Democratic nominee, potentially going up against Donald Trump in a debate.

CABRERA: Well, Leyla pointed out too, a lot of voters are simply undecided. They may have their favorites or they maybe leaning one way but it doesn't necessarily mean they are locked in.

Francesca, Senator Elizabeth Warren just released her plan to pay for Medicare for all. This has been an area of vulnerability for her. Do you think she is less vulnerable now in this area because she has a plan finally or did she just add more fuel for critics to pounce on the plan itself?

CHAMBERS: Both can be true. I think going back to the point that Molly is making about consistency, Bernie Sanders, one of his best arguments that he has been able to make is he has been saying the same thing for a number of years. That's one way he's distinguished himself from Elizabeth Warren. Some of his supporters, his surrogates are sharpening their attacks a little bit more.

Not necessarily on Elizabeth Warren but by calling other people in the race without describing them directly, copy cats, and saying that senator Sanders is the original is what Nina Turner said so why would you vote for a copycat? So they have been preparing for her to not just put out this plan but other people in the race, right, to maybe even tact to the left as they try to pick up support from those undecided. The question is at this point whether or not Bernie Sanders can expand

his support. Iowa for instance is a state he did very, very well in and almost beat Hillary Clinton last time around. He is not performing as high as he did there. New Hampshire is a place he's surging now. That's the state that he won that last time around. So it will depend on whether he can win there as to whether or not he can continue on I think in this race.

CABRERA: A lot of balls in the air. A lot can change between now and then.

Ladies, thank you for that discussion. Please stick around because there is more to discuss.

New CNN reporting uncovering the information pipeline from top House Republicans hearing the closed-door testimony to the White House. This as a Trump cabinet member pushes back at the idea of testifying behind closed doors. Why energy secretary Rick Perry says he would only speak to the committees in public if he testifies at all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:40]

CABRERA: As the impeachment inquiry advances into a new public phase, the President's defense is out of his usual playbook, himself. President Trump continuing to be the sole architect. In fact, the White House press secretary just said that the President quote "is the war room. He feels confident with the peep he has in place. We don't feel the need for a war rom. And we will see what happens."

What's more, instead of avoiding the topic of impeachment, Trump is consumed proceedings. In private, we are told, he has brought up impeachment in meetings with evangelical leaders, lawmakers and other. In public, his supporters have been hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The media are continuing with the deranged impeachment which this is one I never thought it be invalid. And the word impeachment, to me it's a dirty word, not a good word. Totally phony deal. They know it. Everybody knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Well, now we are learning -- now we are learning the White House is getting some insider help on impeachment and it's coming from these two congressmen who have been a part of the closed door deposition of witnesses. Remember, no White House counsel is allowed in these sessions.

CNN's White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond joins me now.

Jeremy, talk to us about what you have learned about Republicans Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows. [15:20:01]

JEREMEY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Ana. Congressman Jordan and congressman Meadows are among the President's closest allies. They are also among just a very small group of Republican lawmakers have who have actually attended almost every minute of every one of these depositions that have taken place behind closed doors as part of this impeachment inquiry.

And now I'm also learning with my colleague Pamela Brown according to four administration officials that congressman Jordan and congressman Meadows have been quietly helping White House lawyers sift through some of these public reports about the testimonies. Offering guidance about some of the testimony that has been given in these impeachment depositions.

All of course this to the extent that they can. Because according to House rules, they actually cannot divulge the substance of these testimonies. And both congressman Jordan and Meadows insisted that they are not violating House rules in any way. They have not discussed the substance of these allegations.

Congressman Meadows told me that he has only offered broad characterizations. And he is not sharing specifics. But they have had these conversations with Patsy Baloney the White House council and other lawyers who are essentially crafting the President's legal strategy to defend him from the impeachment proceedings that are sure to begin quite soon, Ana.

And congressman Jordon, I should add, also told me he has never divulged information to the White House that he is not allowed to divulge. But certainly an interesting development as the White House really grapples with trying to understand exactly what these allegations are that the President is facing in these closed-door testimonies where they are not allowed to have an attorney present.

CABRERA: OK. So one of those testimonies this week was from army lieutenant colonel Alexander Vindman. And there are new details emerging about what he was told to do when he voiced concerns about the administration pressuring Ukraine. What are you learning about that?

DIAMOND: That's right, Ana. Well, lieutenant colonel Vindman was on that call that the President had with the Ukrainian president back in July. And he was also the official who immediately registered his concerns about the call and the appropriateness of what the President was discussing with the national security attorney John Eisenberg.

And now we are also learning according to a source familiar with Vindman's testimony that he testified behind closed doors earlier this week. That Eisenberg also directed Vindman not to discuss the call and his concerns about the call with anybody else.

Eisenberg is also the attorney, Ana, who actually directed that the transcript, the rough transcript of the President's call with the Ukrainian president, be moved to that highly classified server that is typically reserve for intelligence that requires a code word classification.

Now Eisenberg is one of those attorneys that House Democrats are trying to bring forward for deposition. He is actually now been subpoenaed and his testimony is scheduled for Monday. Still to be determined whether he is actually going to show up or if he's going to try and defy that subpoena -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Jeremy Diamond at the White House. A lot more to talk about. Thank you for that.

Let's open up the conversation. Francesca and Molly back with us. And also here, CNN Political Analyst, Shan Wu, a former federal prosecutor.

Shan, first, going back to this reporting about Jordan and Meadows going to the White House, helping them with strategy even though they have been in these closed-door secret hearings. Is there anything illegal about they are doing?

SHAN WU, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There could be, Ana. If they were mishandling classified information, it is possible they might be violating that, a little bit hard to tell. Obviously, many people at the White House are authorized to receive classified information. Parts of the White House are skiff. I think the bigger damage for them is the credibility on political basis.

The Republicans can't argue they have no eyes and ears in the room when these two are their eyes and ears there. And moreover, the idea that they are only doing general characterizations about public statements is just silly. And what they do? They tug on their ear if it's right or wrong? They are of no use to the White House if they are not giving specifics. So I don't believe that they are not giving specifics.

CABRERA: Let's listen to more of what the President had to say last night talking impeachment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's all a phony deal, this whole impeachment scam, to try to undermine the 2020 election, and to delegitimatize one of the greatest elections, maybe the greatest. I mean, let's give George Washington credit. But everybody expected he is going to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Francesca, White house press secretary Stephanie Grisham says Trump is the war room. How is that working out?

CHAMBERS: Well the President you heard him there last night, he was talking about impeachment again. He has been tweeting himself about it a lot, right. He has been explicitly focused on that a lot of the times on his twitter accounted. And the other day when he was in the meeting with evangelicals that you mentioned before, he brought up Ukraine and he brought up his call. I was told by people in the room. And about how he again said it was a perfect call and he did nothing wrong.

And then what happened in the loom is that other people who were participating mentioned impeachment to him. And they said that they were upset because it because they feel like Democrats are trying to impeach them and their values. And you heard him make a very similar argument last night, which is that impeachment isn't just an attack on him. It's an attack on the 63 million people who voted for him in that election. And that is something similar to what evangelicals told him in the meeting at the White House on Tuesday that took place behind closed doors.

[15:25:30] CABRERA: Molly, the vote this week Republicans stayed united voting against the impeachment procedural resolution and that is despite the dozens of Republicans who have been part of these depositions and know what all exists as far as evidence.

Here is what Bill Crystal, who served both in Bush senior and Reagan administrations, he tweeted this after the vote. Having called around some, reassured in my judgment that those House Republicans open to voting for impeachment simply decided to stick with the party yesterday and to save their dissent for the real vote. No point telegraphing the jailbreak to the prison guards ahead of time.

Molly, is he right? What are your sources telling you?

BALL: I have not heard that. And it could well be wishful thinking on the part of those who are hoping still against hope against everything we have seen these last couple of years, that at some point the rest of the Republican party will decide to break with the president.

I mean, look. All of the strategy that we see the President doing right now, the press secretary is quite clearly telling the truth 100 percent. He is the strategy, he is the messenger, he is the one who is going to go out there and decide what gets said in his own defense. And he is not at all going to leave this topic alone.

It's 180 degrees the opposite of the strategy that President Clinton practiced when he was staring down the barrel of impeachment and his advisers first of all set up a war room that was separate from the President. And second of all, counseled the President not to talk about it so that the public would believe he was still doing the nation's business and not obsessed with his own impeachment.

But how did that work out for him? He lost a few dozen Democratic votes on the impeachment in the House. Was then eventually acquitted by the Senate. But what we see the President being able to do very powerfully is keep his party behind him, whether through, you know, messaging, intimidation, whatever else. He has got the Republican party solidly in his corner, until he doesn't. But we have yet to see that happening. So I would be very hesitant to forecast that such a thing might eventually happen.

CABRERA: Shan, what about White House stonewalling efforts? Because deputy national security adviser Charles Kupperman said he is seeking quote "judicial clarity" between following Congress' subpoena or a White House order not to testify. Now a judge has set a hearing for December on this. So if the hearing isn't until December, is this an effective strategy to block the testimony, stall until it's perhaps too late?

WU: It is in effect a strategy if the Democrats allow themselves to have to wait on the courts. And I think it is tine for them to pursue the court's strategy. But the far wiser thing for them to do is simply wrap up these attempts to delay and obstruct into articles of impeachment of obstruction, much like there were in the Nixon case. In criminal law we call that charging the other crimes evidence, meaning if you want to bring in other bad access to show a pattern, you have to do a lot of litigation. But if you just charge the individual bad acts as crimes, that cuts through all that. So that is probably good way for them to do it.

CABRERA: We know Kupperman shares an attorney with John Bolton who is also been asked to testify. I wonder, we don't know if he will actually move forward and, you know, comply with a subpoena or if he will pull a similar move as we have just seen with Kupperman. But how crucial do you think their testimony really is?

WU: I think they are both very critical. Bolton, obviously, particularly crucial. Legally, they are in slightly different positions because one of the things that Kupperman is asking for, as you pointed out, is this advisory opinion. And courts don't like to do that. I mean, judge Leon is not going to tolerate any delays. But he may find this not quite teed up right now because Kupperman isn't defying the subpoena. Bolton is clearly asking, give me one, tee it up and I will decide whether to comply or not. So from a legal standpoint it makes a more sense to first get a subpoena, actually choose to defy it. The you got a real case for the judge (INAUDIBLE).

CABRERA: I do want to ask about this new book from Donald Trump Jr. And apparently, it's going to be coming out next week and criticizes Robert Mueller saying that Democrats put Mueller before Congress quote "so he could stutter and babble his way through five hours of testimony." This is according to an excerpt obtained by "The New York Times." CNN has not obtained the copy of the bool.

Francesca, bottom line, public hearings didn't move the needle on public opinion after the Mueller hearing. Do you expect it would be different this time?

[15:30:02]

CHAMBERS: Polling on impeachment has been a mixed bag. The Trump campaign, my sources in the Trump campaign, say they think it's a good way to fundraise.

When House Democrats had to vote the other day on impeachment, Brad Pascale said they made $3 million. It was one of the biggest fundraising days they've had so far.

As far as the polling itself goes, Republicans they say are -- it's ginning up Republicans to support the president. It's also upsetting Democrats who don't support the president but they already weren't supporting the president. So they feel there's not that much to lose.

It's hard to say, a year out from the 2020 election, how much of an effect that's going to have on the president's chances for re- election. Quite a far way out at this point.

CABRERA: Got to leave it there.

Francesca Chambers, Molly Ball, Shan Wu, great to have you with us. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Make sure to tune in tonight at 8:00 Eastern for a CNN special, "THE WHITE HOUSE IN CRISIS, THE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY," hosted by Anderson Cooper here on CNN. Again, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

We know Washington is consumed by what's being said in these closed- door hearings. But what about outside the Beltway? Is the president's support wavering over this Ukraine scandal? We check the mood in one important swing state, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:14]

CABRERA: Should Congress impeach and remove President Trump from office? According to a new poll from the "Washington Post" and ABC News, 49 percent of people says yes. But Americans are split.

CNN's Miguel Marquez talked to voters in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania about where they stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): What one thinks of impeachment --

ANDREW GMITER, DEMOCRAT: I think he deserves to be impeached, absolutely.

MARQUEZ: -- often tracks with what one thinks of Donald Trump.

MARQUEZ (on camera): What do you think of impeachment?

JAMES DILLIE, TRUMP VOTER: It's bull.

MARQUEZ (voice over): James Dillie, a coal miner, and his step-son, Roc Dabney, are huge supporters of the president, proudly displaying Trump flags like this one. They see impeachment as Democrats trying to reverse the outcome of 2016.

DILLIE: I think they're just headhunting. They're mad they lost and just trying to get him out.

ROC DABNEY, TRUMP VOTER: I think it's something that Democrats are doing right now. They're just like grabbing for straws really.

MARQUEZ: Washington County, south of Pittsburgh, has trended Republican for years. In 2016, Donald Trump beat Clinton here by more than 25 points.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Aren't you excited for the first female president?

JACQUELYN KRACHALA, TRUMP REPUBLICAN: No!

WILLIAM KRACHALA, ANTI-TRUMP REPUBLICAN: I am.

MARQUEZ (voice over): CNN was here on Election Day in 2016. The Krachalas, then married 37 years and diametrically opposed on candidates.

Today?

MARQUEZ (on camera): You voted for Donald Trump. You voted for Hillary Clinton. Has anything changed?

J. KRACHALA: No!

MARQUEZ (voice over): Now, both of them 90, they still lovingly bicker.

W. KRACHALA: I think he's a crook.

J. KRACHALA: None of that.

W. KRACHALA: And I think he's going to get us into a war.

J. KRACHALA: Well, you're not dead and we had wars before that.

W. KRACHALA: We're not done yet.

MARQUEZ: Jacquelyn couldn't be clearer on impeachment.

J. KRACHALA: Well, that's ridiculous.

MARQUEZ: Bill, a lifelong Republican, is as opposed, as ever, to Donald Trump, but impeachment?

W. KRACHALA: I don't know whether impeachment would solve anything or not. It just would create a lot of upheaval. But I'm hoping to hell that he gets elected out of office.

CODY SPENCE, TRUMP VOTER: My health insurance is -- alone --

MARQUEZ: Cody Spence, a registered Democrat in 2016, was struggling to pay for health care. Today, his financial situation has improved. He credits Donald Trump.

SPENCE: I don't think at this point that there is a reason to impeach him. And you get some hard evidence that the people of the country can see, that's a different story.

MARQUEZ: Some moderates question the wisdom of an impeachment fight now. SUSAN LUISI, MODERATE DEMOCRAT: Well, we've already gone pretty far

into this presidency. So do we really want to spend the last time of it impeaching someone who may or may not be elected again?

MARQUEZ: More progressive Democrats say full steam ahead on impeachment, regardless of the outcome.

GMITER: It probably still favors the Democrats.

MARQUEZ (on camera): And then if he goes on to win the election?

GMITER: That's going to be -- that's going to be a rough another four years.

MARQUEZ: Democratic officials here in Washington County say that not only does dislike of Donald Trump help them, but impeachment does as well. They have an off-year election coming up in just a few days and they say impeachment and the dislike of Trump is already driving voters and raising enthusiasm among Democrats here. And they expect that trend to continue through 2020.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Washington County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Right now, in southern California, several hundred firefighters are struggling to contain this wildfire, which has already burned nearly 10,000 acres. We'll take you live there, next.

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[15:42:45]

CABRERA: Wildfires and a lot of uncertainty. It is the new normal for families in California as firefighters work around the clock to save millions of people and their homes from these flames.

New wildfires continue to pop up forcing thousands of people to leave. The biggest fire right now, the Kincade Fire, it has destroyed for more than 77,000 acres in Sonoma County since it started over a week ago.

And farther south, strong winds are fueling several wildfires near Los Angeles and surrounding counties.

CNN's Athena Jones is in Ventura County in the southern part of the state.

Athena, what is the situation there right now?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. The good news for the Maria Fire, where we are, is that it's about 20 percent contained. That is progress compared to last night when it was zero percent contained.

We get updates about every 12 hours. That's a lot of progress made overnight. That's because there was a breeze off the sea which have helped with humidity levels, which have been in the low single digits, which means bone-dry conditions.

And also the winds died down. Today, we're seeing calm winds, not the kind of hurricane-force winds that can spread these fires far and wide.

We're in Somis, California, it's about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. It's a small community of about 3,000. The fire started on Thursday night between Somis and Santa Paula, which is about 30,000 people.

More good news is some evacuation order that led to around 10,000 people evacuating, many of those lifted, the shelters closed.

But I want to show you some of what's going on when it comes to making sure these fires are put out and end. We've got dry conditions. That is why you see embers heading into these areas.

You can see firefighters down there, stamping out fires, using axes and shovels to make sure the sparks don't fly off from the larger fire and don't set new ones.

Many of the trees in this area are partially charred or completely burned down. We are in a very important agricultural corridor. Citrus orchards, avocado orchards, these are things that the firefighters are working to protect, in addition to things like radio communications equipment, petroleum equipment and, of course, people's homes.

Three structures have burned, about 2,500 are remain under threat. This gives you a little bit of a sense of how they're working at this trying to put this out.

[15:45:04]

One more thing I should tell you, that is about a possible cause of the fire. Southern California Edison has said that they had, right before, about 13 minutes before this fire started on Thursday night, they had just reenergized a 16,000-volt line. It just been reenergized before this fire.

We don't know if that's what caused it, but that is something they reported to California public utility regulators and it could be a possible cause of this fire -- Ana?

CABRERA: It's been in the hot seat regarding all the fires and power outages as well.

Thank you, Athena Jones, for that update. Glad to see there's a little bit of relief happening right now.

This is a taste of what it was like in Washington, D.C. earlier. There are the World Series champions, the Washington Nationals, returning home. We'll take you there live for the festivities, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: Washington is as divided as ever, perhaps more than ever on politics. But baseball is a subject for unity in the nation's capital this weekend.

America's pastime is D.C.'s pride, with the city coming together to celebrate the national's first World Series win in franchise history. It's been nearly a century since the trophy was in Washington. The Washington Senators won the title in 1924.

[15:50:14]

A victory rally for the Nationals is underway, with the Nats having wrapped up their parade through the city streets.

CNN's Natasha Chen is joining us now.

Natasha, what were the highlights today?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, that parade wrapped up and people are ready to dance. The music is blasting behind us. This is where the activities will happen on the stage shortly.

I think people really enjoyed that final bust where people hoisted the commissioner's trophy and something they waited nearly a century for.

A woman today said she waited her lifetime for a moment like this. The people next to her got to here at 2:00 a.m. for a prime viewing spot.

And you can tell people most excited to see the favorite players as well as the Budweiser Clydesdale's and the mascots.

You know that the mascots are former U.S. presidents. So imagine George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt with giant heads. Teddy was riding a bike through Constitution Avenue today.

And people. for the most part, have been pretty well behaved. Although, they have been throwing weird things, like little bottles of whiskey and beer, exploding in places, so those questionable things to throw.

But for the most part, people are excited that this is a few hours, no politics, just everyone having fun -- Ana?

CABRERA: Natasha Chen, a good break from the craziness. We appreciate that reporting.

We'll be right back.

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[15:55:25]

CABRERA: When he was 20 years old, Richard Miles was wrongfully convicted and locked up in a Texas prison for 15 years. After a full exoneration, Richard has spent his newfound freedom helping others transform their lives after leaving prison. Meet one of our incredible top-10 heroes for 2019.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD MILES, CNN HERO: My mom would always tell me, when you look out the window, don't look at the bars, look at the sky. I could change my perception within the place of incarnation.

At the end of the day, be confident in your change.

The idea really started from inside. People get out and they come right back in. I said, if I ever get out, man, we are going to start a program and we are going to help people.

Acknowledgement, transparency and forgiveness. These are the three essential things we need when we're coming back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Richard's program, Miles of Freedom, has helped approximately 1,000 people restart their lives. Go to CNN heroes.com to vote for him, for "CNN Hero" of the year, or any of your favorite top-10 heroes.

Coming up, the impeachment inquiry heats up and the Trump team is grappling with how to craft a cohesive strategy. Why the White House press secretary is dismissing the need for a war room, next.

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