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Trump Questions Looming Debate Changes after Tuesday Debacle, Says He Won Debate; Wave of Job Cuts at Major Companies Announced in Last 24 Hours; American Airlines Furloughs 8,000 Flight Attendants; City Commissioner Al Schmidt (R-Philadelphia, PA), Discusses Trump Falsely Claiming Election Fraud in Philly; CNN's "First Ladies" Premiers Sunday Night at 10:00 Eastern. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 01, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:09]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Moments ago, President Trump tweeting about the next debate. And he said this, quote, "Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third debates when I easily won last time?"

We have CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Brian Stelter to discuss this.

Kaitlan, what we need to know? It sounds like -- because what we need to know is the Debate Commission, if they propose changes, they have to be accepted by both sides, right?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And they were saying earlier, you saw from the RNC chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel, saying they should not make any changes unless both parties, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, agree to the changes they're suggesting.

The president seems to be implying with what he just tweeted, Brianna, is that if he does not like the changes, he may not participate in the next debate.

When we were in the White House briefing earlier, the press secretary was asked if the president would commit to doing a second debate before he knew what the changes were going to.

They said he wants to go to the second debate but they essentially said, no, we're going to wait to see what the changes are.

Their argument has been that they're making the debates easier for Joe Biden.

Of course, we know the commission that runs these debates, the reason they put out that unusual statement saying they're considering making structural changes is because of what you saw devolve on the stage in Cleveland on Tuesday night where you could hardly hear the candidates.

Because Donald Trump was repeatedly interrupting as Joe Biden was trying to answer questions. You saw Joe Biden telling the president to shut up, all those moments there.

No one walked away with debate with anything substantive, any real, any noticeable change in their positions on who they were going to be voting for.

The question is going to be whether or not the president is going to attend the seconds debate, depending on what the changes are.

We already know it's going to be a different format. It's supposed to be town hall-style debate with voters asking the questions, remember.

KEILAR: That's right.

Brian, the other part of that tweet is he's claiming that he won the debate, which is very odd. I mean, no one won that debate.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Nobody won that debate. All the scientific polls have shown the president did not gain an advantage at that debate.

But he sees online polls and fan polls and it makes him feel good.

Look, Trump is a drama king. He loves this kind of drama. He used to do this with the primary season debates. He refused to go to a FOX News debate back in 2016. So, there's precedent for him challenging the debates in this situation.

The difference now, Brianna, is this Debate Commission is old- fashioned. It does not want to do anything to ruffle anybody's feathers. It wants Trump to be on that stage. That's what the commission wants.

So, it is true Trump and Biden have a lot of power in this dynamic to negotiate the rules and to negotiate what might change.

Trump is putting down a hard line, saying he doesn't want any changes by the commission.

What we do know is the Debate Commission, which is this bipartisan group of old-fashioned political pros, they're thinking about making changes and they're planning to announce changes in the next day or two.

KEILAR: It's interesting, Kaitlan, because he needs a win, right? And this was not a win. Even folks around him don't think this was a win. He needs these debates and needs to do them differently.

COLLINS: Yes. Maybe he's threatening to not show up. It's pretty hard to picture he wouldn't show up to debate Joe Biden because they know that would look weak on the president's behalf.

As you noted, he's been saying he won. He's been saying he's getting rave reviews on this. But his aides know he needs a stronger performance because, privately, they know that first one amounted to a train wreck.

KEILAR: Yes, that is not a win. A train wreck is not a win.

Kaitlan Collins, Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

Some major companies are making some tough financial decisions six months into the pandemic. Disney, Shell and some major airlines announcing layoffs in the last 24 hours. I'm going to speak to one flight attendant who is facing an uncertain future.

[14:34:05]

Plus, new details about President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court. See the letter that Amy Coney Barrett once signed, detailing her opposition to abortion.

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KEILAR: More signs the pandemic is hitting the economy hard. And 837,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. That's according to the Department of Labor. The country's unemployment rate has never been this high going into an election.

Some of the biggest cuts that were announced in the last 24 hours are from some of the biggest U.S. employers, including Disney, Shell and two major U.S. airlines. All are laying off thousands of workers.

American is one of those airlines. It said they had to let go of at least 8,000 flight attendants.

American and United say they will recall furloughed workers if -- and that's a big if -- Congress immediately passes a second relief package, which seems extremely unlikely at this point.

Ian Lordi is a flight attendant for American Airlines.

Ian, thank you so much for talking to us.

Tell us about how your life and career has been impacted.

IAN LORDI, AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT FACING FURLOUGH: Wow, incredibly. Back when the pandemic started, we were deemed essential workers. So, we continued to put our uniforms on every day, shuffling the American people back and forth to get them where they needed to go.

And then over the last number of months, when we knew the extension was coming to an end, we've had so many people pushing for Congress to pass an extension for this.

And as you get closer and closer to the date, you're left, like, what's going to happen, what's going to happen.

And I walked off my last flight about an hour and a half ago? I showed up this morning. I took two flights. I took passengers where they needed to go. I walked off the airplane and now I have no job.

[14:40:03] So, I'm kind of flabbergasted.

KEILAR: I mean, that's so distressing, Ian. That's so distressing to be going through that.

How are they doing this? Are they doing this by seniority? Do you get a sense of that?

LORDI: They initially offered some early out packages and leave options for flight attendants to take. And from there, you have to start from the bottom, up. So, your most junior people up to whatever their magic number is.

And we had a number we were given a few months ago. And, at that point, I thought I might on the cusp for being phased. And then we got the actual numbers because our passenger bookings were not increasing at the rate they needed.

So, the actual numbers came in. And now I have -- just, me specifically, I have almost 4,700 flight attendants above me that need to be recalled before I get my job back.

KEILAR: Yes. What do you want Congress to know? They haven't passed a relief package, another relief package. What do you want them to know?

LORDI: I need them to know that they are forgetting the human factor in all of this. The pride has to be put aside. This is not about politics.

You are talking about people who are losing, not just their income but they're losing their health insurance.

You have -- how many of us are getting ready to go jump into an employment line?

My best friend is an Army veteran and a flight attendant. He's being furloughed. And now he's going to be an unemployed veteran.

I have other friends who have children who have just purchased houses and we're all left wondering, what am I going to do. And what happens if I catch COVID in two months? I don't have insurance. So what am I going to do?

I just -- I don't know what to do. They need to pass something and pass it quick to have the true economic recovery that they really need.

KEILAR: Ian, I appreciate you speaking with us. There's so many people in your position. It's so important we hear your voice.

Thank you.

LORDI: Appreciate that. Thank you.

KEILAR: Next, President Trump falsely claims bad things are happening in Philadelphia when it comes to elections. I'll be joins by one of the city commissioners, a Republican, to set the record straight.

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[14:46:44]

KEILAR: Hours before he took the debate stage in Ohio, President Trump pushed a baseless claim about election fraud in another key state, Pennsylvania.

After Trump supporters were turned away from a polling site in the state, the president tweeted this, "Wow, won't let poll watchers and security into Philadelphia voting places. There's only one reason why. Corruption" -- triple exclamation points -- "Must have a fair election."

And then he doubled down once on stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm encouraging my supporters to go in the polls and watch very carefully because that's what has to happen. I am urging them to do it.

As you know, today, there was a big problem. In Philadelphia, they went to watch. They're called poll watchers. A very safe, nice thing. They were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch.

You know why? Because bad things happen in Philadelphia, bad things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Al Schmidt is a Republican city commissioner for Philadelphia.

Thank you so much for being with us.

COMMISSIONER AL SCHMIDT (R-PA): Thank you.

KEILAR: So, I want to be clear because there are Pennsylvania state laws that make it very clear. They govern when and where poll watchers can observe voting. And these pro-Trump workers or watchers did not meet the guidelines.

Explain what happened.

SCHMIDT: Poll watchers have a very important function on Election Day. They receive certificates allowing them into polling places to observe and make sure the election is running smoothly, that there aren't people inside advocating for candidates or anything like that.

That's a totally different circumstance than the other day. They were entering Board of Elections offices in Philadelphia.

KEILAR: So, he's saying it's a very nice, safe thing. When you're looking to the letter of the law, that doesn't seem to match what we're seeing here.

So, tell us what they're supposed to do if they find they're confronted by someone claiming to be a poll watcher.

SCHMIDT: We never want voters to be intimidated. We want every eligible voter to exercise their right to vote, whether it's on Election Day or requesting a mail-in ballot, which we now have in Pennsylvania, or showing up to a Board of Elections office to request a mail-in ballot in person.

It's simply the voter requesting a mail-in ballot, us looking up to see the voter is an eligible voter, printing out their ballot and provide it to the voter. They can take it home, fill it out at the kitchen table, in the hallway and return to us if they want.

If there's any challenge to the eligibility of these ballots, parties have the opportunity to do that.

But they don't have the opportunity to roam around Board of Elections offices where voters are seeking services from the city.

KEILAR: So, you hear the president raising these suspicions, which are baseless, about your city. Or he could do it about any city. What is the impact? What is your reaction to this, being someone from Philadelphia?

SCHMIDT: So, Philadelphia's my adopted home. I'm from Pittsburgh. And I sometimes say the only bigotry my parents raised me with was that bad things happen in Philadelphia and it's bad place. And that's simply not true.

[14:50:08]

I love Philadelphia. We have more than 1.1 million eligible voters in Philadelphia, Republicans, Democrats, Independents and others. We want all of them to cast their vote.

KEILAR: There's a rivalry between these two cities.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: There you are bridging the gap in Pennsylvania.

Al Schmidt, thank you so much for being with us.

SCHMIDT: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: As the president is raising doubts he'll agree to changes to the next two debates, the moderator at the center of Tuesday night's disaster is about to speak. Stand by for that.

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[14:55:23]

KEILAR: A new CNN original series "FIRST LADIES" is taking a revealing look at some of the lives of some of the most influential women to serve in that role. The premier episode features Michelle Obama.

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MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: And I just push tweet? Do I press this?

KATI MARTON, AUTHOR: She's the first first lady in the age of social media. And that, too, has transformed the landscape.

M. OBAMA: I did it.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

MICHELE NORRIS, FRIEND & AUTHOR: I'm pretty certain there was some consternation by the East Wing because it was not done. It was not in anybody's playbook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are all kinds of people in the White House there to say no. Don't do this, don't take a risk, it's never been done before.

DAVID AXELROD, FORMER OBAMA CHIEF STRATEGIST: Fairly run. Fairly. People pay a lot of attention to what the first lady looks like, what she's wearing and, of course, what the first lady says. And you could easily see how a phrase could be twisted around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a lawyer, I was one of the strong naysayers against the president and first lady ever having a Twitter account. Because words matter. Every presidential statement is heavily vetted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But we had a young staff who realized that social media was where a lot of the young people we were trying to connect with were going.

M. OBAMA: Don't think of connecting to your child with email. That antiquated method is as useless as morse code.

(LAUGHTER)

M. OBAMA: If you really want to get their attention, use symbols, little symbols.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first lady was, in a sense, a guinea pig.

M. OBAMA: Can you guys do a Little Dougie. Oh, yes. There we go.

NORRIS: The West Wing came to realize that there's an energy vortex in the East Wing that's a little different than they'd seen in previous administrations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After seeing Michelle's success, the West Wing follows suit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And we're with Kate Andersen Brower. She's a CNN contributor and author of "First Women."

We talk about the first year for Michelle Obama, she was the first black first lady, which was a hugely significant milestone but also brought challenges she had to navigate.

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It did. And there's a great scene where David Axelrod, an adviser, and Valerie Jarrett, take her aside and say, watch yourself on the campaign trail with the sound off. So, she sees herself in a way she hasn't before.

She was criticized for being angry. She didn't think that was how she was coming across. She thought she was passionately making the case for her husband to be elected.

As a first black first lady, she had this incredible feeling, the sense that the other women that came before her were given leeway she wasn't going to be given.

You see the things said about her that were really unfair and the way she felt her family's safety was on the line. President Obama was given Secret Service protection before any other candidate in history.

So, dealing with those threats with two young girls in the White House, I think the series captures what her emotional reaction, as a mother, was to living in the White House.

KEILAR: And tell us what is ahead for her. Because she's written a best-selling book. She has a huge deal with Netflix hosting a podcast. The list goes on. What's ahead here in her post-first lady years?

ANDERSEN BROWER: I think she keeps going back -- she went back to the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in London where she talked to girls, many of whom are minorities.

And she said, look, I want to keep up with you. You are just like me. I want you to see that you can do what I did. So, I think we're going to see more of that.

Like you said, she's this pop-culture icon. And I know a lot of people would love to see her run for office but she's not going to do it. She does not like politics. So, I don't think we'll see her running.

KEILAR: It seems like that is a no, full stop.

Kate Andersen Brower, thank you so much. Great to see you.

And again, do not miss the premier of this. It is "FIRST LADIES." That's Sunday night at 10:00 Eastern.

And our special coverage continues now with Kate Bolduan.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us this hour.

The White House, once again, dancing around the issue of White Supremacy. Today, it was the president's spokesperson straight from the White House podium.

[14:59:59]

Offering up yet another vague response during a heated White House press briefing where Kayleigh McEnany tried to argue that the president did unequivocally condemn and has done.