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Michelle Obama Delivers Closing Argument for Joe Biden; White House Declines CDC Offers to Help with Contact Tracing; Early Voting Begins Today in Ohio, Indiana, County Clerk Offices in New Mexico. Aired 11:30-12p ET
Aired October 06, 2020 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:03]
BEIL NEWHOUSE, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: And there is no 14-point plan in politics. It's not just changing by a dime (ph). I mean, as a Kansas City guy, I think that we need some Patrick Mahomes magic in this campaign to begin to turn this around. But there are very few opportunities left for the president to make that shift. Right now, this election remains a referendum on the president. And looking at the numbers, looking at today, that's not a positive outcome.
JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: Not a positive outcome. And I know you don't want to say it. But if those numbers stay like that and don't change by Election Day, it's going to be a blood bath for other Republicans. The challenge is can the president change them or can other Republicans find a way to get out from underneath them.
Neil Newhouse, Margie Omero, grateful for your important insights today.
And still ahead for us, the former first lady, Michelle Obama, makes a new and passionate pitch to Americans to vote for Joe Biden.
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[11:35:00]
KING: A new pitch from Michelle Obama today making her case for Joe Biden, arguing, Mrs. Obama says, that President Trump has mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic while also stoking fears, she says, about black and brown Americans. It's a new video message, the former first lady testifying to Biden's personal qualities while slamming the incumbent as unqualified, someone Michelle Obama says purposefully lies to the American people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: This is a difficult time, a confusing time. And when people hear these lies and crazy conspiracies repeated over and over and over again, they don't know what to think.
The one thing this president is really, really good at is using fear and confusion and spreading lies to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: CNN's Abby Phillips joins me now.
And, Abby, it's interesting, if you listen, Michelle Obama there making a broad case against President Trump, but it's also clear, in concert with the Biden campaign, she's following the trajectory of the campaign fight. President Trump says Joe Biden would destroy the suburbs. Listen to Michelle Obama, she says go away, sir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: They're stoking fears about black and brown Americans, lying about how minorities will destroy the suburbs, whipping up violence and intimidation and they're pinning it all on what's been an overwhelmingly peaceful movement for racial solidarity. It's true.
So what the president is doing is, once again, patently false, it's morally wrong. And, yes, it is racist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We know how popular the former first lady is not only the Democratic base but also the Biden campaign believes with suburban women. Walk through the strategy here?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think that that is exactly the strategy. You heard Michelle Obama speaking directly to women in this video, talking about the struggles that families and parents are facing as they make decisions about sending their kids back to school. She talked even about her own daughters who she said are thankfully going to college from home, basically, because of the coronavirus.
But with this video, what was striking to me was seeing how broad the scope was. She didn't just focus the coronavirus. She talked about the president, in her words, basically ignoring the California wildfires, trying to get his friends out of prison. I mean, it was one of the broadest cases against this president that I have ever seen her make. And, certainly, I don't know that we can have any sort of analogy for former first ladies weighing in on current events in this way. It just shows you the depth of her feelings on this issue.
KING: The depths of her feelings and the value the Biden campaign sees in her as to motivate voters to make their plan. Abby Phillip, I appreciate the reporting and insights there.
Next for us, the White House says, this important, thanks but no thanks, to repeat offers from the Centers for Disease Control to help with contact tracing after that Supreme Court rollout event that we all know has led to at least ten new infections.
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[11:40:00] KING: Twitter now joining Facebook in taking action against a tweet from the president of the United States this morning that simply lied. The president, in a tweet this morning, saying the flu is more deadly than COVID-19. you see the president's tweet right there. Earlier we told you, our Donie O'Sullivan reported that Facebook took down a post with a similar message because the post is simply not true and it violated Facebook's rules.
Twitter now acting as well. But Twitter does not remove posts, it simply labels them and says that they are false or in violation of its standards. But the tweet will stay up. Twitter says it's important. I don't quite get this, but it may be in the public's interest for the tweet to remain accessible. But it is being labeled as false. The president of the United States tweeting a falsehood.
Other important news involving the White House right now, the White House is declining multiple offers from the Centers for Disease Control to help investigate with that outbreak surrounding President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. A federal health official tells CNN, the initial offer to help from the CDC came almost immediately after the president revealed he had contracted the coronavirus.
Let's bring in CNN's Nick Valencia. He's uncovered this reporting.
So, Nick, the CDC reaches out and says, let us help you with an urgent public health challenge, contact tracing people who may have been exposed at a place, the White House, that is now a coronavirus cluster, and the White House says no.
[11:45:00]
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is just yet another example, John, of how the CDC has been sidelined by the White House during this pandemic. And it shows us the recklessness with which the White House is willing to handle this pandemic, denying the nation's leading public health agency to do what they do best and contact trace.
As you noted, the CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, almost immediately, after President Trump took to Twitter to announce his diagnosis, he reached out to the president, according to a federal health official, to offer the CDC's help in contact tracing. That offer was declined and it was again rejected on Monday with a phone call between CDC and White House officials. This is being pushed back on by the White House.
Though, John, they did send a statement to us which read in part, the White House has plans and procedures in place that incorporate current guidelines and best practices for limiting COVID-19 exposure and has established a robust contact tracing program led by the White House Medical Unit with CDC integration. They go on to say, contact tracing has been conducted by the White House Medical Unit consistent with CDC guidelines and appropriate notifications and recommendations have been made.
It's really important to look and read between the lines of that statement. While they are saying they are going by CDC guidelines, they are clearly not saying that the CDC is helping them. The White House going on to say that a CDC epidemiologist has been detailed to the White House since March but it's very clear that more than one person is needed to try to drill down on this very important contact tracing that is needed right now after the president's diagnosis. John?
KING: As you note, yet another example of the White House deciding it's smarter, it can do things better than the scientists who are trained to do this for a living. Nick Valencia, important reporting, thank you very much.
Coming up for us, in-person, early in-person voting begins today in Ohio and in Indiana. The Ohio secretary of state joins us next.
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[11:50:00]
KING: It's a busy week for early and mail-in voting as more states kick their pandemic voting plans into action. That also means it's a busy time in the courts because the Trump campaign and Republicans are challenging many state efforts to make voting easier.
The Supreme Court yesterday gave South Carolina Republicans a victory. The high court reinstated a South Carolina requirement that mail-in ballots must contain a witness signature. The court did make one concession. Any ballots already sent in without a witness should be counted.
In Arizona, a federal judge now giving the state a two-week voter registration extension, citing the impact of COVID-19. In his ruling, the judge in that case said, quote, ballot access is an extremely important right and it has been restricted during this unprecedented time. The ruling came down last night, which was the original deadline to end registration. Early voting in Arizona gets under way tomorrow.
And right now, take a look, voters standing in long lines. These are live pictures waiting to cast their ballot. This is in Ohio. Already, more than 3 million general election ballots have been cast across the country. Today, absentee ballots will be sent in New Mexico and Ohio and early voting begins, as you just saw, today in Ohio as well as in Indiana, and county clerk offices in New Mexico.
With me right now, the Ohio secretary of state, Frank LaRose. Sir, thank you so much for joining us. As you know, you're in the middle of a bit of a controversy right now. You have decided there should be ballot drop boxes only at board of election sites across the state and the League of Women Voters in your state, Democratic Party, are mad at you.
They think this is a deliberate effort to make it harder for people to vote. This is what Ohio League of Women Voters says. It completely misses the point. We want multiple drop boxes across the county so that anyone, regardless as to where they live, can easily access a drop box for both absentee applications and ballot. This still does little to improve accessibility for senior citizens, voters with disabilities, low-income Ohioans and those who live in rural areas or exurban areas.
Well, why do you think only at election sites?
FRANKL LAROSE (R), OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE : Well, John, Ohioans know that it is easy to vote absentee, we've been doing it for close to 20 years. And Ohioans mail in their absentee ballots. Of course, if you want to bring it to Board of Elections, the law allows for that. And we've made it more convenient than ever by requiring every county Board of Elections to have a secure 24/7 drop box.
But to expand it beyond that when it is not specifically called for in the law, it would be irresponsible at this point and would cause confusion. The time to make changes to Ohio's election law is passed. Early voting has already begun in the Buckeye State.
KING: As you know -- I'm going to push back a little bit here. As you know, some people don't trust the mail because there's been this national controversy about the Postal Service and about delays. We have the statistics tell you that, right now, first class mail is way behind schedule, behind the norms, behind the goals, in many places around the country.
So people would say, what's the harm if we can put more of these drop boxes in places, especially in a state like yours, which has big cities but also has rural these stretched out areas? What's the problem with it? I get, you say -- if you're going to say you're operating within the law, why not though, why not make it easier for people to vote?
LAROSE: Well, we want to make it easy to vote and it is easy to vote in Ohio. By the way, 93 percent of Ohioans responded to a recent poll that said it is easy to vote in the state of Ohio. And, again, in Ohio absentee votes are routinely returned by mail. It is trustworthy. You can track your ballot by going to voteohio.gov, that's the official Ohio secretary of state website, and track your ballot to make sure it is received.
In Ohio, those ballots can be received up to ten days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Monday, November 2nd. So Ohioans know how to do this, and the noise and confusion being created by last minute lawsuits is really a disservice to voters.
KING: You say it is a disservice. In many other states, it is the Republicans pushing those lawsuits. So I'm going to let the courts set that out and not take sides.
[11:55:00]
Let me just ask you one more question about your experience right there, in terms of the numbers of people. Around the country, we're seeing record-shattering numbers of people asking, requesting either absentee ballots or turning out for early voting, what is your sense of what's happening Ohio in? LAROSE: Well, the same thing here, and we're really excited about it. We have seen over 2 million absentee ballot requests already. By the way, that blows away anything that we've seen in the past at this point in 2016 or 2012, it was fewer than a million. We're excited to see that. I mailed every Ohio registered voter an absentee ballot request because we want to encourage people to vote this way.
And, of course, Election Day is on November 3rd, but election month has already begun in Ohio, and Ohioans all over the state are voting, as we speak, in our 88 county boards of elections.
KING: The election is well under way. We keep saying four weeks to Election Day, but that's only counted (ph). A lot of people are going to cast them early. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, I appreciate your time, sir.
LAROSE: Thank you, John.
KING: Thank you.
Up next for us, President Trump back at the White House and says he'll be ready to debate Joe Biden next week.
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