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Doctors Clear Trump To Leave Isolation; Fauci: Trump Campaign Took Me Out Of Context In New Ad; U.S. Daily Cases Hit 50,000-Plus For Four Consecutive Days; One Person Dead After Shooting Near Dueling Protests; Trump Again Spreads Baseless Claims About Election Integrity; American Royalty: Jackie Kennedy's Enduring Legacy. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 11, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Top of the hour, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Erica Hill in for Ana Cabrera.

The president has 23 days to right his ship, which is sinking at the moment in the polls. A new ad from the Trump campaign, clearly one attempt though to do so, it appears to show Dr. Anthony Fauci praising the president's coronavirus response. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Here is the problem. Dr. Fauci tells CNN exclusively he was taken out of context. He said very clearly in his statement to CNN he has never endorsed a political candidate. He did not give the Trump campaign permission to use his words in that ad.

Trump though has been given permission to resume business as usual. His doctor late last night issuing a memo that says the president met CDC criteria to leave isolation, although not clear he's been in isolation in the last several days, and that he's no longer at risk of spreading coronavirus. But the memo did not go into other key details about his health, leaving the public with a number of questions as the president pushes full steam ahead into a week filled with campaign rallies.

Let's get straight to Jeremy Diamond at the White House. So, Jeremy, what more do we know about Dr. Fauci's appearance in this ad? JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's pretty clear looking back at that original interview that Dr. Fauci did that he was taken out of context in this Trump campaign ad. The Trump campaign ad make it sound like he's talking about the president and the president doing everything that he could have when it's clear from watching the interview Dr. Fauci was referring to himself and the other public health experts working on this coordinated and the government.

So that is what Dr. Fauci is saying in a statement obtained first by our colleague, Kaitlan Collins. He said, in my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials.

Now, the Trump campaign, for its part, they are responding with a statement from the communications director, Tim Murtaugh. He says, these are Dr. Fauci's own words. The video is from a national broadcast television interview in which Dr. Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration. The words spoken are accurate and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth.

Now, what is also clear, Erica, is that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of the President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, nearly six in ten Americans, according to the latest polls. And, clearly, the Trump is recognizing not only that deficit but that they need an effective messenger to be able to convey what they view as the president's success in handling this pandemic.

And so they turn here to Dr. Fauci. But, clearly, Dr. Fauci, a career federal public health servant, who has served under Republican and Democratic administrations for decades, not happy with being used in this ad.

HILL: Yes. He clearly does not want to be used as a political pawn and you can't blame him.

The president meantime has been anything but transparent about his struggle with this virus. But he just said something in a call that's really getting attention. What is he claiming now?

DIAMOND: Yes. He was doing a call to prayer that was organized by the Trump campaign. And he said that he has tested, quote, totally negative and then talks about how he's going to be getting back out onto the campaign trail. That's interesting, Erica, because that is not what the White House has said so far. In fact, that has been one of the major questions stemming from Dr. Sean Conley, the president's physician, from his latest memorandum released late last night about the president no longer being a risk for transmitting the coronavirus.

Now, that's what Dr. Conley said. He didn't say explicitly that the president had actually tested negative for the virus. Here is what he does say. Now at day ten from symptom on set, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no evidence of actively replicating virus. Now, we don't know necessarily that the president would have to test negative for coronavirus in order to be considered no longer infectious to others. In fact, that's what Dr. Conley is saying, is that he is no longer presenting that risk. But it is interesting to see the president using very different language and making this claim that, again, we don't have evidence for that he has tested negative for the virus. Erica?

HILL: It would be interesting especially since we can't get answers to when there would be other negative tests for this president in the last several weeks. Jeremy Diamond, thank you as always.

I want took bring in Michael Smerconish, Host of CNN's "SMERCONISH," and David Gergen, CNN Senior Political Analyst and former presidential adviser under four administrations.

David, it is really -- it's something. It is rich to see this White House, which has spent weeks, if not, months trying to discredit Dr. Fauci. We heard it from the president himself. We saw how agitated he would become in talking about how Americans trusted and seemed to like Dr. Fauci.

[18:05:05]

At one point, there was reportedly opposition research being done on him.

But now they are including Dr. Fauci in this ad to win over voters, David. I guess the real question is, will it work?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think so. I think the public will see that the White House is trying to exploit Dr. Fauci, they're trying to use him to advance their political interest. People don't respond well to that. They have seen a string of things in the last few days. You know, this so-called rally at the White House, the people looking on the balcony, the president looking down on high, all listening (ph).

What clearly has happened here was that the Trump as a candidate, Trump the campaigner, he's played that role and played that role and it's not working. It's not working. We've got a novel -- how about this for a novel idea. How about playing president for a change? How about staying home, where he should be, to negotiate disagreement between the House, Senate and the White House and get money to people who are in desperate need and who cannot be victims of a political campaign.

So I would think that the best thing the president could do to win the election is to come home and be president. The people will thank you for that. The best politics is the best policy.

HILL: Well, as we wait for that, we know the president is headed back out on the campaign trail. Michael, when we look at this ad, the fact that Dr. Fauci felt the need to speak out here and was very clear in that statement, I mean, that is telling in and of itself, I think, because Dr. Fauci has been so measured over these last several months. MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: What I find interesting about this is that it's an acknowledgement by the White House, by at least the Trump campaign, of the credibility that the American people see in Dr. Fauci. Most commercials like this, they don't get made unless they are put through a focus group when the stakes are as high as they are right now.

So if the campaign recognizes, if the president recognizes that Dr. Fauci is held in high esteem, it begs the question of why not bring back the daily briefings, especially at a time when so many states are experiencing an uptick in the spread of the virus. I mean, all you need to do is you can put Dr. Fauci out there seven days a week along with Vice President Pence and Dr. Birx and Dr. Atlas and the rest of the inner circle who charged with responsibility for the virus. But they don't want to do that because the president's strategy is to say that the virus is in our rearview mirror.

HILL: Yes. It would be interesting to see if that strategy changes at all.

David, you brought up the stimulus. And there are millions of Americans who are waiting for an answer on this, waiting for some movement, quite frankly. At this point, there's so much back and forth, it's hard to keep track. I'm just curious, who do you think voters are going to hold responsible for this inaction?

GERGEN: Well, I think it's going to bring more disquiet to the electorate. And, frankly, I think the president is likely to pay the bigger price because he is the president. He is the person we look to who has the most power. He is the person who can sit down with the leadership of both chambers. He is the only person in Washington who has been elected by all the people. So it's in the nature of the presidency to give you special magic powers and go negotiate on behalf of the country.

I think he can put the Democrats on the defensive if he is actually trying to sit down, let's get this done. Let's get this done. And Democrats come along with me. I think he could put together a coalition of Democrats and half the Republicans in the Senate. He'll have enough votes to get that done. But most importantly is to get the money and the help in the hands of the American people now, not after the election, not January 20th of next year, for goodness sakes.

HILL: Yes. It's help that was needed months ago, as we know, and is still needed desperately today.

Michael, CNN Senior Political Analyst Ryan Lizza wrote about what he calls Washington's worst kept secret for Politico this week. Here is what he wrote in part.

Here is what everyone in Washington is thinking but doesn't want to say out loud. President Donald Trump is going to lose this election probably by a large margin. A growing number of insiders, including many Republicans, are starting venture privately that this outcome is likely to be clear on election night, not days or weeks later.

I haven't seen a whole lot of people write that. Do you agree with that, Michael?

SMERCONISH: You know, Erica, Peggy Noonan wrote something similar in her Wall Street Journal column on Friday. I think that many reasons why people don't want to say this in this cycle is because they got burned four years ago by saying exactly that with regard to Secretary Clinton.

[18:10:002]

We've been at this campaign for so long, it almost feels like we're just going through another phase but we're really now in the final phase. People are voting. The feeling is one of cement that is now setting at long last.

And I don't think that there's any dispute over the fact that the momentum seems to be all on the side of Vice President Biden's ledger and not Donald Trump. He needs the president a momentum shift by not having the debate that would have taken place this week. He's down now to a final debate. And I'm hard pressed to see what else is on the calendar for the next 23 days that could provide him what he needs to shift the momentum back to his side.

HILL: It would be interesting to watch. Go ahead, David.

GERGEN: Erica, there are a lot of Democrats who are spooked by the last time out. And Michael is absolutely right about this. And, basically, what's happening is the Democrats are acting like a baseball team going into the bottom of the eighth inning, 3-0 lead and their pitcher is throwing a no-hitter. Nobody wants to mention a no- hitter because it puts a curse on it and he'll lose it.

And democratic veterans are really concerned too, but if it gets to be too much of a landslide in prospect, a lot of Democrats might stay home. What if there are people with guns at the polling station because you can carry? You've got an open carry state. People show up with guns. Apparently, that may well happen. There are a lot of people say that are going to say, if we're going to win anyway, why go there? And I think that's one of the reasons they don't like to talk about it too.

HILL: David, let me get your take on this other op-ed, a CNN, where authors are calling on former President George W. Bush to endorse Biden, where they write, in part, after the debate and the recent endorsement of Biden by Cindy McCain, it's now time for former President George W. Bush to finally put an end to the Trump presidency by endorsing Joe Biden for president and in doing so save the country and the GOP from itself.

Do you think there's a chance that former George W. Bush would endorse Joe Biden? David, that one is for you. Sorry.

GERGEN: Okay. I'm sorry. No, I don't. I was surprised, actually, that Jim Baker may well support Biden because he's so tight with the Trump family. But I actually think, Erica, that George W. Bush's silence, along with the silence of the rest of the family says everything you need to know about how they feel about Donald Trump. As a matter of sort of presidential tradition, you don't go out there and beat hell out of somebody -- or support somebody from the other party. So I can understand why they are not doing that. It's obvious where the Bush family stands.

HILL: Michael, would you agree?

SMERCONISH: It would be completely out of character for the way that former President Bush has comported himself after leaving the White House. I'd be shocked if he were to do it. But then, again, there have been a lot of shocking moments, haven't there, over the span of the last four years.

HILL: That may be an understatement. As we all know, not only is the election not over, we are not done with 2020, my friends.

David Gergen, Michael Smerconish, great to see you both, as always. Thank you.

SMERCONISH: Take care. And thank you, Erica.

HILL: Coming up, Dr. Fauci says he is skipping Thanksgiving with his family this year. So what does that tell the rest of us about the risk for the coming months? We're going to ask an expert, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

HILL: The U.S. is headed in the wrong direction. More than 50,000 new COVID-19 cases reported every day for the past four days. The last time that happened, August.

A key model now projects 400,000 coronavirus deaths by February 1st. You can see on the screen, we're at nearly 200,000 right now.

And now the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says he won't spend Thanksgiving with his three adult daughters who live in high areas with high levels of infection.

I want to bring Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor in Houston. Dr. Hotez, Dr. Fauci's Thanksgiving plan really stood out to me. What does that say to you about what's to come this fall?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, Dr. Fauci is saying what many of us have been predicting for a while, and that is a fall and winter sharp increase, uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases. This fall and winter rise has been expected for some time. And, unfortunately, as you point out over the last few days, we've now gone up over 50,000 new cases a day. That's hard because we never really brought it down. The lowest we've had it in months is around 30,000, 35,000 new cases a day and now it's going back up.

So, unfortunately, we're predicting a pretty worrisome fall and winter, especially in the colder states. We're already seeing a sharp increase in the northern Midwest, in Wisconsin, the Dakotas and over into Montana. And then the thinking is it will probably start going up in the northeast as well.

The only question in my mind is how bad it will be in the north. We know it's going to be bad. The mortality will increase because there's some thinking mortality rates are also affected by the cold weather because there's more virus around and maybe larger virus inoculo, and then whether it will be as bad in the southern states.

So those are the sort of the unknowns. But it will be a sad time in the fall and winter. The only good news that I can say is it will get better. I feel confident that a year from now, as the U.S. population starts getting vaccinated, I think we will have multiple COVID-19 vaccines out by next year. Things will definitely be better this year next time.

So the key is not to despair and realize it is going to be a tough fall and winter but that this thing will improve.

HILL: You mentioned your concern that there could be an increase in mortality. What about hospitals?

[18:20:00]

I was speaking with a doctor yesterday from Rhode Island who said she is concerned right now in Rhode Island that there will not be enough PPE for what they are seeing come their way, that they are going to have some of the issues that we were talking about back in March, back in April. Are you that concerned for hospitals? And if so, where specifically?

HOTEZ: Well, hospitals certainly are -- they have been through this once, most hospitals up in the north. So, hopefully, they are much better prepared than they were in March or April.

One of the other concerns that I have is if there is a regime change in the November election, as many are predicting, as you just spoke about, what that lame duck executive branch of the government looks like and how attentive they will be to all of the needs in the U.S. and what kind of belts and suspenders they are putting in to make certain that everyone is not jumping ship going into November and December. So I'm a little worried about Homeland Security for that reason as well.

So, hopefully, somebody is keeping tabs on this and we have a plan in place if there is some exodus out of the government in November and December, because this is going to be such a terrible time. We already know that.

HILL: So let me just follow up on that. Are you saying because this administration, whether you agree with what they say or not -- we know the president keeps touting that they have done everything they can. They have done a beautiful job in the president's estimation. So you're saying that if the president loses November 3rd, that you're concerned he may just throw his hands up at this point and say, you figure it out, Joe, when you take over in January?

HOTEZ: Well, remember, let's put this into context.

HILL: I think we may have just lost Dr. Hotez there. But, certainly, something to think about, because as we know, no matter who wins the election, the virus doesn't vote, number one. The virus is not going away on Election Day, it is not going away on inauguration day.

And as we just heard from Dr. Hotez, as we move into the fall, the colder months we could move inside, there is more virus, he said, in the colder months. There could be more to be concerned about, not less. It's an interesting point that we'll definitely be following up on.

Meantime, yet another incidence of protest turning deadly in America, this time at a planned police support rally and counterprotest in Denver. We have those details for you, next.

But first, your Before the Bell report, CNN's Christine Romans tells us about big news from Apple and Amazon that investors will be watching. Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Erica. Political headlines are driving action on Wall Street but investors are watching plenty of other events too. On Tuesday, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 12 with 5G capabilities. That could unleash super cycle of device upgrades.

Tuesday is also when Amazon peaks off Prime Day, that's its version of Black Friday. This two-day event usually takes place in July but was postponed because of the pandemic.

Both Apple and Amazon shares have been on fire this year, although a tech correction in recent weeks has dented their gains.

Corporate earnings will also begin grabbing investor attention this week, third quarter profits for S&P 500 companies expected to fall more than 20 percent from a year ago. That's actually an improvement from the second quarter when profits tumbled more than 30 percent.

Analysts don't expect earnings growth to return until next year.

In New York, I'm Christine Romans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

HILL: The mayor of Denver is encouraging people to resolve their political differences at the ballot box, not in the streets. That's after a planned police support rally and counterprotest turned deadly yesterday. Police say there was an altercation before the shooting that left one person dead. The suspect is a private security guard. Our CNN affiliate KUSA says he was contracted by the station to accompany staff at the protests.

CNN's Natasha Chen is following this for us. So, Natasha, what more do we know about how this all unfolded?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, Erica, police say that, as you mentioned, there was a verbal altercation and then a shot was fired. They do have 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff in custody, under investigation for first degree murder. We don't know a whole lot about the victim at this time but the identity is expected to be released by the office of the medical examiner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: As two rival protests in Denver's Civic Center Park were about to end Saturday afternoon --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's important to be able to show our free speech rights.

CHEN: CNN affiliate KMGH says this gunshot was heard in the middle of their interview. The station's footage then shows police running towards someone on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned around, I saw the two, the victim and the suspect facing each other, very close range, two feet, or arm's distance. And he already had his arms up at the moment I turned around.

CHEN: Police say 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff was taken into custody and another man was shot, later pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say Dolloff was being held on investigation of first-degree murder.

Another CNN affiliate, KUSA 9News, says the person taken into custody was a private security guard contracted by the station.

[18:30:02]

A 9NEWS story on this incident says, quote, "It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm wondering what possible explanation. There didn't seem to be an altercation. There wasn't any yelling coming from that way.

CHEN: But Denver Police say there was a verbal altercation.

JOE MONTOYA, DIVISION CHIEF OF INVESTIGATION, DENVER POLICE: The firearm was discharged, the individual was shot and later pronounced deceased. There were two guns recovered at the scene.

CHEN: Along with a canister of pepper spray. Denver Police have since confirmed on Twitter that the person in custody is a security guard not affiliated with Antifa.

MONTOYA: We don't want any erroneous information going out, any speculation, because that's really what hurts us and that's what gets everybody angry and motivated to commit more violence and that's what we're trying to prevent.

CHEN: Denver Police have the help of at least three sheriff's departments on Saturday and said they went to great lengths to separate the patriot rally from the counter-protest which organizers called a BLM-Antifa soup drive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rally was supposed to be about basically understanding what was happening with police brutality within the United States of America, and now it resulted in this. This is not OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN: We reached out to the Denver Police to see if Dolloff has legal representation to comment on his behalf. Waiting to hear back on that. Meanwhile, a Denver mayor, as you mentioned, made some statements about this and said that peaceful protest is encouraged but when that escalates to violence or clashes, that's not tolerated -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Natasha Chen, with the latest for us. Natasha, thank you.

I want to bring in now CNN National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem.

So, Juliette, what happened in Denver is honestly just the latest example of this deadly violence we're seeing at the scene of tense protests. What are the national security concerns amid these dueling, you know, sort of extreme left, right wing rallies, protesters, counter-protesters? What are you concerned about?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So we're entering a period or we are in a period of what we call constitutional flash points. We are voting now. We have a voting day November 3rd. We will then, if there's a new president or if it's unresolved have a transition period leading to a state of the union. So I'm really looking at this through sort of elevated sort of threat assessment through January 20th if not after, depending on the magnus.

So the homeland security and national security implications are whether we can support constitutional activity. People can have rallies while still protecting the right to vote. And we're doing this at a time where there's massive disinformation including the shooter in Denver being -- alleged to have been aligned with Antifa, which was not true. A president who is supporting white supremacy or at least not condemning it, as well as anti-government protests as he did in some tweets this last week in response to Governor Whitmer's alleged kidnapping.

I mean, so you just have an elevated fear and so it's really going to be on mayors and police departments to do two things. One is to separate people. That is just absolutely -- I mean, you're just going to have to have counter-protests at this stage. And the other is to essentially train police departments about what they can do or what they have to do to protect the right to vote. And that's relatively new for police departments but it is being done now.

HILL: You know, you bring up that alleged domestic terror plot in Michigan. I couldn't help when I first saw that break but think back to what we saw in the spring, right? We saw these protesters in the state capital, inside the state house in Lansing. And when asked about the threats to the governor this summer, here's how Attorney General Bill Barr responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Are you aware that these protesters called for the governor to be lynched, shot and beheaded?

BILL BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: No.

JAYAPAL: You're not aware of that.

BARR: I was not aware.

JAYAPAL: Major protests in Michigan, you're the attorney general, and you didn't know that the protesters called for the governor to be lynched, shot, and beheaded. So obviously you couldn't be concerned about that.

BARR: Well, there are a lot of protests --

JAYAPAL: You didn't --

BARR: -- around the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: I mean, that given the lack of comment over the last several days from the attorney general, what message is that sending?

KAYYEM: So I'm not shy here, and I haven't been shy on CNN. The president and the attorney general promote this kind of terrorist activity by not condemning it. They are leaders of the law enforcement and our democracy. The law enforcement community and our democracy. They're winking and nodding their support of -- you know, vague language like, you know, save us from COVID restrictions or whatever Donald Trump is saying now.

Barr is sort of see no evil, hear no evil. Those are objectionable in and of themselves, but how they are being heard by their supporters radicalizes them because what they're hearing are two leaders of the United States not condemning them, not shaming them, and not saying to stop.

[18:35:02]

Bill Barr could have answered that question in a very different way saying I don't know about those specific allegations but I condemn them. And we've never heard those words. So I have no -- you know, I mean, I don't think there's any point of being shy about it or waiting for Barr and Trump to, you know, say the right thing. They've had four years, and in that silence, let alone that sort of, you know, acceptance and the mimicry of their language as Donald Trump tends to do, you get the kind of radicalization that we're likely to see. But let me just put it in perspective. We don't know the extent of

this. It looks scary. But for the most part, most jurisdictions are not seeing a lot of violent activity. So go out and vote. Vote any way that's safe for you because they win if you're scared. And you know, basically they won't win.

HILL: Juliette Kayyem, appreciate it as always. Thank you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

HILL: Coming up as the president spreads misinformation, how Trump's own officials are trying to protect the election from him. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:10]

HILL: This just in, the president is defending using a sound bite from Dr. Anthony Fauci in a misleading Trump campaign ad. It appears to show Dr. Fauci praising the president's coronavirus response. The president tweeting, "They are indeed Dr. Fauci's own words. We have done a phenomenal job. According to certain governors. Many agree, and now come the vaccines and cures long ahead of projections."

In a CNN exclusive Dr. Fauci told CNN his words were taken out of context in that ad and said he has never publicly endorsed a political candidate.

With his mishandling of the coronavirus crisis driving the political discourse just 23 days out from the election, the president is also trying to shift attention back to voter fraud by spreading false claims about the integrity of the U.S. election.

CNN's Pamela Brown has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump is back at it on Twitter attempting to undermine the election. This time he's seizing on small printing errors in North Carolina and California saying it will be the most corrupt in American history. A completely baseless claim.

INAJO CHAPPELL, MEMBER, CUYAHOGA COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS: In 13 years I have served in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Board of Election, including in the last three presidential elections, I've never witnessed the kinds of falsehoods being disseminated about the integrity of our elections process that I've been seeing in this presidential cycle.

BROWN: In a new series of videos from the Army for Trump Web site, the president's campaign is training supporters to become poll watchers, something both political parties do. This video gives some specific instructions. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of the time you're looking at body language.

If you see a confused look on a voter's face or a confused look on the poll worker's face, or any kind of delay in the process, there's your clue.

BROWN: The videos say to be respectful and not disrupt the process but Philadelphia's district attorney announcing a plan to protect voters from those who may show up at polling stations and try to intimidate them.

LARRY KRASNER, PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The district attorney's office intends to make sure that there is no threatening presence at these polls. We are well prepared and ready to act immediately along with our criminal justice partners if anything like that should happen.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Your voice is important.

BROWN: Now security experts, including FBI director Christopher Wray, are going directly to voters.

KRIS KREBS, DIRECTOR, DHS CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: Because of the changes due to COVID on November 3rd, we might not know the outcome of our election, and that's OK. But we're going to need your patience until official results are announced.

BROWN: Today early voting is now under way in the crucial swing state of Arizona with voters lining up early to get their votes tallied. Meantime the U.S. Postal Service says it is doing all it can to try and implement election mail rulings in light of its own internal data showing on-time first class mail delivery plunged in September.

KRISTIN SEAVER, CHIEF RETAIL AND DELIVERY OFFICER, USPS: Our number one priority between now and the November election is the secure and timely delivery of the election mail. It's our duty and we take it very seriously.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: And our thanks to Pamela Brown for that report.

Jacqueline Kennedy once said, there will be great presidents again but there will never be another Camelot. Coming up, a new CNN Original Series pulls the curtain back on one of history's most famous and glamorous first ladies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:11]

HILL: Jackie Kennedy's time in the White House was brief. 35 tumultuous months that promised a new dawn for America but they were marked by private betrayal and public tragedy. Tonight, in an all new episode of CNN's Original Series, "FIRST LADIES," we examine one of America's most glamorous first ladies and her heartbreaking task of establishing her husband's legacy after his assassination. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jackie stage-managed her husband's funeral perfectly. Every detail, the riderless horse, two heartbreaking children standing next to her with John-John saluting next to her as his father's coffin rolled by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Jackie holds firm to her final wish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jackie walked with Bobby and Teddy followed by all these other world leaders, Charles de Gaulle, Prince Phillip, Haile Selassie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is believed to be the first time a president's widow has walked in his funeral procession. All follow behind the president's casket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining us now is Kati Marton, author of "Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped History."

There is so much, Kati, about Jackie Kennedy that is iconic. She was so young, though, when she became first lady. That is enough pressure in and of itself simply to move into that role. How did she handle it in those early moments?

KATI MARTON, AUTHOR, "HIDDEN POWER: PRESIDENTIAL MARRIAGES THAT SHAPED OUR HISTORY": Well, yes, Erica, the astonishing fact about Jackie is that she was 31, and yet she had such a specific idea of how she was going to conduct herself from day one in the White House.

[18:50:02]

And really she was the most glamorous and the closest to a movie star that we had as first lady. Isn't it nice to be able to change the subject from voter fraud to something that really pulls us together? So proud as Jackie did. She was really the nation's role model of what a woman should be. She was very much a woman of her time. That is to say that she averted her gaze from the fact that her husband was a -- how shall I put it, an Olympic champion philanderer.

She looked the other way because that is the period into which she was raised. Men were given much more leeway, and the White House -- the occupants of the White House were given much more privacy and much more freedom. But what she did, Erica, in those three years was to turn the White House into a showcase for what was best in the American arts and history, American culture, and she did this with a -- an iron will.

She is known as a fashion icon. But she also was a very serious person with a huge asset to her husband, JFK, in diplomacy. Quite seriously, she was able to charm the likes of Charles de Gaulle and Indira Nehru and Khrushchev, people who her husband didn't have so much luck charming. And so she was really much more than the glamorous fashion plate that she's portrayed as. And of course, she led the nation, she led us through our grief with

just incredible elegance and a sense of history. She always had an eye on history. So she choreographed his funeral with the same precision with which she choreographed the inaugural. So she -- her last night in the White House she spent writing a long letter, to Nikita Khrushchev urging Khrushchev to continue the detente, the talks with Washington, which her husband had started.

So this was a woman who really was a stateswoman as much as she was a cultural and fashion icon and, again, the astonishing fact that she was in her early 30s and went through so much tragedy and grief before the November 22nd, 1963, a date that all of us remember as much as we remember 9/11.

HILL: Yes.

MARTON: Before -- shortly before that, she lost her infant, Patrick, in childbirth. So this is a woman who despite a great deal of tragedy and grief conducted herself with absolute dignity and made us so proud, made American women --

HILL: And so much strength as well, and what an incredible woman.

Kati Marton, really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. Thank you.

And please be sure to tune in tonight for a brand new episode of "FIRST LADIES." It airs at 10:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Well, there were many memorable moments at the vice presidential debate this week, so buzz worthy that of course "Saturday Night Live" just couldn't resist a little fly by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCKINNON, ACTRESS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Tonight, you'll know that between the candidates we've installed buffet style sneeze guards on account of one of you works for patient zero.

BECK BENNETT, ACTOR, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": It's actually fine by me, Susan. Twelve feet apart and separated by Plexiglass is how Mother and I sleep.

MCKINNON: Mr. Vice President, my first question is for you.

BENNETT: Thank you.

MCKINNON: The topic is coronavirus.

BENNETT: Damn it.

MCKINNON: Now, you were in charge of the Coronavirus Task Force and since you took charge, over 200,000 Americans have died. How do you explain that?

BENNETT: Well, Susan, I'd like to begin by stalling hard. MAYA RUDOLPH, ACTRESS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": You see, this is what

they do, Susan. They avoid taking any responsibilities --

BENNETT: We do not.

RUDOLPH: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BENNETT: Well, I'm just trying --

RUDOLPH: I'm speaking.

BENNETT: Yes, but --

RUDOLPH: Yes, yes, but I'm speaking. See, I'm speaking right now, (INAUDIBLE), Nevada, Arizona, some parts of Texas, I'm speaking.

BENNETT: I understand that.

MCKINNON: Vice President Pence, there's a --

BENNETT: War on police in this country, I couldn't agree more.

MCKINNON: No, no. There's a giant --

BENNETT: Lack of respect from militias, you're darn right.

[18:55:02]

MCKINNON: No. Senator Harris, help me out.

RUDOLPH: Oh, no, I'm good. Looking real good, Mike. Keep it up.

JIM CARREY, ACTOR: Let me at him. Let me at him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The fly. My 10-year-old's favorite part of the debate.

Thanks for joining us on this Sunday evening. I'm Erica Hill. My colleague Wolf Blitzer picks up our coverage with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" after a quick break.

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