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More Than 22 Million Americans Cast Ballots Early; Trump Goes On Rally Blitz As 10 States Break COVID-19 Records; Elizabeth Warren, Magic Johnson, Barack Obama Hit Trail For Biden; Elie Honig Answers Viewers' Legal Questions In CNN's "Cross Exam"; Arizona Family Loses Eight Loved Ones, Livelihood To Virus; Sunday's "First Ladies" Examines Nancy Reagan. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired October 17, 2020 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:17]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks so much for being with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.
The United States is now averaging more than 50,000 new COVID-19 infections daily. In fact, yesterday, the country reported nearly 70,000 new cases. Experts say this is a sign we are heading into a rough winter, but the president is trying to convince Americans of an alternative reality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We are rounding the turn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: If only that were true.
Today, he'll rally in Michigan and Wisconsin where the last thing they need is a large gathering of people.
Take a look. Yesterday, Wisconsin was one of at least ten states to report the highest number of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. And Michigan also reporting a record number of cases, you see the numbers there climbing back up.
Trump's campaign rally blitz looks to overcome a major deficit in the polls, but it's now a race against the clock because more than 22 million and counting have already cast a ballot. Americans are voting early in record numbers.
Just look at these images from Georgia where some lined up for three or four hours this morning to cast their ballot. They got there even before the polls opened. A testament to how enormous the stakes are in this election and we'll take you there live coming up.
But first, to Michigan, and Joe Johns, who joins us from Muskegon, Michigan, ahead of Trump's rally in about an hour from now.
And, Joe, just 17 days away from the election. What can you tell us about the president's closing message to voters?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, I can tell you that this trip by the president to Michigan is really going to highlight the president's attacks on the governor of Michigan, the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. The president has gone after her time and time again, including on her strict policies relating to coronavirus and the state.
It's been a continuing controversy. The president even tweeted out the words "liberate Michigan," which Joe Biden just recently seized on, indicating that in his view, the president's words actually incited the kidnapping attempt on Gretchen Whitmer, which led to 13 arrests very recently.
Nonetheless, the president has continued his attacks on Gretchen Whitmer as recently as just yesterday. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: How about your governor in Michigan. She has that place locked down. We caught some people doing whatever. We'll find out what that was all about. And then she said it was my fault. It was my people that caught them. It was Trump's fault. It's always Trump's fault. Can it ever be, like, Rick Gates' fault?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Now I'm told there at the very end, the president was actually referring to Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida and not Rick Gates.
Now, here at this location, perhaps a majority of the people we talked to say they also believe the governor's policies are too strict. Though we did find at least one couple that said they thought she was right on point. On the other hand, we were not able to find anybody here that we talked to who said they believe the president's words led to the kidnapping plot. They say it's more about frustration and anger over the situation with coronavirus.
Ana, back to you.
CABRERA: Okay, Joe Johns, bringing us the reporting from Trump supporters in Michigan. We'll be talking with the Michigan attorney general in the next hour. Thank you, Joe.
As the president makes a last-ditch effort to shore up support ahead of Election Day, he's zeroing in on one age group in particular.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Many older Americans have endured months of isolation, missing weddings, births, graduations, church and family reunions. You know that very well. You know it all too well.
My heart breaks for every grieving family that has lost a precious loved one. I feel their anguish and I mourn their loss. I feel their pain. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Joining us now, CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the Washington bureau chief for "The Associated Press", Julie Pace, and CNN political commentator, David Swerdlick.
Dr. Reiner, that's what the president is saying. Do his actions match the sentiment?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: No. In this country, the virus has disproportionately decimated the senior citizen community in the United States, particularly the older Americans who live in nursing homes.
[16:05:04]
Only about 1 percent of our population live in those kinds of facilities, but about 40 percent of our deaths have come from that population. We've done a horrendous job in protecting our most vulnerable people in this country, and I think that's a big reason why the senior citizen community, older community in this country, has moved away in large numbers from the president during this election cycle.
CABRERA: David, the president continues with his big rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin. Later today, as the U.S. has just reported nearly 70,000 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, the highest number since July with at least ten states setting record highs on Friday and the positivity rate above 20 percent in some places like Wisconsin.
And yet, he keeps saying the U.S. is rounding the corner. Our producers took a look, and in fact, he has said that over 20 times in the past 6 weeks.
So, both his words and his actions, holding these large rallies, are the complete opposite of what is needed to help combat the virus, but is there any evidence that this is working for him, politically?
DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it's working very well, and I think this is a thing where it's of his own doing, Ana. On March 4th, the president gave -- excuse me. March 11th, he gave an Oval Office speech where he said, we all have a role to play in this. And that was the right thing to say.
And then guess what? To Dr. Reiner's point, he didn't do it. He didn't model mask-wearing behavior. He didn't encourage social distancing. He mocked Vice President Biden, at times, for wearing a mask.
And now, everybody in the country and the world, frankly, understands that we're in an abnormal crisis situation and when he goes out there and tries to act like everything is normal, people can see with their own eyes that's not what's going on.
I was at my nephew's soccer game last night. Adults were wearing masks. We were standing distanced apart from each other and the people that stood out as strange were the few people who weren't wearing masks because now we understand that we're all working on this together.
The president goes out there, says that things are normal and that we're rounding the corner, because he's stuck with that message that he has tried to drill home for the last eight, nine months and now in his closing argument, he can't just flip up and say, oh, everybody else was right, I was wrong, and so we're going to continue like this until election day.
CABRERA: As we can see in these images, a lot of people are following the president's lead. There are huge crowds with very little mask- wearing, although some people are wearing masks at this rally as we watch the people just go by the camera here. Yet, no social distancing, so very tight quarters.
Julie, things are clearly getting worse here in the U.S., and yet the White House Task Force, we're learning, is meeting less and less.
Here's Dr. Anthony Fauci.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We were meeting, you know, sometimes seven days a week. Then it went down to five. We're down to about, I would say, consistent one day a week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So that's how often the task force itself is meeting. Do we know when President Trump last met with the Coronavirus Task Force?
JULIE PACE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: The White House will not say. It's a pretty simple question. When was the last time that the president met with this task force? And we can't get an answer, and you can infer from that that he's not meeting with them very often.
And you know, I think that is really actually remarkable when you really sit down and think about this. Yes, we are, of course, in the last final weeks of this campaign and the president is going to want to be out on the campaign trail in these battleground states as much as possible.
But he is president through the inauguration, regardless of what happens on November 3rd, and he does not appear to be spending much of his time right now in touch with public health officials, in touch with others in his administration who are tasked with leading the U.S. response to this pandemic, so it's not just in what he's saying and what the public is seeing. It's really behind the scenes as well. It appears as though this is not, you know, really a top priority for the president.
CABRERA: Dr. Reiner, what's your reaction to hearing that?
REINER: Yeah, I mean, I completely agree. It's hard to understand -- well, maybe it's not hard to understand because the news is so bad for this administration as it relates to, really, the only news now, which is COVID.
And -- but the president's trying to, again, perpetuate this myth that we're turning the corner and that there's light at the end of the tunnel. There's a lot of misery in this country.
In the 1970s, there was this economic indicator that was developed called the misery index, which basically added the unemployment rate to the inflation rate to give sort of a sense for how much pain the average American consumer had. The new misery index is the COVID positivity rate added to the unemployment rate.
And it's really hard -- really high in this country, and it's something that this president just can't face anymore.
[16:10:07]
CABRERA: David, as this national health crisis continues to worsen by the day, Biden is keeping the focus on healthcare. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Mishandling the pandemic isn't enough for Trump. On top of that, he's still trying to take away your healthcare. Trump's still determined, in the midst of this pandemic, he's still determined to destroy the Affordable Care Act.
This isn't hyperbole. Just like your opponent calls it a disaster. Talk about a disaster. There's a disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: We know the pandemic is top of mind for voters, David. How strategic is Biden being in hammering away at healthcare in this final stretch?
SWERDLICK: You know, Ana, I think it's sort of interesting that in the first term of the Obama/Biden administration, the Affordable Care Act was sort of a liability for them with a lot of voters, maybe not the majority, but quite a few voters that they were trying to reel back in.
Then in the Democratic primaries this year, it was a liability for Biden because some Democratic voters thought that the Obama/Biden administration hadn't gone far enough.
Now, it's like a lifeline. Vice President Biden can hammer home the fact that he was part of an administration that tried to push forward on health coverage, even if people don't think it's perfect, and that the popular parts of it, like covering preexisting conditions, are there because they put it in the law.
Every time President Trump comes out and says, oh, I signed an executive order protecting preexisting conditions, it gives Vice President Biden another opportunity to say, well, wait a second, that's even on the table because we put it there.
This is a safe topic for him now, even if it wasn't before, and I think he's going to ride this, also, to Election Day.
CABRERA: Meantime, new attacks on Joe Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): But the most insidious thing that Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are trying to perpetrate and Bernie and Kamala, or Kamala, Kamala-mala-mala, I don't know. Whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Now, Senator Perdue's communications director claims he's simply mispronounced her name, didn't mean anything by it. He serves on the Senate. He's on the same committee as her.
Julie, do you buy that excuse?
PACE: I don't really buy that. He, of course, knows how to pronounce Kamala Harris's name, and I think it's important to note that this is not really a one-off even what we saw from Senator Perdue is probably one of the most egregious examples we've seen.
We've seen multiple Republicans throughout the last several weeks mispronouncing Senator Harris's name and for a lot of people, this has smacked as racism, a way to really try to undercut her, the first black woman to be on a major party ticket and this is probably one of the most egregious examples but it follows a pattern we've seen for several weeks.
CABRERA: It's really just disturbing to hear that.
SWERDLICK: Gross.
CABRERA: Dr. Reiner, there's obviously so much passion and energy on both sides about the upcoming collection right now. We've been reporting on the record turnout for early voting.
What kind of risk is voting in person right now and what do people need to know to help stay safe?
REINER: I think it's quite simple. People need to wear masks and keep their distance, and there are certainly safe ways to do this.
I think if you want to vote in public, in person, you should. You should go either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. You should maybe go in pre-voting if your local municipality has that.
And if you're particularly vulnerable, you should vote by mail. But I think that people who want to go and vote in person should do that, mask up, you know, stay six feet behind the person in line in front of you, and you can do that safely. Bring some hand sanitizer with you.
I don't to discourage anyone from going, and if you have concerns, then vote by mail.
CABRERA: All right, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Julie Pace, David Swerdlick, great to have all of you with us. Thank you.
SWERDLICK: Thanks.
CABRERA: More now on Americans lining up across the country to vote early. More than 22 million ballots already cast. We'll take you live to Georgia where some people waited for hours today to get inside the polling station.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:18:21]
CABRERA: We are 17 days away from election day, but millions of ballots have already been cast as the coronavirus pandemic has spurred many Americans to vote early, in-person or by mail, and the surge in early in-person voting has caused hours-long wait times across the country. In fact, in the battleground state of Georgia, in-person early voting just that alone has increased by almost 50 percent compared to the same point in 2016.
And CNN's Natasha Chen is at one polling location in Marietta, Georgia.
And, Natasha, earlier in the day, I mean, we knew the wait times there were hours long. Has that changed and what are you hearing from voters?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Ana, the good news is that it's a lot better now. The people behind me will probably wait about 30 minutes. That's the estimate right now. And people have until polls close at 5:00 p.m. Eastern to actually get in this line, so as long as they're in line at 5:00, they can vote today.
So that wait this morning when the doors hadn't even opened, people being here three and a half hours early, that has definitely improved this afternoon, and we even see people over here with that food truck delivering free meals for people, knowing that a lot of people are waiting.
And you talked about the turnout being so much -- so much more increased from 2016 at this point in the election of that year. If we can bring up these numbers, in total, in Georgia, there's been 134 percent increase when you look at both in-person early voting as well as absentee ballot. And if you're looking at just the early in-person voting, that number you referenced, nearly 50 percent, that's where that number comes from and absentee ballots, more than 615 percent increase from the 2016 election, at this point in 2016, about five or six days into voting.
[16:20:12]
So, a lot of enthusiasm that we're seeing here. In fact, we talked to a couple of people who were prepared to wait much longer. Here's what they said about why they're here to vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GREGORY OLIVER, GEORGIA VOTER: Because of everything that's taking place, I think it's important to do this in person. Now, for our son is doing absentee, correct, and he's in college, at Wake Forest University, so we're going to make sure we're actually driving up to have him cast his ballot and bring it back from an absentee standpoint. We're doing that tomorrow. That's how important it is to us.
RHONDA OLIVER, GEORGIA VOTER: Past history shows that people have died for our right to vote so that was important for me. It's also important for our three children know that what we're doing. Standing and letting your voice be heard is important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: Yeah, and their oldest son, they told me, is actually an Atlanta police officer, and so a lot of the issues that are very important to them include healthcare, how the government's responded to the coronavirus pandemic, how the government's responded to race relations and police brutality. So, all of that is top of mind for these people.
And the commonality among everyone we've met here today is that no matter how long they've waited, they all were prepared to wait a very long time. They were all prepared to be patient with their lawn chairs, with their coffee, with their food, with their pets, with their small children. So they were here for the long haul even if they didn't end up waiting that long, Ana.
CABRERA: Prepared and obviously determined.
Natasha Chen, thank you.
And Georgia's just one state that has seen a surge in mail-in and in- person early voting.
With us now, CNN Senior Political Writer and Analyst, Harry Enten.
Harry, you have been studying the detailed voter information out there from Catalyst, the data company that provides the data analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit issue advocacy organization. So what does it show about, you know, the early vote?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: Yeah, I think it shows that Georgia is no exception to the rule. I mean, take a look at this. Over 22 million people have already cast a ballot so far, and it's from coast to coast, right? From Washington down to Texas up to Maine down to Florida.
So we're seeing a lot of people voting, and more than that compared to four years ago and you can just see at this point, four years ago, far less people were voting early. Just about 7 million folks. Now we're up to over 22 million so triple the number of people have voted so far in this election than the equivalent point four years ago.
CABRERA: This all pointing to a much higher turnout this election? ENTEN: Yeah. You know, it would be one thing if we were just looking
at this early absentee vote in isolation but in fact it's backed up by the polls. Take a look here. You compare the CNN poll at this point in 2016 and the CNN poll now and what you see now is that more people at this point say they're certain to vote in this election than said the same in 2016. So I do, in fact, think there's going to be a significantly larger turnout this year than four years ago.
CABRERA: With this surge in early voting, both by mail and in-person, could this impact when the race is called? Because we know some states wait until Election Day to process these early votes, right?
ENTEN: Yeah, and definitely could, right?
And in the closest six states from four years ago, right, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, take a look here. Michigan, the small cities, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in those states, these early votes will not begin to get processed until Election Day.
And so, look, these are places, especially Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that really just have no real history of this large early vote. So it could take days to get those votes counted and we might not know who's won those states until, say, Wednesday, Thursday, or even Friday after the election, if not longer.
CABRERA: And on top of that, we have, you know, a moving deadline from state to state for when mail-in ballots have to be received, so how do you see that impacting when the race is called?
ENTEN: Yeah, this is just another reason why we're going to have to be very, very patient, right? Look, again, at the six closest states that Trump won in 2016. In Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, those votes only need to be postmarked by Election Day. They don't necessarily need to be received by Election Day.
So, it could be the case that, you know, if you have a very close race on election night, it could be these late ballots that come in, especially in a place like Michigan or Pennsylvania, in order to really know who's won that election.
So the fact is, this is just going to say this over and over again, Ana -- patience, patience, patience when it comes to counting the votes because it's better to be accurate than fast.
CABRERA: No doubt about it. I don't know how you keep up with all the different information, all the different numbers.
Thank goodness you're there to be my partner in crime here. Harry Enten, thank you. Good to have you here.
ENTEN: My pleasure.
CABRERA: The election in the middle of an historic pandemic and they are among the most vulnerable to coronavirus. Some haven't seen their grandkids in person in months. Why senior voters in Florida are suddenly a big hurdle for President
Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:29:28]
CABRERA: Just 17 days until the election and Senator Elizabeth Warren, Magic Johnson, and former President Barack Obama are among the star- studded surrogates stumping for Joe Biden in the home stretch.
CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll is with us now.
Jason, Biden isn't on the trail today but he's -- has these surrogates out there for him and where campaigns focus their energy in this final stretch can tell us a lot about the state of the race, at least in a campaign's eyes.
So where is the Biden campaign putting its energy?
[16:30:00]
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Of course. Well, you know the campaign is putting much of its time and energy into swing states and states where they're doing that early in-person voting.
They're seeing exactly the same images that people across the country are seeing, these long lines, people waiting in places like North Carolina.
Tomorrow, Vice President Biden, for his part, will be heading to Durham, North Carolina.
He's not on the campaign trail today. A source within the campaign telling me that he's going to be meeting with advisors today.
But tomorrow, he will be in Durham, trying to encourage more of his supporters to get out there and participate in early in-person voting.
Senator Harris, for her part, as you know, a couple people in her orbit tested positive for coronavirus.
She tested negative for coronavirus today. But out of an abundance of caution, they've kept her off the campaign in terms of doing in-person voting.
But on Monday, she's going to be in Florida trying to encourage supporters there to participate in in-person voting in that state.
If you look ahead at the schedule, in terms of the candidates and the surrogates, they're going to be out in full force.
Today, for example, you've got Stacey Abrams in Florida. Elizabeth Warren in Wisconsin. Magic Johnson in michigan. Looking ahead, tomorrow, again, Biden is going to be in North Carolina.
On Monday, you've got Senator Harris. In Florida, Joe Biden's going to be back. In Pennsylvania, Tuesday, Joe Biden.
Here's the big one. On Wednesday, we've got former President Barack Obama, who's going to be campaigning for Joe Biden in Philadelphia.
And there's always the question: Do these surrogates matter? Well, Democrats say that's the one surrogate that does matter. He may be one -- he may be the one man who can encourage communities of color to get out there and vote.
Again, he's going to be doing that for the vice president on -- that's going to be on Wednesday, the day before the debate -- Ana?
CABRERA: OK, Jason Carroll, thank you.
Both the Trump and Biden campaigns are stepping up their fight to win the support of older voters, a crucial and reliable voting bloc in Florida, in particular, that favored President Trump in 2016. But that support now seems to be slipping.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) These Florida seniors are fired up for Joe Biden.
(HONKING)
(CHEERING)
ZELENY: But it's not only Democrats taking their stand.
A bigger threat to President Trump's re-election may come from voters like Tommye and Rody Johnson. They are lifelong Republicans who supported him four years ago but won't again.
TOMMYE JOHNSON, REPUBLICAN BIDEN SUPPORTER: I feel he's responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths because of his attitude about it.
He's still dishonest about it. He keeps saying it's getting better and it never is. It's getting worse.
ZELENY: Their frustration at the president turned to fury with his handling of coronavirus.
RODY JOHNSON, REPUBLICAN BIDEN SUPPORTER: Damn it, we voted for him. And of course the virus, COVID, has been terrible.
ZELENY: Three weeks ago, his son tested positive for COVID-19.
R. JOHNSON: I was mad because he had it, and it was, you know -- and I kept thinking, that's Mr. Trump's fault. Because this thing should never have gotten as far as it has. ZELENY: Seniors were key to Trump's victory in 2016. Yet, falloff from
this critical voting bloc had the president sounding the alarm this week at a rally here.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Biden's agenda would be a catastrophe for Florida's seniors.
ZELENY: During his own Florida visit, Biden turned the subject back to coronavirus.
JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: So many lives have been lost unnecessarily because this president cares more about the stock market than he does about, you know, the well-being of seniors.
ZELENY: Tobi Schelin is a nurse who's going door to door for Biden where she hears the stories.
TOBI SCHELIN, BIDEN SUPPORTER & VOLUNTEER: They can't hug their grandkids. So it's been huge. That's been a huge factor.
ZELENY: The pandemic and the fear of a close election drives these senior volunteers.
MARY MCBEE, BIDEN SUPPORTER & VOLUNTEER: What I'm see at the Trump side, only four votes. That's maybe two houses, three houses.
I don't want to wake up this year, the day after the election, and say, what more could I have done?
(CHEERING)
ZELENY: Signs of an exceedingly tight race are plentiful here with passionate support for Trump on display from flags to front yards.
ANN ALEXSINAS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: There's more people out supporting him now because he's had so many people going against him. And I don't feel he's been treated fairly by the Democrats at all.
ZELENY: The question is just how many Trump voters have soured on the president.
The Johnsons live in a county that's still deep red. But they're no longer shy about showing their affirmative support for Biden.
R. JOHNSON: Mr. Biden is a nice man. And there was a time I didn't like him at all. I love him.
ZELENY: But it's Trump that's driving them and this race.
T. JOHNSON: He's so dishonest. And the worst is that whenever he is caught in a lie, he blames it on somebody else. It's always somebody else. He's impossible.
[16:35:02]
ZELENY (on camera): On top of all of this, the TV air waves here are flooded with hundreds of millions of dollars-worth in advertising about Social Security and taxes. Those, of course, are familiar issues.
But it is the new political issue of coronavirus that also is front and center every time President Trump holds a rally.
He spent three of five days this past week here in the state of Florida, certainly, underscoring the importance of the 29 electoral votes.
Now, early voting begins in many Florida counties next week. Certainly, this state as critical as it ever is.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Vero Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Thank you, Jeff.
After a chaotic first debate, a presidential health crisis, a controversial debate cancellation, and competing town halls, Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off one last time. The final presidential debate is coming.
And special live coverage starts Thursday at 7:00 Eastern on CNN.
If things don't go President Trump's way on Election Day, he'll lose more than his office. He'll lose the legal protections that's afforded him so far. "CROSS EXAM" with Elie Honig is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:40:12]
TRUMP: Because you know what? Running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me.
Could you imagine if I lose? My whole life, what am I going to do?
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I'm going to say I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I'm not going to feel so good. Maybe I'll have to leave the country. I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: You heard it yourself, President Trump touting the idea of leaving the country in front of his supporters in Georgia last night should he lose the election. Those words coming from a president who has reassured Americans before
that he does not joke.
But could it have anything to do with this? CNN is looking at the legal reckoning Trump could face should he lose the White House.
Which brings us to "CROSS EXAM," with CNN legal analyst, Elie Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor. And he's here to answer your questions.
So, Elie, one viewer wants to know: Could President Trump be prosecuted or sued after he's out of office? And what are the most likely cases he might face?
ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Ana, where to begin?
I mean, over the past four years, Donald Trump has used the office of the presidency to protect himself from a legal avalanche.
So when he's out of office, however, all those protections that he's been relying on, they will go away, and anything is in play.
So let's run through it.
First of all, on the potential criminal side of the ledger, the most serious threat right now is coming from New York State prosecutors, the Manhattan D.A., the New York A.G. who are investigating the Trump Organization for potential bank fraud, tax fraud, insurance fraud.
The idea there is, if the Trump Organization has been falsely inflating or deflating the value of their assets.
Now, there are also potential federal charges at play, obstruction of justice. We remember, Robert Mueller found 11 potential bases for obstruction of justice.
Now, DOJ policy is against charging a sitting president. But once he's no longer sitting, he absolutely can be charged.
And finally, there's potential charges for campaign finance charges. This is hush money payments. Michael Cohen was convicted of this.
DOJ, on the record, said he acted at the direction of "individual one." We know who that is.
On the civil side of the ledger, he has tried to delay these cases because he's the sitting president, over and over again. But that delay ends when he's out of office.
He's currently facing two defamation lawsuits from two different women who claim he sexually assaulted them and then defamed them.
He's facing potential civil tax liability over this $72 million tax refund that President Trump obtained back in 2010.
And Mary Trump, the president's own niece, has sued the president and family members over a multimillion-dollar dispute over the family estate.
So the stakes in this election are enormous for the country. And they could be even bigger for Donald Trump himself beyond politics if he loses.
CABRERA: That's a lot that's on the line here.
Another viewer asks: Is there any formal rule against the Department of Justice announcing a new indictment or investigation on the eve of the election?
HONIG: So, there's an informal rule. And there's some drama between the president and the A.G. over this.
So, dating back decades, DOJ, under both political parties, has followed this internal policy that you do not announce a new politically-charged indictment or investigation within 60 days of an election.
But this year, Attorney General Barr narrowed that policy a little bit and seemed to keep the door open for a potential October surprise.
Turns out, though, it's just been a series of duds. Last week, we learned that the Durham investigation, nothing new, nothing before the election.
This week, we learned that the DOJ prosecutor who Barr appointed to look into this crazy unmasking theory involving the president, Obama, and Joe Biden, he came up empty, too. No charges. Not even a report.
The president's not happy. He's openly questioning and challenging the attorney general.
So, for the first time, we're seeing a bit of tension between these two. We'll have to see how that plays out.
CABRERA: Another viewer wants to know and is asking about something that affects millions of Americans: That if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court, how likely is the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act?
HONIG: So, it's possible. But I want people to understand, it is far from certain that that happens.
Now, the Supreme Court upheld the ACA back in 2012 by a 5-4 vote. Chief Justice Roberts joined with the four liberal justices at the time.
Now, Judge Barrett wrote a law review article criticizing that 2012 decision.
Now the ACA is back in front of the Supreme Court this term. And if Judge Barrett votes to strike it down, that could swing the result.
But here's the thing. The issue this time is different than in 2012. The issue this time is what we call severability. I'm going to illustrate. I have a visual here. The concept is, if you
assume this Jenga pile behind me is the entire Affordable Care Act, Congress has effectively -- oh -- taken out one piece of the Affordable Care Act. That's the individual mandate.
Severability means, can you pull that one piece out, when you do that, does the entire law stand on its own or does it collapse?
[16:45:01]
And Judge Barrett said she understands. She testified there's a general presumption in the law that, when you do that, the entire law should be able to stand on its own.
So, yes, she criticized that 2012 decision. But it's far from a given that she'll come out the same way now in 2020.
CABRERA: Elie Honig, throwing a curveball. Bringing props and upping the game in our "CROSS EXAM" today.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
HONIG: I was nervous but I got it out there. Good.
CABRERA: That was really good. Especially for visual learners like me, that was helpful.
Elie Honig, good to see you. Thank you.
HONIG: Thanks.
CABRERA: Coming up, a personal toll of this pandemic. Get this -- the virus killed this man's father and seven other members of his family, and now it has taken his livelihood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICARDO AGUIRRE, LOST FAMILY AND BUSINESS TO COVID-19: This is what's left of 10 years of hard work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:50:19]
CABRERA: The devastation of this pandemic cannot be overstated. More than 218,000 lives lost just in the United States, and more than a million around the world.
But for one Arizona family, the heartache is truly unimaginable. They lost eight family members to coronavirus, along with their livelihood.
You have to watch this report from CNN's Miguel Marquez. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AGUIRRE: I don't want to cry just because I'm -- I know God has something better for me.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ricardo Aguirre --
AGUIRRE: But it's hard not to it's just -- you know, the --
MARQUEZ (voice-over): -- the coronavirus killed his father and seven other family members, he says. It took his business. It sickened him, his wife, who was then four months pregnant, and two of his kids.
AGUIRRE: I feel very incompetent. A man not being able to go back to where it was. I lost my dad. It's very hard. It's hard.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): He doesn't know how they contracted the virus. They wore masks and used sanitizer constantly.
It swept through his family in May. His father fought the virus for months.
AGUIRRE: My dad, unfortunately, you know, he passed away on September 11th in my arms at 3:30 in the morning. It was very hard because we did everything together, 42 years being by his side.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): His mother is home and still fighting the effects of the virus.
Now, he spends his days shuttling her to hospital visits, helping his wife, now eight months pregnant, dealing with an ever-increasing pile of bills. All this with little income and no health insurance.
MARQUEZ (on camera): You don't have medical coverage?
AGUIRRE: I don't have medical coverage at all. It's just too much. It's --
MARQUEZ: Even Obamacare, even --
(CROSSTALK)
AGUIRRE: No.
MARQUEZ: You just can't afford anything?
AGUIRRE: I can't afford it. It's just too much. It's, literally, another house payment.
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Aguirre and his family-built Tacos y Tamales Puebla. He had a food truck, a prep kitchen in downtown Phoenix, and a long list of corporate and wedding clients.
AGUIRRE: This is what's left of 10 years of hard work. MARQUEZ (on camera): You were living the American dream?
AGUIRRE: Yes, I was.
Come visit us. As you can see, we are busy.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): When COVID-19 cases in Arizona jumped and the economy shut down, Aguirre watched all his catering jobs scheduled for the next year evaporate.
His food truck was repossessed. He couldn't pay rent on his prep kitchen.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): When did it all come to a halt?
AGUIRRE: March 17th.
MARQUEZ: COVID?
AGUIRRE: Yes.
MARQUEZ: Overnight?
AGUIRRE: Yes, just like that.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Aguirre would like the president to understand just how devastating the disease is for some.
(on camera): When he says, "Don't be afraid of COVID, don't let it dominate your life," what do you say to him?
AGUIRRE: May God continue to bless you and your family.
MARQUEZ: But how does the real-world deal with COVID?
AGUIRRE: It's bad. It's bad.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Aguirre is now looking forward to the big day in November, November 7th, the day his first daughter is due to be born.
AGUIRRE: We felt that we were ready financially and we were ready, you know, emotionally, you know, to take care of another human being.
Now, with this going on, I just ask God for strength to get me by another day.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The real toll of the coronavirus on one American family.
[16:54:25]
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Phoenix.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: She was Ronald Reagan's strongest supporter, his sharpest negotiator, and his lifelong protector.
This Sunday, the CNN original series, "FIRST LADIES," examines the life of Nancy Reagan.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nancy Davis and Ronald Reagan met in Hollywood in 1949. Nancy was an ambitious young actress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nancy arrived in Hollywood during the time of the Red Scare. There was a lot of concern that Communists were infiltrating Hollywood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She sees the name Nancy Davis on a list of supposed communist sympathizers. I mean, this is a career killer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, she went to her director, Mervyn LeRoy. And he said, I'm going to have my good friend, Ronnie Reagan, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, look into this for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reagan says, no, it's another Nancy Davis. Tell her not to worry. We'll stand behind her.
But Nancy says, you need to engineer a chance for me to meet him face- to-face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ronald Reagan, 10 years Nancy's senior, was a well-known actor and a staunch anti-Communist.
[17:00:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the list was really a pretext to get to know Ronald Reagan, who was now a divorcee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
