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Trump Campaigns without Mask as COVID-19 Spikes; Biden Holds Socially Distant Rally, Promises Unity; Voters in Georgia Wait in Long Lines to Cast Early Ballots; Manchester Refuses to Raise Alert Level to Top Tier; Italy Tightens Restrictions as COVID-19 Cases Surge; China's Economy Grows 4.9% in Third Quarter; People Turning to Shipping Containers as Living Spaces; Battle for Votes in Trump Stronghold in Pennsylvania; Bolton: Trump Has 'The Attention Span of a Fruit Fly'. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 19, 2020 - 00:00   ET

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

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi. Welcome to all of our viewers around the world. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow live from CNN's world news headquarters here in Atlanta.

[00:00:30]

So just coming up, battleground blitz. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are touring the U.S. with two very different messages and election day fast approaching.

And it's hard to believe that there's one country whose economy is actually growing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And we'll look at the unique way good Samaritans are helping the homeless in Los Angeles.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: So it's just over two weeks to go until election day in the U.S., and the president, Donald Trump, is on a campaign blitz. He spent the weekend crisscrossing the country, and he'll begin this week with two rallies in Arizona on Monday.

Now, the president was in Nevada on Sunday evening, and yet again, despite COVID cases surging throughout the country, there was no social distancing and very few masks.

President Trump seems to be going back to his playbook from 2016, holding several rallies a day and making baseless accusations against his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.

But unlike four years ago, President Trump is also dealing with this pandemic. So right now, the U.S. is averaging more than 55,000 new cases a day. That's up more than 60 percent since mid-September. And, experts say, the country is already in the midst of the autumn surge they have long predicted.

Well, Ryan Nobles is on the campaign trail with President Trump, and he has the details on this -- Ryan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is in the middle of a very busy campaign schedule, a campaign schedule that's actually picking up since he was diagnosed with the coronavirus pandemic.

(voice-over): The president, just in the past few, traveling to key states including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and he ended the weekend with a trip here to Carson City, Nevada.

And it was at that event in Nevada that he talked about his response to the coronavirus pandemic and actually ridiculed some of the scientists who have been giving him advice when it relates to the virus. Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression, instead of we're like a rocket ship. Take a look at the numbers. And that's despite the fact that we have, like, five or six of these Democrats keeping their states closed, because they're trying to hurt us on November 3. But the numbers are so good anyway. They'd be even better.

NOBLES: And this torrid campaign pace is expected to continue, the president expected to make stops next week in Pennsylvania and in North Carolina. And of course, he'll travel to Nashville on Thursday for the final debate of the 2020 campaign.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, Carson City, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: And as we just saw there, President Trump still doesn't wear masks, despite having just recovered from the coronavirus himself. And America's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, believes it's because the president doesn't want to appear weak. Listen to what he says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN LAPOOK, CBS CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He hasn't worn masks consistently. He's pushed back against things you've said.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Yes. I think that's less an anti-science than it's more a statement.

LAPOOK: What kind of a statement?

FAUCI: You know, a statement of strength. Like, we're strong. We don't need -- we don't need a mask, that kind of thing.

LAPOOK: Does that --

FAUCI: It maybe sometimes equates wearing a mask with weakness.

LAPOOK: Does that make sense to you?

FAUCI: No, it doesn't. Of course not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Dr. Fauci also says he wasn't surprised when the U.S. president got coronavirus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAPOOK: Were you surprised that President Trump got sick?

FAUCI: Absolutely not. I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask. When I saw that on TV, I said, Oh, my goodness. Nothing good can come out of that. That's got to be a problem. And then, sure enough, it turned out to be a super-spreader event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Democratic candidate Joe Biden is running a very different style of campaign than the president in style and in substance. Arlette Saenz tells us what Biden's been saying and where he's been going.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden traveled here to Durham, North Carolina, as in-person early voting is underway in the state. The former vice president holding a socially-distant drive-in-style rally, as he encouraged his supporters to make a plan to vote in the final weeks of this election.

[00:05:06]

Now, Joe Biden, once again, hammered away at the president for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, as he believes this is a central issue in these final weeks before the election.

And Joe Biden also talked about how the country needs to overcome division and how he is a president who will look out for all Americans. Take a listen.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Folks, as my coach used to say in college, it's go time. I'm running as a proud Democrat. But I will govern as an American president. No red states, no blue states, just the United States. I promise you, I'll work as hard for those who don't support me as those who did.

SAENZ: Now, North Carolina is one of those states President Trump won back in 2016 that Joe Biden is trying to flip in these final two weeks before the election. And on Monday, his running mate Kamala Harris is returning to the

campaign trail. She will campaign in the state of Florida. This comes after her -- the campaign had suspended her travel for a few days after two members of her traveling team tested positive for coronavirus. Kamala Harris tested negative for coronavirus on Sunday and will resume campaigning on Monday.

And later in the week, on Wednesday, perhaps the biggest Democratic political surrogate out there is hitting the campaign trail for Joe Biden. President Obama will campaign in Philadelphia, his first in- person campaign appearance as he's making that pitch for his former VP.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Durham, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Well, Americans aren't wasting time before the elections. Millions have already turned out for early voting. More than 27 million, in fact. That number represents almost 20 percent of the amount of votes in last -- in the last presidential election.

Meanwhile, here in Georgia, there's a record turnout for in-person voting. Natasha Chen tells us why voters here are just so energized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Over the weekend, we saw Georgians come out in droves to polling places. In some cases, waiting three or four hours to cast their ballots, especially in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb north of Atlanta, on Saturday.

We saw people arriving hours before doors even opened. But they were undaunted by that. We saw people bringing their lawn chairs, their pets, their small children, their breakfasts, and they were determined to wait, however long it would take to cast their ballots in person.

On Sunday, we saw the wait times get a lot shorter. Some people were not even aware that Sunday voting was available to them. So in many cases, they were able to vote within just a few minutes.

In both cases across the two days, we spoke to voters who said that it was critical for them to make sure their ballot was cast this time around. They said they were motivated by issues such as the response to the coronavirus pandemic and divisiveness in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is such an important election. There is so much at stake, and in today's society right now, with so much racial divide going on. We need candidates who's going to be -- who will be sensitive to that. And the person who gets elected needs to be held accountable for everything

CHEN: The Georgia secretary of state's office said that, compared to this point in the early voting process in 2016, the total voter turnout has increased by more than 150 percent. That's including both in-person early voting, as well as absentee ballots. Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Tara Setmayer is the former Republican congressional communications director. She's also the host of "Honestly Speaking with Tara."

Great to have you on the show. Lovely to see you.

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

CURNOW: So it's two -- it's two weeks to go. These candidates are crisscrossing the country, as presidential candidates do. But what do their itineraries tell you?

SETMAYER: Well, it's clear that the president of the United States is worried about several states that he shouldn't be campaigning in at this point. Ruby-red areas that were Republican strongholds at one point, like Georgia, and Texas.

The president is -- and Republicans, are paying attention to that. The president was in Georgia recently, which has been ruby-red for a very long time. But demographic shifts have turned Georgia potentially purple.

The fact that he actually was sending surrogates into places like Nebraska, or you know, Arizona and Nevada, Wisconsin. These are places that the president won last time, that he is in trouble of losing this time. The margin was razor-thin, in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. And he's focusing on Pennsylvania, but he's -- you know, in areas like Wisconsin and Michigan, the lead is pretty significant for Joe Biden, where the Trump campaign has pulled their ads on television to repurpose that money elsewhere. Because they also are running low on cash at this point in the election, which is never a good sign.

[00:10:02]

CURNOW: Yes, I want to talk about that in a moment. But I do want to talk about the issue, the crisis of COVID. And it seems to be a question of what color is the sky in your world? Because one candidate is ignoring the pandemic, and the other one is focusing on it. I mean, it just is like pink, or blue, or green?

I mean, what are the voters -- where are voters on the issue of corona? Is it going to change their minds?

SETMAYER: I think we've already seen that. Prior to the COVID crisis, the president was in a very good position to win reelection. The economy was doing well, and people often vote with their pocketbooks.

But once coronavirus hit, that was a real -- a real true test of leadership. And the American people have seen the abject failure of Donald Trump's governing and end of his administrations. We have 220,000 dead Americans. We have over a million infections. We lead the world in these areas, and we shouldn't.

And it's directly related to the president's refusal to face the facts that coronavirus was, in fact, deadly, and do what he needed to do to protect the American people. He weaponized mask wearing. He's turned it into an us-versus-them, blue states versus red states.

We've seen his rhetoric create and embolden some of these domestic terrorist, right-wing groups, who were recently arrested, threatening a governor in Michigan because of her stance to protect the people of Michigan by locking down during coronavirus.

And all of these things are having a direct impact on the American electorate and, I believe, the coronavirus failure by Donald Trump and his cavalier attitude toward it will be the ultimate demise of his candidacy.

CURNOW: That's interesting. But let's also remember, it's still two weeks to go, and at this time four years ago, I mean, many people still just assumed Hillary Clinton had it in the bag. The Trump administration -- the Trump then-campaign was criticized for going and campaigning in certain areas. Afterwards, it looked like they had very good data, and they were targeting the right areas.

So how -- how much faith do you put in the polls? How much of a path to victory do you think he still has? And do you think fund-raising, not polls, is perhaps the key to identifying where we're going?

SETMAYER: So I'll start with the fund-raising first. Joe Biden, three months in a row, has raised money in record amounts. Almost $360 million in August and September. And then $382 million most recently. Those are incredible numbers.

Donald Trump is not raising money anywhere near at that rate. They had a billion dollars and squandered most of it. So they have about $200 million they're working with, which is not a lot in the last final weeks.

So the fund-raising issue is, definitely, advantage Biden.

As far as the polling, 2016 is very different than 2020, because Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton. They are completely different candidates.

And where Hillary Clinton had a real difficult time connecting with voters, even their own Democrat coalition, Joe Biden doesn't have that problem. He is -- his life, his legacy, is one of compassion and empathy and the ability to connect with people through loss. And what a perfect time for someone like Joe Biden to be in the forefront and to become the leader of the country and, possibly, heal this nation. So the contrast couldn't be any more stark.

And as far as polling is concerned, even -- the pollsters were wrong, on state levels, in 2016. But not nationally. They were actually pretty close. But we all know, the national poll doesn't -- the national polls don't matter, because we don't have a national vote. But the pollsters changed a lot of the mistakes that they made in

2016. And even if all of the fundamentals were the same, and they didn't change anything, Biden is leading significantly enough in some of these areas that it's above the margin of error in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan. Both states that Donald Trump won with razor-thin margins, and where he's losing considerably now.

So Biden is in a much better position, but his campaign will never admit that, and they will continue to tell people it's closer than it appears, so that there's -- complacency doesn't set in, because a landslide victory is really what they need. Because if it's close, no one quite knows how Donald Trump will handle that, and possibly, throw everything into chaos moving forward, even if he loses.

CURNOW: How jumpy is the Republican Party? Particularly because this party, and its members, have supported him, or stayed silent? And how much of a cohesion is there two weeks before this election?

SETMAYER: Well, I spent over 20 years in Republican politics, and I can tell you that the Republicans are in full-on five-alarm fire. It is a 911-er.

They see the writing on the wall. They see the suburban areas in this country, where Donald Trump is hemorrhaging voters, particularly with women.

Joe Biden is beating Donald Trump by 23 points with women. He's tied 48-48 with men. And the trend lines in 2018, where Republicans lost control of the House, those trend lines are continuing in suburban areas.

[00:15:14]

When Donald Trump is losing by 7 points to Joe Biden in an area like Nebraska, 2nd District, which is the Omaha suburb, that is indicative of how -- how poorly Trump is doing in other places like Dallas, in Texas, Charlotte in North Carolina.

And Republican senators who are running for reelection, like John Cornyn in Texas, and in North Carolina, Ben Sasse in Nebraska, they see what -- that Donald Trump is an albatross. And they've already begun to start to warn about a bloodbath electorally.

And you know, people seem to find religion when they're electoral fortunes are on the line. And that's what you're probably going to see more of as Donald Trump loses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Tara Setmayer, thanks so much, joining me a little bit earlier. Thanks Tara.

So coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, new restrictions are in place as coronavirus cases soar in Italy. A report from Naples after the break. And the mayor of Manchester pushes back against Boris Johnson over

Britain's COVID's alert system. He says the city will not bow to the pandemic or to the U.K.'s response to it. That story, as well, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: So the U.S. is averaging more than 55,000 new cases of coronavirus a day, putting it in the midst of what experts call the dreaded autumn surge.

Well, nearly 220,000 Americans have died from the virus since the pandemic began, and a leading epidemiologist says the worst is still to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY: We do have vaccines and therapeutics coming down the pike. But when you actually look at the time period for that, the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So he predicts the U.S. could see upwards of 75,000 infections a day between now and the new year.

And meantime, the top infectious disease expert specialist says the vaccine development is really on a good track. Many Americans are still concerned the approval process could be politicized.

CBS News asked if the Food and Drug Administration's approval will be enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAPOOK: If the FDA says it's OK to take the vaccine, are you going to take it?

FAUCI: I'm going to look at the data upon which the FDA makes that decision. I trust the permanent professionals in the FDA. The director, the commissioner of the FDA has been very public that he will not let politics interfere. We have an advisory committee to the FDA who are made up of independent people who I trust.

Put all those things together, if the final outcome is that the FDA approves it, I will take it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So coronavirus -- coronavirus cases continue to also spike in Europe, as well. And some leaders are at odds with the public or with each other about how to slow the spread.

[00:20:06] So I want to take a look at Europe's current situation. Take a look at this map. As you can see here, there are very few nations that are in good shape. The U.K., Germany, Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic are among countries in Europe that have recorded their highest ever confirmed COVID infections this month.

France is also dealing with a staggering COVID rebound. Hundreds of police officers were on the streets in Paris and several other cities late on Saturday night. They were actually enforcing the nation's new 9 p.m. curfew. The country is trying this tactic for at least a month to slow the virus.

And Switzerland is also tightening its COVID-19 restrictions. Masks will now be mandated indoors in places like shops, restaurants, post offices and banks. They will be required in schools and childcare facilities, as well.

The country has seen a spike in infections over the past few days with a total of over 74,000 confirmed cases, 14,000 of which occurred just in the past week.

And leaders in Manchester, England, are refusing to raise their coronavirus level to "very high," which is the top tier of the bridge alert system. The mayor argues the system is flawed and government aid is nowhere near sufficient to do it any good.

Salma Abdelaziz has more from Manchester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mayor of greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, took to the Sunday talk shows to explain why he has refused to raise the COVID alert level of this city to very high, the top tier.

That would come with tougher new restrictions that would shut down bars, pubs, potentially gyms, and ban any households from mixing together.

The mayor's argument is essentially one of risks versus reward. He said that, under these tier 3 restrictions, the risk to affected businesses is too high in exchange for too little reward in terms of actually bringing the infection rate down.

That is why the mayor has argued for a nationwide lockdown instead. That would be more effective, he says, bringing down infection rates. And it would come with a larger financial package to help support businesses survive this second hit.

Now, we did see Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet minister, Michael Gove, on the Sunday talk shows, as well. He gave a resounding no to any calls for a nationwide lockdown.

Mayor Andy Burnham has said, short of a U.K.-wide shutdown, he wants to negotiate a better deal for the city. He's called for 80 percent of wages, for anyone affected to be paid by the government under these Tier 3 restrictions.

Now, both sides, the leader of Greater Manchester and Downing Street say they want to negotiate, say they want to reach a deal. So far, though, no talks are scheduled. They have been stalled since Thursday.

I did speak to a local politician who told me he expects that talks could resume on Monday. He told me in the past, they've only gotten a 20-minute heads-up before talks with Downing Street.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Manchester.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is tightening coronavirus restrictions there as cases reach a record day -- a daily record for the fifth straight day.

We know that restaurants are limiting table service, and mayors are allowed to impose curfews.

Ben Wedeman visited Naples to see just how that city is managing the surge -- Ben.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Italy is well into the second wave of coronavirus. Though it's not immediately apparent in Naples, the capital of the Campania region which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country. Infectious disease specialist Alessandro Perrella says it's not just about the numbers.

ALESSANDRO PERRELLA, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: We have an increasing number of positive people. Positive. Not an increasing number of patients. It's very different.

WEDEMAN: What's different is the testing. Earlier this year, only those showing COVID-like symptoms were tested. Now everyone can do it.

The majority of people who prove positive are asymptomatic, isolating until recovery. The number of people in intensive care now approximately a fifth of what it was before.

(on camera): Day after day Italy is reporting record increases in the number of new coronavirus cases. But at the same time, Italy is testing like never before at this hospital here in Naples. Seven days a week, at least 1,000 tests are conducted quickly and for free.

(voice-over): Five times as many tests are being conducted now than at the height of the first wave in March. The once unwieldy process now routine.

"How long was the wait? Half an hour," says Abramo (ph).

"When will you receive the result?" I ask. "The whole family did it. Tomorrow morning, we'll get a message with

the results by phone," he says.

There's no air of panic, but there is concern.

"We're not worried," says Valentina. "What worries us is not being able to work."

[00:25:00]

The number of new cases is erupting in Italy, and the peak of this wave is far off. Better prepared this time, Italy is still bracing for a long, hard winter.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Naples.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks, Ben, for that.

So Israel is easing some of its restrictions with cases there continuing to fall. We know that businesses that don't require close contact with customers are now allowed to open, along with national parks, beaches, and schools for younger children.

Also, people will now be allowed to travel more than a kilometer from their home.

And the Al Aqsa Mosque compound also reopened with people allowed to worship as long as they're socially distant.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian's chief negotiator, Saab Erekat, was rushed to Jerusalem -- to a Jerusalem hospital on Sunday with a worsening case of COVID. Erekat was -- is 65 and considered high risk because of a lung transplant three years ago.

The hospital says he needed oxygen when he arrived, and he's in a serious but stable condition.

And across, France thousands of people have been rallying in support of free speech and educators after the beheading of a French teacher. Some demonstrators held signs reading no to Islamization. Others displayed the front page of "Charlie Hebdo," the satirical magazine targeted by extremists for pushing -- for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

The victims of Friday's attack had used those same images of the prophet in his class on freedom of expression. An 18-year-old refugee from Chechnya claimed responsibility for the brutal murder and was killed by police on Friday.

And a convicted murderer who helped stop a terror attack on London Bridge last year will likely have his sentence reduced. That's thanks to a pardon of sorts from the queen.

Steven Gallant famously used a narwal tusk to gallantly confront the Islamist attacker who fatally stabbed two people. Viral video of the incident shows Gallant stabbing him with the tusk before police shot him dead.

Gallant was on leave from prison to attend an event on prisoners' education when the attack took place. Queen Elizabeth granted him a rarely used prerogative of mercy to get him considered for early parole.

And coming up on CNN, the world's second largest economy is bouncing back. We'll look at China's recovery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN.

So China's economy is steadily recovering from the turmoil caused by the pandemic. Its gross domestic product grew 4.9 percent in the third quarter on the year. Now, that was slightly lower than analysts had forecast.

[00:30:04]

But take a look also at the markets. Asian markets mostly in the green.

So Selina Wang is in Hong Kong with details on all of this. So what is the major takeaway from these GDP numbers we're seeing from China. It's pretty impressive, considering where they've been and where everyone else is.

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Robyn. These numbers really just reinforce a contrast between what China is dealing with and the rest of the world.

While the rest of the world is suffering the worst crisis since the Great Depression, China's economy is actually growing. In fact, it's the only large country expected to post growth this year.

It was, as you said, the first country to go under a strict lockdown, but it's also been early to reopen, get its economy back and running, and get life back to normal.

That third quarter GDP growth of 4.9 percent, while it is less than what economists had expected, it is a reminder here that, until a country gets the virus under control, it cannot successfully and sustainably reopen its economy.

There are no shortcuts here. And China's strategy of mass testing, contact tracing, as well as selective restrictions, has really worked so far.

And we -- we look at the breakdown of those numbers. We see consumption growing, as well, bouncing back to more than three percent in September. We saw that bounce back in growth reflected in China's recent mass travel holiday, the Golden Week holiday, when more than half a billion people in China were traveling and spending money.

However, Robyn, those consumption numbers are still significantly lower than last year.

And another risk factor to China's growth here is those unemployment numbers. We know that millions of people in China lost their jobs amid the pandemic. People working in factories and restaurants, delivery people.

And we don't know how many people have actually gotten their jobs back. China's unemployment stats show that unemployment is starting to decrease. But China's data only captures part of the workforce.

So, given the immense pressure that is still on the unemployed, as well as the fact that you have pressures on people's incomes, it is not clear how sustainable this recovery is going to be.

There have been concerns among economists I've been speaking to that China is relying too much on state-led infrastructure to boost its economy, rather than consumption.

CURNOW: Now, that's interesting. So then what do risks such as the tensions between the U.S. and China pose to this recovery. I mean, how much are they looking outwards, as well?

WANG: Well, over the long term, decoupling U.S.-China tensions are certainly one of the biggest risk factors to China's economy.

But in the short term, during COVID-19, interestingly, China's role in the global supply chain has actually become even more important. That's because they've managed to keep the pandemic under control and keep their factories up and running.

In fact, I spoke to an economist at Oxford Economics, who made the point that American multinationals in this environment are still willing to engage with China. And actually, U.S. foreign direct investment actually increased during the first half of the year into China.

But of course, over the long term, if we see trade tensions continue to escalate, that will pose a challenge to China's continued growth in exports.

In addition to tensions, you have the fact that until the rest of the world can get the pandemic under control and get their consumption and demand back to where it was before, there will continue to be pressure on China's exports to the rest of the world, as well.

CURNOW: OK. Thanks for that update there, live from Hong Kong. Selina Wang.

So U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she and the treasury secretary have agreed on a coronavirus stimulus plan within 48 hours, if it's going to pass before election day.

Last week, the White House proposed a $1.8 trillion plan, but Pelosi said it didn't offer enough worker protections, aid to state and local governments, and help to renters. She said the White House also watered down language on a national plan for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We're saying to them we have to freeze the design on some of these things. Are we going with it or not? And what is the language? I'm optimistic, because again, we've been back and forth on all of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So as the standoff continues in Washington, millions of Americans we know are suffering. The economic fallout from COVID has California's homeless crisis at critical, critical levels as Paul Vercammen now shows us how some people -- some people are managing to stay off the streets. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, John Kilgore, in his early sixties with five children, was couch surfing, floor surfing. They were staying anywhere they could. They needed to get off the streets.

The people concerned in Fly-Away Homes teamed up to provide housing in a shipping container, and the family when they moved in? Ecstatic.

JOHN KILGORE, LIVES IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS: We came in, and you know, and then with it being furnished and everything, we had everything we needed in there already. All we had to do was bring what little clothes we had.

[00:35:06]

And when we walked in there and their face lit up, and they was full of smiles and cheering. And they were just so happy that -- you know what I'm saying? Which made me happy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where I live.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you like it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I like it.

VERCAMMEN: The Kilgores' home has a kitchen, a family room, a bathroom. We're seeing several of these projects now in the pipeline. There's an on-site manager, a social worker who helps these formerly homeless people navigate through transportation, paying the rent, dealing with things such as taxes and other health issues.

We'll wait and see if this becomes a trend in southern California, but for now it's chipping away at the larger homeless problem.

Back to you now, Robyn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks so much, Paul, for that. Really appreciate it. Fascinating stuff. Also, so, so sad. We'll keep in touch with Paul on that.

So no matter what happens in this election, and whoa, is it an election, a top strategist says President Trump won't give up on a second term. The details on that ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RITA BLAIR, CHANGED PARTY AFFILIATION: Changed my registration from Democrat to Republican.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Why?

BLAIR: From what I've seen in the last past couple of years, I'm afraid to say I was a Democrat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Trump supporters in the critical state of Pennsylvania sound off with polls showing the president could be in trouble there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Twenty-two soldiers are missing after a landslide caused by heavy rain swept through a military camp in Vietnam. The flooding there has killed at least 20 people this month, with more than 12,000 evacuated from their homes.

And President Trump's former chief strategist says the world won't hear the last of Mr. Trump if he loses the upcoming election. In an interview with "The Australian," Steve Bannon said, "I'll make this prediction right now: if for any reason the election is stolen from, or in some sort of way Joe Biden is declared the winner, Trump will announce he's going to run for reelection in 2024. You're not going to see the end of Donald Trump."

So now, after the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, President Trump won it four years ago, but recent polls put Joe Biden in the lead. Dana Bash visits a Trump stronghold which Democrats believe could now be in play.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A line forms outside well before opening, waiting to enter the Trump House.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're ready for the next group. Come on in.

BASH: A mecca of sorts for the president's supporters in southwest Pennsylvania, where Trump's record turnout four years ago helped deliver his surprise Pennsylvania victory and the White House. LESLIE ROSSI, RUNS TRUMP HOUSE: Shirt or hat per person. You get a

sign or a flag.

BASH: Leslie Rossi created the Trump House in 2016, where she pushed disaffected Democrats and never-before voters to choose Trump.

ROSSI: We gave people a place to come to to believe they could win.

Hi. Welcome to the Trump House.

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BASH: Now, Trump supporters show up daily for swag and yard signs and help registering to vote.

SCOTT HARRER, TRUMP SUPPORTER: We need Trump in there again. I'm 65. I think it's time to register.

BASH (on camera): Had you not -- have you not voted ever?

HARRER: No.

BASH (voice-over): Rural Westmoreland County has seen a surge in Republican registrations. They help with that here, too.

BLAIR: Changed my registration from Democrat to Republican.

BASH (on camera): Why?

BLAIR: From what I've seen in the last, past couple of years, I'm ashamed to say I was a Democrat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a great honor to have you here in Latrobe.

BASH (voice-over): Joe Biden is ahead in Pennsylvania polls. Yet his campaign motto is every vote matters. Campaigning here in Westmoreland County this month, which Hillary Clinton did not in the 2016 general election.

(on camera): Not an area Democrats come and campaign very often, but you're here. Why?

JILL BIDEN, FORMER SECOND LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm here because, like I said, we are not taking any vote for granted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've seen the last four years of the president --

BASH (voice-over): Gina Cerilli is county commissioner in Westmoreland, Pa. Ten years ago she was Miss Pennsylvania in Donald Trump's "Miss USA" pageant. Now she's an elected Democrat working to blunt Trump's advantage here.

CERILLI: In 2016, Donald Trump was a fresh face. He was new to politics. Everyone was excited. He made big promises. Bring back jobs. But frankly, Donald Trump broke those promises. BASH: In small-town Pennsylvania, signs matter. Trump's are

everywhere, big and bold. But Biden's are out there, too.

CERILLI: When you see signs like this, it makes the Republicans and the Democrats that voted for Trump in 2016 realize, I'm not alone.

BASH: A big Biden challenge: his supporters are being COVID careful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never did we think we would be meeting by Zoom.

BASH: Phyllis Friend, head of Democratic Women of Westmoreland County, organizes from home. She's clear-eyed about the Democrats' goal here in Trump country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't win Pennsylvania for him, but we can add to the total numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, David. This is Joe. I'm a volunteer for the Trump campaign. How are you doing?

BASH: As for Republicans, they never stopped traditional ways of getting out the vote: knocking on doors, walking in neighborhoods in masks, and using a GOP data-driven app to find and persuade voters.

BRITTNEY ROBINSON, RUNS PENNSYLVANIA RNC OPERATION: Depending on who that voter is, we're able to tailor that message at the door and on the phone to how we think we need to target that voter and bring them out.

BASH: Given the president's struggles in the suburbs, boosting the vote here is critical for Trump.

(on camera): How important is it for him to get his numbers even higher than it was four years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think that we need to increase our voter turnout here for the president to offset some of what may be happening in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania.

BASH (voice-over): Back at the Trump House, Leslie Rossi shows us the log of visits from thousands of Trump supporters.

(on camera): What are you seeing this year?

ROSSI: My numbers have tripled. Tripled. Four years ago, my work was really hard here. I had to convince the voters to vote for the candidate. I had to convince them President Trump was the best choice for them. This time, I don't have to do any of that. They're all in.

BASH (voice-over): Whether enough are all in could determine whether Trump can overcome the headwinds he faces to win Pennsylvania and a second term.

Dana Bash, CNN, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CURNOW: Well, thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow. I will be back in 15 minutes' time with more news. But for now, I'm going to hand you over to WORLD SPORT. Enjoy.

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