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Early Voting Numbers Breaking Records; Trump Fights for Key Votes in Nebraska, Maine; How Trump and Biden Differ on Foreign Policy; White House Claims to Have Ended Pandemic as Cases Spike; Macron to Announce New COVID-19 Restrictions; Europe Hard-Hit By Surge in New COVID-19 Cases; Russia Imposed Nationwide Mask Mandate as Cases Rise; Australian Prime Minister Calls Doha Airport Incident Unacceptable; Comedian's Satirical Take on Trump Goes Viral. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 28, 2020 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there are just six days to go until election day, but a record-breaking number of voters have already had their say. More than 65 million Americans voted early so far. And that number represents more than half of all ballots cast back in 2016.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many voters taking the opportunity to vote early, either in person or by mail. More than half the votes already cast come from states considered battleground states. President Trump held three campaign rallies Tuesday and the last one of the day, in Omaha, Nebraska. And that's no coincidence. This year's electoral math means Trump and fighting for every vote in the state. CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One week before Election Day, President Trump is threading a narrow needle.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, you have Nebraska too, do you have Omaha? And that's something that a lot of Republicans don't get, and I'd like to get it.
We are the ending of the road --
ZELENY: Never mind the big battlegrounds. He's talking about Nebraska's second Congressional District, which most Republicans actually do get. He won it four years ago, but now is facing a tough fight with Joe Biden. As the President barnstormed the country, his path to winning 270 electoral votes is so precarious that he's chasing single electoral votes.
In Maine, on Sunday --
TRUMP: It'll be on Ebay tonight.
ZELENY: And tonight, in Nebraska. These states are the only two in America that split their electoral votes by congressional district rather than a winner take all model. But his visits to both of them highlight how his political path is complicated by political math with early voting already breaking records.
Here's why Nebraska is single electoral vote matters. If Biden gets it, he could win the presidency simply by flipping Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan from the 2016 map, even if he loses Pennsylvania and Florida.
OBAMA: How's it going Omaha?
ZELENY: Barack Obama won this Omaha area electoral vote in 2008. But his path to the White House hardly depended on it. In the final stretch of the race, Democrats are playing on Trump's terrain, hoping to expand the map.
Jill Biden in Maine eyeing an electoral vote that went for Trump four years ago.
JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF JOE BIDEN: So, tell me, Main, are you ready to go out and vote?
ZELENY: And her husband in Georgia, which hasn't gone Democratic in a presidential year since 1992.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I believe American and America of hope, not fear, unity, not division. Love not hate.
ZELENY: The President is on defense, working to hold ground he won last time.
TRUMP: Go out and vote.
ZELENY: The latest sign, he does not have a single electoral vote to spare.
(on camera): In the final week of this campaign, there is no question, President Trump is fighting for every electoral vote. Every here in deep red Nebraska. One single vote here could make a difference in his path to 270.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Omaha, Nebraska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: America First, that's U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy mantra for four years. He's used it to shake up alliances and retreat from global agreements. Now Joe Biden is offering a different view of America's role in the world. CNN's Alex Marquardt explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: America first.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a rallying cry from President Trump that fires up his base and has transformed the way that the United States is seen and treated by the rest of the world.
BIDEN: America first has made America alone.
MARQUARDT: While Joe Biden is now largely hoping to pick up where President Obama left off. But the world has changed. And has left with the two candidates on opposite ends of most major issues.
On North Korea, Trump has repeatedly boasted about his beautiful letters and friendship with dictator Kim Jong-un.
TRUMP: We have a very good relationship. And there's no war.
[04:35:00]
MARQUARDT: But North Korea's nuclear program continues. Biden says, Trump gave Kim exactly what he wanted. An in-person meeting with a U.S. president.
BIDEN: What in God's name is that all about? He gave him legitimacy.
MARQUARDT: Trump has improved the relationship with Israel which was deeply strained in the Obama/Biden administration. He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem which Obama wouldn't. And coordinated normalization agreements between Israel and three Arab countries.
It's the rivalry with China that will define much of U.S. foreign policy for decades to come. Trump started a fierce trade war. Repeatedly blasted China for the coronavirus. Painting himself as the one to confront them.
TRUMP: We had this horrible plague that came from China. And we're not going to forget that it came from China.
MARQUARDT: Biden has called Trump's approach erratic and promised more consistency with other allies. Alliances themselves are in the balance.
TRUMP: In NATO, I said you got to pay. We have got $130 billion a year or more from me. They didn't do it for 15 years, it went down.
MARQUARDT: Trump routinely goes after NATO and its members and succeeded in getting them to increase their defense spending. Biden believes alliances are a pillar of the global order.
BIDEN: We've find ourselves in the position where we're more isolated in the world than we've ever been.
MARQUARDT: The Paris Climate Accord is one of the international agreements that Biden wants to get back into. It was tossed out by Trump.
TRUMP: Look, you know about Paris? The Paris Climate Accord, one of the great disasters of all-time. Just call up France, how's Paris doing?
MARQUARDT: One Trump relationship that Biden is hoping to up end is with Vladimir Putin. The President claimed no one's been tougher on Russia, and sanctions have been severe. But the President has never publicly criticized Putin for putting bounties on the heads of U.S. troops.
TRUMP: If they were true, I would be very angry about it.
MARQUARDT: Or for attacking both the last and the current U.S. elections.
BIDEN: I made it clear that any country, no matter who it is, that interferes in American elections will pay a price. They will pay a price.
MARQUARDT (on camera): Another critical question is U.S. troops overseas in Afghanistan, the former vice president says that he wants to bring the vast majority home. But he doesn't say how many or by when. The White House says that President Trump wants to draw down to 2,500 troops by next spring.
In Iraq and Syria, both Biden and Trump, are much more vague. And both candidates, both say they want to end the so-called forever wars. But that is of course far easier said than done.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Election day in the U.S. will look very different this year. The U.S. is in the middle of a global pandemic and a swell in new infections that was predicted by experts. The White House claims to have ended the pandemic but the numbers tell a very different story with the majority of the country reporting concerning numbers. The state of Wisconsin is facing a crisis with 84 percent of the hospital beds full and nearly 90 percent of the ICU beds full. Wisconsin governor is warning people to be careful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TONY EVERS (D) WISCONSIN: There's no way to sugar coat it. We are facing an urgent crisis and there is an imminent risk to you, your family members, your friends, your neighbors and the people you care about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The World Health Organization says a record 2.8 million coronavirus cases have been reported worldwide in the past seven days. Europe is contributing nearly half of all of these cases. And you can see in this graph here the infections are soaring on the seven day average. Many countries on the continent are worried about hospital capacity. What health official warned hospitals in Belgium could run out of ICU beds in just two weeks.
Italy reported a new record for coronavirus cases on Tuesday as protesters and police clashed in Rome over restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus. And France's President is expected to announce new measures today to fight the spread of the coronavirus after the country sought its highest death toll since April on Tuesday.
Our Melissa Bell is in Paris for us. Melissa, some experts in France say the outbreak is out of control. How bad is it, first of all, and what are they planning to do to get it back under control?
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is really a Europe wide story, this one, Kim. Were you look at the countries with the fastest rises in those resurgence of infections. Eight of them, the eight top countries are in Europe, countries like Belgium and the Czech Republic, relative to their size. Really hardest hit over the last few weeks as you say where those fears in Belgium for ICUs going forward in the next couple of weeks.
[04:40:00]
But also, countries like Germany, Italy and France seeing very fast rises in their cases. We expect Angela Merkel to meet later today with representatives of the local state representatives in order to look at the new restrictions that might come in in Germany.
And here in France, we're going to hear, as you said, from Emmanuel Macron. Lots of speculation in the French press that he may announce some form of second lockdown. But there are other measures that he could take stopping short of that. But I think that gives you an idea of how bad the figures are. We had had the system of curfews.
And what health authorities have been explaining over the course of the last week, Kim, has was that by the beginning of this week we should have started to see the effect of those on the new rises, on the daily rises that are announced here in France. When that didn't happen, of course, authorities forced to bring in fresh restrictions.
So, this is not where the country wants to be, but in the end the fact of the matter is that in those parts of the county have been hardest hit, like here in the greater Paris region, you're looking at ICU capacity already really stretched, 72 percent of the ICU beds now in the greater Paris region are occupied by COVID-19 patients. That is simply not sustainable. So, the French are going to have to announce some serious restrictions tonight if they want to bring those figures back under control -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Very scary. All right, thank you so much. Melissa bell in Paris.
And Russia is now implementing new restrictions as cases of coronavirus surge. A nationwide mask mandate has now gone into effect. Meaning, a phase covering must be worn in all public spaces.
So, let's head to Moscow where our Fred Pleitgen is standing by. Fred, some top health officials here in the U.S. are beginning to almost tentatively suggesting a national mask mandate. Russia a step ahead. Take us through what led to this decision.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they certainly are a step ahead. And they've already had a mask mandate in the past and have essentially reinstituted a nationwide mask mandate. And you're absolutely right, Kim, starting here today people here in Russia across his very best country, of course, you're going to have to wear masks in public spaces, on public transport, inside parking lots and also inside elevators as well.
This comes as Russia is generally tightening up the rules to try and combat the coronavirus pandemic. There's also another part of that decree urging, for instance, nightclubs and bars to close down between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. However, there are places that can opt out of that if the virus situation allows for it.
So, generally, right now in Russia you do still have very, very high numbers of cases. In the past two days it hasn't been record setting but still pretty high, above 16,000 for a single day. And the other thing that you have, Kim, is a very high death toll as well. In fact, today it seems as though it's another record death toll for a single day, a 346.
Now all of this, of course, despite the fact that Russia in August came out and approved a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. But that vaccine is really in the beginning phases of the main trials to see whether it's both effective and safe. But also, really hasn't been taken by very many people yet.
And one of the folks who is actually self-isolating right now is the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. He was in contact with someone who has the novel coronavirus but yesterday the folks around Lavrov were saying he is for now at least doing fine -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.
Australia's Prime Minister is calling it appalling and unacceptable following an incident of women being invasively searched at Doha airport. More in a live report ahead. Stay with us.
[04:45:00]
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. District Judge in New York has sentenced a leader of an alleged sex cult to 120 years in prison. Keith Ranieri was convicted last year of several counts, including racketeering, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and human trafficking. He was the head of a company called Nexium. But prosecutors say he was running a criminal enterprise and recruited people to exploit them for power, profit or sex. At the sentencing Tuesday, more than a dozen people gave victim impact statements. One woman described the pain of being branded on her skin with Ranieri's initials unbeknownst to her. Ranieri has maintained his innocence.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is speaking out against the invasive searches performed on a group of women earlier this month at an airport in Doha, Qatar. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following the story from Hong Kong. So, a really disturbing story. Tell us about what happened and also the reaction.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Qatar says that it will investigate these disturbing reports. Reports of invasive searches and exams of women at the Hamad International Airport in Doha. Now the women were checked to see whether or not they had recently given birth after a newborn baby was found abandoned in a trash can in the airport on October 2nd.
Now among the women who were examined in this invasive way were women who were on ten separate flights, including 13 Australians who were on board a Sydney bound flight. Reportedly they were removed from their flights, they were detained, and they were invasively examined in ambulances that were on the tarmac.
Now CNN spoke to one eyewitness, a passenger who was on one of these flights. And he described the moment when some of these women were able to leave the ambulance, return to the flight. He said they were shell shocked, and he added that one woman was crying. Now is a result of these reports there is widespread outrage all around the world, but especially in Australia.
And earlier today we heard from the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, who condemned what happened to these women. He condemned it not only as the head of government but also as the father of daughters. Take a listen to what Scott Morrison said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: A refund is just unacceptable. That's been the official message and conveyed very clearly in the investigation that it is because it is unacceptable. I mean, it was appalling. As a father of daughters, I could only shudder at the thought that any woman, Australian or otherwise, would be subjected to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Scott Morrison said that he has received assurances from the Qatari government that the results of the investigation will be released very soon. Qatar, the government has released as statement saying that it is committed to the safety and security of all travelers who are transiting through the country. As for the baby, the mother is still missing. The newborn baby was left abandoned in the trash can is safe and sound. Back to you.
BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
For a complete change of pace, just ahead a thrilling finish to a baseball season like no other with the L.A. Dodgers looking for the title that's eluded them for 32 years. Stay with us.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: President Trump claims he has the best words. Comedian Sarah Cooper is taking those words and showing the world just how outlandish some of them can be. Her video has gone viral, racking up millions of views. Remember when the President suggested getting rid of COVID-19 by using light or disinfected inside the body, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We hit the body with a tremendous -- whether it is ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you've said that hasn't been check but you're going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body which you can do, either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you're going to test that, too. It sounds interesting.
And then I see the disinfectant that knock it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see, it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs? So, it'll be interesting to check that, so that you're going to have to use medical doctors, but it sounds interesting to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Well, Sarah's turned her viral success into a full blown comedy career. Even getting her own comedy series on Netflix.
[04:55:00]
Earlier she spoke to my colleague Don Lemon about the crazy year she's had and why she thinks it's resonated with so many people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH COOPER, WRITER AND COMEDIAN: And I think, you know, having his words come out of my mouth and so convincing, out of my mouth, makes you realize how ridiculous he sounds.
You know, I don't have people behind me nodding. I'm not wearing a suit. I'm not being called sir. You know, I don't have all those things that make it look like he knows what he's talking about. And so, you see it coming out of my mouth and your like, oh, that's BS. You know, it's complete BS.
I thought it was just going to be that one, you know, and that one got 25 million views and it was so popular. And I didn't think I was going to make them anymore. And then he kept giving me material and so, I kept making these videos. And you know, he said, you know, we have more cases because we test more. And I made a, you know, clip of me doing that audio. And then he's just said that over and over again. And so, it's -- if he just kept giving me the material and then, you know, I got an agent. I met Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne. I made a Netflix special. It's been absolutely insane six months.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Yes, plenty of material there.
Well, it's not a bad time to be a Los Angeles sports fan. Just a couple of weeks after the Lakers won the NBA championship, the L.A. Dodgers have won their first world series title in 32 years. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in a game six Tuesday night in front of a limited crowd at the stadium in Arlington, Texas. Well, it was a thrilling finish due to an unusual baseball season. It was pushed back by the pandemic. Most of the games are played without fans. And the season was shortened to 60 games instead of the usual 162.
All right. Well, thank you very much for your company. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "EARLY START" is up next. You are watching CNN.
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