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Trump and Biden Campaigns Focus Attention on Pennsylvania; Trump Win Likely Lies Through Pennsylvania; President Trump Denies Plan to Declare Victory Early. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 02, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Joe and I about to get rid of that tax bill, and invest that money in working families, invest that money in infrastructure, building back up our roads and bridges, partnering with the building trades, the carpenters and the plumbers and the electricians, knowing their apprenticeship programs are the best in the world. Building up America's workforce, investing in our auto industry, making our auto industry the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles.

Investing in working families, not raising taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year, but also investing in working families knowing you should never pay more than seven percent of your income in child care.

Investing in our students, who come from families who make less than $125,000, saying if you go to a four-year public school, including an HBCU, you will go for free.

That's how Joe thinks about the economy. There's a real clear choice in this race.

Let's deal with what Joe, being a student of American history, and having the courage to speak truth, knows what we need to do with a long-overdue reckoning on racial injustice in America.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, there you see the vice presidential candidates, both of them, in Pennsylvania, dueling rallies at the same time. Pennsylvania, seeing a lot of action today. President Trump as well as former Vice President Joe Biden will also be there on this day, Election Eve.

And it is the top of the hour on Election Eve, I'm Brianna Keilar. And we are in this final countdown to the 2020 election, both candidates and their surrogates are in a mad dash across battleground states. They are fighting for those 270 electoral votes.

This hour, both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, trying to woo voters in Pennsylvania delivering their closing arguments to voters who they feel could determine this election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: When America votes, America will be heard. When America's heard, I believe the message is going to be loud and clear. It's time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I don't always play by the rules of the Washington establishment, it's because I was elected to fight for you, and I fight harder than any president has ever fought for his people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Early voting ending today in 22 states and the District of Columbia, more than 95 million voters have already cast their ballots. That's 70 percent of the 2016 ballots already in.

And as excitement builds for this big day, so is the anxiety building. President Trump has been questioning the legitimacy of this election for months, predicting the election could be decided by the Supreme Court. And businesses across the country are not taking any chances. They are boarding up, clearly concerned that they may have reason to fear violence as the results come in.

Now, the White House also increasing security, a source telling CNN a, quote, "non-scalable fence" is expected to be put up. This is the same type of fence that was used earlier this summer during protests.

I want to get to Ryan Nobles, he is in Scranton, Pennsylvania. So, Ryan, what is the Trump campaign's closing message to voters there?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, there is no doubt that the Trump campaign is putting a lot of emphasis on Election Day itself. You mentioned that more than 95 million Americans have already voted as we head into this final stretch of the campaign, but the Trump campaign believes that Republican voters, particularly in these key swing states, are most comfortable with voting in person and doing so on Election Day.

That's why you see the president with a mad dash across these battleground states in the closing hours of the campaign. He's going to make five different stops today in four different states including this visit here to Pennsylvania, which may be among the most important on the electoral map for President Trump. It's of course a state that he surprised many in winning four years ago, and it's a state his campaign firmly believes that he can win this time again.

Now, even though polls show, pretty consistently for a good part of the general election campaign, that Joe Biden enjoys a lead here, President Trump believes that they can close that gap here in the closing hours of the campaign.

And they're really focusing their effort on the rural blue-collar parts of Pennsylvania. Yes, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, their suburbs will play a big role in determining the winner, but the president is focusing his travel on those red counties across Pennsylvania.

[14:05:05]

That's why we're here in Scranton today, which is of course the boyhood home of Joe Biden. And it's also part of Joe Biden's broader message about reaching out to working-class families. Well, President Trump believes that those voters, particularly in a state like Pennsylvania, still back him and will back him in the next election as well.

And, Brianna, it's also important to point out that the Trump campaign believes that these rallies also function as a get-out-the-vote mechanism. They're going to track and collect data on every single person that comes to this event here today, and then have volunteers and paid staff follow up with them to make sure that they get to the polls tomorrow.

So this is a lot of work still to go for the Trump campaign, and they believe this big ground game that they've invested some $300 million in since the day after the president was inaugurated will be the benefit to them in pushing the president over the top here in the closing hours of the campaign -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Ryan Nobles. Well, we'll know soon enough, Ryan Nobles for us in Pennsylvania.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, trying to drum up support there as well in these final few hours. The commonwealth, critical to Biden's map to the White House. And in just moments, he will hold a canvas kickoff event there. CNN's Jessica Dean, near Pittsburgh following all of this for us.

What is Biden's strategy, on the eve of the election -- Jessica?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, his campaign just holding a briefing in the last hour, telling everyone they feel really good about the fact that their -- they have many pathways to victory in there, in their mind, that they can put together a whole different combination of states and get to 270.

But as you mentioned, Pennsylvania plays an absolutely critical role in Vice President Biden's strategy. They really see that they can bring out a coalition of people here, all across the state. And to that end, they're sending Vice President Biden, his wife, Jill Biden, his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, to all four corners of the state today. They are all spread out across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as they seek to really turn out their supporters here.

And they're pitching their messages to a whole coalition of people. They're looking at Latino and black voters, white working-class voters, suburban women. They're talking to voters that Ryan Nobles was just talking about, who maybe voted for President Trump in 2016 but are willing to vote for Vice President Biden, Kamala Harris in 2020.

And the campaign is very encouraged, they say, by the data that they're seeing from all of these massive early voting numbers across the country, that they like what is coming in and that they're going to continue to try to press home the value of voting early on this last day for so many states to be able to do that.

And then of course, getting out the vote on Election Day, that's what they're doing here, canvassing event in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, which was won by President Trump pretty substantially back in 2016.

It's another example of Joe Biden that we've seen, Brianna, going into these areas that were won by President Trump back in 2016, that he really believes his message resonates with, it's that Scranton versus Park Avenue messaging that Joe Biden really talks to people here and sells them on the message that he understands working families, that he knows how to put the economy back together and he knows how to control the virus, and that it all fits together in his plan.

So we'll see if they can turn Pennsylvania blue, but they're certainly putting a lot of resources into it here on this last day before the election -- Brianna.

KEILAR: It is such a crucial state. Jessica Dean, thank you for that.

So why is Pennsylvania so important this year? Let's dig in on that with CNN's political director David Chalian.

I mean, Pennsylvania, they must feel good, they're getting all the attention today, David. President Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016. You can see just how both of these candidates and their running mates being there in the commonwealth today, suggests this is a big deal of a state, and that both these campaigns think they have a shot at it.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, it's a big prize, 20 electoral votes, and it does play a critical role in both candidates' paths. This is the 2016 map, Brianna. I just want to show you Pennsylvania from 2016. You remember it well.

Donald Trump won it by 44,000 votes, less than a percentage point difference, 44,000-vote difference out of about 6 million cast. So it was a very narrow victory in 2016, which is exactly why it's getting so much attention today.

I want to go to the road to 270 and just show you why it is so critical. Let's go back to that 2016 map for Donald Trump. This is where it ended on Election Night. I just want to show you that if Donald Trump is able to hold Pennsylvania -- and that is why you see this mission -- but let's say Joe Biden does indeed take Michigan back to Democratic territory, take Wisconsin back to Democratic territory.

But if Pennsylvania stays and the rest of Donald Trump's map holds, Brianna, Donald Trump will get re-elected. He doesn't need all three of those Great Lakes states, he needs Pennsylvania.

And just to put a fine point on it, why they think Pennsylvania is the best of those three, the Trump campaign? Look at the polling averages. Poll of (ph) polls over these finals days of the campaign. In Wisconsin in the poll of polls, Joe Biden's got a 10-point advantage, 52-42. In Michigan, it's a nine-point advantage in the average of the polls, 51-42. But it's closer in Pennsylvania. So of those three Great Lakes states, it is Pennsylvania that you see

Joe Biden working aggressively to try to flip, and Donald Trump desperately trying to defend -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And the 30,000-foot view here, what is Biden's best path to 270 as he starts looking to pick off some of those Trump states?

CHALIAN: Yes, so this is taking all the states that are leaning one way or the other in our race ratings and the true toss-ups. So you see all that yellow. So the first thing Biden has to do is hold the states Hillary Clinton won: Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, he's got to hold those, OK?

And then, as I showed you, he's -- simplest path, the campaign believes their best path -- because of those polls I just showed you -- is to go through Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. And that would do it.

But if that doesn't work out -- again, let's say Donald Trump does indeed win Pennsylvania -- you're going to see Joe Biden go to the Sun Belt. And look at this, these are the poll of poll averages from those Sun Belt states.

In North Carolina, Biden, 50-46. Florida, 48-46, 49-46 in Georgia, 49- 46 in Arizona. So you see, the Sun Belt states are closer contests, more toss-up, margin of error contests, than are the Great Lake states. But still, Biden is in the hunt (ph).

So if Donald Trump holds onto Pennsylvania, Joe Biden's at 258? Well, you know, he might look to pick up Arizona here -- sorry, it wasn't flipping blue there for me. Joe Biden, Arizona. Or maybe North Carolina. If he gets those two, Joe Biden doesn't even need Pennsylvania, he would still win -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And for President Trump, what is his pathway?

CHALIAN: Well, it's exactly what we've been talking about, which is he needs to win all the toss-ups, right? Florida, Georgia, I'm going to put North Carolina back to him. He needs to hand onto Ohio, where Joe Biden was this morning. He needs to hang onto Iowa. He certainly needs to hang onto Texas. He really would like to hang onto Arizona. That would do it if Pennsylvania is there.

So, again, it comes back down to whether or not Donald Trump can hang onto a state that had been blue for a couple decades before Donald Trump flipped it -- barely, but won it -- four years ago. Can he repeat that? That is critical to his success.

KEILAR: And that's why he is there today. All right, thank you, David Chalian, so much.

CHALIAN: Sure.

KEILAR: Next, President Trump, denying a report that he is considering declaring victory before all of the votes are counted. We're going to talk to an election lawyer about that. And a mess unfolding in the Houston area right now, where a hearing is

under way to determine if more than 125,000 ballots already cast will be thrown out. Reporters could not get into the courtroom for the first hour and a half.

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You are watching CNN's live special coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Presidents don't win simply by declaring victory, that's not how sports or elections work. But today, the president is denying a report that he plans to declare victory early on Election Day even if he's short of the necessary 270 electoral votes.

A senior Trump campaign advisor, telling CNN that Trump campaign officials won't necessarily wait for news organizations to make the call, adding that if campaign officials believe they're on the cusp, they're just likely to announce it as a win.

After that denial, the president revealed this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: No, that was a false report. We'll look at what happens.

We're going to go in the night of, as soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers.

I don't think it's fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election. If people wanted to get their ballots in, they should have gotten their ballots in long before that, a long time. They don't have to put their ballots in the same day, they could have put their ballots in a month ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, the president, already planning to send in the lawyers after polls close in some battleground states.

Joining me now, CNN election law analyst Richard Pildes, who is a constitutional law professor at NYU School of Law.

OK, so Richard, you know, continuing to count votes after Election Day, this happens every election. Explain this to us.

RICHARD PILDES, CNN ELECTION LAW ANALYST: Well, of course it has to happen after every election. Number one, you have military voters who are overseas. You have overseas Americans who are entitled to vote.

You have a process every year in which state officials have to check the ballots, check the count. And there's an official process called the Election Canvass, which is completed a few weeks after the election actually, in which the state officials finally get to the official determination of the vote count. That's all completely normal, and of course this year in many states,

we have all of these absentee ballots, which some states can't even start processing until Election Day, so of course those ballots will be processed and counted after Election Day. People need to expect that, that's the normal workings of our election process.

KEILAR: So as you look at what he is proposing, is it sort of like the idea -- I mean clearly, he's thinking that this would work to his advantage. Is it the idea of maybe getting to halftime, thinking you have a bit of a lead, and then declaring victory in the game that's only partially played?

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PILDES: Well, we know that candidates try to shape the narrative. And you know, if this actually were to happen, it could be incredibly damaging for the country. As we know, many of the president's supporters believe their information only if it comes from him. And of course, it would be completely inappropriate for a candidate to declare victory both for the vote count accurately gets to the point of determining who the winner of the election is.

KEILAR: Right now, we are waiting on a federal court to rule on this drive-through voting, this -- that has happened in Harris County, Texas, drive-through voting stations which is an area that includes Houston, 127,000 votes that have already been cast at those locations.

Republicans are arguing that these locations are unconstitutional. Where do you think the federal courts will land on this?

PILDES: Well, I think the best case the plaintiffs have was in the Texas Supreme Court, under state law. They lost that case. It's even more of a long shot to argue that this is unconstitutional, to allow people to vote in their cars at the early voting sites. It would really, in this context, be completely stunning if the federal courts were to say that voters who did everything lawfully would have 127,000 ballots thrown out at a time where they could be not very likely to be able to repair the damage by taking other measures.

I mean, this would be pulling the rug out from under voters in a way that itself, it would arguably violate due process and the U.S. Constitution.

KEILAR: You co-wrote a piece about your biggest concern for Election Day. You said, quote, "We understand that the country is living on a knife's edge... While violence is unlikely to break out, emotions are high on Election Day and irresponsible coverage can act like a match in a dry forest."

You go on to say that if minor events are misinterpreted, it could keep voters away. We have seen, of course, an unprecedented enthusiasm to vote, but you're very concerned that this could keep people away. Explain this.

PILDES: Yes. Of course, I had many concerns about Election Day, but one of the big concerns is that there are inevitably going to be problems with the process, we have them in every election. We may have more of them in this election because we're conducting it under somewhat different circumstances with all the absentee ballots and the like.

But people who claim that they see things or believe they're seeing things going on, the media that may react very quickly to particular isolated episodes, everyone has to be very, very careful. We will have problems, they need to be put in context. We have to make sure we get the actual, factual information before reporting on rumors.

We know how social media works and how quickly rumors -- even things people sincerely believe -- gets spread incredibly rapidly. And it's a dangerous situation, given how much the country is on a knife's edge, as I said, about this election.

And so I think for voters and for the media, we need to be careful to slow down, put things in proportion and, as you mentioned, one of the things that happens on Election Day is if voters hear there are problems at the polls, if they get exaggerated accounts of how long it'll take to vote, if they hear stories about chaos and the like, that turns off a certain percentage of voters, particularly the voters who are least motivated to vote. And so that's a very dangerous situation that we don't want to fall into.

KEILAR: And if it's the president who is raising those concerns, then what?

PILDES: Well, that's an enormous problem, absolutely. We do not want to deter voters, alienate them, make them fearful of exercising the most fundamental constitutional rights, the right to vote.

KEILAR: Yes. Richard, thank you so much, really appreciate your expertise on this.

And in moments, former President Barack Obama will speak live in Georgia. And both Joe Biden and President Trump, also speaking in their last several events of the campaign. We're going to take you there.

Plus, a look at the key Senate races to watch as the results roll in that could tilt the balance of power in the Senate for Democrats.

[14:24:51]

And the president, defending his supporters who surrounded a Biden campaign bus on the interstate, slowed it down to 20 miles per hour, causing a lot of fear among staffers inside of that bus. Now the FBI is investigating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The Election Day countdown is on, and all eyes will be focused on those key battleground states. CNN has a team of reporters on the ground, tracking the candidates' final days of campaigning. And we begin in Iowa.

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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Martin Savidge in Des Moines, Iowa. Early voting is still under way.