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Biden Addresses Supply Chain Issues, Domestic Agenda After G20 Summit; McAuliffe, Youngkin Neck-And-Neck With Two Days To Go; Chilling Investigation Details; Mild Weather; CNN Hero Of The Year. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 31, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I would love to do this. I understand that it's ironic that we would like more production coming out of the Middle East right now, or coming out of OPEC Plus. However, people need to get to work and at $3.35, that is really bad for the average American person who is trying to fill up their car and go to work. That's not necessarily in their messaging documents I think. It's him --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: No, but gas prices can affect an election more than just about everything else.

MATTINGLY: No question about it.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: He called out Russia and Saudi Arabia explicitly on that.

MATTINGLY: Yes. And so I think to be honest, whether it will be viewed as a great press conference or a bad press conference, whichever it is, I think it's an illuminating press conference because you get a better sense of what he's thinking. You know, he was asked the question about why, haven't more people gone back to work? You get a sense of what he's thinking. I know what his economic team is thinking about this. We've talked to them about it. But getting his thought process on it.

And I think the other one, too, and I thought this was actually pretty revealing, was when he was asked about his poll numbers and he made clear, you know, they've been high, they've been low, they've been in the middle. They're back low again. He knows what his poll numbers are. But when you talk to White House officials, they're concerned about the poll numbers. They recognize where the poll numbers are.

He has been, my understanding according to many officials, pretty steadfast of just keep going. This is the right plan. This is going to work. It might take some time, but it will work eventually. And I think you saw that from the president. He's a politician. He's keenly aware of where his numbers are and where that might be problematic. Either it was rank-and-file Democrats or perhaps in a Virginia governor's race.

CUOMO: Big problem with his poll numbers right now because of his fellow Democrats, and that's not lost on people either. What they're assuming is that when these things get passed, that factor will go away.

I'm going to finish with you, Nic. But, Bill, I want to hop over to you real quickly. Give us a quick take on whether or not you think he said the right things heading into the next phase of these meetings where you are in Scotland.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, what's most striking is we didn't talk about it before the press conference, but it really hit me during, especially as he got emotional at the end, is he's not Donald Trump, and he does have relationships with some of these leaders. You saw how he patched things over with Macron of France after the submarine kerfuffle there. And as Nic pointed out, he called out Russia and Saudi Arabia specifically as, you know, bad actors in this space, acting in bad faith.

Saudi Arabia says they're going to match China and go net-zero by 2060 but only within the kingdom. That doesn't count all the massive amounts of crude oil they'll be shipping out between now and then. Now, not to be too cynical, if Saudi Arabia manages to decarbonize, it will be huge for innovation. You know, they have, you know, indoor ski hills in the desert there. They run everything on oil. And if they can have that, that would be a boon for the planet.

But it is a matter of not just being Pollyannaish about this and looking for the kumbaya. You got to call out those you think that need prodding to come along. Even the Australias of the world. Scott Morrison, who came here sort of begrudgingly and refuses to sign on to some of these ambitions. So it's not just the foes, it's the allies as well that need nudging along. But, sure, you know, that's the thing.

You got to sort of walk this edge of being a realist and being so hopeful because the alternative is too dire to think about.

CUOMO: And you got to find your friends. Australia stepped away from the agreement today. New Zealand leaned into it. So, you know, we'll see how that influences America's attention with each of those players.

So, Nic, a final thought from you about where this leaves the president moving forward.

ROBERTSON: I was interested -- I just want to follow up on what Phil said. It's illuminating when you get to listen to the president speaking because it was illuminating what he had to say about Iran. What was he in that room for with his allies and partners, to make sure that they stay with us essentially if we have to put sanctions on Iran. They walk the line with us. That I think on an international perspective was key because we didn't really fully understand. Now we know.

CUOMO: All right, so the president took a bunch of questions, went way beyond the scope of the G20, and now we move forward.

Phil Mattingly, Nic Robertson, Bill Weir, thank you each and all for your perspective on these very important issues of the day.

And I want to thank you for joining us for this conversation. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues with Jim Acosta right now.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin with President Biden on the world stage and under pressure overseas and here at home. Biden wrapping up a press conference just a few moments ago in Rome following his first G20 summit where today he and world leaders tackled some of the biggest issues facing the world like climate change, the pandemic, the global supply chain and the global economy. But Biden's trip abroad so far has been overshadowed by his stalled agenda here in Washington.

Democrats in Congress have yet to reach a compromise on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and that larger economic and climate plan. But as his agenda hangs in the balance, Biden dismissed concerns that poll numbers posed a significant problem for his administration's priorities.

Let's take a listen.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The polls are going to go up and down and up and down. They were high early, then they got medium, then went back up, and now they're low. Look, this is -- look at every other president. The same thing has happened. But that's not why I ran. I didn't run to determine how well I'm going to do in the polls. I ran to make sure that I followed through on what I said I would do as president of the United States.

And I said that I would make sure that we were in a position where we dealt with climate change, where we moved in a direction that would significantly improve the prospects of American workers to be able to have good jobs and good pay. And further that I would make sure that we dealt with the crisis that was caused by COVID.

We've done all of those. We continue to do them and we'll see what happens. But I'm not running because of the polls.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Let's bring in CNN senior political commentator and former adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod.

David, you've seen poll numbers go up and down over the years. You were in the thick of it in the Obama White House when that happened. You saw the Congress change hands over to the Republicans, and that was a shellacking as I recall. Barack Obama describing it as at one point during his presidency.

Should President Biden be more concerned about these sliding poll numbers, or do you think he's taking some of that experience that you both had into consideration?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'm sure he is concerned. I'm not sure he should say how concerned he is about polls. I think he gave the right answer, which is my job isn't to watch polls. My job is to follow through on the commitments that I've made. The one difference I would say, Jim, between what we faced in 2009 and 2010, and what he's looking at here, is that we knew that the economic recovery was going to be slow and arduous.

That was the nature of the kind of crisis we faced, which was the collapse of the financial system globally, and we were warned even before the president took office that this was going to take a very long time to unwind. There is still the prospect here that if the president passes his two keystone pieces of economic legislation, which he said he thinks will pass by the end of next week, if the virus is contained and the economy stabilizes and begins to grow at a good clip, if they can unwind these supply chain problems, you know, then perhaps by the time next fall rolls around, the outlook will be a lot different.

So that, I think, is what he has to hope for. But right now obviously there's a great deal of concern. I was struck by the fact that earlier this week, former Prime Minister Rasmussen, the former secretary- general -- of Denmark, former secretary-general of NATO, told "The Washington Post" that all the world's leaders were going to be watching the Virginia governor's race for signs as to what the future might hold because their concern is that whatever -- they like Biden.

ACOSTA: Right.

AXELROD: They respect Biden. Their concern is that whatever happens might get turned back in 2024 if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

ACOSTA: David, there's no question about this. I spoke with an ambassador, a key ambassador for a major U.S. ally in recent days who indicated the very same thing to me, that world leaders around the globe are watching what's happening in our politics right now because they are so very concerned about Donald Trump returning to power. Trumpism resurfacing in some major way, more so than it is right now.

But this summit, as you know, has been about re-establishing bonds and strengthening alliances. Today the president commented on two countries that he thinks aren't meeting the moment. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: With regard to the disappointment, the disappointment relates to the fact that Russia and -- including not only Russia but China basically didn't show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change. And there's a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What do you think about that, David? Why do you think he called out Russia and China in that fashion? I mean I know that sort of is, you know, I think a typical presidential response there to sort of, you know, point these things out from time to time when you're disappointed. But that was pointed. That was very pointed.

AXELROD: It was, and I think -- well, first of all, there is a great deal of disappointment, and you hear it from climate activists, that this particular meeting was long on identifying the problem but short on specifics about what will happen. And of course they're headed next to the climate conference and people are hoping for more specifics and commitments there. But China wasn't at this meeting. Russia wasn't at this meeting. And so there -- and they are a big part of the problem. Russia is an energy producer, relies very much on their oil.

[16:10:04]

China has a great reliance on coal to fuel their industrial growth. And so they are -- they have to be part of the solution. China is a big contributor to the problem globally, the number one contributor. So that's why he called them out. I think he was right to do it. But it's also a way of saying, you know, we are doing what we can do, and we need to compel others to do what they can do. The question is going to be, what is he willing to do? What levers is he willing to use to try and compel Russia and China to do more?

ACOSTA: And I think maybe the most remarkable moment during that press conference, David, came when the president was sharing some heartfelt feelings about his meeting with Pope Francis, and, you know, what Pope Francis means to Joe Biden and his Catholicism. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Before he left and got on the plane, the Pope asked whether or not he could meet with my family, and we met in a hangar at the Philadelphia airport. And he came in, and he talked to my family for a considerable amount of time, 10, 15 minutes, about my son Beau. And he didn't just generically talk about him. He knew about him. He knew what he did. He knew who he was. He knew where he went to school.

He knew what a man he was, and it had such a cathartic impact on his children and my wife and our family that it meant a great deal. And as I meant what I said.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, David. I think of all the meetings that the president had at the G20, I think his meeting with Pope Francis on this trip, I should say, maybe meant the most to Joe Biden. I remember when I was in the Rose Garden covering then-Vice President Joe Biden saying he wasn't going to run for president and the death of Beau was just hanging over everything. It was just a devastating blow to his family obviously.

And I think it was important that he conveyed that to the American people and talked about what Pope Francis meant to him during that difficult period, what he's meant to him ever since. What were your thoughts on that, David? AXELROD: Well, look, anybody who knows Joe Biden knows how much his

faith means to him. He's been through such extraordinary trials in his life, losing his wife and daughter, baby daughter, and then losing his beloved son. And it's faith that has gotten him through. There's no question about it. The rosary beads are never far from his hand. And I'm sure that the Pope playing the pastoral role that he describes at his time of great vulnerability and the time of great vulnerability for his family left a lasting impression on the president.

So, you know, I think this was a really interesting insight into their relationship, but it's not a surprise. You know, as I said, I think faith has been his bulwark against tragedy.

ACOSTA: It certainly has been. But, you know, David, I also think he has -- the president has a way, I think, to connect with people when he talks about his faith that we haven't really seen from a president in quite some time. I mean obviously not Donald Trump.

We heard it from time to time from Barack Obama, and after so many Americans have lost so many loved ones during this pandemic, I do think that, you know, people should not think this was political. I think it serves a higher purpose than that to hear the president talk about his faith.

AXELROD: Yes.

ACOSTA: Your thoughts?

AXELROD: There's no doubt. There's no doubt. Look, this is someone once described this as his superpower, his power of empathy, and it's tied to faith. And so we saw it again there. That was very, very genuine. I don't think that was contrived in any way.

ACOSTA: Right.

AXELROD: This is something that he carries deeply with him.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right. David Axelrod, thanks so much. We'll talk to you a little bit later on.

AXELROD: OK.

ACOSTA: Appreciate the insights as always.

Let me bring in my colleague Kaitlan Collins who is there in Rome. You were at that press conference, Kaitlan. You have some insight into this indication from the president on progress on his economic agenda. What did you pick up on there?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. It was a small moment. You might have missed it if you weren't paying close attention or in the room like we were.

But it was as President Biden was leaving the room, and we were asking if he has gotten commitments from, of course, those two key moderate holdouts, Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema, on that $1.75 trillion bill that he said he believes they could vote on potentially as soon as this week, which he said he does believe it's going to get passed because neither of them, Jim, have explicitly said yes publicly that they do endorse that framework and they will be a yes vote on it.

[16:15:14]

And so they've kind of talked around it publicly. But as the president was leaving the room, he did flash a thumb's up saying that he does believe they have committed to signing on to that, which of course is significant. It is something that reporters on the hill will likely follow up with this week because they want to know explicitly from them. And that is something that House progressives have said they need to have before they can vote yes on that bill.

And Senator Bernie Sanders was on CNN this morning saying they need to get a commitment from all 50 Democratic senators that they are all a yes on that bill, he believes, before the House votes on it. And of course, Jim, we are still trying to figure out exactly what the final text of that bill is going to look like because Senator Sanders, who is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee also said that he has been on the phone all weekend trying to get some of his big priorities that right now are not in there inside the bill before that vote does happen.

And that includes that Medicare expansion, to include dental and vision and hearing, not just one of the three. Also that drug, negotiating the prices, he'd like that to be in there as well. Whether or not it actually makes it in there, if they make any changes, that of course remains to be seen, but it does speak to the level of what the president is walking into these global summits with and the drama back at home over his agenda and what kind of position Democrats said they believed to have put him in if they did not get that passed of course by the time he left here.

The president seemed to play that down today saying he doesn't believe it's an issue, talking about going into this global climate summit of course without that cemented agreement from Democrats, though it does, the president did say he believes it will pass. He says it could be as soon as this week, though he did added a caveat, Jim, saying he's not completely sure that that will happen.

ACOSTA: Yes, Kaitlan, we've been through this exercise so many times where Democrats have expressed optimism only to see another delay in the process. I know on these trips you get a chance to talk to White House advisers, people close to the president. When you talk to them behind the scenes during your travels, are you getting the sense from them that they're also optimistic that they're close, or is it sort of hands in the air, gosh, we don't know at this point, we hope so, fingers crossed? What's your sense?

COLLINS: I think they are optimistic. Of course they left, though, and they have seen, as you noted, it is a lot of day-to-day, hour-to-hour drama when it comes to actually getting that passed. And so, but of course the big focus here has been on these meetings with world leaders and what's happening here at the G20. Of course, tomorrow the president is going to head to that climate

summit. That's going to be significant, but I think a big question that people have with the climate summit is what the concrete takeaways are going to be, of course, given as we all know, Russia and China are not going to be there.

And China is the world's biggest polluter. So I think a big question and a big debate even inside the administration is how to actually get China to the table on that when it comes to climate. And of course that becomes amid a lot of other drama in the U.S.-China relationship when it comes to Taiwan, when it comes to human rights, when it comes to trade and several other issues. And so I think walking into the climate summit, it's a big question of this president. That the president is going to have.

How he tries to take advantage of that continued absence from China and Russia. And so that's going to be something for the president, as he is meeting with more world leaders, continuing this, but very soon he will be back in the United States.

Hopefully the White House believes they are going to get his agenda passed. But whether or not that actually comes to fruition, it does raise questions for the climate summit because the president wants to be able to make the point the United States can lead when it comes to climate.

But of course his provision in this climate agenda is incredibly significant. It is hundreds of billions of dollars, but it's not what he initially wanted and what he initially proposed and what he's hoping other nations will follow suit at this climate summit.

ACOSTA: Yes, that climate agenda is such a huge part of that package that's lingering here in Washington. The president will be working on that, I'm sure, over in Scotland.

All right, Kaitlan Collins, safe travels. Thank you very much for that report. We appreciate it.

Final days until polls close in the Virginia governor's race. We'll take you on the trail next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:23:17]

ACOSTA: It's go time in Virginia where the highly competitive race for governor is neck and neck. Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are pulling out all the stops ahead of Tuesday's election in the commonwealth. The most competitive major election since Donald Trump left the White House and it's all hinging on one thing at this point, and that is voter turnout.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is following the McAuliffe campaign today.

Arlette, things are definitely heating up with two days to go. What are you seeing out there?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's clear these candidates are trying to leave it all out on the field as they are heading into Tuesday night's election with that race right now being a toss-up. And today you saw both Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate, fanning out across the state trying to take their message directly to voters.

Now, McAuliffe has been touting his former record, his experience as a former governor here in the state, particularly honing in on his job- creating record, and he's also been using some personal language to talk about Glenn Youngkin, his GOP opponent. Today at this event here in Henrico County, McAuliffe referring to him as clueless and dangerous. And McAuliffe has also repeatedly, over the course of the day, continued to make former president Donald Trump a central figure in this campaign, linking Youngkin with Trump.

Take a listen to what he had to tell voters a bit earlier today in Manassas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: Trump wants to win here so he can announce for president for 2024. That's the stakes of this election. He's trying to get himself off the mat. He wants to win here Tuesday, and Wednesday Donald Trump announces he's running in 2024. Are we going to allow that to go on here?

CROWD: No. No.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So McAuliffe is really hoping that invoking Trump will serve as a motivator for Democrats to head out to the polls on Tuesday.

[16:25:06]

Now McAuliffe campaigned here in Henrico County. This is an area where Democrats have made gains in recent years but it's still a very competitive district. So McAuliffe is trying to drive up some turnout here. He's heading up north to a Halloween parade in Leesburg and tomorrow he will be hitting some of the biggest cities in the state ahead of that Tuesday election -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Arlette, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Back with me for some analysis is CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod.

David, Terry McAuliffe was banking on Congress passing those two major Biden agenda bills. Here's a question I've been dying to ask. Why does Terry McAuliffe need those bills to pass to win? Shouldn't he be able to win this race without those bills passing?

AXELROD: Well, Jim, as to whether he should be able to win, you know, nine out of the last 10 times they've elected a governor in Virginia, they've elected someone opposite the party that just won the presidential election. Terry McAuliffe was the only one who defied that in 2013 and only narrowly. Obviously Virginia has been trending Democratic, but one of the questions is, how much has that been driven by Trump, and what does it mean when Trump isn't on the ballot and isn't in the White House?

And we're going to find out tomorrow will this be more of a referendum on Biden or a referendum on Trump. But national politics have shaped these Virginia governors races, and that's why the passage of these bills last week would have been helpful. We're talking about a marginal race here so every bit helps and the idea that Democrats had delivered a big -- particularly the infrastructure bill was something that McAuliffe was touting -- would have been presumably helpful to him. He's not going to get that now.

I think one of the reasons frankly in addition to sending the president off to Europe with these bills in hand so he could go to the climate conference with them, I think that Speaker Pelosi probably also wanted to give a hand to McAuliffe on this.

But as for should he have been able to win without it, this was going to be a tough race from the beginning, and Youngkin has proven an elusive target. He was endorsed by Trump, won the primary, and then has kept his distance from Trump while invoking some of the cultural warrior themes of Trump to try and energize the Trump base. And he's been pretty artful. You know, it's like Mister --

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

AXELROD: It's like Mister Rogers and Dr. Trump. You know, it's quite a story.

ACOSTA: In a fleece vest.

AXELROD: In a fleece vest. Yes. He's -- the Democrats would describe him as a wolf in sheep's clothing there.

ACOSTA: Yes.

AXELROD: But, you know, I do think that this -- you know, that is the reason this race is close, and it is going to be, as you describe it, a turnout question and, you know, in every poll we've seen, Republican enthusiasm has been greater than Democratic enthusiasm.

McAuliffe is going to go into Tuesday with a big lead off of the early vote, maybe 150,000 votes. But he needs to hold his own. He doesn't have to win on Tuesday, but he can't get beaten so badly that it erases that early vote lead.

ACOSTA: And the other question I've been, you know, thinking about and that's been on my mind is if Glenn Youngkin wins this race on Tuesday, does that mean that the Republican Party doesn't need Donald Trump anymore?

AXELROD: Well, I think Trump would argue otherwise. I mean, look, here's the paradox for Republicans. You need Trump to be nominated, but in competitive states like this, he's not helpful in a general election. What Youngkin -- you know, what I think you'll see Republicans do is use this as a template, you know, where you snuggle up to Trump in the primary and then try and walk away from him in a general, and use some of the Trump issues, you know, critical race theory and transgender politics, and so on, to try and excite the Republican base.

ACOSTA: Yes.

AXELROD: That's the formula that's being tested here.

ACOSTA: Yes, David. I just wondered, though, if Glenn Youngkin wins this thing on Tuesday, if there are going to be some Republicans out there who are going to be tempted to say, OK, yes, you can do a tele- town hall for us. Just don't step foot in the district or the state. I just wonder if there are going to be more Republicans --

AXELROD: No, I said the other day, it's like that Youngkin has drones up and probably border guards trying to make sure that Donald Trump doesn't cross the border between now and Tuesday night.

ACOSTA: Yes.

AXELROD: Because he knows that with these key suburban voters who he is counting on, who Democrats have been winning in the last few elections, he's hoping to grab those voters back. He can't do that if he's too closely associated with Donald Trump.

[16:30:00]

And so, he's keeping his distance.

ACOSTA: Yes, Youngkin has all but put an ankle bracelet, a monitoring bracelet, on Donald Trump. All right, David Axelrod, thanks so much. Great to talk to you.

AXELROD: All right, Jim, good to see you.

ACOSTA: All right, thanks.

Coming up, a shocking new investigation by "The Washington Post," revealing an astounding number of red flags missed prior to January sixth. The investigative reporter who wrote this very important piece, he joins me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: An explosive new investigation by "The Washington Post" lays out in painstaking detail a host of missed warning signs and intelligence failures leading up to the January sixth insurrection. The missteps run the gamut from law enforcement to counterterrorism.

The investigation also found some Pentagon leaders feared then- President Trump would misuse the National Guard to stay in power. And it chronicles how Trump sat on his hands for over three hours as violence escalated at the Capitol. With me now to talk about this is one of the lead reporters on this story, "The Washington Post's" investigative reporter, Aaron Davis. Aaron, thank you very much for coming on and talking about this important story and great work to all of you on your team.

AARON DAVIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I want to highlight this bit about Trump and the National Guard. We'll put this up on-screen. It says, quote, "At the Pentagon, leaders had acute fears about widespread violence and some feared Trump could misuse the National Guard to remain in power.

General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then-Army Secretary, Ryan McCarthy, sought to require that only senior Pentagon leaders could approve changes to missions for National Guard soldiers. In the end, that posture contributed to the hours-long delay in getting the Guard to the Capitol to help restore power."

So, the measures taken to protect this system from Trump, did that ultimately worsen the situation? I mean, in some cases, it sounds like officials weren't cautious enough. It almost sounds like damned if you do, damned if you -- if you don't.

Yes, well, thank you. On this particular point on the Pentagon side of things and the National Guard. You know, they had previously said that, you know, they were worried about a repeat of June first of last year in Lafayette Square, and the protesters there that were racial justice protesters, who clashed with National Guard and federal law enforcement. And they just didn't want to end up in a situation like that again. They feared that.

But, in fact, you know, in speaking in much more greater detail. With many senior folks at the Pentagon, there was another concern animating their decision to pull back. And it helps explain what was so confounding, or one of the points that was so confounding, on January sixth, was why did it take the National Guard so long to get to the Capitol.

And we did find that, in part, to insulate the Pentagon from becoming a factor that day, from having military soldiers somehow involved with helping the president stay in office, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army Secretary, they did put restrictions on the Guard.

[16:35:07]

DAVIS: And these were very specific. They couldn't have any weapons, of course, but no shields. They didn't even have Humvees. They were driven in car -- in vans, carpooled to traffic positions. There was even a demarcation line in D.C., where they were not allowed to go east of Ninth Street, essentially no closer than a mile to the Capitol.

And they were there, basically, in support of the local D.C. government, which had requested them. Because the D.C. government felt they needed all their officers available for this protest. So, they put them out doing traffic control. And then, when things turned bad, it took a long time to get those folks back to the armory to get them situated and get to the Capitol.

ACOSTA: And the report also details a very telling exchange, involving Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, as the Senate was evacuated. This is pretty startling stuff. Graham, according to your report, yelled at the Senate sergeant at arms, what are you doing? Take back the Senate. You've got guns. Use them. The South Carolina senator was adamant. We give you guns for a reason. He repeated, use them.

Another stark contrast to show how the Republican Party -- you know, they've been whitewashing January sixth, ever since that day. But, at that time, somebody like Lindsey Graham was obviously very afraid of what was going on and was calling on law enforcement there to resort to some very extreme measures.

DAVIS: Yes, Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy. There were a lot of very strongly-worded statements that day. Very strongly-worded statements directly to the president by some of those lawmakers that day, as we understand it.

And, yes, the positions that they've taken since then are wholly different than everything we understand about that day, of course. That, in fact, the Pentagon -- you know, that the Capitol was being overrun. That these lawmakers were, in some cases, fearing for their lives.

And, you know, we've kind of took a little bit different turn in this story, where we look more at the 187 minutes in between when the Capitol was breached and when Trump said anything to call off the supporters of his that were raiding the Capitol.

And so many things happened in those couple hours. People died. People had heart attacks. You know, there was, obviously, the Ashli Babbitt shooting. There was just numerous tragedies in the course of those hours when he was doing nothing.

ACOSTA: And one of the things I picked up on in the story is that there seems to have been a sense, among law enforcement officials, folks over at the Pentagon, in dealing with this situation, that they didn't want this to turn into a Boston massacre-like moment.

Going back to what Lindsey Graham was saying is if you had officers, if you had people opening fire on the insurrectionists, that this could have just gotten completely out of control and been much more ugly than, obviously, it was on that day, which was very ugly.

DAVIS: Right. And, you know, you really have to -- with everything we've looked at, you have to question why this crowd was allowed to get that close to the Capitol that day. We are able to document, I think, in greater detail than has been done before. But there were warning signs of this violence, dating back not just hours or days but weeks in advance.

The FBI had in their possession tips, that came from informants, from social media companies, from former national security officials, from researchers, that all pointed to a violent situation on January sixth. One particularly striking one was December 20th. They received a warning that Trump supporters wanted to not only overthrow the D.C. police, but to arrest members of Congress. Take them and put them on trial publicly for not bowing to President Trump's belief that he won the election.

And so, then, you know, fast forward to the actual day on January sixth. There were signs of violence in the hours leading up to the breach as well. There were numerous firearms taken off members of the crowd after they left the ellipse where President Trump was speaking.

And they even surrounded, at one point in time, park police officers around the Washington Monument and started beating on the doors there. There were violent signs all the way down the mall as this crowd moved. And, yet, they, basically, were allowed to walk straight into the Capitol.

ACOSTA: Just unbelievable. And that scene at the Washington Monument. Again, folks should go and read this very extensive report that you guys have put together. But the scene at the Washington Monument is one that I don't think a lot of Americans have focused on. That there was big trouble at the Washington Monument, in addition to what was about to take place at the Capitol.

Aaron Davis, thanks so much to you and your team for this terrific reporting. We appreciate it. Thanks for coming on.

DAVIS: Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: All right, we appreciate it.

Joining me now is former defense secretary and former CIA director, Leon Panetta. Secretary Panetta, thanks so much for being with us. There's so much to unpack. It's hard -- it's been hard to -- hard to get our heads around what happened on January sixth to begin with.

[16:40:02]

ACOSTA: But this very explosive "Washington Post" report, I think we have to take some time to talk about this. It included this online posting that referenced the killing of Capitol police. We put this up on screen. Please be in D.C. armed on the sixth. You might have to kill the palace guards. Are you OK with that, read one comment.

Another one said, drop a handful. The rest will flee. You know, this is some of the chatter that was picked up and put in an FBI memo that was shared with some in law enforcement.

What are you -- what is your sense of this, Secretary Panetta? Did we miss, kind of, some 911-style warning signs here before January sixth? I know that January sixth and 911 are very different days. But the intelligence that was missed prior to that fateful day, there do appear to be some parallels.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY (via Skype): Jim, I don't think there's any question that there was a total breakdown, in terms of preparing for that day. And it happened in a number of areas. It happened with the Capitol police. It happened with the FBI. It happened with the Pentagon.

I mean, all of these areas just were not planning for the terrible contingency that we saw happen. Even though there was intelligence. Even though there was clear evidence that trouble could erupt. Even though they knew that the Capitol was in danger. They just did not take the steps necessary to prepare for what happened.

And so, as a result of that, in trying to then react and be able to respond, they made a lot of mistakes.

ACOSTA: And, according to "The Post," there were real concerns that Trump would use the National Guard to stay in power, or that troops would be baited into a Boston massacre type of situation. Ultimately, those fears meant that the National Guard wasn't standing there at the Capitol ready that day. Is that a decision that you would have made?

PANETTA: Well, I don't think there's any question that the National Guard should have been pre-positioned up on Capitol Hill. They should have been working with the Capitol police to, basically, surround the Capitol and protect the Capitol. And there was -- there just was none of that.

And, as a result of that, the crowd almost had its way, in terms of going through the barriers and then attacking the Capitol. Why those steps were not taken. Why there wasn't greater preparation. Why there wasn't at least the steps taken to try to send a message to the mob that they would not be able to reach the Capitol. All of that, obviously, needs to be investigated.

I'm glad the reporters are looking at the situation. But I think the American people are entitled to find out why there was a collapse of authority at the very moment when we needed it to protect the Capitol.

ACOSTA: And, I mean, something that is just so disgraceful. "The Post" says Trump stood by and did nothing for 187 minutes, as the attack unfolded. This man could very well be the Republican nominee in 2024.

Last night, he was doing the tomahawk chop down at the World Series in Atlanta. Mr. Secretary, isn't there something about this that just stinks to high heaven, that Donald Trump was allowed to get away with this?

PANETTA: I think that -- as more and more evidence comes out as to how irresponsible he was in trying to protect our Constitution and protect our system of government, I really do think that, at some point, as more evidence unfolds, that there has to be serious consideration given to whether or not there is -- there is a step that needs to be taken to hold this former president of ours accountable for what happened.

ACOSTA: Yes. And another just sickening detail is that while then-Vice President Mike Pence was hiding from the mob that wanted to hang him, Trump's lawyer, John Eastman, sent an e-mail blaming Pence for the violence, because he refused to block the certification of the votes. You have seen and heard just about everything, Mr. Secretary. I mean what did you think about that? I mean it's not just Trump. It's his henchmen, too, it seems.

PANETTA: Well, there's no question here that there was a cabal of individuals that were working with the President to try to, basically, steal the election. And, you know, there are a lot of people involved here.

[16:45:02]

PANETTA: Lawyers, advisers, others who, I think, were searching for any kind of rationale to be able to justify the attack on the U.S. Capitol. And to now use Vice President Pence as somehow the excuse for what happened is, basically, all of these individuals trying to scapegoat what they were responsible for.

They're the ones that were responsible for what happened on January sixth. And what you're going to continue to hear are a bunch of very poor excuses about why they should not be held accountable.

ACOSTA: All right. Secretary Leon Panetta, let's hope there is some is kind of accountability. It's very difficult to see how the country moves on if there isn't any accountability in all of this. For people at the top, not just the folks who were there that day. Obviously, they need to pay a price. But the people at the top, I mean, just to get off scot-free. I mean it's just -- it just stinks.

All right, Secretary, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

PANETTA: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Coming up, Halloween weather: trick-or-treat. The forecast for your night of fright is next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:46:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Happy Halloween, everybody. So, will tonight's weather be spooky enough to keep you indoors with a bag of candy and a scary movie or will it be less frightful? It depends on where you are, I'm sure.

CNN's Tom Sater joins me now with the forecast from the CNN Weather Center. Are you going to ruin the night for all those trick-or- treaters out there? I don't know, the map looks pretty good there. This looks alright. What do you think, Tom?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks -- it looks -- yes, it looks great, Jim. I mean, after last year and getting canceled, for the most part, expect a lot of the ghouls and goblins out there.

Really good, though. Exception of a few area clouds, in some areas. Some bone-chattering, bone-chilling temperatures in the North. We do have rain upstate New York. Parts of Virginia, I should Vermont into New Hampshire. Other than that, it does look pretty good.

Now, still in the Mid-Atlantic area, we still have flood watches. So, in some of those neighborhoods, it's going to be a little damp from the flooding. But the winds are pushing away, which is good news.

Southeastern U.S., get ready. Get the lights on. Get out there and enjoy it. I'm sure many parents will even be, kind of, picnicking on the end of their driveways.

It looks good until you get to the North. This is where the teeth- chattering cold kicks in. In fact, we actually have a freeze warning. It doesn't kick in until midnight, so we're good for the trick-or- treaters, from Rockport -- Rockford, I should say, all the way back toward Davenport.

And then, we have winter weather advisories. And that's in part of the Intermountain West. So, again, I -- you're pretty much used to that, by the time of the end of October for some areas.

Out West, things are looking good. Really West Coast, a lot of sunshine. They're in the 80s. In around Phoenix, 85. In fact, when you look at some of these numbers, 60s on the East Coast, 60s on the West. Absolutely fantastic.

We can break it down and have a little fun with some of the names here. How about for all those witches out there in Salem? We're looking at some good weather, although a little bit cloudy. And then, of course, you've got areas, such as Bat Cave. That's down towards areas of the South. You've got Casper, Wyoming near those warnings with the snowfall. You've got areas such as Death Valley.

Really, this is going to be nice, Jim. Make sure the kids have a trick to get the treat. One of my favorite jokes of all time, what's a zombie's favorite Halloween candy? That would be Butterfingers. Get out there and enjoy tonight.

ACOSTA: Oh, man.

SATER: Absolutely perfect, after last year's misery.

ACOSTA: Mine was always the Kit Kats. I always loved the Kit Kats. Alright, Tom Sater, thanks for not putting the bad apple in the bag for us. We appreciate it.

Quick programming note. An all-new episode of "THIS IS LIFE" is coming up later on tonight. Lisa Ling investigates private militias. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once upon a time, the colonists saw the government, after the British were kicked out, as their friend. As history progressed, though, and the government became bigger, and it came to be seen more and more as an enemy.

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE" (voice-over): Over the course of the next 200 years, the government would abolish slavery. And, in modern times, promote policies for racial equality that inflamed elements on the far right. Then, tech jobs and globalization decimated blue collar manufacturing jobs. And for white men without a college degree, average wages have been dropping for the past four decades.

(on camera): The majority of militia members in the United States are white men, who seem to have a lot of grievances. Do you think those grievances are valid?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While most people in the militia movement probably don't explicitly talk about it, behind it all is the idea that whites in this country are going to lose their majority. Today, they're about 62 percent. And in the next 25 years, they're going to be simply one more minority in a genuinely multicultural country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Be sure to tune in. A brand-new episode of "THIS IS LIFE" airs tonight at 10:00 on CNN.

And CNN is proud to announce the top 10 heroes, CNN Heroes of 2021. Each honoree will win a cash prize and viewers will select the CNN Hero of the Year, who will earn an additional $100,000 for their cause.

And you get to help decide who that person will be. Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper to show you how.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Now that we've announced the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2021, it's time to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to continue their work.

[16:55:00]

COOPER: Just go to CNNHeroes.com, where you can learn much more about each hero. And when you're ready, just click on vote. You get 10 votes every day to help support your Heroes. That means you can cast all your votes for one hero or divide them among your favorites. To confirm your vote, just log in using either your e-mail address or Facebook account. This year, you can even double your votes by rallying your friends on social media.

Then, on Sunday, December 12th, join me and my friend and co-host, Kelly Ripa, as we reveal the 2021 CNN Hero of the Year. Live during the 15th annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And meet all this year's top 10 Heroes and vote 10 times a day, if you'd like, every day at CNNHeroes.com on who should be our CNN Hero of the Year.

And we'll be right back.

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[16:55:53]