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Warnock Launches New Ad Highlighting Walker Abortion Controversy; Oz May Bring Up Fetterman's Stroke Debate; Poll: Rep. Lee Zeldin Within 4 Points Of NY Gov. Kathy Hochul; 214,000 New Jobless Claims Filed Last Week, Lower Than Expected; U.S. Home Sales Fall For 8th Month In A Row; Search Intensifies For Missing Princeton University Student. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 20, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:02]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Georgia continues to break records with early voting turnout.

It's also the home of one of this cycle's most closely watched Senate races.

After weeks of avoiding the abortion allegations against Republican Herschel Walker, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock has today released a new television ad that highlights the accusations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERSCHEL WALKER, (R), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE FOR GEORGIA: There's not a national ban on abortion right now. I think that's a problem.

ANNOUNCER: For himself.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Herschel Walker paid for an abortion for his then-girlfriend.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: She supported her claims with a $575 receipt from the abortion clinic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even his own son is saying Walker is lying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us live from Macon, Georgia, where Walker had an event today.

What is Raphael Warnock saying about this shift in strategy?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, that's certainly what it appears to be, a full shift in strategy.

Up until now, the Senator hasn't really directly addressed those allegations from an ex-girlfriend that Herschel Walker paid for her to have an abortion and encouraged her to have another.

Of course, the Republican has denied those allegations and CNN has not independently confirmed them.

But my colleagues, Eve McKend and Pamela Kirkland, were with the Democratic Senator today at a campaign stop in Athens. They asked him, what prompted this, why go after this now in the homestretch?

And much like he has for the past couple weeks, Senator Warnock side stepped the question and instead tried to refocus on his own position on abortion rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: But why now this attack ad? Can you tell us about this specific ad, raising these abortion allegations as it relates to Walker?

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): I think that the women of this state deserve to know the choice between the two people in front of them. And about my commitment to a woman's rights to choose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now, Walker himself at a campaign stop with several Republicans did not address abortion in a stump speech to supporters today.

But his campaign did tell CNN that they thought that this was, in part, showing desperation. And they also said that, quote, "Everything points to Herschel having the momentum on his side."

They did not address that ad directly, though -- Victor?

BLACKWELL: So, Dianne, we heard from Herschel Walker there that he supports a national ban on abortion. But on the question of exceptions to that ban, he has not been consistent.

GALLAGHER: Yes, and this sort of mirrors what we have seen from Republicans across the country, Victor, where they have tried to either walk back or soften their stance on extremely restrictive abortion bans ever since the Dobbs decision and what we saw happen in Kansas.

In fact, Herschel Walker at the debate and in a subsequent interview with NBC trying to say he may support exceptions when, as recently August, he was telling voters quite the opposite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Early in this race, you indicted you don't want any exceptions.

WALKER: No, no.

(CROSSTALK) WALKER: No, no. I said I'm for life. I never said I didn't have exceptions.

I believe in life. And I said, you know, anyone wants to have an exception, I said, "not in my book."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now, his campaign has since referred us to what Walker said at the debate, Victor, saying that he will support, because -- what the people want, because Dobbs returned the power back to the state.

But of course, supporting that national abortion ban would also be in opposition of that position.

BLACKWELL: All right, Dianne Gallagher for us in Macon, Georgia. Dianne, thank you very much.

Let's bring in now former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh. He's also the host of "The White Flag" podcast. And CNN political commentator, Joe Lockhart, former press secretary under the Clinton administration.

We have two Joes with us. One is a former congressman so I'll start with the congressman and then go to Joe.

Congressman, on the question of exceptions to this abortion ban, Herschel Walker has been on both sides of this. What are voters to believe here?

JOE WALSH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Victor, they can't believe a damn thing he says.

Look, the bottom line is -- and I say this as a former Republican. Herschel Walker is utterly unfit to be a United States Senator. I'm glad that Warnock is finally going after him.

But, Victor, it just seems like it's too late. I mean, Warnock is going after him because Herschel Walker has a pretty decent chance of winning down in Georgia.

And it's this sense of urgency and fight that I haven't felt from Democratic candidates all over the country this year.

You and I have talked about it before, Victor. Herschel Walker is an election denier. I mean, that alone should disqualify him. But that's an issue where Democrats haven't been strong enough.

[14:35:05]

BLACKWELL: Joe, let me come to you.

Congressman Walsh says it's too late now to bring up this new ad from the Warnock campaign highlighting the abortion allegations. Why the shift now, and do you think it's too late?

JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Actually, I don't think it's too late. I think the shift was pretty predictable.

One of the first rules of politics is, when your opponent is on fire, leave them alone. When it starts going out, throw gas on it. They're throwing gas on it now.

This does two things for them. One is I think they're trying to depress Herschel Walker's very conservative white evangelical vote with reminding people that he paid for an abortion.

It's also doing something else for Warnock and Democrats, which is Herschel Walker is running against Joe Biden, not Raphael Warnock. This puts abortion back in the center of this debate, which works for Warnock and causes a problem for Republicans.

Because, you're right, they're getting all tangled up on how far they can go because they were so excited about a full ban. Now they know that's not what the voters want.

So I think the strategy is predictable. I don't think it's too late. And it works on a number of levels.

BLACKWELL: We know Democrats certainly want abortion to be at the center of the conversation. Polls show voters believe that the economy and inflation are at the center of this conversation.

Before I jump to the Pennsylvania race, Joe Lockhart, do you think this hurts Senator Warnock by going in this direction at all?

LOCKHART: No. Listen, if Herschel Walker had his way, this would be about Joe Biden and inflation and the economy alone.

What Democrats are trying to say is there are bright spots in the economy and problems in the economy, but there's also these seminal issues in America, a woman's right to choose, make their own choices, democracy.

And these are things that will go on for generations, not just the next three or four months.

Any time the Democrats are able to move it off the economy, into a broader conversation about where we're going as a country, it's a positive for them.

BLACKWELL: Congressman, we saw the president, another Joe, was in Pennsylvania today. And the lieutenant governor, the Democratic nominee for Senate, John Fetterman, was in attendance there.

His campaign released a new letter from his doctor saying -- I'm going to read one sentence here. "He has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office."

The debate between Fetterman and Oz, that's on Tuesday. Should Oz approach Fetterman's stroke recovery in this debate? How should he introduce it if at all?

WALSH: It's an issue. And I guess I'm less interested and concerned with what Oz does than what Fetterman does.

And I think Fetterman, the last month or two, has been really great about this whole issue. I had a stroke, I'm recovering. I'm getting better every day.

And I think, Victor, if Fetterman takes that tone in this debate and is straight and straightforward with Pennsylvania voters, and lets Pennsylvania voters see that he's doing well, I think he's in fine shape.

I think he should ignore any shots or insults that Oz throws his way on his health because that will make Oz look bad.

It's really about Fetterman making -- kind of sealing the deal now in this debate with Pennsylvania voters.

BLACKWELL: Joe Lockhart, on the question of the style of campaigning the president is doing, he was there to promote progress there on the bridge that collapsed the last time he was in that area.

Where are the big rallies? We're not seeing the president do those big campaign rallies that former President Obama is doing. We saw President Trump has done dozens of them.

Is it that he's not wanted, that he can't do those rallies?

LOCKHART: Well, listen, I think, first off, someone needs to remind people in the country that a lot has gotten done in the last two years. Infrastructure being one of those things. And the Inflation Reduction Act, all of that.

But you know, Congressman Walsh knows people who are in a tough race know better than anyone what's good for them. If they think having Joe Biden come in and campaign for them, they're going to ask him to come in.

If they think there's a risk of firing up the opposition, they'll ask him not to come in. That is something that every politician, every president faces.

The other thing I would say is, and this is not talked about as much, having a president come into a state or a congressional race shuts a campaign down for two or three days. It's very expensive, disruptive. There has to be a real reason you want to come in there.

Pennsylvania is a great example because they'll benefit from infrastructure. And the president is also doing what all presidents should be doing, which is raising a bunch of money.

BLACKWELL: Congressman Walsh, one last one for you.

[14:39:59]

I want to look at the New York governor's race where there's a new Quinnipiac poll that shows that Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee, is within four points of incumbent Democrat here, Kathy Hochul.

Inflation is not the top issue for either party. For Democrats, it's protecting democracy. For Republicans, it's crime. Same for Independents. Crime tops issues for all groups. Independents breaking for Zeldin by 20 points.

What are you seeing there?

WALSH: Victor, Republicans - and, again, I say this as a former Republican who did this as well -- have always used the issue of crime. And the issue of crime has always done well by Republicans.

Democrats have not figured out a way yet -- here's another election cycle -- to combat the fearmongering that Republicans do with the issue of crime.

I think it's that issue that's keeping a race like that tighter than what it ordinarily would be.

BLACKWELL: Former Congressman Joe Walsh, Joe Lockhart, thank you both.

LOCKHART: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Home sales decline for the eighth month in a row, marking the longest month in longer than a decade. What this signals about the state of the U.S. economy, next.

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[14:45:54]

BLACKWELL: New jobs data out today showed, last week, 214,000 people in this country filed new jobless claims. That's lower than the 230,000 that was estimated.

Let's discuss now with CNN business correspondent, Rahel Solomon.

What's the big takeaway from this number?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is a low number. Lower than expected. And also, if you look at the four-week moving average, which smooths away some volatility, that is also really low. That number coming in at 212,000.

So what this means is this is still a very hot, strong labor market. Of course, the unemployment rate also historically low at 3.5 percent.

And in terms of how this is viewed by the Fed, Citibank put out a note saying reports like this, numbers like this essentially made the Fed more hawkish. It doesn't give the Fed any reason to take its foot off the brake.

So when we hear from the Fed, a little less than two weeks from now, November 1st, November 2nd, it's starting to feel like another 75 basis points --

BLACKWELL: Wow.

SOLOMON: -- which is really something we have not seen, historic.

BLACKWELL: I went into the break by talking about the numbers in the housing market. What are you seeing there?

SOLOMON: The housing market, sales continue to fall off a cliff. So home sales fell for the eighth month in a row. Home sales down almost 24 percent compared to a year ago. Even monthly down about 1.5 percent.

This, of course, in part, because of what the Fed is doing. This is eight months in a row. Remember, so it started in February. What happened in February? That's around when the Fed started raising rates.

The Fed doesn't set mortgage rates, but when it raises rates, it impacts all sorts of borrowing costs.

This is why. The 30-year fixed is just shy of 7 percent. Remember, earlier this year, talking about 3 percent. Some people locked in at sub-3 percent, at lower than 3 percent.

So this is part of the reason home sales are falling. If you have locked in at 3 percent, at 2 percent, why would you sell in this market?

Home prices, by the way, still higher than a year ago. And that's partly because, in addition to the mortgage rates, you don't have a lot of supply.

So it's a really tough time to buy a house. Also not much easier to rent because of rent inflation.

BLACKWELL: Everything is going up.

SOLOMON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: In two weeks, when we see this decision from the Fed, we could see mortgage rates climb even higher after that.

SOLOMON: They are expected to climb for some time. One thing that sort of kept a lid on prices or rates earlier this year were fears of a recession. It's a little wacky how that works, right?

But we do not expect the Fed to stop with the interest rate hikes until 2024. We expect them to continue to raise a few more times and keep them pretty high into 2024.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

SOLOMON: So it's early days here.

BLACKWELL: Buckle up.

SOLOMON: Yes. BLACKWELL: Rahel Solomon.

SOLOMON: I'll be here for the ride.

BLACKWELL: All right, thank you. Rahel, thank you so much.

The search is intensifying for a missing Princeton University student. Her family tries to figure out her last known whereabouts. We have new details ahead.

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[14:52:57]

BLACKWELL: The search is intensifying for the missing 20-year-old Princeton student. And officials are now asking for the public's help.

Misrach Ewunetie was last seen around 3:00 a.m. Friday morning near a resident's hall on campus and she was first reported missing on Monday.

According to law enforcement, investigators are searching a lake now on Princeton's campus after dogs traced her scent to that area.

CNN's Brynn Gingrass is in Princeton with the latest.

Brynn, you spoke with her brother today. What did he tell you about this investigation?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know what, Victor? They say right now they're being kept in the dark.

And I got an update from that brother again who said the Department of Public Safety reached out to them on the phone and said they'd like to meet. Hopefully, they are getting some answers in a short time so we'll continue to try to update you.

As you said, that information regarding investigators is coming from a colleague, John Miller, who said sources told him they are searching that lake.

It's about five miles from where I'm standing right now after bloodhounds traced the scent of this 20-year-old junior at Princeton from the dorm room where she was last seen early Friday morning to that lake area.

They're also trying to figure out if foul play is part of this investigation.

This family is desperate for answers. They have made up these fliers. We're seeing them being posted around this campus. They're talking to people. And they have been extremely distraught as they have been in this area.

And they're also, Victor, just trying to figure out a timeline of their sister. Now as I said, she was last seen early morning hours on Friday. That

night before, she was actually volunteering at one of the university's food clubs. And she was seen in her dorm room by a suite mate, they said, about 3:00 in the morning getting ready for bed.

Her family reached out to her on Saturday. Later in that day on Friday, text messages were going through, but still no response. They figured she was busy trying to hand in a research paper.

By Sunday, her brother, who always tracked her phone, it located in an area about 30 minutes from this campus, which obviously puzzled them. She had also missed a very important meeting on Saturday regarding her citizenship.

So all of this came about and they got very concerned, reached out the authorities.

[14:55:01]

I want to quickly let you hear more from the brother about his sister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIVERSE EWUNETIE, BROTHER OF MISSING PRINCETON STUDENT: She's somewhere out there. And she's not with us, and every minute that passes, every second that passes, it's -- it's more painful than the last one.

All I can do is pray really, try to think positive thoughts and just prayers. That's all I have been doing. I don't know. Yes. I don't want to think anything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: As you can see, Victor, they just can't figure out what happened here. They said the last time that they were talking to her, she was excited because she got a job offer.

They just really don't know what happened. Again, asking for the public's help in trying to identify their sister -- Victor?

BLACKWELL: The bloodhounds leading to a lake is not the update I'm sure that they wanted.

Brynn Gingras, thank you so much.

GRINGAS: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: After six weeks on the job and a financial plan that rocked the U.K. markets, British Prime Minister Liz Truss is stepping down. What this means for America's relationship with the U.K. That's ahead.

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