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Biden Makes Pitch To Voters From Dem HQ As Election Day Looms; Armed People With Tactical Gear Seen Watching AZ Voters; Surge In Respiratory Cases Illness Cases Strains Pediatric Hospitals. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired October 24, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Victor Blackwell, welcome to "CNN NEWSROOM."

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga, great to be with you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Good to have you.

GOLODRYGA: Great to be with you all this afternoon.

15 days until Election Day and the fight for every last vote is intensifying. Crucial debates are happening tonight in the race for Florida governor, and tomorrow in the contest for Senate and Pennsylvania. Nearly 7.3 million people have already cast their ballots in 39 States, according to one analysis.

BLACKWELL: And right now, President Biden is making his pitch to voters. He's hoping to shift the momentum away from Republicans. And do an analysis of the political landscape in these final weeks shows Republicans are making some late gains as they try to win back control of the House. CNN's White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond is with us now. So, give us details on what the president is saying.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, President Biden is delivering right now what he termed a closing argument here as we are just about two weeks from Election Day. The president, though, isn't in the battleground states where you might expect him to be delivering that kind of closing argument.

Instead, he's at Democratic Party headquarters where he said that his goal was to try and energize the organizers who are calling into those battleground states, the staff at the Democratic Party, who was working tirelessly to try and make sure the Democrats hold on to the House and the Senate. And the president said that he wants to make clear that this is what he termed a choice election and not a referendum on his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's not a referendum, I should say, it's to choose. Democrats are lowering your everyday costs like prescription drugs, health care premiums, energy bills, and gas prices. Folks, Republicans have made it clear at least they're being honest around this time. They're telling you exactly what they want to do if they win. They're going to increase everyday costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And beyond this idea of costs and the president what he's likely referring to there is the fact that Republicans want to repeal several cost-saving provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. The president is also talking about a number of other issues, trying to set up a contrast here, whether it was taxes for corporations, talking about fiscal responsibility, Social Security and Medicare, or abortion rights.

The president making very clear what the stakes are in this election should Democrats retain control of Congress or should Republicans win back one or both Houses of Congress?

But as I said, the president is delivering this message here in Washington, DC. And in large part that's because as we're seeing in some of these new CNN poll numbers, the president is underwater, his approval rating underwater in several of these key battleground states. And that's why a lot of these candidates don't necessarily want to be seen campaigning directly with the president.

There is one state though where the president has been repeatedly traveling to and that's the state of Pennsylvania. On Friday, we expect the President to return there once again for a fundraising reception for the Democratic Party. In Philadelphia, the President certainly will be making his case as voters head to the polls in less than two weeks. Victor, Bianna.

BLACKWELL: Jeremy Diamond there at the White House. Thank you, Jeremy.

It's debate night in Florida in the race for governor. Now, this is seen as the last big chance for Democrat Charlie Crist to turn this race around. He's trailing the Republican incumbent Ron DeSantis. And not just in polling, also in fundraising.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Crist has just $2.2 million left to spend while DeSantis has kept his $98 million on hand, as of mid-October. CNN's Steve Contorno is following all of this. So, Steve, Crist is hitting DeSantis hard for his 2024 aspirations. Will that even be an effective strategy though?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Crist is certainly going to try to make the case that you can't be the third -- the governor of the third-largest state and run for president at the same time. He's going to talk about that, abortion, affordability in the state of Florida because this is what he needs to do. He needs to try to generate some kind of breakthrough viral moment that can galvanize Democrats, not just in Florida, but even around the country. You know, the Crist campaign believes that Democrats made a costly

error by not getting involved in Florida early and trying to slow Ron DeSantis be fueled -- before he becomes too big of a national figure. And they are hoping that tonight, they can convince some Democrats, some donors, some people across the country to join that fight for the final few weeks.

But here's what he's up against. 1.2 million people have already cast their ballots in Florida by now. Now, 42 percent of those were Democrats compared to 38 Republicans, but Democrats tend to vote early more than Republicans in Florida, especially since the 2020 election, and definitely by mail. The other issue is that he's going up against a fundraising juggernaut, as you mentioned.

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And not only does he not have much cash on hand for the final few weeks of the race, but he also hasn't reserved much airtime for after this debate. Meaning tonight is really his last best chance to talk directly to many voters across the state and try to convince them that Ron DeSantis should be a one-term governor. DeSantis tonight, I think you can expect him to step up to the challenge.

You know he is not someone who has ever shirked from a fight. And it'd be interesting to see him on a debate stage for the first time in four years, and maybe build on this momentum from this night and see if that carries him to a future presidential campaign, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, we'll be following this debate closely tonight. That is for sure. Steve Contorno, thank you.

Well, in the critical battleground state of Georgia, the early vote is breaking records already. More than 830,000 people have voted. Now that the total counts of absentee and early ballots. The in-person total of 758,000 plus is the highest early turnout ever for a midterm election.

BLACKWELL: Georgia secretary of state says this is unprecedented. And consider this. Since the first day of early voting this year, Georgia has seen nearly twice the number of early voters compared to four years ago. On Saturday, nearly 80,000 ballots were cast. That exceeded what Georgia saw on the same day in 2020. And remember, that was a presidential year.

All right, tensions are high among early voters in Maricopa County. That's in Arizona. On Friday, two individuals armed and dressed in tactical gear were seen at a ballot box in Mesa, that's near Phoenix.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, a really troubling story here. The Arizona Secretary of State's office already referred one case of voter intimidation to the Department of Justice. CNN's Kyung Lah has more.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor and Bianna, with early vote well underway here in Arizona, we are getting disturbing reports of voter intimidation at ballot drop boxes. There are two outdoor drop boxes, one of them is here in Phoenix, it's right over my shoulder, you can see that it is just an innocuous box.

But there have been people showing up at one of these drop boxes in Maricopa County watching on lawn chairs in armed -- they are armed, they're wearing tactical gear, body armor, they are masked and they are sitting in the back of a truck.

Now there have been some of these watchers outside of these ballot boxes -- there have been some here in Phoenix. And there's nothing wrong with watching. What is wrong, say by election officials is showing up being armed and intimidating voters and they believe this is in fact voter intimidation.

They are concerned about voter safety, and even more concerning that election officials say they believe that some of the candidates running here in Arizona are egging them on specifically the Republican Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem who's urging people to show up at these drop boxes.

And election officials also say that on its face, this is simply ridiculous behavior because yes, these drop boxes are outside but there are almost 30 places where voters can drop off ballots early. And there's also something called a mailbox that you can put your ballot in and mail it in early, Victor, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Kyung Lah, I know you'll continue to follow this story for us, thank you.

Well, this just into CNN. New polling from key battleground shows tight races in three states that were critical for Biden's presidential win in 2020. Democrats are putting major resources into Senate races in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, two seats they believe they have the best chance of flipping.

BLACKWELL: So, the new polling also shows that Democrats have slight leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania. Those are the governor's races we're talking about. CNN's political director David Chalian, with us now. David, good to see you, let's start in the Senate and how close those contests are.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. As you noted, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, two states where Republicans are trying to hold seats they currently have where Democrats see some potential opportunity to pad their majority. Our brand-new CNN polling conducted by SSRS among likely voters in Pennsylvania shows Democrat Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman with a slight advantage here, 51 percent to Mehmet Oz's 45 percent.

In Wisconsin, there is no clear leader in the race for United States senator from Wisconsin. Incumbent Republican Ron Johnson among likely voters 50 percent support, Mandela Barnes 49 percent support, this is well within the margin of error, totally no clear leader in this race.

GOLODRYGA: It really is neck and neck. What about the race for governor in those states, David?

CHALIAN: Yes. So, we had Michigan to the mix here too. They don't have a Senate race this year but incoming Governor Gretchen Whitmer among likely voters is at 52 percent support in our poll. Tudor Dixon, her Republican challenger at 46 percent.

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Remember Abortion Rights is actually on the ballot in Michigan which may be having a benefit here for the Democratic candidate. In Wisconsin, not unlike the Senate race there, guys, a just total within the margin of error race, incumbent governor Tony Evers at 50 percent, Tim Michels at 48 percent. No clear leader there. In Pennsylvania, it's a different story.

There is a very clear leader. Josh Shapiro, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate with 56 percent support among likely voters, compared to Doug Mastriano's 41 percent support committed election denier, as you know, is running for governor there on the Republican side in Pennsylvania.

BLACKWELL: David, let's talk issues now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Bernie Sanders, they let's say have different perspectives on --

GOLODRYGA: It's a good way of framing.

BLACKWELL: On which issues Democrats should be and are focused on in the final stretch. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): Nobody said we're doing an abortion rather than economy. But it's both -- it's about both. And I can tell you that that issue is very, very provocative and encouraging people to vote.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I-VT): Is the more abortion issue important? Yes. But we have also got to focus on the struggles of working people to put food on their table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, what are the polls tell us that matters to these voters?

CHALIAN: I think Sanders and Pelosi would say, hey, we said the same thing that we agree, but I think the emphasis was pretty clear. But when we asked about the most important issues in these critical battleground states, guys, take a look. Economy and inflation across all three of those Midwestern battlegrounds, they just dominate the other issues.

So, 44 percent in Pennsylvania call economy and inflation issue number one compared to 19 percent who say that for abortion, similar story in Wisconsin, similar story in Michigan, again, a little uptick for abortion as an issue in Michigan, perhaps because it's literally an issue on the ballot there. GOLODRYGA: And we see the fourth issue there is a crime. And there's not a consensus across the country. Obviously, we see a spike in crime in some parts of the country and not others. But it's interesting to see Michael Smerconish this morning specifically zoom in on the issue of crime in Pennsylvania and the race there. What are the polls say in terms of what voters are focused on and how big of an issue that is there?

CHALIAN: So, Bianna, in our Pennsylvania poll, you see, again, crime is down at the bottom of this list of the three issues here, Economy, inflation, abortion, gun policy, and crime. But you look at it by party, and even then, for Republican voters overwhelmingly, economy and inflation driving them, 59 percent say so among Republicans, 11 percent say that about abortion, 14 percent say that about gun policy and crime.

You see here among Democrats, only 24 percent say the economy, inflation in Pennsylvania, 30 percent say abortion is the top issue there and only 11 percent say gun policy and crime.

That is not to say it's not an issue. I mean, it is being advertised on, millions of dollars are being spent, Republicans are trying to paint Democrats as soft on crime and that is happening in Pennsylvania. And elsewhere, it just -- it doesn't top these other issues in terms of voters' consciousness.

BLACKWELL: There are some Democratic campaigns that are releasing new TV and radio and digital ads featuring former President Barack Obama in these last 15 days to Election Day. He's going to hit the road to campaign at some rallies, in which races, which states as he hoped to make an impact?

CHALIAN: This is the Barack Obama campaign trail coming up. He's going to hit Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the states we just showed you polling from, and then on Friday, before he gets to the Midwest, he's going to be in Atlanta, Georgia, obviously home to a critical Senate race there between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker -- governor's race there.

Listen, Barack Obama, the most popular Democrat on the trail, and his clear mission on his midterm campaign trail is to really get base Democrats enthused and excited and turned out to vote, especially with early voting as you guys were discussing earlier, very much underway.

GOLODRYGA: We'll see what kind of impact he has just two weeks to go. David Chalian, thank you.

CHALIAN: Sure.

BLACKWELL: An unprecedented rise of a respiratory virus in children is straining hospitals across the country. Doctors say the RSV, the flu, and COVID resurgence there could present a triple threat.

GOLODRYGA: And the UK is having a new prime minister. We'll look at the historic choice straight ahead.

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GOLODRYGA: A respiratory illness is surging at unusually high levels in children across the country. These cases of RSV are putting a lot of pressure on the nation's pediatric hospitals.

BLACKWELL: Almost three-quarters of beds at pediatric hospitals in the country are filled right now, more than at any time over the past two years of the pandemic. CNN's Rosa Flores is at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, and she's with us now. What are you seeing there?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of concern. A lot of parents are concerned. So let's start with the facts. Now, these are the latest numbers from the CDC. They looked at 9 percent of the population across the country and they found that in a one-week period in mid-October, there were more than 7000 cases reported. Now according to the CDC, that's more cases in a one-week period than in the past two years.

Now, we all know that that includes COVID, which raises the question about hospitals, and hospital availability. According to HHS, three out of every four pediatric hospital beds are in use right now. Here at Children's Hospital, there are over 40 children being treated for RSV, including over 10 who are in the ICU.

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Now, there's a lot of concern with parents. Here's what doctors are saying. Doctors recommend that parents don't panic but be very informed about what to look for. Here are the symptoms, runny nose, decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, and wheezing. Doctors say to parents. Parents, you know your child best, observe your child.

I've talked to multiple parents here at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and these parents described what they looked at -- what they looked for before going to the hospital. I talked to Stephen Balka, his eight-week-old son is here at the hospital and he described his rush here to the hospital. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BALKA: It got real quick. There's no way to describe it. This is -- I mean, it was a terrifying situation. It was heartbreaking.

FLORES: What would you tell parents who are watching this story?

BALKA: Don't wait. Do not wait. If you feel as if something is wrong with your child, you know your child better than anyone does, get your child help immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, there might be one thing that can make parents feel just a little better. Doctors here at Texas Children's Hospital told me the doctors know RSV. So, Bianna and Victor, this is not us going back to 2020 at the onset of COVID with there are so many questions where doctors are still trying to figure out what's what. Doctors know RSV.

What they are saying now is parents need to be vigilant and to make sure that there is no more strain on hospitals than needed. They're asking for parents to teach their children to wash their hands frequently. And also, one very important thing that they recommend is to get the flu vaccine, Victor, Bianna.

BLACKWELL: All right, all important information there. Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

Now on top of this rise in the RSV cases, there is a concern of a new COVID surge this winter. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tested positive for COVID on Friday, but the CDC says that she has mild symptoms, received an updated booster last month. Experts are also worried about a potential flu surge.

Joining us now, Dr. F. Perry Wilson. He's an associate professor of medicine at Yale University Medical School. Dr. Wilson, good to see you again. On this potential for a trip -- I think it's all been tri- demic where you've got the flu surge, COVID, RSV. What are the chances of that happening this fall and winter?

DR. F. PERRY WILSON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Hi, Victor, I think we're pretty much already there. The reason I'm so concerned is that both flu and RSV seasons aren't supposed to be happening yet. Flu season really gets going late-November and goes on through about February or March sometimes later into the spring, RSV season similarly, December, January is when we see peaks.

And we're seeing RSV cases at peak levels right now. And we're already seeing a fair amount of influenza cases starting to come in as well. So, the upswing is starting. And, of course, COVID is still here. So, we're seeing the pressure on the hospital system already with all these people admitted with respiratory infections.

BLACKWELL: I want to come back to COVID in a moment, but let's start here with RSV. And we heard for Rosa, obviously, the pediatric beds are overwhelmed, filling with children who are going in for RSV and other things.

But at what point should a parent say right now, I need to take you in? You don't want to wait until your child can't breathe, but you also don't want to unnecessarily overwhelm the system. When should they go in?

WILSON: Well, the important thing is to have a good relationship with your pediatrician if you have a child because they can often walk you through those symptoms that are -- that are worrisome and those that you can safely just keep an eye on.

I'm particularly worried about kids who are under one year of age. They are at the highest risk for complications from RSV, and they don't tell you that they're sick.

But those kids less than one year of age are going to be lethargic. They might be inconsolable crying. Even if you're holding them, they don't get better. Those are concerning findings. Difficulty breathing in someone of that age is going to look like retractions in the skin, the skin sort of pulling back between their ribs as they're trying to take breaths and wheezing. Any of those signs are a really big red flag, so either call your doctor or get yourself to an emergency room.

BLACKWELL: Considering the age group you're most concerned about the advice that doctors passed on to Rosa really doesn't apply to wash your hands frequently. You're not going to tell you a 10-month -- 10- month-old every hour or so, go in and wash your hands. So, what's the precaution for that age group?

WILSON: No, but you're going to wash your hands for your -- for -- on behalf of your 10-month-old. So RSV is common and adults get infected with it all the time, which is probably why we don't get that sick. We have built up immunity to that and we might be bringing it home from our workplaces.

Older kids in the house can be bringing it home from their school. So, you want to have everyone in the family doing their best to keep up hand hygiene you know. We've known about washing hands for hundreds of years. It is really good advice and it's the thing that's going to keep kids safest from RSV right now.

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BLACKWELL: All right, now to COVID. The president is scheduled to receive his third vaccine booster. So this is shot number five now. He just had COVID at the end of July, beginning of August. So we're three months out from that, is this the right timeframe for most people to follow to get that booster after you've already had a recent case of COVID?

WILSON: Well, the CDC recommends giving some time between a case of COVID, 90 days is the official recommendation before a booster. I will say that the boosters are looking a bit better actually now because some of these new variants like BA.2.75.2 really show that they're evading antibodies from those initial vaccines and from people who had earlier infections.

But those new variants are Omicron offshoots, which is what the updated booster was designed to target. So, there's a good chance that this is going to get you an edge against some of the new variants that are coming in from Europe and whatnot. So, it seems like a reasonable idea for someone like the president who has shaken a lot of hands.

BLACKWELL: All right, good to know. Dr. Perry Wilson, thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Can I just say I feel like a superhero, I got my kids boosted and got them a flu shot last week.

BLACKWELL: On the same day?

GOLODRYGA: On the same day. And they were not very happy with me that day.

BLACKWELL: How do they feel the next day?

GOLODRYGA: They were a little sore but at least --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: At least they're better protected.

BLACKWELL: I like to take it. Yes, it's good.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, thanks, a lot.

Well, a tax fraud case against the Trump Organization is underway in a Manhattan courtroom, the star witness, the company's former chief financial officer who's also a close ally of former President Trump.

BLACKWELL: And NASA is launching a study of UFOs and other unexplained phenomena. It's happening in the sky, of course. What they are looking for? We'll get into it ahead.

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