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Analysis: 9 Million+ Ballots Cast With Election Day 2 Weeks Away; DeSantis And Crist Face Off In Heated Florida Governor Debate; Biden speaks Before Getting Updated COVID-19 Booster. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 25, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's good to have you.

More than nine million votes across the country already been cast with election day just two days -- two weeks away now not two days away, two weeks away and the pressure is on for the candidates to win over every voter. It's especially high in Pennsylvania. Tonight, Democrat John Fetterman will face off against Republican Mehmet Oz in perhaps the most anticipated debate of the election season.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it's also the only chance for Pennsylvanians to see the candidates argue the issue side by side. In a 50-50 Senate, Pennsylvania is one of the races Democrats hope to gain to retain power over the chamber. Many voters there have already made up their minds, though nearly 640,000 people have already turned in ballots. CNN's Jessica Dean is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jessica, give us a preview of tonight's debate.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, you really just outlined how critical this race is for both parties. This is likely -- the outcome of this election here in Pennsylvania is likely to determine the outcome of who is going to hold power over the U.S. Senate, so both Republicans and Democrats very, very focused on this race. And we're seeing John Fetterman, the Democrat, and Mehmet Oz the Republican coming together for their first and only debate tonight, the first time these two men will be meeting.

And there are some interesting dynamics at play. You'll remember Fetterman is recovering from a stroke he suffered just days before the May primary. He's been very open about his auditory processing issues. He's talked about that and admitted that he does have those. He uses some closed captioning, which we saw this happening over the weekend with an event with Senator Amy Klobuchar. They kind of took this out for a spin. They will be using that same technology at the debate tonight. So, you have Fetterman who's recovering from a stroke and who even by his own campaign and surrogates estimations doesn't love debating isn't his strongest suit appeared up against Mehmet Oz who of course, spent years and years as a television celebrity, a doctor talking on camera all the time. So we will see those dynamics playing out. It's just going to be the two men and the moderators, no audience for this one here in Harrisburg. But we do expect to see them each trying to kind of get an edge in with any undecided or persuadable voters that still exist out there.

I have talked to some of them. There are some people who do feel like they still don't know who they might vote for in a race that is so tight and continuing to get tighter and tighter as the polling continues when we get closer to Election Day. Our new CNN polling is showing Fetterman with a slight advantage, 51 percent to 45 percent. And when it came to what issues matter the most of these constituents here, you'll notice it is economy far and wide at the top of there, guys. We do expect to hear a little more about that from them tonight. And what's also intriguing and kind of ironic, both of them trying to paint the other as the most extreme. So keep an eye on that as well, Bianna and Victor.

BLACKWELL: Jessica Dean there in Harrisburg for us, thank you very much.

GOLODRYGA: Interesting to see Fetterman really trying to lower expectations ahead of that debate tonight.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: We'll see how it plays out.

Well, another big debate tonight is in New York, a race that is getting more competitive than Democrats had expected. Incoming Governor Kathy Hochul goes up against her Republican challenger, Congressman Lee Zeldin.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Athena Jones is covering that race for us. So what should we expect tonight at the debate?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think you can expect Congressman Zeldin, who has been very eager to debate -- to debate Governor Hochul. I do even expect him to try to hit her and score some points on the issue of crime and public safety. This is an issue that he has been running on for weeks, his main key issue. This is someone who is going and showing up outside subway stations and bodegas and anywhere where a violent incident was reported to talk about the issue that voters say is top of their mind as well.

The Quinnipiac poll said that 28 percent of New Yorkers rated crime and public safety as the most urgent issue. Republicans put it at number one, but Democrats also rank it highly. I caught up with several voters in Brooklyn last week. The first two you're going to hear from are in Bay Ridge in southern Brooklyn. These are Zeldin supporters. The last woman is a woman in northern Brooklyn. Listen to them. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM MCGOVERN, ZELDIN SUPPORTER: It's very important because if we put the criminals where they belong, we don't have to worry about them. That's how important it is.

KIM PARKER, ZELDIN SUPPORTER: My nephew was mugged in lower Manhattan not that -- not that long ago. It could be me tomorrow.

GLORIA LOPEZ, REGISTERED DEMOCRAT: I have lost a lot of enthusiasm because they seem to continue to be the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:01]

JONES: Now, those first two voters we're talking about, they're concerns about crime and the idea of you know, the sort of debate over the end of cash bail, and issues like that. The last -- the last woman was saying she's leaning towards Hochul. She's not so concerned -- so concerned about crime, but she did express a lack of enthusiasm. That is another thing that Republicans -- that Democrats are worried about because that's what happened back in 1984, the last time a Republican beat a Democrat for the governorship, a lack of enthusiasm.

GOLODRYGA: No one expected this race to be as close as it is. Athena Jones, thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Early voting started today in Wisconsin and the Democrat running for the Senate there was among the first to go to the polls. Mandela Barnes is in a virtual tie with Republican incumbent Ron Johnson. Look at this CNN poll shows them just a point apart, of course, that's within the margin of error.

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MANDELA BARNES, DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE, WISCONSIN: Two weeks out, it is neck and neck, and that means we're going to do what we've been doing from the very start showing up everywhere, talking to everybody, not taking a single vote for granted. Running as -- and as intensive in a campaign in rural communities as we are right here in Milwaukee because any vote we take for granted is the vote we lose. We're not looking to lose any of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right now, let's go to Florida and the race for governor there. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis faced off against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in their first and only debate. Now Crist is trailing DeSantis by eight points in the polls and is nearly out of campaign cash.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And he went after the incumbent on culture war issues, inflation, and his response to the COVID pandemic. The two also sparred on abortion and whether DeSantis will run for president in 2024. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R-FL): I'm proud of the 15 weeks that we did. I know Charlie Crist opposes that even though the baby is fully formed, has a heartbeat, can feel pain, and can suck their thumb.

CHARLIE CRIST, DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, FLORIDA: I want to make sure we keep a woman's right to choose available to the women of the State of Florida. And I want to make sure that we don't have a governor in the future who wouldn't even allow exceptions for rape or incest. Yes or no, Ron, will you serve a full four-year term if you're re-elected governor of Florida?

DESANTIS: Is it my time?

CRIST: It's not a tough question. It's a fair question. He won't tell you.

DESANTIS: Well, listen, I know that Charlie's interested in talking about 2024 in Joe Biden, but I just want to make things very, very clear. The only worn-out old donkey I'm looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Things got heated. Let's discuss all of this with CNN political commentator Ana Navarro and CNN political commentator Charlie Dent, a former Pennsylvania Congressman. So, Ana, before this debate last night, you said that you can't bring yourself to mark a checkbox for either candidate. Did anything you saw last night change that?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. First of all, I'm still schlepping my absentee ballot around everywhere I go in hopes that at some point, I have an AHA moment. I just -- you know, I remember too vividly when Charlie Crist was like, for gov -- as governor. And I am living right now the cultural war nightmare that Ron DeSantis has brought on Florida.

So it's a very hard choice, but it's a -- it's the choice that Floridians have to make. It's one or the other. And I think it's important for people to know that it's OK to vote for the lesser of the two evils. It's OK to cross party lines. It's OK to split your vote.

What did I see yesterday? I saw a very heated debate. I thought both of them did well. I actually have forgotten how Charlie Crist was as a debater, and he was better than I expected. As far as that question of whether Ron DeSantis is going to run in 2024, I don't know that that changes anything. I think it's kind of baked in the cake in Florida. Basically, if you live in Florida and our elected official and you drink the water here, you think you can be present, you know. You have, of course, Rex, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, so I don't think it's something that sways that influences the way people vote. BLACKWELL: Yes, I was thinking about this. Some Democrats are pointing out that Ron DeSantis did not commit to a full-term, Congressman. He didn't raise nine figures to be reelected, just as governor of Florida, right? That's what his voters expect to in 2024 he'll run for president. Did Charlie Crist do anything to turn around this race?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think he did. You know, all Ron DeSantis had to do is make no errors. I don't think he made any errors. And by the way, politicians are ambitious. This is hardly surprising to the general public.

The fact that he might run for president, I don't think he's going to make a lick of difference in this gubernatorial race so -- I mean, people expect that a politician. So I don't think that's really a very effective issue to smack DeSantis on. Yes, he's going to run for president but so what?

GOLODRYGA: Ana, if you're like most other people, you'll be watching the other debate tonight in Pennsylvania between Fetterman and Oz. It was interesting to see Fetterman's camp really tamp down expectations and say Oz will probably be the better debater and the victor out of tonight, but obviously, he would be the better candidate. That's coming from his camp. What do you make of that strategy and what will you specifically be looking for from both candidates?

[14:10:10]

NAVARRO: Well, I'll be looking for their positions on policy issues. And I'll also, frankly, because it's what's been on the news, it's what's on the radar for so many voters and so many of us in America looks at how Fetterman is doing. But you know, I think people are compassionate and I think people can relate to those who are going through illness or going through medical issues. And it's not a rare thing in the U.S. Senate, right? Just recently, there's been two U.S. senators who have been stricken with strokes, have recovered, and are back working in the Senate. I'm talking about Senator Lujan and Senator Van Hollen.

Pennsylvanians are used to people like Senator Specter who continue to work as a senator while battling cancer. You know, we all remember John McCain, who single-handedly with one thumb, save Obamacare while battling a battle he ultimately lost, glioblastoma. So, I -- you know, I think Americans know people get sick. I think Americans know people go through medical circumstances, and many recover, and many have to continue working through it. To me, that makes them more relatable. And I think Dr. Oz has got to be very careful about being a jerk and being mean about it, particularly because the letters in front of his name are Dr. as in doctor.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's hold this conversation and go to the White House. President Biden is going to deliver some remarks before his third booster shot.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Intimidated. The nurse going to give it to me, we told her she's on television. But anyway, you know, as we know, this virus is constantly changing. New variants have emerged here in the U.S. and around the world. We've seen cases of hospitalizations rise in Europe in recent weeks.

And the weather is getting colder. People will spend more time indoors and contagious viruses, and like COVID are going to spread considerably more easily. And as a country, you know, we have a choice to make. Can we repeat what happened in the past winters, more infections, more hospitalizations, more loved ones getting sick, even dying from the virus or can we have a much better winter, if we use all the tools we have available to us now?

Now, let's start with COVID updates vaccines. They're designed to fight a specific Omicron strain that's as dominant in our country right now. This really is a serious giant step forward. Remember, Omicron did not even exist when the first vaccines against COVID were developed. It didn't even exist. We're especially fortunate here in the United States because my administration made sure that we have the -- we're the first country in the world to have vaccines that target the most common COVID strains.

For Americans over five years of age or fully vaccinated, our nation's health experts recommend that they get the updated COVID vaccine once a year. In other words, just like the flu shot. And if you're fully vaccinated, get one more COVID shot once a year. That's it.

Now, some high-risk people as -- such as elderly and immunocompromised may need more than one COVID shot. But for most Americans, one COVID shot each year will be all they need. And if you get it, you're protected. And if you don't, you're putting yourself and other people at unnecessary risk. The shot is free. It's widely available and conveniently located just in time for the holiday season.

Look, over 20 million of our fellow Americans have already gotten the shot. I'm calling on all Americans. I don't -- it seems like you're having to make this case again, all Americans to get their shots just as soon as they can. You're all vaccine or your previous COVID infection will not give you maximum protection. I mean, it's plain is like -- let me be as plain as I can. We still have hundreds of people dying each day from COVID in this country, hundreds. That number is likely to rise this winter. But this year is different from the past.

This year, nearly every death is preventable. Let me say it again, nearly every death is preventable. So get updated -- get your updated COVID shot. Now's the time to do it. By Halloween, if you can, that's the best time, and that way you can be protected for the holidays. And please, while you're at it, get the flu shot. Have your kids get their flu shot. You can get them at the same time you get the flu shot and COVID at the same time either in your doctor's office or one of the drugstores.

[14:15:05]

We're already seeing a rise in flu and RSV and other respiratory illnesses, especially among young children so take precautions and stay safe. You can spend Thanksgiving with family and friends with a peace of mind knowing that you've done your part for everyone's well- being. My administration is doing our part. We've made these updated vaccines easy to get and available for free at tens of thousands of convenient locations. These include local pharmacies, doctors' offices, community health centers, rural health clinics that serve the hard-to-reach areas in America.

95 percent -- 95 percent of Americans can find a free updated vaccine within five miles of where they live. You can go to vaccines.gov. Let me say that again go to vaccines.gov to find a location near you. Again, I'm going to say one more time, go to vaccines.gov to find a place where you get the shot near you.

We're working with doctors, community groups, faith leaders, and companies. Leaders in some of our nation's largest pharmaceutical chains, I said are standing behind me. They're all stepping up to help more people get vaccine. Some are offering coupons when people get their updated COVID shots, get the shot in $5, $10, or $20 off of your drugstore grocery purchase next -- or grocery purchase next time at the same time you get the shot. Some are making it easy for you just to walk in and get your vaccine right away, including on nights and weekends, and others from the private sector stepping up as well, including delivering COVID treatments right to people's homes for free.

Now, what do you do if you think you have COVID? Well, please get tested so you can be treated. We mailed out hundreds of millions of free test kits earlier this year. We had to pause the program because unfortunately, some of our friends in Congress failed to continue to fund the COVID response. But if you have already used up these free tests, that's OK.

We have a required health insurance company -- we required health insurance companies to cover free at-home tests, 8 tests per person per month. Folks on Medicare and Medicaid can get free at-home tests as well. And we have made free testing widely available in communities. And then if you test positive for COVID, get treated. We have amazing treatments available now. They can help stop COVID infections from turning into serious illnesses.

We are the only large country in the world that made Paxlovid -- Paxlovid widely available for free. You can get it prescribed by your doctor, or have thousands of tests or test the three sites, or even from your local pharmacist. Pick it up for free at your pharma. It's a pill -- it's a pill. It's easy. Paxlovid can save your life. It's worth it.

Now here's the bottom line. Virtually every COVID death in America is preventable. Virtually, everyone, almost everyone who will die from COVID this year will not be up to date on their shots, or they will not have taken Paxlovid when they got sick. We've made the vaccines free and available. We've made the test free and available. We've made Paxlovid free and available. Please use them -- use them and encourage your friends and loved ones and neighbors to use them as well. It can save a life.

To employers, help your employees get vaccinated. Set up a vaccine clinic in your -- in your building. Give people time off to get it and if necessary, share good clear information just like you do for the flu shots. To school and college leaders, help your communities get vaccinated this fall, host onsite clinics before Thanksgiving. And to our friends in Congress, it's time to step up with much-needed COVID funding. Help us stay ahead of the virus and keep our communities going strong with free vaccines, free tests, and widely available treatments as we've done so far.

Some of our friends in Congress say we don't need COVID funding, or they say there's really no reason that the government should be paying for it. I strongly disagree -- strongly Disagree. This is a global health emergency. If you really want to put COVID behind us, we have to keep up the fight together. We can't leave people to face it alone. Some members of Congress say they don't want to move beyond COVID, but they don't want to spend the money to do it. We can have both ways.

[14:20:02]

The funding we seek is critical to continue the work to develop and purchase the most effective treatments and vaccines against COVID. It's important -- it's important. And I want to speak directly to those with special conditions. New variants may make some existing protections ineffective for the immunocompromised. Sadly, this means you may be at a special risk this winter so I urge you -- I urge you to consult your doctor on the right steps to protect yourself. Take extra precautions.

I also want to say this. As we enter this new moment in the battle against COVID, let's use it to start fresh as a country. To put all the old battles over code behind us. To put all the partisan politics aside. We've already lost over one million Americans to COVID -- over 1 million Americans to COVID. Now we can do so much now to reduce the number of people who die from this terrible disease.

We have the tools. We have the vaccines. We have the treatments. None of this is about politics. It's about your health and the health of your loved ones. I close with this. Over the past 20 months, my administration has left no stone unturned to make life-saving tools widely available and easily accessible. Now COVID cases are down by more than 80 percent from when I took office. COVID deaths are down nearly 90 percent. And now we're in the longest stretch since the virus emerged when our hospitals are not overwhelmed with severely ill COVID patients. That didn't just happen. It took a combination of incredibly effective vaccines, tests, and treatments to get us there, one of the biggest public health efforts ever undertaken in this country. But together, we did it. Now let's keep doing it. Let's keep going.

This fall, get your COVID shot and get your flu shot. It's simple. It's easy. For most Americans, it's one of the COVID shots per year -- one once a year is going to be required. And it's the most important thing you can do. So, thank you. And now I'll show you just how easy it is to get that shot. You're not giving me the shot.

DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID CZAR: Oh, I'm not.

BIDEN: All right. What am I doing, my left arm?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir.

BIDEN: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, is COVID still a national emergency?

BIDEN: It's a necessity to deal with making sure it doesn't become one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your reaction to the Saudis on oil urging the U.S. not to use reserves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, do you think it was a mistake --

BIDEN: Is that a curvature?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- To withdraw its mandate for vaccines?

BIDEN: Say it again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's a mistake for New York to withdraw its vaccine mandates for private employers?

BIDEN: No, I don't think -- all right, that's a local judgment. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your next move now that Brittney Griner lost her appeal, Mr. President?

BIDEN: We're in constant contact with Russian authorities to get Brittney and others out. And so far, we're not meeting with much positive response but we're not stopping.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, on the drone bomb allegations from Russia --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much press. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dirty bomb allegations from Russia, as it relates to Ukraine, do you believe that this is the beginning of a false flag operation? Is Russia preparing to deploy a dirty bomb itself or nuclear weapons?

BIDEN: I spent a lot of time today talking about that. Let me just say Russia will be making an incredibly serious mistake if we're to use a tactical nuclear weapon. I'm not guaranteeing you that it's a false flag operation yet, I don't know. But it would be a serious, serious mistake.

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:25:01]

GOLODRYGA: Well, that may be the first president getting a booster shot and taking questions from reporters on other issues. But the President did address some newsworthy issues as well today in topics saying that he's in constant contact with Russian authorities over the detainment of Brittney Griner, now sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison, and saying he doesn't feel at this time the U.S. is getting a positive response. And then he was just asked again about the threat of a dirty bomb and a false flag provocation from the Russians and he said once again, they would be seriously mistaken if they use a tactical nuclear weapon. All of this as he was putting his jacket back on after taking that booster.

BLACKWELL: Yes. In the time you take to button your sleeve --

GOLODRYGA: Right.

BLACKWELL: And put the jacket back on, the president made some news there. This event though was to promote booster shots. We now have this new formula for the booster as we go into the fall and winter seasons where we typically see surges. This is the third booster for the president. He spoke to several different groups about why it's important to both get the booster and how to offer it to people so that we make sure everyone is protected.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and he was standing there with health officials and healthcare executives as well. Let's bring in CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard. And, Elizabeth, this administration has been frustrated that more Americans are not getting their boosters, announcing a new strategy really today saying that, as of now, this will be an annual booster shot just like you get your flu shots once a year. Perhaps that will entice people to turn out if they know that it only has to be once a year now.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's hope so, Bianna. I have to say that I think something we've learned in the past three years is that it's actually easier to make a vaccine than to convince many people or a certain section of the country to get that vaccine. There's been so much vaccine resistance. So, this booster came out, it's been more than a month, and take a look at this number. It's pretty sobering. 10 percent of people who are eligible for this Omicron booster, the new shot that we just got saw President Biden get, only 10 percent of the country has gotten it.

That's pretty crazy when you think about it considering that you know more than a million Americans have died from COVID, you would think that people would be standing in line to get this shot but that hasn't been the case. As a matter of fact, if you look at the even bigger picture, 20 percent of Americans haven't gotten a single COVID shot. Over the past couple of years, they haven't gotten a single COVID shot, 20 percent of Americans. So, the CDC and others have a lot of work to do on how to do good vaccine education. The anti-vaxxers are fabulous at what they do. The CDC and others need to get fabulous at fighting them, Bianna.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And also, we've learned from the federal health officials that the protection that one gets from having COVID or from that booster for maybe the winter or fall is not going to offer nearly enough protection as we go into the cooler months. Jacqueline, let me come to you. And Elizabeth mentioned it and so do the president, this new formula directed specifically at these Omicron variants. Tell us about it.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's right. These are updated vaccines that specifically target the variants that are dominantly circulating right now, Omicron and its sub-variants. And it was interesting, Victor, to hear the president mention how we could see an annual vaccine where this will become routine, just like we get annual flu shots. And for many of us who have had our primary series and have had our boosters, some people tend to have fatigue, muscle pain, headache after the vaccine, and some people tend to have no side effects.

But there is new research in the journal JANA -- JAMA Network Open, excuse me, that finds that -- or it suggests that people who do have some of these side effects it's associated with possibly having a greater antibody response elicited from the vaccine. But the researchers also note that if you do not have side effects, do not be concerned. Of course, the vaccine still elicits an immune response for you.

Among more than 900 study participants, antibody reactivity was observed in 98 percent of people who were asymptomatic did not have these side effects. And of course, antibody reactivity was observed and 99 percent of those who did. So this is interesting research that kind of puts into perspective how our vaccines will become routine possibly on an annual basis and how we should think of when we feel crummy after the vaccine and what exactly that might mean, Victor and Bianna.

BLACKWELL: Crummy. That's a great way to describe how I felt after I got that second booster. Jacqueline Howard, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

Consumer confidence fell in October as inflation takes a toll on household budgets. Ahead, what some of the world's biggest CEOs to the company's -- biggest companies are now saying about a possible recession?

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