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President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Former President Obama Campaign for Democratic Candidates in Midterm Elections; Early Voting for Midterms Elections Begins in States across U.S.; Polls Show New York Gubernatorial Race between Democratic Incumbent Kathy Hochul and Republican Challenger Lee Zeldin Tightening; Man Who Attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Husband Paul Pelosi Arrested. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired October 29, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:32]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Saturday, October 29th. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Great to be with you, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez. You are live in the CNN newsroom.

This morning early voting location are open across the country, and preliminary election data is already showing more than 17.5 million Americans have cast their ballots so far. With just 10 days to go before Election Day, candidates are bringing out some big-name surrogates in their final push for votes. Both President Biden and former President Obama are on the campaign trail for Democrats in key states.

WALKER: And over the next week, former President Trump also holding rallies in support of Republican candidates across four states. The infusion of political star power is underscoring just how many of these key races are neck-and-neck. In Georgia, the Senate race between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker has some in the Democratic leadership concerned. Here's Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer caught on a hot mic talking about that race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It looks like the debate didn't hurt us too much in Pennsylvania -- so that's good. The state where we're going downhill is Georgia. It's hard to believe that they would go for Herschel Walker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Going downhill in Georgia, that race in Georgia crucial to the Democrats' chances of holding on to slim majority, their 50-50 Congress. SANCHEZ: Yes. It's not just control of Congress that's at stake.

Several key governorships are also up for grabs. And one of them is in New York. A race that was not close over the summer suddenly getting very tight between incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul and Congressman Lee Zeldin. That race really being determined now by concerns over crime in New York.

WALKER: We have team coverage this morning of this final push to get out the vote. Let's start with CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak who is with the president in Wilmington, Delaware, this morning. Hi, Kevin. This is the final stretch for Democrats as they try to maintain control of Congress. What's President Biden's strategy?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, it sure is, Amara. And you really starting to hear the president, the vice president, all starting to sharpen their messages as the days close down to November, as Democrats grow increasingly anxious about their prospects in November.

And their closing argument really centers around this warning about what might happen if Republicans regain majorities in Congress. Of course, the president has spent most of this campaign season trying to emphasize his accomplishments, but it has been sort of persistent frustration among his advisors that that doesn't seem to be breaking through. And so in this final stretch they have made the determination that the president and vice president will start talking more about what Republicans might do to the president's agenda if they take control.

Now, they were both at a fundraising dinner last night in Philadelphia. Listen to a little bit of their message last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's be clear. This election is not a referendum. It's a choice, a choice between two vastly different visions of America.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Contraception is on the line. Marriage equality is on the line. With Republican Party leaders in charge, health care is on the line. Social security would be on the line. Medicare would be on the line. Good jobs and fair wages for working families on the line.

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LIPTAK: Now, we won't see the president again on the campaign trail until next week when he goes to Florida. His wife, the first lady Jill Biden, is campaigning in New Hampshire today. The vice president is campaigning in Maryland. The president, we will see him today here in Wilmington. He is casting his early vote. The White House says he will be joined by his granddaughter Natalie. She turned 18 this year and this will be her very first time casting a ballot. Guys?

SANCHEZ: We look forward to watching that later this afternoon. Kevin Liptak from Wilmington, Delaware, thank you so much. Let's take you to Georgia now and CNN's Nadia Romero who is live for

us at a polling location just outside of Atlanta. Nadia, record turnout for the peach state, and in early voting we have seen some really big crowds, too. What does it look like this morning?

[10:05:00]

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, it's still a sleepy Saturday for many people who are at home probably watching you on TV, getting ready for their day. But we see those numbers usually pick up during the afternoon hours, and then that's what you start to see the lines, and especially right before those polls close at 7:00 p.m. is when people are dashing in to either drop off their absentee ballots or trying to make their way into in-person vote.

But we are told by the poll worker that works here at Ponce Library here in the heart of Atlanta, this is the busiest location throughout the city. If you look at those statewide numbers here in Georgia, we had more than 1.39 million Georgians already vote in person during this early voting process, and the majority of them right here in Fulton County, more than 175,000. But when you break it down by demographic, it's folks who are 65 and older who are casting their ballots at a higher rate than people who are much younger, who are just now getting that opportunity to participate in this civic duty.

And so we asked the question why. Why aren't younger people voting? If you look at the age group 22 to 29, only about four percent of them make up those ballots that have participated in the early voting process so far in this you state. And I want you to hear the issues that matter most to one gentleman as he works on his own organization to encourage people to vote. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAS THOMAS, CEO, THE PEOPLE'S UPRISING: I think candidates are failing on really explaining how their jobs affect their day-to-day lives. And day-to-day generational impacts, for example, student loans, I know something that is really personal to my demographic is abortion rights and women's rights. And in additionally, environmental rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And he went on to say that social justice is something that he finds himself to be important. He is only 26 years old. And when he talks to youth, that's something that's really important to them. But they say that's not in the forefront like it was back in the 2020 election. He also believes that sometimes politicians go to college campuses or go to neighborhoods, they'll ask the youth to vote for them, and then the same candidates disappear until it's election time again.

Here at this location, it's been open since 7:00 a.m., so about two hours. We'll walk inside. There is no line right now. They can easily come in and vote. But we are even seeing just from our own observations a much older crowd, especially in the early morning hours. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: All right, Nadia Romero, thank you.

And to CNN's Gloria Pazmino who is in Holtsville, New York. And wow, we're talking about a suddenly tightening governor's race there, much more competitive. And of course, the question is, did the Democrats misjudge the momentum. What more can you tell us?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly a headache for the Democrats at this time, one that they were not expecting or wanting to have, especially not in New York, deep blue New York, usually expected to go to a Democrat. Governor Kathy Hochul, the incumbent in this race, facing very, very close polls. We are standing in Suffolk County. This an area that has been represented by former Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee in the race, and he has been making his campaign about the issue of public safety. Areas of Suffolk County, parts of Long Island where we are right now are expected to come out for Zeldin, and this is where he is going to be later on this evening campaigning alongside Governor Ron DeSantis, bringing in some big Republican names to get out the vote. They will be holding a get out the vote rally at Lee Zeldin campaign headquarters here in Suffolk County.

And so really bringing in those big names, hoping to drum up support. As I said, he has been focusing on the issue of public safety. Governor Kathy Hochul, on the other hand, has been spending her morning in Buffalo. That's her hometown. She got out there this morning and cast her ballot the very first day of early voting here in New York, which begins today. We are standing in front of a polling location which opened up just a couple of minutes ago, and we have been watching a very, very slow stream of poll workers and people coming to set up the operation. So as you said at the beginning, suddenly very close. Governor Kathy Hochul will certainly need those downstate Democrats to turn out for her because in areas like Long Island where we are right now, she might be facing a tough challenge.

SANCHEZ: Gloria Pazmino live in Holtsville, New York, thank you so much, Gloria.

Joining us now to share their insights on these midterm races, CNN political commentator and former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent and former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. Good morning to you both, glad that you could share part of your weekend with us.

Patti, starting with you, it appears that Democrats have had to reallocate resources and attention to races like the one in New York that weren't very close just a few weeks or months ago. What does it say to you that Democrats are having to play defense so late in the game?

[10:10:08]

PATTI SOLIS DOYLE, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER, HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT: Well, it says to me that it's the closing days of the midterm elections, and it says to me that the races everywhere are tightening, and I think that's normal. I think what Democrats are doing are bringing out the big guns, as your reporters stated earlier, to get out that vote, make sure that the base is out. We can still win in places like New York. I think I'm actually thinking New York is ours. But also in more contested states like Georgia and Pennsylvania, the key at this point for both sides, actually, Republicans and Democrats, is to make sure that their bases come out, especially with early voting. So I am not too nervous because, as I said, it's expected that these races are going to tighten very much.

SANCHEZ: Charlie, to you, there are some notable election deniers running in very big races. I am wondering what you think it means for the country if candidates like Kari Lake or Doug Mastriano in your home state of Pennsylvania, what does it mean if they get elected?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, in the case of Doug Mastriano, it would be a catastrophe because he is a truly election denier, he's an extremist, to be charitable, and he has the ability to appoint a secretary of state. So that would be stunning if he became governor. I don't think he will. I happened to have voted for Josh Shapiro. I think he is an honorable man, and I think he will be fair to all Pennsylvanians. He's running a unifying campaign. That said, you know, Shapiro will win, but probably not by the margin people think. So that would be a disaster.

Kari Lake, you mentioned, out in Arizona, she is a much more polished version of Doug Mastriano, and it appears that she is likely to win, but she does not appoint a secretary of state. But I do worry about election deniers getting into positions where they can actually appoint people to oversee and administer elections. When people have a predetermined outcome in mind for an election, that's a very dangerous thing.

SANCHEZ: Patti, obviously, there is going to be finger-pointing if Democrats see historic losses on election night, but there's still time before Election Day. You mentioned getting out big names out there, President Biden, former President Obama. Is there much Democrats can do to reverse the trends we're seeing in polling now?

DOYLE: History tells us that the party in power traditionally loses a number of seats during the midterm elections. Right now, Democrats control Congress by the smallest margins in decades, so it's not going to be that difficult for Republicans to win back the House. In fact, I think that's probably likely going to happen. In the Senate, it's much more close, and I'm not sure what's going to happen there. I don't think anybody can tell you what's going to happen there at this point.

But there's always finger-pointing. You can ask President Obama, President Trump, President Clinton and President Bush, for that that matter, during their midterm elections when they were in office. I think it will be an opportunity no matter what happens for both parties, frankly, to regroup, really analyze the results and figure out how to move forward.

SANCHEZ: And, Charlie, as Patti noted, the Senate is up for grabs. And nobody knows what's going to happen. But the way the map looks appears to potentially favor a Republican takeover. And you've got races in Georgia, in Arizona, and Nevada that are extremely tight, within the margin of error, and Republicans only need to gain one seat. If they fake to take the Senate, who bears responsibility?

DENT: Well, I would have to put a lot of the burden on Donald Trump for his unhelpful interventions in advancing candidates who are either unfit or not well qualified or problematic. That would be the issue. But let's face it, Democrats are playing defense everywhere, both in the Senate and the House. They are playing defense on six house seats in New York. They have just pulled out of a seat in Oregon where Biden won by nine points. Rhode Island, they are on defense. Nevada, they are defending three House and a Senate seat that they have there is in trouble.

I just think there are real problems everywhere for the Democrats right now. I am not predicting a tidal wave, but this could be a mini red wave we are about to witness and experience. And Republicans, I thought a few weeks ago that the chances of them winning the Senate weren't that great. Now I think they are much, much better, and particularly in Pennsylvania where Mehmet Oz had a good debate performance relative to his opponent who gave, frankly, a disqualifying performance. So I think that Pennsylvania all of a sudden is in a better spot than it was a few weeks ago as well.

[10:15:02]

SANCHEZ: Patti, I want to give you an opportunity to respond to that comment from Charlie about the disqualifying performance of John Fetterman.

DOYLE: John Fetterman, as we all know, has suffered a stroke, and so I don't think it was disqualifying. I also don't think that the impact of the debate will be that great. From my campaign days, debates in my view are not that impactful. It's much more about the campaign that you run. I also think in the state of Pennsylvania, and Charlie mentioned this, I think Shapiro has some quite long coattails there. It was just recently that Mehmet Oz sort of went from defense to offense. I am not sure it was in time. So I'm feeling pretty good about Pennsylvania. I am not feeling great about any of these races because they are all very, very close, but I'm feeling pretty good about Pennsylvania.

SANCHEZ: So much to keep up with. Go ahead, Charlie.

DENT: I was going to say, look, I saw that debate on Tuesday night, and I got to tell you, I have functional eyes and I have functional ears. The Fetterman campaign has not been transparent. They have been understating this problem for some time. They should have pulled him off the ballot in August when they had the chance. They should have done it. But he didn't. And I feel badly. I have family members who have had strokes. So I'm sorry. I just don't think that he is ready.

SANCHEZ: We'll see how voters in Pennsylvania feel about that in just about 10 days. Charlie Dent, Patti Solis Doyle, thank you for the time.

DENT: Thank you, Boris. WALKER: All right, also new this morning, details in that violent

attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul. What police saw when they arrived at the home and what we know about the slew of charges the suspect is now facing.

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[10:21:07]

WALKER: Out of touch with reality, that is how an acquaintance describes the suspect accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband. Now, we are learning more about the suspect, but more importantly, how the attack unfolded.

SANCHEZ: Sources tell CNN the assailant tried to tie up 82-year-old Paul Pelosi after breaking into the couple's San Francisco home and attacking him with a hammer. The attacker confronted Pelosi, shouting "Where is Nancy?" according to sources familiar with the investigation. Pelosi underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture. He is also being treated for other serious injuries. Fortunately, though, he is expected to make a full recovery. And police say this was not random. They say this was targeted attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WILLIAM SCOTT, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: This was not a random act. This was intentional. And it's wrong. Our elected officials are here to do the business of their cities, their counties, their states, and this nation. Their families don't sign up for this, to be harmed. And it is wrong. And everybody should be disgusted.

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WALKER: Now, the San Francisco district attorney says when police arrived the suspect used the hammer against Paul Pelosi in a manner that appeared he was intending to kill him. President Biden called the attack despicable.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Enough is enough is enough. Every person of good conscience needs to clearly and unambiguously stand up against the violence in our politics, regardless of what your politics are.

(APPLAUSE)

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WALKER: We get more now on the attack on Paul Pelosi from CNN's Natasha Chen.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott became emotional during a press conference Friday evening, saying this attack was intentional and wrong, adding that family members of our elected leaders did not sign up for this and that we should all be disgusted. Speaker Pelosi arrived at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital behind me here by midafternoon on Friday. Doctors here said her husband, Paul Pelosi, underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his arm and hands. He is expected to make a full recovery. The suspect is also still being treated at the hospital for minor injuries.

Now, police have been able to speak with him, 42-year-old David Wayne DePape. He is expected to be booked on suspicion of attempted murder, first degree burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon, among other charges. The San Francisco police chief said the assailant broke into the Pelosi residence through the backdoor in the early hours on Friday morning. Speaker Pelosi was in D.C. at the time.

The D.A. said it is really thanks to Mr. Pelosi calling 911 and talking to a dispatcher in code, and the instinct of that dispatcher to realize something was wrong and making that police call a priority. Chief Scott said that instinct was lifesaving. He said someone opened the door when police knocked, and police saw Mr. Pelosi and the suspect through the doorway, both holding on to the same hammer. Police gave commands for both men to drop the hammer, and the police chief said that then the suspect pulled the hammer away and violently attacked Mr. Pelosi with at least one strike.

A Facebook page that DePape's family members say was his was taken down Friday but showed posted memes and conspiracy theories about COVID vaccines, the 2020 election, and the January 6th attack. An acquaintance told CNN that he was, quote, out of touch with reality.

[10:25:00]

DePape may be assigned a public defender once the arraignment is scheduled. The D.A.'s office said they expect to file formal charges Monday with an arraignment likely on Tuesday. Back to you.

SANCHEZ: Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that.

The attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband is just the latest incident raising concerns among lawmakers. Both Democrats and Republicans are condemning attack.

WALKER: It comes during the final push to the midterm elections, and CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty joining us now. Sunlen, so what are lawmakers saying?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, there certainly has been some bipartisan condemnation of this attack. We've heard from Democrats and Republicans across the board who are expressing their outrage about this violence, calling it horrific, disgusting, and certainly expressing their sympathy for the Pelosi family and sending along their well wishes to Paul Pelosi. Here is just some of the latest reaction from one Democrat and one Republican on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KAREN BASS (D-CA): It reminds me of January 6th because when the insurrectionists broke into the Capitol, one of the first places they went was to the Speaker's office. It just shows us the danger that our democracy is in.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): This is what happens when you convince a third of the country that election was stolen and that the other side is an enemy. This isn't how democracies work. This isn't how self- governance works. This is a, this is a -- we are in a bad moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And you heard there Karen Bass really reference January 6th, and this certainly is the culmination of a lot of worry and fear that lawmakers have had increasingly so in recent years. There have been several high profile-incidents targeting lawmakers and specifically their families that have underscored that worry that this is real. And we know, according to law enforcement sources, that just in the last two years the threats to lawmakers and also their families has grown exponentially.

Now, we know according to a senior aide at Capitol Hill in the wake of all of this that Capitol police is now assessing whether they should provide additional security, including in the form of security for family members of leadership, which right now does not exist. Back to you guys.

WALKER: All right, Sunlen Serfaty, appreciate it. Thank you very much.

So a potential rail strike is looming after another union rejected a tentative deal brokered by President Biden. What's at stake next.

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WALKER: The threat of a nationwide rail strike is very real as we head into a crucial political and holiday season. The lack of paid sick days now one of the main dealbreakers for the railroad unions.

SANCHEZ: Any strike would bring the nation's major freight railroads grinding to a halt, and that would create massive problems for the U.S. economy, which is still, of course, dealing with the consequences of squeezed supply chains. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains what's at stake.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Boris, a second union which represents railroad signalman voted down the national tentative agreement between U.S. freight railroads and rail unions. This is the deal that President Biden was instrumental in getting done last month in order to avoid a nationwide rail strike, and this recent vote by the signalmen not to ratify this contract also wasn't even close. About 60 percent of rank-and-file members voted against the agreement based on the fact that they say there is lack of paid sick time in the deal. Now, this comes on the heels of another union representing maintenance rail workers voting down this same agreement earlier this month. So here is the state of play. Six unions have voted to ratify, two

have voted down the contract, and four are yet to vote. And the two unions to keep an eye on are BLET and Smart TD. They represent the engineers and the conductors. These are the folks that drive the trains. And they are the largest unions who are at the negotiating table with Biden administration officials.

But even if the four remaining unions who are yet to vote ratify this agreement, if the two unions who voted against it do not come up with new agreements by November 19th and authorize a strike, all of the other unions will walk off the job and honor the strike. And that would be a worst-case scenario for supply chains and inflation and the economy.

And that possibility has businesses concerned. This past week 300 business groups from retail, agricultural, and manufacturing industries sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to intervene in the ratification of this national tentative agreement in order to avoid a potential rail strike. Otherwise, it could be left to Congress. If they choose to intervene, they can impose a contract on the unions or extend a cooling off period during which the unions cannot strike.

But all of this is going to play out in the next couple of weeks around the midterms, around the holidays, and during a lame duck session in Congress. It's going to be quite something to watch. Amara, Boris?

SANCHEZ: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

Peter Kennedy has been a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees for 19 years. For those of you unfamiliar with BMWE, it is a national union representing workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings, and other structures that the railroads all over the U.S. depend on.

[10:35:07]

Peter, we are grateful to have you this morning. Let's get right to it. Is it accurate to say that the sticking point in negotiations right now is paid sick leave?

PETER KENNEDY, BROTHERHOOD OF MAINTENANCE OF WAY EMPLOYEES: Good morning, and thank you for having me on, Boris. Yes, that is correct. The resounding feedback that BMWD system officers, national addition officers, and several staff received during our ratification process was that there are no paid sick days in this national agreement, and that's a problem for our members. And the reason why is because members get sick, and they need paid time off to address issues of illnesses, such as a flu, waking up in a morning with a child with an earache, or even getting into a fender-bender on their way to work and having to go get checked out at the hospital. These are all real life things happen over an employee's career, and they need paid time to address that.

SANCHEZ: And you told "The New York Times," quote, "It's an insane and cruel system, and these guys are fed up with it." Help us understand what you see is broken in the current arrangement.

KENNEDY: Absolutely. So what you have here is basically 20 years of bad blood forming, bad relationships forming between the employers and the employees. These railroads are effectively cartels that control the market and services of both pricing and how good their services are. And in this whole timespan, what's happened is they've been on a stock buying bonanza, profits parade, showering shareholders in billions and billions of dollars of rewards. And in the interim of all this, the employees have only seen a slight increase in their wages to keep up with the increase of the cost of living over time.

And so these employees have also watched a third of their co-workers go away. So these employees have been asked to do more work, maintaining virtually the same infrastructure under the same rail traffic all for what they would deem very little reward. And I would happen to agree with them very strongly with this. And so it's time for the railroads to do the right here and pony up the money and provide paid sick days. We have been trying to get paid sick days throughout time for almost 50 years now, 50 years is long enough to wait for paid sick days.

SANCHEZ: And Peter, I know some of the members of your union wanted to accept the most recent terms that were presented. I am wondering what your message is to them and how you would describe the mood of your union.

KENNEDY: So our members continue to be very frustrated. That sentiment has not changed. There is a portion of the membership out there that is just at the point where they are exasperated, and they want to move on. Look, they have gone without a pay increase since 2019. That was the last pay increase. So while the cost of living has skyrocketed, they haven't received any increases to their wages. So their standard of living has gone down the last three years.

Meanwhile, the railroad's record profits continue to be record after record after record after each quarter, and the shareholders continue to get more and more money. Union Pacific just announced its best quarter, or another record quarter here for the third quarter of 2022. They spent over $2.1 billion just in the third quarter on stock buybacks. We are asking for almost 10 percent of that for one year of paid sick leave for all of our workers.

And so there are some that are just feel the defeated, they are asking why they keep doing this, and all they're asking is to be heard and be validated by getting some paid sick time that would allow them to deal with these occurrences in life that happen.

SANCHEZ: And Peter, you know there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the economy. Several experts are forecasting a potential recession next year. Do you think public opinion is going to stay with you if supply chains are already strained and inflation keeps getting higher, and now this further complicates the ability of Americans to get goods at relatively affordable costs in time?

KENNEDY: Well, let me be very clear here. I would hope that the public opinion would stay with us, because the majority of corporations out there have paid sick days, and they also have paid supplemental sickness benefits for their employees. And we're asking to be treated the same way. We just want some paid sick days to deal with discrete illnesses. These are the people. The railroad workers are the people that make these corporations highly profitable. They have been delivering record profits for them. And guess what? They haven't had a wage increase in three years, but yet the railroad's costs to provide services for all their customers continue to go up. And the shareholders and the corporations continue to sink profits into their bank accounts.

So it's not our issue. It's the railroads' issue. And they need to provide paid sick leave to their employees. It's a societal norm. They should do it because it's the right thing to do and they can afford it without any issue whatsoever.

SANCHEZ: Peter Kennedy from the BMWE, thank you so much for the time.

[10:40:04]

KENNEDY: Thank you.

WALKER: The bird is freed according to Elon Musk, but questions still surrounding how the new owner will change the social media platform, including who will be allowed to return. The latest insight next.

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WALKER: It is official, Elon Musk, the world's richest man, now owns Twitter, one of the most influential social media platforms in the world. And he has already fired several top executives. Now of course, the question is, what will he do with Twitter? He is hinting that changes could be on the horizon. Musk tweeting, "Let the good times roll."

Pinar Yildirim, associate professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of Business joining me now to talk more about this. And of course, the biggest question seems to be, will Trump be returning to Twitter, since his return could impact the midterms.

[10:45:00]

And then Musk on Friday tweeted this in response to a tweet from someone, saying, quote, "Anyone suspended for minor and dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail." We know that Trump was banned from Twitter permanently after January 6th. May not really be seen as minor, but do you expect Musk to reverse anyone who was permanently banned, or will he be more judicious?

PINAR YILDIRIM, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: Amara, if you were to look at Elon Musk's statements a couple months ago, I think you would have expected that the content moderation policies of Twitter would be fairly relaxed. But when you look at statements on Thursday, we saw that he almost did a 180 turn. So it seems like now the policies will not necessarily be determined by him or a few singular individuals. He signaled that content moderation will be carried out by a council. So he tweeted about a potential council. And he also has tweeted that there has not been any changes so far, significant changes to content moderation. So I think now he seems to be signaling that content moderation on his Thursday statements, for instance, he used the term, "free-for-all hellscape," Twitter cannot be a free-for-all hellscape. It sounds like he is going to wait to take some actions before bringing back accounts like Trump.

WALKER: Last I heard, I think there was already a content moderation council in place.

So $44 billion, that's what Elon Musk spent. And by taking the company private, that means he is not beholden to shareholders. But he will be having to answer to advertisers if he wants to boost Twitter's value, as he has stated. How much will he be able to open up the Twitter- verse to free speech, including abuse and misinformation, without spooking advertisers?

YILDIRIM: This is one of the things that he also signaled on Thursday. In his posts he was signaling that he needs to focus more on advertising. He highlighted that advertising can bring value to both customers as well as advertisers if it can be done well. And he highlighted especially targeted advertising efficiency, or doing targeted advertising is not done well. When targeted advertising is not done well, it is when consumers hear about products that they are not interested in hearing from or they see brands that they do not want to see. It becomes almost a spam for them. So it's important for a company to understand the expectations and the preferences of their customers and serve ads that are in line with their expectations. It sounds like that's what Musk would like to do.

WALKER: Yes. And lastly, we know that Elon Musk, he owns major companies like Tesla and SpaceX, and now he is adding Twitter, a major social media company to his C.V. That's going take a lot of energy and time, especially nor a micromanager like Elon Musk. That's going to require a lot of attention for him, right, to add Twitter now?

YILDIRIM: Yes. What we know is that, of course, Elon Musk is a nano- manager. He likes to be in control. He likes to be in charge. And he likes to set his vision into his companies. But when you look at his portfolio, a company like SpaceX or a company like Tesla, these companies have potentially a lot more to bring in terms of revenue to him. And at the end, what Twitter might also be a lot more of a headache for him because he needs to think about the expectations of individual consumers which can be quite conflicting or controversial, especially with regards to content moderation.

So at the end, what we might expect potentially is to put his vision into the company, not necessarily become the micromanager that he is, and eventually maybe even to spin off the company, to let someone else have and own the company.

WALKER: Interesting. Pinar Yildirim, we are going to leave it there. Thank you so much for the conversation.

YILDIRIM: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Up next, history being made this morning on El Capitan. An eight-year-old boy becoming the youngest person to summit the crown jewel of Yosemite. We have an update on that ahead.

And of course, starting Tuesday you can join Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins every weekday morning on CNN THIS MORNING. It begins Tuesday at 6:00 a.m.

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WALKER: Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the founding fathers of rock and roll, has died at the age of 87. Lewis soared to stardom in the late 1950s with hits like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." But his career took a nosedive after it was revealed he married his 13-year-old cousin when he was 22. Knocked off the charts, the rock and roll hall of famer later made a comeback in country music and toured well into his 80s.

SANCHEZ: We also have a look at some of the other top stories today. The Philadelphia Phillies kicking off game one of the World Series in dramatic fashion. The Phillies storming back after trailing by five runs, stunning the Houston Astros in extra innings. The final dagger, a solo homerun shot by J.T. Realmuto sealing the win in the tenth inning. You see it here. The final score, six to five. Game two of the World Series is tonight.

WALKER: Eight-year-old Sam Baker, he is just eight, may have become the youngest climber ever to scale the formidable El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Seriously?

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SANCHEZ: Yes. Sam's middle name is actually Adventure.

WALKER: No.

SANCHEZ: And he was part -- yes. He was part of a four-person team that set out Tuesday to scale the huge rock formation, which is about 3,000 feet tall from base to summit along the tallest face. Somebody spoke to his dad yesterday for CNN, and they made -- as they made their ascent.

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JOE BAKER: Literally we are like suspended in a giant cot right on the side of the wall, and the sun is just about to hit us on the wall. And it feels like we are above eternity here. I look over the edge, and it's just like forever down.

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WALKER: Joe posted on Facebook that he and Sam will soon be starting the eight-mile hike down El Capitan after some much needed rest and a cuddle. I don't know about that.

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WALKER: Thanks for watching, everyone.

SANCHEZ: Still much more ahead in the next hour of the CNN Newsroom, Fredricka Whitfield is up next.

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