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CNN International: Democrats Score Big Wins in Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky; Democrats Benefiting From Power of Abortion Politics; Netanyahu Adviser: Israel Doesn't Want to Occupy Gaza; Volunteers Supporting Israeli Troops and Civilians; House Votes to Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Israel Comments. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired November 08, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. It is Wednesday, November the 8th, 9:00 a.m. here in London. 4:00 a.m. in the -- on the Eastern U.S. Coast, where abortion has become a key issue for Democrats who are celebrating victories in fiercely fought elections.

NOBILO: Kentucky's governor, who campaigned on abortion rights, won reelection Tuesday, overcoming his Trump backed challenger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): This was our victory. It was a victory that sends a loud, clear message, a message that candidates should run for something and not against someone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Republicans did get a win in the Mississippi governors race. Incumbent Tate Reeves defeated Democrat Brandon Presley, a relative of rock legend Elvis Presley in fact. In Virginia, Democrats won control of the state legislature, maintaining their grip on the Senate and flipping the House of delegates. Now, abortion was not directly on the ballot, but it is believed to be a strong factor in the results.

NOBILO: And Ohio has become the latest state to enshrine reproductive rights in its state constitution with the passage of ballot measure one. That means despite Republicans best efforts, they won't be able to restrict abortion access before fetal viability, which is around five to six months of pregnancy. More now on that historic abortion vote in Ohio, CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Abortion rights will be enshrined in Ohio State Constitution that as a result here in Ohio. According to CNN projections, it is the first Republican state to take such a move. And this was a hard battle fought on both sides of what's known as Issue 1, the effort to enshrine those rights in the state constitution.

When CNN called the results of this election projecting the results, I want you to take a listen to this room. It is a watch party of those who supported Issue 1. You can hear the cheering for yourself. Others, I actually saw a woman burst into tears. It was jubilation as those results were read.

Now the supporters of Issue 1 say that they won by trying to keep this as nonpartisan an issue as possible, urging voters that this was about keeping government out of their lives. The group that was against Issue 1 said in a statement, it is heartbroken, but it will regroup and aim to 2024 in battleground States.

And in regard to those battleground states, it's sending shockwaves through states like Arizona, where abortion rights advocates there are also trying to get such a measure on that 2024 ballot. A Republican from Arizona, a consultant tells me tonight that his party should be, quote, scared.

Kyung Lah, CNN. Columbus, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more details on the Mississippi governor's race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republican Governor Tate Reeves declaring victory on election night. Telling his crowd of supporters here in this ballroom that his opponent, Democrat Brandon Presley, had called to congratulate him on winning reelection and concede the race.

Now, Reeves, the Republican who've been dealing with low approval numbers as the incumbent governor told his supporters that he spoke with former President Donald Trump on election night and that Trump relayed a message of love to the people of Mississippi for reelecting Tate Reeves.

Now his opponent, Democrat Brandon Presley, had run on a platform of populism. Essentially telling voters that he wanted to cut grocery taxes and expand Medicaid, but also on name recognition. His second cousin Elvis Presley helped Democrats get that word out across the state, but again, not enough to push him over the threshold. Reeves linking Presley with national Democrats throughout the campaign and even here in his victory speech on Tuesday night.

[04:05:00]

We did get a delay in results in Mississippi, due in part to ballot shortages in the state's most populous county, Pines County, the home of Jackson. A judge did delay the closing of polls for about an hour on Tuesday to allow people to continue voting as lines of voters snaked around all throughout Jackson, Mississippi. Again though, Reeves first elected governor in 2019 here in Mississippi, reelected on Tuesday night.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN Flowood, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, we are one year out from Election Day 2024 and a new CNN poll shows former U.S. President Donald Trump, narrowly leading President Joe Biden, 49 percent to 45 percent among registered voters in a hypothetical rematch. Biden is also getting low marks for how he's handling his job as president, with an approval rating of just 39 percent and 61 percent disapproving of his performance.

NOBILO: A poll also shows support for Biden is significantly weakened now among several groups that he previously won by wide margins. 45 percent of independent voters prefer Trump. Black voters overwhelmingly picked Biden, while Latino and younger voters are almost evenly split between the two candidates. And about a third of the respondents say that the economy is the most important issue heading into next year's election, which of course is nothing new.

Natasha Lindstaedt is a professor of government at the University of Essex and she's with us now from Colchester, England. Lovely to speak to you this morning. What do the takeaways from these election results tell you about the election next year? What do they spell for 2024?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, if you're talking about these local election results, it shows how important the issue of reproductive rights are, and I think that's something that we saw in the 2022 midterms as well. Biden's approval rating wasn't very high. It was pretty similar to what it is today -- as you already mentioned. It's under 40 percent.

There was also pretty bad picture in terms of the way people felt about the economy. Only 19 percent of Americans today feel that the economy is moving in the right direction, that the economy is doing well, and that's pretty similar to the results in the 22 midterms as well. But in the end, Democrats performed much better than expected because of the issue of reproductive rights and how important that issue is to Democratic voters and independent voters as well, and that really brought out the democratic base.

And so, as we're seeing Biden's having these horrible week in terms of polling in these swing states that he was able to win like Nevada losing to Trump in the polls by 11 points now. And he had won that state. The state of Georgia by 6 points, Michigan and Arizona, he's down by 5 points, in Pennsylvania by 4 points.

These are battleground States and in the head-to-head it doesn't look good, but things could change, of course, in a year. I mean, you have to also think about what is Biden's campaign going to be about. If he's going to be able to be effective, he's going to have to focus on the issues that bring Democrats together. The Democrats really care about.

And of course, as you mentioned, because he's doing so poorly amongst young voters and Latino voters, he's going to have to target the issues that they care about as well. Because for the most part, Biden has really neglected that base and we've seen him focus quite a bit more on what white older voters want and that essentially is what his base is.

FOSTER: Ohio, you know, is evenly split pretty much, isn't it? Between Republicans and Democrats as a swing state. It also showed, didn't it? The Republicans, a lot of Republicans support abortion rights as well. So how clear is that going to be when it comes to an issue in terms of the two sides and how they'll both play it?

LINDSTAEDT: I think again this is going to be super important to the Democratic campaign to emphasize that reproduction rights for women are under threat. Because it is a majority of Americans that support the right to choose. It is not a majority that were in favor of the recent Supreme Court rulings and the attacks on women and reproductive rights.

If the Democrats are able to capitalize on fears that women may lose further reproductive rights, this is something that will bring women to the polls. That will bring even, you know, men and women both to the polls, who believe in the right to choose and believe that the attacks on these reproductive rights has all kinds of negative consequences. Not just for all our personal rights and violating the 14th Amendment, the right to privacy, but is an omen of what is to come. That there will be greater infringements on other types of civil rights and civil liberties.

NOBILO: What does turn out tell us from these recent local elections about the level of popular engagement in politics right now and the apathy or enthusiasm toward either party.

LINDSTAEDT: I think there's very high levels of apathy in general and polarization. These are two things that aren't particularly good for democracy. They're very concerning for democracy. You see that we don't have any candidate that is particularly popular at the moment.

[04:10:03]

If you look at Trump's approval ratings and favorability ratings, they're also incredibly low -- under 40 percent, similar to Biden. We have concerns that both candidates are too old. Trump being 77 years old and Biden about to turn 81 years old and we have a lot of Americans that aren't just excited, period, about that matchup. But about the issues about these local issues. These local elections have seen a better turnout, more enthusiasm. As the video showed, there's a lot of enthusiasm about the recent election results in Ohio. And we're going to see that these types of issues might be the one thing that can bring people to the polls.

NOBILO: Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you very much for joining us today.

FOSTER: Well, congressional Republicans appear no closer to avoiding a government shutdown with just days until funding runs out. House Republicans emerged from a meeting on Tuesday with apparently no clear strategy. But the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, says he will release a funding plan in the coming days. NOBILO: Several ideas have been floated. Including a short term

spending bill through January 19th, but any measure would have to get the support of the Democratically controlled Senate and the White House.

Still ahead for you, much more on election night in America as Democrats celebrate big wins in a number of key states.

FOSTER: Plus, Israelis from all across the country are volunteering to support their troops and other civilians, some to fulfill their national duty and others as a form of therapy.

NOBILO: And later, fleeing south with little more than the clothes on their backs. The reality that Gaza residents are facing, leaving everything behind, hoping to escape this war.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Now to Gaza, where Israeli forces are pressing at their military offensive, tightening their grip on the besieged territory and its main city. Israel's defense minister says the IDF is at the heart of Gaza City, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces are now operating inside it and putting severe pressure on Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Gaza City is encircled. We are operating inside it. We are increasing pressure on Hamas every hour, every day. We have killed thousands of terrorists above ground and below ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: However, the Biden administration is once again warning Israel against occupying Gaza. That came hours after Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel will have the overall security responsibility in the territory once the war ends. But Israel's defense minister says there's only two certainties right now about who will run Gaza once Hamas is wiped out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I can tell you who will not govern, it will not be Hamas, and it will not be Israel. Everything else is a possibility and I want to say one more thing. At the end of this conflict, there will be no Hamas in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And a top aide to Mr. Netanyahu is denying Israel intends to occupy Gaza long term. Here's what Mark Regev told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISOR TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: We're not talking about a any sort of ongoing occupation of the Gaza Strip. Once again, we want the Gazans to rule themselves and we think there'll be an international effort for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, a day or a month and a day after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, the pain hasn't abated for friends and families of victims, especially those whose loved ones were taken hostage. The United Nations Secretary-General says he condemns the brutal October 7th assault. But he's also calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to ease the humanitarian catastrophe.

NOBILO: The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws its information from Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, says more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, with women, children and the elderly making up more than 70 percent of the casualties. But the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner says the situation there is incredibly disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: It's the one month anniversary of this incredible escalation of violence that we have seen. I'm of course, from a human rights perspective, extremely worried about the situation. About what is happening and it is really important that a solution is found to end the violence and to get out of this horrible, horrible humanitarian and human rights situation for what's happening in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Elliott's here to bring all this together. In terms of, you know, whether or not it's going to be an occupation afterwards. So the Israelis very clear, they're going to be in charge of security but not governance. So therefore, they could argue it's not an occupation, right. But then there are those suggesting that they want to occupy without taking responsibility for governance.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Look, I think ultimately no one really knows for sure what's going to happen. And I think that includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And that also assumes that Netanyahu remains Prime Minister afterwards. Which history would show is actually unlikely and opinion polls point to the fact that most Israelis want him to go.

But in the meantime we are where we are. And we had these comments from Netanyahu yesterday saying that Israel would maintain, in his words, overall security responsibility for an indefinite period of time. And I think those comments were deliberately vague.

One, to give Israel maximum wiggle room to decide what will ultimately happen. And two, because he really doesn't know what is going to follow. I don't think the Israeli Government -- yes, there are some right wing

ministers in the government who would love to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, as Israel did from 1967 until 2005, with people living there with settlements and everything else. But that's very unlikely to happen. We heard it from the Defense Minister there saying that that is not what Israel wants. I think what Israel really wants is just to have the kind of freedom of movement, I think, is what Mark Regev was saying. In other comments to go in when they see a security threat.

In terms of what actually happens to the governance of the Gaza Strip, clearly the most convenient, let's call it, solution would be to have the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli occupied West Bank, to come back into the Gaza Strip, which it also administered until it was thrown out violently by Hamas in 2007.

[04:20:02]

But clearly the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas, said this to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They would go in to take control of Gaza, to govern the Gaza Strip, but only alongside a real political solution, including an independent Palestinian state, or move towards one with East Jerusalem as its capital. And certainly right where we are right now, that also seems quite fanciful.

So ultimately, we don't know what's going to happen the day after this war ends. But the status quo ante is clearly not something that seems to be on the agenda.

FOSTER: In terms of the images we saw inside Gaza City, pretty extraordinary that they got in so quickly, what sort of resistance are they facing, do you think?

GOTKINE: Well, let's not forget that it's been a month of aerial bombardment from Israel onto the Gaza Strip, with the focus on the northern part of the Gaza Strip. And to that end, Israel is has again reopened what it calls a humanitarian corridor or an evacuation corridor to allow for those Gazan civilians still in the north to head south today. So that's going to be open for another three hours or so.

But Israel has already said we for what -- over the weekend that it's bisected north and south Gaza into surrounded Gaza City, which it sees really as a kind of fortress of Hamas, both above ground and below ground. And it says that over past --

FOSTER: The focus is on the tunnels, presumably at the moment.

GOTKINE: Above ground and below ground. And So what Israel has been saying as well, that in the past month of fighting more than -- in its words -- 14,000 targets have been hit. It says that it's killed thousands of militants from Hamas. But of course, as we've seen from those figures, from the Hamas controlled Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, more than 10,000 people overall, with 70 --

FOSTER: That includes the Hamas fighters.

GOTKINE: Well, one assumes it includes the Hamas fighters inside the Gaza Strip, but they are also saying that 70 percent of those casualty figures of those more than 10,000 people killed in the Gaza Strip were women, children and the elderly, who one presume were not, you know, militants. So civilians who were not -- who were killed because of well as part of the fighting.

FOSTER: OK, Elliot, thank you.

FOSTER: Away from the front lines in the Israel Hamas war, Israeli volunteers are stepping up for duty by flipping burgers and chopping onions. So not only does the free food provide a much needed respite for their troops, it also serves as a distraction for grief stricken volunteers who lost family members to Hamas on October the 7th. As CNN's Nic Robertson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): A few miles from the front lines, soldiers relax, enjoy free food and the support of their country.

REL NADEL, RESTAURANT OWNER: It's like everybody's in war, OK? People of Israel are in war, everybody wants and needs to contribute.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): An army vet turned restaurateur, Rel Nadal stepped up immediately cooking burgers.

NADEL: In the second Day of war with 1,000 burgers. Right now we deliver around 20,000.

ROBERTSON: And the soldiers, they just show up here and they --

NADEL: And they yes, yes. People coming from all over the area.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): It feels relaxed and anywhere else it might be, but so close to war it's therapy. And not just for the troops.

DUDI SHREM, VOLUNTEER: I continue to make us a good place to live here.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's Dudi Shrem's first day volunteering chopping onions for burgers. His only child, Liam, 28 years old, murdered by Hamas at the music festival.

SHREM: The weight and the and they start to shoot. Nobody stay in the car, three people. Three good friends.

ROBERTSON: And it's not just food that volunteers are stepping up to help out with. All across the country, people are doing what they can to support the soldiers and the civilian.

So you're building resiliency here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You build resiliency. You make sure that we are our mutual responsibility is in its best.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Roni Flamer has thousands of volunteers working for him.

ROBERTSON: This is the heart of the operation.

RONI FLAMER: TODAY IS GARBAGE DAY This is the art of the operation, so it's starting to be hard and that's why we need to every day to rebuild the spirit.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In this room, one of dozens like it across the country, volunteers working 18 hour shifts, rescuing families from front lines, finding them places to live.

SEAN ETINGER, ONE HEART VOLUNTEER: It helps me keep busy so you know that the head doesn't get stuck on the war and all the atrocities that happened and keep happening.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Like everyone here, Sean Etinger, a 21 year old student, sees the suffering on the other side too.

ETINGER: I do want for it to end, you know, completely, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here, here reconsider statistics.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Flamer, a third generation Holocaust survivor, fought in the last incursion, wants to build back stronger.

[04:25:00]

FLAMER: We seek for peace. Is so the only thing that we know how to do is to help. It's to rebuild. We are going to bring 1 million people to live on the Gaza border.

For duty. For Dudi Shrem, who lost his son, Liam, that building back has only just begun.

SHREM: My son, he liked very much the life. Therefore, he asked for my. And tell us, continue the life, good life. And we pray for him.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, Gilad, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution to censure Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for her comments criticizing the Israeli government and supporting Palestinians amid the Israel Hamas war. Tlaib is the only Palestinian American in Congress. Four Republicans voted against the measure, but 22 of Tlaib's fellow Democrats voted in favor of the public reprimand. Before the vote Tlaib gave a impassioned speech on the House floor defending her remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): But let me be clear, my criticism has always been of the Israeli Government and Netanyahu's actions. It is important to separate people and governments, Mr. Chair. No government is beyond criticism. I can't believe I have to say this. But Palestinian people are not disposable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Talib had posted a video to social media of protesters chanting "from the river to the sea," which the Anti Defamation League says has long been a rallying cry for those calling for the destruction of Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD, CHANTING: From the river to the sea! From the river to the sea!

TLAIB: We will remember in 2024.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Talib says the phrase from "the river to the sea" is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence and not death, destruction or hate.

FOSTER: Just ahead, much more on election night in America. Democrats scoring big wins in Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia, and the power of abortion, politics is front and center.

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