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Trump To Campaign Today At Site Of First Assassination Attempt; Elon Musk To Join Trump At Campaign Rally Today In Butler, PA; Biden: Election Will Be Free & Fair, But Don't Know If It Will Be Peaceful; Smoke Seen Rising After New Attacks Near Beirut; Helene Death Toll Rises To At Least 225. Helene Death Toll Rises To At Least 225; Trump Spreads Falsehoods About Hurricane Relief, FEMA, Migrants; More Police Presence Amid Jewish Holiday, A Year After Oct. 7 Attacks. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 05, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BASSAM ARAMIN, SPOKESPERSON, THE PARENTS CIRCLE FAMILIES FORUM: And they need to be in a safer place to live together.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: And although their tragedies long preceded October 7th, they both prove how long people have been working across that divide for peace.

That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/podcast and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. Thanks for joining me. I'm Jim Acosta in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We are heading into the home stretch in the race to the White House. The presidential election is now just about one month away, and both campaigns are pushing hard for those still undecided voters and critical battleground states.

And with voting already underway in several states, polls, of course, show this race is still very much neck and neck. Both Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump are campaigning as some big news stories are reshaping the race as we speak from the war in Lebanon to the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene and a surprising jobs report. But it's still unclear how all of this will affect the rest of this race. Today, though, the former president -- the scene of his first assassination attempt in battleground Pennsylvania. Trump is set to hold a rally later today in Butler and the western part of that state. He narrowly survived an attempt on his life on July 13th at that location when a gunman opened fire and a bullet grazed his ear. One attendee at that rally died. Two others were injured.

And CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now from Butler, Pennsylvania. Alayna, I know you were there as well. And so, of course, I'm sure you're looking around and trying to figure out whether or not the security precautions are any different this time around. What can you tell us?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Oh, well, Jim, today, we are back in Butler, you know, just a couple months after that first assassination attempt in July. I can tell you, there is a massive crowd here today. The crowd in Butler today compared to when we were here in July is much bigger than it was back then.

Now they have really amped up security day, even just being on the ground and comparing it with my own eyes. I can tell the area over my right shoulder, also where Donald Trump's right shoulder will be when he takes the stage. That is the direction from where the bullets had initially came from during that first assassination attempt by the AGR Buildings that's over there.

They have big trucks now lining up to block your view from that. They have far more law enforcement on the ground, both Secret Service and local law enforcement. You can see that with your own eyes, but we're also told that was the plan for today. They have many more barriers. So, they've really amped this up.

Now, I can tell you, we were told that Secret Service has created one unit for both their operations and local law enforcement. That did not happen back in July. So that's a new change that they added to make sure that today was more secure.

They also have done more with their drone enhancement, to have the drones flying around, something that should have picked up on Thomas Crooks being on top of the roof back then, but did not. So that is also in place today, something that is also different.

But look, I talked to many people on the ground, Jim, who told me some of whom were here back in July, some of whom are coming here for the first time, had never been to a Trump rally. They actually told me they weren't that concerned about their safety today, despite what had happened just a couple months ago.

They said they believed security would definitely be more in hands. And then also they felt that if Donald Trump was going to come back after getting shot, that they feel like they should be able to do so too. I want you to take a listen to what some of them told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to see Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance, Mr. Mast (ph). Happy to be here. I'm glad you're here.

JERRY BICER, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY IN BUTLER, PA: I'm sure there's going to be a lot more security today. I think this would be the last place they'd want to try again. So -- and I'm from New York, and I figured this is going to be the only rally I would make it to, and it's probably going to be one of the biggest ones. So I figured this is my last chance, so here I am.

SHERRY O'DONNELL, ATTENDING TRUMP RALLY IN BUTLER, PA: Everything's way too expensive. She's not going to do anything about it. I believe he is.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

TREENE: Now, Jim, another thing we will be expecting today is there are going to be a lot of high profile people appearing with Donald Trump. We know that Elon Musk, of course, the Tesla and Twitter or now ex CEO will be here. He'll be arriving with Trump, I am told.

We've never seen him at a rally before, so I'd watch for that. We're also going to see his running mate, J.D. Vance, some of his family, including Eric Trump and Lara Trump. The family of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed back on July 13th during that first assassination attempt. His family will be here today.

[12:05:04]

I know Donald Trump is going to dedicate much of his remarks to the family and to Corey as well as the other victims who were injured by the shooter and those bullets.

Look, when I talk to Trump's campaign, they say that they are really trying to make this a different rally. They want Donald Trump to make it feel somewhat of a remembrance for the victims, for the people who were here, who felt that their community was really upended by what had happened in July. But I also expect you're going to hear a lot of the typical political lines that he likes to share at these events as well. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Alayna Treene, thanks very much.

In the next couple of hours, Vice President Kamala Harris will head to North Carolina to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the remnants of that storm in that state. She is scheduled to arrive in Charlotte this afternoon where she will get an on the ground briefing on the state's recovery efforts. The western part of North Carolina, of course, suffered catastrophic damage when Helene swept through the region last weekend.

CNN Sunlen Serfaty joins us now. Sunlen, this is a big visit for the vice president. What can you tell us?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is, Jim. The vice president certainly eager to show competency, eager to show leadership in this moment as the southeast continues to reel and dig out from those devastating storms last week. Now, the vice president, as you said, will visit Charlotte, North Carolina today. She will be on the ground seeing firsthand the damage speaking from -- with directly with people whose lives have really been up ended by this storm. She'll take note of the recovery efforts and she will be planning to speak on the federal recovery efforts, what the administration is doing to help them recover from this storm.

Now, the vice president is notably making this trip in her capacity as the vice president, but it certainly comes at a critical time on the campaign trail. Now, just 30 -- just over 30 days to the election, and notably, she is traveling to battleground state. She earlier traveled to Georgia to talk about the recovery efforts today, of course, in all important North Carolina.

So that tinge of politics certainly part of the visit today, even though she is in the official capacity and it comes as we've seen her opponent. Former President Donald Trump out there in Georgia talking about the recovery and injecting politics, pointing a figure at the administration, saying without evidence that they're withholding aid to some.

So certainly part of her visit today, Jim, will be a visual representation of what the administration is doing, what she is doing as vice president trying to get aid to these people who still need it. And also certainly showing that she has leadership in this moment of natural disaster. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Sunlen Serfaty at the White House, thanks so much.

Let's talk more about what's happening out on the campaign trail. It's a very busy weekend one month out from the election.

Joining me now is CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer. Julian, great to see you as always. What do you make of Trump --

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: -- going back to Butler, Pennsylvania today?

ZELIZER: Well, this was an iconic moment for him. It was obviously a terrifying moment, but it turned into a defining moment going into the Republican convention. I think he wants to return to the scene and show that he is still the figure of strength that that photograph conveyed to many of his supporters.

But now he's doing it in a very different race, different opponent and a tight race that's 50-50. But it's all about Pennsylvania. This is in Pennsylvania, and he's bringing all of this together if he can.

ACOSTA: And you have the vice president down in North Carolina getting an update on hurricane relief efforts, storm relief efforts in that part of the country. I mean, obviously, North Carolina is a critical battleground state, and so every, I think, every move that she makes there is going to be pretty closely scrutinized and just to see how she handles things. ZELIZER: I mean, that's important for the state itself, but also, yes, I mean, natural disasters historically can be important in elections. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush suffered something because of his response to Hurricane Andrew. And there's a long history of this.

So, I think it's about the state, but it's also about showing leadership, showing what the administration is doing. And, obviously, combating the false information that the former president is putting out there --

ACOSTA: Yes.

ZELIZER: -- about what the administration is not willing to do.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, since you brought that up, I mean, Julian, you have studied so many presidential campaigns. I mean, what do you make of -- I mean, it just seems like a tidal wave of disinformation that we're seeing out on the campaign trail. Much of it obviously coming from the former president, the way he has been describing storm relief efforts. I mean, it is becoming very difficult for the voters out there to sort fact from fiction because it is just like a fire hose right now.

[12:10:00]

ZELIZER: I think that's right. And the former president has a huge platform, social media, some stations where he can promote this. And I don't think, it's obviously not going away in the next few weeks. So, essentially, the Democrats have to figure a way to campaign around that.

And to understand that a lot of those arguments, a lot of those assertions are going to sink in with parts of the electorate, even if you have a million fact checkers responding to what the actual truth is.

ACOSTA: Yes, you've got to go out there and find those trusted sources of information, not just go off of stuff that you're seeing on social media when it's this close to an election. And Julian, I wanted to ask you about this moment that we saw yesterday, a Vietnam war veteran presenting a purple heart to the former president. Let's show a moment of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't think anybody more deserving --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- of a purple heart.

TRUMP: Thank you, Greg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You took it, you laid down there, you got back up, and the first words out of your mouth was, fight, fight, fight.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, Julian, of course, Trump's critics pounced on this immediately noting he did not serve in Vietnam claiming he had bone spurs. What did you make of that moment?

ZELIZER: Look, ordinarily in many campaigns, that could be a defining moment. It could be very powerful to see a person do that to a candidate and give an award to the candidate, essentially, that they earned. But you can bet that the former president will say many things about veterans, as we've seen in the past, that will undercut the power of a moment like that.

And that's the story of his campaign. Just wait a few hours and he will say things that move his own good moments away from the news cycle.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I did want to ask you, I mean, we saw something very interesting yesterday in the White House briefing room. President Biden made a surprise visit into the White House briefing room. Let's listen to a bit of what he had to say about the upcoming election.

He was asked if the election was going to be free and fair. I thought this was very interesting. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident it'll be free and fair. I don't know whether it'll be peaceful. The things that Trump has said and the things that he said last time out when he didn't like the outcome of the election were very dangerous.

If you notice, I noticed that the vice presidential Republican candidate did not say he'd accept the outcome of the election. They haven't even accepted the outcome of the last election. So I'm concerned about what they're going to do.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ACOSTA: And Julian, what's extraordinary about this, I mean, a couple of things. One is, I mean, I was at the White House covering the White House four years ago when Donald Trump was asked whether or not he would go along with a peaceful transfer of power. And he essentially said -- and this was before the election -- he said it depends on how things go during the election. And then we saw how all of that played out.

And to see his successor, Joe Biden in the briefing room, almost getting sort of the same kind of question and saying, hey, we just don't know what's going to happen because of Donald Trump.

ZELIZER: It's unsettling to have the president feeling the need to say that, and saying it based on something very real that happened in the 2020 election, January 6, and everything that surrounded it. The kinds of information in the recent unsealed report from Jack Smith, this is very real. Democrats have focused on a campaign of vibes and hope which might be most effective, but this underlying fear, will the election results be challenged and will we have another repeat of 2020 I think is very, very real. We're seeing it in many ways, and the president is sending a warning sign and warning signal to the country.

Let's keep our eye on the democracy and make sure this doesn't unravel. But, look, in the vice presidential debate, the Republican nominee wouldn't be clear about who won the 2020 election So election denialism is still there and that's connected to unsettling our democratic processes.

ACOSTA: All right, Julian, I know you'll be studying all of this as all of it unfolds over the next several weeks.

Julian Zelizer, thanks so much. Great to see as always. Much appreciate it.

ZELIZER: Thank you. Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, Israel launching new strikes across Lebanon. Our camera is capturing the rising smoke in Beirut southern suburbs earlier today as Israel kills a commander of Hamas, one of Hezbollah's allies, in a rare airstrike in northern Lebanon.

We are live in the region next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:19:27]

ACOSTA: We are following new developments this hour in the Middle East. A top leader of Hamas's military wing was killed in a rare Israeli airstrike in northern Lebanon near the city of Tripoli. The city has not been targeted by Israel since the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah.

We're also seeing new airstrikes on both sides of Lebanon's borders. CNN's cameras captured some smoke rising from Israel's attacks on Beirut's suburbs while Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel. And a short time ago, Hezbollah confirming it has lost contact with the man who is considered a potential successor to Hassan Nasrallah. He was targeted by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon yesterday.

[12:20:04]

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Tel Aviv for us. Nic, what's the significance this leader potentially being killed?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The Hamas leader of Abdullah -- Saeed Abdullah Ali in the north of Lebanon, in the city of Tripoli on the coast there, it's significant because it does show that the IDF continues to go after leaders of Hamas, even when they are not in Gaza. And we've seen that because they're targeting Hamas also in the West Bank. They continue to target them in Gaza and they've taken out a number of commanders of Hamas, as they call them over many months now in Lebanon. The fact that it was in Tripoli, in the north of Tripoli, I think is indicative of the fact that Israel, the IDF, the Air Force feel emboldened, encouraged, able, safely able to go after targets that are way up in the north of Lebanon.

They've been after targets around Beirut and the Beqaa Valley, Tripoli. This is perhaps the first strike in Tripoli. But, again, this is -- it appears to be Israel continuing to take down all elements, wherever they are, of Hamas's leadership.

ACOSTA: Yes, Nic, we're still waiting to see if and how Israel will respond to Iran's attack from earlier in the week. What's your sense of things right now?

ROBERTSON: Look, I think secrecy is the biggest watchword for the Israeli government and their decision making at the moment. We've just gone through two days of Rosh Hashanah, the high holidays, and I think there was a general sense that if Israel hadn't struck before then, they weren't going to strike during that period, because it would mean that people would be waiting for a response from Iran.

And therefore, more home front commands would be instructing people not to gather in large numbers, which is exactly what they've been doing, gathering as families during this period. So I think now that's over and the weekend's over, that does sort of open up the space potentially for strikes now. But then you have the October 7th anniversary on Monday.

And, of course, people are going to want to come together for that. They're going to want to, you know, join hands and remember all the people who were killed, the 1,200 who were killed. The -- and the more than 100 who are still being held hostage inside Gaza. They're going to want to remember that.

So there's a feeling that perhaps the strikes weren't -- on Iran won't happen until after that. But I think it comes down to secrecy. The military will strike when the government tells them, when they feel that they can achieve their targets. I think that's the simplest way to look at it, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv for us. Thank you very much.

In the meantime, the death toll climbing in the wake of Hurricane Helene is more than a half million customers across five states, still have no power.

Coming up, I'll speak to a man from one of North Carolina's hardest hit towns about how the community is rallying to rebuild. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:27:36] ACOSTA: All right, just in, the death toll from Hurricane Helene is now standing at 225 across six states with half of those deaths in North Carolina alone. Governor Roy Cooper said more than 50,000 people have applied for FEMA assistance and more than 6 million in funds have been distributed across the state. But relief work is far from over at this point.

A church in Black Mountain, North Carolina -- take a look at this -- is doing its part by organizing donations and providing meals to people in that community. The town is about 20 minutes outside of Asheville, one of the hardest hit cities, of course, by Hurricane Helene's flooding and aftermath.

Joining us now from Black Mountain is a member of that church, Nathan West. Nathan, good to see you. Glad you're doing OK there. Give us a sense of how things are going right now.

NATHAN WEST, BLACK MOUNTAIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHURCH MEMBER: Hey, thanks, Jim. Thanks for having us.

ACOSTA: You bet.

WEST: They're going pretty good. We're still kind of in the sprint phase deploying into areas and trying to get some, you know, water, water filtration, things of that nature, food and into some of the outlying communities that are further back in the mountains. But we're starting to get there and we're starting to think about the marathon portion of this.

ACOSTA: Well, let's get into that. I mean, what do you mean by that? How are things looking? How are folks coping?

WEST: Yes. So I think this first, we're about eight days in now, I believe, and I think the adrenaline's been high so they've been coping pretty well. We've had a lot to do getting people out into the community, providing for the community.

Our culinary partners here in town have been serving about 7,000 meals a day. We're thankful. We partnered with the World Central Kitchen this morning and able to kind of lift some of that burden. But the rebuilding phase is really kind of what we're facing.

You know, the roads are gone. Our infrastructure is barely left, you know, and we're doing a good job of trying to bring some of that back. But it's not a thing that we're going to be able to do, you know, in the next two weeks. It's going to be months for us to rebuild and then rebuilding the community alone.

ACOSTA: And, I mean, you mentioned World Central Kitchen. We love those guys, Jose Andres and his outfit. They do amazing work. So glad you're getting help. What's the -- as far as you can tell, just anecdotally speaking, what's the state response been like, the federal relief response?

Do you feel like they're present in the community? Or is this really all about local folks having to roll up their sleeves to get the job done? Or is it a combination of all those things? What do you think?

WEST: So far it's really been about the local folks. I mean, we were -- we were operational in deploying supplies the day after the hurricane. Our local, you know, PD and stuff, those guys are our local first responders were out tirelessly going and going and going. In a few days, you know, we started getting some fire departments from other counties, surrounding counties.

And it -- it appears now that the -- the federal and state emergency officials are starting to have their plan together and -- and starting to deploy some of those resources.

ACOSTA: Well, that's good news.

WEST: But all in all, you know --

ACOSTA: Yes.

WEST: -- we've really been relying on locals. We've had, you know, we're -- we're sending out probably 40 to 50 trucks a day back into the community, cutting trees out and -- and delivering generators for, you know, medical emergencies. We're thankful that Senator Tillis's office was able to make contacts with life straw. So we're deploying community water systems that -- that can filter straight out of the creek and provide drinking water for some of these areas that are harder to reach, makes it a lot lighter for us to get in.

But really, the locals have stepped up. And -- and we've -- we've just sent so many supplies into the community that they were -- it's -- it's just amazing. It's -- it's been rough, but I'm thankful to have been doing this for the last seven or eight days because the devastation here is -- is going to be really hard for people to deal with as things start to calm down.

ACOSTA: Yes. Well, and -- and I -- I mean, every day, the death toll is going up. Now it's at 225. And so I have to think as you're reaching out into the community, that you -- you and the folks that you're working with are coming across other people in the community who are -- who are feeling those losses, who are experiencing those losses themselves.

WEST: Yes. And it's still pretty hard to talk about because for the first days, we were out, I was out deploying stuff, and it's -- it's tough. There's a lot of -- a lot of kids lost, a lot of parents lost, a lot of entire families lost. And to -- to see people that you know and -- and have to -- have to see that in the aftermath of all of this has been -- has been pretty difficult.

But we're a strong community. And we're coming together, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild Black Mountain, Swannanoa and Old Fort and -- and the other 20 counties that were affected by this.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, sending you all the strength that we can and -- and hope that you get the help that you need as soon as possible. I know that was yesterday. You need it right away. You need it right now. But in the meantime, Nathan West, thanks for what you do. I -- I know the people in your community greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time.

WEST: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. As if residents in these areas don't have enough to worry about, officials are concerned another storm could hit the Gulf of Mexico just a week after Hurricane Helene, a tropical depression has formed in the area and could bring life threatening storm surges to Florida.

Joining us with the latest is meteorologist, Elisa Raffa. Elisa, I -- I hate to even talk about this because I -- I know the folks along the Gulf coast and in the southeast are just weary from all of this already, but we have to tell them that there could be a -- a pretty major hurricane heading their way. What can you tell us?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's been a pretty active season and we are looking at again our next system. Tropical depression 14 is sitting in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast there of Mexico. And it is trying to gain its strength, intensify and get a center. It will start to really feed off of some of these ocean temperatures that are incredibly warm.

This will fuel rapid intensification over the next 36 hours and it will become a hurricane by Monday probably. We're looking at a tropical storm sometime, maybe tonight or tomorrow, and then a hurricane going into Monday. And then it heads towards the Florida Peninsula, possibly say category two hurricane. So when you look at the track, you can see again, it picks up some speed, gains some strength, looking at maybe a high end category two.

And look at the cone here. It stretches from the Big Bend down to Miami. So there's a lot of ground that could cover here as far as where exactly that center will go. But regardless, it's going to cause some heavy rain. Again, remember, hurricane is not a point. You'll have these outer bands lashing the entire peninsula as we go into, especially by Tuesday, landfall maybe sometime late Tuesday into Wednesday. But again, a lot of rain here. Looking at some four to six inches of rain possible again for a lot of the peninsula, maybe some totals higher than that, again, especially where you get some of those heaviest bands. And storm surge could be a problem as well. Jim?

[12:35:13]

ACOSTA: All right. Elisa Raffa, I mean, I'm looking at Tampa right there that -- that looks like it could be in the bullseye. It's very early. And as you said, that -- that cone of uncertainty is -- is pretty broad at this point. But everybody along that stretch of the Gulf coast needs to really pay attention to these weather forecasts. Elisa, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And people who live across Helene's 500 miles path of destruction still need basic necessities. For ways you can help, go to cnn.com/impact.

Also, former President Donald Trump spreading lies about disaster relief while surveying the damage from Hurricane Helene in Georgia. How members of his own party are pushing back on those false claims. It's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:28]

ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump has spent the last several days campaigning in battleground states hit hard by Hurricane Helene and pushing falsehoods about FEMA and disaster relief money. While in Georgia yesterday, Trump again falsely claimed that hurricane relief money was instead being spent on undocumented immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: A lot of the money that was supposed to go to Georgia and supposed to go to North Carolina and all of the others is going and has gone already. It's been gone for people that came into the country illegally, and nobody's ever seen anything like that. That's a shame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, while it's true, FEMA does manage grants for shelters, housing, and helping migrants, that money comes from a separate and unrelated account, which as the former president should know, is the case whether he does or not. He repeated the lie later in the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This was maybe the worst hurricane we've ever had. And he's got no money. And we said, what happened to all the money? They were given billions for this. He spent it on illegal migrants coming into the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Again, not true. This was not the first lie he's told about the relief effort. On Monday, he falsely suggested that President Biden wasn't taking calls from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. A suggestion you'll see and hear is debunked by Kemp's own words just hours before. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The governor is doing a very good job. He's having a hard time getting the President on the phone. I guess they're not -- they're not being responsive. The federal government is not being responsive.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): The President just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and called him right back. And he just said, hey, what do you need? And I told him, you know, we -- we got what we need. We'll work through the federal process. He -- he offered that if there's other things we need, just to call him directly, which I appreciate that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: I'm joined now by Christine Todd Whitman. She's a former EPA administrator under President George W. Bush. She's the former republican governor of New Jersey. Governor, I mean, I'll -- I'll also say this. FEMA says it has enough money in its coffers to respond to early assistance efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene. This is what a FEMA spokesperson said. They posted this on X. FEMA has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts. But there's all of -- we're just, you know, sort of lost at sea in this tide of disinformation. And so much of it coming from Donald Trump. What's your response to all this?

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FORMER EPA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, I mean, it's doing real damage. It's doing damage by undercutting people's confidence in the federal government, by undermining the work that's being done. It is -- it destroys the morale of those people who are working 24/7 from the federal government side by side with the locals. This is an incredible disaster, and everybody is working as hard as they can.

And it's -- it's an absolute truth that when somebody loses everything, you can't do enough for them fast enough. I mean, it just -- that's the way it is. It's frustrating because -- for them because they've lost everything. But by doing and saying what he's doing, by constantly lying, he is creating this drumbeat which is to his advantage he believes in this campaign because he's told us he's going to undo the federal government when he gets in. So this is building on that.

It's telling people, see, they can't even do this job. They're not doing it. Biden and Harris are terrible. And in spite of the fact that his own party members are telling him, no, the -- the federal government is working with us. It's giving us everything we need. It's -- it's souring their relations with the federal government. That's what they're worried about. It's not because this government doesn't do what he did in a previous major storm where he actually said he was not going to give money to California in those fires until somebody told him, well, there with -- is where -- is where you got your biggest vote.

I mean, it's unconscionable the way he has played politics with every aspect of government. And he's doing it now to his own benefit. That's what he believes.

ACOSTA: And do you think, you know, sometimes folks in the press and so on, they get a little uncomfortable using the word lie. Governor, do you think he has repeated these falsehoods to the degree that it is OK to call them lies? He's just lying?

WHITMAN: Yes. Yes. I mean, why wouldn't you? It's -- it's factually untrue. If you say something that's factually untrue, you are at least that's the way I was brought up, I was lying and I would hear about it from my parents. If I said something was factually untrue, that's a lie. And that's what he's been doing, and he knows better. I mean, this is -- this is not because he doesn't understand. This is because he doesn't want to give any credit at all to a Democratic administration. And that's what's wrong with our country today. [12:45:12]

We have these two parties that are in -- have gotten such control over the country and their various districts where you either have a Republican candidate to vote for Congress or Senate or you have a Democrat, you don't have a choice. And so many of these elections, and that's why I believe we need a third party and I'm part of the effort of the forward party.

ACOSTA: Yes. But -- but you have backed Kamala Harris for president, if -- if that's right, heading into this campaign.

WHITMAN: I have.

ACOSTA: But I -- I do want to ask you, I mean, so what is it -- why -- why do you think the race is so close right now? Why is it neck and neck if Donald Trump is out there day in and day out telling these lies and -- and stirring up all of this stuff and playing these games with things like a hurricane, for goodness sake, why is the race so close? What is going on in your view, as you see?

WHITMAN: Well, I think part of it is that he's been doing this for four years. He's been preparing for this race. He's been telling people that the election is going to be stolen if he doesn't win. His definition of a free -- free and fair election is he wins, period, the end. And Kamala Harris, as Vice President, you don't control policy. You do what the principal, that's the President tells you to do and what leeway they give you to do.

So she hasn't been out there that much. He hasn't been known. And so it's a question of all of a sudden there she is and she's your candidate. And for a lot of people, they -- they just don't know her well enough. And unfortunately, there seems to be a great deal of sexism as well, that, you know, how can a woman do this job? Is she tough enough?

I want to tell you as a prosecutor, you just ask some of the people she put behind bars and they'll tell you she's tough enough. But I think that's -- that's part of it. And, you know, we're not very good at admitting when we're wrong. And people have been listening to Trump for so long and buying his misinformation, we can call it -- call it that back then maybe, if you want to be generous. His misinformation for so long that now if they suddenly say, no, it's all lies, they're having to admit they were sucked in by this. And that's hard for people to accept.

ACOSTA: Yes.

WHITMAN: I'm hoping that the polls are wrong because it's so difficult today with all the different methods of communication to make sure you've gotten to enough people and a broad enough sample to make it make a difference, that I'm -- I'm hoping it's not as close and that Harris is doing better than we say, than the polls say. But clearly white men are an issue.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, Governor Christine Todd Whitman, thank you very much for your time. Hope to have another conversation soon about all this. Really appreciate it.

WHITMAN: Look forward to it. Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Appreciate it.

Up next, multiple bomb threats have recently targeted synagogues in New York. How officials are beefing up security as we enter a period of Jewish holidays come upon one year since the October 7th attacks in Israel. That's coming up.

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[12:52:33]

ACOSTA: Happening now, an increased police presence around places of worship around the country, including in New York State. Yesterday, law enforcement officials were made aware of bomb threats targeting synagogues across the state. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in New York City. Gloria, this is very unsettling, I'm sure, there for folks in New York. What can you tell us as several cities around the country are now taking precautions ahead of October 7th?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. And it's important to emphasize we heard from Governor Kathy Hochul here in New York yesterday. There were several bomb threats called into synagogues around -- those threats were deemed not credible.

Now the governor has deployed the state police to work with local police departments to ensure that communities around the state are safe, given that we are in the middle of the high holidays for the Jewish calendar, and we have the upcoming coming first year anniversary of the October 7th attacks.

We're standing outside of Temple Emmanuel here in Manhattan. This is one of the largest temples in the country, and we have seen police around the perimeter of the temple as well as inside. You have to go through a metal detector in order to get indoors.

And we expect this similar presence around different houses of worship around the country and around the state here in New York. Now, it is not just here in New York. Law enforcement is on high alert in other parts of the country. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday that given the upcoming anniversary of October 7th, as well as the rise in turmoil and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, that could serve as motivators for acts of violence by extremists.

Now, it is important to highlight there have been no credible threats identified here in New York or in other parts of the country so far. But the NYPD will maintain its presence for the next two weeks as we get into the anniversary on Monday and we enter Yom Kippur later in the week. That is, of course, the hotliest -- the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and they will be on high alert for that as well. Jim?

[12:55:43]

ACOSTA: All right. We hope everybody is safe through all of this. Gloria Pazmino, thanks so much. We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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ACOSTA: Tonight, catch a brand new episode of "Have I Got News for You" with host Roy Wood Jr. and team captains, Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. Tonight's special guest, political commentator, Ana Navarro, and comedian, Andy Richter. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" HOST: Senator Klobuchar's spin closet chat with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash was indeed interesting, but not for the reasons you may think. Let's watch that again. And I want you all to watch the lower left corner of the screen.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Meaning like, his whole goal was about trying to promote Kamala Harris.

WOOD JR.: Is that Lionel Richie?

[13:00:00]

AMBER RUFFIN, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" TEAM CAPTAIN: Lionel Richie is trying to listen to her butt.

ANDY RICHTER, COMEDIAN: That's a, hello, is it me you're looking for?

WOOD JR.: Oh, that's how they turn the chairs around on The Voice, push some things around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Be sure to tune in a new episode of "Have I Got News for You" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.