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Trump Insults Detroit; Obama Shores Up Support Among Black Men for Harris; Harris and Trump Tied Across Swing States in WSJ Poll; Bill Nye on Impact of Climate Change on Hurricanes; DEA Warns of Fake Online Pharmacies. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 11, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Kamala Harris is elected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The whole country is going to be like -- you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Let's discuss now. CNN Political Analyst and PBS NewsHour White House Correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez, CNN Political Commentator Karen Finney. And former spokesperson for Republican Governor Doug Burgum's presidential campaign, Lance Trover.

Karen, let me start with you first. You're in studio. What did you make of those comments from Donald Trump going after Detroit? Is that what you want to hear as a Democrat at this point? Michigan's tight.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It is tight. Look, it had shades of, excuse my language, shithole countries in terms of what he seemed like he was trying to convey there. It's interesting that the Harris campaign has announced she's going to go to Detroit and do a town hall, radio town hall with Charlamagne tha God.

Obviously, there's an opportunity there to try to galvanize black voters, which I think is really important at this point. I don't think enough money and time has been spent talking directly to black and Latino men. So, I think it's really important that she's going to do that.

ACOSTA: Yes. Lance, I mean, what is your response when you hear Trump going after Detroit in that fashion? I mean, he did it about Milwaukee. Is there some coded language going on here, going after cities in that fashion?

LANCE TROVER, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR GOVERNOR BURGUM'S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: No. ACOSTA: Or not so coded?

TROVER: The City of Detroit -- I'm sorry?

ACOSTA: Or not so coded as the case may be?

TROVER: No. Look, the city -- it is no secret that the City of Detroit has had its fair share of problems and issues over the course of the last couple decades. That's not a surprise. And frankly, all cities are dealing with problems of crime and illegal immigration and the like, whether it's New York or Detroit or everywhere in between. So, this is not a secret.

What I think is the most interesting here is that the Harris campaign is struggling and there -- yes, she's going to go there. And you said -- I think Karen said to try to turn out black voters. And look at what happened last night. They're reaching a point of desperation. You had Barack Obama step out last night and admonish people because they were thinking about voting for Donald Trump in this election.

And I got to tell you as a political operative trying to insult voters because they may be concerned about the economy, that they may be concerned about the cost of living is not a way to win over voters out there. So, she can go to Michigan, but she's really struggling up there right now.

ACOSTA: I wouldn't to say -- just to just talk about Detroit for a second, a great American city, Detroit ends 2023 with fewest homicides in 57 years. I mean, that was the homicide number in Detroit last year. Just to put that out there, that is from the City of Detroit.

But, Laura, let me go to you. There's a new Wall Street Journal poll out today showing the battle for swing states is virtually tied. And these numbers, I wonder what you think of this, Laura, because it's kind of incredible. I mean, it's almost like 52 pick up right now. Harris leading in Arizona and Georgia and Michigan. But Trump is up in Nevada, that has been a key Democratic state in recent presidential elections. And he's up slightly in Pennsylvania. What do you make of all these numbers? Just -- I mean, it just shows us this is going down to the wire.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, PBS NEWSHOUR: It is. I mean, look, it's incredibly close. And of course, both campaigns are gaming this out. I mean, there's interesting factors in Arizona and Nevada. There's abortion on the ballot in both states.

I was just there in both states, in Arizona and Nevada. And what was interesting to me was that it seemed like the abortion ballot measure was helping Harris a bit more in Arizona than it was in Nevada. And that may be because of the fact that Nevada has to vote on it twice. So, this isn't a one and done thing for them this time around, which means that it could galvanize more women, more voters in Arizona, bringing them to the polls and appear to be translating into more votes for Harris in a state like Arizona. I mean, in Pennsylvania, yes, this poll has Trump up by one, but Harris has also led in other polls. There was also a recent local poll in Pennsylvania that had Dauphin County, which is -- should potentially be going red, Harris was up in Dauphin County, which could be a bit of a sleeper, a swing county. The congressman there, Scott Perry, looks like he's in trouble, which could be a sign of hope for Harris in a state like Pennsylvania, being able to swing some more of these moderate independent Republican type voters.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. And, guys, let's play a little bit more of Obama last night. He was really going for it last night. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER, U.S. PRESIDENT: I've noticed this, especially with some men who seem to think Trump's behavior, the bullying and the putting people down is a sign of strength. And I am here to tell you that is not what real strength is. It never has been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Karen, what'd you make of that? I mean, he's really trying to aim for this sliver of the electorate, male voters of all demographics. What do you think of that?

FINNEY: Well, I think we've been having a conversation sort of underneath a lot of the campaign rhetoric about manhood and strength and men.

[10:35:00]

Trump, you know, seems to make it that -- you know, when he brags about grabbing them by the you know what, that that makes him a tough, strong guy. And I think, you know, Obama is trying to say something different. I think you've heard Tim Walz say that. But there's also -- it's also important to have a conversation again with black men, Latino men that says, let's have her back, but also, the policies that she's talking about impact you and hear -- and so that they see and hear themselves in the conversation. So, I think we've got to be doing a bit of both of those things. I hope that men hear that and say, yes, that's not cool.

ACOSTA: Yes. Lance, your response to that.

TROVER: Well, this is what I was getting to earlier. So, let me get this straight, the Harris campaign is struggling with black men. So, their answer is to send out Barack Obama and admonish them because they might be considering voting for Donald Trump, when -- as if they're not concerned with the high cost of living, as if they're not concerned with gas prices, as if they're not concerned with grocery prices out there.

I can't think of anything more insulting. It reminds me of Hillary Clinton deplorables 2.0 here. I mean, to me, I've been doing campaigns 20 years, going out and insulting voters is not a good way to win them over. ACOSTA: Yes. But doesn't Trump have an issue though with the way he talks about women? I mean, the way he was going after Kamala Harris as a dumb woman and talking about the dumb women on The View and so on?

FINNEY: And the way he's treated women. This is a man who has been found, you know, liable for sexual assault, for goodness sakes. And he's always talked about women in derogatory terms. So, I think Obama is right to point out that's who this guy is. That is your daughter. That is your sister. That is your wife that he's talking about.

ACOSTA: Lance?

TROVER: Donald -- if you look at every poll, whether it's The Wall Street Journal poll you referenced this morning, people are clear eyed about who Donald Trump is. There is no question. Who they do not know is Kamala Harris. And that is why you were seeing her stalling out in the polls, and that's why all the Democrats have this angst. That's why they're sending Barack Obama out. You just need to look at what the campaign's reaction is to what's going on in this country.

People know Donald Trump, but they look very fondly on his policies. And they know that they were doing better financially four years ago before the Biden-Harris administration. And that's what's driving his strength right now in the polls.

ACOSTA: Quick follow up to Laura. Governor Walz was asked this morning if President Biden has done everything right during his presidency. If we have a little time, just play that very quickly. I'll get a quick response from you on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- think that Biden's done everything right?

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, look, I don't know if any of us do everything right, but I can tell you he's done everything in the best interest of the American public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Laura, do you think that inside the Harris campaign they've decided, listen, you know, we -- you know, with all due respect to President Biden they want to put some distance between Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and President Biden?

BARRON-LOPEZ: I think they're putting a tiny bit of distance, Jim, not a ton of distance because of the fact that Harris is running on a lot of President Biden's and her policies, lowering the cost of insulin, capping it at $35. You know, the different infrastructure -- Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Bipartisan Gun Safety Act. Those things are stuff that she wants to run on. So, you can't put a massive amount of distance between yourself and the administration you've been part of when they consider those policies helpful with a lot of voters heading to November.

ACOSTA: All right. Very interesting. Our guys, thanks so much. Wish we had a lot more time than we had, but that was a decent amount of time. Thanks so much. Really appreciate.

Coming up, everyone's favorite science guy, Bill Nye joins me to talk about how climate change is fueling hurricanes like Milton and Helene. And how storms like these could become more common. There he is right there. We'll also ask Bill, can the government control the weather? We know the answer to that, but we're going to have Bill explain why it can't. I know that sounds like we're talking to school kids here, but maybe that's how we need to do it. Bill's coming up next. Be with us -- stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: The Southeast is in storm recovery mode after two deadly weeks in just -- two deadly hurricanes in just two weeks. A new study shows that ultra-warm water in the Gulf of Mexico supercharged Helene. And human caused climate change, of course, likely heated up that water.

A lot to discuss with our next guest, Bill Nye, The Science Guy. He's also part of the Too Hot Not to Vote campaign and to engage and educate voters on climate change and clean energy. Bill, I mean, as a news guy, I guess we have to couch things and say likely to do this and likely to do -- but how -- with how much certainty can we say, yes, climate change is heating up the gulf and supercharging these hurricanes?

BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY" AND EDUCATOR AND AUTHOR, "GREAT BIG WORLD OF SCIENCE": Well, there's no question that climate change is heating up the Gulf. That's proven. The question is, does an individual storm a result of climate change? Well, in this case, yes, because it's the heat. The heat that's in the water that got there from the heat that's held in the atmosphere that was held in on account of carbon dioxide principally, and also other greenhouse gases like methane, natural gas.

And so, this is an extraordinary storm that was 300 nautical miles wide. This is a remarkable thing. And I just heard a previous segment, everybody, the water's going to continue to rise because --

ACOSTA: Yes. Why is that rain?

[10:45:00]

NYE: -- the rain -- well, the rain fell on a very, very large area. It's like a giant funnel. And so, it's draining toward the sea and it takes several days. So, the sheriff was there reminding people that the water still going to go up counterintuitive. It stopped raining, but the water level is still going to rise. That's science.

ACOSTA: Yes, which is scary.

NYE: It's scary. Yes. I mean, because the water is so destructive. I'm not telling you guys who are living through it, but the water -- you know, we think water is what gives us life, is what sustains us, that's true. But too much of this good thing is deadly.

ACOSTA: And, you know, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he's been pushing back on the climate's role in these stronger storms. Let's take a listen to that and talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Yes. I just think people should put this in perspective there. They try to take different things that happen with tropical weather and act like it's something. There's nothing new under the sun. You know, this is something that the state has dealt with for its entire history. And it's something that will continue to be -- to deal with. I think what's changed is we've got 23 million people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, Bill, what do you have to say to that? I mean, we could just show our viewers and they can look this up on their own that, I mean, the frequency of these powerful hurricanes has picked up over the last couple of decades.

NYE: Well, absolutely. The other thing is, objectively, the water in the Gulf is warmer than it's ever been. And so, this is what -- the word everybody throws around it fuels hurricanes. But this is the -- this provides the energy that allows the cool -- a relatively cool air to squeeze the warm air up, which starts these enormous storms becoming wider and wider. And then, the spin of the Earth and gravity of the Earth causes the storm to spin, and that's what makes these extraordinary sea walls, extraordinary waves of water, storm surges come ashore on the southeast part of the storm and then pull the water out of the Tampa Bay on the northwestern side.

ACOSTA: Yes.

NYE: And this is very well understood, and this is a result of satellite imagery and ground based assets that enable us to monitor these things.

ACOSTA: Right.

NYE: And so, everybody, this is very serious. It's going to get more and more serious. And of course we, as citizens of the U.S., will work to help people who are affected by this storm in Florida and North Carolina and so on. And our hearts go out to you.

We've got to face this problem. And so, everybody, this is what I'm saying now, what can you do about climate change, if you're not there, if you're anywhere is vote. Vote with the climate in mind.

ACOSTA: And, Bill, I do want to ask you about -- and, you know, you don't want to give crazy things too much oxygen, but you also have to knock things down that aren't true when they're gaining steam. And Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, she is standing by these crazy claims that the government can control the weather, which we know is not true. But as a scientist, can you help us understand why that is false? And I know it just sounds ridiculous for me to even ask the question, but help us out.

NYE: Well, it's false because of the size of it. The amount of energy in a storm like Milton is more than every military in the world put together at the same time. It's just -- the expression is physically impossible. And this is intuitive, you know, as says Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain, everybody talks about the weather, nobody does anything about it. But we have a chance to do something about it.

And what's happened, is here in the United States, we have created these gerrymandering -- gerrymandered congressional districts where people who do not win the popular vote, have fewer votes, are able to get elected. And by promulgating these extraordinary -- this misinformation, they're able to get re-elected and it plays on people's grievances and frustrations.

And I understand that, but we got to turn this around. It's going to take quite a while, but we've got to turn it around. It's in everybody's best interest. And I remind people that when we're talking about disasters like this and the millions of people affected, the United States is the world's third most populous country. We have a third of a billion people here. And so, we have to work together to help each other out. This sounds intuitive, but it's a real thing.

ACOSTA: And during the break, Bill --

NYE: The government does not control the weather.

ACOSTA: The government does not. And -- I have to go, but during the break, you and I were talking about how, you know, we have ties to the D.C. area and everything, and what I know from growing up is that there are a lot of wonderful people who work in the government, and they just would not do things like that to harm their fellow Americans. But anyway, I'll get off my soapbox, go to a break. Bill, we'll stick to the science. Thanks.

[10:50:00]

NYE: Well, you know, what people talk about -- but speaking of science, people talk about what makes you happy, what makes you live a long life. And it's when you're contributing, when you're helping people out, so-called egalitarian and so on. And so, people who work in the government, civil servants, what the other side refers to as the deep state, they do it not for the money, they do it because it gives them satisfaction to make the world better.

ACOSTA: That's it.

NYE: All right. Thank you.

ACOSTA: Exactly. Thanks.

NYE: Everybody, please vote. If you know young people, please get out the vote. Let's do this. Thanks very much. ACOSTA: Thanks, Bill. Thanks a lot. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: New this morning, the DEA says watch out for fake online pharmacies. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on this. Josh, scary stuff. What can you tell us?

[10:55:00]

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, you know, the Justice Department just charged at least 18 people in one of these scams that resulted in at least 10 deaths. And what they're saying is that this isn't like going into a brick-and-mortar pharmacy, where behind the counter, you have products that are from reputable pharmaceutical companies, but instead, these fake online scams are often have orders that are fulfilled by drug traffickers.

So, let's look at some of the warning signs that people should be on the lookout for. They're saying that if you buy from an online pharmacy and they don't require a prescription, that's an issue. If the prices are cut rate too good to be true, that's a red flag. And if there's no expiration date on the bottle that you get, they say, stop using it. Contact the DEA.

Now, if you go to some of these websites, we'll show you some of them, you can see generic names such as Pharmacy Stores Online. USA Med Stores, these are some examples. But here's what those websites look like now. They've been seized by the U.S. Justice Department. But there are several of these scams still out there. They're warning people to be on the lookout. And, you know, people wonder, well, why would a drug dealer sell you something that could kill you? They say it's all about the money. They don't care about the customer, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Josh Campbell, very important note. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Before we go, some good news. A video went viral showing Florida Highway Patrol rescuing this dog before Milton hit. He was tied up and trapped in standing water. We now know that Trooper the dog, you can see him right there, is in the safe hands of the Leon County Humane Society up in Tallahassee and recovering. He's a good boy. If he needs a place to hang out, Duke says you can come over for a visit.

In the meantime, I'll go to Pamela Brown in the CNN Newsroom after a short break. Have a great weekend.

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