Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Today, Harris to Campaign in Pennsylvania Amid Tight Race With Trump; Hundreds of Thousands in Florida Still Without Power; Widespread Uncertainty for North Carolina Schools in Wake of Helene. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 14, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: The fight for Pennsylvania, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump holding events today in the key battleground state. Democratic Senator John Fetterman joins me in just a few moments to discuss what voters there want to see from Harris as Trump is ramping up his extreme rhetoric. Now, the former president is talking about using the military against what he calls the enemy within.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little bits of hope when the guys finally show up and start hauling this stuff away, which has been sitting here for almost three weeks, you see little changes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Glimmers of hope in the darkness, hundreds of thousands still without power in Florida following back-to-back storms. While in western North Carolina, the recovery is far from over. I'll speak to the head of one school in Asheville on what it will take to get children back in the classroom.

And FEMA forced to pause some aid in areas of North Carolina due to threats of violence.

I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. You are live in the CNN Newsroom.

And my first guest this morning is Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, where Vice President Kamala Harris is set to campaign in just hours from now. Senator, good to have you on. We really appreciate it.

Let's jump right in and talk about the polls that have been released showing the vice president tied are up just slightly over former President Trump. That reflects what's happening in Pennsylvania, where it's a tight race. What are you seeing on the ground there? And what do Democrats need to do to connect with those remaining undecideds?

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, I haven't seen one single thing in the polls that surprised me at all. I've been maintaining the same conversation since 2016. I said, it's going to be very close in Pennsylvania. And it's undeniable, Trump does have a very strong connection for voters here in Pennsylvania, but it's also undeniable that Harris has really energized the Democratic base as well in there too. And I'm so grateful and I'm excited that she's showing up in Erie later and we're going to be together in Erie.

And back in 2020, Trump literally, literally said that and he's like, I don't want to go to Erie. I really, truly didn't want to go there. We definitely want to go there because Erie picks Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania will pick the president.

ACOSTA: Yes, I was going to ask you about that, Senator. Why is Erie so critical? Why is it important, do you think?

FETTERMAN: Well, you know, people now are discussing how Pennsylvania is kind of like a small version of the United States. Well, Erie is like a smaller version of Pennsylvania as well, too. It has rural and it has suburban and it has an urban core as well, too.

And, if you win Erie, you win Pennsylvania, and I know that's the next president. I've said that same in 2020. I'm like, and Trump actually won Erie in 2016, and he won. And, of course, Joe Biden won that in 2020, and I'd also believe Harris will win Erie, win Pennsylvania, and be the next president. But it's going to be very close, and I'm so -- again, I'm so excited that we're going to be doing a gigantic rally with her in a couple hours later.

ACOSTA: Yes. Senator, I do want to ask you about this because, you know, as you know, Trump has been escalating his rhetoric on migrants. He's talking about cracking down on political opponents, saying this weekend he would use the military on U.S. citizens who oppose him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Let's listen to that. I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. Not even the people that have come in and destroying our country, by the way, totally destroying our country. The towns, the villages, they're being inundated. But I don't think they're the problem in terms of Election Day, I think the bigger problem are the People from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.

It should be very easily handled by -- if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Senator, what do you make of remarks like that?

FETTERMAN: It's just part of the bizarre kinds of things that he's saying. You know, this is the same guy that's talking about eating dogs, and they are the one talking about if he loses, it's going to be because of the Jews. And he keeps saying increasingly more bizarre things, saying, you know, I'm going to be getting my beautiful body and getting, you know, a beautiful son. I mean, it's just -- I would challenge anyone in the media, you know, think of the last thing that he said that was logical or made any sense or was actually about policy. And I haven't heard that in a long time, and I don't really pay attention to him. And I'm really just focusing on and showing up in Pennsylvania, in rooms, just like in Erie, or like five counties that I'm coming this weekend as well. And it's going to be close, but the battle for the White House is going to be won in Pennsylvania.

ACOSTA: But if he's saying stuff like that, how can the race be close? I mean, I suppose if you hear something from Democrats, that is one thing that you hear over and over again, is when he uses that kind of rhetoric. I mean, that should be disqualifying in a lot of the voter's minds, but it hasn't been. I mean, it's, it seems to be working with a big chunk of the electorate.

[10:05:01]

What do you think?

FETTERMAN: Yes, I know. It's been a long time where I stopped wondering, why does people vote for that? I mean, I -- actually, I know people and I love people that are going to be voting for Trump. It's just about acknowledging that for some people that you think that's disqualifying or that's a bug, that's actually a feature for some people, and that's what they want.

ACOSTA: Yes, there's a disconnect, I guess, is what, what I, what I'm getting at. Why is there a disconnect, do you think?

FETTERMAN: There is a disconnect. And there are people that don't understand why anybody would want four more years of Trump. But we're not going to argue about it when we're three weeks out. We just have to acknowledge that it's going to be very close and it's going to be hand-to-hand combat for every vote in counties all across Pennsylvania.

There's all 67 counties across Pennsylvania. And we, as Democrats, we have to jam up those kinds of margin in roughly about 57 of those counties across Pennsylvania that aren't going to be blue on the map, but we can't allow like 80-20, 80-20, because for one county goes 80- 20, it's likely that there's 57 others that might have those similar kinds of margin. And that's why we have to fight for every vote across every county. And that's what I've been doing. I'm not giving anybody advice. That's just what I'm doing and spending my time between now and November 5th.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, I mean, as you know, across the country, election workers have been the targets of harassment, even threats. Pennsylvania's Republican secretary of the commonwealth told CBS he's bracing for conspiracy theories that might fuel some of this. We've seen some states install panic buttons and bulletproof glass in election offices. Are you concerned about those kinds of threats to election workers in your state?

FETTERMAN: Yes. Well -- but, truly, I'm not concerned in Pennsylvania, you know, and I also -- Al Schmidt is the state secretary and he's in charge of that. Now, he was the hero in 2020 in Philadelphia. He was the Republican commissioner there in Philadelphia. And now Trump was weaponizing and lying and saying that the voting has to be corrupted and it's cheating. And he stood strong and he chose to be living under protection. And he could have been the national GOP hero. But now the governor here in Pennsylvania, Shapiro, appointed him as that. Now, he's in charge of the election systems here in Pennsylvania.

And I'm supremely, supremely confident that we're going to be okay and all of those votes are going to come in. And I don't believe that the delay that happened in Philadelphia that made that possible for -- it was several days before the final total was brought in, and Trump used that and that window to say a lot of things and spread a lot of misinformation and lies.

ACOSTA: Do you think Vice President Harris will win Pennsylvania?

FETTERMAN: Oh, yes, 100 percent, but it's going to be close. And also that guy from Connecticut is going to get sent back to Connecticut. You know, Bob Casey is going to have his fourth term and that's where we're at. But it is going to be close and that's why we are working so hard and that's why we're showing up here today right here in Erie.

ACOSTA: All right. And we'll see you out there later today. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

FETTERMAN: Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: All right. And former President Donald Trump will also be campaigning today in Pennsylvania, where he'll host a town hall meeting in the Philadelphia suburb of Oaks. The topics will be the economy, trade and inflation, and Trump will almost certainly embrace some of the dark rhetoric we heard yesterday in Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: For four straight years, she's imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons all over the world.

And she's resettled them into your communities to prey upon innocent American people. If Kamala gets four more years, the entire country will be turned into a migrant camp.

Kamala Harris' reign of terror ends the day I take the oath of office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. Let's continue this discussion. CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is here. Jeff, we're seeing Kamala Harris' lead in national polls leveling off. You heard John Fetterman there a few moments ago say he thinks Kamala Harris is going to win Pennsylvania, but it's going to be a battle all the way to the end. JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's certainly right about the second part of that being a battle all the way to the end. You can see it. You can feel it. Whether she wins Pennsylvania will likely or could answer the question of whether she wins the White House.

Look, some of the anxiety in the Democratic quarters is because she has not continued to rise. She's not necessarily fallen, but she has leveled off. So, that is the central question here going forward. But when you listen to this rhetoric from the former president over the weekend, and I'm sure it will be repeated today, it's reminded of the fact that this is an absolute base election. He's not trying to win over some of those suburban voters that he'll be standing in front of in Pennsylvania today.

[10:10:01]

So, the question is, is this going to help Harris at all?

And that is sort of one of the baffling factors of this. You and I have been covering Donald Trump for a very long time, and it doesn't always benefit his opponent as you think it might. But his strategy this time is to find voters who absolutely agree with him and just may not vote otherwise, as opposed to those who are on the fence trying to decide between Harris or him.

ACOSTA: Yes, he's got to make sure that those hidden Trump voters, as pollsters call them every four years, actually do show up and they're not being turned off. But at the same time, Jeff, when he's saying things about going after the enemy within or that the whole country is going to turn into a migrant camp of Kamala Harris, you and I have seen this in presidential elections, in midterm elections. It turns off those last remaining undecided voters and swing districts that are highly important. I mean, he apparently today is going to talk about a plan to beef up border enforcement. But, by and large, the rhetoric you hear on immigration is very dark. It's very extreme, even for him.

ZELENY: It absolutely is. I mean, just when you think you've heard it all, we actually -- the enemy within, mobilizing the military here in the country, that is something that does not happen. So, the bottom line is, the next three weeks, a base election, he's trying to find those voters. The question, will it benefit Vice President Harris? That's why she's in Erie today. The senator is right. Erie is absolutely critical. So, she's going to try and use Trump's words to benefit her candidacy. We'll see if that happens.

ACOSTA: All right. It's a critical part of that battleground state. Jeff Zeleny, thank you. We'll be talking about Trump's rhetoric a little bit more later on in the program. Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

Coming up a weeks after Hurricane Helene, several children are still reportedly missing as communities in Western North Carolina struggle to get water and power. Coming up next, I'll speak to the head of One Asheville school working to get students back in the classroom, coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: Recovery efforts across Florida are ongoing after Hurricane Milton tore through the state last week. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are still without power this morning. And fuel is in very short supply, forcing people to wait in long lines at the gas station. Take a look at that right there, my goodness.

The death toll in the state right now is now at 23. President Biden surveyed the damage in some of the hardest hit areas yesterday and announced more than $600 million in federal assistance to strengthen Florida's electric grid.

Vice Chair of Tampa City Council Alan Clendenin joins us now. Alan, good to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

And you're with President Biden during his tour yesterday. How did that go? And how are folks doing?

ALAN CLENDENIN, VICE CHAIR, TAMPA CITY COUNCIL: Good morning, Jim. You know, as good as could be expected for an area that was hit with a record two back to back natural disasters. You know, we had to every 100 year storms in less than two weeks. But it was good to be with the president. It was good to have him here showing support for Florida and specifically the Tampa Bay area, very happy with the federal response. The city of Tampa is really risen to the challenge with the damage that we've incurred.

We've had significant flooding with Helene. We had the coastal surge flooding, which was devastating, to large areas in our city because, of course, we are blessed with being surrounded by the Tampa Bay on many parts of our coast and it was an equal opportunity storm surge. It impacted wealthy areas and it impacted working folks' areas as well. It did not discriminate.

And then when Milton came in, we had the fresh water flooding. I mean, I don't think any community could withstand rainfall of anywhere from 10 to 19 inches, depending on the community you're in. And we've had a lot of anguish and a lot of heartbreak in many areas of our community from not just the storm surge two weeks ago, but also now this freshwater flooding that we're dealing with.

ACOSTA: And, Alan, how is the federal response going? We know the president announced $600 million in federal assistance to strengthen the state's electric grid. Can you talk about that?

CLENDENIN: Absolutely. Our resiliency has always been an issue because of the proximity we have to, the water here in Tampa. This administration and this city council, we've been focused on resiliency for the city of Tampa. We've been replacing all of our water pipes. We've been placing our sewage lines, reinforcing seawalls.

But federal government has been a great partner not just with this storm but in the past as well. I was much appreciative of the president signing the major disaster declaration that included Hillsborough County, which is where Tampa, to get this infrastructure money going. These two storm are going to cost us probably over a billion dollars, but also because right now, we're $700 million, three quarters of a billion. And I'm sure it's going to go way past that.

But you're right, we have issues with our electrical grid. We have issues with the flooding and the infrastructure throughout with our pumps. And we've had issues, significant issues with supply of our gasoline. That was more of a state failure and not necessarily a federal because the staging that would've been promised clearly didn't happen because we had lines in excess. I waited in one of those lines of three hours to get fuel. We had first responders that couldn't get to hospitals and couldn't get to where they're going because they did not have access to fuel.

Thankfully, I'm pleased to report, the port (ph) is open and our fuel is low in this morning, but it's been a rough few days.

ACOSTA: That's good. And can Tampa handle another big hurricane like that?

CLENDENIN: Well, you know, we train for this and, you know, for those of us that grew up in Florida, you know, we learn from an early age of the types of what we have to do to be prepared.

[10:20:07]

The city of Tampa has been investing records amount of money and infrastructure improvements. We're happy that the federal government is coming in to assist us.

But, you know, you can't be 100 percent resilient and within the confines of fiscal resources. I mean, we can do it, but somebody's got to pay that bill. So, I would say, you know, we can make all these improvements that people would need to be 100 percent resilient, but here's your bill. It's going to be extraordinarily expensive to be able to retrofit a city that is surrounded by saltwater and have major river flowing through the middle of our city as well.

ACOSTA: Well, it's a wonderful community. I always enjoy getting down there and hope you get back on your feet as soon as possible. Alan Clendenin with the Tampa City Council, thanks very much for your time this morning. I appreciate it.

CLENDENIN: Thank you. I appreciate it. You all come visit us in Tampa.

ACOSTA: Will do.

All right, and we have seen the power that misinformation has had in the wake of Hurricane Helene. But now that false information surrounding FEMA has taken a disturbing turn. If you haven't heard about this, listen up. Eight operations in Rutherford County, North Carolina, were suspended on Saturday after National Guard troops saw armed militia members threatening FEMA workers. In an urgent email to federal agencies obtained by The Washington Post, these militia members, the troops, quote, had come across two trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA. As a result, FEMA tells CNN they've made safety adjustments in counties where federal workers are receiving threats. While about 100 miles north of Ashe County, the sheriff there posted on Facebook on Sunday that some aid operations were paused out of abundance of caution due to threats occurring in some counties. And while aid has resumed in these areas, these sorts of incidents spurred by misinformation continue to hurt communities already in need.

In the face of that disinformation communities ravaged by Helene are still trying to heal. Communities across Western North Carolina schools in particular remain closed largely with a timeline for reopening uncertain. In Buncombe County, home to Asheville, some 20,000 students have been impacted. Officials there are struggling to obtain necessities, like water, after the storm knocked out power, a part of the county's water system.

One of the schools affected is Odyssey Community School, and Odyssey's head of school. Eric Howard joins me now. Eric, good to see you this morning. We appreciate you coming on.

Tell us how things are going.

ERIC HOWARD, HEAD OF SCHOOL, ODYSSEY COMMUNITY SCHOOL: Thank you so much.

ACOSTA: Yes. How are things going for your school right now?

HOWARD: So, we're doing our best. Our families have really come together here in our community to help clear trees purchase water totes so we can try to establish a system to flush toilets. It's been tough going. We have folks that are still in hotels that have been supported by FEMA. So, we have folks displaced. We have families that have lost their whole businesses here.

So, we're really coming together to really support our school and our community. We're a small art school here in North Carolina. And, you know, it's all hands-on-decks and our families and folks have really been putting in the manpower and the labor to help us get school back on track.

We're hoping to get started back on the 23rd. That's if we could get our water totes connected so we can at least have flushable toilets. So, that's the big thing. I never thought as an educator that I would be worried about flushing toilets, but here we are.

ACOSTA: And your school community is a close knit one, just under 200 students ranging from pre-K all the way up to 12th grade. Have you been able to account for all of your teachers and students and everybody who is on your staff?

HOWARD: Yes, sir. Unfortunately, we did lose a wonderful kindergarten teacher through natural causes during the storm. But we've mostly accounted for all of our staff and our students. We have a wonderful admin team that we've done surveys and reached out to them either via email, text or whatever mechanism we can find.

As you all know that power and Internet and cell service got wiped out pretty bad in this whole region. So, it was a struggle to connect and communicate with the school. But we were successful and finally connecting to the majority of our people and finding out where folks were.

ACOSTA: And one of the biggest issues out there is this issue of water. You were just talking about this a few moments ago. Do you have any sense as to when some of this basic infrastructure is going to be restored?

HOWARD: So, it could be a couple of weeks. It could be as much as eight weeks. I've heard four to eight weeks. The city has been working around the clock to pressurize the system. Our last update was that they got one of the major connections made and they're going to try to pressurize the system.

[10:25:06]

Some folks are starting to see water around Asheville and Buncombe County. However, it's still contaminated and they're advising not to drink it or to boil it.

We haven't received water yet to our building, so we're going to set up the tote system to see if we can at least start school and flush toilets and have potable water for handwashing.

ACOSTA: All right. Well, we hope the best for you in a quick recovery as soon as possible. Eric Howard, head of school at Asheville's Odyssey Community School, Eric, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Best of luck to you.

HOWARD: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. And for more information about how you can help Hurricane Helene victims go to cnn.com/impact or text STORM to 707070 to donate.

Coming up, a stunning revelation from Bob Woodward's new book, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, calling Donald Trump a, quote, fascist and a, quote, dangerous threat. Those are words coming from him. We'll discuss with our panel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:00]