Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

More Than 5 Million Ballots Already Cast in 2024 Election; Trump Falsely Describes Statistics on Immigrants and Homicide; Immigrant Families Separated During Trump Administration Speak in Support of Harris. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We have a lot to get to this morning, but I wanted to start with this. Voting is very much underway across several states, from Connecticut to California. More than 5 million ballots have already been cast. And this morning in Georgia, key battleground state that could decide the 2024 election, people are shattering early voting records with more than 309,000 ballots cast on the first day alone in Georgia. That's more than double the first day turnout in 2020. And Georgia is giving us an early glimpse that Americans trust the election process on our making their voices heard.

They're also voting in Pennsylvania, a place that's a top priority for both campaigns in these final three weeks, Donald Trump has been campaigning there. He's going to be there as well in the coming days, and his running mate, J.D. Vance, will be there this afternoon, so will Vice President Kamala Harris, as she tries to rally support in a race that is too close to call. Take a look at this, the latest CNN poll of polls from Pennsylvania shows a virtual tie with no clear leader.

And I've just confirmed with the Harris campaign that she plans to amp up the fiery attacks on what the vice president sees as Trump's threat to democracy, including his latest comments on the enemy within and using the military, National Guard to go after what he deems to be his political opposition.

And joining us now is Pennsylvania State Senator Sharif Street. He's also chair of the state's Democratic Party. And, Senator, I do want to talk to you about all of this. As you know, the vice president has really gone after Trump's tone, this rhetoric that he's been using, describing him as a threat to democracy, a threat to the country. What's your sense of that? Is that something that you would like to hear more of?

STATE SEN. SHARIF STREET (D-PA): Well, look, I mean, it's true. If you attack -- you can't attack -- you can't have January 6th, you incite a riot, you incite an insurrection and then say you're a partner of democracy. It also means he can't say that you're supportive of law enforcement when he stood there and watched and encouraged law enforcement officers to be attacked.

I think we got to remember that he has undermined democracy, but he's also done so many other terrible things.

ACOSTA: And you're the chair of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania, which might be the most important state arguably in this upcoming election. What's your sense of -- what are you hearing from voters, Democratic voters? What are, what are they telling you? What are they voting on this time around? Is it the economy? Is it abortion? Is it democracy? What are you hearing?

STREET: Well, look, I think different voters are voting on different things. But, look, you have plenty of people who are voting on choice. There are lots of women who are very fired up, very concerned about it. There are other people that are concerned about Donald Trump's not so subtle racism, talking about Haitian immigrants eating pet cats and dogs, talking about Mexicans being rapists and robbers, talking about those things. There are people who are concerned about his national sales tax that he wants to advance and recognize that that's going to make prices worse. And there are other people that are just concerned that he will undermine democracy as a whole and his refusing to accept a peaceful transition of power.

So, I think different voters have different reasons, but most, but what I am seeing is there is an encouragement, there is a movement towards Vice President Harris, who people realize is trying to bring people together, and is going to try and govern, and is going to govern responsibly.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Chairman, one of the things that we've seen from the vice president in recent days, she's been going on this media blitz trying to answer this accusation that she's sometimes a little too scripted. Listen to what she told the radio host, Charlamagne tha God, yesterday. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, HOST, THE BREAKFAST CLUB: Folks say you come off as very scripted. They say you like to stick to your talking points. And some media says you have --

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That would be called discipline.

CHARLAMAGNE: But what do you say to people who say you stay on the talking points?

HARRIS: I would say you're welcome. But the reality is that there are certain things that must be repeated to ensure that I have everyone know what I stand for and the issues that I think are at stake in this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:05:01]

ACOSTA: What do you think, Mr. Chairman? I mean, would you like to see the Vice President toss the script out the window and just be a bit more unscripted? Do you think she's striking the right balance? What do you think?

STREET: Look, I think she's striking a balance. People are going to criticize one way or the other. If she weren't sticking to her points, if she were -- they may say she's all over the place, she's undisciplined, she's not focused. And so there are people who want to be critical no matter what she says.

That being said, I think the important part is that Vice President Harris has a message about creating 3 million new houses to address the housing crisis. Vice President Harris has an economic plan to create jobs. Vice President Harris wants to make sure that we keep our communities safe. And Vice President Harris has a proven track record of delivering for people.

And I think that's what we've got to focus on. Not so much about, you know, whether or she's scripted or not. This has sort of reminds me of the Obama wore tan suit issue.

ACOSTA: All right, point taken. All right, Sharif Street, the chairman of the Democratic Party, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Let's turn to the former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett. Governor Corbett, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

This race as you --

FMR. GOV. TOM CORBETT (R-PA): Good morning.

ACOSTA: Yes. Good morning. Just as we were talking about a few moments ago, the race in Pennsylvania is basically a dead heat at this point. What do you -- do you think it's helpful to Donald Trump's cause in Pennsylvania to be talking about going after the enemy, the so-called enemy within, as he's been describing it, talking about using the military and so on, going after his political opponents? Is that going to work in Pennsylvania?

CORBETT: Jim, you should know that I'm not involved in either campaign. I'm not participating as a former governor in those campaigns. What I am doing in Pennsylvania and nationally is I'm with an organization called Keep our Republic. It's a bipartisan effort of former elected and appointed officials, Republican and Democrat alike, friends of mine on both sides of the aisle, trying to demystify what happens on election night after that and the process.

I do believe that democracy can continue and will continue, but I'm not picking sides in this one and I've told everybody in this election I'm neutral.

ACOSTA: Understood. Governor, if I could follow up, I mean, this is one of the things that Trump has said, one of the comments that he has made. We're going to put this up on screen for our viewers talking about political opponents, people on the left in this country. They're dangerous for our country, he says. We have China, we have Russia, we have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis. These people, they're so sick and they're so evil.

You know, when you -- and you were just mentioning, Governor, a few moments ago, you're with a group that's about keeping the republic, which is obviously a laudable goal, but if you're the governor and Donald Trump is the president, he calls you to have the National Guard called up to go after political opponents, what do you do?

CORBETT: Well, I think you remind everybody that anybody that's in public office takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution. And I've taken that oath many times, both as a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard but also in my elected capacities. And the Constitution is who you listen to. As governor, I would be listening to the Constitution, listening to my heart.

When he talks about using the National Guard, there are certain rules for the National Guard to be used. They come under the control of the governor, unless there's a national emergency declared by the president. And using the military, there's a statute that was created after the Civil War called the Posse Comitatus Act that prohibits using the military with the United States.

ACOSTA: But, Governor, if I could, if you don't mind, I'm sorry to do this, but to put you on the spot just a little bit, does this make you uncomfortable hearing that kind of language?

CORBETT: Well, his analogies are not helpful to the entire process. And, you know, you know, frankly, a lot of people have said to me, if he stopped talking so much, he'd have an easier chance of winning. I can't disagree with them on that. But, you know, we are in this process. We're going to get through this. We've got three weeks to go. I'm worried about making sure that it's a safe and fair election, and that's it.

ACOSTA: And to that point, in an interview with 60 Minutes, Pennsylvania secretary of state responded to Trump's false claim that cheating is going on with mail-in ballots. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL SCHMIDT (R), PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF STATE: There is not. Elections in Pennsylvania have never been more safe and secure with a voter-verified paper ballot record of every vote that's cast, whether you vote in-person on Election Day or you vote by mail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:10:01]

ACOSTA: That's Al Schmidt there. You may know him. He's also from your state.

CORBETT: I know him.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, a lot of people have a lot of confidence in him in running this election. Are you confident in him in running this upcoming election and are you confident that Pennsylvania will have a secure election and that the safeguards are in place?

CORBETT: I am confident in our running this. He does it. He's doing a great job. I've looked at a lot of what he's been talking about in his interview. In my interview on the same show, I just said, oh, you can allege anything you want. You've got to show evidence, and to the date for four years. We haven't seen any evidence. And so I believe we will have a fair election.

There are safeguards that are now in place that may not have existed even four years ago because of technology. The one thing I would point out, one of the rumors four years ago was that people are hacking into the system. Well, you know, polls are not connected by internet to anything. At the polling place, when you make your vote, you put it into machine that goes into a thumb drive. That goes down to the counting center here in Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, never touches the internet. The same with your mail, never touches the internet. So, that destroys one of those myths that, you know, they're making, they're hacking into the machines and affecting it. It's not possible.

ACOSTA: All right. Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, I hope we can get back to you between now and Election Day. Very important comments from you just now, telling Pennsylvanians basically that their process is safe and secure. Governor, thanks so much for your time.

CORBETT: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, we appreciate it.

Coming up, fact-checking the campaigns, our fact-checker, Daniel Dale, he's back with us to break down some of the latest claims from the candidates.

Plus, Eric Menendez, in his own words, what new evidence reveals about the notorious double murder case that's back in the spotlight. Stay tuned for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

ACOSTA: All right. In the final weeks before Election Day, former President Donald Trump is doubling down on his incendiary and false claims about immigrants. Here's part of his interview yesterday with Bloomberg News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It came out last week that 425,000 people are horrible criminals at the highest level, but it came out that 13,099 were let in during their administration. They tried to say longer, wrong. During the -- over the last three and a half years, 13,000-plus people came in murderers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining me now for a fact-check is CNN's Daniel Dale. Daniel, you and I have talked about this one before, I think, or this one has come up before. That was one of at least 20 false claims Trump made at that event. Give us the facts here.

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: We've pointed out before it's false. It's still false. It is not true that all 13,000 plus people on this so called ICE non-detained list who have homicide convictions came into the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration. What's interesting here to me, Jim, is that Trump acknowledged the fact- check. He said, They say it's over a longer period. No, it's under them. No, it's not under them. It's over a period of decades.

Who is the they who say that it's actually over decades? Well, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement debunking these false claims from Trump and others saying the data in this letter is being misinterpreted. The data goes back decades. It includes individuals who enter the country over the past 40 years or more. They added, it also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners. In other words, not only did all of these people not come in under Biden-Harris, many of them are in jail or prison serving their sentences for those crimes.

Now, why are the other ones -- why have the other ones not been deported? Well, in some cases, after someone has served their sentence and been issued a deportation order, say if they're from a country like Russia, which simply won't accept deportations from the U.S., under a 2001 Supreme Court decision, the U.S. has to release those people from immigration detention after about six months.

ACOSTA: Interesting. And, Daniel, Harris was in North Carolina this past weekend. She made a statement that needs to be fact-checked and her remarks was false, specifically about Project 2025. Is that correct? That's correct.

DALE: Yes. She's been saying at a bunch of events dating back to July that Project 2025, this conservative think tank, planned a set of proposals for next Republican administrations says that Social Security should be cut under her next administration. So, listen to something she did say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Just Google Project 2025. It is a detailed and dangerous blueprint for what he will do if he is elected president. Donald Trump will give billionaires and corporations massive tax cuts, cut Social Security and Medicare, make it easier for companies to deny overtime pay for workers, (END VIDEO CLIP)

DALE: So, Project 2025 is online, it's a giant document, you can read it. Nowhere in there does it call for Social Security cuts. In fact, it barely mentions Social Security. There's about ten references, almost all just in passing.

Now, it does say that the federal budget should be balanced and Harris allies might tell you, well, you can't reasonably do that without Social Security cuts. I think that's a pretty indirect argument though compared to what Vice President Harris is saying. Similarly, Harris allies have said that Trump in his budgets proposed as president to cut social security.

[10:20:00]

Sure, you can point that out, but, again, that's not what she's saying.

ACOSTA: All right. Daniel Dale, thanks for breaking it all down for us. We'll, of course, check back in with you as these candidates make these claims and we need to fact-check them. Thanks so much, we really appreciate it.

All right, coming up, a fresh look at a murder case that still fascinates people decades later. Could celebrity support help or hurt the Menendez brothers? I'll ask a legal expert. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Right now, the Harris campaign is holding an event in Doral, Florida, with immigrant families who were separated during the Trump administration.

[10:25:01]

Here is one story from a speaker named Billy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY, SEPARATED FROM FAMILY AT BORDER: But during the Trump administration in 2018, I suffered a lot of trauma. I came into the United States in 2018. And when I first got to the immigration centers, I was being held there for three days. I was held in a place called La Joleta (ph), which is a cold room, about 54 or 55 degrees. And I had no bed sheets, no bed, no nothing. And after those three days, I was lied to. I was told that my dad was going to court and I would get to see him the next day.

After that day, I never saw him again for 40 days. I was flown out to New York and then I was introduced to someone new, someone in foster care that said that they were going to be my new family. They told me that I wasn't going to get to see my dad again and that I wasn't going to be able to see my family again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Billy was reunited with his family and says he doesn't want anyone else to go through what he went through, as he was just saying a few moments ago,

CNN Political Commentator, Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona joins me now. Maria, the Harris campaign is holding this event ahead of Donald Trump's town hall with Univision tonight. It's just awful to hear those kinds of stories. It's very sad. What do you think about all that.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, absolutely. Jim, you know, hearing Billy just now, it just -- my heart aches and my blood boils. And as a mom, this still brings back such nightmares of when we all lived it. And you and I talked about this when it was happening. We saw kids screaming for their mamas, screaming for their papas.

And as tragic as it is for the country to relive it, I think it's really smart of the Harris campaign to remind Americans, what a Donald Trump administration would do again. He has said that he would impose family separation yet again. And family separation is one of the darkest stains in our history. It is one of the most vile, disgusting, despicable, evil events that has happened, imposed on us and brought to us by one Donald Trump.

He has absolutely no plan to undo it, to not do it again. He created a whole generation of kids without parents, without families, of orphans. The Biden-Harris campaign had to come in and reunite thousands of families. And so this is -- again, as hard as it is to relive it, it is absolutely necessary to remind Americans what we would suffer again at the hands of Donald Trump if he is allowed to get into the Oval Office again. So, no mas, we cannot let it happen.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Maria, for some of the younger viewers out there who don't remember the family separation policy, I mean, this was a policy that was adopted by the Trump administration as a deterrent. They try to use this as a deterrent to stop people from coming across the border. And they specifically separated children from their parents as a way to sort of send the message across the border that if you bring your families across, this could happen to you. And it resulted in a lot of families being separated. And it's taken up until now, I think there are still some families that remain separated, and they have not been able to reunite all of these families. It's been a long and arduous process.

But let me ask you, Maria, I do wonder, I mean, it sounds as though what the Harris campaign is trying to do is remind Latinos of something that occurred during the Trump administration, something that could come back if he's back in office, perhaps to address some of these poll numbers that do show that some Latino voters have drifted towards Trump in recent weeks. What do you think?

CARDONA: Again, I think it is really smart of the Harris campaign to remind Latino families of the trauma that Trump imposed on our community and that he will do so again. But it's not just Latino families, Americans, in general, saw that. And their hearts cried out and then their votes cried out, Jim, because it was after that that Americans absolutely wholeheartedly rejected what the Trump administration was doing, Republicans lost that midterm, Trump lost the election in 2020. Republicans lost midterms again in 2022, and it is something that Americans will reject again.

But you're right. Latinos need to be reminded of this, too. There has been small smidgens of numbers of Latinos that believe maybe they look back with rose-colored glasses at what a Trump administration was, and none of it is true. The Latino community lost millions of jobs during the Trump administration. Latino businesses were shuttered because Donald Trump was incapable of dealing with a global pandemic.

[10:30:02]

And then, again, let's remember, and what the Harris campaign is doing today, he ripped babies from the arms.