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Trump's Madison Square Garden In New York City Underway With Dark Rhetoric; Kamala Harris Campaigns In Battleground Pennsylvania; Israeli Military Says 6 Soldiers Died In Gaza, Lebanon; Philadelphia Nuns Fight Back After False Accusations Of Voter Fraud; Early Voting Underway In California; Former Haley Voters In Pennsylvania Open To Harris. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 27, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a Trump rally. We often expect to hear this kind of language, but even for a Trump rally this appears to have gotten very heated. At one point someone referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage. Someone else referred to illegal immigrants as effing illegals. The other one people called Kamala Harris the devil. Someone else called them the anti-Christ.

And we're hearing a lot of language here tonight. It's clear they're treating this experience, they're treating this rally really as like an RNC part two. This is the second time he has had this kind of speaker line-up. We just saw Hulk Hogan speak. We've seen a number of I would say, quote-unquote, "celebrities." I'm using that term a little bit loosely here. But people who are taking the stage for Donald Trump, they are ramping up the crowd.

And Jessica, there are thousands of people here. I'm not sure there's a single empty seat right now in Madison Square Garden. It is packed. And this is not just New Yorkers but also people from across the country. I've seen a number of former administration officials, former aides. It's kind of a homecoming for the former president, something that he'd been wanting to do for quite some time. They just never thought it was actually going to line up given the scheduling and the fact that New York is such a Democratic-leaning place.

Even after they signed the deal to do Madison Square Garden, they were wary of publicizing this event because they were afraid that if it was too close or too far from the actual event that somebody might step in and try and get Madison Square Garden or try to get Democratic politicians to come in and step in and reverse the decision to actually do this event. But it is very important to Donald Trump and we'll see what his closing messages when he takes the stage just days before or roughly a week before people head to the polls on election day.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Kristen, Trump has been visiting solid blue states for rallies in recent weeks. We saw him in California, obviously New York tonight. What is the strategy behind those stops?

HOLMES: Well, a couple of things. When we talk about New York, in particular, we know that this is just important to Donald Trump because it is Madison Square Garden, because it is a homecoming for him, but there are also Republican operatives here in the state who hope that this helps with some of these vulnerable New York House seats. Actually Donald Trump held a call with these New York House lawmakers who are up for reelection and who were in this kind of tenuous positions, trying to get people to get out and vote.

Donald Trump privately has said he thinks he can win New York, but if you talk to any Republican operative or even his senior advisers, they don't believe that's true, but as a whole, we're seeing a lot of different strategies when it comes to him going to these blue states. One, he is trying to drive up the popular vote. He is trying to chip away the margin there, but two, his campaign says that this really is a national media campaign, that at the end of the day doesn't necessarily matter where he is.

He's in a swing state at a rally or if he's at Madison Square Garden, particularly given the fact that, one, New York City is the biggest media market. But two, they believe an event like this with these thousands of people where he fills an arena is going to get the same level of national attention, if not more national attention, than a rally in a swing state. So that's part of their strategy here moving forward.

One of the things to keep in mind here, this is a strategy that hasn't really been relied on. But we're really not going to know if it's working or not until after the election.

DEAN: Yes. That's for sure. The voters have got to tell us.

Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for that.

Vice President Kamala Harris has had a whirlwind of a day in Philadelphia as she looks to boost her chances of winning battleground Pennsylvania. The vice president targeting black and Latino voters today as she visited a black-owned bookstore, a West Philly church, a Puerto Rican restaurant, and a youth basketball center.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is on the trail with the Harris campaign.

And Priscilla, what have you heard from the vice president today?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the vice president is certainly making it clear here in Pennsylvania on just how important a state it is multiple times saying that it is important for her path to victory. Of course, that is what we have been hearing from her own advisers and campaign officials who are trying to fortify the blue wall of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, knowing that that is the perhaps most favorable path to those 270 electoral college votes.

So the vice president here in Pennsylvania, and blitzing around the Philadelphia area where she had multiple stops, including starting the day at a church service at a predominantly black church, and followed by a moderated conversation at a barbershop. And then go into a bookstore and a Puerto Rican restaurant. So trying to court both black and Latino voters as they try to lock down the coalition.

Now, you've heard there from Kristen some of the remarks that have been made at Madison Square Garden tonight, including, for example, on Puerto Rico, and likening it to an island of garbage. Now, Harris campaign officials have been seizing on that over the course of the evening. Of course, the Puerto Rican vote is a crucial one here in Pennsylvania. So again, trying to drive home their own messaging and appealing to Latino and including Puerto Rican voters.

Now here at this community center, where the vice president spoke a few hours ago, she tried to talk about the broader themes of her campaign, including, for example, unifying voters and Americans.

[18:05:05]

In fact she didn't really talk about former president Donald Trump in the way that she often does at rallies. Instead, just focused on mobilizing voters, saying that it is, quote, "one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime," and then also taking a moment to appeal to young voters. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know you are rightly impatient for change. You are rightly impatient. You who have only known the climate crisis. You are leaders in what we need to do to protect our planet.

You who grew up with active shooter drills, you know what we have to do to fight for safety in our schools.

You who right now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers understand the importance of fighting for the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body, and not have her government tell her what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now of course the vice president there trying to shore up support and lock down her coalition going into election day. The vice president has many more stops over the course of the week to battleground states, but certainly here in Pennsylvania keeping the focus on mobilizing voters to the polls -- Jessica.

DEAN: And Priscilla, we also, as she as we get down to these final days, we see Harris and her surrogates coming back to reproductive rights as just a cornerstone of their closing message. What more can you tell us about that?

ALVAREZ: Yes. I spoke to a senior campaign official about this and they told me that of course this is an issue that has been a prominent one over the course of this election. In fact, the vice president started with this issue in 2024 when she was then not running as the Democratic nominee. She came up as the key voice on the issue of abortion rights. So this is certainly an issue that will be featured quite prominently over the next several days. But they are also using celebrity and star power to amplify their

messaging. And part of that included Michelle Obama in Michigan on Saturday when she was campaigning alongside the vice president. Now, during that stop the former first lady spoke extensively about reproductive rights and freedoms and try to tailor that message specifically to men. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: Your wife or mother could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they have no access to regular gynecological care. Your daughter could be the one too terrified to call the doctor if she's bleeding seeing during an unexpected pregnancy.

You will be the one praying that it's not too late. You will be the one pleading for somebody, anybody to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So the former first lady there using personal anecdote, again trying to target men. That has been an area where the vice president, her campaign have struggled to gain support in some areas including among Latino men and young black men.

Now, the vice president, again, going to use this issue in the closing days, but they will also be using more celebrities over the next several days to again amplify their message as they turn to this get- out-the-vote phase of the election -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Priscilla Alvarez on the trail in Philadelphia. Thank you so much for that.

And joining us now is Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor for Spectrum News.

Errol, good to see you. Thanks for being here.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be with you.

DEAN: I want to bring us back, we'll go to Harris in a minute, but I want to bring us back here to New York City and Trump's rally here tonight. You know this city very, very, very well. What do you make of his move, of doing this closing argument from Madison Square Garden?

LOUIS: Well, it is almost purely symbolic. No one should be under the illusion that he has any chance of winning New York state or New York City. Frankly, he didn't even win the immediate area around Donald Trump when -- Trump Tower, I should say, when he ran in 2016 and in 2020. So that's not what this is about.

It's purely symbolic. It's a way to run against, and I was listening to some of that rally, kind of running against cities, against New York City, against the idea that Democratically-run cities are horrible places, are terrible places and that his politics is taking -- intended to take the country in a different direction. And so there is no greater symbol of urban life in New York than in the heart of New York City. And I think that's why he's here.

DEAN: And it is so ironic that as you're saying it is an attack on Democratically run cities and how they are run.

[18:10:00]

And yet, Donald Trump wants to be here. He cares so much about New York and being in New York City and being loved in New York City. It is a bit ironic.

LOUIS: Yes. Look, he's at a love-hate relationship with the city. He wishes "The New York Times" would embrace him. He wishes the city of his birth where he grew up and made a fortune would embrace him. But, you know, we parted ways with Donald Trump as New Yorkers for quite a long time ago. And he made a conscious decision of the kind of politician he was going to be. He's the kind of politician who slams and attacks a city that is still a wonderful place, is a very safe place and is a place where you can still come and make a fortune.

DEAN: And I want to ask you too about the down-ballot races in New York state because those House races, and there are some really close ones that really matter that, you know, Republicans were able to flip the House with just this small, you know, this small number of seats. And these seats that are up for grabs are really important if Republicans want to keep the House. And yet our colleague Kristen Holmes was reporting that none of the Republicans who are running in those districts are appearing on stage with Trump.

LOUIS: That's exactly right. And that's the reality. To a lesser extent in California, but certainly here in New York, there are four or five seats where there are Republican incumbents but these are districts that went for Joe Biden four years ago. So they have Democratic majorities. They voted Democratically against Donald Trump four years ago. He is not somebody you want to be standing next to in a close election and all of these are really closely contested.

If this is a wave year for Democrats, if Kamala Harris pulls out lots and lots of people in the early vote totals that we've seen just in our first day suggest that that might be the case, it's going to swap these Republicans. They're going to have a very hard time getting from here to November 5th. And Donald Trump won't make it any easier.

DEAN: Let's talk about Kamala Harris's campaign in the closing days for that campaign. It was interesting last night to see former first lady Michelle Obama really make that argument about reproductive rights but targeted at men. It was really kind of a spin on what we've been hearing from Democrats. What do you think about that tactic?

LOUIS: Look, this was something that I was having flashbacks to 2016, honestly, because we've talked about everything in the world about this election, but we haven't really focused on the fact that the United States would be electing the first woman president. There's a lot of sexism out there. There are a lot of ideas that are buried somewhat deeply for a lot of men where they'll look at a Kamala Harris as they looked at a Hillary Clinton, and they'll say there's something about her. She doesn't look like a leader. I don't like her laugh. She doesn't seem strong enough. You know, that kind of a thing is

really buried kind of deeply and they're bringing that out. They're sort of addressing it somewhat directly in this final week and a half of the campaign. It's a very touchy subject. It's kind of hard to get to. It doesn't lend itself to easy talking points. But Michelle Obama I think said something that needed to be said, which is like, look, this is not necessarily going to be like every election you've seen before, and you've got to examine your own attitudes about women in leadership if you want to really have a kind a clear vision of what this election is about.

DEAN: Yes, it is interesting that it was -- it's her and then of course her husband, the former president, Barack Obama, who also a couple of weeks ago or even a week ago, time means nothing anymore in the world we're living in. But recently was the one that really gave that, you could call it a talking to, to men about, and specifically black men that he wanted to reach and get his message to them.

LOUIS: Yes. It felt a little bit like a scolding. I don't know how effective that was.

DEAN: Yes. Right.

LOUIS: I first don't know a single person whose mind was changed after that little lecture. But again, it was -- look, the Democrat, the Democratic leadership, the Kamala Harris campaign, they're trying to do something that needed to be done and it's hard, you know, if politics was easy you know, we'd already have had a president elected. This is tough, this is hard. This is going to be an attempt to change the way American politics is done and we shouldn't kid ourselves about that.

DEAN: Yes. And so now as we have just a few days to go, a few days to go until we're at the main event, election day, what are you watching in this last full week of campaigning on both sides?

LOUIS: There are a couple of things. There are those six seats, five or six seats out in California and the five or six seats here where there are some House seats where Republicans are in pro-Biden districts. I'm curious to see what's going to happen there. There were a lot of really interesting Senate races going on, not just Montana, but also Ohio, Florida, frankly, you know, I think there might be some surprises. You know, who knows what might happen in Texas.

You know, could we be on the verge of a wave election in one direction or the other I think is a really interesting question. And then finally, this issue of whether or not democracy is on the ballot.

[18:15:03]

You know, there's some polling data that suggest that people really care about whether or not we're having free and fair elections, whether or not democracy is going to continue in the way that it should. And based on what we saw on January 6th, it's a very valid question. I'm going to be watching to see the extent to which candidates are campaigning on that issue. DEAN: Yes. All right. Errol Louis, as always, thank you so much for

being here with us. We appreciate it.

LOUIS: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, Iran says it does not seek war with Israel, but vows, quote, "inappropriate response." This is after both countries have volleyed missiles back and forth. We're going to have the latest in that conflict next. And also soon we are watching this, President Trump will take the stage and headline a rally at Madison Square Garden.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:15]

DEAN: Iran is vowing to respond to Israel's recent deadly strike on the country but cautions it does not seek war. Iranian state media quotes Iran's president as saying that tensions will escalate if Israel continues what he calls, quote, "its aggression and crimes." The Iranian leader also accused the U.S. of provoking Israel into action. This all comes as Israel is also fighting battles against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Our Jim Sciutto is in Jerusalem with more.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We had multiple reminders today that the war in the region is a war on multiple fronts. And arguably, each of those fronts is getting hotter, or at least not cooling down.

Today, Israeli authorities are describing a truck that hit a bus stop just north of Tel Aviv as a terror attack that killed one person, injured more than 30 others. One in a series of terror attacks we've seen in recent weeks here in Israel. There was also a stabbing attack targeting soldiers today. In addition to that, the IDF announced today the deaths of six Israeli soldiers, one of them from ongoing fighting in Gaza, five others from fighting in southern Lebanon. Two other fronts, of course, of this war.

And then sources tell me today that as part of Israel's strike on Iran overnight on Friday and into early Saturday morning, a strike that involved some 100 Israeli warplanes, that some of those warplanes breached Iranian airspace during that attack. Not all of those warplanes, but some of them. And that shows a significant Israeli capability to strike far away at Iran, hundreds of miles away, an operation that requires refueling in the air for many of these fighters, but also in the course of it to take out Iranian air defenses and in this case, breach Iranian airspace.

So you have all those fronts in Lebanon, in Gaza, between directly Israel and Iran, and of course, a front you might call it here inside Israel, ongoing terror attacks in this country and in each case, them getting more dangerous, not less so. And of course these are developments we continue to follow.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Jerusalem.

DEAN: Jim, thank you.

Right now, Madison Square Garden feels more like the Republican National Convention than its usual gig as a world-famous sports and music venue. We're waiting for President Trump to take the stage there.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:26]

DEAN: Vice President Harris is on the campaign trail in battleground Pennsylvania. Her stops today include a meeting with the U.S. basketball team, spending time at a West Philadelphia church and a black-owned bookstore. And during a campaign event in Philadelphia, Harris also offered a warning about the fragile state of American democracy while urging young people to get out and vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Philly, we've got nine days, nine days, nine days left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. And we know this is going to be a tight race until the very end so we have a lot of work ahead of us. But we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work is joyful work. And make no mistake, we will win. We will win. We will win. We will win.

And we will win because here's how I think about it. When you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. And this election is about two extremely different visions for our nation. One, Donald Trump, who was focused on the past and himself -- and we are not going back.

I want to talk about Gaza for a minute. OK? We can and we must seize this opportunity to end this war and bring the hostages home. And I will do everything in my power to meet that end. And we are here because we are fighting for our democracy. And we respect the voices of all people. And we've got a job to do in the next nine days to fight for this democracy we love.

From the beginning, our campaign has been about building coalitions and building community. Look over the next nine days. Like I said, we are going to win. That is our highest order. But through that process, to all the friends here I say, let's be intentional about building community.

[18:30:04]

Let's be intentional about building coalitions. Let's be intentional about understanding. We all have so much more in common than what separates us. We will be the better for it. We love our country. We love our country. And you've got to fight for

the thing you love. You've got to fight for the thing you love. And I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, the expression of the love of our country, to then fight for its ideals. It is the highest form patriotism and one of the most powerful ways we do that is with our votes.

From now until election day, we are going to get out the vote here in Pennsylvania. And if you'll give me a minute, I really right now want to speak to the young leaders who are here. Is Gen Z in the house?

And for the next nine days, no one can sit on the sidelines. There is too much on the line and we must not wake up the day after the election and have any regrets about what we could have done in these next nine days. So let's spend these next nine days knowing we did everything we could. Let's build community and let's knock on doors. Let's text and call potential voters. Let's reach out to our families and our friends and our classmates and our neighbors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Harris continues her campaign blitz this week. On Tuesday, she'll make what's being billed as her closing argument from the Ellipse in D.C. That of course, the site of Trump's fiery speech on January 6th, 2021 before the insurrection. Harris is also planning stops in the battleground states of Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona.

Meanwhile, Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, sitting down with our own Jake Tapper in what turned into a combative interview. The interview began with Tapper asking Vance about comments this week from Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly, in which Kelly referred to his former boss as a fascist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Let me ask you, obviously, Trump's former chief of staff General John Kelly.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sure.

TAPPER: Was alarmed, he says, by what he heard when Trump said he wanted to use the National Guard or the Pentagon to go after the enemy within, Americans with whom he disagrees, including the Pelosis, Adam Schiff. And then he gave an interview, he said that Trump, quote, "certainly falls into the general definition of fascist," that he's, quote, "certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators."

You've called him a disgruntled former employee.

VANCE: I actually think there's an interesting conversation here to have, Jake, which is, why does John Kelly not support Donald Trump? It's about policy. It's not about personality.

TAPPER: No, no. He says he agrees with Trump on most policy.

VANCE: No.

TAPPER: He agrees with Trump on most policy.

VANCE: The fundamental --

TAPPER: He disagrees with Trump on how Trump views his role and his -- and the fascism and the authoritarianism.

VANCE: I don't buy that, Jake. I don't buy that because if you actually look at John Kelly, at folks like Liz Cheney, the fundamental disagreement they have with Donald Trump is, even though they say that they're conservative, they're conservative in the sense that they want America to get involved in a ton of ridiculous military conflicts. They want America to police the world and Donald Trump wasn't.

TAPPER: John Kelly lost a son in Afghanistan. Why are you saying that -- like I've never heard John Kelly say whether he supports Iran or Afghanistan.

VANCE: Jake, come on. And I honor his son's sacrifice and I honor his family's sacrifice. That doesn't mean he's not wrong about policy.

VANCE: Absolutely.

TAPPER: It's not like these are conservative --

VANCE: Absolutely that's my argument.

TAPPER: These are not conservative Republicans?

VANCE: Jake, all of these people --

TAPPER: These aren't conservative Republicans who are concerned about Donald Trump? They're not? That's not right?

VANCE: All of these people, Jake, they came into office thinking that they could control Donald Trump, that when he said he wanted peace in the world --

TAPPER: Mike Pence thought he could control Donald Trump?

VANCE: Yes, he did.

TAPPER: Really?

VANCE: And when he found out that he couldn't, they all turned on Donald Trump. And a lot of them got fired. And we are running and we're trying to staff the government with people who are going to govern according to principles of peace and prosperity.

TAPPER: Let me ask you --

VANCE: They're pissed off about it.

TAPPER: Let me ask you, because we're being told that we're over.

VANCE: Yes. One more question because we have to go to this rally.

TAPPER: Yes. Yes. You are running to be vice president of the United States.

VANCE: Of course.

TAPPER: And there is a 50-50 chance, maybe better, I don't know, that you're going to succeed. Are you running to be vice president of the United States or are you running to be vice president of the red states? Because if you win, and there's a decent chance you will, you're going to be vice president of childless cat ladies. You're going to be vice president of legal Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. You're going to be their vice president, too.

Are you running to do that?

VANCE: Jake, of course, I'm running to be the vice president of all Americans. I'm running because I want people to be able to afford a good life in this country.

[18:35:02]

You know how I grew up. You know that I grew up in a family where things were often tough. I want, whether you're in a blue state or a red state, whether you're going to vote for Trump or you're going to vote for Harris, I want you to be able to have a good life in this country. But that's not going to happen with the broken leadership in Washington, D.C.

Let me give you a statistic, Jake, because here is what the leadership of people like Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi and, yes, Mike Pence, over 30 years in this country has led to. A person with a bachelor's degree lives seven years longer than a person without a bachelor's degree. There are a lot of people who have gotten rich and powerful off of American decline. Some of them have had R's next to their name. Some of them have had D's next to their name.

And the first person who I believe is really putting the interest of the American people first is Donald J. Trump. So, yes, we're going to be the president and the vice president for all people. The only way to do that is to reject the failed consensus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And now you are looking live at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Donald Trump will be speaking to a very large crowd there at Madison Square Garden. Of course, Senator J.D. Vance, his running mate there with him as well, as well as a number of Trump allies.

We're going to keep our eye on that and have more reports from there coming up, but still ahead Republicans called it voter fraud. 53 registered voters at one single address. CNN went there. It's a Catholic monastery. Meet the nuns who are now fighting back against what they call public defamation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:09]

DEAN: Nuns accused of voter fraud. A post by a Republican operative sounded a false alarm about fake registered voters at a Pennsylvania monastery, and Elon Musk's super PAC sent that false claim viral. But then the Catholic monastery is -- that is filled with nuns who do live there responded and they're fighting back.

Danny Freeman has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just off the cold waters of Lake Erie, tucked into the crisp fall foliage of western Pennsylvania, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie live a peaceful life in a modest monastery.

SISTER STEPHANIE SCHMIDT, PRIORESS, BENEDICTINE SISTER OF ERIE: This is my favorite window.

FREEMAN: Sister Stephanie Schmidt is the prioress, the leader of the 50 plus nuns who have called this place home for decades.

SCHMIDT: When you make your vows here, you're committed to this monastery in Erie for the rest of your life.

FREEMAN: Did it come to you as a bit of a surprise when all of a sudden on social media someone was saying that no one lives here?

SCHMIDT: More of a shock than a surprise. Where is this coming from? What planet are you living on?

FREEMAN (voice-over): On Tuesday, an X account claiming to be the head of a canvassing operation in Pennsylvania posted, "Breaking, a member of the PA CHASE discovered an address in Erie, Pennsylvania, today, where 53 voters are registered. Turns out, it's the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, and no one lives there. We will not let Dems count on illegal votes."

The claim is a canvasser walked in right into the lobby and was told by someone no one lived there.

SCHMIDT: It's misinformation. No one here had that interaction with whomever supposedly came by canvas. No one here would say no one lives here.

FREEMAN: The post seen more than 2.7 million times and reposted by Elon Musk's America PAC included a long list of names, all women, implying they supposedly don't live here and aren't real voters at all.

You know, most of the sisters who live here, correct?

SCHMIDT: I know all of them.

FREEMAN: So, you know Sister Rita?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Anne?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: There are four sister Annes, right?

SCHMIDT: Used to be seven, but now we're down to four.

FREEMAN: Sister Annette.

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Audrey.

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Barbara.

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Dolores.

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Placida?

SCHMIDT: 107.

FREEMAN: No kidding?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Just turned 107?

SCHMIDT: Just turned 107.

FREEMAN (voice-over): At lunch, we saw the Sisters of Erie firsthand.

Can each of you tell me how long you've lived here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 63 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been in the community 54 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I entered in '59.

FREEMAN (voice-over): We reached out to the canvassing operation and poster for comment but did not hear back.

SISTER ANNETTE MARSHALL, BENEDICTINE SISTER OF ERIE: We're used to being accused of things like being too active and, you know, being -- we've always been very vocal about peace and justice. But I've never heard us accused of fraud. FREEMAN: Or not existing?

MARSHALL: Or not existing, right.

FREEMAN (voice-over): After the nuns publicly pushed back on the claims, the original poster tweeted in part, "Right now we've got our team continuing to analyze the situation. Once we have proof, we will be content."

The nuns acknowledged they're in a swing county in a swing state and misinformation is bound to flow in these final days of the presidential election.

Do you think this whole incident is going to galvanize more sisters here to vote?

MARSHALL: You don't need to galvanize the sisters here to vote, they will vote. They all vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on-camera): Now I should say, not only do all of these nuns vote, but they're not afraid of a fight either. They tell me that they've reached out to their attorneys to discuss the possibility of legal action after this incident. They're saying they're looking at a violation of privacy since many of their nuns' full names and of course their address was posted online. But also, they're calling accusations of fraud public defamation.

Danny Freeman, CNN, State College, Pennsylvania.

[18:45:05]

DEAN: All right. Danny, thank you.

Still ahead, Californians are headed to the polls. Early in-person voting now underway in many areas in California. We are live outside of polling station. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Early voting is underway in California with just nine days until election day. And across the state more than four million ballots have been cast so far with in-person voting starting in 29 California counties this weekend.

[18:50:06]

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is speaking to voters in Orange County.

And Julia, what are they telling you?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're so aware, Jessica, of the importance of their vote this time around. As you know, that's not something that we hear often here in California, a state that generally goes blue, but for this time around, they're picking between Adam Schiff, Representative Adam Schiff of Burbank, and a former L.A. Dodgers star baseball player, Steve Garvey, a Republican.

But here in the 45th District in Orange County, that's a race that we should really be watching for. It's a very tight race between an incumbent Republican going for her third term, Michelle Steel, against Derek Tran who's never run before after a redistricting here in 2020. About 40 percent of this district is Asian-American, about 30 percent of it is Hispanic, and both parties are really vying for that demographic.

We've spoken with many voters here today. But I want you to hear from one particular voter, Jessica, who is both a Christian and a registered Republican, but she says she's going to cast her vote for Kamala Harris. Listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abortion is really the -- I think a very tough, you know, topic to tackle. I don't believe it is really -- if that's what should really drive most Christians to vote for Trump. I think it's really up to the person who is -- to the woman who's confronted with that issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And Jessica, abortion, foreign policy, the economy, those are the kinds of issues that voters here in Orange County are concerned about. And that's what's bringing them to a poll so early -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, for us there in Orange County, California. Thank you for that reporting.

In an election that will most likely be decided on the margins, a group of Pennsylvania voters could make a big difference. And in this installment of "All Over the Map," John King travels back to the Philadelphia suburbs, checking in with people who voted for Nikki Haley in that primary to see where they stand now.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Berks County is a bit more away from the city, more rural, and more Republican, yet not as deep and reliably red as just a few years ago.

JOAN LONDON, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: This neighborhood is becoming a lot like the Philadelphia suburbs. This is a primarily Republican leaning borough. Always has been. But when it comes to national elections, I do see more and more support for Democratic candidates.

KING: Attorney Joan London switched her registration to independent after voting for Haley in the Republican primary. London was asked to join this local political program not long after our first visit five months ago. Back then, she told us she would write in a conservative because she viewed President Biden as too old. Later, she said she viewed Vice President Harris as too liberal and untested. But then she watched the Harris-Trump debate.

LONDON: The last straw was what he said about the Ukraine, where he said that we have to have a negotiated settlement. For someone who claims to be a conservative to say that was, in my opinion, outrageous. It's appeasement.

KING: So London is now voting Harris, voting Democrat for president for the first time because she believes Trump must lose because she gets the battleground state math.

LONDON: I needed to vote against allowing him to become president again. I don't want it on my conscience that I contributed in some way to that. Sometimes you have to say, American first, conservative second, Republican third.

KING: Media is in Delaware County, just outside Philly, reliably blue now. But still, a test of whether Harris can match or exceed Biden's 2020 math. It's also a big test for Trump. He lost the Philly suburbs in 2016, but narrowly won statewide. But he lost these suburbs by a bit more in 2020. And he narrowly lost Pennsylvania.

We're getting to the end here. Have you made up your mind?

CYNTHIA SABATINI, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: No.

KING (voice-over): Cynthia Sabatini is another never Trumper, another Haley primary voter, another Republican who won't vote for him but isn't sure about her.

Finish the sentence. Madam Vice President, if you want my vote here in the very important Philadelphia suburbs, you need to do --

SABATINI: You need to answer questions on point. You need to provide more details about your economic plan. You need to provide more details about your vision also for this country. I'm, you know, a bottom line person. I want details.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:55:06]

DEAN: All right. John King for us in Pennsylvania. Thanks so much for that.

Let's take a live look now at a massive Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. About to take the stage, Elon Musk, hopefully there ahead of former president Trump's remarks which we are keeping an eye on. And later tonight on CNN, catch an encore performance of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" with a host Roy Wood Jr. It starts at 11:00. Guests this week are comedian Larry Wilmore and former congressman Adam Kinzinger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JUNIOR, CNN HOST, HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: Have you ever, like, been in, like, any type of like look-alike contests or anything?

ADAM KINZINGER, FORMER ILLINOIS CONGRESSMAN: No.

WOOD: Since we're talking about -- there's anybody else? You never liked --

KINZINGER: No.

WOOD: Mistaken.

KINZINGER: Tom Cruise kind of but that's --

(LAUGHTER)

AMBER RUFFIN, COMEDIAN: Yes.

KINZINGER: I'm not doing the one that says it.

WOOD: I don't know.

KINZINGER: I'm not the one that says it.

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, COMEDIAN: You just said you're not the one who says it?

KINZINGER: I'm not the one who says it.

BLACK: You just said it, bro.

RUFFIN: Can you just look at what you look like when it happened? Yes, some people -- it's not, I mean. Yes, some people say I look like Tom Cruise.

LARRY WILMORE, COMEDIAN: Yes. I keep playing volleyball with my shirt off.

WOOD: I did one time, though, I did win an Isaiah Whitlock Jr. look- alike contest from "The Wire."

WILMORE: That's right. Yes.

BLACK: Oh, yes.

WILMORE: Oh, yes.

RUFFIN: Oh, damn.

WILMORE: Very good. It's good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" airs tonight at 11:00 Eastern only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)