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Harris, Trump Pitched Their Campaigns as U.S. Presidential Elections Begins Tuesday; Crowds Protest, Throw Mud and Eggs to Spanish Royals During Their Visit at Flood-Hit Valencia; Musician and Producer Quincy Jones Dies; Israel Formally Severs Ties with UNRWA. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 04, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, a surprising new poll is drawing the ire of the Trump campaign. We will look at its findings and hear from the pollster herself about the methodology.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump make their final pitch to swing state voters as the former president makes election denialism part of his closing message. We have the latest from the busy campaign trend.
Plus, insight into what issues younger voters are prioritizing and what's driving them to the polls.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well it is the last day before the highly anticipated presidential election in the U.S. and both campaigns are making their final pitches to voters. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump have focused on key battleground states ahead of Tuesday's vote and in the coming hours they will both travel to Pennsylvania for rallies.
On Sunday Harris and Trump fanned out hitting other key states like Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina. Already more than 75 million people have cast their ballots for president thanks to early voting. That includes Harris, who announced Sunday that she was dropping off her mail-in ballot.
The latest CNN poll of polls shows exactly why both candidates are laser focused on the battleground states. From Arizona to Pennsylvania, the averages of recent polling in each state show there is still no clear leader.
But one poll out of Iowa suggests a shift toward Harris in a state that had been considered solidly Republican. Among likely voters in the Des Moines Register-MediaCom poll, Harris is at 47 percent and Trump is at 44 percent. That is within the poll's margin of sampling error, meaning there is no clear leader.
That poll, prompting this front-page headline out of Des Moines on Sunday, sources say the results were a gut punch to those within Trump's orbit. His campaign argues the poll is a clear outlier, as Trump has said to be fuming privately over the numbers. On Sunday, he went public with his complaints calling it a fake poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of my enemies just pushed out a poll. I'm three down. Joni Ernst called me, everyone's called me, they said, you're killing in Iowa. The farmers love me and I love them. They just announced a fake poll. Hey, think of it, right before the election that I'm three points down, I'm not down in Iowa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: That poll was conducted by pollster Ann Selzer, who accurately predicted Trump's Iowa wins in 2016 and in 2020. Now she finds herself defending this latest poll.
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J. ANN SELZER, IOWA POLLSTER AND PRESIDENT, SELZER AND COMPANY: We first saw numbers on Tuesday morning. Monday night was the first night in the field and I walked into the office and I'd seen overnight I'd seen the unweighted data and it had Harris leading and my assistant said did you see the data and I said I'd like to see weighted data.
So the weighting is how we take care of things that make it -- would make our poll unrepresentative. We align things with a known population and we extract from a larger group the people who need our definition of likely voters, and that is people who've already voted and people who say they will definitely vote.
So when former President Trump says we interviewed more Democrats, well that's what came out of our data. We did nothing to make that happen. I'm a big believer of keeping my fingers off -- dirty fingers off the data. So we did it the way we did it when he won in our final poll twice in two election cycles, very same method.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Vice President Kamala Harris took her campaign to the crucial state of Michigan on Sunday, where she visited a Detroit restaurant and also spoke at a church in the city. She delivered a call to action saying the fate of our nation will be decided on election day.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And in these next two days, we will be tested. These days will demand everything we've got. But when I think about the days ahead and the God we serve. We were born for such a time as this.
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The road ahead won't be easy, but in times of uncertainty, we are reminded weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, and church morning is on its way.
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CHURCH: Harris wrapped her day with a speech in East Lansing. CNN's Jeff Zeleny was there and filed this report.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris closing her campaign with a note of optimism saying it's time to turn the page. At a speech on Sunday night on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, the vice president implored her supporters to take the final hours of this campaign to do all they can to make sure she defeats Donald Trump.
HARRIS: From the very start, our campaign has not been about being against something, it is about being for something, freedom, opportunity and dignity for all Americans. And so in these final hours, let us remember that there is power in knowing that we are together. And let us remember that your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power.
ZELENY: These campaigns are closing in remarkably different ways. As former President Donald Trump is already questioning the results of Tuesday's election, Vice President Harris is urging her supporters to stay hopeful and optimistic, even as she tries to fight to win Michigan and these other Blue Wall states.
It is no coincidence that she's closing her campaign in Michigan before spending the entire day before the election in Pennsylvania. It is the critical Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that she believes offer her best path to the White House. There's no doubt this race is still a margin of error race. Every single battleground state is a coin toss. But the Harris campaign and the Vice President herself believe momentum is on her side in the closing hours of the race.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, East Lansing, Michigan.
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CHURCH: Donald Trump plans another multi-state swing today as he tries one last time to reach undecided voters in the election battlegrounds. On Sunday night, he ended his day with a rally in Georgia where he stayed more on message, repeating his talking points about the economy and immigration.
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TRUMP: With your vote on Tuesday, I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country. And I will bring back the American dream. We're going to bring back the American dream. We're just two days away from what will be the most important political event in the history of our country. I believe that.
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CHURCH: That speech in Macon, much different than the one he delivered in Pennsylvania earlier in the day, as his rhetoric has increasingly grown darker. CNN's Alayna Treene has details.
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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Former president Donald Trump, which is two days left until election day, spent his Sunday at three different rallies. Now, during his remarks, he railed against a slate of recent polls that show him losing ground to Kamala Harris. He continued to make unfounded claims about election fraud in this current election. Of course, the election again is not for another two days.
And then also, at one point, while talking about some of the accomplishments he felt he had in his -- in the White House when he was President started saying that he shouldn't have left the White House at all. Now one moment as well that I do want to bring your attention to is some pretty inflammatory remarks he said about journalists.
Now, during his first rally of the day when he was in Pennsylvania, he was talking about and remarking on the bulletproof glass surrounding his podium. And then he argued that when, you know, if someone wanted to shoot him, they would have to go through the media first to get to him. And then he said, I actually wouldn't mind that. Take a listen to how he put it in his own words.
TRUMP: I have a piece of glass over here. And I don't have a piece of glass there. And I have this piece of glass here. But all we have really over here is the fake news, right? And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much, because...
TREENE: So I don't mind, were Donald Trump's words. Now clearly that type of rhetoric is not the rhetoric that the Trump campaign wants him to be focusing on right now, which is two days left until election day. The goal is to really focus and hone his closing message.
When I talk to the campaign, they say it's about the economy trying to convince voters that they were better off four years ago than they are now to talk about the border, to talk about turnout, which is really the key goal right now is convincing voters to get out to the polls on election day in spite of, you know, tens of millions of people having already voted early.
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That's what they want him to be talking about. But instead, he's spent a lot of time veering off script. And of course, some of those more inflammatory remarks and comments are what a lot of the media and other people are going to be focusing on, which is not what the Trump campaign wants their message to be.
Alayna Treene, CNN, Kinston, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The Trump campaign is looking to clean up his violent rhetoric towards the media during his Pennsylvania rally, issuing a statement claiming that Trump was actually quote, "looking out for their welfare far more than his own when he said he wouldn't mind if someone were to shoot through reporters trying to get to him." That statement, a clear attempt to spin Trump's violent comments ahead of election day.
Well, to meet the controversy, both campaigns are focusing on seven key battleground states. CNN political director David Chalion is at the magic wall to break down which of them Trump and Harris need to win if they want to take the White House.
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DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Here it is. The path to 270. The red states are in Trump's column. The blue states are in Harris' column for the purpose of this exercise. And we've got seven remaining yellow toss-up battleground states. And as you know, those battleground states are razor thin.
Look at these are a poll of polls in the battleground states. No clear leader in any of them, in any of these battleground states. So this is razor thin. So what is the path to victory for each candidate? Well, the Harris campaign will say that their best, most direct path to 270 electoral votes is through the blue wall. If she were to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, she'd be at 270 electoral votes and the next president.
But what if Donald Trump repeats his 2016 victory in Pennsylvania. Then Harris drops down to 251, and she has to go hunting in the Sun Belt to find some more votes. Certainly, if she were able to flip North Carolina from red to blue this time, that would get her knocking on the door to 270, and then maybe Nevada behaves like it has for Democrats in recent cycles, and that would put Harris over the top in that scenario.
What about Donald Trump's path? Well, let's reset the map, seven yellow battleground states. And Donald Trump's most direct path is to hang on to North Carolina. That is the state he won by the narrowest margin four years ago. In fact, it's the only state he won of the seven battleground states.
And let's say he flips Georgia back. You'll recall he famously lost it by just fewer than 12,000 votes. So let's say that ends up back in his column. And let's say he does get that Pennsylvania victory repeated from 2016. That's it. He'll be at 270 electoral votes. He doesn't need any of the rest of the battleground states.
But what if Harris does pull it out in Pennsylvania? Then, where does Donald Trump go for the next 19 electoral votes? Well, even if he were to win Nevada and Arizona out west, that still would not get him to 270. He would need at least one of the other remaining so-called blue wall states, such as Michigan, and that would do the trick and get him over the top at 283.
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CHURCH: Whether it is Harris or Trump, the outcome of this election will have major ramifications around the world. We have correspondents standing by in a number of countries to gauge the international reaction. Frederik Pleitgen is in Berlin, Mike Valerio is in Seoul, but first to chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance in Jerusalem with the perspective from Israel.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Here in Israel, the US presidential election is being closely watched. The outcome being seen as having a direct impact on this country too, which is of course fighting in Gaza and Lebanon and engaged in a spiraling confrontation with Iran. One recent opinion poll here suggests a clear majority of Israelis favor Trump over Harris to become the leader of Israel's most important ally.
Trump is remembered for a series of pro-Israel moves when he was president, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights and taking a tougher stance on Iran. While the Biden administration, including Vice President Harris, is seen by many here as having sought to restrain Israel's tough military response in a year since the October the 7th attacks.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of uncertainty and anxiety here in Europe about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, especially among the U.S.' European NATO allies. Now, there are some who fear that if Donald Trump wins the presidency, that it could lead to the United States significantly scaling back its commitments to NATO, and possibly even that vow to protect NATO members if they are attacked from the outside.
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All of this, of course, is happening in front of that backdrop of the war in Ukraine, which of course is still a huge topic here in Europe. And there, both the Ukrainians and European NATO allies fear that if Donald Trump wins the presidency, that it could also lead to the U.S. significantly scaling back its military aid for Ukraine and possibly even stopping it altogether, which in the end could force the Ukrainians de facto into a surrender against Russia.
A lot of European NATO countries have of course given significant military aid to Ukraine, but a lot of them are doing that knowing that the US will protect them from Russia.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well for millions of South Koreans, one of the biggest consequences of the U.S. election involves North Korea. Specifically, could the next U.S. president decide to keep the roughly 30,000 US troops here on the Korean Peninsula in part as a security guarantee against North Korea or could the next U.S. president decide to reduce the number of U.S. troops here on the peninsula?
Certainly, former President Trump has considered doing so in the past. And in 2018, he paused military exercises between South Korea and the United States. That pause happened when Trump was negotiating with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, over Kim's nuclear program. But under the Biden-Harris administration, those military exercises between South Korea and the United States have begun once again.
In fact, the Biden-Harris White House takes credit for the formation of a new security partnership between Japan, the United States and South Korea forged in part to counter North Korean threats. So security looming large here as we await the results of the U.S. election.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
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CHURCH: Joining me now is Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for Europe at the "New York Times." Appreciate you being with us.
STEVEN ERLANGER, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Thank you.
CHURCH: So let's look at the immense global consequences of this presidential election in the United States. How might foreign policy and America's place in the world change if Donald Trump is elected to be the next president of the United States?
ERLANGER: Well, we have some experience from his time as president before. Only Trump is older and seems as obsessed as he's always been with two main issues which I don't think will change. One is trade, which actually is everybody really nervous because he insists he loves tariffs. He says it's the best word in the world next to God.
And he wants to put 20 percent tariffs on everything coming into the United States and even more 50, 60 percent on anything coming in from China. Now that would raise prices for Americans, but it would also do a lot of damage to allied economies, let alone to China's.
And the second thing, of course, is security. I mean, Donald Trump does not like alliances. He thinks alliances weaken America. Kamala Harris thinks alliances strengthen America and Trump has been obsessed about NATO members not spending enough on their own defense. It's not that he's wrong, I think he's correct, particularly given Ukraine. He takes credit for increases.
Now, 23 of 32 NATO members spend 2 percent of GDP on defense, but frankly, that's not enough. It should be 2.5 or 3 percent, particularly among big country. So I expect him to jolly that along and he may threaten to do this and do that but it's never very clear. Trump's very unpredictable and he can be talked down sometimes and he can be swung by this idea as Lindsey Graham often says that all has to be about Trump, so if one praises Trump if one says all everything good is due to trump. He's likely to be happy for a while, but he is very unpredictable. And these two themes, I think, will recur without question. So people are anxious.
CHURCH: And how different will America's place in the world be if Kamala Harris becomes the next president of the United States, or would it simply be very much of the same?
ERLANGER: Well, I think it would be sort of the same for a while, but I think we, particularly in Europe, underestimate her personal experience is just different. She's a Californian, she's half Jamaican, half Indian. She doesn't have the kind of transatlantic gene built in that Joe Biden did.
Now she cares about NATO, she believes in alliances with people close to her, like Philip Gordon her national security adviser, our traditional American diplomats. But I think this is a change of an era. I think in the end, America is looking more toward China, looking more toward the Indo-Pacific.
[03:20:08]
I think the drift away from Europe will be much more benign. It will be slower under Kamala Harris. But I think Europeans are realizing that they need to step up in their own defense even if Kamala Harris wins the presidency.
CHURCH: And what do you see as the main foreign policy challenges awaiting the next president of the United States, whether it's Harris or Trump?
ERLANGER: Well, I think it's Russia first of all because Russia is on the march. It is not going to stop, I don't think. And also North Korea, which is getting more and more aggressive and has more of an alliance with Russia.
And it's Iran, whether Iran is going to become a nuclear state or not. I think those are the three biggest foreign policy challenges, as well as climate change, because what's going on obviously requires cooperation all around the world. Now there's China. Everyone talks in America about China.
I think the Chinese also have their own timetable, but the next three or four years won't be crucial. I think China's looking a bit beyond that. But I think Taiwan -- keeping Taiwan independent is going to take quite a lot of work, but not for the next three or four years. I mean, that's the time to work it. I think there's more time on Taiwan than there is on Ukraine, Iran, or North Korea.
CHURCH: And Steven, you, of course, are living there in Europe, specifically there in Germany. So how concerned are politicians and citizens across the continent about who might be the next U.S. president, the overall sentiment there? ERLANGER: They're desperately concerned. I mean, the Germans are kind
of funny. I mean, if you look at the polls over many administrations, they love Democrats and mistrust Republicans. And that's been true way back to Ronald Reagan.
85 percent of Germans think Kamala Harris will win, which I think is kind of very hopeful for them. We'll see what happens. But there is anxiety about Trump because Trump really doesn't like Germany. He picks out Germany maybe because of his own grandfather, but he picks out Germany as the country that he believes is freeloading on American largesse for its own security.
So the Germans are nervous about that. And don't forget, when he was president last time, toward the end, he tried to pull a lot of American troops out of Germany. So people are worried about Ukraine, they're worried about the U.S. abandoning Europe, but there's a lot of kind of putting their fingers over their eyes and hoping it doesn't happen.
In Brussels, the European Union is doing strategy sessions, but it's mostly about trade and tariffs. If Trump imposes big tariffs, the E.U. will be ready with counter tariffs, because the E.U. is largely about trade. But NATO -- we have a new general secretary, Mark Rutte, who knows Trump. Trump likes him. So I think that's a good sign. But people, I think, in Europe generally are just hoping that it will be Harris because it would be just a softer ride for them.
CHURCH: Steven Erlanger in Berlin, many thanks for joining us. I Appreciate it.
ERLANGER: Thank you.
CHURCH: And coming up, we will ask how anyone could possibly be undecided about who they will vote for in this upcoming U.S. election, including young voters for whom the stakes are extremely high. Back with that and more in just a moment.
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CHURCH: Spain is bracing for more rainfall in areas already ravaged by historic flooding. Parts of the east coast under orange and yellow warnings for heavy rain and storms. Forecasters say some places could see about 50 millimeters of rain per hour on Monday.
Meanwhile, clean-up efforts were hampered Sunday in Valencia, which saw more rainfall just days after the region experienced the country's worst flash flooding in modern history. And earlier in the day --
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An angry crowd outraged over the government's response to the flooding could be heard chanting killer during the King and Queen's visit to one of the hardest hit areas of Valencia.
So let's go live now to Atika Shubert who's standing by in Valencia. Atika, what more can you tell us about the way the Royals were treated there when they visited the area and of course, the situation -- the latest on that.
ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Yeah, I don't think anyone expected it to become such a tense situation. You can see from that video that people were hurling not just insults, but mud, rocks, eggs at the Royals. But it wasn't just the Royal family that was there. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was there, as well as the regional governor, Carlos Mazon.
And when these objects started to be thrown at them, Pedro Sanchez's security team actually whisked him away. The regional governor Carlos Mazon stayed behind the king. You can kind of see him there, but the king and queen chose to move forward and talk to the crowd.
Now, it was extremely tense and you can see people berating the queen, the king to their faces about the lack of help that people were getting. There is a lot of anger and frustration here on why it has taken so long to get heavy moving equipment.
This is, I've been covering this now since the beginning, and this is the first time I'm starting to see heavy equipment like this being brought to the area. And just to give you a sense of how close we are to an urban center, I cycled here from Valencia City.
So this is not a remote, rural area. This is part of urban Valencia, and it's just taken so long to get heavy moving equipment here, to clear the streets and get people the help they need. That's why people are so frustrated, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Understood. And what is being done for people? I mean, they are frustrated, as you point out. So what are they doing for access to clean water, food, and other needs?
SHUBERT: Well, food and water frankly have been coming in by dribs and drabs. Volunteers, thousands of people have walked, literally walked places to try and get people what they need. But there's only so much help you can do if you don't have the kind of specialized equipment they need. Fortunately, 95 percent of the areas do now have electricity. It's patchy, but at least it's there. And there is water coming through. It's not drinkable in all areas, but at least that's helping.
CHURCH: Alright. Our thanks to Atika Shubert, joining us there from Valencia in Spain. And we'll be right back.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Want to check today's top stories for you? Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are running out of time to court voters
ahead of Election Day on Tuesday. Trump's going all out on Monday with four different rallies in three battleground states. Two of them will be in the critical state of Pennsylvania.
Vice President Kamala Harris is also traveling to Pennsylvania today, where she is set to hold several rallies, including one in Philadelphia. The campaign says Oprah Winfrey will deliver remarks at that event on the night before the election and Lady Gaga will perform.
Well former U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to undecided voters in Wisconsin on Sunday. While supporting Vice President Harris, Obama told voters to consider what really matters in the election. He impressed how important each vote in Wisconsin is and how the next president will affect the future.
Well, in her last Michigan campaign stop, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to an auditorium packed with young people. Both campaigns are trying to grab the attention and the confidence of young voters. CNN's chief U.S. national correspondent, John King, has been speaking with some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michigan Republican headquarters, five days out.
A basement phone bank shift. Ralph Brennan among the Michigan State students helping turn out the vote.
RALPH BRENNAN, CAMPUS COORDINATOR AT MICHIGAN TRUMP TEAM: I think there's a red wave coming, especially in Michigan, and I think people will be very surprised on how many people vote Republican in this election.
KING (voice-over): Brennan is 21, a junior economics major from Ohio but he registered in Michigan for his first vote for president.
BRENNAN: I was a sixth grader when Trump got elected in '16, and I watched him, you know, come to the White House. I watched the inauguration. I watched all the great things he did.
KING (voice-over): Trump struggled with young voters in 2016 and 2020. Brennan predicts better numbers this time, especially among young men. And especially after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended his campaign and backed Trump.
BRENNAN: I've heard a lot of young guys say how important RFK was to their President Trump vote. You know, ever since Trump kind of brought RFK onto the team, onto the campaign, a lot of young men voters really, really like that and kind of resonate with RFK and what he's done.
KING (voice-over): In a dead heat race, organization can be the difference. Halloween spirit helps. Treats as well. Jade Gray is a progressive organizer, former co-president of the
College Democrats here at the University of Michigan, back on campus to encourage early voting.
JADE GRAY, DIGITAL ORGANIZING MANAGER, PROGRESS MICHIGAN: We know that when we vote, we win. And quite frankly, we're getting a lot of people out to vote.
KING (voice-over): Gray's optimism is a big shift. This is our fourth Ann Arbor visit in a year. Back at the beginning, she was downed about President Biden's prospects. And later, she was worried Vice President Harris would still lose too many young voters because of student anger over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
But she is upbeat now and credits a mix of constant organizing and a smarter approach from the Harris campaign.
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GRAY: It was not just the candidate that switched, but it was really their whole approach to the campaign. And leaning into this idea that memes and internet culture is a, you know, a mode of communicating about politics has totally transformed this race. And I think we'll be one of the biggest reasons to, one of the biggest things we should credit, I'm saying when, but if she wins.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now is Adam Met. He is the founder of Planet Reimagined as well as a United Nations Sustainability Advocate and a member of the band AJR. Great to have you with us.
Thank you so much, Rosemary. Great to be here.
CHURCH: So Adam, you have been campaigning for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, meeting with students on about two dozen college campuses across about five swing states. And you've also been reaching out to young voters online and through phone banking. What are most of these young people saying to you about how they plan to vote and what issues are motivating them to get out and vote?
ADAM MET, FOUNDER, PLANET REIMAGINED, U.N. SUSTAINABILITY ADVOCATE, AND PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's been an incredible experience seeing students across all different campuses, across all different swing states. The energy is palpable out there right now.
One of the most important things that I've seen is that a lot of these schools offer things like early voting and same day registration. And when you go up and you talk to a student that's in a group of friends, if you're talking to one of them, you're talking to all of them.
They all start to create these voting plans: going out to the voting booths together, they make it an activity. And historically voting felt like an obligation to a lot of people. It felt like something they had to do. It felt like a responsibility. But now more and more we're seeing voting on these college campuses be something fun. CHURCH: So what are the issues that are making them want to vote?
MET: Absolutely. So the issues are really all over the place. And in many states we see climate as one of the big issues. The economy has a big issue. We see immigration as a big issue. But I am a climate activist and I work in climate policy.
And a lot of the times when I'll talk to these students, I'll talk to them about climate as an everything issue, because climate touches all of the different issues that people care about for this presidential election, whether it is immigration, we're going to see the largest number of climate refugees during this next presidency.
Health care is a big one for people. As the planet warms, we see insects and animals start to take up new areas of the United States and around the world, bringing the kinds of diseases that we're not used to. Look at COVID-19. All gun violence is a major issue in this election. And there's a study that came out of Chicago that said for each new degree of warming, there will be a 7 percent increase in gun violence.
Climate is the thing that touches everyone. But one of the interesting things is that when I speak to these students on campus, I never use the word climate. I talk to them about the food that ends up on their table. I talk to them about how they get from place to place, about when they flip on a switch to turn on the lights.
I talk about climate as an issue that is integrated into your everyday lives, and it impacts so many of these other issues. So everything that people care about, whether it's the economy or immigration, it's actually all climate.
CHURCH: And Adam, what about the increasing number of more conservative, leaning young men who appear more attracted to what Donald Trump represents? What do you say to them and what are they saying to you?
MET: It's a great question because it's not something that we've seen in previous elections. These younger men who have been following a lot of social media influencers and listening to the campaigns that are put forth by a bunch of different types of propaganda, they are following the Donald Trump campaign, moving into it in a way that we've never seen before. And when I speak to them on college campuses, I ask them one question really. I say, what do you like about Donald Trump? And more often than not, that makes them take a pause.
It makes them think about, yeah, what do I actually like about Donald Trump? And a lot of the times they're attracted to the energy. They're attracted to what their friends around them are thinking, and they don't really put the time and the effort in to do the research.
So when they, when I say, what do you like about Donald Trump? They say, huh, I haven't really thought about it. And then I say, oh, what do you like that he said during the debate? Or what do you like that he did when he was president? What are any of the policies that he's passed that you like? And when they have a second to think about it for themselves, then
they either say, I'm not sure I'm going to think about it. Or they say, maybe I'd be open to somebody else.
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Because a lot of these young men want to make the decision for themselves. And when they're making the decision for themselves, that's when they're actually going to make that decision in the voting booth.
CHURCH: And Adam, you mentioned that the energy around these college campuses is palpable. What proportion, do you think, plan to vote and what about those who are undecided? What are they saying to you about what will convince them either way? What are they waiting for with just a couple of days to go? What are they waiting to hear?
MET: I've been in North Carolina, I've been in Georgia, and I've been in Michigan and Pennsylvania and a handful of other states. Every single college that I have been to, the percentage of students voting has gone up significantly from the numbers that we saw in 2020 and in 2022. Some of these campuses are at 140, 150 percent of the students they had voting, which is incredible turnout. That means there's a lot of first time voters.
And for those that are undecided it's a great question because a lot of these candidates that they're voting for whether it's the presidential level or down ballot candidates there's so much information out there and there's so much in the media and in the press out there it is surprising to me how many people are still undecided.
When I speak to students when I go up to them on campus nine times out of ten they'll tell me they've already voted or they have and the few that are still undecided, I think waffle back and forth because of the people around them. And if we can hit them over and over and over again with the information about what the policy and what the future is going to look like for a certain candidate, then that's going to move them forward.
And one of the interesting things that I found out about when I was on the road is traditionally, if you're knocking on doors or talking to people, it takes talking to 11 people to have one voter actually convinced to go out and vote in the polls. 11 to 1.
So the number one thing that people can do, getting their friends to do, students can do, is to go out and knock on doors, talk to their friends, send text messages. We want massive voter turnout this election because we want everyone's voice represented.
CHURCH: Yeah, it is all about turnout, isn't it? And just finally, how critical is this election and what do you think is at stake here?
MET: As a climate activist and someone who works in climate policy, the climate is at stake in this election. During his last presidency, Donald Trump separated us from the Paris climate agreement. He rolled back hundreds of environmental policies, and that contributed significantly to the great effects of climate change.
With a Kamala Harris presidency, we are going to see more work like the Inflation Reduction Act which is only going to get us about a quarter to a third of the way there for where we need to get. And everything that she stands for and everything that the down ballot candidates are standing for who are supporting her are going to move us towards a clean energy future, a new approach to farming, a new approach to waste, a new approach to building things.
And this is exactly the work that I do and my organization, Planet Reimagined. We focus on bringing people together over new climate solutions, and that is going to move so much faster under a democratic precedent.
CHURCH: Adam Met, thanks for your time and perspective. I Appreciate it.
MET: Thank you Rosemary.
CHURCH: Breaking news into CNN, the music industry has lost one of its trailblazing luminaries. Musician and producer extraordinaire Quincy Jones has died at the age of 91 at his home in Los Angeles, according to his representatives. Jones' decades-long career included highlights like Michael Jackson's genre-shifting "Thriller" album and collaborations with the industry's biggest and most sought-after stars as Sarah Sidner looks back at his illustrious life and career.
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SARAH SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As the man behind some of music's most memorable hits, Quincy Jones was one of the most Grammy nominated artists of all time.
QUINCY JONES, MUSICIAN AND PRODUCER: When you do what you love, it's not work.
SIDNER (voice-over): Born Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. on the south side of Chicago in 1933, Jones found his passion for music when his family moved to Seattle in the late 40s. Jones took a job with the Lionel Hampton band as its trumpet player.
He worked steadily with musical greats like Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dino Washington and his friend Ray Charles.
JONES: We didn't think about money or fame ever.
SIDNER (voice-over): During the 60s, Jones began writing film scores for movies such as "The Pawnbroker," "In Cold Blood" and "In the Heat of the Night."
[03:45:06]
We even crafted iconic themes for the TV shows, "Ironside," and "Sanford and Son."
The in-demand musician even arranged and conducted his friend Frank Sinatra's second album with Count Basie. It might as well be Swing. The 1964 album included Ol Blue Eyes' hit song "Fly Me to the Moon."
JONES: We had the best time. It's like being on another planet with him. Frank would say, Q, live every day like it's the last and one day you'll be right.
SIDNER (voice-over): Jones suffered two brain aneurysms in 1974 that nearly took his life. He recovered and went right back to work.
He produced albums for Aretha Franklin, George Benson, and Michael Jackson's first solo effort "Off the Wall" in 1979.
The successful collaboration with M.J. also led to "Thriller" in 1982.
It became the best-selling album of all time. The dynamic duo teamed up again in 1985 with "We Are the World."
JONES: I like to think about the studio as a place that's real sacred, you know, where magical things happen. Hopefully, you know, that's what great records are supposed to be about.
SIDNER (voice-over): He produced his first film, "The Color Purple," in 1985. The drama earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Q, as his friends called him, seemed to always have a good idea. He created Quincy Jones Entertainment in 1990. The following year, he produced the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" TV series, starring rapper turned actor Will Smith.
JONES: You never think of retiring, do you? Never. When you're retired, you travel and you do what you like to do, and I'm already doing it.
SIDNER (voice-over): In early 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Q for his exemplary contributions to music.
JONES: I've worked with every major artist in the world in the last 60 years. It's a blessing, man. You have to take the light part of your life, you know, wipe out the darkness.
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CHURCH: Israel formally notified the United Nations today that it's cutting ties with UNRWA. It comes days after Israel's parliament banned the Palestinian refugee agency, which has operated in areas under Israel's control since 1967.
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Several organizations and countries, including the United States, have raised concerns that it will worsen the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has tried to link some of the agency's employees to Hamas, which UNRWA has repeatedly denied. And CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now from Abu Dhabi. So Paula, what
is the latest on this and what will be the likely consequences of Israel cutting its ties with UNRWA?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, this was the official notification to the United Nations that this was in fact going to go ahead. After the end of last month, October 28th, the two bills were passed in the Israeli Parliament that UNRWA is not allowed to operate within Israel itself. And also another bill saying that no Israeli official is able to be in contact with the U.N. agency.
So three months from that date, this is when it will come into being. But it has been widely criticized by other humanitarian aid groups on the ground, by the United Nations, and also by a number of countries saying that it could have grave consequences for the work that's being done to try and give food, shelter, water to those in Gaza at this point. We heard from the UNRWA chief who said that this will, quote, "only deepen the suffering of Palestinians especially in Gaza, where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell."
Now it's something that Israel has wanted to do for some time. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, has been quite vocal about this for many years. They believe that some employees of the U.N. agency have affiliations to Hamas, which UNRWA denies. We also have heard allegations from Israel that a small number were involved in the October 7 attacks against Israel. The U.N. investigation found that nine may have been involved and those individuals were fired.
But there is a concern about what this changes on the ground. At this point, Palestinians in Gaza are wholly dependent on humanitarian aid groups. The situation is so dire in northern Gaza.
For example, a group of 15 heads at the United Nations just last week warned that Northern Gaza, the population, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence. UNRWA is uniquely placed, we have been hearing from the United States, the Biden administration, to be able to counter the concerns of what is happening in Gaza at the moment. We did hear the U.S. State Department that they play an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza. So the timing really couldn't have been worse for this to happen. Rosemary?
CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi.
Well, the Associated Press reports that Moldova's pro-Western president, Maya Sandu, has won a second term in office in an election marred by allegations of Russian interference. With nearly 99 percent of the vote counted, Sandu was at 55 percent, giving her an apparent victory over her opponent from the pro-Russian Socialist Party.
Sandu is a former World Bank adviser who has worked to curb Moscow's influence and push to join the E.U. She says the election result is a firm endorsement of those policies. The country's parliamentary elections next summer should provide a fresh test of her views.
Still to come, three Chinese astronauts are back on Earth after this landing earlier today. Ahead we will explain the crew's mission to space and what they accomplished.
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[03:55:00]
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CHURCH: China's Shenzhou-18 spacecraft has successfully returned to Earth. The capsule containing three astronauts steadily descended to Earth, assisted by parachutes and landed as planned in Inner Mongolia. The three crew members were assisted on the ground onto stretchers for a post-landing medical check. They spent several months in low orbit and conducted China's longest ever spacewalk. The crew's April launch marked more than two decades of Chinese spacewalks human spaceflight.
Well more than 50,000 runners took part in the annual New York City Marathon on Sunday, making the 26.2 mile journey from Staten Island through all five boroughs and finishing in Central Park. The Netherlands' Abdi Nageeye won a thrilling men's race. He finished in two hours, seven minutes, and 39 seconds. Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui marked her debut with a victory in the women's race. Her winning time was 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 35 seconds, living up to her status as one of the pre-race favorites.
And elite distance runners in the Southern Hemisphere can take part in the Sydney Marathon a little closer to home. It's been named as a seventh major competition in the marathon circuit starting next year. It will be considered the equal of the Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo races. A record 20,000 runners finished this year's race back in September.
I want to thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane in London.
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