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CNN This Morning
Final Stretch: Biden, Trump Hit Campaign Trail Ahead of Midterms; CNN Obtains Audio of Another Student Calling 911 from Uvalde Classroom; Kyrie Irving, Nets Donate $1M after Star's Post on Anti- Semitic Film; Hate Speech Increases on Twitter Since Musk Became Head. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 03, 2022 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your typical year, we're often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk. But this year we are. This year, I hope you'll make the future of our democracy an important part of your decision to vote and how you vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:00:28]
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the program, I'm Don Lemon alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Can I just say good morning?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
LEMON: This is down to the wire.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
LEMON: I mean, this is for all the marbles pretty soon in just a couple days.
COLLINS: Yes. And it's notable that that was the speech President Biden --
HARLOW: Chose.
COLLINS: -- is closing the race on with these final few days to go.
LEMON: Serious. He had his serious voice on there.
That was President Joe Biden putting democracy front and center and warning about the dangers of election deniers. The question is, is this the right closing message for his party? We're going to talk about that.
HARLOW: If it's all the marbles, it better be.
LEMON: Better be, right?
HARLOW: If he wants to win. And former President Trump returns. He will make his closing pitch to voters tonight in Iowa, of course, as he stokes talk of another presidential bid. We're live on the ground in Sioux City.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ball four. The Astros --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Game four of the World Series last night. You saw something that you had not seen since 1956. The Houston Astros shutting down the Phillies. What four pitchers did that made baseball history.
LEMON: When she said you haven't seen since 1956, she looked at me. I was not here in 1956. Neither was Poppy, so don't look this way, Kaitlan Collins.
COLLINS: Some people have not seen it since 1956.
LEMON: All right. We're going to begin, though, with the final stretch. With five days left before the midterms, the president heads out West today. He's going to be campaigning with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, as keeping control of Congress is the president's top priority.
But the White House is also laser-focused on getting Democratic governors across the finish line.
We're going to begin this morning with M.J. Lee live for us at the White House.
Good morning to you, M.J. And there goes that weed whacker again.
M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sorry about that. I don't know what's going on.
LEMON: So --
LEE: OK.
LEMON: So President Biden is focused on defending democracy here. Is that the right message at a time when, you know, most voters are saying that their top issue is the economy and inflation?
LEE: Yes. No, you're absolutely right, that there is no issue more important for voters right now than inflation and economy. The issue of protecting democracy ranks pretty low when it comes to top concerns for voters headed into next week.
But what we heard from the president last night was trying to make clear that what we are confronting right now is so much bigger than politics. He said this isn't about me. This isn't about the last 2020 election. It isn't about even next week's election. This is was about the future of the country.
Now, it was really notable that he started his speech by describing in pretty graphic detail this violent attack against Paul Pelosi. We know that the president and his top advisers were very deeply disturbed by everything that happened there.
And we also know that they have been watching with real trepidation and real concern as they have seen these election deniers on ballots. They have seen these candidates who have basically openly said, we're not necessarily going to accept the results of the election next week. And a surge in threats and acts of violence.
And the president saying last night that the words allegedly that were allegedly used by the attacker on Paul Pelosi -- "Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy?" -- that those were the same words used by some of the members of the mob that breached the Capitol on January 6th. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: This is also the first election since the events of January 6th when the armed, angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. I wish -- I wish I could say the assault on our democracy had ended that day, but I cannot.
As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America -- for governor, Congress, attorney general, secretary of state -- who won't commit, they will not commit to accepting the results of elections that they're running in.
This is a path to chaos in America. It's unprecedented. It's unlawful. And it's un-American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now in this final stretch, the president today heads out to New Mexico, where he is going to campaign for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
You know, so much of the focus heading into the midterms has been about House and Senate races and can Democrats keep Congress, but there is a lot of focus, too, on keeping -- for Democrats on keeping these governors' mansions blue, because these are the people, remember, that sort of hold the key to enacting and implementing the president's agenda heading into the next few years -- guys.
[06:05:10]
LEMON: M.J. Lee at the White House this morning. M.J., thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Of course, the economy is at the top of everybody's mind. A little bit later on, there's a new CNN report that we want you to see. A lot of people still can't find a job, despite all of the openings. What's going on with that? And what can do if you are one of those people?
HARLOW: Right now, let's go to Iowa this morning, where former President Donald Trump is set to headline a rally today for Republican Senator Chuck Grassley; also Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. His visit is also fueling more speculation about what he is going to do about 2024.
Jeff Zeleny joins us live on the trail for CNN this morning in Sioux City, a wonderful city, waiting for the sun to come up. So what's the former president going to say there today? What's he trying to do?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Poppy.
I mean, President Trump, of course, has been holding rallies throughout the year, but this, I'm told, is the start of something quite different.
He'll be doing four rallies in five days, beginning tonight here in Iowa, then traveling to Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio before election day on Tuesday.
And yes, he's trying to rally Republicans for the midterm elections next week, but I'm told he's also trying to remind Republicans that he, indeed, is the leader of the party.
In fact, his advisers say the entire midterm elections are resting on his shoulders. What that means is he's trying to take some credit for what they believe are some Republican optimism out here that we're seeing in the minds of candidates and voters, as well. So certainly, inserting himself at the end of this race, Poppy.
HARLOW: I think it's interesting he's not the only sort of big-name Republican to go to Iowa in recent days. Who else?
ZELENY: Exactly. I mean, it's been a year since Donald Trump has been here in Iowa. And why Iowa? Of course, it begins the beginning of the presidential race a year from now. So this is one of the reasons he's coming.
But I'm told that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who of course, is also eyeing a 2024 bid, he is eyeing a trip to Iowa, as well, and likely to come sometime after his expected re-election next week.
But also, former president vice president, Mike Pence, has been here several times this year. Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, many senators, the list goes on and on.
But tonight, here in Sioux City, Donald Trump is going to remind people that he, too, is on that list. Of course, his decision will come at some point in the coming weeks -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Jeff Zeleny, live for us in Sioux City. Jeff, thank you so much.
And ahead, we are going to be joined by former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who knows about this final push very well. Why she thinks it is crucial for people to vote this election. As you said, Don, all the marbles. Right?
And be sure to tune in right here next Tuesday for CNN's special election coverage. It all begins at 4 p.m. Eastern.
COLLINS: In light of the recent attack on Speaker Pelosi's 82-year-old husband, we're seeing political violence loom over the midterm elections.
A voicemail death threat sent to State Senator Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor in Illinois. According to police, this voicemail said, quote, "I'm going to skin Darren Bailey alive, making sure he is still alive and screaming in 'F'-ing pain. I know where he lives. I know where he sleeps. I know where his kids sleep. Yes, that's right, so he better kill himself. And if he doesn't, I am going to kill him."
The Chicago man who made that voicemail, 21-year-old Scott Lennox, has been charged with multiple felonies for allegedly sending it.
Bailey's Democratic opponent, who's the incumbent governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, responded to the threat, tweeting, quote, "The violent rhetoric and division that we are seeing across our country is unacceptable." A message that was echoed by President Biden last night in his speech.
Also this morning, CNN has obtained another heart-wrenching call from inside a classroom during the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, at Robb Elementary.
This call coming from Maya Cirillo, the fourth grader who was injured when she reached out for help, making multiple phone calls to police. This, of course, follows on the call that we heard from Khloie Torres yesterday after we spoke with her parents, as well, about what it was like to listen to their 10-year-old daughter repeatedly call 9-1-1- for help and that help did not come for 40 minutes.
CNN crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz joins us now.
Shimon --
LEMON: Good morning to you.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Thanks for joining us on this. I know that this is something you've been covering so closely. You were the first one to let Khloie's parents yesterday, actually, listen to those, have her [SIC] listen -- have them listen to what their daughter said.
Now this other call.
PROKUPECZ: Right. And not only that. I got a call last night from a pretty high-ranking city, state official. There are officials in Texas who have not heard this call. And after watching our two days of reporting, have now realized the
brutality of this and are just shocked at how bad this was. It took them to listen to this call to realize how bad this was.
They knew these calls existed. But there are so many people who should have listened to this call and have not listened to this call, including these families, who now asked us. They are coming to us saying we know you have this information. Provide it to us. we want to hear. We need to answer some questions for our kids.
[06:10:04]
LEMON: But why haven't they -- haven't they heard the call?
PROKUPECZ: Because there is a district attorney there who has refused to allow them to listen to this call.
LEMON: What?
PROKUPECZ: Because of this investigation that she's conducting. She is not allowing certain people to listen to this call. It's infuriating people.
HARLOW: The parents.
LEMON: It's nonsensical.
PROKUPECZ: It is. And this is the problem with it, is that we're now five months, almost six months into this, and all of this information is just now coming out.
And it's because people are coming forward to us and saying get this out there. This is so bad.
And so this is what happened with this mother, Abigail, she reached out to us after our story yesterday and the day before yesterday. And she asked to listen to the call, because her daughter is the other girl on the call, a girl by the name of Miah Cerrillo.
And she wanted us to play this audio, because again, she's asking for transparency. She wants accountability.
And what we did hear is we are using the audio, because she's given us permission. But we put it together with what the police officers were doing in the hallway in those moments. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIAH CERRILLO, CALLED 9-1-1- DURING UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here. I'm here.
CERRILLO: OK. In the killer in the building?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry?
CERRILLO: Is the killer in the building?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's still there in the building, so I need you to be quiet and do not open the door until we tell you to.
CERRILLO: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell everyone to be as quiet as possible.
CERRILLO: He's shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay quiet. Make sure everybody stays quiet.
CERRILLO: OK.
The officers are (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there officers there?
CERRILLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Hold on. Hold on. Don't do anything.
CERRILLO: The officers are in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was that?
CERRILLO: I think the officers are in the building.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, officers are in the building, but do not open the door until I tell you.
CERRILLO: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just stay quiet.
CERRILLO: OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I mean, I have chills from listening to that.
PROKUPECZ: It's -- it goes on and on, right? This call, this one call is 20 minutes. This is 77 minutes that these kids are in this classroom.
At one point -- we didn't air the gun shots, but the students are in the classroom. The gunman fires gun shots. The cops can hear the gun shots. Yet, it takes nearly 30 minutes still, even after the gun shots, for them to go inside that classroom.
COLLINS: I mean, these kids are traumatized --
LEMON: They are.
COLLINS: -- for life.
LEMON: And I have to say, look, and I know that you don't like to hear this, but if it wasn't for the work that you're doing there --
HARLOW: It's true.
LEMON: -- many of these people would not know this. And this investigation would not be where it is today. So I mean, I have to commend you on the work that you're doing there.
HARLOW: That's true.
LEMON: Because you're actually helping the people of Uvalde and the American people understand what's going on.
PROKUPECZ: I appreciate that. And I think it's really starting to hit the community there, how bad.
And what's most important, that it needs to hit the officials who are going to make these decisions. They need to make changes. And that's starting to happen.
And for the families, they're going there hell. Nothing is getting better for them.
You know, I spoke to Khloie Torres' dad. He texted me last night to thank us. He said the reach-out has been incredible. And they need help. And their kids are not getting any better. The kids can't go to school.
HARLOW: Can't go to school.
PROKUPECZ: Because the -- part of what's happening is that they are being revictimized, because every time they think they're going to get to a point where they can get some closure on the investigation, something else happens.
COLLINS: Or accountability. I mean, it's been since May, and it still feels like we do not have the full picture.
PROKUPECZ: We don't.
COLLINS: A full accounting.
PROKUPECZ: We don't.
LEMON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Shimon, thank you.
HARLOW: We need you to keep going.
COLLINS: Embattled NBA star Kyrie Irving is now owning up to his tweet that promoted a documentary that was called anti-Semitic, and making a major donation to help eradicate hate as his response. We'll talk more about that.
HARLOW: Also, a surge in hate, even more hate speech on Twitter now, since Elon Musk took the reins. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Where is that?
LEMON: Yes. I can see Poppy's apartment.
HARLOW: No, you cannot see Brooklyn.
LEMON: No, it's at the top of that building. There's your penthouse.
COLLINS: Yes. With the blue lights.
HARLOW: You know it's on the --
LEMON: On top of the Poppy Harlow building on Fifth Avenue.
COLLINS: Yes. "P.H." stands for "penthouse" and "Poppy Harlow."
LEMON: Next to Trump Tower.
HARLOW: That's exactly right, Don. How did you guess? Hopefully, we've filled in --
LEMON: Seriously, that is Hudson Yards, the home of CNN. That's where we are.
COLLINS: Love it.
HARLOW: The sun will be up soon.
LEMON: Good morning.
HARLOW: Here in New York.
LEMON: And good morning to you.
HARLOW Good morning, everyone.
OK, on a serious note. A major move. A major reversal by Kyrie Irving, taking responsibility and writing a check following backlash, following the NBA star's tweet last week about a documentary deemed to be anti-Semitic.
Irving, with M&S (ph) Organization, also with the Anti-Defamation League, have announced that Irving and the Nets will each donate $500,000 and they said, quote, "towards organizations that work to eradicate hate."
Irving also saying, quote, "I'm aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community, and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles. I'm a human being learning from all walks of life."
You'll remember, Irving had defended his decision to post about the film to his millions of followers, telling reporters on Saturday he's, quote, "not going to stand down on anything I believe in."
Irving has avoided discipline from the league.
[06:20:04]
LEMON: Can we hold up one second. One second.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: You know what I didn't hear there?
HARLOW: What?
LEMON: "I'm sorry." I didn't hear an apology.
HARLOW: The "I regret it" wasn't enough.
LEMON: That was not an apology.
HARLOW: OK. So on that point, guys --
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: -- let's listen to Charles Barkley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA LEGEND: I think the NBA dropped the ball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In what way?
BARKLEY: I think he should have been suspended. I think Adam should have suspended him.
First of all, Adam is Jewish. You can't take my $400 million and insult my religion. You know I don't do any social media. But when you're somebody as great as basketball like him, people going to listen to you, what you say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: OK. So here is what the league has said, not mentioning Irving by name. Quote, "Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable, runs counter to the NBA's values of equality, inclusion and respect."
Also this. Former President Obama -- and you pointed this out to us, Don-- saying this earlier this week. Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've seen just in the last few weeks, whether it's out of malice or ignorance, celebrities just posting up vile anti-Semitic statements on the Internet.
And -- and it gets disseminated. Millions of people log onto that. If you see or read something on the Internet that says some people,
certain kinds of people, whether it's -- whether it's white or black, or immigrant or gay or Jew, or Muslim, when you see something on the Internet that says, those people are the cause of your problems, right, that is a dangerous lie. That is a path that will tear this country apart.
And so we have to reject that kind of thinking and that kind of rhetoric.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: There should be more people speaking out.
HARLOW: Like that?
LEMON: Absolutely. And guess what? It should be coming from -- from both political parties.
COLLINS: You know what drives me crazy, is when something like this happens, and people -- it's the kind of a routine. You know, wash, rinse, repeat.
They stand by it. Days go by. The start -- the backlash grows. And they apologize, and they say they're donating money.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: Which seems like such an empty gesture. Like, you know, half a million dollars that he's donating to the ADL.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: I get the point of it. But it just seems like, you know, money cannot fix -- what Charles Barkley was saying. The platform that you have and the words that you speak and how powerful --
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: -- that really is.
LEMON: So listen, can we just put this up again? "I am aware of the negative impact of my posts towards the Jewish community, and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in that documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles. I'm a human being, learning from all walks of life."
As I said, I did not hear "I'm sorry, I'm wrong. I have learned."
COLLINS: And "I'm aware of the impact might -- It's "I'm sorry you feel that way."
LEMON: Yes, I'm sorry you feel that way. That's what that is.
COLLINS: I think the end of the statement is good. And it talks about, you know, there is room for grace. And we've talked about that, and having people take accountability for their actions.
But I hate when people say "the impact of my words." Like, just say what your words were.
LEMON: Say "I'm sorry." Say "My words offended people. I'm sorry. I was wrong." And it's just as simple as that.
And it is what the former president is talking about. It's very important, especially when you have someone like Elon Musk, who is in control, arguably of the biggest social media platform, right, Twitter.
He promised to free the bird, right, bolster free speech. But since then, there are more reports of a rise in hate speech. OK, we're going to go through it and tell you exactly what's happening here.
According to new research by the Network Contagion Research Institute, the use of the "N" word jumped nearly 500 percent in Elon Musk's first 12 hours as CEO.
Montclair State University published a study that found hate speech was used in more than 4,000 tweets from midnight to noon on October 28, the day Musk acquired the platform.
And on Monday, Twitter came out and admitted that the company's head of safety and integrity said that there was a surge in hateful conduct, adding 1,500 accounts had been removed from the platform since Saturday.
But late last night, the late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel spoke to mu colleague Jake Tapper on CNN, and that at this point, he said even posting something nice will be met by a surge of hate. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE-NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: I noticed that, in the three days that Elon Musk has been running this Twitter, that it has gotten crazier and nastier. I mean, you know, I'm walking in an ALS walk in Las Vegas on Sunday, on my birthday, November 13 --
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Happy birthday.
[06:25:03]
KIMMEL: -- and I posted about it -- thank you. And I just got an avalanche of hate. And it's just like, well, you can't even -- you can't do anything anymore without being attacked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is disgusting.
Musk also announced that a subscription service for something that is currently free, for $8 a month, users can verify their account and get that coveted blue check mark. Also weighing in on this is "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah. He had
a different idea for Musk to cash in on Twitter. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TREVOR NOAH, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE DAILY SHOW": If Elon Musk wants to make money from Twitter, what he should do, don't charge people for blue check marks. No, you know, charge white people to say the "N" word. Twitter will be the most profitable company in history. Racists are going to be taking out loans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The truth is often spoken in jest and humor.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: And I think he's right. It is so hateful and so vile. And I noticed it the moment -- pretty soon after Elon Musk took over.
And you now, I don't really -- I'm not the social media type. I actually have someone who helps me with social media so that I don't have to be exposed to the toxicity that is Twitter, pretty much. And if you just go on and glance at it, it is disgusting. Something needs to be done about that. Free speech should come with consequences.
HARLOW: Does anyone see the irony in, you know, free the bird, free speech, but 8 bucks if you want the blue check?
LEMON: Yes, well --
HARLOW: Like, what? Not free to get verified.
COLLINS: "The New York Times" has a great look at this today, which is that Elon Musk wanted to be this disrupter when he took over Twitter. I mean, and he -- This has just happened, so we'll see what the long- term plan is. But he's following a lot of the models that you've seen Mark Zuckerberg and other -- a conventional model to this approach, with creating this, you know, content council to moderate that.
HARLOW: Not making the decision. By the way, the Facebook content council didn't actually make the decision. They kicked it back to Zuckerberg.
COLLINS: Right. It's like when you actually are the one in the face of these controversial decisions --
HARLOW: Own it.
COLLINS: -- people often.
HARLOW: You want to own it?
LEMON: It's very easy.
HARLOW: You want to make it private, get rid of your board? You've got responsibilities. Like, that's being an adult running something.
LEMON: Elon Musk, don't be a spreader of hate. It's just that easy. Get ahold of your platform. It is hurtful. It is hurting people. That's it, that simple.
HARLOW: President Biden turning his focus to -- this is tied to this -- democracy, right? Democracy, not the economy. So his closing message not on the economy. Now the Republican Party responding with its own messaging strategy.
COLLINS: And there are plenty of jobs out there, but a big question is why are so many Americans still struggling to find one?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:00]
