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CNN This Morning

Biden, Trump Hit Trail to Make Closing Arguments for Midterms; Oprah Endorses Fetterman Over Oz in Pennsylvania Senate Race; Elon Musk Memo to Employees: Layoffs Begin Today by Email; Nets Star Apologizes after Team Suspends Him; U.S. Believes Iran Seeking Help from Russia with Nuke Program; Russia Strikes Leave 4.5 Million in Ukraine Without Power. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired November 04, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday. Friday. We love our jobs, but it is Friday. I think I love Friday.

[06:00:15]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: TGIF.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We made it, guys.

LEMON: Yes, we made it. We made it.

Good morning, everyone. Don Lemon here. Poppy Harlow, Kaitlan Collins. And it is Friday, and we are happy to be here. But we're happy that it's Friday and we get a couple days off, because next week is going to be a marathon.

COLLINS: We have a lot going on next week.

LEMON: Wait until you see how long we're on television. We have cots behind us that we're going to be sleeping on.

COLLINS: It's going to be a busy week.

LEMON: Yes, it is a busy week. And you know what happened leading into next week there is an Oprah-sized endorsement that we have to talk about. It's in Pennsylvania's Senate race. Will it make a difference? Will it make a difference?

HARLOW: Big one. Also, hours from now, thousands of Twitter employees will learn if they are fired through email. Wait until you hear these details. And by the way, those employees, they're now suing Elon Musk.

Not the email you want to get on a Friday.

Also today, NBA star Kyrie Irving has finally apologized for that post promoting a movie filled with hateful statements about Jewish people after his team suspended him for five games without pay. We'll tell you what he told his millions of followers overnight.

LEMON: But this is where we're going to begin. The big headlines from the campaign trail this morning.

Just days from the midterms, Oprah Winfrey -- Oprah -- snubbing the man she turned into a household name, endorsing John Fetterman over Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania's very, very tight Senate race.

It comes as the closers from both parties hit the campaign trail. President Joe Biden addressing the economy; his predecessor teasing another run for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again. OK. Very, very, very probably.

Get ready. That's all I'm telling you. Very soon. Get ready. Get ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our CNN team is on the trail in the final days of the campaign. Let's start now. Jessica Dean live from Montgomery County, just outside of Philadelphia.

So good morning to you. It's interesting, because Oprah helped to make Dr. Oz famous, but now she's endorsing his opponent, John Fetterman. Do you think it's going to swing any votes?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Don. Happy Friday, everybody.

Look, it's rare that a celebrity endorsement or, really, any endorsement can really move the needle in a major way. But as you mentioned, this is an incredibly tight race. Everyone is looking for any edge they can get on both sides.

So the Fetterman campaign and John Fetterman himself quite delighted to have this endorsement. And look, as you mentioned, there's a real personal connection here.

Oprah, of course, making Dr. Oz a household name, backing his television show, having her on his television show. So the fact that she would come out and support Fetterman is significant.

I'll let you listen to what she had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: You mentioned Pennsylvania. I have this to say in this midterm campaign. I said it was up to the citizens of Pennsylvania, and, of course, but I will tell you all this, if I lived in Pennsylvania I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman for many reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Fetterman is saying in a statement that he is honored to get this endorsement and, again, any edge that they can get in this campaign, they're going to take it.

As for Mehmet Oz, this is the statement he released, his campaign released. I'll read it to you. It said Dr. Oz loves Oprah and respects the fact that they have different politics.

He believes we need more balance and less extremism in Washington. And guys, that is the message, the closing message, of course, we've heard again and again from Oz, really casting himself as a moderate, as someone who's going to go to Washington and be bipartisan.

Fetterman, of course, trying to cast him as a fraud, essentially, and saying that he has lived here in Pennsylvania and is a person that will stand up for the people of Pennsylvania. Those are kind of the dueling closing messages here in the commonwealth.

And worth noting, as well, Oprah has weighed in and endorsed other Democratic candidates in close races, but again, not that real personal connection that exists in this one. That's what really makes this unique.

LEMON: One of which we're going to have on this show a little bit later. But I think that is -- Thank you very much. I appreciate that. I think that that's pretty strong coming from Oprah: "If I lived in Pennsylvania I would have already cast my ballot for someone -- for John Fetterman" --

HARLOW: For many reasons, she's saying.

COLLINS: Classy response from Mehmet Oz, though, saying -- and it was someone who put put her -- she first put him on her show. And that was his response.

LEMON: I don't think you get an alternative. You can't condemn her.

COLLINS: You can't condemn Oprah.

HARLOW: That doesn't go well for anyone.

Now to Georgia, where there has been a record-breaking early voter turnout. Our Eva McKend joins us from Atlanta this morning.

Good morning.

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy.

Senator Warnock continues to make this argument that Herschel Walker is not fit to serve in the United States Senate. And when he says this, he's really making a play for Republican voters, as well.

[06:05:04]

But if neither candidate gets to this critical 50 plus 1 percent here in Georgia, then it is going to trigger a December runoff. So I asked Senator Warnock about this on the trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: This race remains incredibly close. Are you prepared for it to go to a runoff?

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA), GEORGIA SENATORIAL NOMINEE: We are prepared to do whatever it takes to win. I'll tell you what's not close, my record and Herschel Walker's record. What I've spent my life doing and what he spent his life doing.

My opponent, on the other hand, seems very focused on himself. And he seems to be willing to make up anything in order to secure power. And what the people of Georgia, I think, are asking themselves is for what purpose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Now for his part, Herschel Walker seeming really confident on the campaign trail, telling his supporters that millions of dollars have been spent to frame and attack his character, only for this political newcomer to be running neck and neck with this incumbent senator -- Poppy.

HARLOW: It is such a fascinating race. And so many people already voting. Eva, thanks very much for being there.

COLLINS: There's a lot going on on the campaign trail. A night of dueling speeches as candidates and their high-profile surrogates made their closing arguments in the final days. Here's what they told voters who are going to the ballot box on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My objective when I ran was to build -- build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out. And the fundamental shift that's working to compare this -- you know, compared to the MAGA trickle-down economics.

TRUMP: Biden and the far-left lunatics are waging war on Iowa farmers, crushing American energy, attacking Iowa ethanol, and strangling Iowa families with soaring prices.

LT. GOV. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA), PENNSYLVANIA SENATORIAL NOMINEE: In this race, we're the only candidate that actually has hands-on experience fighting against crime and gun violence.

MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATORIAL NOMINEE: We have families all over the commonwealth worried about crime, so much so they won't send their kids outside.

WARNOCK: Democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea. This notion that each of us has within us a spark of the divine.

HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATORIAL NOMINEE: -- of my offensive linemen they used to tell me sometime, Herschel, follow me. I'll take you to the promised land. So I want to tell all you, vote for me. We all get to the promised land.

LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES (D-WI), WISCONSIN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Let's fight for more. Let's fight with better. Let's never give up. Let's fight for freedom, fairness.

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI), WISCONSIN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know why you can't look at America and understand, really, how rare and precious this country is.

BIDEN: All the state legislative races, all the local races, they are critically, critically, critically important. Not a joke. They're going to determine whether our democracy is sustained.

TRUMP: If you care about election integrity, volunteer as an election worker, a poll watcher, or a poll challenger. We need you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Of course, be sure to tune in next Tuesday. CNN will have special election coverage. It all starts at 4 p.m. Eastern. We'll be bringing you all the results.

LEMON: Look, it is Friday. Usually, people are happy, but folks at Twitter, not happy. Twitter is warning employees to check your email today. You may be fired.

Within hours, Elon Musk's company will begin mass layoffs. The cuts coming a little more than a week after he took over the social media platform. CNN's Christine Romans has more.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes, good morning.

LEMON: It's not a good day. So how and when? They're going to find out through email, but when?

ROMANS Yes. So 9 a.m., you know, East Coast, West Coast time, or noon, East Coast time. And if you're -- if you're going to keep your job, you're going to get an email on your Twitter email.

And if you lose your job, you're going to get it from whatever your other email address is.

So it's kind of -- they're expecting thousands of these. They sent out a note, you know, yesterday. They closed all the offices, said if you're in the office go home. If you're on your way to a Twitter office, don't come in.

And you'll be getting an email to tell you whether you're going to have a job or not on Friday.

LEMON: So it's the Twitter email. Not, like, Twitter Twitter. But their --

ROMANS: Yes. You know --

LEMON: -- Twitter company email.

ROMANS: Yes. "If your employment is not impacted, you receive a notification via your Twitter email. If your employment is impacted," meaning you're fired, "you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email."

COLLINS: Wow, that's brutal. I know that this has also sparked some lawsuits from these employees who work there.

ROMANS: There's already a class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco that they didn't give enough warning time. That there are laws -- local laws, California laws, and federal laws -- that you have to give people notice. And some of these laws are up to 60 days.

A similar lawsuit against Tesla, Elon Musk just dismissed and said it was trivial. So he probably won't care about that lawsuit. But it is employees trying to say, "Hey, you can't just do this so quickly."

HARLOW: Is it random? Is it actually -- are they actually, like, drawing out of a hat? These people get to work, and these people don't? I mean, have they had enough time to even speak --

ROMANS: He has complained -- he has complained via Twitter this weekend that there seem to be 10 managers for every one coder, and he wants coders and engineers. And he doesn't seem to value the leadership and the management.

[06:10:07]

So I think -- I think we can deduce that that is where you will see a lot of people lose their jobs. He wants coders and engineers.

HARLOW: OK.

ROMANS: We're going to see what Elon Musk's Twitter is going to look like. I mean, this is a make-or-break day. He is going to probably cut half of the workforce.

He has mused about having a workforce more like 3,000 employees instead of 7,500 employees. This would probably take Twitter's size of employees back to where it was before it was public.

LEMON: Wow. Do you remember those days?

ROMANS: A long time ago.

And you know, he's talked about charging $8 a month for a check to verify who you are. You know, the verified check is what -- how you know that you're talking to a real person. So we're going to find out what his -- Elon Musk's Twitter will look like, and today is a very important day in that.

COLLINS: Also, what's so fascinating about that to me is the verified people on Twitter, the sports figures, the politicians, that's why so many people are on Twitter, is to see --

HARLOW: To follow Kaitlan Collins.

COLLINS: Not to follow me. But I'm saying to follow LeBron James and the celebrities who are on there, speak freely on there. And the idea of charging them is interesting.

ROMANS: Eight of the past 10 years, the company has lost money. Right? So he has probably overpaid for this company. He's got to find ways to make money. Right? And that's cutting employees and charging.

LEMON: And being hyperbolic on Twitter.

ROMANS: Exactly.

LEMON: Needs an audience.

COLLINS: Christine Romans, we'll be watching closely for those thousands of people who are getting that email today. Thank you.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

HARLOW: OK. Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is finally now apologizing. This apology came overnight.

He tweeted a link to the documentary that contains hateful rhetoric against Jewish people, a lot of hateful rhetoric.

The apology from him came after the Nets suspended him. Here's what he said shortly before he apologized when he was talking to the press.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRIE IRVING, BROOKLYN NETS PLAYER: So I'm not here to compare anyone's atrocities or tragic events that their families have dealt with for generations of time. I'm just here to continue to expose things that our world continues to put in darkness.

I'm a light. I'm a beacon of light. It's what I'm here to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: CNN Sports' Carolyn Manno joins us now.

I mean, just the things that are said in this -- in this documentary, there are so many things that are hateful against Jewish people, tying them directly to the slave trade. There are so much here for people to understand why it matters so much that he put it out there.

What about the apology now, finally?

LEMON: As I said yesterday, everyone was like, Oh, he did -- he's made a statement. I said, where is the -- I didn't see an apology in that.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS: Well, you clearly pointed out what was important about yesterday, which is it was an apology that wasn't an apology.

And that's why it's so important for us at some point to actually see Kyrie Irving apologize. Statements are one thing. Messages on social media are one thing.

But every time we've seen him speak, he has said, no, no. I know best. This is me.

You know, he's been described as a lot of things. He's been described as difficult, complicated, mercurial. He's oppositional is what he is. Any time somebody tells him something, he's going to do the opposite.

And so, you know, it's good to actually see an apology on social media. I think that that will prevent the Nets from extending this five-game suspension.

But he also said in that same apology on social media that he should have better pointed out the parts of this film that he agreed with and the parts that he disagreed with.

And so that so much leaves the door open for what exactly is this? What are you saying when this should be clear-cut?

LEMON: Look, you're reading my mind. Because maybe this is how he really feels. And maybe they need to deal with how he really feels, rather than forcing him to apologize.

Because for all of his actions so far, it seems to me, and I think to most people, that he has a strong belief in how he feels. I'm not saying that it's right.

But if he feels that way, why force him to apologize? Maybe you should deal with the issue of him feeling that way, his beliefs, and whether he -- you think that he should represent your organization, instead of forcing someone into a position that they don't believe.

MANNO: Absolutely. And this is absolutely what he believes. He's been very clear about that. He said at the end of this, he is a seeker of truth. He is who he is.

And, you know, this documentary is nuanced and complicated, but it's very clear that there are anti-Semitic tropes in the film. It says that black people are the original Israelites, is what it contends.

And that is a theory that he identifies with and agrees with. He's been very clear about that.

So now, it's about, OK, what do the Nets do from here? Is this apology on social media enough? Is this a problem that's going to continue?

He has had a number of instances where he's been oppositional in the NBA. It started with his time in Boston and now with the Nets, about the vaccine. He -- he's a complicated person.

And to your point, I think it's well noted. He needs to deal with some of the things that he feels and figure out a way to express them in a way that makes sense that doesn't do irreparable harm to communities. And that's really what this is about.

HARLOW: Carolyn Manno, thank you very much for that.

So we are going to be joined a little bit later in the show by Bob Costas. We'll talk a lot about this.

[06:15:02]

LEMON: I can't wait to hear what Bob has to say. Yes.

HARLOW: Me, too.

Ahead, new CNN reporting. Iran asking Russia for help to build up its nuclear weapons capabilities.

And millions of Ukrainians are now in the cold and without power after Russia's latest attacks. Christiane Amanpour is going to be live on the ground for us in Kyiv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We've got some new reporting this morning on Iran seeking Russia's help to boost its nuclear weapons program. That's according to U.S. intelligence sources who tell CNN Tehran may be looking for a backup plan, should a nuclear deal fail to materialize.

That's something the White House has said is a long ways off.

So we have CNN White House reporter Natasha Bertrand.

Natasha, what are you learning from these intelligence sources?

[06:20:05]

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kaitlan. Sources tell me that U.S. intelligence assesses that Iran has been asking Russia for help in bolstering its nuclear weapons program. And that's through the provision of nuclear materials. It's through nuclear fuel fabrication, which of course, could help fuel Iran's nuclear power reactors and potentially shorten that breakout time that it takes Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon.

Now, it's unclear at this point how Russia has responded to this, but Iran is essentially hedging its bets in the event that a deal does not happen and it needs to reconstitute its nuclear program very quickly. Same goes for if the deal actually does go through.

Iran is very worried that a future administration will simply pull out of a deal like the Trump administration did. So right now, they're looking for a kind of backup plan.

COLLINS: And what is the White House -- what are U.S. officials saying about this? Because it wasn't that long ago that they had said they were weeks away from actually reaching a deal with Iran on the nuclear program. Now they say, basically, it's nowhere in sight. BERTRAND: Exactly right. So this is not on the agenda for the

administration at this point, a new nuclear deal. And that is because of Iran's brutal suppression of protests, of its help for Russia in Ukraine, selling them hundreds of drones to use there.

And so their reaction right now is, Look, our nuclear deal is very far-off. And so it's unclear at this point how they are actually going to work with Iran to prevent this kind of cooperation with Russia from moving forward.

And actually, we do have a quote from the National Security Council spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, who told me, that, you know, "We have been growing with partners to expose. We've been working with partners to expose the growing ties between Iran and Russia and hold them accountable. We will be firm in countering any cooperation that would be counter to our non-proliferation goals."

So it remains unclear how we're going to react to this. Likely, more sanctions are in the works. But this is all part of the growing kind of Iran-Russia cooperation here, just in the broader geopolitical space, that the U.S. and allies are very concerned about -- Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes. Iran has been helping Russia. We'll see if Russia does the same. Natasha, thanks for joining.

LEMON: And this morning, Ukraine's president says some 4.5 million people in the country have been hit by power outages. That's after a barrage of Russian strikes damaged the country's energy infrastructure.

In the capital, Kyiv's mayor says nearly half a million homes have no electricity, raising fears of a dark winter with no heat. We want to get straight to CNN's Christiane Amanpour, live for us this morning in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Christiane, this is devastating. We are both -- we've both been there. You're there now. It gets cold. What are you seeing on the ground?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it's chilly already, and we are seeing people getting more and more fearful about what an increasingly dark and cold winter might mean if, as you've just been reporting, this collaboration between Russia and Iran, in other words the drones that Iran is providing Russia with, the missiles that Russia is using against this and other cities, against the energy infrastructure.

If that continues at pace, it's going to be very, very hard for the people here. And we were in a home last night where we just arrived, you know, a few minutes before, actually, electricity went on. They've been without it for about nine hours.

One woman we talked to has a baby. They have to figure out how to cook. They don't even have gas in the house, so they're buying, you know, like little gas stoves to heat food for the baby. You know, that -- The new weapons for this phase of the war are things

like power packs for their phones to charge. They're things like little oil lamps, things like, you know, using water bottles literally to diffuse light through the torch of an iPhone.

And just like we're seeing behind, which are the -- you know, the reclaimed and destroyed Russian tanks to highlight the Ukrainian progress and defiance against Russia, their new weapons are, as I've just described, to try to defend against an attack on civilian infrastructure that they hope just doesn't get worse throughout this winter.

HARLOW: And Christiane, there is a big question mark about, you know, especially if Republicans take over one or both chambers in the midterms, what financial support for Ukraine will look like going forward from the U.S.

You're there. You had a chance to speak with U.S. Senators Portman and Coons, a Republican and a Democrat. They're in Kyiv on this bipartisan trip. What did they tell you?

AMANPOUR: Well, precisely that. The first question was is there any change in America's full-throated support for this country if there's a shift in the balance of power after the midterms.

You heard what some Republicans have said about whether or not they, quote, "continue with a blank check." Those are the words of the minority leader in Congress.

But I was speaking, as you said, to those very senior senators who met with President Zelenskyy and came out again with a very robust defense of their vital, for U.S. national security, as well as for the Ukrainians, support for this effort.

Here's what they told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): This is not the time for us to back off. In fact, it's the time for us to redouble our efforts. Because the Ukrainians have shown through their bravery, their courage on the battlefield, that they are making progress, have made tremendous progress in the last two and a half months.

[06:25:05]

It's because of that, out of desperation that Vladimir Putin is doing what we see behind us here tonight. He can't win on the battlefield, so instead, he's turning to attacks on the civilian population.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): I think the overwhelming bipartisan majority of members of Congress respect that the Ukrainians have fought fiercely, have fought bravely.

Americans have stood for freedom at home and abroad for decades and decades. And I find it hard to believe that we would abandon the Ukrainian people right now as they are facing, in some ways, the most challenging test of this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And during that conversation, you could see the blackout behind us. This was last night we spoke.

Now these two senators and their delegation are in the Hague in the Netherlands, where they are pushing the case for a special tribunal to try Russian war crimes, alleged Russian war crimes under a new -- it's called the crime of aggression. That is what they're aiming for, and that's what they're doing in the Hague today after their visit to Kyiv.

Back to you.

HARLOW: Christiane Amanpour on the ground for us in Kyiv. Christiane, thank you very much for the reporting.

Ahead, Governor -- California Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat, has some tough love for Democrats. What he's saying about his party's chances in the midterms.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Pennsylvania, there were 1.8 million mail-in ballots went out, 2.5 million come back. There's a, hello, A question maybe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you sure about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Look it up, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we Google it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Google? I wouldn't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Election deniers in 2020 turned poll watchers in 2022. CNN reports ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)