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Brock Long is Interviewed about Hurricane Milton; DeSantis and Harris Clash over Call; Mark McKinnon is Interviewed about the Election; Harris Talks about Gun Ownership. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 08, 2024 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:27]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, more breaking coverage as people in Tampa continue to flee a monster storm. The traffic, bumper to bumper right now heading out of that city.

What's expected to be the most powerful storm of 2024 is approaching the Gulf Coast of Florida at this hour. Here's the view of Hurricane Milton from the International Space Station. Wow, look at that. It's expected to make landfall late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Mandatory evacuations ordered in parts of nine counties. Thousands jamming highways looking to get to safety. Forecasters expecting Milton to hit cities like Tampa with up to 15 feet of storm surge. That is double what Hurricane Helene delivered less than two weeks ago.

Let's bring in former FEMA administrator Brock Long.

Brock, good morning to you. Thank you very much for being with us this morning.

Obviously, the Tampa Bay area is still reeling from Hurricane Helene. FEMA is stretched pretty thin. What are the challenges here and how do you think the preparations are going for this? What are you preparing for?

BROCK LONG, FROMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: So, this is the most dangerous storm scenario. This is a - this is a catastrophic planning scenario within FEMA. This - this track, if it holds, and it - and it will, is extremely dangerous. I can't say that enough for - for the - for Tampa Bay and, you know, communities to the north and south of Tampa Bay.

People really need to heed the warnings. And I don't think that people realize that most of the evacuation planning is centered around storm surge. It's not necessarily the wind as much as it is the water. And the storm surge associated with this has the highest potential to kill the most amount of people and cause the most amount of destruction.

[06:35:06]

And that's why we're asking people, the local leaders are asking people to get out and, you know, find - find a safe place.

Regarding FEMA, it's a - it's not an ideal situation. I faced a similar situation in 2017 when Harvey, Irma, Maria and the California wildfires all hit within a two week period. You know, the good thing about this is, is that because of the previous event with Helene, you know, FEMA has a pretty sizable force down in Florida already working initial recovery from Helene. And a lot of those jobs will flip over to the response side to make sure that things are in place and that they're highly coordinated with Florida's division of emergency management and the governor's office as Milton makes landfall.

HUNT: So, when this storm hits, there's going to be all sorts of debris still left over from Helene. What does the presence of that debris mean for the response, recovery and how this might go?

LONG: So, it's definitely - what I - what I worry about more - more than the debris is, what - what damage was done to the homes by Helene, because any damage to a home may reduce its ability to handle the next event, all right, when Helene comes in. So, you know, the temporary repairs that were made to homes and buildings, you know, hopefully they're very strong. But in this case, when you're talking about a major hurricane, the damage is going to be off the charts, you know, as the - as the forecast track holds.

The debris isn't - is vegetative, but it's also commercial and demolition. And, unfortunately, if it's not picked up, it's going to be scattered by Milton.

HUNT: All right, former FEMA Administrator Brock Long.

Sir, thank you very much for your time today. I'm sure we'll be talking to you again in this week, which is - is set to be a really, really tough one for all of your - your former colleagues at FEMA and all of the residents down in Florida. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

LONG: Thanks, Kasie. Thank you.

HUNT: All right, with Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida, the response to Hurricane Helene in that state has become a full blown political campaign issue. On Monday, CNN learned Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, refused to return calls from Vice President Harris in the wake of Helene's landfall on Florida's coast.

The vice president has this to say about the governor dodging her calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are the height of emergency situations. It's just utterly irresponsible and it is selfish, and it is about political gamesmanship, instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do, which is to put the people first.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNT: But DeSantis says the vice president is the one playing games, arguing she has no role in the hurricane response process, during an interview on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I've had storms under both President Trump and President Biden. And I've worked well with both of them. She's the first one who's trying to politicize the storm and she's doing that just because of her campaign. She's trying to get some type of an edge. She knows she's - she's doing poorly and so she's playing these political games. I don't have time for political games.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, our panel is back.

Mike Dubke, I do - my - the one question I do have, I mean, if Ron DeSantis is saying, well, she's got nothing to do with this, and yet they're trying to hang any failures around the neck of the Biden administration, those two things do seem to be in conflict.

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Except I can't remember the last time a vice president of either party called and inserted themselves in an emergency situation. So, on the - on the one hand, I totally understand why she would want to be part of the story, but really to - to Alex's point about hurricanes and elections, we - I would wish that these were separated as well because this is more about the president of the United States, who is Joe Biden right now, getting aid down to Florida for Governor DeSantis. And if - if - if she has made calls throughout the three and a half years that she's been a vice president and there have been hurricanes, I will stand corrected, but I bet you she hasn't.

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Both sides are - I mean both sides are doing political gamesmanship here.

DUBKE: Yes.

THOMPSON: You know, Ron DeSantis doesn't have time for political games, but he has time for a Fox News interview to talk about political games. Kamala Harris has time for a phone call. And I can tell you, she almost never goes over to the reporters before walking on the plane, but she did have time to go to the reporters and then call out Ron DeSantis for political gamesmanship. Both are trying to get an edge here, in part because like who is seen as being more, you know, responsible in terms of, you know, the reaction to the hurricane, can get an edge.

DUBKE: And responsive to that.

THOMPSON: Responsive. Yes.

DUBKE: Yes.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And I think the saddest thing about it, as people either are suffering or will be, is that both of them win in a way from that exchange. She gets the, oh my gosh, I attempted to call the governor. He didn't even call me back. And the governor gets his big talking point.

It - it's the sadness, to Alex's point earlier in the show, about our election is always happening during hurricane season. You have these major events where people's lives are at stake, but either of them are trying to score points, and succeeding at it.

[06:40:05]

HUNT: Yes. And - yes.

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND HISTORIAN: Yes, so I do think that there have been moments, particularly in times of crisis, where presidential candidates have inserted themselves into the conversation. And so I think that's actually what we're seeing with not just Kamala Harris, we're also seeing it with Donald Trump, right?

So, if we look back at say the economic crisis of 2008, Barack Obama absolutely suspended his campaign and said, hey, I'm going to insert myself, even though I have no standing to do anything because I am not president of the United States. We also saw John McCain do the same thing.

And I think part of what we are seeing right now is, yes, an attempt to - to - to really position themselves politically. But also there's the recognition that this is a moment that is - that is devastating, right? Essentially, one of the things that we're hearing over and over again from FEMA is that the amount of misinformation, the amount of politicization that has entered the conversation right now is actually negatively affecting what they are able to do and how people are able to respond to the storm right now.

So, I actually think the focus right now from everybody should simply be on safety.

HUNT: Sure.

RIGUEUR: It should be on what are we going to do here? How are we going to stop this? How are we going to deal with the fallout and the continued fallout because hurricane season isn't over.

HUNT: Yes, it is not. All right, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, one month to go. Election Day just around the corner. What, if anything, is going to change undecided voters minds at this point? We're going to talk to longtime political strategist, friend of the show, Mark McKinnon.

Plus, Kamala Harris opening up about her gun ownership after this candid moment with Oprah last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And if somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot. Sorry.

OPRAH WINFREY: Yes. Yes. I hear that - I hear that.

HARRIS: Probably should not have said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:46:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": Here we are again in October.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, a major port strike could make for an October surprise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could the infamous October surprise in this year's election actually be coming from overseas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurricane Helene affecting at least two battleground states. This, to me, might be the October surprise.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Is a spike at the pump the October surprise that no one wants.

STEWART: Why are October surprises always so (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: We're less than a month to go to Election Day. Could anything change voters' minds and shake up a race that is basically deadlocked? A new focus group moderated by pollster Frank Luntz and "The New York Times" recently asked a group of young, undecided voters exactly that, what have they changed their minds about in recent weeks.

Twenty-seven-year-old Lillian told them this, quote, "I think the thing raising my opinion of Trump is my opinion of Kamala. The Biden- Harris administration couldn't establish deterrence in the Middle East for the last year, and so now they are bombing the heck out of Israel." "Walz surprise me as well. I thought he was eloquent and civil," responded 20-year-old Laura. And for 24-year-old Joseph, it was foreign policy. He felt like, quote, "at points in the last month, we haven't even been a power given everything going on in the Middle East."

Joining me now, former adviser to George W. Bush and John McCain, Mark McKinnon, also the creator of Paramount's "The Circus."

Mark, always wonderful to have you. Thank you so much for being here.

A lot of talk this week about October surprises or lack thereof. I feel like we may be at the point where there - there's just so much that's stacking up that there's no single thing that may surprise us, but also, when you make these kind of predictions, I think we've all learned that lesson enough to know not to do it anymore in our politics.

What do you see as being the major - potential major impacts on this race that has been so, so, so close all the way along here since the top of the ticket changed?

MARK MCKINNON, CREATOR, "THE CIRCUS": Good morning, Kasie.

Well, the one thing I would say is that at this point, in this race, there really aren't very many undecided voters. I - Frank Luntz had to do a lot of work to find those undecided voters, I guarantee you.

So, the question when you have limited resources, you spend trying to find those very limited undecided voters, do you try and persuade those people, or do you try and motivate people who have already made up their minds? That's where you should spend the resources. You're trying to - you're . trying to animate and make enthusiastic voters who are for you and get your base out, because there just aren't that many undecided voters. So, that's kind of a waste of resources because there just aren't that many people now.

That said, with the - with the election pretty much set and with voters deciding what could change it. Well, the one thing that could change it is a storm, and a massive storm and an historic storm. Ask me about Katrina. You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie. You remember that one?

HUNT: Yes.

MCKINNON: Well, you know, major storms are the one time when people really do look to government to say, this is your job. This is when - this is the one time we count on you to respond.

So, I mean, not only will there - you know, they'll be looking to see how the Harris-Biden administration responds, but think about this too, if it's anywhere near as big as it's - as it's likely to be, this is going to dominate news coverage for the next couple weeks maybe through the election. It may be the only story that people are talking about. So, of course it's going to be politicized because it may be the only story.

HUNT: Mark, can we dig into this a little bit? I mean, what do you think the risks are for Harris? And we've - we've already seen her - we were just talking about the back and forth she's having with Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. DeSantis declining to take her call.

It is pretty normal for vice presidents too. I mean Alyssa Farah Griffin was on our air last night saying Mike Pence always used to do it in - in - always used to make calls to local officials in disaster areas. But because she's in office, the risk to her may - seems to me that it might be higher for her here heading into the final stretch of the election. What's your take on it?

MCKINNON: Well, yes, the risk is that she's an incumbent and - and she's going to be an incumbent during one of the worst storms in our history, possibly. [06:50:04]

So, yes, the risk is very high because all the responsibility for the response is going to be on her and Biden.

So, it's a huge - it's a huge - it's a huge potential problem for Harris. It's also an opportunity, if they respond well. But, man, something as massive as this, it's just - you know, people are going to be unhappy. So, you know, it's - it is a - it's a factor that, you know, in an election that's this close, could be a big factor.

HUNT: Yes, for sure.

Mark, speaking of the election being close, there's new "New York Times"/Siena polling out this morning that shows - and, again, it's a national poll, but it does show some movement toward Harris in September. They had it 47/47. Now they've got it 49/46.

What do you read into this, if anything, in terms of where this race stands or, I always try to with - in the -- in these closing weeks. I feel like the thing that makes the big difference is where is the ball rolling, right? Who's got the momentum? Because that tends to really, in my experience, make a difference heading into Election Day.

Do you think this says something about that or not?

MCKINNON: One hundred percent, Kasie. And, you know, listen, it's been my job over years to look at all the data and, you know, all the polling. But in the - as you said, in the last couple of weeks you just get kind of a Spidey sense for where things are going. And momentum is really key. You could feel that shift in the last week in - of the campaign in 2016. So, that's going to be huge. And I think that the - there's two things that you mentioned in your polling earlier about Harris that I think are - are - are compelling and relevant. One is, that she's become the change candidate. But, you know, more than Trump has, which is astonishing when you think about the fact that she's a - she's technically the incumbent. So, that's - that's kind of a magic trick that she's pulling off, that she's become the change agent as an incumbent.

The other thing was your fun factor. I mean, you know, at a very base level - this is kind of the Occam's razor point of view on this thing, which is, who do you want to see on your television for the next four years? Donald Trump, more of that fury and payback and all of that, and the anger, or do you want to see somebody who's more joyful and just you want to see on TV. So, you can't discount that.

HUNT: Mark, how do you see the - the week of the election playing out considering Trump's rhetoric has been pretty dark and we're kind of already see him - seeing him lay the groundwork for questioning the fairness of - in various places. What are you concerned about? What are you looking for? Where do you think we should be focusing our attention?

MCKINNON: Pennsylvania. That's where I'll be. And it's just astonishing to me that they still don't count their early votes until Election Day. You know, that's - that's just a crime because that means that the elect - we know that the election - how important Pennsylvania is going to be. And we know that Pennsylvania will very likely not be counted the day of the election. So that means that it's highly likely we won't know the results of the election on Election Day. And that just feeds the conspiracy theories.

So, I'm very worried about it because Pennsylvania is so key, and Pennsylvania, it still has a screwed up system.

HUNT: All right, Mark McKinnon for us this morning.

Mark, always love having you. Come back soon. Thank you.

MCKINNON: Thank you. Kick it.

HUNT: All right, 52 minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.

Hurricane Milton still a dangerous category four storm right now. The latest update just a short time ago says it will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Florida's gulf coast. We expect that tomorrow night.

Highways out of Tampa are slammed with traffic as residents follow mandatory evacuation orders. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference on how the state is preparing for the storm in the next hour.

Georgia's six week abortion ban reinstated while the state Supreme Court considers an appeal to the ruling. Last week, a Fulton County judge found the ban on abortions beyond six weeks was unconstitutional. The ban will now remain in place indefinitely as the appeals battle plays out.

And -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're actually in a good shape for - for what we need to ensure that people are able to vote in North Carolina. What I worry about more is actually motivation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Asheville leaders echoing Senator J.D. Vance's confidence, confirming that North Carolinians will be able to vote despite the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Helene. Early voting is scheduled to begin across the state in nine days.

All right, let's turn now to this line that Kamala Harris has been using on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a gun owner, and Tim Walz, my running mate, is also a gun owner.

Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We're not taking anybody's guns away.

I'm a gun owner. Tim Walz is a gun -

OPRAH WINFREY: I did not know that. And I thought there was probably -

HARRIS: If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.

WINFREY: Yes. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The firearm that she owns, well, it turns out it's a Glock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WHITAKER, CBS NEWS: So, what kind of gun do you own? And when and why did you get it?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a Glock. And I've had it for quite some time.

[06:55:01]

And, I mean, look, Bill, my background is in law enforcement. And, so there you go.

WHITAKER: Have you ever fired it?

HARRIS: Yes, of course I have, at a shooting range. Yes, of course I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right, our panel's back.

Mike, we were talking off camera. I know you've been curious what kind of -

DUBKE: I've been curious for two weeks now. No one has asked this question. Thank goodness for - for Bill Whitaker because he finally got to the bottom of this. I have no idea why this has been such a mystery for so long.

WILLIAMS: Why? What -

DUBKE: The Glock.

WILLIAMS: Seriously, just knowing -

DUBKE: Just the type of gun. WILLIAMS: Yes. Well -

DUBKE: Now, she didn't ask the why and how - how you - and - and why you got it.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

DUBKE: She avoided that question.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

DUBKE: So now we have more questions as a follow up.

WILLIAMS: But why - but why specifically is whether it's a Glock or a Smith and Wesson, what - and I'm - what is the importance of that question?

DUBKE: Mainly because I want to know if this is something that her political team said -

WILLIAMS: Right.

DUBKE: You need to go out and say, and whether or not she was aware of, you know, if - a gun owner knows the type of gun they have, they know - they should know about gun safety, they should know about how to handle a gun.

WILLIAMS: Right.

DUBKE: And none of those questions were ever followed up until "60 Minutes" had to do it. And this is why we need her on hard-hitting news programs because she didn't get that question on, again, "The View," "The Late Night with Stephen Colbert," or "Call Her Daddy."

WILLIAMS: The next one is -

DUBKE: She - I guarantee you, she -

WILLIAMS: The next one is "Soldier Fortune Magazine" or something - "Guns and Ammo."

THOMPSON: She has talked about have - owning a gun in the past before this campaign. But you're 100 percent right that she has never talked about it as much as she has the last several weeks. It is clearly an effort - part of an ongoing effort to show people in the middle of the country she - their team feels comfortable. They have the Democratic base rallied. They are trying to present her to the middle of the country as someone that's pragmatic, someone who isn't, as the Trump campaign has been trying to label her, as dangerously liberal.

WILLIAMS: And I think there's a value in being seen as pissing off her own folks.

DUBKE: Absolutely.

WILLIAMS: It's - it's angering two people on the left. DUBKE: Queen Latifah moment, right?

WILLIAMS: And that Queen Latifah moment. And that excite - the Sister Souljah moment.

DUBKE: Yes.

WILLIAMS: And that excites some folks in the middle.

RIGUEUR: But it's also - I mean, if we look at the stats, if we look at the demographics, black women are actually the fastest growing group of people who are gun owners in this country. And so for us to kind of sit around and be like, huh, this is kind of curious, I don't really understand, she actually lines squarely up with these kind of changing trends.

Not only that, right, there's - I think there's an enormous amount of appeal twofold here. One, she gets to talk to gun owners, right? This is area - an area that largely Democrats have been cut off from. But she also simultaneously gets to talk to two-thirds of Americans who believe in sensible or stricter gun reform, right? She gets to do both.

And then the last point here is that, while we focus on this, while we talk about, OK, what kind of gun is she going to do? What - you know, how long has she been this? She actually doesn't have to answer other questions, right? So, we're so focused on these kind of conversations around gun ownership and things like that, we're not actually talking about the other hit points from these interviews, whether she answered them, did she answer them appropriately, that kind of thing.

So, it ends up being a really great talking point for her that allows her to do multiple things across multiple audiences with very little effort.

WILLIAMS: Mike Dubke fell into the trap.

DUBKE: No, I totally fell into the trap.

WILLIAMS: You're snared in her web, Michael.

DUBKE: Actually, after listening to your explanation of this, she's finally learning from Donald Trump. You say a few things that get the news media focused on, and then you go. You don't have to talk about Ukraine and the U.N. charter and whatever that word salad answer was last night on "60 Minutes." You don't have to talk about it.

HUNT: So, here was Trump back in 2018 talking about firearms. Because, again, this is continually an issue that we deal with in our - in our political space.

Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like take the firearms first and then go to court, because that's another system, because a lot of times by the time you go to court, it takes so long to go to court to get the due process procedures. I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man's case that just took place in Florida. He had a lot of firearms. They saw everything. To go to court would have taken a long time. So, you could do exactly what you're saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, Mike, this was obviously in the wake of the Parkland shooting in Florida. Horrific. But what he said there didn't sit well with the NRA and others. I mean there are questions really about both of these candidates and their guns too.

DUBKE: Yes, I - look, I - it's, again, going back to this point on the gun ownership, she, obviously, wanted to inject a way for her to seem relatable to folks in the Midwest.

Now, with - with Trump, you know, he is known to react to news stories of the day. And sometimes he just - he just speaks, as in that case. And he's - he's walked comments back before. I think most of our politicians have done this.

THOMPSON: Yes. And, well, Trump is speaking to the NRA this week. Kamala Harris, as far as we know, is not speaking to the NRA.

[07:00:01]

So, I think, in terms of the people that probably vote on the Second Amendment, you know, Trump still has an edge there.

HUNT: Yes.

WILLIAMS: An edge.

DUBKE: Yes.

HUNT: Well, I almost forgot, there's questions about Trump's gun ownership because he's a convicted felon.

WILLIAMS: Well, he's a convicted felon, but the conviction is not final yet until he goes through all appeals. So, as of right now, he's still lawfully able to possess a firearm.

HUNT: This is why we have you at the table, Elliot. Thank you very much for that.

Thank - thanks to our panel. Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Kasie Hunt. Don't go anywhere. "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.