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CNN This Morning
Both Campaigns Look To Turn "Garbage" Into Gold; North Korea Launches Suspected ICBM Before U.S. Election; Halloween Forecast Is Scary Warm. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 31, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:31]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, October 31st.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How do you like my garbage truck?
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HUNT: Trash talk. Donald Trump tries to seize the moment after President Biden's garbage gaffe.
And this --
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just like Wisconsin state motto tells us, we will move forward.
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HUNT: Courting the cheeseheads, as Kamala holding the slimmest of leads in this critical blue wall state.
And later --
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ANNOUNCER: Your Dodgers have won the World Series!
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HUNT: World Series champs. The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the title in a game five comeback.
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HUNT: All right. It's 5:00 a.m. on the East Coast, a live look at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is such a critical place in the commonwealth. That battleground, the absolute epicenter election, with just five days to go until Election Day.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us. I should also say, Halloween to all those who celebrate.
Maybe you can call it an October surprise, but all of the sudden garbage -- all of a sudden, garbage is becoming be closing was word of the 2024 campaign ever since a comedian at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally dubbed Puerto Rico a floating, quote, island of garbage.
The Harris campaign tried to tie the comments directly to Trump. Later today, Harris will appear alongside Jennifer Lopez, one of several celebrities of Puerto Rican descent who have boosted Harris. And so Sunday comments.
But the vice president is also in no pun intended cleanup mode as the Trump campaigns seizes on a comment from Joe Biden, depending on who you ask, the president was either calling all Trump supporters garbage or calling out one Trump supporter apostrophe S's words.
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HARRIS: First of all, he clarified his comments but let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for, I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not.
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HUNT: So Donald Trump now creating his own garbage moment. The former president climbing into an actual Trump-branded trash truck in Wisconsin to try to deliver his own rebuttal.
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TRUMP: How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.
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HUNT: The former president keeping his garbage truck vest on for the ensuing rally, where Biden's comments remained at the top of his agenda.
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TRUMP: We know it's really what they believe because look at how they've treated you. They treat you like garbage. They treat the whole country like garbage.
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HUNT: All right. Joining us now to talk about all that, Julie Manchester, national political reporter for "The Hill".
Julia, good morning. Good to have you with us this. JULIA MANCHESTER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE HILL: Good morning, Kasie.
HUNT: This, of course, another example of the former reality television star putting on a visual moment designed to drive home a point.
Certainly, there was there were a number of Republican operatives who praised him on X and other platforms saying this was a sharp communications move what impact do you think this has, especially considering Biden is obviously not the candidate himself?
MANCHESTER: He's not, but at the same time, I think that garbage can comment really harkened back for many people to the 2016 comments of Hillary Clinton calling Trump's supporters deplorable.
So I think Donald Trump continuing to tie attention to that, is essentially trying to invoke the same sort of effect it had in 2016. Now, does Donald Trump dressing up as a garbage man and getting into a Trump-branded garbage truck necessarily do anything thank to move the needle at this point? I don't know.
However, you know, its just it just goes to show I think how really nasty in many ways, how down in the mud this campaign has gotten between the election has gone to the two campaigns.
HUNT: And the word "garbage" has become, it's not just this moment. I mean, it's -- it's also what Trump has said about the country as a whole, just a reminder. He called America, quote, a garbage can for the world. Let's just watch that moment.
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TRUMP: We're like a garbage can for the world.
The United States of America, and dumped like we're you -- like we're a garbage can, like we're a garbage can for their people.
[05:05:07]
I said we're the garbage can for the world. We are. We're a garbage can. We're like a garbage can that they dump.
TRUMP: The press gave me a hard time in this one. They said it was very just -- I don't think it's -- it's like we're a giant garbage can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So he obviously -- there was one point where he said, I've never said this before, and he clearly knew it would get some reaction but it is actually kind of a remarkable construct from someone who wants to be president of the country.
So, yes, I would like to run the garbage can. MANCHESTER: Right. So he's talking about immigration? They're oftentimes saying that other countries dump, you know, their migrants into our country. Of course, a lot of people read that differently. You have Kamala Harris sort of spinning that, not -- not saying those words, but talking about immigration more positively saying we're sort of light in the world that while there needs to be safeguards on the immigrant process, you know, America welcomes immigrants.
But, you know, those comments definitely allow the Harris campaign to really create a contrast, her campaign, sometime -- most of the time has a lot more of a positive spin on that, on -- you know, just her rhetoric in general, talking about a campaign of joy, campaign of positivity.
So I think these are the comments that her campaign points to when they talk about the contrasting visions between the two of them.
HUNT: So lets talk about just how close this race is, because we saw some new polling yesterday from CNN of battleground states we polled the, quote/unquote, blue wall. If Ron Brownstein were here, he would correct me and say these are the states that fell out of the blue wall, but it's neither here nor there.
You can see here. These are among likely voters, the margin of error is about five percentage points, which puts these all very close. Wisconsin. She has a little bit more of an edge there. It seems I will say when I talk to my Democratic sources, they will actually the point to Wisconsin and say, well, usually Democrats under perform in Wisconsin, but what do you make of these numbers? And it seems to also underscore Pennsylvania just remains the absolute center of the game.
MANCHESTER: Absolutely deadlocked. Look, I think it's probably good news for Harris. It could be worse. But at the same time, it is still within the margin of error. It is so close it was interesting.
Yesterday, I was talking to a Republican strategist. I ask, are there really, truly any undecided voters out there that could really sort of move the needle here in a number of these states, whether its in the blue wall or the sun belt states, and they essentially said, you know, look, it's not a question of what they're undecided. Most voters are leaning one way or the other. It's about turnout.
Are these voters motivated enough -- enthusiastic enough to go out and vote on Election Day? That's going to make the difference.
HUNT: Right. They're both in many ways, running against the couch as much as they're running against each other.
All right. Julia Manchester for us this morning -- Julia, thank you.
MANCHESTER: Thank you, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Straight ahead here on CNN this morning, another missile test by North Korea. And now, the U.S. believes Kim Jong-un may be asking Vladimir Putin for nuclear help.
Plus, how four American astronauts plan to vote from 250 miles above the surface of the Earth.
And the battle over Obamacare, it's back. The GOP's plan for it if Trump returns to the White House.
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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Health care form is going to be a big part of the agenda, when I say we're going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we've got a lot of things still on the table.
ATTENDEE: No Obamacare?
JOHNSON: No Obamacare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[05:12:47]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
North Korea conducting a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile test overnight and South Korean officials believe another test could becoming between now and election day here in the U.S.
There's also increasing anxiety in the West about North Korean troops being stationed in Russia.
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LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The evidence now suggests that North Korea has sent around 10,000 soldiers to train in Eastern Russia. Some of these DPRK troops have already moved closer to Ukraine and we're seeing them outfitted with Russian uniforms and provided with Russian equipment.
And I am increasingly concerned, turn that the Kremlin plans to use these North Korean soldiers to support Russia's combat operations in Russia's Kursk region near the border with Ukraine.
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HUNT: South Korea fears that North Korea will now ask Moscow for advanced missile nuclear weapons technology in exchange for deploying those troops.
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KIM YONG-HYUN, SOUTH KOREA DEFENSE MINISTER: There's a high chance that they would, in exchange for their deployment. North Korea is very likely to ask for technology transfers into diverse areas including the technologies relating to tactical nuclear weapons, technologies related to their advancement of ICBMs. Also, those regarding reconnaissance satellites and those regarding SSBNs as well. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: All right. Let's go to London and bring in CNN's Max Foster.
Max, always wonderful to see you so what's the endgame here for Kim Jong-un?
What's he hoping to achieve?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it could be a number of things. Certainly that's what the South Koreans thing that he wants technology in order to advance his nuclear warfare capabilities. He doesn't have -- Kim Jong-un just doesn't have all the technology that's required. Russia does, Russia also has money, of course, so it -- it could be an exchange for money.
The other thing that North Korea will gain from this experience will be battlefield experience, which is troops haven't had. So that makes their military a greater threat as well, although, you know, the intelligence seems to be that these are senior, well-trained North Korean troops.
[05:15:04]
Initially, there was some talk about them being junior troops, people calling them cannon fodder, doesn't look like that's the case. It looks like these are well-qualified North Korean troops going in, which will add something as well, of course, to the capabilities of Russia in this war. But it's just 10,000 troops or around that. So, you know, you've got to ask the question, what does North Korea get out of it? Probably more than what Russia gets out of it.
HUNT: Max, these missile tests at this point, they, of course, come just days before the U.S. election and we think that it's possible there could be another one before election they, which is, of course, just five days away.
What kind of message is that sending?
FOSTER: The --- you know, they are working on their program, developing it, improving it, all the time it also creates a huge amount of worry and places like Japan or South Korea, every time it happens because you got a sense of the capability of North Korea and with this context of what's happening in Russia, it is all very worrying for anyone that feels like a target of North Korea, because all the time, the military is becoming more capable and they've got this new very clear alliance now with Russia, which has all the military capability that North Korea could possibly want.
HUNT: All right. Max Foster for us this morning -- Max, always grateful to have you. Thank you so much.
FOSTER: Thanks, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Elon Musk's million dollars giveaway, now heading to court. We're going to take a look at that and other election legal fights.
Plus, the Dodgers close out the World Series in thrilling fashion against the Yankees. Their final comeback in our "Bleacher Report".
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[05:21:08]
HUNT: All right. Twenty minutes past the hour. Here's your morning roundup.
A Republican-led House subcommittee wants to send a letter to the DOJ this morning referring a potential criminal case against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Remembers alleged Cuomo lied to Congress about his role in a 2020 New York state health department report that underestimated the nursing home death count from COVID by nearly half.
Slivered onions on a McDonald's quarter pounder are likely the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak, according to the CDC and FDA. Ninety people got sick and at least one person died. McDonald's said they would start selling quarter pounders again this week, but without the onions.
Voting while floating. American astronauts will cast their votes in next weeks election from the International Space Station, some 250 miles above the Earth's surface. That includes the Boeing Starliner astronauts who have been stuck in space since June.
All right. Just in time for trick or treating, millions across the northeastern United States experiencing one of the warmest Halloweens on record.
Let's get straight to our meteorologist, the weatherman Van Dam.
Derek, good morning. What do we got?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, good morning. Kasie, I don't know if you're anything like me, but this is my children dancing when they find that one house in the neighborhood that hands out the large candy bars, right? The full-size candy bars.
HUNT: Full-size candy bars. Yeah, totally I'm with you.
You know what I'm saying, right? So that is not going to be the case across the Northeast because most of those candy bars were going to melt before you get them home because its going to be so warm. This is a Halloween evening forecast, and will stay dry along the eastern seaboard, but it will be the temperatures that will take the story here, really.
We're going to warm into the lower 80s for places like D.C., New York, all the way to Atlanta, of course, a cools down by the time people trigger treat after sunset, about 6:45 this evening, along parts of the East Coast. But the broader look here is just that it is so warm, we're setting record highs across the mid-Atlantic and Upstate New England, Upstate New York, I should say. But the West, that's a completely different story.
So if you're out in Colorado, the great basin into the West Coast. So that's going to be a big temperature change, at least from what were experiencing on the East Coast. And you can see the progression of that cooler weather. Were dropping about 20 degrees from yesterdays daytime high in places like St. Louis so were cooling off cold front responsible for that is also sparking off a few showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be on the strong side today, across the mid-Mississippi River Valley. Here it is the latest radar. Some of this lightning associated with some thunderstorms that were severe for overnight.
But the good news is many of them didn't really produce the tornadic activity that we had concerned about yesterday. This cold front advances eastward, but really fizzles out, not a big rainmaker for the central parts of the U.S.
But again, here's a recap of that forecasts and no, I'm not going to dance like this for anyone this morning, Kasie.
HUNT: I applaud the creativity of the graphics producers for this Halloween board. I really can't look away.
VAN DAM: Thank you.
HUNT: Derek, thank you. I'll see you next hour. Okay.
Still coming up after the break, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggesting an Obamacare overhaul and then quickly walking it back.
Plus, Nikki Haley on the campaign trail, not necessarily though for Donald Trump.
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[05:29:06]
HUNT: All right, 5:28 a.m. here on the East Coast.
A live look at Raleigh, North Carolina. The tar heel state, of course, critical this election season. Today, Donald Trump's running mate heading there.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt it's wonderful to have you with us. Happy Halloween to those who celebrate.
The House Speaker Mike Johnson preparing policy for a possible second Trump term and it includes a major health care overhaul.
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REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Health care form is going to be a big part of the agenda, when I say we're going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we've got a lot of things still on the table.
ATTENDEE: No Obamacare?
JOHNSON: No Obamacare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: No more Obamacare.
The Louisiana Republican making that promise while campaigning in Pennsylvania but he later had to clear some things up. He says, quote, the audio and transcript, make clear that I offered no such promise to end Obamacare. And in fact, acknowledged that the policy is deeply engrained in our health care system.
Johnson's comments come as Trump and Harris make their final policy pitches to voters. The Harris campaign has warned that if Trump is elected, again.
