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The Chris Wallace Show
Celebrities Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen Appear at Campaign Rallies for Kamala Harris; Democratic Senate Candidates in Swing States Running Ads Touting Their Previous Work with Former President Trump; Donald Trump's Using Darker Rhetoric in Closing Days of His Presidential Campaign; Donald Trump Criticized for Comments about Enemies Within U.S.; Justice Department Warns Elon Musk His Giving Away $1 Million to Swing State Voters Who Sign Petition Supporting First and Second Amendment Possibly Illegal; Reporting Indicates Elon Musk having Private Talks with Vladimir Putin since 2022; Donald Trump Says If He's Elected President Elon Musk will Head Government Efficiency Commission; New Zealand Limits Times for Goodbye Hugs Outside Airport Terminal; "Costco Connection" Magazine has Fourth Widest Circulation in U.S.; Google Releases This Year's Trending Halloween Costumes. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 26, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:57]
CHRIS WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, and welcome. It's time to break down the big stories with some smart people today.
Today we're asking, after holding rallies with Beyonce, Springsteen, and Obama, will a big event strategy work for Kamala Harris?
Then dark Donald, why is the former president getting even nastier and more chilling in his closing argument to voters.
And trick or tree, we've got the top trending Halloween costumes, and we'll find out who on the panel is dressing up.
The gang is here and ready to go. So sit back, relax, and let's talk about it.
Up first, with Election Day now just over a week away, the race couldn't be tighter. A new CNN national poll shows a dead heat between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump tied at 47 percent. In these final days, Harris is using big names and huge rallies to excite her supporters and try to sway those few voters who are still undecided.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BEYONCE, SINGER: H Town!
(CHEERING)
WALLACE: Queen Bey looking get Kamala Harris's supporters in formation. BEYONCE: It's time for America to seeing a new song.
WALLACE: As Beyonce joined Harris Friday night for a rally in ruby red Texas and focused on the national implications of abortion ban.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over these past two years, the impact of Trump abortion bans has been devastating.
WALLACE: The big event just the latest in a week filled with them, from appearing with Barack Obama in Georgia.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: She's going to be focused on.
WALLACE: Facing voters in Pennsylvania at the CNN town hall.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think Donald Trump is a fascist?
HARRIS: Yes, I do.
WALLACE: Harris is leaning into star power with Lizzo, Eminem, and Bruce Springsteen all hitting the trail as she tries to build buzz in the waning days the campaign and deliver a closing argument to voters.
HARRIS: It's either Donald Trump in there stewing over his enemies list, or me working for you --
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: -- checking off my to do list.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: Here with me today, podcaster, journalist, and author Kara Swisher, Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute and "National Review" contributing editor, "New York Times" journalist and "The Interview" podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and conservative pollster in "New York Times opinion writer Kristen Soltis Anderson. Welcome back, everyone.
Kristen, are these Harris events creating the right kind of bonds?
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CONSERVATIVE POLLSTER AND "NEW YORK TIMES" CONTRIBUTING OPINION WRITER: I think the thing that's been official about these events is bringing up celebrities doesn't necessarily change people's minds, but it can excite your base. And here in the homestretch, getting someone to come out to a rally, get a little bit of that religion, get excited, can be valuable.
It's also the sort of thing that I think can get your event in front of people who are not paying attention to political news. You may not care about politics, but maybe you like Bruce Springsteen. You may not care about politics, but you like Beyonce. It's getting the fact that the election is coming up very soon in the stakes are high in front of people who might otherwise be more disengaged. WALLACE: All right, but back in 2016, Beyonce campaigned with Hillary
Clinton, and in her final rally, Clinton appeared with Obama and Bruce Springsteen, and we all know how that turned out. Lulu, is this big event buzz a winning strategy?
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, "NEW YORK TIMES" JOURNALIST AND HOST, "THE INTERVIEW": I think it isn't. I think what she's trying to do is create these moments so that they can and get in front of voters to create some excitement and momentum. It's like a big party at the end of this, you know, home stretch.
But I don't think it persuades people. And to your point, it didn't work out so well for Hillary Clinton.
WALLACE: Should she be focusing more on message and less on the events?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think she is going to be. She is focusing on message. She is talking about reproductive rights. She is -- those are her closing arguments. She is trying to focus on her economic message.
[10:05:01]
And she is focusing on Donald Trump, which is part of her closing argument, that trust me, don't trust him. He's a fascist. I'm going to take this country forward. I'm someone that you can trust. And if you look at polls, that is her strongest argument, that her temperament is better than Trump's.
WALLACE: Meanwhile, Harris is counting on winning the blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. But the democratic candidates for Senate in those states, two of them incumbents, all of them locked and tough races, are now running ads that note how well they worked with Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tammy Baldwin got President Trump to sign her made in America bill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's why I wrote a law signed by President Trump, forcing drug companies to show their actual prices.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Reihan, what do the blue wall Senate ads tell you?
REIHAN SALAM, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NATIONAL REVIEW": Well, they tell you that these are Democrats who are running really thoughtful, smart campaigns. They recognize that they will not be able to win without winning some number of voters who supported Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020 or both times. And a lot of them are trying to identify those ticket splitters and trying to meet them more than halfway. This is a sign of how tight those races are, and it's also a sign of the erosion for Democrats in those states.
WALLACE: I was going to say, I mean, I understand why they're doing it for them, but what does it tell you about Harris's strength in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin?
SALAM: Well, look, part of the tension here is that Harris is trying to run a campaign that's anathematizing Donald Trump, saying he is unacceptable, he is a fascist, and what have you. But these are candidates who are trying to hold the line, save their seats, do what they can to ensure that Democrats are in the mix when it comes to the next Senate, and they don't have the luxury of doing that. They need to win every vote they can, including the votes of folks who have backed Donald Trump and will do so again.
WALLACE: I mean, that's the question I have, Kara. I mean, it would be one thing if these were just two candidates, but you've got Tammy Baldwin saying and I did a law that Donald Trump signed, and meanwhile, you've got Kamala Harris saying, this guy is a fascist and he's a threat to the country.
KARA SWISHER, PODCAST HOST, "PIVOT" AND "ON": Well, I think what Tammy Baldwin doing is the way it used to be done before. This -- what's now happening is very different on the national level than it used to be. And I think it's fine. She's in a tight race. She's got to appeal to Trump voters, or something like that. And so --
WALLACE: But doesn't that diminished to a certain degree --
SWISHER: No. I think --
WALLACE: Let me finish the question -- doesn't that diminish Kamala Harris's message if you've got Baldwin and Casey and Slotkin all saying, well, I can work with Trump.
SWISHER: No, I think she saying -- yes, I can work with him. It's fine. I think there's nothing wrong with that. I think we overplay this in the media. They're just -- they're in tight races and they have to appeal to a lot more people. And that's -- and they're looking at numbers, and they see that people want more bipartisanship in some level.
WALLACE: Kristen -- or go ahead Reihan.
SALAM: It is a difference. There is a tension here. And I think that it suggests different strategies, different reading of the evidence. And I think that that's something that we're going to see which is going to be borne out. I think that there's another strategy Harris could have taken, which is that I need to win folks who voted for Trump in the past, I need to win over folks who are considering that now. And that means that this scorched earth approach might not be the right one.
SWISHER: I don't think so.
ANDERSON: I think it has everything to do with what the politics of the state are, because for instance, somebody like a Larry Hogan running in Maryland, he's the one that's more likely to run the ad saying I would work with Kamala Harris. You are not going to see Bernie Moreno, the Republican who is challenging Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio, he's not going to run an ad that says, vote for me, I would --
WALLACE: But do you not see a tension between Kamala Harris, and I think that's right, going scorched earth on Donald Trump and saying, this isn't a choice between two different philosophies. This is a choice between democracy and dictatorship. And meanwhile, the top Democrat running for the Senate in that same status saying, oh --
ANDERSON: I do not think that it is wrong to take the strategy that is most advantageous for you. I think that these Senate candidates --
WALLACE: But don't you -- I understand that. I'm asking whether you think it hurts Kamala Harris's message and that same --
ANDERSON: I do not.
WALLACE: Because?
ANDERSON: I think that people recognize that folks running for a legislative office have to be in the business of getting things done and making deals. I don't think they're expecting every Democrat to have the same --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Democrats have the same message at every election during Trump's term. This was, in fact, exactly what the former speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, told all of her constituents, like, if you have to disavow me, if you have to say I am evil incarnate to win your race, do it. She's always been extremely pragmatic that way, and this is part of the same strategy.
WALLACE: Kristen, you're our pollster and our strategist. What should Harris's closing message be in this final week?
ANDERSON: I think her closing message, one, she does need to talk as much as possible about abortion. That is an issue where if I'm the Trump campaign I'm the most worried about that.
[10:10:6]
But second, there was a line from this week where she said he's got an enemies list, I've got a to-do list. And I do think that that's a good closing message, to put it back on the voter. I'm for you. It's, of course, got a negative component. He has an enemies list. But the I'm going to do stuff for you, keeping the voter at the center would be the smartest.
WALLACE: I know it's probably too late, but one of the things that I keep hearing is she has been able to distance herself from the Biden administration. Is there anything she could do in this final week?
ANDERSON: No, I think that's done. I think she's been asked that question too many times and fumbled it. At this point, that's kind of baked in, I think. WALLACE: Kara, what do you think Harris should close on and in the last nine days?
SWISHER: I like the to-do list thing. I've got things to do. I don't have an enemies list, and he does have his list. And he is also, by the way, strafing hurt. So everybody's doing the same thing in various different words. But I think she should talk about the positive things she's going to do. What is she going to do for you, the voter?
And that's -- they had a CNN panel of voters that were smarter than every single pundit on the other night. They were so smart, sensible. They're like we want to hear about policy. We want things, doing for you. I think the voters are less obsessed with things like all the fighting than we all are. I really believe that. I was so impressed by these voters. And they were undecided voters. And I'm like, who are you? But then I understood why they were.
WALLACE: Donald Trump's final argument has been laced with insults, but now he's adding an element of doom and gloom, threatening to use the military against his opponents. Is that a winning message?
Then MAGA millions, Elon Musk's push to get Trump elected which could end up costing him much more than money.
And later, keep it moving, the controversial rule to speed up traffic at airports by limiting how long you can hug.
I'll bet you're a long, you're a big time hugger, right?
SWISHER: Only you. Only you.
WALLACE: Only me?
(LAUGHTER)
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[10:16:40]
WALLACE: Donald Trump is not stranger to insulting his opponents. But this week he seemed to go even darker, leveling mean personal attacks against Kamala Harris, including a racial trope, and stoking fear of a threat in our midst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's slow, low I.Q., something.
WALLACE: Donald Trump spending the ending days of his campaign getting even nastier.
TRUMP: She's lazy as hell.
WALLACE: Using ugly insults to go after Kamala Harris's intelligence, even questioning if she was under the influence during her "60 Minutes" interview.
TRUMP: Does she drink? Is she on drugs?
WALLACE: It's just part of Trumps dark and dire closing argument, which includes spending more than $21 million in ads attacking Harris's support for transgender people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala's supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners.
Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.
WALLACE: And warning of an ominous threat lurking amongst us.
TRUMP: We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within.
It is the enemy from within.
We have an enemy from within.
WALLACE: Which he used to describe some big name Democrats.
TRUMP: I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within. Adam "Shifty" Schiff, he's a crooked guy. Of course, he's an enemy.
WALLACE: And threatened to deploy the military against Americans who protest the election.
TRUMP: It should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Kristen, why do you think Trump is going so dark here at the end? And is that a winning strategy?
ANDERSON: I think it is a base motivation strategy again. I think that's why this race has turned so dark. I think the idea that there's persuadable folks left has sort of, we're past that phase now. Early voting has started, and it is about freaking out your side enough to get them to the polls.
WALLACE: This gets us to Trump's ad campaign, as we mentioned in that peace. If you look at what the top issues are for voters, the economy, national security, and immigration all rank far above transgender rights. And yet, Trump has spent weather and twice as much on trans right ads as he has on any other issue. Lulu, why is Trump going so dark and so nasty here at the end?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think that's his instinct. It actually worked for him in 2016. But I do think that the face of this election has been ripped off of it, and we are now at the actual nitty-gritty of what the arguments are. In terms of the way that many of the Democratic establishment view Donald Trump, they see him as a threat to democracy because of what happened on January 6th. They see him as a fascist in waiting. And so they are now articulating that.
And on the other side, Trump has always had this dark view of America, talking about this being a dumping ground, a toilet. This is something that he said for his inaugural speech about, when he became president --
WALLACE: American carnage.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: American carnage. This is something that runs through him. This is the way often that he views America. And so that's his pitch.
WALLACE: Reihan, do you think Lulu is being fair in assessing Trump and this election -- and this campaign?
[10:20:01]
SALAM: Well, I think there are different elements to his pitch. There has also been a lot of enthusiasm and joy. When you look at the response from Trump supporters to, for example, his appearance at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, that was something that seemed fun and playful for his supporters.
Now, when it comes to, for example, this enemies within trope, when he sat down with "The Wall Street Journal", he had a talk with Peggy Noonan and other members of the editorial board. And he said, well, look, what I meant was talking about people engaging in civil violence, that kind of people who are engaging in disruptive protests.
WALLACE: Reihan, let me stop you right there.
SALAM: Please.
WALLACE: You just saw the clip. I mean, we ran the clip. He was specifically asked when he mentioned the enemy within, he said Nancy Pelosi as the enemy within, Adam Schiff, who is the candidate, Democratic candidate for the Senate, is the enemy within. He wasn't talking about violent protests.
SALAM: He sees those as opponents, as rivals, as enemies.
SWISHER: He said enemies within.
SALAM: I'm just sharing the context that when he sat down with editorial board --
SWISHER: Reihan, I don't if we all get talking points in the morning, but he said it.
SALAM: -- he was offering something. He's a guy who says an awful lot of things.
SWISHER: They tried to get him out of it. Even Glenn Youngkin tried to get him out of it, and then he doubled down on it. He was referring directly to Nancy Pelosi as the enemy within. He did it. SALAM: That's right. He absolutely uses aggressive, harsh language
all the time. And then there are other times when he seeks to clean it up. Depending on the audience that he's speaking to, there's no question --
SWISHER: Why say it in the first place?
SALAM: -- that he's someone who speaks in a very loose and oftentimes very reckless way.
SWISHER: Which one do we believe? This is like Brezhnev and Kennedy. Which one do we believe? I believe the carnage guy, that's who I believe.
SALAM: I appreciate that's what you believe. And there's a universe of persuadable voters who believe the one who is speaking to "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board and the one who is speaking to Republican voters and soft Republican voters, who, with whom his message resonates.
SWISHER: Let me just say, this is not the morning, the morning in America guy. That's all I have to say. It's a very different person.
TRUMP: Well, that's clear. And this raises an issue. In these closing days, top members of Trump's time in office, like Chief of Staff General John Kelly and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, are speaking out, calling Trump unfit, even a fascist. But just as striking others, like Mike Pence, George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, and Defense Secretary Mattis, are saying nothing.
Kara, why do you think so many top Republicans are staying silent?
SWISHER: Cowardice? I don't know, basic cowardice? They want to be part of whatever comes next. They don't want to burn every bridge. They burned a lot of bridges, each of them individually. So I assume they figured they don't want to take any more risks.
ANDERSON: I totally disagree. I don't think any of those folks are angling for a position in a Trump cabinet, but I do think that from their perspective, if you're a Mitt Romney, you're probably thinking, do I actually help Kamala Harris by coming out and endorsing her, or do I make matters worse?
And I think that if you are one of these never-Trump Republicans or somebody who just says --
WALLACE: What about George W. Bush?
ANDERSON: I really think that if you are somebody whose opinion is going to be swayed by George W. Bush, you've already decided in this election. I firmly believe that the calculation there is --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: He can do it for himself. I mean, I do think there's two things, right. One is I'm going to do it because it might help, and another thing is I'm going to take a moral stand and actually -- and actually discuss where I stand. And those are two different things. Kara is talking about one and you're talking about the other. There's political calculations and personal characteristics.
SALAM: There's another element to this, which is the fact that there are some people for whom if Harris had run a different campaign, if she had chosen Governor Shapiro as her running mate, if she had more clearly distanced herself from the Biden presidency, there are people who might have actually come out. And I will tell you, there are a lot of people who do not like Donald Trump in that category of establishment Republicans from that era who have been really dispirited and unimpressed by the campaign Harris has run.
WALLACE: We're running out of time in this segment. Kristen, same question I asked you in the last segment about Harris. What should Trump's closing argument based?
ANDERSON: So I wish it was more of McDonald's Donald Trump and less of let's use the military Trump. If I were him, I would stop with the ads about trans rights and I would switch to an ad that is an attempt at morning in America, that is, don't you remember what it was like? Don't you remember when your groceries were cheaper? Don't you remember when I was passing the Abraham Accords and we had peace in the Middle East? Don't you remember when Ukraine hadn't been invaded? Don't you want that again? And even though --
WALLACE: Basically, the Reagan argument, are you better off than you were four years ago?
ANDERSON: I think there's an ad to be made there.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And instead, what you're getting is Tucker Carlson at --
SWISHER: Spanking women.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes, talking about spanking women, saying the daddy is coming home, and that is at an official event in Georgia, part of the Trump campaign.
SWISHER: We don't want to be spanked, not by daddy, not that day.
WALLACE: Why do you think, because I have to say as I listen, as I listen to Kristen, I think, man, that would be a really good at, an ad that says, here's what prices of groceries were, here is what, you know, what were what was going on in the world. Why not run that ad? Why not make that argument?
SALAM: Yes, I think a very clear, straightforward pitch for him would be, you don't have to like me. You can hate me all you want. And I'm going to keep you safe, I'm going to make you richer, and we're going to get the country back on track.
[10:25:03]
He is someone who is incredibly loose, improvisational, and it is both his strength, but also his huge weakness.
WALLACE: Elon Musk is doing his part to get Donald Trump elected. But his latest effort could land him in legal jeopardy. Is the risky business worth it?
Plus, time to step aside. Costco's latest offering is surprising many who read magazines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
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[10:30:13]
WALLACE: You can call it the MAGA millions, Elon Musk giving away $1 million every day to one swing-state voter who signs a petition in favor of quote, free speech or the right to bear arms. Musk's America PAC, which he created to support Donald Trump's election, is also offering cash or those who refer other registered voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: We want to try to get over 1 million, maybe 2 million of voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: In response, the Justice Department sent Musk a warning letter saying his giveaway may be illegal, because federal law bars anyone from paying people for registration to vote or for voting. But that hasn't stopped the giveaway. So far, Musk has donated almost $120 million to the America PAC. And "The New York Times" reports Trump has bragged Musk is spending half-a-billion dollars to get him elected.
Kara, will Elon's MAGA millions payoff?
SWISHER: Well, it's a lot of money. Money is money, and money is important in politics. And he's got a lot of it. So sure. And then just this week because Tesla did a little better, he made $26 billion more. So he has lots of money to spend. So this is a great investment for him because he's planning on making billions from Donald Trump. That's the plan. And keeping out of problems such as the recent "Wall Street Journal" article about his discussions with Vladimir Putin.
WALLACE: We're going to get to that. But do you think -- I mean, obviously everybody likes free money, but do you think there's any turning off at all to the idea that this Trump supporter is giving away $1 million a day to someone who is, quote, registered?
SWISHER: He doesn't care. He doesn't care. This is a typical Musk thing. He takes a risk. It's not a calculated risk, but he knows he's not going to get in trouble for it because Trump is not going to do anything. And if Kamala Harris wins, she's not going to waste your time dealing with him on this kind of stuff. So he does this all the -- this is his go to method. So I don't know if it will work or not, but he's certainly -- I've
always seen him as he wants people to look at him. He's like, he reminds me of someone, like, mommy look at me, kind of person, and he needs that attention. And so there he is doing that.
WALLACE: Kristen, what do you make of Elon spending these huge amounts of money to help Trump get elected? And will it make a difference?
ANDERSON: So the thing that's getting all the headlines are these like "Publisher's Clearing House", gameshow, checks he's giving out. But that's not, in my view, the thing that's really going to make a potential difference. It's that Donald Trump's campaign, it seems as though they have basically outsourced their ground game to groups like Elon Musk's group. And that's a real gamble.
Now, ever since the super PAC era, official campaigns have looked for things they can offload to groups that can take unlimited amounts of money. And so this is now a presidential campaign saying, hey, the whole effort to get our vote voters out, we're going to have somebody like Elon Musk in charge. I think that is a huge gamble.
WALLACE: Meanwhile, to Kara's point, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting about Musk's secret conversations. "The Journal" says Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022, and they're discussions touch on personal topics, business, and geopolitical tensions. Kara as our Musk watcher, how big a deal is this?
SWISHER: Big deal. He shouldn't be doing this. He's not -- this is what he's been doing, and he shouldn't be doing this. It's problematic around national security issues and everything else. It's --
WALLACE: He's a private businessman, he's a private citizen. So what's the --
SWISHER: Because what he's doing is sort of extra diplomacy that is all in his business interests. So we don't know where his interests with this country is. He's got a lot of defense contracts. He should be coordinating with the State Department, Defense Department. He's got, I think, $15 billion in government contracts. He should the loyal to this country first and foremost and focus on what we need.
WALLACE: Reihan, particularly given Kara's point that Musk isn't just a guy who builds rockets and electric cars. He also has big contracts. His Starlink program is helping the defense of Ukraine. Any problems with him having his own personal hotline to the Kremlin?
SALAM: I honestly don't know about the content of these conversations, but what I will say is that Elon Musk is someone who has been greatly enriched by Biden-Harris policies, by the Inflation Reduction Act. If you look at the profit that Tesla just announced, a lot of it was from these regulatory charges where other companies that aren't hitting their E.V. targets are making payments to Tesla. He is someone who has gained enormously from policies that Donald Trump might actually roll back in a Trump presidency, massive green subsidies. So I think that the idea that he is doing this to enrich himself, there's a little bit of a wrinkle here, number one.
[10:35:00]
Number two, there is a long history of folks who are engaging in private diplomacy of this kind. This has been true administration after administration. If he's doing things --
WALLACE: And nobody was a bigger critic of that Donald Trump.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: But this is what, but wait a second, this is with Vladimir Putin --
SALAM: He's doing --
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Wait. This is with Vladimir Putin. Elon Musk is actually involved with Ukraine and has American contracts to actually give them internet with their Starlink. This is not just some guy having discussions over his business. This is someone who is integral to a lot of the things that the United States is doing. And to be having private conversations with one of the premier enemies of the United States without coordinating with, I mean, is highly --
SALAM: Do you know that he's not coordinating?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: We don't know what he's doing.
SALAM: That's right. That's right. So we the partial, incomplete reporting --
SWISHER: This is precisely what they accuse people like George Soros of doing, and everything else. But it's perfectly fine when Elon Musk does. Elon Musk does better in a Trump presidency.
SALAM: Absolutely not. I think if Soros is doing --
WALLACE: I want to pick up on that.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I was just -- I just want to be clear here. I was simply saying in response to what you're saying, I don't know what the subject of those conversations were.
SALAM: That's right.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: But, but, but if the reporting is true and he was not coordinated with the United States, it is problematic, would you not agree with that?
SALAM: I believe that George Soros and Elon Musk have a right to engage as participants in civil society. I would want to make sure that they're doing things that are in the broad interests of the United States regardless of who that person is, regardless of --
WALLACE: All right, that's very interesting. At the same time he's reportedly talking to Putin, there's chatter about Musk getting a big job in a Trump administration. Musk has posted this about him leading a department of government efficiency. And here is Trump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the suggestion of Elon Musk who has given me his complete and total endorsement, I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.
I'm going to have Elon Musk. He is dying to do this. We'll have a new position, secretary of cost cutting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Kara, what role do you think Musk would play in a Trump White House?
SWISHER: I have no idea, and it sounds really sketchy. I mean, Trump is the original coin up president. He's gotten this money and now he's -- and Musk is getting his power. I mean, this is problematic. He has so many contracts everywhere. Is he going to have a purview over the groups that regulate him? It's all very sketchy.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And is it going to do what he did to Twitter to the U.S. government, like reduce its value --
WALLACE: Reihan, do you have any problem with the idea of Musk playing a real role in a Trump administration? And given the longevity of Trump appointees, how well do think that would last?
SALAM: During the Reagan administration, you had the Grace Commission. I think we badly need a government efficiency commission. And I think that he would be very well-suited to be on it. I would love to see it be bipartisan, but I think that it's badly needed right now. And I would love to see creative entrepreneurs who have accomplished a lot in the private sector being a part of it.
WALLACE: So you'd be fine with a Musk commission.
SALAM: Absolutely.
SWISHER: Not me.
WALLACE: On that note, we know Kara won't be dressing up as Elon Musk for Halloween, but will she be wearing one of this year's top costumes? Find out next.
Plus, quick goodbye, the new time limit to say farewell at the airport.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:42:58]
WALLACE: Once again, it's time to get our group's yea or nay on some big talkers. Up first, we're wrapping our arms around a new and controversial airport rule, setting a time limit on goodbyes outside the terminal. An airport in New Zealand recently posted a sign, Max hug time three minutes." And for fonder farewells, use the car park or parking garage. The policy is aimed at relieving traffic jams at the airport. But that's not stopping some people on social media from blasting the rule, calling it inhumane.
Kristen, are you yea or nay on time limits for airport goodbyes?
ANDERSON: I am a yea on this and I love New Zealand, I love how nice they are. I love how even those signs were kind of nice. For a fonder goodbye, go to the car park. I just think it's smart. I love efficiency. If you want to have a longer goodbye, you have options. But cars are moving through. That is what they're for.
WALLACE: So how much time would you give people?
ANDERSON: I think you can get out. You can give someone a hug and you can get on your way, and it does not need to take three minutes.
WALLACE: Five seconds, 10 seconds?
ANDERSON: Three minutes is generous. You can do it in 90, 90 seconds.
WALLACE: Lulu, I would guess that efficiency is not your love language. So what's your feeling?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Excuse me.
(LAUGHTER)
WALLACE: What's your feeling about how long people should be allowed to hug when they're saying farewell at the airport terminal?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think Kristen is terrible person I'm going to now launch a personal attack against her for this odious, awful thing. I mean, this is the moment when you're saying goodbye to people.
WALLACE: You can't do that in three minutes?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think to banish them to the car park, you've got to stay in the car park, friends. Say your goodbyes --
WALLACE: You can't say goodbye to your husband in three minutes?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: You're helping them -- listen, if they've got kids, they've got suitcases, they've got -- sometimes it could be a grandmother getting out of the car. She's going off back to her home country. They're all --
WALLACE: How about the person who is in the car waiting to get to the curb so they can get out?
Next, one of the top circulation magazines in the country isn't "Time" or "Newsweek," or even "People." No, it's "Costco Connection," the bulk shopping giant's publication for members, which believe it or not, has a distribution of more than 14 million copies each month, making it the fourth widest circulation magazine in the U.S. The company says one of the big reasons for the magazine's success, celebrity covers, including Oprah, Bruce Springsteen, and Jimmy Kimmel.
Kara, are you yea or nay on getting your magazine fix from "Costco Connection"?
SWISHER: I love that magazine. I go there and eat hot dogs and read that magazine. It's great. It's a good magazine. It's a good magazine.
WALLACE: I mean, it's apparently got health tips and travel stuff.
SWISHER: It's the most excellent magazine. But I'm an airport magazine lady, too. So I'm good with it. I like them all. I just grab them and read him. The hot dogs are delicious, by the way, and inexpensive.
WALLACE: And inexpensive.
"Costco Connection", as I was saying, Reihan, it offers recipes, travel tips, health and style content. How do you feel about getting your magazine fix from the "Costco Connection"?
SALAM: I feel very left out, Chris. I do not own an automobile, and so for groceries, anything else, all I can do is what I can carry and a little wheelbarrow that I carry to my local neighborhood grocery store. So Costco is way beyond me. I realized that this makes me something of a leper.
But I love magazines. We're buried under them. This is one I'm not going to read.
WALLACE: There's so much to pick apart there.
(LAUGHTER)
WALLACE: Finally, just in time -- I love the idea of Reihan and the wheelbarrow. Just in time for Halloween on Thursday, Google released this year's trending costumes. Topping the list is the iconic Shrunken Head Bob from the "Beetlejuice" movie. Also up there, the Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun, who received zero points at the Paris Games. And for some unknown reason, the Chipotle burrito, and that does not look to me like a burrito. You also might call this the year of the sequel, because several top picks for movie sequels, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," "Inside Out 2," and "Despicable Me 4." Kristin, are you yea or nay on this year's top costumes? And what are you wearing for Halloween?
ANDERSON: That Raygun one is interesting, but I think I'm going to go as somebody who I was very scared to meet the first time, and Lulu has chosen to join me as well, we're going to make Kara Swisher the most popular Halloween costume.
(LAUGHTER)
SWISHER: It is not the original.
ANDERSON: Nationally, at least for this show.
WALLACE: You know what's worse than one Kara Swisher? Three Sara Swishers.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Small and scary, small and scary.
WALLACE: The panel is back with their takes on hot stories or what will be in the news before its news. Thats right after the bright.
Did you notice they were all wearing a leather jacket?
SWISHER: No, I didn't. Nice.
WALLACE: And you're not.
SWISHER: No, for once. I almost did.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:52:25]
WALLACE: It's time for our panel's special takes on what's happening or predictions of what we should be looking out for. And not surprisingly, all of you are thinking about the possible aftermath of this election.
Kristen, hit me with your best shot.
ANDERSON: So there's new polling out this week from the Pew Research Center. They took a look at whether voters think that the election will be administered well. And it won't surprise you to hear that Republicans are less likely than Democrats to think that the election will be administered well. Harris voters have more confidence for sure.
But the good news is that Trump's voters are actually slightly more confident this time around than they were four years ago that the election will be properly administered.
WALLACE: Let's just hope it all goes smoothly and it's all resolved and we all agree on who won and who lost.
WALLACE: Kara, you're focused on newspapers and their presidential endorsements.
SWISHER: Yes. There can be a lot of debate on whether you should have a presidential endorsement or not, and a lot of newspapers are reconsidering it. And that's a fine thing. But "The Washington Post" and "Los Angeles Times" this week really had a major fail by quashing endorsements of Kamala Harris because they're billionaire owners changed their mind at the last moment and pulled it on what are supposed to be independent boards, editorial boards, and especially Jeff Bezos, who I think is frightened of Donald Trump and pulled the Kamala Harris endorsement was already written.
WALLACE: "The Washington Post." SWISHER: "The Washington Post." I started my career in the mailroom of "The Washington Post." It's an enormous embarrassment, and the fine people at "The Washington Post" are furious. And it's a real black eye for Jeff Bezos.
WALLACE: And we should point out that there had been top staffers at both papers that have resigned in protest over this.
SWISHER: And they should.
WALLACE: Reihan, best shot?
SALAM: The conventional wisdom about the Senate races has been that Republicans are poised to win 51 seats, a very bare majority. But there's actually a lot of momentum for Republican Senate candidates particularly in Wisconsin and Ohio and Pennsylvania. And I think we're likely looking at something more like 52 or even 53 Republican senators, which makes a difference because it means that Lisa Murkowski doesn't become the Joe Manchin of a future Republican Senate, that you have a bit more leverage for conservative policy making.
WALLACE: So you're talking, if you're right, you're talking about longtime, one is a two term, one as a three term, senators, Tammy Baldwin and Sherrod Brown, both going down.
SALAM: Sherrod Brown has said that if Ohio goes by eight points by Donald Trump, he believes he can still win. And actually, the polling is now looking a bit worse than that in Ohio. A lot of other folks say that maybe he can withstand and a five or six point Trump win, but not by that big of margin. So he's looking, his chances are looking slimmer than they were before.
WALLACE: Lulu, bring us home.
[10:55:01]
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm looking at policies of a potential Trump administration. Stephen Miller, who was the architect of some of the most --
WALLACE: Onerous.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Draconian, onerous of President Trump's immigration policies has spoken to "The New York Times" and basically talked about his vision for what would happen in a new Trump administration. And it is exponentially more explosive than the previous administration. We're talking massive camps on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, millions of people deported.
WALLACE: Gang, on that happy note, thank you all for being here. And thank you for spending part of your day with us. Just over a week until Election Day. We'll see you right back here next week.
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