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Erin Burnett Outfront

GOP Bails On Embattled Trump-Backed Candidate; Emhoff: Huckabee Sanders' Swipe At Harris Over Children "Repulsive"; Now: Harris Speaks At Rally In Battleground Wisconsin; Reporter: Elon Musk Increasingly "Unhinged" On Twitter; Report: Kim Jong Un Executes Officials Over Government Failures. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 20, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:43]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Breaking news on this Friday, Republicans bailing on the Trump-backed candidate exposed by CNN's KFILE as Trump is radio silent on Mark Robinson.

Tonight, new reporting on how the Harris campaign plans to seize this moment.

Also breaking right now, Harris scoring a major endorsement, several local Teamsters unions now backing the vice president. Vice president at large at the Teamsters Union, which refused to endorse is my guest.

And unmasking Musk. Right now, he's on track to become the world's first trillionaire, even as he's pushing wild conspiracy theories online. So what is Elon Musk's ultimate end game?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, Republicans leave Trump's candidate high and dry. A major fundraiser for the Trump-backed GOP candidate for North Carolina governor canceled -- canceled because of KFILE's reporting on Mark Robinson. The chair of the Republican Governors Association nixing next week's event that was scheduled to be for Robinson.

And now, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is about to speak at a rally in Wisconsin at this moment, these are live images, is taking full advantage of the shocking revelations about Robinson. Today, billboards like this just popping like this one. It features Trump alongside Robinson in a picture plastered across North Carolina.

Obviously, North Carolina for Trump is a must-win state. He's actually going to be there in less than 24 hours. He knows he has to win. The billboard reads, it puts quotes around it. We have to cherish Mark. He's an outstanding person, an incredible gentleman.

So he said, okay, it's Democratic ad, we got to check these quotes, make sure, do Trump really say those specifically that he cherished Robinson? Well, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to cherish Mark. He's just -- you have to cherish him. He's like a fine line because that's what you have. You have a fine wine. He's an outstanding person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: They could have put he's "like a fine wine" on there. I mean, you know, you heard it, he said it.

Now, Robinson, of course, the one to cherish the fine wine, the outstanding gentleman, according to KFILE's reporting, once praised slavery, railed against Martin Luther King, called himself a black Nazi, said he watched transgender porn in excruciatingly disgusting detail, despite calling transgender people demonic and talked about spying on women as they showered. He called himself a perv.

Well, I guess -- well, my maybe, you know, there's a level of self- awareness there. I don't know. It's on top of his long list of controversial statements which the Harris campaign is also highlighting in a new North Carolina ad trying Trump and Robinson at the top.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROBINSON (R), NOMINEE FOR NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: Abortion in this country is about killing the child because you weren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down.

TRUMP: I've been with him a lot. I've gotten to know him and he's outstanding.

AD ANNOUNCER: Donald Trump and Mark Robinson, they're both wrong for North Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. So Democrats, you know, all that money we talk about, this massive fundraising advantage over Trump, this is what happens when you have that. You can just throw money at it the next day, blanket entire state with billboards and ads.

And the close connection between Trump and Robinson does have Republicans biting their nails. So J.D. Vance was out and about today, he was out walking to the doctor's office on Capitol Hill, and here's what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Senator Vance, do you have any reaction to the Mark Robinson news? Senator Vance?

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: OK. So he said he was -- he was going to the doctor's office, that's why he didn't have a comment. We'll have more on that in a moment.

But what is really important here is Trump has said nothing thus far. And when it comes to North Carolina, as I said for Trump, it is must- win. Harris actually has several paths with/without North Carolina, but for Trump, he has to win it. And he won by only -- just about one percentage point, a little bit more than that in 2020, his narrowest margin of victory anywhere and polls show the race extremely close.

And now, Republicans are distancing themselves from Robinson on the same day, the first absentee ballots were mailed out. By the way Robinson's name is on them. So even if you've gotten out last night, which he didn't, his name is still going to be on the ballot. The question tonight is whether Robinson's baggage will open a path for Harris in a state that has voted Republican in ten of the last 11 presidential contests.

Eva McKend is OUTFRONT.

She is in Madison, Wisconsin, where as I mentioned, Kamala Harris is about to state the stage any moment right behind where you are, Eva.

[19:05:05]

And I know you've been talking to your sources in the Harris campaign about the Robinson news.

What are they telling you?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, this entire episode is allowing the campaign to make this broader argument that they have been clamoring to make, that Mark Robinson and by extension, former President Donald Trump and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party are too extreme, certainly, too extreme for North Carolina.

And, listen, they always have viewed Robinson as an especially weak candidate, but now ever more so. And what's interesting Erin, about the strategy is that they're not so much focusing on comments that Robinson made as revealed in the KFILE report, but his policy position on abortion, trying to link Robinson and Trump on that policy manner because they believe that that is where the former president is most week and most vulnerable.

But listen not only North Carolina, they're focusing on their also focusing on Dane County right here in Wisconsin. That is because of a population boom that this area has seen in recent years, more people, more voters, they feel as though they have there's an organizing advantage in this state, 200 staffers on the ground, they just opened their 50th field office, in the state this week -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Eva, thank you very much.

And as I said, the vice president is going to be speaking where Eva is any moment. We're were going to monitor that. Should there be anything that you should hear? Of course, we're going to bring it to you.

So, Andrew, KFILE, the fallout continues from your reporting as we were just linked some of that there and you've got some new information that you're learning tonight. What are you learning now?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN'S KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: That's right. We learned that yesterday shortly after or hours after our story was published, all of Robinson post that he made on that pornographic firm where he made these comments that we reported on had been removed. Now, we have reached out to Robinson's campaign. We haven't heard back.

We actually also reached out to the administrator of that porn forum to ask, did you delete this? Did Robinson delete this? We haven't heard back from either of them.

So right now, all we know is those posts that we reported on yesterday, those controversial posts, everything he said has been removed.

BURNETT: And just to be clear, you know, you reported on some of them and there were some that were just frankly disgusting to put out publicly. But from what they were all removed as far as you could tell?

KACZYNSKI: All of the salacious posts that I looked into that some of which CNN didn't choose to report on those that have been removed as well.

BURNETT: All right. Which is very significant, Philip, I mean, that they went and remove them, even though he said but he didn't know anything about them.

The Harris campaign is obviously not going to let this go. As I said, they got the money and they threw it behind it today, the billboards go up, the ads go out. The polling context of North Carolina is an incredibly close race. The ballots mail-in have been sent out.

Do you think that this actually could be a deciding factor in the presidential race in North Carolina?

PHILIP BUMP, NATIONAL COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yeah, I mean, it certainly couldn't, especially when were talking about something that is this close, right? I mean, so we see the first blush ad from the campaign focuses on abortion. There's a very obvious reason for that, which is that the entire media is talking about Robinson's comments right now.

The Harris campaign doesn't need to reinforce that. Everyone's hearing about it on CNN and everywhere else, right?

BURNETT: Right.

BUMP: So what they're looking at then is as November approaches, if we are assuming this is going to be a one or two point contest, they are going to do everything in our power to turn out their folks and amplify anything which they hope is going to get Trump's people to not be enthusiastic about coming out and vote, right?

That's really the question here, right? If this is a razor thin race, are there going to be Republican voters who really like Trump, but then they're like, well, I don't really like Robinson. Is it really worth -- and end up staying home as a result of it.

So as we get closer to Election Day, look for the Harris campaign to do more highlighting of the really gross things that Robinson had said in an effort to try and have that.

BURNETT: Right, and they do the gross things and then that we make the thing about cherishing to Trump has said really good things about Robinson. Now he hasn't said anything, Aisha, since this all came out but he's got to go to North Carolina whole lot if he's going to win it, he is going to be there next week. So he's got a big decision to make about how to handle this. He cannot just avoid it.

AISHA MILLS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, listen, he hasn't said anything in the last 24 hours, but I think we all know that this guy can't exactly keep his mouth closed, and when prodded, right, he's going there, he's going to see all these billboards. They're going to be protesters out there outside of his rallies holding up signs at some point, I suspect that he's going to do what he always does and he's going to just boil over and have to address it and say something ridiculous. So excited about that.

I just want to remind us all, though, that in 2008, Barack Obama won North Carolina and it is not completely impossible for a Democrat who can galvanize a diverse coalition in the way that we saw last night with Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey, that had so many people from all walks of life across America coming together in support of a Kamala Harris that, that Democrats can win the state, first of all.

Second of all, there are so many people in North Carolina who are just over the nastiness, the bullying. They care about abortion and they might have voted Republican last time around. But this gives them an excuse and an opportunity not to do that again and vote for Kamala.

So it's really great that she's continuing to amplify this.

BURNETT: I mean, look, if they had a strong GOP gubernatorial candidate, they might feel very differently.

[19:10:04]

I'm just going to be honest here. They have a bad candidate. They have a problem.

And, Governor, the Harris campaign is also touting the video that I played just a moment ago of J.D. Vance when he ignored that question about Robinson today, I just want to play it again for you, Governor Pawlenty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Senator Vance, do you have any reaction to the Mark Robinson news? Senator Vance?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right, so he didn't say anything there, Governor. He did tweet in response: I was walking to the doctor because one of my kids gave me the plague and attempted humor there. But then he said my comment on Mark Robinson is Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote on the inflation explosion act and became -- because of that, a lot of Americans cant afford groceries, just trying to turn the issue altogether.

Governor, the reality of it is though was Trump's going to be in North Carolina. He's eventually going to have to address this directly, whether it's -- because he boils over as Aisha says, or just because its going to happen because he's in the state.

Are you dreading that moment?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, I have to agree with Aisha on one point and that is he's not going to be able to avoid it. J.D. Vance isn't going to be able to avoid it. So, in the coming days, they're going to have to respond to this for all the reasons that have been noted. I'm sure they're trying to figure out what to say about it, and they're in a very difficult spot for obvious reasons.

These comments, you know, if true, by the way, we should at least know that Robinson is denying them that those aren't his words, those aren't his comments. So, you know, good, we should at least note that, but if they are true and there's allegations against him are credible, those comments are disqualifying.

But as you've noted, the ballots -- mail-in ballots, as well as the overseas and military ballots, have been mailed. And so even if that's just 2, 3 percent of the vote, that really matters.

BURNETT: It certainly does. Andrew, I had a question for you, but just because Governor Pawlenty raises that he denies them, Governor Pawlenty doesn't, but if Mark Robinson does, I just want to give you a chance again for anybody who didn't get to hear what you laid out last night. You know, the excruciating detail with which you did this reporting to know that these are indeed Mark Robinson's posts?

KACZYNSKI: Yeah, that's right. I think the most compelling evidence is -- I mean, besides his emails on the site. It's his name is on the site. It says Mark -- the users name is Mark Robinson. He offered biographical details that matched him exactly the year he was married, his age, his location, his mother worked in HBCU.

We matched that same username, "minisoldr" to use, he's on YouTube, Pinterest, Black Planet, the forum discuss. He used it previously on Twitter. We found that he used that same email on several other websites as well.

So the evidence we found there was pretty compelling and a lot of people actually were drawn to something we found where there were all these unique phrases that nobody has heard anyone said that we found that Robinson used on Nude Africa and then he also used on Facebook. So there was just so many different breadcrumbs that we found pointing this to Mark Robinson and Mark Robinson only.

BURNETT: Which I think is just really important because the governor raised it, for you -- for you to be able to lay that out.

We got a statement tonight and do from out to OUTFRONT from the former Wake County, North Carolina Republican Party chair, Steve Bergstrom. He says, quote: We expected some bombshells, but not to this devastating extent. Mark Robinson supporters love his history of confronting issues head on, but he owes it to his supporters to come out swinging and knocked down these allegations, which would be the reaction of an innocent man. Lieutenant Governor Robinson, we are waiting.

And you just heard what Governor Pawlenty said, that this would be disqualifying if true. And as you lay out, of course, you've done -- you have the receipts on that, but it seems like the GOP was really thrown by your reporting.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah. And what's interesting is we've reached out to his campaign. Okay, Tuesday, and I want to say 9:00 a.m., we gave them until Thursday at 10:00 a.m. to respond to us. The deadline comes, we get a call, we talk to his spokesperson, he asked us to push it back so we can interview Lieutenant Governor Robinson, which we do and we played some of that last night on your show.

But while that story is, were getting to interview them details of that story start to leak comments, particularly the black Nazi comments started going around Twitter. And CNN didn't leak that. We didn't tell anybody about that. So, that is coming from somebody in Robinson's orbit.

I started getting calls from sources, people who work at all sorts of Republican committee saying, you know, we're hearing about the story, Andrew, and I don't like -- first off, how do you know this is me? Well, there, it's CNN, so we just assumed it was you, but --

BUMP: Everyone knew it was you.

BURNETT: Everybody knew it was you.

KACZYNSKI: You know, this started to leak out and the question is, will Republicans trying to push Robinson out of the race? Because that ballot deadline that we mentioned last night was midnight. He obviously did not drop out. Were people in his camp trying to get ahead of the story, which I don't know how you get ahead of saying that you're a black Nazi, but it's not like crazy. Maybe they did.

So, yes, it caused quite a stir and I wasn't even seeing half full or was going on Twitter because I was getting ready to publish the story, but I understand that it also caused quite a stir on there.

BURNETT: Oh, it didn't, it did because, you know, I was over there and we talked about these places they're real places. [19:15:04]

We all sound a little crazy.

Philip, I want to ask you, just were talking about some of the big -- obviously, the seismic event today continues to be Andrew's reporting also on the political front, though, you've got this issue of Democrats really trying to reach out to white men, which has become a big focus for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz puts a video out today to that point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, to be able to work on this thing. You got a manual. It shows you exactly what to do to fix things on this. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have a manual two. It's called Project 2025 and it's a way to stick it to the middle class while giving tax cuts to the wealthiest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It's like this whole house, but for its like clicking clock, man --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: I'm sorry, I'm dating myself, but it is. You got okay.

So is that sort of thing effective? Do they have any data to show that that's resonating?

BUMP: Yeah. I mean, I'll say two things. The first is that clip you showed cut out the beginning where it's like, oh, I've got to say are I don't know how to do that in my car, like I wasn't, right? So it was -- it was more than that. It wasn't just the campaign pitch.

But the second thing I'll say is we're talking about it like this. Like this made waves. I've already seen this same multiple times on my social media feeds, right?

This is what they're trying to do. They're trying to demonstrate that he is this kind of guy who admittedly, they when they move from Joe Biden, the Kamala Harris, they lost that sort of immediate sense of, you know, I'm a white guy from the Rust Belt America, right? That was the Joe Biden pitch in 2020. Now they have a back with Walz and they are really punching up and look, I've already seen it does on CNN and it's working from that.

BURNETT: But I mean, going there now, Governor, at the same time, Trump is reaching out to men, particularly younger men. I mean, you may remember the other day he posted on social media in all caps, I hate Taylor Swift, and most people would think that that is sort of napalm if you want to win anything because, you know, you just -- you just don't do that.

But one Republican pollster I saw noted that young white men actually do not like Taylor Swift all that much, and maybe Trump is trying to beef up that demographic that there might have been a strategy behind this rather than just lash out.

Do you think that he has a strategy with that, Governor?

PAWLENTY: Well, when the issues in swing states are illegal immigration, inflation, crime, and other things, what debating whether we do or don't like Taylor Swift underscores the lack of focus that I've been trying to emphasize for the Trump campaign to get back to those core issues.

I like Taylor Swift. Most Americans like Taylor Swift, the idea that we're debating Taylor Swift and the context still got voter subgroup is ridiculous. And by the way, last night on the Oprah interview, she, Vice President Harris, again got asked about inflation, she again had an underwhelming to put it mildly answer. Neither she nor Governor Walz have at any connection to the private sector economy or free markets.

I don't think they have an understanding of what triggered inflation. Obviously, there was COVID, supply chain limitations, but beyond that, they don't acknowledge that federal spending played a big role as documented by elements of the Federal Reserve.

BURNETT: Well, that, that, that -- in federal spending, you have a point, obviously, rates coming down is going to help them a lot.

Aisha, let me give you a final word, though. I mean, I brought Taylor Swift up, now that the governor is trying to make me defensive, but I'm just saying it says in all caps, I hate Taylor Swift. Donald J. Trump, he's posting that.

MILLS: I just want to remind us and it may not take effect immediately, but let's all remember that white men are the minority population of America, and that that is continuing to be a demographic trend. So if the only people that Donald Trump thinks that he can animate to vote for him, or the Republican Party thinks that white men are their future, they are losing the future.

MILLS: All right. Thank you all very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: Okay.

PAWLENTY: I didn't mean, Erin, to suggest you brought it up. Trump brought it up, just underscores his distraction.

BURNETT: No, as always, you were graceful. No, Aisha is trying to make a joke. Thank you so much, Governor.

And thanks to all of you.

PAWLENTY: Yeah.

BURNETT: And next, Vice President Kamala Harris's husband breaking his silence after Sarah Huckabee Sanders hit Harris for not having biological children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG EMHOFF, SECOND GENTLEMAN: It's appalling for somebody who is in a position of leadership like the governor to say something so repulsive and so out of touch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Plus, Harris is making a major play for union voters. And our Phil Mattingly went and spoke to a former union boss. You're going to hear what he says and why he says it seems like a lot of workers that he knows are in a cult when it comes to Trump.

And new executions tonight, mass executions in North Korea. Incredible reporting tonight that Kim Jong Un is terminating some of his highest ranking officials. We'll tell you what we learned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:28]

BURNETT: New tonight, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, slamming Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for suggesting that Kamala Harris has been robbed of her, quote/unquote, humility by not having biological children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMHOFF: It's appalling for somebody who is in a position of leadership, like the governor, to say something so repulsive and so out of touch. You can see the pushback even from within her own party because it's a repulsive thing to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: This comes as Harris also spoke in very personal terms about her two stepchildren for a new video with "Wired", where she responded to top Google searches about her Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Does Kamala Harris have kids? Yes. I have two. Cole and Ella became my cherished children. Doug, my husband, I was very clear with him that when we started dating, I wanted to see how this thing was going to go before I would meet Cole and Ella.

You know, I'm a kid of divorced parents. It was important to make sure that when I developed a relationship with the kids, that it would be lasting. I love those kids to pieces. They are my children and I'm very proud of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Laphonza Butler of California, longtime ally of -- ally of Kamala Harris, is a national co-chair for campaign.

Senator Butler, I know you were also with Harris earlier today at her abortion rights event in Georgia, and I have a question about that for you in a moment.

I want to start though with what Governor Sanders is saying.

[19:25:03]

You're the mother of young daughter. Were you surprised at all to hear Sarah Sanders, who obviously also is a mother say this about Kamala Harris?

SEN. LAPHONZA BUTLER (D-CA): Thanks, Erin, for having me.

And, you know, unfortunately, I wasn't surprised. I think Governor Sanders has shown herself to America as well, and she is -- this is not the first its time that she has said some things that has been a little bit questionable. And so I wasn't necessarily surprised.

I was disappointed for the moms across the country whose families take different forms and shapes. My daughter is adopted. Does she think that me and my wife aren't humble because of how our daughter came -- came to be?

Look, the beauty of America is that families come in so many different ways and shapes and sizes, and how dare, Governor Sanders, try to judge how the American people live their values and raise their families just because it might be different from hers?

I know Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, love Cole and Ella. I've seen that family together. They have been a model and an inspiration for so many. And I think we see across the country the backlash of moms and dads who feel like Governor Sanders and the MAGA extremist Republican Party or are judging them.

And I think the American people are ready to judge those values come November.

BURNETT: So, Senator, I played part of the "Wired" video, right, where Vice President Harris was responding to the Google searches about her and children. Now, she has done forums like that. Last night she did the interview with Oprah Winfrey, who obviously has endorsed her. By our count at CNN, she has done six radio or television interviews since becoming the nominee. And of course, almost all of those have been supportive situations, to be honest, which pales in comparison to how many interviews Trump is doing.

So my question for you, Senator, is, do you think Harris is feeding into the GOP attacks that she's afraid to sit down and answer tough questions? Do you think she should just go to some hostile outlets and do that or should she stay the course?

BUTLER: Yeah, I appreciate the question, Erin, I think what I know is that having known the vice president for probably the last 15 or so years, she absolutely respects the role of journalists and the free press as an important part of our democracy, and recognizing that she's got to be where voters are.

And while she is doing interviews with local press and national press and sitting down with the National Association of Black Journalists, she is also doing things like that video you saw. I'm really trying to connect with voters all across the sort of media spectrum that has very much broadened over -- over the decades.

And so I don't think that she's thinking about what is the GOP trope, what she is trying to do is talk to the American people. I think she's trying to communicate her message for moving the country forward, for uniting us as a people, that she's willing and ready to do that in every space that that she possibly can over these next 46 days.

BURNETT: I want to just play for you one exchange that she had last night with Oprah Winfrey. This one went viral, so I wanted to get your view of it. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, CELEBRITY TV HOST: It was so powerful at the convention when you -- when you said you have guns -- no, at the debate.

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

WINFREY: I did not know that.

HARRIS: If somebody breaks into my house, they're getting shot. I'm sorry.

WINFREY: Yes, yes, I hear that. I hear that.

HARRIS: Probably should not have said that.

(LAUGHTER)

WINFREY: But --

HARRIS: My staff will deal with that later.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Team Trump and others though are flagging comments that Harris made in 2020 and they're playing -- they're using what I'm about to play, Senator, to say that he, Kamala Harris will say anything to get elected. You know, the implication is, well, she said that about guns now to appeal to more moderates and they're pointing to this that she said in 2020, let me play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The stand your ground laws and these in these states that have these citizen arrest laws have often, often and frequently been used as an excuse if not a cover for people who are motivated by racism and racial profiling. And so, we have seen that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: They're saying there's a big contradiction between that on stand your ground and now saying if you come in my house, you're going to get shot.

Do you see a contradiction there?

BUTLER: Look, Erin, no.

[19:30:00]

I'm going to answer the question directly. No, I don't see a contradiction. The vice president was responding to a question in the context of what the tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin and Eric Gardner and that those are not circumstances where those young people were invading someone else's private property.

The vice president was very clearly talking about what was happening in our country, what has been happening in our country to Black men and men of color and women of color, all across -- all across the different states. And at that time, that was the question that she's responding to.

She absolutely respects the fact that people have the right to defend their homes and they're not the same things and it's cute that people want to try to make those contrasts, those comparisons, but they don't want to talk about the actual issues that were behind the vice presidents comments and the racism that has been shown originally in these kinds of situations.

BURNETT: Senator, before I let you go, I do want to ask about what you did earlier today. You are with Harris at an event focused on abortion rights. It's an issue that she has been pounding the table on in the race against Donald Trump. But the latest Fox News poll shows only 15 percent of voters believed this is the most important issue when deciding who to vote for.

Do you think that she should be spending more time on other issues?

BUTLER: Look, Erin, the vice president, has been talking about all of the issues that the American people have been talking with her about on the campaign trail. She has made her proposals and policy plans relative to bringing down costs for Americans. She has made her proposals and policy plans relative to small business owners and entrepreneurs which are the backbone of our economy, and every single state that has had the opportunity to vote on abortion rights have chosen reproductive freedom. And she is continuing to speak to those issues.

We can't run and hide from the fact that Donald Trump and his Supreme Court nominees stripped away the rights of women in his country, and the vice president is going to talk about it.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Senator Butler, I appreciate your time and thank you very much. Good to speak to you again. As we are getting ready for the vice president to speak live in

Wisconsin, she was just introduced by the president of a local Teamsters Union, as we're monitoring this rally, we're going to talk about that. Are the vast majority of union members behind Harris or not?

And Elon Musk more and more posting conspiracy theories. So what is going on? I'm going to talk to a reporter who's covered him for years, as new insight into the tech titan with a new major book tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:33]

BURNETT: Breaking news right now, you see Kamala Harris as she is speaking live in Wisconsin right now at a rally. We're monitoring that for you. And standing by her side tonight, just moments ago as she walked on stage, was the president of a local teamsters union.

Now that is significant because it comes just after the national teamsters leadership declined to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in nearly 30 years after endorsing the Democratic candidate in the six ensuing presidential elections.

Phil Mattingly is OUTFRONT.

And, Phil, I know you're doing a lot of reporting up for a series that we are so lucky is coming to OUTFRONT next week called "Show Me the Money", and you're talking to workers across the country. So when you see this Harris getting support from a local Teamsters president tonight when the national union declined to endorse her, you have a lot on this because I know your first story is all about union workers and their shifting support.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And the genesis of this piece is look, you and I have talked for years about the macroeconomic numbers, about the vibes, about how people are feeling actually want to get underneath, talk about the policy and what's I think important in this election is Donald Trump has they four-year record the Biden administration has a three-and-a-half-year record. There are tangible things you can compare.

And none, nowhere is the contrast more dramatic than when it comes to union voters. So I went to a place that really kind of has the most vivid example of that contrast, Lordstown, Ohio, UAW workers. Now, let's be very clear, unions are not monolithic, unions have different equities and different interests, but almost across the board, they have been supporters of Democrats.

And the UAW, United Auto Workers. Their leadership very supportive of Vice President Kamala Harris, Shawn Fain had a speaking role at the convention. In Lordstown, a place that lost a GM plant while Donald Trump was president, he promised to bring workers back people not sell their homes, they never got to plant back.

Joe Biden is actually and the Biden administration, has actually gotten them a plant back and help finance that with his legislation. And yet, workers in that community are still for the former president.

I asked one of the top UAW leaders in the region why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GREEN, FORMER LORDSTOWN, OH LOCAL UAW PRESIDENT: I tried to talk with these workers, people who were adamantly supporting former president but they don't want to hear the truth or they don't want to understand reality. Why? Well, that's a great question, and I don't know that there's an exact answer.

It seems like a cult to me. And I have a hard time even trying to have a rational conversation with people soon as you start giving them facts, they either run away, yell at you or get angry in some way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: A very clear opinion there from David Green, UAW regional director. We're going to go a lot deeper in these pieces starting there in Lordstown, talking to the rank and file workers, getting a sense of what you're going to watch on stage in Wisconsin, this divide that there's a clear fight over right now.

BURNETT: Absolutely. All right, Phil, thank you very much.

And I want to go OUTFRONT now to John Palmer because he is the vice president at large of the Teamsters Union. And he has endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

And, John, you know, you and I have spoken about this and why you feel strongly about it. So I want to ask you about the situation. You heard that pro-Harris union boss tell Phil he can talk his members into supporting Harris and when your union overall, the teamsters did not endorse.

[19:40:01]

The union president, Sean O'Brien, specifically cited an internal poll that really went viral.

So I want -- I want to ask you do about it, John. it showed that 60 percent of rank-and-file teamsters union members believed the union should endorse Trump, 60 percent, versus 34 percent for Harris.

Obviously, you, you personally have endorsed Harris, but do you think that the leadership should have gone against the majority of teamsters workers?

JOHN PALMER, VICE PRESIDENT AT LARGE, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: First of all, I don't think polls are the reason we should endorse a candidate. Secondly, I the initial poll that was taken in the local unions was flipped completely. Trump had about 37 percent of the support and then these polls less than eight weeks later, completely turned on their heads.

So I read a couple of articles today bringing into question the methodology. My personal experience, and approaching workers that our union is that 60/30 probably belongs to the Ms. Harris.

I don't -- I don't see this as viable to be, honest with you. I think our members know the truth and we have to -- we've wasted 6 to 8 months not talking to our members and not sharing the facts. The facts are very clear. The eight rank rank-and-file members that were on those roundtables, all chose to endorse Harris. The facts that were provided to those eight members and the rest were overwhelmingly in support Ms. Harris.

So we should have provided those to our members and we need to do that as soon as possible.

BURNETT: John, let me ask you because there was a teamsters union meeting with your leadership and Donald Trump. You, of course, of the leadership group did not attend that. And you've endorsed obviously, Kamala Harris. I guess -- I know, John, you've chosen to come on, you and I've spoken about this several times about the fact that you have stood up to your leadership on this issue of supporting Harris over the course of this presidential election.

And I'm curious if you could explain to me and everyone watching as to why -- why is it important for you to do that?

PALMER: Well, because this choice couldn't be any more stark. The plans of the 2025 and the Trump administration are all anti-union. You know, the record of Trump -- Trump -- you know, we've said this before. Trump cross the picket line. Trump put union busters on the labor board. Trump refused to fix our pensions when they were sitting there on the table, him and Mitch McConnell refused to do that.

The flip side of that is Biden cleaned the labor board up. Biden- Harris cleaned the labor board up. We got rid of -- they're all supporting right to work as a national agenda. So, and the Pro Act, particularly, which would help organize workers across the country, we need to get that done. Harris is committed to that. Trump will not. They will not commit to not doing right to work.

You know, these are important issues and I'm going to say one thing.

BURNETT: Yes.

PALMER: This idea, you know, Trump with Elon Musk laughed and chuckled when they said that the striking workers should be replaced. That should be a nonstarter for every man and woman that is on a labor union. When labor unions prosper, the rest of America prosperous and we can't be voting for an anti-union derelict, frankly, like, like Trump.

BURNETT: All right. Well, John, I appreciate your time and thank you very much. And as I mentioned, Phil Mattingly is going to have a special series, for OUTFRONT next week, "Show Me the Money', Phil traveled to five states over -- on the road with factory workers, farmers, union members, business owners, local officials in the battlegrounds that will decide this election. You'll see it only here OUTFRONT. And next, Elon Musk, John just mentioned him, making his biggest

contribution to the Republican Party ever. But does Musk actually agree with what Trump stands for?

And Kim Jong Un publicly praising his country's response after the deadly floods, now reportedly executing a massive number of top officials. We have new reporting from our Will Ripley this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:36]

BURNETT: Tonight, Elon Musk making his biggest ever contribution to the Republican Party. New FEC records tonight show that he donated almost $290,000 in August as he's on track to be the world's first trillionaire. That's a new estimate, predicting he'll break that milestone in less than three years, although probably not if he has to pay taxes on unrealized gains.

His sprawling business empire making him the richest man in the world and one of the most influential and he has gone all in for Donald Trump on X, of course, which he owns his incendiary comments spreading at lightning speed.

This tweet to his 200 million followers questioning why no one has tried to assassinate Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. That drew immediate outrage. He actually had to pull it and then it landed him under investigation by the Secret Service.

Days later, he amplified a false claim that there was a bomb outside Trumps rally on Long Island.

Kate Conger is OUTFRONT. She has a technology reporter for "The New York Times" and coauthor of this. The new book "Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter".

And, Kate, it is great to talk to you again.

So you have covered Elon Musk very closely since he took over Titter. And you've described his behavior as sometimes unhinged and manic, but, you know, recently to end up under investigation by the Secret Service to post a -- repost a claim of a bomb threat that ended up not being true.

What you're seeing from him on X -- has his posting changed?

KATE CONGER, CO-AUTHOR, "CHARACTER LIMIT: HOW ELON MUSK DESTROYED TWITTER": It has.

[19:50:00]

Musk has become more and more involved in the platform over the years, particularly since the takeover. And a lot of the information that he reads now comes from the platform and he's gotten more and more into fringe content there. And so you see him kind of becoming more radical and the things that hell share on X. BURNETT: So your book aims to explore why he decided to buy Twitter, which I -- I am just so fascinated by it. And you right, Kate, it was clear Musk had not bought Twitter to be responsible steward and guide one of the world's most heavily used websites and forums for human communication. He had bought it as an object of personal obsession and was going to shape it to his whims.

And look, he's been willing to take a hit for that. Profits are down 53 percent since he took it over. But he did the other day, Kate, retweet an interview with a cofounder of Palantir, where the founder said, of course, Musk is still happy he bought Twitter. He's, quote, fighting to save Western civilization and Musk retweeted that, that explanation for why he bought Twitter with the words exactly.

Do you think that's really -- it's -- that he bought it to save Western civilization or is there anything to that or was it really just a whim, and hey, I got $44 billion. So why not?

CONGER: Well, it's certainly a whim for Musk, but he is very invested in the ideological backing for his ownership of X. He's very interested in owning that communication platform in an influencing it and using it to push his political agenda.

You now, he's also talked about potentially using in governance of acts as a way to figure out how to govern life on mars when people go there with SpaceX. You know, it's a tool for him in a number of different ways.

BURNETT: So ,his brand is everywhere these days, you know, the Chechen warlord posting this video, I'm showing, making baseless claims, but you know, he's saying he's using cyber trucks to help Russia's invasion of Ukraine, doesn't say how he got them. And of course, so there's -- there's no record Musk says of him having them, but the point is it seems cool to him to post this.

But Musk's SpaceX is responsible also for a lot of good things, bringing those stranded U.S. astronauts home from the ISS and also other things. You know, Starlink in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy told me, you know, they -- they would have lost the war without that. Now, they're still fighting.

Yesterday, Musk posts on Twitter, Shanghai just experienced the most powerful typhoon in 75 years. I have asked our Tesla Shanghai team to help anyone in distress to the best of our ability.

You know, Kate, when you look at him and some of the complexities about him, how hard is it to define him as a force for good or a force for conspiracy and evil?

CONGER: You know, I think Musk is a very complicated figure in a very fascinating one and I don't think there's any clear line to say, oh, this person is all good or all bad. He's obviously been a generational entrepreneur and made these incredible companies and Tesla and SpaceX. But those are primarily engineering problems. They're hard tech problems and where he's really come up against his limitations, isn't trying to solve the kind of difficult social interactions between people that we see play out online and particularly on X.

BURNETT: Well, that's true. And, of course, in his own family as well with the deep complexities and broken -- broken issues in his own family, all of which you write about in your book.

And, Kate, thank you very much you and your partner, Ryan Mac, on this. Thanks so much. People will get this book. Thank you.

CONGER: Thank you so much.

BURNETT: And next, Kim Jong Un reportedly executing 30 top officials. Our Will Ripley next, to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:29]

BURNETT: Tonight, new images out of North Korea. Kim Jong Un overseeing a tactical ballistic missile test launch, using a super large warheads. That is according to state TV in North Korea, coming as OUTFRONT is learning that Kim may have executed as many as 30 high- ranking officials in his own government.

Will Ripley is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea is facing its worst flooding crisis in decades, overwhelming destruction, and unknown number of dead, a catastrophe caused by heavy rains and human failure, lack of planning and preparation, plenty of blame to go around.

Kim Jong Un's absolute power means he can't be criticized. He's going on a rampage, punishing local officials, removing some from their posts perhaps going even further.

South Korea's spy agency says it's closely monitoring signs North Korea may have executed multiple officials over the flooding.

One report put the number as high as 30, citing an unnamed South Korean official. Any numbers are nearly impossible to verify, given North Korea's extreme isolation and rejection of all outside aid.

Did you ever witness a public execution in North Korea?

CHOONG-KWON PARK, ELITE NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR: When I was in middle school, I saw a soldier getting publicly executed. I went out of curiosity. I couldn't eat for several days after that.

RIPLEY: That traumatic experience, one reason Choong-Kwon Park says he ran away from North Korea 15 years ago despite his elite upbringing. Today, he's a South Korean lawmaker what do you guys?

PARK: It doesn't make sense why these public executions are still happening in North Korea. But you know, Kim Jong Un killed his own uncle.

RIPLEY: That executions sent chills through the North Korean elite, made up of top party officials, diplomats, and senior officers. Kim's uncle, Jang Song-thaek was the second most its powerful man in North Korea. South Korea is unification ministry says only around 50 elite North Koreans fled under Kim's father. That number has almost tripled under Kim Jong Un, coinciding with his crackdown on corrupt officials.

PARK: The reason for the elite defection is that North Korea, there's fewer benefits for the elite now. Secondly, it's no secret that North Korea has a lot of problems. And thirdly, there's no hope among the young people..

RIPLEY: Late last year, a high ranking North Korean diplomat defected from Cuba. South Korea's foreign ministry says, North Korea has been closing consulates, embassies and offices around the world.

The number of elite defections is rising even as overall defections are down dramatically since the pandemic, the result of massively increased North Korean border security, not just to keep people out but to keep them in.

Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Our thanks to Will Ripley.

And thanks to you for joining us. Have a good weekend.

Anderson starts now.