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Laura Coates Live
Harris Delivers New Message to Black Voters; Ted Cruz and Colin Allred Spar in Debate; Laura Coates Interviews Battleground Barbers. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: -- in the fashion industry at a woman at 50 and say like --
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
ALLISON: -- I love the body that I'm in, and I'm proud of it. It's a great message for -- for women all, and people all around the country love the body that you're in.
RYAN GIRDUSKY, FOUNDER, 1776 PROJECT PAC: I wonder what Naomi Campbell said about it. Not only -- yeah.
ALLISON: Now, we love Naomi Campbell.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIP: Okay. I was like --
(CROSSTALK)
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: -- beef.
GIRDUSKY: Yeah, yes.
PHILLIP: I was wondering --
(CROSSTALK)
ALLISON: We could love Naomi and Tyra.
PHILLIP: We can love them both.
(LAUGHTER)
Everyone, thank you very much. Thank you for watching "NewsNight: State of the Race." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, Donald Trump gives himself a new nickname, the "father of IVF." You heard that right. Inside the rebrand he is trying to pull off.
Plus, Kamala Harris speaks to Black voters directly, explaining why she thinks Trump is appealing to Black men, and why she thinks they shouldn't be fooled.
And Senator Ted Cruz debates Congressman Colin Allred in a high-stakes Texas showdown that has some Democrats wondering, is Ted Cruz on the verge of losing his Senate seat? Beto O'Rourke joins me tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
So, three weeks until Election Day, the countdown is upon us. And the campaigns, they very much know that time is running out. They probably had this ingrained in their brain these days. More than five million ballots have already been cast all across the nation, and that number is going to climb day by day. And look at this. Just in battleground Georgia today, look at that number, there was a single day record for early voting, more than 300,000 voters.
And there's some breaking news just in out of Georgia tonight. A judge there has temporarily blocked a rule that would have required counties to count the ballots by hand. That's a major blow to the Trump-backed election board that did pass that very rule.
But make no mistake about it. The pressure is certainly on. And the campaigns, they are both feeling it because, tonight, we saw both of them trying to win over, sometimes win back, key voters who may very well decide this razor-tight race.
For Donald Trump, it was women in battleground Georgia. He taped an all-women town hall there. For Fox News, clearly a response to polls showing women breaking for Kamala Harris in a big way. He called himself the "father of IVF." And the second time, I've said it doesn't seem any less odd. But he said it, the "father of IVF." More on that in just a moment.
For Harris, though, today was about trying to prevent Black men from checking a different box, for Trump. Her forum, a radio town hall in Detroit with Charlamagne. Long gone are those days when she didn't even say Trump's name. No, today, she called Trump "weak," called him "unfit," and at one point offered this assessment of why she thinks Trump has been able to make some gains.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Part of the challenge that I face is that they are trying to scare people away because they know they otherwise have nothing to run on. Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. Ask him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: There was also a very interesting part of the interview that may have gone unnoticed. But don't worry, we have it for you here. It was when Charlamagne asked Harris about the way she handles interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, RADIO HOST: One thing they've been saying, a lot of your press hits get criticized. You know, folks say you come off as very scripted. They say you like to stick to your talking points. And some media says you have --
HARRIS: That would be called discipline.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Oh, okay.
HARRIS: Uh-huh.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Okay. But what do you say to people who say you stay on the talking points?
HARRIS: I would say, you're welcome.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Mm-hmm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Somewhere, there is a Moana meme waiting to be made. Look, voters will judge for themselves if they think she's too guarded or scripted or not authentic enough, whatever they may say. But you just heard her. She thinks her stick to the script philosophy and approach is an actual asset when compared to the man she's running against who, frankly, today sounded like this during an interview at the economic forum in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN MICKLETHWAIT, EDITOR, BLOOMBERG: People at "The Wall Street Journal," a communist organization, they have criticized you on this as well. You are running up enormous debt.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What does "The Wall Street Journal" know? I'm meeting with them tomorrow. What does "The Wall Street Journal" know? They've been wrong about everything. So have you, by the way.
(APPLAUSE)
You've been wrong about everything.
MICKLETHWAIT: You're trying to turn this --
TRUMP: You've got to be able to finish a thought --
MICKLETHWAIT: Yeah.
TRUMP: -- because it's very important. You know, this is big stuff we're talking about. You can't go that quickly.
MICKLETHWAIT: You come from --
TRUMP: So, let me just tell you. So, I said, no. I'm just telling you basic -- it's called the weave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining me now, White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Republican strategist Liam Donovan, and Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross. Glad to have you all here.
Ameshia, let me begin with you because it was more than an hour, frankly, of an in-depth conversation between Charlamagne tha God and callers and Vice President Kamala Harris.
[23:05:04]
She sounded confident, people believe, and they are giving her some praise for the actual conversation. But what do you take away from it? How did she do in your mind?
AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I thought she did really well. To be honest with you, coming into this, I did not have a lot of faith --
COATES: Why?
CROSS: -- just because Charlamagne has historically not been that kind to -- we know that he wasn't that kind to Joe Biden. But we also know that he drove a lot of the conversation around Black men, pushing towards looking somewhere else.
And I think that at this point, at this point in the election cycle, it matters to talk about the issues that matter to Black men, why they are, where they are, why many of them were considering either voting for Trump or sitting this race out entirely.
And I think she went into those things, specifically around questions about her record of law enforcement when she was in -- when she was in California, questions about particularly what that opportunity economy means for Black Americans, specifically Black men, questions about what that would mean for them, what her policies mean for them specifically, because I think one of the things Black men have been dying to hear, not just from her, but from the Democratic Party writ large, what are you all doing for us?
Because what we know is that from statistics, when it comes to housing, when it comes to education, when it comes to employment, Black men have gotten a short end of the stick for generations in this country.
So, the Democratic Party does have something that they owe this particular group because they do vote for them in large part, only a few percent points behind Black women, which is the largest demographic. So, Black people, in general, have given the Democratic Party multiple votes and have been this sizable key majority to their electoral wins for years now.
So, I do think that the questions that were asked were very formidable as it relates to, you know, marijuana legislation, things like that, things that matter to the Black community but, more specifically, things that Black men are honing in on.
COATES: Zolan, when we look at the details that were given, there's obviously the platitudes that can be said. By the way, from the screen for a second, the different media blitz has been happening in this final stretch of the campaign, 21 days to go. I mean, look at the assortment of different interviews that are happening. You have to wonder about who the targeted audience is.
Of course, last night, I talked to Cedric Richmond, who is part of the campaign. He said, we're not going to concede a single voter to Trump. That's what they're trying to look at to have the whole landscape.
But in terms of the details Ameshia is talking about and what's desired, did she make the case? Have the details been given about what specifically one can do to achieve the objective she's talking about?
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think that was definitely the attempt going into the interview. I mean, she did outline these policy proposals that she released this week that would be geared towards issuing loans to Black entrepreneurs. She talked about lowering housing costs as well, which we know has fueled a lot of economic frustration in recent years. So, she did present policy proposals.
I mean, I was struck in this attempt to lobby Black voters and specifically Black men. And we know that Black men have been one of the more reliable voting blocks for Democrats but, you know, Democrats are increasingly concerned about wavering support, according to polls. But they have been reliable second to Black women.
I was struck by in her lobbying effort, the difference in her tone from former President Barack Obama last week. There wasn't a lot of admonishing in this interview. It was more so trying to outline proposals, and she did say, I need to earn your vote. She tried to do that with a specific focus on the economy, which we know has been a political vulnerability for this administration, as well as outlining other policies such as addressing housing and legalizing marijuana.
COATES: The tone is -- well, she did sharpen her attacks against Trump. I mean, she does have a stark contrast between Obama and what she said. And frankly, you know, Obama appears to be the outlier in the way the campaign for Harris has already approached their conversations about Black men.
Listen to the way in which she has been speaking about Trump specifically, Liam. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The man is really quite weak. He's weak. It's a sign of weakness that you want to please dictators and seek their flattery and favor. Donald Trump is about taking us backward.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Talk about (ph) fascism. Why can't we just say it?
HARRIS: Yes, we can say that.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yeah.
HARRIS: He is achieving his intended effect to make you scared. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Liam, the tone is different. Obviously, he's talking about weakness. The polling suggests that voters think that he is strong compared to Harris. She's pointing out targeted portions of what I think the electorate, or at least the polls of likely voters, are showing. Is this an effective strategy that you think will be motivating for the persuadable voters?
LIAM DONOVAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE AIDE: Well, there's two things going on right here. Number one, we've seen this from the debate onward. The campaign, and Harris in particular, has been exceptional at trolling Trump at every turn, trying to turn his strengths into weaknesses and trying to picket things that he will react to and perhaps provoke him into doing or saying something that makes him the self the center of attention. So, I think that's part of it.
The other piece of this is the growing gender gap and the split screen of Trump going to Georgia to talk to women and Kamala Harris going to shore up a strong voting block for her at a time when the gender gap is growing while the racial polarization is actually gradually kind of, at least if the polls are correct, is sort of coming to -- is coming a little bit closer.
[23:10:12]
But to the question of going after weakness and strength, I think that's something that you can point to in the appeal of Trump to men, particularly Hispanic men, African-American men. So, I think that's the key there, is trying to go in there and try to, you know, keep that, you know, leakage to Trump as limited as possible.
COATES: Well, before you answer question, I do want you to talk about this, Zolan. I can't get enough of the fact that Trump called himself the "father of IVF." I just -- can I just say it again? He is saying that he is the "father of IVF." This is a taped town hall with Fox News. It's going to air tomorrow. And he says that he was a "father of IVF."
He also acknowledged, by the way, that some state abortion restrictions are -- quote -- "too tough and are going to be redone." Just think about this period of time before the election, how pivotal an issue abortion has been traditionally in modern American political history. And for him to now say this aspect of it, it's very, very strange.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Reproductive rights has been one of the sorts of -- one of the pivotal, most important issues in this election --
COATES: Uh-hmm.
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- in this election cycle. We know that Democrats also are putting an emphasis on it. And we know that Republicans or specifically the Trump and the Trump campaign haven't been able to have a straight answer on it, right? It really has stoked anxiety throughout republican circles and this campaign --
COATES: Ameshia is working (ph) about this, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
What do you think?
CROSS: Yeah, absolutely. I think that at the end of the day, what we've seen with women's reproductive rights is that Republicans have lost time and time again when it has been at the top of the ballot. They know that this is something that they are, you know, behind the times on.
And I think that for Donald Trump, even though he, with a wink and a nod, appointed people to the Supreme Court who he knew would overturn Roe, he is saying that he's going to turn it back over to the states because that somehow relinquishes power from the Fed, even though he already put people in place to destroy it.
So, it has created a patchwork of very dangerous things across this country where women are trying to figure out how to -- what type of money they have to put together to travel to other states, what the state will allow them to do up to, including death. How long does it take you to die before they will try to save you?
I think that at this point, it is him trying to run back the clock on some of the things that he has already put in motion, but also understanding that women's reproductive rights is something that Republicans are losing on majorly, so we see him trying to shape-shift in real time.
KANNO-YOUNGS: The fact that he also got a question about reproductive rights as well in this town hall with a crowd that was applauding for him pretty energetically throughout, but he got a question from somebody in the crowd about this as well. It just shows how this issue is resonating and important kind of across party lines as well.
CROSS: Well, it's also because 54% of the voting electorate is women. So, women, obviously, this is one of their top issues regardless of, you know, what political stripe you happen to be on. But he recognizes that he has never polled very well with women. This is one that he has literally dug himself in the hole for.
DONOVAN: But he also understands that the party generally -- he doesn't have strong feelings about these things. He understands that the party generally is out of step with where most voters are.
CROSS: And so does his wife, which is why she came out and made some interesting comments.
DONOVAN: But if you try to think about what the heck is he talking about, "father of IVF" stuff, if you go back to when the initial decision came down in Alabama, he was the first to realize, this is terrible for me, I need to go out there and fix this. And that's what he did the next day, tell the legislature, you better fix this now. And sure enough, they did. As far as Trump is concerned, history started when he heard about the issue. So, I think that's where "father of IVF" comes from.
COATES: I guess I just look at "father of IVF" as something different. I think if you've invented it, you've had some hand in it. I mean, you know, details, details. Nice spin on that. Let me ask you, though, about -- I mean -- I think so.
But let me ask you this because there is a news interview tomorrow with Bret Baier on Fox News. I'm curious to hear your stance on this particularly because Trump is now claiming that Fox News has lost its way after announcing that particular interview. It's actually her first time on Fox News, and she may be doing a Joe Rogan podcast. We're getting some murmurings about that. What does this say to you that she would be going on with Bret Baier?
DONOVAN: Well, I mean, all these things tell you that the campaign is determined at this point that the risks are worth taking, whether it's going on road, whether it's going toe to toe with Baier, whether it's going into Charlamagne which was, you know, real sparring in there. They know she has to do a little bit more. She has to pass this threshold.
People know how they feel about Donald Trump. They're not quite sure on her. They're giving her a chance and aren't against her yet. She needs to clear that threshold. So, going in and getting independents and Republicans, I think that's an important --
COATES: Worth it?
KANNO-YOUNGS: I mean, for the campaign, I can see, I can understand what they're going for. It reminds me of having Liz Cheney go out with the vice president. You know, there are conservatives out there that are getting tired of the rhetoric of the former president, and they're going to try to make an appeal for those voters.
I also think this interview as well as the clip you played earlier on Charlamagne where she agreed with his assertion that Trump's view and vision for the country represents fascism -- I just remember covering Vice President Harris when she came into the administration. I know she says it is discipline, but her aides and allies also thought that she was overly cautious at one point --
COATES: Hmm.
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- in public.
[23:15:10]
And when she would deliver speeches and go out, that she wasn't as willing to take as many risks and go on the offensive. I see this interview as well as the Fox News interview as almost starting to follow the advice that aides had called for, to show the person that they see behind closed doors or the person they described to me that they would see the high close doors and now going the offensive in public with only weeks left.
COATES: Twenty-one days away and, again, almost a million people already casted or more have casted ballots already. The record number in Georgia, we will see how it all worked out.
Everyone, stay with me. We got more to talk about. Look, she knew and worked for President Trump. And now, she says he's cognitively impaired and unfit for office. Omarosa joins us next.
And later, could Senator Ted Cruz really be at risk of losing his seat? Inside tonight's high-stakes debate and why Democrats think a major upset may be brewing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: So, in the past 24 hours, Trump cancelled an appearance on CNBC. He refused to release his medical records, by the way, again. And just last night, he stayed on stage at his own town hall and danced for nearly 40 minutes. He says it's because there were people who needed medical attention in the crowd and that he started playing the music and -- quote -- "just kept it going."
Then hours later, at around 12:42 a.m. Eastern, he took to Truth Social to write this about his medical records. Quote -- "I've put out more medical exams than any other president in history, and aced two cognitive exams." He also attacked Harris for having allergies.
But back to the dance party for a second because Democrats, they can't seem to wrap their heads around that. Just listen to what President Biden and Governor Tim Walz had to say about it today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He stood on the stage for 30 minutes and danced.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm serious. What's wrong with this guy?
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to go out to people and say, what do you stand for? Because right now, I don't know. Donald Trump is dancing to YMCA. I think I'll vote for him. Hell, no. Hell, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Joining me now, former senior adviser to Donald Trump, Omarosa Manigault Newman. She has just endorsed Kamala Harris. She's also the author of "Unhinged." That's a word we're hearing a lot when Harris is talking about Trump. Are we not, Omarosa?
(LAUGHTER)
She may have read your book. I don't know. So, you were there in 2016 at his rallies. Have you ever seen -- OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN, AUTHOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO DONALD TRUMP: Yes.
COATES: -- anything like what he did last time? I mean, standing out there for 39 minutes, just sort of taking in the music.
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I have to tell you that that was probably one of the most bizarre displays I've ever seen from Donald Trump, and I've known him since 2003. It really just shows that Donald Trump has nothing to say to America. He has nothing to offer to America. All he has to offer is weird swaying and dancing. And at a time like this in this nation, we need more than just that, and he cannot deliver.
COATES: You know, that's an important point that you raise, that everyone is talking about the dancing and how odd it is. But you're right to think about -- look, I've got 38 minutes of a captive audience who are there to see me, there to hear me talk. And I could be going on the offense. I could be criticizing. I could be talking about policy. I could do all these things. But instead, I'm doing the YMCA. And that just seems a very odd waste of political capital 21 days before the election.
But you wrote back in your memoir back in what, 2018, that you thought Trump --
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes.
COATES: -- was showing signs of mental decline. That's a pretty serious accusation. How does that Trump compare to one you see now?
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Well, I talked in "Unhinged" about how when we were in the boardroom for "The Apprentice," Donald could come up with these very complicated figures. He could stand there and recall all of the details of a deal, and he would share those with us. And as time went on, particularly when I observed him in the first year when we were in the White House, Donald was unable to recall basic figures. He would forget the name of his cabinet members. He would forget key details of policy issues that we were talking about as we were preparing for him to go out on stage. This was after he was briefed just moments before. That was in 2018.
Let's talk about what we're observing right now in 2024. The reason Donald Trump is canceling these interviews is that when he starts to stumble, he starts to pivot. He wants to talk about you. He'll start attacking you, Laura, instead of talking about policy issues because he can't recall what they are. He cannot repeat consistently his position on key issues like the economy, like crime or like immigration that are key issues to voters. And that's what you're seeing in his decline right now.
COATES: But he has been fixated, as you know, on this idea of a cognitive test. He says that he has taken it, and he says that he has aced it, by the way. I mean, listen to what he said just today, Omarosa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: You know, I took two cognitive tests, and I aced them both. I think that, frankly, people regardless should take -- if they're 50 or 40. But I would love to see cognitive tests. I don't think she could pass a cognitive test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:25:01]
COATES: Okay, so he says that, but then he refuses to actually release his medical records. Why do you think that really is? Is it -- is it part of the discussion of, I reject these political norms, now do what I want to do, or you think there's more there there?
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: No, there's certainly more there. There -- let's recall that Donald Trump dictated the letters that went out about his medical history. The doctors weren't free to write what they want. They weren't free to write what was really seen in those evaluations. Donald Trump dictated for every single doctor, from his original doctor in 2015 to Ronnie Jackson, to the doctors that came on after that. The one thing about Donald Trump is that you will never see the truth about his weight, about his health.
I think that reporters should start asking different questions, very specific questions. I think they should ask about his health, in terms of his heart. They should ask, has Donald Trump ever had any issues with, for instance, stents? Has he ever had a stent? I think a journalist should ask that and see if they'll answer the true question. Has he had any blockage in his heart?
Wonder if they'll give true answers about that because Donald Trump will never tell the truth about some of the health issues that his camp knows that he faces. And I think if you ask, maybe they'll tell the truth. But the truth is that they've been covering things up, and they have not been forthright with this country. And the nation needs to know what his true health status is, and we have not been getting that, Laura.
COATES: Well, Kristen Welker asked that of Speaker Johnson, not the specificity you described this past Sunday, and I think the response was respect to cholesterol. The American voters don't care about Donald Trump's cholesterol. He won't talk about it and pivoted in a different direction. But certainly, I think electorate, the members, they do want to know about the overall health of a --
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes.
COATES: -- candidate going forward. You know, you have served in both a democratic and a republican administration. You're now endorsing --
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yes.
COATES: -- Kamala Harris. And I'm curious, because we see this in terms of just what's happened with, say, Liz Cheney and beyond. Is the endorsement you're giving a vote for Harris or a vote against Trump? MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Well, at first, I was going to just kind of stay neutral, go into the voting booth and vote privately for Kamala Harris because, you know, I'm a journalist as well and I have to in some way be objective.
But the more that I see from Donald Trump and particularly the fact that he just continues to spew hate and division and he has all these grievances but he doesn't have any solution, and I listen and I study the plan that Kamala Harris has put forth and more importantly, her being truthful and honest and authentic and willing to do the work to improve this country, I couldn't stay on the sideline anymore, I had to speak up and endorse someone that I believe that will move this nation in the right direction, and that's Kamala Harris, certainly not Donald Trump.
COATES: Last question here quickly. I understand that Trump says that he's going to work the fry cooker at McDonald's in Pennsylvania this weekend. I had to tell you firstly --
(LAUGHTER)
-- I just -- I think it's just so offensive to use McDonald's employees and the jobs they're doing as some sort of political gimmick, as to suggest that, you know, you're going to dirty your hands, you're going to do what they do for a short of my time to show that you're relevant and relatable to people. I've worked so many different jobs in my life that if somebody tried to use what I have done --
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Yeah.
COATES: -- as a gimmick, it would really piss me off. But do you think he's really going to do it?
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: I mean, he's willing to do and say absolutely anything. And I just want to caution America right now that Donald Trump is a conman. And he's trying to con you, whether that's going into McDonald's and working the fries, or whether that's saying that he's the "father of IVF." I mean, he will say anything, but we need to rely on common sense, reasoning, and life experiences when we make our decision about who should lead this nation.
COATES: Omarosa, thank you so much for joining me.
MANIGAULT NEWMAN: Thank you, Laura.
COATES: Well, Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, obviously, he's going to go in toe to toe with the man looking to unseat him. He did that tonight. Could Representative Colin Allred actually pull it off? Alas, Cruz's last challenger, because Beto O'Rourke is with me after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COATES: A tough tango in ruby red Texas tonight as Republican Senator Ted Cruz fights to keep his seat against Democratic challenger, Congressman Colin Allred. The race hasn't drawn much national attention, but the polls show Allred is within striking distance of Cruz. And tonight, the candidates debated in Dallas, and they attacked each other on abortion, on immigration, and their records.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. COLIN ALLRED (D-TX): He's also only focused on himself. That's how you can go to Cancun when millions of Texans need you and hundreds are dying. The truth is, we don't have to be embarrassed by our senator. We can get a new one.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): And understand at home, Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. Their records are the same. I've served with both of them. They voted in favor of open borders over and over and over again. And now, they are desperately trying to hide that from the voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: He doesn't look like Kamala. Maybe if I swoon. Nope. Democrats may be salivating at what could be an opportunity to pick up a Senate's race in a tough election year, but no Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
[23:35:03]
Let that sink in. My next guest knows how difficult it is to change that very statistic, former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who ran against Ted Cruz in 2018 and also ran for president in 2020. Beto, good to see you. You watched the debate and you have debated against Cruz in the past. What did you make of Allred's performance and also Cruz's?
BETO O'ROURKE, FORMER TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Colin Allred was just fantastic. My favorite moment of the entire debate was when Colin was talking about what happened on January 6th, 2021. And he begins by saying, hey, Ted, you know, you can't be for the mob that rioted and part of this insurrection and for the police officers who they attacked. And then Ted Cruz, as he often does, starts to smirk and smile and laugh about one of the gravest threats that this country, our democracy, has ever faced.
And Colin gets in his face and he says, and this isn't funny. And the look on Cruz's face in response, there was real fear. Someone had finally put this guy in his place. And I felt like the rest of the debate just followed suit, whether it was the border, reproductive health care and abortion, what Ted Cruz did when our face -- when our state faced one of its gravest challenges, when the lights went out, power stopped running, 700 Texans died, and he went to the Ritz- Carlton in Cancun, Texas. Colin Allred was just dominant, I loved it.
COATES: Let's play for the audience who may not have seen that portion of it, that moment when he talked about January 6th. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLRED: You can't be for the mob on January 6th and for the officers. You can't. And it's not funny, because you're a threat to democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I mean, that moment is pretty startling. And frankly, this hasn't gotten the biggest national attention in this particular race. But the issue of January 6 certainly has. The issue of how it's viewed by candidates and incumbents and those members of the electorate as well and beyond, very -- taken very, very seriously.
And you lost to Ted Cruz in 2018 by just a couple of percentage points. I'm wondering what has changed between then and now that could make Cruz more vulnerable. Is it the reaction he has had to January 6th or the things that Allred has pointed out or something else?
O'ROURKE: Two big things have changed. When I ran against Ted Cruz, he was really a blowhard, an empty seat, famous for shutting down the United States government for weeks in an effort to strip people of health care, trying to end Obamacare or the ACA. Now, he is the guy who was in part responsible for that attempt to overthrow a democratically, fairly, legally-decided election, inciting that mob, and then, as Colin Allred pointed out, hiding in a supply closet while that mob that he incited stormed the Capitol. This is a guy who fled the state at our moment of greatest need. The contrast between the two of them could not be greater.
The other thing that has changed is we have a world-class candidate on the ticket right now, Colin Allred, the most bipartisan member of Congress from the state of Texas. A guy who beat an entrenched incumbent Republican, Pete Sessions, in 2018 to get to this position. Someone who has distinguished himself by helping everyday Texans.
When Ted Cruz was at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, Colin Allred was literally on the ground helping people get food, get water, get to warming centers. When Ted Cruz was hiding in that supply closet, Colin Allred had taken his jacket off on the House floor and rushed to where the insurrectionists were trying to storm this bastion of our democracy.
So, when voters in our state see the contrast between these two, I think the choice is very clear. And they're going to have a better opportunity to do that now that Colin Allred is raising so much money. He has outraised the incumbent Senator. I think the last --
COATES: Yeah.
O'ROURKE: -- reporting period, 30 million to 22 million. Those dollars turn into ads, to mailers, to an opportunity to reach those voters. We're going to decide the outcome of this.
And Laura, I think the secret weapon in this election are these young voters that we've been meeting on college campuses across the state of Texas, getting registered, getting them on the rolls, and now turning them out. They're in no one's polling universe. They're on nobody's radar. And if they come out, as I think they will, they could be the margin of victory for Colin Allred and produce the first democratic Senate victory in the state since 1988, and give Democrats the best chance of at least getting to a 50-50 split in the Senate. The only place we can go on offense is in Texas and it's with Colin Allred.
COATES: The younger voters in particular, very impactful, and strategists certainly should know that.
[23:40:00]
But on the money part, you're right, Allred has raised more money than Cruz. And, in fact, Cruz has talked about the need for more funding, at least on Fox News, as soon as yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUZ: Chuck Schumer has been explicit. I'm his number one target in the country. Chuck Schumer and George Soros are flooding over a hundred million dollars into the state of Texas. I'm getting pounded every day. We had a poll just come out yesterday, showed it as a one- point race. And we're getting viciously outspent. And so, I'm so appreciative of your viewers. Go into tedcruz.org -- tedcruz.org and contribute 25 bucks, 50, 100, maybe somebody give 500 or a thousand. But go to tedcruz.org because when you've got a hundred million dollars wild-eyed liberals that want to buy Texas, a hundred million dollars on the other side is dangerous. So, please, come to tedcruz.org -- tedcruz.org. I need your help and support at tedcruz.org.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: I think he wants you to go to tedcruz.org. I mean, he mentioned his website six times in that one interview. What do you make of these pleas? Does that tell you he's nervous or the impact of money in politics?
O'ROURKE: This guy is absolutely flailing. And by his own admission, he's within a point of Colin Allred. I mean, this is the closest Senate race in the country as far as I know and, again, the best pickup opportunity for Democrats. It's really all the people who've been going to colinallred.com and donating 25, 50 bucks at a time that have allowed Colin to have a real shot at winning.
And it's not just for Texas, as you know. I mean, this impacts the entire country. It's the balance of power in the Senate. It's the future of abortion and access to reproductive health care. It's a fact that our state leads the nation in school shootings right now. Two years after Uvalde, nothing has changed in Texas.
We have a chance to elect a commonsense senator from the state of Texas in Colin Allred, who will represent and fight for every single one of us. I'm feeling so optimistic and so hopeful, especially after tonight's debate. Twenty-two days to go, and I know that we can get it done. I'm just so proud of Colin for what he did tonight and so looking forward to permanently retiring Ted Cruz back to that Ritz- Carlton in Cancun. COATES: It's very clear he will never live that trip down. Congressman Beto O'Rourke, thank you so much for joining us.
O'ROURKE: Thank you, Laura.
COATES: My panel is back with me now. Zolan, let me ask, I mean, is there some kind of a fever dream or is Texas really in play for Democrats?
KANNO-YOUNGS: I mean, partially because of O'Rourke's performance last time around, Democrats are optimistic. But man, they face a real -- you know, they face a tough challenge here, just when you look at the name recognition that the senator has, that Senator Cruz has here.
And I believe that optimism is also in sort of the sense of urgency of the Democratic Party. Polling, our polling shows, as well as "The New York Times," that Republicans do have an edge right now and are poised to retake control of the Senate. This is one of those races that they're looking towards as a way to try and maintain some sort of majority.
I also have to say that interview with Cruz on Fox News, it did remind me of Senator Lindsey Graham --
COATES: Yes, with Jamie Harrison.
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- when he was going against Jamie Harrison. And it was a tight race. Graham was also down -- or was tight polling. He was down in terms of money. He did that interview, went out, asked for fundraising, and he did see --
COATES: Yeah.
KANNO-YOUNGS: -- some investment coming.
COATES: And he's still a senator, by the way, on that point. It's easy to kind of extrapolate to what this might mean in the greater race. Do you think that -- I mean, the presidential race, do you think that Texas is really going to be a swing state? You think that Trump or Harris is viewing it as such?
DONOVAN: It would have to be a swing state for Allred to have any chance. I mean, this is about Democrats shopping for a backdoor route to the Senate majority. They need to cling to 50 some way. If you look at -- there are 34 seats on the map. Democrats are defending 23 of them. And if you look at what's up there for Republicans or among Republicans, nobody else is vulnerable. So, they have to go for this. They have no real choice. Unless we wake up and there's a big shock across the map, could Ted Cruz be a senator for the next six years?
COATES: What do you think, Ameshia?
CROSS: I think with the demographics of Texas, it should have been blue a long time ago. But Texas has had severe gerrymandering. They have severe voter rights restrictions. And at the end of the day, their voter registration, particularly in the communities of color, in the communities that would largely lean democratic, we just aren't seeing those numbers.
I think that what we're seeing from Colin Allred is one hell of a truck, and he's doing an amazing job in his campaign. But I fear that it's going to turn out the same way that we saw South Carolina. In my estimation, chasing after Texas at this point, because they aren't where they are in the voting electorate, it is fool's gold.
COATES: Well, we'll see what happens. Ooh, fool's gold. Good Texas reference. Interesting. It's called Texas Tea, though, right? That's the oil? I don't know, it's a reference from the Beverly Hill Billy. I can do the whole thing for you right now, but I won't. Thank you, everyone. Maybe I will. Turn to the commercial.
We've heard from politicians. We've heard from the experts. Now, it's time to hear from the people.
[23:44:57]
And to do that, we're going to a cornerstone in the Black community, the barbershop. Our battleground barbers tell us that what they're hearing from the folks in the chairs, it might surprise you. That's next.
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COATES: Well, tonight, we're going into barber shops in battleground states to take the pulse of the voter. The barber shop has been the cornerstone in many Black communities all across this country. People talk about life and, of course, politics. It also became a place where both the Harris and Trump campaigns have been trying to woo Black voters, Black male voters in particular. With me now, the battleground barbers.
[23:50:00]
Joining me from Detroit, the owner of Heavyweight Cuts, David Hardin, Jr., and from Milwaukee, the owner Gee's Clippers, Gee Smith. Glad to have both of you here. Love both of your towns. So happy to have you both.
I'll begin with you, David. You were initially supporting RFK Jr. until he then endorsed Trump. Now, you're backing Harris, and many of your clients who were supporting Trump also are now backing Harris. Tell me about the conversations that you're hearing about why that changed.
DAVID HARDIN, JR., OWNER, HEAVYWEIGHT CUTS: Um, a lot of it has to do with a lot of the interviews and the main thing was the debate. Um, it showed people that regardless of what we heard about certain people, you have to see for yourself. And a lot of people seen it. You know, Trump wasn't what he was about, and Harris is a little more than what we thought.
COATES: What was it about the debate that made you think that either was not who you thought they were? HARDIN: Well, the questions they were at, Trump never stayed on topic. He deferred. He wanted pretty much name call. Harris was -- she stuck to the point as well as hit him with some questions that he feels not to answer.
COATES: Gee, let me ask you, because you're also supporting Harris, I understand. But before Biden dropped out, it sounded like you and your clients were maybe apathetic about the election. Why was that?
GEE SMITH, FOUNDER AND OWNER, GEE'S CLIPPERS: Yeah, I mean -- first of all, thanks for having me.
COATES: Of course.
SMITH: Yeah, before Biden dropped out, I'm going to be honest with you, the talk I've heard was, you know, individuals didn't feel that he was really physically capable of really leading in a capacity that we needed him to with what's at stake.
COATES: So, Gee, when you had that initial impression, then, of course, we know Biden is not top of ticket any longer, so then when you knew Harris was going to step up and be now top of the ticket, did that make you and your clients want to lean in more or were you still hesitant about politics still?
SMITH: You know, I wasn't hesitant at all. I mean, I felt that Kamala was definitely prepared, definitely qualified for the job at hand. I mean, you're going to have clients that feel otherwise for various reasons, but I wholeheartedly felt that she could handle the job at hand.
COATES: Really, on a daily basis, both of you have a kind of focus group that political strategists would dream to have, one-on-one conversations. And as part of a group, really understanding what makes people tick, what they're most concerned about. And let me bring you in on this part, David, and Gee, obviously way in here, but when people sit down in your barber chair, I do wonder, what are the issues they are talking about? What is top of mind?
You've got this Harris campaign opportunity plan for Black men where she's outlining different aspects of how she feels she can be uplifting, particularly economically. Is that in line with what you're hearing from the people who are sitting with you?
HARDIN: Well, yes, that's in line, but that's not mainly what we talk about. We talk about mainly economic issues. You know, jobs, minimum wage being raised. You know, things on a more basic street level, police brutality, police presence. You know, that would be a lot more of our topics. But, definitely, her including the Black men in her speech definitely gives us another reason to think that she's qualified to be a leader.
COATES: I have one more question for both of you, and that is there has been a lot of topics and conversations about Black men specifically feeling left behind, Black male men feeling as though the focus has not been on them, it has been either on women or that the different campaigns have not been focusing on their unique and independent needs. Are you hearing that? Are you getting a sense from your clientele that they feel that way? And if so, what do you think would bridge that gap?
HARDIN: That's pretty much glossed over. I agree. Even as a community, we don't pretty much talk about it because as Black men, we just talk, live with it, move on, don't cry about it. You know, go out there and show and prove, and that'll be your worth right there. Don't wait for nobody to give it to you. So, it is a topic, but it's not really a hot topic.
And like I said, for her to even mention me being on the top of her list, Black men, specifically, it gives us a lot to look forward to her being in presidency.
COATES: Gee, I'll give you the last word on this. Are you feeling that your clientele feels as though, politically, they're left behind or ignored?
[23:55:00]
SMITH: To be honest with you, I haven't not heard that, Laura. I actually would say that we have, over the past -- I'm not sure how many years. You know, men in general, Black men, men in general, have definitely been at the forefront of a lot of the policies and topics and such, you know. And they've been leading the country, you know, since we've had a president. You know, white guys and then President Obama. And now, we've got an African-American woman, you know, at the table now that's going to be leading the table. I really have faith that she's going to pull through.
COATES: Really fascinating to hear from you both. Thank you for this little mini-focus group we just had together. We will rely on you, guys, again. Thank you, David. Thank you, Gee.
HARDIN: Thanks for having me.
SMITH: Thank you.
COATES: And a thank you for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.
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