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New Day

Trump Rallies with Rubio and Not DeSantis; National Guard Helping at NYC Shelters; Musk Visits Twitter Headquarters; Texas to Get Needed Rain; Kanye West Escorted from Skechers Building. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 27, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:30:12]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Former President Donald Trump announcing plans to rally in Miami, and this is happening just days before Election Day, of course. Trump will campaign with Republican Senator Marco Rubio, but not with Governor Ron DeSantis. Both Rubio and DeSantis are up for re-election. But the relationship between Trump and DeSantis, who were once allies, has grown distant ahead of a possible presidential showdown in 2024.

With us now, CNN political analyst and White House correspondent for PBS "Newshour," Laura Barron-Lopez, and CNN's senior political analyst and chief Washington correspondent for "Politico," Ryan Lizza.

There are some fascinating dynamics at play here, Laura. What do you think?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Senator Rubio is up by about, on average, 6 points. You know, this isn't, right now, a very close Senate race. So, the former president is going there, you know, on this tour ahead of final - the final - ahead of Election Day. And really it seems like it could very much be more of a snub towards Ron DeSantis than maybe boosting Rubio because everyone knows - I mean, look, Ron DeSantis has not made it, you know, a secret that he's interested in a run in 2024. That he wants to try to win the presidential nomination. And this clearly is former -- the former president trying to say, look, I'm still the head of this party, and I'm the one that a lot of Republicans are potentially going to get behind. And it's not going to necessarily help DeSantis in this final stretch as that takes a lot of attention away from him.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: And that has appeared to have ticked off the former president. You have DeSantis, who has not committed in that recent debate to fulfilling four years as governor. He has not said that he would necessarily support Trump in a run in 2024.

So, Ryan, how much does DeSantis - or the perception of DeSantis being at odds with Trump hurt DeSantis?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think if he runs for president, everyone knows he has o take on Donald Trump, if Trump gets in, and most people assume he will. So, there's going to be a split no matter what.

So, Trump world is obsessed with DeSantis. A lot of Trump advisers telling me this week that they were all watching the DeSantis debate very, very carefully. Different opinions of people around Trump on the outcome of that debate. Some people said, you know, we would mop the - Trump -- Donald Trump would mop the floor with this guy. He didn't really stand up that well to Charlie Crist. Others saying, oh, he's formidable, you know, better than we expected.

Trump himself, of course, likes to claim credit for DeSantis, that he, you know, quote/unquote, made DeSantis by endorsing him last time around. So - and, look, no other Republican in the party has gained on Donald Trump the way that DeSantis has. Certainly Rubio hasn't. I'm sure Rubio still has presidential aspirations. You know, he's not a major player going into 2024.

DeSantis, according to polling, has. He has a national profile. He has tapped into conservative media people around the country. Republicans know who DeSantis is. He's famous in Republican circles in a way that other potential Trump opponents are not.

KEILAR: So, looking at the Georgia Senate race now, a second woman has come forward and said that Herschel Walker pressured her into -- pressured her to have an abortion. And so now you have two allegations of this.

Do either one of you, though, think that this impacts the race at all at this point in time?

BARRON-LOPEZ: I think that the first one potentially, given the distance from that to election day, this one is very close to Election Day. And I was texting with a Democratic strategist just last night who said that really they think that the sentiments are baked in, in Georgia, you know, and a lot of people have already made their decisions. And, ultimately, if you were going to vote for Herschel Walker before this, even knowing the other allegation, I would be surprised if this one ultimately changes their mind.

I will say, though, that I think abortion is going to be a key aspect of what -- influencing what ultimately happens in Georgia and a lot of other swing states.

LIZZA: He looked like he'd regained the momentum that he maybe lost a little bit from the original allegation. And I think Laura is absolutely correct, that the voters have now -- Republicans have rallied around him. They've decided that the fact that Herschel Walker previously paid for, endorsed, one or more people to have an abortion does not matter because his current position is that he is against abortions. And he's, you know, he's for an abortion ban. And in the United States Senate, that's where his vote would be.

And we've seen a recent history with this kind of thinking with supporters who don't really care about the personal character and personal history of a candidate, as long as they vote their way. Donald Trump, you know, blazed the trail on this.

[06:35:01]

KEILAR: Yes. And Herschel Walker may continue to wander that path as well.

Laura, Ryan, thank you so much to both of you for being here this morning.

LIZZA: Thank you, guys.

BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

KEILAR: Up next, why did Elon Musk walk into Twitter's headquarters holding -- yes, you see it, a sink. Just holding a sink. All right.

MARQUARDT: And, asked to leave. The sneaker company that escorted Kanye West out of its offices.

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MARQUARDT: Developing this morning, New York is putting more boots on the ground as New York City is dealing with a flood of asylum seekers.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is live in New York with the details.

Miguel, what are the plans for the National Guard?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are basically going to try to help the city deal with this sprawling system of shelters that they've had to set up over the last few months to deal with the number of immigrants coming into the city. They'll be doing everything from providing food, transportation, doing sort of the basics around these shelters. Remember, they've opened several shelters, dozens of shelters across New York City, all in different boroughs, basically hotels that have been transferred into shelters for these migrants that have come here, many of them with almost zero, not knowing anybody in the city, having families as well.

[06:40:11]

So it's been a very, very difficult migrant wave for this city of immigrants to absorb.

The one thing they won't be doing is security or case management says DHS, the Department of Homeland Services and Social Services here.

Back to you guys.

KEILAR: How much of this is a ramping up of the migrant crisis in New York City?

MARQUEZ: It sounds like -- they're not getting a lot of details, but it sounds like this is really an attempt to give Department of Homeless Services for New York City and Social Services a bit of a break. They have been taking on the brunt of this for months now and it's been extremely difficult to coordinate all of this across the five boroughs of New York City. So many different hotels that have been turned into shelters. And it's hoped that the National Guard will be able to come in, help these services provide sort of these basics that these families and migrants need for many months to come it looks like.

Back to you guys.

KEILAR: All right, Miguel, thank you for that report.

MARQUEZ: You got it.

MARQUARDT: All right, turning now to billionaire Elon Musk. He visited Twitter headquarters just days before he's expected to close the deal to buy Twitter. In a tweet Musk wrote, entering Twitter HQ. Let that sink in. And right there you can see him walking into Twitter headquarters smiling, holding a large sink.

Musk also changed his Twitter bio description to read, chief twit.

Joining me now is CNN's Marc Stewart.

Marc, do we have any idea why he was carrying that sink?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Alex. It's good to see you.

Look, this is his way, his out of the box way of introducing himself. The goal is to have this deal finished by Friday. And for someone who is so out of the box, in many ways it seems like Elon Musk is following a script of what to do when someone buys a company.

I was talking to some of my contacts yesterday who have a lot of experience in these corporate ownership changes, these corporate overhauls. And the first thing you want to do is meet people at an organization. And that's exactly what he says he has been doing. In fact, shortly after that kitchen sink tweet, he put out a tweet saying, I'm meeting lots of cool people at Twitter today.

There has been some reporting that perhaps he wants to lay off some of the staff, which is very much a possibility. But even if that were the case, you still need people to keep the operation going. You need people who have some institutional knowledge. So, maybe perhaps that's what he is doing. We'll just have to see because with Musk, who knows.

MARQUARDT: And Twitter employees were encouraged to go up to him and to say hi, apparently.

Marc, there is a deadline for this deal to take place. And Elon Musk is really under the gun here. What do we know about the final stages of this acquisition?

STEWART: Well, it very much looks like this deal is moving forward. I mean, in fact, as we've discussed before on this program, Musk really has been boxed into taking this deal because of all of the legal and financial repercussions. But an executive from Twitter said that he is going to talk to employees broadly on Friday. So perhaps then we will get a road map of where he plans to take the company. It's important internally so employees know what to expect. But, as we all know, Wall Street is also watching. So perhaps he will send a message or a tweet to indicate exactly where he sees the company going, his vision, the themes, the future.

MARQUARDT: Yes, Wall Street and the rest of us still watching. What an incredible saga this has been.

Marc Stewart in New York, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

STEWART: Thanks.

MARQUARDT: Now, were U.S. officials duped when they reportedly struck an oil deal with Saudi Arabia? We'll have new reporting ahead.

KEILAR: And three more men have been found guilty in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer.

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[06:48:56]

KEILAR: So, the morning, Texas is expected to get much needed rain, but some areas may be at risk of severe storms.

Let's get to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

A little too much of a good thing here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly, Brianna. In the spring, you know, the cold air is getting pushed back by the warm air and says, hey, summer, here I come. And now the warm air of summer is getting pushed away by the cold air. And in equal chances, you can get severe weather. The storm that brought rain to the Pacific Northwest yesterday is now in the Rockies and it will be moving into Texas.

This weather brought to you by Safelite, your vehicle glass and recalibration experts.

So, let's get to it. Where does it go from here? Well, it's not even on the radar yet. But later on this afternoon and into this evening, the rain is going to begin.

Now, we've had rain in the Mississippi Valley the past couple - maybe the last two weeks, but the river is only up by one foot. That's 10 to 15 feet below where it should be right now. So, this is much needed rainfall across that area.

One hundred percent of Oklahoma is in drought. Seventy-two 72 percent of Texas in drought. Arkansas, the same story.

But look where this rain goes.

[06:50:01]

Right where we need it. Right into those rivers that can get into the Mississippi.

But as you said, possibility of some severe weather today. Also even closer to Houston for tomorrow.

So, yes, we're going to see rain. And, yes, we could even see some rain for your Halloween. I know you hate to put the damper on that because growing up, you know, you buy the really great costume and then you put a raincoat on top of it.

KEILAR: I'm making a mask for my six-year-old, and I think I can't make it out of card stock now. That's the lesson.

MARQUARDT: It can make it spook. Like misty and -

KEILAR: Very, very creepy. He's not going to like - it's supposed to be a fun - he's not supposed to be penny wise, he's supposed to be like a cute character.

All right, Chad, thanks for the tip. Appreciate it.

MYERS: You bet. See you tomorrow.

KEILAR: So what Spotify's CEO is saying about calls to remove Kanye West's music from its platform.

MARQUARDT: And CNN cameras were there as the body of an American killed while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces is returned by the Russian military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why is it important to you to recover the body of Joshua Jones?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the same one (ph) hero for me, like our soldiers. So, we should make everything possible to give his body back to his family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:55:45]

KEILAR: Rapper Kanye West continues to feel the fallout from his anti- Semantic rants. Officials with athletic shoe company Skechers announced yesterday that it had kicked the rapper out of one of its offices. They said this in the statement. Kanye West arrived unannounced and without invitation at one of Skechers' corporate offices in Los Angeles. Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorized filming, two Sketchers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation.

And, of course, this comes after Adidas ended its partnership, very lucrative partnership with West.

With us now, CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas.

Chloe, what is Kanye doing here walking into a Skechers corporate office?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Apparently, Brianna, with cameras. I mean, look, it's just getting more twisted, more convoluted and, frankly, upsetting, right, because you would think that by now, given that Kanye, who has come out on social media and admitted that he has dropped from his billionaire status down to, you know, still a lot of money, $400 million, his net worth now that all of these companies have parted ways with him. Look at the list right there. That he would be contrite and apologizing. And instead stoking the flames, making it worse and continuing, guys, to make jokes about it on social media when really everything that he has spent decades building is crumbling around him.

MARQUARDT: And this has gotten to the point, Chloe, where even the president of Israel is weighing in.

Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

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PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAEL: Unfortunately, history teaches us that usually it starts with hating Jews, with blaming Jews, with terrible rhetoric that people say, you know, OK, he said it. And that's why I'm extremely pleased, objectively, as an Israeli, as a Jew, as a human being, I'm extremely pleased to see this overwhelming reaction against the comments by Kanye West.

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MARQUARDT: Very strong words there from the president, Chloe.

MELAS: You know, I also want to point out that I've had people say to me, well, what now, right? Because all of these companies have parted ways with him and sort of like are we at the tail end of this? And I actually think not. I think that it's only - you know, we're only going to learn more and it's only going to continue. And I think that we're still going to see a domino effect.

And a lot of people feel as though, you know, sure, this has opened a conversation about hate in a modern age, in 2022, but this is a conversation that needs to keep going, and the consequences are only going to continue.

But, again, quite shocking that Kanye has yet to say anything.

KEILAR: Yes, he's creating these global waves with what he's doing. And he's making enemy after enemy.

Spotify, though, however, Chloe, has announced that his music is going to stay on Spotify?

MELAS: Yes. And this is not surprising. And I was talking about this yesterday. I'm going to tell you what the head of Spotify said. He says, it's really just his music and his music doesn't violate our policy.

So, let me explain. You have R. Kelly, you have different individuals who have been, let's say, convicted of crimes, you know, murder, let's say, you know, and their music still remains on these streaming platforms.

Now, if in the lyrics it's inciting hate or violence or he was being anti-Semitic within the lyrics, that's when Spotify was saying that they would draw the line and not upload the music.

Now, could Deaf Jam or his record label decide to pull the music from these streaming services? Yes. But also, let's point out, that Kanye has his own music label, Good Music, in which he puts out his albums in partnership with Deaf Jam, which is part of Universal. So, again, like, he has a lot of control in his music and where it's going to be and how it's going to be distributed.

And I also wouldn't be surprised, look, he's out there talking about buying Parler, right, which we don't know if it's really going to happen. And I don't even think -- does he fully understand the repercussions of what has even happened right now? It's hard to say, right? We've heard him say extreme things in the past about slavery in 2018, that slavery is a choice. And then he was contrite and he said that it was, you know, a time in his life where he was having some mental health issues. But we haven't heard any explanations now.

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