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Jay-Z And Beyonce Headline Clinton Rally Concert; Latest Electoral Map Shows Easier Path For Trump; CNN Poll Of Polls Shows A Dead Heat In Florida; Battlegrounds Tight With 30 Million Ballots Cast. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired November 05, 2016 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't have to bring J. Lo or J.G. I'm here all by myself.
BEYONCE: We have to think about the future of our daughters, our sons, and that is why I'm with her.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have unfinished business to do and with your help, a glass ceiling to crack once and for all.
TRUMP: I'm asking you to dream big. You will get the change you have been waiting for, for your entire lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. We are so grateful to have you with us here as we are coming to you, obviously, live from Washington, D.C. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you and we will be here all weekend.
Of course, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, now just three days to go, putting in all the work, putting it all on the line this final weekend of the campaign. This morning, the polls are tightening and new battlegrounds are emerging.
PAUL: Hillary Clinton slipping a little bit in our latest electoral battleground map. She's below 270, though, for the first time and look at Donald Trump, he is above 200, a first on this electoral map. The biggest shift is in Ohio. It is now moving to lean Republican. If you look at New Hampshire, it has moved from lean Democrat to toss- up.
BLACKWELL: So they will be in the battleground states. Today, Hillary Clinton and her surrogates blanketing knows states. She'll kick off the day in Florida and then head north to Pennsylvania.
PAUL: Donald Trump, meanwhile, making four stops today in Florida, North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado.
BLACKWELL: And let's take a look at the latest polls of polls from CNN this morning. It is now showing Hillary Clinton with a five-point national lead over Trump, 47-42.
Let's go to Ohio, may be leaning Trump there, but Hillary Clinton hoping for some major star power. Last night in Cleveland, she appeared alongside the power couple of music, Jay-Z and Beyonce.
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BEYONCE: I want my daughter to grow up seeing a woman lead our country and know that her possibilities are limitless. We have to think about the future of our daughters, our sons and vote for someone who cares for them as much as we do. That is why I'm with her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So Beyonce had all the fans there and all the supporters in formation, but will they be forming lines at the polls? All day, we have live team coverage from our political experts, reporters standing by in the key battleground states.
The latest CNN electoral map still shows an advantage for Hillary Clinton there. But Donald Trump has increased his odds with some states moving in his direction. Our political director is crunching the numbers for us.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: We made some pretty significant changes to our electoral map, all in Donald Trump's favor. This is our old map in six battleground states. This is our new map. Five remaining battleground states. Here what is we changed.
New Hampshire went from lean Democrat to a battleground state. Ohio went from battleground to lean Republican, really significant there. Utah went from battleground to lean Republican.
And the second congressional district in Maine, they award their electoral votes by congressional district, went from battleground to lean Republican.
So that gives us Donald Trump at 204. Hillary Clinton at 268 falling below that 270 mark. How does she do it now? What is Hillary Clinton's path?
She still needs to defend this blue wall of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump is going to be campaigning through the weekend.
She did get some late news out of Michigan, a brand new poll there, 42 percent to 38 percent in this "Detroit Free Press" poll, four-point edge. A state that the Democrats would really like to be farther ahead than that. It gives them a little bit of concern.
But that's a significant enough edge to say that Hillary Clinton is holding her blue line. So where does she go to find the two electoral votes that she need? Any of the battleground states. The smallest one, four electoral votes, New Hampshire gets her over the line to 272.
How about Donald Trump's path? Again, this is our new battleground map, how does he get there? Donald Trump has to sweep the map. Let's start adding to his 204, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire.
I've given him all the battleground states. That only gets him to 269. Where does he go to find that extra one? Well, remember, Nebraska also awards its electoral votes by congressional district.
That little yellow area around Omaha. That is the second congressional district and it is a true battleground. So if indeed Donald Trump can win that congressional district in Nebraska, let's give it to him. He gets to 270 electoral votes.
He has got a steep hill to climb. It is a little less steep than it was yesterday. Hillary Clinton still has the control of the electoral map.
BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk about one of those must wins for Donald Trump, Florida, pivotal here, of course, a battleground every election both for Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
PAUL: So both candidates, as we said, spending an awful lot of time there today. Boris Sanchez is live in Miami this morning where Hillary Clinton will be. Boris, good morning to you. What are you hearing from there?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Victor. Yes, the all-important state of Florida, a battleground once again. As you heard from Mark, really, this is a must-win for Donald Trump.
For Hillary Clinton, it can bolster that firewall that she is depending on to cruise to the election. As we are watching Trump gain momentum, it appears the state of Florida is once again a toss-up within the margin of error.
Where we are in South Florida isn't exactly a toss-up. It is usually favorable to Democrats. The northern part of the state favorable to conservatives. It is really the central part, the I-4 corridor between Daytona and Tampa including Orlando that is always a battleground here.
It can ultimately determine the winner of this election. We do have some numbers from early voting that kind of glean where the trend lines are heading for the state of Florida. This is from catalyst data.
Right now, it looks like there is a small dip in the number of African-Americans coming out to vote in this election at least compared to 2008. That is bad news for the Clinton campaign that is depending on these African-Americans like Obama did back in 2012 and 2008. It is a big part of her base. The good news for Clinton, though, there has been a spike in the number of Latinos that are voting, about a 5 percent spike compared to 2008. A big part of the reason for that, a large influx of Puerto Ricans that have moved from the island into Florida specifically to the I-4 corridor, to Orlando.
Clinton has done a tremendous job of targeting these voters. More than $27 million spent on ads in Orlando alone. A lot of voting drives there as well trying to get out the Puerto Rican vote that favors Democrats, most often.
To counter that, Trump has also spent a lot of time riling up the base in places like Sanford, the villages, very reliably Republican areas that came out for Mitt Romney in 2012. He is trying to rile them up and build on Romney's win in those counties.
On top of that, he is coming here to Miami-Dade to speak to Cuban- Americans, a traditionally GOP leaning base. Mike Pence was in Little Havana yesterday. We are expecting Trump to have a presence here again as we get closer to Election Day -- Christi and Victor.
PAUL: All right, Boris Sanchez live for us in Miami. Boris, thank you so much.
New this morning, Donald Trump delivering the weekly Republican address. He shared his vision for his first 100 days in office. He asked voters to deliver change to Washington.
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TRUMP: It's time to close the history books on the Clintons and to open a bright new chapter focused on the great citizens of our country. I am asking for your vote and you're help in electing a Republican majority in Congress so that we can finally change this broken system.
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PAUL: All right, let's bring in CNN politics reporters, Eugene Scott and Eric Bradner. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being with us. Your reaction first of all to Donald Trump and this address?
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I think my initial thought is that these are many of the topics that his base and his advisers wish he would have stayed on track with throughout the campaign. These are ideas that many people, outside of the Republican Party would like to see accomplished, change in Washington. He wasn't as able to as effectively communicate that to people outside of that base.
BLACKWELL: Eric, you have a piece on cnn.com that talks about the six ways Trump can get to 270. Every single one of them requires Florida where Boris is this morning.
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Absolutely. Florida is a key state. North Carolina is a key state. We are looking at six paths to win but none of them include losing these states where early voting numbers suggest that Democrats have turned out in force.
So Donald Trump is going to have turn out his base, his supporters in mass on Election Day. They have got some ground to make up there and also in key states like Nevada where Democrats, which we saw the last day of early voting yesterday, are actually ahead of their 2012 pace at this point, barely but a little bit ahead. So it's a tough path.
PAUL: You know, Eric, we heard yesterday President Obama and several others saying if Hillary Clinton wins North Carolina, it is done. It is Hillary Clinton's. Is that true?
BRADNER: Yes, yes. It is feasible that Trump could find some other pathway. I mean, he could win Pennsylvania, which would be a surprise.
[06:10:07]We have seen poll after poll after poll show that Clinton has a narrowing lead there, but a pretty steady. It is not evaporating. Trump has not closed a gap there. There are long shot states like Michigan, Wisconsin.
Colorado seems to have tightened recently. There is no easy path, no logical path even that doesn't go through North Carolina, which is why President Obama has been really playing up the importance of African- American turnout there. It's part of the electorate that really helped them four years ago.
PAUL: But it is down.
BRADNER: It is down. Part of that, of course, is because North Carolina changed its early voting laws. There are fewer polling places in early voting in some key counties. But part of it is that this is a trend we are seeing in other states too, Florida, Georgia. So we know it is not just about law changes. It is about enthusiasm and excitement.
BLACKWELL: Early voting is wrapping up there in North Carolina. Eugene, let me come to you. We are discussing the closing arguments, the closing message from these candidates and we know that Hillary Clinton at least rhetorically adopted the first ladies mantra of when they go low, we go high. She has been very critical of Donald Trump. She has been on the attack.
SCOTT: Yes, and part of that is because she has been on the defense this last week following the recent announcement from the FBI that they were going to look into more e-mails. It has brought negative attention on her campaign.
We saw throughout this election the candidate that we are talking about the most unfortunately is usually for a negative reason. She dominated these headlines in the last perhaps seven days.
So I think she wants to make clear to this Obama demographic that supported him that she is the best one to continue his legacy. She thinks the best way to do that is by attacking him.
PAUL: Eric, when we talk about closing arguments, let's talk about Donald Trump. Take a look at this ad actually right now. Donald Trump seems to be focusing on the fact that Hillary Clinton will be a president under investigation. Do we have that sound of that ad? Let's take a look at some of it here real quickly.
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CLINTON: I, Hillary Rodham Clinton do solemnly swear that I will support --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Not so fast. Clinton destroyed 30,000 e-mails, many under subpoena. The FBI director said Clinton's claims on classified material were not true. Clinton has faced numerous criminal investigations and 60 percent of Americans think she is not honest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: OK, so how effective is that to people who have not yet decided who they are voting for?
BRADNER: Well, the truth is in this cycle, it's been so negative. Both candidates have such troubles with their own popularity. Whoever the election is about is losing. When it is about Donald Trump, he is losing. When it is about Hillary Clinton, she is losing.
So it could be effective certainly. The hard part for Donald Trump right now is actually getting that ad in front of enough people, getting his message in front of enough people.
Hillary Clinton has more money. She is spending more money on the air in these final days and she also has a much bigger crew of surrogates.
PAUL: It's the ground game?
BRADNER: Exactly, huge ground game. She has been investing in it since early 2015 whereas Trump has been relying on the RNC, hasn't really built his own ground game. She has many more surrogates.
BLACKWELL: We know that Donald Trump is also dumping $4 million in a two-minute ad that is going to the battleground states in some pretty heavily watched programs in the next several days. Eric, Eugene, thank you both.
PAUL: All righty, early voting, we've been talking about it today. It is up, more than 30 million votes have been cast across 38 states already. How is that changing the map for the presidential candidates?
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[06:17:19]
BLACKWELL: Welcome back. It's 17 minutes after the hour. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will be making their final pitches to those swing state voters. More than 30 million votes have been cast across 38 states already. Early voting data shows a spike in Latino turnout compared to 2012. Among African-Americans, gone down since 2012.
Let's bring in our guests, Maria Cardona, CNN political commentator and Hillary Clinton supporter, and Frank Buckley, foundation professor at the George Mason University School of Law and Donald Trump supporter. Welcome to both of you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you. Good morning. Welcome to Washington.
BLACKWELL: Yes, thank you very much. Good to see you in person. Let's talk about this shifting map because for the first time in our map, Hillary Clinton is below 270. Donald Trump above 200. A few more paths potentially for him to 270. Are you concerned?
CARDONA: Sure. As I've said before Democrats should always be concerned. Hillary Clinton's campaign should wake up every day believing she is ten points behind because that's how you win. Complacency is how we lose.
I think right now where we are is that she still has a lead. Let's remember that going into the same weekend in 2012, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were tied. He still pulled it out with a comfortable margin.
She is four points ahead in the national polls. She is ahead in most of the battleground states. The Hillary Clinton campaign is leaving nothing on the table there. They are taking absolutely nothing for granted.
Her coalition will look different, a little bit different. It's going to be the Hillary Clinton coalition, not the Obama coalition. You see a spike in Latino voters, which I am so proud of (inaudible). Good job, guys. Continue to go out there to vote. African-American vote is --
BLACKWELL: Soft on enthusiasm.
CARDONA: A little bit softer but let's be real. It is a little bit tough to follow the first African-American president. Let's get real. The Hillary Clinton campaign is still feeling confident about that.
In North Carolina, the reason it has been down is because some of the voting sites, there haven't been as many. There has been voter suppression out there.
We've been fighting against it. Once the voting sites started going back online, a lot of voters out there. They still feel pretty confident they will get to a good number.
BLACKWELL: An important ruling from North Carolina yesterday.
CARDONA: Absolutely.
PAUL: No doubt about it. When we look at Nevada, we have some new numbers this morning about what is happening in early voting there, particularly in Clark County. They are almost at 55,000 people who have voted in early voting. That broke the record that was 48,000 before.
Frank, what does that tell you about people who are going to the polls early? Are they doing so because when they get out there, they want to get their vote in or is their concern about voter suppression, about something happening at the polls that may be untoward on Election Day itself?
[06:20:03]FRANK BUCKLEY, FOUNDATION PROFESSOR, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW: I didn't see any evidence of voter suppression I voted yesterday in Alexandria, huge crowds. At this point, it is so unclear. Nobody can really make any predictions.
I mean, the Democratic ground game is fabulous. We know this. We don't know about other things. We don't know about the kind of shy Brexit voter. I mean, there is a lot of Donald Trump support.
I don't know where these guys are, but they sure turned out to the polls here for the primaries. I am content to wait and see. I think we all have to do that.
CARDONA: I don't think we have a choice.
BLACKWELL: As Frank brought up here, these Donald Trump voters, these sleeper voters that we were talking about, the closet voters, to what degree is that factored into the ground game for the Democrats? Is there an expectation on how many of these voters there might be?
CARDONA: Well, you know, it is interesting, that theme because Nate Cone in "The New York Times" had a great piece about how we have all expected this silent Trump voter. It hasn't really showed up polling wise or registration wise.
There hasn't been a spike in white voter registration this year from 2012, which is so interesting. And then in the places where it has gone up, it has been millennials, which frankly vote more for Hillary and the spike that has gone up in registration is the nonwhite vote.
And so I have a theory that there is a hidden Hillary vote. We are seeing it in the spike in Latino voters, in millennial voters, those are voters who don't show up in the polls because they are not likely voters.
Likely voter models are not going to measure those folks who have never shown up at the polls. I also believe that there is a hidden Hillary voter that is Republican.
There was a survey that came out, a William and Mary survey a couple of days ago of early voters in Florida, 28 percent of Republican voters had voted for Hillary Clinton.
BLACKWELL: We're going to pick up, Frank, Maria, stay with us. We are going to take a quick break and come back and pick up on these sleeper voters, closet voters, potentially and what Maria said there potentially about a closet Hillary voter. We'll pick that up with you, Frank. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
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[06:25:41]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you vote, we'll win North Carolina. And if we win North Carolina, Hillary Clinton will be president. I need you to vote. Don't choose fear. Choose hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: All righty, Frank and Maria, back with us. We were just talking about closet voters who may not want to admit to who they are voting for and they go into that poll. And at the end of the day, they go into that ballot box and they go into that little area there and it is just them and their conscience, Frank.
BUCKLEY: Yes. We were talking about a hidden Hillary voter. I certainly believe they are there. I think they are the people that changed the polling numbers over the last couple of weeks.
I think there are a lot of people who kind of looked at things and said, wait a minute, do we want to replay the last years of the 1990s and go through all the problems we had with an impeachment.
God knows, that's not going to happen. If we have a Hillary presidency, there is a pretty good chance we are going to be tied up in a lot of scandals for the first couple of years. I think a lot of people are looking at that and saying, now, maybe we don't want that.
I would discount some of the advanced polling, even though I did it, because that's testimony how great the ground game is for the Dems. The Republicans don't do so well, to put it mildly.
In the real election, it is Tuesday. Gosh, I wouldn't put money down one way or the other. You probably would, but I wouldn't.
CARDONA: Well, I agree with you. He is right in that, you know, this whole FBI stink bomb that we had a week ago, I think, probably has dampened some of the enthusiasm for Republican leaning voters that were thinking of voting for Hillary.
Though to your point, Christi, when voters go into that voting booth, they are going to take a look at and take stock of the last year and a half. If you are leaning towards Hillary, you are doing that because you know that the office presidency is the most powerful office in the world.
You want somebody in there who has the temperament to be commander-in- chief, who is not going to be tweeting out at 3:00 in the morning and have the nuclear codes if Kim Jong-Un says something that you don't like.
And I think that is one of the most important measures where people believe that it is Hillary Clinton by vast measures that has the temperament, the experience, the steadiness to be commander-in-chief and leader of the free world.
BLACKWELL: Republicans on the other side, though, would say the judgment that is required to be in the oval office, as we've heard Donald Trump making his final message and these ads that are coming up.
But I want to go to the point about the African-American vote, if you look at the number of stars who have come out for Hillary Clinton, you have Jay-z and Beyonce, the president and first lady, political stars but in their own right.
She is still having difficulty hardening up those numbers. She still has the percentage that's required, but the enthusiasm is falling off.
How does she in the closing days before Election Day, because early voting is wrapping up in those states today or tomorrow maybe? How does she get those voters out to the polls? Can she do it or have you resigned that it won't be in 2012?
CARDONA: I think she can. But again, like I said before, I don't think we should expect for it to be exactly the same level, because, again, first African-American president, I think that there is some expectation. There will be a tiny bit of drop off.
But they are working as if they want to get the same number or more as President Obama, which is why you see such a big effort to bring out everybody from the 18-year-old voter to the 100-year-old voter, right.
They are not taking anything for granted which I think is really smart. The other thing we need to take into consideration is that this is the weekend where the African-American faith community will put all of their effort into taking their people to the polls.
Right, souls to the polls on Sunday. That is something that we can't discount. The president, Michelle Obama, President Clinton and Hillary will end up in a huge rally on Monday night. Michelle Obama, the closer. President Obama has been on fire these last several days.
PAUL: He's been fired up.
CARDONA: He really been fired up. And -- and he has a very compelling argument for African-Americans, which is "You trusted me. You gave me your vote. We have to continue this -- you know, this legacy." And the fact that he is at 57% approval rating is a huge boon for Hillary.
PAUL: So, Frank --
BUCKLEY: Could I make the point -- go ahead.
PAUL: Go ahead.
BUCKLEY: There is another hidden voter here, as well, and I think that's the hidden voter who cares about issues. And the -- the voter who cares about issues sees a country that's not done terribly well in the last little while, and that certainly includes African-Americans, right? What has happened -- I mean, here -- for me, this is a crucial, you know, polling number. For the first time in history, Americans report they don't think their kids will have it as well of as they did. I mean, that is absolutely huge. And when you look at it more closely, what you're looking at is a series of failed policies.
Now, what Trump is arguing is, "I can change all that." All right? So, to take but one issue which he harps on -- immigration -- we're importing immobility; right? You know, wonderful people are coming over, but they're not doing as well as native Americans that -- the trend continues over to their children and to their grandchildren. So we're importing immobility.
Wonderful stuff if you're on top and you want cheap maids and gardeners, but for regular Americans, not so great. Same thing with respect to trade. He's making a play for a community that people, you know, have been ignored all this time. And, for me, I mean, I see this as a little bit of the Reagan coalition, maybe back -- going back even -- even further. You know, his -- his politics, I think, in practice would more closely resemble a JFK or even an Eisenhower.
CARDONA: Trump's immigration policy, frankly is one of the reasons Hispanics are coming out in such huge numbers, so, by all means --
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: as -- as often as he can.
BLACKWELL: Maria Cardona, Frank Buckley; thank you both.
BUCKLEY: Thank you.
CARDONA: Thank you.
PAUL: Thank you both. All right, so the latest numbers on the economy, of course -- they could be, perhaps, a boost that Hillary Clinton needs just days before the election. Donald Trump, however, saying "Look, it isn't all what it seems", blasting the jobs report as "phony". How these key numbers could shift the election -- that's next.
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PAUL: Good morning from Washington, D.C. We're always grateful to have your company. Thank you for getting up so early with us. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton criss-crossing the battleground states, making those last ditch appeals to voters, trying to pick up, of course, every last undecided vote, if there are any still out there. Trump is in Florida, North Carolina, Carolina -- Nevada, rather -- and Colorado today. Clinton in Florida and in Pennsylvania.
PAUL: And, this morning, there's a brand new CNN poll of polls showing Hillary Clinton at 47 percent, Donald Trump at 42 percent. But take a look at CNN's latest electoral map showing there's a shift. Hillary Clinton's electoral vote total has dropped below that magic number of 270. She now sits at 268. Donald Trump above 200 for the first time, at 204.
BLACKWELL: Now, Clinton is hoping the last jobs report before the election gives her a boost when voters go to cast their ballot on Tuesday. Here's what the health of the economy looks like right now: 161,000 jobs added in October, slightly below the Wall Street estimates; unemployment rate down ticked down a tenth of a percent, there, to a 4.9 percent.
The Clinton campaign is praising these numbers, while Trump is calling the jobs report "a phony", "a disaster". Of course, we have partisan reaction with the co-chair of Women Vote Trump, Amy Kremer, and CNN political commentator, Maria Cardona, who supports Clinton. That's coming up in just a moment.
But, first, what are the facts here, when it comes to the economy?
PAUL: And, for that, we turn to CNN Money correspondent, Cristina Alesci, who has been looking at this. So, tell us what the numbers really mean.
CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: The numbers in the job report are not a disaster; right? They are being politicized and spun by both sides of -- of the -- of the aisle here. But, Americans have a lot to be anxious about. Child care, for example, is -- is expensive. It costs $245,000 to raise a child to 18. Student debt is rising -- it's currently at $1.4 trillion. And get this, guys; social security will face a shortfall in about 17 years, so let's take a look at these one at a time.
Childcare: Look at this chart. Adjusted for inflation, it was $45,000 higher in 2013 than in 1980 to raise a child. Now, both candidates have addressed this issue. Trump calls for six weeks of paid leave for mothers. Clinton wants 12, but the similarities end there. Clinton's plan also focuses on early childhood education; for example, preschool for four-year-olds. Trump -- he talks about tax breaks and savings accounts to offset childcare costs, but those may not benefit poor and middle income families.
Now, on college tuition, over the last 10 years, the cost of a degree has continued to rise, and this has got millennials really worried. Now, Clinton would give students from families making less than $125,000 a year free tuition if they go to a public university. Trump's plan? Penalize colleges and universities that don't give students enough financial aid. But, both of these plans have real problems. Clinton's would cost taxpayers about $50 billion a year; and Trump's proposal would only work for students at schools with very large endowments -- like, most colleges don't have that kind of money to fall back on and they don't fall into that category.
Finally, 17 years -- that's what we have left for social security. At that point, it will only be able to pay out 80 percent of its benefits and neither candidate has a real solution here. Clinton's answer? Tax the rich. Trump says we can grow our way out of this problem. But, many economists disagree. Both are over-simplifying this fix and neither has talked about cutting benefits or raising the retirement age, because, you know what? They don't want to scare older voters who will go to the polls, so they don't want to touch that hot button issue.
PAUL: Okay, so you broke it down -- you broke it down and we're going to talk -- she's going to stick with us here, because I want to talk about, overall, this being the final jobs report we'll see before the election; who does it benefit most? We'll talk about that on the other side of the break. And she's going to stick around, because we're talking about this more in-depth, as well, as Maria Cardona and Amy Kremer join us.
BLACKWELL: All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: Back live here from Washington, D.C. and so grateful to have your company. Look at that beautiful shot, there. The sun's going to be coming up soon. It will get warmer. Don't worry, ladies. We're all here.
All right. So Donald Trump supporter, Amy Kremer, and Clinton supporter, Maria Cardona, on with us right now as we're talking about the economy. Christina Aleschi stood with us, as well, as we were talking about the numbers.
From the numbers perspective, Christina, let's talk about how the report that came in and how it -- who it benefits fully. I mean, you -- you broke it down last -- last block for us; but, in general, overall, who does this benefit?
ALESCHI: Well, look, I think each side is going to pick and choose what they want from this report; right? But, at the end of the day, Donald Trump's comments about it being "a disaster" are clearly a little bit overblown; right? It was a solid jobs report and economists, basically, on both sides of the aisle agree with that assessment. They say, you know, this is 161,000 -- not gangbusters, but not so bad. And -- positive point of comparison here -- wage growth --
PAUL: Yes.
ALESCHI: -- which we haven't seen, really, so strong since the recession at 2.8 percent. That was pretty good. And, look -- I mean, the jobs report isn't without problems. There's still a high number of discouraged workers; long-term unemployed. There are real systemic problems that we have to fix in the economy, but it is not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.
BLACKWELL: Let's -- let's listen to what Donald said yesterday in New Hampshire about the economy and those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These numbers are an absolute disaster. Nobody believes the numbers anyway. The numbers they put out are phony, as far as I'm concerned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So, Amy, let me come to you. He says that the numbers are phony. Presidents, for decades, have relied on the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. He calls these "phony". I mean, would use a different set of numbers?
KREMER: Well, they do manipulate the numbers and I think what he's talking about --
BLACKWELL: Who -- who is the "they" here, manipulating the numbers?
KREMER: I mean, the -- I don't -- who is doing the numbers? I mean, they change so --
CARDONA: The Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
KREMER: I mean -- so -- but, what he's talking about is that it's part -- part -- there were more part-time jobs than full-time jobs. There were less full-time jobs than expected. The number of people that are no longer looking for jobs is the second highest that it's ever been in our nation's history.
BLACKWELL: But, how do you know that?
KREMER: So -- because I -- I have been reading and doing research on it that --
BLACKWELL: But, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
KREMER: Right.
BLACKWELL: That's the point, is that he calls these numbers "phony", but everything you're saying now you're -- you're refuting his point that these are phony numbers. You're using these numbers to do it.
KREMER: No, but you can't -- you can't say that it's a great jobs report. Look, I'm glad that -- that the number of people unemployed have gone down. But, at the endo of the day, if you want a full-time job and you can't get one -- you're only working a part-time -- that's a problem. That doesn't -- just because this jobs report looks good on the surface doesn't mean that the American people are not hurting across the country and they're not feeling it, because I can tell you that they are and we hear it all the time.
PAUL: All right, let's listen to Hillary Clinton real quickly and then, Maria, I want to get your take on it.
CARDONA: Sure.
PAUL: Okay, this is -- this was her take on -- on the jobs --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We got some good news this morning. Our economy created 161,000 jobs last month. That is --
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: That is 73 straight months of job growth.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: And I believe that our economy is poised to really take off and thrive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Okay, so Maria, to Amy's point, there are a lot of people who may be watching that thinking "You know what? I'm unemployed. I've been unemployed. I'm really struggling." This might make them nervous because they think "Oh, everybody thinks it's hunky-dory", so what are we going to do about it?
CARDONA: Well, except for, if you continue to listen to what she was saying and what she has said on the trail is that we need to more. We need to actually build on this progress, because it has been progress. And I think when Donald Trump uses words like, you know, "These numbers are rigged" -- that's what he loves to talk about, right?
I mean, Amy made a good argument, which is, if Donald Trump made that argument, it would make it a little bit more credible. But the way that he talks about these numbers -- that they're not true; that, you know, they're fixed; that they're rigged -- you know, that speaks to his own base. His own base who thrives on conspiracy theories; you know, thinks that everything here in Washington is rigged. It doesn't do anything to really add numbers to his column, which is what he really needs to do in these next three days.
And this jobs reports actually lets Hillary Clinton talk about the incredible progress we've made under President Obama and, yet, continue to talk about what she would continue to do to make sure that everybody who wants a job gets it.
ALESCHI: But, in terms of calling it a hoax -- you know, these numbers aren't rigged.
CARDONA: Yes, they're not.
ALESCHI: There are two separate sets of numbers. KREMER: You cannot --
ALESCHI: He points to one set -- no, no, -- he points to one set that - that includes discouraged workers. That is a statistic that the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually tracks. It is not a hoax; it's just a different metric that's not used as the top line --
(CROSSTALK)
KREMER: It's disingenuous to sit up here and pretend that everything's grand, when those --
ALESCHI: No, nobody's saying that. Nobody is saying that.
KREMER: Those are not full-time jobs. Those are not full-time jobs.
ALESCHI: No one is saying that.
BLACKWELL: Amy -- Amy, Maria and Christina, we've got to take a break, but we will, of course, continue the conversation about the economy because, as we get closer to Tuesday, many of these things, as they try to make these final arguments are coming back to my kitchen table, to my job, to my personal economy.
PAUL: And we know that this is one of the number one issues that voters are looking at is the economy and what does it mean to them. So thank you, ladies, so much. We'll be talking to them throughout the morning.
Also, a Fox News anchor walking back his claim about a possible indictment coming in the Clinton Foundation investigation, saying he made a mistake and apologized. Is the damage already done, though?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Welcome back.
Fox News anchor, Bret Baier, says it was a mistake to report an indictment is likely in the FBI's inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.
PAUL: He apologized after reporting by several news outlets, including CNN, found that his claims just weren't true. After Baier reported it, the story spread across the internet and social media, however.
So CNN Senior Media Correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources", Brian Stelter with us now. How much damage is perceived to have been done by this false report?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, many people still believe the original report, even though Fox News has recanted -- walked it back. This all started on Wednesday when Baier, who's a -- usually a great reporter -- really well known anchor -- had a series of reports about the Clinton Foundation. And it is true, there are some in the FBI that have been inquiring into the Foundation. Some people within the FBI who believe there might be a case there, but it has not reached the highest levels. Nothing is imminent; nothing is -- is impending.
So here's what Baier said -- apologizing yesterday for what happened:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: That just was an inartful -- it was a mistake and for that I'm sorry. I should have said they will continue to build their case. Indictment, obviously, is a very loaded word, John, especially in this atmosphere, and no one knows if there would or would not be an indictment, no matter how strong investigators feel their evidence is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: So he's saying some FBI agents in local field offices will continue to look into the Foundation. That does seem to be true by -- by our own reporting from Even Perez and Pamela Brown. But the bottom line, guys, is that this is the world's worst game of telephone. You know, a claim gets made, then it spirals out of control. So if you look on conservative blogs and Facebook pages, you might come away believing Clinton's in imminent legal jeopardy -- that she's going to get locked up, as the famous phrase at Trump rallies is.
You know, Trump has cited this idea of an indictment; lots of his surrogates have, as well, but there's just no evidence to support it. And when you see Fox News walk it back and retract, it really goes to show how -- how overheated some of the news coverage is right now. There's a lot of stories out there that can trick and mislead you. And so the advice to the audience is double, triple-check; be skeptical of what you're seeing, especially in these very stressful final days.
BLACKWELL: And even after that apology, Donald Trump, this morning, in "The Weekly Republican" address is talking about an indictment and Hillary Clinton, even after Bret Baier apologizing for that (inaudible).
STELTER: Right, there's the game of telephone right there. The message has been twisted now.
BLACKWELL: And still in the ads. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.
STELTER: Thanks.
PAUL: All right.
BLACKWELL: Coming up at the top of the hour, just three days left. We kept the countdown on your screen for you, there. Election, of course, on everyone's mind, not only here in the U.S., but overseas, as well. Next, Russia's love affair with one of the candidates.
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