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One World with Zain Asher
Biden Administration Writes To Israel Demanding It Improve The Humanitarian Situation In Gaza; Netanyahu: We Will Keep Striking Hezbollah "Without Mercy"; Oil Prices Tumble After Reassurance From Israel; North Korea Destroys Roads Linking It To The South; Visiting A Georgia County Where 90 Percent Of Votes Go Republican; Canada And India Expel Diplomats After Murder Of Sikh Leader; Former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis And CNN's Sara Sidner Get Real About Breast Cancer; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired October 15, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:28]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: Boots on the ground. American troops arrive in Israel as the White House issues a new warning.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: ONE WORLD starts right now.
The Biden administration is putting Israel on notice. Washington says if Israel doesn't improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, military aid
could be in jeopardy.
ASHER: Also ahead, tit for tat. India and Canada at odds over a murder investigation. Details on why the two nations are involved in a bitter
diplomatic route.
GOLODRYGA: And later, a special kind of sisterhood. Reflections on the battle against breast cancer.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching ONE WORLD.
More than one year into the war in Gaza, the White House is threatening Israel with what may be the only leverage it has.
ASHER: Right. The Biden administration has sent a letter to the Israeli government, demanding it improve the humanitarian situation in the
Palestinian enclave within the next 30 days. And suggests if that doesn't happen, U.S. military aid could be in jeopardy.
It comes as the first component of the THAAD U.S. anti-missile system arrives in Israel, along with an advanced team of American military
personnel.
GOLODRYGA: And as the Middle East braces for Israel's retaliation against Iran for its missile attack two weeks ago, one source says Israeli
officials have assured the U.S. that a counterstrike on Tehran will be limited to military targets.
It's also taking place as the war in Lebanon expands. Earlier, the acting leader of Hezbollah said the group has the right to strike anywhere in
Israel, even as he called for a ceasefire.
And on Monday, the Israeli prime minister warned that attacks against Hezbollah will continue everywhere in Lebanon, quote, without mercy.
ASHER: Well, to get us to this hour, we've got CNN Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem. We also got Natasha Bertrand live for us at the Pentagon.
GOLODRYGA: And, Natasha, let's start with you, and specifically about this letter sent by U.S. secretary of state, Antony Blinken and Secretary of
Defense Lloyd Austin. Too, Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and Minister of Strategic affairs of Israel Ron Dermer, perhaps even
threatening military assistance down the road if Israel does not get more aid into Gaza within the next 30 days.
What more can you tell us about this letter?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. This is a really significant step by the Biden administration. And
essentially what they are saying is that if Israel does not within the next 30 days take certain steps to dramatically reverse for the better the
situation in Gaza, the humanitarian situation there, then the U.S. maybe forced to reexamine the kind of military assistance that it is giving to
Israel, because, you know, it could be running afoul of U.S. law at this point.
International law, U.S. law, they do require that the U.S. in its provision of foreign military aid to other countries, they assure that those
countries are not themselves violating international humanitarian law and certain laws governing, of course, the provision of U.S. humanitarian aid
to populations in need, according to the, you know, U.S. policy.
And so what we are seeing now is that the administration is witnessing such a dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza, one that in September
was at its worst point since the beginning of the war in last October, that they are now saying that if Israel does not act within the next month, then
they are going to, you know, have to look at the kind of aid that they are giving to the Israelis in terms of military equipment.
Now, the bottom line here is that the U.S. has not already begun restricting that military assistance, right, because we just saw that they
are providing this very advanced anti-missile system, air defense system to the Israelis, along with U.S. troops, to operate it.
And the lack of humanitarian aid that has gone into Gaza, that has been a problem for well over, you know, several months now.
And so the question is whether the U.S. is actually going to be using this leverage moving forward or whether it is simply an empty threat to try to
get Israel to change its behavior. That really remains to be seen, what kind of actual concrete steps the U.S. takes if Israel does not abide by
these warnings.
GOLODRYGA: Well, it appears that Israel is taking this letter seriously. COGAT, the agency that's responsible for aid into Gaza, has already posted
on X photos of delivery trucks going into the enclave. Of course, we'll continue to follow this developing story.
[12:05:00]
Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon for us. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Jeremy, let's bring you back in.
So the Israeli government has told the Biden administration, just based on what we're hearing, that it's going to avoid striking nuclear enrichment
sites and also oil production sites inside Iran when it eventually does retaliate.
Just give us your thoughts on how much that goes to prevent possibly an all-out war at this point.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the messaging being shared privately by Israeli officials to their U.S. counterparts,
according to a source familiar with the conversations.
But the public messaging from Israel, so far, has been very different. In fact, in the wake of the first report about these conversations, the
Israeli prime minister's office posted on Twitter saying that Israel takes into consideration the advice of its partners like the United States, but
that ultimately it's going to make its own final decision about exactly how and when to strike back against Iran.
And so there is still somewhat of a lingering question about exactly what Israel will do, but there's no doubt that there has been an effort over the
course of the last week by the United States to get on the same page with Israel about what this response looks like.
And from my conversations with Israeli officials, I can also say that there is a desire to get on a similar page with the United States not to do
something that would go completely out of whack with the U.S. as we have seen so many times before.
And I think that the deployment of this THAAD advanced anti-missile system by the United States to Israel, certainly appears to be part of the carrot
(ph), if you will, to encourage Israel to listen to the United States, to heed the U.S.'s advice as it relates to what it will strike.
And in providing that system, of course, the United States has not only put about 100 troops on the ground in Israel to assist with the operation of
this system at a time when Iran could very well strike back, following Israeli retaliation and as tensions are very high in this region.
But that system, of course, will help Israel defend against likely Iranian retaliation after Israel carries out its strike on Iran.
Now, we still don't know exactly what the timing of that strike will look like. The U.S. has said that that system is already beginning to be
deployed in Israel and that it will be fully operational in the, quote, near future, but they're not specifying exactly when that would be.
We do know, though, that this Israeli response to that barrage of some 200 Iranian ballistic missiles will be significant. It will be more significant
than the response Israel delivered back in April following that first round of Iranian strikes.
And Israel definitely wants to inflict some damage beyond simply sending a message, as they have done previously. So a very tense moment in this
region. And, of course, we will see how -- to what extent Iran feels compelled to retaliate.
But certainly, the United States believes that if Israel avoids striking nuclear and oil facilities, that it could avoid sending this into an
entirely new realm, one in which Iran, which targeted mainly military targets inside of Israel during this latest round, to prevent Iran from
feeling compelled to strike strategic infrastructure or civilian targets as it is likely to retaliate after that.
Zain, Bianna.
ASHER: Jeremy Diamond, live for us. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Well, oil prices fell sharply today after some fears were eased over the escalating war in the Middle East. Israeli officials having
assured the U.S. that any counterstrike on Iran would be limited to military targets instead of oil or nuclear facilities. That's at least
what's being reported.
A full-blown conflict could derail energy supplies and continue to spike prices worldwide.
Anna Stewart joins us now from London.
A bit of a reprieve in oil prices on the news of this reporting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to avoid nuclear and oil
facilities in its retaliatory strike on Iran.
But we did see prices spike significantly following Iran's initial attack against Israel two weeks ago, the unprecedented 200 ballistic missiles.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're seeing some relief in the oil trade today with WTI and Brent, both down around five percent, actually.
But as you say, for context, the price of a barrel of oil was nearly at $80 just earlier this month based on the concern that a potential broader
conflict in the Middle East could have huge implications for oil, both if oil facilities, oil storage were attacked, but also the implication for
trade in that region as well.
And frankly, it's actually almost surprising that we haven't seen oil prices even higher than that this month, given those risks.
Part of the story is, of course, quite aside from geopolitics, also global oil demand. Interestingly, we had OPEC's monthly oil report out yesterday,
and they actually lowered their forecast for global oil demand growth. For this year, 100,000 barrels a day wiped off and the majority of that's down
to China.
[12:10:13]
So in addition to geopolitics, you also have to remember we also have this big global oil demand story as well also dragging down on that price. And
that might be why we haven't seen oil prices higher on some of the risks we've seen in recent weeks.
But today, yes, oil prices down around five percent, a significant move.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be following it. Anna Stewart, thank you so much.
Joining us now to discuss all of this further is Miri Eisin, who's a retired colonel of the IDF and currently a senior fellow at the
International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. Miri, it's good to see you again. It's been a while.
So, assuming this reporting is accurate, initially reported by "The Washington Post" that Israel has agreed to limit its strikes to military
targets within Iran, is that a decision that you would support?
There are others in Israel, most notably former Prime Minister Bennett, who had been arguing for a direct strike now, that now was a perfect
opportunity, in his words, to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. What is your take?
MIRI EISIN, SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM: When I look at Iran right now, I'm mainly looking at the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. They're the ones who run it. You said before military targets.
But let's be clear, in Iran, there's the Iranian military, which has no impact whatsoever, and there's the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. And the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard is designated, both by the United States, by the E.U., by the entire free world, I would say, as a terror organization.
So that immediately gives you lots of targets that are, I don't want to say, you know, it's like good targets. They're the ones who supply the
weapons to all the different proxies. They are the main instigator and destabilizer.
And that gives you a whole list there. It's not the nuclear sites. It's not the oil arena. And it's specifically targeting those who are destabilizing
the Middle East and the world.
ASHER: Right. So if we're ruling out the oil production sites, the uranium enrichment sites, do you anticipate that what Israel does end up targeting
will still be large enough and still be significant enough for the sort of tit-for-tat cycle of war back and forth between Iran and Israel to continue
for the foreseeable future?
EISIN: I love the question because my challenge is that I don't want this to be a tit-for-tat. I think that what the Islamic regime of Iran is doing
is against the world, not against Israel, and the world should be standing there.
So in that sense, in the importance of there not being a world war and that none of us, I haven't wanted to be in a war for the last year in a week at
all. I think that it's important that you can do things against the Islamic regime of Iran that they all know, but you don't have to do something overt
in the face, but rather to take it a step where everything calms down.
But even when I say calms down, I'm in a war. This war was imposed upon us on October 7th, 2023. We're still in it. And it's not just about Iran
joining in. They've been in from the beginning. So it can't be that they like get away with this, that they're the instigator, the supplier, the
ideology. And on the other hand, none of us want to see something even worse than what we're already in.
GOLODRYGA: So you're saying, in other words, the ultimate goal is once again reestablishing deterrence for Israel at this point.
Miri, I do want to ask, given this reporting coming on the heels of the THAAD system being sent to Israel now. Do you think that the two are
related and perhaps this battery system, one of the most powerful in the world, being contingent upon Israel agreeing to avoid striking nuclear and
oil facilities?
EISIN: I think it goes hand in hand with a lot of different U.S. troops in CENTCOM being sent to this area, carriers and otherwise.
And again, it's not about Iran against Israel, let alone Israel against Iran. It's about the Islamic regime of Iran against everybody.
And in that sense, I do think that bringing in these systems, it's not a question of calming me down, it's of the world being together against this
threat. I think that makes a huge point.
And I'll just say that in Israel right now, in that sense, I feel like I have to remind us all, we're fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
There are 101 hostages there. We're fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon and other places. And Iran is the one standing behind all of those.
And it's a good thing when Iran feels that they're not the ones who are pulling the strings and making the Middle East in the way that they'd like
to see it.
ASHER: And, Miri, some people would also say that the THAAD system arriving in Israel with the 100 U.S. service members is essentially a preparation as
well for the worst-case scenario. This idea that once Israel strikes Iran that there's going to be a huge response by Iran back to Israel.
Just explain to us if that's the case. I mean, what does de-escalation look like at this point?
[12:15:00]
EISIN: Iran was preparing Hezbollah as the main way to respond to Israel if Israel would ever attack either the nuclear sites or anything inside Iran.
And Israel has been systematically and very, very clearly, I think we all have noticed for the last three weeks, degrading Hezbollah's capabilities.
Hezbollah doesn't stand alone. All of this incredible, not as a good thing, enormous weapon caches, arsenals that we are uncovering and destroying
inside Lebanon are part of Iran's system to protect themselves.
So we're looking both at Iranian direct capabilities, but also the use of their proxies. And in that sense, I think that what we would see is
Hezbollah trying to do even more. I don't think Hezbollah has been holding back because we've been degrading their capabilities.
But I do think that Iran wants Hezbollah to hold back so that if Iran is attacked, Hezbollah can attack directly. Because at the end, they're right
on the border. They're in Lebanon. And what we're uncovering right now in the kilometer two that Israel is acting inside Lebanon is an unfathomable
arsenal.
It's incomprehensible to me as an Israeli that that was right on the other side of the border. And that was part of Iran's response done by Hezbollah.
GOLODRYGA: Can you speak more to that very point, the huge arsenal that Israel and the IDF, I know they've taken some of our reporters along with
them to show them the arsenal that they have found, including CNN?
Can you speak more to what has been reported as a plan by Hezbollah perhaps to attack Israel from the north at an even larger scale than what we saw
from Hamas on October 7th?
EISIN: So thank you in that sense, because here we are a year and a week after the Hamas attack of October 7th, and we had a colossal failure. But
part of the reason, not the only one for that colossal failure, is because Israel was looking at Hezbollah.
And what we have been uncovering inside Lebanon, right across the border in the last three weeks, are Hezbollah's preparations for an October 7th type
attack. That includes vehicles, jeeps, motorcycles, pickup trucks.
That includes an enormous system of endless system of subterranean tunnels underneath their own arena for their protection, but also going towards
Israel. And it includes an amount of weapons that's hard to comprehend when you see the amount of, I don't want to use the military terms, but the
amount of missiles rockets mortars, different types of different capabilities MLRS is the multi launchers, all of these right along the
border, paragliders, everything you can think that you saw on October 7th a year and a week ago by Hamas, Hezbollah had way more right at the border.
GOLODRYGA: It's frightening to even imagine.
ASHER: One quick question for you, Miri, before I let you go. Just as a retired colonel of the IDF. Just the fact that we saw Hezbollah send in
drones to Israel, over the weekend, and it essentially attacked a -- an army base, it wasn't intercepted, it wasn't detected, there were no air
raid sirens that went off.
What do you make of that, speaking of another sort of colossal failure?
EISIN: That's not a colossal failure. That's called statistics. Consistently, Israel is intercepted in the missiles and rockets. Just to
give you an idea, over 13,000 have been fired by Hezbollah in the last year. I sat down and did math that that's more than 50 a day every single
day. They haven't done it every day because they fired so much.
So in the intercepting, we intercept in and around 90 to 95 percent. Wow, were amazing. But that means that five to 10 percent get through. And
sadly, that was one like that. You learn a lesson. That kind won't get through again, but you always have to understand at the end, it's
statistics. And what they meant to do was to inundate us so that the statistics would be in their favor.
And our preemptive actions have meant that, yes, they are going to have these kind of successes and I hate that, but I actually have to call it
out. This is not a colossal failure. It's statistics. Let's keep being with our statistics, 90 to 95 percent of intercepting all the different type of
projectiles that are coming in.
With Hamas, it's been over 30,000 rockets from October 7th last year. And so our interception is doing OK. And I want to hope that it will continue
to do so.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And though Israel has vastly degraded Hezbollah's arsenal as well, as we've seen over the past few days, that they still have a
significant number of missiles, rockets, and as you note, drones, as well to target at Israel.
Miri Eisin, thank you so much for your time.
ASHER: Thank you so much, Miri. Appreciate it.
EISIN: Thank you both so much.
ASHER: All right. It has been 375 days of terror for the hostages kidnapped on October 7th. It's also been terror for their families, many of whom have
advocated endlessly for their loved ones' safe return.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. On this show, we have gotten to know the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The whole world has. Hersh is kidnapped -- was kidnapped
while attending the Nova Music Festival. And sadly, Hersh was killed in August in Gaza at the age of 23.
[12:20:06]
His parents have spoken to CNN about losing their son and how many other families will receive the same devastating news they did, unless world
leaders take action now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON POLIN, FATHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: I'm stunned that we still have not seen world leaders emerge on a global stage altogether and demand that
the hostages be let go.
I really naively thought once the news emerged by October 9th, 10th, 11th - -
RACHEL GOLDBERG, MOTHER OF HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN: Of last year.
POLIN: -- of 2023. And we understood the magnitude.
I was certain that we were going to see a global demand for action. And I'm still waiting for it.
The world failed us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Just one of the most remarkable parents and families. And the fact that they are still wearing these stickers, counting the days that
these hostages --
ASHER: Their resilience.
GOLODRYGA: -- have been taken from their homes.
ASHER: And just so inspirational. Just the fact that they're continuing to fight for the other hostages who are still being held in Gaza.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ASHER: We'll be right back after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: North Korea has blown up two major roads linking it to South Korea.
ASHER: Although the roads had not been used for years, this is the latest incident of increasing hostilities between the two countries.
Mike Valerio has the latest from Seoul for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, dramatic video shows the moment that North Korea demolished two road and railways routes that used to link the
two Koreas.
So let's go to the video. And on the right-hand side of the screen, you can see a blue sign that says, goodbye to drivers from South Korea. And then we
see the explosion. A cloud of debris blown into the sky.
North Korea demolished this roadway and another one on the other side of the country. Two of the last remaining road and railways linking the two
countries.
This video is certainly compelling, but what does it all mean? Well, it's certainly a physical reminder that a policy of peaceful reunification may
be a thing of the past.
In January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, peaceful reunification should no longer be pursued. And monuments like this one, the Arch of
Reunification in North Korea's capital have presumably been blown up.
Kim Jong Un said he was going to do it, and it no longer appears in satellite imagery.
So this is also a movie we've seen before. In 2010, North Korea was upset about leaflets sent by balloon from South Korea, balloons like these, and
the leaflets describe what life is like in the free world. A version of that balloon drama is still happening today.
[12:25:13]
So back in 2020, to retaliate, North Korea blew up this building near the border, which was supposed to be a cooperation office between North and
South Korea.
So bottom line, tensions have been much worse before. South Korea has actually had islands shelled by North Korea and a battleship also sunk by
North Korea that happened back in 2010.
Tensions now are nowhere near that point. The two roadways that were demolished in this most recent episode, well, they haven't been used for
years. And when South Korea retaliated, it's gunfire stayed in South Korean territory. It did not reach the North.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, it's one of the most concentrated voting blocks in the country. Rural Georgians polling for Trump or for Trump. We'll take you
there and try and find someone, anyone with a differing opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY HENDRIX, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Promise you this is not a trick question. Where are you at? Gosh. All right. I have the CNN reporters
here. And they want to talk to a Democrat. This is serious as a heart attack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. The U.S. presidential candidates are down to the final three weeks until the election day.
GOLODRYGA: Three weeks exactly as of today. With the razor-thin margin between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, they're doing whatever they can to
get their message out.
In the coming hours, Donald Trump talks money with Bloomberg News and the Economic Club of Chicago, and then spends the evening in Atlanta.
After last night's town hall in Pennsylvania, Trump stayed on stage for about 30 minutes, just swaying to the music and awkwardly waving to the
crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:30:02]
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Let me hear that music, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone, let's thank President Trump.
TRUMP: Nice and loud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless you.
(MUSIC)
TRUMP: So play YMCA. Go ahead. Let's go. Nice and loud.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go, everybody.
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Meanwhile, early voting is underway in the critical battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina.
In Georgia, there are tougher new laws for absentee ballots and the availability of drop boxes. The new rule that votes must be counted by hand
could also delay the reporting of results.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Elle Reeve has been traveling all over the U.S. to engage people in conversations about their politics and beliefs and how they see
our world.
ASHER: Yes. And her latest report, she takes us to rural Southeast Georgia to what may be the most pro-Trump county in all of this year's battleground
states. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENDRIX: Miss Barbara, I promise you this is not a trick question. Where are you at? Gosh. All right. I have the CNN reporters here. And they want
to talk to a Democrat. I'm serious as a heart attack. Who's here in town that would talk to them?
Hmm. That's sad when you have to hunt a Democrat. Yes.
ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to find an open Democrat in Brantley County, Georgia, where Trump won more than 90 percent
of votes in 2020.
Of all the counties and all the 2024 swing states, it's the most pro-Trump. And we wanted to know why.
RONALD HAM, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIR: We vote 92 percent Republican, not because anything wrong what Ham does. OK. Let's get
that on the board. This ain't about me.
We're a small rural county. A lot of folks here live paycheck to paycheck. And when there's too much month at the end of the money, people vote with a
wallet.
At one point in time, the Democratic Party was for the working man and the Republican Party was for all the elites. And somewhere that got switched
around.
HENDRIX: This is some of that stuff --
Everybody here calls him President Trump. As far as the people around here is concerned, he's still the president.
REEVE: Democrats didn't used to be rare here. Almost everyone we spoke to said the grandfather had been one, but those days are gone
HENDRIX: Numbers do not lie. Watching people five and six years ago, they had successful businesses. They were thriving. They were doing well. Every
time somebody comes and says, Kathy, I'm going to have to close, it honestly hurts.
REEVE: Hendrix got a heat press to make custom t-shirts and it turned out that one kind of design really helps pay the bills.
HENDRIX: I've learned how to put it on my computer and kind of change things. As long as we can still sell Donald Trump stuff, we're doing good.
They're just $5. That's --
REEVE: One of her customers was Sherri Rowell. We met her while she was buying a Trump sign and she said we could come see her put it up.
Her grandson Talon (ph) died in an accident this summer, before he could vote in his first election.
SHERRI ROWELL, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: He did love (INAUDIBLE). Couldn't wait until he got 18 so he could vote. Yes. He wouldn't vote for
Trump.
MICHAEL TANNER, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: He had just got his first job and he was like, I make, you know, $9 an hour and I work this
many hours. Why do I only make this much money? And I told him, I said, son, it's politics. You got to pay taxes.
Talon became really intrigued with it and started doing some more research. And he said, you know, dad, looking at what me and you talked about, we
need Donald Trump in office. And he just became a huge Trump supporter.
REEVE: His parents said he would want people to know he was for Trump. And so they put the sign up because he's not here to say it himself.
ROWELL: Things changed pretty fast when we went from, you know, Trump to Biden. Even they could see the difference.
REEVE: Even the kids?
ROWELL: Yes. I could take it to the (INAUDIBLE). You just look at the prices. I don't know where you all come from. But compared to what we've
had four years ago, it's triple.
REEVE: There's some statistics that show that younger women are more likely to be for Harris. Do you see any evidence of that here in this county?
ROWELL: I don't really in this county, but I do know some younger females that are very much a Harris person.
And I mean, I'm not against her. If I thought she was going to do different than what was already in there. You know what I'm saying? Like if she
should have come out and run as independent, then I might well listen to her a little more.
REEVE (voice-over): Ron Ham invited us to breakfast the next day at a diner where regulars talk politics.
BUTTON LEE, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: When Biden claims that he had more jobs and created more jobs, that's only because of corona, because
everything shut down. That was not Trump's fault.
REEVE: The jobs report numbers were really good for September. That just came out this week.
DAVID HERRIN, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: The American people are --
(CROSSTALK)
But hold on though. You can't take that and give credit to Washington, D.C. You give credit to that, to the American people that go to work every day,
even when they're down, even when it's against them, even when it's going uphill.
We get up and we continue to work. We continue to fight. And we've made this country better. There ain't nobody in Washington got a right to take
credit for what the American people have done.
[12:35:08]
REEVE: But we didn't want to leave town without hearing a different point of view. So they called some old friends to come by.
HERRIN: Tell him to breakfast. There's some folks up here who want to talk to you.
LEE: And tell him to hurry up. I want to go fishing.
HERRIN: Yes. He made me do it. This is a real CNN reporter is she wants to meet a Democrat (INAUDIBLE)
CORBET WILSON, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Oh. There were a few of our (INAUDIBLE)
HERRIN: We called you and Donald on both.
WILSON: (INAUDIBLE) Hey, I ain't a Democrat, but I'm an independent.
REEVE: OK. What are your views on the election?
WILSON: Well, I ain't going to vote for a criminal. Well, what he did in January the 6th wasn't enough. And the way he could have did something,
man, you know. They were beating on them cops down there.
HERRIN: Where's there other -- they're the other Democrat.
REEVE: Hi. Come join us.
HERRIN: She's a CNN reporter. And she wants some Democrats in Brantley County, and she can't find one. I told her I knew a couple. She said,
please call them. Please, if you wouldn't quit. Until I said, is it?
REEVE: Thank you.
WILSON: I have voted Republican, you know.
HERRIN: Yes.
WILSON: I vote for the man. I don't vote for the party.
REEVE: So, what are your thoughts on the election?
DONALD LEWIS, BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA RESIDENT: What are my thoughts on the what?
REEVE: On the election.
LEWIS: Ain't much to think about it.
REEVE: Well, who are you going to vote for?
LEWIS: The right person.
REEVE: Well, who do you think the right person is?
LEWIS: It won't be Donald Trump.
REEVE: OK. Tell me why.
LEWIS: Last time you saw him talking, did you watch his lips?
REEVE: Uh-huh.
LEWIS: Were they moving?
REEVE: Uh-huh.
LEWIS: He's lying.
REEVE: All right. Well, so Mr. Wilson here was telling us that January 6 was a big disqualifier for him.
LEWIS: Well, it should have been.
REEVE: What -- how do you feel about that?
LEWIS: I feel about it like he's anti-American. He's trying to overthrow our government.
REEVE: And so are you thinking about voting for Harris?
LEWIS: Yes. I have to or not vote.
WILSON: He's the only (INAUDIBLE) other than Trump.
REEVE: Yes.
LEWIS: It's probably run out of votes for him.
REEVE: Elle Reeve, CNN, Nahunta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. So much to talk about here. We've got Ron Brownstein joining us live now, a CNN senior political analyst.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, guys.
ASHER: Thank you so much for being with us.
So I don't know if you actually could watch that entire piece there with Elle Reeve.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ASHER: Essentially, you had one voter saying at the end, listen, that January -- she found a couple of Democrats in that county. She searched far
and wide, but she did find one person who said that look, January 6th was a big disqualifier for them and that they were going to vote Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris' strategy, three weeks until election day, has been to continue to refer to Donald Trump and refer to, obviously, January 6, just
this week. She's referring to him as unstable, unhinged, out for unchecked power.
These are things, Ron, that voters have heard before. Will it be enough? Will that strategy of talking about Trump as a threat to democracy be
enough to move the needle three weeks out?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, it's not only a threat to democracy. I thought, in fact, what you heard yesterday in Erie and the advertising that goes along with
it is a significant recalibration of the message.
I mean, Harris, for good reasons, mostly, has been focused primarily since she entered the race on reassuring voters that she has the qualifications
to be president. She's ideologically reasonable. She's strong enough to keep them safe at the border and on crime.
What's been lost, and I think, in that period, in particular, if you look at that big, you know, swarm of interviews she did on the podcast and "The
View" and Howard Stern and the Univision Town Hall. What's been lost is a consistent message about Trump.
And I think the way you can gauge that is that his retrospective job approval has been steadily rising to the point where it's higher than it
was at any point when he was president.
And I think pollsters in both parties agree that's because voters are remembering his presidency primarily through the lens of what they don't
like about Biden's presidency, inflation and the border.
And the other aspects that go along with electing Trump and putting him in the White House have sort of faded from view.
And I think that what you saw last night was Harris beginning what I suspect will be a sustained effort to remind people that there was a reason
that when people were actually living through that economy, his approval rating never reached 50 percent which that a lot more goes along with
electing Donald Trump than just the idea that the price of eggs is lower.
So I think all of those, it is important by itself, not enough, but I think significant that his vulnerabilities can reenter the campaign dialogue in
the campaign's final weeks.
GOLODRYGA: Ron, as we've noted, it is officially three weeks until election day. Early voting began today in Georgia. And we heard from some Georgia
voters, the majority of them Republican, that Elle Reeve found while she was visiting for her reporting.
[12:40:07]
But "Wall Street Journal" is out with new polling suggesting that Kamala Harris has a slight edge over Donald Trump as of today. We know Joe Biden
won by just a little over 12,000 votes in 2020.
How is the state looking from your perspective?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think basic -- you know, kind of the macro story of this election hasn't changed fundamentally from when Biden was in,
in one sense, which is that like Biden, Harris is running very close to the Democrats' 2020 performance among white voters, right?
So she's down a little bit among the blue collar whites, right, without a college degree, but she's up probably a little bit among college educated
whites.
And the result is that among whites, she's basically in the same place, somewhere between 41 and 44 percent of the white vote on a national basis.
Where she has suffered erosion, Bianna, as you know, is primarily among non-white voters where she has lost ground among Hispanic men, to some
extent Hispanic women, and also among black men.
And the geographical implication of that demography, those demographic trends, is that Biden first and now Harris are holding up better in the
Rust Belt paradoxically, that are more preponderantly white than they have been in the Sun Belt states, that are more, you know, more diverse.
So Georgia, like Arizona, looks like a tough road for Harris, and that she can really not afford any meaningful decline in her non-white share of the
vote. You know, Georgia, she's still right there in polling, but she, in all likelihood, is going to have to match what Biden did last time among
black voters. Not clear if she can get there given the level of economic dissatisfaction.
Whereas in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the black men who have been a problem for her are only five percent of the electorate and she can
offset it elsewhere more easily.
GOLODRYGA: Georgia will once again be a fascinating state to watch.
Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Georgia on my mind.
GOLODRYGA: Always.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, Canada and India expel top diplomats after the murder of a Sikh separatist leader. We are live for you in Ottawa after
the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:01]
GOLODRYGA: Canada expelled six Indian diplomats on Monday, including the High Commissioner. That's after police linked Indian government agents to
murder and other acts of violence against Sikh separatists in Canada.
ASHER: India, meantime, says the accusations are, quote, preposterous and retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats.
Paula Newton is following developments for us. So, Paula, Canada expelling six Indian diplomats, essentially accusing them of being part of a broad
criminal network to harass and intimidate Canadians Sikhs. Just explain to us how we got here.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is quite an extraordinary set of events. Can you guys imagine that actually it was a holiday yesterday in
Canada? It was a Thanksgiving holiday and the day began with an RCMP press conference where they said this was an extraordinary measure that in order
to protect the safety of Canadians that they were laying bare their allegations to agents of the Indian government and accused them of being
linked to homicides, extortion, coercion, other criminal acts.
And more than that, they were afraid that this activity was going to continue. And this was all attached the investigation ongoing into the
murder of a Sikh separatist activist here in Canada. It was in British Columbia.
And look, things were just getting started after that press conference. After that, we saw the Prime Minister of Canada, his Foreign Minister, his
Security Minister come out for an unprecedented press conference and accuse India directly, agents of the government of being involved in the so-called
vast and violent criminal network. Listen to Trudeau.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: I think it is obvious that the government of India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could
engaged in supporting criminal activity against Canadians here on Canadian soil, whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts, it is
absolutely unacceptable for any country, any democracy that upholds the rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Indeed, the Indian government saying that they deny all of those allegations. And remember, their high commissioner was expelled, the
equivalent of their ambassador to Canada.
In their response, the Indian government said it strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the
Trudeau government that is centered around vote bank politics.
It adds that it serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains.
And I have to remind everyone that, look, the largest Sikh diaspora resides here in Canada. And for that reason, it is highly political.
But the Trudeau government saying categorically that these allegations are serious. They involve officials, diplomats from the Indian government. And
when they refuse to cooperate with this investigation that they decided that they had to lay bare the evidence that they have.
I will say that, look, beyond this spat between Canada and India, this really is going to be an issue for allies around the world, allies of
India, as India becomes more ambitious, more confident. It has also become much more belligerent in terms of what it sees in its national interest.
To that end, Trudeau had a conversation with Keir Starmer, the U.K. Prime Minister, as well as Melanie Joly, Canada's foreign minister, spoke with
Antony Blinken. There's an indictment pending in the United States regarding Sikh separatism and, again, allegations that perhaps the Indian
government was involved, as well, in the United States in some kind of activity.
This is to be continued, but needless to say. This is something, you know, with really without precedent when it comes to two allies again and their
relations.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ASHER: All right. Paula Newton, live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, CNN's Stephanie Elam gets her two best friends, familiar faces perhaps, to open up about how they're dealing with breast
cancer and how it's changed them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is it to appreciate life more now that you're going through this or is it joy?
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Mine is joy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:48]
ASHER: All right. This is breast cancer awareness month. CNN correspondent Stephanie Elam recently sat down with her two best friends for an intimate
yet poignant conversation because both are battling breast cancer.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. One of them happens to be our beloved CNN colleague, Sara Sidner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANANDA LEWIS, AMERICAN TELEVISION HOST: I'm sorry, yours was your left, right?
SIDNER: Yes. Mine was right.
ELAM: OK.
LEWIS: Little bit different.
(CROSSTALK)
ELAM: You guys make a --
LEWIS: We can mirror each other.
ELAM: It's crazy that we're joking about it. I have laughs.
LEWIS: Me too.
ELAM: So what about mammograms? I'll start with you, Ananda. Were you good about getting your mammograms?
LEWIS: No, I wasn't.
ELAM (voice-over): This is Ananda Lewis. And she has breast cancer. She's a content creator who is known for her time hosting BET's Teen Summit in the
90s, being a VJ for MTV, and hosting her own talk show in the early 2000s.
She's one of my best friends, as is CNN anchor Sara Sidner. She too has breast cancer, stage three. Both of them found their lumps on their own.
Sara's discovery was just months after a mammogram.
SIDNER: The American Cancer Society does not recommend self-exams anymore. But to me, if you can tell, you know your body. You have to advocate for
yourself so much. And I am terrible at advocating for myself.
I will advocate for you, I will advocate for you.
ELAM: You're actually happy to do it for everybody else.
SIDNER: I will. I will fight someone. Like I am a ride or die beef. So this has been a real lesson for me to self-advocate.
ELAM (voice-over): Sara had a double mastectomy. Ananda took a different approach.
By the time she found a lump in her breast, her cancer had progressed to stage three and doctors recommended a double mastectomy. But she went
against the recommendation.
LEWIS: My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent. I know that to be true. Our bodies are
brilliantly made.
I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way.
Looking back on it, I go, you know what? Maybe I should have.
ELAM (voice-over): Ananda completely overhauled her diet, improved her sleep, pursued aggressive homeopathic therapies along with traditional
medicine and radiation. She improved for a long time. She says removing the toxins, physical and emotional from her body has been beneficial.
But last year, she found out her cancer had metastasized into stage four, which means the cancer spread to other areas.
LEWIS: My lymph system really flared up. And so all through my abdomen, all those limbs were very flared up, my collarbone. And it was the first time I
ever had a conversation with death because I felt like this is -- this is how it ends. You know, I was like, OK.
So, I don't get afraid of things. I was just like, fudge man. I really thought I had this. You know, I was frustrated. I was a little angry at
myself. I was -- and I said, man, listen, I know you're coming for me at some point, but I don't want it to be now. And if you could just wait, I
promise when you do come, I'm going to make it fun for you. We're going to have fun and we go.
I literally had that conversation laying in my bed. I couldn't get out of bed for like eight weeks.
ELAM: What's interesting to me is that you both are saying, is it to appreciate life more now that you're going through this? Or is it joy?
SIDNER: Mine is joy. And I didn't realize how little joy I had in my life. Like, I didn't realize that was not a priority in my life.
[12:55:06]
LEWIS: My quality of life was very important to me. We've had that conversation before. Like I -- there's certain things I know I'm not going
to be OK with and I know myself. I want to want to be here.
And so I had to do it a certain way for me.
SIDNER: The fact that you, like, I want to want to be here, I've had times when I didn't want to be here.
LEWIS: Me too.
SIDNER: Right? And so --
ELAM: You mean in life.
SIDNER: In life. Yeah. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to go through all this.
LEWIS: Because of this during this --
SIDNER: Before this.
ELAM: Oh.
SIDNER: And then this journey came along. It's so weird that it was cancer that was like, I want to be here. I insist on being here. And I insist on
thriving, not just being alive, not just existing. I want to thrive in a way that I have never felt before.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: As always, Sara leaves me speechless. How do you follow that?
ASHER: What a lesson, you know, especially what she said about joy and that being the takeaway from her journey, just really wanting to make sure that
she has more joy in her life. What a lesson to us all.
GOLODRYGA: These are conversations we should have beyond just October in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So thankful for those three giving us their
time.
That does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. We're grateful for your time as well. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
