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One World with Zain Asher
New CNN Polls: No Clear Leader In North Carolina Or Georgia; Trump Makes Campaign Stops In New Mexico, Arizona, And Nevada; Trump Says He'll Protect Women Whether They Like It Or Not; Israel Launches Airstrikes On Tyre, Lebanon; Trump Touts Himself As Protector Of Women; At Least 155 Dead After Deadly Flash Floods In Spain; Dodgers Clinch Title In Thrilling Comeback; Aired 12:00-1:00p ET
Aired October 31, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:00:04]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching ONE WORLD.
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the polls in the swing states are very, very close.
GOLODRYGA: You don't say. A brand-new CNN poll released just minutes ago finds no clear leader in the state of North Carolina. Kamala Harris
clinging to a one-point lead that is well within the margin of error there.
And the poll finds almost the exact same thing in neighboring Georgia, though it is Donald Trump with the slim one-point lead in that state.
ASHER: To help us figure out what these numbers mean, let's welcome in our best friend, our polling guru. What does that say? Harry's yellow board is
back again.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL DATA REPORTER: Harry's yellow board is back again.
GOLODRYGA: You have the handwriting of a serial killer, Harry.
ASHER: You're in the studio, that's why.
ENTEN: I do. I do. You know, unfortunately, my handwriting has never been particularly good. I, in fact, I used to have to type out my essays in
class because the teachers couldn't read them, but I'm showing them now that my bad handwriting has made it.
ASHER: It's pretty good. I read that just fine.
ENTEN: You read it just fine, right? It looks a little --
ASHER: Just fine.
ENTEN: -- serial killer-ish, but it kind of works, right?
GOLODRYGA: Just in time for Halloween, yes.
ENTEN: Just in time. Ooh.
Look, guys, we've been talking all week about the polling data and I just want to note, you know, as my high thing, that Georgia, Georgia is on my
mind this afternoon. And why is Georgia on my mind? Because we have new polling from the great state of Georgia and North Carolina.
And what does that polling show? Well, I should note that the -- look, the bottom line is this race has been close. It continues to be close. There's
no real differences between now and where we were. Everything is kind of the same. But Georgia and North Carolina are quite important. Why?
I want to go through history, OK? I want to go through history. And what do we see through history? When was the last time a Republican won without
carrying the state of North Carolina or Georgia? Look at this.
Georgia, you got to go all the way back since 1980. That's the last time. 1980 in presidential elections.
How about North Carolina? You have to go all the way back since 1956. Remember, with Georgia in 1980, what were we dealing with, we were dealing
with Jimmy Carter, of course, was the home state nominee at that particular point for the Democratic Party. He barely won anywhere, but he won in
Georgia.
North Carolina, you go all the way back to Dwight Eisenhower. That was, of course, was when you had a solid South for Republican candidates.
But what I really want to do here is, you know, we've been looking at all this polling over the last few days, right? We had two polls, then three
polls, then two polls. And I wanted to sort of sum it all up for you. I wanted to sum it all up for you and basically say, OK, what does the map
actually look like?
Well, if we essentially say the states that we had previously assigned that CNN had said either leaning or likely democratic or leaning or likely
Republican, and then said, OK, what we're going to do is we're going to give Michigan and Wisconsin over to Kamala Harris because she had leads
where they were significant enough that we could say that we believe she's ahead there.
But then the states, the five states in which there are no clear leader, that those states are toss-ups, that those states are toss-ups.
Look at this, nobody gets -- nobody gets to 270 electoral votes. Just Kamala Harris is slightly ahead. But the bottom line is, at the beginning
of the week, I had no idea who was going to win.
Right now, I have no idea who's going to win. And when we get to Tuesday, I can assure you, I'm still going to have no idea who's going to win. There
is one thing, though.
ASHER: By the weekend, we will know.
GOLODRYGA: Which weekend?
ENTEN: Exactly right. But there is one thing I do know. There is one thing I do know, and that is this.
GOLODRYGA: Don't. Don't, Harry.
ENTEN: Yankees lose. The Yankees lose. They have been eliminated. And they are adios amigos.
ASHER: This is still a sore spot for Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Not even for me. Yes, for my 12-year-old. It is not a good morning. Not a good morning. They could have at least lost on the West
Coast.
ENTEN: It's important to learn the tough lessons early in life. That's what I have to say. I learned them very, very tough with my Buffalo Bills. And
it is going to make your son even stronger, I can assure you.
[12:05:05]
ASHER: You know, I love how the topic of your life shots always pivot to something completely random.
ENTEN: Just go. We're going to go -- we're going to go like this. But it's all -- it's all intertwined together. It's all intertwined together.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, but at least other things are definitive, like the Yankees lost. Yet, still though we don't know who's going to win --
ENTEN: There are two things.
GOLODRYGA: -- this election.
ENTEN: There are only two things that are definitive. That the Yankees lost and I love my girlfriend. Beyond that, I know very little.
ASHER: Oh. That is -- I hope she's watching and heard that. That is so sweet.
ENTEN: I think Bianna would know that.
GOLODRYGA: That was very endearing.
ENTEN: Bianna would know that my girlfriend is very, very special. And if she's not watching, she will be soon enough.
GOLODRYGA: She is indeed very special. You're a very lucky man, Mr. Serial --
ENTEN: I am.
GOLODRYGA: -- Killer handwriting. Yes.
ENTEN: Ooh. You know what, it's serial killer, but it just states the truth.
GOLODRYGA: This is going off the rails, but I do love your girlfriend. All right.
ENTEN: It's too close to call.
GOLODRYGA: Always good to see you, Harry Enten.
ASHER: Thank you, Harry.
ENTEN: Bye.
GOLODRYGA: And your yellow magic pen -- notepad.
ENTEN: It worked.
Well, today -- we got through a lot there. Today, the West is ground zero in a race that, as we just heard, could not be any closer.
ASHER: That's right. Kamala Harris, I still got some long thing. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are holding dueling rallies in Arizona and Nevada.
Trump will also be making a stop in New Mexico.
Last night in Wisconsin, the former president vowed to protect women, quote, whether the women like it or not.
He also continued to try to link Harris to a gaffe by President Joe Biden that appeared to call Trump supporters trash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: How do you like my garbage truck? This truck is in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Meantime, President Biden's comment was in response to a comedian who called Puerto Rico a, quote, floating island of garbage at a
Trump rally in New York on Sunday.
CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now live from Henderson, Nevada, where Trump will be holding a rally later today.
Clearly, the Trump campaign viewed this as an opportunity to sort of capitalize on what was seen as a gaffe by President Biden. We saw Donald
Trump sort of stumble when he tried to open that garbage truck door.
Nonetheless, he also caused some concern among Republicans, not to mention Democrats, by the language that he used when he once again was talking
about women voters, saying that he will be there, that he's going to help them and protect them whether they like it or not. Talk about the fallout
from that.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Yes. Well, Bianna and Zain, I think there's no question that when it comes to rhetoric, Donald Trump often says things
that his advisors do not want him to be saying.
Now for that garbage truck scene, I want to start with that because, clearly, this is something that the Trump campaign and Donald Trump thought
they could seize on part of it is because they do want to shift the narrative away from that those really sexist and racist remarks from Tony
Hinchcliffe the comedian on Sunday who spoke at Madison Square Garden calling Puerto Rico a floating island of trash.
They thought they really see that Biden moment when Biden referred to his supporters as garbage, which they later walked back and said he wasn't
doing. They saw that as a moment that they could turn, you know, the story on its head and put it on Democrats and Kamala Harris.
And really, they're trying to draw a contrast with what Hillary Clinton said back in the lead up to 2016 when she referred to Donald Trump's
supporters as a basket of deplorables. And that's why you saw -- I mean, I'll give it to the Trump campaign.
One thing they love to do is to troll their opponents. That was what yesterday was all about with him donning that vest, getting into the
garbage truck, trying to make in some ways a joke out of it, but also again, really trying to shift the narrative around those comments.
Now, talking about the women issue here, I mean, one big thing that has been very clear is that Donald Trump has a problem when it comes to women
and female voters. It is a problem that the campaign has yet to solve for.
They have really gender gap with Kamala Harris, who is performing so much better with women across the country.
However, Donald Trump himself continues to argue both publicly and privately that he doesn't understand it, that he thinks that he will be
women's protector. And then last night in Wisconsin, he said, he will be their protector whether they like it or not. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: About four weeks ago, I was saying, no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the
women. Sir, please don't say that. Why? They said, we think it's -- we think it's very inappropriate for you to say so. Why? I'm president. I want
to protect the women of our country.
Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now, Bianna and Zain, he also had mentioned that his advisors, you know, often tell him, don't say that when you're on stage. He's like, well,
I'm going to say it anyway. That is very typical of Donald Trump.
[12:10:02]
But I do want to just take a step back, because now we are five days from the election. And I think all of what Donald Trump is doing right now, this
swing today between New Mexico, Nevada, and then Arizona at night, is all about getting voters to turn out. This is his last few stops on the West
Coast.
And the whole strategy, I'm told, from the Trump campaign right now is not about targeting a specific demographic or going after a certain group of
voters. It's really about trying to get them to turn out to the polls. And I think that will be the messaging you hear him speak about on those three
stops today.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. That is about the one common theme you will see shared by these two campaigns, is getting out the vote and making sure as many people
vote as possible. And we have seen an increase in the number, in many states now, in early voting.
Alayna Treene, thank you so much.
ASHER: Kamala Harris, meantime, is also focusing her attention on the western battlegrounds and making a final push for the Latino vote. She's
traveling to Arizona and Nevada today. The vice president will hold campaign events in Phoenix and in Reno.
To top it all off, she's also going to be holding an early morning rally in Las Vegas, where she'll be joined by Jennifer Lopez.
GOLODRYGA: Harris, meanwhile, is seizing on those comments by Trump that he would protect women whether they like it or not, calling them offensive.
And she said his remark is just one of a series that reveals how Trump really views women.
ASHER: CNN's Eva McKend is live for us in Phoenix, Arizona. So, Harris has basically two jobs today, essentially. One is obviously to try to
capitalize on some of President Trump's comments about women and the fallout from that, but also, on top of that, to really distance herself
from President Biden's garbage comments. Walk us through that.
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, she began the day by essentially setting the tone with issues that she feels most
comfortable, talking about reproductive rights, talking about healthcare more broadly. We very much expect that to be the message here today.
But also, Bianna and Zain, here in Arizona, President Biden only won in 2020 by about 10,000 votes, a little more than that.
And so this is a turnout game at its core. And so part of the winning Biden 2020 multiracial coalition included Latino and Native American voters. And
a lot of the messaging that we see from the Harris campaign is to those voters. She's talking about the opportunity economy, but framing it where
she's really concentrating on the family. That is very much a cultural connection that she's trying to make with Latino voters.
She's talking about this issue of reproductive rights, elevating the concerns of women. She has a host of high-profile Latin-American surrogates
crisscrossing the country. Today, we will hear from Los Tigres Del Norte, the Mexican group performing, and then Jennifer Lopez later tonight in
Vegas.
And so this is about having big events that will garner a lot of attention, wake people up who are not paying attention in these critical closing days,
and doing all that they can to turn out the base of their party in places like this one to drive up the numbers in Phoenix.
ASHER: Eva McKend, live for us there.
Only five, four and a half? Correct me my math.
GOLODRYGA: Who's counting?
ASHER: Four and a half, five days to go. Eva McKend, great job as always. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: All right. CNN political commentator Paul Begala joins us now live from McLean, Virginia.
Paul, always good to see you. It has been a while. If you were to put on your campaign advisor hat at this moment now, and you were advising, let's
say, Donald Trump. And if you already knew going into this election that one of his weak spots was with women voters, specifically around the issue
of reproductive rights, would you advise him, four and a half, five days before an election, to go out as he's campaigning and state that whether
women like it or not, he will protect them?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's a huge mistake. Obviously, this is a guy who is trailing among women by historic margin. There's
always been a gender gap since Reagan showed up. So for 40 years we've had this. This is the biggest gender gap.
Now, he's the strongest with men. It's almost precisely the same. The gender gap is 53 to 36 for Harris among women, but it's 53 to 37 for Trump
among men.
So if I were working for Trump, I'd say we got to get women voters. And you don't get them by reminding them that you were adjudicated in a court of
law on May -- I looked it up, on May 10th, 2023, a court of law found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll. A woman on Fifth Avenue, by
the way, remember he said I could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue, I wouldn't lose any votes? He hasn't done that, thank God.
[12:15:01]
But a court found that he sexually abused a woman on Fifth Avenue to remind voters of that in the closing days when they're already voting. You know,
53 million people have voted.
The majority of them are women. Majority of them are going to be for Harris. It's just -- it's a huge -- it's not just a mistake, though. I
think Democrats will argue it reveals where his real heart is that he -- as he said in that famous tape in 2016 when it came out, that "Access
Hollywood" tape, I can grab women by the privates because I'm a celebrity.
ASHER: Yes. Democrats will, of course, say, listen, this is just who Donald Trump is. Just in terms of --
BEGALA: Right.
ASHER: -- who might be able to help Donald Trump with women, the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, a surrogate like Nikki Haley. She
hasn't come out and said whether she's going to be directly campaigning for Donald Trump over the next few days or not.
But if you are a Nikki Haley supporter and you hear these sorts of comments by Donald Trump disparaging women, where do you go? What do you do?
BEGALA: Well, that, you know, Harris is doing everything she can to make a home for them. She had that rally on The Ellipse. Her message was all about
unity and also about -- imagine this. I've never seen this in my life. Harris has assembled a coalition from AOC to Liz Cheney. There's nobody in
the Congress who is more conservative than Liz Cheney. Nobody more progressive than AOC.
So Harris has assembled this really broad coalition and she needs, and she is making the case to those Haley voters that you have a home here. I'm
going to have Republicans in my cabinet. I'm going to make sure that I listen to -- even people who didn't support me. It's a completely different
message than what Mr. Trump.
And then this closing on abortion rights. You know, Dobbs is the biggest single issue I have seen in American politics since 9/11. In my entire
career, there's only been two things that radically realigned our politics, 9/11, which took a decade for the politics of 9/11 to really sort itself
out and Dobbs, which will take at least a decade. We are at the beginning of the Dobbs era. Overturning Roe versus Wade is the most cataclysmic event
I've seen in politics in decades.
GOLODRYGA: You know, putting policy aside, as you just touched on, we've seen a number of strange bedfellows here come out in support of Kamala
Harris, really just more of a condemnation of Donald Trump in a rebuke of his rhetoric and his ideology and just whether or not they think he's fit
for office.
We heard from former governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday, earlier this week, say that he, in fact, would be supporting Kamala Harris
as well.
What do you make of the fact that we have yet to hear from former President George W. Bush? Would it make a big difference at all? We know his
daughter, Barbara, has come out in support of Kamala Harris, but clearly, you know, his daughter is not the former president.
BEGALA: No. And I wouldn't really put that on former President Bush. You know, he is a Republican. He defined the Republican Party for a generation.
He's retired. He doesn't stick his nose into politics very often.
I wouldn't expect him to do this. You know, he has a nephew, George P. Bush, who's trying to launch a political career in Texas, and he held
office for a while. He ran for another one and got beat. And the poor guy ran as if he were a Trump Republican, not a Bush Republican. That may be
why he lost.
So he's got these competing equities. I don't think that that would do that. It would drive the news right for a little bit. But, frankly, if I'm
Kamala, I'd much rather have Jennifer Lopez and Bad Bunny than George W. Bush, because those are the voters who she needs to reach now. These low
propensity voters, folks who are not going to vote, unless they -- something grabs their attention.
And this comment, this racist comment from the Trump supporter at his rally in Madison Square Garden, has provoked the biggest backlash imaginable,
particularly with younger Latinos, a group that Kamala really needs to turn out for her.
ASHER: Yes. In fact, and Kamala Harris has those ads in Puerto Rico, in Spanish, might I add, just sort of talking about the fact that, you know,
Puerto Rican is obviously not garbage. You know, I really cherish you. I appreciate you. I value you. And we'll see whether or not that has any
impact with Puerto Ricans who live in mainland U.S.
GOLODRYGA: About half a million of them in, of course, Pennsylvania.
BEGALA: If I can give you one stat.
GOLODRYGA: Yes?
BEGALA: I'm sorry, this is something the Harris campaign should be talking about. When Hurricane Maria hit during the Trump administration, hit Puerto
Rico, devastated the island, Congress stepped up right away and appropriated $20 billion to rebuild that island.
Trump only spent $138 million, a tiny fraction of that. He sat on it for years. And the money never got to Puerto Rico until Joe Biden became
president.
So that's not just some idiot comic, no-talent jerk saying something racist at Madison Square Garden. That's real lives and real communities in Puerto
Rico that Mr. Trump turned his back on. And that, to me, is unconscionable. A president has to help his citizens, and Puerto Ricans are all American
citizens. So I would use that argument if I were the Harris campaign.
[12:20:04]
ASHER: Not to mention throwing toilet paper.
GOLODRYGA: Paper towels, I think. Yes. The same thing, I mean, no difference. No difference.
ASHER: Paul Begala, live for us, thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, still to come --
BEGALA: Thank you.
ASHER: -- war and diplomacy. Israel carries on with strikes on Lebanon and Gaza, even as U.S. envoys in Israel and Egypt push for a halt to the
fighting. We'll have a live report from Tel Aviv for you.
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GOLODRYGA: Israel's military leaders are signaling that the country has achieved all it can in Lebanon and Gaza, and that it's time for politicians
to now strike a deal.
ASHER: It comes as U.S. officials make a new diplomatic push to get a pause in fighting in both conflicts.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. CIA Director Bill Burns and Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, met in Cairo today, while other U.S. envoys held talks with
the Israeli government.
ASHER: The fresh round of diplomacy comes as Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Northern Gaza continue. This was the Lebanese city of Tyre earlier,
following a strike by the IDF.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now live from Tel Aviv to talk about these developments, specifically about U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein and
Brett McGurk meeting with Israeli officials and Defense Minister Gallant today, among others.
What is that signal to you about developments in movement towards a ceasefire deal in the North?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's clear that the U.S. sees an opportunity here and is pressing very, very hard for a potential
agreement to be reached. And they're expending a lot of diplomatic and political capital. I mean, we're seeing not only Brett McGurk and Amos
Hochstein in Israel today meeting with the Israeli prime minister, the defense minister and other top Israeli officials.
The CIA director was also in Egypt talking not only about Gaza, but also about a potential ceasefire opportunity in Lebanon. And Hochstein is
expected to go to Beirut after this to continue his discussions with the Lebanese government officials who have been the key intermediaries with
Hezbollah and who would also be responsible in part, at least, for enforcing a potential ceasefire agreement.
Now, the question is exactly how they get into this and how much Hezbollah's position has really shifted.
Clearly, Hezbollah has signaled, following the kind of blow after blow that they have suffered at the hands of the Israeli military, that they are now
willing to de-link the Gaza conflict from what's happening in Lebanon.
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Meaning, they are willing to go into a ceasefire without the war in Gaza stopping, which is a huge change from their position for the last year. But
how far are they willing to go? And how much leverage are they willing to give up to the Israeli government in terms of enforcing what will be the
key resolution here? And that is UN Resolution 1701, which was used to resolve the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. And that will require
Hezbollah to withdraw from some 30 kilometers north of the Lebanese border.
But what Israeli officials are really hammering right now is the enforcement of that resolution. And that's why the statement from the prime
minister's office, following his meetings with U.S. officials today is so key because he says that the point is not this or that agreement on paper,
but, quote, Israel's ability and determination to enforce the agreement and thwart any threat to its security from Lebanon.
So, this is clearly going to be a negotiation where the devil really is indeed in the details. And for now, it's not clear whether or not they can
get there. I think it's also important to note that, despite some of the optimism that we're hearing, the signs of progress that we are hearing,
there is really no sense of any kind of imminent, imminent agreement. This is still going to take some time to hammer out. Bianna, Zain.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Jeremy Diamond reporting live from Tel Aviv. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Where is Elon Musk? He's refusing to show up for a court hearing over his million dollar giveaway to voters. We'll tell you why when
ONE WORLD continues after this short break.
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to ONE WORLD, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
The U.S. election just days away. And today, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both heading west to the crucial battleground states of Nevada and
Arizona. They'll be making their final pitches to try and win over the last undecided voters there. In a race this tight, those voters could make or
break both candidates' bid for the White House.
ASHER: Yes. Speaking in Wisconsin earlier, Harris slammed her Republican rival, Donald Trump, calling his latest comments about women very
offensive. On Wednesday, Trump told a rally in Wisconsin that he plans to protect women whether they like it or not.
[12:30:07]
GOLODRYGA: Well, the one issue that could decide this election is the economy. For the second straight day, the U.S. is getting some good news.
An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve has cooled to its lowest level in three-and-a-half years. It's now nearly back to the Fed's
two percent inflation target.
ASHER: And just yesterday, the numbers came out on GDP for the third quarter. It expanded by an annual rate of 2.8 percent, seemingly pulling
off a so-called soft landing and avoiding a recession.
GOLODRYGA: And more now on the push for votes in critical swing states, as the clock winds down, Donald Trump was in Wisconsin on Wednesday repeating
claims that he is a protector of women.
ASHER: Previously, he said women won't be thinking of abortion if he's elected, also claiming women are less safe, less healthy, poorer, now
compared to his time in office. Here's what he had to say on Wednesday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: About four weeks ago, I will say no, I want to protect the people. I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the women. Sir,
please don't say that. Why? They said, we think it's -- we think it's very inappropriate for you to say so. Why? I'm president. I want to protect the
women of our country.
Well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: It remains to be seen how many women agree with Trump, but some of the numbers don't look very promising. New CNN polling shows Vice
President Kamala Harris leading Trump in both Wisconsin and Michigan.
CNN's John King spoke with voters in Wisconsin about the upcoming election and the trends that they're observing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (VOICE-OVER): Sunrise in the suburbs. Milwaukee on the red side of a critical dividing line in
battleground Wisconsin.
Octane Coffee is a startup. Your morning jolt here prepared by a robot. Adrian Deasy is the founder and CEO.
DEASY: This is all of the robotics.
KING (voice-over): He grew up in a Democratic household, voted twice for Barack Obama, moved to the Milwaukee suburbs a decade ago.
DEASY: Toppings, cold foams.
KING (voice-over): A self-described moderate ready to vote a third time for Donald Trump.
ADRIAN DEASY, WISCONSIN RESIDENT: I just see that Donald Trump, from a business minded standpoint, from like let's-make-a-deal standpoint, and
from an economics and financing perspective, I think he's got the right mindset for how the country should be run, how to support small and medium-
sized businesses.
KING: Are there downsides to him in your view?
DEASY: Does he have some character or personality, things that go on? For sure. But I would say you have to separate the message from the messenger
sometimes.
KING (voice-over): Trump won suburban Waukesha County in both 2016 and 2020, but his margin was smaller the second time, and Wisconsin flipped
back to blue. Deasy believes Trump is stronger this time.
DEASY: I would say, over the last say 6 to 12 months, definitely a large Trump bump if you'd want to call it that.
KING (voice-over): Waukesha is a key test of whether Trump can reverse his suburban slide.
And across the county line in Milwaukee, a pivotal test for Kamala Harris too. This is the Tricklebee Cafe on Milwaukee's north side. Pay what you
can is the motto here. We found a lot of apathy on our first visit to these predominantly black neighborhoods a year ago. Chef Zakiya Courtney says the
switch to Harris ended that.
ZAKIYA COURTNEY, WISCONSIN RESIDENT: You know, you got somebody that's younger, you have somebody that's with an agenda, you got somebody that's
relatable, you know, you got somebody who understands the issue.
KING (voice-over): Courtney hears talk more black men are for Trump this time. She doesn't believe it's a big number.
COURTNEY: And I've heard what it is that people have said. I've heard people talk about the fact that she's been a prosecutor and she's put, you
know, black men in jail and things like that. Well, you know, you have to look at that closer. You know, if you've done a crime, you deserve to go to
jail. And there's nothing that shows that she has a track record of targeting black men and put them in jail.
KING (voice-over): This line for early voting is in Sherman Park, one of the north side neighborhoods where Harris needs high turnout and giant
margins.
COURTNEY: What I'm seeing right now is an enthusiasm and excitement that's even bigger than when Obama won.
KING: The vice president's chances here depend on Zakiya Courtney being right or at least close to right about that level of enthusiasm in the
black community. Joe Biden won only 13 of Wisconsin's 72 counties en route to his victory here in 2020.
How did he do it? Run it up big in the democratic areas like Milwaukee and hold your own in the suburbs.
John King, CNN, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: CNN polling released this hour shows just how tight the presidential race is right now across the country. In the southern swing
states of Georgia and North Carolina, neither candidate has a clear advantage. And those razor-thin margins haven't changed much, even after
months of campaigning by both candidates.
ASHER: Only a tiny percentage of voters say they are still undecided, but this is a race that could come down to tiny margins. Both candidates were
on the campaign trail in Wisconsin and North Carolina on Wednesday, each of them hoping to convince a few more voters in crucial battleground states.
Let's get more now from Wisconsin and North Carolina. Scott Bauer is a statehouse reporter for the "Associated Press," who is covering the race
from Wisconsin. Laura Lee is news director at Blue Ridge Public Radio in North Carolina.
[12:35:08]
Laura, let me start with you, because there are reports that turn out specifically among black voters as lagged in North Carolina during early
voting compared to 2020. How much of a concern is that for the Harris campaign right now?
LAURA LEE, NEWS DIRECTOR, BLUE RIDGE PUBLIC RADIO NORTH CAROLINA: I don't know that that is as much of a concern right now as get out the vote
efforts are.
You know, the numbers on demographics of early voting shift literally on a daily basis as we get numbers from the state board of elections. So, I know
there's been a lot of talk of that. Earlier in the week, there was a lot of talk of a gender divide, that women were not voting as much early. We've
now seen that shift back over. As you said before, it's going to be razor thin. And I don't think we can read too much about racial demographics at
this point.
GOLODRYGA: Scott, let me ask you about the Supreme Court earlier this week declining to take RFK Jr. off the ballot in those critical swing states,
both Michigan and Wisconsin.
Given how close they, these two candidates, are polling right now in Wisconsin, RFK Jr., obviously no longer in the race. He has endorsed Donald
Trump in working as a surrogate for him.
Is there concern among Republicans, specifically going after the undecided or independent voters, that this could actually harm Donald Trump?
SCOTT BAUER, STATEHOUSE REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Right. Republicans and Democrats are concerned about every possible vote here. For the past six
presidential elections have come down to less than one percentage point difference between the two candidates.
So Robert F. Kennedy on the ballot, depressed turnout in any one area for either side. Jill Stein on the ballot and any marginal amount that takes
votes away from one side or the other is of concern.
ASHER: And, Laura, just in terms of Mark Robinson, just how that is sort of -- how much of a concern that is for Republicans and the Trump campaign
specifically, obviously, he sort of distanced himself from him. Just walk us through how that is shaping up.
LEE: Yes. I think there has been a distancing since a lot of the revelations about, you know, things that occurred earlier in Mark
Robinson's pre-political life.
So we have been hearing less and less, and I think there definitely has been a distancing from that. I think, you know, for a large swath of North
Carolina, the focus has really been on storm recovery. And Mark Robinson and other, frankly, other politicians have sort of fallen by the wayside as
people try to figure out how to rebuild their lives.
GOLODRYGA: We saw both candidates yesterday in Wisconsin. Scott, obviously speaking to very different voting groups. Kamala Harris really making an
appeal for younger voters. Give us a breakdown of what you're sensing among polling and turnout and enthusiasm among younger voters in particular.
BAUER: The polling has been consistent here. It's a tight race and turnout enthusiasm is high. On both sides, enthusiasm is very high. And both Vice
President Harris and former President Trump will be back in Wisconsin tomorrow with dueling rallies in Milwaukee, the state's largest city, the
largest number of democratic voters, the metropolitan, the media market encompasses the conservative suburbs, which is critical for Donald Trump.
So really both campaigns making their last stand of sorts in Milwaukee tomorrow night in a dramatic dueling campaign rallies.
ASHER: And, Laura, For North Carolina, I mean, Democrats haven't won the state since Obama back in 2008. Even in 2012, he lost it narrowly to Mitt
Romney.
For Republicans, North Carolina is so important because, you know, just in terms of the way trends go, they -- if they win North Carolina, they're
much more likely to win the election than if they don't win North Carolina. Just explain to us how much it is in play for Democrats this time around.
LEE: I think it's absolutely in play as it has been and as you said, in previous elections. I mean, we see such thin margins here consistently. And
we have, you know, in North Carolina, a Republican controlled legislature right now, a democratic governor.
We are the purplest of purple states, if you can. And, you know, Trump's margin in North Carolina in 2020, I believe, was one of the smallest, if
not, the smallest in the entire country.
So we're talking about potentially this state, you know, having a huge influence on the race nationally. And then what happens in the state could
be the result of a handful of people who vote that day.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, Laura, an official this morning from the North Carolina Board of Elections said, quote, we're looking very closely at the
numbers this afternoon. And she's talking about early voting turnout, because if we continue to pace where we are, we actually will break the
early voting turnout numbers of 2020, either this afternoon or likely by tomorrow morning.
And she went on to say right now they're seeing a larger number of Republicans turning out to vote early. Are you hearing concern among
Democrats there in the state, given that trajectory thus far?
[12:40:15]
LEE: I think that has been a transition we've seen in the last few years. You know, early voting was typically heavily democratic before, and we've
seen it sort of balancing out.
I think there are so many factors at play this year with the storm recovery, that it's hard to say if that is going to be, you know, if the
early voting turnout by party is going to be that influential.
In addition, the largest number of voters here are unaffiliated. So we can look at the party breakdowns. It may not tell us -- it may not give us as
much insight as wondering about what these unaffiliated voters are going to do.
ASHER: And, Scott, just in terms of some of the controversial comments we've seen this week from really both sides, I mean, obviously, president -
- former President Trump saying that he's going to protect women, whether they like it or not. And then you have President Biden essentially
referring -- appearing to refer to Trump supporters as garbage. How are those controversial comments playing out at the local level in Wisconsin?
BAUER: I was at a Harris rally last night in Madison talking with voters about the Biden comment. And I think the general feeling there was it was
unfortunate, but they felt it was very hypocritical for Donald Trump to be, you know, casting aspersions on derogatory comments when they say he's made
a plethora of them over the years.
And on the flip side, Donald Trump was in Green Bay, Wisconsin last night doing a news conference or sorts from a garbage truck and he wore, you
know, an orange safety vest on, onto the stage to highlight the Biden comments.
So both sides using it here in the final push. A lot of people have already voted. Most people have likely made up their minds already. I think the
other underlying feeling here is that voters just are ready for this to be over.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, again, another underlying theme. It is a very, very close race.
ASHER: I think you said that like 10 times in this race.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And, you know, the fact that you have both candidates not skipping a beat and not wanting to have any post-fact headlines, like
Hillary Clinton in 2016 having never visited Wisconsin. This is an area they definitely want to avoid, and clearly they are barnstorming every
single one of these seven swing states up until the last minute.
Scott Bauer, Laura Lee, thank you so much.
LEE: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Elon Musk refused to show up in court today for an important hearing in Philadelphia.
ASHER: Yes. The world's richest man had been ordered to appear to answer questions about his million-dollar-a-day giveaway to voters in swing
states, including Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's top prosecutor says these giveaways are illegal.
But late last night, Musk's attorneys filed to move the case to federal court, and they say that there is nothing for the Pennsylvania court to do
until that question has been resolved.
In the meantime, by the way, these giveaways technically can continue.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Turning overseas now, rescue operations are currently underway in Spain after historic floods claimed dozens of lives.
Up next, we'll take you there for an update on the situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:53]
GOLODRYGA: At least one person has been killed and dozens injured after a typhoon Kong-Rey slammed into Taiwan earlier on Thursday.
ASHER: Yes. Winds were approaching 200 kilometers per hour, equivalent to a category three hurricane when it made landfall. That makes the largest
typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan since 1986.
And Spain is in a three-day mourning period after flash flooding took the lives of at least 155 people.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Just devastating. That is according to local media. The country is reeling from its worst flooding in decades after a year's worth
of rain fell in just hours this week.
Emergency workers in the country's southeast are still fighting to rescue those who are trapped. CNN's Pau Mosquera joins us near Valencia, Spain.
What are officials saying now, Pau?
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Zain and Bianna. Well, we know so far that in the region of Valencia, there are a total of 155 mortal
victims after the devastating flood waters that affected many different areas.
Let me tell you that right now we are located in Utiel which is west of Valencia. This is a town of approximately 12,000 people. And well, the
images of what we see around is so dramatic because the roads are crooked, are absolutely destroyed, as well as some of the ground floors of the
buildings where people were normally living until Tuesday afternoon.
It was because the torrential rain, it was not expected to be as heavy as it finally was. And that's why the River Magro, the one that crosses this
little town, suddenly overflowed and then the floodwaters rush into different buildings and also dragging away tons of cars, of furniture, and
just leaving them stranded in any part of this town.
I am actually very impressed, Zain, Bianna, about the neighbors on how quickly they are cleaning all the streets, on how they are mopping all the
mud from the entrance of their homes.
Actually, the image of what we see around here in here in hotel has nothing to do to the previously two hours ago, for example, because the cranes,
they have already towed all the cars away to different places.
So the streets now they look way better to what it was, for example, this morning.
Now Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has promised this morning when visiting Valencia, all the different affected areas that the government
will do everything that is in their hands to help all the victims affected by this catastrophe.
ASHER: And, Pau, officials have mentioned that the provisional death toll at this point in time is 155. That number could of course rise because
they're still searching for survivors, it's a race against time to find those survivors. Last I read, they were still pulling bodies that were
trapped in cars as well. Walk us through that.
MOSQUERA: Yes, absolutely. We know that, for example, the defense minister has deployed around 1,000 military personnel in many of those towns
affected by the flood waters. And right now, they are trying to find all those missing persons, all those missing people that were reported by their
families, by their relatives.
They are also looking anywhere where maybe it can be a stranded car, where maybe they can find another body.
So the death toll, so far, unfortunately, Zain, Bianna is just an approximated figure because the total tally of bodies, it can be way higher
as the days goes by.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The search and rescue continues. Pau Mosquera, thank you so much.
And still to come for us, then there was one. Oh, gosh, I have to do this read. The World Series is over and baseball has a new champion. They're not
the Yankees. Details of a dramatic final comeback. When we come -- a final game, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:44]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, the world of baseball has a new champion.
ASHER: The champagne was blowing in the Los Angeles Dodgers' locker room last night after they staged a major comeback in game five of the World
Series and won the title. It was a sweet validation of the Dodgers' huge off season spending spree, which included a massive contract for superstar
Shohei Ohtani.
Let's bring in Matt Winer of CNN Sports with the details. The second time in five seasons. The Dodgers ended up taking it home. Just walk us through
what happened. Sorry, Bianna. Her son Jake is a massive Yankees fan, so.
GOLODRYGA: Next year.
ASHER: She made me do the read.
GOLODRYGA: Next year. We'll be back.
MATT WINER, CNN SPORTS: I'm sorry. I'm sorry, first of all. I'm only here to deliver the information, Bianna.
ASHER: Don't shoot the messenger, right?
WINER: More than a billion dollars spent last off season on free agents paid off last night. A wild finish to the World Series. Just when it looked
like the Yankees would force the best of seven back to Los Angeles, they opened the door for the Dodgers who took advantage of some shoddy defense
and flew back to L.A. with the title in hand.
The Yanks up against elimination in game five but showed some fight with slumping Aaron Judge hitting his first ever World Series home run in the
first, next up and next out, Jazz Chisholm. Back to back, homers had them bonkers in the Bronx with a 3-0 lead. It was 5-0 in the fifth when things
went sideways for the guys in pinstripes.
Judge muffed this fly ball in center, a throwing error by shortstop Anthony Volpe, and Gerritt Cole didn't help his own cause when he failed to cover
first on another ground ball.
The first of five runs in the inning scored all of them unearned. And after that catastrophic collapse, the game was tied. The Yankees reclaimed the
lead in the 8th, but couldn't shut down L.A. when they had to.
Now tied at six bases loaded for Mookie Betts who just needed to get in the air and he knew he'd put his team up when he hit it. Tommy Edman scored in
the sacrifice fly. Dodgers were back in closeout mode at that point.
Starter Walker Buehler, who pitched two days prior, came on to close in the ninth. He was brilliant with a perfect inning, including a pair of
strikeouts.
The Dodgers have their eighth title in hand with Freddie Freeman named MVP in a parade planned in tomorrow or in L.A. for tomorrow.
[12:55:07]
Omar Jimenez was in the clubhouse for the champagne celebration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX MUNCY, LOS ANGELES DODGERS THIRD BASEMAN: Unbelievable. I mean, this is what you've strived for. This is why you played the game. Now we're here.
Special.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing better. We worked all year for it. We're in the World Series. Celebrate with these guys. It's special. And, you
know, we're going to celebrate this season. We're going to celebrate it right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blessed, man. Truly blessed. It's so fun to be able to act like a little kid with my full-grown adult, like, husbands, dads. We
get to let loose a lot of hard work and stress and pressure behind this career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WINER: There's nothing quite like it in sports, the spectacle of grown men, most of them multimillionaires acting like children because they finally
won it all. And kudos to Omar for bringing the goggles. That is a veteran move. I've been the guy in that clubhouse before. You do not want that
champagne in your eyes. But a great scene for the Dodgers last night.
And by the way, Zain and Bianna, they've already been installed as favorites for next season's World season -- World Series in 2025.
ASHER: All in that is major PTSD.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. My son would like to have a word on that note. Well, congratulations.
WINER: Very fun.
GOLODRYGA: Congratulations to Dodgers. Yes.
ASHER: Matt Winer, thank you so much.
WINER: Sure.
GOLODRYGA: And that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. I appreciate you watching. "AMANPOUR" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
