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Trump On Defense One Week Before Election, Campaigning In Three States He Won In 2016; U.S. Surpasses 226,000 COVID-19 Deaths With 8.7 Million Cases As Daily Average Of New Cases Hits Another Pandemic High; Now: Trump, Biden On The Trail As Race Heats Up One Week To Election; Obama Rips Trump's COVID Response; Young Voters Remarkably More Engaged In 2020 Election; Protests Erupt In Philly After Police Fatally Shoot Black Man. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 27, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: May his memory and that of every victim of this horrible virus be a blessing. Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we're following breaking news. With just one weeks ago until Election Day, both candidates are battling down to the wire to clinch the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

Right now President Trump is on his way to the critical battleground state of Wisconsin, as he plays defense in three key states he won back in 2016. At the same time, Joe Biden is trying to expand the Democratic electoral map. Right now he's in another critical battleground Georgia, a state no Democratic presidential candidate has won since Bill Clinton did back in 1992.

Meanwhile, early ballots are pouring in nationwide, a record 66 million have already been cast with seven days left in the campaign.

We're also following breaking pandemic news. More than 226,000 Americans have now lost their lives to COVID-19. And tonight the country is facing more than 8.7 million cases, as the daily average of new cases hits yet another record high.

Let's begin our coverage this hour over the White House. Our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta is joining us.

Jim, a full day of campaigning by the President yet again.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump is claiming he's done a, quote, great job on the coronavirus, even as he's holding rallies, as you mentioned, that could well become super spreader events.

Former President Barack Obama in the meantime, is clearly getting under the President's skin. Mr. Trump is complaining that Fox News should not be airing Obama's speeches in support of Joe Biden. And the President is demanding that the results in the election be finalized on November 3, even though that's not how it works.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now I've got to say I'm working my ass off here.

ACOSTA (voice-over): One week until Election Day and trailing in the polls, President Trump is in a race against time and the Coronavirus staging multiple potential super spreader rallies on a daily basis, even as he defends his COVID-19 response.

TRUMP: COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID. On November 4, you won't be hearing so much about it.

ACOSTA: Democrat Joe Biden is accusing Mr. Trump of incompetence, delivering speeches in smaller but safer, socially distant settings.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The President keeps telling us not to worry. He keeps telling us we're turning the corners, his quote. He says removed from reality. And as offensive.

ACOSTA: Press by CNN on whether he simply blew it on the virus. The President said he welcome the judgment of the voters.

(on camera): Mr. President, shouldn't the voters judge you on COVID? And did you blow it?

TRUMP: Voters are judging me on a lot of things. And one of the things we've done a really good job on is COVID. But now we're doing vaccines, we're doing therapeutics. And we've done a great job, and people are starting to see.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Still the president is sounding angry that the election may hinge on his handling of the pandemic, tweeting, "All the media wants to talk about his COVID, COVID, COVID."

Former President Barack Obama is mocking Mr. Trump's COVID coverage obsession.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What's his closing argument? That people are too focused on COVID.

He said this at one of his rallies COVID, COVID, COVID he's complaining. He's jealous of COVID media coverage.

ACOSTA: Mr. Trump is also furious at Fox News for airing Obama's speeches as he longed for that network's deceased former president.

TRUMP: I always know he was on Fox and Fox puts him on all the time and this would not have happened with Roger Ailes. I can tell you that.

ACOSTA: After putting Justice Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court, Mr. Trump appears to be seeking her assistance of ballots are being counted after Election Day. The President is echoing an argument in a case on absentee ballots in Wisconsin made by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote "Those states want to avoid the chaos and suspicions of impropriety that can ensue if thousands of absentee ballots flow in after election day and potentially flip the results of an election. And those states also want to be able to definitively announce the results of the election on election night or as soon as possible thereafter.

TRUMP: It would be very, very proper and very nice if a winter were declared on November 3 on instead of counting ballots to do it, which is totally inappropriate. And I don't believe that that's by our laws. I don't believe that.

ACOSTA: But that's not true. The results don't always come in on election night. Just ask Mr. Trump who declared victory the morning after Election Day in 2016.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who appeared on Fox where Trump campaign studio blurring her role as a government spokesperson maintains the President is cruising to victory. Even as the lights went off during the interview.

[17:05:08]

You feel you've got the momentum going here with just a week to go?

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, there's no doubt about it too. We have a tailwind behind us? The lights just went off, they're back on. But we have a tailwind behind us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And Vice President Mike Pence was not in attendance at the White House event celebrating the new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, his office says that's because Pence was following the administration's COVID-19 guidelines. But hold on, Pence is still holding rallies that violate those same guidelines.

And speaking of rallies, we can show you some video of this from earlier today. We saw the first lady on the campaign trail for her first event that was earlier today in Pennsylvania.

And consider this, the President's campaign schedule today. This is something to take a look at. He is campaigning not just in Michigan as we showed earlier, but also Wisconsin and later tonight in Nebraska, in Omaha, Nebraska right next door to Iowa, all states Mr. Trump carried last time it gives you a sense of just how much trouble he's in right now, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, seven days to go. Jim Acosta reporting for us, standby we're going to get back to you.

I want to get to the Biden campaign right now, the former vice president trying to flip Georgia State that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in almost 30 years. Our CNN Jessica Dean discovering the former Vice President for us. She's on the scene in Georgia for us.

So, Jessica, what's the former vice president's message today?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, his closing argument is very much like the argument he began this campaign with, it all goes back to a battle for the soul of the nation, character being on the ballot about bringing Americans together.

We're here in Warm Springs, Georgia, where FDR had his little white house, he would come here for the healing waters for his polio. And Vice President Biden talk today about healing both from the coronavirus pandemic, but also from the vitriol and the back and forth the division that faces America. Biden had this to say, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Your words better describe the kind of president our nation needs right now. President who is not in it for himself, but for others, a president who doesn't divide us but unites us, a president who appeals not to the worst in us, but to the best, president cares less about his T.V. ratings and more about the American people. President looks not to settle scores, but to find solutions. President guided not by wishful thinking but by science, reason and fact, that's the kind of president I hope to be.

I'm running as a proud Democrat. Well, I will govern as an American president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Vice President Biden also quoting Pope Francis warning against, "phony populism," taking a swipe there at President Trump and promising as you heard to be a president for all Americans and to take bold action, if he is elected to attack the coronavirus and the economy and also protect Americans health care. So all of those things being weaved into this closing argument.

And Wolf, you mentioned we are in Georgia, a state that hasn't been carried by a Democrat in a presidential election since 1992, which shows you just how seriously they're taking this state. His wife, Jill Biden has been here twice in the last month. And Kamala Harris was here just a few days ago.

BLITZER: And Biden, I understand, is going to do another event in Atlanta while he's down in Georgia. Where is he going in the remaining days, seven days left before Election Day?

DEAN: Right. So Wolf, next, he goes to Florida, key battleground state, then he's going to go to Wisconsin and Iowa, Iowa State that President Trump won in 2016 by some nine points.

So again, the fact that President -- Vice President Biden is going to a state that President Trump won by that much shows you just kind of their thinking and what they're seeing as they try to expand their map. And then also on his calendar, Wolf, the state of Michigan.

BLITZER: Yes. He's clearly playing offense right now. Trump is playing defense right now. Jessica Dean, in Georgia for us, thank you very much.

Let's get some more in all of this. CNN Political Correspondent Abby Phillip is with us and our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger is with us as well.

Gloria, the President taking his closing message to Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska today, three states that he won in 2016. So what does that tell you about the way he's spending his time in the states during this final week of the campaign?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: He's playing defense. As you were pointing out before, there's no other way to look at it. The President and his team understand that he's got to win the states that he won in 2016, period, end of sentence, end of campaign. And so he's going back there because they believe that there are enough Republican voters there that they can mine, that they can make sure they get to the polls, who haven't voted early. Who can get out there on Election Day and vote for them.

[17:10:03]

And what you see with Joe Biden, as you were just discussing with Jessica is a candidate that his broadening his outlook. He's not taking that blue tier for granted of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, of course, but you saw him in Georgia today state that a Democrat hasn't won since 1992. There are a couple of Senate races there, he's going to go to Iowa.

So, you know, you see, and of course, he's going to go to Florida, which they know is tight, very important for them to win. But you see a Biden campaign that is flush with money that feels that it can broaden instead of narrowing the way you see Trump narrowing.

BLITZER: Very interesting. You know, Abby, we're hearing two very different closing messages from these two candidates. As Biden takes some more of the positive empathetic tone with a focus on uniting and trying to heal the very bitterly divided nation right now, two very different messages from two very different men.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And both candidates going back to where their campaigns effectively started. Joe Biden referencing the sentiment that brought him into the campaign in the first place, wanting to unify the country after the Charlottesville riots and the violence in that city.

And President Trump really resorting to a grab bag of attacks on Joe Biden, everything from attacks on Hunter Biden and claims of corruption to claims that Joe Biden is going to destroy the economy, destroy the oil and gas industry, et cetera.

Remember, President Trump was impeached for seeking to get dirt on Joe Biden from Ukraine. So this is where both men have started and this is where they're finishing. It's a stark choice for voters.

But I do think President Trump is in a position now where he's trying to do a very specific thing. He's trying to make Joe Biden a lot less likable, trying to drive up these unfavorability ratings. And trying to replicate what happened four years ago, which is a shift happening in the last days with these late deciders. So far, we haven't seen any evidence that that's working, but that's the strategy from the Trump side.

BORGER: You know, and Wolf, I think it was easier for him to do that four years ago against Hillary Clinton because Hillary Clinton was not well liked. He wasn't well liked. But she was unpopular, too.

The difference with Joe Biden is that people like Joe Biden, he's more popular. So when you try and demonize him, and people look at Joe Biden, and he's been around, yes, for a long time. But they look at him, and they don't see Satan, which is what the President has been portraying him as.

And whereas Joe Biden is ending with the same message he began with, which is uplifting, unifying. He did it at the convention. He did it in Gettysburg and he did it today in Georgia.

What you see Donald Trump is not having a clear message other than demonizing Joe Biden, either he was for law and order for a while, then he was for the stimulus. Then he was against a stimulus package. Now he's for the stimulus package again, and he's spreading conspiracy theories. But that didn't work. So we're not hearing about that so much.

What he is not talking about, in his closing argument is what he would do for the country in the next four years.

BLITZER: Very interesting. You know, Abby, a little while from now, there's going to be another drive-in event for Biden in Atlanta. He's spending some significant time in Georgia, we've been pointing out it's been since 1992, that a Democrat has actually carried the state of Georgia. That was when Bill Clinton, the Democratic challenger beat the Republican incumbent at that time, George H.W. Bush was elected president.

Now we see the Democratic challenger trying to do the same to the Republican incumbent. But you see these live pictures coming in from Atlanta. It's a surprise to see the former vice president spending this much time in Georgia, of all places. I would have thought he would have tried to solidify his base much more in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, places that he really needs.

PHILLIP: He's trying to do both, I think, Wolf. But Georgia is one of those states where we've seen a huge amount of enthusiasm in voting. And we're also seeing this demographic shift, younger voters, black and Hispanic voters taking up a larger share of the electorate. This is a place that Democrats think is right to be flipped.

But the other key thing about Georgia, they've got two Senate races in that state. Two places where a national campaign can help organize and mobilize voters to lift up at least one candidate and potentially get that race out of a runoff.

The second one is almost certain to go to a runoff. But that's a real priority for Democrats as they try to flip the Senate as well.

BLITZER: We'll see what happens. Abby, thank you. Gloria, thanks to you, as well.

There's more breaking news we're following. New COVID cases exploding across the knighted states as the second wave of the pandemic washes over the country.

[17:15:04]

Plus, President Trump and Joe Biden focusing on some key battleground states, as they try to chart a path of the 270 electoral votes each man needs to claim victory. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're following breaking pandemic news, the U.S. coronavirus death toll now topping 226,000 people with more than 8.7 million cases. CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us.

Brian, health experts, they are so, so disturbed by these numbers and fear it could even get worse.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. One prominent expert says we could be seeing about 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day in the United States by next month. We're now seeing some of those nightmare scenarios that we saw when the pandemic was at its worst stages last spring, including hospitals running out of beds.

[17:20:08]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A stressed out hospital ward in El Paso, Texas and a city at the breaking point, hospitalizations from coronavirus are at an all-time high in El Paso. Available beds are dwindling fast. And the mayor says they're scrambling to set up alternate hospital sites.

MAYOR DEE MARGO (R), EL PASO, TEXAS: It's not good. We're backing non- COVID policy patients if we need to.

TODD: Hospitalizations and new coronavirus cases are shooting up all across the country. The U.S. is averaging about 70,000 new cases a day over the past week, adding nearly half a million total cases in the last seven days. Thirty-seven states are now trending worse in reporting new coronavirus cases, only one state, Washington is trending better.

And health experts are warning this national spike could be worse than any that America has seen before.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER CDC DISEASE DETECTIVE: The most worrying thing right now is that it just looks like we have not learned from our mistakes. We have seen surges in the northeast in the spring. We've seen a summer surge in the south. We should not be grappling with surges right now across the Midwest in the northern plains. TODD: The bleak reality hitting home with Admiral Brett Giroir of the White House Coronavirus Task Force who contradicts the President's claim that we're seeing higher numbers of cases only because there's more testing.

DR. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HHS: Testing, maybe identifying some more cases, I think that's clearly true. But what we're seeing is a real increase in the numbers.

TODD: In Illinois, one of the state's trending up in cases the governor says there's a, "COVID storm" on the rise. New Jersey is also moving in the wrong direction.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY, (D) NEW JERSEY: Everywhere you look it is screaming out that this is surging right now folks, and we've all got a band together and turn these numbers down, particularly hospitalizations and losses of life.

TODD: The city of Newark is in one of the hardest hit areas of the state. So Newark is closing non-essential businesses by 8:00 p.m. starting tonight and limiting service at restaurants, bars and salons. And other states are starting to roll back re-openings and instituting new restrictions.

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, masks are now required for everyone in all indoor and outdoor public spaces with few exceptions. Some in the city aren't happy about it.

North Dakota has the highest per capita rate of new cases in the entire country and no mask mandate. The state is drawing blistering criticism from Dr. Deborah Birx of the Coronavirus Task Force who just traveled there. Birx said her team was in North Dakota's grocery stores, restaurants and hotels.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE RESPONSE COORDINATOR: This is the least use of mass that we have seen in retail establishments of any place we have been. And we find that deeply unfortunate because you don't know who is infected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: And while there's more talk of whether a national mandate for Americans to wear masks can actually work, Dr. Anthony Fauci and other top experts say that even when a vaccine is widely available to Americans, likely by the middle of next year, that mask wearing will still be necessary across the country for much of next year and likely into 2022 as well. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you very much. Brian Todd reporting.

Joining us now the Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha.

Dr. Jha, thanks so much for joining us. Based on the data you're seeing, do you expect the death toll from this latest surge to surpass the awful numbers we saw during the initial wave of the pandemic here in the U.S.?

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, Wolf, thank you for having me on. I definitely we hope we never get to a point where more than 2,000 Americans are dying every day. I think we won't. And that's a hope that we won't because we have gotten so much better at treatments. But still 1,000 Americans are dying, close to 1000 dying now. And I would not be surprised if that number gets -- goes higher yet.

BLITZER: As you know, earlier in the year, Dr. Fauci warned that the United States could eventually see 100,000 new cases per day if we didn't get this virus under control. Are we currently on track to hit that horrible milestone, maybe even in the coming days?

JHA: Yes. And unfortunately, I'm worried, Wolf, that we are. We're rising quickly. If we just go back about six, seven weeks ago to Labor Day, we were at about 35,000 cases a day. We're above 70,000 and just heading up. So, I would not be surprised if we end up getting to 100,000.

We of course can avoid that if we do some prudent things, but it doesn't feel like there's just enough policy impetus to act as we need to and so I'm worried we're going to hit 100,000 in a day, at some point in the in the coming weeks.

BLITZER: Yes. You need some national leadership to tell people you got to wear masks, so we're not getting that national leadership right now.

Hospitals, also Dr. Jha, and so many spots are simply being overwhelmed. What does that mean for the level of care the doctors and nurses are able to give patients who needed, including patients who were not there because of COVID but for other problems.

[17:25:13]

JHA: Yes, this is a really critical point, Wolf, is that ICUs, yes, we need ICUs for people with COVID. We also need them for people who get into car accident, people have heart attacks, people have strokes, et cetera. So, we need those ICUs for everybody.

And what we're seeing now in places like El Paso where those ICUs are full, and they're having to fly people out in Utah, where they're talking about rationing, and they're saying, if you're older or sicker, we may not be able to give you ICU care. This is not where we are want to be nine months into the pandemic. We should have figured this out. It's been a total failure of policy, that this is where America finds itself at this moment in the pandemic.

BLITZER: As you know this, new study from this British research team that found antibodies to the coronavirus actually declined substantially in the three months after infection, especially among asymptomatic cases and an older people. So what does that mean for immunity and our strategies for fighting the virus if that antibody goes away within three months? JHA: You know, Wolf, I'm not as worried about that. I think we still think most of the evidence says that people definitely have immunity. Not everybody, but most people for at least three months and probably longer. Antibodies can decline.

But we don't know a lot about long-term immunity. And certainly once you get beyond three to six months, we don't know. So I think people continue to have to be careful and not assume that we're going to have long term immunity from this infection.

BLITZER: Yes, that's important, too.

There's real concern, Dr. Jha, among a lot of experts that people are growing tired and frustrated with social distancing, wearing masks, doing what you need to do. How bad could this get if people simply stopped following the CDC guidelines?

JHA: Yes. So, Wolf, two things on this. First of all, it is a total failure of our political leadership, that we still don't have testing fixed, we still don't have the kind of therapeutics widely available.

We were making progress on therapeutics, but testing we've been talking about for nine months. And that's why what we're left with is social distancing, and mask wearing.

And I get people are tired, I'm tired of it as well. I'm tired of the pandemic. But we've got to hold on for a few more months, because if we don't, we're going to end up with a lot more infections, a lot more hospitalizations, and a lot more deaths.

BLITZER: And we certainly don't have very good contact tracing that could really help prevent the spread. Dr. Jha, thank you so much for joining us, as usual. Really appreciate it.

JHA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up. So what today's campaign stops tell us about the must win states on the path to 270 electoral college votes. Standby. We've got new information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:32:44]

BLITZER: We're just one week until Election Day, both President Trump and Joe Biden are focusing in on the must-win battleground states. Let's go to our Political Director David Chalian. Give us a closer look, David, and where the candidates are focusing their energy in these final very critical seven days.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Wolf, just a quick reminder, this is election night 2016. This is the map that President Trump is trying to recreate. And let's look at how he's trying to do that. This is our current state of play. This is where the Electoral College currently looks not a prediction of where it will be next week. The blue states leaning the Biden or solidly in his corner and the red states leaning or solidly to Trump and the yellow states, the true tossups here. So, you talked about that campaign schedule today. Just look at how busy the campaign trail was today, OK? But I want to focus in on Donald Trump's campaign schedule today. He was in Michigan, Wisconsin, and tonight, he's in Nebraska. I want to show you why.

At this moment, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, that so called blue wall that Joe Biden yesterday said he needs to reconstruct. Donald Trump busting through it and defeated Hillary Clinton. That's why we saw Donald Trump in Pennsylvania three times yesterday, Michigan today and Wisconsin. Let's look at what happens to his totals here.

If I give Donald Trump, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, he is starting to make up real ground in the Electoral College. Where are we to go next? Well, he's going to Arizona this week, he's going to see there. He's trying to win that back, that gets him to 220. Donald Trump is then banking that some states like Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, these toss up states fall back to some of their Republican DNA. That gets him up to 259.

Then he would only need either Georgia or Florida to get him over the top and become president. So here's a scenario where Donald Trump wouldn't need Florida but he would have to rack up everything else and he would have to flip these upper Great Lakes states that are currently leaning in Joe Biden's direction, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, the polls show that they are but they're still seven days to go. Is Pennsylvania, David, a state that Joe Biden can afford to lose?

CHALIAN: Well, he can certainly afford to lose it iff he wins a state like Florida. Look here. Again, we have it leaning in his direction right now. Let's say we gave that to Donald Trump, OK?

[17:35:04]

He's still a 270 right now. He would still be president without Pennsylvania in this map. But let's say Donald Trump also was able to peel back Arizona, then Joe Biden drops down. He's got Michigan and Wisconsin in his corner. He's got to go to one of those toss up states then if Pennsylvania has fallen away.

Here's his advantage. He has lots of places to go. He's tied in Iowa right now. He's tied in Ohio. He's tied in North Carolina. And, obviously, this is the big kahuna. If he could win Florida, well, then that puts him right back up, even without Pennsylvania. So Pennsylvania is not a must-win for Joe Biden, but it may be for Donald Trump's path to the presidency, Wolf.

BLITZER: We're going to be watching all of these so, so closely. David Chalian, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, with the latest signs at this year, young voters will turn out and have an impact on the election. And later, former President Barack Obama back on the campaign trail and slamming President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:35]

BLITZER: We're just one week until Election Day, more than 66 million Americans already have voted early. There are also signs that young voters are more engaged this year than in past elections. Let's bring in our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. Dana, you've been speaking with young voters. What are you hearing?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, young voters are often kind of the white whale of politics. Campaigns think that they're energized so they're going to turn out but sometimes they're really disappointed because young voters don't, but 2020 really seems different. It could be the year of the youth vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): University of Virginia sophomore Libby Klinger is up early on a Saturday ready to roll.

LIBBY KLINGER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, UVA COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: These people probably be home now.

BASH (voice-over): Joining fellow campus Republicans to get out the vote.

KLINGER: There is a lot of enthusiasm among young conservatives to vote, especially in this critical year with everything that's been going on with the pandemic. We're out here canvassing today.

BASH (voice-over): They are the diehards but still say everyone they know is voting.

KAYLEE CORVIN, OUTREACH COORDINATOR, UVA COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: People are really starting to recognize just all of the different chaos within the political climate right now. That voting is only real say that we can have.

BASH (voice-over): UVA Democrats are driving people to the polls. Hunter Hess (ph) waited with Maeve Connick (ph) for over an hour to cast an early vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been doing it a lot especially with first year students who like don't know the voting process very well.

MAKANA BROOKS, UVA FRESHMAN, VOTED FOR JOE BIDEN: I don't know if I know anyone, like any of my personal friends who haven't voted already.

BASH (voice-over): On the lawn, these students say voting is trendy.

KATE RASMUSSEN, UVA FRESHMAN, VOTED FOR JOE BIDEN: Like people on social media, like post pics of them and their ballot with them and they're I voted for you (ph). BASH (voice-over): So it's almost like you feel a little -- you're pressured to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

BASH (voice-over): Young voters are a crucial part of the electorate and are already making up a large share of early voting across 14 key states compared to 2016. In Wisconsin, early voting among young people is up from where it was in 2016 and both parties are working it.

KEELEY COLLINS, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, UW-MADISON COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: We've seen an increase in the number of people asking questions about how to get registered to vote and trying to get registered to vote.

BASH (voice-over): The share of the youth vote is almost double what it was this time four years ago in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the FSU and Family of College Democrats

BASH (voice-over): College students here and across the pandemic stricken country largely organized virtually. Youth turnout broke records in 2018. And researchers at Tisch Colleges Circle at Tufts University. Say protests across the country helped keep the surge going.

ABBY KIESA, TUFT'S UNIVERSITY'S TISCH COLLEGE OF CIVIC LIFE: We found that young people who were marching and demonstrating that only were more likely to be registering people to vote, were much more likely to be talking to other young people about the election and issues that they care about.

BASH (voice-over): Democrats say that's the climate crisis and racial justice, Republicans, the economy and jobs. The Biden campaign motto is to reach young people where they are launching Biden-Harris designs for players on the popular Nintendo game Animal Crossing.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gaming on the social media platform Twitch. Joe Biden talking to Cardi B.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if my Pup wins.

BARSH (voice-over): And his granddaughter's with young influencers, like Kaia Gerber and Maddie Ziegler.

The Trump campaign says their best influencers are regular young people reaching out to friends, like in a March Madness style competition called MAHA Madness.

CHANGLER THORNTON, NATIONAL CHAIRMAN, COLLEGE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Particularly right now they're online, especially in this environment that we're in. So, leaning into digital platforms is the best way we can reach young voters.

COURTNEY BRITT, REGIONAL VICE CHAIR, COLLEGE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I don't know if it's because the pandemic has reduced the number of activities that we can do that everyone's like, it's turned their attention. Yes, like there's fewer sports to follow. So, this is the thing everyone's focused on.

BASH (voice-over): Back on the lawn at UVA, some students are more passionate for the act of voting than the candidates. These three voted for Biden.

(on-camera): Are you excited?

VISHAL TALLA, STUDENT, UVA: I'm not excited about him. But I like that yes, at least focuses on climate policy.

BASH (voice-over): Some Republican students say the same.

CHRISTOPHER TOMLIN, PRESIDENT, UVA COLLEGE REPUBLICAN: I have my concerns. He wasn't too conservative. However, I'm a big fan of the tax cuts.

BASH (voice-over): Kiera Goddu, president of UVA College Democrats organizes phone banking to voters in Virginia and battleground states across the country. She says young Democrats are motivated by Trump's 2016 win.

KIERA GODDU, PRESIDENT, UVA UNIVERSITY DEMOCRATS: The evidence that he can win an election, which wasn't we didn't have that last time.

BASH (on-camera): It was a wake up call for you.

GODDU: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now even in places like Virginia, which is now pretty safely blue on the presidential level, it was really remarkable to see so many students in both parties, looking for ways to be active in Senate races and congressional wait races. And Wolf, you can really sense that they're feeling helpless and they're disgusted with politics but they're not throwing up their hands. They're not walking away. They really realize that the only way that they can get around what they're seeing right now is to vote.

[17:45:16]

BLITZER: Very interesting indeed. You know, Dana how are the political parties connecting with so many of these young college voters, if a lot of them aren't on campus, during this pandemic?

BASH: It's been a real challenge for both parties. First of all, if they they're lucky in that, as I pointed out in this piece, and as you know, young people really live online. And so, they're doing it with social media, getting to them on platforms that young people go to, regardless of politics. But the other thing is that places like UVA are not alone. There are lots of schools across the country that are online, people are learning online, but they're actually physically at campus, so that helps at both parties organize young people.

BLITZER: Are you on Twitch then?

BASH: I'm not yet, but it sounds like I should. Are you Wolf?

BLITZER: No.

BASH: I might have a Twitch.

BLITZER: I was going to say the same thing. All right, Dana, thank you very --

BASH: OK.

BLITZER: -- very much.

Coming up, Philadelphia now bracing for a night of unrest as protests erupt over the deadly police shooting of a black man.

Plus, President Trump demanding that election results be finalized on November 3rd, even though that's not how it works. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:50]

BLITZER: Philadelphia Police have requested help from surrounding counties and the state of anticipated another night of protests over the fatal shooting of a black man sparked violent unrest that left 30 officers injured last night.

CNN national correspondent Brynn Gingras is in Philadelphia for us. Brynn, the district attorney just said that he thought the shooting was concerning after seeing a video of it. What are you learning about how it all unfolded?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really Wolf, that was echoed by the police commissioner, the mayor as well. There's just a lot of questions here. I want to bring the viewers back to yesterday around 4:00 p.m. when police were called to a neighborhood in West Philadelphia they were called there for a domestic disturbance.

And when they arrived they encountered a 27-year-old Walter Wallace holding a knife. His mother was there crying to police, crying to her son to drop the knife. But then what came next was a video that we have all seen. But I want to warn your viewers that if you have it, it could be disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, oh. (END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Now, what you can't see on that video, again, is his mother crying to police to not shoot her son. We know from investigators from the police commissioner that each of those two officers who responded they each fired seven shots. They were not holding tasers, they did not have that as part of their tool belt. And we also know though they were wearing body cams and that footage was rolling. So that is part of the investigation that's going on not only in the police department but also separately by the district attorney's office.

But Wolf, I got to tell you, this is a community that is crying out wanting answers, because the question here by the family is why was there no de-escalation tactic? OK, if they didn't have tasers, why did they shoot them in the leg? Why didn't they make an in -- one of those shots at least killing Walter Wallace yesterday? Of course, we're waiting the coming days, maybe even coming weeks for now. The two police officers as part of protocol are on desk duty and they are part and contributing to these investigations. Wolf.

BLITZER: Is the city Brynn bracing for another night of unrest?

GINGRAS: Yes, as you said at the top there Wolf, this city really turned upside down yesterday with a number of incidents of burglary incidents and looting. We know that there were a number of officers that were hit with projectiles like bricks, and also one police officer had a broken leg from being run over by a pickup truck. But again, there was a number of incidents of looting as well.

This city is bracing asking for mutual aid from area departments to help out also just asking people to have calm until they get some answers. But certainly there are a number of stores we can tell you not only just in West Philadelphia but downtown Philadelphia well, that has boarded up that have closed and anticipation of what could come overnight tonight, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Brynn, thank you very much. Be careful over there. Stay safe. We'll be in close touch with you Brynn Gingras on the ground for us in Philadelphia. Very disturbed.

[17:54:58]

Breaking news here in the situation, President Trump and Joe Biden out on the campaign trail in key battleground states as the race is heating up dramatically, with just one week until Election Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the "Situation Room". We're following breaking news on the final week of the 2020 presidential campaign. Both candidates on the campaign trail tonight and carefully targeted battleground states, their fight for 270 electoral votes moving into the endgame.

This hour, President Trump is in Wisconsin playing defense as he spends this day in three states he actually won four years ago. Former Vice President Biden is on offense on the swing through Georgia fighting to turn that state blue for the first time since 1992. This, as early voting shatters more records, with more than 67 million ballots already cast.

[17:59:59]

Sadly, the current virus pandemic also is breaking records tonight.