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Exclusive, Graphic Comments by North Carolina GOP Nominee Uncovered by CNN; Soon, Oprah Winfrey Hosts Harris Event in Battleground Michigan; New Polls Show Harris-Trump Race Neck-and-Neck With 47 Days to Go. Election Officials In Multiple States Sent Suspicious Mail. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 19, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, CNN uncovers very disturbing and very graphic past comments made by the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, Mark Robinson. Stand by for details on the exclusive reporting by CNN's KFILE.

Also this hour, Oprah Winfrey is using her star power to help Kamala Harris in the key battleground state of Michigan, hoping to appeal to a broad range of voters and mobilize black women whose support is considered crucial to the Harris campaign.

Plus, a new round of presidential polls shows that Harris-Trump race remains neck-and-neck with 47 days to go. I'll ask the former Democrat turned independent, Senator Joe Manchin, about the state of the campaign.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin with CNN's exclusive breaking story about North Carolina Republican Mark Robinson, the socially conservative candidate for governor and current lieutenant governor known for controversy, and now at the center of these very disturbing new revelations. We want to warn you that some of the report you are about to hear includes graphic comments.

We're joined by Andrew Kaczynski, the senior editor of CNN's KFILE. Andrew, tell us what you and your team have uncovered.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Wolf, my colleague, Em Steck, and I found a series of highly disturbing posts made on the message board of a pornographic website more than a decade ago and we traced them directly to Mark Robinson. We did interview Robinson today and he categorically denies making those posts. I'll get to that in one moment.

But, first, I want to walk people through just a few of them. Take a look at one right here. In this post, Robinson called himself a, quote, black Nazi. And when discussing then President Barack Obama in 2012, writing, quote, I'd take Hitler over any of the shit that's in Washington right now.

It even goes beyond that, Wolf. Another disturbing post from Robinson defended slavery, writing, quote, slavery is not bad, and I wish they would bring slavery back. I would certainly buy a few. All of these comments and many others that you can read on cnn.com were made on the message board of a porn website called Nude Africa.

And, Wolf, in addition to those posts, he also expressed views on Nude Africa that sharply contradict policies he has as a socially conservative candidate for governor. For example, he has been vocally anti-transgender, but look at what Robinson wrote on the porn message board a decade ago, writing that he liked, quote, watching transgender porn, adding, quote, that's effing hot, while calling himself a, quote, perv.

In another thread that was discussing the story of a woman who said she was raped by her taxi driver while drunk, Robinson wrote, quote, and the moral of this story, don't eff a drunk white bitch.

BLITZER: Andrew, so he wrote that what some years ago, several years ago, when he was an ordinary citizen, before he became the lieutenant governor, before he got into politics, in fact. How do you know it's him?

KACZYNSKI: Well, Wolf, we found that Robinson consistently used that same username, Minisoldier, that he used on Nude Africa in all of his social media. You can see it on Pinterest, Black Planet, YouTube, he even previously used it as his Twitter handle. His full name was actually also listed on Nude Africa and the email we found that he used on Nude Africa, he used on several other websites.

Now, the biographical data from multiple sites and Nude Africa using Minisoldier matches Robinson exactly his date of birth, his hometown, the fact that his mom worked at an HBCU, even that his favorite episode of the Twilight Zone was number 22.

BLITZER: So, what does Robinson say about all this now?

KACZYNSKI: So Robinson is calling it trash and he says it's not him. We asked his campaign for comment. We gave them 48 hours to the respond.

[18:05:00]

That deadline was this morning. And that's when a Lieutenant Governor Robinson agreed to do a brief interview with us. Here is just a part of that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KACZYNSKI: Lieutenant Governor Robinson, thank you so much for being able to talk to us. I think we'll just jump right into it. Do you deny that this account is you?

LT. GOV. MARK ROBINSON (R-NC), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first off, let me say thank you so much for allowing me to come here and clearly here. We absolutely do. This is not us. These are not our words, and this is not anything that is characteristic of me, nor has it ever been.

The people here of North Carolina know I have been completely transparent about my history. All the warts, we put them all out. We let folks know about it. But the folks here also know my character. They know who I am. They know my voice, so to speak. This is not my voice. This is not things that we would ever say or even think. And so absolutely we do.

KACZYNSKI: How do you explain all of the matching details on this profile? The profile on Nude Africa lists your full name as Mark Robinson. The email listed on an account is an email that you have used elsewhere on the internet, including with your photo. You have used that name Minisoldier on multiple social media accounts, including Twitter, Pinterest, Black Planet and YouTube. How can you deny with all of these matching details that this is you?

ROBINSON: Look, I'm not going to get into the minutiae of how somebody manufactured these salacious tabloid lies, but I can tell you this. There's been over $1 million spent on me through A.I. by a billionaire's son who's bound and determined to destroy me. The things that people can do with the internet now is incredible.

But what I can tell you is this, again, these are not my words. This is simply tabloid trash being used as a distraction from the substantive issues that the people of this state are facing. We have addressed it, we have said it's not true, and we wish we could move on and get busy with the business of the people of the state.

KACZYNSKI: Okay, well these posts, they do take place over a five year period from 2008 to 2013. You mentioned A.I. Are you saying that somebody was somehow manufacturing biographical details to exactly match you using your username?

ROBINSON: Look, I have no idea how this was done. I have absolutely no idea how it was done, and I have five weeks left in this campaign to focus on the substantive issues that North Carolinians face. I do not have time for tabloid trash.

KACZYNSKI: There have been rumors that some of your campaign staff have quit. Can you tell us if that's true or not?

ROBINSON: Absolutely not and we are not getting out of this race There are people who are counting on us to win this race because, again, we don't want a governor who's going to be a person that can't be counted on to tell the truth. And I can assure you, my opponent has been taken to court for not telling the truth in campaigns. And he's been completely dishonest in his ads against me. This camp is so desperate to destroy us. It's just like Clarence Thomas said years ago, this is a high tech lynching. And, you know, back long years ago, they used to use rope, now they're using cable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KACZYNSKI: And Lieutenant Governor Robinson released a video on X shortly after our interview underscoring that he still plans to stay in the race. Wolf?

BLITZER: Andrew Kaczynski, thank you so much for your truly excellent reporting.

I want to break all of this down with our political experts right now. Nia Malika Henderson, your reaction, first of all, to this shocking report.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, listen, in some ways, it's not that shocking. I mean, if you know anything about Mark Robinson he has said inflammatory things. I was talking to a source a couple of weeks ago, and they mentioned porn. And this was even before this story was out.

So, he is somebody who has had a bit of a checkered past, even though Donald Trump has called him Martin Luther King on steroids. We understand now that Mark Robinson himself isn't a fan of Martin Luther King, is not a fan of the civil rights movement, is a fan of slavery, would buy slaves, I guess, if slavery were still legal. He is going to lose this race. But that's been obvious for months and months.

I think the only question now is do Republicans start to cut him loose? Trump is there on Saturday. I understand he hasn't really wanted to appear with Mark Robinson. You know, there is a fear now that he's going to drag Trump down just through association and we know that the Harris campaign is focused like a laser on North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Shermichael Singleton is with us as well. Shermichael, does Robinson, from your perspective, need to step aside from the governor's race right now, or even potentially step aside as the current lieutenant governor of North Carolina?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, Wolf, I believe he has until 11:59 to make that determination. Republicans had a better alternative. Mark Walker, former congressman, pastor, good traditional conservative, who I think would have been a far better candidate for Republicans in the state, but also for Donald Trump who wants to win the state.

[18:10:00]

I think Kamala Harris is doing a smart tactical job of spending time there because the result of that is that it forces the Trump campaign to have to spend resources there when they could be spending those resources in a place like Pennsylvania or one of the other more critical battleground states.

I think there's also a concern here, Wolf, that he could impact negatively some of the other down ballot candidates. And so I think Republicans in the state have to move really quickly to make a determination of whether or not he should stay as their nominee or if they should try to push him out for someone else.

BLITZER: Yes, let's see what they do. Ashley Allison, what do you make of this very disturbing report? ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I agree with Nia- Malika. I'm not -- if this is true, I am not surprised because Mark Robinson has said homophobic, transphobic, anti-woman, anti-black and anti-Semitic things for some time. The thing that is so troubling, and if he doesn't realize this, is that he's saying that he would be a black Nazi. Nazis did not like black people. They thought that we poisoned the pure white race. He would be a slave if slavery was still legal.

So, the self-hate almost that it sounds like he is battling with is quite troubling, particularly since he is a public official. But also the hypocrisy, how transphobic and homophobic he has been. There's nothing wrong with being a part of the trans community or loving someone that is trans, but he is so anti-trans that -- just the hypocrisy that is there. And then to make a joke about rape in this climate is just disgusting.

And I hear Shermichael, that there was a better alternative, but that's not what the Republicans in North Carolina decided. They decided they wanted Mark Robinson knowing that he says these type of things. And so, yet again, we have to ask ourselves, what type of Republican Party are we dealing with? And this is someone that Donald Trump said was the like Martin Luther King. I think not.

BLITZER: Ana Navarro, I'm anxious to hear how you see it.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, listen, when I heard Mark Robinson deny what's obvious when he was speaking with Andrew, it reminded me of that song by Shaggy, it wasn't me. Listen, Wolf, the problem here is the hypocrisy. But there's two types of hypocrisy, right? There's all sorts of Republicans right now in North Carolina and nationally erasing tweets they had of pictures of themselves and endorsing Mark Robinson.

Okay. But here's the problem they have, I don't know how you tell this guy to step aside because he's a freak and a perv, as he himself rightly calls himself, when your nominee for president has been found liable of sexual abuse and is a convicted felon.

And so, where do you draw the line? Is it not okay for somebody running for governor, but is it okay to have moral problems when you are running for president? And then, as Ashley mentioned, there's the hypocrisy of Mark Robinson himself, right, who tries to portray himself as this moral guy. He's an evangelical Christian. He preaches at Christian churches. And here he is, a married man on a porn site, making anti-Semitic remarks, making racist remarks, and doing all these things.

BLITZER: Nia, the Trump campaign released this statement about this KFILE report, and let me read it to you. We are confident that as voters compare the Trump record of a strong economy, low inflation, a secure border and safe streets with the failures of the Biden-Harris, then President Trump will win the Tarheel State once again. The campaign is not addressing the way Trump lavishly praised Mark Robinson out there on the campaign trail. Listen to this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.

This is Martin Luther King on steroids.

I think you're better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: North Carolina is a key battleground state, as we all know, in this 2024 presidential race. So, what do you think this report, the impact, could be on Trump in North Carolina?

HENDERSON: Well, listen, if you're a Democrat, if you're the Harris campaign, you want to tie Mark Robinson to Trump every single day for the next 40 or so odd days. And it won't be hard because you have pictures of Donald Trump next to Mark Robinson. You have him there comparing him insanely enough to Martin Luther King. I don't know why he thinks there's any comparison, maybe because they're both black. I really don't know, so, yes.

And you see Trump obviously not wanting to say anything about this report. He wants to focus on his campaign in North Carolina. He is stiff-arming Mark Robinson, who he essentially handpicked, right?

[18:15:00]

Mark Robinson would not be in this position were it not for Donald Trump's praise of him.

And, listen, this is where Republicans have found themselves in the era of Trump. These terrible candidates who when they try to run statewide end up losing, as Mark Robinson will absolutely do. We'll see if he stays on the ballot or not. It sort of doesn't really matter because he has to stay on the ballot. I think the deadline is over. So, even if he drops out, it sort of doesn't really matter at this point.

BLITZER: All right, we shall see.

Everybody stand by. Up next, my one-on-one interview with the independent senator, Joe Manchin. Will he make an endorsement in the presidential race? I'll ask him about Harris versus Trump, and much more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's another new national presidential poll out tonight, the New York Times poll showing a dead heat between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump among all likely voters surveyed.

[18:20:03]

Joining us now here in The Situation Room, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. He's a prominent independent and former Democrat. Senator, thanks for --

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: You were smiling when I said that.

MANCHIN: I'm very comfortable as an independent. I have the majority. I'm with 51 percent of the registered voters in America, over 80 million of us. You better figure out what we like and what we don't like if you want to win.

BLITZER: Well, you're a former Democrat. Kamala Harris, as you know, has positioned herself as being more moderate. Is she moderate enough to get your support?

MANCHIN: Well, I mean, she's saying a lot of the right things now and everything. It's just basically what you say and what you do are two different things, and I think people are looking at that. It's encouraging to see her understanding you have to have an energy policy.

This is the first time that the administration or anyone in the administration has acknowledged because of the IRA, we're producing more energy, fossil energy than ever before, more investment in clean technology than ever before, more solar, more battery storage. We're doing all the things. But we're energy independent and we've paid down $230 billion of debt out of the IRA.

No one's talked about the finances of this country. That'll be the downfall. If there's a downfall to the United States of America, it'll be the debt that we're putting on to our children.

BLITZER: You recently told our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju, a man you know.

MANCHIN: Manu has a way of getting things that you should be talking about.

BLITZER: He's a great reporter. You recently said to him you wanted to have a phone conversation at least with Kamala Harris. Have you been able to touch base with her?

MANCHIN: We haven't. We haven't had the conversation yet. Hopefully, that'll happen.

BLITZER: You want to talk to her?

MACHIN: Sure. You know, we sat beside each other in the Intelligence Committee for over a year.

BLITZER: So, you got to know her?

MANCHIN: We know each other. She's been down to my boat and we've had dinner and everything. So, we know each other. I know mostly everybody. Donald Trump, I've had many lunches and dinners with him. So, I know all of the players in there and we just got to see where we're going to go. But, you know, people don't like this visceral rhetoric, people like myself. I'm sick and tired of the parties playing, you're the enemy, so I'm against you. You haven't heard about it.

BLITZER: What would it take, Senator, for you to endorse and vote for Kamala Harris?

MANCHIN: I want to see if people recognize the debt that we're carrying right now. How do you get your financial house in order? Recognize there's $35.4 trillion unprecedented debt that we've ever carried before. What we're doing -- no matter what you say you want to do, and all these programs you want to give so much for this and so much for that, new homes and businesses, what's the bill? What's it going to cost?

Let's be realistic. People don't live in this lala land. They have to worry about their finances every day.

BLITZER: As you know, Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, they're now supporting her, a lot of independents are supporting her, and you still haven't decided. Is that right?

MANCHIN: I have not endorsed. No, I have not endorsed. And, you know, I want to make sure -- if I'm going to do an endorsement, I want to make sure that I believe the person that I'm talking to and working for is going to follow through. That depends on who they put around them, because Joe Biden and I have known each other forever, and he's just always been great. You can make a deal with him and everything. And I felt that his staff pulled him too far to the left, and I've had those conversations.

BLITZER: But I guess you must have a sense internally, privately, without declaring it, who you're going to vote for. I ask the question, because you've said, and I'm paraphrasing you now, you love your country too much to vote for Trump.

MANCHIN: That's correct.

BLITZER: You've said that.

MANCHIN: Insurrection, January the 6th.

BLITZER: You can't vote for Trump. So, why not simply say you'll vote for Kamala Harris? She's the opponent.

MANCHIN: Well, I'm going to reserve that right until I'm sure and I feel comfortable that we're going to have a balance.

BLITZER: But you're definitely not voting for Trump?

MANCHIN: Right. The January 6th, the insurrection, that was real. President Trump lost the election, okay? Orderly transfer of power, the Constitution, what we have, who we are, we take an oath, all of us do, to defend and protect the Constitution. If you can't accept an orderly transfer of power, if you can't basically stop or decry an insurrection, that's a problem for me. That's a bigger step for me than I can take.

BLITZER: Because when I hear you say, you know --

MANCHIN: I like a lot of these policies.

BLITZER: There's no way you can vote for Trump. The obvious conclusion I have is that means you got to vote for Trump's opponent.

MANCHIN: Yes, I mean, that's the obvious conclusion you're making right there. And I intend to vote. Do I vote, write somebody in or whatever? I don't know. I don't know. I want to feel comfortable. I want to make sure that we're going in that right direction.

BLITZER: And you still don't feel comfortable saying you're going to vote for her?

MANCHIN: Well, I think, look, Kamala's saying all the right things. Tim Walz is a person that I worked with for eight years and he was in Congress, a very good person to work with. That helped a lot. But then they said he's moved too far left. I don't know. I haven't had -- I've had a couple conversations with Tim and we'll see where it goes, but I'm partial to governors anyway.

BLITZER: Before I let you go, where do you stand right now, there's apparently the government is going to run out of money, the federal government?

MANCHIN: It's a shame. It's just a shame that we're going down playing these games every year.

BLITZER: So, what's going to happen? The stakes for the American people are enormous if there's a federal government shutdown.

MANCHIN: There's not going to be a shutdown. There will not be a shutdown. There's no way that anybody in their right mind out there could allow that to happen. I understand the House could not get where they wanted to get to. Mike Johnson tried. Chuck Schumer, I think, will step forward, and I think him and Mitch McConnell will work it out.

[18:25:01]

And we'll have a C.R. that'll take us to where we get a final deal at the end of the year, the way it should be.

BLITZER: You're 100 percent sure there's not going to be a government shutdown?

MANCHIN: I'm about 101 percent sure.

BLITZER: Really?

MANCHIN: Because if they do, they've lost their mind completely if they've done that.

And why would you bring so much havoc and so much heartache and injury to the American people because the job's not being done here? Basically, the people should stay here, not get paid, whatsoever. I always said, no budget, no pay. We haven't had a budget in 20 years. Nobody can operate like that. You can't operate your house that way, your business. There's got to be some penalties for not doing your job. And there is none. There's no recourse, whatsoever.

BLITZER: Well, let's hope there's no government shutdown.

MANCHIN: There would not be a shutdown.

BLITZER: Stakes for the American people would be enormous. Hey, Senator, thanks very much for coming.

MANCHIN: It's always good to be with you.

BLITZER: Good to have you in The Situation Room. I appreciate it.

MANCHIN: Yes, I'm always in a situation. Good to be in your Situation Room.

BLITZER: All right, welcome.

Coming up, one of the world's biggest celebrities about to hit the campaign trail with Kamala Harris for the first time. We're going to discuss the impact Oprah could have on the 2024 race.

Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Vice President Kamala Harris is in Michigan right now for a high-profile campaign event later tonight, headlined by one of her top celebrity supporters, Oprah Winfrey.

CNN's Eva McKend has more on this event for us. Eva, so what is the Harris campaign's goal tonight?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, they're looking to consolidate support among black women across the country. Just a few weeks ago, Win with Black Women, they're one of the organizing partners of this event tonight. When the vice president announced her candidacy, it happened to coincide with a weekly call that they do.

Well, on that call, 90,000 black women from across the country tuned in, rolled up their sleeves, talked about how they were going to organize in support of the vice president. They raised $1.5 million dollars in just about three hours. So, the campaign through that group looking to really harness that energy.

But it's not only black women. It is various coalitions across the country that they are trying to inspire and galvanize as those groups do the hard work of door-knocking and registering voters in the critical weeks ahead. In all, they're expecting about 200,000 people to tune into this live stream. This is a strategic choice of the campaign to ensure as many people watch and tune into this event as possible. It's just going to be a small live audience that will include Governor Gretchen Whitmer among others.

And, Wolf today, we also learned that the White House has pulled over the liaison working with celebrities, that staff member, over to the campaign side. So, that really gives you a sense that they are trying to boost the celebrity engagement as a mechanism to turn out voters and maintain momentum for the campaign.

BLITZER: Eva McKend reporting for us, Eva, thank you very much.

Our political experts are back with us. Let's get some analysis, and, Nia, let me start with you. You heard that the Harris campaign sees this event with Oprah as a big moment, their words, a big moment. How much of an impact do you see tonight having in this neck-and-neck race?

HENDERSON: Well, listen, everyone wants Oprah on their side. You think back to 2008, the big rally she gave for then-Candidate Barack Obama in 2008. She rallied for Stacey Abrams when she ran for governor in Georgia, and then that amazing performance at the DNC where she brought the house down.

They're talking about black women, obviously, who, you know, are sort of the backbone of the Democratic Party in terms of voting, in terms of organizing, in terms of door-knocking. But, listen, Oprah is a superstar to everyone, right, particularly women, suburban women. And if you were Kamala Harris, you really need to maximize the turnout among suburban women, black, white, Asian, Latino, and that's what they'll be doing tonight, connecting specifically, I think, with a group that works with black women.

But you're going to have folks on there who want to donate, who want to figure out how they can organize in their own communities, because that's what it's going to take to elect the first black woman president. It's going to take really a ground game like we've never seen before in this country.

BLITZER: And Oprah certainly is going to help the Democratic candidates.

Ashley, in a recent Pew poll, 87 percent of black women supported Kamala Harris just around President Biden's 2020 exit poll at 90 percent. How much is Kamala Harris relying on even more support from this crucial voting group?

ALLISON: Well, you know, it's not just Kamala Harris. It's all Democrats. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party. We study our issues. We are loyal. We register voters. We knock doors and we turn out voters, and we elect candidates.

I think what is interesting about tonight's event is that it is led by black women, but it is for all people. It is a broad coalition call. I have to say this was the department I ran in 2020, and what they're doing tonight is really cool. I mean, this is not just the campaign organizing. These are individuals who saw something in Kamala Harris' candidacy led by black women. But white women, white dudes, chefs, artists, executives, you name it, there's about 30-plus different constituency groups that are unifying tonight, following the lead of black women and saying they're all in to elect Kamala Harris.

So, I think not only is it historical, and you have Oprah, which is also a signal, because Oprah, for so many years, was the great unifier that would come into our home every day and talk across constituencies. So, there's a lot of symbolism here.

[18:35:01]

There's a lot of paying tribute to black women for being such an important part of the Democratic Party, but there's also a lot of inclusiveness in this event tonight, which is exciting.

BLITZER: Yes, which is very important. Shermichael, in this new Pew poll, black men are a bit softer in their support for Kamala Harris, at 80 percent. Kamala Harris was candid at the National Association for Black Journalists on Wednesday that she needs to earn their vote. So, how does she do that?

SINGLETON: Well, Wolf, I mean, I think black voters, generally speaking, are a bit hard to poll. So, I want to go to a Howard University survey that came out today that suggested that she is performing around 82 percent with black voters writ large, meaning men and women. And Donald Trump is around 12 percent, that's the same number he received in 2020.

I think a part of the reason, to Nia's point, that you're seeing the vice president double down on her support and outreach to women is because I assume the calculation from the campaign's perspective is, if they can't make up room with men, specifically black men, can they sort of provide a buffer or a cushion, if you will, in some of those critical battleground states by continuously targeting and penetrating women voters around certain issues that are of importance to them?

Whether or not that will be enough, I'm not exactly sure. I mean, polling data suggests, when you look beneath the top line numbers, that a lot of Trump's voters are typically underestimated, they typically aren't polled very well. And so his strengths may not necessarily reveal themselves in the data that we have access to, which is why you see that this race is a whole lot closer than I think many would have suspected it would have been.

BLITZER: It's interesting, Ana Navarro is with us. Ana, beyond Kamala Harris' base, do you think this Oprah event tonight is going to sway undecided and independent voters?

NAVARRO: You know, Oprah Winfrey's got a golden touch, right? She is Queen Midas. When she picks a book for her book club, it becomes an instant bestseller. When she publishes what her favorite things are, they become instant bestsellers. So, to be her favorite presidential candidate is a very good thing. And Oprah Winfrey stayed as the number one talk show for decades because, yes, she's a black woman, yes, she appeals to black women, yes, black women are crucial, but Oprah Winfrey, it crosses all sorts of demographics, all sorts of women and even some men she appeals to.

I also think that there's an aspect here that we're not talking about, which is, look, Oprah Winfrey is the great communicator, and she is the best interviewer in the business. And there's a lot of people who still say that they don't know enough about Kamala Harris. If somebody can show us who Kamala Harris is in an hour or two, it's Oprah Winfrey.

And so I'm very much looking forward to seeing what happens in that interview.

BLITZER: Well, we'll find out fairly soon. Nia, while Kamala Harris is in Michigan, the so-called uncommitted movement just decided not to endorse her because of her close alignment with President Biden on Israel's war in Gaza, though they warned against Trump. Could this hurt her, this uncommitted movement that's out there?

HENDERSON: Yes, sure. And, listen, I think that's one of the reasons you have her in Michigan right now. Democrats have been nervous about this community of folks who haven't liked the course of the war that Biden's been taking in terms of Israel, in terms of supplying weapons to Israel and all of the Palestinian deaths. So, this is something they're thinking about. This is something they're worried about, and it is something they're working on now and will continue to have to worry about until Election Day, because they're American voters in Michigan who were crucial in 2020.

You know, the polling shows that they're, you know, doing much better in Michigan than when Biden was on the top of the ticket. So, I think that is encouraging for folks who've been looking at Michigan and worrying about it. But, listen, this is a big deal for this campaign on Democrats. I have got to attend to it.

BLITZER: All right, good point, guys. Thank you very, very much.

Coming up, CNN talking with voters in one of the reddest parts of a critical swing state where Democrats are feeling right now, at least, optimistic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, the political spotlight is on Michigan. Democrats are hoping to make gains there, not only in cities and suburbs, but in rural areas as well, as CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's it like to be a Democrat in a place that is so conservative?

ELAINE MAYER, DEMOCRAT, MONOMINEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: I really keep a good sense of humor.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Deep in Trump country, Michigan's upper peninsula, something is stirring with Democrats.

MAYER: More people are starting to come out now that they know that I'm Democrat and I throw these signs up. My neighbors who I would have never thought were Democrat would go by and honk the horn, thumbs up. People are starting to step out and say, you know, I'm glad you're doing that. I'm kind of afraid to put a sign out, but I'm for you putting it out there.

MARQUEZ: In the 2024 race, Michigan is again a battleground prize. Donald Trump hoping for a repeat of his narrow 2016 win of the state.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A margin of 10,704 votes,

MARQUEZ: Kamala Harris looking to repeat Joe Biden's victory from four years ago.

BLITZER: Joe Biden will win the state of Michigan.

MARQUEZ: Despite that loss, Trump performed slightly better here in Menomonee County.

Why are Democratic votes in rural Michigan so important to winning the state in November?

PAUL HAUPT, DEMOCRAT, MENOMINEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Well, every vote counts. If we get 30 or 40 extra votes in the county here with our work, that possibly could make the difference in Michigan because Michigan's going to be close.

MARQUEZ: You are?

[18:45:00]

VICKIE KNUTH, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC PARTY MENOMINEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: The chairman of the Menominee County Democratic Party.

MARQUEZ: The big, massive Menominee County Michigan Democratic Party.

KNUTH: Yes.

MARQUEZ: How many members now?

KNUTH: We have close to 80, pretty much tripled our membership this year.

MARQUEZ: This is a small county, about 12,000 votes at play here. To have 80 active Democrats in the party, what does that say about where things are right now here?

KNUTH: Well, to me it says that there are Democrats in this county that had been hidden for awhile.

MARQUEZ: Hidden no more. GRACE GORRINGE, DEMOCRAT, MENOMINEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Was it

President Obama at the DNC, or maybe it was Michelle who said --

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: Those that around and complain about things, do something.

GORRINGE: -- that has been in my brain, kind of repeating itself over and over since I heard that. Do something.

MARQUEZ: It's like a Democratic coming out.

GORRINGE: I even said, we're coming out. We're putting our Democratic signs out.

MARQUEZ: How popular are Harris-Walz signs?

KNUTH: Well, they're popular.

MARQUEZ: And you don't have any signs.

KNUTH: Well --

MARQUEZ: You have no signs to give.

KNUTH: Yeah, that's true.

MARQUEZ: Do you have a Harris-Walz sign at your house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we have a hybrid one. It said Biden-Harris and we folded it over and now just says Harris.

MARQUEZ: So this is as good as you can do now?

KNUTH: Yes.

MARQUEZ: And I can see the little made by the Menominee County, Democratic Party.

KNUTH: There it is.

MARQUEZ: Why do places like this matter to what happens in Michigan in the country?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, if people can change here, they can change just about anywhere.

(END VDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (on camera): So, look, Wolf, Democrats in this little corner of Michigan are buoyant, which I think they haven't seen in a long time. The other thing that they say that they are seeing is the Trump signs. There are a lot of them there, but they say they are seeing fewer than they used to see them in the past -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right. Miguel Marquez reporting for us, Miguel, thank you very much. Coming up, we're following new threats to election officials tonight with the FBI now looking into a suspicious envelope that was headed for North Carolina's elections board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:10]

BLITZER: Tonight, the U.S. postmaster general is promising what he calls heroic efforts to deliver all mail-in ballots on time this election year. This comes amid growing concerns about election security on multiple fronts.

Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd.

What can you tell us, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we have new information tonight on a series of suspicious packages sent to election offices across the country this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Hazmat teams respond and an election office in Iowa is evacuated. According to CNN and the "Associated Press", suspicious packages containing powder were sent to election offices in at least 19 states this week. Today, North Carolina confirming it was one of them.

KAREN BRINSON BELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF ELECTIONS: We have learned that there was one in the mail stream to us and it was intercepted.

TODD: There were no reports of actual hazardous material in any of the packages but its part of a significant and very dangerous spike in recent months, and overall since the 2020 election two of those types of acts.

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Election officials, workers, and volunteers and communities across the country have been targeted with heinous acts and threats of violence.

TODD: In Durham County, North Carolina, this past March, according to the county elections director, a man showed up too late to the polls and was told he couldn't vote in the primary.

DEREK BOWENS, DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS, DURHAM COUNTY, NC: When the individual told our chief administrator at the precinct that if I can't vote with a ballot, vote with a bullet.

TODD: Law enforcement responded, but Derek Bowen says, the man sun left the scene.

Last year, a series of suspicious letters, some laced with fentanyl were sent to election offices throughout the country. The near constant threat of violence has led to an exodus. Many experienced election officials are stepping down this cycle, some citing harassment.

CLINT HICKMAN, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAIR, MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ: I've -- I've had death threats. My family has suffered through threats.

TODD: For those staying on the job, the measures they're taking to try to stay safe are mind-boggling.

BELL: And it really adds to the anxiety that we have about doing our job.

TODD: In Durham County, workers at polling places this year will be equipped with panic buttons.

BOWENS: They can actually press a button and that will alert emergency services to respond and it will use Bluetooth technology for their exact location.

TODD: The central election office in Durham County will be like Fort Knox, bulletproof glass at the front desk, a de-escalation room for people who were upset and incredibly, they've had to install a separate expensive filtration system for hazardous mail.

BOWENS: We have a mailroom that has a separate exhaust system. So if there are any hazardous substances that come out as a result of mail, it will be contained to that room and will be pushed out through a separate exhaust system.

TODD: Derek Bowens says he felt that sense of fear in recent days when he was leaving his office late at night.

BOWENS: I had the thought of looking around me making sure that there was no one, you know, coming up to me or trying to get in close proximity. I actually thought about my life for the first time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): One election security advocate, we spoke to says the exodus of experienced election workers has presented the challenge of getting new workers up to speed before Election Day. But he was quick to try to tamp down the rhetoric of conspiracy theorists and fearmongers, saying that he's confident that those challenges are not going to translate to problems or chaos on Election Day.

But, Wolf, there's so much fear is still out there.

BLITZER: Yes, it's really sad to hear that.

All right. Brian Todd reporting for us, Brian, thank you.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:02]

BLITZER: Tonight, former Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, is speaking out about the 2024 race with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. They discussed ways to support American workers by improving childcare. Fareed asked Clinton if there's any overlap between her ideas and those because every Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: J.D. Vance sort of agrees with you what the talks about it in a very strange and much more punitive way.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yeah, I can't imagine he agrees with me because remember, he said, let the grandparents take care of children. I'm a grandparent. I'm also very active person. I loved being with my grandchildren.

But I also have, you know, interests of my own. And so, it's not either/or. Obviously, I want to help my daughter and son-in-law with these three wonderful little kids, but they're very active. They go to work. They need childcare support especially when the children were very young.

And when Vance talks about childless women with cats or talks about grandparents being the childcare system in America, it's almost impossible to understand his worldview. What -- where is he coming from? Where does he get these ideas?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can see the full interview on "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" this Sunday morning, 10:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.