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The Situation Room

IDF Says, Hamas Leader Who Masterminded October 7 Attack Killed; Harris in Wisconsin, Blasts Trump for Calling Jan. 6 a Day of Love; Terrific Turnout, Early Voting Under Way in Battleground North Carolina. Conservative Billionaires Going All In For Trump In The Final Stretch; Independent Panel Issues Scathing New Report On Secret Service. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 17, 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, Israel confirms its forces have killed the Hamas leader accused of masterminding the October 7th terror attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring a victory over evil while warning that the war against Hamas will continue until all hostages are released.

Also breaking, Kamala Harris is campaigning in the blue wall battleground state of Wisconsin, as she just blasted Donald Trump for calling January 6th a day of love. CNN is on the trail with the election only 19 days away.

Plus, early in-person voting is now underway in the crucial swing state of North Carolina, where the turnout is being described as terrific. Officials scrambling to ensure all residents are able to cast their ballots in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

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 the major breaking news in the Middle East, the killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, by Israeli forces. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details on how it happened and the reaction in a region at war. We want to warn our viewers, there are some disturbing images in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar launched the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel's history, triggering a devastating war in Gaza. Now, just over a year later, Israel says he is dead, killed by its soldiers in Gaza.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I stand before you today to inform you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated. Today, evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.

DIAMOND: Unlike the assassination of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, or the killing of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Israeli intelligence didn't drive Sinwar's death. The October 7th mastermind was found and killed by chance. Two Israeli sources telling CNN that Sinwar's killing came after Israeli ground troops encountered three Palestinian militants during routine operations in Gaza on Wednesday, a tank fired at the house killing the men. Amid the rubble, troops soon realized that one of the bodies resembled Israel's number one enemy. DNA testing later confirming it was Sinwar.

In Israel, celebrations breaking out over the news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a really, really big win. I think this is a great opportunity to bring the hostages home.

DIAMOND: And in Gaza, mixed reactions to his death, but concern that it will not end the war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His killing will not stop the war, because he was not the one who wanted the war to continue. Israel is the one that wants war and does not want to return the displaced people or meet the demands of the resistance and Qatar.

DIAMOND: Sinwar evaded the Israeli military for more than a year, moving from place to place inside Hamas' vast network of tunnels, according to U.S. and Israeli officials, never once emerging publicly since the October 7th attacks.

Sinwar became Hamas leader in Gaza in 2017, after spending 22 years in an Israeli prison. He was released in a prisoner swap deal in 2011, alongside more than a thousand other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. But his enduring legacy came last year, when thousands of Palestinian militants stormed into Israel killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages at a music festival, in people's homes, and as they fled into bomb shelters.

Now, with Sinwar dead, questions about the fate of the remaining hostages and whether the war in Gaza will finally end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (on camera): And, Wolf, the Israeli prime minister tonight making clear that Sinwar's death does not mark the end of the war in Gaza, but he did say that he believes it spells the beginning of the end of Hamas' rule in Gaza.

As for the hostages, the Israeli prime minister saying that he urging the captors of those hostages to lay down their weapons and release those hostages, warning that if they are harmed, that Israel will avenge them. There's also a question about whether or not this presents an opportunity now to end the war, to reach some kind of a ceasefire deal. Certainly some U.S. and Israeli officials believe that is the case, but it will also depend on who succeeds Sinwar. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv for us, thank you very much. Also tonight, President Biden says he told the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that it's time to move on now that Sinwar is dead and move toward a ceasefire in Gaza.

[18:05:07]

Let's get some more on this breaking story with our Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward and CNN's Fareed Zakaria. He's the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS here on CNN.

Fareed, Prime Minister Netanyahu says the war is still not over, at least not yet. How big is the divide you sense between Israel and the United States and what comes next?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Well, it's still a pretty big divide. Look, what the Israeli Defense Forces were able to do was remarkable but it provides an extraordinary opportunity. It allows Israel to begin the process of ending the war, claiming victory. Obviously, the most important, unfinished business is the hostages. But it then allows Israel to start moving toward a post-war settlement. And that is what the Biden administration has been arguing.

And the Biden administration has lined up serious conversations with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia about Israel normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, but it would be part of a package where there would be some post-war authority in Gaza that would be maybe the Saudis, maybe the Palestinian Authority would have to be involved, and there would have to be some movement by Israel toward a Palestinian state.

So, the Biden administration, even in its last days, is trying very hard to see if they can take this and turn it into something that could use as a more lasting political settlement. The question is, does Bibi Netanyahu want to take this enormous victory and turn it into that settlement?

BLITZER: We shall see. That that would be huge, indeed, Clarissa, what's been the reaction to Sinwar is killing among Palestinians, especially inside Gaza?

We shall see. That that would be huge. Indeed, Clarissa, what's been the reaction to Sinwar's killing among Palestinians, especially inside Gaza?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, Wolf, because when you talk to people on camera, they will largely pay lip service, say that it's very sad that Yahya Sinwar has died, but when you talk to people privately, it's a different story.

There's a lot of bitterness towards Sinwar, a lot of anger. One woman told CNN he committed crimes that we have paid the price for. Another Palestinian woman saying to me, after the killing of Haniyeh, Hamas' first wife, former political leader who was assassinated of Nasrallah, the former leader of Hezbollah, who was assassinated. We saw people crying in the streets. We haven't yet seen any tears for Sinwar.

Now, it's entirely possible that we will see sort of elaborate displays of mourning in the coming days, but it appears to be that the more fundamental question for the vast majority of Gazans is really about survival. I mean, we are talking about 42,000 people dead. We are talking about famine or the brink of famine throughout large parts of the enclave, almost everybody displaced, disease, the reemergence of polio.

And so for all the talk in the international community and from the Biden administration, that this could be a pivotal moment, that this could presage somehow, you know, at least the reemergence of those ceasefire talks that had essentially completely broken down for two months for people on the ground in Gaza. They are not optimistic. They are understandably fairly despondent. And as one man said to us, we need food and water. That right now is more important than anything.

BLITZER: Fareed, is there any sense that you're getting any sign that Prime Minister Netanyahu already has a real plan for what's called the day after in Gaza?

ZAKARIA: No. It seems as though the prime minister's plan has always been, I want tactical victories. And tactical victories are important. And to be fair to him and the IDF, they have gotten a series of tactical victories, the assassinations of Nasrallah and of Sinwar. Sinwar particularly, remember, a very brutal man, launched the October 7th attack, but also routinely killed Palestinians. He was called the butcher of Khan Younis because he was butchering Palestinians who were against Hamas, who were looking for perhaps a peaceful path to a Palestinian state. So, this is a bad guy.

But does Prime Minister Netanyahu have a plan? No. Because his problem is this, any plan that involves Palestinian political rights will fracture his coalition, which includes some very hard right elements that believe there should never be a Palestinian state.

BLITZER: Clarissa, as you know, the U.S. sees an opportunity to restart ceasefire talks. But we don't know yet who will be the Hamas decision-maker, do we?

WARD: We do not, and we have not heard anything from Hamas. There is a lot of speculation about Mohammed Sinwar, who is the brother of Yahya Sinwar. He effectively replaced Mohammed Deif, who was killed in mid-July in an Israeli strike, as Hamas military leader.

[18:10:01]

And up until August, the two, according to some U.S. officials that CNN has spoken to, were frequently seen together.

It's not clear if Mohammed Sinwar was with his brother when he was killed or if he has survived. But if he has survived, if he is the successor, you can be sure that you will see a continuation of those kind of hard line approaches. And until we know who that successor might be, there will continue to be this vacuum, which really complicates efforts to try to seize the moment and turn this into an opportunity, Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope there is an opportunity. All right, Clarissa Ward and Fareed Zakaria, to both of you, thank you very much. This note, Fareed, of course, will be back Sunday morning, 10:00 A.M. Eastern, to host Fareed Zakaria GPS. He also has a brand new special report on the dangers of isolationism, entitled America First. It airs Sunday night, 8:00 P.M. Eastern, only here on CNN.

And just ahead, Kamala Harris rallies young voters in Wisconsin, launching fresh attacks on Donald Trump for calling January 6th a day of love.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: There's breaking news we're following, Kamala Harris just wrapped up a rally in Wisconsin where she blasted Donald Trump for calling January 6th, and I'm quoting him now, a day of love.

CNN's Eva McKend is on the trail for us. She's there. The vice president will speak again, I take it, in the next hour. Eva, what is Harris' main message in Wisconsin?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we're seeing the vice president centering her economic vision here in this state. She's talking about manufacturing, protecting workers, entrepreneurship. She visited a college campus today with billionaire surrogate Mark Cuban, where they visited young business students.

And this comes at a time when the campaign is feeling especially confident on this particular issue, that she's gaining ground on the economy, gaining the trust of voters on this issue. And it comes all the while she is characterizing herself as a consensus candidate, as someone who can work with both Republicans and Democrats. She argues the former president is unhinged, unstable, and not ready to meet this moment. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Last night, you may have seen I went on Fox News. And while I was doing that, Donald Trump was at a Univision town hall where a voter asked him about January 6th. Okay, so now we here know January 6th was a tragic day. It was a day of terrible violence.

And what did Donald Trump say, last night about January 6th? He called it, quote, a day of love.

The American people are exhausted with his gaslighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Wolf, the vice president, also leaning on Wisconsinites to make a plan to vote, reminding them that early voting in this state starts next week and that same day voter registration is also available to them here. That means voters can show up on Election Day and still be able to participate in this process. She takes the stage here in Green Bay in the next hour. Wolf? BLITZER: All right. Eva McKend in Green Bay, Wisconsin, for us, Eva, thank you very much.

I want to get some insight right now from our political experts, and, Nia-Malika Henderson, let me start with you. I want to play that moment from the Trump Univision town hall that we just heard Eva refer to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to give you the opportunity to try to win back my vote.

It was a little disturbing to me, you know, what happened during January 6th. And the fact that, you know, you waited so long to take action while your supporters were attacking the Capitol.

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We didn't have guns. The others had guns, but we didn't have guns.

And when I say we, these are people that walked down. This was a tiny percentage of the overall, which nobody sees and nobody shows. But that was a day of love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Nia, why do you think that Kamala Harris decided to start her speech today in Wisconsin, referring to Trump's referring to this day of love, January 6th?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Listen, I think she has done a very good job over the last couple of rallies of amplifying some of Trump's words, some of Trump's words that particularly centrist voters will have a problem with it. As you can see, that gentleman there was saying, hey, win back my vote. Explain to me why this was a day that he shouldn't be troubled about, right? And so then you have Donald Trump essentially say this was a day of love.

You see the person's reaction, right, that he's like, this isn't really the reaction I want. One of the things you see is the Trump to Biden voters. January 6 is a real issue for them. Character is a real issue for them. She is trying to get some of those Nikki Haley voters, independent voters, centrist voters. So, that's why she's amplifying these messages from Donald Trump that those particular voters will find particularly problematic. You know, maybe they haven't necessarily made up their mind, so she's elevating this because some of these people aren't necessarily paying attention in the way that we are every day to everything Donald Trump says so there she is amplifying them.

BLITZER: We pay a lot of --

HENDERSON: Yes, we pay a lot.

BLITZER: All of you. HENDERSON: Yes.

BLITZER: Bryan Lanza is with us. The undecided voter, by the way, later told Univision he would not vote for Trump. I thought it was interesting. Should the campaign, the Trump campaign, be concerned other voters will feel the same way when they hear Trump refer to January 6th as a day of love despite all the violence and hate that was going on that day?

BRYAN LANZA, SENIOR ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: I don't think -- first of all, thank you for having me, I don't think so. I mean, that was Joe Biden's strategy, was to run on January 6th, to run on Donald Trump being a threat to democracy.

[18:20:02]

I mean, he pounded that message for over a year. It worked so well that he dropped out of the race. You're right. It worked so well that he dropped --

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: No, no, no, (INAUDIBLE) in 2020.

LANZA: Well, he didn't do that in 2020. I was saying through 2024. That was his message.

HENDERSON: Well, it did work in 2022, right?

LANZA: Yes. But Trump wasn't on the ballot. Trump wasn't on the ballot. Trump is on the ballot. You know, it didn't work, that's why Biden's not in this race. He made his whole campaign about Donald Trump and not the economy, not immigration. And when he had a moment, he disappeared. You know, people are going to be talking about that, Wolf, but the reality is the vast majority of the voters care about the economy, they care about immigration.

Just look at the polling in Arizona that came out yesterday, you know, nearly 50 percent of the population thinks Kamala Harris' economic policies will make their situation worse economically. So, she can talk about January 6th, Joe Biden did, it literally went nowhere. People care about their pocketbooks, and she's delivering the wrong message on the pocketbook issues.

ETIENNE: I think Nia is absolutely correct here. I think what Republicans are doing is underestimating the degree to which independent voters, Nikki Haley voters, and disaffected Republicans find Donald Trump's actions on January 6th reprehensible. I think they're underestimating the impact there.

And, listen, I buy what Donald Trump says, that he thought it was a day of love. I mean, it was a love fest for him. He only cares about himself. He told the rioters, come to Washington, D.C., will be wild. He told them to go down to the Capitol and fight like hell, and they actually did that. It was a deadly insurrection. And that's what makes him so dangerous is because not only did he incite a deadly insurrection, the most egregious action against our democracy, but then he goes on to lie about it.

And it gets back to this issue of character. The last CNN -- most recent CNN poll found that the majority, almost by double digits of voters there, likely voters, find that she actually has the qualities of a leader that they want, that she's got the right temperament to be the president.

So, I think, to some degree, you guys are underestimating the impact of January 6th on those key voters and this election is going to be decided on the margins.

LANZA: And I would state that almost all the voters, I think close to 60 percent see Donald Trump as the change agent in this campaign. So, it's very hard to sort of have that, we're going to turn the page from January 6th, we're going to turn the page from bad economy, when they see that the change agent is Donald Trump, and they're reminiscent of his term economically.

BLITZER: All right. Nia, let me just point out, we're only, as I said, 19 days away from Election Day here in the United States. In our latest CNN poll of polls, average of all the main polls, Harris is at 50 percent, Trump is just behind at 49 percent. How much does this essentially tied race explain why Harris is not taking more risks in going out publicly?

HENDERSON: Yes. Listen, she wants to get some room and some distance between her and Donald Trump. Listen, I think she knows that probably her safest, clearest path is the blue wall states and the blue dot, which is why she's in Wisconsin. She's got a lot of surrogates out in some of these other states. Michelle Obama is going to be in Georgia at some point, North Carolina. You got Arizona. I think Obama's going to be there at some point. But, yes, she's out there, she's in different venues, right? She was on Fox, for instance, she was with Charlamagne Tha God, which was a fantastic interview. I thought it was one of the best interviews she's done, that has been done this cycle.

So, yes, she is trying to build a coalition. She only has 100 days to do it, 19 days left. It's a very short amount of time, so she's got to be out there messaging these voters. And it comes as people are already starting to vote, right? Early voting has started in so many of these states, so she is trying to gather as many voters as she can and sort of get some distance between her and Donald Trump.

It helps that Donald Trump is out there, right? Because the more he is out there, I think the worse he does and she is smart to amplify some of his crazier comments.

BLITZER: I thought her interview with Howard Stern was very good as well.

You know, Ashley we just got a, a little sound bite from Barack Obama speaking about this campaign. Let me play this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: One side, somebody who really just cares about himself. Everything's about him, 2:00 A.M. tweets and tirades, you know. And Kamala's somebody who comes from modest beginnings, who had to fight for what she had. And that's the kind of person that I'd want to vote for. Because I know if push comes to shove, she's going to be fighting for me. And that's the kind of president that we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: How much is he going to help her?

ETIENNE: No, I mean, he's Democratic royalty. Of course he's going to help her. But last week was a tough week for Kamala Harris as it relates to Barack Obama when he did generate way too much negative news for her.

But I think, ultimately, the former president is going to be incredibly helpful. You're going to see him in Georgia and places like North Carolina, places where it's going to matter, speaking to a variety of different voters. Because, I mean, we assume that Barack Obama is key to turning out black vote, but I think his reach is much broader and bigger than even black voters. So, he's definitely going to be key to turn out the base votes in some of these really tight races.

BLITZER: Bill Clinton is going out for her. So, we'll keep an eye on all of that. All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, our report from North Carolina, where early voting is now underway.

[18:25:02]

Election officials trumpeting high turnout, even as many voters there are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: North Carolina's top election official is touting a terrific turnout during the state's first day of early voting despite some very heavy damage still from Hurricane Helene.

CNN's Miguel Marquez has this report from hard-hit Western North Carolina as officials there scramble to reach voters still isolated by the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Only the toughest vehicles.

[18:30:00]

This is a good road we're on right now.

RUS ROBISON, NORTH CAROLINA STORM VICTIM: This is a good road. This is a really good road. MARQUEZ: Can access some areas of storm ravaged North Carolina. Rus Robison has been helping out doing anything and everything since day one.

ROBISON: Brush cutting landslide clearing.

MARQUEZ: Immediate needs met now a big new need figuring out how to vote in an area cut off by the most severe storm damage.

ROBISON: Those that want to go, I'll 100 percent be able to get them there to vote. But there will be communities that probably some people don't get to vote that want to vote.

MARQUEZ: Water swept through Jeff Auletta's home on the Cane River in Yancey County.

JEFF AULETTA, NORTH CAROLINA STORM VICTIM: We would like to early vote if we can get in. We might need an all-terrain vehicle, but we will get in to vote.

MARQUEZ: Yancey is one of 25 North Carolina counties, plus Cherokee tribal areas, in the disaster zone, where election rules have changed. 1. 3 million mostly conservative Tar Heel voters live there, with over 7.7 million registered voters statewide this year, every vote critical. And it's a state Trump won in 2020 by just over 74,000 votes,

How will you actually vote?

AVIN LEDFORD, NORTH CAROLINA STORM VICTIM: I will go to one of the voting stations in town. I have a truck there so I can get in and out. It's a little difficult, but I can.

MARQUEZ: And nothing will keep you from voting?

BILL MERZ, NORTH CAROLINA STORM VICTIM: No, nothing.

MARQUEZ: Bill and Diane Merz, huge supporters of Donald Trump, have concerns about voting nationwide. Here at home, they totally trust their vote will count.

B. MERZ: She's got an absentee ballot, but I'll probably go in and vote. If I have to, I'll go to town. I'll hitchhike if I have to.

MARQUEZ: With partisan anger, still simmering over Trump's 2020 loss, new fears, changes to election laws approved by the state's bipartisan election board, among other things, allowing displaced voters to receive absentee ballots at a different address.

DIANE MERZ, NORTH CAROLINA STORM VICTIM: I'm concerned that these relaxing of some of the rules that they have is also going to invite, you know, fraud into the system. And I'm worried about the people just being able to vote.

MARQUEZ: The extreme storm claiming more than 230 lives so far here in North Carolina, around 80 are still missing. And now with winter coming, despite all the misery, something surprising.

This somehow gives you hope?

ROBISON: Absolutely.

MARQUEZ: For the country?

ROBISON: Absolutely. It's something that I that I worry about a lot, is if we could ever get together again as a country, as a people, you know, and get past this partisan divide. It definitely gives me hope that this encourages that for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (on camera): Of all the horrors we have seen out of this storm, we did not expect a positive vibe out of people coming together to help people to vote. And I will say we've been to a bunch of voting stations today, Wolf. They are jam-packed. Election workers have been working their tails off today. State board saying, you know, they set a record back in 2020 for day one of early voting. They think they may break that record today. We'll know that later on, but they are voting like mad across the political spectrum. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Miguel Marquez in North Carolina for us, thank you very much for that report.

I want to bring in CNN Political Analyst Maggie Haberman of The New York Times right now. Maggie, you know Trump well, you're probably one of the best reporters who knows Trump and what he's thinking. Why is he escalating his threats to his political opponents that he deems, quote, the enemy within? Why is this his closing message, what, less than three weeks until the election?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Because it's what he wants to talk about and because he was told earlier in the election cycle that he shouldn't talk about retribution because it was problematic with some voters. And for whatever reason his language, and I think we can point to a couple of reasons, but his language has gotten much darker, it has gotten much more apocalyptic, and he has gotten far less concerned about what threatening people might mean.

BLITZER: And he's railing against Kamala Harris, as he always does, but especially on social media, writing this, and I'm quoting him now. Kamala should be investigated and forced off the campaign, and Joe Biden allowed to take back his rightful place. Why is he still so obsessed with Biden?

HABERMAN: It's a great question. He has been fixated on this, Wolf. He continues to believe that it was unfair the Democrats changed out their nominee. He believed he had this essentially in the bag against Joe Biden. The atmosphere at the Republican National Convention was jubilant. They were all on a high. They believe it was right after the assassination attempt in Butler. And they believed that they were heading into a lock, and that obviously has not been the case.

Now, he still may win, it's a very tight race, but it has been a much more competitive race than it looked like it was going to be after the Trump-Biden debate, and he's very angry about it.

BLITZER: Maggie, I noticed that your New York Times colleague, Michael Bender, wrote this about the concern from Trump's advisers about his rambling campaign speeches, and so many of them have been totally rambling.

[18:35:01]

And he writes this, they worry that Mr. Trump's impetuousness and scattershot-style on the campaign trail needlessly risks victory. What are you hearing about this?

HABERMAN: There's been a concern about his speeches and the length of those speeches for quite some time. They've been trying for months to get him to shrink them down. If you compare, and Peter Baker talked about this, another colleague, in a recent piece, the speeches were shorter in 2016 and they were less angry and they were more coherent. They are concerned that voters are just going to see this sort of unfiltered meandering version of Trump and that it is going to damage him because that is what gets picked up in local coverage much more than anything else.

Why do you think his speeches are getting crazy like that?

HABERMAN: Well, I don't exactly think that his speeches were ever, you know, the works of Shakespeare, right, in terms of being sort of straight and linear. But he has always meandered. He has always, you know, drifted off into various tangents and so forth.

I think he's very angry. I think that a number of things have happened this year. I think he was convicted in Manhattan. Then he had an assassination attempt where he was, you know, millimeters away from losing his life. And then he suddenly was facing a new opponent. And I think he is disoriented by all of that.

BLITZER: It's obviously shaken him up. But as you know, Kamala Harris is out there campaigning in Wisconsin today. I want you to listen to what the Wisconsin GOP, the Republican chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said about Harris' visit there. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN SCHIMMING, CHAIRMAN, WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN PARTY: Kamala Harris coming into Wisconsin to do three cities in one day out of nowhere, they're seeing the same polling we are, and that is they are in trouble in that blue wall, and that blue wall is not built right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, is the Trump team, the campaign, confident they can retake Wisconsin and other states in the so-called blue wall?

HABERMAN: I wouldn't say that they're confident that they can retake them. They are very hopeful that they can retake them. They're feeling good about their chances in all three. They think in particular Wisconsin and Michigan right now look good for him. But we are still 19 days out from Election Day and a lot can change.

BLITZER: And not necessarily Pennsylvania?

HABERMAN: Not necessarily Pennsylvania. That is a tough one and it really is. It's tough for both of them, frankly, but they are feeling very good about Michigan and Wisconsin at the moment.

BLITZER: He's going to that Al Smith Dinner in New York tonight. What do you think we should be looking for?

HABERMAN: For him to make all kinds of jokes at the expense of some of the people sitting in the room with him and for him to say things about Kamala Harris that are similar to what he says on the campaign trail. But, I mean, that is very much -- it's a mixed room, politically, but it's a pretty hospitable environment for Trump. The irony is that it is filled with the kind of elites who he trashes all the time.

BLITZER: Kamala Harris decided to not attend.

HABERMAN: And there is, I think, zero cost to her skipping this despite complaints otherwise.

BLITZER: All right, we'll monitor that as well. All right, thanks very much, Maggie Haberman, helping us, as she always does.

And just ahead, we'll have more on the Hamas leaders killing in Gaza and the U.S. role in what happens next. A member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is standing by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Right now we're getting more reaction to Israel's killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, as President Biden says he's urging Israel right now to move on toward a ceasefire.

Let's discuss what's going on with Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado. He's a Democrat, a key member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He's well briefed on what's going on. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, despite Biden's push for a ceasefire, Prime Minister Netanyahu says the war will continue. Considering that Netanyahu has repeatedly defied U.S. policy, has the U.S. lost its ability to persuade him to change course?

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): I think it's very important for the United States to continue to push for a mutual ceasefire and to push for a release of the hostages. Sinwar has been an incredible, as you know, Wolf, obstacle to peace for decades and decades and decades. He was the mastermind behind the October 7th attack on Israel that resulted in the killing of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of hundreds of hostages, including Americans. And I think this is a very good day for Israel, for the United States of America. But I think it's very important for the U.S. to stand for the principle that once this war is finished, we need a two-state objective in this region. And we are very well situated, I think, to be an important negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians to try to achieve a brighter future for the people in this region. So, I think it's appropriate for President Biden to be trying to do what he's trying to do.

BLITZER: Well, do you think Netanyahu will eventually be ready for what you and the Biden administration want, a two-state solution, Israel living alongside a new state of Palestine?

BENNET: I find it impossible to believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu will ever agree to that. I don't think he believes that his coalition would allow him to do it, and I don't think he believes in it. I think that we will have to turn the page on the leadership in the region to achieve it. But in the meantime, the United States has to continue to hold out the hope that we can get there.

There are people on both sides of this battle who have given up hope on the idea that there can ever be that kind of two-state solution. I think the children in that region and the world as a whole deserve for us to continue to hold that vision up as a possibility even when people in the region have given up and even when there's leadership on each side, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, who clearly believe that it's never going to happen.

[18:45:00]

BLITZER: In a related development, a very significant development today, the Pentagon says its use of B-2 stealth bombers on Houthi targets in Yemen was meant to send a message, send a message to adversaries including Iran.

Do you think that message will be enough to de-escalate this regional conflict that clearly is going on?

SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): I don't think -- I don't know whether that will be enough. I think its the right thing to have done and we have to be relentless in pushing back the Iranians.

They keep trying to test our resolve. They keep trying to test our wherewithal and we have been pushing them back and Israel has been pushing them back in recent days. It's been interesting to see the work that the Israelis have done with respect to Hezbollah and frankly, Iran's response has been pretty weak and we have largely because we have been able to lead a coalition of countries, including Israel, but also including Arab states in the region that have pushed back together against the ballistic missiles that Iran has sent.

So we have to be vigilant about this. I think this is a moment when Iran needs to not test the resolve of the United States because I think there'll be sorry if they do. And I think its incumbent on all of us to try to avoid a broader regional war there. But the United States won't be able to do that if we show any weakness here. And so I'm glad we're not all right. BLITZER: All right. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, thank you so

much for joining us.

Coming up, how Donald Trump's richest donors are going all in right now for his campaign with less than three weeks until Election Day.

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[18:56:00]

BLITZER: As the race for the White House enters the closing stretch, a handful of conservative billionaires are going all in for Donald Trump.

Brian Todd is on the story for us.

Brian, the former president is getting a serious cash infusion from some of his wealthiest allies.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He certainly is, Wolf. Now that money doesn't go directly to his campaign, but it's still going to help the former president, especially during this critical final stretch of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The world's richest person putting his mouth where his money is. Elon Musk tonight stumping for Donald Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, after spending heavily on Trumps bid to retake the White House.

ELON MUSK, OWNER OF X, TESLA AND SPACE-X: The reason I'm here in person is because Pennsylvania is so important to the future of the world. So --

TODD: Musk has given nearly $75 million on behalf of Trump.

All told, according to FEC filings, three billionaires alone have given a total of about 220 million just in the last three months to boost Trumps campaign. The 75 million from Musk, $95 billion from conservative donor Miriam Adelson, heiress to a casino fortune. And $49 million from shipping supply magnate Richard Uihlein.

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's Trumps billionaire calorie at the very end here.

TODD: All that money goes not directly to the Trump campaign, but through super PACs, political action committees that support the former president.

HANS NICHOLS, POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: The vast majority has money will go into broadcast and digital advertising. This will go to sort of 15 to 30-second ads that by the end of this season, we're all going to be sick of.

TODD: But it won't all go to ads. THOMPSON: Elon Musk's group, interestingly, is spending a lot of money on a canvassing operation.

TODD: Musk has spent millions hiring door to door canvassers on Trumps behalf and is holding a series of talks free of charge throughout Pennsylvania over the next few days.

Why are these billionaires supporting Trump?

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN POLITICS NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: Some of it is just ideology. If you look at somebody like Dr. Adelson, we choose a big supporter of Israel and has backed Donald Trump during his first time in office and was very supportive of his move to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Take over, Elon. Yes, take over.

TODD: For his part, Musk has moved much further to the right over the past couple of years, campaigning for free speech and against government regulations and cozying up to Trump.

MUSK: President Trump must-win to preserve the constitution, he must win to preserve democracy in America.

TODD: But all this generosity from Musk, Adelson and Uihlein is relative.

THOMPSON: What they're really trying to do is make up what his huge cash cab between Kamala Harris, who raised $1 billion in just a few months, and Donald Trump.

TODD: Among the donors who have given tens of millions to Harris's super PAC recently, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn.

But one analyst says candidates don't need giant war chest to win.

NICHOLS: You looked at last few presidential cycles, it's not necessarily true that whoever had the most money won.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Now as valuable as this cash infusion could be to help purchase ads for Trump, analyst Hans Nichols says, Trump and Harris can benefit even more from another kind of media coverage, so- called earned media, positive news coverage by the major news outlets that cost the candidates nothing. Nichols says that kind of coverage is often more effective than ads that voters tend to get sick of.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us -- Brian, thanks very much.

We'll be right back.

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[18:58:46]

BLITZER: Tonight, an independent panel is calling for a complete overhaul of the U.S. Secret Service after a review following Trump assassination attempts in Pennsylvania.

CNN's Evan Perez is here with us.

Evan, what changes are being recommended? It's pretty dramatic.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Pretty dramatic. These are -- this is a tough part prescription for the Secret Service. This is what the bipartisan panel report says about what they found in this investigation, wolf, it said they said the secret service has become a bureaucratic complacent and static, even though risks have multiplied and they also said that without reform and other Butler and will happen again.

Now among the changes that this panel is suggesting or a complete overhaul of the leadership of the agency, bringing someone from outside, perhaps from the private sector for a change of the culture. Again, focusing more on the protection mission of the secret service and get rid of some of the other missions, including investigations like cyber security in certain, certain types of investigations that they already do.

And also, more training for some of these agents, so that people understand what a steak, obviously, when people are not removed from danger in these circumstances.

Of course, Wolf, you know, that if Donald Trump is re-elected, obviously this mission become comes even more difficult. They've already been two attempts on his life just in this past few months.

And so for this agency, it really is of the essence for them to make these changes as soon as possible.

BLITZER: Secret Service is so, so critical indeed.

All right. Evan, thank you very much for that report.

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

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.